In that unsettling way all of her fellow SBURB players did, Kanaya pulled a knitting bag seemingly out of nowhere with odd flicks of her fingers. It shouldn't have bothered Hermione that much, as wizards often did similar things. She supposed it was the strange finger movements that looked as if Kanaya were pressing buttons on an invisible vending machine. Whatever ire she felt was quickly dissipated as Kanaya handed her a phone that was not so different than the one Dave had shown her years ago.

After showing her how to work it, Hermione was treated to a gallery with pictures of wigglers who had just sprouted their 'adult' legs and were walking for the first time. Among them was a small girl, looking no older than a six-year-old human child. According to Kanaya, she was the spitting image of Feferi Peixes. She had distinctly non-human features in some respects: the grey skin, the horns, the teeth, and the fins. But the sheer volume of fluffy black hair and her large expressive eyes took most of the strangeness out of it. It also helped that she was hugging a little stuffed cuttlefish to her chest with an innocent smile on her chubby face.

"She's adorable," Hermione gasped, one hand on her heart. "I wish I could have seen Feferi... if she was this lovely as a child, she must have been gorgeous when she was... well..." she finished, rather awkwardly.

"There's pictures of her on there," Kanaya commented idly, still knitting. "If you back out of that one and click on the folder labeled Rainbow Rumpus Partytown I have a few of her in there. Only kept some of the photos from back then, and only those with people I really cared for."

"Rainbow Rumpus Partytown?" Hermione chortled, clicking on it with a shake of her head. "Honestly!"

"An old joke of Terezi's - I thought it was an appropriate name for that gallery, all things considered," reasoned Kanaya, her eyes never leaving her knitting, which was lengthening at an unusually rapid pace.

And sure enough, there were many pictures of Feferi in there and she was every bit as gorgeous and as strange as Hermione imagined; a lovely young troll with bright eyes, more hair than was good for her, and a wide toothy smile. There were others in the pictures. Some she recognized. There was a photo of Vriska and Terezi, only much younger, their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing maniacally. More than one featuring Kanaya, Rose, and a seemingly unwilling Karkat (and sometimes Dave, invariably pulling a goofy face) in what the troll had explained to Hermione was a 'selfie'.

There were others she didn't recognize: one of a painfully thin troll flipping the camera the bird, clearly unimpressed with Kanaya's efforts to take a sneaky photo of him, another of a small troll girl with a silly hat in the shape of a cat's face posing rather cutely with a much larger boy (who even in the photo seemed very sweaty and very uncomfortable), and another of a boy in a wheelchair with overlarge horns, waving shyly at the camera. Kanaya would explain who they were and what was happening in some photos, though this time Hermione didn't press her much for details. It was clear the people she hadn't met in the pictures were long dead and it was far too painful to discuss. After having recently recalled how Feferi had died, Kanaya was in no mood to share more sad stories and Hermione was not inclined to want to hear them.

At one point, she noticed the troll's swift knitting progress and commented on it. In her fourth year, she had learned how to knit magically and was quite good at it by now. Even by her standards, Kanaya's progress was impressive. In a few short minutes it was nearly done.

When asked how she did it, Kanaya replied simply, "Space."

"Space?"

Kanaya hummed an affirmative. "I was my session's Space player. I was a Slyph but I never reached God Tier like the others, though."

"But there are definite advantages to achieving it, even though, well..." She trailed off uncomfortably. "I guess I'm just curious why you didn't."

"Because like my duty as a Jade blood I never accepted my given role, and I wasn't willing to make the sacrifice necessary to achieve my Godhood."

There was much about this game Hermione thought ridiculous or that she outright didn't understand, but how one became a God Tier wasn't one of them. She knew that whoever achieved it had done so because they had given their own life to be reborn as a demigod. It was cruel, in her opinion, though she'd never say it out loud. She was quite sure that anyone who had played the game had already come to that conclusion.

"I can't blame you, I suppose," she confessed, handing the device back to Kanaya. "I don't know that I'd be able to face my death like that, especially at such a young age."

Kanaya took it, sharing a knowing look with her brand-new friend. She knew that Hermione was thinking of her companion, Harry. What he had faced in the past, what he faced now and all the sacrifices he and so many others had made to be here now.

"Few are," Kanaya replied, a bit sadly. There was a part of her that did regret not making the choice, but everything was as it meant to be.

"But all of the humans in your group did," mused Hermione, cutting herself off once she realized that she'd put her foot in it again. "It's just curious... is all. I'm sorry; I'm being too pushy again."

The troll shook her head, laughing just a little. "It's not all that curious. Firstly, they had us to help them figure out the game faster than usual. Secondly, well... as Dirk once put it, most of them fell ass backwards into God Tier on accident. John was tricked into it by Vriska. Most of the rest of them all achieved it by unforeseeable misadventure. Even Vriska didn't go there willingly. She got the shit beat out of her by a robot and then in an ill-conceived attempt at getting a boy she liked to kiss her, she crawled to her quest cocoon and tried to force him to mercy kill her so she'd die faster. The only ones who ever really made a choice were Rose and Dave. So I suppose, if you were really curious, you could ask them."

"Would I get a straight answer, do you think?" Dave had given her an abridged version of events, but it didn't take a genius to deduce that he wasn't completely honest with her.

"Rose would probably give you a very detailed answer, that you may or may not regret asking. Light players do love to talk," said Kanaya, with a silly smile. "Asking Dave would be entirely pointless. He'd either not give you a straight answer at all or if he did come close to answering anything, it'd be hidden in a twenty minute long rap with inappropriately explicit lyrics that have far too many references to various parts of human anatomy which I have personally little interest in."

"Really?" Hermione asked, honestly appalled by the suggestion and suddenly very glad she'd gotten a simpler, less detailed story.

"Really," confirmed Kanaya, with a tired kind of look that told Hermione that she had been on the receiving end of countless raps of that very kind.

Closing her eyes, Hermione breathed, "Dear god, boys are so disgusting sometimes."

"Agreed." The troll nodded as she cast off the last of her stitches, proudly holding out a finished shawl with a flourish. "It's done!"

Hermione examined the piece carefully, reaching out a hand to touch the fabric. It was a beautiful lace-knit shawl made of a deep purple yarn that to her eyes seemed to sparkle like the night sky. "It's lovely," she exclaimed, glancing at Kanaya. "Who is it for?"

"For you, actually."

"For me?" Hermione was very touched but a bit overwhelmed. They hadn't even known each other that long. "Oh, but I can't. It's too beautiful..."

"Nonsense! You've put up with us and all our shenanigans. You've trusted us when you had little reason to. We've asked an awful lot of you; this is the very least I can do."

Very reluctantly, she took the garment from Kanaya. The yarn it was made from was very soft and so light it felt almost weightless in her hands. "What's it made of?"

"The last silk my lusus ever made for me," the troll answered, a bit wistfully.

"Oh, no," moaned Hermione. "Now I really can't take it! It's far too precious."

"I regret having to be firm with you, Hermione, but I have to insist. That silk is mine to give to whoever I see fit and I want YOU to have it. Moreover, you're cold. It'd be a terrible way to repay you by allowing you to become sick. Humans really are awfully fragile."

Hermione wanted to object that she wasn't cold. Inside the cave was actually far warmer than it was outside. Before they'd entered, she'd been able to see her own breath when they talked, but in here they couldn't. From her estimates, it couldn't be colder than 18°C, and yet... she was cold. So cold she was actually shivering violently as she sat there. Only her fingers were warm and that was because they were holding the shawl.

Looking at Kanaya uncomprehendingly, she pleaded, "I don't understand..."

The troll regarded her carefully, as if she was a bomb about to go off, her gaze pointedly stopping at her throat and the necklace concealed beneath her jumper. "It's that awful thing you're wearing." Hermione unconsciously covered where it lay with a hand. "I know what it is," Kanaya stated bluntly, without blinking, her nose wrinkling subtly in disgust.

"And what is it," Hermione hissed, all those suspicions she had when she'd first met them all boiling up out of nowhere. Kanaya did not know. She could not know.

"A Horcrux."

"And how do you know what that-"

Kanaya cut across her accusation. "That's not really important. I know that it is a dark, evil thing. It whispers nasty little thoughts when it thinks you don't notice. I heard the awful thing the moment we came here. I'm glad you're going to destroy it. That's why I made the shawl at Dirk's behest. He felt you needed something to protect yourself from it and I agreed." She could see the young woman was quite torn between trust and distrust. The terrible thing in the locket thought itself quite clever, trying to poison the young witch against her. Kanaya felt nothing for contempt for the pettiness of the ploy, as if it really thought it could. It was a blunt instrument playing at being a scalpel. She had been bested only once that way, never again. "Put it on, why don't you. I assure you, you'll feel much better."

After a moment of indecision, she slowly draped the shawl over her shoulders and almost instantly she felt warmer. The dark thoughts teasing her in the back of her mind abruptly went quiet. And the weight of the Horcrux, the heavy way it pulled on her neck, vanished so that it felt like an ordinary locket. Hermione could feel tears pricking at her eyes, if only they'd had this when Ron... "How?"

"Look at it and tell me what you see," prompted Kanaya, folding her hands neatly onto her lap.

She pinched a corner of the shawl and rubbed the fabric with her fingers. Gazing at it a bit longer, she noticed that it didn't simply look like the night sky. If you looked closely enough you could see the Milky Way; its mighty arms swirling gracefully. You could see the entirety of the universe from its spectacular beginning to its dramatic end. Beautiful seemed like such a small word and it didn't even come close to describing the true wonder of it.

"Space," she whispered, looking up wonderingly at the Alternian. "You infused it with Space!" Kanaya nodded sagely. "But how does it work? How can it neutralize the horcrux? No magic could... What this shawl does, it's impossible."

"No offense intended, but the enchantments and charms you use are only temporary, even the strongest of your magic pales in comparison to what I've put into that garment. The power in that shawl will literally last until the heat death of the universe. It has the light of a billion stars in it," Kanaya explained carefully, eyes shining with pride. "The soul in that Horcrux, as powerful as it is, is only a shadow, and what is a human shadow when compared to the stars." There was a hint of fierceness in her eyes as she paused for a beat. "Nothing. That thing is nothing but an insignificant speck of dust on a tiny pale blue dot hovering in the endless void of Space."

Hermione was speechless as the gift the troll had given her was truly priceless. For a long moment she examined the shawl, a bit ashamed at how she reacted and also because it was a really beautiful piece of magic. Looking even more deeply, she noticed something. It was a small thing that was easily overlooked but Hermione could see it. Squinting at it, she slowly turned to gaze at Kanaya, asking, "That's not all it does?"

Kanaya's eyes shone with pride, beaming at her friend unabashedly. "Correct, the shawl has many purposes, besides shielding you from that thing."

"What else?"

"Many things," she drawled, laughing lightly at the dark look the human woman gave her. "You've read the books, tell me about Space."

"I told you I hardly understood most of it, especially the bits about Aspects. The wording was terribly circular and hardly a bit of it made sense!" Kanaya blinked slowly, shaking her head as if to say her excuse was not acceptable. She began slowly, trying to remember what she'd read. "Space is... Space is one of two cardinal Aspects, the other being Time. It... It's more than just the universe we live in or the physical location of space itself... it deals in creation. In beginnings and endings, encompassing everything - the sum total of existence."

"I am very impressed. Not many understand how Space is related to creation. They only see it as it now, cold and harsh - inhospitable. Space is both things to those who know better." Kanaya made a small gesture at the shawl, and said, "It's that very power that works as your shield, but it also has more mundane uses."

"Now you're just being obtuse!" Hermione cried, irritated that Kanaya was giving her bits and bobs and expecting her figure out this puzzle while missing several key pieces. It was annoying.

"I'm not a Light player who loves to babble on endlessly about their Aspect. Space doesn't give information without effort." Hermione gave her a filthy scowl. "What?! You are lucky I am not like Terezi. Mind players are SO much worse."

Hermione huffed in annoyance, concentrating on the shawl as if it had personally offended her. Several minutes passed before she spoke again, "Obviously it'll keep me warm when I'm cold..."

"Or cold when you're warm," Kanaya finished the sentence.

"Yes," Hermione muttered exasperatedly, until it was like the pieces of the puzzled had snapped together. "And... and it'll get bigger if I want it to... if I want to share it or..."

"Smaller, if you need to hide it or store it for later."

Closing her eyes and concentrating even harder than before, she saw... "It'll... it'll take me anywhere I please, even if I've never been there. I don't even have to think it or tell it, it will just know and ..."

"And you'll be there," Kanaya beamed, very proud that her human friend had figured it out. She hadn't even had any contact with the game and she solved it.

"Looks like someone has an affinity for Space," chirped a voice with a very distinct Kiwi accent from somewhere just above them.

Hermione let out a little scream. Nearly falling off the rock she'd been perched on for the last half hour or so. Kanaya wasn't surprised at all, having gotten used to such nonsense over the years.

She looked up and said, "Hullo, Jade! It'd be nice if you stopped floating above us so we don't have to crane our necks. It's very uncomfortable."

Jade was hovering just above them, her legs crossed and one arm lazily propped on her knee, head in hand. She gave a toothy grin before doing an elaborate backflip and then slowly floating to the earth; her billowing skirts twirling, ruby slippers touching the rocky floor of the cave with a delicate clack.

"Better?"

Kanaya nodded gratefully. "Much. Are the others on their way?"

"Yeah, but they decided to take the boring, slow way," Jade complained rather good-naturedly. "So, you're giving gifts now? I thought we weren't supposed to." Kanaya gave her a bland look, lifting one shoulder elegantly to indicate she didn't much care for that particular rule. Not that anyone in their party really did. Jade cocked her head, looking quizzically at Hermione who was still sitting precariously on her chosen rock. Wordlessly, she gave the witch a hand, helping her up with a mighty tug. "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't mean to frighten you. Sometimes I don't always think before teleporting!"

"It's quite all right," Hermione assured her, dusting herself off as if she hadn't nearly fallen over in surprise just moments ago.

"That shawl Kanaya made you is really pretty. Could I look at it?" Hermione nodded her assent and Jade stepped closer, gingerly lifting a corner of the shawl to examine it. She whistled. "Kanaya, you did a really good job!" She looked back at Hermione, an ecstatic smile on her face. "I wasn't wrong! You really must have an affinity for Space then!"

"What do you mean?"

"Kanaya put a lot of herself into that shawl, which is to say her Aspect... which is also to say, SPACE! Which is basically the best Aspect ever... Anyway, only someone with a real affinity for Space would be able to actually use it or even see HOW it could be used! To anyone else it'd look like just a pretty shawl," explained Jade excitedly.

"But... I'm not from your world... that's impossible," Hermione stammered looking from Jade to Kanaya and then back again.

"Well, it's probably because we're so close to the fissure," Jade mused thoughtfully. "All those colors you see - it's just the essence of every Aspect, all jumbled together forming the fabric of our reality which is reacting to the fabric of yours. It's sort of like when you take different kinds of medicines and how some meds interact with others. It's just like that! Except more magical! Either enhancing what was already there or perhaps showing us what you could be if you played the game like it's giving you a little glimpse of potential reality."

"You... you think I'd be a Space player?"

Jade glanced at Kanaya, who merely raised her eyebrows. She thought for a moment and then nodded. "I don't just think you'd be a Space player. I know it. You talk about it like we do because you understand it, because it's a part of you." Tapping a finger to her chin, Jade squinted in thought. "I wonder what Class you'd be. That's not so obvious to me. I suppose you could be a Witch, like me. But that just seems a bit too on the nose, don't you think?" she asked, gazing at a place just behind Hermione's shoulder.

Landing almost soundlessly, the Seer of Light answered, "She'd be a Seer, naturally."

Feeling very flustered because they were all seemingly talking as if she wasn't right there, Hermione snapped, "and how exactly did you work that out?"

Rose smiled knowingly, a sparkle of mischief in her bright lavender eyes. "We are given roles that challenge us, as Kanaya might have mentioned, and considering your opinion of seers in your own world it would make sense that you'd be assigned it as a Class in ours. Besides, Seers in the game aren't like that old fraud of a divination teacher."

"I know they have a comprehensive knowledge of their Aspect, I read the book," Hermione shot back waspishly.

"No one said you had to like the class you're given. After all, I didn't much care for mine before reaching God Tier. And it's not like it actually matters for your purposes as you'll never play the game. All the same, you are a Seer of Space," Rose insisted rather matter of factly, perfectly unbothered by Hermione's acidic reply.

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but just then Dave and Terezi appeared out of the darkness. The sounds of their progress had preceded them and drowned out any objections the young witch had launched into. It was an overwhelming amount of noise in a very large space that already magnified every voice. Again, she felt disconcerted and out of sorts surrounded by her strange new friends.

It settled down somewhat as they decided to walk the rest of the way to the rift. Hermione was not entirely sure if it was because that was the safer option or her general objection to being carried on someone's back. As they settled in, the two Seers flanked her. It didn't exactly make her nervous, but it felt as if was a purposeful choice - as if they had something important to impart to her. Something she wasn't all that sure she wanted to hear. Kanaya looked back just then, giving an encouraging smile. Hermione smiled back wanly.

The previous conversation about Sburb classes had upset her. Yes, she didn't think much of seers because of Sybill Trelawney, who had a grand total of two correct visions in her entire miserable life. And yes, she realized that Seers in the game functioned differently than seers in her own world, but she felt nettled all the same because she was sure they were right. When Rose had said it, it was like something clicked. Worst of all was that she knew Rose knew that she knew. That feeling doubled when Terezi had hopped off Dave's back, staring at her general direction with wide red eyes behind flashing red glasses and a shark's smile.

Whenever she was in their presence, she felt torn; it was sometimes like the three of them were on the exact same wavelength but other times she felt distinctly uncomfortable - she was constantly on edge and out of sorts when they were near.

"That's normal, you know," said Terezi, tapping her cane across the uneven surface of the cave.

It was not the first time she had felt that Terezi had read her mind. "Whatever do you mean," she mumbled repressively.

"That you feel out of sorts," Rose murmured, perfectly painted lips tilting up into her patented mysterious smile. "It's unnatural for three people who share the same Class to be together in one place, as you well know. Unlike those who share the same Aspect, who have a natural affinity, those that share the same Class don't often get along very well. This is especially true for Seers. You must understand - each player has a unique role. Meeting another that shares your Class, you naturally feel as if your territory is being infringed upon," she explained.

"But that doesn't make any sense at all," interrupted Hermione. "According to the books you gave me there's rarely more than one person assigned to a particular Aspect in a single session. This goes double for a Cardinal Aspect like Space. I should be just as uncomfortable with Jade and Kanaya, but I'm not."

Rose huffed, asserting patiently, "It's simply because, like them, you are the physical embodiment of Space - steadfast, impartial, expansive, and inquisitive. All three of you have these defining features in common, and that commonality easily becomes affinity."

Hermione scoffed which caused both Rose and Terezi to raise their eyebrows.

"Think about it this way, Aspect is who you are already, whereas your Class represents the role you need to play, a role that you and only you can fill... who you will be rather than who you are," elaborated Terezi in an uncommonly quiet tone. "Space players all want the same things - to propagate and continue existence as we know it. But as Seers, each one of us has our own personal agenda that might not match up exactly. The reason for our discomfort with those that share our Class is because we all see things differently." She smirked a bit at her own joke before her face carefully cleared. After a long pause, she inhaled sharply and said, "I was the Seer for the troll's session of Sgrub; the only Seer for that session."

Rose blinked slowly before saying, "I'm the Seer for the A and B session of Sburb; the only Seer for both sessions."

Hermione was alarmed that her own mind had seemed to sync with theirs. She understood that all they had said was true, and the reason it had to be said in the first place was to force her to accept the truth. "And... and I would be the Seer if there were a session here. The only Seer," she admitted quietly. "But what does it matter anyway. There's no session on this planet, so this whole thing is just pointless!"

Terezi stopped short, her face unusually grave as it beheld the rift. "Oh, I'm afraid you're wrong about that, Miss Granger."

Close up, the rift was as terrible and beautiful as ever; even more so now that she could see the sheer size of it. There was a clear line that demarcated the neutral zone of the cave from the chaotic maelstrom of the rift. Behind the line was another troll, one she hadn't met but had seen in Kanaya's pictures. She wore a tunic in the same colors as Dave's God Tier uniform with the same symbol as his emblazoned on it. Kanaya had said their Time player's name was Aradia. She rarely participated in things outside these missions according to both Karkat and Kanaya as she preferred being the emissary of the dreaming dead, whatever that meant.

Everyone else busied themselves, carefully entering the rift one by one, getting things set up for whatever it was that they were going to do to close it. All three Seers hung back, all of them gazing warily at the shifting light.

Tightening her shawl around her shoulders, Hermione questioned, "So I am wrong about there being a session here or wrong about it being pointless?"

"Wrong about it being pointless," Terezi clarified, her face still and more serious than usual. "There will never be a session in this universe, true. Even so, there is no such thing as pointless information. You'd know that better than anyone. The smallest detail, no matter how seemingly insignificant, will often prove to be the key to victory or the reason for failure. Your potentiality, all the versions of 'you' out there that are separated only by their own choices or the luck of the draw - all of them in some way have contributed to the essential 'YOU' that stands here now."

Rose stepped up gracefully to join Terezi. They were standing just slightly apart, leaving enough room for another to stand between them. "Terezi and I saw that your presence here was necessary. We hadn't a clue why at first, but it became clear very quickly. This rift would require a potential player, someone from this realm who destiny had chosen to change the world." Rose glanced back at her, and the look on her face was sharp - expectant. "The most fortunate outcome for this venture was if the Seer of Space were to join us. If she could aid us, this last rift would be closed for good. And then every reality - all existence itself would finally be healed and safe from the demon we'd defeated."

Hermione took a step back. The pointed look and their words had taken her aback. They were words and looks she often saw directed at Harry, never at her. He was the Chosen One and she had only ever been just plain Hermione Granger. She was not prepared to believe that she could ever be more than that, in any universe.

"W-what... what are you saying?" she whispered uncomprehendingly. "I can't... I haven't even played this game. I'd be useless to you. I don't have your kind of power, I'm in no way prepared to-"

"Do you honestly think any of us were prepared when we entered the game?!" Terezi bellowed exasperatedly, thumping down her cane with a loud crack that reverberated like a peal of thunder. "None of us had any idea what we were doing or how to use the power we were given. Yet here we stand!"

Rose put a hand on Terezi's shoulder as if to pacify her, smiling at Hermione gently. "I was only thirteen when I entered the game. I was confused, angry, and afraid. I made so many mistakes because I let it control me," she began, playing with the hair at the back of her neck self-consciously. "And I'm not saying you shouldn't be afraid - there's nothing inherently wrong with fear but you can't let it control you. You must master it. We need you, Hermione. This venture will not succeed without you."

The young witch bit her lip, playing with the ends of her new shawl. Her eyes were downcast, and Rose could tell she was wavering, but which way she'd fall was uncertain. "Kanaya will be there. That's partly why I had her go with you. I knew you would two would get along. Jade will be there as well. Both of them have faith in you, we all do. You are our best hope."

Wringing her hands, she took a deep breath and slowly walked until she stood before her fellow Seers. They all turned as one, taking each other's hands to form a circle. Hermione knew the powerful significance the number three held in Arithmancy.

Three was the minimum number of witches to form a coven in the old days, before wizards had begun to rigidly organize everything. It invoked the Moirai - the very first coven ever formed, known to muggles as the Fates: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. In Daoism there were the Three Treasures. Judaism was overabundant with the number: Three Shabbat meals, three Pilgrimage festivals, three daily prayers and so on. In Hindu tradition there was the Trimūrti - a triad of deities that represented creation, preservation, and destruction. Then there was the Christian Trinity.

And before Ron had left, they'd been a trio - Her, Harry and Ron. She had always felt that they had been the most powerful when together. And now, this - three Seers from three separate universes brought together to heal a rift in reality and three Space players from three separate universes to do the same. Her doubts faded as she felt the strength in the magical compact they formed. Was this how the Moirai felt when they had drawn their own circle? It was possible, Hermione thought dimly.

"What do I have to do?"

Rose's eyes twinkled, lips turning upward ever so slightly. She squeezed Hermione's hand and told her, "Simple. You spin the thread. I portion it."

"And I'll cut it; not literally, of course," Terezi cackled with a wicked grin. "But you will go in there to weave the fabric of space-time that's been cracked with the assistance of your fellow Space players, mending the rift enough to close it altogether."

Hermione exhaled shakily, realizing the great weight put on her shoulders. She didn't know what would happen should she fail, but she had an idea that it would be disastrous. The circle was broken, Rose and Terezi put their hands on her back and guided her gently towards the barrier. With a jerky little nod, she steeled herself.

She looked to the Seer of Light whose lips turned into a real smile with none of her normal impishness. Then she looked to the Seer of Mind who lacked her normal lunatic grin and gazed at her with quiet respect. Terezi nodded her head once, squeezing Hermione's hand as a gesture of the faith they all had put in her and to reassure her that she was making the right choice. Each of them had given her their own strength as sisters in arms. Inhaling deeply, she grasped the end of her new shawl and stepped beyond the barrier.

Hello! This will be a two parter... I will be posting the next chapter tomorrow, October 25th.