"Are you sure this is what you want, dear?" Anastasia looked at the trio of girls worriedly.
"I'm sure, Mrs. Snape," Ginny said firmly as she hugged Hermione and Luna. "I'd rather be closer to Harry right now."
"Of course, you would, dear," Anastasia said. "But are you sure it's safe?"
"As safe as Hogwarts ever is." Ginny snorted. "Plus, I have some of the best anti-curse jewelry you can get thanks to the Amazons."
"Nyssa was really disappointed when she heard you were going back," Luna said dreamily. "She said you had a lot of promise."
Ginny laughed. "She'd say anything to keep us away from Hogwarts—"
"And men in general," Hermione said grumpily.
"Are you sure you don't want to come back, Luna?" Ginny asked. "I mean, Hermione's finished and all, but you still have a year to go."
"I think I'm a better fit with the Amazons." Luna wrinkled her nose. "They know far more about rare magical creatures than Hogwarts does."
"I bet they do." Ginny agreed as they hugged. "I'll miss you all."
"Don't forget to owl us often." Hermione reminded her. "We want to know what's going on with Harry."
Ginny promised she would as she forced herself to smile when she backed into the fireplace.
Green flames leaped up and she was gone.
Luna and Hermione exchanged looks.
"What do you really think?" Luna asked Hermione.
"I think they should have consummated their marriage. The Ministry can say it's a sham and dissolve it." Hermione brooded.
"I wouldn't worry about that, if I were you." Anastasia sniffed. "Severus might be a pain at the best of times, but he has been raised right. He will see it done."
"How do you know?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
Anastasia settled into the type of grin that made Hermione and Luna suspicious.
"What did you do?" Hermione demanded.
"I threatened to disconnect the Floo from the international network, so he'll have to transfer all over again to get here." Anastasia sighed.
Hermione's jaw dropped as Luna started laughing.
"What?" Anastasia huffed.
"Well, it's nice to know where he got it from!" Hermione said snippily. Jacob's deep laugh came in from the direction of the dining room. She took it as an agreement.
Anastasia beamed as she kissed both girls on their cheeks and ran off to find her husband.
"You know," Luna pointed out. "If Severus got his mother's temperament this could be what he's going to be like later in life."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "God help us all."
0
"It must be good to be back." Asta and Ginny walked down a corridor at Hogwarts. Classes were over for the day and they had decided to go down to the lake to go over their Transfiguration notes.
"It is," Ginny admitted, but she felt guilty. "I think my parents would rather have me back at the estate."
"The castle is safe now," Asta reassured her. "I'm sure your father read the report Dumbledore sent off to the Ministry."
"I know," Ginny sighed. "But it's hard knowing Harry is down in the dungeons and I can't go see him."
"At least you're in the same building," Asta said grumpily.
"Well, you're getting owls pretty regularly now that Mikhail doesn't have to worry about the Amazons making a fuss over them," Ginny pointed out.
"True," Asta admitted. "He sent me a book on the Great War. The Brotherhood's version."
Ginny chuckled. "I bet the Amazons would have a fit about that."
Asta shrugged. "It's as biased as the Amazons. I'm fairly certain no one will ever know the truth."
"How do you know it's biased?" Ginny asked curiously.
"The words taste sour," Asta said, as if this made any sense.
"Hey, wait up!"
Ginny and Asta turned around to see the girl with the pixie cut followed by the red-haired girl.
"Ginny, this is Cat and Sarah. They're sixth years." Asta introduced them.
"You're the ones that figured out the trap pattern!" Ginny said as she gave them an impressed look.
"Sarah did it, really," the girl with the pixie cut said. "I just figured out how to disarm them."
"Still," Ginny said hesitantly. "Thanks. I wouldn't have been able to come back if they were still going off."
They made their way outside and winced at the bright sunlight. A chill wind swept by and they held their robes tighter as they hurried down to the shoreline.
Ginny began spinning small funnels of water out of the lake. She wiggled her wand and it began to take the rough shape of a bird.
"I know it's not a Hogwarts' event, but will you be going to the Ministry Ball?" Sarah asked Asta.
"I don't know," Asta admitted. "I know if I'll be included if the Amazons decide to send representation, but if they don't—"
"Then we'll just have to get you in some other way," Cat said firmly.
They ducked as water in the shape of a bird flew over them; fat drops of water raining down on them whenever it flapped.
0
McGonagall beamed at Dumbledore as she walked to the head table in the Great Hall. Candy bats swooped over the tables and students grabbed at them when they came near. The suspended candles were set into jack o' lanterns and it gave the room a warm, orange glow. Laughter and the smell of good food filled the air. Hogwarts was back to normal.
She took her seat and giggled at Severus' expression as a jellied spider strode by and threw a legful of edible glitter onto his food.
"Oh, just let it go for once, Severus," she told him. "It finally feels like everything is back to normal."
"You can finally let loose!" Professor Sprout said in a jolly voice. Her cheeks were so pink Severus assumed she'd already gotten into the sherry. "Whatever will you do now that there's nothing to worry about?"
"I'll remind you that you said that last time." Severus sniffed as he poked at a glittery piece of meat.
She sighed as if he were a lost cause.
"Things are closer to normal," McGonagall pointed out. "If you even remember what normal was like."
Severus barked out a laugh. "Barely."
"Dumbledore wants to see you later," she said in a low voice. "Something about loose ends. He said I shouldn't worry myself, but you know how he is."
Severus nodded. Things are never normal again if you knew too much, but McGonagall was right. It was close.
0
Ginny whisked Harry's invisibility cloak over her shoulders as she hurried down a hallway of the castle. She stopped suddenly and held her breath as she heard voices, but they grew fainter as the owners went in another direction. Almost everyone was at the Halloween Feast or on their way. With everyone gathered in an excited crowd Ginny hoped no one would notice she was missing. She knew her worry would be gone once she got to her goal.
She let out her breath and continued down another flight of stairs. She turned down hallways until she saw a large, heavy door. It was cracked open and a sliver of light spilled out.
She opened it and smiled as her eyes fell on Harry. His face was bandaged and there were several marks on his body that looked as if they were healing.
"How are you doing?" she asked softly.
The lock clicked as she pushed the door shut behind her,
0
Dumbledore strode down a long stone hallway with a spring in his step and a grin on his face. As he got closer to his goal a faint banging sound got louder. His pace quickened as he pulled 0ut his wand and ran to the reinforced door that led to Harry's cell.
The door swung open and Dumbledore's eyes met Harry's. His bandages had been removed and his wounds still looked fragile and tender. The scar that had covered his forehead and then his face was gone, but the strange serpentine eyes remained.
"I don't know! I don't know what happened, I swear!"
With a wave of his wand he opened the cell and went to the prone figure of Ginny Weasley, her body covered with a sheet and lying motionless in Harry's bed.