Author's Note: JKR has finally answered a question that many of us have. Was Hermione nearly eleven or nearly twelve, when she began Hogwarts? She was nearly twelve, according to JKR's official website. I guessed wrong; so, in the story Hermione is younger than Ron and Harry instead of older. She turned 17 in September of this her seventh year, and therefore, did not take her Apparation test during the summer, when everyone else did.
As Strong As We Are United
Chapter 30 – Blood Magic
In the days that followed Christmas, everyone who did not live at Hogwarts returned to their homes, with the exception of Andrew, who having vacation from the Watcher's Council had decided to stay for a visit with Luna, Dawn, and Shannon. The teens returned their attention to training, and Andrew happily joined them in their sessions. He was not as advanced as the others in physical fighting and did not have any magical ability, but as always Andrew had his own unique type of fun. He even took it upon himself to chart everyone's progress, much to the annoyance of Buffy and Faith, who had seen enough of Andrew's war boards during preparations for the battle with the First.
Charlie accompanied Hermione to the Ministry of Magic to take her Apparation test, which she passed without incident. (Buffy could not retake her test until after she gave birth, because of the risk to the babies if Buffy splinched herself.) Hermione, however, was disappointed that she would not be able to practice Apparation again until the end of the school year, when she left Hogwarts. The others had been able to continue practicing during the previous summer, even if they only Apparated from room to room in Grimmauld Place.
Two days after Christmas, Cat's best friend Becca arrived at Hogwarts. Cat, Lena, and Wesley had been eagerly awaiting her arrival in the Entrance Hall, where her portkey was programmed to bring her. Becca arrived laden with two large duffle bags. "I thought you were only staying for a week?" questioned Lena, when she saw the two bags.
Becca rolled her eyes. "Very funny. One whole bag is stuff for Cat. I got some Christmas presents and a bunch of stuff from home that I'm sure she'll like to have."
"Like what?" asked Lena.
"A couple of twelve packs of Dr. Pepper, Pixie Sticks, tapes of the latest season of South Park, the new Jasper Fforde novel, a 2005 Dilbert calendar, some yankee candles, a photo album of the three of us that I put together, and some other silly stuff."
Cat smiled broadly. "You know me so well."
"Better than you know yourself," Becca replied. "I also brought a ton of notes on the See No Evil, Hear No Evil spell. I was surprised how much stuff I had packed away in the attic. We really did do good work back then."
"Hey, some of us still do good work," noted Cat.
"That still doesn't explain why you need such a large bag for one week's worth of clothes," argued Lena.
"Well, I didn't know what to bring. I have muggle stuff and wizard robes. I also have an outfit for every occasion – something for a nice dinner out, something for clubbing, etcetera," explained Becca.
"There aren't any clubs around here," Lena reminded the other woman.
"We could sneak off to London one night," noted Cat bemusedly.
"Now who's being unnecessarily risky?" asked Lena.
"I said we could, not that we would," argued Cat.
Becca laughed. "I'm glad to see that nothing has changed during your long absence, Cat." Becca finally dropped her bags and hugged her best friend.
As they pulled back, Becca seemed to study Cat's face. "Did Lena hit you, when she got here?" Becca asked, knowing Lena well.
Cat put a hand to her right cheek. "Oh yeah. She hits hard for such a little thing."
Becca smiled, then slapped Cat across the other cheek. "What was that for?" asked Cat. "I already told you Lena got me."
"That one was from me," replied Becca matter-of-factly. "Don't you dare disappear again without telling us, where you're going." Becca quickly turned her attention to Wesley, who stood at a distance from the three women. Becca held out her hand to him, "Hi. I'm Rebecca Szabo. You must be Wesley." The two shook hands.
"I really need new friends," mumbled Cat, as she rubbed her left cheek. Wesley picked up both of Becca's bags, even as she argued that she could carry them, and the group headed toward the Scooby common room.
"So, you have the nerve to leave us behind so you can move into a castle," noted Becca. "How is it that you get to live in a castle, and I'm living in a small cape cod?"
"What are you complaining about?" asked Lena. "I live in a two bedroom apartment in an old house."
"Well, you have the whole apartment to yourself. My house is taken up by a husband, kid, and dog," Becca argued back. As the two continued to exchange barbs, Cat smiled to herself. It was great to be with her two closest friends again.
"So, what're the plans for today?" Becca asked Cat, pulling her from her thoughts.
"Well, first I need to introduce you to everyone, since we all share a common room and you'll be seeing everyone a lot. Then I figured we could have the house-elves send lunch to my rooms; so, we can catch up."
"Well, I probably have more news that you, having been stuck in a castle and all," Becca teased her best friend.
"I don't know about that," said Cat. "I do get out from time to time, and on one of those occasions I happened to run into your ex."
"Which one?" asked Becca.
"Rex White," replied Cat. "Sunnyhell," she said to the portrait of the Slayer, which opened to the Scooby common room.
The three women and Wesley entered the common room. Wesley immediately brought Becca's things to Cat's quarters, while Cat began introductions.
"So, what is old Rex White up to?" Becca asked between introductions. It was obvious that she was trying to sound like she did not care, but was in fact very interested.
"Isn't he one of the vamps that was in your band?" Faith asked Genevieve.
"Vamp?" asked Becca. She turned quickly to Cat. "Rex is a vampire?"
"Who isn't?" quipped Spike.
Becca gave Spike a funny look. Cat continued her introductions, explaining that Spike and Genevieve were vampires with souls. She also explained that Rex was a vampire with a chip. Genevieve was happy to tell everything she knew of her old drummer. Becca was intrigued by the idea of a vampire band.
Even with everything that had been happening during the past few months, Dawn had been diligently reading everything she could find about portals. She also had several discussions with Hermione, Draco, Willow, Wesley, and Professor Vector about the theoretical basis of portals.
Willow believed that Dawn would be able to open a portal to anywhere that she could picture accurately in her mind, similar to an Apparation destination. Willow did not believe that Dawn needed to use any particular spell, such as the Accio she had used to accidentally open her first portal.
A few days after Christmas, Dawn was finally ready to begin practicing opening and closing portals with her own magic. Those who were working with her as well as Buffy, Shannon, and Spike wanted to be present at her first attempt.
Dawn was pacing the common room an hour before she was scheduled to make her first attempt at creating a portal. Hermione sat in one of the armchairs, reading, and Shannon lay on the floor in the corner, contorting her body into various yoga postures. "Pacing is not going to make the time go faster," Hermione noted absently.
"She has a point," Draco agreed, as he entered the common room. He looked toward Hermione then Shannon. "Where are Ron and Harry?" he asked.
"Harry went flying," replied Shannon.
"And, Ron's in the library," added Hermione. Draco looked surprised at this news. Hermione shrugged. "He's been spending his free time doing demon research." She smiled, proud of how serious Ron was taking his future career. "He figures it'll help him as a Watcher."
"How are you holding up?" Draco asked Dawn, who had stopped pacing, when he arrived.
"I'm nervous," she stated.
"Of course you are," replied Draco, putting his arms around Dawn, as she sunk into the embrace. "But, everything'll be fine. Willow is definitely powerful enough to close the portal if it becomes necessary. And worse case scenario, Shannon and Spike are more than capable of taking care of any nasties that could be released. It'll be fine."
"What if it doesn't work?" asked Dawn. "What if the last time was just a fluke?"
Draco shrugged. "If nothing happens, then nothing happens. Opening portals could be a useful skill, but you've lived just fine without being able to do it."
Dawn nodded, feeling a little bit better. Shannon snorted. "How come it didn't help, when Hermione and I told you the same thing?"
"You two just don't have the magic touch," retorted Draco, pulling Dawn into a tighter hug.
Willow and Buffy entered the common room shortly thereafter. "We just need Wesley, and then we can head down to the Arithmancy classroom," noted Willow.
"He left to find Spike," Shannon informed Willow. "They'll meet us there."
"Why is Spike coming?" Buffy asked.
"The same reason you are," replied Dawn, finally extracting herself from Draco's arms. "He wants to make sure that I'm safe."
"And he's gearing up to fight any nasties Dawn might release," added Shannon.
"There won't be any nasties," explained Willow. "Professor Vector and I have discussed this at length and today Dawn is only going to attempt to open portals to different places within Hogwarts castle."
"Hogwarts has many of its own nasties," said Hermione, as she marked her place and closed the book she had been reading. "Hopefully, Dawn won't open a portal to Fluffy's current home." Hermione shivered.
"Fluffy?" asked Draco.
"Giant, three-headed dog," explained Buffy. "He's happily living in the Forbidden Forest with Grawp."
"How do you know that?" asked Shannon.
Buffy shrugged. "I met him, when Giles and I were doing a patrol early last year. Fluffy actually likes me."
Hermione shivered again. "He didn't like Ron, Harry, Neville, and I," she noted.
"He didn't like Giles much either," said Buffy.
"Can we get going now?" asked Dawn.
The group agreed and exited the common room. They were quiet, as the walked to Professor Vector's classroom. Wesley, Spike, and Professor Vector were waiting for them. Professor Vector had moved several of the desks out of the way, leaving a large open space in the middle of the room.
Willow conferred with the Arithmancy professor briefly, before turning her attention to the group. "Dawnie, you need to stand in the middle of the room here." Willow indicated the open area. "Everyone else should stand back against that wall." Willow indicated the wall to which Dawn's back faced. "Shannon and Spike should probably stand in front of the others in case we have a problem. I'll be standing beside Dawn to talk her through the process."
"Now, Dawnie, to begin, we need to draw some of your blood." Wesley stepped forward and handed a box to Willow.
"What's that?" asked Dawn.
"Disposable lancets, much like Diabetics use when testing their blood sugar." Willow pulled one from the box, and used it to draw a small drop of blood from Dawn's finger.
"Thanks, Wes," said Dawn. "This beats having to cut myself with a knife."
"We should have used those last year for the ritual to stop the Mandata Habere ab Primo Malo," Hermione commented.
"Unfortunately, I didn't think of it at the time," replied Wesley.
Willow motioned for the group to be quiet. "Now, Dawnie, we are going to try to open a portal to your room. Hold your hand out in front of you. Close your eyes and feel your magic, just like we do in class. As you pull your magic toward your fingertips, I want you to picture your room in detail."
Dawn did as she was told. A small flickering light appeared, initiating at the place where the droplet of blood sat on her fingertip. Willow's voice was soft and calm, as she continued to instruct Dawn. "Focus on your room, as you allow your magic to flow into the portal."
The group could not help but gasp, as the portal continued to grow. When it had reached two feet in diameter, Willow issued new instructions. "Now, Dawnie I need you to focus on sustaining your magic exactly where it is. Do not allow any more to flow into the portal, but do not pull back either. Just hold everything steady as it is."
The portal stabilized, no longer growing. Willow smiled. "You can open your eyes now, Dawnie, but keep your concentration on your magic."
Dawn opened her eyes. "Wow," she whispered, as she looked into the portal and saw her room.
"I want to try something, okay?" asked Willow.
"Okay," agreed Dawn.
"When I tell you to, I want you to slowly lower your hand," Willow explained.
"What'll happen?" asked Dawn.
"I'm not sure," replied Willow. "I think that the portal will remain where it is, but it might move with your hand. Let's see, okay?"
"Okay," agreed Dawn.
"Now, very slowly lower your hand," instructed Willow. Dawn did as she was told. The portal remained in its same position.
"Very good," said Willow.
Dawn screamed, as something suddenly burst throught the portal. It barely missed hitting her, as it flew past. Shannon and Spike immediately fell into fighting stance, as did Buffy, who was not supposed to be fighting since entering her second trimester of pregnancy.
Before anyone could act, Hermione yelled out, "Crookshanks, what are you doing?" She bent down to scoop up the cat, who had run straight for her. "You nearly gave your mum a heart attack," she said, as she hugged the cat to her. Crookshanks was shaking slightly. "Awe, did the big bad portal scare little Crookshanks," Hermione cooed, as everyone else began to laugh.
"So much for the big nasties," Shannon quipped, relaxing slightly.
"We were hoping to test the ability of various objects to pass through the portals at a later time," explained Professor Vector. "It looks like we've already had our first subject."
Willow turned her attention away from the cat and back to Dawn. "Alright, Dawnie, let's finish this. I need you to reach back toward the portal and touch the edge of it." Dawn slowly raised her arm until the very edge of the portal touched her fingertips.
"Now slowly pull your magic back into yourself. Let it dissipate and return to where it usually lies dormant." Dawn closed her eyes and did as Willow instructed. The portal slowly decreased in size until it was no more than a small point of shimmering light. Seconds later, the portal was gone.
Dawn opened her eyes and smiled. "It worked," she said, feeling both excited and relieved at the same time.
Draco stepped forward and hugged Dawn tightly. "Hey, little me, don't hog the Nibblet," ordered Spike. Draco stepped back to allow the vampire to hug Dawn, which was quickly followed by hugs with Willow, Buffy, Shannon, and Hermione.
"So, when do I get to try again?" Dawn asked Willow.
Willow smiled at the younger girl. "I don't want you to become exhausted, and you do have other training to focus on as well. I think we can practice with your portals once each day, until classes begin next term. We'll have to see, when we have time at that point."
Dawn smiled broadly. "Sounds good," she said.
"Dawnie, you have to promise that you won't try opening a portal without supervision," Willow warned the younger girl. "Even when you become proficient, it is better to be safe. You know the things that can go wrong. You've done the research."
Dawn promised that she would not try to open a portal without having Willow and either Spike or one of the Slayers with her. Realizing that Willow was right about the amount of energy that opening a portal had used, Dawn headed back to her room to take a well-deserved nap.
While Dawn was opening her first portal, Cat, Lena, and Becca turned their attention to their See No Evil, Hear No Evil spell. They had occupied themselves during Becca's first day at Hogwarts with catching up on everything that had happened during the past two years.
The three women had their research spread across Cat's sitting room. Becca had not been kidding about the amount of notes she had saved. It had taken them the better part of the morning just to sort through the paperwork.
"I wish that I was this organized," Lena moaned. "I'm still not sure that I have everything together for the potion."
Becca smiled. "Then I guess that it's a good thing that I have the original notes for the potion too."
"Are your serious?" asked Lena excitedly.
Becca nodded. "They're in that big accordion folder that's still in my bag. I told you that I saved everything. I even have Cat's original sketches of the theory behind the whole thing." Becca continued to flip through the stack of papers in front of her. She sighed defeatedly. "But, what I can't seem to find is the final wording of the spell. I have all of the Arithmantic calculations; so, I guess I could try to recreate them, but it'd be easier if I could just find them."
"Didn't the spell include the Latin for see no evil and hear no evil?" questioned Cat.
"Yes, but there was something else about our parents. I just don't remember what," Becca moaned.
"Could it be 'Defendere verba noster et facta noster ab patribus ut vidant non malum et audant non malum'?" asked Lena, her lips curled into a smirk.
"How did you remember that?" asked Cat.
Lena continued to smirk. "I didn't. Becca's final report was wedged in the middle or my notes." Becca rose from her seat and took the report from Lena. "Unfortunately, I can barely read my own notes," Lena added, squinting at the papers in front of her.
"And to think that you have the best handwriting of all of us," noted Cat bemusedly. Lena responded by sticking her tongue out at her cousin.
"I think it might be a good idea to have some other experts look at all this, before we assume that we have everything right," suggested Becca, as she skimmed through the final report of her senior project.
"That shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure Flitwick would be interested in helping with the spell. And though I pity Snape, I'm sure Lena would be thrilled to have another excuse to irritate the poor man," said Cat.
"I still don't get what you see in him," Becca commented to Lena. "I thought you usually like them short."
"Oh, leave me alone," grumbled Lena. "At least my ex isn't a vampire."
Becca shrugged, "I think the whole creature of the night thing is kind of sexy. Though Rex living forever can't possibly be a good thing."
"You both have seriously warped taste," Cat told her friends.
"Please," replied Lena. "You've definitely dated your share of losers."
"But now I have Wesley, who really is a great guy," Cat retorted.
"And I have Will," added Becca, referring to her husband of more than ten years.
"So, it looks like the only one lacking here is you, Lena," Cat noted.
Lena again stuck her tongue out at her cousin. "I will have Severus Snape," she assured her friends.
"I'm sure you will," replied Becca. "The bigger question, though, is why do you want him." Becca and Cat dissolved into a fit of giggles.
Lena stood and grabbed her notes in a huff. "Well, I'm going to go find Professor Snape and see if he can make some sense of my teenage logic," Lena stated, waving her old notes in front of her. She stomped out of the room, but before she left, she stuck her tongue out at the other two women one last time. Cat and Becca continued giggling.
Once they calmed themselves, and Becca performed the counter-curse on Cat to cure her hiccups, Cat offered to take Becca to meet the charms professor. As Cat predicted, Professor Flitwick was thrilled to help. He was very interested in how the theory behind the Fidelius charm could be altered to hide words and actions instead of people or objects.
Lena arrived at Snape's office to find him and Willow working on bottling some potions. She knocked on the door. "Sev, I was wondering if you could help me with something?" she asked.
"That's my cue to go," said Willow, who began gathering her things.
"You don't have to go," said Lena. "In fact, another pair of eyes could be helpful."
"You actually have a purpose for being here?" questioned Snape.
"I always have a purpose," replied Lena.
"Let me amend my earlier statement then," said Snape. "You actually have a purpose for being here other than to harass me."
Lena rolled her eyes at the potions master, before turning her attention to Willow. "Do you remember when Cat and I explained the See no Evil, Hear no Evil spell to you?" Willow nodded. "Well, I'm still working on the exact potion that I made back in school. I'm about 90 there, but I know that I'm missing something. Anyway, Becca had my old notes. I was hoping that I could explain to both of you what I have so far, and that you could help me figure out what I'm missing."
"I'd be happy to help out a bit today," said Willow, "but I don't have a whole lot of time this week. I'm busy working with Dawnie and her portals and training the other students in wandless magic. However, I'm sure that Severus would be happy to be of assistance."
"I'd be willing to take a look at your notes," agreed Snape.
Lena smiled, as she pulled out her current notes and those from her school days. She began explaining the potion in detail to both Willow and Snape.
Dawn, Shannon, and Willow were once again in Professor Vector's classroom. However, the Arithmancy professor was not in attendance, due to an appointment she had in Hogsmeade. Willow handed Dawn a lancet. "Okay, Dawnie, you can pick anywhere in the castle to access today. I'm just going to silently watch. You know what to do."
Dawn pierced her finger. She closed her eyes and pictured a location in the castle. Concentrating on the image, she slowly released her magic. When the portal reached a diameter of five feet, she stopped its growth. Opening her eyes, she lowered her hand, looked at Willow, and smiled.
"Very good," said Willow. "Though I don't want to know why you can so easily picture the details of the boys quarters."
Willow's voice caused Draco to look up from the book he had been reading, while lying on his bed. He was surprised to see a portal with Dawn standing on the other side. Draco smiled at his girlfriend. "Working hard?" he asked.
"Yup," replied Dawn.
"Can we spend some time together, when you finish?" asked Draco.
"Absolutely," said Dawn with a broad smile.
Willow shook her head. "Well, let's get on with this then." Dawn nodded.
"I want to try something new," said Willow. "I want to see if you can close the portal from the other side. So go on through and let's try it."
Dawn walked through the portal into Draco's room. She turned to face the portal, smiling at Willow. "Bye now," Dawn quipped, as she raised her hand and began to close the portal.
"I expect you to be out of Draco's room by the time we walk back across the castle," called Willow as the portal closed. "And, I walk fast, Missy." Dawn laughed as the portal disappeared.
"Buffy's going to kill you for letting her do that," Shannon noted.
"You're not helping," Willow replied, as she gathered her things and bolted from the classroom.
It only took Professor Flitwick two days to review all of Becca's calculations for the See no Evil, Hear no Evil spell. He also recommended that they find a test subject, before casting it on everyone. Becca had been concerned about the amount of power it would take to cast the spell on such a large group of people. Fortunately, Willow and Professor Dumbledore had agreed to be the casters.
Lena and Snape were having a bit less luck with the bonding potion. They had worked through all of Lena's notes, but seemed to still be missing one key ingredient. Lena was sure that the clue would be found in blood magic theories. In desperation they had finally turned to Cat, Hermione, and Draco to help research. The five of them spent two full days reading about blood magic, before they had a breakthrough.
"Lena, can I see your ingredient list again?" Cat asked. She was seated in the library, surrounded by several historical volumes that chronicled old rituals to form the marriage bond.
"Sure," said Lena, passing over the list, as she herself continued to read.
Cat scanned the list, then let out a loud, "Woohoo," which was followed by a soft, "Sorry," to Madame Pince.
Lena, Snape, Hermione, and Draco all looked up from their reading to stare at Cat. "I got it," Cat confirmed.
Everyone crowded around the book she held before her. Lena smacked herself in the head. "Ivy, of course. It's used to represent binding together. How could I have forgotten that?"
"Especially since I vaguely remember you trying several different vines to determine what would be strongest," said Cat.
"Yeah, well, you didn't remember either," stated Lena.
"So, that's it then?" asked Hermione. "We have everything we need?"
"Just one more thing," said Lena. "We need someone to test the potion and spell on before we use it on everyone."
"I'll do it," Draco volunteered.
"Me too," agreed Hermione, not wanting to be left out of anything.
"The two of you would be perfect as test subjects," mused Cat. "Draco is pureblood, and Hermione is muggle-born. We won't have to worry about a possible family connection already existing."
"And, since Draco's mother is still alive, we can test the spell too," added Hermione quietly. Draco patted her softly on the shoulder. He hated that he felt guilty about having a parent. Life was not supposed to be like this.
Lena stood up and stretched. She looked at her watch for a moment, before speaking. "It's nearly dinner time. Why don't you all go and have some dinner and rest up a bit. We can meet up in the potions lab at eight tonight," she suggested.
Cat stood as well. "We should go find Becca and Flitwick. Hopefully, they can cast a trial spell tonight."
"I'll also write to my mother and ask her if she can come to the castle tonight," suggested Draco. "We can test the whole thing right in front of her."
Everyone agreed to the plan and went their separate ways before dinner.
Lena and Snape brewed most of the potion before the others arrived. The potion was missing one final ingredient, which could be added at any time – the blood of those to be bound together. As they waited for the others, the two potions masters talked. "I really hope this works," Lena commented.
"I'm sure that it will," replied Snape. "We've done all the proper research and were careful in the preparation. There is no reason that this will not work."
Lena smiled. "I always get nervous before testing a new potion. I don't know why. I mean it isn't like I don't do this all the time. And, I managed to create this potion when I was only seventeen years old. I've had lots of years of practice since then."
Snape was staring at her critically. "So you do invent potions regularly then?" he asked.
"Did I say that?" Lena replied.
"I think you did, which would make sense since you obviously have a talent for it."
"Thanks," Lena replied with a smile.
"It's almost a pleasure to be in your company, when you're focused on working instead of harassing me," Snape added.
"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" Lena asked.
Snape did not get the opportunity to respond, because everyone else arrived. "Are we ready to get this thing started?" Cat asked.
Lena smiled at everyone. "The potion just needs the last ingredient." Lena pulled out two lancets that she had borrowed from Willlow. "I need both Hermione and Draco to place one drop of blood into the cauldron. Then you will each drink a small vial of the potion."
Neither teen looked happy about these instructions, but they both did as they were told without comment.
"Now, it's my turn," said Becca, pulling out her wand. She flourished it in large figure eight pattern, which she traced several times as she said the words of the incantation. "Defendere verba noster et facta noster ab patribus ut vidant non malum et audant non malum." As she completed the words, she gave her wand a very hard flick.
Everyone stood in silence for a long moment. "Was that it?" asked Draco.
"I don't feel any different," Hermione noted.
"There isn't any reason you would feel the potion or the spell," explained Cat. "That's one of the reasons that we do need to test the results. So, I want Draco to tell Hermione some secret that he does not want his mother to know, while he is standing right in front of her."
"What if it doesn't work?" asked Draco apprehensively, as he looked in the direction of his mother.
"Draco, you are of age. I may not like everything you do and say, but there really is nothing I can do to stop you. Now, can we move on with this little experiment?" said Narcissa.
"Professor Snape, am I going to get in trouble for what I'm about to admit?" Draco asked.
"As long as you have not killed someone or used an unforgivable curse, I am sure we can overlook whatever you tell us," explained Snape.
Draco returned his attention to Hermione, though he could not quite bring himself to look at her. "Back in fifth year, I experimented with getting high off of Billiwig stings. I know it was stupid, and I haven't tried it since and have no intention of doing so in the future."
"Mr. Malfoy," said Snape. Draco held his breath. "I agree that what you did was stupid, but you are not the first teenager nor the last to experiment with Billiwigs."
"I'm sorry," interrupted Narcissa. "I'm sure that I heard what Draco and Severus said, but I can't seem to recall that it was anything out of the ordinary."
"You have no idea what they said?" asked Cat.
Narcissa seemed to be thinking hard. "I can't remember specifically, but I have the impression that it was just some normal business about Draco's schooling."
Cat, Lena, and Becca all smiled broadly. "It worked. It actually worked," Becca shrieked. The three women all exchanged hugs.
On Becca's last day at Hogwarts, everyone gathered in the Room of Requirement. Professor Dumbledore had made sure that the room was large enough to accommodate everyone. The Angel Investigations team had arrived earlier, as had the Scoobies not living at Hogwarts, and all the Order members. In addition, the entire faculty, the nine teens, Lena, and Becca were present.
Professor Dumbledore addressed the group. "Professor Bolgya came to me recently with a very interesting idea. When she was at Victoriana Academy, she and her friends created a way to shield their words and actions from their parents, whenever the parents would have an objection to these words or actions. This is an interesting concept, because as you all know Professor Bolgya's father is Tom Riddle, who we all know as Voldemort." Several people gasped at the use of the name. Dumbledore ignored the reaction, as he continued. "Professor Bolgya and her friends have worked to recreate the potion and spell to accomplish this task. We will all use it to prevent Voldemort from knowing of any of our plans."
"I would now ask that Professor Bolgya stand and explain what we will be doing today."
Cat stood at the front of the room. "The process will be fairly simple. My friend Lena, with the help of Professor Snape, has brewed a large quantity of a potion that will bind us all together. Each person in this room, including myself, will add a single drop of their blood to the potion. Lena will then distribute a small vial to each of you to drink. Professors Dumbledore and Rosenberg will then perform the spell that my friend Becca developed with the help of Professor Flitwick."
"We have sterile lancets to use for drawing just a drop of blood from each person's finger. Please take one from the box on that table and proceed to the cauldron to add your blood. When that has been finished, Lena will give out the vials for each of you to drink."
Cat was the first to prick her finger and add a drop of blood. Lena and Snape did the same. Everyone else in the room formed a line to do the same.
Once all of the blood was mixed into the potion, Lena and Snape began to add the potion to small vials, which Cat, Hermione, and Draco helped to pass out to each member of the assembled group.
When everyone had taken the potion, Willow and Professor Dumbledore stood on opposite ends of the room to perform the spell. The raised their wands and, sweeping them in figure eight formations, spoke the incantation. "Defendere verba noster et facta noster ab patribus ut vidant non malum et audant non malum."
Professor Dumbledore again addressed the group. "I want to thank all of you for coming today. We are happy to have gained an extra defense against the possibility of spies conveying information about our activities to Voldemort."
As everyone began to gather their things to leave, Cat and Lena pulled Becca aside. "I guess you're ready to get out of here, huh?" Lena asked.
"Will is expecting me home tonight, and Professor Dumbledore gave me a portkey that's set to take me home in an hour," Becca replied.
The three women walked back to Cat's quarters to gather Becca's things. When they finished packing everything, there were only a few minutes left to say their goodbyes.
Cat hugged Becca tightly. "You take care of yourself," Cat told her best friend.
"I could say the same thing to you. You're right in the middle of the fight," Becca replied.
"You know I have to do this, right?" Cat asked.
"I know. Just like I have to go home and protect my family," said Becca.
"Promise me something, Becca?" Becca nodded. "If it looks like my father is turning his attention your way, go into hiding."
Becca nodded. "Mama didn't raise no fool," she quipped. "If things get bad, I'll find a secret keeper and Will, David, and I will head to Will's family." Becca gave Cat a knowing look. Cat realized that Becca meant her husband's extended family that lived deep in the heart of Tennessee, somewhere no self-respecting Death Eater would even think to look.
"Stop it, both of you," Lena ordered. "We are all going to live through this war. And, when we're old ladies, we'll tell the story so many times that our grandkids will hate having to visit us."
"Agreed," said Becca, pulling both of her friends into a group hug. The women finally released each other. Becca stepped back, one duffle bag slung over each shoulder, she smiled at her friends as the portkey that she had grasped in her hand activated.
Cat and Lena stood for several seconds staring at the spot where Becca had been only a moment before. "Well, you still have me for another week," Lena noted. Cat smiled at her cousin.
"Do you really think we're all going to make it through this?" Cat asked.
"Not a chance in hell," replied Lena solemnly.
Author's Note: I apologize if my Latin is not totally up to par. I took two years of it in seventh and eighth grade, which was a very, very long time ago. I remember just enough to know what to look up in the dictionary and my old textbooks. (I am not entirely sure why I have kept them for the past 20 years, but they are coming in handy with fanfiction writing.)