"Focus," Mad-Eye growled irritable as ever.

It was their first extra lesson after the holidays and the kids had trouble concentrating on the spells at hand.

Marina could hardly blame them. Everyone was still full of Yuletide cheer, after the Ball had gone off without a hitch. They'd spent the entire next day basking in their new presents and generally having a good time. Dad and Hestia had been subtle about it, but they needn't have bothered: even the kids could tell that they'd rekindled their relationship.

The Tonks had stopped by as well and stayed the day, Dora being uncharactaristically quiet.

On New Year's they'd all gone out on the grounds and had celebrated, with even the teachers joining in. All week had been nothing but bliss.

So naturally, bad news had followed. As it turned out, Crouch had done more than just enter their names: the dragons had originally not supposed to have been breeding females protecting their clutches. He'd added that tidbit to make it more dangerous – according to Dumbledore, the tasks were fed into the Goblet as well, that's how the damn thing was ignited. Crouch had somehow changed them before doing it. And now nobody, not even the judges, knew what exactly to expect. The Ministry had deemed it necessary to tell them that.

It had resulted in everyone being even more worried about what was to follow, and Marina realised that it was about damn time she opened that egg. Putting it off was no longer an option.

She blinked and the practice dummy the kids were aiming their new spells at burst into pieces.

"Well done, Granger," Moody growled – which from him was high praise indeed – and Hermione beamed. Harry grinned at her obvious enthusiam; DADA was the only subject he was better than her at and she didn't like being behind.

"Let's see how you do with fire next," the ex-Auror continued and Marina stilled. She exchanged a look with Carmen. This should get intersting.

"You could have told me," Harry maintained half an hour later. His natural talent for fire-spells had shown pretty quickly and he'd managed to impress even Mad-Eye; that was almost impossible.

"You didn't need to know yet," she replied and mentally called herself a hypocrite. But Harry didn't know about Carmen's ability, so she'd told him she'd seen it instead.

"Besides, we have other things to worry about than you being a firecracker," she reminded him. "We need to figure out those eggs."

"Yes. Who knows what Crouch added to the tasks..."

But Marina noticed that Harry wasn't quite as worried as he probably should be. Beating the dragon had definitely bolstered his confidence.

"Don't get comfortable," Mad-Eye growled on cue, and they all winced since they'd forgotten he was still there. "The dragon was number one of three. You can't relax 'till this bloody tournament is over."

"Do you teachers at least have any ideas what Crouch added, yet?" Marina questioned, saving Harry from having to come up with a reply. It was lose-lose really.

"No. He was careful."

"How did he do it?" Harry asked slowly, sounding like he was tossing thoughts around in his head. "He pretended to be you, but how did he get to the Goblet before then?"

Mad-Eye stilled, his magical eye fixated on Harry, and Marina could all but see the wheels turning in his head. It was a good question.

"It ignited the before Crouch got here," Hermione picked up Harry's thought with a frown. She wondered if the younger witch even noticed that she was flexing her hands like she would be flexing her claws as a cat.

"He must have had an accomplice," Susan suggested, scrunching her nose a little in distaste.

"Risky," Ron commented. "A second player could have messed up or gotten caught." The redhead had the same expression he always had playing chess.

"The Imperius," Marina ended their discussion eventually. "He must have controlled someone. Or used Voldemort as a threat." She'd already thought on it a lot.

"Suspects?" Mad-Eye grumbled, swirling his eye to look at her.

"Well, as far as threatening someone into submission goes, I'd say Karkaroff. The man is getting twitchier by the day, coward that he is.

No one's been acting suspicious enough to suspect an Imperius, but I suppose he would have ordered his victim to act normal. If he had free reign, I'd check out his father."

"Because he hates him and Crouch has access," Harry concluded, but still made it sound like a question.

"Nicely done," Mad-Eye grinned – which made him look worse. "You should consider following your godfather's and sister's footsteps. You'd make a good auror."

Marina groaned and lightly punched the grouch on the arm.

"Ignore him, Harry. You do whatever you wanna do after school." Dad was so going to kill her if Harry came home with aspirations to become an auror.

But Marina couldn't deny that Mad-Eye was right. Harry certainly had the makings of an Auror and the mindset to boot. She just hoped that by the time he had to decide, he wouldn't want to be one.

She was sitting in the library, studying up on the Bubblehead Charm, when the Daily Prophet arrived.

She had opened the egg right after the training. All that came out was a lot of screeching noise. But she had been studying Mermish for a while now and had known to open the damn thing again under water. She'd told Harry too. After dropping some hints, she'd found out that Viktor and Fleur had also known what to do.

What they'd discovered, once able to understand the Mermish, was a riddle:

Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this;
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,

But danger lurks within our realm,

You'll have to fight to stake your claim,
Past an hour, the prospect's bleak,
Too late, you'll never find what you seek.

Charming, really.

The Bubblehead looked like a fishbowl put over your face but it let you breathe underwater for however long you needed. It was N.E.W.T. level and Harry had asked Carmen to teach him, right before Neville had offered an alternative. Gillyweed would give him gills and fins for an hour, and it was a lot easier getting it than learning the Bubblehead.

Now they only had to figure out just what – or who – the merpeople would steal away and how to get them back. Crouch Jr would have made sure the collateral would be people.

But all her concern faded away when she unfolded the paper after feeding the owl and saw the headline:

"DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE

Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. A habit that he now endeavours to teach his students as well. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kind when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures.

[…]

The Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not – as he has always pretended – a pure blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror. While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature.

..."

Marina stopped reading and could only stare. How in the name of magic had that woman found out Hagrid was half giant? She only knew because Harry and Ron had overheard him talking to Madame Maxime about it. This was going to cause a lot of trouble.

After Transfiguration Marina hurried to lunch. Harry and the others had just had double Care of Magical Creatures – and would have realised that Hagrid was nowhere to be found.

As expected, when she joined the table, then trio was debating just how in the world Skeeter had found out. Susan was over at the Hufflepuff table with Hannah, reading the Prophet and looking outraged.

"Stop," she interrupted the kids before they could launch into another round. "We'll deal with Skeeter some other time. We have bigger problems coming up. Plus, I'm guessing none of you have started revising yet."

"The O.W.L.s are next year," Ron pointed out stubbornly.

"And just how much time do you think you'll have to study next year?" Angelina chimed in next to her. "They'll bury you in assignments and homework. Use the time you have now."

"Susan and I came up with a plan," Hermione announced somewhat proudly and placed a sheet of paper on the table. It looked a lot like the study plan Carmen had come up for them two years ago.

"You planned in Quidditch?" Harry asked, sounding surprised.

"Of course. You two play Quidditch, Susan and I'll cook."

Marina had been blindsided by Ted's letter in which he'd informed her that the girls had approached him for muggle cooking lessons. Between him and Dromeda they'd learn all there was to know about preparing meals. The Tonks had gotten permission to come here once a week to instruct.

As if there weren't all busy enough.

Hogsmeade. She'd never been so tempted to skip a weekend but she was meeting David.

Marina had received a letter from Amelia yesterday, with several protective charms to ensure only she could read it, and was still not sure how to feel about it.

The Head of Magical Law Enforcement had informed her that, due some curiosity in the Ministry of late, she had registered the whole lot of them as animagi. She supposed it was a miracle that Amelia had agreed to keep it quiet this long, given that it was illegal. She'd also written that while she'd registered them all, she hadn't revealed what animals they turned into. Apparently, she'd found a loophole in the laws and made use of it.

So their secret weapons were still somewhat secret, but now the Death Eaters knew they were animagi and could plan accordingly. Bellatrix could. That probably explained why Amelia had apologised five times in as many sentences.

Additionally, Marina had asked Mad-Eye to teach them any and all spells he could come up with that would be useful underwater. He'd stared at her for a minute, then he'd agreed to get on it for their next extra lesson. He had to know what Harry and she wanted the spells for. Bloody Tournament.

But her desire to stay in the castle was rooted in something else. She had received yet another letter today, from an Advocate. All matters of her grandpa's inheritence and the asset transfer to her father had been taken care of, with advice from Talib, so Marina had not been worried and opened the letter. She hadn't read it though. Because the second she saw the handwriting, she'd burst into tears.

It was from her mother.

Marina was not prepared for whatever message her Mum was sending her from her grave. She hadn't slept since October, had been a nervous wreck since November and things weren't likely to get better anytime soon. She wanted to stay and hole up in the Gryffindor tower where no one would witness her likely breakdown.

But she didn't want to face whatever it was alone. She had no energy left for that, so she would be doing what she hadn't done in a long time: ask for help.

Even though it was David, that still didn't sit right with her. She'd have to get over that chip on her shoulder sooner rather than later.

The Three Broomsticks was packed as always. Everyone was enjoying themselves and most likely having a blast, trying to figure out what the Second Task would be. Harry and his friends were sitting in a corner, not looking so happy. Hagrid was still not coming out of his hut.

David was sitting at the opposite side of the pub and writing reports, from the looks of it. She gestured Rosmerta for a buttebeer and joined him.

"What's wrong, love?" he asked as soon as she'd sat down. He was getting really good at seeing right through her.

Marina told herself to stop being a chicken already and pulled the letter out, showing it to him. David had seen enough of the journals to recognise her mother's handwriting.

He drew in a sharp breath and waved his wand, magically packing all his stuff away.

"It came this morning from her advocate's office," she said qietly just as her butterbeer settled in front of her.

"She must have given instructions," David said gently and reached over, taking her hand.

"Yes. Almost as if she knew she was going to die."

Her father had left the letter to her younger self because he'd been preparing to play decoy. Ther had been a very real possibility that he wouldn't survive. But her mother had been under the Fidelius with James and Lily, presumably safe.

Marina took a gulp of her beer and set the bottle down with a shaking hand. David watched with wide eyes – it was more of a reaction than she normally ever showed.

"I don't wanna open it alone," she admitted quietly, blinking against her burning eyes. She hadn't cried in public in forever, damn it.

Immediately, David pulled his chair over to hers – against all his Auror training since his back was now turned to the door – and put his hand on her thigh, pulling it against his.

"Wanna get out of here?" he asked quietly and pressed his forhead against her hair.

"Might as well get it over with," Marina mumbled, clutching onto his emotions like a lifeline. "It won't get any easier somewhere else."

So she reached out and opened the letter, leaning into David. She laid her head on his shoulder and held the parchment for both of them to see.

"Marina, my angel,

I can't explain everything I need you to know in this letter, but unfortunately it'll have to do. According to my instructions, this will find you when you are sixteen. I hope with all my heart that your father survived his absolutely insane plan and is there to help you wheather the storm. My Seeings didn't tell me as much.

First of all, I need to tell you something that I never even told your father or our friends. The only one who knows is Lily, and she has kept my secret.

I am not a muggle-born as everyone believed – and I never corrected them, because I never cared about that.

My great-great-grandmother was Cassandra Trelawney. Her daughter married an American and moved there, taking his name. My father didn't have the Sight and only told me about our ancestry after we moved back to England, when my mother wanted to go home – she was a muggle-born. It was in my fourth year in Hogwarts. Our gift comes from one of the strongest Seers in wizarding history.

I tell you this because I imagine you might have the same problems handling your Sight as I used to have. If you have questions, contact Pheora Hayes – my third cousin. She still lives in America, but she knows about you and will help.

My sweet girl. There is a simple reason I never told Sirius about it. The premonitions are my burden to bear, and if I'd told him he would have started to recognise the signs of my Seeings. He feels so guilty for not loving me that he would risk anything to make it up to me. Your father is a good man, Marina. One of the best I have ever met.

That is why I didn't want him to know what I saw. I'm not certain just how it will happen, but I know that I won't survive this war. Some premonitions can be changed, but this one is set in stone. I am so sorry that I won't be there to see you grow up.

But as sure as I am that I won't survive, I know that you will.

Maybe you're still too young for what I am about to tell you, but I think the sooner you know, the better prepeared you will be. The better prepared your father will be.

A few weeks after you were born Pheora came to visit. Your father was on assignment, which is why he doesn't know about it. The moment she stroked your head, she had a premonition:

The one who knows our hearts has arrived … born to one who hides her power and one who gives his to others, never himself; born along with the seventh month... and she will stand with our Chosen against the Darkest Evil... and she must chose whether to face a battle of great pain to her soul... either she will strike down her enemy or fall at the loyal evil's hand... born along with the seventh month...

I don't know who the Chosen is, but I am assuming that by the time you get this, you might.

Upon my insistance, Pheora gave me her Vow never to speak to anyone about this but you. She has mastered her gift enough to actually remember what she sees.

Remember, honey, prophecies are a precarious thing; nothing is ever clear or straightforward. But the fact that she made it when she touched you... the one thing we can be sure about is that it is about you.

If my Seeings are true, and it seems likely considering how detailed they are, then Harry will come out of this war as well. Your godbrother will need you, angel. I didn't actually see anything concerning him – other than his survival – but my instincts tell me that he will have some very hard times ahead of him.

Don't ever give up fighting, Marina. No matter how hard it seems, there are many things in this world worth living for. I hope that someday you'll find someone you'll trust with everything you are, including this. We can't face the world alone.

So when you tell your father about this, tell Sirius to find love. We never had what James and Lily had, and that wasn't his fault. If he had returned my feelings, he would have loved a lie; he deserves better. My memory won't be tarnished by him not being miserable. Even without loving me, he gave me everything he could. Take care of each other. Take care of Harry.

Love always,

Mum"

Marina was infinitely grateful for the privacy bubble David had cast, as she was sobbing uncontrollably.

The emotions clinging to the parchment were like daggers to her heart. Her mother had known she was going to die soon, and the resignation and fear had been poured into every word she had written. She'd probably known Lily and James would die, too.

She felt a wand knocking her on the head and knew David had disillusioned her. He pulled her up, threw galleons on the table, and pulled her out of the pub. They walked a few minutes, until they were out of earshot from everyone, before he reversed the spell and pulled her into his arms.

She couldn't stop crying for half an hour.

When she was able to pull herself together, she saw they were halfway between Hogsmeade and the school, sitting on a rock. She hadn't even noticed moving anywhere. Mad-Eye would be apalled.

"Knowing she was going to die must have been a hard secret to keep," David said eventually, stroking her back, still hugging her.

"Harder still if she knew James and Lily weren't going to make it," Marina agreed quietly, hoarse from crying.

"Why wouldn't she have told them?"

"Because some things you can't stop. If she'd told them, she might have just gotten them killed sooner. And then Harry wouldn't have survived that night."

All this was why she absolutely hated her Sight. What was the point of getting to know the future if you couldn't do anything about it?

"There is some sort of symbol at the end," David told her and pulled out the letter. He was right.

Her mother had drawn a tiny rose on the edge of the parchment. Marina recognised it for what it was.

"She knew I'd get it from the journals. She infused a memory into the letter," she explained and sat up straight. If she'd survived, her mother would have made one hell of an Obliviator, what with her talent for memory spells.

She waved her wand in the movements she'd used dozens of times before and unlocked the memory. David and she were sucked in immediately.

(September 26th 1981)

"He'll never accept it," Lily sighed and leaned back in the chair. She was sitting in Rose' apartment at the kitchen table.

"Not now and not from us," Rose agreed and sat down as well, pushing a cup of tea over to her best friend. "But I'll bet he'd accept it from the kids."

Lily raised her eyebrows. She looked exhausted, her red hair barely combed and dark circled underneath her eyes.

"Have you met Remus?" she questioned ironically. "He won't accept money from his best friends, what makes you think he'd take it from his goddaughter?"

Marina and David looked at each other, confused. Remus? Money?

"She won't give him a choice," Rose said with absolute certainty and Lily's eyes widened in understanding.

"You had a Seeing?"

"Yes. He'll take it, believe me. My daughter inherited her father's stubborness."

"Oh, I think she's got double. You're just as bad as he is," Lily huffed, but her eyes sparkled with a smile.

"Alright then. Arcturus already told me that he'll make Marina his heir, unless Sirius comes to his senses."

"Doubtful," Lily shook her head. "He wants nothing to do with his family. But it does leave Kitten with a nice safety net."

"Which is why I'm signing my savings over to Remus. He won't know it until Marina signs it over to him. It'll have doubled by the time he accepts it."

The shadow in her mother's eyes told her that she'd already had the Seeing and knew she wasn't going to survive. Which was likely why they were discussing her inheritence.

"I'll add mine too," Lily said, determined. "He'll just have to get over it."

"What about Harry?" Rose asked nonchalantly and sipped from her cup.

But Marina could see the tension in her hands and shoulders. She reached left and gripped David's hand hard. Her mother had known Lily was going to die. That's why she'd included the memory. She couldn't bring herself to write it down and admit it.

"James' parents left him a fortune and we've never touched it," Lily replied. "He'll be f..."

The redhead didn't finish, suddenly as pale as any ghost, and looked at her best friend – who had a very hard time meeting her eyes.

They looked at each other for what felt like hours, a sense of finalty settling in the room.

"Are you sure?" Lily eventually whispered, her voice trembling.

"I'm never sure," Rose answered just as quietly. "That's the problem with the damn Seeings. But... just in case..."

She'd lied to her best friend's face to make her feel better. And so Lily wouldn't try and change the future and potentially make it worse. Fresh tears were running down Marina's face.

Lily's posture straightened, a grim kind of determination filling her face.

"Well, then there's no use in telling James. No need to be even more afraid than we already are," she decided before adding, "And just in case, we make sure the people we love are taken care of."

The women briefly gripped each other's hands, in silent understanding and commiseration, before they started on the legal papers in front of them, signing their personal assets over to Remus as their heir.

Only about a minute after they'd gotten done and had sent it all to their advocates and Gringotts,the front door opened. Shortly after, James and Sirius entered the room – carrying each other's kid. The women smiled.

"Momma!" little Marina grinned exitedly, waving a toy wand. "Uncle Prongs!" She pointed at the wand, then at James, and hugged her godfather around the neck. James grinned like a fool.

"You bought her a wand?" Rose asked skeptically but couldn't help the smile.

"Padfoot bought Harry a broomstick," James countered dryly and looked at his son, who was giggling at Sirius' playful growling when he pulled at his long hair.

Then the four of them settled in, playing with their children together. Almost as if they knew it was the last day of peace they'd ever get.

David and Marina were tossed out of the memory and looked at each other silently, completely stunned. The memory had been the day before her Dad had written his goodbye letter to her.

She just couldn't process what they'd just seen. Lily had known. She'd gone under the Fidelius and pretended they were safe, for James' sanity's sake probably, even though she'd known it wasn't the case. Hoping against all odds that her best friend's Seeing had been wrong.

How in the name of all magic was she supposed to tell Harry that?