A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR. HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

-I will be posting Chapter 38 on Tom's birthday! The weekly Friday updates
will resume after that. I'm currently writing Chapter 42 now.

~.O.~

Estonia was really pretty and it had a kind of old world charm to it. Oddly enough, she'd gotten a similar feeling with the French Alps. And the Final would be held in Barcelona which was another one of those old world places, mixed with new world stuff. Pacing the pavements and feeling like you've been transported back in time wasn't a new thing.

Bella was bedecked in her club regulated tracksuit. It was nearly solid black to go with the whole Black Ice name, save for the icy blue lining around the collar. She was so far the only person from Black Ice to qualify for the JGP series in the past decade so it was a big deal for the club as a whole and she was expected to wear her tracksuit as much as possible for the promo.

It wasn't snowing outside so the temperature was a lot better than it was in the Alps thankfully.

"What museum are we going to?" was her first question the moment they left the hotel. And the reason she asked was because Aaliyah had been going on and on about the art and architecture of the place and Bella just knew it was coming eventually. She refused to just let them sit in the hotel room and use the place's terrible wifi. She wanted to keep active so that was what they were doing.

No one could ever accuse them of being lazy physically. They kept their arses on the move all the damn time.

"Not today of course, but tomorrow I have an itinerary all planned out to the hour. For now we're just getting dinner and acquainting ourselves with the change of time zones."

It was only about two hours but those two hours could mean the world, which was why they'd arrived two days early just to be safe. She wouldn't want to fuck up on the ice because her internal clock wasn't set correctly and she was dead tired. It wasn't like an injury would really bother her since it would be gone in no time, but it would get them a lot of unnecessary media attention and that was a big no-no.

"Nothing greasy though. Not until after the competition."

"I miss Bella," Luna pouted. "This isn't at all how I thought things were going to go while she was away at her competitions."

Hermione shrugged. "She's out there pursuing her dreams so we just have to be supportive and hope she's okay."

"Our leader is gone. I feel naked," the younger girl sighed, making Neville choke on his tea and turn his flushing face away. The poor blond was never going to come to terms with his crush if he was reacting like that to everything Luna did.

Blaise hummed in agreement with Luna's words. "Bella affords us some form of protection just by being our friend. She has the highest social rank out of us all and people are more wary of her now than before, especially since she's actually a Pureblood, even if she doesn't use that against them. With her gone it's like our buffer is missing and we might be targeted by others wishing to put her in her place. So while I hate having to say it…"

They all sighed and resignedly said, "Constant vigilance." Of course it was necessary now of all times. Bella would be gone for nine days. A lot could happen in that amount of time. It was a big castle and there were a lot of students inside it. And some of them did not like Slytherins. Some did not like muggle lovers. Bella was both and by extension, her friends would be viewed the same way whether all of them shared the same views or not.

Suddenly Hogwarts seemed a lot less safe than it was before. Not that it had felt all that safe to begin with if all this horrible stuff was happening behind its doors and it not being caught until it was too late.

The group of friends shared a look of annoyance.

"If something happens to any of us, I'm pleased to know that Bella will hunt the offenders down to the ends of the Earth," said Theo pleasantly, his expression one of complete serenity and acceptance. "She has no fear of getting her hands dirty for what she believes in."

That was indeed true. Luna couldn't See anything happening in their immediate futures, but she didn't need to See the future to know that Bella would tear anyone apart who harmed her friends. It was what made her such a good friend and leader. It also was what made her a candidate for the next position of Dark Lady because that kind of attitude could be warped very easily in certain people and Bella had all the makings to be a ruler if she wanted to be one.

Thankfully she didn't and she wasn't utter rubbish in human form either.

"We should get her a gift as a congratulations from her competition," Luna told them all.

"She wins this assignment?" Hermione asked, eyes wide with excitement.

Luna nodded. She could tell that much at least, but nothing further. Still, Bella would be absolutely thrilled by it and would be on cloud nine for days.

I'm in Tallinn Estonia for the week. It's fucking beautiful in every direction and
I can't believe this is my life rn.

One where Bella got to see all these amazing sights multiple times a year. And the prospect of learning about the area didn't seem taxing in the least because it wasn't like she would be there all the time. Learning its history when she didn't live there and wouldn't be around for long didn't make her exhausted just from thinking about it.

Hermione would be so proud!

That's relatively close to Durmstrang. If you explore the city you'll find their magical side
somewhere in the center. They don't speak much English though, so you'd have to find a
person to translate for you, or to cast a Translation Charm on you and those don't last all
too long.

She didn't even know such a spell existed.

So Durmstrang's in Northern Europe then. For some reason I was thinking it'd be
in Russia on like the far Eastern side toward like North Korea.

No, that is Koldovstoretz which is near the border of Russia, Mongolia, and China to the far
right but not quite as far as North or South Korea. Common knowledge, Bella.

?Since when?

How is that common knowledge? Who the hell thinks, "Hey! I'm gonna go learn
about a school I will never attend!"? Who would honestly care that much that it
would be something they'd want to learn?

Those of us who want to know as much about the world as possible and like learning.

Ew.

Learning. Suddenly, she was feeling taxed.

You are honestly the Drama Queen between the two of us. Learning is actually interesting
and has its benefits, Bella. It wouldn't hurt you to attempt to find an interest in it.

*IN A GREMLIN VOICE* Double ew!

I will leave you here to talk to a blank page.

As if that threat had ever worked on her before! In fact, Tom had proven many times that he could not handle when Bella wasn't paying attention to him so this was just going to be another case of him coming back eventually because he just couldn't stay away.

Tom was needy and liked attention. He probably didn't realise that, but Bella did. Even when she annoyed him he never left for good because he liked speaking with her.

As if I've never talked to a blank page before!

Tom?

Tom!

Perhaps she should set a timer to see how long she could ramble before he came back?

Too bad she didn't have a mobile of her own. The one time she might actually need one and could put it to good use.

Still, she was betting twenty minutes at the most.

Well then, I suppose I'll just have to talk to myself for the time being! Nothing I
haven't done before tbh.

So I had to get another drug test before the competitions started and you should
have seen the look of embarrassment on the dude's face when Aaliyah asked him
if the results were going to be tampered with. NISA were the ones who sent him
after all and it was a charged situation 'cause Major Arsewipe is still on the Board.
Sirius actually offered to threaten him into compliance but I refused 'cause we do
not want to involve magic too much if we don't have to. It could lead to stuff we
aren't ready to deal with yet.

There was no proof that Bella was the only magical person competing in a muggle sport. They just couldn't be sure so it was best to not do anything questionable just in case. Bella did not like being called a cheater and this wasn't something she would consider cheating in. Besides, it wasn't as if she knew if PEDs would actually work on a magical person.

Apparently, according to B-Man, there was an issue with magical children using pain killers and them not working as expected to, even in high doses. She didn't know what would happen but wouldn't risk everything just because she wanted to know. Not while she was still competing.

On another note, I've been working on the intro for you when you come on over. I
am in charge of it and it is going to be awesome because it is me. In the middle of
the preparations though, I noticed something unfortunate. I have not grown much
past my height after Second Year. I mean I don't look like a 13 year old in the least
but I'm as tall as one and it doesn't seem like it will change any time soon which is
annoying. Then again if my body grew too much or too fast I'd have to readjust my
whole approach to skating in order to get used to it. So I suppose 165 cm is okay
to stay at for the rest of my life. Hurrah.

She was almost the same height as Yuna Kim, so it wasn't that bad.

Being taller would be awesome but it was obvious that that would not be happening any time soon if she was so close to turning fifteen and hadn't really grown much even over the course of the summer where she was supposed to shoot up like a beanstalk.

Other things to think about is how much harder all our classes seem to have gotten
suddenly. It's like they just dumped all this extra crap on us and said, well, handle
it or else! Hermione and I got Time Turners so we can plan around this but so far,
the others in our year aren't handling the additional work load all that well. Even a
few of my friends aren't acclimating to the new load as well as they could.

Btw I really hate Astronomy now. It's cutting into my precious sleep time and that
messes with my schedule. I hate Wednesday more than anything rn. I'd really love
to know what use Astronomy would be to me in the future 'cause I am not seeing it
now!

Certain types of magic are more powerful when specific celestial bodies are in position, Bella.
Such as Spell Creation, plucking potions ingredients, Runework, and Rituals.

I thought you weren't speaking to me, Mr Tom A Dildo Lover.

She'd called it! The clock on the bedside table said it had only been fifteen minutes since she'd started speaking to herself only. He'd actually been reading along the entire time, the twat!

This also proved that Bella knew Tom very well.

I planned to leave you to it but you honestly just continued ranting on your own and that
last line about Astronomy annoyed me. It is indeed very useful in magical application, you
simply need to think on it more clearly and be more open-minded.

If it is so useful why can't we get some better equipment where we won't need to
wait until nighttime? I'm not the only person who hates losing sleep over it.

Such things exist?

Oh yeah! he hadn't explored the muggle side of things yet. Bella had a job to do involving that!

Get Tom acquainted with the muggle world of today so he could better understand where she was coming from when she ranted.

On the muggle side, yeah. Magicals really need to get with it already. I am dying
here. They take all kinds of muggle ideas and re-work them and try to claim the
ownership all the time, such as the Wireless and the Camera. If they are so into
that, they can re-purpose telescopes too dammit.

I see you feel strongly about this.

I'm more annoyed how magicals shite on muggles and their technology but then
literally have no problem stealing their ideas and then selling it themselves and
taking credit for it. Like those Omnioculars things. I know those are based off of
Binoculars with a few adjustments and they've lied and told the magical people
they invented the concept when, NEWSFLASH, they did not.

It aggravated she and Hermione daily.

Hypocrisy is a common theme found in the magical communities of the world, dear Bella.
 Perhaps you and your friend Hermione will have to right those wrongs and make sure
credit is given where it is due. At least on Britain's side.

Maybe so.

Set some damn records straight and get the magical people to stop acting as if muggles were incompetent because from what Bella had seen ever since joining the magical world, people were thick on either side of the divide. The circumstances of someone's birth did not stop humanity in its most basic form, from taking root in the hearts of men.

Oh, Bella was going to be furious when she returned! Hermione was dedicated to being a good friend though and was working on making the best notes possible for her friend to study from. She had different ink pens to use so the colours would stand out more easily and Bella wouldn't get lost. She also made certain to change font event now and then to keep things fresh.

The reason for this sudden bout of worry over Bella's mental well being was their Ancient Runes class. Professor Babbling had assigned them a project more intense than their first one from last term. This wasn't charming an article of clothing to protect against something. That was easy compared to this!

Babbling wanted them to each create their own Rune Stones and personal pouch for them to be used in Runic Divination. Bella did not take Divination which would mean that she would have to do extra studying on that subject just to be able to understand the duty required in this project. Bella didn't like doing extra work.

To no one's surprise, Hermione hated this project because she hated Divination with a burning passion!

Still though, she was taking the class and already knew the books by heart. It was just a matter of finishing the carving of her Rune Stones and then imbuing them with magic. Her pouch had been the first thing she'd done, and she'd crafted it out of leather and then painted the proper Runes on it in Dragon Blood that was acquired through an owl order.

She'd decided to make us of several small stones she'd gathered on the banks of the Black Lake and already had somewhere to place them when she was finished carving. Hermione believed in jumping on projects immediately.

Bella though… Hermione didn't know what she would be doing for this or how she'd pull it off. She'd have to either order something in the post or go digging in the Dark Forest for materials when no one was around.

At least Runecasting wasn't exactly like Divination in that it wasn't necessarily saying 'this future is the one and only one you're in'. This form dealt with cause and effect greatly and realised that the future was an ever-changing thing that couldn't truly be known by anyone no matter what. So at least it more tolerable.

Not as much as Arithmancy was, but better than plain old Divination. And it also helped that Professor Babbling was nothing like Professor Trelawney and didn't go around predicting dramatic and gory deaths for her students.

Never before had Hermione truly despised a teacher before coming to Hogwarts but there always seemed to be just one person who was there to be a terrible instructor and she was sick of it!

Maybe she could write another letter to the Board of Governors and get Trelawney fired too? She was a drunkard after all and that much sherry shouldn't be allowed in a classroom to begin with.

Anyway, that wasn't even the only thing they'd been warned about. Apparently there would be a group project coming up in their class too and Hermione was not looking forward to it. Any time she'd ever participated in a group project in school, she'd always ended up doing all the work and everybody else getting all the credit.

She hated group projects!

Maybe she'd be lucky and get Bella as a project member. Though Babbling was in charge of assigning the groups and she'd no doubt make it more even and putting the two best students in a group wouldn't be 'fair' to anyone else.

Who was she kidding? She and Bella wouldn't be partnered for this upcoming project at all.

Bella came in first after the Short Program! And what a program it had been! Aaliyah had been so proud!

[RESULT DETAILS]

Junior Ladies
Short Program:

Pl. #1

Belladonna POTTER

Total Segment Score(TSS): 68.96 = Technical Element Score(TES): 36.96 + Program Component Score(PCS): 32.00 & 0.00 Deductions

[PCS] = Skating Skills: 6.75 + Transitions: 6.52 + Performance/Execution: 6.50 + Choreo/Composition: 6.49 + Interpretation: 5.74

TOTAL: 68.96

With a Triple Axel, a Triple Toe+Triple Toe, and then a Triple Lutz, Bella had done her Short Program proud. And to make it even better, she was 4.95 points ahead of the person currently in second place, which was Sandra Lewis ironically enough. And something else that made it even better than before, was that she'd set a new World Record for the Junior Ladies Short Program and that was a big effin deal for Bella!

All Bella needed to do was crush the Free Skate in two days and she'll have amassed 30 total points from her assignments, guaranteeing her a spot in the Final! And she'd most likely set another World Record for the Free Program, which would give her a World Record for the combined score! She was so excited!

"Bella, there are some folks that would like to ask you some questions," Aaliyah murmured in her ear to return her attention to the present where indeed, people with microphones and cameras were coming in their direction.

Ah, interviewers! She actually really hated interviews. She hadn't had to give many yet but the whole idea really annoyed her. Knowing that Prue had been dealing with this her whole life was eye-opening. She had to have acclimated at a young age in order to going about her day in Diagon Alley, not blinking as she's stalked from shop to shop by the papz.

"Ms. Potter, how are you feeling after earning your Short Program score and breaking the World Record?" one of the ladies who was bedecked in a pinstripe pantsuit asked, shoving a mic into Bella's face.

What to do when uncomfortable? Grin and pretend to be happy.

This was the one thing about fame that she didn't like. And she knew it would only get worse the more popular she became.

"I felt really relieved."

"Am I the only one who doesn't like Moody?" Prue asked, taking great care to make sure her mouth remained in a firm line just in case. The man had a freaky eye that could see through walls for however many meters and he could read upside down love notes from across a room while his back was turned, plus tell what Hagrid was up to in his hut despite being arse deep in the castle and facing a completely different direction. Who knew if he could read lips from a distance too?

She and Ron had decided to join Bella's friends for the day because things were boring as of late and Gryffindor just wasn't the place to be. The House was broken up of mature people, immature people, prejudiced arseholes, and those who were basically there just to take up space and for no other reason since they seemed to make no impact anywhere. So the two friends had joined the group in the library for the umpteenth time to just get some other stimulation with people who weren't annoying.

Neville Longbottom grunted. "He's different." He didn't elaborate any further though, leaving Prue to look toward one of the others for an explanation.

Luna ended up being her hero. "This Moody isn't acting like the one who trains Neville during the summer."

Well that was damn suspicious. And it made her feel so much better over not trusting him. He had a weird habit of staring at Prue too. Not in the Lockhart way though which was great, but it still felt like he was judging her from a distance and she didn't even know him. He also liked staring at Bella when she was around to give him the opportunity to.

Longbottom twitched and sat upright. "In the summer, Moody told me Dumbledore was in contact with my grandmother to make my training even harder."

The group all froze. None of them liked Dumbledore. He'd proven himself to be absolutely useless to the world as a whole, and a massive dick. Prue's reasons were a little more understandable, and just now she'd been given another reason to hate him.

"Because I don't want training," Prue concluded quietly, with an air of understanding none of them had expected. "So he wants to work you over as the Boy Who Lived, right? Like a misdirection because he refuses to take Voldemort out himself and has put so much faith into Trelawney's prophecy."

Granger's head snapped around and her brown eyes narrowed. "He's really willing to do that?"

From the looks Zabini and Nott sent her, and the sigh she gave in response, they'd all come to the same conclusion. Of bloody course Dumbledore would do something like that! Getting others to fight his battles seemed to be a recurring theme if the speculation over him sending Newt Scamander after Grindelwald instead of doing it himself, was true.

Hell, Prue had known he would do something like that and had brought it up to Bella two years ago! And now it was actually happening. Bella was going to be angry when she got back from her competition. She didn't take threats to her friends easily and she really seemed to detest Dumbledore.

"Moody doesn't seem to remember any of that though," Longbottom confessed a moment later. "We trained all July but he's been saying he spent all summer preparing for this school year and he didn't. Half the summer he was working with me and then the other half he had important business to see to. It's just- something's not right."

Hmmm...

Prue rifled through her bag and pulled out the Marauder's Map Special Edition. She noted Granger's immediate interest in not only the large piece of parchment but the code she had to speak in order to activate it. The page crinkled into various shapes and opened like a book, revealing black writing and little footprints flickering over the page.

"From James. I was given it back in First Year and rarely use it but it has its uses now and then," she explained briefly while searching for Moody's name.

Granger leaned over the table in order to get a better look at it. "How did someone manage this? Hogwarts is unplottable!"

"The land itself is unplottable," Prue agreed, "but this isn't for the location of the building, but of the things inside the grounds. There's no specification of the country we're in or the region. It's connected to the four corners of the wards and then goes out from there. Ask Remus about it. He did the primary work on creating the map."

She found Moody. "Moody's in his office." But… "Barty Crouch is also in Moody's office?"

"The Head of International Magical Cooperation?" Nott asked, looking confused.

"Apparently. I don't know why though. There's no reason for him to be here."

"Can that see anyone within the wards?" Granger asked.

"Yes. All places the Marauders managed to find were marked on the map. Remus recently updated it a bit for me. Including secret passageways and their passwords. Invisibility Cloaks, Polyjuice Potions, Animagi, and Disillusionment Charms can't fool it. Ghosts and Poltergeists even pop up."

"Amazing," Granger whispered, eyes wide with interest.

Essentially, they'd learned that Moody was acting strange, Dumbledore was being an interfering old coot, and Bella was going to lose her shite when she got back from Estonia.

"Hey!"

Bella turned and found herself standing face to face with Sandra Lewis in the middle of the hotel's ugly, brown and red lobby.

The other girl was taller than Bella by only a little bit, and she was certainly more slim overall. Bella was more muscular though with her thighs and arms filling out more space in her tracksuit. Enough to make it a little tight in some places. In contrast, Sandra's tracksuit fit her perfectly everywhere.

"You're the only other Brit here," Lewis explained once they were next to each other. "I don't really know anyone else at this competition all that well. This is only my second run through the series and it's still a bit awkward to be around all these unfamiliar people."

Yeah, Bella was feeling that awkwardness right now! She hadn't really spoken to any of her fellow competitors so far and hadn't felt the urge to. Yet playing nice was also encouraged at the events and drama outside the rink would not be tolerated especially if they ended up making NISA look bad! Oh they would be fucked if that happened. Bella couldn't afford tainting her reputation with incorrect perceptions of pettiness.

"Don't feel bad," Bella assured the girl with an awkward smile. "I don't know anyone but my coach and have basically stuck by her side the entire time we've been here."

"Want to go for lunch?" Lewis offered. Her demeanour was on the chipper side. She seemed energetic and Bella just knew that being exposed to this kind of mentality for too long would drain her completely. But then she needed to maintain a pleasant image even if she honestly did not want to go and get lunch with a girl she barely knew.

"Sure. I have to tell Aaliyah first though," Bella said, gesturing toward the lifts.

"You don't have a mobile?"

"Not yet. I don't really want to get one yet."

"Damn! I would've given you my number!"

Bella was fourteen - going on fifteen in about a month - and she did not have a mobile phone yet. Perhaps she should finally get one as well as an Twitter account. It wasn't like she couldn't afford to buy herself one and get the service for it.

She withheld a sigh. Apparently it was time for a mobile of her own.

"We cannot simply empty all of Azkaban! That's impossible and filling people's heads with the idea was foolish!"

James scoffed at Fudge and fixed the portly man with an unimpressed look. "After 35% of the inhabitants have been sent to St. Mungo's because they were in that place illegally and need mental assistance, that leaves four hundred and three people and the Ministry has two hundred and ten cells. Placing them two to a cell under magical restraints isn't so difficult. They wouldn't be able to harm one another or see one another for an extended period of time!"

"We do not have the means to feed so many people at the Ministry!" Fudge insisted, his face turning an unpleasant, ruddy colour.

"It's not as if you were feeding them like you were supposed to these past fifteen or so years!" James countered. "I can't fathom you suddenly caring about feeding them now."

Madam Bones slammed the gavel down. "Order!"

The other Lords and Ladies in attendance had sat back and allowed James and Fudge practically scream at one another for several minutes. A lot of them, even the Dark Tossers, were on his side. While he hated having to take their support, he knew it was best to take advantage of their help in fixing the problem before the elections. New politicians in charge would make it more difficult to fix this shite and playing on the fears of the ones he new personally was much easier.

Madam Bones cleared her throat and looked around. "We are all emotionally invested, and I understand that this is a serious issue but please attempt common courtesy between yourselves."

The rest of the court shifted a bit, looking unpleased.

"The remaining Azkaban residents will be transferred to the Ministry's holding cells for the following week as we work on clearing Azkaban of the Dementors as well as cleaning it up. The Ministry's House Elves are being prepared to undertake this task. This is a non-negotiable action, Cornelius," Bones said, giving the Minister the stink eye.

"But where do we put the Dementors?!" the corpulent man demanded, hands raised in frustration. "There's hundreds of them!"

"And whose fault is that for letting them fester so much?" James said acidly.

Amelia sent him a quelling look and James backed off for the moment. It was just so difficult to control himself when Fudge was being a damn idiot! A willfully blind idiot at that. And said idiot was supposed to be their fearless leader.

"Anyone have an idea on how to corral a massive group of amortal non-beings?" Bones asked the court expectantly.

"Runes?" Lord Greengrass suggested. "Trap them somewhere or send them to another plane? We can open portals to other places and have done so before, so why can't we do that for them?"

That was honestly the best suggestion James had ever heard. He hated agreeing with a Death Eater!

"I second that," James added, even though he was pained to do so. "That's a good idea."

"And what about more that end up appearing because of all the building despair in the world?" Fudge said, floundering for some kind of ground in this debate.

"Seal them away with more Runes." The need to smack the man was strong.

Bones looked around the room and sighed. "The Unspeakables and Aurors will be dispatched to handle the Dementors." The gavel was slammed down for good measure.

The crowds for the JGP assignments were about the same size as those for Nationals. It was comforting in a sense because Bella knew that the JGPF would be even larger because the Final was held alongside the Grand Prix Final so Juniors and Seniors would be competing in the same rink, on the same ice, and there would be a larger turnout of viewers for the Final.

The zamboni was currently at work in preparation for warm ups. Bella was doing warm up splits on the yellow and red checkered carpet that smelled stale, legs spread completely apart and torso pressed flush against the floor with her arms pulled backward. She took deep breaths in and out, and felt her back pop a few times. And that was why this was necessary. Loosening up the body was very important in their sport.

"How was your date?" Aaliyah asked from where she stood above Bella, holding her arms upright so her palms nearly touched each other.

"Not a date," Bella huffed. "Lewis doesn't do it for me." At all. "It was awkward on my end but I honestly don't think she can even sense awkwardness. She's like what a Hufflepuff should be. All positivity and hard work and honesty." Like Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls but with a far less squeaky voice.

"It's good that you got out and did something different for once. Sometimes your routine concerns me because you basically do the exact same thing every day of the week, for twice the amount of time than normal people live out a week, and it sounds tedious to the ear when you never do anything else."

"Sundays are free days, if you'll recall."

"Yeah. A day where you just go to the library if there isn't a chance to go to the village. Great fun for teenagers, huh?"

She had a point in a way, but they literally went out to lunch every single day. And they didn't go to the same place. And sometimes Bella went to the cinema with her fellow clubmates in order to foster better relationships with them. Hogsmeade was a thing too. Bella saw a lot more action than the tedium other Hogwarts students were forced to deal with all term thank to her using a Time Turner to get all this work done every single day.

"I didn't exactly enjoy myself though. With my friends things are at least a little better." Joking around, eating sweets on the sly, and playing board games and card games that she'd brought over and forced them all to learn because Gobstones and Exploding Snap were boring as hell. Also, eyebrows did not grow back that quickly and she kind of needed hers for commercial purposes.

Bella shifted out of her position and rolled onto her back. Legs and feet all the way up and then back until the toes of her trainers touched the floor on either side of her head. She no longer needed Aaliyah's help to keep the position thankfully. Her flexibility was great on its own now.

"Making other friends wouldn't kill you. That's a skill you definitely need to work on, kiddo."

Yeah, she just sucked at it. The rest of her friends seemed to as well though, so they were all perfect for each other. After that first year of getting to know one another, things just blossomed on their own.

Anything further was cut off by the announcement of the warm up times and Bella's group was set to get the ice first.

Bella would be skating first in the Free Program too so she had to be careful while warming up and make certain her clothes were in pristine condition.

The lights overhead were nearly blinding on the ice and Bella was reminded of why she wore contacts all the time. Some sacrifices were necessary if one wanted to be legendary. Poor vision was simply one of those sacrifices.

And maybe one day she would be able to take the Oculus Potion to cure her eyesight completely. You know, when she didn't have to get drug tests and blood work and all that crap on the muggle side where a very sudden improvement in her vision would make doctors far too curious.

As she got to her feet, she spotted Lewis waving madly at her from where she and her mum were standing by the Kiss & Cry. Bella offered a half-arsed wave in return.

Yep. Awkward.

"Kiddo, you are the biggest awkward turtle I've ever seen."

"I know! Give me a break!"

Prue had taken to keeping the Marauder's Map on her person at all times because it just made her feel more secure oddly enough. After Remus had gone and made it even better than it was before, she just felt safer with it around. And knowing all the possible exits around her was nice.

Something about the school year was bothering her and she couldn't pinpoint what it was beyond Moody's dubious presence.

Homework was more stressful these days and she was really regretting taking Divination when it was so pointless. Her Dream Diary was just filled with rubbish and Trelawney honestly didn't realise that most of her classes save for like Brown and Patil, were faking it. But because she was so bloody dramatic, she accepted everything they all 'predicted' as the Circe-damned truth.

So far Prue and Ron had predicted each other's gruesome deaths just to appease the madwoman. Prue's in a 'violent exchange with a deadly creature' and Ron's 'through a bout of depressive loneliness'. They had been amusing at the time, but now just felt ridiculous. They had to go to such lengths just to obtain a decent grade in an 'ancient art' that couldn't even be taught if someone didn't have the Sight.

She passed by the Founders' portraits while passing through the Entrance Hall, and ended up being called over by Salazar Slytherin of all people. Her ancestor whom she'd never really considered much beyond being related to the Gaunts who were related to him.

It was easy to forget she was a Parselmouth when she never used the ability. There were no snakes in her life for her to practice the ability on after all and she saw no reason to summon any snakes either. So Prue just went through life completely forgetting a part of her heritage that Bella didn't seem to think was important to force upon them both at every minute of the day.

"Yeah?" she asked once she got near enough to the old portrait who stared her down intently along with his fellows.

"You are my other descendant, yes? Belladonna's younger sister?"

"Yeah."

"And you've yet to come and speak with me."

Was this conversation just going to be him pointing out the obvious?

"I didn't really find you to be someone worth talking to," she admitted bluntly. Her words made Helga Hufflepuff sputter in obvious offense. "You're an afterthought of a man long dead, who wasn't even created after all of his life experiences so you don't really have anything to offer me. And since Bella doesn't spend her time on you either, I know I'm not wrong."

There was a moment of dead silence where Slytherin stared her down like he was trying to evaluate her or something.

Finally, he said, "A very Slytherin way of looking at it. You feel no respect for me at all, do you?"

"No." People put too much faith in the Founders and it got to the point where she was sick of hearing about them and sick of people fighting over the supposed values of each House. Old people who were long dead were still causing problems in their school even when things had been set to rights with real facts from Godric's own mouth. "I'm not respecting any of you just for being older than me or for founding an institution of learning that just ended up being filled with bigotry from one side to the other. And I've learned that sometimes your relatives don't deserve your respect or concern in the least, just because they share your blood."

It sounded pretty harsh when she said it out loud, but Prue couldn't be forced to care about someone she didn't know and didn't want to know. Family did not deserve consideration just for a blood relation between them. It was a lesson she'd learned long ago. She wasn't going to pander to the portrait of a person long dead, the same as she wouldn't to a Ghost. The true spirit was no longer among the living and what remained were like a single breath hovering in the air that was being twisted and turned from one direction to another.

Salazar didn't seem annoyed by her words at least. Not like the other three did. It looked like Prue was about to get her ear chewed off by Hufflepuff at any second.

"You're not very Gryffindor for someone sorted into that House," he observed.

"I honestly don't know how I even got Sorted. I'm not brave. If it doesn't involve my job then I don't have a work ethic. I'm not even smart. And I'm not cunning either. I think I was just Sorted to Gryffindor because I knew Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber would have thrown equally massive tantrums otherwise and the Hat was saving me from it. They complained when they found out Bella was a Slytherin and I would have never heard the end of it if I didn't get into Gryffindor." The Hat probably only placed her in Gryffindor because of her parents' expectations. That's how Ron ended up in Gryffindor and not Hufflepuff after all.

Prue was literally… kind of hopeless. It was a bit pathetic but she couldn't force interest into things she didn't like so she was kind of fucked. It was Quidditch or nothing.

Salazar hummed. "If you ever feel like exploring your heritage, the Chamber of Secrets has an entrance from the second floor girls' lavatory. Speak Parseltongue to the sinks and it'll open. I think you'd find it interesting in there. Be careful though. My familiar should still be down there and she's a Basilisk."

She would never be one to explore… but a big arse snake below the school sounded pretty cool!

And the legendary Chamber wasn't on the map because obviously the Marauders never would have found it. And she would know where it was! Prue did like the thought of knowing things other people didn't.

"Maybe I'll check it out." Which meant she would definitely be checking it out even just to see what was in it.

Salazar nodded and she took that as permission to leave.

Prue hustled out of the hall before the other Founders could get anything out. She could see Hufflepuff frothing at the mouth with the need to reprimand her and Prue didn't care enough to listen to a painting rant.

On the way out, she checked the map again for a sign of Moody and found him… still in his office in the same place. Did the guy just stand around and think to himself or something? He had a fake leg and standing for too long didn't seem smart.

Her eyes passed over Barty Crouch's name again, except this time it was in the Potion's Cupboard and Snape's name was nowhere within the same vacinity. Why was he still coming around? There was no reason for him to be at Hogwarts, right? And why in Snape's space?

Crouch used to be an Auror and he saw a lot of Death Eaters sent to prison. Presided over a lot of court hearings. Maybe he was harassing Snape because of the Death Eater rumours. He always did want his former glory back and maybe he thought this was a good way to do it?

And now she wondered if she should say something. Prue did not like Snape at all and she knew the feeling was mutual. But it was kind of strange this guy with no reason to be in the school, was in the Potions Cupboard and was rifling through Snape's potions ingredients when Snape wasn't even around. There was no reason for Crouch to be at Hogwarts, let alone stealing someone's potions ingredients which weren't cheap.

With a groan, she made an about face and started down the corridor toward the stairs, locking the map up and stuffing it into her bag. Snape was in his office which was further into the dungeons, far down from the potions stores which were also connected to his classroom. If done quietly, he wouldn't know anyone was stealing from him if he didn't have a ward up.

She knocked on the door when she arrived, and sighed when his surly, 'enter' was all that greeted her.

He did not look pleased to see her and the feeling was mutual. "Professor," she began, using his title for the first time ever in order to get him to pay attention, "I um... saw Barty Crouch coming out the potions stores with some stuff."

Snape's right brow ascended to a ridiculous arch. "Bartemius Crouch of all people is inside Hogwarts for no reason, and is rummaging through my potions ingredients?"

Quick thinking was needed! "Actually, I've been seeing him a lot lately," she said, which wasn't a complete lie since his name was always next to Moody's on the map. "But I don't know why he keeps talking to Professor Moody. They're always in his office whenever a moment of Moody's time is needed." That sounded believable. As if she'd physically seen the man in the school because she wanted to talk to the new DADA professor.

"And you saw him... leaving my potions stores?"

"I saw him go in with nothing and then leave with vials being shoved into his pockets." That also sounded believable. "He's not good at sneaking and is very obvious about it."

"Hn." Snape looked up at the clock and then back to Prue. "Thank you for coming to me with this, Ms. Potter." He looked like he was dying inside from just having to say it. It was hilarious! "Deduct six inches from the required length of your potions essay."

Do Snape a favour and he does you one! Prue suddenly got why the Slytherins liked him so much because he did not give anyone Points/Merits, but he awarded in different ways. Awesome.

"You're welcome, sir." Maybe Snape wasn't that bad. And this meant only half a foot necessary for her essay that she hadn't even started yet!

Amara,

Election Day is crawling closer and closer and I finally understand your concerns.
After what's been on going on in the Prophet because of Fudge recently, I think I
can honestly say that the future does not look good for us. Especially if Voldemort
is still out there.

If one of his supporters wins, it'll pave the way for a smooth return to power that
will be uncontested since APWBD has no plans on stopping him. And if somebody
who doesn't support him wins, they will still make it easy for him to win because
they all think he's dead and wouldn't believe he's still around for fear of what that
would mean. The public's reaction to the Prophet articles after the World Cup are
proof of this.

After Bellatrix Lestrange and Peter Pettigrew escaped Azkaban, and then the Death
Eater attack at the World Cup, I am thinking we are going to get serious movement
in the next year, from Voldemort's side. And I am just worried that none of us will
be ready for it thanks to a shabby Ministry and a senile old wizard who has all the
power to stop Voldemort, but doesn't seem to want to.

No one else in our community seems like they'd be able to go toe to toe with a 90
year old wizard of great power that had literally been on the cusp of victory during
the first war. He was labeled a genius all that time ago. Who knows what else he's
learned since 2001. If Magical Britain nearly lost to him when he was in his 60s, I
don't think they'll be much of a match for him in his 90s.

With much concern,
Mione.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

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