Anything you recognize isn't mine.


Once everyone had settled into the living room, Draco and Aeris sitting on the couch, still holding hands, and the trio on various chairs surrounding them, Hermione spoke up.

"I have questions. A lot of them." She started but Aeris held up a hand.

"I'll answer as much as I can, but some of us haven't exactly been eating five-course meals three times a day." She pointed out, glancing at Harry meaningfully who looked uncomfortable, and Ron nodded eagerly.

"I'm hungry too." Hermione sighed and Draco snickered.

"You're always hungry, Ron. I don't think there's any food stored here, Harry?" He shrugged, summer at Dursleys had him used to not eating.

"Probably not, take out?"

"Oh, I have food, I just wanted to ask before I pulled it out. Rude, you know?" Apparently the prospect of food had her much more cheerful and she picked up the backpack that she had placed at her feet. Opening it, she considered for a moment before reaching in and pulling out a fully-intact chocolate cake, complete with cherries on top. She handed it to Draco, who accecpted this new aspect to reality with silence, and reached in again, fetching two forks, two plates, a knife, and can of whipped cream, which she stacked next to her on the couch. She then passed it to her right, to Ron, and took the cake back from Draco.

"Just think about what you want to eat, reach in, and it should find its way to your hand. Unless we don't have any of it, in which case nothing will happen and you'll have to choose something else." She explained, carefully balancing the cake on her lap while she cut a slice and put it on a plate. She offered it to Draco, who shook his head, and then shrugged, putting the rest of the cake on the ground and grabbed the whip cream, liberally covering the slice of cake.

"What kind of charms are on it? I've never heard of any that can do that." Hermione asked, excitement in her voice. Aeris blinked at her, a mouthful of cake and whip cream already smeared on her nose. Draco sighed, digging into his pocket for a clean handkerchief, not the one she requested be kept safe, and offered it to her. Wiping her face distractedly, Aeris hummed in thought.

"Uhm, I don't know the name of the spell, it was cast a looooong time ago, but it connects the backpack to the icebox back home. And don't worry, no one is gonna see Ron's dismembered hand wiggling about, it doesn't work like that. Sorta similar to your summoning charm, Accio I think?" Everyone looked at the red head, who was now surrounded by plates of sandwiches, fried chicken, and pie. He looked seriously at Aeris, snuggling the backpack.

"This is beautiful."

Aeris rolled her eyes, munching on a cherry.

"Give it to Harry, he's gotta eat too, Ron." Hermione admonished. Ron sighed and passed it along. Harry thought quickly and reached in, retrieving a bowl of thick beef stew, some crusty bread, and a glass of apple juice, and then handed it to Hermione, who apparently only wanted a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk. She offered it to Draco, who pulled out a glass of milk, setting that on the ground next to Aeris who grinned, chocolate teeth had Draco sighing, and then a bottle of wine, which had her frowning disapprovingly.

"Only one glass, Aeris." He muttered, conjuring a wineglass absently and pouring a generous amount. The wine bottle was then returned to the bag, which had Aeris relax again, once more digging into her cake. The teens ate for a few minutes, all save Draco having realized their hunger. Draco levitated the bag to the center of the circle so that anyone who wanted more could retrieve it and sipped his wine, begrudgingly allowing Aeris to feed him a few bites of her cake. Hermione finished her sandwich first and she turned expectantly to Aeris, who sighed and set down her fork.

"Alright, Hermione, go ahead."

"How did you contact us? And how did you know us, to begin with? I've never seen you in Hogwarts before and very few people in the Wizarding world know where I live." Aeris was quiet for a few moments, resting against Draco as she considered the question.

"You're right, you three have never met me before. I've never been to Hogwarts, in fact, I've never stepped foot in the Wizarding world until Lucius kidnapped me and dragged me in." She answered, taking a bite of cake. Washing it down with a swig of milk from the glass Draco helpfully handed her, she shrugged at the trio. "Draco told me about you three and how Harry is supposed to kill Riddle, so it seemed like you three were the most likely to help. Of course, convincing you was a tad difficult, but here you are. Oh, and as far as 'how' goes, I astral-projected." Hermione nodded and sipped her milk, thinking.

"Astral projected?" Ron asked through a mouthful of chicken, though it sounded more like "Ahfuld prourecktted?"

"Astral projection is a meditative state, where you send your soul out of your body and travel as a spirit. It's very dangerous and difficult to do. If you're powerful enough to do that, and be wanted by Voldemort, how come we haven't heard of you? And why didn't you go to Hogwarts, you definitely don't sound French, though you could be American. Did you go to Salem University?" Aeris hesitated, looking at Draco, who shrugged.

"…No, I didn't. I didn't go to any school, because I'm not actually a witch. I'm a- what do you call it now, muggle?" Draco nodded and she downed the rest of her milk. "You may have had the right idea there, Elfy." She murmured, glancing at his wine with a sigh. The corner of his mouth quirked and he took a taunting sip.

"You can't be a muggle, how did you drench Ron if you're a muggle?" objected Harry, who had so far been silent.

"I'm not a proper muggle. Otherwise Riddle would have killed me, or more likely, never noticed me to begin with. I can… manipulate magic. See it, feel it, and use it, but I don't have it. I used Draco's magic to freeze and spray Ron." Hermione narrowed her eyes and Ron shook his head.

"That's not possible, you can't use another person's magic, it's… well, it's just plain wrong for one, but-" Aeris held her hand up challengingly again.

"Believe what you want, little knight, but unless you want another bath, you best take that back. Using another's magic against their will, yes that's horrible cruel and wrong, but I don't do that. And it's obviously possible, given I drenched you earlier despite my own lack of magic."

"Can you prove it?" Hermione asked and Aeris hesitated, glancing once more to Draco, who nodded. Aeris sighed and flicked her hand again, towards Ron who flinched, but relaxed when nothing happened to him.

"What did you do?" asked Hermione and Aeris smirked.

"Nothing that he'll notice if he behaves, however I'll do a better demonstration." She waved her hand at the leftover cake and the can of cream, which levitated and then zoomed to place themselves neatly onto a nearby coffee table. Then she waved her hand at the remaining cake on her plate, and it was covered with hot fudge and doubled in size. "Satisfied?" She asked, and Hermione paused before nodding.

"It shouldn't be possible for you to have conjured edible fudge and you clearly aren't using a wand. Can you only use Draco's magic?" Aeris had a mouthful of hot fudge and was busy resisting the urge to moan, so Draco rolled his eyes and answered.

"No, but for the time being she will use only mine. She can feel the magical signatures of people and apparently has 'types' that she prefers. Luckily for the both of us, she likes mine." This was obviously a point of pride for him and Ron rolled her eyes.

"So what you're saying is she likes ev-" he started but was cut off by water suddenly dumping on his head. Aeris opened her eyes with a sigh, looking at the drenched boy and shook her head.

"He didn't even last five minutes." She muttered and then answered the unspoken question. "I twisted his magic so that whenever he was about to be cruel on purpose or was speaking in temper, it'd conjure a bucket's worth of icy water above him. And that he'd be unable to banish this water himself." Draco bit his lip, trying to contain his sudden laughter, and Hermione looked torn between laughing or yelling. Harry looked tired while he pulled out his wand and sent a drying charm towards the now shivering Ron.

"We need to stop fighting and figure out what's going on. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ron, stop picking on Draco. Aeris, will you remove the spell from Ron?"

"Nope."

"Why?" Aeris shrugged.

"His magic irritates me and he still hasn't apologized to Elfy, so no. He needs to learn how to keep his temper in check and it's now my job to help you four, so here's me helping." Hermione blinked in surprise, looking towards Aeris again.

"You were serious about that?" She asked and Aeris nodded.

"Of course I was, I wouldn't promise you something I wasn't prepared to give. I said I'd grant your wishes and I will." Ron frowned, looking between the two girls.

"What do you mean, wishes? You didn't promise me anything." Aeris looked at him pointedly, an eyebrow raised.

"That's because you didn't need anything, all I had to tell you was that your friends needed help and you were willing to go. Foolish, but admirable, little knight. And your current heart's desire is not one I can help you achieve, after all, that's the nature of your wish. Harry and Hermione both had wishes within my power and my own desires to help and so I shall grant them. Should your heart's desire change to one I can grant, I will probably offer it." Hermione stared and suddenly shook her head. Ron sulked.

"So what did she promise you then?"

"If you don't mind, Weasley, I think there are more pressing matters… and if not, I'm certain Aeris would like a shower and a bed, given she's been in my fa- Lucius's dungeons for a month." Draco cut in smoothly and Aeris shot him a thankful glance.

"I'd like to administer Veritaserum to you both." Hermione said suddenly and the two teens in question looked at her, to each other, and then nodded.

"We're only going to ask one question, besides the standard test questions." Harry said, ignoring the look Hermione gave him, and the two teens nodded their acceptance once more.

Draco pulled the vials out of his pocket, offering them to Hermione who checked the consistency and smell to verify their contents. She handed it back and returned to her seat, allowing Draco to first administer the three drops to Aeris, who trustingly stuck out her tongue.

"You have roughly a minute before that wears off." He said and, after hesitating and receiving a glare, Hermione started.

"What's your name?"

"Aeris." Her voice was a flat monotone and Hermione frowned.

"What's your full name?" She asked again.

"Aeris." Was the reply once more and Draco's jaw tightened.

"You have thirty seconds before it wears off, Granger."

"Are you working for Voldemort?" asked Harry.

"No." she replied.

"Are you Dark?" Ron asked and Draco growled, immediately pointing a wand at the red head.

"No." She blinked a few times and then joined Draco in glaring at Ron.

"I was told you would ask one question and that was out of line, knight. If I didn't understand how you meant that, I would let Elfy cast all the spells he wants to right now." She snarled and then stood up, pulling Draco with her. She looked at Harry who shook his head at Ron and stood as well.

"Aeris, I'm sorry for Ron. But we need to test Draco too." Aeris started to object but Draco shook his head, pulling out the Veritaserum and handing it to her. She looked at Ron for a long moment.

"If you even speak while he is drugged, you will find something far worse than water falling on your head." She hissed. He nodded and she turned back to Draco, who opened his mouth and she paused before administering the truth serum.

"What is your name?"

"Draconis Lucius Black." He answered. Ron looked triumphant.

"Draco refuted his Malfoy heritage this morning, he is now a Black unless his mother, Narcissa Black, disowns him." She said and Hermione looked at her. She sighed.

"Draco, did you refuse the Malfoy name?" Aeris asked.

"Yes." He answered and she glared challengingly at Ron, who sulked.

"Are you in league with Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"No." Hermione glanced at Aeris again and Aeris shook her head, pulling the antidote out of Draco's robe pocket and gently opened his mouth, pouring a small amount in. He swallowed and blinked a few times, looking searchingly into Aeris's eyes, and she gave a reassuring smile. Harry coughed.

"So, you're not a Death Eater?" he asked and Draco and she froze, clearly having a silent debate. Aeris touched his cheek and then turned to the trio.

"Draco did his best to resist, but was forced to take the Mark shortly after my capture. Given that Veritaserum proved that neither of us are Voldemort supporters, I expect that this will not be a problem." Ron looked like he was about to comment, but an icy glare from the girl stayed his tongue. Hermione and Harry considered it. Harry spoke first.

"You do not want to be a Death Eater?"

"No." He answered simply. And Harry nodded, decisively.

"I will trust you, for now, but I'll warn you. Do not betray my trust." Draco bit back a snarky response and nodded his understanding of the threat.

"What, you're just gonna trust him?!" shouted Ron, glaring suspiciously at the two standing teens. He jerked at the blast of water but it didn't deter him from pointing his wand at Draco, who simply shook his head.

"If I wanted you dead, why would I have disabled the wards around Malfoy Manor?" Draco pointed out, looking back at him.

"Well, you wanted Aeris out, so maybe you just wanted us to do the dirty work and then you two could fly off and kill everyone." He offered and everyone rolled their eyes.

"You three didn't really do all that much, you know, just the getaway ride. Not that I'm not grateful, but I did all the hardwork- coordinating apparition, teleporting Harry, plus shrinking and moving all of Harry's things into his robes, setting Malfoy Manor on fire and trapping Lucius in my old cage along with several hundred or so ghosts…" Now everyone stared at her and she blinked. "What?"

"You didn't tell me that that was part of the plan." Said Draco, sounding upset. "I would have stayed and taken pictures."

"Why wasn't Draco there?" asked Ron, still pointing his wand at the boy in question.

"It was a last minute adjustment, I expected him to spend more time angsting about your defection to Lady Narcissa but he came into the dungeons before I had a chance to leave. And because Lucius would have killed Draco, he can't kill me. Which is part of why I asked you three to rescue me, he straight-up can't kill Harry and he's not allowed to kill Ron and Hermione is too strong for him to kill. Of course, I wasn't expecting the opportunity for some poetic justice, so as it turned out, I just needed Harry. By the way, Harry, can Draco and I stay here for… a while? Kinda unsafe out there for us now." Harry nodded, and some of the weariness left Draco's face, now that he wasn't worried about homelessness. "Sweet. Thank you."

"What do you mean, he 'not allowed" to kill me?" asked Ron and Aeris frowned at him, then the trio.

"You mean you don't know?" When they all looked back, confused, Draco and her shared a worried glance.

"The Dark Lord has been trying to recruit Ron since Second Year."


So, I'm publishing this now, because literally five minutes after I posted, someone from Poland was reading. So thank the Polish human who read this because after I screamed (and then apologized to my hallmate), I decided one more chapter was necessary.

(I get excited when humans from other countries read my stories) (I'm not certain why) (But here you go)

(what I didn't fuck up several times in this nope I definitely posted this properly the first time)