I feel like I say this every chapter, but this is a long one.

Astra, Through the Looking Glass.

I personally thought it was a fair enough question.

"Oga shtnom ydob regnuoy ym ni pu ekow!"

"So, you were sent back too?" I asked.

Astra nodded vigorously in response.

"Do you know how?"

Astra shrugged. Her guess is as good as mine.

"Did anyone else get sent back?"

Again, there was another shrug and Astra's guess was once again as good as mine.

"Dloh nac I regnol hcum woh wonk t'nod! RorriM eht dna lleH neewteb gnirekcilf!

If she was flickering between Hell and the Mirror of Erised, that was a problem. I had to get her out of there, somehow. I racked my brain furiously. I willed my brain to try and get Astra out of the mirror. It was the thing that I wanted the most. I needed to save her. She could not be stuck down there, not again, not after all of the years of her life, she lost down there the first time.

I could get her out. Like I could the Philosopher's Stone out of it in the old timeline. I just needed to open the mirror and get her out.

I felt a weight in my pocket. It was the Philosopher's Stone, in my pocket. I reached in and instantly knew a fake when I saw it.

I knew it. But now's not the time to crow about being right. Again.

"Astra, try and hang on, I'll think of something," I said.

I do not panic easily. But when I do it's spectacular. And now I'm panicking. The windows and the entire floor rattled around me due to my emotions threatening to go out of control.

Get it together Potter. She's counting on you.

"I can't contact him for help," I murmured. "After Dumbledore pretty much threatened to use the full extent of his titles to get him arrested, Constantine buggered off for a long time. If what I got out of him all of those years later is still accurate, he's trapped in some kind of weird magic interdimensional limbo until about fourteen or fifteen years from now. Yeah, no, I can't."

Astra looked at me with pleading eyes. And she did not do the desperation thing often.

"Zatara, no, Arella, no, Blood, no, they won't be of any help at this time," I said. "This is a problem. A big problem."

Astra nodded vigorously and I could see the images of demonic shadows ready to reclaim her hovering for a moment. We had another serious problem. Those might escape through the mirror and get into Hogwarts. Astra did what she could to keep them at bay and keep herself in the mirror, but no one could keep that up together.

This called for desperate action.

"Screw it!" I snapped. "Kreacher!"

Kreacher appeared as I studied the mirror one more time.

"Yes, Master."

"Fetch me Albus Dumbledore!"

Kreacher gave me a questioning look.

"What does young Master want with the meddlesome Headmaster?"

"Kreacher, I'll explain later, I swear," I said. "Dumbledore put the bloody Stone in the Mirror, he must know a way to get it out of the mirror. Drag him here by the beard if you have to."

I loathed to owe Dumbledore anything. And I realized that by using Kreacher, he may start asking some rather unfortunate questions. I will have to deal with that later. Right now, Astra's safety is more important.

"Kreacher will try to find the old man and bring him to the young master, if that's what he wants."

Kreacher bowed and disappeared with a soft pop.

While Kreacher was gone, I studied the mirror intently. Guess who was really regretting not taking Study of Ancient Runes now? I picked up many advanced disciplines of magic, Runes had been a blindspot. Something that I know I am going to have to change this time around.

"Astra, hang on, beloved."

I wondered how long it would take Kreacher to find Dumbledore.

"Harry?"

The kind voice caused me to stand up straight. Penny stood in the entrance to the hallway and moved in towards me. I met her halfway.

"How did everything go with Sirius?" Penny asked.

"It went fine," I said, still distracted by the other thing.

"It's late, you should get some rest," Penny said to me. "You look tired."

"Not tired, just stressed," I said. "Penny, this is going to sound crazy, but I have to stay with this mirror. There's someone inside of it."

"What?"

Astra's hands waved frantically.

"Rorrim eht raen erehwyna reh tel t'noD!"

I grabbed Penny by the hand as she took a step towards it and steered her in the other direction.

"Trust me, you don't want to look at the mirror," I told her. "People have gone mad staring at it."

Penny had been rightfully alarmed and grasped my hand, gently, but firmly.

"You shouldn't be near it either then!" Penny shouted. "Sorry, but…"

"My friend, she's in here," I said. "This is really hard to explain. I can't leave her alone, but you can't be near the mirror. She had to put a strong compulsion on it so she could get my attention."

"It's..your friend?" Penny asked.

I realized this was going to take some very uncomfortable explaining.

"It's insane, and crazy," I told her. "You know how Sirius Black was my godfather? And my father's best friend?"

"Of course," Penny said.

"Well, I had a godmother, Natalie Logue," I told her. "And her daughter was my first friend. My best friend."

I realize this story makes me sound like a candidate for the long-term spell damage ward at Saint Mungos. I explained everything to Penny, about Astra, and almost escaping the Dursleys. Only to have it ripped away by the most disgusting circumstances possible. Some idiot who got behind the wheel of a car drunk.

"You must think I'm crazy," I said.

Penny said nothing, only pulling me in tight for a hug. My face nuzzled against her as she pulled me in tight. I sighed for a long second as she patted me on the shoulder.

"Honey, I don't. But this is terrifying. The poor girl is down in Hell."

Penny shivered when she said it. This time, I held Penny in tightly.

"I have to free her, and I don't have much time," I told her. "You believe me?"

"Anyone but you, and I might have my doubts," Penny told me. "But, after everything I've learned about you…Dumbledore wiped your memories? Your happy memories with Natalie and Astra?"

I nodded grimly. I figured Dumbledore did not want me distracted because he believed I would stop at nothing to save Astra once I had the means to try. And he was right. I would not have rested a second. Of course, my mind could have broken beyond repair before I even stepped into Hogwarts.

I remember when I learned about this in the future. It did a number on my psyche.

"Harry, you don't deserve any of this."

"No, but yet, I get it," I told her. "I….PENNY WATCH OUT!"

A bus full of screaming children spontaneously appeared in the middle of Hogwarts and hurled down the hallway like a runaway freight train.

"Oh, crap, not him! And this isn't even the right universe!"

And then as quickly as it appeared, the bus disappeared. I looked at Penny who was utterly baffled beyond belief at that random and quite frankly nonsensical event. And it took me a few seconds to figure out why.

"We just almost got run over by a ghost bus in the middle of the hallway," Penny said.

"Yes. Penny, you should head back. I'm waiting for someone to come and help me."

"I'll be right in that corridor," Penny said. "Across the way. Get me if you need anything."

I smiled and walked into the room. Astra smiled despite the situation she was in.

"Reh ekil I."

I nodded in response. Astra raised an eyebrow as she studied my face.

"Melborp?"

"Penny and I were almost run over by an interdimesional school bus possessed by a disembodied Chaos Lord," I nonchalantly said.

Astra blinked and threw up her hands in frustration.

"Buses happen?" I suggested. "And somehow that isn't in the top fifty weirdest things that ever happened to me."

"Sdnegel?"

"Admittedly, hanging out with them caused the weirdness quotient of my life to triple," I said. "Let me see. I've got another idea. Get as close to me as you can."

Come to think of it, shouldn't I have attracted their attention by now? Unless whatever time-whimy fuckery which sent Astra and I here, knocked them into some kind of temporal limbo.

Astra did as I asked. I worked to will the mirror open so I could extract Astra though it. I needed to get her out. I shifted my hands through the mirror and I could practically touch Astra. Our magic sent a spark and caused the mirror to crackle.

"I can feel you!" Astra yelled at me.

Before the hellfire scorched my hands and made me recoil in agony. I had to let go of Astra. Blisters appeared on my hands, and obvious burn marks. I closed my eyes and tried to heal the damage done to my hands.

A loud crack echoed and Kreacher appeared, with two hands full of Dumbledore's beard. It was a sight which would bring me great joy, had I not been so worried about Astra.

"Okay, Kreacher, thank you."

Kreacher dropped the Headmaster at his knees in front of me.

"Professor, I need your help."

"Was that really necessary, Harry?"

Dumbledore blinked and I just shrugged. I gave Dumbledore a second to scramble to his feet.

"Harry? What seems to be the problem?"

"Many," I said. We'll start with my best friend who got dragged down to Hell…"

"Harry…"

"Don't, Harry me," I said tensely. "I got my memories back. And I know you did what you felt you had to do. We'll hash out all of the things I felt you did wrong later. Right now, I want Astra out of the mirror."

"Ms. Logue is in the mirror?" Dumbledore asked.

"You owe me, Dumbledore," I said. "GET HER OUT OF THE BLOODY MIRROR BEFORE I REALLY LOSE MY PATIENCE!"

Dumbledore turned the mirror on an impulse and suddenly became transfixed by what had been reflected back at him.

"Ariana?"

Oh, damn it, why? Of course, Astra put a strong compulsion on the mirror to finally get me to stop being such a stubborn wanker.

"Dumbledore, remember the mirror is only showing you a reflection of your desire," I told him.

"Ariana, you've grown up so wonderfully, as the brilliant witch you should be," Dumbledore said as he disregarded my statement. "You should have done great things."

Yes, that's nice, Dumbledore. Really it is.

Kreacher appeared right beside me and handed me a bucket of ice cold water. I hurled it all over Dumbledore to try and snap out of it. Dumbledore shifted out and I glimpsed an image of Ariana for a second before Astra reappeared.

"What I don't understand is I removed the mirror from Hogwarts after Voldemort was going after…well it doesn't matter now, does it?"

"The Philosopher's Stone, I know," I drawled in a bored tone.

I was so over this bullshit.

"Well, of course," Dumbledore admitted. "But, I had the Mirror removed from the school."

"And yet, it's still here," I told him. "Along with a fake Philosopher's Stone."

"Fake?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, fake," I said. "Here."

I slapped the stone in the palm of Dumbledore's hand. Dumbledore stared at the Stone for a good long minute. He stared at the Stone carefully.

"NICHOLAS FLAMEL YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

I had been taken off guard by Dumbledore swearing. Maybe he had a headache?

"Headmaster?" I asked him.

"Well, it appears Nicholas pulled a fast one on me," he said. "And it just so happens he is the inventor of the Mirror of Erised. I'll see if I can track him down, and see if he has insight in getting Ms. Logue out of the mirror."

"She's got one foot in Hell, and the other foot slipping," I told him. "Hurry!"

Dumbledore walked off as quickly as Kreacher dragged him here by the beard. A very frustrated Astra looked at me and I could see her eyes practically rolling into the back of her head.

"I know, honey," I told her in a more tranquil tone I used with Dumbledore. "I just sent the old meddling fool to get the even older, likely more meddling fool. Let's see if I can find another way to get you out."

Several attempts later and several more burned limbs later, I sat in front of the mirror, legs crossed. I had to be missing something and I was going to hate that I did later.

"Harry? I know you're in there. I brought you something to eat."

I moved over to greet her.

"Thanks, Penny," I told her.

I took the plate of food from her at the door and she looked concerned. I smiled and kissed Penny on the cheek to reassure her that I was fine. I sat in front of the mirror and Astra sat in front of me. I wordlessly pushed my hand through the mirror and clasped hers, despite the intense pain it was causing me. I ate with one hand and held Astra's with my blistering hand, trying to assure her everything will be fine.

"You really thought I would throw away my life's work on a whim of yours, Albus and your mad scheme to trick your latest flavor of the month Dark Lord?"

"Voldemort is…"

"Dark Lord's come and Dark Lord's go. You'll learn that if you lived as long as I did, you whippersnapper!"

I looked up and spotted Dumbledore's return. And with him, was the one and only Nicholas Flamel.

"Nicholas this is…"

"Harry Potter," I told him.

"Ah, such a nice young lad," Flamel said. "I heard you've been giving this young fool up here all kinds of trouble. Well, he deserves that. Otherwise he thinks his own farts smell like roses."

Flamel shook my hand. He turned and caught sight of the Mirror of Erised. His eyes narrowed in fury.

"Dumbledore, what the hell is wrong with you?" Flamel asked. "You put this death trap in a school full of children, just to bait a self-proclaimed Dark Lord out of hiding."

Flamel reached over and dope slapped Dumbledore across the back of the head, which caused him to go aghast. And my face cracked into a smile.

"I still can put you over my knee and teach you a lesson, young man."

Well there's an image no one really needed to have burned into their brain at this moment. I decided to clear my throat. This caused Dumbledore to look away from Flamel and look directly into the mirror.

"Ariana?"

Oh, not again! You must be kidding me. Dumbledore stared at the image in the mirror, transfixed.

Kreacher appeared and without any prompting, hurled a bucket of ice cold water over Dumbledore yet again. It snapped Dumbledore out of it, although he was disoriented.

"I would like to get Astra out," I told Flamel. "She's halfway between Hell and the mirror."

"You should be able to extract her out," Flamel said. "If you really want it."

"I reached through the mirror, and nothing happened."

"Shift these runes a quarter inch clockwise," Flamel said. "And you might need a power boost to reach through."

Power boost. I noticed a certain wand dangling between Dumbledore's fingers. I snatched it and I felt a flare of energy erupt through my body. The Elder Wand was mine once again.

I had to admit, I thought reclaiming that would be a bit more epic. But it was kind of an afterthought.

"Astra, we're going to try this one more time."

The Runes had been slowly altered. One more time, one last time. I reached through the mirror and grabbed Astra's hands. The fire flickered against my skin. I refused to let it burn me.

"I can't.."

"YOU CAN!"

By the sheer force of will, I pulled Astra through before she slipped back down. A second longer, she would have been gone.

The Mirror of Erised spat us both out. Astra kneeled on the ground and shook. She calmed down with a deep breath.

"Free," Astra murmured. "I'm free."

Astra rose up, the full situation slowly soaked in.

"And I'm in a child's body," Astra said through gritted teeth. "Great. So we can't have a proper reunion for another few years."

"Oh, we'll make up for lost time," I assured her.

I pulled Astra into a hug and kissed her on the forehead. She walked shakily, leaning on me as she did. Off to the side, the Mirror of Erised crumbled into several crystalized fragments. Dumbledore rested his hand on top of it and let out a soft sight.

"Perhaps it's for the best," Dumbledore said.

"Mmm, hmm," I said. "Oh, and Headmaster…."

"Yes, Harry.

"Obliviate!"

I shifted Dumbledore's memories slightly. He did not know about Kreacher, he assumed he misplaced his wand, and also a few other details had been tweaked. Yeah, I might have crossed certain ethical lines, but fuck it.

And fuck Dumbledore. I wanted to give him a chance, but time put the old man's perspective through some rose-colored glasses.

What's good for the goose, is good for the gander.

Astra looked at me with a questioning eyebrow raised.

"We should get you checked out," I told her. "And once you're up and about, we'll figure something out."

"I wish I knew what happened," Astra said in tired frustration.

The mirror fragments rattled around me, which caused me to momentarily pause. The residual magic in the fragments came together and started to form a more corporeal shape.

"Flamel, what's going on?" I asked him.

"That's a good question," Flamel said. "Stand back, Mr. Potter!"

I caught a glimpse of a strange, eerie magical aura. A tall, willowy looking, and eerily attractive, blonde woman, with light bluish eyes appeared before me. White fabric cycled around her body to preserve her modesty.

"Albus?" she whispered.

"Ariana?"

"Albus, back away from her!" Flamel yelled. "Dumbledore!"

Astra and I stepped back, but Dumbledore remained rooted on the spot.

"Ariana, my dear sister, you're fine, everything will be alright," Dumbledore said.

"Albus," she deadpanned. "What did you do?"

Dumbledore's eyes lit up completely and his body began to shake and shiver.

"No, Uncle Vernon, I swear I didn't do it!" Dumbledore screamed in absolute fear. "Please don't make me go to my cupboard! NO!"

Oh, I was three when that happened. That's not good. Dumbledore kind of deserves it.

Dumbledore went slack and dropped to his knees. One of the most powerful sorcerers in the world curled up into a fetal ball and screamed in horror.

There had been many people who heard him and the sound of footsteps quickly sweeping.

"So dark, so cold," Dumbledore murmured. "So lonely."

Ariana sat on the ground, and gently stroked the top of Dumbledore's head as he sobbed himself into unconsciousness before Dumbledore blacked out. And Ariana faded into mist before myself, Astra, and Flamel.

None of us said anything.

A terrified looking Penny returned, with Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, and Sprout close behind.

"Nicholas Flamel?"

"Minnie McG, long time no see!" Flamel cheerfully said. "You might want to give me a hand with your boss. He's not doing so well these days."

"Harry?" Penny asked.

"Astra needs to be checked out," I told her. "I'll explain everything I can on the way."

Even if I needed someone to explain half of what just happened to me.

"Is all of this really necessary? I feel fine!"

I told Madam Pomfrey as much as necessary about Astra. Astra keeping herself inside of the mirror for so long taxed her young body and it was a wonder she was still conscious and coherent.

"It will take a while for you to replenish your energy, young lady," Pomfrey told her sternly. "And no, you don't feel fine. You escaped Hell through a magical mirror. And it's a wonder that you didn't burn yourself to a crisp trying to get her out, Mr. Potter."

Pomfrey could not find anything wrong with me, so she could not keep me. Thankfully.

"If anything else, you're doing a lot better than the Headmaster is," Pomfrey said. "I can't get a straight answer out of Flamel what happened, only the magic that affected him was way above my paygrade."

"He seemed pretty traumatized," I said.

I figured he experienced every traumatic childhood memory I had, all at once, amplified, and that may have broken even Albus Dumbledore. Boy, if this was how it ends for him, what a terrifying way to go out.

Fuck him, though.

"He's screaming about not wanting to go back in a cupboard before he was taken off to St. Mungos," Pomfrey said. "This might be the end of him."

"Good riddance," Astra murmured so only I could hear her.

Penny returned from the hallway.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe the rumors that were going around," she said before turning to Astra. "We haven't been introduced. I'm Penelope Clearwater, fifth year prefect in Ravenclaw…but, you can call me Penny."

"Thanks for looking out for Harry," Astra told him. "I'm Astra Logue."

'So, you and Harry were friends in the past?"

Astra almost said "and in the future" but stopped herself. She nodded.

"And you were..well…"

"In Hell," Astra said. "And I don't wish that on most people ,never mind a good person like you. But, I survived, and I'm back where I need to be."

Penny reached over and pulled Astra into a hug. Given how long it took Astra to warm up to people, the fact she relaxed and accepted Penny so suddenly was astounding.

"I've got to head to Charms," Penny said. "Take care, you two."

Penny gave me a hug before departing. Astra turned to me and smiled.

"Well, you've got her primed and ready, don't you?" Astra said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Astra said.

I just played innocent.

"Well, maybe," I said. "But, I'm going to be more selective this time around."

"Of course you are, right around the time where John gives up smoking," Astra said while patting me on the shoulder. "The sooner I get out of here, the better. And the sooner we can figure out what happened, that's even better."

I had been thinking. Astra came back. Did anyone else come back? Granted, I doubt that if multiple people came back, they might not have entered their younger bodies at the same time.

And there was always a chance someone would come back that might not be a good thing. Until I find out exactly what triggered the time jump, I'm just grasping at straws.

"I'll leave you under Poppy's care," I told her.

"On a first name basis with the Hogwarts healer, are we?" Astra asked.

"Been here often enough last go around," I told her. "Only been here once and in my first week."

On the windowsill, I spied a very familiar looking beetle poking around. Very casually, I flickered my finger and contained it. Going to have to deal with that later.

"Could do with some sandwiches though?" Astra asked.

I looked to see if the coast was clear.

"Kreacher?"

Kreacher appeared with a pop and a tray of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"Thank you," I said.

Astra took one and I ate it.

"Good, but not as good as the one's Mom used to make," Astra said.

"Nothing was as good as what Natalie used to make," I told her.

"Could do with some iced tea though," Astra said.

Kreacher appeared and disappeared and returned with a pitcher of iced tea and two glasses.

"Kreacher is not certain why he is compelled to obey young master's lady friend," Kreacher said. "But, Kreacher hopes this is more to her liking."

"You may leave now," Astra said. "Ooh, that hit the spot."

"I'm sure it does," I said to her. "Welcome back, Lady Black."

Astra smiled at my whispered declaration. She motioned for me to come close to me.

"Did I seriously beat Kara here?"

"You did," I informed her.

"Oh, well that's something," Astra said. "I just thought she would be the first one to make it back and find you."

"Well, you're not the only one," I said. "Do you think…"

"Of course she will," Astra said. "You two have a knack for finding each other, no matter how absurd the circumstances."

Astra stretched and winced.

"Actually, I could use some rest. Took more out of me than I thought."

It had been a rather real fear that I would meet some of these ladies that I had the pleasure of knowing and there would be no assurance to be the same person that I knew before. And it would be a breach of ethics if I tried to force them to be that way.

With Astra, there might be hope others made the jump. Although they might have not quite reached their younger bodies just yet. Time travel was weird like that. I left Astra to rest in the Hospital Wing and came across Nicholas Flamel.

"Was hoping to catch you before you left," Flamel said. "I found our little mirror ghost. She was outside of the Hog's Head, calmly eating apples and petting the goats. I think it might have disturbed Abe, and that guy doesn't disturb easily."

"What are you going to do with her?" I asked.

"Well, I'm going to figure out what she is," Flamel said. "Thankfully, I convinced her to come with me, so I can help her figure things out. And admittedly, I want to know what she is. I don't think she came from the same place that you extracted Ms. Logue from."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty certain, yes," Flamel told me. "So, you're a time traveler, right?"

The matter-of-fact way he said this jarred me.

"What?"

"Well, it's either that, or you were possessed by some wise-ass demon. And at this point, I'm much too old to be doing any exorcisms, so I really am pulling for time traveler."

I said nothing. Flamel was certainly an odd one.

"I'll be in touch shortly. You may be able assist me with a problem I would like to solve before Deatha punches my ticket."

I had questions. Flamel moved pretty quickly for a guy several centuries old and was gone.

Deep in the bowels of the school, a tied up Rita Skeeter stirred awake. She realized rather quickly the perilous situation she was in.

"Where am I?" Rita asked.

"I ask the questions here Ms. Skeeter."

The shadows around her put a great fear into Rita and made her shiver.

"And my first question was what were you doing lurking around the Hogwarts Hospital Wing?"

"Trying to get a story," Rita said. "Harry Potter has really shaken things up. And the word in Hogsmeade was Dumbledore was hauled off, terrified out of his mind, to St. Mungos. After what happened to Quirrell, I wanted to figure out what was going on in this school. Especially when they hired the notorious Bellatrix Lestrange."

"And you decided to do that in your unregistered Animagus form."

"Look, I have money," Rita said.

"So do I. But, I'm not sure what that has to do with the price of tea in China."

Rita shivered, mostly because my not so little friend had been roaming around and she was getting a bit restless. The ropes around Rita stretched and caused her ample breasts to jut out. I wondered if she came about them naturally or if they had been paid for by the blood of those she destroyed over the years with her savage writing.

"Who are you?"

"Well, if you must know."

I stepped out of the shadows, and came face to face with Rita who looked astonished.

"Harry Potter?" Rita asked. "I…I don't understand."

"Mmm, I take it you don't," I said. "You've been a very naughty witch, Rita.

Rita shivered as I eyed her up.

"Sneaking around, in an unregistered Animagus form," I told her. "I wonder what Amelia Bones would think if I told her exactly how you got all of that juicy information you go after her colleagues with."

"You wouldn't dare!" Rita yelled. "People will…what do you want?"

"I want exactly what is coming to me," I said. "Namely those books you wrote."

"Books?" Rita asked.

"Yes, those little story books where you wrote underneath a pen name," I said. "Those little Harry Potter adventure books. You were almost clever enough to hide it, but it had to be you. You made gold off of my name and my image."

Rita looked flummoxed. I always like having that effect on women.

"Wait, this is about royalties?" Rita asked. "Those silly little books, they were for silly little girls and silly little boys. I didn't really make that much off them…okay I made something out of it. Listen, let me out, and I'll give you forty percent of the profits from them!"

I was unimpressed with Rita trying to short me.

"Chicken scratch," I told Rita. "You made gold spinning bullshit adventure stories using my name. Maybe not as much as those other books you wrote underneath the pseudonym of Connie Lingus. Subtle that one."

"Aren't you a little bit too young to read those books, Harry?"

Rita tried to regain control of the situation.

"Yes, I am. But, we're getting off target. My friend is getting restless."

Rosa stirred around and circled the area. Rita almost lost it when she heard rustling and hissing.

"What is that?"

"That, Rita, is a Basilisk."

"A Basilisk?" Rita asked. "You're insane! That's even more illegal than what I did!"

"Oh, I didn't breed the thing. I just merely adopted it."

Of course, me not breeding more Basilisks was not for any lack of trying. Damn Trevor wouldn't sit still long enough on the chicken egg.

"We're in the Chamber of Secrets," I told her. "Deep under Hogwarts. Where no one could hear your screams."

I said this part quietly with a smile and let it sink in.

"Chamber of Secrets?" Rita asked. "THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS?"

I slowly nodded. Rita realized she just stumbled on the story of a century. And was terrified she would live long enough to cover it. I enjoyed toying with her. Watching her squirm in those tight ropes made me smile.

"It's real," I said. "You can hide a body down here and no one would ever find it."

This caught Rita's attention.

"What do you want? I'll do anything! Anything! You name it, Harry. I'm yours."

It's a pity I'm not old enough to really take full advantage of Rita's dire situation. She was quite bouncy when scared. Never really noticed before.

"Well, if you would do anything, I think we can make a deal. And this will benefit you. And will give you a chance to utterly destroy the reputation of a top Ministry official."

To be honest ,I think I hooked Rita, even without the blackmail for that one. However, I had her fully wrapped around my finger and she would be a very valuable asset.

Magic created a legally binding agreement between the two of us. Rita would not do anything to harm me, or there would be consequences.

"Thankfully, I did not have to eat her," Rosa hissed. "Human meat is disgusting! I don't know where any of you have been!"

Indeed.

"Listen to me very carefully. This is what you have to do."

I slipped Rita, in beetle form, back into my pocket. I would let her loose into the wild to complete her mission.

Halloween tonight, which meant the Halloween feast. I hated Halloween for numerous reasons. The night my parents died for one thing. And also, I can count on one hand the number of Halloweens where anything remotely good or at least neutral happened, and still have fingers left over.

While there seemed to be little chance of a troll being in the school this go around, I was not taking any chances. I decided to skip the feast after letting Rita loose.

"Off you go."

I let Rita through the open window and she flew off.

Maybe I would go and see Astra. Knowing her she would be going stir crazy.

"POTTER!"

I knew that voice. A smug sense of artificially inflated superiority just because he had a badge pinned on his properly pompous chest just practically spilled from his tone.

"Weatherby," I groaned.

Percy marched towards me. I had a sense Percy detested me for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that I burned Quirrell to a crackling crisp. Maybe it was because I made Dumbledore's life utterly inconvenient. At this point, Dumbledore is Magical Jesus to Weatherby. Or maybe it's because he rightfully sees me as a threat to any relationship he wants to presue with Penny.

She deserves better.

"What are you doing in the corridors, Potter?" Weatherby asked me. "All students should be at the Halloween feast."

"Well, I didn't feel like it," I told him. "Not in the mood to celebrate tonight…"

"You better get there or I'll put you in detention."

Speaking of which, I never really had that detention Snape gave me with Filch, did I? Kind of got postponed during the events of the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. And then never brought up.

"Look, do you know what tonight is?"

"Yes, Halloween!" Weatherby snapped at me. "You're always lurking around. You think you can do anything you want. I'm not sure what you did to Professor Dumbledore, but you should not disrespect him, he's a great man."

Yes, yes, of course, Weatherby. He's a great man. He gave you a prefect badge. Would have made you Head Boy? You would have thought he was great, until an even bigger pompous asshole gave you an even bigger position of power. Then, he was a danger to the Ministry which you started to worship.

I have to say this about Percy, the real problem with him is this. His worship for rules and authority was encouraged greatly by his mother. He longed for his mother's approval and she kept praising him and encouraging him. I have a theory that Bill and Charlie were the only sons that Molly wanted. Percy, Fred, George, and Ron were very much unwanted. Percy only got attention when he followed the rules like a good little rule. Fred and George just did not give a fuck about catering to their mother, bless them. And Ron, well he kind of got a raw deal. I don't want to deal with his insecurities, but he got the raw deal.

Yet, Percy got it worse. And his entire worldview shattered, when he thought he would get more praise from Molly and instead, she spurned him, for daring going against Dumbledore.

He never quite got the same approval from Mummy again.

"I'm not going," I told him.

Percy drew his wand on me and a spark of light almost flew out of it, hitting me against the wall. Ah, there's Molly's temper, showing through the unfortunate son.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Penny tore over to the scene like a bat out of hell and held out her wand. Percy flinched as Penny pulled me away from him.

"Penelope, I have this under control," Percy said.

Percy stepped out a step forward.

"Harry, what happened?" Penny asked.

"Well, I wasn't feeling up to attending the feast tonight," I said to her.

"And I told him that all students were supposed to attend the feast…no exceptions…"

"Unless, a teacher gives them permission."

Bellatrix appeared in front of us. I had been surprised by her sudden appearance and Penny looked anxious. And Percy looked terrified.

"P-professor Lestrange?" Percy choked out. "I didn't…I had this in control."

"Looks like you didn't," Bellatrix said. "Do you know what night tonight is, Weasley?"

"Halloween, everyone knows that."

"Yes, and what happened tonight?"

"Well, he…beat…He-Who-Must-Not-Be Named," Percy said.

Bellatrix's eye twitched at the reminder of the fall of her beloved master. But, she obviously let it go. For now.

"Yes, you pompous ponce. What else happened tonight?" Bellatrix asked.

Percy realized suddenly and went as red as his hair. It was funny how a dangerous Death Eater had to spell this out. Percy looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"He..well he…um…"

"YES? YES? YES?" Bellatrix asked. "Words. Use them, you ginger jackass!"

"Now, I don't think that a teacher should be…"

"Are you questioning my authority, as a teacher, Weasley?" Bellatrix asked.

Neither Penny nor I could tear our eyes away from the glorious spectacle of Percy quivering underneath Bellatrix's gaze. It was like the world's most insane tennis match.

"No, Professor but…"

"Butts are made for sitting and for kicking," Bellatrix said. "So, Weasley, one more time, from the top. I'll even start. Potter's parents were…"

"Killed tonight," Percy murmured in a small voice.

"Speak up."

"Potter's parents were killed tonight!" Percy yelled. "Um, Potter, I didn't think, and I..should not have..sorry."

"Gryffindors, you prop someone up as a hero, and you don't even have the decency to respect the fact someone might not want to celebrate the night their parents die," Bellatrix said. "Sad."

"He still should have had permission…"

"I'm giving him permission to skip the feast now," Bellatrix said. "Are you happy now?"

"Yes," Percy said in a small voice.

"Good, and I'll be sure to tell McGonagall about the fact you were using your badge to bully a first year," Bellatrix said. "Petty little bitch, you can't get over the fact that the girl you like likes him better than you. You're going to have to get over it."

Penny's mouth hung open at Bellatrix's very casual statement and I just shrugged. Percy looked about ready to stay something.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor!" Bellatrix shouted. "Every minute I see you, I'm knocking off ten more. Now get going, or else! I've never seen such a gross abuse of power."

Percy bolted out and ran down the hallway.

"Fifty more points from Gryffindor for running in the corridors!" Bellatrix said. "Minnie and I are going to have a fun chat later!"

The demented Defense Professor turned to Penny and I, and Penny had no idea what to say in front of the intimidating and infamous woman. I gently took her hand.

"Can't let Snape knock more points off from Gryffindor than me," Bellatrix said. "That's just not on."

I just shrugged. Everyone learned the Hogwarts point system was a joke by about their third year. It encouraged tribalistic bullshit which unfortunately some people held onto long after they left the Hogwarts halls.

"Ten points to Ravenclaw."

I did not ask what for and Penny did not either. We let Bellatrix return to wherever Bellatrix went between classes.

Penny and I returned to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

"He's insufferable," Penelope said.

"Weasley?"

"Yes, him," Penny said. "I thought…well it doesn't matter. I can't believe he is using his power as prefect to bully first years. Does he do this often?"

"I don't know," I said. "Guess not all of the prefects are well chosen as they are in Ravenclaw."

We were inside and suddenly, a few other people entered along with us. Daphne, Padma, Tracey, Su, Lisa, Sophie, Mandy, and Morag all entered the Common Room. Daphne moved over to me.

"You had a really busy day, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Well, we didn't think you would be at the feast tonight," Tracey said. "Tonight's an awful night for you."

"Ten years ago," Padma said.

"You must be thinking of them tonight," Daphne said. "Tracey, do you think you could help me get it out of my room?"

Tracey nodded and made her way up with Daphne. I wondered what the two were up to.

"If you close your eyes, you can almost feel them tonight," Morag said. "I feel the spirits of those in my family that are lost anyway. And I can hear their screams."

"You didn't…"

"We didn't have to," Lisa said. "We chose to."

"Our houses are supposed to be family here," Padma agreed.

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

Cho and Marietta stepped into the Common Room to join us. I turned to them. Cho moved over and engulfed me into a hug.

"The moment you didn't show up at the feast, we knew why," Cho said. "And given what happened with you last night, and Dumbledore was there and well…"

"Listen, I…"

"Not tonight," Marietta said. "A moment of silence for Lily and James. Who gave their lives so Harry can live."

"A moment of silence," Penny agreed.

The moment of silence had been observed in memory of Lily and James Potter. Dumbledore really should have done that at the feast every year.

But Dumbledore should have done a lot of things.

The moment it finished. Tracey and Daphne appeared with a large crate and it contained ice cream, preserved, and just perfect. Daphne produced a bowl and piled some of it before sliding it to me.

"Mum sent the good stuff," Daphne said. "I've been holding it for when it's needed. And this is a night that's needed."

"This is pretty good," I told her.

"Damn right it is, best ice cream in the Magical World," Tracey said proudly. "And I'm sure it would give those thirty-one flavor people a run for their money."

Everyone enjoyed some ice cream and some time with friends. I thought this might have been one of the better Halloweens I had in a long time.

"I wrote to Mum about your lack of ice cream bars," Daphne told me. "She's thinking about getting something together. She wants to talk to you soon, so she'll be in touch."

"Looking forward to it," I told her.

We enjoyed the ice cream for a long while as I thought about how things changed in the time since I have been back.

"This is really good," Sophie said. "Although, I've got something else that you all should try. They're called s'mores. Penny, do you think you can get the fire hotter?"

"Sure, Sophie," Penny said.

Tracey and Lisa were the only ones who knew what Sophie was talking about. Sophie reached into a bag and pulled out some Graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows.

"Still within date," Sophie murmured. "Dad and I always make these when I go camping. Here's how you make them."

Sophie put the chocolate bar and the marshmallow between the crackers and used a levitating spell to heat them up. The others copied her and showed their mastery over the levitation spells.

"Careful, they're hot," Sophie said.

"Not too bad," Daphne admitted.

"Not too bad?" Tracey asked. "I know you're biased for ice cream, but these are pretty good."

"Yeah, they are," Su said. "We're going to have to have a night for these every week."

"Well, then I'm going to have to get more crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows," Sophie said.

We sat around eating s'mores when the door opened and Professor Flitwick entered the Common Room.

"Just checking up to see how everything is going tonight," Flitwick said. "Ah, Miss Clearwater, I see you have the matter well in hand, very good."

"Thank you, Professor," Penny said. "We're just enjoying s'mores."

"S'mores?" Flitwick asked. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with them…."

"It's a Muggle treat," Tracey said. "You should try one, Professor."

"Well, I suppose one would not hurt…"

Sophie demonstrated to Flitwick how to make one. Flitwick devoured it and gave a happy sound of jubilation.

"Genius," Flitwick said.

"Thank you, sir, I'm glad you like them," Sophie said.

"Five points to Ravenclaw for introducing me to such a wonderful treat," Flitwick said. "Mr. Potter, if I might take a moment of your time."

"Of course, Professor," I said.

I walked off with Flitwick a bit away from the rest of the group. I finished my s'more and waited to see what the Professor said.

"I would like to apologize about Mr. Weasley accosting you tonight," Flitwick said. "It was not the first time that he has been caught indulging in the power of his position and not appreciating the great responsibility that he has been given. And Minerva will be having a long discussion with him."

"I'm sure he won't do it again," I said. "Professor Lestrange had a talk with him."

"Yes, I know," Flitwick said while keeping his expression neutral and calm. "And he should have been aware of the circumstances regarding you not wanting to attend the feast. We often forget in our celebration of You-Know-Who's defeat, that you lost your parents in the process."

I nodded in understanding.

"As for Ms. Logue, I have been informed of her unique circumstances," Flitwick said. "And she'll be welcomed to stay here, until we sort her situation out."

"I'll inform her," I said. "She might not be out of the hospital wing for several days."

"Yes, I would imagine," Flitwick said. "Well, I'll leave you to spend the evening with your friends."

I moved to rejoin the group. It had been one of the least stressful Halloweens of my life.

Astra would be released from the Hospital Wing on the eve of Sirius's trial. If all went well, Pomfrey would release her by dinner. We had to deal with the entire matter of her being legally dead due to being sent to Hell, but there were less problems than in the future.

For now, I looked at letters from Narcissa, Amelia, and Kat, all telling me to look at this morning's Daily Prophet because there was big news. Normally, I would not even use the Prophet to paper Hedwig's cage, but three women like that insisting I read it this morning, made me compelled to read it.

"Marietta, can I borrow your paper?" I asked her.

"Oh, you picked quite the morning," Marietta said. "Interesting news today. The Ministry has to be freaking out about this one."

I took the paper and read the headline. It described the late breaking news that an anonymous tip brought a late night raid to the house of one Bartemius Crouch. And they found his supposed to be dead Death Eater son held under the Imperius Curse.

And by coincidence, this just happens prior to Sirius's trial.

Well, that's not a good look for the man who threw Sirius into Azkaban without a trial, is it? Right before he's supposed to defend the fact he threw Sirius into Azkaban without a trial.

That's a shame. A real shame.

I think I'll have more toast, in tribute to Barty's chances of successfully defending his actions.

To Be Continued In the Next Chapter, featuring the Trial of Sirius Black.