DISCLAIMER: ALL HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and the respective publishing companies. I do own Jenn Parksen, Lori Wilson, and Monica Sinclair as well this twisted version of the plot. This is, of course, a simple Fan-Fiction that I have written in order to retain some semblance of sanity and dignity.

Chapter 20: Compensations

Up in the hospital wing, Jenn sat silently while she waited for Professor Dumbledore to escort her to their new quarters. Madam Pomfrey had told her that the Headmaster would come for her around lunchtime that afternoon and Jenn felt lonely now that her friends had been released from the ward. She desperately wished she could have gone with them to pack but she knew she would just be in the way until she learned to cope with her blindness. And while she no longer felt as crippled as she had when she first discovered that she had been blinded, she still felt the loss of her sight sharply.

There were compensations for the loss however. Over the last two weeks she had discovered that her hearing had grown sharper. She could now make out a whispered conversation clear on the other end of the ward as if she were standing right next to the speakers. That was how she had found out that the captured Death Eaters had escaped two days after she had woken up and that one of the Aurors had been kissed by rogue dementors.

Kingsley Shacklebolt had come to see Mad-Eye, who was guarding the unconscious Peter in case he should wake, and they had been discussing the attack that had taken place in the Ministry. Jenn had been lying down on her bed with her eyes closed at the time, thinking about the events that had happened since the start of term, when she had heard the door open and close. Shortly after that she had heard Kingsley address Moody and the conversation that followed.

Later that morning she had whispered the information to Lily and the others over breakfast. They had been worried over the information regarding the break in at the Ministry and more than a little impressed with Jenn's heightened hearing. Sirius had called her an honorary Marauder for the pranking possibilities and asked her if she knew if any of her other senses had improved as well. It didn't take them long to figure out that her sense of touch was also improved, as she could tell the difference between James and Sirius's face as well as the difference between Lily and Lori's hands.

These newfound abilities gave Jenn a sense of pride in her self that had been seriously lacking since she discovered that she had lost her eyesight and it gave her an added edge because none of the school's professors or staff knew of her abilities yet. In the time that had passed since they had discovered those traits, Jenn had tested herself religiously so that she had a firm grasp of what she could learn from the world around her using those heightened senses.

She was practicing now, while she waited for Dumbledore to come for her. She started simple, by identifying those sounds that came from within the hospital ward. On the far side of the room she could hear Peter's slow rhythmic breathing as he lay unconscious. Next she recognized Moody's raspy breathing as he sat watching over Peter and the creaking of the chair the grizzled old Auror sat in as Moody shifted occasionally in order to get comfortable. Moving on to the next sound, she logged the ticking of the hospital clock before she identified the slight buzzing of a fly that was hovering around one of the windows. From the direction of Madam Pomfrey's office she could hear the scratching of a quill on paper as the healer wrote a short note. She was concentrating on the tapping noise coming from the office when she noticed an immediate difference in the sounds coming from inside the ward. Quickly she focused her attention back on the ward and tried to trace the sound that had caught her attention.

There it was again, a soft barley audible moan coming from the bed where Peter lay unconscious. Sitting up a bit more in her bed she was flooded with a sudden wariness as she listened to the changes in his breathing.

Moody caught sight of Ms. Parksen's abrupt change in posture as he scanned the room with his magical eye and was instantly alerted by the stiffness in her back as she focused unseeing eyes in his direction. Frowning he tried to figure out what could have possibly caused her to shift her attention over to this part of the ward, when he caught the slightest of movements from the corner of his normal eye. Shifting quickly Moody was able to block a weak blow that Peter had aimed at his head. As Moody whipped out his wand to subdue the boy, Jenn cried out for the healer to come quickly.

Jenn had heard Peter shift on his bed, and then flesh contact flesh as Peter had tried to hit Moody. Not knowing who hit who, Jenn had cried out when she heard the swish of a wand being pulled from inside a cloak. She feared that it was Peter taking the wand but heard Moody's voice a second later just as Madam Pomfrey's footsteps echoed from her office as she came to Moody's help.

Slumping back in her bed she sighed softly in relief, thankful that Peter never had the chance to escape or hurt anyone. She shivered slightly as she recalled the fear that had slid through her when she couldn't actually see what was going on. If it hadn't been for her hearing exercises that she did every morning, she never would have recognized what was happening in time.

As Peter lay quietly stunned in the bed, Moody looked up in time to see Jenn relax back onto her bed. He watched her for several seconds with his magical eye before he spoke softly to Madam Pomfrey concerning Pettigrew's behavior. She listened tightly and then hurried into her office for two potions before returning to Moody's side. Silently she poured out a measured dosage of a sleeping draught into a small cup and revived Peter before giving him the entire contents of the cup. Within minutes he was sleeping soundly once more under the influence of the potion.

The second vile she left with Moody while she left the ward in search of the Headmaster so that he could be informed of Peter's waking. Slowly Moody moved in Jenn's direction while he kept his magical eye on Pettigrew in case he should wake. As he moved closer to the girl he noticed that she sat up and turned in his direction, as if she already knew that he was coming to see her. This made Moody pause for a brief second as he considered the implications of that. Picking up his pace he pulled a chair gently over next to the girl and sat down. Before he could address her, she spoke to him.

"Good morning, Auror Moody. All is well I trust?"

Frowning at her he replied, "Better now. I wanted to see how you were doing; things are much quieter now that your friends have been kicked out."

Jenn smiled briefly at his comment and tilted her head just slightly to the side as she faced him. Moody stared into her clouded eyes and couldn't help feel that she saw things he couldn't see even with his magical eye.

"It's lonely without them, yes, but it is never quiet in here," Jenn replied as she continued to face Moody. "You hesitated on your way here, was there something bothering you sir?"

Moody drew a sharp breath at her question and turned his magical eye on her for several seconds before he let it drift back to watch over Pettigrew. "Might I ask how you knew that? I barely paused for a second. For that matter, you knew Pettigrew was awake before he moved to hit me as well didn't you?" Moody asked in his brash and straight forward manner.

"Moody, sir, can you keep this between just the two of us?" Jenn asked softly. Moody nodded before he caught himself and replied with an equally soft yes. "Since I lost my eyesight, my hearing as improved greatly; and I have spent the last two weeks training myself to recognize every sound that I hear, and Peter's breathing had been a constant wheeze from the start. A few moments before he struck at you I heard his breathing change and the fabric catch on his hands as he moved them. When I heard him hit you, I feared the worst, because I couldn't see what was happening," Jenn supplied in answer to his question.

"That makes at least makes a little sense," Moody mused aloud as he continued to study her with his normal eye. "So how did you know I hesitated on the way here?"

"The pattern of your footsteps changed as you moved across the floor and the sound stuck out in my mind," Jenn responded simply.

"You are a remarkable young woman, Ms. Parksen. I must commend you on your quick grasp of the situation. You saved me from getting hit upside the head just now. Even though Pettigrew is still weak, the blow would have been enough to allow him access to my wand had he managed to land a solid blow to the temple. You alerted me when you turned your attention to that side of the room." Moody praised her in gratitude.

Jenn blushed fiercely at the compliment from such an accomplished Auror and murmured softly under her breath, "I'm glad I could help, sir."

"From what I have heard, you have a good handle on your magical skills as well. May I ask what career you are planning to apply for when you leave Hogwarts this year?"

Jenn felt her high spirits sag with the question. She thought back to her fifth year, when she and Lily had informed McGonagall that they wished to become Aurors upon leaving school. Now, she didn't think she had a chance to obtain such a job without her eyesight. Moody watched her face intently while he waited for a reply.

"I had been hoping to become an A…auror. Lily and I both had decided that we were going to apply to the academy together," Jenn whispered softly as she choked a bit over the word Auror.

"I see no reason why you couldn't still become an Auror girl. There are no requirements calling for each applicant to be perfect. You have gifts that will far outpace your lack of sight and these days very few of our Aurors travel alone. Pared with the right partner, you could easily function at a level that far outpaces the others because of the talent we just discussed."

Jenn sat in a stunned silence as she tried to digest what Moody has just told her.

"Think about it. If you decide that you still want to be an Auror, come tell me, or if I am not here send me an owl and I will submit your application to the academy with my approval stamped on it," Moody added as he stood up to leave.

"I… will give it serious thought, sir," Jenn replied in awe as she tried to understand what had just happened.

"Very well, now if you will excuse me, Dumbledore is here."

"Of course, but you do know that he is not alone, right?" Jenn replied.

Moody laughed because she was right. Kingsley paced along side the Headmaster along with Madam Pomfrey. As Moody made his way back to Peter's side the three of them opened the door and entered the ward.

Jenn lay back down and silently considered what she had learned and carefully pretended that she wasn't listening to the low conversation that was taking place over at Peter's bed. True to his word, Moody said nothing of Jenn's new found ability to discern the slightest sounds around her. Jenn had the sneaking suspicion that Moody knew she was listening in on the conversation and smiled in his direction as she imagined that his magical eye watched over her as he addressed Professor Dumbledore.

From where he stood near the Headmaster, Moody caught site of the smile and almost laughed aloud in spite of himself. He admired the spunk and audacity of the girl and hoped she would seriously consider his offer. He, for one, would be willing to help her on her way to becoming an Auror if she so chose.

Lily stood just inside the girl's new dorm room and looked at the beds with a slight frown on her face. Lori stood to one side and waited for Lily to say something. "I think we should give Jenn the first bed," Lily announced after a few minutes. "That way she doesn't have to worry about tripping over stuff to get to either of the other beds."

"I was thinking the same thing," Lori agreed as she pushed her trunk a but further into the room. "Which bed did you want Lily?"

"It doesn't matter to me really." Lily replied. "Did you want the bed next to Jenn?"

"Why don't you take that one? I'll take the last one," Lori replied with a smile.

"You sure?" Lily asked

"Yep."

Lily smiled back at Lori and pushed her own trunk to the dresser at the foot of the middle bed. With a wave of her wand she charmed the clothes inside to gently float up out of the trunk and into the drawers of her dresser as Lori sighed from the last bed and proceeded to unpack by hand.

"I wish I could charm things the way you do Lily. It would make my life so much easier!" Lori exclaimed.

Lily laughed and set up several pictures on top of the dresser before taking her toiletries into the bathroom across from her bed. She was unexpectedly happy to have her own bathroom, at home she had always had to share her with her sister. As she thought of her sister, Lily saddened and quickly put away her things and left the bathroom before she started crying.

Back in the room she waved her wand once more and put away Jenn's clothes in the dresser at the end of the first bed and then pondered her friend's empty trunk. After a moments deliberation she moved it against the wall right under the charmed window that sat next to Jenn's bed near the door. It would be well out of her friend's way and would help Jenn to know where the window was.

Lori finished putting away her own stuff and placed her own trunk under her window as well. Lily decided to move her trunk into the small closet inside her bathroom. When that was done she checked Jenn's bathroom to make sure there was nothing for her to trip over and then headed back into the room. Lori was waiting for her by the door to the common room and together they stepped out of the dorm room.

From the direction of the boy's dorm, they could hear Sirius and James playfully fighting over who got the middle bed while Remus laughed as he unpacked his stuff into the dresser at the far end. Smiling at their childish behavior Lily moved over towards the table and felt her self grow hungry at the sight of the empty dishes on the buffet. Glancing at her watch she was stunned to find that it was so close to lunch time. Anticipating the arrival of the food, Lily picked up a plate and leaned casually against the table while she waited.

Two minutes later the dishes filled with all kinds of delicious food. Lily stepped forward and began to fill her plate with sandwiches and a bit of salad as she called out to the boys that lunch was here. There was a loud bang as Sirius dropped his trunk and bounded out of the room to eat. James laughed as he tossed Sirius's trunk onto the first bed and claimed the middle one for himself. He quickly unpacked his stuff before he came out to fill his own plate.

"That was underhanded, Prongs," Moony laughed softly as he joined James at the buffet.

"Yes, but lucky for me Padfoot always thinks of his stomach first," James replied good-naturedly.

Remus laughed again before moving to sit down between Lily and Lori at the table. When they gave him a smile and a surprised look, he grinned back and pointed at James and Sirius where they sat alone on the other side of the table.

"I didn't want to lose my food by sitting in between those two animals," Remus replied conspiratorially as he took a bite out of a spare rib. "They have no manners."

Lori and Lily laughed as they agreed with him. James and Sirius looked up but remained oblivious to the fact that they had just been picked on by the other three. Their sole attention was for the food on their plate as they ate ravenously.

AN: Only three chapters remaining in this book... and hopefully I can finish them up fairly soon. Chapter 21 is half revised already so I expect to have it up in a few days. - Jenn