May 1948

The days following the Quidditch Cup final passed by in a peaceful reverie. As much as their sixth year exams fast approaching meant that they couldn't spend too long enjoying the surprisingly warm weather for the end of the Scottish spring, being in the lucky year between the two external exams meant that the pressure on Poppy's shoulders felt considerably less than what she had endured last year or what the seventh years were going through. So while most of their days outside lessons were spent cramming material in the library along with Irma, Septima, and Millicent, most of her evenings were spent on the grass below Gryffindor Tower, leafing lazily through textbooks and enjoying the golden sunsets.

During those evenings it was easy to pretend that there was nothing but quiet days on the horizon. With it being just her, Ro, Minerva, and Larry, four people in two happy relationships, Poppy and Ro could relax in a way that they never fully could around anyone else since they'd both found out after finding them kissing beneath the Common Room staircase. Ro had told her about Millicent guessing within about five minutes and of course most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were fairly clued in, but the twins were their only remaining closest friends who didn't know.

Poppy had felt from the beginning she was less nervous of people finding out than Ro was for reasons she couldn't explain. But it didn't mean she didn't love Irma and Septima any less if she allowed Ro to set the pace on the circumstances they would be told.

"What's going on in your head?" Ro's voice broke into her thoughts, and Poppy smiled as she was brought back into the present day. There was a daisy chain draped drunkenly over Ro's messy hair that Minerva had made for them all earlier while testing Larry on his NEWT material, somehow adding to the scruffy image that Ro had a great deal of pride in.

"Nothing to do with what I probably should be thinking about," she admitted, taking Ro's offered hand to pull her upright from where she'd laid down in the grass for a few minutes. After rearranging her own daisy chain she reached out for the nearest textbook; she huffed quietly when she saw Advanced Concepts in Transfiguration written on the front cover. "I suppose we're restarting with this then?" she asked.

A groan from Larry made them all look over to where he'd slumped forwards to rest his head on Minerva's shoulder. While it was still a few more weeks until his exams started, he and the other seventh years had been revising solidly since they'd finished formal lessons not long after the Easter holiday. "Can we not?" he moaned, voice muffled by Minerva's hair, "I just spent the last hour doing Potions."

There was such relatable despair in his voice that Poppy couldn't help but laugh at him. "Something a little lighter then," she decided, asking Ro with a wordless glance to pass the satchel of textbooks they'd dragged down from the dormitory.

"What classes do you take?" Ro asked Larry as she laid her head in Poppy's lap.

"Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Defence, Herbology, History of Magic, and Ancient Runes," he reeled off, counting subjects off on his fingers.

Ro suddenly sat up from where Poppy had been gently playing with her hair. "Oh! Oh! I'll test you all on rune translations!" she offered excitedly. Poppy lifted the textbook out of her reach as she grabbed for it a few times, but then Ro managed to distract her with a kiss on the cheek long enough to snatch the book and lie back down before Poppy could blink.

Minerva and Larry's laughter felt like a warm blanket as she grinned through her blush, sparing a moment to feel grateful that her racing heart was from the display of affection and not fear of retribution.

"That wouldn't be a cunning ploy so you can avoid doing any more work for the evening, would it, Rolanda Hooch?" Minerva teased her.

Any reply Ro had on the tip of her tongue was interrupted by Poppy sprinkling a handful of ripped up grass over Ro's face, and all four of them fell about laughing as Ro spluttered and spat grass fronds everywhere.

They continued like that for a while, with Ro angling the textbook carefully so that Poppy couldn't see as she read out words and made Poppy, Minerva, and Larry take it in turns to trace the rune in the air with their wands. There were some that only Larry knew since he was a year more advanced in his studies than Poppy was, but she tried to copy his formations when those words came up so she would recognise them when they reached that point in the curriculum. The gold sparks in the air felt appropriate for the amber glow of the sun setting above them, bathing them all in orange light and robbing Ro's eyes of their boldness from where Poppy looked fondly down at her.

It was approaching curfew by the time Ro let the textbook drop down onto her chest and declared they were finished with that particular word set. By then a slight chill had set in and the sun was mostly behind the hill, and Poppy groaned quietly as Ro sat up and she moved her leg for the first time in an hour.

"I'm done with this," Ro declared, "Larry, what's the time?"

Larry fished around in the pockets of his coat draped over Minerva's shoulders for his pocket watch. "Err, around quarter past nine," he eventually said.

Ro hummed. "Right then. Curfew for us is at 10, the fifth years are on prefect duty tonight, let's duel!" she grinned, feeling around on the grass for where she'd put down her wand before getting to her feet.

"Oh you're on, I haven't duelled you in ages!" Minerva leapt to her challenge, a mischievous smile on her face. Professor Merrythought had forbidden them from working with their usual partners since the New Year and had pulled names out of her witches' hat to decide dulling pairs each week, meaning it had been a long time since any of them had practised with each other.

Larry glanced over at Minerva and Ro who were putting some space between them and their bags, then shrugged and stood up to offer Poppy his hand. "Care to duel, m'lady?" he asked with a cocky smile, and Poppy laughed as she accepted the hand and shot a few nonverbal sparks from her wand in preparation. She'd been a capable dueller since first year but never completely confident since she placed all her pride in her healing wandwork, so she couldn't deny the slight tinge of nerves as she faced a new opponent for the first time.

It turned out that Larry was as graceful on the battlefield as he was on the Quidditch pitch. He was a good match for Poppy's fluid way of duelling; she could recognise some of his preparation in her own technique which meant that she was better prepared than usual to predict where she needed to position her shield charms. That made for a nice contrast with Minerva's duelling, so guarded and strategic that she was notoriously hard to land a hit on and her opponent had a second's warning to defend themselves, or Ro's duelling which was so swift and unyielding that she would be on the defensive from the second they began.

As it did every year, the summer holiday raced towards them as May turned into June. This wasn't good news for their exam stress, the atmosphere in Gryffindor Tower turning tense as it did every year. But it was good news for their plans during the two months of the year they weren't at Hogwarts. The previous years they had all largely been subjected to whichever family would agree to five extra houseguests during the summer months, but since everyone except Poppy was of-age in the wizard world it meant they had a lot more freedom to go wherever they pleased.

While they'd all acknowledged this in passing, no-one brought up the idea of planning their summer months until Ro ran into the Great Hall a few minutes late one morning armed with a copy of the Daily Prophet and a roll of parchment. Poppy and Minerva had come down to breakfast without her that morning as she'd made a run for the Owl Tower first – she'd brought her brother's grumpy owl with her in first year but since then she'd relied mostly on the Hogwarts owls or borrowing a friend's to get her mail sent.

The cutlery rattled as she slammed the Prophet down on the table, yellow eyes wild with excitement. "Quidditch World Cup," she panted, breathing heavily from her sprint down the Grand Staircase. After a moment's pause, punctuated by Minerva raising a curious eyebrow, she unrolled the parchment and waved a handful of tickets in front of them all. "Tavin's managed to get us all tickets!"

"It's in France this year, right?" Millicent asked, ever the logical one while Septima and Minerva practically squeaked in their excitement.

Larry nodded, skim-reading a letter from his father. "Yes, in Calais. About as close to the northern border you can get so it won't be too difficult to travel," he said, "We've got our accommodation sorted already but the final arrangements have just been confirmed with the French Ministry."

Ro made a mocking gasp as she sat down in the seat next to Poppy and took a swig of the coffee that she nudged towards her. "Alright, Mr-Minister's-Son. Not all of us can get the fancy rooms, we're a tent family thank you very much!" she teased.

"We're going camping?" Septima asked in disbelief, exchanging a grimace with Irma. "We went on a school trip once with our Muggle school before Hogwarts and it was… an experience," she finished tactfully.

"Tent leaked," Irma deadpanned with none of Septima's politeness.

Poppy couldn't stifle her giggle at the thought of the twins trying to sleep in a rain-filled tent. "I've camped too, while I was an evacuee. After living in London all my life it was a bit of a culture shock," she said. That had been shortly before her Hogwarts letter had arrived, one of the final happy memories she had from her Muggle Wartime days.

Ro shook her head. "I always forget that the rest of you had a Muggle childhood," she said, smiling in disbelief. "Anyways, that's Muggle camping. We're going Magic camping. No leaky tents and solid beds for us, no thank you."

Confused, Poppy glanced round the table at the rest of the non-Muggles to see if anyone else knew what Ro was talking about. Larry was grinning in the face of Minerva's expression, a silent request for an explanation. After a moment he laughed, leaning forward to kiss her cheek playfully before he said "Undetectable extension charms. Makes everything seem bigger on the inside – it might look like you have an ordinary tent but inside it'll feel like a small house."

"Woah," Millicent said, eyes wide like a first year seeing the Hogwarts Express for the first time.

"I assume your family has a tent we can borrow?" Irma asked Ro.

For a second it looked like Ro was about to nod, but then she frowned. "Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully, "I'm not sure. We've got one, but I reckon Erika and Johnny have it." Poppy remembered that Ro's sister and her boyfriend had recently gone on a hiking trip around Europe – Ro was collecting the postcards they sent and sticking them on the back of their dormitory door.

"I might be able to solve this."

Everyone turned towards where Minerva was looking suddenly uncomfortable. "The prize money I got for winning the Tournament – well, 'winning'," she echoed scornfully. "It's been sat in my mother's family vault at Gringotts for the last year; I haven't felt right touching it. But it's a lot of money and I'd rather use some of it to get us a good summer holiday than anything personal for me."

Their table was silent for a moment as Minerva finished, leaning her head tiredly on Larry's shoulder. Poppy wished she was sat closer so she could grab Minerva's hand. The first anniversary of the Tournament final was later that month, the first anniversary of Svetlana and Reynaud's deaths, and she was painfully aware of the memories it would bring back for Minerva.

"Yeah," Ro said, her voice uncharacteristically soft. There was a look of gentle, fond pride on her face as she gazed across the table at Minerva. Two people united by grief for pointless deaths which happened far too soon. "I think that would be good."

Minerva was quiet for the rest of breakfast, and Ro's hand found Poppy's under the table as conversation moved onto other topics. Normally the sixth year Ravenclaws and Gryffindors would be straight off to Defence Against the Dark Arts for their first lesson, but that day there had been a note from Professor Merrythought on the Common Room notice board stating that class was postponed until 8pm with no explanation provided. Irma normally had a free period during that session so all six of them made their way up to the library, dropping Larry off at the Charms classroom door on their way up.

Once their regular lessons were over, all of the sixth years taking Defence across all four Houses made their way onto the courtyard. Professor Merrythought was waiting for them all below the castle walls in the same place where their Apparition lessons had taken place earlier in the year. It wasn't particularly cold so most people were carrying their cloaks rather than wearing them, wands in hand ready for whatever activity the Professor had prepared for them.

"Good evening, sixth years!" Professor Merrythought greeted them once they'd all gathered round and sat down on the grass, waiting for an echoed response before she continued. "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I've cancelled all your classes today and dragged you all out here instead. That reason is because we will be learning something rather special this evening, and I thought you might all find it easier to perform the required skill when out here with your friends instead of my stuffy old classroom."

A hushed giggle passed through the gathered crowd at the Professor's tendency to poke fun at her practices. Poppy thought that the Defence classroom was actually one of the nicest in the castle, far better than the gloomy dungeons where Professor Slughorn had to teach.

"This evening we will be learning the Patronus charm!" the Professor announced, lifting her amputated wrist in a command for silence when gasps and whispers broke out among the students. "For those of you who don't know, the Patronus charm is the greatest weapon a witch or wizard has against Dementors and similar creatures. They are difficult to cast and require a great level of conviction in one's magical prowess, and trust in the spell itself. Watch closely as I demonstrate."

She took a small step back from the closest students, pulling her wand from her dress pocked and exhaling softly. "Expecto Patronum" she said, voice clear in the windless evening. A fountain of blue and silver burst out from the tip of her wand, swirling in the air, then coming together in the form of a white squirrel. The Professor laughed along with a few students as her Patronus ran in circles around her, blowing a breeze through her steel-grey hair before evaporating back into mist just above the tip of her witches' hat.

As several students clapped Professor Merrythought dropped an amused curtsey. Then she lifted her wand again, but instead of recasting the charm she muttered a different incantation and a small mug of butterbeer appeared in front of all the students. "You've got five minutes to drink those and think about what your happiest memory is. Doesn't matter how old it is or what the circumstances are. It's often the first one you think of so don't overthink it!" she called out.

Poppy savoured the warmth of her drink as she turned round to face the rest of her friends. "What's a memory got to do with it?" she asked. The question was primarily directed at Ro, since she'd grown up in a purely magic world, but she wouldn't have been surprised if Minerva or Irma knew already with the amount of reading they both did.

"It's how you cast the spell. Bit like Ridikkulus," Ro explained between sips of Butterbeer, reminding Poppy of their Boggart lesson back in fourth year. "You have to have a mental image of something happy in your mind to give the spell its power. Remember what Professor Kettleburn says?"

Grinning, Poppy cleared her throat before reciting in perfect time with Ro. "The best way to approach a non-corporeal being is with non-corporeal magic."

"Ah, I miss Care of Magical Creatures," Millicent sighed.

Irma nodded. "Me too. Come on, we're supposed to be thinking about happy memories."

Poppy didn't miss the shadows in Irma's eyes as she prompted them. It ached in her chest to remember that Irma probably didn't have very many stand-out happy memories to call upon, the fact never clearer than when they were looking through the twins' childhood photos Ro had gathered for their scrapbook to see Irma hardly smiling in any of them. She tried not to grimace visibly as her mind was cast back to not their Boggart lesson but what had happened afterwards, the other Slytherins in their year making fun of Irma's obvious family dysfunction. All they could do was hope they wouldn't see a repeat of that.

She was still settling on a memory for herself when Professor Merrythought called for their attention again. "Alright everyone!" she shouted. "Up you get, finish your Butterbeer, and spread out in groups around the courtyard. The incantation is 'Expecto Patronum'. I'll be walking round to see how you're all getting on!"

"Come on," Ro said, leading them all further away from the castle walls so they had space to spread out. The once-quiet space was filled with the comforting background noise of people reciting the incantation over and over to practise their pronunciation; it reminded Poppy of their earlier years learning basic spells under Professor Merrythought's tutelage.

In another reminder of first year classes, it took longer than Poppy expected for anyone to see even a sliver of success. The Professor had consoled them with a reminder of how advanced the magic was, but Poppy could tell Ro in particular was starting to get frustrated. At long last there was a shout of triumph from across the courtyard; everyone turned to see William Tonks with a sheet of wispy white projecting from his wand. "Fantastic William! 10 points to Hufflepuff for being the first!" Professor Merrythought shouted as Alfred Diggory gave him a friendly punch to the shoulder.

As if spurred on by William's success, soon the darkening sky was filled with projections of silver Patronuses. Ro was the first of their group to cast successfully, and on her second try Poppy was sure that her silver mist had a bird's silhouette. Flashes of animal traits around the courtyard happened more and more until there was a peacock glowing at the end of Mali Shafiq's wand, Septima and Millicent grinning proudly at their dorm-mate.

Poppy was deep in concentration when Ro's sudden laughter dispersed her misty Patronus, and upon looking up she wondered for a split second why Minerva had transformed into her Animagus form instead of practising. But then she followed the glow of magic upwards to see the human Minerva standing with a look of shock on her face at what form her Patronus had taken.

"Congratulations Minerva," Professor Merrythought said, squeezing Minerva's shoulder as the spectacle-marked cat dissipated into the evening air. "It's fairly common for a witch's Patronus to share the same animal form as her Animagus should she be talented enough to know both skills. 10 points to Gryffindor."

Minerva blushed at the praise. "Thank you Professor," she smiled, a genuine joy in her face. Poppy spared a moment to be thankful for the Professor's role in particularly Minerva's life, giving her the maternal figure in the magical world her mother had deprived her of.

It was hard to focus on her own work when more silver animals started to appear on the courtyard. A group of Hufflepuffs laughed in delight as William's heron was chased through midair by Helen Lambert's floppy-eared dog, while Lyall Lupin's wolf ran in circles around the Gryffindor boys. Ro's shriek made Poppy nearly drop her wand in fright as a yellow-eyed falcon soared high above her head. Irma gave a dejected huff from next to Poppy as Druella Rosier's weasel and Eileen Pince's field mouse regarded each other curiously while she was yet to produce even a formless Patronus.

"You'll get there," Poppy whispered. Irma met her eyes for a brief second but said nothing.

The tension in Irma's shoulders only worsened when Septima was able to conjure up a silver stoat, her gaze unreadable as she watched it interact with Minerva's cat and Millicent's jaybird. Poppy wished she could do anything to lessen the hurt in every tense line of Irma's body. But she respected her friend enough to not pry when Irma deliberately turned away from the rest of them to continue practising.

"Hey you," Ro's voice interrupted her worried thoughts, fingers brushing hers but not holding on. "What's up?"

Poppy glanced back to Irma for a moment before looking into her girlfriend's concerned eyes. "Nothing I can do anything about right now," she sighed quietly, not wanting Irma or anyone else to hear her reply. "I should probably be focusing on what I'm doing to be honest," she added with a wry laugh.

Ro smiled. "Maybe," she teased, "Unless we want to be out here all night. Close your eyes, forget about everyone else, it's just you and me."

She did as she was told, conjuring up every single happy memory she could grasp. Her mother reading her stories as she curled up between her parents in bed. The first trip to Diagon Alley after discovering she was a witch. Seeing Ro and Minerva again for the first time after she'd been Petrified. Crying with relief into bloodied hands after hearing they had won the war against Grindlewald. Dancing with her friends at the Yule Ball. Hugging Ro after receiving their O.W.L. results. Kissing Ro under the alcove for the first time. Kissing Ro.

Without opening her eyes, she reached out to find Ro's hand and whispered "Expecto Patronum."

Her chest hummed as if someone had lit a fire in her lungs and the warmth was spreading through her body and into her wand. She opened her eyes to see a cottontail hare sat scratching it's ear in front of her, ears twitching when Poppy let out a happy gasp. Ro's cold fingers squeezed hers as she recast the charm herself, the two of them leaning into each other as the hare and the falcon darted around together before both disappearing into the air.

Despite their worries about other people finding out about their relationship, they didn't let go of each other's hands until they were sat around a table in the Hogwarts kitchen with a blanket wrapped around them both. Professor Merrythought had sent them all straight to the basement after the lesson was over, instructing them all to warm up by the fires for a while as before they returned to their respective dormitories. Millicent had a woollen blanket pulled over her head as she cradled a mug of hot chocolate in her hands, cheeks rosy with the cold as she asked "So? What did you all think of to cast the charm?"

"Quidditch Cup," Ro and Minerva answered in unison. There was a beat of silence as they just looked at each other before they broke into giggles.

"Well I might have thought of that too if you Gryffindors had given us a shot at the cup in the last four years," Septima retorted with no bite in her voice.

Minerva gave a pretend unbothered shrug as she said slyly "We can't help that we simply have the superior Captain." She ignored Millicent's booing to add "I thought of Quidditch a lot, and the moment I managed the Animagus transformation for the first time. And- and the Yule Ball with Larry," she finished all in a rush.

"Me too. Obviously with Philip not Larry though, yknow," Septima said, laughing at her own clumsy wording.

"I think someone's after your man, Minerva," Millicent warned jokingly, her tone dead serious other than the smile that split her face.

Even while she did her best to savour the comfortable chatter, Poppy couldn't help but watch Irma throughout the conversation. She hadn't said a word since they returned to the castle, other than thanking the House-elf who had brought round hot drinks for the table. As much as Irma and Septima were back on a more comfortable footing regarding their parents, Poppy didn't want to risk upsetting the atmosphere or disregarding Irma's boundaries by bringing it up herself. Instead she just made a mental note to check in with her later once they could find a moment alone.

"And anyway, changing the subject. Do you two have something to share with the group?"

Poppy was brought back to the present when she registered Septima's words and the rest of the table looking at her and Ro. Ro's fingers had gone slack in hers, so Poppy quickly glanced around to make sure no-one outside their group was eavesdropping before tugging gently on her arm. "Earth to Ro," she murmured gently, running a thumb over Ro's knuckles under the table where no-one else could see.

It took a moment before Ro moved from where she had frozen stiff. By then Septima's teasing smile had turned into a look of guilty concern, leaning closer to the table as she said "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that to be an attack. You don't need to worry about that."

Ro finally breathed out after what felt like an age. "Thanks," she said, offering Septima a tired smile. It faltered a little as she looked from one sister to the other, where Irma had reconnected with the real world from where she'd been lost in her own head for too long. "And you?"

Irma didn't waste a second before shaking her head. Her eyes were still haunted by whatever thoughts the Patronus lesson had brought up, but there was no doubt in Poppy's mind of her acceptance of them.

"Thank you," Poppy said on Ro's behalf, feeling her hand trembling in hers. She met Ro's eyes in a silent question and was met with a shaky nod, leaning in impossibly quickly to kiss Ro's cheek in the biggest display of affection she dared while surrounded by the rest of the sixth years. Then she turned back to her friends and said "Ro and I have been together since February."

Despite having known since the very beginning, Millicent still barely restrained her noise of excitement. "I'm happy for you both, really," Septima said, lifting her mug and nudging it against Ro's in a subdued version of their rowdy cheers with Butterbeer tankards in the Three Broomsticks. Irma murmured her agreement, and Poppy felt a weight she'd been carrying for four months disappear just as her Patronus had done when Ro rested her head on Poppy's shoulder.

The Patronus lesson was one of their last before the onslaught of the exam season. Professor Merrythought had assured them that the advanced skill wouldn't be tested as a part of their practical exam until they sat their N.E. the following year, something which came as a great relief to Irma. Poppy hadn't brought up the topic of her failed attempts despite her concerns, as the approaching summer holiday meant that Irma probably had her father on her mind too much as it was. The Quidditch World Cup wasn't taking place until early August, so for the first three weeks or so she had resigned herself to meeting her father for the first time since she escaped his abuse the previous summer.

Even though she and Minerva had both offered for Irma to come home with them rather than Septima, Irma had brushed off their concerns every time the conversation was raised. "It'll be alright," she said, looking entirely unconvinced as she picked at the Gryffindor seat cover on the common room sofa. "I'm very aware that if I don't return this year then it's unlikely I'll ever see either of them again. And regardless of my feelings towards my father I don't want to put that upon my mother if I can help it."

"I'm on your side this time," Septima said. She hesitated before moving from where she'd been sat next to Millicent to squeeze on the sofa with Poppy and Irma, Ro shifting onto the chair's arm to give them more room. Poppy knew that Septima still carried the guilt for how she'd treated Irma prior to finding out the truth of how their father had treated her, and privately she thought it was rightly due. "I promise. He won't try anything with you if I'm there and I won't let him get you alone again. He can't get away with it this time," she promised resolutely.

Irma regarded her sister with a look of quiet astonishment for a moment. Then her stiff posture relaxed and she slowly rested her head on Septima's shoulder.

Poppy didn't think she had seen the sisters be so physically vulnerable with each other for several years, and maybe not even then. A glance exchanged between Minerva and Millicent told her that they were both thinking the same thing. With a soft smile she moved her hand to grab Ro's which had been resting on her shoulder, content in the hope that maybe the twins would be alright.

Unlike the previous year, their exams passed without much fuss. The quieter exam timetable with their fewer subjects felt like bliss compared to the two week ordeal that O. had been and Poppy relished the couple of days they had between each exam to refresh her mind and maintain a semi-decent sleep schedule for their whole dormitory.

Due to their different subjects there was no joint last exam like there had been with the Astronomy practical the previous year. Ro finished first, which meant she became their personal examiner during revision sessions to test the rest of them on their work. The final exam of the year was the Potions practical, which Poppy thought was particularly unfair as it was such a heavy subject. But after one final morning of reciting potion ingredients with Minerva and Irma, the three of them headed down to the Dungeons with the knowledge that they were just two hours away from complete freedom.

They were offered a choice between two potions to make; the Draught of Living Death and Amortentia. Poppy picked the latter, thinking back to their very first sixth year lesson where she'd smelled the potion and been so naively confused about what it meant to her. With nine months' worth of hindsight she could finally recognise Ro in the smell of broomstick polish and Little Wakering by the bitter sea air she would never find in London. It was a struggle not to smile as she handed in her final product to Professor Slughorn, both due to the memories of Ro and the fact that sixth year was finally over.

"We're done!" Minerva gasped as soon as they were free of the exam conditions and allowed to talk. "Which potion did you two do?"

Irma let out a sigh as they paused to collect their satchels, sagging against the wall for a second in relief. "Living Death. I know it's the harder of the two but I'd recognise it easier, Amortentia smells a little unclear to me."

Poppy nodded, seeing the sense in her choice. She was about to reply but then was interrupted by a yawn, grinning through it when Minerva and Irma both laughed lightly. "I think we all need an early night tonight," she said sheepishly, shouldering her bag as they set out towards Gryffindor Tower.

Even though that marked the end of the sixth year exams, there were still another four weeks left at Hogwarts before they left the castle for summer. For the sixth years that meant they were straight back into lessons to mark the start of seventh year, albeit on a reduced timetable as the Professors had to fit them in around exams for the other years. That meant they had some time on their hands to help out the seventh year students, testing the Quidditch Team boys and Maggie Jordan since the sixth years exams were over and done with by the time that O. and N.E. started. There was no stress every time they saw one of the external examiners walking around the castle, other than the fact that Ro mistook Professor Marchbanks for Professor Merrythought one morning in front of several people and refused to leave the dormitory for an hour out of sheer embarrassment.

"I could get used to this level of calm," Ro said on a Monday evening in late June. There was one week left of N.E.W.T exams before everyone truly was finished for the summer, and the first to fourth year students were also in the middle of their exam period meaning that it was quiet in Gryffindor Tower.

Poppy hummed in agreement, shuffling up the sofa to curl closer into Ro's side. Minerva was out on Prefect duty and the seventh years had relocated to the Library for the evening, so they were sat with the fourth year boys helping them out with revision for the night. Poppy could see Ro's concentration face as she watched Emery Hooch write out a list of Ancient Rune translations with Malcolm McGonagall. Winston Spencer-Moon and Atticus Weasley were tackling a particularly complicated Transfiguration calculation which made Poppy wish they had Minerva on hand whenever they asked for help.

The calm quiet was shattered when out from nowhere they heard an awful sound from the main castle body. Ro was instantly on her feet, eyes darting around the Common Room. Poppy rose more slowly, pulling out her wand from where she'd twisted it up into her hair. She was suddenly aware that in the seventh years' absence they were the oldest students in the Tower, and therefore the safety of the younger students was down to them.

Thudding on the stairs made her whirl around to see Edwin Doyle and the other sixth year boys sprinting down from their dormitories. "Did you hear that?" he demanded, looking no less worried when Poppy and Ro nodded. "Lyall and Minerva are on Prefect duty, I hope that wasn't one of them.

That was a thought Poppy hadn't considered, and her blood chilled at the idea of Minerva and Lyall as well as Millicent and Irma in danger. The noise they'd heard hadn't been a scream but it almost was, a howling sound somewhere between human and animalistic.

"Come on," Ro said, grabbing Poppy's hand and heading towards the portrait hole. "We aren't waiting for whatever it is to find us in here," she thought aloud to everyone who was around them, "there are first years here. I want to set up a guard outside the Tower so that whatever made that noise can't get in."

"We're coming too," Emery said, an undeterred expression as he faced his cousin with matching yellow eyes.

Ro shook her head immediately at the fourth year boys. "Absolutely not. You guys aren't O.W.L level yet and we don't know what's out there," she argued.

Poppy wanted to agree with her, but she knew if she were in Emery's shoes she could never stay in the Tower while people she cared about were putting themselves on the line to protect her. "You fought in the Hogwarts Battle when you were a third year," she pointed out, tugging on Ro's hand gently.

There was a second where Ro paused, but stiffened as the noise sounded again yet somehow slightly closer. "Alright," she said abruptly, pushing open the portrait hole and ushering everyone out. The seventh year corridor felt just as cold and foreign as it had done back when it was full of Grindlewald's soldiers, yet this time whatever danger faced them was unknown.

"Someone should go get Professor Dumbledore," Winston said, his voice shaking ever so slightly.

Ro nodded, glancing at the fourth year boys. "You're absolutely right. You four go, then bring him back here as soon as you get to his office. Stay together and don't go anywhere else."

Seeming relieved to be given a job to do, the four of them ran towards the Grand Staircase and out of sight. Seeing them disappear into the unknown, Poppy was reminded of just how young they were and how she'd been even younger the last time the castle had been in danger. Yet she'd felt so grown up, thirteen years old and tailing after Madame Quinine to get to the Hospital Wing. If there was one thing the wars had done to her perception, it was making herself feel so much older and everyone younger feel so small.

"So it's just us out here," Hector Bones said gravely.

"Us and the Prefects, wherever they are," Poppy said, looking desperately at Ro.

Humming in reluctant agreement, Ro sighed roughly. "They'll be ok, they're the most level heads in the year. They'll be ok." Poppy wasn't sure if she was trying to convince her or herself.

An uneasy minute passed. Then the hairs on Poppy's neck rose as the silence broke again, but unlike the previous two times the howling sound wasn't alone. This time there was a painfully human scream along with it.

"Stay at the portrait hole!" Ro shouted as she took off down the corridor.

Poppy shrieked her name in blind panic for a moment before her nerves stilled and she sprinted after her, leaving the boys behind to guard the Tower. If Ro objected to Poppy charging into danger alongside her there was no indication given. But even if Ro had told Poppy to go back then not even Slytherins' Monster reappearing could have convinced her.

They skidded to a halt once they reached the ground floor, having come down the secret staircase to the Greenhouse corridor and rolled out from under the tapestry. "What now?" Poppy heaved out between breaths, adrenaline making her heart hammer in her chest. There were no signs of danger in the view around them, just the normal level of quiet for Hogwarts after curfew. She knew that Emery and the fourth years would probably be with Professor Dumbledore in his fourth floor office, and she was about to suggest they continue down there when a ragged shout for help echoed from down a hallway.

"That way!" Poppy shouted, grabbing Ro's hand as she ran towards the desperate plea. As they got closer she realised she could hear the sound of spells being shot, making her slow down for fear of running blindly into danger.

The sight in the Entrance Hall was hard to decipher. Professor Dumbledore was there with his wand brandished and an anger that Poppy had never seen in his eyes. The horrible howl that had dragged them from Gryffindor Tower could be heard from just outside the castle where Professor Dumbledore was shooting spell after spell with barely a second's breathing space between attacks. A devastated cry made her head whip round to see a group of boys in Gryffindor robes cowering behind one of the suits of armour. Poppy's heart dropped down to her feet when she recognised the fourth year boys, and stopped entirely upon realising there was one of them missing.

Ro's hands gripped Poppy's arm the second she saw it. The body lying still and broken by Professor Dumbledore's feet. With the distance she couldn't tell which of the boys it was but her knees nearly buckled all the same.

But that wasn't what Ro had seen. A hoarse voice saying her name made Poppy look towards the Grand Staircase where another group of people were huddled under the stairs.

"Poppy we need you," Minerva said, in what might have been a desperate shout if her voice weren't broken up by heavy sobs.

She glanced towards the body and the rest of the fourth year boys, but in the end her best friend's begging won out. Still holding onto Ro, they gave the still-fighting Professor a wide berth as she forced her numb feet onwards towards the staircase.

Minerva said nothing when Poppy got closer, a haunted look on her face reminisce of how she'd looked in the Hospital Wing after discovering Reynaud's death. That alone should have warned Poppy of what she was about to see, but her breathe still caught in her chest when she saw the blood soaking the floor. As she had feared, the sixth year Prefects had managed to find themselves right in the path of the danger. Sylvia Macmillan was shaking in Millicent's arms while Robert Fawley crouched over another torn up body. Alphard Black was sat furthest back beneath the staircase with a figure so covered in blood that Poppy could barely recognise their uniform.

Her heart felt like it stopped again when Alphard looked up at her and said "Poppy, it's Irma."

Everything else was forgotten as Poppy ran to Irma's side, sinking down to her knees. Her worst fears were ablated a little when she saw terrified brown eyes looking back at her and noted Irma's panicked breathing, but that didn't last long when Alphard moved the hand from around Irma's throat and blood gushed down onto her shirt.

"Shh, don't try to talk," she hushed as Irma opened her mouth, tears spilling down her cheeks. After conjuring a gauze pad and instructing Alphard to put pressure back on Irma's neck, Poppy used a quick slicing charm to open Irma's shirt. Whatever had attacked them had carved a long wound that ran in a single cut from her throat all the way to her elbow.

There was no time to worry about what had attacked them, confident from the distant shouts that Professor Dumbledore was keeping that at bay. Poppy's hand shook as she drew her wand over Irma's wound, whispering the incantation to Vulnera Sanentur. The skin around the wounds made an effort to knit together as she'd seen watching other people complete the spell, but Poppy bit her lip nervously when blood still leaked from the slightly narrower cut.

"What in Merlin's name did this?" she turned towards Minerva and asked.

Minerva didn't answer immediately. Instead she cast her gaze down at the other body Poppy hadn't looked at yet, where Ro had joined Millicent, Sylvia, and Robert on the floor. It was William Tonks, his chest unmoving, and his torso covered in a series of brutal slashing wounds.

Her blood ran cold when Minerva said "It was a werewolf."

Author's Note:

Ah, this chapter. I think just about every human emotion is included within these 7000 words. So many warm moments with Ro and Poppy's growing relationship, exam stress and triumph, the ever present trauma from the Tournament, Irma's family fears, and now this devastation. All I can say is, as always when I write a death into this story, I'm sorry. If it makes you readers feel any better, I always second guess my decision to kill any single character but ultimately plot progression always wins out.

Ignoring the tragedy the end of this chapter is, that Patronus scene is something I've been waiting to write for a long time. With the exception of Minerva's Patronus which is written into canon, I loved having the free reign over what everyone else's animals would be. And yes I'm aware that Patronuses are labelled as very rare in canon, but if the DA could achieve them when taught by Harry I think that these sixth years could do so when taught by a competant Professor. Bless Irma for not being able to cast one, it broke my heart to write but it felt so true to the story. Her family feelings are very heavily rooted in my own and she's a joy to write through this heartache.

I would like to make a quick note about my personal views of JKR's werewolves. I outlined this fic when I was 16 and before a lot of JKR's controversial views had come to light. If I was making these literary choices now I would probably write them out. The comparison of lycanthropy to AIDS is one thing but the deliberate decision to have werewolf characters target children specifically is disgusting, and I hope that this fic can still be enjoyed without the connections to gross homophobic metaphors. Also, while I'm here: trans lives matter and terfs are banned from reading this fic. I said what I said :)

How are things for me? Well I'm still here and still writing after a whole year of pandemic, and I graduate from Uni this year. Maybe I'l finish this beast of a fic before its sixth anniversary in October. We can dream!

Until next time :)