A.N. Would have thanked this person in a P.M. but they're a guest so I'm just gonna do it here. Thank you, Guest, who, at least I think, reviewed my too latest chapters. I'm just going off of the smiley here by the way. :))

Hermione

I woke up feeling tingly all over, a smile came to my lips as the memory of the previous day flooded my mind. A soft breathing next to me drew my attention, causing me to roll over and wrapping my arms around Fleur's thin waist, I kissed her lips softly smiling as she sleepily responded. The feeling of her bare skin on mine reminded me that the both of us had fallen asleep naked and I instantly felt exposed, even under the blankets. If there wasn't a reason behind it, then I hated being naked.

"Morning…" She mumbled sleepily against my lips, her arms wrapping around me and pulling me close to her.

Her warmth spread through me, and I sighed contentedly, instantly forgetting about my personal hang-ups about being naked, "Good morning," I chimed, for some reason feeling very chipper.

The smell of sizzling bacon and eggs and freshly cooked toasted wafted into our bedroom which caused me to immediately jump to my feet. I quickly covered myself with a fluffy white robe and ran out to the kitchen, my wand in hand. I smiled, although I was also a little annoyed, as I saw Sammy standing on our bench and buttering some toast, the bacon, and eggs sitting on a square of paper towel to soak up any excess oil.

Sammy looked up from her task and smiled a little embarrassedly at me, "Good morning Miss Granger," She chimed before returning to her task.

I sighed exasperatedly as I watched her, "What are you doing?" I asked, the frustration in my voice clearly audible.

The small creature visibly shrunk, making me feel bad about my tone, but continued with her task anyway, "I'm just helping out the women that tried to help me," she sniffled sadly.

My heart melted at the sound of the broken House Elf's voice and I was holding the delicate little creature in my arms within seconds. Fleur smiled at the sight before her as she emerged from our bedroom fully dressed, I smiled sadly back at the platinum blond as I let Sammy go.

"I know Sammy, and I understand, but I still feel bad… Would you at least join us for breakfast?" I asked, hoping to give something back to the creature.

The small creature smiled and nodded vehemently before deftly slipping another piece of bread in the toaster. Normally I'd be surprised that a House Elf would be so willing to join wizards for a meal, but Sammy was one of the few House Elf's that actually wanted change.

Fleur, quite happily, grabbed a box and a soft cushion from the couch and placed them on one of the chairs at the dining table so Sammy could sit with us properly. We sat down to eat, happily chatting with Sammy about what it was like working under the Headmaster, of course she worked while we were students and things were different for us, but it was still nice.

As soon as breakfast was over a loud knocking on the door drew my attention, I got up to answer before Fleur rested her hand on my shoulder, "Maybe I should answer, considering I'm dressed in more than just a robe."

I looked down at myself, and shook my head slightly, wondering how exactly I had been able to completely forget that I wasn't wearing any clothes. I shrugged before walking back to the bedroom to get changed, as I walked back out I saw Sammy happily whistling at the kitchen sink as she washed up after breakfast. I joined her with a smile and started drying the dishes that she was washing, she smiled up at me, although it did seem forced, before getting back to work.

"I need to get back to Hogwarts," Sammy announced once the dishes were completed and Disapparated almost immediately.

Fleur was sitting on the couch as I approached her, "Who was at the door?" I asked before noticing the large number of brochures that sat in a messy pile on the table.

"It seems my mother really wants me to go to University," The blond explained to me as she scanned the multitude of brochures nervously.

"Do you not want to?" I asked supportively.

Fleur shrugged her shoulders, "I kind of do… But I don't really know much about the muggle world, we did have classes in Beauxbatons on things to do with the muggle world but they didn't cover everything. Also… There is something I need to tell you."

She suddenly became incredibly nervous, causing me to hurry over to the couch and sit down next to the blond, hugging her as tightly as I could, "You can tell me," I soothed the older girl.

She wrapped an arm around my shoulders, taking as much comfort as she could before explaining to me what had happened when she passed out. She told me about the disembodied voices speaking to her, that Emily was also apparently a recruit, that they had taken away my magic to get to her and that it was actually Emily's idea… And everything else that was going on.

Once she'd finished her story I pulled away so I could look at her fully, I missed her warmth immediately, but this was very serious. "You need to pull out of this," I spoke quickly, I was somewhat happy with what our life was turning out to be like but with this… I just… I don't know.

"I don't think I can," She replied sadly, "They took away your magic like it was nothing… They said that they weren't going to take no for an answer because they needed me."

I stood up abruptly, scowling at nothing in particular, "But what about us!?" I yelled, quickly becoming overwhelmed with the situation, "What about our baby!? You can't just leave us to fight some… I DON'T EVEN KNOW!" I started screaming out of desperation. The only thing I could think about were the horrible situations that Fleur would ultimately be involved with.

Soft, warm arms wrapped around me and pulled me into the older girl, I snuggled into her warmth as I breathed in her scent. I was shocked, although fairly happy that Fleur could so easily and effectively calm me down. Honestly, just one hug and I went from convulsing with anger and fear to being content and somehow happy.

"I know how annoying this is… But I was worried that they would use you and the baby to force me into joining them, at least now I can tell you. If I hadn't joined them, then I'd be stuck with this secret for God knows how long."

I nodded against her shoulder before pulling away slightly to look into her eyes, "How are you going to what your mum wants? What you want? What we want…?" I asked sadly.

Fleur shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know… But they know about my anatomy and everything between us… And they are supposed to be the good guys, so I'm sure it'll work out in the end."

I snorted at that, "Are they really?" I asked skeptically, "These people were willing to use me… maybe even us," She gestured to her growing stomach, "Just to get to you."

Fleur nodded along, "I'm skeptical as well, and I'll be careful, but if they are willing to use, even hurt you, then I need to join them," She explained.

I sighed in defeat as I saw that there was no way that I was going to be able to get her out of this, there was just too much riding on what these people might and might not do. A firm knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts and I walked over to answer it, Fleur right behind me as she always was whenever I answered the door.

"Hagrid!?" I exclaimed, shocked at the sudden appearance of the man's massive body.

"Hello Hermione, Fleur," He nodded as I allowed him to enter our house, Sammy walked behind him, her face a mixture of nerves and excitement.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Fleur asked as Hagrid sat down on our couch, Sammy was bouncing on the balls of her feet, not able to wipe the smirk off her face.

"This little girl is why I'm here," Hagrid said as he gestured to the happily bouncing Sammy, "We caught her sneaking back into Hogwarts. After she explained herself the Headmaster had an interesting idea that our little friend seems very eager about. He has decided that Sammy should stay here and look after you two, with your current situation being what it is and Sammy's obvious endearment with the both of you."

I shook my head, there was no way I was going to own a House-elf. No way in hell… But then again, if she is being given to us then I can free her, then she can do whatever she wants…

"Is she just staying with us, or is she being given to us?" I asked hopefully.

Hagrid laughed heartily at my question as he slapped his own knee, the sound sickeningly loud and I immediately felt bad for whoever might be on the other side of the man's rage. "Oh Hermione, how did we know you were going to ask that? Of course we are giving her to you so you, and of course we know that you're going to free her. Just like we know that little Sammy will stay here never-the-less and look after the two of you," The older man grinned happily.

Fleur and I both smiled back at the massive man, "I don't know what to say," I whispered as I gazed down at Sammy. "The Headmaster is really okay with this?" I asked hesitantly, scared that this might've been some sick joke, even though I knew that Dumbledore would never joke like that.

"Of course he is. Especially considering that you are… Were one of his best students."

"Well," I lost my composure and immediately wrapped my arms as much as I could around the massive man's torso. His large arms encompassed me and I was surprised that despite his massive stature I still felt safe, even with the knowledge that he could snap me in half if he wanted to.

"I believe what Hermione wants to say is thank you, Hagrid," Fleur finished for me, "And to Thank the Headmaster for us as well."

"I will," Hagrid said happily before easing me off of him carefully. "Anyway, it's about time that I get back to Hogwarts. Lots of things need to be done in preparation for the Third Task," He immediately looked contrite after saying this as he noticed Fleur looking uncomfortable at the topic. "Sorry Fleur," He said before quickly leaving, hoping not to cause any extra damage.

I ran up to Fleur and wrapped her in a warm hug as I heard the kettle get put on, "Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

Fleur nodded her head before replying, "I am, really the only reason I put my name in the Goblet was because I needed too or I would have been forced to go back to Beauxbatons… And I wanted to impress you… Just a little," She smiled embarrassedly.

I kissed her softly causing her to giggle happily, but I pulled away before anything else happened, we had other matters to attend to. I turned to the kitchen where Sammy was busily making three cups of tea while cleaning the tiny amount of mess that had accumulated in the kitchen. I smiled as I noticed that she was already making things for herself at the same as making things for us, it was only something small, but it was something. Especially since it was her first day with us, her first hour even.

I was just going to give her something that she couldn't wear herself just so I could free her immediately. But upon noticing that she was already doing something for herself, I decided instead to buy something especially for her, something that she could wear. I smiled happily at the thought as I approached her, tugging Fleur with me, "You know we don't need this, Fleur's fine."

Sammy shrugged her shoulders, "I could just tell that you both wanted something to drink, after working for the school for so long I've gotten good at noticing when someone needs something." The Elf explained… Bragged even.

"How long have you been working for the School?" Fleur asked as she accepted the warm tea, taking a sip, she sighed contentedly as the warm, perfectly made tea slipped down her throat.

I drank from my own cup as I listened to the small Elf talk happily and freely, "I've only ever worked at Hogwarts, was born right there in the kitchens, practically started working the moment fell out of my mother!" She exclaimed happily.

"You didn't," I stated with a soft laugh.

"Course not, we get a few years before starting work," She said, as she quickly finished her tea, "Mother also had time off, although father had to keep working… Oh, and to answer you're first question its been about twenty-one years and three days since I started working at the school."

I ignored the fact that she said about and still said the exact amount of time down to the day and focussed on something else, "Does that mean your birthday was three days ago?" I asked.

The young Elf nodded, "Yeah it was… But we don't celebrate them," Sammy said catching my train of thought immediately.

I didn't say anything more on the subject and allowed it to drop, although I did make a mental note of the date so I could do something small for her next year. We spent the rest of the lazily, with Sammy cleaning and doing things herself while Fleur and I protested everything she did, to no avail.

Pansy

I sat in my transfiguration class staring out the nearby window wistfully, things between Ginny and I have been tense between us ever since the very temporary break up a few days ago. My biggest problem was the slap, she had hit me in anger and I just couldn't get over that, what if it happened again, what then. I tried to shake the thoughts away, but every time I do they just keep creeping back in, tormenting me as I tried to focus on the work in front of me.

A loud throat clearing from beside me drew my attention to a stern-faced Professor McGonagall, "Miss Pansy, if you wouldn't mind focusing on your work that would be much appreciated."

I nodded before quickly returning to my work, forcing myself to stop thinking about everything but the work that was right in front of me. At least that was the plan, anyway, but for the rest of the day I couldn't stop thinking, I was afraid, I wasn't entirely sure why I was so scared about the slap, only that I was. And for the rest of the day that was all I could think about.

Now I sat on my bed, still wondering about mine and Ginny's future while a pile of work lays neglected in front of me. I sighed for the umpteenth time before being interrupted by a loud groan as the door flew open.

A flustered and clearly pained Ginny stomped over to her bed and screamed into her pillow, I gazed over at her worriedly and quickly jumped up to comfort her. I rested a hand on her back, a hand that she immediately shook off, effectively hurting me deeply, but I powered through, knowing she was just in a bad mood.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, not quite able to keep the pain out of my voice.

The young redhead rolled over and stared at me coldly, "I think its quite obvious that I'm not," She growled.

I swallowed sadly but tried once again, "It is… Do you want to talk about it?"

"Sure, let's recount the crap that happened to me all day, the constant stares and gossiping from the other students, the fact that I can barely use my wand to any effect. And then there's the fact that you've ignored me! ALL DAY!" She screamed, visibly shaking with anger.

I leaned in close and opened my arms to the redhead, ignoring the fear that ran down my spine as if she were going to hit me again, this would be one of the times. As my hands touched down on her back, I could feel the immense tension that she was carrying around. I breathed a sigh of relief as Ginny wrapped her arms tightly around me, her lips crashing into mine in a fierce, almost painful kiss. And I swear I can feel the tension melting away through her lips.

She pulled away, her breathing ragged and labored, "I'm sorry I ignored you," I said as I stared deeply into her light brown eyes, "I… I didn't even realize… I've been kind of stuck in my own head all day." I told her honestly as I gestured to the mountain of work on my bed, "The Professor's also seemed to notice."

Ginny gasped as she took in the sight before her, "All that work in one day!? Why?"

"Because I was ignoring all of my classes, Professor Snape was the worst though, I'm just glad that tomorrow is the start of the weekend," I explained.

Ginny nodded thoughtfully as she pulled me back to her, I gave in to the warmth that spread throughout me as Ginny mumbled, "Thank you for forcing me to talk… Just getting it out made me immediately feel better, and then the kiss…" Ginny smiled happily at the memory of the hard, almost forceful kiss. "But, why were you in your head? What caused you to ignore everyone all day?"

I stood up and started pacing, not really wanting to discuss this with Ginny, I knew she'd be upset and think that I didn't trust her. But that wasn't it, I honestly didn't know why I was so afraid, I just was… I looked up at the young redhead and saw a pleading in her eyes that seemed to beat through my fear and I decided it would be best to open up to her.

"It's just… The slap," Ginny's face instantly turned to sorrow as brought it up, but I pushed through, maybe I'd be able to figure out why I was so scared if I spoke about it. "For some reason I'm scared, I'm scared that you're going to hit me again, scared that you might change into… Someone else… But I have no idea why."

Ginny nodded along and I could see that she was on the verge of crying, "You know I wouldn't really do that again, don't you?"

The sorrow in her voice cut me to my core, I quickly ran over to her and hugged her tightly, "I do know that, I do," I soothed her as I stroked her back, "It's just an irrational fear… I don't know why I feel this way…I just do."

Ginny pulled away, and I could see my biggest fear becoming reality before me, Ginny stood and ran to the door. She stared back at me from the door for a few moments and I could feel my soul burning from the betrayal and pain I saw in her eyes. Unable to say anything else she quickly disappeared from the doorway, slamming it in the process.

I sat on my bed staring at the door that Ginny had just slammed, listening to her retreating footsteps as I tried to will myself to go after her, to apologize and make see reason. But an image of the last time I tried to get her to understand flashed into my mind and kept me rooted to the redhead's bed. Tears ran freely down my cheeks as I threw myself down into the pillow beneath me taking only minimal comfort from Ginny's sweet scent.

Ginny

I ran through the school looking for Luna, I needed a friend before I did something I'd really regret. I knew as soon as I hit Pansy it would cause problems, I knew they'd even be long-lasting problems, but actually hearing that my girlfriend was afraid of me… I just couldn't deal with it.

"Watch out Red!" I heard someone call just as I ran straight into them, instinctively I slipped my arms around whoever it was that was in front of me, taking comfort in the soft, warm body in front of me.

Slowly whoever it was in front of me wrapped their arms around me, although it was a little awkward, I somehow felt safe. Their hand started running up and down my back as I broke down into pained sobs, clutching the person with everything I had.

"Hey, Red, what's wrong?" She asked her voice full of worry.

I shook my head, I couldn't bring myself to speak about it. I felt whoever it was starting to pull away so I clutched them more tightly, not wanting to lose the warmth. A soft chuckle emanated from the girl in front of me.

"I just want to get into a position so I can lead you to somewhere slightly more private," she explained, I allowed myself to be led away, my eyes still wired shut as she did so.

We were only moving for what felt like a few seconds, but as I opened my eyes, I realized I was standing in a corridor near the kitchens. A large wall of barrels sat next to me, with a few Hufflepuff students walking into the corridor, only a one or two of them actually glanced at me as they passed. Despite my current feelings, I smiled at the how nice and… Non-prying they were as I was ushered through the already open door.

As I walked through the slim corridor, I was surprised by what was on the other side. The corridor opened up to a large, open room, a soft, warm glow seemed to fill the room, and as it hit my face, I realized that it must have been sunshine. I smiled as the warmth enveloped me, comforting me more than I even realized possible at the moment.

I looked around the room and was shocked at the multitude of flowers that hung from the walls and roof, even sitting in seemingly random spots in the middle of the room. A few of the flowers seemed to be staring at me, I'm obviously not so sure since they don't have eyes, but as I moved along the room they seemed to follow me… Maybe it's just my imagination? I asked myself but shrugged it off as I sat down in a secluded corner of the room.

The girl that had brought me here waved her arms in front of the tall grass that sat at either side of the table and chairs, causing the grass to sprout new blades and grow at an increasingly fast pace. Within moments we were no longer visible from the other side of the grass and the usual sounds of low murmuring and sometimes… 'Louder' speakers that usually accompanied a large gathering of students immediately ceased as the last shreds of view disappeared behind the lush green grass.

"Now then… What's your name Red?" The girl asked.

I looked at her and gasped as I took in the girl's appearance. Her perfect little button nose and deep green eyes instantly reminded me of Pansy, even her blond hair looked to be the same type as Pansy's, although it was much longer than Pansy's. Her skin, on the other hand, was perfect with no blemishes in sight despite the fact that she had a tan, even at this time of year with it being near the end of Winter and all.

My mouth went dry and I felt a familiar tingling deep in my core, "My name's Ginny," I said airily, all my pain seeming to fade away as I stared at the girl.

"I'm Sera," The blond smiled at me, "Now what's got such a cute young thing crying so hard?"

The question immediately brought me back to reality and a flash of Pansy pacing in our dorm as she tried to explain her feelings entered my mind and I bit my lip to hold back the tears. "Its… Just… I had a fight with my girlfriend," I blurted before rattling off all of the events that had led to our latest fight, starting at the very beginning when Pansy had rejected my advances.

As I finished my story the dirty blond girl nodded with a sad smile, I felt relieved though, having gotten all of that off my chest… Being able to talk to someone else had really helped me to calm my nerves and dull the pain that I had been feeling ever since I had slapped Pansy.

I was guilt ridden of what I'd done and was surprised that Pansy had forgiven me so easily, and I really understand that she is scared, especially since she doesn't actually know why. But for some reason the fact that Pansy no longer trusted me had broken a piece of my heart away.

"Let me tell you a little story," Sera said and started immediately, not even waiting for me to answer.

"My mother was with some many years before I was even born. She'd met this man in this very school and they'd vowed to be married as soon as they graduated. Which is exactly what they did. But as their feelings started to fizzle they took two different approached to their marriage. My mother tried her hardest to keep the romance alive, she did everything her husband asked, cooked him massive meals every night and… Pleasured him in any and every way he wanted.

This man, on the other hand, was seeing other women, he started yelling at my mother for no reason and started to emotionally abuse her. It didn't take him long before he'd even started to bring these women into their shared house, calling them 'friends' and the like. Even going so far as to invite a few of them to join him and my mother in their amorous activities.

My mother accepted, denying that she was miserable, denying that her beloved school sweetheart could have turned into such a horrible man. All because she loved who this man was when they first met, who he was before he'd grown tired of her." Sera wiped her eyes as a view tears dripped from her eyes. I reached over and grabbed her hand for support, I had no idea why she was sharing such a personal story with me but I dared not interrupt her as she bared her soul to me.

"Eventually she forced herself to leave this man," The blond continued, "It took her far too long to leave him but she eventually did and after a few years of solitude she met my father. He treated her with nothing but kindness and respect but it still took her months before she was able to even admit to herself that she had finally fallen for another man. Not too long after I was conceived and my mother and father talked happily about the prospect of marriage, but my mother was hesitating for a long while, for obvious reasons. Eventually, my father grew so frustrated that he lashed out, all he did was yell one sentence at her, but it was enough for all the memories of her previous husband to return. She broke up with him right there on the spot and they were never able to reconcile, now all my mother can see when she looks at my father is the man she was in love with previously."

I sat there nervously as I digested what Sera had told me, still unsure why she had told me the story. Hating the silence that had encompassed us I started speaking again, bringing up the first topic that came to mind, "Was your mother able to find someone? You know… after your father."

The blond smiled as she nodded her head, "But that's a story for another day," She said as she wiped away the few remaining tears. "Do you understand why I told you that story?" She asked curiously. I started to blush profusely at the fact that I didn't and shook my head, "My mother lost her trust in my father because of something in her past. Maybe that's what has happened with your girlfriend, even if she doesn't know it herself."

I slapped my forehead as the blond explained herself, "How could I not have realized that that was what you were getting at?" I asked, mostly myself but the blond answered anyway.

"Sometimes its hard to grasp the meaning of others, especially for one so young," She explained patiently.

I was in awe of the sheer maturity and intellect of the girl… Woman, in front of me, my mouth agape as I stared at her. I quickly closed my mouth as I realized what I was doing before thanking the woman and making to leave the corner, but a hand grabbed mine and I was spun around to face her.

"Promise me something," She waited for me to respond to her statement, I felt the only cause of action was to say yes so, I nodded and waited for her to continue. "The next time you speak to your girlfriend, listen to her. And I mean really listen to her, not just what she is saying but the tone of her voice. Watch what she does, how she acts, her body language, what she does with her hands… Everything."

"But, I don't think I'm mature enough to really read what the signs mean," I said worriedly.

The blond chuckled at me before responding, "Just trust yourself, look inwards, look for what you don't know is there but what you can sense. Trust me." She finished before re-opening our corner to the room and walking me out.

"Oh, and another thing, don't tell anyone that you were allowed into the Hufflepuff Common Room, we don't want people getting ideas," The girl explained as the door closed and a few barrels dropped in front of it blocking the path inside.

I walked back to the Gryffindor Tower, still in awe at the older blond even as I entered my dorm room. Pansy's back was turned to me as she laid, sound asleep, on my bed, I sighed in content as I listened to the soft, quiet breathing of the older girl. I was shocked out of my reverie by a tapping on my shoulder.

I was met with a stone-faced Emily, "Where have you been?!" She whisper-yelled before dragging me out of the dorm. "Pansy was balling her eyes out and muttering many things under her breath for hours before she finally asleep."

I looked down at my shoes, thoroughly chastised by my friend, as fresh tears sprang to my eyes, all Pansy and I have been doing recently is causing each other pain. I shook with fear and sadness before once again being comforted by someone else… Someone that wasn't the person I really wanted to be holding me right now.

"I was just in so much pain and I… I couldn't stay at the time," I looked up into Emily's eyes, "But that's going to change," I said resolutely as I pulled away from the girl. "We are going to get through this and come out of it stronger than before."

I heard a quiet cheer from the girl behind me as she followed me into the dorm, I gazed longingly at Pansy black hair and the white skin that filtered it. I laid down on Pansy's bed and smiled as I closed my eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a good day.