A/N: This story is going slower. As I said, you all will be VERY SATSIFIED with the end, because I am. It is the final, last ever story of Holly Phillips because I don't think I'll write anymore beyond her seventh year (I may get compelled to write a short one-shot on her life after but only if I feel like it). Thanks for the support.

Chapter Ten: Strange Doubts

She was in a classroom; it looked like the Defense Against Dark Arts class. At the back of the class was a single little girl in a white lacy dress with a pink sash.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Holly asked, tentatively, closing the door behind her. The girl looked out the window.

"I like it here," said the girl. "It's warm. You're warm."

"What's your name?" Holly said, slowly. She remembered the girl from a previous dream. The girl turned and grinned at her.

"Billy will never find me here," said the girl. "And neither will you, Mommy."

Holly smiled. "I'll call you Anna," she said. "Do you like that name?"

The girl giggled. "You're funny," she said. "You like my trick?"

"What trick?" Holly asked.

"D'you think it would have been better if Billy found me, that one time?" Anna looked longingly out the window at Hogwarts grounds. "It's been a while since I played outside."

"How long has it been?" Holly inquired.

"Too long..." Anna said with a sigh. Holly's interest grew. This was the first reply she'd gotten from the girl.

"I miss you, Mommy," said Anna.

"I'm not your mum," said Holly.

"I miss Boston, Mommy. It was nice there, in the fall. But too cold..." Anna's demeanor changed and she grinned. "Let's play hide and seek! Don't worry, Mommy. I'll let Billy play too. And then he can find me, and not you. Not like that one time."

"What are you talking about, sweetie?" Holly asked, slowly. As she approached the girl, the room seemed to get colder and colder. The young American grew paler and paler as she continued to look out the window. An unnatural wind ruffled Anna's hair, but didn't touch Holly.

"I wish you hadn't remember me," said Anna, her voice slowly fading. "Sometimes it's best not to be remembered." She turned and looked Holly straight in the eye. It caught the young Gryffindor by surprise, for she saw nothing beyond those eyes. Emptiness.

"But you already know that, don't you, Holly?"

Holly awoke with a start, feeling chills. She noticed it was nearly time for breakfast. She threw her covers aside and got ready. As she did so, she didn't notice the few brown autumn leaves that tumbled from her bed sheets...
The news about Umbridge as High Inquisitor spread like wildfire and infuriated Holly more than anything else. What's worse, she began to notice the cut on the back of Harry's hand intensify.

She noticed him returning to the common room one night and walked purposefully next to him.

"Go away, Holly," Harry said, trying to hide his bandaged hand. Without a word, Holly snatched at his arm and forced him to show her his hand. She quietly unwrapped the bandage and sneered at the words carved into the back of his appendage.

"That devil woman," she spat scornfully. "What a bitch."

Harry yanked his hand back. "It'll be fine," he assured her.

"I'm coming with you next time," Holly said, resolutely. "She's afraid of me. I don't know why, but she is."

Harry looked up at her, half impressed, half suspicious. "What did you do?"

"I answered every single question on her quiz correctly," Holly said with a smirk. "She thought I was cheating– still does, actually. But her attitude towards it has changed... She basically ignores me in class. I could enter with a live band and she wouldn't look up. Fred and George suggested I stop showing up and... You know what? I think I should. If it weren't for my N.E.W.T.s... That woman makes me furious!"

Harry gave her a half-smile. "Things'll work out," he said, optimistically. "They have to."

"Hey, Harry, um... listen," Holly said. "I have something... important to ask. You haven't, you know, told anyone, have you?"

"Well, other than Ron, you're the only one who knows right now..." Harry frowned at Holly's shocked expression. "I mean, I figure Hermione'll know when I see her next, but..."

Holly sighed with relief. "Oh no, Harry, I'm sorry!" she cried. "Not about your hand. I mean... About us."

Harry's eyes widened in realization. "Oh! That, um, well... No. I haven't told a soul. But Ron and Hermione are starting to wonder why I talk about you a lot."

Holly smiled and her eyes lit up. "You talk about me?" she said quietly elated.

Harry shrugged. "Well, yeah. I told them about the stand you made in Flitwick's class. And then I told them how strong you were at Cedric's funeral. And, well... I tell them a lot of things I admire about you." Harry shifted uncomfortably as Holly beamed. She threw her arm around her little brother's shoulders.

"Harry, you just made my day," she said, cheerfully.

When they entered the common room, Holly noticed the strange looks Hermione and Ron gave her.

"I was helping out Professor Flitwick," Holly explained. "He kept me later than he'd expected."

Hermione gasped when she noticed Harry's hand.

"Right, I should be going now!" said Holly and she briskly made her way up the stairs. Though she liked Ron and Hermione's company, for some reason she felt that Harry's friends didn't trust her. And she couldn't figure out what brought on this sudden change in attitude towards her.

Saturday was a day full of surprises for Holly.

The letter arrived that day. And Holly couldn't help but grin.

Dear Holly,

How's school going for you? Because the Quidditch season is over, I'm supposed to be training. I keep up my condition daily, but I'm only an alternate. They're thinking of putting me in full time when I'm of legal age. Anyway, I have a lot of free time on my hands. I figured I'd come visit you and my old teammates to see how they're doing. I also wouldn't mind having a word with Cho Chang. I haven't talked to her in years.

Looking forward to seeing you,

Oliver

"When's he coming?" Lee asked, grinning at Holly from across the Gryffindor table. Holly frowned at him.

"What are you talking about?"

Lee wouldn't stop grinning. He was up to something. "Oliver," he said. "When's good old Wood paying us a visit?"

Holly looked at him suspiciously. "Did he send you a..."

"Boo," came a voice from behind Holly. She nearly jumped out of her seat. She turned, wide eyed, to see an ecstatic Oliver Wood standing behind her.

"Oliver!" she shrieked, jumping up and throwing her arms around him. "How long are you staying?"

Oliver shrugged. "The winter," he explained. "Through December to be precise. January and February I have to really practice. But Dumbledore was too happy to let me use the Quidditch pitch here to work on my skills during my stay here."

"Angelina will scream, you know she will," Holly said, beaming. Oliver laughed.

"Yeah, Angelina..." he said, nostalgically. "Where is she anyway? She was my best chaser."

"As well as a few other things."

Oliver turned at the voice and smiled at the two grinning faces.

"Fred, George," he said. "How are you?" But the twins looked troubled.

"Oliver, you wouldn't believe Ron's skill!" George moaned. "I mean, he's our brother, but I really can't take it anymore! You just have to see him in practice, it's abominable!"

"I didn't know that you knew words longer than two syllables, George," Oliver laughed. "Ron? As in your brother Ron? Well, he's related to you, isn't he? He can't be that bad."

"He is," Fred said. "Believe us."

"He's not that bad!" Holly insisted. "I saw his try out!"

"So did we," Fred said. "And he's gotten progressively worse."

"Ooh," Holly cringed as she realized Ron must not be doing too well at all.

But Oliver just smiled. "Oh, I'm sure with a little work, the lad will be good in no time. He took my spot, right? Well, why don't I work with him?"

Fred and George looked skeptical. "I don't think that would help," said George.

"We'll see," said Oliver with a wink. "We'll see."

Doggle handed back the results of their tests and winked at Holly. She had gotten a bold red O. She grinned at her achievement. Muggle life seemed to come easily to her, though she wasn't quite sure why. She seemed to understand these non-magical folk and their way of life, and almost envied them.

It's so simple, she thought to herself. Everything is tangible. Magic exists only in fairy stories. Life is what they have made it. Magic is what shapes our world, not necessity or ingenuity.

"Onto the lesson," Doggle said with the twitch of a smile. "The British and American Witch Trials."

A few students protested.

"We study this in History of Magic," complained Ginny Weasley, Fred and George's younger sister.

"You do," Doggle nodded. "But from a wizard's perspective. What many of us neglect to realize is that plenty of Muggles lost their lives being persecuted as a witch. Take for instance the trial of Sandra LaSable of Virginia. She was tortured and beaten and forced to admit she was a witch. A stout Christian, she refused through her tears, claiming God will make her case. God never intervened and she was drowned."

"Well, why didn't they use a video camera to monitor if they did any magic or not?" inquired a Hufflepuff fourth year Holly didn't know.

"They did not have video cameras back then," Doggle exclaimed. "That was invented in just the recent few decades."

Those poor Muggles, Holly thought. Killed and for no reason...