Zugzwang

by mew-tsubaki

M&MWP, Maydayverse, oneshot. 1st MANDY/JACK! Really, younger men would be the death of her. Mention if used, thx. *T for violence & a bit of language.*

Zugzwang

A HariPo oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. This pairing was discovered by me, so please gimme a little mention if you write them! Thanks! It is one of many of Mew and Mor's Weird Pairings, most of which you may find in the M&MWP forum. Check out and join the forum FUN! Read, review, and enjoy! *Note: This is part of my Maydayverse (see profile for details), but it also has spoilers for "if you fall at midnight" and "A Life Well-Lived," just so you know. :)

- ^-^3

:September:

"Anyone else want to hop off a moving train?" Morag MacDougal grumbled as they traveled to Hogwarts for the last time…hopefully only for their last year of schooling and not for good.

Mandy Brocklehurst cupped her cheek in her palm and rested her elbow on the windowsill. "I don't like it just as much as the next person, Morag," she said, "but we've got to deal. We have to go."

"I know, I know…" Morag cursed still, but she grew quiet once more as their friends, Lisa Turpin and Su Li, didn't offer any thoughts. It was rather scary, hearing Morag quiet down. She used to be a more vivacious and outrageous character, whose words had always made Mandy giggle, Padma roll her eyes, Lisa blush, and Su shoot Morag looks. But things were different now. The times were changing, making everyone change, too. Some called it growing up. Mandy thought of it as shutting up.

"It'll be a little while yet before we're at the castle," Mandy announced, wanting to fill the quiet. She looked hopefully at the other three Ravenclaw witches. "Anyone want to play a game, or get something from the trolley?"

"I'm good," Lisa said, and Su nodded in agreement with her girlfriend. Sometimes it seemed as though Su didn't have her own opinion, though Mandy knew that to be a lie, because Su had an opinion when it came to Lisa, and those were the only times when Su spoke, usually.

"Morag?" Mandy asked, standing and stretching her legs.

The dark-haired girl shook her head. "Nah. Oh, actually, maybe a Chocolate Frog."

"All right. I'll be right back." Mandy exited the compartment and looked both ways in the corridor. It was strange to see the Hogwarts Express look so empty. Then again, Muggle-born students were in hiding or on the run, so they were absent from the train. Not to mention that everyone else was sticking together these days, it seemed.

She walked past several compartments, looking for the trolley lady. Almost all the rooms she passed had closed doors, blocking out sound. The silence only added to the emptiness.

That was until she came into one of the middle cars.

In that middle car were several of Mandy's fellow seventh-year classmates. The car had been the only somewhat noisy one until she reached it, and the noise died down. But it wasn't because of her arrival.

A man in a black cloak and black robes had entered from the other side. He now walked the aisle slowly, eying all of the teens. Mandy had the sudden urge to join Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott where they sat, and the two girls made room for Mandy without question as they all squeezed onto one bench.

"My name is Amycus Carrow," the man said.

Mandy bit her tongue to keep from gasping. Revered Rowena, the Wizarding world really was going to shite! There wasn't a seventh year student who didn't know about the Carrows. The Dark Lord really had arrived at Hogwarts.

"I look forward to joining Hogwarts' staff this term," Amycus continued, his eyes never stopping long on any one person. He sneered, and it was half a dark smirk, in a way, and it reminded Mandy of a neighbor's dog, a little yapping thing that actually had a viselike bite. The comparison was chilling.

The witch and many others ducked their heads, but Mandy peeked and saw Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom looking at Amycus head on. Neville even stood, though he was shaking.

Amycus regarded him coolly but said nothing directly to him. "It is known that Harry Potter had friends at Hogwarts," the Dark wizard continued. "But if anyone helps him—"

"He's not here," Neville said.

Mandy now gasped. Everyone's eyes were on Neville. How could he have said that? Was he an idiot? With the way their government stood right now, Amycus could probably kill Neville and no one would even blink.

Amycus narrowed his eyes at Neville and straightened up. He smoothed his robes and acted as though Neville had said nothing. Amycus didn't continue his don't-help-Harry-Potter speech, however, and proceeded to walk through the car, heading on to the next one. Once the door was closed behind him, there was subtle applause for Neville, who collapsed into his seat beside Ginny.

"Tha' was a bloody stupid thing ter do, Neville," Seamus Finnigan said, loud enough for everyone to hear. But he was smiling. "Good job, mate."

Neville nodded, and Mandy got up the nerve to stand and head towards the front of the train. She hoped she'd find the trolley lady instead of more Death Eaters. And she did see the trolley up ahead in the next car when she unfortunately collided with a boy who wasn't looking where he was going.

"Agh, sorry, sorry!" the boy rushed.

Mandy cursed under her breath, but at least the boy offered her a hand up. Then she took a good look at him. "Aren't you a bit…erm, prepared?"

He followed her gaze and made a face. "I couldn't help it. I changed early." He tugged on his Gryffindor tie. "Then I ran out of things to do."

Mandy felt that she recognized him… Sure, there had to be other boys with brown hair and green eyes, but he looked familiar. "Sorry, do I know you?"

His cheeks pinked a little. "I, uh, played on the Quidditch team for Gryffindor right after the Weasley twins left."

She stared at him.

"I'm Jack Sloper."

Mandy blushed a little herself, for she barely remembered him even though he seemed a little familiar. She at least kind of pictured him in Quidditch robes—not a bad picture, either—but she didn't know him. "Ah…right…" To avoid awkwardness, she added, "I'm Mandy Brocklehurst. Ravenclaw." She felt the need to tack that on since she had yet to change into her uniform yet. She also made a mental note to do that upon her return to her friends.

Jack awkwardly held out his hand. At least he didn't say "Nice to meet you," because nothing quite felt nice these days. "Sorry about that—I didn't see you," he apologized again.

"It's fine," she said. "I know I'm not the tallest witch around." Mandy bit her lip to keep from frowning. She was the shortest in her dorm, since Lisa beat her out by an inch. It had always been something that bothered her. But she wasn't going to let it bother her today. Without anything more to say, Mandy gave Jack half a smile and went to move around him, but something glittered where the light from his compartment hit the floor. She stooped to grab it. It was a necklace. "That's strange."

"Oh!" Jack's eyes widened as he reached for it. "Sorry, that's mine."

Mandy gave him a funny look. "You, uh, like shiny things?" Her cheeks grew warm as she returned it to him.

He turned beet red. "No, no, nothing like that." Jack pocketed it and added, "It's my mum's."

There wasn't any need to ask why he was carrying it around then, for it could be assumed that his mother was either dead or in danger. Everyone was. Mandy nodded. "Oh. It's very pretty."

"Thanks." From inside his compartment, someone—another boy—called out to Jack, and he tipped his head to Mandy by way of goodbye.

With him gone, Mandy only briefly wondered why he'd bothered getting up in the first place. But then she heard the trolley lady coming, and Mandy almost forgot all about Jack Sloper as she returned to her previous quest.

- ^-^3

:October:

Arriving at Hogwarts had been a dismal affair. As if the scare with Amycus hadn't been bad enough, actually arriving at the castle had been even more terrifying.

Snape now fancied himself headmaster, and Alecto Carrow, Amycus' sister, had also joined the faculty. Students now got lessons in the Dark Arts and were taught just how "vile" Muggles really were. Poor McGonagall seemed at a loss as to what to do. Based on the things Mandy and her friends had heard from Flitwick when the Carrows weren't listening, McGonagall was simply trying her best not to get sacked. She, like many of the other teachers, was risking her life to stay at the school at least to protect the students if not teach them.

"I don't feel very much like going to classes," Padma said as the five girls sat around their dorm in mid-October, lazily working on homework.

"I second that," Mandy said. "How much longer do you think…?" She bit her lip and dropped her voice. "How much longer do you think some of us can hold out?"

It was understood that she meant Neville and some of the other D.A. members. Padma was a good one to ask, since she'd joined it back in fifth year. But there hadn't been talk of it reforming, even though Neville and Seamus and Parvati had been somewhat outspoken in their Dark Arts classes. "I'm not sure," Padma answered truthfully.

"Why does Neville keep standing up to them, anyway?" Morag asked, scratching her head and shoving her books to the side. "If he's not careful, Alecto's going to make him her guinea pig—or worse."

Padma sighed and stared at her hands. "It's not really my place to say—" She paused and squeezed her eyes shut. "But the Carrows…he's got a history with them."

"In what way?" Lisa asked. Everyone's attention was on the Patil twin now.

"They worked alongside the Death Eaters who tortured his parents."

Lisa gasped, and Mandy and Morag exchanged a look. "That's why Neville goes on about his grandmother, isn't it? He lives with her, doesn't he?" Mandy inquired.

Padma nodded. "I didn't know him as well until the D.A. formed. And that was one of the things we learned. We learned a lot about each other, in fact." She flicked a piece of lint off her skirt. "That kind of makes me miss the D.A., to be honest."

"Are you going to run off if they re-form it?" Morag asked, her green eyes narrowed.

"I haven't decided yet. Besides, no one's said anything about it, so let's not worry about it."

"Is it really all right to tell us about the D.A. now?" Lisa remarked.

Padma shrugged. "Well, after Marietta Edgecombe ratted us out, everyone kind of found out about it." Then her forlorn expression changed, and she had a fire in her, somewhat like her twin. "I also think the four of you wouldn't say anything. Who knows? Maybe you'd even join."

Lisa and Su looked unsure about it, and Morag exchanged another look with Mandy. None of them had thought about it, considering the trouble that the D.A. members had gotten into, not to mention that its founders weren't even at Hogwarts and were currently on the run instead.

The five friends studied in silence for the rest of the night until it was lights out. Mandy lay awake in bed for another half hour, though, thinking about what Padma had said. Mandy wasn't sure that she'd join the D.A. It was akin to painting a target on one's back. However…

She knew one thing for sure. If her friends were in trouble, she'd risk everything to help them.

And that feeling in her grew stronger as Halloween drew near. The overall feel of Hogwarts had become alien to them all. It didn't feel like Hogwarts anymore, not with Death Eaters roaming the corridors and Dementors hanging in the shadows of the forest, waiting to come onto the grounds when someone wasn't looking.

But one turning point had to be Halloween itself.

The day began as the others had so far: bleakly. Classes were mind-numbing except for Muggle Studies. Mandy and many of the others had opted out of Muggle Studies for their N.E.W.T. classes, as many of them didn't need it. But with the Carrows teaching, one free period from each of the older students had been changed to a mandatory Muggle Studies class in which Alecto could go on and on about how animals were better than Muggles, for "even animals had their use."

During class, Mandy sat beside Ernie Macmillan while Alecto blathered on about how Muggles needed to return to their times of eye-for-an-eye because then they'd at least be entertaining. Alecto described Muggles of ancient times and how they'd hurt each other, listing every detail possibly imaginable.

That was when Neville stood up for the second time that year. "Muggles aren't creatures or a disease," he said.

Mandy froze in her seat, though Ernie sat up a little straighter. The class had gone quiet.

Neville didn't continue but just locked eyes with Alecto.

"What did you say?" Alecto's voice was high and shrill.

"There's nothing wrong with Muggles," Neville stated.

Alecto raised her wand, and Mandy believed she was going to attack Neville in the next second. Instead, she smiled like some freaky clown. "Detention, Mr. Longbottom."

"All right," Neville replied, his voice barely shaking. "But don't think that you can spout this nonsense to us for a whole year. We know better than you do," he added as he took a seat.

There were assorted gasps and a rare giggle as people tried not to laugh or cheer for Neville. But everyone quieted when Alecto aimed a deadly Severing Charm at him and sliced his textbook in half. It nearly hit him.

After that, Neville was quiet for the rest of class.

However, Halloween was only just beginning to take effect. In Dark Arts, which the Ravenclaws had with the Hufflepuffs, Padma stood up and refused to practice any of the Unforgivable Curses. Promptly, Amycus used Crucio on her, and Lisa and Mandy leapt from their seats to catch their writhing friend before she hit the ground.

The evening was not yet done. There were rumors of Ginny landing herself in detention, too, along with Luna Lovegood. Alecto's office had a timely meeting with a load of Dungbombs, and Amycus got mired in a Portable Swamp outside his classroom.

But the coup de grâce of the day, though, came with the Halloween feast, for the first students down got to see the doors to the Great Hall defaced. Although was it really a defacement when the graffiti covering both doors read, "DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY—STILL RECRUITING"?

It was the best way to celebrate the holiday, Mandy thought, and she was finally smiling as she and her friends ate that night. The icing on the proverbial cake: Filch had an even harder time cleaning the message up, for the paint used had been magicked to stay on through several scrubbings.

But there was definitely hope now where there hadn't been. Mandy found herself looking up and down the table, and at the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, seeing the same thing: students who'd had the life breathed back into them.

At the Gryffindor table, Mandy's eyes came back to Jack, who saw her and smiled. He looked so happy, so far away from the reality of things that Mandy found herself grinning like an idiot.

"Find something funny, do you?"

Mandy stared up and saw Alecto looking down at her, the Dark witch on her way out for the evening. "No," Mandy replied softly.

"Then I suggest you stuff your face, Porky," Alecto snarled before hustling out of the Great Hall.

Mandy scowled at the woman's back and turned back to her roommates. "I don't like that woman."

"Here here!" Morag chimed in.

Lisa frowned. "She's beginning to run out of steam, though we're not even to the third month of the term," the blonde said.

"How d'you mean?" Morag asked.

Lisa chuckled. "If the best thing she can do is call Mandy 'Porky'…?"

They all shook silently with laughter. Not only was Mandy just curvy, but Alecto was a fat cow. Really! And Muggles were supposed to be slow and stupid?

- ^-^3

:November:

The days became more dangerous, yes, but the students—to an extent—became more emboldened. More often than not, D.A. messages and phrases supporting Harry Potter decorated the halls of Hogwarts, and Filch was working overtime to restore the castle to a cleaner state.

Alecto and Amycus were on their own during the school day, for fellow Dark wizards only patrolled at night. The Carrow siblings tried to up their punishments, saying that detentions were not enough and that "practical exams" had to be given.

"Tests? Who's she trying to fool?" Mandy griped aloud as she and Padma sped to class, late for having been caught up in research for McGonagall's essay in the library.

"Somehow I don't get the feeling that tests are what she has in mind," Padma replied.

Mandy said nothing as they ran, but her rucksack opened and parchment flew everywhere. "Crap!" she groaned.

"I'll try to cover for you!" Padma yelled, hurrying to Dark Arts.

"Thank you!" Mandy bellowed, doubling back to catch her assignments, some of which were still midair.

"Oi, watch out!" a boy said as he ran past her, but he clipped her in the arm anyway.

Mandy had nearly had it for the day. "You watch it, you—" She blinked and shut up when she saw who'd crashed into her…again. "Jack Sloper?"

Jack recognized her, too. "Mandy."

He scrambled to his feet and helped her up like a gentleman, but she sighed and patted her robes. "We meet again," the witch remarked.

"Uh, yeah… That's nice, though," he said, his grin breathless but bright. "Uh, I mean, sorry about that."

Mandy snorted, but she really wanted to laugh. He was a clumsy bloke. "It's fine. I mean, apology accepted."

"Let me help you," he said, noticing her problem and bending to collect a scrap of notes.

"No, it's all right, I—" They clonked heads as they bent to reach for the same parchment. She sighed as they straightened up. "It's all right, Jack. I'm already late to class."

"Sorry," he whimpered.

"Jack, it'd be nice to hear something other than 'sorry' from you," she said, fighting a chuckle as they gathered her things.

"Yeah… It seems to be my favorite word," he said with a chuckle at himself. "Even Andy and Ritch get sick of it sometimes."

"Well, it's a tad overused. And this is only the second time we've spoken."

He laughed heartily then and sighed. "Yeah, all right. I guess I could work on that."

"Where were you running to, anyway?" Mandy asked. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, now that she had things together again. She didn't mind chatting with him for a moment more if she was already late.

"Just Potions with Slughorn, thank Merlin." He leaned closer so he could drop his voice. "You think I'd risk running late for the Carrows?" He stood tall once more. "What about you?"

She grimaced. "Dark Arts."

"Oh." He paused. "Um, so—" He caught himself and didn't finish apologizing.

Mandy shrugged. "It can't be helped." She shook her head and dropped her eyes, where she saw something else on the floor. It was familiar… She grabbed it. "Jack, again?"

He took his mother's necklace from her. "Agh, bloody hell!"

"If it's always falling out of your pocket, why don't you just wear it? Under your shirt?"

"No, it's not long enough to hide," he said. Jack gave the pendant a squeeze and pocketed it again. "Thanks for not stepping on it. Or making fun of me for having it."

Mandy patted his shoulder. "There's no reason to make fun, not when it belongs to your mother." She cocked her head to one side, curious. "Though, I'm now kind of hoping that you might tell me about that necklace someday."

Jack grew quiet and simply stared back at her. It was as though he were trying to read her face and see something in her. What, she didn't know, and she wasn't about to find out when Jack paled and looked above her.

"STUDENTS NOT IN CLASS!" Peeves yelled, making Mandy cringe.

Jack cursed and turned. "Later, Mandy!" he called over his shoulder.

Mandy reluctantly waved and hurried to Dark Arts, Peeves dogging her heels but at least not yelling anymore. Even Peeves had seemed to lose his mojo in getting students in trouble. Mandy presumed that even poltergeists could have hearts.

However, talking to Jack had not been worth the risk, in the end. Mandy was the first one to find out what the Carrow siblings were thinking, with their new punishments.

When she entered class, the room fell silent, and Amycus bored holes into her with his beady little eyes. He sneered, which was never a good sign.

"Late, Brocklehurst," he said.

She shivered. She would've liked to hear Jack cheerfully say "Mandy" right now.

"We'll have to do something so that it doesn't happen again."

Mandy hurried to her seat beside Terry and hoped that Amycus might save the punishment for later. She needed the whole period to steel herself in preparation for the Cruciatus Curse.

"I didn't say to sit down. Stand up," the Dark wizard hissed. With a flick of his wand, Mandy stood, and she was forced to walk to the front of the class. "I have already seen to Patil," Amycus continued, and there was a chair scraping in the back of the room, "but you are immensely in the wrong for being so tardy. So I think…" He tapped his chin, smiling. "Yes… Come here."

He wasn't speaking to her with that last command. No, a younger student came forward, and he didn't look much older than eleven. Mandy's blood chilled. Why was a first year here and not in class…?

"Show the first year students what happens when you are late to class," Amycus chirped gleefully.

Mandy panicked. She could handle the Cruciatus Curse; she could. She could do nearly anything, as long as she herself received the punishment. But why bring the younger students into it?

"Show them!" Amycus snarled.

At last, the pain came as he forgot his point as used the Cruciatus Curse on her. Mandy screamed, her body feeling as though it were on fire and being stuck with a thousand needles at once. Off in the back of her mind, she thought she heard a piercing noise like a siren…but she realized after some time that that was just her wailing.

"Now!" he ordered.

He flicked his wand again, and Mandy lost control of her body. She drew her wand, but she wasn't the one drawing it. She said, "Crucio," but she wasn't the one saying it. She tortured the first year Hufflepuff boy, but she wasn't the one doing it. She felt something deep within her splinter, but she didn't want that. She didn't want any of it. But she was helpless to stop it with the Imperius Curse used on her.

After a little while, Amycus relinquished his magical hold on her, and both she and the boy collapsed to the floor. Amycus carried on as if nothing had happened, while Mandy beat herself up for letting this happen.

She'd become the first student that year to be forced to use an Unforgivable.

But that didn't mean that November would get worse. Students still dared to rebel, and Neville, Ginny, and Luna landed themselves with another detention, this time from Snape, for trying to steal Gryffindor's sword from his office.

Of course, after that shenanigan, the delayed first match of the Quidditch season was put on permanent hiatus, and the entire season got cancelled. Anything that could be done to demoralize the rebellion was being done by the Carrows and Snape.

"It'll all mean something, by the end," Padma said one night as the month drew to a close. She was standing by her window in the dorm, nursing a freshly broken right arm.

"As if the ends justify the means," Su remarked coolly, speaking for once. It was a sign that she was certainly scared.

Su had reason to be, though, for the next evening Michael was caught trying to free a younger student who'd been chained up by the Carrows. Michael stayed in the Hospital Wing for four entire days and nights.

- ^-^3

:December:

"I want to go home," Mandy muttered to herself.

She was studying in the library on her own, trying to enjoy the peaceful time, but the quiet of the library didn't calm her as it once had. The gentle fall of Madam Pince's footsteps wasn't a comforting sound.

The holiday break was coming up in two weeks' time, and Mandy couldn't be happier to be going home to see her parents and older brother. It would be nice to be surrounded by family, since things had become subdued at school.

Since Michael's incident, Lisa had taken to spiriting herself up to the Hospital Wing, asking Madam Pomfrey for Healer training. Mandy and the others knew that Lisa wanted to be a Healer someday—so did Terry—but only Lisa had been hardheaded enough to try to learn the magic behind the Carrows' backs. Madam Pomfrey had agreed, thankfully, but now Lisa often spent her free time learning from the older witch, and Su often accompanied her.

Meanwhile, the D.A. appeared to have stopped with their open defiance for the moment. Most of the time Padma could be found cursing the Carrows and their small regime in the common room, things with which Morag would agree.

Michael had grown more careful after he'd been released from Madam Pomfrey's care. As Terry and Anthony were his best mates, they stuck close to him at all times for fear that he might be hurt again.

Stephen and Kevin tried to pretend that they knew nothing of what was going on, but that was such a lie. Several times, Mandy had spotted the two huddled close together in one of the large loveseats in Ravenclaw Tower, with Stephen wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. Mandy had seen Kevin shaking on more than one occasion.

That was why Mandy was on her own right now. Her closest friends and her eagle family were preoccupied, so Mandy had been left to her own devices. She didn't mind it terribly, though anything could spook her when she was on her own.

Mandy sighed. Maybe it would be better to hide out and study in the dorms…

Then someone slid into the seat across from her, and her attention was forced up from her book. It was Jack.

"Hello," she said, the cold of loneliness ebbing as a pleasant, friendly warmth filled her.

"Hi," Jack said. He smiled. "Isn't that great? My first word of the day to you isn't 'sorry.'"

She tittered lightly, though she didn't close the book she was reading. "That's good."

An odd beat passed. Then—"How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"No, Mandy…" His voice trailed off, and he looked scared not of his own klutziness but for her. "I heard. Everyone's heard. Though the younger students don't exactly understand as well as the fifth years and up do."

Mandy frowned and bit her lower lip. "All right. Then…I'm not entirely fine." She closed her book. "But I can't do anything about it. It's happened. I have to move on and just make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Jack flicked his tongue in his mouth. "What is that?"

"What's what?"

"You might have chided me about my apologies, but…" Jack shook his head. "Is that the Ravenclaw in you speaking? Trying to rationalize things?"

Mandy glared at him. "I'm just trying to plan for the future—" She stopped when he gave her a sad smile.

"It's okay to be scared sometimes," he mumbled gently.

"I don't need someone to tell me that," she retorted. Then she looked at his serious expression. "Do you get scared?"

"More often than I could even apologize for," he teased slightly.

Mandy nodded, and that seemed to close the subject. Jack didn't bother her about that, and they ended up focused on homework. He lamented about how he didn't understand how anyone could pass McGonagall's classes, so she ended up helping him. He, in turn, told her about the Swift Charm, something he'd learned about when he'd been a Gryffindor Beater. Of course, Swift Charms couldn't be used in matches, but they could be really useful when one needed to get to class on time and couldn't just fly in on a broom instead.

The time winding down until the break passed more easily with Jack's company, and Mandy was incredibly grateful for that. Morag and Padma did note how close the two friends were growing, but Mandy brushed them off. Jack was a good mate, but she wasn't looking for a boyfriend. Who had time to worry about romance when there were better, graver things to worry about?

Still, Mandy made sure they grabbed a compartment together on the trip home for Christmas. She'd come to know his best mate, Andrew, a little bit, and she knew two of his other friends better now, too, Ritchie Coote and Demelza Robins.

To her surprise, Fay Dunbar, a Gryffindor in her year, joined them. It turned out she was Andrew's girlfriend, but Mandy felt a little better since she wasn't the only seventh year there.

"What's everyone planning to do for the break?" Mandy asked as they passed around some pastries that Ritchie's mum had baked for the ride back.

"Nothing much. Just have a quiet time with Dad, I think," Demelza offered. "My mother's a businesswoman and a Muggle, so my parents and I talked before the year began and sent her away to the States on what we're calling 'extended business.'"

Not quite the tone Mandy had hoped to set… "And you, Ritchie?" she asked.

The dark-skinned boy twisted his mouth around. "My parents and I were hoping to go someplace, but I don't know where. Preferably something not in the U.K. anywhere."

They all nodded at that, and then Fay chimed in. "My parents said that I might be able to visit my best mate, if we're careful enough." When Mandy looked at her, Fay elaborated in a hushed tone, "Sally-Anne Perks. You know, ginger girl in our year with the pigtails kind of like Hannah Abbott's?"

"Oh, right," Mandy said, recalling someone matching that description.

"Sal's a Muggle-born and in hiding," the brunette lioness added glumly, and then she turned her attention to the flashing scenery outside the compartment window. Andrew gave her hand a squeeze.

"I'm sure she's all right," Mandy assured her, but they let the topic drop.

"I'll go visiting my cousins in Germany for part of the break," Andrew supplied. "Things aren't as bad there as they are here." He motioned to Jack. "My family invited Jack, too."

She turned to her right. "You didn't say you were going to Germany—that's fantastic!"

But Jack didn't look as excited as one might expect. "Well, I hadn't really confirmed it, but Andy cajoled me and I kind of gave up."

"Do your parents mind?" She smiled. "Though I could almost see the two of you dragging your families together on such a trip."

For some reason, Andrew and Ritchie exchanged a look. Jack said nothing, and Demelza frowned. Mandy felt that she'd done or said something wrong, but she wasn't sure what. She knew Jack had both a mother and father as well as an older sister, but he hadn't shared much about their recent happenings. Hopefully Mandy had not said something inappropriate…

"I, uh," Mandy remarked, clearing her throat, "am just going to stay at home with my parents and brother, Alfie. He's supposed to be home from his internship at the Ministry in the U.S."

Fay smiled a bit. "'Alfie'? That's nice. So it's 'Amanda' and 'Alfred,' right?"

Mandy nodded. "Yes, but not one person has survived calling me 'Amanda,'" she added with a mock glare.

The lot of them laughed to some extent. Andrew looked over at Jack and said, "Good luck, then, mate. Just remember never to call her 'Amanda.'"

Jack pleasantly turned pink, but even Mandy smirked at that despite her own warming face.

The group entertained themselves with a few rounds of Gobstones for much of the remainder of the ride. Although, it really just became a match between everyone else and Fay, who was the resident Gobstones expert. Mandy was actually surprised that Fay wasn't already the Gobstones Club captain!

The sounds changed to that of the city as they drew closer to London. That was it. They were almost home!

However, a few miles out from King's Cross Station, the Hogwarts Express came to a screeching halt. Mandy, Jack, and the others were even thrown from their seats. Demelza, the first one up, cracked open the door and peered out. "Everyone else is looking outside, too," she said over her shoulder.

Ritchie got to his feet and looked out over her head. He called out. "What's happening?"

In answer, there were shouts and screams from the compartment behind them. Ritchie grabbed Demelza's arm and drew her inside, and Jack closed and locked the door. Mandy drew her wand and cast a few protective spells on the door, too, just in case.

After only a few minutes—two, maybe three—the screams and shouts died down. The train sat eerily still for another minute, and then it resumed its journey into London.

When the train came to a final stop, students clambered over one another to escape the train. Parents caught their children and rushed away. Some even Disapparated right there on the platform.

Mandy and Jack ended up separated from their friends and got tangled in the crowd. But the crowd was quickly dispersing in the heat of the moment. It wasn't until Mandy caught up with one growing group did she realize that something D.A.-related had happened.

"Mandy!" Padma said, noticing her.

"What on earth—?" Mandy asked.

Padma, along with several other D.A. members, had crowded around an injured Neville and Seamus and Parvati, while Ginny stomped her feet, wand in hand and looking ready to duel. But Ginny was angrily sobbing. "They took Luna," Neville managed, though his cheek was swollen and green and looked painful.

Mandy gaped at him. "Why…?"

"We all know why!" Ginny snapped, not meeting anyone's eyes. "It's because she supports Harry! Because she's part of the D.A.! Because her dad supports Harry in his paper!"

Mandy and Jack exchanged a look, and Jack mouthed the word "Quibbler." Ah, right. Xenophilius Lovegood ran it, didn't he? But to have Luna kidnapped by Death Eaters… Mandy swallowed hard.

Zacharias Smith broke his attention from the severe gash on Parvati's neck to nudge Ernie and Michael. "Uh, guys—"

Everyone looked and saw that Dark wizards were patrolling the platform. It was obvious. They couldn't stay together, not like this.

Mandy looked for all the blue in the crowd and made sure that her Housemates were okay, but then she and Jack broke away and headed for the entrance to Muggle London. Outside, her parents waited for her.

"Whatever you do, promise you'll write and maybe even Floo-call," the brunette witch asked her friend, slipping her hand into his.

"Of course, Mandy," Jack replied gravely. He gave her hand a squeeze and held on until she broke their contact when they were near her parents enough for them to notice.

"Hi, Mum, Dad," Mandy said, almost jumping into their arms.

"Oh, Mandy!" her mother wailed. "We just saw so many people flooding out, we thought that the Ministry might take notice!"

"Is everything all right?" her father inquired.

"Not quite," Jack supplied.

Her parents looked curious about him, but Mandy would tell them about him later. She turned and hugged Jack tightly, surprised by her boldness…though maybe it was understandable considering that Luna was gone now.

"I see Andrew and Fay up the street," he told her, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll be fine, promise."

"All right." "Goodbye" was on the tip of her tongue, but it didn't quite fit the scene, not with its severity. So she went with, "Stay safe."

Jack nodded and then jogged to catch up to his friend.

Mandy just hoped that, after the break, he'd jog up to meet her back on the train.

- ^-^3

:January:

People in general returned safe and sound to school for the second term, and Mandy hugged Jack so tightly on the train that she almost choked him.

"How did your Christmas go?" he asked her as they took the carriages up to the castle.

"All right. Alfie cut his visit short and returned before the New Year," she told him. "My parents didn't like that, but they hated it more that I had to come back. They almost didn't let me!"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "I'm glad you came back, though." His eyes told her how sincerely he meant that, and that made Mandy's heart thump in her chest.

"Uh, y-yeah, me, too…"

"I'm glad to be back and working alongside Pomfrey again!" Lisa said across from them. She was more pumped up than ever before, as were most of them. Harry had been spotted over the break, and it gave them all hope to know that the person who probably was the only one who could end this war was still alive.

But that was about as boisterous as things got for January. For most of the cold, cold month, Hogwartians made to keep their heads down and their noses in their books. As a result, not as many students were tortured, though some were still locked up every now and then. Of course, no one dared to rescue them after Michael had been hurt months ago.

Mandy took to meeting Jack in the library. They didn't always stay in the library, because it often reminded Mandy that she went there because her other friends were off hiding or breaking the rules. But Jack didn't mind.

They went to Hogsmeade together, although venturing into Hogsmeade was no longer a happy activity. Death Eaters prowled it, keeping an eye out for Harry, and no one—not even the residents of the Wizarding village—was allowed to Apparate in or Disapparate out of Hogsmeade. A Caterwauling Charm had been set up to detect Apparition, and one could easily believe that the Dark Lord was watching everyone's every move.

Mandy liked it best when she and Jack visited the empty Quidditch pitch. There, they could escape and not feel as though the world was closing in on them. It was even amusing, because a few of the older students believed that the space under the stands was perfect for a bit of private time, and on more than one occasion Mandy and Jack had laughed as they'd caught this or that person in an awkward situation. They never reported anyone, heavens no, but it was good to know that there was a hint of normalcy that wouldn't die at Hogwarts.

Speaking of normalcy… On one of their Saturday afternoons spent at the pitch, they stood to leave and Mandy stopped Jack.

She laughed. "Oh, Jack, some things never change." The witch passed him his mother's necklace, which had fallen on the bench.

Jack groaned and shook his head. "I'll never learn, will I?"

"Maybe not." She took the necklace from him and giggled as she reached up and hooked it around his neck. Then she laughed. "A perfect fit!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Jack fumbled with the clasp, but he couldn't get the choker off. "Um, a little help?"

Mandy grinned. "Only because I'm nice. But you really can't carry that in your cloak pocket anymore. Stick it in your pants' pocket or something." She leaned up, not quite on her tiptoes, and unfastened the necklace. The acrylic resin over the design was shiny and reflected the pale mocha color of her eyes. It truly was beautiful, and she liked that Jack treasured it as an heirloom of sorts.

"Right…"

She looked up and saw he was looking down at her. For a handful of heartbeats, they stared at each other.

But then he continued, "It's silly to carry something that I don't wear, isn't it?"

Mandy looked away as they exited the stands. "No, it means something to you. I don't know what, but I know it means a lot."

"Mandy—"

She stopped and looked back. His green eyes were pained. "Yes?"

Jack sighed. "Never mind."

That was how January ended. And Mandy was expected not to mind it.

- ^-^3

:February:

February she minded, though.

It was the bloody month of lovers, and several students had managed to keep it that way. Terry and Anthony were all over each other as usual, Lavender sat too close to Seamus for comfort's sake, Hannah had taken to looking after Neville, and so on and so forth. Even Lisa and Su were oblivious to how obvious they'd become in their last year of schooling.

Jack couldn't stand it, either. "I haven't been able to hang out with Andrew at all. He's practically glued to Fay's side these days," he sighed as he and Mandy sat in a corner of the library.

"Ritchie's your mate, too. And aren't you friends with Colin Creevey, too?"

"Colin's more of a roommate than friend. But I bet, if he were here, even he would be rather lost in his best mate, Romilda Vane, in the year below us."

Mandy shrugged. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. Us single people have to weather more than just Valentine's Day. February is not a forgiving month."

Jack made a sound in the back of his throat. "Tell me about it. It's too cold even to go outside and have some fun—not that we'd be allowed to do that."

She gave him a sympathetic look and patted his hand. "It'll be all right, Jack."

"Yes, it'll be all right, Jack" came Alecto's derisive interruption. Luckily she was only passing through the library, but she had the arm of a younger Slytherin student lodged in her pudgy grasp.

Jack and Mandy glared at that woman's back. "I'll bet she gets hives if she stays in a place for brainy people too long," Mandy whispered to him, leaning over her homework to do so.

He turned and snorted, earning them both a look from Madam Pince. "You might just be right, Mandy."

"Might be? Of course I'm right," Mandy joked. "I was Sorted into Ravenclaw for a reason."

"Everyone's Sorted into their Houses for various reasons," Jack pointed out.

"Oh?" Mandy leaned forward a little more, and they were almost nose-to-nose. "And when have you been brave, my good lad?"

Jack leaned towards her, and Mandy thought he would ruin their friendship and kiss her…at last. But he didn't, for there was a muffled clatter, and his mother's necklace fell out of his sweater's pocket and onto the table. He sobered upon seeing that, and the two of them sat back in their seats. "You're right," he muttered. "When have I ever been brave…?"

- ^-^3

:March:

Despite Jack's misgivings in himself, bravery was the theme of March.

At first, it was just the small things: ignoring the Carrows during class, not doing homework for them, showing up just a little bit late to class.

But then some students skipped altogether at least once per person. And then the D.A. messages returned.

Neville even regained his former self. "You won't be around much longer," he told Alecto with a bit of glee in his voice during one Muggle Studies class.

Mandy felt bold enough herself to risk a snicker, as did many of the others in the room. Still, they had to watch on stolidly when Alecto tortured him in response. But they would not be beaten down.

In the common room, Mandy asked Padma and Michael where Neville had gotten his energy from, and why they all seemed to be in a better mood.

"Easy enough," Michael answered. "We've not been around much because we've been hiding in the Room of Requirement."

Mandy looked between them. "That place you guys used before, for the D.A. meetings?"

Padma nodded. "And Ginny found a wireless in there. We've all been tuned into Potterwatch."

She couldn't believe her ears. "What's that?"

Michael grinned, determined. "It's a broadcast focusing on the news that the Prophet has left out. Sure, sometimes we hear about deaths that go unnamed…but we've been getting reports about those standing up to V—" He paled, but Mandy didn't blame him. None of them could say the name. "Anyway, there's been a lot going on. Who knows what the next show will say?"

Mandy bit her lip. She, too, wanted to listen in, but she didn't dare listen in Ravenclaw Tower, which was no longer safe since the Carrows would force Flitwick into letting them inside. None of the dorms were safe at this given moment.

Well, no part of the school was safe right now, but the dangers grew enormously with one particular Muggle Studies class.

Alecto gave them an in-class essay, about how Muggles could be used in daily life to fulfill any roles that animals couldn't fill or that magic couldn't handle. Mandy still had a blanket parchment after more than ten minutes, and she looked around to find that Morag, Stephen, Terry, and nearly everyone else had written nothing.

Neville had been doodling on his parchment when Alecto went around to view everyone's "progress." When she stopped by his desk, her face turned red and a vein throbbed by her temple in response to whatever he'd scribbled. Without a word, she lit his parchment on fire and ordered him to stand up.

"All right, then. I'll stand up, to you," he said.

Alecto didn't bother with only the Cruciatus Curse. She used some other spell first, which seemed to do nothing. But then she reached for his arm—and broke it. Like a twig.

Neville's shrieks were worse than Mandy imagined her own had been months ago.

Seamus was up in a flash, but so were Michael and Ernie. Alecto twisted Neville's arm, and he gasped for air even though he was breathing all right. But what had she done?!

"Impedimenta!" Anthony shouted suddenly.

Alecto deflected it, but she couldn't avoid the Full-Body Bind that Terry threw her way. With a thunk, Alecto hit the floor.

Terry and Anthony ran from their seats to Neville, and Terry swore to high hell. "Fuck! She transfigured the bones in this arm to glass."

Morag and Padma approached them. "Is there anything we can do?" Morag asked, not at all sounding like the brave Auror she one day hoped to be.

Ernie and Michael exchanged a look. "I should go find Hannah," Ernie said. "She'll want to know immediately about Neville."

Michael nodded and Ernie left. Then Michael asked for Morag's help to get Neville up. They struggled until Terry used Levicorpus to levitate Neville.

Padma looked at the others. She saw Mandy and rushed over to her. "Look, tell the others that this is the beginning. The Room of Requirement is home now."

Stephen halted Terry and Anthony on their way out the door. "I'll get McGonagall to go to the Hospital Wing right away. Madam Pomfrey might need her help," Stephen told them.

They nodded, and then Padma, Morag, Terry, Anthony, and Michael left urgently with Neville. They didn't return to Ravenclaw Tower.

They were just the first in a steady stream of students that began to seek shelter in the Room of Requirement. After Neville healed, he still showed up at classes, but everything became more strained. The Carrows believed they'd finally emotionally broken Neville, though they had yet to realize that he was at the heart of the internal rebellion.

By the end of March, Ernie, Justin, and Susan had joined Padma and the other eagles in the Room of Requirement. Lavender, Seamus, and Parvati had gone, as well. And it didn't seem as though the emptying seats in the Great Hall would ever stop.

- ^-^3

:April:

At the beginning of April, Mandy could stand it no longer. "I've got to do something," she hissed to Lisa and Su and Jack at the Ravenclaw table during lunch.

"No, don't," Jack implored. "You'll just get hurt."

"That's fine. I might be laid up for a short while, but Pomfrey's been working small wonders upstairs."

"No, he's got a point," Lisa told her friend. "Don't make Madam Pomfrey expend energy that she'll need to help someone in real need."

"Fine. Then I'll rely on our budding Healer-in-training," Mandy said sweetly to the blonde.

Lisa gave her a disapproving look. "I don't think so, Mandy. Madam Pomfrey's training me to be as valuable as her."

Mandy made a face, but Jack at least didn't say anything more about her intended heroics. He just grabbed her hand under the table.

That had become their thing. Whenever she got scared or they needed true comfort, words failed where touch succeeded, and Mandy relished the once-calloused skin of his hands.

They'd talked before, of being safe and hiding out in the Room of Requirement. Jack wanted to, because Andrew had gone, along with Fay, Ritchie, Demelza, and Romilda. But Mandy wasn't so sure. It could be only a matter of time before the Carrows caught on about the Room of Requirement, and before they found it and demolished it…possibly with everyone inside.

But even though she wasn't the first person to sign up for the reconstituted D.A., Mandy did find a way to do something. She began sneaking any food she could to the students in the Room of Requirement, since it wasn't just D.A. members anymore. Morag had mentioned that the owner of the Hog's Head, Aberforth, had been sending food through a secret portal, but Morag had also said how awful a lot of the cooking was.

So, when no one—not even Jack—was looking, Mandy would stuff her pockets. She'd found the spell to expand them, and then she'd lined the insides with napkins and such before gathering food. It was only a little at first, but then at dinner, most of the food around her would disappear.

When she could shake Jack or Lisa, she'd run to where Terry said the Room of Requirement was. She had yet to summon the door herself, but someone was always standing guard. It had to be that way, considering that barely any of them went home for the Easter holiday. The few that had…well, not everyone had returned. Ginny, for instance, had remained with her family, and the entire Weasley pack had gone into hiding since Ron had been spotted helping Harry.

"Thank you so much!" Morag said, hugging Mandy tightly before the shorter girl could even unload her pockets.

"I try," Mandy said, but she was very pleased. She didn't need the praise, but it helped motivate her to continue doing this.

But at one dinner, Jack finally said, "Amanda."

Mandy stared at him. Lisa and Su gawked at him. Two seats up, even Stephen and Kevin looked their way, sensing something was about to go down.

Jack ignored all of that. "I know what you're doing."

She found her voice, her face as red as a Weasley's hair. "How dare you call me that! I told you months ago that—"

"Don't keep doing it," he said calmly.

Mandy shut up. He looked at her, his moss-colored eyes sad. Well…he was finally being brave, wasn't he?

"Please, don't." Jack shook his head and took the roll from her hand, putting it on the table and linking his fingers with hers instead.

Mandy felt both ashamed and infuriated. But she at least knew that she couldn't risk a scene without catching unwanted attention. So she ate silently for the rest of the meal, her hand clasped with Jack's and unable to spirit away any more food.

Afterwards, she snatched her hand away and was the first one back to the dorms. It wasn't that long before Lisa and Su came up. Lisa tried to comfort her. "Don't be mad at him."

Mandy cried, angry.

"He cares for you. A lot. He doesn't want to see you hurt or in any kind of danger."

But the brunette shook her head. Lisa told her nothing she didn't already know. That was why she was crying. And it did little to help when Lisa came and rubbed circles on her back…

Eventually, Mandy fell asleep crying. When she woke up, it was still nighttime, so she went downstairs to try and clear her mind in the common room. But on the table inside the door, she saw a note. Her name was on it. It read:

Mandy—

Do I at least get to say "sorry" this time?

—Jack

She wasn't sure what convinced her, but she stuck her head outside. Jack indeed was sitting there, waiting for her.

"Come inside before you catch a cold," she hissed, and he ducked his head gratefully as he slipped inside.

"I gave that note to a younger student hours ago, to give to you," he said, fighting a shiver.

She led him over to the fire and stoked it, hoping to warm him up. "Sorry. I was a little preoccupied."

Jack knelt beside her in front of the fire. He pushed her reddish brown hair back and touched her face. "Ah, bloody hell… I made you cry, didn't I?"

"I wasn't sad, just so you know," Mandy said defiantly. She stood and went and sat at one end of the cobalt-colored couch. "I was angry."

"Oh. Good."

"Good? That's what you have to say—good?!" She had to force herself not to yell, since it was bedtime for everyone else.

"Well, I can't fix sad. But I can fix angry." Jack sat at the other end of the couch, but he reached out and tugged on her hand. "I'm sorry, Mandy."

"I'm not really upset about you calling me 'Amanda,' you know."

"I felt it had to be about your secret mission."

He called it that, but he wasn't making fun of her. He just couldn't think of anything else to call it. "You're right."

Jack nodded but grimaced. "I just… I don't want you to be in the most dangerous position."

"But I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You're not part of the D.A. You're not hiding out. But you're helping them and then trying to go about your day as if nothing's the matter." Maybe it was the firelight, but he looked so much more mature, so much older than she did as he spoke. She felt a tad like a child.

"They need help."

"Then don't risk what they've done so far by making us suffer your loss. Either we join them, or you stop sneaking them food."

"Jack, you can't really—" But he was resolute. Mandy frowned. Could she really stop? "I…can't make any promises."

He nodded, and then he did something unexpected. He took out his mother's necklace on purpose, and he placed it into Mandy's hand. "Good. Because I don't appreciate promises."

"What about our promises back at Christmas?" she remarked.

"That's different. This is life or death," Jack said. "This…" He closed her hand around the pendant. "I don't like it when people make promises they can't keep."

Mandy wanted to say something, but she remained silent. Jack looked ready to burst.

"My family… Over the break, I was the only one who went with Andrew and his parents to Germany. Thing is, before the school year began, I was living with Andy's family." Jack withdrew his hand and clasped his hands in his lap, staring at the couch and yet facing Mandy. "I don't have family anymore. My parents and my sister, Elise, were killed."

The room was very quiet except for the crackling of the fire. The couch sank more as Mandy drew up one of her legs and moved closer to Jack. She had no words to offer him, so she made sure he understood that she would listen.

"My family has consisted of half-bloods for decades. I think we were always half-bloods. My family was nothing special, even. The most outstanding thing any of us had ever done was my joining the Quidditch team two years ago. We prided ourselves on being a rather quiet family." Jack licked his lips and cleared his throat. "But we're a Wizarding family, and everyone has to go to Diagon Alley for some reason or another and… Well, my family was there when there was a random act of violence. I mean, we damn near expect to hear about them these days, but it was only this past summer, after Dumbledore's death, that the Death Eaters spread like fleas. And it's one thing when someone's made a target, you know? Then you can almost come to understand why someone was hurt or killed. But a random act of violence? Killing for the sake of killing?" Jack shook his head.

Mandy opened and closed her mouth. She gazed at the pendant and then held it in front of his face.

"My mother gave it to me when I came home after the last school year. She said she'd always had it on her when the bad things happened, to protect her from them, and that she'd always had it on when the best things in life had happened to her. I think she gave it to me because she and Dad and Elise already knew that they had their own courage to draw on but that I needed to draw on someone else's. That," he finished, "is why I always carry it on me. I have a little bit of my own courage, but someone else's is always a help." He gave her a wan smile.

The eagle held on to the necklace, but she hugged Jack. There was no response to what he'd said. There was no script that gave the lines that followed a tragic confession such as that.

It seemed to be the right thing to Jack. He held her tightly and whispered in her hair, "Please don't make any promises you can't keep, Mandy. And please don't jump into the line of fire.

She found her voice. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Mandy asked, cupping his cheek and looking at him.

"Because you are fun and lively and you didn't need another thought to weigh your mind down."

"Thank you, Jack." She patted his cheek. "But I can decide that for myself, luv."

His frown didn't go away, but he appeared to accept that answer. "I know."

"But…I'll at least keep another eye out when sneaking food. All right?"

He shrugged. "I guess. As long as it's okay for me to keep two more looking out for you, as well." He said it with a tiny smile at last.

Mandy grinned. "Of course. Now," she stated, standing and grabbing the throw from one of the other chairs and coming back to him, "you should get some sleep. It's all right to stay here. I wouldn't want you trying to slip into Gryffindor Tower this late at night, not with what haunts the corridors these days."

Jack nodded, but a smug look appeared on his face as Mandy sat beside him and tucked the blanket around them. He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "Who's being overprotective now?"

Mandy smiled in response.

That night, something had changed between them. Mandy guessed it was thanks to what he'd shared. She felt for him, having no family left, but she was also grateful to Andrew being there for Jack. That kind of made her wish that they were all together in the Room of Requirement, but she still couldn't make up her mind about joining the D.A. members and other defected students.

And, as Fate would have it, the decision was made for her at the end of April.

Kevin had taken to hiding in the dorm, making potions to pass along to their friends, and Stephen had been checking out books from the Restricted Section with Madam Pince's help in order to research any possibly helpful offensive and defensive spells that might benefit the others. Lisa had been passing along her knowledge from her time under Madam Pomfrey's wing to Terry, the only Healer the Room of Requirement currently had. And Mandy…well, she still managed to sneak food out.

Until one night.

April was very nearly over, and Mandy was trying to enjoy dinner with Jack, Lisa, and Su, since Stephen and Kevin had disappeared into their room right after classes. Mandy had gotten better about hiding the food. Sometimes she would slip small items into her sleeve before transferring them into her pockets. Other times, she'd pretend to knock something onto the floor—something which, if anyone had bothered to look, would always be discreetly caught by Jack and then passed back to her for stashing.

But Mandy, in all her cleverness, didn't keep a close enough eye on Alecto Carrow. Towards the end of supper, when Snape would instruct the prefects to lead the other students back to their dorms, Alecto walked up the aisle, heading for Mandy.

Mandy believed they were only going to get another snide remark or perhaps a spell-lashing—that happened sometimes these days. But when Alecto came stomping at her with all her fury, Mandy lost a little bit of her courage. "What are you doing?" Alecto snarled.

Mandy didn't dare look away. "Finishing dinner, ma'am."

"Oh, you think you're so smart, don't you? Thinking a little ma'am'ing can fool me? Or do you think it'll distract me? Eh, Porky?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Mandy could see Lisa and Su looking defensive. No, she didn't want them to fight her battle. They'd only get hurt. "No, Professor Carrow."

"Your pockets. Empty them."

Jack inhaled sharply behind Mandy, and she wanted to turn and run. But she couldn't with the other students filing out and clogging up the hallway. So… "No."

"What?!"

"I said, no." Mandy straightened up, recalling all the times Neville had stood up to Alecto and what Anthony had done and how Ginny had screamed in anger for the kidnapping of her friend. She thought about how lucky she was to have her family still, and how amazing a person Jack was for even coming to school despite having lost everything. She thought of all the good times she'd had in these almost seven full years, with Padma, Lisa, Su, and Morag. She thought about the past eight months, getting to know Jack and treasuring him. She thought about the past nine weeks and how things at Hogwarts had deteriorated even more. She thought about the past ten days and all the potions Kevin had made in that short amount of time. She thought about the past eleven hours, spent in a hell bettered only by the thought of her family and friends and Jack. She thought about the past twelve minutes, thinking about how clever she and Jack were for hiding the food in the ways they had. And now she thought about the past thirteen, fourteen, fifteen seconds and how everything could change in just a few more seconds.

"Did you just say 'no' to me?" Alecto's voice was shrill and was catching the attention of others around them. Her shrill yet quiet tone was scarier than her yelling.

"Yes, I told you 'no.'" Mandy inhaled deeply…and her courage that had fled her was replaced with Jack's as he grabbed her hand behind her back and gripped it.

"I order you to empty out your pockets! You're taking food to traitors!" Alecto screamed at her.

"And I won't empty my pockets," the Ravenclaw replied evenly.

Alecto growled, and suddenly a familiar pain washed over Mandy and flooded her senses.

Yes, the Cruciatus Curse had been used on her before, but it had never felt quite so bad… Maybe Mandy should've done something to stop it… Maybe she should've just given in and done as Alecto said… Mandy couldn't stand to hear Jack yelling at Alecto to stop it between his sobs…

Alecto did finally stop, but she yanked Mandy up by her hair and only used the curse again. Mandy screeched, a sound that could've shattered the glass of the Great Hall's windows but didn't. Only when Mandy stopped screaming did Alecto let go and cease the magic.

Which was exactly what Mandy had planned.

Summoning the reserves of her energy, Mandy held fast. She nodded to Lisa and Su by way of goodbye and gave Jack a sorry look, but he understood. They'd probably all join her soon enough. So time for something crazy and courageous, yeah? Merlin, Jack's Gryffindor tendencies were rubbing off on her.

"DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY!" Mandy bellowed. And then she ran.

Alecto chased after her, all right, though Mandy had a head start, for the students parted for Mandy to go through and not for Alecto. Mandy ran and ran and ran, turning corners and climbing stairs. She ran until she saw a door appear, and she was happy that it had appeared for her finally, and then she saw the blonde pigtails of Hannah and Mandy dove into the Room of Requirement and the door was shut behind her and she almost expected applause but she got something better—

—she saw the faces of her old friends.

Well, her group of friends had come to encompass nearly all of those in her year recently. Still, after Hannah got Neville and Ernie to let her inside, Mandy did indeed see a lot of familiar faces. Padma was scolding Michael, who was trying to sleep. Morag was sitting and talking with the Gryffindor Romilda Vane. Although, Mandy didn't see Anthony and Terry immediately.

After she convinced Hannah that she was fine and just needed to catch her breath and rest, the room settled and the dull noise subsided to quiet. Mandy looked around and saw shadows behind a lit brazier. Ah, of course. Mandy decided to surprise them, knowing what she was interrupting. "Oh, brilliant, you two. Someone else had to let me in!" she griped.

"Cripes, Mandy!" Anthony gasped, breaking away from Terry. Yes, her announcement had the desired effect, and, somewhere inside her, she laughed at the ridiculousness of the scene. It helped her to calm down.

Terry glared at her as Anthony hastily pulled on his sweater. "Thanks a lot," he said through gritted teeth, but his annoyance ebbed when he saw how her hair was a mess and that her eyes were red. "Hey, are you all right?"

Mandy jerked a thumb over her shoulder, pointing to Ernie and Neville. "They let me in after Hannah saw me running here outside. I got on the bad side of Alecto finally."

"What happened?" Anthony asked, his tone full of concern.

Mandy softened; Anthony really did have a calming presence. "I was going to sneak food here again," she explained, "and Alecto saw me slipping out of the Great Hall." She grimaced. "Guess it's easier to spot departing students now that there are a lot more empty seats at the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor tables."

"Yeah, things have turned out that way," Terry agreed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Are you okay? You don't really look it."

"Thanks for noticing." Mandy gingerly pushed her wavy, reddish brown hair over her shoulder, and she winced. "That bitch grabbed me by the hair and then—" She bit her bottom lip, her eyes angrily watering. "She tortured me. She used the Cruciatus Curse, right there, in front of all the other students. Gave the younger ones a right fright." She closed her eyes briefly, still hearing Jack's sobs for Alecto to stop hurting her. Revered Rowena, Mandy hoped he was all right—Lisa and Su, too.

Terry cursed under his breath and patted his pockets for his wand. Once found, he cast a spell to take the ache away from her injuries. "Sometimes I get the feeling that nothing good will come of this."

Mandy shrugged, though she felt happier, having healed somewhat. "I dunno about that. If anything, I think I might've inspired some of the younger students," she said defiantly, and with a glint in her eye. She decided for now to keep it to herself that she'd screamed "Dumbledore's Army" like a mad woman; it felt like an honored badge…of insanity.

"For now, go rest with the others," Terry told her. "And see if Susan or Romilda still has those potions Kevin last delivered to us. If so, take one to get your strength back."

Mandy nodded, but Anthony said, "Wait! How're the others? Stephen and Kevin, and Lisa and Su?"

"They're hanging in there," she answered. "But Lisa's getting fed up and Kevin's making a lot of potions, practically nonstop." Her pale mocha eyes softened. "They're okay, Tony."

He nodded and they let her go, for which Mandy was grateful. She was able to take a headcount of the others in the room, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jack's friends huddled in one corner. She noticed a redhead napping on Fay's shoulder, and Mandy presumed her to be Sally-Anne. She truly was brave to have snuck into the castle to fight.

Still, finding them made Mandy's heart ache a bit. The witch went and found a vacant windowsill and sat on it, staring outside. She wished that she hadn't left her friends in the Great Hall like that, but she was also glad that she had acted, because to do anything besides what she had done…it probably would've won her enslavement or death. Neither was an option.

Mandy knew it had been the scariest moment of her life—so far. She thought about what had just happened again, but this time she focused on Jack's proximity. His grabbing her hand… He'd given her courage.

The witch sat very still. He'd given her his courage…

She opened her hand. The adrenaline had practically closed up her hands into fists, but now that she was here she could relax and catch her breath. And now she could see that Jack hadn't merely grasped her hand. He had pressed his mother's necklace into her palm.

Tears welled in her eyes and Mandy closed her eyes. "Thank you," she breathed, kissing the pendant before she succeeded in nodding off.

Her sleep turned into a nap, though. In the middle of the night, someone woke her up. But Mandy saw green eyes and brown hair, and she awoke fully alert before she threw her arms around Jack's neck. "Good to see you, too," he quietly laughed.

She gawked at him and looked around him and saw there were even more faces. Mandy turned back to him. "What the—what happened?"

"Nothing, nothing," he assured her. He sat beside her on the sill and drew her legs onto his lap. "You just—well, you kind of motivated some others to hide, too, and join the fight."

"But…there are more younger students."

"A few fourth years, yeah. But they're mostly friends of Colin's little brother." He kissed her forehead. "And I couldn't stay behind, not after that performance."

Mandy sighed. "No, of course not."

He grinned widely. "I think we're the last flood for the night, though. Security here and the Carrows' patrol have been upped, so no one else is sneaking around, not tonight."

The witch nodded as the wizard lazily drew jagged circles on her calves. "Then I guess it's okay to sleep for real for once."

"Yeah."

"Yes." She gave him a mischievous little glance, but she couldn't keep her eyes open much longer.

As night became morning, another day arrived. There were the usual injuries, with Seamus laid up in a hammock again and Neville looking like a completely different person, his face was so bad. But everyone was otherwise fine, and Jack, Mandy, Andrew, and Ritchie even tried winning Gobstones against Fay again while Demelza looked on in amusement when not chatting with Ginny, who had also returned to the castle somehow.

Day fell into night again, and some action arrived. Stephen's red-winged blackbird, the bird Stephen summoned when he cast the Avis Spell, flew into the Room of Requirement. There was no colored string attached to the bird's leg to indicate an emergency, so Anthony had taken Ginny and Susan with him to see what Stephen needed.

"I'm not very good at Charms that don't have anything to do with Quidditch…," Jack commented to Mandy after the group had left.

Mandy flicked her wand, saying, "Avis." Out came a grey goshawk, which made a loud noise that woke some of the younger students, so Mandy terminated the spell. "It's not too hard, but it's a little like the Patronus Charm."

"Great. So I need good, strong memories?"

"No. It's just that the bird depends on the person…and it takes quite a bit of concentration."

The two of them spent a lot of time working on the spell, but Jack still couldn't produce a bird. "I suppose I'll just have to stick with you and let you summon yours," he groaned.

She giggled. "That's not such a bad idea."

When Anthony, Ginny, and Susan returned, they had more potions from Kevin and spells from Stephen, but they had new company, as well: Lisa and Su had joined at last. After catching up Terry and Michael, Lisa and Su joined Mandy and Jack, and Mandy hugged Lisa almost as tightly as she had Jack.

"It's so good to see you again!" Mandy gasped.

The blonde witch smiled, but—coupled with the determined expression on her face—it looked more like a smirk, which was a scary image on the face of once-polite and gentle Lisa. "I can't just keep passing on my knowledge to Terry. Someone who knows what she's doing had to come down here and heal victims when needed."

Mandy felt rejuvenated. Her eagle family was coming together again. Things would get better. Things were getting better.

That night, Mandy walked around the Room of Requirement, doing a headcount again. It was one thing that calmed her, to know that all the faces she'd seen the day before were still there and not just figments of her imagination. Although, she liked taking care of a few of them, too, such as a Hufflepuff girl whose hair had come undone from its pink ribbon and Terry and Anthony, who'd fallen asleep together. Terry had his head in his boyfriend's lap and both boys were out cold, so Mandy conjured up a blanket and draped it over the two of them.

"I feel itchy," she said, returning to Jack and their staked-out window.

"In what way?" he asked.

"I was doing something before, bringing food. Now…now I feel a little helpless." She gave him a coy look when he gave her a stern one.

"Mandy, look at what happened the last time you felt 'helpless.' You ended up becoming one of the ones in need."

"I know…"

"Still…" Jack crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You're good with everyone. Kind of like a mother hen."

"Am not!" she retorted, face hot.

He chuckled. "It's not a bad thing. Maternal instincts are never a bad thing."

His words got her thinking. Mandy stepped beside him and looked out the window. As he was resting against the sill and facing into the room, he had to turn to see her face. "Funny you say that."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. I mean, those kinds of things make you think of the future. What will we do if we survive this? There's sure to be a battle that will come to Hogwarts—I can feel it in my bones." She glanced at him sheepishly. "Does that sound too grand and morbid?"

"No," Jack stated. "All I know is one thing."

"What?"

"After the battle, I'd like to take you out on a very fancy date." His cheeks were pink, but he wasn't embarrassed by what he said. On the contrary, he was his boldest self.

Mandy eased into a smile. "That's a good plan."

"I'd like to think so, though don't ask me, since I'm no Ravenclaw."

She glared up at him, ready to retort, but she said nothing. Rather, she couldn't say anything. He'd bent just a little so that he could kiss her on the lips. It was a fantastic feeling that he ended a little too quickly for her tastes, but it was brilliant nevertheless.

Neither of them needed words in that moment. Mandy knew how he felt, and he knew how she felt. She simply handed him his mother's necklace, which he stared at with nostalgia before he clasped it around her neck. "My courage is now yours," he whispered to her, and they spent the night and the following day trading off between catnaps and dreams for the future.

- ^-^3

:May:

When she finally realized it was May, it was already nighttime on the first.

The day had passed easily and without much excitement. Mandy felt that something was a little different this time, that the day had been just a little bit different from all the others. Others seemed to pick up on it, as well, as people just appeared a little happier, a little more confident. Neville even dared to grin, in spite of his injuries and missing tooth.

"I've a good feeling today. Or maybe about tonight," Neville said to most of the D.A. Ginny agreed with him.

Mandy exchanged a hopeful peek with Jack. He nodded. He felt it, too. Though no one could name exactly what "it" was.

By late evening, however, everyone's good mood could be explained. It had, in fact, been a premonition of the good to come—

—for Harry, Hermione, and Ron returned that night.

The uproar in the Room of Requirement was brilliant, and it only got better when, a very short while later, Stephen and Kevin showed up. Anthony and Terry had been standing watch, and they let the other couple inside.

"About time you blokes showed up!" Terry gasped as he and Michael closed the door behind them. "You had us worried there, wondering if you'd be trapped up there in the dorm or trapped in the Great Hall with Snape."

"Is it true, that Harry's back?" Stephen asked.

"Yes," Neville answered him, but he had already started handing out assignments in Harry's stead. "And he's got a job to do, so let's do ours."

The Golden Trio had quickly gotten down to business, and once it was sorted that they'd go searching for Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem (Mandy didn't understand why and didn't really care), and Ginny, Neville, and Luna left, as well, Seamus, Parvati, and Dean (who had turned up sometime the following night, and Mandy hadn't noticed) set about acting as the sextet's lieutenants, and the D.A. began to break into groups. Michael, meanwhile, pulled aside all the eagles in their year. Mandy told Jack she'd be back in just a minute.

"Anyone have any suggestions?" Michael asked. He really appeared to be fresh out of them.

"The spells I sent—has anyone practiced them?" Stephen inquired, desperation in his brown eyes.

Padma frowned. "A few have. Just the wording. I wish we'd had time with a real teacher to teach them…"

"I've at least got potions," Kevin said, opening his bag and rummaging around until he had two in each hand. "In general, blue is poison and/or acts like an acid, green will explode, purple will cause side-effects, and red will make the pain go away."

"That's brilliant, Kevin!" Mandy exclaimed, taking one of the red phials. She looked hopefully at him. "Got any more for healing?" If she could have one of them right now, then she'd be at the top of her game for the fight, because there definitely was going to be one at this point.

"Orange—a few." He looked at Michael. "If we're splitting up into teams, I'd suggest one of the orange ones per team, though each is about only two servings."

Terry gazed in awe at Kevin's stash. "Merlin! And to think I've had Lisa helping me with Healer spells!" Lisa, in response, raised a disapproving eyebrow at Terry and cleared her throat, as if to remind him that becoming a Healer did entail use of spells.

Kevin basked a little in the praise. "It's all right. Steve helped."

Stephen's face flushed momentarily when all eyes landed on him (as if the two boys couldn't have been more obvious, in Mandy's opinion…but they were awfully cute about it), but then he cleared his throat. "I guess we're not all going to be on one team, yeah?"

Anthony nodded. "Safer that way, for some." The last bit he added wistfully with a quick look to Terry.

Morag cleared her throat. "So, I guess we'll plan a double civil ceremony after we kick the bad guys' arses?" she asked cheekily, as she showed a ghost of the spunky witch she'd once been with her rough Auror's mouth coming through despite not being an Auror—yet. Mandy giggled, for she missed that old side of Morag.

Kevin blushed, and he and Stephen broke apart; apparently, someone had grabbed someone's hand. "I don't know what you're talking about," Kevin fibbed.

The others gave them a mixture of looks, throat clearings, snickers, smiles, and "hmph"s, though, so clearly they were unconvinced. Mandy appreciated how different they were from her and the others. Terry and Anthony had been public and Lisa and Su had been rather obvious, but Kevin and Stephen had always been like an accepted fact that no one mentioned when in the room. Apparently Kevin and Stephen just hadn't realized that they'd been such a fact.

Turning their attention away from individuals, Michael broke away from the group to converse with some of the other D.A. members. Since Neville, Ginny, and Luna had already disappeared and now Seamus, Dean, and Parvati were acting as their lieutenants, it was decided that remaining participants were to break up into groups of four. Even the older students, such as the Weasley twins, had disappeared to prepare for the fray, so those left to fight were basically the remnants of Dumbledore's Army.

The grouping had to happen quickly, however, as the sounds of battle came suddenly. Mandy, set in a group with Morag and, surprisingly, Romilda, who refused to leave Morag's side, took a moment to go to Jack.

"It's time," she said, though she thought it horrible how those two little words broke her heart.

Jack inhaled and exhaled. "I know." He raised his eyebrows and gave her a good, long stare. His green eyes flashed, and crinkled at the ends. She didn't realize how much she loved that until that moment. "You're going to fight?"

"I am."

He took her hand in his and kissed it. "I'd say 'stay safe,' but you know how I feel about promises."

"I do." She bit her lip. "You're going to fight?"

"I overheard some of the younger ones talking. I'll try to look after them, but if they fight, I don't think I'll stop them. I'll just fight alongside them and try to protect them instead. 'Course, now there are more of them, since the Creevey brothers appeared." Jack pulled a face.

"Hey," Mandy said gently. She touched his cheek, and he rested his hands on her waist, drawing her closer. "It's all right to be scared," echoing words he'd told her long ago.

"I know." Better than a kiss, Jack instead enveloped her in his arms and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. "Mandy, I—" His voice caught.

She tried to smile, but the tears brimming in her eyes made her own voice catch. "Yeah, me, too, Jack."

With some serious effort, they pulled away from one another. Jack went to find Andrew in the lively crowd, and Mandy followed the hubbub to Morag and Romilda. Terry, sullen-looking and not attached to Anthony's hip, joined them. Then they left the safety of the Room of Requirement.

"Defend as well as you can," Morag, their impromptu squadron leader, told the three of them. "But—" Her voice jammed, but she pushed on. There was a hard look in her eye when she glanced behind her to look at them. "Don't hesitate to kill, guys. The Death Eaters won't."

Mandy swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew Morag was right, and even Professor McGonagall said something similar as they passed her on their way to the inner courtyard. This was it. This would be the defining moment of…everything.

Hogwarts was protected for a little while. The covered bridge had been blown up, and the suits of armor had come to life to defend the castle. A barrier had been put up, even.

But the spells of the Dark Lord and his followers came at them in full force, and the barrier fell, and in came giants, Dementors, and acromantulas to fight on the Dark Lord's side.

People screamed and yelled everywhere, making it hard to focus. The biggest problem facing Mandy's group was the Dementors and the spiders coming carelessly for them.

The spiders chased their victims into corners when possible, and the Dementors seemed to appear from the shadows when one wasn't looking. Terry produced his swordfish Patronus with some difficulty, and Mandy wished that she could use that spell as strongly. The thing that stunned her the most was when Morag, in a blaze of light, at last achieved a fully corporeal Patronus amidst battle. Her unicorn ran the Dementors through with its horn.

But it wasn't enough. They ended up chased into the Clock Tower. Though the acromantulas couldn't follow them and the Dementors turned away in pursuit of other prey, the Death Eaters came at them with renewed strength. A large man and a thin woman ran after them, shooting off hexes and jinxes with little regard for where they aimed.

Mandy deflected as best she could, but that was bad enough. Trying to retaliate between Shield Charms? Bloody pointless! So much for learning offensive magic—Mandy had no openings in which she could use them!

Beside her, Romilda screamed. Romilda had been caught by the Cruciatus Curse briefly, but she lost her footing and slid off the platform and towards the gears. Morag lunged for her just in time. They were all safe again—for but a moment.

At that second, the Dark witch threw another curse their way. Morag dodged it, but just barely. There was little chance to breathe a sigh of relief, however, as the Dark witch motioned for her companion to join her in the onslaught. And so they threw spell after wicked spell at the students. There were so many colors, Mandy was reminded of the fun times spent in Flitwick's class, learning the Color-Changing Spell. But these colors were deadly, and every inch of the Clock Tower was lit; there was no place to hide.

Still, Mandy was trying to keep up on the Shield Charms to defend only herself. Morag had Romilda hiding behind her, Romilda shooting off offensive magic while Morag protected the two of them. Up ahead, Terry was having the duel of his life.

But there was one spell that Mandy couldn't avoid.

It flew over Terry's shoulder, and Mandy couldn't look away. She couldn't turn in time to run or just to dodge it. Eerily, she heard an echo of her earlier words to Jack: "It's time."

When the spell hit, Mandy thought of three things: how she'd fought in blue, died by green…and wished to see red and gold again.

- ^-^3

It felt like another month.

As though…it had been any other month.

It also felt as though she'd been asleep for a very long time. Now, she was finally waking up.

Mandy was disappointed as she spirited the corridors of…what remained of Hogwarts. Apparently she had missed the climatic ending, but at least things were calmer now.

Death Eaters and Dark wizards and witches were either dead or rounded up. Even the centaurs had come to help, though it was sad to see how pale Professor Firenze's face was, as he'd been badly hurt.

In her year, Mandy did another headcount. She saw that all the Gryffindors were alive and well. Two of the Slytherins had died, one of Malfoy's lot, judging by one of his other mates crying, and that other girl, what was her name…? Something Runcorn…? Mandy couldn't be bothered to care, though, not for the Slytherins who mostly had fought against them or just not fought at all.

Of the Hufflepuffs, three were dead. Mandy frowned when she saw Megan Jones resting in peace beside Leanne Moon. They had been sweet girls, really.

But her heart ached most when she went to find her fellow Housemates. She did see Terry, Padma, and Michael standing together, crying. Mandy almost didn't want to know who had died. She wanted to call out to them, but she didn't. So she looked past them. …she felt cold.

Stephen, Lisa, Su, and Morag were nowhere to be found. But Anthony was there, on the ground. Kevin was there, on the ground right beside the blonde wizard. And on the other side…

…was Mandy's body.

Worse yet, there was another body beside her. Fighting an odd feeling that wasn't quite nausea, she turned to look. She had to stifle a sob as grief surged through her.

Jack was beside her. He looked calm with her, kind of like Professor Lupin and his new wife whom Mandy had passed earlier.

Only then did Mandy start looking all around the Great Hall. Panic washed over her, and she began hyperventilating. But she wasn't hyperventilating. Hyperventilating required breathing, and breathing meant life, and Mandy wasn't breathing, she was dead, her body was down there—

It was then that she realized why her view was all-encompassing. She had been floating about everyone, hanging near the ceiling of the Great Hall. She'd become a ghost.

It wasn't what bothered her the most. No, what was the worst thing that could've possibly happened was not her death and un-death. It was the fact that she didn't see Jack. He had died, too, and yet only she was a ghost. It wasn't fair. She didn't care that "all was fair in love and war"—that was a fucked load of hippogriff shit and she suddenly didn't give a damn about anyone else being alive because death had been just as unkind to her as life these past months had been and—and—

Mandy could do nothing but watch as Andrew stumbled to Jack's body, a sobbing mess. Fay was right beside him, consoling him. Off to the side, Ritchie held Demelza as they both cried for their friend, their faces pure shock.

"At least they won't forget."

She turned her head…and everything was better and worse all at once. Mandy floated closer to him, but she didn't dare touch him. "Is it real?"

"As real as Sir Nick and the other ghosts are," Jack told her quietly.

"I… I feel hopeless and frightened and—and—I wish for you to be here with me and yet not to be here and—"

"I was thinking the same thing," he said. His eyes glittered. Apparently Moaning Myrtle wasn't just a joke; ghosts really could cry.

Mandy wanted to touch his cheek and hold him and be held by him, but she was too frozen by fear, too scared that nothing would be as it had been in life. So she looked away and motioned below them. "What happened?"

"I was fighting alongside Luca Caruso and Alice Tolipan—D.A. members—and their friend, Owen Cauldwell, in the corridors. They're all brilliant duelists. You wouldn't have guessed that they're all fourteen, going on fifteen. But me?" Jack shook his head. "I'm not as good. But at least those three are alive."

"Mm."

"You?"

"I didn't stand a chance," Mandy breathed—though she thought it morbidly funny, because she didn't breathe anymore. She couldn't. At least, not in the traditional, respiration sense of the word.

Jack reached for her, and she flinched. He sighed and raised his eyebrow, drawing her to him. So, touch did work, between ghosts. It was so good, the only good thing, to be held by him and be able to cry into his shoulder as he patted her head.

"I'm sorry!" she sobbed.

"Mandy, don't. You don't like to hear that from me, any more than I like to hear it from you." He hooked his finger under her chin so that their eyes locked. "There's nothing to be sorry for. We fought and made a change. Think of us having this chance as…as a reward."

Even transparent, Mandy could still see how beautifully soft his green eyes were. She liked learning this. Humans could see gray and white smoke when they saw a ghost, but ghosts saw colors in each other almost as spectacularly as though they were still alive. "I suppose… We became ghosts for a reason, yeah?" She perked up as she continued. "Then we can share our stories with the generations to come and the students will seek us out like the House ghosts and they'll—they'll—"

"They'll call us the Lovers," Jack said, twirling her around to a song only he heard, "and we'll go wherever we bloody well please, and we'll be able to love forever."

Mandy blushed—oh no, did ghosts still blush? She couldn't be sure—but she liked the glint in his eye. It was the glimmer of a different kind of life.

Jack twirled her into his arms, capturing her. He drew his hand up over her neck, stopping at his mother's pendant—a symbol of courage no longer necessary but just as important, nevertheless—and moving on to her cheek, which he cupped.

He kissed her fiercely, and, even in death, Mandy thought his kisses were just as good as the one they'd shared in life.

- ^-^3

Um, WOW. Yeah. Minor charrie development? Check. Violence? Check. Bravery? Check. Angst? CHECK. Happy ending? Half-check. I knew from the start that they'd be ghosts, because too many died between JKR's canon and my head-canon, *creys*. The only OCs mentioned were Mandy's brother and Jack's sister (and kinda Mandy's parents, though she obvo had to come from somewhere O.o); all other charries are minor ones. Um, lessee… The way the Avis Spell works is an original thought of mine, first written in Lavender Brown's Requiem… Other M&MWPs include: Stephen/Kevin, Lisa/Su, Fay/Andrew…three were implied—can you spot them? ;] Also, the hint of Morag/Romilda is a pairing created by my pal, autumn midnights, so give her a nod if you write them, thanks. Some of the dialogue comes straight from "if you fall at midnight" and "A Life Well-Lived." :) Lastly, the title—"zugzwang" is a chess term, meaning a move that proves disadvantageous. I used it to signify Mandy's and Jack's decisions to fight, and how neither of them really were great enough fighters to survive the battle, not to mention how many times Mandy took risks. But…her guts inspire me. I think I'd stand up to the Carrows, too. :') Aaand—I WILL be writing more MandyJack! :D Them being ghosts is just too good to pass up. -w-

Thanks for reading, and please do NOT favorite this without reviewing—it's over 15,000 words long (a novella! :D), and it took a lot of effort to write. Still, thank you again for reading this long epic of a fic!

-mew-tsubaki :}

P.S.—A shout-out to the minor charrie, Jack Sloper. He had no separate fics in the FFN archive where he was one of two charries listed…until now! XD