New chapter! And a much lighter one compared to the last few! Yay! I'm hoping to update one more time this week, maybe two if I get really inspired, but I'm not sure. I start school next week, so if the story goes un-updated for a while, blame that. I'll be sure to keep yall posted if I can.

Elizabeth was exhausted.

As she and Minerva left the room, she couldn't help but yawn. Minerva placed a hand on her back. "You were very brave, Elizabeth. I'm very proud of you."

She smiled, but unexpectedly, a tear rolled down her cheek. It was the first time that happened all night, even including rewatching the battle.

Without needing to ask, Minerva hugged her. She hugged her tightly and made Elizabeth feel truly safe. It was exactly what she needed.

"I know. It must have been hard for you, but it's over now. You're safe here. You'll never have to talk about any of that ever again if you like."

When they separated, she wiped a tear off of Elizabeth's face. Elizabeth swallowed and felt a lump in her throat. "I, I don't know if that's what I want. You saw what happened in there. Professor Dumbledore was right. I know things that the rest of you don't. If any of it is useful, I want to help."

Minerva pursed her lips. "Are you sure? I know tonight was difficult, Elizabeth. And, you're only thirteen, you don't need to be involved in all this."

Elizabeth nodded. "It'd be ludicrous for me to not to. And, I don't think Voldemort would spare me from his plans because I'm underage."

Minerva sighed but relented. "I'll inform the others while you go up to bed. And, be careful of using that name, Elizabeth. Now that he's back, it's all the more dangerous."

Elizabeth agreed. "Goodnight, Mum. I love you."

Minerva smiled, and said, "Goodnight, Elizabeth. I love you, too."

As her daughter walked upstairs, Minerva thought about what her role in this war would be. If what she said was true, and she did indeed have useful knowledge, would Voldemort want her for his side? Or, even worse, would he want her dead because she was the only one alive who could undo any damage he did to the wards of Hogwarts? If Elizabeth took a part in this war, what would happen to her?

Elizabeth walked into her room, expecting Ginny and Hermione to be waiting for her. But instead, she found no one. Curious and confused, she walked out of the room and down the hall, checking a few of the other bedrooms. The last one she checked contained not only Ginny and Hermione, but Ron, Harry, Fred, and George.

"Should've seen this coming," Elizabeth mumbled before she was wrapped in a tight hug from Ginny. The last two years of their friendship had made them very aware of what the other needed in the face of emotional turmoil. When Ginny had nightmares, Elizabeth, being a very light sleeper, would often wake up and wake her up to free her from the terror. Then, she'd lend a listening ear and listen to Ginny's retellings and comfort her the best she could. In return, Ginny understood that when Elizabeth was sad or grieving, she needed a hug from Ginny and a few words of comfort.

Once Ginny and her ceased hugging, She had to face the rest of her friends. She cleared her throat. "So, how much did you get to see? And hear?"

"A good chunk of it," Fred said.

"Once McGonagall started saying you should go to bed-"

"We got out of there as fast-"

"As we could, cause we-"

"Didn't want to get-"

"Caught by Mum."

"Or yours for that matter."

Their twintalk stopped after they said their piece, but it at least gave Elizabeth the answers she wanted.

"Well, do any of you have questions? It's alright if you do." she asked.

Ron shifted a little, then asked, "How come you kept this all to yourself?" Hermione elbowed him.

Elizabeth giggled a little. "Well, it was hard to talk about. And it's not easy to slip into conversation. I guess I was just afraid."

She saw Harry nodding. Knowing that he had been going through a lot lately because of Cedric, she said, "At least Cedric had an easy end, Harry. He died quickly. Compared to what the students and professors went through in battle, he didn't suffer much."

Harry looked thoughtful, and a tad perplexed. "Suppose you're right." he said, just as Mrs. Weasley walked into the room.

"You all should be in bed! We're going to be busy tomorrow cleaning out this place! Lights out in ten minutes!" she ordered, shooing the girls out of the room since it was where Harry, Ron, and the twins would be sleeping.

As Ginny and Hermione walked through the hall, Mrs. Weasley pulled Elizabeth aside.

"Darling, you were so brave in there. Are you alright? Do you need anything? Warm milk to help you sleep?" She asked.

"I'll be alright, Mrs. Weasley. But thank you, for everything. Letting me stay at the Burrow, and being so good to me."

The Weasley matriarch looked like she was going to tear up as she hugged Elizabeth. "Of course, Elizabeth. You've helped Ginny so much, and you're a part of the family."

And with that, she sent Elizabeth off to bed with a smile.

Sleep didn't come easy for Elizabeth that night. Though she fell asleep rather quickly after saying goodnight to her friends, she did not sleep peacefully. Having dug up the darkest parts of her past earlier that night, her psyche had no shortage in nightmare fuel.

Her first was of the battle she had seen. In that one, she was too late to save her father and arrived on the scene to see him dead, and her mother beheaded by an angry muggle.

As soon as that one ended, the next one began. This one included the dreadful plague that had nearly claimed her life. Though she couldn't feel the pain that came with the disease, she knew it was there. Even worse, she had to go through seeing her dear little brother coughing and rasping for air yet again. Her hand reached out to place itself on his shoulder, but it went right through.

That was when she woke up. She was sweating and out of breath, and feeling rather shaken. Knowing she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep for a while, she found her sketchbook and a quill and headed downstairs to draw for a while, as she usually did when sleep was unreachable.

She had a surprise waiting for her downstairs. Namely, Sirius Black was also awake and in the kitchen making a cup of tea. He turned and was startled to see her.

"Sorry." Elizabeth apologized.

"It's alright." Sirius said warmly. "Can't sleep either?"

She shook her head. "I could, but then I woke up, and couldn't go back to sleep."

Sirius nodded knowingly. "Nightmares?"

"Yes." Elizabeth admitted.

"I've had a fair few of those myself after getting out of Azkaban. I find a good cup of tea can be very helpful." Sirius told her, pouring her a cup.

"Thank you." Elizabeth said gratefully, taking the cup.

The two sat down at the table, and Sirius asked her about her dreams. After she finished explaining, he told her about his own. Tonight's was of him being back in Azkaban, and the dementor trying to Kiss him.

"That's awful," Elizabeth said quietly, unsure of what else to say.

"It's one of the regulars, I'm afraid. If I may ask, haven't you had nightmares before? About what you showed after dinner?" Sirius inquired.

Elizabeth took a sip of her tea, then responded. "I have, but I never really told anyone. Sometimes Ginny and I would have nightmares on the same night, and if I woke her up from her nightmares, she'd usually figure out that I had one, too. But other than that, I'd keep them to myself. Even from Ginny when she asked."

"Because you didn't know how to bring it up?" Sirius offered.

"And, even if there was a way, talking about it was really hard, and you were afraid the people you loved would think about you in a different way?" Elizabeth continued.

They both laughed a little, surprised that the other understood their perils so well. But, on further reflection, Elizabeth could understand why Sirius got it so well. He too had been through horrors that were so connected to his past, he could barely stand to talk about them.

"But, seeing you open up to everyone like you did, it was very impressive. And I can't be upstaged by a thirteen-year-old, now can I?" Sirius asked as he fetched some cookies to go along with their tea.

"Hey, I'm a thousand and thirteen! Probably only fifty years older than you!" Elizabeth joked. Sirius looked very offended.

"Are you saying I'm old?" he asked, placing a hand to his chest dramatically.

"I'm saying I've seen what you looked like in your youth, according to Harry's memory book. You did not age well."

"I was in Azkaban for twelve years!"

"I was in a slimy chamber for a thousand!"

Their laughs echoed throughout the kitchen, and eventually, they were able to find sleep, their laughter having chased away their fears.

The good thing about the sleep problems Elizabeth often had? Even on a night where she only got, say, three hours of sleep, she could still wake up and feel ready for the day. Which was almost often a good thing, considering being sleepy in lessons was never good. (Fall asleep in Hagrid's class? A pretty good way to lose a finger.)

But it was not a good thing to be ready for cleaning out Sirius's house. Though a lot of work had been done, it was clear at breakfast that the Weasley children, Harry, Hermione, and Elizabeth were mainly there for manual labor.

"You tricked us by buttering us up with waffles again!" Ron protested, his mouth full of waffle.

"I wouldn't have to trick you if you and your siblings are a little more agreeable!" Mrs. Weasley retorted as Remus walked in with a Prophet.

"Is something wrong, Remus?" Hermione asked. Upon further inspection, Elizabeth found that he looked very concerned. Her curiosity rose.

"Oh, just a worrying article about Gringotts. The goblins are raising monthly payments for vaults." Remus said, tucking the paper away in his jacket.

After breakfast, Ginny and Elizabeth were tasked with cleaning out one of the old bedrooms with George, while Fred worked with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. That way, in case one of the underage teenagers got hurt, there could be immediate help provided.

"Ugh, how much dust is in this thing?" Ginny moaned as she stuck her head inside an old wardrobe.

"Must be crazy old. Sirius probably hasn't been in this room in ages." Elizabeth commented, also looking in the wardrobe.

"Can't blame him. Look at how drab these curtains are. Burgundy is so cliche for old houses. I think purple or red would make the room look much better." George said, gesturing to the curtains in a wide arm motion. Elizabeth and Ginny stared at him.

"What? Having an eye for detail and design is key in business. Fred's just not as studied in this art as I am." George said as if all were normal.

Ginny and Elizabeth just looked at him, and all three burst into laughter. Which then resulted in Ginny coughing from inhaling so much dust. Elizabeth ran to get her a cup of water while George pounded on her back rather hard.

After that, they, unfortunately, had to get to work. Ginny cleaned out the wardrobe, while Elizabeth and George set their sights on clearing out some of the several old trunks. They all laughed as they kept finding old, very outdated, junk. Ginny found several old ball gowns reminiscent of what Luna wore at the Yule Ball. George stumbled upon a trunk filled with just hats, which he then separated into very particular piles of ugliest to loveliest. There were few lovely hats. Meanwhile, Elizabeth discovered several old letters between Mr. and Mrs. Black. Apparently Mr. Black had gone to Durmstrang because they favored the dark arts, and Mrs. Black went to Hogwarts. They met the summer before their fifth year and had started exchanging letters when they each found out the other was pureblood.

"I must say, you looked very elegant at the Ministry Ball. I am so rarely in my home country due to my schooling, but you make my time in Britain all the more precious." Elizabeth recited, disguising her voice to be deeper and more masculine.

"That's actually sort of sweet," Ginny remarked as she pulled a few more hatboxes out of the very vast wardrobe.

"It kind of is if you disregard the fact that they were second cousins by marriage." Elizabeth pointed out.

"Gotta do what you gotta do for blood purity." George joked, making the girls and himself giggle.

"But seriously, getting a love letter is actually pretty romantic." Ginny said.

"Are you hoping to get one from Micheal?" Elizabeth asked teasingly.

Ginny smiled. "Maybe. But maybe you'll get one someday. If you ever find the right guy." she teased right back.

As she smiled at her friend, the word Neville sprang into Elizabeth's mind, out of nowhere.

Where had that come from?

Hmmm... if only you knew where this was going to go...