After lunch, Hermione headed back to the library, apparently still not speaking to Ron or Harry because of the situation with the cat and the rat. Ginny headed to the kitchens, ready to go back to the Security Room. She opened the Chamber and quickly made her way to the main room.

As she passed the serpent guardians, they hissed a welcome to her, and she hissed back her thanks and a greeting as she strode by. She hurried toward the Security Room, glad to enter and stand in the middle of it, wondering what to ask the Chamber for. A few moments later, she lifted her face and said, "Lestrange twins: this year."

Estella watched as the Slytherin Common Room formed around her, various Slytherins gathered around the two small dark-haired boys who were sitting beside their cousin Meris. She plopped down on the floor, leaning against the couch where the three Lestranges were sitting, listening.

"Yes, Malfoy," said the one boy, "you and Meris are our closest free relatives. First cousins, both of you."

"One from the mum's side, one from the dad's side," chuckled the other boy.

"But how is this possible?" Corin asked. "I mean, they're in Azkaban—" his cheeks turned red, and there was laughter all over the Common Room.

The first twin laughed, then answered, "Mum was already carrying us when she was incarcerated. We don't know if our Father even knows we exist."

The other twin shook his head. "We don't even know exactly what day we were born," he said. "Our adopted parents told us that we were born in Mum's cell, but that we weren't discovered until several days later."

Lauren Avery raised an eyebrow. "She kept you with her that long before they found out? Didn't they know she was expecting?"

"That's something else we don't know," sighed the second. "We were told that we required special care from St. Mungo's after we were discovered in Mum's cell. Supposedly the two of us almost died, being weak and sickly."

"No wonder you're so short," Theo laughed, and the first twin frowned at him.

"Ro doesn't like short jokes," said the second. "Never has. I suggest you don't use them on him."

Theo shrugged, and the one who must have been Karntaan said, "But we do know that she's in the really tall South Tower that no one really ever goes into, except to make sure nothing's wearing down. Aimee—that's our adopted Mum—told us that Mother was frantic when the authorities finally discovered us. She knew we needed help, I guess."

Ro rolled his eyes. "All Lestranges need help." He glanced at Meris accusingly. "Except you. You haven't been to Azkaban."

"You must be so proud," Meris replied, and the twins laughed, others joining in.

"Aimee says Mum was in such bad shape that she had to have treatment at St. Mungo's too," Karntaan shrugged. "She had some sort of disease that girls get after having babies. I didn't ask."

More laughter came from the others, and Lauren looked slightly concerned. "She must have been in bad shape if they took her to St. Mungo's for treatment. There is an infirmary in the prison, but they may have not been able to handle her case if it had gone on for over a week."

The twins shrugged. "Like he said," Rohan repeated. "We didn't ask."

"So, how did you end up with the Wesley Averys?" asked Cherea.

"Mum decided that's who she wanted us to stay with, or so we were told," said Karntaan. "I don't know what she was thinking."

"Who knows how she thinks?" Draco rolled his eyes.

"Yeah," Samantha added. "And, was she in Azkaban when she said where she wanted you two to stay, or was she in St. Mungo's when she made the decision?"

Ro sighed. "We don't know. There is so much we don't know, that only our mother can tell us. And really, until the Dark Lord returns, we won't be in any position to ask her."

Megan frowned. "So...why do you think you were sent to stay with a blood-traitor family?"

"They're not blood-traitors," snapped Karntaan and Rohan together, glaring at her as Lauren turned to glare at the redhead. "They are Slytherins who merely prefer to keep to themselves, keeping a low profile. Unlike some."

"Why are you looking at me?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow, and Alvin snickered.

"Malfoy, everyone knows you've got a mouth bigger than a dementor's maw," Alvin told Draco. "You don't seem to know the meaning of 'low profile.'"

Pansy, Samantha, and several other girls shrieked with laughter, and Theodore looked on, his expression blank although his brother had just insulted Draco Malfoy.

Karntaan interrupted before a fight could start. "Anyway," he said, "we're just waiting on the Dark Lord."

"Not going to go looking for him?" Tracey sniggered, and other students laughed again.

"Nooo," said Ro, shaking his head. "Nope. I've heard the Dark Lord should be back within a couple years. Don't know where that idea came from, but it's been circulating."

"But we have a question," Karntaan said, ignoring the looks of fear and trepidation some of the other students were giving each other. "Is it true that the Parkington girl was raised by Weasleys?"

Estella startled in surprise, wondering why the Lestrange twins would ask about her. She wasn't of any their concern...she didn't think she had anything to do with them, did she?

Draco snorted with laughter. "Yes, and she acts like one."

Brianna glared at Draco. "You don't help anything when you're taunting her about them! You really do have a big mouth, you know. You'd think that your father might have taught you a little subtlety, Malfoy!"

"So, she does come around here?" Ro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Megan answered. "And she's usually with the Charleston twins, although she does speak to the rest of us. Obviously, she and Draco have some conflicts."

No one laughed.

The twins finally sighed and stood. "This was better than the interrogation we received in the Headmaster's office. They checked us for the Dark Mark. Honestly. The paranoia of some people. You'd think Dumbledore's gone senile."

The Common Room erupted in laughter as the Lestrange twins headed up to their dormitory.

Estella sat there for a few moments, thinking of all that the twins had said and wondering what the two boys would be like, especially compared to their cousin Meris. She decided to find out as soon as she could, then turned back to the room, not yet ready to leave.

She looked up with a smirk on her face and said, "Charlie Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks, three years ago." She waited as the room changed, and Estella gasped, realising that she were in the Hufflepuff Common Room after lights-out.

"Nicely done, Tonksie," Charlie laughed quietly, the two sitting side by side on one of the sofas. "Do you think he'll find out?"

"No," Tonks grinned at him, pushing back her green and black hair. "I just hope, if anyone finds out, it won't hurt my chances to be an Auror."

Charlie wrinkled his nose and shook his head at her. "Snape's smart, but not that smart. And I doubt he'd hurt your chances any."

Tonks sighed. "You weren't there," she said emphatically, slapping her hand down and sending a letter flying off of her lap. "You don't know how he said it! He doesn't like me!"

"He doesn't like anyone except Slytherins," Charlie consoled her, Accio-ing her letter.

"When he sees it," she snorted, hiding her face in her hands as she giggled silently, "he's either going to jump out of his skin, or kill it."

"Kill his skin?" Charlie asked, eyebrow raised.
Tonks laughed harder, and Charlie hushed her, touching her shoulder warningly. "I'm sure it'll be fine," he told her when she lifted her face after a moment. "You just think too much." He grasped her hands in his, then leaned closer to her, kissing her gently just as her eyebrows shot toward her hairline in alarm.

Moments later, Charlie drew back and looked at her. She looked down at their hands, her hair hiding her face. She reached one of her hands up to her face a moment later, and finally looked up at him when he asked, "Tonks?"

"Charlie," she whispered, looking miserable, "I don't love you."

"Are you sure?" he replied, looking into her eyes. "Because I love you."

"No!" she sounded wounded, and said, "Charlie, please—"

He squeezed her hand and said, "Yes. I love you, and I want you to marry me."

She looked hurt and pulled her hands away as discretely as she could. "Charlie, I don't love you like that," she whispered, her large black eyes pleading for him to understand. "I—you're my friend. But—I don't feel—there's just nothing there!"

The red-haired boy looked into her eyes, seeing truth. "Dora—"

"Don't call me Dora," she whispered, feeling terrible at his reaction.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she answered again, then stood, feeling extremely awkward.

He jumped up and said, "Tonks, if you ever—if you change your mind, I'll be waiting for you."

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, then stepped around him and hurried from the Common Room, tears not seen by Charlie beginning to run down her face.

"Nymphadora Tonks, lock," Estella whispered, her words so quiet she could barely hear them. "Charlie Weasley, lock."

Charlie sank down onto the couch and buried his face in his hands, groaning her name in anguish. "I love you," he whispered to the silence, then picked up her letter.

Nymphadora quickly moved along the corridor, Disillusioning herself as she left the Common Room. She could not be seen. Finding an empty classroom, she allowed herself to cry, but her storm of grief spent itself quickly and she wiped her tears away, morphing to hide the evidence of her emotion.

Leaving the room, she morphed again, becoming slightly taller, her hair turning black and spilling down her back. Her eyes glittered black as her body morphed to look older, more developed, and she smirked slightly as she grasped her wand.

When she arrived in the Slytherin dungeons, she pronounced the password, drawing the rune symbol on the wall to open the door. She entered the Common Room, and found someone waiting for her.

"Castella," he said, smirking. "You've come back. I wondered if you would. It is the last week before you leave Hogwarts forever."

"What?" she raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this your last year as well? Or did you fail your Newts like I thought?"

He laughed derisively. "No, dear," he said softly. "I wanted us to have our rematch. You promised, remember?"

She looked down her nose at him. "If I made any such promise, I was not myself at the time."

"But you promised," he laughed at her, and she hissed at him through her teeth. "Then come on," he smirked, brandishing his wand. "Let's get to it."

Magic exploded in the Slytherin Common Room, curses and hexes flying through the air as the two broke into a furious duel. The young woman's eyes flashed as she dueled coldly, her opponent smirking and laughing. They did not taunt each other, but between his smirking and her taunting eyes, words were unnecessary.

Unfortunately for Nymphadora (or Castella, as he called her), she tripped and fell, landing flat on her back. He was instantly over her, his wand pointed directly into her face. "Surrender," he told her, tossing his dark hair out of his eyes. "Or die."

She laughed, and he dropped down beside her, leaning across her to whisper directly into her ear, "Want a rematch?"

"No," she breathed, slipping her arm around him and grasping a handful of his hair as he looked down at her seriously. "Melvin, you're a prat."

"And you're—" he leaned down and kissed her heatedly, the two seeming to fight for dominance during their embrace. She moaned softly against his lips and he kissed her harder, fiercely, deeply. "I wish you would share magic," he whispered in her ear, and she clutched him tightly.

"I told you I want to keep my magic pure," she said breathlessly into his smirking face. He kissed her playfully, and she said, "Stop. Stop, Melv, stop!"

Her words only encouraged him, and she grasped him more tightly until he drew back, now whispering, "Won't you allow what you want, Castella? It is the last week of our lives at school."

Castella leaned her head back on the floor, her eyes closed, her dark hair fanned out around her. "I promised my mother before she died that I'd abstain from physical encounters until I was married—oh!"

The young man had pressed his lips to her neck. "Really? Doesn't this count? Does it?"

He pressed kisses to her neck, and she moaned, "Melv, please!"

"Please what?" he laughed softly, looking down into her eyes. "Less, or more?"

"No," she pouted, closing her eyes so that her long, dark eyelashes were obvious against her pale skin. "That's not what I meant, and you know it. Unless you're more thick-headed than I thought."

Laughing, he lay his head on her chest, and she sighed, hugging him to herself. "I'm going to miss you," she said to him.

He smiled. "You don't have to miss me," he said softly. "You could become my wife."

Her heart pounded fiercely. "Melvin," she whispered, hugging him more tightly. "Oh, Melvin!"

The boy sat up and looked into her face. "Then you will," he said joyfully, catching her hands in his. "Castella—!"

"No," she said, and he stared down at her, shocked. Tears once again spilled out of her eyes, raining down as he watched her, shattered. "I can't."

"I've never seen you cry," he said, at a loss for what to do. "Please don't, Castella. What do you mean?" She just cried, so he drew her into his arms and held her close. "Even though we became a couple just so that no one would bother you, I've fallen in love with you, darling." She wept harder, and he leaned his head against hers, sighing.

"I do love you," she whispered through the rain, "but I can't marry you."

He looked into her tear-bright eyes. "Is there someone else?"

She shook her head. "Sorry," she whispered, trying to wipe her tears away. "I—I should go." She tried to get up, but he wouldn't release her. "Melvin, please," she wept, very close to beginning to sob aloud. "Please let me go. I'll only hurt you."

"Castella, don't just walk away," he pleaded with her as she cried distantly. "I want you to be mine."

"I can't!" she sobbed, then buried her face in his robe to stifle her sobs. "Please, please, let me go!"

He let her go, looking at her, and she knew he was hurt. "Your father hadn't betrothed you to another before he died, did he?"

She shook her head, then wiped her tears away yet again. "No. Melvin, please—please don't hate me. Know that I do love you: I just can't—I don't want the same things you want, and—you deserve better."

"Better?" he said in shock. "Better than you? I don't think there is any such thing, Castella."

"There are much better women then I, Melvin," she whispered, looking into his eyes. "Honest, good women. You need one of those. You're a decent boy, Melvin. Please don't go Dark." She turned and ran desperately out of the Slytherin Common Room.

Estella sat on the floor of the Security Room in the dark, tears in her eyes as she stared at the blank walls. "Why did she say no?" Estella sniffed, her voice near echoing in the room. "Charlie definitely wasn't enough for her, but...this Melvin. She even said she loved him, but she couldn't have him. Why would she do that?"

She dashed her tears away, shaking her head at the thoughts of her mind, and left the Chamber quickly, heading to the Slytherin Common Room.


Ginny sent Bill the letter that she'd written asking him what had happened in the tombs. She didn't tell anyone what she'd seen of Tonks, but kept the secrets to herself. The more she thought of Tonks, Charlie, and Melvin, the more she loved Tonks. The girl seemed to have another side to her that Ginny thought might be worth getting to know. The trouble was: how could she talk to and befriend Tonks without her cousins knowing what she was doing? Or without Tonks finding out that Ginny knew she'd turned down two proposals in one night?

Ginny rolled her eyes, finding her mind stuck on Tonks again. She'd been thinking of Tonks a lot the last few weeks after witnessing the night of proposals. Ginny had even idly thought of Tonks during the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match when some of the Slytherins had walked onto the field, pretending to be dementors. Harry's fully formed Stag Patronus had made Ginny wonder what Tonks' Patronus was, or if she even had one. Weren't Aurors supposed to have a Patronus?

Just then, Ginny realised that Gryffindor had won the Quidditch match. Honestly. Harry was just so good that she wanted to punch him. Everyone else was excited, however, because that meant that Gryffindor would play one of the houses (Ginny didn't remember which one besides Slytherin mattered) in the last game of the year.

After remaining in the Gryffindor Common Room a little while after the match, Ginny walked down to the Slytherin dungeons, sitting down with some of her friends. Karntaan and Rohan Lestrange looked over at her and called, "Parkington, did you know that Potter could do a Patronus, or did he surprise you too?"

"I'm amazed he has the magical capacity," Draco drawled.

"Shut up, Draco," Estella told him. "You talk big for someone who just impersonated a dementor. I had no idea Harry could do a Patronus, let alone what it was. A Stag? Why a Stag?"

"Who knows?" Megan shrugged. "Who cares?"

Estella rolled her eyes. "Professor Lupin told me that the Patronus is a representation of someone's soul and may tell different things about them."

Draco propped his legs up on the table in front of him. "So...tell us about Potter?"

"I think you see as much as you want to, darling," Estella said sarcastically. "I needn't explain what I know nothing about!"

"What were you talking to Lupin for? Surely you aren't sticking around to discuss questions of general interest with him?" asked Ro, smirking.

"Of course not," Estella replied shortly. "He taught me the Patronus because I asked him. The information was part of the lesson."

The Slytherins shouted with laughter, and Karnt asked, "What is your Patronus, Stel?"

"Fox," she said. "And I've only done it twice, and that was with Professor Lupin's direct instruction."

"'Professor Lupin,'" Pansy mimicked. "You're so polite, Estella." Estella glared at her. "What does your Patronus say about you?"

"He said that a Fox Patronus could mean that I'm sly and sneak," Estella replied dully. "Don't know what he meant by that. I'd rather my Patronus be a serpent. That'd be cool. Although I'm not sure about a venomous creature being a protector."

"Icythan protectsss missstress!" the serpent protested, and Estella smiled.

Megan grinned as Estella amended, "Actually, it probably could be."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Make up your mind."

"I'm trying to!" she pouted. "There were dementors on the field!"

Everyone laughed at her and returned to their own doings. About to settle into finishing her homework for the approaching Monday, Estella looked up to see Marcus Flint looking down at her. "What do you want?" she asked him warily.

He smirked at her nastily. "You." She raised an eyebrow, and he said, "You will come to the Slytherin Quidditch practice next Saturday. We want to try you out as a Chaser to perhaps play against Hufflepuff in a few weeks."

Estella stared at him. "Oookay," she nodded, and he raised his eyebrows.

"I doubted you would," he said. "Don't forget, Parkington."

"Of course not," she answered, and he left.

"Oh, Estella!" squealed Megan and the Charleston twins at the same time. "A chance to play on the Slytherin team! There hasn't been a girl on the Slytherin team in years!"

She shrugged. "I'm going to try out," she said. "I don't know if I'll actually get on the team, though. But I'd like to. I'd like to play Hogwarts Quidditch instead of flying in the Weasley orchard like a wimp."

The other girls laughed, then continued talking about Quidditch for some time.