"Harry, are you all right?" Rhia asked. He didn't say anything. She moved to sit right next to him. Reaching out, she put her hand on his shoulder. They both jolted at the touch. He turned grieving eyes to hers.

"It's my fault," he whispered. "The people around me always get hurt." He glanced down at her hand on his shoulder. It still had his handkerchief wrapped around it. "Always."

"You didn't kill him Harry. Voldemort did. Don't take on burdens that aren't yours. You have enough as it is." Rhia said softly. She smiled a bit. "You've got broad shoulders, but they aren't broad enough for that. No one's are." Suddenly she pulled her hand away from him and took off the white cloth. She looked down at the faint red line of the lightning bolt. Then she put that hand on his cheek to keep him from looking away. When her scar touched his skin both of them jolted again.

"Rhia I…" he started.

She shook her head to stop him. Her gray eyes were intense. "Though he told you Cedric was just a spare, he lied. He was as much a target as you," she said.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "Why would Voldemort want to kill Cedric?"

"He would have been a Guardian. The last of his line," Rhia said. "That's why both of you were made Champions. He wanted both of you."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Harry asked. "Why not with the others?"

"Because you needed to hear it now. And they don't. Not yet." Rhia whispered. Her hand was still on his cheek. Realizing this, she started to pull away, but Harry covered it with his own. "Cho likes you," she blurted out.

"Why? I've barely talked to her," He said. Keeping her hand in his, he moved it to his lap.

"Rose told me about her sitting by you… and what happened." Rhia said.

"Nothing happened," he said. Kali'na whirred as she climbed into his lap on top of their hands.

"But the two of you have a history," Rhia murmured. She stared down at their dannikit imprisoned hands.

"I'd call three conversations something other than a history," Harry told her. Somehow, even under the kit in his lap, he managed to move his hand to entwine his fingers with hers. "You and I have more of a history than that."

Gray eyes locked with green. Kali'na's whirring thrummed in the air. Rhia swallowed. "Harry I," she stopped and licked her suddenly dry lips. His gaze shifted to her mouth and stayed there for a moment before returning to hers, more intense than before. "Harry this," she stopped again. Then he leaned in and touched her lips with his. Just that light touch and both of them were jolted with an electric sizzle. She stiffened. Harry leaned back again. She was staring at him, mute.

"I'm sorry," he began.

"Harry Potter if you tell me you're sorry one more time, I'll hex you," Rhia snapped out. "You don't apologize for kissing a girl," she smiled a bit, "especially to the girl."

"I shocked you," Harry said.

She grinned. "If anyone ever asks, we'll tell them that when we kissed for the first time, sparks flew."

He smiled back. "First time? Does that mean there'll be a second time?"

"Well I don't know. We'll just have to see, won't we?" Rhia said. She squeezed his hand and smiled. From where they sat, they could hear the clock in the foyer of the castle strike six. "We should go in to dinner."

"One moment," Harry stopped her. This wasn't hard, considering he still held her hand, and Kali'na was still curled on top of them. She raised her eyebrows in question. "Sit with me?"

She smiled. "Of course." His smiled brightly and then kissed her again fast. The sizzle this time was stronger, and the energy from it sent them both to their feet. Somehow, Kali'na managed to get onto Harry's shoulder. They walked back into the castle still hand in hand.

Monica breathed a sigh of relief. She'd found the Library. Finally. This castle was a maze that changed every thirty seconds. It was alternately annoying and charming. For example, Five minutes ago, it had been annoying when she discovered she'd been walking down the same corridor for ten minutes, somehow going in a circle. Now, in the Library at last, it was once again charming. This room was unlike any she had seen thus far. Shelves upon shelves of books, from the enormous to the tiny, all of them about magic or magical things. Now to accomplish the mission that she had set herself… All she had to do was find the subject of that mission. She began to search the aisles.

"Shut up Goyle, I'm not going to help you smash some dim-witted Hufflepuff just because he looked at you sideways." Draco sneered. "Besides everyone looks at you sideways, it's the only way they can."

Monica came to a stop and peeked through the books on her left to the aisle beyond. There was Draco and two large boys she recognized as his seatmates from their Transfiguration class. She was eavesdropping, knew it, and accepted it as something that she just had to do. She waited.

Draco went on. "Stop looking at me like that. It wouldn't be prudent you great lummox. We have more important objectives, and that could blow it for us." He turned to face the shelf she was peeking through and she ducked hurriedly.

"Potter." One of them grunted.

"What? Oh yeah," Draco said. "Potter." His tone was odd. Calculating and yet thoughtful.

Monica frowned. What was going on? They were friends. Weren't they? She had to see what they were doing. She moved to another space between books, and found herself looking directly into his crystal blue eyes. He blinked and she stepped back from the shelves, wondering if he would say something to her now. Instead he turned back to his friends and said; "You two go on to dinner. I'll be there shortly."

"Ravenclaw." One of them grunted again. Monica almost shrieked.

"She may sit at our table again, she may not. That is certainly up to her now isn't it?" Draco told him. "Now go." The Slytherins lumbered away. Monica thought briefly about grabbing a book from the shelves and pretending that that was the reason she'd been looking at shelves. But that wasn't her style. At least, not recently, with him. She just waited for him to come to her.

"Are you lost again?" he asked, sauntering around the bookshelf, his blue eyes fastened on her.

"Not anymore," Monica answered. "I was looking for you."

He raised a smooth blond eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because when you left us at the lake, you were upset. I wanted to help." Monica said. Of course that wasn't the only reason… but he didn't know that.

"Nothing you can do about it. It's the past. Was that the only reason?" His gaze was piercing on hers.

Okay maybe he had a suspicion. She cleared her throat. "I … wanted to apologize for running into you after Transfiguration."

Both blond eyebrows were up by this point. "You already did. Just after it happened. And you didn't knock me down or anything. So there was really nothing to apologize for in the first place."

Oh bugger. She'd forgotten. Well, not really. He certainly hadn't been knocked down. It had been like running into a wall. One draped in expensive fabric… She put those thoughts away and tried to come up with a response since he'd blasted the apology excuse right out of the water. His blue eyes went icy all the sudden and she almost shivered. "Did they send you here to spy on me?"

"Who? What? No I…" She shook her head vehemently and sighed. There was nothing for it. She had to tell him. "I wanted to walk to dinner with you. That meant I had to find you. When I did, you were talking to your friends and I didn't want to interrupt. Who would want to spy on you?" The last was a bewildered question.

The ice in his eyes melted. "You did." There was a faint smile on his face now.

"Yes well," Monica started.

"It would be my pleasure to escort you to dinner Miss Reed. Shall we?" He asked, offering her his arm. Still slightly bemused she took it and together they left the Library.

In the Great hall, George, Fred, Ron and Daniel continued their debate, even as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. With a final look of disgust, Hermione and Ana went to the Ravenclaw table and sat down. A moment later they were joined by Neville, Ginny, Reggie and Lynne. Rose stayed with the boys, trying to get them to stop, before the debate turned into a full-fledged house war. She had just managed, barely, to get them under control, when Cho plopped herself down on the bench next to Ron and asked, "So, is Harry not coming to dinner then?"

"He'll be here," Ron answered, suddenly noticing that Hermione was not sitting next to him. "Excuse me." He stood up and moved to the Ravenclaw table, across from Hermione and the other girls.

Cho turned to Rose, "Is he with that new girl? The one with the weird purple eyes?"

Rose raised her eyebrows and her eyes went from calm gold to swirling green. "What business is it of yours?"

Cho backpedaled hastily, "I just wondered. She doesn't strike me as quite right for him that's all."

"And what makes you an authority on Harry Potter?" Rose asked. She could see George watching her, and saw also that the other Guardians each had one eye on her, keeping up their own conversations while monitoring hers.

Cho smiled and managed to blush prettily, "Well, he and I are, well,"

"Obsolete," Fred remarked cheerily as Harry walked in holding hands with Rhia. The two of them were walking slowly, towards the Gryffindor table.

Cho looked up at the approaching couple. Her pretty face flushed a deep red, before paling again. Her mouth tightened and then relaxed. She took a deep breath. Saying nothing, she stood and went to the other end of the Ravenclaw table. "That was… interesting." George said to Rose.

"Yes it most certainly was. But not as interesting as the new development currently approaching," Rose said as Harry and Rhia took their seats across from her. She smiled brilliantly at them. Rhia looked over at her and started to frown. Rose continued, "Good evening. You both just missed a fascinating conversation with Miss Chang."

Harry looked surprised and Rhia's frown deepened. Harry glanced at her. Something happened then to make her eyes widen and brought her smile back. Only then did Harry smile. Rose raised a sisterly eyebrow in question, but got no response. She took a thoughtful bite of mashed potatoes. Rhia was keeping her injured hand under the table.

"There's something even more interesting," George commented. He tilted his head to the door. This time it was Draco that entered, with Monica Reed on his arm. He escorted her to the Slytherin table and she took a seat next to him. Crabbe and Goyle looked befuddled for a moment before grinning grotesquely.

"Oops. That's my cue," Rose said, standing up. She turned to George, "Care to join me?"

George looked over at the Slytherin table. "Sorry, no. Can't do it. Would make me lose my appetite."

"That's too bad," Rose said. She motioned to Ana, who looking a little apprehensive, was already moving to that table. With a cheerful wave, Rose left the Gryffindor table and moved to Slytherin.

George sighed. "Isn't it just." He continued his meal, keeping a watchful eye on the two girls with all those Slytherins. Monica seemed to have been taken under Draco's wing, so he wasn't worried about her. Not as much anyway. The three of them were the only ones without the silver and green colors of Slytherin house.

George had gotten to the pre-dessert course of the meal without tasting a thing. For some reason, tonight his feeling of apprehension about Rose was stronger. Fred noticed his twin's preoccupation. "Hey bro, she can take care of herself," he told him by way of reassurance.

George frowned at his glass of pumpkin juice. "I know that, I just… have a feeling, that's all."

"What kind of a feeling?" Daniel asked.

"The kind you get when there's a bludger flying straight at your head, but you don't know about it until it's almost too late," George said.

Daniel frowned. "That's the same feeling I've got."

"Now that you mention it…" Fred started. When an ice cream sundae appeared on his plate, he shoved it away. "I'm not hungry anymore."

The three boys looked at one another. On a hunch, George glanced over at the Ravenclaw table. Ron was looking at his plate with a mournful expression on his face. George whistled for his attention and got it. He made a motion with his left hand. Ron nodded and responded with a similar gesture. "What was that?" Daniel asked.

Fred grinned, "Sorry pal, Weasley family only. Ron's got the same feeling we do."

"Which means that some of our new skills have kicked in." Daniel said after a moment of staring at Fred.

George suddenly scooped up Lunia from his lap and lifted her to his face. "All right Lunia my girl," he whispered to the kit, "I want you to go to Rose. Go carefully, but not directly to her. Once you get to Rose, don't leave her until I come to fetch you. Understand?" Lunia tilted her head at him for a moment before trilling an affirmative. He grinned and put the kit on the table. She whirred playfully at him, swatted at his empty glass and took off bounding from tabletop to tabletop, zig-zagging across the hall. The white kit somehow managed to avoid knocking over a single plate, or upsetting a single goblet. She came to a almost graceful skidding stop in front of Rose. Vestan started a conversation with her that sounded rather like music. Full of trills and whirrs and grumbles.

Rose looked over her shoulder at George, eyebrows raised in question. He frowned a warning at her before she could stand up. She stayed put. Just as he stood up, Solida, Phantom and Fianna all rocketed toward the Slytherin table, then away from it, then back to it, until they too were seated in front of Rose and Ana. Segan and Vestan were both griping at the new arrivals when someone at the far end of the room shrieked…