The next day, Willow woke up the boys. Oliver realized he had fallen asleep on Cypress's shoulder and quickly sat up straight, almost acting embarrassed. Cypress, as was to be expected, woke up and teased Oliver for it. Harry simply groaned and fell off the couch. Willow tried not to laugh as he got up, but with his glasses askew and his hair a complete mess, it was hard not to. She and Oliver returned Cypress to the Slytherin common room, then set off to print out the photographs of the prank.

"Are you sure this isn't a bit overkill?" Oliver asked. "He is a narcissist, but he might lose his fans for this."

"Trust me, Oliver, he won't be losing any fans," Willow reassured him, gathering up all the printed photos. "If anything, they'll come flocking to him to reassure him of their loyalty. Thanks for thinking about him, though. I need a Hufflepuff's consciousness of other people's feelings."

Oliver sheepishly smiled. "You're welcome."

They started in the Great Hall since nobody was there yet, covering every square inch of the bulletin board. Then, they moved into the main corridors, stringing them together and hanging them from the ceiling in a lovely array. Oliver stuck a few to the walls while Willow transformed into a sparrow to reach the higher places. They quietly snuck into the library to place a few on the bookshelves, then went to Lockhart's classroom and posted as many as they possibly could to his door. Willow and Oliver shared a high-five and returned to the Great Hall just in time for breakfast- and to see everyone laughing and pointing at the photos. Only a handful of girls, which Willow assumed were his fanatics, appeared sad and rather down when they caught sight of them. Harry loved the shift in attention.

"What are you going to call them? There has to be a name for this series of photos," he said.

"How about 'The Gallery of Lockhart's Demise'?" Ron suggested. "'Fall of the False'? 'Photos of a Phony'?"

"Hmm, maybe that's a bit harsh, but I like where you're going with it," Willow said. "I just can't wait to see Lockhart's reaction."

She got her wish. Lockhart entered the Great Hall, slack-jawed and defeated-looking. He pulled down his hat as much as possible to hide his face. A lot of people snickered and pointed. Fred, George, and Paige celebrated with Willow. She noticed Paige was back to her usual self. Hopefully she had sorted out that little blip in her love life.

After breakfast was finished, there was a mad rush of girls to comfort Lockhart, which made him feel a little better. Fred and George booed off to the side where Lockhart couldn't hear them. Willow headed back to the common room, Oliver in tow, and slipped into the secret room. They found Griffin awake and rearing to go.

"Hey, easy there, boy!" Willow said. "Can you sit for me? Sit!" Griffin sat. "Lay down!" He laid down. "Roar!" Griffin jumped to his feet and screeched. "Good boy!"

Willow gave him a half pound of bacon she had "rescued" from being thrown away at breakfast. Griffin squeaked excitedly and dove on the bacon, obediently leaving a single piece for V, who took it and ate it within three bits. Both animals had developed a taste for bacon, especially chewy and fatty bacon. Willow was happy to make sure none went to waste at breakfast anymore. Felicity and Patch were just eating their own breakfasts of wood lice and daises, respectively. Fidget jumped out of Willow's robes and ran up to Felicity. The jobberknoll flapped his wings and pushed some wood lice to Fidget. They happily shared their favourite breakfast.

"They're all getting along really well, aren't they?" Oliver observed.

"They are. I'm glad for it, too, because I really didn't want to deal with fighting creatures," Willow said. "That reminds me- you're staying here for the Holidays, right?"

Oliver nodded. "Why?"

"Do you think you could take care of these guys for me while I'm gone?" Willow asked. "I know it's a lot, especially Griffin, because he's a downright handful, but I don't want them to get neglected."

"Yes!" Oliver said excitedly. "I was hoping I could take care of Griffin."

"You were?"

"Yeah!" Oliver's eyes sparkled. "Griffin's just a big baby. I love taking care of him now that he knows not to bite. I'll be able to bring him loads of Christmas treats. We'll have lots of fun!"

"I had no idea you liked magical creatures this much, Oliver," Willow said.

"I didn't either, until I met Griffin." The baby griffin nudged Oliver's arm, and he began to stroke his back. "Don't worry about these guys, Willow. I promise I'll take very good care of them."

"As long as you're sure..." Willow shook her head. "Who am I kidding? You're the most responsible human being I've met, and that includes my abuela. She's a very responsible woman. I trust you to take very good care of these guys."

"Thank you, Willow!" Oliver exclaimed.

Over the next few days, Willow played with her creatures, but mainly let Oliver practice taking care of them. He did a perfect job. He might have even been more punctual about their mealtimes than she was. In addition, Willow and Cypress worked hard on the potion, and they were finally getting somewhere with it. The potion was no longer exploding and actually becoming more of a liquid than a jello-like solid. By the time the train left Hogsmede Station, Willow was satisfied they could finish it by the next house exchange.

The Hogwarts Express finally pulled into King's Cross Station after a long journey. Willow bade her friends Happy Holidays, then dragged her trunk onto the platform, searching for a certain familiar face. When she finally found him, she dropped her trunk and sprinted towards him.

"Dad!" Willow exclaimed, jumping into his arms. "I missed you so much! I didn't think it was humanly possible to miss someone that much!"

"I missed you too, Sweetheart," Carlos said, holding Willow tight. He finally set her down. "Vamos, Abuela and Abuelo are waiting in the parking lot."

Willow practically sprinted out of King's Cross Station. She found her grandparents waiting for her outside their car. Willow happily laughed and hugged them both with all of her might. She couldn't remember the last time she was so happy to see her family.

"It's been far too long, nieta," Abuela said.

"I agree," Abuelo said. "Let's get back to the mansion."

They caught up the whole car ride home, chatting about little occurrences that had happened while she was at Hogwarts. Apparently, Perrito had grown more energetic, and her uncles visited Japan for a research project on a Zouwu. It unfortunately had evaded them, but they got some good information on its tracks and food sources. Her grandparents had done a history project with the top historians in London, and Carlos had become Newt Scamander's right hand guy. Willow missed the familiar chats she used to have as a child.

"We're here!" Carlos announced, pulling into the long, gravel driveway. It went on for a few hundred feet before they arrived at the garage. The family mansion had Muggle-repelling charms all around it because Carlos liked to be completely surrounded by nature. Willow couldn't agree more with his taste. Though they were secluded, the Guerreros loved being friendly to passerby Muggles.

Willow stepped out of the car. She inhaled a deep breath of fresh air, her worry melting away as the familiar scents of pine, evergreen, oak, and maple greeted her. A sense of peace washed over her, so complete that it made her shiver. She wished she could spend more time at home now that the memories of her mother's accident were fading into the background. It was such a wonderful place, though she wished it was smaller and modest. She could play soccer any time she wanted, talk to her grandparents about the latest Muggle invention, bake something new with her uncle, garden at the crack of dawn with her dad…it was home. As much as Hogwarts would always be her home, the mansion would always be a strong homing beacon.

"Perrito!" Willow exclaimed as she ran through the door. The little chihuahua jumped into her arms, wriggling and licking her ears. "Yes, yes, I know, I missed you too!"

"There's my favourite sobrina!" Tío Cisco said, his brother appearing next to him. "Give your favourite uncle a hug!"

Willow ran up and hugged both him and Tío Leonel. "You're both my favourite! How was your trip?"

"Quite productive, besides the Zouwu escaping every effort to temporarily sedate it. Newt would be proud of us. We have a rough estimate of its numbers, and they're fairly stable, thank Merlin. Its food source and natural habitat are stable, too. Now all we've got to do is actually study its structure when we get a chance to sedate it."

"That's awesome! What was it like being in Japan?"

"It was an adventure, to be honest. Every other day we were in a new place, and the only person we had as a translator wasn't born in the area we visited. I think I've had enough seafood to satisfy an entire generation."

Willow wrinkled her nose. "Yuck. Seafood never settles well with me. Was any of it good?"

"Every single meal. In fact- " Tío Cisco pulled out a book- "we managed to procure this ancient recipe book. There's loads of seafood, of course, but most of the dishes can have meat substituted in. I particularly want to try the ancient version of cream stew."

"What are we waiting for? It's getting close to dinnertime anyway!"

The entire family pitched in, even Perrito, to make dinner. Willow kept a constant stream of scraps for him. The mansion soon filled with the delicious smell of sautéed onions, steamed vegetables, grilled chicken, and creamy soup. Willow took it upon herself to make buttered toast for everyone. It was mainly because she wanted it for herself, since Abuela had made her special homemade bread, but she forced herself to give everyone else at least a tiny bit of it. They sat down and had a wonderful meal.

"Wow, that is the best dinner I've had in a long time," Carlos commented. "I better save that recipe."

"Good thing we made you a copy," Tío Cisco said. "There's plenty more for you to try, too, but I doubt your cooking will ever reach our level."

"Oh, be nice to him, Cisco," Tío Leonel chided. "He's still learning how to boil water properly."

Carlos rolled his eyes. "Joke all you want, Leonel, but you know I always make the best enchiladas and rice. Willow can attest to that."

"I could eat that all day," Willow agreed. "They can't serve enough of it at Hogwarts."

"How has your year been going so far?" Abuelo asked. "Has that Malfoy kid been giving you any trouble?"

"I'd like to think that I'm giving him trouble," Willow said. "We haven't talked in a while because he was getting really elitist there for a moment. Although we've made up- sort of- we still keep it to small-talk-bickering. I hate it when he uses the muggleborn slur." Willow sighed. "If I could only steal him away from his parents for a summer, fix the way he thinks...he's a really good kid on the inside, despite what anyone says. His stupid dad is really the arsehole."

"I see you haven't lost your sharp tongue," Abuela said, raising an eyebrow.

Willow smiled. "Nope. It's gotten better with experience, I'd say."

"Unapologetic about it, too," Tío Cisco remarked. He nodded appreciatively. "She takes after her uncles. I seem to remember a certain brother of mine being quick to dole out some harsh remarks back at Ilvermorny."

"I did not!" Tío Leonel exclaimed. He paused. "Well, only to the bullies, but that's it, I swear!"

"The past is the past, boys," Abuelo said. "As long as Willow doesn't get too witty, we're okay."

"Don't worry, I've got about as much wit as I've got cooking skills." While her family laughed, Fidget climbed out of her pocket and sat on her shoulder. "This little guy can attest to it. He's seen me try to cook before. I think Madam Pomfrey was surprised to see me for something as non-serious as a burn from boiling water."

Her family had lost interest in her words. They were all staring at her bowtruckle, who was cowering under their suddenly interested faces. Willow let him crawl onto her hand and held him close to her chest.

"Sorry, I don't think I introduced you to my newest addition to the family," she apologized. "This is Fidget, my bowtruckle. I found him in Knockturn Alley. He's clung to me ever since I rescued him, so he's become part of the family now. Don't expect him to open up to you anytime soon, though, he's quite shy, and he has a preference for dark-haired females. Redheads and guys freak him out at first."

"He's you pet?" Tío Cisco exclaimed. "Willow, do you have any idea how much trouble you could get into for keeping him?"

"That's a serious violation of magical creature laws!" Tío Leonel added.

Willow shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't really see a reason to return him to the wild because I don't know where his family is and he'd never let me leave him anywhere. Not to mention it would break my heart. I'd never be the same if I let go of Fidget." The bowtruckle made a purring noise and crawled back onto her shoulder, edging up against her cheek in a sort of hug. "See? He's my right-hand guy. Fidget can't be without me, I can't be without Fidget."

"I've never seen a bowtruckle this attached to a human before, aside from Newt, of course," Abuelo remarked. "What have you been feeding him? Has anyone spotted him?"

"I've been feeding him wood lice, his favourite. Only a select few people know about him, including Professor McGonagall, but they all love him and would never turn me in. Fidget gets along with people pretty well once he takes to them."

"So you carry him around in your pocket all day?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, except when I use my powers," Willow said. "He got super nauseous and sickly when I accidentally transformed with him still in there. I felt so bad for the little guy! Thankfully, lots of wood lice seemed to heal him up, and I've never forgotten to safely place him elsewhere since."

Abuela's eyes flashed. "How have your powers been going lately?"

"Oh, they're...going." Willow bit her lip. "I had an accidental blowup with them around Halloween, but it wasn't life-altering or anything. I'd rather not talk about it. They're getting more restless and harder to use as they days pass, though it's not worrying me, because Cebba warned me about that happening. Also, I discovered I have some sort of sonar. There's lots of room to discover and grow."

"Who's this Cebba?" Tío Cisco inquired reproachfully.

"Oh, the lady inside my head," Willow replied. She cleared her throat. "Sorry, that sounded completely mental. There's a woman inside my head who's been helping me all along. Her name is Cebba. I can show her to you if you want."

"Yes, please!" her family chorused hurriedly.

Willow stood up, brushing herself off. She took a calming breath and concentrated on Cebba. Come on, I need you to appear, please, and try to be nice to my family. They're nothing but supportive.

Fine, but you owe me for this.

What could I possibly-

Willow gasped as the pulling sensation shook her body. The usual shiver went down her spine, and suddenly the ghostly form of Cebba was standing in front of her, appearing calm and wizened as usual. She smiled at Willow's slack-jawed family. Willow, however, had words for her.

"Excuse me, a little warning would be nice next time!" she said.

Cebba spread her hands in innocence. "Sorry, the best time to do it is when you're not all tensed up."

"Wha- She speaks? Out loud? In our world?" Tío Leonel yelped. "So she's not a ghost, but she's not alive, either, and she pretty much lives inside of you. What on Earth is she?"

"You know I can speak to you, right?" Cebba said. "And for your information, I'm most certainly dead, a very long time dead. I'm just here to help your niece, or however you say that in Spanish."

"Sobrina," Abuela said, critically narrowing her eyes at Cebba. "What have you done to my granddaughter?"

"I have not touched your granddaughter, thank you very much," Cebba said. "I've simply been helping keep her sane these past few years. She would have had several mental breakdowns by now if it was not for me."

"What are you doing in her head?"

"I already told you, I'm helping her. I provide lots of information about her powers as it becomes necessary."

"Wouldn't it be most necessary to tell her everything at once?" Abuela questioned, stepping closer to the ghostly woman. "She's probably going nuts waiting for you to tell her what's really going on!"

"If I told her what was really going on, she would go insane!" Cebba retorted. "Willow is only thirteen years old. She is not mentally, emotionally, or physically ready for me to dump everything on her."

The two women were toe-to-toe at this point, faces red and fuming. Willow tried to speak, but her words were drowned out by the shouting match, almost a squeak compared to their loud voices.

"She is the most mature thirteen-year-old on this good green Earth!" Abuela shouted. "I think she's plenty ready for whatever you throw at her! She already faced You-Know-Who, for God's sake!"

"And how well did that go for her? She nearly died!"

"That was a whole year ago! She's had a long time to progress since then!"

"A year is not enough compared to the tasks she will face in the near future!"

Carlos instinctively took a few steps towards his daughter. Abuelo awkwardly shuffled from foot to foot, then decided to escape into the kitchen and pretend to do dishes. Tío Cisco and Tío Leonel helplessly glanced at each other, coming up with no solutions. Willow had almost had enough of their yelling by that point.

"My granddaughter is so much stronger than all those other second years!" Abuela yelled. "She's faced countless dangers and come out without dying!"

"The only reason she didn't die was because her powers kicked in! Even those barely saved her! Willow is much too careless and inexperienced to handle what is to come!"

"She'll get experience as she goes!" Abuela crossed her arms. "I'm sure you could give her plenty of tips from your ages-old experience, but no, you have to keep her in the dark! How long can this go on, Cebba? She needs to know!"

Cebba suddenly withdrew, a pained expression in her eyes. "If I told you all what she might face, you would never let her see the light of day again. This is dangerous. I'm sorry, but this is not something I can share in advance. You can't prevent the future, and as hard as you would try, it would still come." Her eyes watered. "I've tried telling people the beginnings of their fate before, and it's madness. It eats away at them, sucks out your soul, leaves them a shell of their former self. They try to escape their fate, but it only brings it on faster." Cebba turned to both Willow and her grandmother. "There is unimaginable danger in your granddaughter's future. I'm sorry. I wish with all my heart that I could tell you about it, but only I should bear the pain of knowing the inevitable."

Willow's heart broke. This poor woman had only been trying to help her all along. There were so many reasons behind her actions and words; she had just been too blind to see them in the moment. "Cebba...I'm sorry I pestered you about that before. I won't do it again."

Cebba nodded. "Good. I promise, Willow, when it comes time, you will learn of what you have to do. I promise."

Abuela swallowed. "I guess I was wrong about you, Cebba. I'm sorry I argued with you like that. But I just have one question." Cebba nodded, and an odd gleam entered Abuela's eyes. "What do you mean by 'danger' in her future? Do you mean...death?"

"No, not certain death, no," Cebba said. "Everyone dies at some point, but Willow's destiny is not to die young."

Abuela breathed a sigh of relief. "Wonderful. You had me very worried there for a second."

Tío Cisco stepped forward. "If I may ask, what have you been telling Willow about her powers lately? I'm sure she was going to tell us soon, but I'd rather hear it from her a second time."

"I'm glad you asked." Cebba addressed Willow's entire family. "You have a very powerful and talented young witch here. Her powers will continue to grow more powerful as she progresses through school, of course, but they will soon become unruly and hard to control. Eventually, she'll have to hone in on a certain section of her powers to specialize in, or she'll be stuck with uncontrollable, unpredictable, and weak powers for the rest of her life. She's doing well at keeping up with the discoveries until it's time for specialization."

Carlos nodded. "These aren't hurting her in any way, are they?"

"Only if you count her crash-landings when she gets distracted by Thestrals," Cebba said.

"Oh, I do not crash-land because of the Thestrals!" Willow retorted. "They're magnificent, and some of the most beautiful creatures I've ever seen, especially when they're silhouetted in the sunrise, but that's beside the point!"

Tío Leonel smiled. "You just gave yourself away, sobrina."

"Ugh, I'm never going to catch a break from you guys, am I?" Willow groaned.

Cebba's form flickered, causing her to stumble. Abuela rushed to her side, only to find that she passed through her like a ghost. Cebba smiled sadly. "Do not be disappointed. I don't have a real, physical form since I'm dead. I had my chance when I was alive, and quite frankly I'm happy to be free of those old knees." Abuela laughed, but the smile was wiped off her face when Cebba flickered again. "I've got to return to Willow now, I'm afraid. I hope to speak with you again at some point. You seem like a nice family."

"Thanks," Tío Cisco said. "I wish I could say the same of Carlos."

"Oh, shut it, you!"

Cebba chuckled. "I miss teasing my brother. Goodbye, for now."

With a dousing sensation and a cold chill rocketing down her spine, Cebba returned to Willow, leaving her family in a stunned silence. It was an odd silence that had not been in the Guerrero mansion in a long time. Willow thought it might stretch on forever until Abuelo cautiously stepped back into the dining room, speaking quietly as he did so.

"So...Cebba had a strong personality, don't you think?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's pretty headstrong, just like me," Willow replied. "She's got a sharp tongue. I think that's where I've gotten the habit from. Can't kick it now that I've started."

"So that's where you got it from," Tío Leonel teased. "I bet she can't teach you Spanish curses like we can, though."

"Leonel! Don't you dare!" Abuela rebuked.

"Just teasing, Mom, don't worry." Leonel's expression fell as he turned to Willow. "I don't like all of this dark omen-y stuff. What does she mean by that? Are you going to be okay?"

Willow thought back to all that had happened to her since the powers came into her life. She'd passed out and nearly died a lot more than usual. It had brought equal amounts of good and bad into her life. Haunting memories balanced out the fun trials with shape-shifting. Panic attacks measured up against overly happy moments. Willow's heart sank.

"The truth is, I don't know."

A few days later, Willow was hanging out in her room, feeding Achelous some scraps from dinner, when Iris swooped in, dropping a letter on her lap. Fidget woke up from his nap and lazily stretched out on her nightstand, where Willow had created a miniature tree in a pot for him to sleep in. She tore it open only to have it speak to her.

"WILLOW! Sarah Brown wants your family to come over for Christmas Eve dinner! Please, please, please say yes and bring them over! She says she might have met your dad at the Ministry and would love to meet you! Planning on having you there!

"By the way, this was totally Sam, not Sally!

"He's a liar, Willow, don't listen to him! Go to the old mansion and find the misplaced brick! It's a portkey that will take you right to Sarah Brown's house! Can't wait to see you there!"

Willow chuckled to herself. Leave it to Sally and Sam to send her a crazy invitation. She was definitely planning on being there. As soon as her family gathered around the table for breakfast, she told them about the invitation, and they happily accepted. Willow wrote back a relatively calm letter compared to their hyped-up one.

On Christmas Eve, the Guerreros Apparated to the Smiths' old property, where they found the misplaced brick after a few tries and suddenly landed on Sarah Brown's lawn. Willow smoothed down her fancy robes that she convinced her grandmother to let her wear in place of a dress and continued to their front doorstep. The house was much smaller than their old run-down mansion, but it was a million times more appealing. It was a perfect balance of rustic and modern. There were wooden accents in the exterior walls, which were designed like a log cabin. The large windows had light brown shutters that complimented the wood very well. Willow could see the interior was lit well by natural light. She automatically loved Sarah Brown already. Her taste was excellent. The roof of the house was sloped in a way that spilled the little bit of melted snow water into a ground-level system that delivered it to a rain garden in the side yard. A single brick chimney sprouted from the middle of the house and puffed out bits of smoke now and then. It was the perfect definition of quaint in Willow's mind.

"Mum, they're here!" Sally called into the house, exploding out the front door. Sam was on her heels.

"Sally, Sam!" Willow exclaimed, barely avoiding getting bowled over in their excited hug. "I'm so glad I got to see you guys! Your house is beautiful!"

"Thanks! Sarah likes the natural setting. We couldn't agree more," Sam said. "And the rain garden freezes enough to ice skate on! We might be able to do that later." Sam lead her to the front door. "I'm starving! Hopefully dinner's ready."

Willow's family followed behind her as they entered the house. A small staircase was directly in front of them. The front room opened up on their right, a hallway leading to bedrooms on their left. Sally added a log to the small fireplace, which all the furniture was set around. A few chairs and a couch arched around it. They strongly reminded Willow of the Hufflepuff common room's furniture and setup. After they took their shoes off, the Guerreros continued into the dining area and adjacent kitchen. This too reminded Willow of the Hufflepuff common room's side kitchen. The table could seat an extra family if necessary, and it was decorated comfortably and modestly. The delicious scent of roast beef and dinner rolls melted over Willow.

"Ah, there they are!" a woman said, bent over the oven. "Dinner will be ready as soon as the meat cools off!"

Sarah Brown was quite stunning. She was one of those naturally pretty brunettes that always looked good no matter how many styles she tried. Her hair appeared windswept and lightened from the sun, though it was beginning to darken because of the winter months. Her face was covered with freckles that gave her a cute aesthetic. Willow noticed she had decorated her apron with Hufflepuff symbols and stickers from all sorts of Muggle zoos.

"Thank you, Miss Brown," Abuela said.

"Oh, there's no need to be formal, just call me Sarah," she insisted. There seemed to be a constant pleasant smile on her face that brightened up the room. "You can take a seat, if you'd like."

Sally and Sam sat directly across from Willow, buzzing excitedly about some new potion they'd bought. Apparently, it made them temporarily able to see invisible ink. Willow found it rather interesting. After a few minutes, Sarah placed platters and pots full of tempting food on the table.

"Do you mind if we say grace?" she asked.

"No, not at all," Carlos said.

Sarah, Sally, and Sam said a quick grace, then commenced the feast. Willow and Sally had learned from their previous competition not to eat as many rolls as possible until the end of the meal. They dug into mounds of roast beef, green been casserole, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, and many other sources of massive amounts of carbohydrates. The table was only quiet for a short period of time, then there was pleasant chatter, easily facilitated between the two families. Willow was happy her family was getting along well with Sarah.
After dinner, they talked for a little while longer, and finally ate dessert, which included warm cherry pie and vanilla ice cream, Willow's favourite. The twins took her outside for ice skating after they were finished.

"Have you ever fallen through the ice?" Willow asked.

"Oh, never without someone purposely throwing me in," Sam said. "Sally loves to play that practical joke."

"Hey, you pay me back for it every time! That water is freezing cold!" Sally said.

"So relatively unsafe as long as you two are going at each other," Willow teased. She shrugged, smiling. "Seems good enough for me."

The three skidded out on the ice, falling several times before they managed to stay on their feet. Sally and Sam tried many times to push each other through the ice, but Willow would always have a tree reach out and slap them for it. They retaliated by managing to throw her in the ice with their combined efforts.

"Hey! Oh my God, this is freezing!" Willow yelped. "I feel bad for fish who have to live in this during the winter!"

"Well, we don't have fish, so quit wasting time and get out of there before you get frostbite, you goof," Sally giggled. "And don't break more ice while you're at it!"

Willow went to throw up her hands in exasperation, but ended up using them to stay above the water. She used her powers to fly out and landed in the sideyard. Sam and Sally ran over, snorting with laughter.

"What is it with twins and trouble-making?" Willow panted.

"It's so much fun!" Sally exclaimed. "That's why almost three pairs of us are in Gryffindor, Willow! We're insane. Also, I think we have absolutely zero self-control. Is that another Gryffindor trait?"

"What do you think?"

"That's self-explanatory," Sam said. "Come on, there's this really cool weeping willow in the backyard. I seem to remember it was your favourite tree, Willow."

Impressed that Sam had actually remembered something, Willow followed the twins to their backyard, where the most magnificent tree she'd ever seen sprouted from the ground. It was even bigger than the Whomping Willow back at Hogwarts. The branches swayed gently in the winter wind, rather full-looking for the frigid time of year. In the summer, its leaves would most definitely cover an enormous space all the way to the ground. They passed between its branches and found themselves under a beautiful canopy. Even the wind was blocked down here. Willow was a little envious. Why couldn't she have a tree this cool in her backyard? It didn't last long, though, because she couldn't stay jealous at anyone. The Smith twins deserved something this beautiful in their lives after all they'd gone through.

"We pray under this tree sometimes," Sally admitted. "It's a nice place to go and clear our heads anytime memories of our mother grow too strong."

"I personally come here to pray for her forgiveness, at times," Sam said. "She did some horrible things, but she used to be so good. I hope some day she can go back to normal."

"Me too." Willow pulled out her locket, feeling its ice-cold touch. "My mum was the same way. People can break so easily when it comes to hurting the ones they love. I wish my mum's family had died when they got the chance, before...the accident. But it's not my place to decide when people are to be judged. I don't want to send someone to hell when they could have had a chance to redeem themselves beforehand- unless it's Voldemort, of course. I'd kill him first chance I get. My mum would need a ton of redemption, though, so it's hard to say what will happen to her."

"I hope both our mums turn around at some point," Sally said.

A comfortable silence settled over them. The wind gently swished the branches of the willow, whistling an almost coherent melody. Willow wished she knew for sure whether either of their mothers would come around, but there was no telling if they would. The only thing they could do is take the hits and hope the women find redirection.

"Aw, great, we're being sentimental again," Sam said, cutting through the atmosphere. "Time for me to leave."

"Sam, you ruined the ambiance!" Sally whined. She groaned. "Fine, let's go inside. I heard Sarah whispering about some possible gifts earlier today. Maybe we'll get a present or two!"

"What does Sarah do for a job?" Willow asked as they walked inside.

"Oh, she does a lot for the magical creature-designated lands. Her job is to maintain a close eye on their movements and the Muggle or wizarding activities going on nearby. She's had to jump in and confuse Muggles several times. You should see the Nimbus Two-Thousand they gave her. It's customized."

"Wow! That's awesome!"

"Yeah, until there's a storm that soaks her to the bone!"

The evening continued with happy chatter and getting to know the Smiths better. As projected, they ended up receiving gifts from Sarah. Sally and Sam each got a fancy magical note-taking organizer, and Willow got a reusable exam planner. She was so thankful for that one! Exams the year before didn't go very well. Hopefully Hermione could help her use it to stay organized. Willow's dad gave Sarah a gift for the whole family- a paid pass for free drinks at the Leaky Cauldron for a year. Sarah was almost speechless, but Sally and Sam were already begging for entire kegs of butterbeer. She couldn't decide whether to scold them or laugh, though from the sparkling in her kind hazel eyes, she was just as happy as they were about it.

The sky was dark outside and the stars were clearly visible for once. Sally and Sam showed Willow their secret roof access from the attic. While the adults were talking about the state of the Peruvian Vipertooth population, the twins and Willow snuck through a skylight and found themselves stargazing. They laid out on the sturdy roof, snow comfortably cushioning their backs, the cool air blocked from their skin by their winter coats. Willow pulled out her map.

"That one's Orion the Hunter, and that one's actually the Big Dipper, not the little one," Willow said, pointing out each constellation. "Wow, I really don't know my constellations. I haven't been paying much attention in Astronomy because of this thing. Oops."

"Are you sure we can't use it as a cheat sheet?" Sam pleaded. "Just for one test?"

"No, Sam, you need to get a good education of the stars. What if you get lost at night and the only way to apparate your way home is by following the constellations?"

"That sounds like too much work."

"I have a feeling the Sorting Hat barely needed to touch your head before he sorted you," Sally giggled.

"Oh, be nice to me," Sam said, gently slapping her. "I'm not a go-getter like most people, okay? If I'm interested, I'll do it, but if I'm not, an A mark will do."

"I wish I could say the same, but I'm terrified of getting anything less than an E," Willow said. "I think I messed up with this high standard thing in Muggle school. They're hard to keep up with while doing quidditch and dealing with unruly world-altering powers."

"Well, if you can manage all that, you can do anything," Sally said.

"True, true." Willow tapped the corner of her map, expanding it a little further, then tapped the screen, which changed to depict nearly all of her friends. Sally and Sam made funny faces and laughed at how ridiculous they looked.

"Wow, that's a lot of friends that trust you," Sam said. He noticed a woman in the bottom corner. Brow furrowing, he glanced between Willow and her, then suddenly came to a realization. "Hang on...is that- "

"My mum, yeah," Willow said, heart sinking. "She's still on here. I don't know why she would still trust me this much. She doesn't show it at all. The last time I saw her was when she attempted to kidnap and possibly murder my dad and I. And I must trust her, too, but I don't! It doesn't make any sense. Every time I do some soul searching, I come to the same conclusion that the map is wrong about her. I only have this deep of a connection with my old mum, and she's gone."

"Maybe not," Sally suggested. When Willow shot her a quizzical glance, she sat up. "Think about it. You said your mum sometime shows her old self, right?" Willow nodded. "What if that's the part still hanging on? The map can't lie to you, from the way Cebba- well, you- made it sound. What if your mum really is still in there, just waiting for someone to free her?"

"My head is going to explode," Willow groaned. "I don't want to have to rescue my mum from herself, too."

"Um, Sally?" Sam squeaked. "There's a problem."

Sally stared at him. "What do you mean? Is the roof caving in? Did you fart?"

"No, it's worse. It just got a whole lot worse." Sam pointed to the screen, his hand trembling. "She's out."

Willow and Sally gasped at the same exact time. The Smith twins instinctively clung to each other, getting as close as humanly possible. Willow tapped the scene to enlarge it, then frustratedly punched it, cracking the screen and chucking it across the yard. That wasn't going to solve the problem, though. It reappeared in her pocket seconds later, completely fixed. Willow growled and opened it back up. The scene still had the same two people in it. Willow's mum was talking with someone all too familiar. Sam started crying into Sally's shoulder.

Their mum had escaped.

"No, this can't be happening," Willow whispered. "How- where- She was on her way to Azkaban not too long ago! They said she was in prison! If your mum isn't there, then- " Willow gasped. "Someone's been put there in her place!"

"Oh my God, an innocent person is being tortured because of her!" Sally cried. "We've got to stop her!"

"No, don't take me near her!" Sam sobbed. "I don't want to be near her again! She- She's going to beat me!"

"Sam? Sam, listen to me," Willow said, taking him by the shoulders. Tear stains ran down his cheeks. "Sam, she's not going to touch you. She'd have to murder me a thousand times over to get to you. Your mother will never lay a finger on you again. Not while I'm still breathing. Got it?"

Sam nodded. "Y-Yes."

"We've got to tell Sarah!" Sally exclaimed. "She knows some Aurors that would be able to take care of this!"

"Good, go tell her, quickly." Sally jumped down and sprinted out of sight. Willow took Sam by the arm and lead him back through the attic. She found him some tissues and a washcloth for his face. He blew his nose and washed the saltwater off his face, barely returning it to a pinkish colour versus livid red.

"T-thanks," he said. Sam sniffled. "I just- I can't believe she did this. After all these months, you'd think she would have time to regret what she did, but...she just hurt someone else without a second though." Another tear made its way down his cheek. "I don't think my mum is coming back anytime soon. She's too far gone to be forgiven at this point."

"Then don't forgive her," Willow said. "Make sure she gets what she deserves, then let it go. It's not good to dwell on sadness or anger. Believe me, I've tried, and it sucks. Remember those weird days where I was a mess to deal with? When I was complete butt?" Sam nodded, a smile playing on his lips. "That would be you if you decided to hang onto it. Just let the adults take care of this, and she'll be in Azkaban before you know it- for real this time. Don't worry about her."

Sam wiped his eyes. "I'll try not to. It's just hard to forget her."

"I wish I could say that gets easier, too, but it doesn't."

Sam wiped his face again, taking a deep breath. "Okay, do I look good enough to go downstairs?"

"Yeah, you're good."

Willow and Sam walked down the stairs, where Sally was helping inform Sarah as she wrote a letter to the Ministry of Magic. Her family was either sitting deep in thought or pacing around. Abuelo and Abuela were absentmindedly fingering their wands, dark expressions on their face. Willow hoped it was menacing thoughts towards their daughter-in-law. Tío Cisco and Tío Leonel were on their feet, walking past each other as they paced back and forth across the sitting room, fingers tapping their chins. Carlos leaped up from the couch when he saw Willow.

"Where's the map that you saw her with?" he asked.

"It's here," Willow said. She took it out of her pocket and opened up to the screen with her friends and family. Everyone except Sally and Sarah gathered around to see it. Willow tapped on the corner where her mum was, and there was the Smith twins' mum, laughing over a glass of wine with Grace. The sight of her own mother boiled up fury within Willow, but she shoved it down. Grace was not important right now. It was the other awful mother they were after. Sam instantly turned away before he could get emotional again.

"I've sent an urgent owl to the Ministry. They should receive it any minute now," Sarah said, walking over. She cupped her hands over her mouth at the sight of the twins' mum. "Oh my God. She really has put someone else in Azkaban!" Sarah shook her head, hazel eyes shifting to a darker shade with fury. "I can't believe her! When she was at school, she was such a lovely woman. What happened to her?"

"She became a nightmare," Sally growled. "I'll never forgive her for being so selfish. She deserves to rot in Azkaban for all of eternity. Hopefully that's what she gets in a few hours."

The Guerreros departed shortly after a return letter was sent confirming the Aurors' arrival at Willow's mum's mansion. Sally and Sam thanked Willow profusely for helping stop their mum, but it didn't do any good for her state of well-being. She'd basically ruined the Smiths' Christmas. Was she determined to destroy everyone's life around her?

"...with Grace. She shouldn't have been there. They haven't had contact in years. Something's changed, and I don't like it."

"Sarah was telling me earlier that she thought Grace was becoming more active within the community, cornering some Ministry workers in the most peculiar departments. She's on the move, but for what?"

"Recruitment, I expect. There must be a plan to revive You-Know-Who among the underground Death Eaters."

"But how? You don't think these attacks at Hogwarts are a result of it, do you?"

"No one knows anything for certain, Leonel."

Willow caught the tail end of her dad's conversation with his brothers. What did they mean by her mother recruiting? She wasn't trying to assemble dark forces, was she?