hey everyone!

i just want to say a big thank you to everyone who is still plugging along with me 3, i know things are getting a bit darker in these chapters, but we have a lot a light ahead of us

i have always planned to delve into Mila's memories of her first life, which i think will provide a nice break from the intense little situation we have going on here (this will still be several chapters away but i'm pretty excited about it)

overall this is a story of love and laughter, i don't like keeping things too serious for too long, but then again i do love really pondering on how characters react to things, what they think and feel etc. you know, the good stuff ;)

for every comment, and every message (especially in my absence) , i just want to say thank you- these are the things that keep me going. i never thought i could get this far with a story, and i have no intention of stopping, it really does mean a lot

i think we have something pretty special going on here, and i hope you do too xx

"Mr Weasley, Miss Lovett, it seems Mr Potter and Miss Granger have completed their journey here."

"Looks like our better halves have arrived," Mila muttered to Ron.

He looked at her, unsure whether he should be laughing, or worried.

"Mr Malfoy is here also," Dumbledore added.

Mila blinked. Draco was here? They'd actually invited him? The stress she was feeling doubled. She'd only seen Ron, and already she was overwhelmed. She'd tried to avoid thinking about how her departure had effected her friends, all that led to was a guilt she didn't think she should have to feel. But it was different when it was someone who, most likely, hadn't known the truth about her. Draco and Harry, they were both innocent in all of this. But it was hard to separate her emotions, and even harder to be confronted with them.

Ron could feel her tense beside him. "Do you mind if we have a few more minutes?"

Dumbledore nodded, and, once again, left the two of them alone.

"Do you want to see them?" Ron asked.

Mila didn't know. This morning she had woken up with a plan to steal more money to extend her motel stay, and now she was here. She was back at Hogwarts, back where this whole mess had started.

"I'm not sure," she whispered, her head shaking on its own accord.

If Ron had held any anger towards her for leaving, he wasn't showing it. Instead, he watched his friend concerned.

"I- I should see them," she said.

She was trying to convince herself more than anything. It had been a long time, she'd missed them so much, but she knew she couldn't get them back. Especially Hermione. Everything was too twisted now. Seeing them would prove that without a doubt.

"Mila-"

"I'll see them." She was a Gryffindor. Brave. She never thought she would need Gryffindor courage to see her friends.

Ron nodded. "I'll go tell them."

She just needed them to see she was ok, Mila reminded herself, then she could be alone. She could go lock herself away somewhere. This was on her terms, not Dumbledore's, her's.

Ron had gone on the other side of the door, and she was alone again.

She sat, nervously playing with her sleeves. Her ears were keenly listening for any sound coming from behind the door. She could hear nothing.

She stood up, then sat down, then stood again. She paced. This was taking longer than she expected. She grabbed the Marauder's map from her bag.

With shaking hands, she opened it to see where her friends were. And why they were taking so long.

There was only one cluster of people on the whole map. The rest of the school was empty. There was just nine people, all standing together.

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger… Her eyes narrowed. Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Albus Dumbledore. All congregated together in a separate room. All talking about her as they left her to her own devices.

She clutched the map, and walked out of the Great Hall.

She didn't go far. In fact she went to the place she spent most of her nights at Hogwarts. Her bedroom.

The rest of her stuff was all still there, though it was unaccompanied by anyone else's, since they had all packed and left. Even Hermione's things were gone.

Her bed was still made. Immaculately so. Way better than she would have ever made it herself. In fact, all her stuff was very neatly tucked away. Someone had obviously gone through it. It almost made Mila want to run straight out of here all over again.

She ran her finger over her nightstand. She was seeing this room with a brand new set of eyes. This wasn't her home, it was a joke. A cruel joke she'd been believing for almost seventeen years.

She wasn't sure exactly how long it was that she silently studied the space, but when she was interrupted it felt like an eternity had passed. Hermione Granger was in her room.

"Mila?"

When Mila heard Hermione's voice, she was drawn back to the night she left, and how similar this moment was.

When Mila didn't say anything, Hermione spoke again. "You weren't in the Great Hall, we thought… we didn't know if you had left again." Hermione was out of breath.

Mila turned to face her. Hermione studied Mila's dishevelled appearance, but the startling thing was her eyes. Mila's eyes were completely without feeling. She wondered what exactly Mila had been doing in here.

Hermione voiced her thoughts again. "It's nice to see you. Are you- are you hungry?"

Mila shook her head.

Hermione hadn't seen her friend in so long. She was unsure how mad Mila was, unsure how much she knew, and she was unsure where they stood. Fighting with a friend could be just as bad as fighting with a lover, sometimes worse. You could look at a person you'd known so whole-heartedly and start to realise that you didn't know them at all.

Hermione plunged on. "Are you tired?"

Mila nodded.

Hermione looked just about grateful to get some sort of positive response. She'd known seeing her friend again wouldn't be easy, but she was totally unprepared for the silence she was being granted. She'd expected more yelling.

"Well, that's ok. We understand you might want to sleep first." Hermione walked over to Mila's bed and began fluffing pillows. "We can make this more comfortable, and we can grab some snacks, and sleep. And if you have any questions, I suppose I'm allowed to answer them now, though it is rather late, so maybe sleep would be better," she babbled.

"I'm not sleeping in here."

Hermione froze, her hands lingering on the bed sheet. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to smile, before she turned around.

"Sure, we can find somewhere else. Where would you like to go?" Hermione asked.

"I don't care."

"Well, I can help you sort something out if you-"

"No, thank you." Mila began to walk out.

"But-" Hermione rebuked.

"I'll figure it out myself."

"Ok, but first-" Hermione's words halted Mila's movement.

Mila didn't meet her eye. "What?"

"I need to take the map from you."

Mila's blood went cold. "Excuse me?"

"Like it or not, Mila, we're your friends, and we're trying to help you. And we need to make sure you don't leave again."

Mila hit Hermione with a hard stare, as she pulled the map from her pocket. She tossed it onto Hermione's bed.

"Thanks for the help, friend."

Hermione watched Mila walk out the room. Five weeks had clearly done nothing. Mila didn't seem like she had an ounce of forgiveness in her, not for Hermione at least. Hermione had listened jealously to Ron when he told her Mila had been somewhat happy to see him.

She thought, maybe, that would mean that the same would occur for her. That the time had done Mila good, and she could understand why Hermione had done what she did. Apparently that wasn't the case.

Ron's betrayal hadn't been so deep, only short of a few months. Hermione's had been much longer than that, and she hoped the price she had to pay wasn't nearly half as long.

The worst part was that all wasn't over. There was more coming. Dumbledore might have been able to convince the others the worst had passed, but he hadn't been able to convince Hermione. After all, she really was the brightest witch of her age.

But she needed to focus on right now. And right now, she needed to tell her friends that Mila was still here. She hoped that wouldn't change.

When Mila woke up the next morning, it took her a moment to remember where she was. It was hard to recognise, due to it constantly changing whenever she wanted food or a bathroom break, but the Room of Requirement had a certain aura that put the guest at ease.

It turned out it hadn't been a hard choice to decide where to sleep. Why wouldn't she have gone to the place that could conjure up a breakfast burrito at her will.

She ate, and she sat, and she stared at the ceiling. The room was working hard, trying to come up with some sort of entertainment for her idle mind, but nothing was catching her eye, and the thing she wanted most was space. So that's what it ended up giving her.

An empty room, with only her bed to sit on.

Now that she didn't have the map, she could only wonder where her friends were. And where Lupin and Sirius were too.

She thought the whole point of this little arrangement was that they could have a go at 'explaining' why she shouldn't be angry or upset with them. That was why she was here, wasn't it?

She had admitted to herself last night that she wanted answers. This whole mess had brought up a lot of questions, and her curiosity had always gotten the best of her.

Back when she'd found out, they'd talked about the night Harry's parents had been killed. Mila had been there. Why? How had this whole thing occurred? Whether she liked it or not, the only people in the world who could tell her were in this building.

So she sat up, and swallowed her pride, but not her anger. She wasn't ready to let that go just yet.

New clothes appeared, a clean shirt and jeans. She changed quickly, and wondered what the range of the room was, and if these clothes were going to disappear off her body the second she left. But more importantly she wondered exactly how she as going to do this. She didn't even have the map to prepare her, she just had to blindly walk the halls, and at any given moment, could bump into someone she had left behind.

She didn't think it would happen so suddenly.

"Harry?"

Her best friend stared at her in shock as she appeared from the room out of nowhere. He had a bowl of cereal, with a spoon half raised to his mouth. And a book? Had he been planning to sit outside the Room of Requirement and wait for her?

"Mila." He slowly bent to put the cereal on the ground, and Mila didn't think she had seen a more ludicrous action in his life. Harry Potter was not graceful, which was evident in his 'cereal placing down' capabilities.

This was not how she thought she would be reunited with her friend. When Harry ran to her and hugged her however, it was a little more like what she pictured.

"You're ok!" Harry whispered into her hair. He squeezed a little more tightly than she was used to, it was so nice to see someone who was in the same boat as she was. He may not have been the one with two lives, but he had been lied to as well.

She pulled away from him. "So are you."

She had been so intent on anger, and now she was so relived to see Harry, that it was natural tears sprung in her eyes. Her emotions were so volatile at the moment, she felt like she went from one extreme to the next.

"Did you really not know?" They both knew what she meant and she had to ask. Even if she knew the answer already.

He shook his head. "No. I swear."

That was enough, she believed him. "Where is everyone?"

"I haven't seen the adults since last night. They weren't telling me when I could see you, but they mentioned you were sleeping here. I wanted to see you, but I didn't know if-"

"If I wanted to see you," she finished.

"I can barely wrap my head around the whole thing," Harry admitted. "But where have you been? Have you been safe?"

She brushed off his concerns. "I was fine, just holed up somewhere." She paused, "I'm sorry that- I didn't tell you."

His face was full of concern, not anger, and for that Mila was grateful. Harry wouldn't hold her actions against her, because he understood how she worked.

"I'm just glad you're back," he said. He gave her a squeeze on the shoulder and she knew he wouldn't push her any further.

It was so strange how at ease she felt. Harry was the one she had grown up with. Harry. It was easy to believe that was true when it was just the two of them. She wanted to chase that feeling a little longer.

"Tell me everything."

Harry told her about his NEWTs, and about how Ron had nearly thrown at quill at Seamus because he kept reading the questions aloud. Harry steered clear of talking about Hermione, they were both a little cautious when it came to mentioning the brunette.

"And Ginny, how is she?"

When Mila asked, the oddest thing occurred. Harry's cheeks tinged red, and Mila found herself studying them a little too intently.

"She's been helpful. We- we've been talking a lot. She knew I was missing you and- yeah."

"Helpful?" Mila couldn't help but press.

A little part of her, a tiny part, was hurt. She knew Harry missed her, and she knew that they would always been friends, and she even knew that Ginny had feelings for Harry. But, whether Harry was fully aware of it or not, it was obvious that Ginny was filling a void that Mila had never been able to. Mila had often wondered what it would be like when Harry found someone who could love him back, and, she supposed, she should be happy it was someone she liked. But it hurt that it had happened in her absence, and maybe because of it.

Harry continued. "I know this might be a little weird to talk about, and nothing's really happened. But it's been really hard with you gone, and before this whole thing, you were really happy with Draco-"

"I don't know if I was 'with' Draco," she interrupted. They had never officially talked about it. But it had definitely been heading there.

"Well, whatever it was, you guys had something that we never did, and I didn't want to admit it. Except now, things are different."

Mila looked at Harry who, despite looking like he hadn't slept in weeks, didn't look nearly as heartbroken as she feared he would be when she disappeared. For that reason alone, she decided she should be grateful.

It was still a little awkward to get the words out. They rarely talked to each other about their love lives.

"I mean, I know you don't need my permission, or whatever. But you have it. If Ginny makes you happy then, I'm glad."

He smiled at her. "I've really missed you, you know."

For the first time in a long time, Mila's face lit up with a smile. "I missed you too."

Harry took a moment to feel joy, but his face turned more grave. "To tell you the truth, Mila. I don't really understand why we're all here. They want to explain things to you, of course, but doesn't this all just feel a little… much?"

"I don't understand." She'd been under the impression that she was here to hear them out, nothing more. But Harry had been the one who'd talked plans with them, he knew more of what was going on.

"Dumbledore keeps talking about- I don't know, he just seems really intent on you learning about, well, you know…"

"You're kind of freaking me out, Potter." She tried to comprehend what he was saying. Was there more to all of them being here?

"Look, I'm just as angry at Sirius and Lupin as you, but I do think you should see them. I think you being able to understand why they did what they did would help."

She nodded unsurely. "I don't know if I can do that. When I was away, I could pretend that this never happened. But learning about my life? That makes it real. And then I have to figure out what it all means. What will that make me? A girl who was born in 1960?"

"I get it. I want you to be you. But who I am, and who we are… we've always had to consider the bigger picture. This is your bigger picture."

She gave a stressful sigh. "When did you get so poetic?"

"I have a very dramatic best friend," Harry smiled.

"But I do think there is someone you should check in with first," he added.

And that was when Mila Lovett found herself in the Slytherin Common Room.

Last night, when they were alerted to the fact that Mila was still inside the building, a meeting took place in Dumbledore's office.

Sirius Black was fed up with meetings. As Lupin wearily sat in a chair next to him, Sirius was fidgeting to try and calm his temper. He thought the fact that he was even trying showed great personal growth on his part. Nobody else seemed to notice.

The relief at knowing Mila was safe was quickly overwhelmed with the anxiety of seeing her again. Hermione's report had done nothing to lessen it. Mila was angry, and hurt. But that was to be expected.

He realised he had been zoning out, and perked to his ears to listen to the end of Dumbledore's sentence.

"-we know where she is. She is safely inside the castle, and we are now in control of the situation. The other children have gone to bed. The only thing we should do now is wait."

This was normally a point that Sirius would have argued. He had done almost seventeen years of waiting. But now the moment was here. Mila finally knew, and despite her hostility, he knew that she would want explanation. But he did not want Mila Lovett to hate him.

Instead, it was Remus who voiced an argument. "Why wait? We've already ruined her life, the whole plan has gone to hell. Why try and tiptoe around her like she's still none the wiser?"

"Remus, are you quite alright?" McGonagall asked.

"Not really, Minerva, no."

"Remus, please calm down," Dumbledore said.

Remus did not stand, but his voice was tinged with a quiet anger that Sirius recognised as Remus' breaking point.

"I have followed your instructions for seventeen years, Albus. What good did it do? We had absolutely no control over how she found out," Lupin said.

"Moony, please-" Sirius began.

"No, Sirius," Remus interrupted, "I knew you were foolish, but the part you played in her discovery was an absolute low. Did you think she was going to run into your arms? Because the fact of the matter is that she ran away, she was missing for a whole month."

He turned back to Dumbledore. "Tell me, Albus, how does that resemble control?"

Dumbledore's words were the gentle sort. "I know she was your friend, Remus, but there is a bigger picture here."

"And yet, you will not confide in what that picture is?"

"I believe it is only just coming to pass. I simply can't disclose anymore until I know for sure. But you have what you wanted. Mila is here, and we can persuade her to listen."

Only then did Remus stand. "None of this is what I wanted."

He walked out of the office, leaving Sirius with the two teachers.

"I must say, I was expecting more of a fight from you, Sirius," McGonagall said, her eyes on the door that Lupin exited through.

"As long as I get to talk to her," he said, "You'll get no argument from me."

It was Dumbledore who answered. "You will speak to her, Sirius. I'm counting on it."

Sirius didn't know whether to be relieved by that reassurance or worried.