A Nearly Missed Goodbye

Interacting with: @Mikey Forville Mentioning: N/A Date: June 30th 2026

Word Count: 388

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Time had flown over the past year. In the blink of an eye, here she was. A third year now. She had survived her second year. Something her younger self would have never believed possible. And it had all been thanks to the people she had met over the past two years. Emiline. Colin. Joseph. Lyanna. And especially Mikey. Avery blushed at the thought of him. Avery could barely think as she walked through the halls of Hogwarts one last time before the summer began. She would have to rush to the train station so as to not miss the train. Dark school robes and flashes of bright colors filled her vision as she pushed through the crowd. Friends and lovers saying goodbye one last time before they would leave to board the train home. It was all a blur. As the lioness rushed so as to not be left behind she thought back to the events of the past year. So much had happened. She has one her first Quidditch match, she has admitted her feelings to Mikey and found he felt the same way, she had grown in her understanding of the world and how it worked. Life could do that to you. One moment she felt just like a little girl and in the next here she was. Feeling like a grown woman at only thirteen. Eventually she had made it to the station. And right on time. Breathing hard from the exertion of running, Avery slapped her hands on her knees and breathed heavily until her lungs finally stopped constricting and allowed air to come through normally. A typical side effect of the ‘healing’ she had received in the past. Well, it was nothing big. She could live with it. Finally regaining composure, the lioness straightened herself and took the steps into the train. It was already crowded thanks to her late arrival. She had slept in that morning. Too late. Shouldering through students scrambling to find an empty compartment, Avery finally found exactly where she wanted to be. She saw one boy sitting alone in a compartment staring out the window. His curly brown hair rested just above his eyebrows. Blue eyes bright as he watched the world go by. Opening the door with a smirk, she finally spoke. “Is this compartment taken?”

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Mikey had become so caught up watching the platform outside that the sound of the compartment door sliding open almost made him jump out of his seat. He turned automatically, expecting a random student poking their head in to ask if the seats were free. Instead, he found himself looking at Avery. He simply stared at her. It wasn't because he hadn't expected to see her again before the train left. It was because he'd already convinced himself that he wouldn't. She looked like she had ran all the way from the castle and her breathing was still a little heavy. "Avery!" He said with the same excited feeling that he got when he gave up on a match and the team won in the last second.


"I was wondering where you'd disappeared to." He shook his head, still smiling. "I thought we'd somehow managed to miss each other." Mikey glanced around the otherwise empty carriage with exaggerated concentration. He looked toward the luggage rack, then the empty seat opposite him, then back at her as though he were genuinely weighing up the situation. "Hmm..." He rested his finger against his chin. "It does seem awfully full… But I suppose I can make an exception for a beautiful girl." His cheeks turned a little bit red after the words left him. He wondered if he would break the habit of talking before he thought. Leaning across the compartment, he picked up the satchel he'd thrown onto the seat beside him and dropped it onto the floor with a soft thud.

"There." He swept an arm toward the now-empty seat. "Reserved exclusively for one specific Gryffindor." He noticed her breathing once more and added, "You ran all the way here, didn't you? You know the train wasn't going to leave without you... right?" He'd seen her like this before. Even though she always insisted she was fine, he still found himself watching a little more closely than he probably needed to. He waited until she had settled into her seat before leaning back against the window again and for a little while he simply looked at her.

The last few days had been so busy that it felt strange finally having a quiet moment together. Packing trunks, returning library books, saying goodbye to professors, Quidditch, friends... somewhere between all of that they'd barely managed more than a passing conversation. He hadn't realized how much that bothered him until now.

"I actually kept thinking I'd find you before we left," he admitted after a moment. "I don't know how we kept missing each other." Outside, students were still weaving between the train and the platform. Some were hugging goodbye while others leaned out of windows shouting last-minute reminders about letters and summer plans. A first year hurried past dragging a trunk that looked almost bigger than they were. Mikey watched them for a second before smiling to himself. "It's funny. I was sitting here a minute ago thinking about everything I'm going to miss. The Quidditch pitch and friends and all that." He smiled. "And..." He hesitated for the briefest moment. "I was thinking about you." The admission came so naturally that it surprised even him.

"I kept thinking that three months suddenly feels like a really long time." He looked down at his hands for before letting out a small breath. "I know we'll write. And I know summer will probably go by quicker than we think. But it's still weird. I mean I've gotten used to seeing you almost every day." He looked back up, meeting her eyes with an easy smile. "I'm not sure I like going back to only seeing you in letters sent back and forth." Students scrambled through the last few compartment doors while parents waved from beyond the barrier. Somewhere farther down the train, someone was laughing loudly enough that it carried through the open windows. Mikey glanced toward the platform one last time before turning back to Avery.

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𝕷 Avery watched as Mikey jumped at the sound of her voice. His blue eyes widened in surprise that spoke everything words could not express. It had been a long time since they had seen each other in person. Too long. She had missed him dearly during that time and there was no way she was leaving him without saying goodbye. When he realized who she was and that she had not missed the train, his eyes lit up like bright sapphires. Her name escaping his lips in the special way he always spoke to her. The caring and soft voice she only heard him speak in when directed at her and she loved it. Her cheeks had probably turned bright red from his comment. How was she supposed to respond to that? How was he so sweet? The lioness knew she did not deserve him. He was too good. The golden boy compared to her broken and messed up past and family history. Her family left her as a walking landmine waiting to explode. Especially if her mother found out the truth. She would be done for if her mother found out everything that had happened the past two, nearly three years. The lioness shook her head. Clearing her mind. This was her time to spend with Mikey. Her mother did not deserve to take up space and occupy her mind. Her mother clearly did not care for her daughter, so why would Avery give her the time of day? The truth was, she was not going to. “Well, if you insist, I guess this compartment isn’t too full and who could pass up sitting next to a handsome boy for the duration of the ride?” Avery’s cheeks had turned to a bright pink in addition to the flush she probably already had. Mikey had that effect on her. Making her feel speechless with his caring words and gentle smiles. Avery sat down in the seat after a moment. Finally relaxing after the hard run to make the train. Laughing softly she finally spoke, “Yeah. Didn’t want to miss out on this though. I’ve really missed you lately.” She smiled softly as she looked into his eyes. The lioness listened as he spoke. Explaining how he had wanted to find her and was always thinking about her during that time. She was speechless all over again. Knowing that she had not been the only one missing him and wishing for one last interaction alone and one last chance to talk before they went their separate ways for three months nearly broke her. Unshed tears of happiness welled in her eyes, but she did not let them fall. “I thought about you every day since we last saw each other. I guess our schedules didn’t mix though. I always tried finding you, but never came up lucky.” She sighed contentedly. Avery swallowed. Three months. It felt like an eternity to be away from Mikey. She tried hard to forget that. She had to stay positive. And staying positive meant looking at the light at the end. She grabbed his hand in her own and squeezed it before she spoke, “I know it feels like an eternity and it’s going to be hard, but we’ve got this. It’ll pass by and before you know it, we’ll be together again at summer camp. Though I will be writing you every day. Expect a daily owl every morning to go with breakfast.” Avery laughed lightly as she squeezed his hand again to let him know she meant it.

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Mikey was smiling without realizing it. It wasn't that he didn't believe what he heard, it was more that compliments still caught him completely off guard. No matter how many times Avery smiled at him or said something kind, part of him still expected to be the awkward kid who tripped over his own feet trying to introduce himself to people. He looked back up at her, noticing the color in her cheeks hadn't completely faded either. "I think we're both equally terrible at taking compliments." He said

The compartment settled into a comfortable silence for a moment. Outside, the platform was still alive with movement. Somewhere farther down the train someone laughed loudly enough that several other compartments joined in. It made everything feel strangely normal. He'd spent the last week wondering if he was being silly. Every time they'd almost crossed paths he'd convinced himself there would be another chance. Tomorrow. After dinner. Before breakfast. After Quidditch practice. Then suddenly tomorrow had become the last day of school and it felt almost like he lost time with her that he would never get back.

He let out a slow breath, looking out the window for a moment before speaking again. "I honestly started thinking it was just bad luck." His fingers absentmindedly traced the edge of the seat. "I'd walk into the Great Hall thinking you'd probably be there..." He smiled to himself. "...and you'd already left." He thought for a second then continued. "I was beginning to think the castle was moving you around just to annoy me." His eyes dropped to their hands for a second before another smile found its way onto his face. He hadn't expected something so simple to make him feel so much better. His thumb gently brushed across the back of her hand without him even thinking about it.

Three months still sounded impossibly long, but somehow it didn't feel quite as impossible now. Especially with summer camp coming soon. At the mention of a letter every morning, he laughed. "Every morning?" He looked at her with joking suspicion. "You know, that's setting the bar pretty high." A grin spread across his face. "My dad's going to think I've become the most popular person in Liverpool. Another owl, Mikey?'" He lowered his voice, attempting an exaggerated impression of his father. "'You'd think you were famous.'" He chuckled at the thought before looking back at Avery. "I'll write back. To every single one." He squeezed her hand gently.

Another whistle echoed outside, louder this time. The train gave the faintest shudder beneath them. Students hurried along the corridor outside their compartment, sliding doors open and shut as they searched for the last empty seats. Mikey looked toward the window as Hogwarts disappeared behind a veil of steam, then turned back to Avery. He gave her hand another gentle squeeze. "I think this is exactly how I wanted to leave Hogwarts"

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𝕷 Avery laughed lightly again at Mikey’s comment about neither of them accepting compliments well. Just by the look of red blush creeping across his own cheeks just like hers, she knew immediately what he said was true. They both really did have a hard time not blushing at compliments and being rendered speechless. Especially when the other spoke it. A smile, one that brightened the room, lit Avery’s face. She was happy. Really happy. For the first time in a long time she felt like she finally belonged and that everything was going to be okay. As long as Mikey stayed by her side. A comfortable silence fell between them. One that spoke things greater than words could. Sometimes silence was a good thing. It calmed room and led to a feeling of comfort. That was one of those instances. The lioness could hear the laughter in the hallways and other compartments. Laughter of joy. Of friends reuniting for one last time before summer brought them apart. Avery’s smile fell for only a moment before it came back. Mikey’s words hit her deeper than she would let herself speak aloud. It was true. Every time she sought to find him, he would never be there. It was as if life was distancing the two of them. Leaving unspoken words and lost moments together. Avery was just happy to have this moment with him. It was probably all she had left until the summer came to an end. Avery laughed again. “Well, then, it’s settled. A letter to accompany you every morning.” She grinned. Knowing all too well she would bend over backwards to make that happen. Joy filled Avery as the train began to move beneath her. Nodding in agreement to Mikey’s comment of this is how he wanted to leave Hogwarts for the summer, she agreed. This was the perfect start to a great summer. Though little did Avery know that the summer was only the beginning of one of the toughest of many hard summers coming she was about to face.

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Their conversation went from one subject to the other as the train rolled through the country side. At times they talked and then sat in silence looking outside the window watching the countryside sliding away. They did not seem to mind the silence. There was no need to fill every minute with some words. Outside there were huge stretches of fields interrupted by old stone walls and flocks of sheep happily grazing. From time to time the train went through tiny villages which soon slipped away from sight. The noise of the wheels going along the track mingled with laughter and talking coming from the corridor outside, the typical soundtrack of the Hogwarts Express Mikey thought to himself.

For Mikey traveling by train had always been nice. There was something very peaceful in that. For several hours life slowed down. There were no essays waiting to be finished, no Quidditch practices and no professors reminding everyone about the homework due next week. The only thing expected from him was to take a seat and just allow the train to take him to south. He sank a bit more deeply into his seat, still holding Averys hand without a thought. It made him realize how natural it had become. Just... comfortable.

A year ago he would have never imagined that. His thoughts wandered to everything that had happened. Coming to Hogwarts he had spent too many hours worrying about whether he would fit in or not. Everybody else seemed to know what they were doing, everybody else looked so confident, so talented, so belonging. Somehow during all this time all the doubts faded away. Not overnight and not thanks to some single event. It just happened in hundreds of little moments, talking, having meals, Quidditch practices, spending evenings in the common room, hanging around with friends. No single moment was more important by itself, but taken together they turned everything upside down.

"You know..." he suddenly said still looking out the window, "...I don't think I have ever had a school year fly by so fast. Funny, what actually stays in your memory. I cant say what we ate for dinner a few nights ago, and half of the homework has already melted into each other." He laughed quietly. "But I remember every Quidditch match." His eyes moved towards Avery. "And I remember every moment we spent together." He said words simply and they were not spoken with any special intentions, they were just true.

The train crossed a bridge with the typical roar that lasted only for few seconds. Sunlight flashed brightly on the compartment window, making him squint and then fading away. "I have been thinking about home a lot recently," he confessed. "It will be good to see my dad again." He already could see it. The little flat in Liverpool. His dad acting as if he had not been counting the days until summer. Weekend matches of football with neighbors. The rain falling on the windows. He smiled. That, at least, would never change. For some time he watched another stretch of countryside going past and then spoke again. "Strange though. When I was young, Liverpool was just... home." He paused, trying to find the proper words. "Now it seems to me that I have got two homes." He had not expected Hogwarts to be anything more than a school. Yet somehow between the first nervous train ride and now it became something different.

His thumb brushed lightly across the back of Avery's hand without him even noticing he was doing it. Another comfortable silence settled over the compartment. It wasn't awkward. It never seemed to be with her. A burst of laughter echoed from the corridor as several students hurried past their compartment, clearly chasing after someone farther down the train. Mikey glanced toward the door before smiling to himself. It was hard to believe how much could change in a single year. He was leaving Hogwarts with friends he never expected to make, memories that still made him smile whenever they crossed his mind, a Quidditch Cup that Ravenclaw had earned together, and someone sitting beside him who had become one of the most important parts of his life. As far as journeys home went, he couldn't imagine a better way to spend the trip.

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𝕷 The train continued to rumble down the track as scenery flew by. Yet none of it caught the young lioness' attention. What held her attention as the pair moved from topic to topic was Mikey. He was so easy to talk to. He listened. Truly listened. He didn't just brush things away and act like they were nothing. He was honest and genuinely caring. That was what made Avery trust him probably even more than herself. He was the voice of reason. The one to stop her from diving headfirst into dangerous situations. When Avery had first stepped foot at Hogwarts, she would have laughed if someone told her she would meet the man of her dreams by the spring of her first year. Little did she know back then that it would be true. She had met Mikey that fateful night at the ball where they had first danced, and the rest? Well, the rest was history. Avery chided herself for all the missed moments between them the past few weeks. Things had gotten busy with the final Quidditch matches of the year, last minute homework, and preparation for end-of-the-year exams. It had all been a whirlwind leaving her breathless and unknowing as to what was next for her. She was glad for this last moment though before the parting of ways for the summer. It was a peaceful moment in a storm of life and emotions. The lioness listened as Mikey spoke of how quickly the year had gone by. It was true. Everything was a blur. All the little things like shared secrets in the hallways or late nigh chats under the stars forgotten in the whirlwind known as time. What she did remember was Mikey. The moments where he stood by her side and her by his. Hands intertwined and ready to face the world and whatever was thrown at them. She was lucky. More lucky than she could ever imagine. "It's the same for me. You've always been there, and I can't express with words how much that means to me, so I'll just say what I do know. Thank you." Avery squeezed his hand and smiled. Mikey spoke of Hogwarts as a second home. An idea that Avery herself had felt many times. Hogwarts was her second home. Only second to her hometown, Swansea, Wales. It was the place where she finally felt whole for the first time in ages. Where she felt like she actually belonged. "Yeah. You're right. Hogwarts is the first place in a long time where I've actually felt like people care and that I belong somewhere." Avery glanced at Mikey again and smiled. The red still creeping across her cheeks but it was fading slightly. The compartment then fell back into a comfortable silence. One that could go on for ages and never grow awkward or old. It was the kind of silence that spoke louder than words. It was a silence that was perfect for the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.

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The train ride had somehow felt both incredibly long and nowhere near long enough. For most of the journey, Mikey hadn't paid much attention to how much time was passing. He and Avery had talked about whatever came to mind, fallen quiet for a while, started talking again, and occasionally watched the countryside outside. It had been easy. Probably too easy, because somewhere during all of it Mikey had managed to forget that the Hogwarts Express did eventually have to arrive somewhere.

The first real reminder came when the scenery outside began changing. The fields slowly disappeared and were replaced by more buildings, roads, and houses packed closer together. Mikey noticed students beginning to move around in the corridor too. Compartment doors slid open and shut, people started pulling trunks down from the racks, and somebody farther along the train was loudly insisting that they'd lost their cat. Mikey glanced toward the window and could recognize London through the glass.

He looked toward Avery and then back outside as though maybe he'd somehow mistaken London for somewhere else. No such luck. The train was slowing, and the closer they got to King's Cross, the more Mikey found himself wishing it wouldn't. He'd spent nearly the entire school year looking forward to summer. Now that summer was actually here, he apparently wanted the train to circle London a few times before letting anybody off. Mikey finally stood and reached above him for his trunk. Getting the trunk down turned into more of a struggle than he wanted Avery to witness. He pulled it forward, immediately realized it was heavier than he remembered, and nearly lost his balance when it came free all at once. Somehow he managed to catch it before either the trunk or himself ended up on the floor.


He grabbed his satchel next, checking around the compartment to make sure he hadn't left anything behind. It would be very Mikey to make it all the way home before realizing something important was still traveling around Britain on the Hogwarts Express. The train finally pulled into King's Cross with a squeal of brakes and a final shudder beneath their feet. Almost immediately, the corridor outside became packed. Everyone apparently had the exact same idea of getting off the train first, which mostly resulted in nobody getting anywhere. He wasn't in much of a hurry anyway. The longer they stood there, the longer summer hadn't officially started. Eventually the crowd thinned enough that they could make their way out. Mikey dragged his trunk behind him as they stepped down from the train and onto the platform. The noise hit him immediately. Students were calling to one another, owls complained from cages, trunks rolled across the ground, and families waited beyond the barrier for children they hadn't seen since Christmas.

Mikey stood beside Avery for a moment, looking around through the crowd. Then he saw him. His dad was standing farther down the platform. Mikey recognized him immediately, even with students and families constantly passing between them. Just seeing him made something inside Mikey relax. He hadn't realized until that exact moment how much he'd missed him. "There he is." His dad hadn't spotted him yet. For a second Mikey's first instinct was to grab his trunk and hurry over. He hadn't seen him in almost a year. There were about a hundred things he wanted to tell him, and probably twice as many things his dad was going to ask. Then Mikey remembered Avery was standing beside him and he stopped.

This was actually goodbye now. Not the pretend goodbye from earlier when they still had an entire train ride ahead of them. There wasn't another compartment to sit in or another few hours before they had to separate. Once he walked across that platform, Avery would be going her way and he'd be going back to Liverpool. Mikey looked at her, and for once there wasn't an immediate joke waiting to come out. "Well..." he managed to say. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant, Mikey. All those hours together and well was apparently the best his brain could produce. "I guess this is actually it." His eyes wandered briefly toward his dad and then returned to Avery. A little of his usual grin returned. Mikey glanced toward his father again. This time his dad spotted him. Even from across the platform, Mikey could see the recognition on his face. His dad raised one hand in greeting.

For a moment he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. A hug seemed normal. Saying goodbye seemed normal. Instead, before he could overthink it and talk himself out of doing anything at all, Mikey stepped closer. "Have a good summer, Avery." He smiled. "I'll see you soon." Then he leaned forward and quickly kissed her on the cheek. The second he'd done it, Mikey's courage disappeared completely. His face immediately felt warm. Why had he done that? No, actually he knew exactly why he'd done it. The better question was why he'd done it without considering what came afterward. For about half a second he looked at Avery, suddenly very aware of what he'd just done.

And that was apparently all his brain had left. Mikey grabbed the handle of his trunk and started walking toward his dad before the redness spreading across his face could get any worse. His pace was probably a little faster than necessary, but stopping now would mean turning around, and turning around meant seeing Avery's reaction. He absolutely wasn't doing that. Once he was safely far enough away that he could pretend he hadn't just completely embarrassed himself. Halfway across the platform, his curiosity won. Mikey glanced back over his shoulder and smile immediately returned to his face before he turned forward again and continued toward his dad.

xx

𝕷 The train ride was coming to an end and Avery was not sure how she felt about it. She was eager to get home at first and see her grandparents again. It had been far too long since she had last set eyes upon her grandfather. Far too long. Then again, the train ride coming to an end meant something else. Something Avery wasn't sure she herself was ready for. Leaving Mikey and parting ways for the summer. The ride home had been very enjoyable. Every moment she could feel her and Mikey getting closer. Talking she had learned was the best way to get to know a person, but she was learning that that was not always the case. Actually, even the silence can speak volumes. Like how a person feels when the quiet moments in time fall or what they wanted to express that words could not justify. It was honestly incredible to her how important silence could be sometimes. Avery followed closely behind Mikey as they departed from the train and stepped foot onto the platform. The ground and world was no longer moving past a window. She was back. That meant she had to say goodbye. The one thing she was dreading. The one thing she had been dreading ever since she had chosen to take the leap of faith and step into Mikey's compartment on the train. Before she could speak a word, Mikey kissed her. Well, it was not a full kiss on the lips moment. They were far too young for that at thirteen, but he had kissed her cheek. She froze. Completely shocked as to what had just happened. Besides hand holding, she and Mikey had never done anything like that before. Then again, she had not been in a romantic relationship before Mikey. What was she supposed to do? Was she supposed to say something? Mikey made that decision for her as he bolted towards his father. Avery did not blame him. She was just as surprised and unknowing of what was next. A grumble came from beside her. Then she came back into reality and off cloud nine. She was just standing there in the middle of a busy train station. Why was she just standing there? "Sorry." Avery spoke softly to the man as she turned towards the exit. She had to make a quick trip to her parent's apartment before she made the trip home to her grandparent's home in Wales where she would be picked up. Though one thing still lingered. The feeling of the kiss upon her cheek. She would never forget that.

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