Happy New Year! I almost thought I wouldn't get this to you this soon because my internet died and I ended up getting a new laptop (which is actually heaps easier to write on) and then I had a short spout of writer's block! To top it all off this fly was buzzing in my ear right when I was trying to finish it off. Future chapters are written and will be posted soon.

Chapter Fourteen- Better than Revenge

"Harry! Harry!" Grace called after her brother as she raced up the stairs. He disappeared around a corner, forcing her to speed up. She finally caught up to him and Ron on a moving staircase near the third floor, slipping between them. "Happy new year."

"Yeah you too," Harry smiled. "You'll never guess what I got for Christmas."

"Um . . . I have no clue," Grace shook her head.

"A Firebolt," Harry told her. His face was alight with glee. "Completely anonymous with no note or anything."

"It's beautiful," Ron sighed from her other side. "Sleek and polished with not a single twig out of place. . ."

"Yeah I get it," Grace stopped Ron before he could go any further. "Fred and George told me all about it in the summer. Are you going to show me or what?"

"Well no," Harry said before Ron interrupted him.

"Hermione got it confiscated. She said Sirius Black could have sent it and told McGonagall. Now Harry's got no broom because it's being stripped."

"Well I can kind of see where she's coming from," Grace began.

"So you're on her side then?" Harry questioned, frowning at his sister. "It's just a broom Grace!"

"Listen to me, Harry! If you don't even know who sent it then how can you prove it wasn't Sirius Black? The guy was friends with dad; he probably just guessed that you love Quidditch just as much as him! And when a guy like that is out there trying to kill you, you can't blame Hermione for being a bit worried about an anonymous broom. Maybe she didn't go about it the right way but she only told McGonagall because she cares about you and doesn't want to see you killed! Think about it next time you go to argue with her."

Grace's outburst had stunned Ron into silence and made Harry look down at the floor guiltily. They continued walk towards the common room.

"Yeah, I know, you're right," Harry admitted as they reached the sixth floor. Grace raised her eyebrows at him in disbelief. Of course she was right. "How was your Christmas then?"

"Oh it was great, thank you for the book," she said and turned to Ron. "Your family is amazing. Bit mental and they throw a tough snowball but amazing."

"Professor Lupin was looking for you earlier," Harry mentioned.

"Oh yeah I was talking to him just before I saw you. Did you two see him at all over Christmas? I kinda hope he didn't spend it alone."

"He was sick," Ron said. "Didn't come to Christmas lunch or dinner at all."

"Really?" Grace said. Now she only felt worse about the fact that she had left for their first Christmas together. "Oh gosh hope he's alright."

"Dumbledore said he would be," Harry assured her. "Besides he's supposed to be teaching me Anti Dementor lessons."

Grace grinned at that, hoping her brother would be able to fight the Dementors off soon. They entered the loud common room together only to walk straight into Oliver Wood, who looked like he had been seeking Harry everywhere.

"Guess I'll see you later then," Grace said, waving goodbye and heading up to her dormitory. After the holidays and a long night all she wanted to do was collapse on her bed with the curtains closed and ignore the world.

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Lara shivered on her way back from the library on Thursday night. It was always hard to leave the giant room that radiated heat throughout winter and make her way back to the common room. If it was up to her she wouldn't have left at all but it was one of the few evenings that half of her friends weren't at Quidditch practise. She had warned them on the last night of holidays that they would have to study more and so they would.

Having decided to take the passageway up to the common room, she ducked behind a tapestry and crept along in the dark. She had just stopped the readjust the books in her arms when she heard it. On the other side of one of the doors marking the exit of the passageway, Lara could hear quiet sobs and high pitched laughter. Deciding to investigate Lara opened the door a crack and gasped at the scene in front of her.

Helena Oves towered over a cowering first year, her wand twirling in her fingers and a cruel smile on her face. Maria stood behind her, sneering wickedly. The first year, who was wearing Hufflepuff robes, had a scratch on one side of her face and looked like she was about to cry.

"Honestly I don't know why you even go here anymore," Helena was saying. "You're only a Mudblood that needs to be sent back to where you came from."

"Excuse me?" Lara questioned, stepping out from the books and bag were dumped in the passageway in her haste.

"Oh, look, Maria, there's another Mudblood," Helena smirked at Maria over her shoulder. "Isn't this just fun?"

"What have you done to her?" Lara said in a dangerously low voice.

"She bumped into us, Costalosis, we were only teaching her that Muggle born filth shouldn't mess with superior Slytherins like us," Helena replied, warningly. She raised her wand in Lara's direction and took a step forward.

"Helena, I think I've told you before that when you bully first years it becomes my business," Lara told her. "So kindly step away before I hex you."

"It's just a stupid first year, Helena," Maria whispered in Helena's ear, attempting to tug her away.

"Although I disagree with her first point, I think your friend's right," Lara said. "You should leave."

Helena scowled and pulled her arm out of Maria's hold. With one last look at Lara, she started to stalk down the corridor. Maria's eyes swept once around the corridor in disgust before she rushed after her friend. Lara shook her head at them, still unable to believe how someone could be so heartless and shallow. She crouched down and moved towards the first year with a kind smile.

"I'm Lara. Don't worry about those girls. All they are is talk and no action."

"Costalosis!" Helena's voice called down the end of the corridor. "This isn't the end of this I swear."

"For Merlin's sake! Furnunculus!" Lara cried. The jinx shot out of Lara's wand and hit Helena in the face. At the point where the jinx hit Helena's skin broke out in a large angry, red cluster of pimples. "That is the end of this! Stop bullying people who don't deserve it and leave me alone!"

Helena reached up and felt her face with a scream, running out of sight as fast as she could, followed closely by Maria. A giggle from next to Lara drew her attention back to the girl next to her.

"Did you think that was funny?"

"Sorry," the girl giggled. "She just looked funny like that. I'm Taylor Marin."

Lara grinned. Yeah, she thought, Helena did look pretty funny like that. And to her it would be the end of the world. It may have just been the perfect jinx.

"Well Taylor, why don't we get you to the hospital wing and clean up that scratch?"

Lara helped Taylor up off the floor and escorted her to the hospital wing. On the way there they talked about how Helena and Maria bumped into her and it started from there. They pushed her into the wall and, when they found out she was a Muggle born, decided to teach her the 'difference between Purebloods and Mudbloods.' It was when she attempted to walk away and Helena dragged her back that the scratch happened.

When they got to the hospital wing, Lara wasn't surprised to see that Helena wasn't there either. No matter how cowardly she was she still wouldn't tell a teacher what had happened. Revenge would come when there was no chance of detention. Like always, Madam Pompfrey made no comments about the injury, tending it without questions. Lara made no move to explain it either, thinking that if Taylor wanted to tell people she would in her own time.

Later, after walking to Taylor back to her common room and collecting her books from the passageway, Lara finally made it back to the boys' dormitory, just before a teacher found her out after curfew. All of her friends looked up from around the dormitory; worry, concern and plain curiosity on their faces.

"We got worried and borrowed the map from Harry to check it for you. We saw you and Helena and Maria and some Taylor girl then Helena and Maria running away," Ciara confessed. "What happened?"

With a sigh, Lara collapsed down on Lee's bed, letting her books and bags drop, and told her story, with her friends gasping and cheering in all the right places. Lee laughed next to her and put an arm around her shoulders to pull her close as the dormitory got dark.

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Overnight the rumours about what had happened to Helena's face had started. It was obvious she had tried some other sort of counter- jinx to fix it but, upon failing, caked her face with makeup instead. Unfortunately the majority of the rumours were the truth. Most of the students approved actions, giving her high fives as they walked past or sending smiles across the corridor. Lara was bewildered by all of the attention.

On the other hand, the Slytherins gave her the wrong sort of attention. The entire table seemed to be glaring at her at breakfast but Callidus and John looked like they wanted to commit murder right on the spot. Luckily they didn't have class with them all day and Grace and Miranda steered Lara away from the Slytherins wherever possible, just in case.

Waving goodbye to her friends heading off to the Great Hall, Grace made her way up to Remus' office for their Friday night dinner. Laid on the middle of his desk tonight was a platter of different Indian curries that Remus knew Grace loved.

"Good evening Remus," Grace greeted. "How has your day been since I last saw you in third period?"

"Ah Gracie it has been downhill since I saw you," Remus said with a warm smile. "But now that you're here and dinner's hot everything's alright."

Grace grinned at him and sat done, digging straight into their dinner. Another ten minutes passed before they spoke again as they were eating until half of the food was gone.

"How was your first Anti-Dementor lesson with Harry?" she asked.

"Your brother is very talented," Remus told her. "He got further in one lesson than I ever thought a thirteen year old would."

"Yep, he's great," Grace beamed with pride. "Just as talented as mum and dad right?"

"Of course," Remus agreed, inclining his head and not meeting Grace's eyes. "Did you know what he was hearing when the Dementors were near?"

Grace took in a sharp breath of air, remembering the conversation she had with Harry in the hospital wing.

"He- he told me after he fell off his broom that time. It's why I want him to be able to defend himself so much."

"I could never imagine living through that," Remus murmured. "He asked me about Sirius Black as well."

"Really? I told him that you didn't want to talk about it and he just goes right ahead. I mean I know he might be curious but you shouldn't push something like that."

Remus watched Grace with amusement, his eyes lighting up over her fierce protection of him.

"It doesn't even matter Gracie. We moved on. He didn't even mention Sirius being his Godfather."

Grace pushed the remains of dinner around her plate for a minute, thinking about how her parents had chosen Sirius and Remus for their godparents.

"Hang on," she said. "You said Harry's godparents were dead."

"I'm sorry for that," Remus interrupted. "Truly, I couldn't be more sorry."

"I wasn't finished. And I don't care about that. Does that mean that he had a godmother as well? That I had a godmother?"

Remus grimaced, "I wasn't lying when I said they were dead. Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadows were close friends of your mother and both died in the first war. Wonderful girls." Grace reached across the table and grasped Remus' hand in her own, comforting him in what little way she could.

"I have another question, if you don't mind." Remus raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. "Which girl was whose godmother?"

"Marlene was yours," he answered. "She and I were always quite close and your parents thought we would make a cute pair. Besides they had said constantly that if you were a boy Sirius and Dorcas would have been your godparents but Marly and I were perfect for their little daughter. You would have loved her, Gracie. But enough of this moping. I say it's time for dessert."

"I couldn't agree more," Grace smiled as Remus waved his wand to vanish the dinner plates and stood to carry over dessert and the teapot. "As long as it's chocolate."

"Wouldn't be dessert without chocolate," he agreed, moving back to his seat. "What's with these rumours I hear about sweet little Lara hexing a Slytherin?"

"Oh. You've heard those rumours?"

"Grace, everyone has heard those rumours. I've also heard the ones that say John Rookwood and Callidus Minos are out for revenge."

"Trust me, we've noticed," Grace told him as she pulled her chocolate mousse closer.

"Grace, be careful. When I was I was at school half of the Slytherins were preparing to be Death Eaters when they left school and I'm not sure much has changed. Please don't get involved in anything concerning them."

"I promise I won't," Grace assured him, knowing that she wouldn't keep that promise. It wasn't her fault but Helena and Callidus were always starting something with her or her friends. In the pit of her stomach she couldn't help but feel scared for Lara. Suddenly the chocolate mousse didn't taste so good.

Next chapter coming up soon! I wonder what those Slytherins are up to. . .