Sarah managed to keep the other girls away from the dorm, explaining that Rory had tried to hex a pimple off and had accidently made it proliferate, and she didn't really want anyone to see her. Over the next hour, Rory slowly lost the appearance of Orianna, morphing back into herself. It was distrubing to watch because the similarities in the sister's appearances made it so that sometimes Sarah couldn't figure out which one she was looking at.

Rory was still distraught. Seeing herself turned into what she had fought against her whole life, even if it were only physically, was emotionally scarring.

Sarah had a hard time controlling her temper that night. It had been a long and problematic day, and Rory taking the pill had not helped, even if they did now know what was inside. She felt like a mother for thinking it, but the pill could have been poisonous, and Rory had sent them away before she took it, almost to make sure she wouldn't get help if she needed it. The irresponsibility of the whole affair astounded her. And, to top the debacle off, they didn't have the pill anymore, the only evidence of what Orianna was doing. True, they knew what she was doing, and Sarah couldn't quite decide if they were better off now, but that the decision had been made without consulting her or Albus felt like a betrayal. She would have snapped at Rory the whole night, but Rory's emotional state seemed fragile enough as it was. She contented herself with simply not speaking to her.

Rory seemed to understand. Once she had turned back into herself, she did nothing but lie face-up on her bed, not even under the covers. Sleep was a forlorn hope. Sarah suddenly remembered that Albus was still waiting at the bottom of the stairs. She quickly descended to tell him the developments.

They left for the holidays the next day. Sarah had been right, coincidentally, about the truth of the pill hanging over them for the vacation. A few of the adults commented on their foul moods, out of concern or playful mockery, but the three of them tried to put on cheerful faces whenever anyone was around, only letting their real worries show when the adults were gone.

True, even the most diabolical plans can't ruin the magic of Christmas, and there were certainly fun moments, times when they forgot all of their troubles and reveled in friendship and family. Rory, despite being most concerned about Orianna, was also much touched by the Weasley's acceptance of her into the family dynamic. Sarah couldn't help but wonder a little guiltily if Rory had ever had real Christmas presents.

Dudley and Kate, Sarah's parents, were also very gracious and accepting when Rory was over. Sarah couldn't help but feeling like she finally had the sister she always wanted.

Also, she got to catch up with Dustin again, something that she hadn't noticed missing until she had all day with him. His genuine sweetness was irresistable. He was a Hufflepuff through and through, as he always said. She was also surprised how much she had missed in his personal life. An essay he had written for History of Magic had been published in a small alternative history magazine, making him the second youngest person to have contributed to it.

Perhaps more excitingly, he had been on a date! Her name was Marissa, and she was a sixth-year Ravenclaw. He was not exactly furtive about the event, but he didn't go into details, even when asked specifically, so out of respect for him, Sarah decided that she would just go snooping. Now she had two things to investigate when she got back to school.

It seemed like Christmas Break had no sooner started than they were back at King's Cross, on their way to Hogwarts. The more severe Fiendfyres had been extinguished, so the train was ruled safe once more.

The three of them met up with their splinter groups of friends on the platform. Rose was leading around the Westfold twins and Carter. Cassandra was babbling about her holidays to Rose, who was taking it good-naturedly, though with minor signs of exasperation. Carter's attention seemed to be focused on a lamp hanging above the entrance to the platform, though he occasionally would insert a comment. It was hard to tell when he was listening. Marcus, on the other hand looked as if it was taking the last vestiges of his strength to not cover his ears and dive underneath the train, just to escape the babbling. He gave Sarah a pleading look as they boarded the train, but Sarah just laughed.

The compartments were best suited for four riders, and there were seven of them. Sarah silently hoped that she would be in the three person room with Albus and Rory, but didn't voice her opinion. Carter almost ruined her arrangement, voicing his desire to get to know Sarah and her friends more, until Marcus not-so-subtly implied that he would like another male in his car.

So the three of them were alone in their car. Sarah wondered a bit awkwardly if it would be innappropriate to start on the serious subjects immediately, or if she should make small talk first. She opened her mouth, but Albus cut her off.

"Sarah, you must have considered who it might be disguising themselves as Orianna, right?" Sarah thought about it for a moment. It was true, she had wondered who it could have been hiding underneath Orianna's skin. She had many theories, but all the evidence seemed to point back towards one person who Sarah didn't even remember, except in fragmented nightmares.

"I've thought about it," Sarah admitted. "I just don't think this is the perfect time to jump to conclusions."

Albus shook his head gravely. "This is the perfect time to jump to conclusions. We have no better theories, and at least it gives us a vein of evidence to investigate more fully."

"Wait, what are you guys talking about?" asked Rory. "Remember that I don't have the history you two have, you might have to spell things out."

Sarah and Albus glanced at each other. It was her story, she supposed, so she should be the one to explain it. "Well, you remember how when I was young, some rogue witches kidnapped my family to get at Al's dad?" Rory nodded. "And how they used Fiendfyre to burn down the house once they were done?" Rory nodded again, recognition on her face. "Well they both escaped, and..." she paused for a moment. "The person who pinned me against the wall, she had this weird way of moving, and this look in her eyes that...it seems to fit Brista's insanity. Brista was the one who fought the Aurors. We never even heard the other one's name."

"Wait!" exclaimed Rory. "That makes sense! Didn't you say that the person who threatened you, the one who looked like my sister, but may or may not have been..." Rory stopped, tangled in her own train of thought. "Anyway, didn't you say she wanted to kill you, but she wasn't allowed to? She doesn't seem to be the kind person who would be worried about obeying the law, she must have been taking orders! Was the other woman, the mystery woman, was she in charge of Brista?"

Sarah thought about it. She didn't even have fragments of memory about the blonde woman, she had only heard description from her parents, mostly her father. Her mother had been so traumatized by the magic used to control her that most of her memories of the event faded after a few weeks. But she did seem to remember Dudley being more concerned about the blonde witch than Brista, maybe she had been in charge.

"Maybe," replied Sarah, "But we don't know anything about her. We don't know anything about Brista for that matter. We're going in pretty blind here."

They all sat and thought grimly for a while. "I think we can all agree we need more information," suggested Sarah, hoping that someone else would volunteer a solution.

Albus hummed. "We know she, or rather, they, are using Fiendfyre, for some...purpose. And they're using Polyjuice Potion to get into the school. I can't figure out why they need to get into the school in the first place, but I guess that's just one more thing to work out..." He paused and kneaded his forehead.

"Oh, and Hogsmeade has something to do with it," added Rory. "Right?" she asked, pushing her hair back nervously.

Sarah nodded. "But still, we don't understand the purpose. What are they trying to gain? From what you've told me about your sister, she wouldn't get onboard unless there was something in it for her. So what is it?"

"Maybe they're teaching her how to control Fiendfyre," suggested Albus.

"No, she can already do that, remember how precisely she detonated Hogsmeade? Though, that might not have been her, with all the Polyjuice Potion going around," Sarah admitted.

"I think Sarah's right, Orianna wouldn't go through all of this just for a weapon. There are more effective tools than Fiendfyre, and if I know my sister, she's looking for some kind of power at the end."

Albus was following his own train of thought though. His head was cocked as he shuffled and reshuffled a deck of Muggle playing cards he had taken from his sack. "Where do you think they stay?" he asked suddenly. "The other witches I mean. Orianna can hardly have them hiding in her room all day, and there seems only to be one of her at any given time. The Hogsmeade incident is the only time I can definitely think of her being in two places at once."

Sarah frowned. "I think Head Boys and Girls get rooms to themselves, part of the privelige. But you're right, I doubt they're hiding in there. The house-elves, or someone would have found them."

"The blonde woman probably isn't there, just Brista," said Rory, who had withdrawn a newspaper. "These fires are all over the country. At least one of them has to be far enough away from the school to apparate."

"So Blondie is far away, Brista is nearby, maybe the village or the Forbidden Forest," Albus summarized.

"Probably the second, there is still technically a warrant out for her," said Sarah. They nodded for a moment. Albus dealt out some cards, though none of them had discussed playing a game. It was just something to do with his hands, she guessed.

"Well if that's the case, how is she communicating? Orianna hasn't been leaving the school," Albus pointed out.

Sarah shrugged. "Maybe they have a campfire out there hooked up to the Floo Network. Or maybe one of those magic mirrors." Rory frowned and discarded a two of clubs.

"Those things are actually a lot rarer than you think. Maybe the Floo Network though. They do seem to have an affinity for fire," Albus suggested as he picked up the two.

"Don't you have to keep the fire going the whole time?" asked Rory. "That seems like a hassle, especially since in the Forbidden Forest, where if you overfed it it might set the whole forest on fire."

"Yeah," agreed Albus, "Though normal fire must be a breeze to play with after Fiendfyre."

Sarah didn't really have a good hand, at least, assuming they were playing King's Corners. No, that didn't make sense. She decided to pick up a card from the top of the deck, hoping it got her closer towards her unknown goal.

"What we really need is someone watching her when she's alone, like in her room. But we can't even get into the Slytherin Common Room, let alone her private room. I'll bet anything that's where she communicates with Brista, or the blonde woman." Albus seemed convinced of his correctness.

"Maybe that's why she wanted to Head Girl in the first place. I overheard one of the seventh-years saying that she really was campaigning for it. Not officially of course, but lots of teacher flattery and everything," added Rory.

Sarah thought for a moment. "Do either of you know anyone in Slytherin?"

The other two paused. Albus accidently lowered his cards as he did. Sarah took a quick peek and decided she had nothing to fear from him. "Not really. Weasleys have mostly been headed to Gryffindor, and the ones who go elsewhere are always in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. I mean, if you guys have ever met Grandad Weasley, he has absolutely no ambition whatsoever. Sure, by the end of his career he was pretty high up, but that was mostly accidental. He'd rather study Muggle toilets and stuff."

Rory couldn't think of any either. "Really, my entire family is pretty secluded, both from each other and the wizarding world as a whole. I don't think I had met another witch my age until you, Sarah."

Sarah couldn't think of any either. "Well, do any of you have friends who have friends in Slytherin? Might be a long shot to ask them for a favor, especially a potentially dangerous one like spying on a crazy Head Girl but..." She stopped, an idea forming roughly in her head, but Rory and Albus just took it as an end to her thought.

"Maybe Marcus, he seems depressing enough," suggested Albus.

"That's just because he's solitary, maybe a little anti-social," replied Rory. "He's doesn't actually hate people, or life or whatever. He really is a nice guy." Albus shrugged.

"All I know is we've been spending time with him for half the year and I still don't think he'll willingly say a word to any of us."

"I guess that's true," laughed Rory, "but...
"Guys, I've got it!" interrupted Sarah. "We don't know anyone in Slytherin, or anyone who knows anyone in Slytherin, but we do know someone who knows someone who knows someone in Slytherin!"

Albus and Rory's blank stare was quite justified. "We...do?" asked Rory.

"Well, I do. And you've met him. So I guess, for you guys, you know someone who knows someone who..."

"I think we've got it," interjected Sarah, holding his head, still lost in the layers of separation. He pulled back his focus to look at his cards. "Hey!" He layed them out. "Highs and lows, I win!"

Rory sighed. "Albus, we're playing Gin."

"Sorry...can you go over that one more time?" asked Dustin the next morning at breakfast. Dustin's fifth-year friends were looking on as if Sarah was a puppy. It was endearing, but a little frustrating considering she was attempting to have a slightly covert conversation.

"We want you...to ask Goyle...to ask Malfoy...to spy on Orianna," repeated Sarah, carefully emphasizing each step.

"Okay..." He paused a moment thinking. "And there is a good reason for this?"

Sarah gritted her teeth. "Well yes, but we can't tell you what it is." They had decided beforehand that the less people knew their suspicions the better. It was hard and unnatural not to confide in her brother; she knew that he would confide in her.

Dustin thought for another moment. His friends had returned to their previous conversation, which was a relief for Sarah. "What makes you think Garret will do that for me?"

"Garret?"

"Garret Goyle."

"Didn't you say he idolizes you, has you help him with all of his homework?"

"Yeah..." Dustin sighed. "He's a smart kid really, it just takes him a long time to learn anything. Once he has it down for the first time, he can remember it after that."

"But he'd definitely do it for you, right?" prompted Sarah.

"Yeah, I suppose," agreed Dustin. "But even if he agrees, what makes you think that..."

"...you'll agree?" completed Sarah, raising one eyebrow. "Because if you don't help me out, I'll show up on any future dates you have with Marissa, and generally embarrass you. Not to mention tell every detail about what she does to Mum and Dad, who you know will go crazy and bother you for the rest of the..."

"Oh, that's great!" exclaimed Dustin, but without a hint of sarcasm. "I've already told Marissa all about you, she was really excited to meet you. And Mum and Dad would love to hear about her, I'd tell them myself, but I always forget the details. Hold on..."

Dustin turned around, scanning the Ravenclaw table. "Hmm...There she is! Marissa!"

A calm, slightly dreamy girl turned around. Her hair was dark brown, nearly black, and she was very pretty. Sarah just wasn't sure she could see her ever getting excited about anything. She gave a serene wave to Dustin. Dustin pointed to Sarah, and mouthed, "This is my sister!"

Marissa nodded with a understanding smile and waved again to Sarah. Dustin gave her a thumbs-up, and turned back to Sarah. "There. I'm sure she'll want to talk to you at some point, but now you two recognize each other."

Sarah sighed. "Dustin, you're no good at being blackmailed."

Dustin frowned. "Oh. Sorry. I was going to ask him anyway, I was just wondering if you were sure Malfoy was going to do it for Goyle."

Sarah shrugged, attempting nonchalance, but she was truthfully worried about that step. "Hopefully he'll have some shred of loyalty left to his ex-friend, even though Goyle is a Hufflepuff now."

"I bet he will," said Dustin. "He seemed nicer than I've heard his father is."

"Of course, you always expect the best in everyone," Sarah reminded him. "I hope you never meet a nasty person who ruins your notions of humanity."

Dustin laughed. "Haven't yet, and I hope you're right."

"So, just recapping, tell Goyle to tell Malfoy to spy on Orianna, and report back. To him that is. And he'll report to you. And you'll report to us of course." Dustin nodded.

"Got it. Love ya, sis!" he said as she turned to head back to the Gryffindors.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I know, doesn't mean you have to say it all the time."

"Come on, no need to deny the truth," he jabbed playfully.

"Fine," sighed Sarah. "Love ya too, bro." She put special sarcasm onto the last note. But she did mean it. And this meant a lot to all of them.