"You're wearing your portkey and the phoenix pendant?" Severus asked.

"Yes, both," Rachel said. The only time she took them off was when she took a bath.

"You have your wand?"

"Yes, right here. The Weasley's house is well warded, isn't it?" She was sure it was. Ginny's oldest brother would have seen to it.

"Yes it is, I simply wish for us to be prepared for any eventuality. Just as you wear your portkey and the phoenix pendant to Headquarters, just in case," he said.

She nodded. She could understand being cautious.

"Ready to stand up?" he asked.

"Yes." She carefully got to her feet. She could stand now, even if she was a bit wobbly. She could take a few steps on her own. She could get places walking if she relied on Severus to help keep her up, but she noticed that she was slowly being able to take more and more of her own weight. The chair was still the most convenient way to get around, but she stood and walked whenever the distance was only a few steps, just so she could get practice. She wanted to be walking on her own by the time September first came around.

"I've got you," Severus said.

She gripped onto his arms and felt the familiar compression of apparition. Moments later they were outside the Burrow. She held onto him as they took the few steps to the door and then Severus knocked.

After a minute or two, the door opened to reveal Mrs. Weasley. "Severus, Rachel, please come in. How are you?"

"Well enough, thank you," Severus said.

"And you, Rachel?" Mrs. Weasley asked, backing up to let them in the door.

"I'm doing well, thank you," Rachel said, though she knew she probably didn't look it with the way she was holding onto Severus in order to walk.

"Of course. We're so glad you could make it. Ginny and some of your friends are right in the back. I'll show you where," Mrs. Weasley said.

They slowly made their way down the hallway, through the kitchen, Severus pausing to say hello to Mr. Weasley and Bill, and out into the backyard. Rachel was careful to avoid the chickens underfoot and they quickly found Ginny, Hermione, Millie, and Theo sitting on some blankets.

"Where do you want to sit?" Severus asked.

"Next to Millie," Rachel said, picking the nearest open space.

Severus helped lower her to the blankets. "Just let me know when you need to get back up. I'll be with Molly and Arthur if you need something."

"Thanks," she said, trying not to blush with embarrassment.

"You seem like you're doing better than you were the last time I saw you," Ginny said when Severus and Mrs. Weasley had left.

"Much. I'm taking a new potion and that seems to be helping a lot. I should be able to walk on my own by the time we go back to Hogwarts." Hopefully.

"That's wonderful," Hermione said. "What sort of potion?"

"Some variation on the Nerve Tonic. It makes me rather sick, but it's worth it," she said. They had changed the time of day that she was taking it to an hour before she went to sleep, that way she could sleep through most of the nausea. "Happy Birthday, Ginny." She reached into her bag and pulled out the present she'd ordered for Ginny.

"Thank you," Ginny said. "I hate being a year younger than all of you."

"Nearly two years younger than me," Hermione pointed out. "I can't believe I'm going to be seventeen in a month. And we got our grades and our book lists too."

Ginny grinned. "I have something to tell you all, but I want to wait until everyone is here first."

"Okay," Millie said. "I don't know why they bothered with grades this year when it's our OWLs that matter."

"Well, homework and classwork count as thirty percent of our grades. If they didn't give us grades, I imagine some people wouldn't bother with the homework at all," Theo said.

"You'd think the threat of detention and point loss would be enough, but it is nice that our school work counts for something at least," Hermione said. "Rachel, has Professor Snape said who the new Defense teacher is?"

"He hasn't said anything, I'm not sure he knows. He's been taking care of me instead of going to staff meetings," she said.

"Poor Professor Podmore," Millie said. "He seemed like he was a good teacher."

Everyone nodded, the mood grim at the reminder.

"Do you know anything that's going on, Rachel?" Theo asked.

"Not much. None of them have been keen on sharing war news with me, they seem to think it will prevent my recovery," she said, shaking her head. "There's been attacks on Wizengamot members' families, but they seem to be tests. The Death Eaters apparate away when the aurors show up. And Professor Podmore, of course. Severus says he was attacked because he was a muggleborn and an Order member. The Dark Lord wanted information from him. Oh, and the Wizengamot is dragging its heels at doing anything, but that's not terribly surprising. There are four Death Eaters on the Wizengamot."

"Hello," Luna called.

They turned from their conversation and found Luna and Neville approaching.

"Happy Birthday, Ginny," Neville said, taking a seat next to Rachel.

"Yes, Happy Birthday! I'm so glad to see all of you," Luna said.

"We're glad too," Millie said. "Rachel, who are the Death Eaters on the Wizengamot?"

"Gifford, Rowle, Baddock, and Selwyn," she listed.

"Alfred Selwyn is a Death Eater," Neville repeated. "I wonder if his wife knows. My Gran has tea with Annette Selwyn regularly."

"Do you think you could really hide something like that from your spouse?" Ginny asked.

"I'm not sure my mother knew about my father, but I might have just been too young to see it," Theo said.

Everyone considered that for a moment.

"I don't think there are very many married couples who are both Death Eaters. The Death Eaters seem to be mostly men," Rachel said, fighting with her brain at the recollection. She really didn't need to think about that.

"From what I know as well, they are mostly men," Theo agreed. "But, it wouldn't surprise me if many of their wives know and support them."

"How many Death Eaters do you think there are?" Luna asked.

"Maybe forty or fifty." Rachel shivered. "Ginny, you wanted to tell us something?"

Ginny nodded. "It's not that big of a deal, considering, but I'm happy about it." She pulled out a gold and red badge with a 'C' on it from her pocket. "I made Quidditch captain."

"Congratulations," Rachel said, quickly echoed by the others.

"You didn't want prefect?" Hermione asked.

"No, I told Professor McGonagall that I didn't. She was disappointed, but she said that she understood that I wanted to put my focus on my classes and on the Quidditch team. It's going to be a challenge though. I have to fill four slots."

"It will be a challenge, but you can do it," Neville said.

"Yes, you're going to be a great captain," Millie said with a nod.

"I hope so," Ginny said, looking down at her badge with a hint of worry.

"Getting your new team members is the hardest part. After that it's just training, and you know how to do that. You've got Katie to help with the new Chasers, you've already got a good Keeper and a good Seeker, and then you just need two Beaters who can work together. Try rotating the Beaters in your tryouts so that you can see how they manage as partners," Rachel suggested.

Ginny nodded. "That's not a bad idea. I think the best thing I can do is get a working team this year, and then come out strong next year when they've had some experience. I'm going to try not to take a lot of people from the same year so that this doesn't happen again."

"How are things at home, Neville?" Theo asked.

Neville shrugged. "Quiet now. Gran has stopped having potential suitors come over for dinner. I haven't seen Hannah since the contract was finalized. Gran is mostly giving me space, but whenever I see her, she's telling me what a good match this is and that I should be grateful."

Rachel grimaced. "There's no reason for you to be grateful, she's doing this against your will."

"We've still got time to work with this, but I think we're going to need help, maybe from Professor Snape, or maybe Professor McGonagall, if you think she can help. The first step is going to be convincing Hannah that both of you want to dissolve the contract. Do you know when she turns seventeen?" Theo asked.

"I don't know," Neville said. "I'm not even sure what to say to her. I don't know what she thinks about this."

"Maybe one of us should talk to her first then," Hermione said. "See if we can get an idea of how she feels."

"Maybe. I just want to leave it alone for now. We still have time," Neville said.

"You do, but my recommendation is that you go before the fifth of the Wizengamot as soon after you're both seventeen as possible, to show that you're serious about dissolving the contract," Theo said.

Neville nodded. "I'll see if I can find out when Hannah's birthday is, and we'll plan on having this sorted out by next July. My Gran though…I'm not sure she's going to let me come back home if I do this."

"Then we'll find somewhere else for you to live," Millie said.

If it came to that, Rachel would talk with Severus and Professor Dumbledore and see if Neville could join Draco in Headquarters. He'd be safer there anyway.

"Is there divorce in the magical world?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, but it's not very common. There are plenty of married couples who wind up staying married but live separately, but not many people actually divorce," Theo explained. "Most arranged marriage contracts have a clause preventing that for a number of years regardless."

Hermione shook her head. "I still don't understand how this sort of thing is allowed."

"Tradition," Luna said. "Perhaps not a very good one, but it's something that is slowly changing over time. I imagine in another hundred years, it won't be very common at all."

"Did you get a lot of photos on your trip?" Rachel asked.

"Oh yes. I haven't developed them yet, but I'm looking forward to doing so. We had a lovely time and met some very interesting people," Luna said.

"That sounds nice, I'm looking forward to seeing the photos," Ginny said. "Hermione, did you have a good time in Spain?"

"Yes, we did. We saw a lot of interesting things. I got a disposable camera, so the images will be still, but hopefully I'll have the photos before we come back to Hogwarts," Hermione said.

"A disposable camera? Why would you make a camera that's disposable?" Millie asked.

"It's very inexpensive but it only holds one roll of film. You take it to a shop afterwards, and they develop the film for you, and then you get the photos back," Hermione explained.

Rachel wondered if she would be able to develop her rolls of film before they went back to Hogwarts. She looked down at her hands. The tremors were still visible, but not as bad as they had been two weeks ago. Maybe. "How did talking with your parents go?"

Hermione went still. "I'm still working on it."

"They didn't take it well?" Theo asked.

"I haven't gotten to current events yet. Right now we're working on the idea that there is prejudice against muggleborns and what happened during the last war, and who You-Know-Who is," Hermione said.

"I think you've got to tell them, Hermione. They need to know that they might be in danger and that you might be in danger," Millie said softly.

Hermione closed her eyes for a moment. "I know. It's just harder than I expected. I don't think I really realized how much I was keeping from them. Quirrell and the Stone. The basilisk. Why Rachel was in the Triwizard Tournament and what happened after. Professor Umbridge. And what happened at the end of the year. I'm scared they're not going to let me come back to Hogwarts if I tell them everything."

That was a lot. Rachel was glad she was only keeping the DA from Severus. It was going to be hard enough to tell him about that.

"Professor Snape said he'd speak to them, didn't he?" Ginny asked after a moment.

"He did," Rachel said. "Just let us know when, Hermione."

Hermione nodded. "Which is why I have to be honest with my parents. I don't know what he's going to tell them, and me lying to them right now, or even leaving something out, could cause serious problems."

"They have to know that Hogwarts is the safest place for you, right?" Neville asked.

"I hope so. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make them see that," Hermione said.

"It wouldn't be Hogwarts without you," Theo said.

Rachel nodded in agreement. She couldn't imagine going to school without Hermione.

"Do we want to go have cake?" Ginny asked. "And then come back out here for presents?"

"We can do that," Hermione said. "Let's try to think of less depressing things for a while. What sort of cake is it, Ginny?"

"Chocolate, of course," Ginny said with a smile.

"Do you need some help, Rachel?" Millie asked.

"Yes, I can walk, but I need someone to help me balance. If one of you can get Severus, he can help me," she said.

"We can help you," Theo said. "Just tell us what to do."

"I just need someone's hands and arms, and then I can sort of lean on them while we walk," Rachel said, pushing herself up to her knees.

Millie stood and offered her hands to Rachel. "Here we go."

Rachel stood and held onto Millie's forearms. "Okay, now we just go slowly. Let me know if my weight is too much for you."

"Rachel, you weigh nothing. I could pick you up and carry you without breaking a sweat," Millie said.

"I much prefer walking to being carried," she said.

"At least Theo and Neville are taller than me now, I was tired of being the tallest of us," Millie said.

"I finally got that growth spurt I've been waiting for," Neville said, standing taller.

"I didn't," Rachel said, mostly joking. She wasn't that much taller than she'd been this time last year. "I think I'm just going to be short."

"Nothing wrong with that," Luna said. "I think I'm going to be on the smaller side as well."

"And I can't seem to stop growing," Ginny said. "I'm going to wind up taller than the twins if I'm not careful."

"You can join me up here then," Millie said, causing several people to laugh.

Rachel smiled. Even though things weren't perfect, she was glad to be with her friends.


Severus returned to the kitchen with Molly after he settled Rachel with her friends. He was certain the Weasley's wards rivaled his own, so he felt relatively assured with leaving Rachel outside.

"Let me get you some tea. Take a seat," Molly said when they reached the kitchen.

"Thank you," Severus said, knowing he couldn't stop her.

"How are you?" Arthur asked.

"Well enough, and yourself?" Severus asked.

"Can't complain," Arthur said with a nod.

Bill smiled. "You could. You have plenty to complain about."

Severus raised his eyebrows at Arthur.

"There are rumors that my office in the Ministry may be being dissolved," Arthur said finally.

"It's ridiculous. I don't know what they're thinking," Molly said.

"I can't imagine Bones supports this? Is this Fudge's doing?" Severus asked, hiding his surprise.

"Amelia certainly doesn't support it, neither does Scrimgeour. It's definitely Fudge's office, but I'm not sure who is behind it exactly. They're saying that the Misuse of Magic office can handle everything, that my department is unnecessary, but-"

"But it's anti-muggle prejudice," Bill interrupted. "Plain and simple. They don't think muggles should be protected. The Misuse of Magic office isn't equipped to monitor charmed muggle goods."

"No, it's not," Arthur said.

Severus nodded. The sooner Fudge was gone and Scrimgeour was in office, the better. "Do you think they're targeting you specifically?"

"No, if this happens, I should be absorbed into the Misuse of Magic office. I can't see this as targeting Perkins either." Arthur shook his head.

"Do they have a timeline?" Severus asked.

"Not that I'm aware of. Amelia is fighting it, but the order could come at any point. Hopefully if it happens, it will be temporary," Arthur said.

"Hello, it's Luna, may I come through?" came a voice from the other room.

"That's the floo," Molly said and hurried away. "Come on through dear."

"How are you, Bill?" Severus asked.

"Busy. Between the goblins and warding homes, I'm rarely home before eight. I took today off specifically for Ginny's birthday," Bill said.

"You're doing good work," Severus said.

"He is. He's protecting two, sometimes three homes in a day. We're working our way down the list," Arthur said.

Bill frowned. "I just warded Sturgis' house a week before-" he cut himself off and shook his head.

"That had nothing to do with your wards. Everything we saw there suggested he was out when he was attacked," Arthur said, putting his hand on Bill's shoulder.

"I know. And I understand that this is a war. I just didn't expect it to happen suddenly like that. How do you think they knew he was an Order member?" Bill asked, looking at Severus.

"Probably from the last war. Sturgis was younger than you are now in the last war and he fought on the front lines more than once. I doubt they would have bothered with him so soon if he hadn't taken the Defense position. They didn't want someone competent in that position," Severus said.

Bill nodded, still looking worried.

"How is Rachel? She seems to be doing better than the last time I saw her," Arthur asked.

"She is. Albus arranged for her to see a curse damage specialist, and he prescribed some new treatments that seem to be effective," Severus said.

"That's good. Poor kid. Ginny was worried about her when she first came home this summer. She said that Rachel had been hurt pretty badly. I…I should have gotten the wards down faster. Maybe I could have stopped some of it," Bill said, his expression tightening.

"No. You did the best you could under difficult circumstances. I do not know a curse breaker who could have done it faster," Severus insisted.

"He's right. No one blames you, Bill. As this goes on, there are going to be more situations like this where you have to break wards in order for us to rescue people. It's always going to be under pressure and each time you're going to ask yourself if you could have done better. And you're going to have to accept that no matter what the outcome is, you did the best that you could at that time," Arthur said.

"It's a difficult thing to do," Severus said when Bill didn't answer. "In the first war, we lost people right in front of us. And you always sit down afterward and replay it in your head and think what you could have done differently. Sometimes there was nothing you could do. Sometimes you learn from the experience. But either way you either press on or you remove yourself from the front lines when it becomes too much." Severus had seen people get killed because they hadn't learned that lesson.

Bill nodded once. "I think I understand."

"They're right outside, go on out and you'll see them, not quite by the pond," Molly said as she came back through with Luna and Neville.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Neville said.

"Now, tea," Molly said, returning to where she'd been taking tea cups out of a cupboard.

George came into the kitchen a moment later. "I heard kids, does that mean it's cake time?"

"Soon enough, I'm sure Ginny will bring her friends in after they've had a moment to chat," Molly said.

"Congratulations to you and to Fred on receiving Exceeds Expectations on your Potions NEWTs," Severus said.

"Thank you, sir," George said. "I think we came out alright."

"Five NEWTs and now you're not doing anything with them," Molly said as she brought Severus a full tea cup.

George rolled his eyes. "Call for us when it's time for cake." He left quickly.

"Those two," Molly said, bustling away.

Severus left well enough alone.

"They are managing a small business, dear. If they were to join the Ministry, it would probably be better if it was after the war regardless," Arthur said.

Molly only shook her head as she brought over the milk and sugar.

Bill busied himself with his tea, obviously unwilling to intercede in what was clearly a long standing family issue.

"I can't believe it's just Ron and Ginny left at Hogwarts now," Molly said. "It went too fast."

"It always does," Arthur said.

Severus found himself nodding. For all of the difficulties the last five years had contained, it seemed like it had happened in no time at all.


"I want you to stay close to the ground. And go slowly," Severus said.

"I know." He had only been saying that all day.

"Are you sure you feel stable enough?" he asked again.

"Yes. I'm fine. I can do this," she insisted. She wanted to fly. She wasn't going to let the Death Eaters take flying away from her.

"Alright, I'm right here, and Poppy is only a Patronus away if we need her," Severus reminded her.

"I know, I'm not going to get hurt. I know how to fly." She mounted her broom, trying to ignore the way her hands and legs were shaking. She could now stand without support for several minutes at a time, but she was beginning to reach her limit.

She pushed up and leaned forward, letting the broom take her weight. The broom was shaking beneath her, reading her shaking body as her trying to turn.

"Stay close to the ground."

Rachel gritted her teeth and focused on gently guiding her broom forward. How was she supposed to play Quidditch like this? She sped up a little, hoping that her broom would understand what she wanted.

"Rachel."

"I'm fine! Just give me a minute," she said, aware that he was following her on foot.

Clinging to her broom, she slowly flew forward and made a shaky turn. She could do this. She could fly. She just needed practice. It was just like walking and she would get better at it the more she did it. She was desperately trying to believe that.

Her arms were shaking as they struggled to support her upper body. She sat upright and her broom immediately dipped. She leaned forward again, trying to regain control.

"I think it's time to come down," Severus said, coming up beside her.

Knowing that if she fell now, it would be even harder to convince him to let her fly again, Rachel brought her broom back to ground.

"Give it more time," he said.

"I've been giving it time all summer," she grumbled. It wasn't fair. Flying was the thing that was supposed to come easy to her. Flying had always come easily to her. She was the best Seeker at Hogwarts and she could barely mount her broom!

"You are in remarkable condition for someone who nearly died seven weeks ago," Severus said.

She scowled and moved to walk back toward the house. Her right knee gave way on the fourth step and she fell to the grass. "I can fly. I know I can."

"Are you hurt?" Severus asked, kneeling down next to her.

"No." She was a little sore where her knees had landed, but the grass was relatively soft. She knew she was sulking and she didn't care. "How am I supposed to be Quidditch captain like this?"

"You can still direct your team, and you can appoint a temporary captain during the games if you can't play yet," he said. "Having difficulty with flying right now doesn't mean that it's permanent. You are still regaining your body strength. And you haven't lost the knowledge that makes you a good captain. You know the game and you know your team."

She sighed and looked away. "I just want things to go back to normal."

"I know. And you're getting there. Can you see how much you've improved just in these past two weeks?"

She nodded. She knew. It didn't stop it from being frustrating. "Can I try again tomorrow?"

"Assuming you're still standing steadily, yes." Severus paused and checked his watch. "Poppy should be here in two hours. I think yesterday she said that you were reaching the last of your wounds."

"Yes, just two more on my back and then we should be done." And wasn't that a relief. She'd convinced them to do several wounds at a time, telling them that the pain from doing it that way wasn't worse and that it reduced the overall amount of time she was in pain. The pain actually was worse doing it that way, but she still preferred it to doing the wounds one at a time.

"Good. Do the wounds themselves feel better now?" he asked.

"Much. I can feel the scars pull a little sometimes if I twist my body in a certain way, but for the most part they feel much better." She was looking forward to being able to lie on her back without pain. The worst scar was the one on her left calf. It was still thick, but she could see the individual lines of it now. And it didn't hurt to touch or to have her long stocking rest against it, so that was good. It was a good thing she wasn't planning on ever showing her body to anyone. She could live the rest of her life in long sleeved shirts, trousers, and long stockings.

There were two and a half weeks now before classes started. She was a little worried she wouldn't be ready to traverse the castle, but she was improving quickly. She could walk short distances unsupported. She could get up and down the stairs using her hands and legs in a sort of scrambling motion. Obviously she couldn't do that at Hogwarts, but given that only two weeks ago she couldn't stand without support, she hoped she'd continue to improve rapidly.

"Can I brew the developing solution for my film?" she asked.

"Hold out your hands," he said.

Rachel did so, watching them tremble. "I think they're a little worse right now after using them to support myself."

"They do seem better than before though. Let's give it another week and then check again. I will teach you to brew with unsteady hands."

She looked at him. "There's a specific method for that? Why?"

Severus frowned. "Not a specific method, just tips that I picked up during my years with the Death Eaters. Ways of measuring your ingredients so that you don't spill, casting a charm on your knife so you can make even strokes, that sort of thing."

She bit her lip and nodded, understanding that he'd needed to brew when he was recovering from the Cruciatus curse as well. She was glad he wasn't a spy any longer, or a Death Eater. The further away he stayed from the Dark Lord, the better.

"Did you wish to remain out here, or do you want to go in?" he asked.

"Let's go in," she said, arranging her legs so she could push herself to her feet.

"Can you eat some lunch?"

"I don't know." She still didn't feel much like eating.

"I think one of the reasons your body is weak right now is that you're not getting enough to eat to sustain yourself. When your body does not get enough to eat it begins to consume your tissues," he said.

Rachel grimaced. That was certainly a gross mental picture. "Your body eats itself?"

"Yes, starting with your fat reserves, which I don't believe you have any of at this point, and then it begins on your muscles and organs. I want Poppy to check you today and see if we need to start with a Nutrient Restoration potion," he said, offering her his hand.

She remembered perfectly well how gross those tasted. She grabbed onto his hand and leveraged herself to her feet.

"And even with that potion, it's still important that you are getting calories, that's where your energy comes from. There can also come a point with starvation where you will cease to be able to cast magic. I don't think we're near that point, but it's something to keep in mind," he said, putting his hand on her arm to help balance her.

"I get it, I get it. I'll eat something." Part of her couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts and not have Severus hovering over her every minute.

"A sandwich? Soup? One of your drinks? Something else?" he asked as they began to walk.

"Tomato soup," she said.

"With a toasted cheese sandwich?" he prompted.

"With half of a toasted cheese sandwich," she agreed. "Can you come back out and get my broom?"

"Of course."

They made their way into the kitchen and Rachel sighed to herself as she sat at the dining table. She just needed practice. Practice walking. Practice flying. Practice eating. And now, practice brewing. And then things would be back to normal.


Sybill Trelawney's voice rose from the orb. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. The Dark Lord will mark them as his equal, but they will have a power the Dark Lord knows not. Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives."

There was a moment of stark silence and then the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood as an explosion of unseen force lashed out. Voices, too intermingled to be understood, rose from the shattered glass.

The debris cracked beneath moving feet, forward. Unspoken curses, flashing green light, those who came forward died instantly at the stroke of his wand. Forward and out.

Rachel jolted up, not bothering to muffle her screams.

"You're okay, you're at home, you're safe," Severus was saying, his hands around her upper arms.

She pushed her hands against her head. She could still feel him. He was enraged.

"Take this, it will help with the pain," Severus said, pressing a cold vial against her lips.

She managed to swallow most of the potion, coughing on it as it caught in her throat. The pain barely seemed to matter. She could feel the rage almost as a part of herself. She wanted to kill.

"Take a few breaths. If you move your hand I can put Healing Salve on your scar," Severus said, seemingly ignorant of the storm raging within her. He gently pried her hand away from her forehead and smeared the Healing Salve against her burning scar. "It's bleeding again."

"He knows the prophecy," she managed to say, her voice a little rough from her screaming.

Severus froze. "How?"

"He was in the Department of Mysteries. He blew up the room with the glass balls. He killed…" she trailed off, trying to remember. "He killed at least ten people."

They sat with that for a moment. The pain in Rachel's head was receding but the rage wasn't. She was sure he was going to kill more people tonight.

"To Sirius Black. Who was on guard duty tonight?" Severus said, his Patronus bounding away.

Rachel had forgotten about that. Whoever had been standing guard must be captured or dead. Probably dead. The Dark Lord didn't seem to be in a mood for taking prisoners.

"It had to be real. He knew the whole prophecy," she said. She knew Severus wanted it to be a fake vision. She wanted that too. But she didn't see how that was possible.

"How do you know that he knows the prophecy? Did you hear it?" he asked.

"It came out of the glass ball when he held it. It was in Professor Trelawney's voice. She said the whole prophecy and then there was an explosion. And then he left and he killed whoever he saw." That was simplifying things greatly, but she didn't see the point in recounting how people tried to fight and were cut down mercilessly.

Sirius' dog Patronus ambled into the room. "Hestia is on watch. What's the problem?"

"To Hestia Jones. Would you be interested in tea tomorrow at noon with our mutual friends?" Severus said after casting his Patronus again.

The doe just stood there as if Severus hadn't said anything.

Severus exhaled. "To Albus Dumbledore. Midnight." This time his doe hurried away.

Rachel wasn't sure she'd met Hestia. She'd seen many of the Order around Headquarters, but they didn't always introduce themselves.

Professor Dumbledore appeared in her bedroom with his wand drawn.

Severus had his wand pointed at him immediately. "Alchemy's greatest cost?"

"The priceless, the lifeless, and the dead," Professor Dumbledore answered, lowering his wand.

"The Dark Lord knows the prophecy. Hestia is dead. At least ten more are dead in the Ministry," Severus summarized.

"Who else knows?"

"Black knows that there is a problem, but not what it is," Severus said.

"Tell him to wait for further instructions. I must go to the Ministry and see what I can do to help," Professor Dumbledore said. "Are you alright, Rachel?"

"Fine. The Dark Lord is furious. This is the strongest emotion I've ever felt from him." She thought that was the most important thing she could tell him.

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Stay behind the wards, both of you." And then he disappeared.

"To Sirius Black. Wait for further instructions from Albus, it may be a while," Severus said after casting his Patronus once more.

Rachel watched as his doe left. She had the strange urge to take out her mirror and talk to Sirius, but she wasn't sure what she'd say to him. "What do we do?" she finally asked.

"Same as we've been doing. We keep you as safe as possible. You've always been one of the Dark Lord's highest priorities," he said.

"What if he figures out what my power is before we do, now that he knows about it? Or what if he finds a way to counteract it?"

"I can't think of a way for him to do that. He does not have access to you. We will figure it out together."

She looked away, but she thought she understood. Severus didn't want to believe that she was going to die. He cared about her, therefore he simply couldn't picture it. It was the same way she pretended that Severus wasn't very high up on the list of people that the Dark Lord wanted to kill. She knew she couldn't do this without him.

"What is Professor Dumbledore going to do at the Ministry?" she asked.

"He will say that he sensed a disturbance and came to investigate. It's likely he will be forced to reveal that the Dark Lord was after a prophecy, though it sounds like that should be evident enough given the damage in the Department of Mysteries. There will probably be another emergency Wizengamot meeting within the next few days, though it's somewhat doubtful if anything will be accomplished from that, maybe additional security on the Ministry."

"Professor Dumbledore isn't going to reveal the contents of the prophecy to everyone, is he?" She definitely didn't want that. She didn't need more people thinking she was going to kill the Dark Lord.

"I sincerely doubt it. He might inform a few people to ensure they have the information they need to safeguard you, but it wouldn't be advantageous for us to reveal it at large. However, if you would like to discuss it with Torey, now that the Dark Lord knows, that is a possibility for you," he said, watching Rachel as he spoke.

"Do you think Torey knows anything about prophecies?"

"I'm less concerned with what she knows about prophecies, and more concerned with you having someone who is not involved in the situation to speak with about it. You can tell her how you feel about it, or what your worries are about it. You can tell those things to me too, if you wish, but Torey will likely have a different perspective than I do."

She looked down at her blankets. Severus pretty much knew exactly how she felt about the prophecy, but he didn't want to accept it. Maybe Torey would feel differently. Maybe Torey would understand that it was impossible. "Okay."

They were quiet for a moment. She could still feel the Dark Lord's rage bubbling beneath the surface. He wanted to kill. She wasn't going to go asleep again that night. She didn't want to watch anyone else be killed.

"He didn't ask me for the prophecy. He didn't even try to question me." The words were out of her mouth before she realized she was saying them.

"He likely believed you would not be told anything of importance. It was his mistake to think of you as nothing more than a child to be manipulated," Severus said.

"I bet he regrets not just killing me outright. He's had two chances now." She shook her head.

"An exploitable weakness. His desire for power pushes him to put on shows of power. It isn't enough for his followers to know his power, he is driven to prove it over and over. But we shouldn't count on him making the same mistake again. Now that he knows about the prophecy, expediency might win out over everything else. He'll want to stop you from accessing your power."

He didn't have to stop her. They had no clue what it was.

"I presume you don't wish to return to sleep?" Severus asked after a moment.

"No. I'm a little bit worried that if I go to sleep I'll have another vision. He wants to kill and I don't think he's going to be picky about who he kills tonight." She tucked her pillow bunny under her arm and climbed out from under the covers. "Sometimes I wish we had more summer homework."

"I used to feel that way. It was a little piece of Hogwarts that I could take home with me," Severus said, his expression distant.

"I just want a distraction." She put on her glasses and gathered up her Walkman from her bedside table. That would do for now. And she wanted a book. She walked over to her bookshelf, only having to stop to balance herself once, and picked out one of the ones from her birthday gifts that she hadn't read yet. "I'm going to go downstairs, you don't have to come with me. You can go back to sleep."

Severus shook his head. "I will not get back to sleep tonight even if I return to bed. How about some tea?"

"Sure." Maybe if she sipped hot tea, read a book, and turned her Walkman up as loud as it could go, she could get all of these terrible images out of her mind.


"You're alright here?" Severus asked once they were in the sitting room at Grimmauld Place. He still walked close to Rachel in case she fell.

"I'm fine. I don't see why I can't be in the meeting, I saw it happen," she said as she sat down on the sofa.

"You are not an Order member and most of the people in this meeting will not know that you saw what happened," he reminded her.

"Will you tell me what Professor Dumbledore says later?"

"Yes." At least he would tell her a judiciously edited version. She did not need to know the details of who had died. She had seen enough already.

She nodded and settled onto the sofa.

Severus left her and headed into the kitchen. He knew they were earlier than he wanted to be, but neither of them had slept and Rachel had been antsy ever since they'd received Albus' Patronus saying he was calling a meeting at nine.

"Severus," Minerva said quietly, standing when she saw him.

He made his way over to her, Poppy turning and then standing as well.

"Do you know what's happened? People are saying there was an attack on the Ministry but there's nothing in the Daily Prophet," Minerva said.

"Not a full scale attack," he reassured them quietly. "As far as I know the command structure still stands."

Poppy's lips went thin. "As far as I'm concerned, You-Know-Who can have Fudge."

Severus doubted he would grieve the man's death either, when it finally came.

"Death Eaters or You-Know-Who?" Minerva asked, her gaze steely.

"Just the Dark Lord, as far as I'm aware. I don't know much," he said. That was true enough.

"Just," Poppy said, shaking her head. "Why? What was he after?"

"It's probably best if Albus explains." He still wasn't sure how much Albus was going to reveal to them. He turned at the sound of footsteps and then nodded at Arthur as he joined them.

"They're saying there was an attack on the Ministry in the night. Sixteen dead, including…" Arthur trailed off.

"Including Hestia," Severus finished.

Minerva closed her eyes, her mouth moving in a silent prayer.

"Was she the target?" Poppy asked, looking stricken.

"No," Severus said, causing the entire group to look at him. "Hestia was merely a barrier to what he was after."

"The prophecy," Arthur said.

Severus nodded once.

"Do we know if she raised the alarm?" Arthur asked after a moment of silence.

"No. I assume she was killed before she realized what was happening. It would have been quick," Severus said, the unspoken words 'unlike Sturgis' waiting between them.

"Thank Merlin for small mercies then," Minerva said.

The door opened and they all turned to look, but it was just Black and Lupin.

"Rachel is in Draco's bedroom. I assume you're alright with that?" Black asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I trust both of them to behave sensibly, yes," Severus said. How she had gotten up there so quickly, he did not know. She had taken to moving up and down the stairs on all fours, and while it was probably safer than her walking up them and perhaps falling, it was an odd sight.

"Would anyone like tea?" Remus asked.

"Not at this time, thank you," Minerva said, and the rest of them shook their heads.

Severus checked his watch. It wasn't quite nine yet. Maybe he should excuse himself and check the potions cabinet in the cellar.

"How is Rachel?" Minerva asked. "Is she recovering?"

"Yes. We hope for her to be ready to return to Hogwarts in two weeks." Given her current trajectory, he thought she would be capable of making her way around the castle by then.

"I saw her just the other day at my daughter's birthday party and she seemed well enough and in good spirits," Arthur said.

"Good." Minerva nodded to herself.

The door opened again and Tonks and Shacklebolt came through with Albus following behind. Albus looked over the room and then cast a spell that sealed the room. "Thank you for coming. As most of you have heard by now, Voldemort attacked the Department of Mysteries last night. He killed sixteen people, including nine Unspeakables and six of the Ministry guards. He also killed our own Hestia Jones, who was on guard duty that night. If we can have a moment of silence, for those we've lost." Albus bowed his head and everyone followed suit.

Severus took the moment to discreetly glance over the room. It was a much smaller gathering than usual for the Order. Minerva and Poppy didn't attend most meetings, but most notably absent was Moody. These were the people that Albus trusted with the prophecy then. He couldn't disagree with Albus' choices, except Black and Lupin, but they needed to know if they were to sneak Rachel out of the country in the event of Severus' death.

Albus raised his head again. "I have made Minister Fudge, Madam Bones, and Head Auror Scrimgeour aware of the fact that Voldemort has heard the prophecy concerning him and Rachel. They do not know the full contents of the prophecy."

"Concerning Rachel? You never said this prophecy concerns Rachel," Black said.

"I have not, as I wished to conceal the contents of the prophecy as much as possible for Rachel's safety. However, now that Voldemort is aware of the full prophecy, I wish to make you aware of it so that you can assist with the safeguards on Rachel," Albus explained.

"How did you discover this prophecy, if I may ask, Albus?" Arthur asked.

"I was present when the prophecy was being given. It goes as so. 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. The Dark Lord will mark them as his equal, but they will have a power the Dark Lord knows not. Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.'"

Severus frowned as he listened to the words that had indirectly changed the path of his life, had killed Lily and James, and had nearly killed Rachel multiple times over.

"When was this prophecy given?" Minerva asked.

"January of 1980. We did not become aware of who the prophecy might refer to until the spring of that year. Since it could have referred either to Rachel or to Neville Longbottom, we encouraged both families to go into hiding shortly after the births of their children. Unfortunately, Voldemort was made aware of the prophecy, though he did not know the last half of it," Albus explained.

Severus noticed that Albus left his role out entirely, which he was grateful for. He would explain if necessary, but he would prefer these people not to know all of his sins.

"Thrice defied him. That could have easily referred to either Frank and Alice or to James and Lily," Arthur said. "But the end. Either must die at the hand of the other. Does that mean Rachel must kill You-Know-Who or be killed by him?"

"I'm afraid so," Albus said.

"No." Black stepped closer to Albus. "No. You will not put her into this position."

Albus shook his head. "That is well out of our hands. Voldemort will do anything to kill Rachel now that he has heard the full prophecy. The best we can do is prepare her to defend herself and defeat him."

"She just turned sixteen. Defeating You-Know-Who? Are you as mad as they say you are?" Black continued.

Severus found himself both annoyed and slightly vindicated. Annoyed, because Black was acting like a child as usual. But he at least could leap to Rachel's defense when Severus could not.

"As the prophecy says, she has a power that Voldemort knows not. We believe this will be the key to defeating him," Albus said, his voice as steady as ever.

Black stared at him for a long moment and then walked away.

"And what might this power be?" Shacklebolt asked.

"We do not know yet. I am exploring a number of paths at this juncture. For now, our best option is to delay the confrontation until we can control it. Rachel must be protected. Naturally, Severus will be acting primarily in that role, but all of you will be critical to her ongoing protection. She will need training-"

"But not until she is fully recovered," Severus interrupted.

Albus inclined his head. "Yes, of course, Rachel's health and recovery must come first."

"We can help with training," Tonks said. "When she's ready. At the very least we can get her to the level of a junior auror within a year in terms of fighting."

Arthur shook his head slightly. "She is still a child. I'm not saying that she shouldn't be trained. But this is a great weight to place on a child. Does she know?"

"She does. She's known for about six months now," Severus said.

Albus nodded. "Rachel has a connection to Voldemort. He can send her what we are terming visions, both real and false. It was necessary to tell her the prophecy to prevent Voldemort from feeding her lies."

"This connection, is it influencing her?" Shacklebolt asked.

"Not as far as we can tell. We can't find any evidence of directives or compulsions being given to her through these visions," Severus said, understanding his concern.

"Can the connection be closed?" Poppy asked. "It's clearly causing her harm."

"That is something we are working on as well. The connection is established beneath her occlumency shields, so unfortunately our efforts with mind magic have not yet been able to block it. I am seeking other options," Albus said.

"She saw the attack last night?" Lupin asked.

"She did. She has alerted us to a number of attacks, allowing us to act more quickly than we otherwise might have," Severus explained for those who wouldn't know.

"Such as saving my life, last December," Arthur said. "Albus. Severus. I know you want to prepare Rachel. But I think we need to consider her best interests as well. She's just recovering from a horrific experience. She shouldn't be pushed into combat training."

"I have no intention of pushing her. She will let me know when she's ready," Severus assured him.

Minerva had a tight frown. "Obviously she is well guarded in Hogwarts and at her home. What else do we need to do?"

"Be prepared to remove her at the first sign of an attack on Hogwarts. I will be giving portkeys that can go through the Hogwarts wards to you, Poppy, and Severus so that she can be brought here in case of an attack and in case you are not in the vicinity of a floo connection. Severus, ensure that she continues to go through the halls with her friends. Make them aware of who to go to and who to summon in the event of an attack," Albus directed.

Severus nodded. The more protections he had for Rachel, the better.

"I'm going to have members of the Order stationed in Hogsmeade on Hogsmeade weekends, and I have asked Amelia to spare some of the MLE patrol and aurors on those days as well," Albus said, getting a nod from Shacklebolt. "It's unlikely that there will be a widespread attack on our students, many of our students are from pureblood homes, but I still wish for us to be as prepared as possible."

"I will be accompanying Rachel and her friend group to Hogsmeade directly, if they wish to go," Severus added.

"In the meantime, the rest of our objectives stay the same. We rout the Death Eaters, we prepare the populace, and we protect the people," Albus said, looking over them.

A few people nodded but mostly they simply wore grim and tired expressions.

"You know how to reach me if you need me for anything," Albus said, waving his wand to dismiss the seal on the room.

"Tell me if there is anything I can do for Rachel," Minerva said.

Severus nodded. "I will. Thank you."

He took a step back, watching as the meeting dispersed. Rachel would have good defenders. She would need them.

"Snape," came Black's voice.

Severus turned and saw Black motioning him over. Reluctantly he walked over to Black. "What?"

Black cast a privacy ward around them. "You and I both know this is absurd. Rachel cannot kill You-Know-Who. Hell, Albus can't kill You-Know-Who and Merlin knows he's tried."

"If she could not, the prophecy would not suggest that she could," Severus said impatiently.

"You can't believe in this power nonsense? She's supposed to have a secret power that no one knows about?"

"She's a parselmouth and no one knew about that until it was accidentally revealed. There may be something similar that we have yet to discover."

Black frowned. "She can speak to snakes? She didn't tell me that."

"I don't think she tends to think on it often. What is your point?"

"My point is let's take her and get the hell out of here. I know she has this connection to You-Know-Who, but he can't find her with it, can he? Can she find him with it?"

"As far as I know, no," Severus began.

"Then let's do it. I can't believe that this is the life that you want for her."

"This is not the life that I want for her, but it is the one that she is living. And I do not think you can convince her to go," he said, rapidly running out of patience.

"That was before this summer. You don't think she'd want to go now? Have you asked her?" Black asked.

"I haven't, but I suspect her answer will remain the same."

"What if it hasn't? What if she wants to go?" Black pressed.

Severus paused. If that was what Rachel truly wanted, then he would take her. But he didn't think that was what she wanted. Regardless, now might be the time to set things up so that she could flee in safety if she needed to. "I will speak with her. And you may speak with her if you don't believe my answer. However, even if she does not wish to go, it may be wise to set up a safe house and assumed identities in another country."

"I can make those preparations. And I will speak with her," Black said.

Severus nodded. Unfortunately most of his contacts in the underworld had been burned when he had been revealed as a spy against the Dark Lord in truth. "I trust you know the right people."

"I know enough," Black said.

"Let me know when it's prepared." Severus pushed his way out of the privacy ward. He was done with that conversation and long past ready to collect Rachel and return home.


Rachel looked out the window in the sitting room and wondered why she never saw people on this street. Sirius had told her he had neighbors, but there didn't seem to be any evidence of them.

Kreacher arrived with a pop, a quilt in his hands.

"Thank you, but I'm warm enough now I'm in trousers and a jumper," she told him. "How are you?"

"Miss asks and the answer is the same. Kreacher is Kreacher," he said, bobbing his head.

"Is there anything you need? Or anything that you want changed?" she asked, figuring that might get a better answer.

"No, Miss. Just my Mistress and my Master," Kreacher said.

"I'm sorry. I wish I knew of a way to help with that. Does having her portrait help at all? Do you still want it in your room?" She wasn't sure the reminder was helpful for him.

"Yes, Mistress stays with me."

"Okay, if you need anything, you can ask me and I'll try to help. And when I'm not here you can send a letter again if you'd like." That would have to do for now. "Do you know where Draco is?"

"Kreacher takes Miss," he said, grabbing onto Rachel's arm.

Apparating with a House Elf was a very different sensation from apparating with Severus. She felt a brief darkness pressing on her and then she was in another room.

Draco gave a wordless shout, rising from his armchair and drawing his wand.

"Just me, sorry," Rachel said from where she was now sitting on Draco's bed.

"Would Miss like tea or breakfast?" Kreacher asked.

"No thank you, I already ate this morning," she said, watching as Draco sat back down with his hand to his chest.

"Just call Kreacher," he said before disappearing with a pop.

"What the hell?" Draco asked.

"Sorry, I didn't realize he was going to take me directly to you, I just asked where you were," she said.

"That House Elf is mad," he said, shaking his head.

"He's trying. Next time I'll be more specific. How are you?" she asked, moving so that she was supported by the pillows against the headboard.

"Now that I've had the life scared out of me." Draco shook his head. "Bored, mostly. I'm almost looking forward to going back to Hogwarts."

Sirius appeared in the doorway. "I heard a shout?"

"Hi Sirius, how are you?" she asked.

Sirius nodded. "Long night." He looked between her and Draco. "This door stays open, got it?"

"Sirius. Honestly." She felt herself blushing and covered her face.

"I have a girlfriend," Draco said, his tone sharp.

"Even so. Kitchen is off limits for the next hour or so," Sirius said. He gave Draco another look before walking away.

"You think he'd know by now that we're just friends," Draco said after they heard Sirius' footsteps going down the stairs.

Rachel let her hands fall back to her lap. "Sirius does not want me to date. You should have seen him after Theo invited me to the Yule Ball. It was like he thought Theo asked me to marry him."

"Of course he's protective of you. You should have seen the letter I got from Pansy's father after the Yule Ball. Still, Sirius knows I'm dating Pansy."

"Are Pansy's parents…are they going to have a problem with that now?" she asked.

"Oh, definitely. We'll have to pretend to be separated in public." He didn't sound particularly worried.

She bit her lip as she thought about her question, but decided that she needed to ask. "Will that be safe for Pansy?"

"We'll make it safe. We still need to spend time together for our prefect duties anyway. As long as we're not alone together anywhere someone can find us, or going to Hogsmeade together, it should be fine," he said.

She decided to leave the question of whether or not Pansy would want to do that alone. They could work that out for themselves.

"Professor Snape says you're recovering."

Rachel carefully pushed herself to her feet and began walking around the room, wobbling in a few places and needing to grab onto the nearest object for support. "See. Much better." She sat back down on the bed and tried not to notice how much effort just that short walk took.

Draco was quiet for a long moment as he watched her. "Rachel. How much does Professor Snape know?"

"He has a general understanding of what happened." She hadn't given him any details, but he seemed to have pieced most of it together from his own experiences.

He was quiet again, his fingers on his right hand moving like he was fiddling with a quill. "I mean, how much does Professor Snape know about what I did?"

"He knows you were there, of course, but I haven't told him anything," she said, watching Draco as she made a guess about what he was worried about. "He would understand, if you wanted to talk to him. He was a Death Eater. He knows what it's like."

Draco shook his head. "It's a little different when it's his own daughter we're talking about. I'm pretty sure Professor Snape would have me at the end of his wand before I could blink."

"He wouldn't. He knew what he was sending you into. He knew that you were going to have to play along in order to stay in the room. Did he not talk to you about what to expect?" She still wasn't entirely clear what had happened for Draco to volunteer to rescue her.

"He did. But." Draco paused, his lips pressed together so tightly they were almost white. "Hearing about it and being there…It wasn't at all like I expected."

She understood. She had experienced the Cruciatus curse in the graveyard, she had watched people be tortured in her visions, but it hadn't at all prepared her for the reality of prolonged torture.

"You nodded to me."

Rachel felt her heart rate jump. She didn't want to talk about this, but it seemed like Draco needed to. "I knew rescue was coming. I was trying to keep both of us alive long enough for them to reach us."

Draco looked up at her. "You knew I was there to rescue you?"

"No, but based on the last few Patronus messages I received and then them stopping entirely, I knew they were trying to reach me. And I could tell you didn't want to be there."

He watched her for a moment and then looked away. "I don't think I could have done it. Even to save our lives."

"You could have if it had been necessary. I don't think most people realize how powerful the drive to stay alive is until they're in a life threatening situation." And, if it hadn't been Draco, it would have been one of the other Death Eaters. She shut her eyes and pushed those thoughts away. "Why did you risk your life to save me?"

"To save my own life."

She opened her eyes again and looked at him. "That doesn't make any sense."

Draco sighed. "I have wanted to become a Death Eater since I was old enough to know that my parents were Death Eaters. I wanted to be exactly like my father. I thought it was about fighting for our people, for our culture."

She stopped herself from asking questions, because she knew they'd just get sidetracked in a discussion about muggleborns and pureblood propaganda.

"As I got older, I realized that I would never measure up to what my father wanted. Despite all my tutors, I wasn't perfect. I was weak. I shake at the sight of blood. And I knew that the Dark Lord didn't abide weakness. This past year, as I've talked with Pansy, as I spoke with my father over the Christmas holiday, I realized that if I joined the Death Eaters, I was going to die." Draco looked almost absent as he spoke.

When it was clear he wasn't going to go on, she decided to ask a question. "Then why go home? Why not just tell Severus where I was and accept their protection?"

Draco shook his head. "It wasn't going to be good enough. I had to prove that I really was walking away from the Death Eaters or they would never trust me. And I knew that it was the best chance of you coming back alive. If no one had been on the inside, and they'd just apparated in there, you would have been killed immediately. They wouldn't even know where in the Manor you were being held."

That was probably true. It had been a bad situation all around. There had really been no good decisions for any of them, just decisions that might have ended in fewer people dying.

"Do you regret it?" she asked.

"No. There are a lot of things that I miss, but I don't regret it. You're a friend, Rachel. At least, I hope we're friends." He sounded painfully uncertain.

"We are friends," she assured him.

"You're the only person I know for sure didn't make friends with me because of my father or my last name or my money and future influence." He met her eyes again. "And you're the only one who offers me choices and then stays my friend even when you disagree with me."

"What about Pansy?"

"We'll see how Pansy feels about me once we're back at school. I haven't written to her because I don't want to make the situation worse with her family. I hope she hasn't written for the same reason. When I spoke with her in the last week of school, she still wanted to be with me."

"But she's not with you just because of your family's power and influence. From what she says in the dorm, I think she really cares about you," she said, wanting to support Draco, but also not wanting to get involved in his romantic relationship.

Draco perked up. "Pansy talks about me? What does she say?"

"She thinks you're handsome," she said, though that wasn't quite the word Pansy had used.

"Obviously. What else?"

"She likes spending time with you and she'd like to spend more time with you. She's talked about the two of you possibly getting married after Hogwarts. She tells us little stories about things you said. She thinks you're romantic," Rachel listed, trying to keep it to things that were positive and discreet.

"She thinks I'm romantic," Draco repeated, looking thoughtful.

"You get the idea," she said, not wanting to go into any more detail. "Just be careful. I'm already worried about Pansy going home to her parents. You both need to be sure that dating in secret won't get back to them."

Draco nodded and sat for a moment with a thoughtful expression. "Any idea why they're meeting today? It clearly wasn't planned in advance."

"There was an attack on the Ministry," she said.

Draco's eyebrows climbed. "Fudge is dead?"

"Not that I know of. You'd think that would have been in the paper, but there wasn't anything about the attack at all, not this morning at least."

"They'll kill Fudge eventually. He was a puppet and now he's not doing their dance," Draco said.

"They will. They're just waiting for the right moment." Who knew when that would be.

"Do you think we can win the war? Professor Snape says we can."

She thought about it. The unfortunate truth was that they couldn't win the war while she was alive. It might have even been better for the war effort if she had died that night in June. "I don't know. There aren't that many people who are actually fighting. I don't know what will happen."

"Thanks."

"What for?" she asked, looking at Draco again.

"For being honest," he said.

Rachel nodded. That much she could be honest about, even if there were still a half dozen truths she was keeping from Draco.