"We saw the watch turn to midnight, but McGonagall threatened to give us detention if we wouldn't go back to our rooms!" Lisa gasped. "What happened to Sue? Is she okay? Her robes are covered in blood!"

"Pomfrey said she needs a few days' rest, but she's okay, thank Merlin," Padma said, gently caressing Sue's hand. "She was incredibly brave tonight, Lisa. You should have seen her. She didn't even flinch when the spells were flying millimeters from her head."

Lisa nodded, wiping away tears despite her smile as she kneeled next to Padma. "She's the bravest one in Ravenclaw aside from you. I always knew she'd rock out this hero thing."

"It's a shame they shot her down before the hand-to-hand combat started," Cypress sighed. "I would have liked to see her self-defense prowess. I've heard a lot about her taekwando abilities."

Willow smiled. "That's alright. She doesn't have anything to prove to us. Besides, we have an Oliver."

Oliver's cheeks reddened. "I only helped a little…"

"A little? You single-handedly took out an adult Dark witch! You're the only reason we got out of there alive!"

Oliver blushed an even deeper shade of crimson. Mandy wrapped an arm around him and ruffled his hair. "I always knew we'd find the inner hero in you! You're a big bad Hufflepuff, just like I said over a year ago!"

Paige laughed, which caused Willow's heart to skip a beat. "I'm guessing the witch made him mad?"

"Yep. It was awesome, and he looked pretty damn amazing the whole time, I must add," Cypress said.

Willow rolled her eyes. "He's definitely feeling better. Where's Sally, by the way?"

"Oh, she got caught by her Gryffindor Sisters," Mandy explained. "They kidnapped her back to the Gryffindor common room. I'll give them less than five minutes before they bust down the doors."

"That's how they ended up with me," Paige explained. "I overheard them whispering about your little plight, and they were happy to have some backup with McGonagall. She wouldn't budge, unfortunately, and I think she was ready to give me permanent detention for not letting her say no."

Willow grinned. "That sounds about right."

Sally suddenly busted down the doors. The rest of the Gryffindor Sisters were behind her.

"WHERE. IS. SAM?!"

"Called it," Mandy whispered. She looked up to address Sally. "Right over here. He's concussed, so don't do anything stupid."

Sally sprinted to Sam's side, worry washing away to reveal a tearful, grateful smile. She held his hand and squeezed it, brushing a strand of hair out of his face and watching his chest rise and fall, leaning her head on his shoulder. Willow felt a pang of guilt, but it was for more than one reason. Then, she literally felt a pang, this time one of pain. The color drained from her face as she realized the knife had punctured a rather important internal organ. Willow bit her lip so hard it started bleeding. Parvati suddenly saw the blood and noticed the tiny, shining hilt of Lucius's dagger protruding from deep within her abdominal walls.

"Oh my God, Willow!" she gasped. "Why haven't you gotten help yet? Madam Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey!"

"I'm…fine," Willow said through gritted teeth. "Let her finish up with Cypress first."

The rest of the Gryffindor Sisters suddenly noticed the dagger, too. Mia paled and gripped Fay's hand, having to sit down. Lavender covered her mouth and started crying. Parvati looked ready to scream. Paige immediately picked Willow up and set her in a bed. She winced.

"I was perfectly happy on the floor, you know. Pomfrey doesn't need to clean up all my blood off these sheets."

"Willow, when are you going to stop worrying about other people and care about yourself?" Paige sighed. "You know there's such a thing as magic, right? You deserve to be taken care of every once in a while."

Willow shrugged. "I prefer to take care of others. Being helpless- " She dug her nails into her palm from another spasm- "isn't my thing."

Paige raised her eyebrows. "Did you just admit you fear something? Wow, I never thought I'd see the day."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Don't you dare ruin my reputation."

"As if you have one compared to me."

Willow scoffed. "You're terrible, you know that?"

"Yeah, keeping your mind off the agony from being stabbed is just terrible," Paige said sarcastically. Her eyes abruptly darkened when Willow coughed on her own arm again."How long have you been doing that? Your powers should have stopped that by now, right?"

"No idea," Willow said, wiping the blood away. She failed to cover a gasp when another spasm passed. "Ouch."

"What's happening?" Oliver asked, hurrying from the other side of the room where Cypress was being taken care of. His voice became pitched. "You're not dying, are you? Please don't die."

"I'm not dying anytime soon, I promise." She curled her legs up towards her chest and squeezed her eyes shut in response to another spasm. "Can't make any promises on not passing out, though."

Madam Pomfrey finally hurried over. Her hand flew to her chest. "Merlin, you children don't know how to stay out of trouble! Everyone, back up! For goodness sake, this girl doesn't need you taking her oxygen! You too, Paige!"

Paige stared at Madam Pomfrey. "Make me," she growled.

Madam Pomfrey threw up her hands. "Fine! Don't come running to me when she doesn't heal properly!"

Paige smirked triumphantly, winking at Willow. Willow couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. It abruptly disappeared when Madam Pomfrey suddenly yanked the dagger out of her stomach. Willow curled into a ball, hand flying to her stomach while the rest of her friends screamed. Madam Pomfrey tutted. "It's punctured liver, broken rib, a whole slew of problems." She calmly grabbed some potions and funny-smelling things. "You won't want to watch this. It's not the prettiest of healing methods. Cover your eyes, children."

Cypress being Cypress, he intently watched with shining eyes from across the room. Everyone else except Paige, Padma, and Willow turned away. Madam Pomfrey put a seaweed-like substance on her wound, then uncorked a green potion bottle and poured it on. An ugly algae-like formation grew on the wound. Willow bit down hard on her tongue to avoid screaming. It felt like someone had set a fire to her insides, one that burned all throughout the wound, wove through her internal organs, and disintegrated her veins. Madam Pomfrey's brow creased.

"That's odd. It's healing, but it can't get past…" She surprisingly groaned. "Of course. It's just the icing on the cake! Leave it to some hooligan to make my life more difficult…"

Madam Pomfrey turned away to gather some more potions. Willow panted quietly, the burning sensation slowly increasing in intensity. It was worrying that Madam Pomfrey wasn't fixing it right away, but she trusted her to find a new solution. Paige rubbed her hand.

"Merlin, you're much stronger than you look," she said. "I thought you'd cut off my circulation for a minute there."

"Small price to pay for saving your eardrums," Willow joked. She inhaled a deep breath and tried to calm herself as another spasm passed. Warm, sticky blood dripped down her side and onto her legs. "Ugh, I hate the feeling of my own blood dripping down my side."

"Doesn't everyone, though?" Sally asked.

"True, true." Willow looked up as Madam Pomfrey returned. "What's going on? Is it normal to feel like- " she paused, wincing- "my blood is on fire?"

"Unfortunately, that's exactly what this type poison does," Madam Pomfrey said. "It calms your system down, temporarily keeps you alive, then activates and kills you."

Willow blinked. "Um…did you say poison? I'm pretty sure I'd know if I'm poisoned."

"Not in the magical world, you won't," Madam Pomfrey said, inspecting the wound. "It's undoing the healing process now."

Lavender gasped. "Is she going do die?"

"We'll find out in five minutes, but hopefully not."

"Hopefully not?" Parvati squeaked.

"Dang it, I've always wanted to go in a more epic way," Willow lamented. "You know, going down in flames just to see the look on my mother's face." Another spasm of pain flashed through her. "I'm halfway there, at least. There's fire in my veins."

"She's getting loopy, is that bad?" Fay asked.

"I haven't slept in over twenty-four hours. What else do you expect?" Willow said, though her brain felt full of fog.

"I expect you to live, that's what!" Mia exclaimed. "You can't die on us now, Willow! At least one of us has to get married first!"

"Wow, that's…random," Willow said. Her visions suddenly blurred. "Um…what's going on with the room right now? I'm pretty sure rooms don't move."

"Vertigo's setting in. Four minutes," Madam Pomfrey murmured, quickly setting to work on combining some potions. "Padma, come help me, quickly. I need an extra set of hands for this."

"Four minutes?" Oliver squeaked.

Willow's head drooped to one side. She felt like she was floating in midair, nearly separate from her body. The hospital wing and her friends' concerned faces blurred in and out of focus. Every time she got too far, another spasm of that fiery burning sensation would course through her veins and set her back down again. After two minutes, the burning sensation was suddenly constant and began to grow even more intense. Willow whimpered when it extended through her arms and legs. She didn't even have the strength to squeeze Paige's hand anymore.

"Willow? Willow! Stay with us!" Lavender cried.

"Can you hear us? Say something!" Sally screamed.

"Please don't die on me, you can't leave like this," Oliver sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "Don't leave me! After all that, you can't die like this!"

Willow tried to lift her head, but her body felt super heavy, like it weighed a thousand pounds more than usual. She felt her eyes begin to close and fought against them, panic rising in her chest, not wanting to go like this. Paige squeezed her hand and brought her back to reality.

"Hey, Willow, listen, you've got to listen to me," she said. "Listen to my voice. Come back to us. You're not done yet. You aren't the type to give up so easily. Get your arse back here and don't you dare die on us, you hear that?"

"Yeah…not going…yet," she whispered.

Willow fought and fought and fought, but she couldn't overcome the veil being drawn over her. The Gryffindor Sisters' screams for her to wake up sounded so far away. Darkness slowly overcame her vision, dimming the light, gently covering her ears, and lightly lifting her away, allowing her to drift into the beyond. She felt so peaceful, but it didn't feel like it was the right thing to do. Willow tried to call out to the darkness to take her back. Nothing answered, and she sunk deeper, deeper, deeper, until she wasn't aware of anything anymore, not even her own emotions. Willow sighed and waited for fate to make up its mind. She closed her eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Then, just as suddenly, it was like the blindfold had been ripped off her eyes. They fluttered open to reveal her friends nervously pacing around the room, some with tears streaming down their face. Willow's heart throbbed with guilt. She opened her mouth to try and say something, but her voice wouldn't cooperate. Madam Pomfrey noticed her, however, and gasped and cupped her hands over her mouth.

"Merlin's beard, she's alive!" she cried.

Her friends all turned at once and burst into tears. "Willow!"

Madam Pomfrey's stern orders to stay back didn't concern her friends in the slightest. They rushed to her side and squished her in the biggest group hug she'd ever experienced. Her Gryffindor Sisters were sobbing with joy, shouting "We knew you'd pull through!" and "Don't ever scare us like that again!" Her out-of-house friends were crying as well, though their words were so thick with emotion that Willow couldn't decipher what they were saying. Paige simply squeezed her hand and smirked.

"I knew you weren't going to die. You've still got at least six lives left," she said.

Willow rolled her eyes. "You're terrible."

Paige scoffed. "I'm not the one that scared the heck out my friends by almost dying!"

"How is that my fault?"

"From what Cypress told us, you walked into a trap. He might be biased, but you are the type to ignore all warning signs, you crazy Gryffindor. When are you going to take a leaf out of my book?"

"Cypress! You'll pay for that!" Willow said, playfully punching him in the shoulder. "Paige, I promise, I tried to bypass the trap, but I messed up. Now I know what not to do for next time."

"You will do no such thing!" Sally shouted. "There will be no more marching into the hands of Dark wizards without my approval from now on! You have to take more than five people with you!"

"How about never marching into the hands of Dark wizards period?" Lisa suggested.

Willow smiled. What did she do to deserve such a caring group of friends? "Don't worry, next time I'll consult Cypress for a plan beforehand that involves more stealth. We've got to defeat them eventually, right?"

"No!" her Gryffindor Sisters, Lisa, and Oliver exclaimed.

"Yes!" Cypress, Mandy, and Paige said. Cypress glanced at Mandy. "Wow, even the Metamorphagus agrees with me. I must be on the right track here."

"Guys, I promise, I won't be doing anything inherently life-threatening for the next week," Willow said. "My whole life is an occupational hazard, though, so you might have to get used to it."

"What if I don't want to get used to it?" Lavender questioned, crossing her arms.

"Then...I'll try my best to stay out of trouble?"

"We're getting there, slowly," Mia said, smiling.

"All of you, get out of here at once!" Madam Pomfrey shrilled. She shooed everyone that wasn't receiving medical care to the door. "This girl needs rest! Out! Out! To your dormitories at once! Out!"

There was a quick chorus of goodbyes and one, "Give her hell, Willow!" from Mandy before the doors slammed shut, sealing them out. Madam Pomfrey turned around only to nearly have a heart attack at the sight of Paige still in the room. She opened her mouth to scold her, but Paige held up a hand, sighing.

"I know, I know, but you might as well save your breath, because I'm not budging unless someone literally blasts me out of this room."

Madam Pomfrey huffed. "Fine, but next time it's a week-long detention for you!"

Paige smirked. "I'm counting on it."

Madam Pomfrey caught Cypress still out of bed and made a huge fuss until he was annoyed enough to lay back down. She yelled at him about needing to stay off his feet for at least a day, needing constant attending, and other tedious things that he rolled his eyes about. Willow knew that he would sneak out the moment he got a chance. After that, Madam Pomfrey went back to her original task of finishing up the Mandrake juice. Sue and Sam were still passed out in their beds, but recovering well. Paige was just beginning to explain to Willo how she had faded fast, nearly died, then seemingly came back to life within minutes when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley creaked open one of the hospital wing's doors, a familiar redhead peeping out behind them. Willow's heart stopped.

"GINNY!"

Willow felt hot tears burn in her eyes as she shot out of bed, stumbling towards Ginny in her weak state. Madam Pomfrey nearly dropped a glass bottle in her shock. Ginny's eyes went wide and she began crying, too, throwing her arms around Willow. They fell to the ground in a bone-crushing hug, sobbing into each other's shoulders. Willow had never felt so overjoyed to see someone in her life. Ginny was alive! She was alive! Harry and Ron had succeeded! The girls sat on their knees, and Willow set out to study every feature of Ginny's face, never wanting to forget the way her smile lit up a room, her adorable mannerisms, the freckles all across her nose and cheeks, the exact shade of her hair. She was such a beautiful soul, and Willow never wanted her to be ripped away ever again. Ginny appeared a little paler than usual, but otherwise okay.

"It was me, Willow! It was me all along! Tom Riddle made me- !" she began.

"Ginny, it doesn't matter what happened. The past is in the past. All that matters right now is you're okay." Willow squeezed her tight. "I never want to lose you again, you hear me? You scared the crap out of me!"

"I know, and I'm so sorry!" Ginny sobbed. "If only I wouldn't have touched that diary- "

"A diary? Dang it, I should have known that was it!" Willow exclaimed. Seeing the confused look on Ginny's face, she added, "Sorry, I'll explain that later. Are you hurt? Do you feel okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Harry saved me," Ginny said, her cheeks reddening more than they ever had.

Willow grinned. "Fitting, huh?"

"Oh, stop teasing me!" she complained, but the smile remained on her face, blush increasing by the second. "What happened to you, though? Why are there other people in here?"

"Uh...I should explain that later too. Right now, you should get checked out by Madam Pomfrey."

"For once, she's right!" Madam Pomfrey said. She ignored Willow's indignant reaction. "Ginny, come here, dear. Let me take a look at you real quick. Molly, Arthur, you can observe if it makes you feel better. This must have been a terrible ordeal for all of you."

The Weasleys hurried after their daughter to make sure she was okay, still visibly shaken by the shock of almost losing her. Paige helped Willow to her feet and thankfully didn't force her to get back in bed. Willow's muscles felt like they needed a long walk to work themselves out. The thought of sitting in a bed while watching all the commotion and excitement around her was almost too much to bear, too. Paige allowed Willow to use her to support herself.

"You're terrifying, you know that?" Paige said. "First, you do something incredibly stupid, then you get hurt, then you pretty much come back to life, and now you have emotional intelligence. What the heck did you see when you tried to cross over?"

"Absolutely nothing," Willow chuckled. "It kind of sucks, being on the brink of death."

"Yeah, I wonder why?" Paige said sarcastically.

Willow playfully punched her shoulder. "No, I mean it sucks because you either want to 'see the light' or go back, but neither happens, and you're kind of just waiting for something to happen while being completely helpless to the world, and you know how much I hate being helpless. I'll admit...it's my greatest fear, helplessness."

"Whoa, now you're getting deep. I'm pretty sure I don't have the brain power to process this."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you're faking the dumb thing. You're smarter than the twins combined."

"Is that really saying much, though?"

Willow chortled. "It depends which subject you're talking about."

Madam Pomfrey cleared Ginny, simply giving her a tiny swig of the Pepperup Potion, then finally went back to finishing her Mandrake juice. She periodically eyed Willow and Paige, obviously debating whether or not to force her back into bed, then apparently decided it wasn't worth the struggle. Pomfrey literally just finished the Mandrake juice when a small knock sounded on the door. She frustratedly threw it open to reveal Willow's least favourite teacher, Ron right behind him. Something was very odd about him, though. Willow sensed something completely out of the ordinary.

"Wow, this is quite the school! How many hallways does it have again? I think I counted wrong. Am I not very smart?" Lockhart gazed around the hospital wing. "Extraordinary! What do they call this room?"

"The hospital wing. Come on, you," Ron grumbled, guiding him to the nearest bed. "Have a seat."

"The hospital wing? Am I sick?"

Madam Pomfrey grimaced. "What's he doing here? Why is he acting so funny?"

"A memory charm backfired. The idiot finally proved he's good for nothing."

Pomfrey tutted, examining the way he reenacted an airplane fight scene with hands. "About time, too. He's much more bearable in this state. I'm afraid we can't reverse it, though. He'll have to be sent off to St. Mungo's when we get the chance."

"That's the best news I've heard all year aside from Ginny being alive," Ron said.

"This might be the third one to add to your list, then," Madam Pomfrey continued, proudly hoisting a jar of brown, ugly-looking juice. "The Mandrake juice is finally ready." Ginny and Willow exchanged a joyful glance. Colin was coming back! "I'm going to have to ask you all to provide them with some privacy, please. Head to the Great Hall. I'm certain Dumbledore will have a feast for this triumph."

The four Weasleys, Paige, Willow, and Cypress graciously left the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey begrudgingly kept her mouth shut at the sight of Cypress and Willow hobbling their way out of room, instead levitating a pair of crutches to him. Cypress was finally convinced to use them correctly when he realized even he, with his high pain tolerance, could hardly walk through it. Willow's entire body was bouncy and light with pure joy. Colin and Hermione were being revived! She couldn't wait to be the first one to welcome them back, catch them up on what happened, and simply hug them forever. Paige lightly smiled, seeing her happiness. Willow's heart jolted when she realized she should probably say something about fancying her. How was she supposed to do that without turning into a stuttering mess?

I've got it- say it as fast as you possibly can, then go to the bathroom to compose yourself.

What? Cebba, I am not taking your advice on this.

Excuse me, but this is not my first time in the world of love. I'm centuries older than you. Have you forgotten that I might have had a life with teenage years, too?

No, but it's not exactly the same thing. Paige is not a boy!

First of all, it's exactly the same thing. There's nothing different about her being a girl versus a boy. Second of all, it is exactly the same thing. I had an unofficial wife a long time ago.

Wait, you were a lesbian?

Don't act so surprised.

Well, I am! I didn't know! What was she like?

Hotter than hell, but with an extremely adorable side to her. You would have like her. She got along with people like you. Her name was Rowan, and she had the most naturally beautiful red hair you'd ever see. I could go on for days about her.

Whoa...that's amazing. I hope I get to know her someday. But...how do I tell Paige?

Like I said, just go for it. When your heart is telling you something, speak from the heart, and the words will come tumbling out like you were born to say them. Simple and easy.

Willow sighed. Okay, I'll do that. Thanks for helping me.

You're welcome, you ungrateful brat.

You're excused, you sarcastic little ghost.

Willow took a deep breath to clear her mind. It was just telling the truth, right? All she had to do was say the first thing that came to mind. Gathering up all the courage she could, Willow smirked at Paige, her heart fluttering as fast as a hummingbird's wings.

"Hey, Paige?" she said. "I may not be ready to have a relationship yet, but I'm just saying, you might have a chance in the future."

Willow winked and walked off. Paige scoffed. "You little- what am I supposed to do with that statement?"

"Make of it what you will," Willow called playfully over her shoulder. Paige exasperatedly rolled her eyes and followed her through the corridors, obviously fighting with the elation trying to spread a goofy grin across her face. Willow internally screeched and managed to keep her buzzing brain under control.

They reached the Great Hall. The enticing smell of baking bread, sweet berries, and casseroles of all kinds were already wafting in from the kitchens below. They all sat at the Gryffindor table, waiting for the rest of the school to arrive. The students began pouring in by the hundreds and the staff soon followed. Willow was happy to see the Gryffindor decorations slowly overtaking the Great Hall. They'd apparently won the House Cup. She wasn't surprised, seeing as Harry and Ron had literally saved Ginny from dying while risking their own lives, but it was still a joyful moment. Willow was suddenly surrounded by the entirety of the Gryffindor second years.

"Mandy and Lisa told us everything already! We thought you'd still be up in the hospital wing!" Neville exclaimed.

"Is Sam okay? Mandy said he got hit in the head really hard!" Dean said.

"Did those Dark wizards really blow stuff up?" Seamus asked.

Willow grinned. "Of course you'd ask about blowing stuff up, Seamus. Yes, they blew all sorts of stuff up. I'd ask them which spells are the best for exploding certain items, but I don't think they like me at the moment. Sam is going to be fine. He's mildly concussed and exhausted, so he might be sleeping for the next twenty-four hours."

"Wait, haven't you been up longer than that?" Neville questioned.

Willow shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm not missing this feast. I can sleep all I want afterwards. Madam Pomfrey can't stop me from doing anything right now."

"Just don't reopen your wound, you big dummy," Sally reminded her.

Willow threw up her hands. "I'm not going to eat until I bust open, I promise! I'll stop just before I get to that point."

"We all know that's a complete and total lie."

"You're addicted to bread."

"And you aren't known for using your brain much."

Willow gasped and turned around to find the twins and Lee standing behind her. She got up and hugged all of them at once, overjoyed and relieved to be able to see their smiling faces once again. They all sat together on the bench.

"Before you say anything, I'm so sorry I didn't at least- "

"Save it, Willow. We know you're a bloody Gryffindor. You're always going to be running off to the next near-death experience."

"Besides, Sally told us what happened. You helped save our sister. We can't be mad at you for that."

Willow raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely," the twins chorused. "In fact, George decided he's certain about something, and he should say it." Fred nudged a horror-stricken George. "Come on, you've been holding back for too long! Go on!"

"I've got nothing of interest to say. It can wait," George said quickly. His expression changed faster than humanly possible. "We should be celebrating the fact that Ginny just came back from the dead! If you're dying for everyone to know, Fred, then how about you say it? You'd have much more fun that way."

George got up and went to join his parents and Ginny, who were quietly chatting among themselves and sitting closer than usual. Fred rolled his eyes while Willow furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Ah, that's George for you, always shying away at the most opportune moment," he lamented. "Don't worry, Willow, we won't keep you in the dark much longer. I'll force it out of him sooner or later."

"Force what out of him?"

Fred laughed. "Willow, you're so clueless at times, did you know that?"

"Unfortunately, I've come to terms with it in the past few months," she said.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, a group of disoriented students stood in the doorway to the Great Hall, Madam Pomfrey behind them. Willow shot to her feet when she recognized two very smiley Gryffindors.

"Hermione! Colin!" she screamed.

Willow sprinted towards them, laughing as they jumped into her arms. Harry, Ron, and Ginny ran up to join her as well. Hermione was congratulating them over and over and over again for solving the mystery. Colin was excitedly bubbling about the giant snake staring him straight in the eye, asking if he'd managed to get a picture of it. Ginny was crying and hugging Colin like she thought he would vanish any second. The entire Great Hall stood up and clapped for the return of the victims, including the teachers. Willow and the group of Gryffindors found their way to their seats at the Gryffindor table, Hermione and Colin receiving many whistles of appreciation and even a cheer from the twins, Lee, and Paige. Dumbledore tapped his goblet to gain everyone's attention.

"Congratulations to the victims of the basilisk on your return, and let us give many thanks to Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout, without whom this recovery would not be possible," he boomed. The Great Hall went up in applause once more. Hermione and Colin blushed at the attention, as did the two women. "In addition, Professor Lockhart will not be able to continue teaching next year, as he needs to recover from a backfired memory charm." Some students were horrified by the news and buried their faces in their friends' shoulders. Dumbledore, however, winked at Ron and Harry, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by the two. "Furthermore, I believe we have a House Cup to award. Taking first place in the final few hours, winning the House Cup for the second year in a row, is Gryffindor!"

The Great Hall exploded into cheering, hooting, hollering, and general insanity. Harry and Ron were attacked with rough praise from older students and screaming from younger students in their favor. Fred and George did their best to embarrass their Ronniekins, which mostly succeeded except for Ginny's intervention to control the chaos. When the mayhem finally died down, McGonagall stood up to make a final address to the whole room.

"As a school treat, all exams for this term have been cancelled!" she announced.

If there had been chaos before, there was earth-shattering, nation-destroying, apocalyptic celebration following this announcement. The Great Hall erupted into the most boisterous cheering and shrieking Willow had ever heard. Even the Slytherins joined in the absolute chaos and screaming of appreciation. Hermione was disappointed, but even she eventually got caught up in the moment, too, and joined the mayhem. Willow's eardrums completely shattered, but she didn't care. She was too happy that after all they'd been through, they didn't have to destroy their grade, stay up late studying, or even pay much attention the next few days.

As if the excitement wasn't enough, all of a sudden, the doors to the Great Hall burst open, and none other than Hagrid walked through. He immediately went and surprised Ron and Harry by clapping them on the backs, congratulating them on solving the mystery and saving Ginny. Hagrid finally spotted Willow and grinned. She jumped to her feet, accidentally falling into Fred as she lost her balance, then shook her head clear and sprinted into Hagrid's outstretched arms.

"Hagrid!" she exclaimed, voice muffled from being buried in his overcoat. "You're back! How did they release you so fast?"

"They said somethin' about Voldemort bein' behind the attacks an' such, then tried to apologize, an' the great buffoons let me out," he said, smiling ear to ear. "How is Fang an'- well, Daisy?"

Willow gasped. "Fang! I haven't checked on him in a whole day because of- er- an incident," she admitted. "I'm so sorry! I've been really good about checking on him every day before now! Daisy was a downright handful as well, but she has an affinity with sticks, so several games of fetch did the trick to wear her out."

Hagrid laughed. "Fang will be alrigh'. He's been cooped up longer 'an that before. Daisy mus' a loved ya. She loves runnin' an' such."

Willow beamed, relief washing over her head like a cold bucket of water. "Yeah, I think she's pretty amazing. Let me know if you need me to take care of any other crazy beasts."

"I can't wait for ya ter meet Fluffy. He's even more energetic 'an Daisy," Hagrid said, winking.

Willow suddenly remembered Harry's description of the three-headed dog. Terrifying guard-dog nature and giant drool aside, he sounded like an amazing creature. "I would love to meet Fluffy some day soon. Oh, that reminds me," Willow said, voice catching with sadness. "I might need you to do me a huge favor over the summer. I'm not sure yet, so I'll let you know."

"Anything fer you, Willow," Hagrid said. He clapped her on the back, nearly sending her head-first into the Gryffindor table. "I got ter catch up with Dumbledore if ya don' mind."

"Enjoy the feast, Hagrid!" Willow said, watching with a warm heart as Dumbledore stood up to welcome Hagrid back.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of fun and joy. Sue and Sam eventually woke up and joined them, and by four in the morning, every single one of her friends were present at the Gryffindor table. Willow ate more food than she'd ever eaten in her life, including three heaps of green bean casserole and five dinner rolls. The twins, Lee, Paige, and she received special permission from McGonagall to do one last prank, and they used up at least half of the remaining supply of their fireworks. Displays of Harry's and Ron's heroism flashed across the ceiling, Gryffindor pride flickered in and out of view, and celebratory statements about the cancelling of exams glittered in the brightening room. Willow felt ready to pass out by the time the feast was drawing to a close.

As the grey light of dawn filtered through the gaps high up the walls, Willow suddenly felt her mood shift. She wore a reminiscent grin on her face as she glanced around at her friends. Just two short years ago, she'd entered the wizarding world without a friend to call her own, just her own broken family there to support her. Now, she had friends from all aspects of life, of all different personalities, of all different origins and family types. She'd never felt so lucky in all her life. What had she done so right to deserve this entire selfless, insane, and dysfunctional yet caring family of friends? They easily risked their lives for her in the Ministry. They didn't even hesitate when she asked if they'd wanted to back out.

Willow felt herself wiping away a tear as she looked at all of her friends chatting, laughing, sharing stories, and simply enjoying life together. It didn't matter that some were better off than others. It didn't matter that some had awful parents. It didn't matter that some had tragic backstories. What mattered was that they all had each other, and for better or worse, they were a family held together by the tightest glue ever found in the world of the living: unconditional love. The Ravenclaw girls, the Gryffindor boys, Oliver and Cypress, the Gryffindor Sisters, Ron, Harry, and Hermione, the twins, Lee, and Paige, Colin and Ginny...every single one of them were living life without looking back, and they all cared about her. Willow allowed their care to swarm around her, encircle her heart, hug her tight. She loved her friends so much. She knew she would do the exact same thing they did for her without hesitation, because above all, Willow trusted them with her love, and she trusted them to return it.

And she knew they would never break it.

Oliver sighed. "What are we going to do?"

Willow groaned. "Come on, Griffin, we've been trying for so long! Why can't you fly yet?"

Griffin squawked and chirped, flapping his wings in excitement at "fly". He climbed the nearest tree and attempted to glide off it, but only managed to fall, face-planting into the soil beneath. Griffin frustratedly flicked the dirt off and stomped his feet. He walked up to Willow and allowed her to stroke his beak.

"Buddy, I don't want to, but if you can't fly, I'm going to have to leave you here and let Hagrid take care of you over the summer," Willow said. "You'll behave for him, right?" Griffin simply chewed on his tail feathers in an effort to get an itch. She sighed and glanced up at Oliver. "Hey, did you ever tell me what happened at the Ministry? I don't remember if you did."

Oliver's entire body tensed. "Oh, well- no," he said sporadically.

"What did that word mean? All I remember is stupid Molly using that word and you…not liking it."

Oliver gulped, eyes directed at the floor. Willow sensed that he was extremely bothered by the topic. She felt bad, but something also told her that he'd been hiding something enormous deep within him, and he had to let it out before it consumed him. Willow knew what that was like firsthand, but her secret was something she knew would take years to build up the courage to tell. Instead, she helped other people let things off their chest, like she was doing with Oliver now. Willow walked up and put an arm around him. Thankfully, he didn't jump at her touch like he normally would.

"You can take your time telling me, if you need," Willow said. "There's nothing that says you need to spill a big secret the moment someone demands it."

Oliver shrugged, his usual cheery face unnaturally serious. "I should tell you. You're a safe person to say it to. I can't keep it a secret now that Molly…outed me."

"Outed? What does that mean?"

Oliver took a deep breath, his voice shaking. "It's when…um…a person…usually against homosexuals…tells people a person is gay or otherwise…when they haven't told anyone yet. I'm- gay. Into guys."

Willow smiled. "So am I. So is Cypress. So are a lot of people. It doesn't make you any different. You're still the same unimaginably sweet, selfless, and caring Hufflepuff you've always been. The only different thing is I now know who to set you up with in the future."

"That…makes me feel a lot better. Don't let Mandy and Sam go crazy finding matches for me, though. I'll never stop blushing." A ghost of a smile touched Oliver's face before being swept away by his tide of emotions. "That's not the only thing, though. There's…something I haven't been able to tell anyone."

Willow's heart throbbed. "Something bad, judging by your expression?"

Oliver nodded, swallowing hard. "My grandparents…don't approve of my…love for guys. They haven't been the nicest people because of that. When my parents died, that was the last straw, and they…they…"

Oliver broke down in tears. Willow's heart absolutely shattered. She wrapped Oliver on a comforting hug, gently rubbing his back. Oliver leaned on her and cried into her shoulder. Why did the world have to do this? Willow wanted to scream. Why should Oliver, the sweetest, purest soul to the ever grace the Earth, have to suffer like this? Why did anyone have to go through this sort of pain because of love? Willow hoped she would get the chance to hex Oliver's grandparents out of existence.

"I promise you, Oliver, if they ever lay a finger on you again, I'm going to personally break the Statue of Secrecy and make sure they get buried six feet into the ground, far away from any nice resting place."

Oliver sniffled, wiping his eyes. "No, it's not that. They didn't touch me. They've kept five feet between us at all times. They did something much worse. They sent me to a- a camp. It wasn't legal, but they knew how to- to get me there. They sent me- they sent me to conversion therapy." Oliver hung his head, trying not to sob as another tear streamed down his face. "That's why I didn't talk to anyone when I first came to Hogwarts. I was too scared to talk to anyone. I was afraid they'd find out, and…do horrible things. I was afraid of everyone."

Willow gasped. "Oh my God, Oliver! I'm so sorry they did that to you!" She hugged him even tighter. "I didn't even know! All this time I thought it was shyness, but it wasn't!"

Oliver somehow managed a half-smile through his tears. "You were the only other person that seemed to understand. I saw you only had a few friends, and you understood sadness, and you weren't a guy, so I figured I could trust you. I'm glad I did."

A lump formed in Willow's throat. "Oliver, don't ever change. You are a literal angel and a gift to this world. You're an incredible human being, and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise."

Oliver smiled again and wrapped his arms around Willow. They simply embraced each other in silence for a while, supporting each other without needing to say a word. At length, Willow said, "Oliver, you're coming to live with me, okay? I can't let you go back to your grandparents. Would you like that?"

Oliver nodded, eyes shining. "I'd love that."

Willow squeezed his shoulder. "I can't wait for you to see my greenhouse. You're going to to go crazy."

Oliver lightly chuckled. "I can't wait, either."

They jumped when the click of the wall being unlocked startled Griffin. Sam appeared through the wall, followed by Dean, Seamus, and Neville.

"Whoa! I always forget how crazy this place is."

Willow quickly stepped in front of Oliver as he cooled down his face. They both slapped on a smile. "Oh, hey guys! You saying last goodbyes too?"

Neville furrowed his eyebrows, already hugging Griffin. "What do you mean?"

Willow sighed, dropping the cheery façade. "Griffin doesn't have any way to come home with me. He's going to have to stay here with Hagrid...all summer."

"I'd prefer that to riding next to him all the way home," Seamus said, eyes darting to Griffin.

Dean nudged him. "Seamus, that's extremely insensitive! Griffin means a lot to her." He glanced at the baby griffin. "He's not that bad, either."

Seamus blushed deeply. "Sorry."

Neville gave Griffin a bacon treat from breakfast as Oliver finally recovered enough to step out from behind Willow. "Won't he get all depressed without us, though?"

"Yeah, aren't you taking the other three with you?" Oliver asked.

Willow winced. "Don't remind me. I'm going to be just as depressed without him." She stroked Griffin's beak. "This little guy gives me hope every day. He's grown up so much since I first found him. Look at his feathers! They're not even fuzzy anymore!"

Neville and Oliver exchanged a sad glance. "He's so much stronger, too. And he does tricks really well."

"I'm going to miss giving him treats from the Great Hall," Oliver whimpered. "Him and V, actually."

At the mention of his name, the jarvey poked his head out of his bush burrow. He scampered to Willow's feet and crawled up her arm, sniffing for treats. V grumbled when he didn't find any, settling onto Willow's head instead, tickling her ears with his whiskers. Felicity fluttered over and landed on her shoulder. Fidget crawled out of her pocket to say hi. Patch even stamped out of his daisies and sat on Willow's foot. The boys laughed at her appearance.

"You were definitely onto something, picking Care of Magical Creatures for next year," Seamus commented.

Griffin squawked and padded closer to Willow, gently tapping Fidget with his beak. All five of the magical creatures seemed to sense the depression in the atmosphere, whimpering and whining softly. Willow's heart broke. She forced a smile onto her face, wishing away tears.

"I guess it will be fine," she said as evenly as she could. "Hagrid loves magical creatures more than life itself. He'll take good care of you, won't he, good boy?"

Griffin chirped sadly and rubbed his face against Willow. She hugged him tight, struggling not to cry. Griffin closed his eyes and leaned against her. Willow wanted to stand there and cuddle with Griffin all day, but the train was leaving in an hour. She pulled back and patted his head.

"I love you, buddy," she whispered.

Griffin crooned sadly. Willow hugged him one last time, then wiped her face and turned away. The boys looked on sympathetically. Neville and Oliver said their goodbyes, the other three keeping their distance, and finally they turned to leave. Her magical creatures rushed out with the boys. Willow waited for them to leave. When everyone was gone, she looked back one last time. Griffin flapped his wings and screeched. Willow felt a tear drip down her cheek. He was already frantic with her leaving, eyes wild and scared. Why did this have to happen? Griffin didn't deserve this! Willow wiped her eyes and quickly walked through the wall, the sound of Griffin's crying ringing in her ears despite being suddenly cut off by the wall. She stormed past the boys and led the way out of the Gryffindor common room. The rest of the creatures dejectedly followed behind her, as did the boys. No one dared to break the heavy silence as they trudged through the corridors one last time.

Then, all of a sudden, Fidget clicked and chirped. He jumped up and down on Willow's shoulder, pointing out a nearby opening. Felicity silently opened his beak and flapped his wings. V and Patch perked up their heads and put their paws on the openings in the wall. They raced ahead, calling out to something outside. Willow panicked and ran after them. What if they were seen? What if someone stepped on them? They could get hurt! The boys sprinted after her as well, gasping at something she couldn't see. Willow finally caught up to the creatures in the courtyard.

"V, Patch, what- !"

Willow gasped. She covered her mouth with her hand and broke down in tears. There, gliding ten meters above her, was none other than Griffin. He giddily flapped his wings and changed directions, trying to catch birds, then noticed Willow and dove down, swooping in wide, uncontrolled arcs around her. The swish of his wings as he blew by was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard in her life.

"He's doing it! He's flying! Griffin is flying!" she exclaimed. Willow laughed when Griffin's feathers brushed her face, tickling and sending a refreshingly cool breeze across her face. "He die it! He finally did it!"

"How did he...even get out?" Sam panted, the rest of the boys appearing behind him.

"Who cares? He can follow us home!"

"Won't he get tired?" Neville asked.

"He can sit in an empty luggage compartment!" Willow said. She couldn't care less about the logistics at that point. She was so elated and full of positive energy that it made her head buzz. "I'll meet you guys on the train! I've got to fly with Griffin!" She handed Fidget to Oliver. "Keep him safe! I'll see you in a little bit!"

Willow launched herself into the air, transforming into a griffin as she did. Griffin squeaked with delight and circled her, almost more excited than she was. Willow happily tipped her wings and aimed for Hogsmede Station. Griffin followed her clumsily, flapping his wings sporadically and struggling to stay on a straight path. Willow finally touched down in the Forbidden Forest just outside Hogsmede Station. Sneaking towards the back of the train, she transformed back into herself, judging the best spot for Griffin to hide. She discovered an empty compartment for luggage and beckoned Griffin towards her. Willow tensed when he tripped upon landing, tumbling into a tree and drawing some stares from students loading the train. She quickly waved a hand and caused a tree to bend in front of them. Griffin stood up, shaking his head, then excitably jumped around her, as if trying to tell her how happy he was that he finally managed to fly. Willow abruptly put a finger to her lips, and as soon as he noticed, Griffin hushed up. They snuck into the luggage compartment without being seen and shut the door. Willow silently celebrated.

"Yes! Yes! You're going home with me, Griffin, you hear that? Home!" Griffin danced around the compartment. "Yeah, it's all because you flew, buddy! I'm so proud of you! Good boy, Griffin, good boy!"

Willow played with Griffin for a little while, settling him down. About a half hour later, the door swung open, and a parade of her friends filled up the train car. Patch, V, and Felicity scampered in beneath their feet, tripping Neville. They shut the door behind them, then all fell to the floor in a heap, the train car shifting with the beginning of their journey home. Willow laughed at them all.

"It's nice to hear you laughing again," Mandy remarked.

"How did you all find me?" Willow asked.

"It wasn't hard. We followed the unnaturally bent tree and a crash-landing path, you know, the usual signs of Willow Guerrero's whereabouts," Sam joked.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Wow. I'm so impressed with your tracking skills."

"Let's make use of our last few hours of magic and blow some stuff up, shall we?" Seamus suggested.

The remainder of the journey was spent in a playful, light-hearted bliss. Dean, Seamus, Neville, and Sam blew up and incinerated several empty wooden crates. Padma, Mandy, Sue, and Lisa gave far too much attention to Felicity and Fidget. The Gryffindor Sisters adored Griffin and practically attacked Patch, making him a hair clip from daisy petals they found stuck to his spines. Patch grumpily sat there and took it. Willow promised him from afar that he'd get all the daisy treats he wanted when they got home. Mandy decided to allow her hair to change colour according to her mood for once, and it became a vibrant rainbow of blue, green, orange, yellow, and mixtures galore. Cypress absolutely loved it. He and Oliver sat off to the side with Willow, carefully watching the pandemonium, laughing at funny occurrences, and occasionally telling off V for repeating dirty jokes (taught by Seamus and Sam, of course). They cast charms galore to get out everything they wanted to try before the summer. Willow was going to hate not being able to use magic for months at a time, but at least she had her powers, however ornery and uncooperative they were.

The train finally rolled to stop at King's Cross Station what felt like minutes, not hours, later. They all hugged each other goodbye, then found their trunks and ran into their families' open arms. Willow smiled when she saw the Smith twins being squeezed in between Sarah Brown's strong, loving arms, already going back and forth about the Ministry debacle. She was so glad they had her to go home to. Willow asked Oliver to stay with Griffin and the rest of her creatures, placed Fidget back into her pocket, and found both hers and Oliver's trunks. She cast around for a familiar face, and suddenly she found herself staring at her father. Willow dropped the trunks and sprinted into her dad's arms.

"Dad! Oh my God, I never thought I could miss you even more than last year, but I did!" she exclaimed.

Carlos laughed and set her back onto the pavement. "I've heard a lot about this year- particularly the last week or so- from Molly and Arthur. Care to explain?"

Willow grinned. "In due time. For now, I kind of need a huge favor."

Minutes later, Oliver was following Carlos out of King's Cross Station, hundreds of meters below. A very invisible Willow and Griffin soared above the Station, then touched down next to the Guerrero's car. Oliver and Carlos lugged Iris and Achelous within their cage, another identical cage with a powerful disillusionment charm on it concealing Patch, V, and Felicity, and their trunks. Willow snuck up behind Oliver and whispered, "Well, hello, stranger!"

Oliver jumped, then smiled. "Willow! Don't scare me like that!"

"I'm actually to your right."

"Oh, sorry." Oliver turned in the direction of her voice, finally facing her now. "You dad's charms are powerful!"

"Yeah, he is kind of good at charms, wizardry, life...ooh, and cooking!"

Oliver beamed. "He sounds awesome."

The car was finally loaded, and after five minutes of struggling to locate Willow's exact position, Carlos undid the invisibility spell on his daughter. Griffin flapped his wings and circled in anticipation. They got into the car, and within minutes, they were making their way into the British countryside, Griffin entertaining himself a hundred or so meters above, only located by sonar in his invisible state. Willow explained to her dad that Oliver was staying with them for the summer at least, and he was happy to finally meet Oliver properly. Iris and Achelous constantly begged to be let out of their cage, as did the other three, but Willow decided not to risk her dad crashing the car. Her two pets had never truly met the other three, and the last thing they needed was a car crash and dealing with Muggle authorities, which her dad had explained to her when she was younger. All the legal stuff sounded like too much work when they could repair it with a simple spell.

Finally, at long last, they pulled into the Guerrero's driveway. A huge gash appeared in the lawn beside Willow as she stepped out of the car. Carlos undid the invisibility spell on Griffin to reveal him stuck beak-first in the grass, feathers spraying everywhere. Oliver giggled and helped Willow get him out of the dirt. A familiar voice called from the front porch.

"Merlin's beard! Where on Earth did you get that?"

Willow gasped. "Tío Leonel! Tío Cisco!" She sprinted to the front porch and jumped into their arms. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on a mission in Brazil for the next month!"

Tío Leonel grinned. "We managed to collect enough information to satisfy Scamander and took leave early. How could we miss an opportunity to catch up with our sobrina favorita?"

"And her many, many creatures," Tío Cisco whistled, spotting Carlos getting the two cages full of her creatures out of the trunk. "Where in the name of Merlin did you find all of those?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later." Willow's eyes lit up. "Is that enchiladas I smell?"

Abuela appeared behind her sons, cheeks rosy. "Yes, no thanks to these bozos." She opened her arms and gave Willow a suffocating hug, smiling. "You need a refresher of what real food tastes like after all those months eating mass-produced rolls and potatoes."

"Trust me, those house elves deserve an award for their homemade bread, Abuela. I ate plenty," Willow promised.

"Your friend here obviously didn't," Abuela observed, frowning at Oliver. "How many meals have you skipped? Ay dios mio, boy, you need to eat five enchiladas tonight- and three plates of rice! Come in, come in! Dinner will be ready in five minutes!"

Oliver, slightly shocked at her reaction, followed Abuela and the rest of the family inside. As he passed by Willow, he whispered, "Is she like this all the time?"

Willow nodded, fondly beaming at her grandmother. "That's my Abuela, always making sure everyone eats enough, including heaps of rice."

Oliver's emerald green eyes sparkled. "I'm going to love your family."