22.

Pansy sat alone in her bedroom staring out the window at the full moon. Her heart was breaking at the sight of the pale orb in the sky as she knew that tonight was the night that Daphne Greengrass was to be sacrificed to the Dark Lord. Tonight he would take her body, her magic, and her soul. And she had done nothing to prevent it.

As she sat in the dark, tears streaming down her pale cheeks, all she could think about was how she had just left Daphne Greengrass to her fate. Sure, Daphne had warned her that there would be no way to get her out, but Pansy hadn't even tried. She'd simply left. And tonight, Daphne would die.

She had been distant and chose to remain locked in her room all day despite the other girls asking after her, but she had refused to speak to them. They couldn't understand, and she really was in no position to offer any sort of help to anyone.

So she remained hidden behind her locked door in solitude.

Another gentle knock came and she lowered her head and sighed.

"Please just go away." she said softly.

"Pansy?"

Pansy's head shot up at the voice. Neville's voice.

"Pansy, please open the door." He asked softly.

She wanted to remain alone in her agony, but her heart pounded in her chest at the sound of his voice, and she couldn't stop her body from rising from her bed and crossing the room to the locked door. With a heavy click, she undid the lock and opened the door allowing a sliver of warm light into the darkness.

He stood there, looking troubled and nervous, holding a tray of food.

"The others were concerned about you and Harry asked me to check on you. I brought you some food… in case you're hungry." he said. Pansy tried to smile at him, but it failed, and it caused him to cock his head in question. She tried to say something, but her voice faltered, and Neville's eyebrows rose.

With no other ideas of how to make him go away, and a serious lack of not wanting for him to depart, Pansy stepped back, and allowed him to enter her private chambers.

"I'll just set this here." He said as he set the tray on a small table. He turned and she looked away. She couldn't look him in the eyes right now. She felt so much shame at who she was, and all the things she'd done. She felt tainted, dirty.

"You've been in here all day." Neville began, looking about the room. "The other girls are a little worried about you. You're supposed to be helping them locate the last girl."

"I c...can't. Not tonight.' Pansy said, slowly moving away from him and returning to sitting on her bed.

"Is everything alright?" Neville asked and then frowned. "Of course it isn't. You've been hiding here all day avoiding everyone. And you probably don't want to talk about it, especially not with me… uh, maybe I can get Harry to come and you can tell him what's wrong."

Pansy grimaced at the suggestion. Her heart lurched in her chest again, and fresh tears began. All she wanted at that moment was for Neville to be able to see her heart and know what she felt for him, and for him to return those feelings. But she knew deep down that could never be. She was a former Death Eater. A stain. A disgusting thing that should be tossed aside.

"I don't want to talk to Harry." Was all she managed to say. Neville looked at her and then began to back towards the door.

"I'm sorry to have intruded. I hope that you feel better…" he started but Pansy looked up and the desperation in her eyes stopped him cold. He wasn't sure if he should leave, or if she was asking him to stay with the look she gave him. He faltered there, and suddenly felt like the awkward clumsy forgetful first year who'd lost his toad on the Hogwarts Express.

"I couldn't save her." She said and upon that admission, all of her pain began to pour out of her. She told him everything about that night. How she had broken into the Dark Lord's private chambers and how, just before she'd left she'd gone to the dungeons and spoke to Daphne Greengrass. How she hadn't even tried to get Daphne out, and how she'd run like a coward, leaving an innocent girl to die. She then told Neville what the sacrifice was and how it was performed. Neville had to sit down as she told him. His face had gone pale, and his skin went cold at what Pansy described. Even in his worst nightmares he would never have been able to imagine something so grotesque.

When she'd finally finished telling him all that awaited Daphne Greengrass on this night, she folded in on herself and lay in a ball, crying.

Neville could only sit and try to comprehend it all. Pansy kept waiting to hear him get up and leave, disgusted by her. But that wasn't what happened. He did get up, and he did walk, but not towards the door, but towards her. He sat on her bed next to her, and placed his hand on her shoulder. It was the smallest of gestures, but she clung to it like a lifeline as she was drowning in her sea of misery.

Her hand sought his, and clasped around it tightly. He squeezed her hand in reassurance and in response, her body slithered into him until she was sitting in his lap, arms around his neck, face buried in the crook of his neck as she wept. In return, he held her tightly, and repeated over and over that it was going to be alright. They would fight, and they would make Voldemort pay for all he'd done. They were going to make it right.

It took some time, but she finally managed to calm down. She felt exhausted. Beyond anything she'd ever felt before. At the same time, she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. She'd been alone for so long, keeping all of her fears and guilt locked inside, and now they were gone.

"Neville…" She said as she began to compose herself. "I… Thank you. I guess I didn't really know how this was all affecting me. I couldn't tell the others… I didn't want to be responsible for what that knowledge would surely do to them."

"You should tell them. They should know." Neville replied, though his tone was gentle. Pansy slipped from his arms, and stood, allowing herself to put some distance between herself and the object of her desires.

"Maybe." She shrugged.

"You have to." Neville said, rising from the bed. "Pansy, keeping secrets doesn't do anyone any good. They hurt people… sometimes worse than the cruciatus. Dumbledore kept secrets and people died because of them. And right now… we all need to be honest with each other, or we're never going to win."

Pansy looked at him and noted how much he'd changed from the first time she'd seen him to now. Not just physically speaking, but everything. He was strong, confident and radiating authority. Even in the dark like this, she could see his expression of determination.

"Do you really think they can handle what I just told you? You looked like you might pass out from it." She asked. Neville shook his head.

"It's truly horrifying, but yes, I think once they get over the initial shock of it, then they'll be ready to fight even harder. Not only that, but it'll build trust between all of you. Let's be honest, you lot have a lot of issues because what you were all like in school. Even Tracey isn't a fan of yours and you two were in Slytherin together."

Pansy looked up and neville, and a small smile appeared on her face. She lowered he eyes, and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I was a real bitch, wasn't I?" She said, staring at her bare feet and avoiding his eyes which seemed to be penetrating her soul every time she looked into them. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she was sure that he could hear it.

"Definitely not the nicest person I knew then, but not the worst either. You didn't ever really call me names or anything, even when your boyfriend Draco was having a go." Neville rolled his eyes and Pansy looked up quickly.

"I hated him!" She said vehemently. "I…"

Neville looked at her clearly confused now. She suddenly felt very small under his gaze. She knew that he wasn't judging her, anything like that. He was simply confused, and she couldn't blame him.

"I never wanted to be with him." She said softly as she turned away. "I wanted to be with… I… Had feelings for someone else."

"Then why didn't you go out with… whoever it was?" Neville asked.

"Because I didn't think he'd want me… and because my father forbade it. So I had to bury my feelings and get close to Draco because that's what my father wanted. It's why I had to join the Death Eaters. I didn't want any of this. But then my father died, and Dumbledore challenged The Dark Lord, and I was sure that I would be able to take my life back.

"But then Dumbledore lost…" Neville began and Pansy turned back to him, angry tears in her eyes now.

"I was so close, I could taste my freedom. I imagined the very first thing I wanted to do, to find.. Him. And tell him everything I'd kept locked up. And even if he didn't feel the same, or be willing to find out, I would have at least told him. I could have moved on knowing that I had tried. But then this… this fucking stain began to burn, and I knew… I was trapped again!"

"But you're not anymore." Neville smiled as he stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her skin tingled under the light shirt she wore where his hand was. She looked up into his soft brown eyes, and her breath caught in her throat. And then, without warning, her whole body betrayed her as he lunged forward. She took his face in her hands and her lips crashed into his.

Neville almost leapt back as if he'd been electrocuted. He stared at her wide eyed for a long moment as she began to ramble an apology, but none of her words were making sense. His mind was spinning at the moment and he could only stare at her, and it was then that he really began to see her.

He hadn't paid much attention to her in school, other than to note that she was often at Draco Malfoy's side. He'd seen and heard her be quite cruel to so many people through the years though, and he didn't have a very high opinion of her. Until now.

She was not the girl he'd known in school. She was a frightened young woman who had risked everything to help Harry and his cause all so she could get out from under the thumb of Voldemort. At that moment, she had proven to be more Gryffindor than Neville had ever felt.

But there was more. She was really quite pretty. Ok, right at the moment she wasn't looking her best. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her hair was a real mess, and the torn sweatshirt and shorts thing she had going on was terrible, but there was beauty there. And Neville knew that she could be quite beautiful when she chose to be, but the hair and makeup only accentuated what she already had.

But most importantly… she had kissed him. And that was the thing that was puzzling him the most. And just like that, his mind re-engaged and a series of coherent thoughts began to manifest.

"STOP!" he said holding up his hands. Pansy managed to regain control of her mouth and suddenly found that she couldn't meet his eyes. She folded her arms across her chest protectively, and even took a step back. She was radiating humiliation, and wished he would just go away and not say anything. This was already going to hurt bad enough, she didn't think she could take a verbal rejection on top of the physical one.

"It was me?" He said finally. "The person you said you had feelings for earlier… the one your father told you not to see. Wasn't it?"

She tried to speak, but only a strangled sort of squeak came out. So she nodded. She shrank back from him even more.

"I don't know what to say. It explains why you never really tried to bully me like your boyfriend." Neville said, and then hissed at his choice of words. Pansy looked up and glowered at him for a moment but Neville apologized quickly and she continued to stare at the floor.

"I understand if you don't…" She began but he cut her off.

"How can you understand? I don't. I don't know anything at this point. I mean, I don't even know anything about you. I have a rough idea of who you were when we were in school, but you're not that girl. I'm not sure you ever were from what you've just told me. And to be honest i think you only did what you did just now because you're really mixed up. You've got all these pent up feelings and I think they're all coming out at once."

"You're right." She nodded. "I'm a wreck right now. But that doesn't mean that I don't know how I feel about you. But I'll also admit that I don't know you. I know the boy I went to school with, but not the man who was willing to fight a hundred Death Eaters in order to protect a man he didn't know. But I want to. I want to know if these feelings are for the boy I watched across the Great Hall, wishing he would just… smile at me, or if they are for the man standing before me right now."

"Then maybe we should get to know the people we've become and find out how they feel about one another." Neville said, and pansy looked up, hope shining in her eyes.

"Really?" She asked, and Nevlle offered his hand.

"Neville Longbottom." he smiled.

"Pansy Parkinson, a true pleasure to meet you." She smiled, and Neville found himself admiring how her face lit up.

"Well Miss Parkinson, Pansy, you should get some rest. Tomorrow I think it would be a good idea to let the others know what you told me earlier. Then perhaps, if you're willing, you and I could have lunch?" He said with a charming smile that made Pansy want to leap into his arms again.

"I think you're right." She said with a soft sigh. "And lunch sounds lovely, I look forward to your company."

"Good night then." Neville said, going for the door.

"Good night, and Neville… Thank you. Sincerely."


Lisa heaved an exasperated sigh when she went to check on Harry and give him his evening round of potions and found his bed empty once again. She knew exactly where to find him and turned and headed upstairs to the attic. He was sitting at a table pouring over a pile of notes, dressed in long dark pants and a blck tank top. His hair was out of control, and he still looked pale. However, his wounds were nearly healed, and with minimal scarring. He'd even stopped twitching involuntarily.

"You're supposed to be in bed!" She said loudly, but he didn't even look up.

"Yeah, well nothing is as it should be, is it?" He replied.

"Be that as it may, you need rest still. No arguments.' Lisa stated as she slipped her wand out.

And then she no longer had it. It had sailed across the room to land in Harry's open hand.

"HEY!"

"You've been threatening me all week with a full body bind. Did you think for a moment I was going to let that happen?" he said with a small smirk. He then raised his left hand, and Lisa saw he was wearing the one gauntlet that had survived.

"I promise you i will not overexert myself tonight, and if you'd like, you can remain to make sure that i keep that promise."

"Very well." Lisa said as dignified as she could manage as she crossed the room to take up a spot across from Harry who'd gone back to his notes.

"What are you working on?" She asked after a moment.

"These are the notes I made when I made my armor." He began. "I need to make it stronger. Make it more resistant. When I faced down Voldemort he used a lot of power to destroy it. When he did that, he exhausted himself. He is powerful, but he can't maintain that level for long. So, if my armor is stronger, then I'll have a good chance against him."

"You can always dodge too you know?" She remarked, and he looked up, giving her a look that told her he was well aware of that option.

"If you don't plan on being helpful, then you could at least be quiet." He said, though there was humor in his tone.

"Sorry." She replied. "But seriously, how do you plan on making this stronger?"

"Rune chains." he said simply.

"Come again?" She looked confused.

"Normally, when you ward something, you'll use runes in a sequence. Follow me?" he asked and she nodded. "Well a Rune chain is roughly the same, but, each rune will actually amplify the next rune. So say you start with the rune for protection… shield. Then you place the rune for power next to it. You get a powerful shield, right?"

"Of course." Lisa responded and Harry smiled.

"Now when you take the same to runes, and you link them, just like a chain, they feed each other, so the effect is stronger. If you take two power runes and a shield rune, you sheild is now twice as powerful. Get it?"

"So you need something stronger than the shield rune." Lisa asked with interest.

"Yes." Harry smiled. "I already use Hungarian Horntail leather for the base of my armor as it resists most spells, but when I add the runes, it becomes even stronger. But as we learned, it can still be beaten. So the trick is to find a way to improve it,and that means I'm going to have to refresh my Rune knowledge." Harry frowned.

"Then maybe you should talk to Hermione." Lisa suggested. "She's a genius at Runes."

"I'll take it into consideration." Harry remarked.

"Here you are." Neville said from the doorway. "I was hoping for a chance to talk to you before you went to sleep about when we might start training?"

"Training?" Lisa looked intrigued, and slightly concerned.

"You can start now, actually." Harry said as he moved to a small cabinet and opened it, pulling comic books and handing them to Neville. Lisa moved to look as well and became just as confused as Neville.

"What's this?" he asked, holding up the comics and looking perturbed. "I thought you were going to show me how to fight...

"I am." Harry said calmly. "But before we begin, I want you to understand what it is that I'm trying to do. We spoke about it before, but this is about ending a war. This is about justice. Not revenge, and that's a very fine line you and I both will be walking. We both have reason to want to find and kill every single one of those morons, but we have to put aside our personal feelings. It's part of the reason I wear the armor. Those issues helped me to learn that."

"So… Batman is going to teach me how to deal with the anger I feel for what happened to my parents?" Neville asked incredulously.

"It did for me." Harry smiled. "That issue specifically."

"I don't know Harry." Neville looked unconvinced, but Harry patted him on the shoulder.

"Read those tonight and tomorrow, you and I can talk about them. Maybe then I'll be able to help you understand things a little better." Harry said as he passed the other boy.


The door opened slowly and the candles flared to life as the Dark Lord Voldemort entered his private chamber. When the door was shut securely behind him again, the abomination of nature slipped out of his silken black robes to examine himself in a mirror. The effects of the night's sacrifice were still manifesting themselves and he watched with anticipation as more of his festering wounds closed. His skin was gaining more color and it was losing its reptilian texture. The thin black hair on his scalp was fuller now as well. The man staring back from the mirror smiled back at him, showing normal human teeth. This was a true miracle and Lord Voldemort once again regretted not finding this solution sooner.

Yet, he did not feel as elated as he should. While his youth was being returned, and his power was far stronger than it had ever been, the Dark Lord could still be killed, and worse still, the prophesied instrument of his downfall had returned to England. While Harry Potter or his vigilante persona had not been spotted since their initial duel, Lord Voldemort knew he had not defeated the boy. And that meant, sooner or later, they would face each other again, and this filled the Dark Lord with dread.

He had always known that he had failed to destroy the child that Halloween night. Ever since the moment his killing curse had rebounded, he'd felt the child. Though he hadn't realized it for the longest time. It wasn't until he'd been returned to a body that he had been able to gain some clarity on the millions of emotions and questions he'd had during his exile. When he made the time, he had been able to separate all the strange visions he'd had, and began to understand he was seeing through the eyes of another. He had been connected to the child.

The boy who'd been destined to be able to kill him had lived, and now they shared a connection. Dumbledore had tried to cover it up by claiming the boy had died, but now Voldemort knew it had been a ruse to protect the boy. But it had failed. And Voldemort had planned on finishing what he had started just as soon as he dealt with Dumbledore himself.

And then one day, something had happened. He had felt something snap. And then soon after that, there had been another, and another. The Dark Lord had not understood the feeling at the time. And then, very suddenly, the connection to the boy disappeared. Try as he might, Voldemort could no longer sense the child. More of these strange… snaps followed. And then… His most trusted spy came to him. Severus Snape knelt before him, bearing grim news. He revealed that Dumbledore had learned the secret, and destroyed the tethers that kept the Dark Lord anchored to this world.

Lord Voldemort was enraged. His great secret had been discovered. The Horcruxes were all destroyed, save for his serpent. In his fury and still believing himself invulnerable, Voldemort challenged Dumbledore to the greatest duel ever witnessed. It had been a mistake. During that duel, Snape, his most faithful, his most trusted… had betrayed him. Snape killed his pet, Nagini, and rendered him mortal.

The duel became much more fierce after that and only ended when Voldemort realized that he would not live. Dumbledore was willing to fight to the death, and much to Voldemort's ire, proved to be still as powerful as ever.

However, before he'd gone to face his enemy, The Dark Lord had already discovered a way to cheat death once again. The Oigh Ban-dia. The thirteen witches of an ancient coven, born under very special circumstances, and most fortunately were alive in this age. Death would not claim him. He was far too clever to let it happen.

And as he stared at his reflection, he couldn't help but be pleased. His plan was working better than he'd ever dreamed. Not only was he regaining his strength, but his youthful looks as well. He was going to be more than immortal now. He would be a god.

His thoughts drifted back to his duel with the young man and how well the youth had stood up to his power which had been extraordinary, but he'd been stunned out how quickly that strength had waned. It hadn't taken long before he had felt tired. Weakened. That wasn't supposed to happen. By taking in the power of the priestesses, he was supposed to have unrivaled power.

He'd sought answers that night upon his return, but found all the texts had been taken from his chambers. He'd then been informed of a break in, and Voldemort had soon figured out that the young witch who'd come to Potter's aid had to be the one who'd taken the texts. He later began to hypothesize that this witch must also be marked. Another sacrifice that had been right under his nose. The rage he felt still smoldered in his chest as he stared coldly at his reflection.

Lord Voldemort had no doubt that Potter knew his plans now, though he was sure the boy would be unable to stop him from finishing. The Dark Lord already knew that Potter was aware of at least some of the girls, but he wouldn't be able to protect them all. He would be able to find them. There was no preventing it.

However, the Dark Lord decided that he would make one small change to his plan. He would collect them all this time, and keep them safe in his home. The identities of those who had slipped through his fingers were known to him now, and he had sent his followers to find them and had no doubt that he would soon have them all.

That left him with the incredibly difficult task of patience. He did not want to face the Potter brat again until he was sure that his power would not fail him. No, the next time they met, he would kill the boy, expose his secret, and destroy Dumbledore's legacy once and for all.


"I felt it!" Hermione shouted more excited than any of the other girls had ever seen the normally stoic bookworm. "I felt my magic! I did it! I can't believe it. It was like… getting into a warm bath. It just…"

"RIGHT?" Tracey exclaimed as she leaned over and hugged her friend tightly. The other girls all congratulated Hermione on her breakthrough while Lisa hung back. She still hadn't been able to feel her magic like the others. Even Pansy who'd only just joined them had been able to connect to her core, while the feeling still eluded Lisa.

"So how did you finally manage it?" Mandy asked.

"I don't know if it was any one thing." Hermione sighed, her eyes still sparkling with her joy. "But when we sat down, I just… I just emptied my mind. I pictured myself on this beach that my parents used to take me to, and I imagined I was alone there. Just listening to the wind and the waves, and that's when I started to feel it. After that I just remembered what Harry said, and I allowed it to overtake me. I didn't think I was just… I let it happen."

"So that's all of us!" Hannah clapped.

"Not all of us." Lisa said gloomily.

"I thought you had done it." Mandy looked concerned. Lisa merely shook her head sadly.

"I've been trying." she admitted. "I keep trying to empty my mind, or picture something serene, but i just can't do it. It never lasts. Stuff just keeps filling my head, I keep thinking of stuff for the Healer academy and I can't shut it off."

Lisa was pacing now, getting angrier with every word at her continued failure.

"You can't let it get you down." Tracey offered. "I mean if Hermione can do it, then you can too."

"HEY!" Hermione snapped.

"I meant it with love." Tracey grinned.

"I… I can help if you want?" Pansy offered nervously.

"I appreciate it, but the way Harry made it sound… it's a personal thing. I have to figure this out on my own." Lisa sighed, trying not to look as if she was about to give up. She felt like there had been some sort of epic cosmic mistake. How could she be one of the priestesses if she couldn't even do something simple like connect to her magic? Which was a weird thing to think about in the first place.

As a witch, she could easily use magic to do almost anything. Shouldn't that be enough of a connection? But Harry made it sound as if one's magic was its own living entity that lived within an individual. And now Hermione, the most logical and skeptical of them all had managed to connect with that entity, and Lisa hadn't, and it was becoming more than a little frustrating, especially how she had seen how that connection was improving how the others used their magic. Things were coming so much easier for all of them. That they all seem to be in insufferably good moods after one of their meditative periods.

"I'm going to go check on Harry and make sure he's taken his potions." Lisa stated before leaving the others as quickly as she could. She headed upstairs, and was unsurprised to see that Harry was not in his bed. But the vials she'd left for him were empty, so at least he was taking his potions. She next went to the attic and found him and Neville. They were sitting across from each other at the same table harry had been looking over his notes at the previous evening.

"Hey." Harry said when he noticed her. "Shouldn't you be with the others…"

"I was. Hermione connected with her magic." Lisa sighed gloomily.

"That's great, so why do you look like someone kicked you puffskien?" Harry asked. Lisa didn't want to admit to it, but her mouth had other ideas.

"I can't do it!" She snapped bitterly. "No matter what i do, I can't empty my mind enough to connect to my magic!"

"Wait." Neville said looking confused. "You can't perform magic?"

"No, she can't connect to it. It's different." Harry corrected.

"How is it different?" Neville queried as Lisa stepped closer. Harry smiled and waved her even closer as he got up from his seat, and motioned for Neville to do the same. He then made Neville and Lisa sit on the floor.

"Being able to use magic is easy once you learn the incantations and the wand movements and all of that. But connecting to it, being aware of it, and tapping into it is very different. When you can feel it, you can use it much quicker, with less flourishing, and without incantations." he explained.

"But we learned silent casting in sixth year." Neville said.

"Ok… here… levitate this pencil without the incantation." Harry ordered. Neville did so, though Harry and Lisa noted how he scrunched up his face in concentration.

"Good. now tell me why you had to mouth the words?" Harry asked.

"I did?" Neville looked surprised.

"Yeah." Lisa nodded, looking between the two young men. "I saw it too."

"Close your eyes Neville, and clear your head of everything. Just be… in this moment, just breathe and focus inwards." Harry said.

Neville rolled his eyes but then closed them. After a few minutes he sighed.

"What am I supposed to…"

"You're not focusing, Neville. You're too worried about what you're supposed to feel or do. Just be." Harry said. "Breathe. In and out. Slowly. Think of nothing. Just exist at this moment.

Neville again became silent, and did just as Harry said. Lisa watched the young man sitting next to her for a while, noting how his features began to slowly relax. It was almost imperceptible at first, but then it became more and more pronounced. And then, slowly a smile began to form on his face, and lisa knew that Neville had done it.

"I feel something… it's weird. It's…"

"Don't focus on it, or you'll lose it. Stay focused on your breathing and let it consume you. Let it take over your whole being." Harry said quickly. Neville gave a small nod and continued connecting to his core, the smile becoming larger by the second.

"Open your eyes and levitate the pencil again." Harry said after another few minutes. Neville did as he'd been ordered with much less concentration this time.

"Wow!" he stated after reaching out to grab the floating pencil. "Ok, I see what you mean. Wow, where did you learn that?"

"All over." Harry smiled. "Now that you know what it feels like, you're going to be able to use it easier, and it's going to speak to you in a manner of speaking. It's really going to help you with the things i'm going to be showing you."

"So why can't I do it?" Lisa asked clearly more irritated than she meant to sound.

"Neville, will you give us the room?" Harry asked, staring at Lisa puzzled.

"Yeah. Thanks harry." Neville said with a grin as he got up. After he'd gone, Harry shut the door and locked it before erecting a privacy ward and slipping his wand back into his wand holster.

""If I'm understanding you, you're having a hard time emptying your mind, correct?" Harry asked.

"I can't shut it off. At all. I've tried everything." Lisa sighed. "I even tried the method that worked for Hermione, which was to picture yourself in a calming environment, but it can't stop all these thoughts i have."

"May I try something? It's… very personal." Harry asked.

"What is it?" Lisa asked, feeling suddenly very nervous.

"It's sort of like legilimency essentially." Harry began. "It's really difficult to explain, but it means that I'll be entering your mind."

"I don't know…" Lisa hesitated.

"It's up to you, but I do think it will help, and I swear I won't share anything I see with anyone." He smiled.

"Alright." Lisa sighed with exasperation. "If you really think it will help."

"I do." he smiled, and Lisa felt those familiar butterflies in her stomach. "This is going to be a little weird…

Lisa stared into his emerald green eyes as he stared right back into her sapphire blue. She felt rather stupid at first until she began to feel a strange pressure in her mind. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was definitely foreign.

And then the room changed, and she found herself standing up, which was strange because she couldn't remember getting to her feet. She could smell flowers in the air, and she felt warm. She turned to take her new surroundings but she stopped short when she saw him there, smiling back at her.

Harry was dressed in a nice button down oxford, and black slacks. He was smiling softly at her as he approached, holding two glasses of wine, one of which he handed to her.

"What is going on?" She asked. "How did we get here?"

Harry simply smiled as he set his wine down and took her in his arms and before she could protest, he kissed her. Softly at first but the more she tasted of him, the more she craved, and in only a moment, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him tighter against her as she lost herself in the kiss.

"I think that will help." Harry said.

Lisa opened her eyes to find she was back in the attic, still sitting across from Harry who looked a little uncomfortable.

"What the hell was that?" Lisa asked in a embarrassed panic.

"I tapped into your mind and allowed it to build something that you can use as something to calm your mind." Harry said as he began getting to his feet. "I used it on Rookwood to make him see his fears."

"How did you… did you see it too?" She asked. It felt very hot in the attic all of a sudden.

"Uh… yeah I did." Harry stammered.

There was a long silence between the two with neither being able to look at the other. Several times Lisa tried to say something, while Harry continued to stare at the floor, deep in thought.

"Harry, I…" Lisa finally managed to say. "I think you should know that I…"

"I like you too Lisa." Harry said quickly, looking up at the girl again. "More so than I'd like to admit even to myself."

"R-really?" Lisa met his eyes, hope shining in them.

"But I just…. Lisa please understand that this isn't about you at all. I came back here with only one goal in mind, and that was to end Voldemort. It all got complicated with all of you, and my priority had to shift to keep you lot safe." Harry tried, feeling as if a piece of him was dying, though he couldn't really say why. It was true he found Lisa attractive, and they had gotten to know each other better than he had any of the other girls, but that wasn't enough for him to feel like he was giving up something, was it? Somewhere he knew Annalise was rolling her eyes at him.

"I get it." Lisa nodded. "And I don't want to be a distraction for you, and you weren't meant to see that…" She replied, trying to defend herself. She suddenly had a great need to get away. The heat in her face was becoming overwhelming, and Lisa thought it would be best to just end the conversation now before Harry could make things worse.

"I should go." She said as she got to her feet and made her way towards the door, but Harry was faster, even in his still weakened state, and his hand was on hers before it clasped the door. He spun her and she found herself looking into his eyes once again, and she felt her face heating up again. But then she noticed the look of conflict on Harry's face.

They remained like that for a moment, staring at each other with so many questions in their eyes, begging each other for answers until Harry moved. He released her wrist and then he'd bent forward, and very softly kissed her lips.

Lisa's mind, only a moment before a roaring storm, slowed, and just like in the vision he'd created for her, she lost herself in that moment. Her hands slowly made their way around his neck and she held onto him as she felt his arms slink around her waist.

The kiss did not last as long as it had in the vision, but had been so much more much deeper.

Harry pulled back, and Lisa was surprised to see him looking at her with apologetic eyes.

"Lisa, I'm sorry, I…" he began but she shook her head.

"Don't ruin this with apologies or some speech telling me that we can't be together." She said so fast that even she was shocked at what had been uttered. She took a step back from him and gathered herself before she continued. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she hated everything about this moment. Why couldn't they have just stayed there kissing? That had been perfect! Why did reality have to come crashing down on them.

I understand that you have your reasons for not wanting to be with someone. I know all the hero tropes for stories and all that. You think it'll be easier if you don't have to worry about the people you care about being used to get to you or put in danger or whatever. It's a nice sentiment, and I'll respect your choice… but just remember that there are already people you care about involved. Sirius and Remus and Annalise… and all of us. We all care about you, and not just because you risked your life to protect us. Because you're Harry… our friend."

And with that, Lisaa quickly made her way back down stairs to her room where she could try and piece together her broken heart.