Chapter 7: The Three of Us in the Dark


One is all a fire

One is all a spark

But here I am with the two of you

The three of us in the dark
'

Beams of sunlight spill across the cold stone floor of the near-empty hospital wing. The quiet clinking of potions vials as Madam Pomfrey restocks the ward is the only sound that can be heard.

Lying in the same bed she has occupied for weeks, Glory rolls her eyes at the now familiar sounds of the mediwitch at work and rolls over, pulling the covers over her head. A few minutes later, she sighs and turns again, slamming her pillow down over her head and holding it down tightly against her ear in yet another vain attempt to find a moment of silence.

Across the room, the door to the infirmary swings open, and Glory smiles faintly at the familiar presence and drops the pillow as she sits up.

Harry readjusts the bag slung over his shoulder as the door closes behind him and he moves toward Glory's bed. She smiles brightly at him as he comes around the curtain that hides her bed from the rest of the ward.

"Is that my homework?" She nods to the bag Harry puts down on the table beside her bed. He rolls his eyes.

"Nice to see you too, Ry," he laughs as she looks at him sheepishly, quickly apologising for her bad manners. "No worries, Ry, I was just teasing. So, any word on a release date yet?" Harry settles himself a bit stiffly on the edge of the cot. There is a tension about him that Glory senses but decides not to comment on just yet.

'He'll reveal it in time without me pressuring it out of him.' She shakes her head in response to his question.

"No one seems willing to tell me anything about it," Glory shrugs and shakes her head in frustrated amusement. "I think they're waiting on the specialist's report. She had some question for the family she needed to ask or something like that. I wasn't really paying that much attention to what she was saying actually."

"Specialist?"

"A headshrinker from St. Mungo's." Harry frowns, as much at Glory's casual attitude about the whole thing as what she is telling him. "Apparently my actions sent up all sorts of red flags."

"Why did you do it Ry?" Harry asks quietly after a few moments or tense silence. Glory looks down, unable to meet his eyes, knowing this is what has been bothering him so much. It is the first time he has ventured to ask her since the incident in the potions class, always afraid of interfering with her healing to press her about it.

"You know why, Harry."

"No, I don't. I need you to tell me! You owe me an explanation Ry!" She remains silent as he rants, letting him vent all of his frustration, and once he is done, he watches her expectantly for a minute in silence. Seeing the faint flicker of Glory's eyes, Harry sighs and closes his own, breathing deeply and calming himself, focusing on the things around him as Glory has been attempting to teach him since the summer. He feels the sudden change in the air around them and opens his eyes and stares at Glory. "I don't care if that was the Headmaster with the staff and an army of aurors who just walked into the ward."

"Well, you're half right," Glory mutters under her breath, making sure Harry can overhear every word of it. He pauses for an instant and blinks at her before continuing with his previous tirade.

"You owe me an explanation and I want to hear it now, Ry." Glory sighs and shakes her head at Harry's continued insistence, knowing that he won't give up anytime soon, and not feeling up to arguing about it, she gives in.

"Look, it's pretty self-explanatory, Har. I've already told you about Zane and the rules of the circle that I am sworn to follow. I couldn't take the risk of breaking those rules and condemning us all to death, so I opted for the alternative. It came down to a choice between my own life and that of yours and Neville's, Hermione, Draco, Terry, Blaise, Professor Snape, everyone else in that room. One life or twenty; it wasn't a difficult decision to make."

"What a way to prove yourself a true bloody Gryffindor," Harry grumbles half-heartedly, finally understanding and accepting Glory's reasons completely. Glory laughs quietly as she pulls Harry into a comforting hug without a word. After a moment of silence Harry confides to her in a whisper. "I thought I was going to lose you."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," Glory teases lightly, determined to reassure Harry, even as she hides her own breaking heart that she has caused him so much pain in the first place. "You're stuck with me for life now, love, whether you like it or not." Harry gives a weak laugh and nods telling her she'd better be.

From just beyond the edge of the screen that surrounds the bed, someone clears their throat audibly and Harry pulls away from Glory's embrace to face the small group of adults gathered there. Glory giggles quietly to herself at the look on Harry's face when he sees the headmaster, as he jokingly predicted earlier when demanding his answer. Instead of the army of aurors however, Dumbledore is joined by Professor McGonagall, and another woman that Harry doesn't recognise, but soon finds out is the specialist from St. Mungo's.

"Harry, if you could excuse us for a moment, we have a few things to discuss with Miss Roman-Saul." Dumbledore's tone although friendly leaves no room for argument, and with a quick squeeze of Glory's hand Harry stands and prepares to leave.

"I'll come back again later." Glory nods and watches as Harry quickly disappears around the curtain with only a brief glance back. She sighs quietly as everyone waits for the sound of the door closing before focusing their attention on her.

"Miss Roman-Saul, I just have a few more questions—" the specialist starts, but Glory holds up her hand to stop her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but before you start I have to say something," Glory pauses and waits for the others to give some form of approval for her to continue. "I have tried to be accepting of this whole situation, with all the questions and prying into my personal life and disrupting the lives of my friends and family, but I think it has gone far enough now." With a shrug of her shoulders, Glory leans back against her pillows and takes the chance to covertly study each of the speechless adults flanking her bed. The range of emotions showing on their faces is almost enough to make her laugh.

The specialist from St. Mungo's looks at Glory in outright shock, as if she never in her wildest dreams expected a patient to refuse to answer her questions. Glory muses to herself that the woman must be new to the job.

Professor Dumbledore, on the other hand, looks moderately disappointed, yet somewhat amused at the same time. Glory's response doesn't really come as too big of a shock to him after weeks of the same questions being asked of her again and again. It was only a matter of time before she got fed up with it all and stopped talking.

"Miss Roman-Saul," Professor McGonagall is the first of the group to find her voice, and she speaks in that stern tone that Glory has become quite familiar with in her short time at Hogwarts.

"I've told you everything that I can more than once already, so I have nothing more to say about it," Glory tells them matter-of-factly. "I don't know what else you expect from me."

After a few silent moments of the specialist gaping and looking as if she is imitating a fish, Madam Pomfrey appears from around the curtain carrying a faintly smoking goblet.

"I'm afraid I must ask you all to leave so I may tend to my patient," she directs her comment to the adults as she puts the cup of potion down on the bedside table and takes out her wand to scan Glory's vitals. After a few moments in which nobody makes any move to follow the mediwitch's orders, Madam Pomfrey levels a frown at the group and politely but firmly orders them out of her ward, in a tone that permits no refusal.

Glory fights to keep her expression neutral as Madam Pomfrey all but ignores the protests of Professor McGonagall and the St. Mungo's specialist, but something of her thoughts must have shown through despite her efforts as the mediwitch briefly pauses in her scolding of the adults to make a comment to her.

"I wouldn't look so entertained if I were you, Miss Roman-Saul, I haven't finished with you yet." Glory's face twists into a mask of exaggerated innocence at the threat and she reaches over and picks up the waiting goblet. She hides a smirk behind the rim of the cup as she drinks the smoking potion given to her as she watches Madam Pomfrey all but push the visitors out the door. Moments later the potion has taken full effect and Glory drifts off into sleep.
'

It is well after dinner when Glory reawakens in the now dark hospital wing. Stretching her arm out to the bedside table, she picks up her watch and groans as she sees just how long she was asleep. She drops the watch back onto the table and throws her arm across her eyes, urging herself to get up.

After a few minutes, the quiet sounds of someone sneaking into the hospital wing registers in Glory's mind and she drops her arm as she turns to stare in the direction of the doors. Moments later Harry pokes his head around the curtain that blocks the bed with a grin.

"You're finally awake," he whispers, and Glory nods as she sits up and asks why he's being so quiet. "Madam Pomfrey has already kicked me out twice today so I wouldn't interrupt your recovery." Glory muffles her giggling with her hands.

Harry waits a few moments for her to recover before he asks her about the earlier meeting and what the specialist had to say. Glory shakes her head as she tells him how she refused to answer the same questions even one more time for the doctor before Madam Pomfrey kicked them out. Harry smiles at her vivid descriptions of the reactions of the adults as Madam Pomfrey virtually chased them away and happily answers Glory's following questions of how everyone else is doing.

"So what happened to Neville? I haven't seen much of him lately." Glory fights off a yawn as she stretches, brushing away the last strands of sleep that continue to tug at her consciousness as Harry pulls a chair up beside the hospital bed.

"He's been in detention most of the time," Harry answers slowly as he shifts, trying to get comfortable in his seat. Glory snorts in a very unladylike manner and rolls her eyes as she responds.

"For what, saving my life?"

"I think that's all that kept him from being kicked out altogether," Harry shakes his head with a sigh. "He's being punished for helping you with the plan. And you should have heard the Howler he got…"

"Granny Longbottom strikes again?" Glory grimaces slightly as she imagines just what the old woman would have to say about Neville's involvement in an incident like that. The look on Harry's face as he answers is enough to keep her from asking more about it.

"To put it mildly," he pauses for a moment and studies Glory. She can guess from the obvious curiosity in the look what he plans to say next. "You haven't said how your end of things reacted."

"Not too bad, considering," Glory shrugs and begins to tick the responses off on her fingers. "Eric was disappointed that I would purposely choose one of the more dangerous options, but he understands my reasons and supports my choice. Galen wrote to tell me that if he gets the blame for this, I'll be out of a job and I haven't heard from Remus yet, but I don't expect that to go well."

"What about Jess?" Harry asks cautiously and Glory laughs at his tone and grins.

"Well, to sum it up, she told me if I ever pull a stunt like that again, I'd better pray to every power in the universe that the antidote fails, or she'll do me in herself." Harry can't keep his jaw from dropping at the comment as much as at Glory's reaction. She looks more amused by the threat than anything.

"You're acting like all of this is a joke," Harry mutters and watches the amusement drain from Glory's expression. She apologises quickly to him, not wanting to upset him, and quickly explains herself.

"I don't think of it as a joke, Harry, I just don't see any reason to worry about it too much. I'm alive and, so I hear, in rather good health considering everything and it's not like I do something like this all the time. I'm not going to let a few words said in a moment of panic get me upset or stop me from doing things my own way."

"So you don't care at all that you're getting into trouble over this?" Harry asks doubtfully, suddenly realising just how little he actually knows this young woman sitting next to him.

"Not really, no," she says simply, adding a small shrug. Harry's scrutiny doesn't go unnoticed and Glory tries to put him at ease. "Harry, you know I've done far worse things than this and yet I'm still here. I haven't been expelled or suspended. I haven't been disowned. I haven't even been sent a Howler." Glory pauses for a moment and looks thoughtful before she adds an additional thought that Harry can't help but smile at, despite his efforts. "Although as I said before, I do have yet to hear from Remus and that could very well change in the near future."

"Do you think that Zane knows?" Harry finally ventures back into the depths of what has become dangerous territory for them. They have already had a few disagreements on this subject that continues to come up. As much as Glory may try to defend him, Harry can't help but feel a certain amount of distrust about what her involvement with Zane has driven her to do so far, and worry what may come of it in the future.

"I'm sure he does, even if I hadn't sent a message to him myself," ignoring the frown on Harry's face at the comment, Glory continues speaking, answering his unasked question instead. She gives a small shudder and stares off blankly into the shadows, her voice taking on a slightly distant quality as she talks. "After what happened this summer, when he found out I was coming to Hogwarts, he swore that he'd be keeping a very close watch on me and the situation here. I don't doubt that he's got someone on the grounds keeping watch over everything and reporting back."

Harry's frown quickly turns to a look of worry as he asks his god-sister if there is a known risk that she hasn't told him about. She shakes her head as she is slowly pulled out of her thoughts back into the present and promptly tells Harry that everyone is just being overly cautious considering the parties involved. Harry takes a moment to think about all that Glory's comments imply and she uses the opportunity to try and shift the topic a little.

"So what kind have trouble have you been getting up to in my absence?"

"Oh, no, you're not getting out of this that easily," Harry cuts off her attempt quickly, not willing to let her distract him now that he is finally getting some real answers out of her. "What else did your mum have to say about it? Did you tell her about Snape's threat too?"

"Professor Snape," Glory corrects almost without a thought before answering the question. "And yes, I told Jess exactly what happened that day, every detail I thought she should know."

"She must have been furious when she heard what he said." Glory raises an eyebrow at the faintly hopeful tone of Harry's voice and shakes her head. With a soft snort, she tells him that he's way off and watches his expression turn to one of disappointment and confusion as he demands to know what she meant by her comment.

"His comments, that day and all the others, came as no surprise to Jess, by any means. She knows him far too well to be surprised by anything like that."

"I know you said they knew each other, that would have been pretty hard to avoid given they were in the same house and year," Harry asks and Glory can't help but grin at his discomfort over this particular train of thought. "But just how close were they exactly?"

"Are you sure you want me to answer that?" Glory laughs slightly wickedly at the suddenly worried look on Harry's face. "You think you can handle it?"

Harry takes a moment to think, his reluctance showing on his face as he battles against his own curiosity. Glory leans back against her pillows to watch with a smirk. She suspects that his curiosity will win out in the end and Harry doesn't disappoint her.

"Tell me."

"Alright, if you're sure," Glory checks one more time, giving him one last chance to back out before he finds out a truth that he might not like. Harry shakes his head and tells her to hurry up before he changes his mind. "This will take a bit of explaining, so hang in there with me, ok?" Harry nods and Glory takes a deep breath before beginning her tale.

"Ok, so you know that because of the circumstances around them, by the time she got to Hogwarts, Jess was already close with your mum and Alice, right?" Harry mutters that he has already heard this part and Glory rolls her eyes. "I told you I needed to explain some things, didn't I? May I get back to it now?" Harry sighs and tells her to go ahead.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Jess already had her very good friends Alice and Lily with her, but she also already knew some of the other students attending Hogwarts through various family connections and all the rest of that pureblood nonsense." Noting that Harry is looking exceedingly impatient for her to get to the point, Glory growls quietly. "Ok, quick summary of it all, Jess had her small, core group of friends, but of the group, there were four in particular that were closer to her than any others throughout the entire time they attended Hogwarts. Lily and Alice we've already discussed, so that's fairly obvious, but Jess was introduced to Remus during their first year and they became fast friends with a bit of encouragement on Lily's part to overlook his friendship with the other Marauders."

"You've already told me all of this before," Harry interrupts quickly as Glory pauses for breath. "I don't see what any of this has to do with Sna… Professor Snape."

"If you would stop interrupting, I'd have the chance to tell you that." Harry sits back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest, waiting for her to continue. Seeing that he is getting annoyed at the whole conversation, Glory decides to just tell him flat out, no more evasions. "Jess Roman and Severus Snape were the best of friends for their entire stretch together at Hogwarts." Glory watches silently as Harry nearly falls out of his chair at the shocking revelation.

"You must be joking!" Harry hisses, muttering a series of curse words under his breath as Glory assures him that she is telling him the complete truth. "But how could she have been friends with him and my mum? He…"

"Knew better than to try and force his beliefs on my mother," Glory cuts him off as she anticipates the question. At Harry's doubtful look, Glory grins wickedly and leans closer to whisper conspiratorially to him. "After seeing what she did to Malfoy when she caught him insulting Lily, none of the pureblood puritans would dare say anything like that around her again. They were too afraid of what she would do to them."

"Now I see where you get it from," Harry mutters, reminding Glory of her own encounter with a Malfoy on a very similar battleground. She smirks at him.

"What can I say, I learned from the best." She watches Harry's face carefully as he struggles to wrap his mind around the situation.

"I still don't understand. It just doesn't make any sense," Harry growls in his frustration and Glory's smile fades. "How could she possibly be friends with him and my mum and Remus? He hated them so much. She couldn't have made that work."

"You know nothing is that simple, Harry," Glory sighs, preparing herself for a long and difficult discussion. "It doesn't work that way. It might seem improbable to you, but when you think about it it's no different than Remus being friends with Jess and the other Marauders."

"It's not the same thing at all," Harry denies vehemently, and Glory quickly warns him to keep his voice down. They sit in silence for a moment, listening for the sounds of Madam Pomfrey coming to check on the noise, but she remains shut in her office. With sighs of relief, the teens continue their argument at a much quieter volume. "None of the Marauders hated her or anything like that. I think we more than prove that."

"You're missing the point Harry," Glory rubs tiredly at her eyes in her own growing frustration. "Jess was a Slytherin, and I know you at least have some idea of how low the opinions of James and Sirius were of Slytherins." Harry nods reluctantly after a few moments of thought and Glory continues. "What do you think it was like in the beginning, Remus trying to build up a relationship with her, a Slytherin? Do you think the others made it easy for them? No, but Remus knew to keep his friendship with Jess out of their way until the other Marauders were willing to accept her. And that's the way it was with Jess and Professor Snape. Her friendship with him avoided any overlap with that of the Gryffindors and they managed quite peacefully from what I hear."

"But he hated my mum, I know that much." Harry insists, his sure tone causing Glory to pause for a moment to doubt her own certainty. She wracks her brain for anything that might support his comment, but finds herself coming up blank.

"You're wrong about that Har," Glory replies, shaking her head. A thoughtful look crosses her face and she tilts her head to the side slightly with a faint smile. "He didn't hate her, though he may have wished he could."

"No, he hated all of them, my parents, the marauders, all the Gryffindors. He still does!" Glory is quick to warn Harry to lower his voice, noting that the look on his face is more than enough for her to know that this conversation isn't getting them anywhere.

'He's determined not to believe me on this. He must know something that he's not telling me.' Glory sighs inwardly and decides to give up on this particular topic for the moment, only adding one final comment.

"I'm not denying any of that, he did hate many of them, but Lily was never among that group, nor was Alice. Jess saw to that." Silence follows this last statement as Harry thinks everything over.

"How do you know all of this?" Harry finally breaks the silence after a few dragged-out minutes. He studies his god-sister strangely as Glory buries her face in her hands and begins to giggle uncontrollably. "What?"

"Well, aside from the obvious answer that Jess has told me stories about all of this from as far back as I can remember, as have some of the other family members who were there at the same time," she manages after a moment taken to calm herself. Her lips twitch as she tells Harry the reason behind her outburst. "You have no idea how big of a gossip Remus can be sometimes."

He just stares at her for a moment in stunned silence with wide emerald eyes. His mouth moves as if he is trying to talk, but not a sound comes out. His shoulders begin to shake as the humour of the comment hits him and he fights to contain his laughter. Glory leans forward quickly and stretches her arm out across the gap between the bed and the chair to place her hand over Harry's mouth as he begins to lose the battle.

"You're joking, right?" Harry chokes out for the second time in one night and snorts when Glory shakes her head and tells him she's completely serious. It seems her newest revelation has broken him out of the dark mood that had settled on him during their previous topic.

Seeing that he has calmed some, Glory pats the bed next to her and tells Harry to sit with her for a bit. He hesitates only a moment before shifting himself to sit facing Glory on the edge of the cot. Glory smiles and chuckles quietly to herself at the hint of nervousness she picks up from Harry. She leans forward to give him a quick hug as she finally gives in to her own curiosity.

"Can I ask you why you're having so much trouble believing me about Professor Snape?" Harry sighs heavily and shakes his head, turning to stare out of the nearby window.

"I just can't imagine him not hating any Gryffindor," his voice is barely above a whisper, so that Glory strains to catch the words. "Especially with the way he talks about my dad and…"

"It really bothers you, doesn't it, the things he says," Glory asks as Harry trails off, looking reluctant to finish his sentence. Glory gives his hand a reassuring squeeze, seeing that even after so many months he still sometimes has trouble talking about his beloved godfather.

"He always commented on how arrogant my dad was, and how I'm just like him," Harry growls quietly as he once more feels his hatred for the potions master rising within him. He turns his attention back to his friend as she shakes her head and looks at him almost sadly.

"So what?" Glory offers mildly with just a hint of hardness beneath the comment. "They're just words Harry."

"I never believed him," Harry's eyes hold an undisguised pain and Glory suddenly feels lost on a reason for it. "Snape… Professor Snape, he was the only one who ever told me that. Everyone else only had good things to say about my dad, other than that he could be a troublemaker, like the twins. But I know he was telling the truth now and—"

"How do you know?" Glory interrupts with a frown, worried by the tone of Harry's voice and the look in his eyes. He hesitates before he speaks and turns his face away from hers before he says anything, trying to hide it, but she can still tell. He's not lying exactly, but he isn't telling the whole truth either. He is hiding something.

"Sirius and Lu…" Harry stops and quickly corrects himself. "Remus confirmed some things for me last year." Glory watches him in confusion, trying to figure out which is bothering him more, that the comments about his father were at least somewhat true, or that Professor Snape was the only one telling him the truth. With a sigh she gives up trying to figure it out for the moment and sets about trying to cheer Harry up as much as she can.

"Harry, how could you possibly have known any different? Especially stuck living with Petunia and her… charming husband and son," Glory's derision is evident in her tone as well as by the look on her face; a look that closely mirrors Harry's own feelings at the thought of his muggle relatives, so much so that he can't help but smile faintly. A smile that only grows as Glory continues. "Admittedly, Jamie could be quite the prat at times, but he grew up and settled down. It's not in any way shameful to be compared to him."

Glory pulls Harry into a comforting hug which he returns gratefully, glad that despite their differences and disagreements they can still be there for each other. After a brief moment of comfortable silence, Glory speaks again, her voice playfully tinged with wicked glee.

"As for our dear professor's jibes about you being arrogant or whatever, I fully admire your restraint." Harry pulls back to study her face, noting her mischievous smirk and gleaming eyes. Glory doesn't wait for Harry to give voice to the unasked question in his confused green eyes. "If it were me in your place, I'd have told him long ago that he's got his head stuck so far up his ars—"

"Glory Roman-Saul, don't you dare finish that sentence!"

Two sets of green eyes turn to the voice which interrupts from the darkness beyond the curtain. A sharp intake of breath from Harry sounds loud in the following silence and he pales considerably as he watches the black cloak settle around the figure that pushes the screen out of the way. Glory quickly grabs onto Harry's shoulder as he begins to tip backwards and supports him as he fights to regain his composure. With a glance up, green eyes meet black for the briefest of moments before Harry drops his eyes to the floor.

Glory reaches out and gently places a hand over the fist Harry has clenching the hospital sheets into a misshapen mass between his fingers. She frowns for a split second, both worrying about Harry's reaction and wondering how she could have missed the approach of the visitors, before catching herself and slipping her usual imperturbable mask into place. Not fast enough, she soon realises as she catches the glint of satisfaction in the narrowed black eyes. With the slight elevation of one eyebrow, Glory allows an audaciously calculating smirk come to her face.

"Good evening, Professor," her tone of voice is amiable and slightly amused, quite at odds with the look in her eyes as she stares down the potions master. The look softens to one of affection as she aims a genuine smile at the real visitor. "Jess."

"Where did I go wrong with you?" Jess Roman-Saul shakes her head and rolls her eyes slightly at her daughter after studying her for a few moments in silence. Glory shrugs at her mother, shooting her a wry grin.

"Allowing me to come into the world with these genetics probably wasn't a good place to start." Glory glances at Harry out of the corner of her eye as he makes a soft choking sound, as if he is fighting off a laugh.

"Cheeky brats," Jess chuckles, including Harry in the comment for the reaction he failed to cover up. Focusing her attention on Glory once more, Jess looks thoughtful. "You might be a bit right though. I think it's safe to say that there's too much of your father in you."

"Only as much as there is of you, and whose fault is that really?" Both Harry and the potions master, the latter hiding his reaction much better, watch the exchange in growing shock as the two women casually banter back and forth.

Noting they way Harry's eyes continue to travel back to her mother again and again as if drawn by some force he is unable to resist, Glory decides to get right to the heart of the problem, guessing why he reacted the way he did from the first moment he heard her voice and saw Jess step out of the darkness.

"You ok, Harry?" He drags his eyes reluctantly away from his study of his godmother to meet Glory's sympathetic gaze with a slightly blank look. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Harry blinks at her a few times before he realises what she has just said to him. He can't help but smile at the sheer absurdity of the old muggle saying coming from the witch next to him, both of them knowing full well they are sitting in a building occupied by a number of ghosts who they see around quite regularly.

"You know I have," he answers quietly and Glory smiles. As he looks in her eyes, he knows what she is really asking and that she won't give up until he gives her the real answer. With a heavy sigh and a quick glance at Jess, he tells her. "I wasn't expecting… she looks so much like… and the voice; it's almost exactly the same."

"The resemblance is quite remarkable, isn't it," Glory comments quietly and realisation dawns on Jess suddenly as her daughter attempts to comfort her god-brother. Cursing herself for her thoughtlessness, Jess sits down on the bed and pulls Harry into a hug before he can protest.

"I'm sorry Harry, I wasn't thinking." Jess apologises while Glory giggles quietly to herself as Harry shifts uncomfortably and blushes at the still unfamiliar display of affection.

"No, it's fine, I just," Harry tries to pull away, but Jess doesn't let him get too far, keeping one arm draped over his shoulder. "It wasn't so obvious in the pictures Ry sent me." He looks between his friend and her mother, still a bit stunned by just how alike they really look. It was never as clear to him as now when he finally sees them together in the same room.

Glory feels she has a pretty good idea of what Harry is mulling over as he looks at them. His comment that night by the common room fire comes back to her and she smiles at him reassuringly, knowing that Harry is once again seeing her in a different light and having to reshape his perception of her.

"Pictures never do any of us justice," Jess jokes lightly as Harry regains his colour. She takes a moment to really study him and sighs. "I haven't seen you since you were just a baby, but everyone told me how much you looked like Jamie. I just can't believe how strong the resemblance is. But you have her eyes," the comment comes softly, the hint of sadness growing briefly in her voice before Jess shakes her head and snaps herself out of her melancholy mood. She clears her throat to get rid of the constricting tightness and continues on a much lighter note, earning a smile from Harry. "A family trait you were lucky to get, although it's too bad you got Jamie's vision."

Harry's smile grows and he laughs softly as Jess taps his glasses, as if they were proof of her last comment. Harry relaxes his guard, feeling quite safe in his current surroundings, Jess's friendly attitude winning him over almost right away just like her daughter before her.

"I wish I… we," she quickly corrects at the immediate poke Glory aims at her shoulder. "Could have been there for you growing up. It can't have been easy with Petunia's lot, but I intend to start making up for that now, if that's alright with you, Harry." He nods and grins as Jess invites him to stay with them over the Christmas holidays.

Watching mostly from the sidelines, Glory studies Harry, feeling warmed in her heart at the happiness she sees glowing in his eyes. Suddenly, Glory finds her attention drawn to the almost forgotten presence in the room, and she laughs quietly at the narrow-eyed glare of resentment she catches Professor Snape levelling at her god-brother. Not quiet enough it would seem, as three sets of eyes turn to her for an explanation. The potions master's dark eyes narrow even further at the satisfied look Glory levels at him briefly, mirroring his own from earlier.

'One for one,' Glory smirks inwardly at catching the usually pokerfaced man with his shields down, and she makes sure that he knows it.

"Just thinking about the possibilities," Glory lies smoothly, though none of the others seem to quite believe her story. Glory shrugs it off, feeling no need to explain her small moment of triumph, and is soon distracted by the look on her mother's face. With a small shake of her head, Glory's tone becomes very matter of fact. "I know that look."

"What look would that be?" Jess raises an eyebrow as she meets her daughter's gaze as Harry looks between the two women, mystified. Snape watches the interaction with keen interest, waiting for another useful piece of information to drop about this girl who continues to challenge him at every step she can.

"You know exactly what look," Glory laughs dryly. "So give up the charade and tell me, who ratted me out?" Harry fights to keep his face straight as he suddenly notices the uncanny resemblance between the two women grow even stronger when Jess takes on the same expression of innocence that Glory often makes use of.

"Ratted you out about what, darling?" Glory shakes her head at her mother's curious tone and smirks, deciding to play along with the former Slytherin.

"Well, it could be any number of things really. Maybe you were told about my behaviour in potions class, or the way I back talked to the headmaster. Or it could have been my many detentions, various… interactions, with other students, or any number of other possible things that have happened since I got here." Jess looks ready to speak as Glory stops to catch her breath after that mouthful, but Glory holds up a hand and stops her, asking to be let to finish uninterrupted. At the nod of agreement, Glory continues. "All things that, and I want you to look me in the eye and tell me honestly, thinking back over the years since I started school and even before then, all my life, tell me truthfully that any of it would come as even the slightest shock for you to hear about." Jess takes a moment to think, ignoring the sound of Harry's muffled laughing, before rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Glory gives a smugly victorious smirk. "That's what I thought. So what specific are we talking about here?"

"I hear you were the instigator of an incident with your broom?" There is a moment of silence as Glory gets a thoughtful look on her face that is soon followed by a knowing grin.

"Gryffindor or Slytherin?"

"Excuse me?" Jess demands, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice completely.

"Head of which house ratted me out about that?" Glory meets Harry's gaze over her mother's shoulder as he fights to keep from falling over with the effort of containing his laughter.

"What makes you think it was either of them?" Glory meets her mother's twinkling green eyes, the mirrors of her own, with a raised eyebrow, stating that the answer should be pretty obvious, even to a former Slytherin like herself. Harry looks a little shocked at Glory's comment and risks a glance to the seething potions master who still waits nearby. Jess ignores the taunt and tells her daughter to go ahead and explain it anyway.

"It's unlikely that you've seen Neville since you got here, and he wouldn't have told you anyway," Glory starts with a small smile, her voice slightly mocking. "And Harry's been with me so you wouldn't have got it out of him either. That leaves four people who could have possibly told you, and the headmaster dismissed it as harmless teenage fun."

Glory notices the faintest flicker of confusion in Snape's eyes and she knows he is wondering how she could have possibly known what Dumbledore had to say when she was out of earshot. Not waiting to be interrupted, Glory continues with an even bigger smile as she chalks up another point on her side of the mental battle with the potions master.

"Now we both know that I didn't tell you, so that leaves 2 people, Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape, and I'm sure you can guess which way my suspicion is leaning on this one. I mean, putting aside the obvious," Glory waves her hand vaguely in the direction of the potions master and notes that he was the one who walked in with Jess. "It's well known to everyone that Professor McGonagall usually goes along with Dumbledore's judgement, so really, who else is left but Professor Snape?"

A moment of silence follows the comment before Jess begins to laugh at her daughter's candid reasoning, despite the glaring presence of the man being accused of telling on her.

"Ok, little miss know it all," Glory watches the shrewd look glinting in her mother's eyes and finds herself momentarily wary of what is coming next before hearing the faint trace of humour in the comment. "You think you're so smart, what am I going to say about it?"

Glory studies her mother closely for a few moments in silence, ignoring the avid watchers. Her thoughtful look turns smug quite suddenly.

"You're going to say nothing about it, because to do so would make you an unbelievable hypocrite, as you were the instigator of a very similar stunt when you were my age, one that ended in a trip to the hospital wing for you and your friends."

"Smartass," Jess shakes her head as she laughs, her tone carrying through only the slightest hint of the incredulity mirrored in the eyes of both adults. "Dare I ask how you found out about that?"

"Clay told me."

"I should have known," Jess snorts and gives a roll of her eyes. "It seems I shall have to have a talk with that cousin of mine."

"Don't be too rough on him. If he hadn't told me, someone else would have." Glory answers simply as she watches Harry's face turn a shade of red that would put a Weasley to shame as he bites his lip, looking as if he is about to explode with the force of having something to say that he is fighting to keep in.

Catching the look Glory is sending him, Harry gives an exaggerated coughing fit in which a name can be picked out.

"Neville!"

"Excuse me?" Jess turns on the laughing Harry with wide eyes as her daughter collapses back against the pillows holding her stomach.

"Is that what he told you?" Glory chokes out after a moment taken to catch her breath; a moment spent mulling over Harry's comment before she once again bursts into a fit of uncontrollable giggling. "Swallowed a bug my arse, Harry."

Harry flashes Glory a cheeky grin that makes his resemblance to his father even more pronounced as Jess looks between the two teenagers puzzled and slightly wary.

"I don't want to know, do I?" she asks ironically, and almost as one, all three of them shake their heads and laugh as the snarling potions master watches from the shadows, looking ready to snap. He knows exactly what the students are referring to and only divine intervention, in the form of Madam Pomfrey, keeps the tirade at bay.

"Mr. Potter, I believe it is time for you to be leaving now, if you hope to be back to your dorm before curfew." The mediwitch appears unsurprised by the presence of the visitors in her ward as she calmly orders Harry to be on his way.

Shooting a very brief glance at Professor Snape, Harry quickly says his goodbyes to his friend and his godmother, not wanting to push his luck and antagonise the potions master even more, having already miraculously avoided the wrath of Madam Pomfrey for sneaking into her ward against her orders.

"Come back again tomorrow?" Glory asks, shooting a pleading look at the mediwitch for her approval of the idea, one mirrored on the face of her friend. Madam Pomfrey nods at them both indulgently.

"I doubt I could keep him away for an entire day," she answers with only a hint of sarcasm. "You're too much like—"

"My father," Harry mutters, anticipating the comment, but is shocked to hear the real words the mediwitch uses. Glory giggles as much at his expression as at the comment and the other reactions to it.

"Your mother, and that goes for the both of you!"

"I am sitting right here, you realise?" Jess laughs and Madam Pomfrey levels her with an even stare.

"Jessamine Roman, don't think I've forgotten you and your little band of troublemakers," here she turns to eye Professor Snape, ignoring Jess's attempts to protest the memory. "Sneaking in here at all hours to visit each other after whatever stunt it was that had gone wrong at that time. You were as bad as Potter and Black's lot."

Harry and Glory exchange wary looks at the stormy expression on the potions master's face at the comparison and Harry decides it is a good time to make his exit. With a quick wave, Harry disappears out the door and away from the danger zone.

"We were never that bad," Jess rolls her eyes, trying to ease the tension, keeping close watch on her old friend for a sign that the jokes have pushed him too far. His black mood seems to have lessened slightly with the departure of Harry, but Jess still opts for a change in topics, knowing that the mediwitch's comments about the time were also meant as a hint that it is time for Jess to be leaving as well. "I heard from the specialist today. She said it should be fine for you to leave the hospital tomorrow and get back to classes the next day."

Glory lets out a quiet celebratory whoop that earns her raised eyebrows from all of the adults. She explains in her most innocent tone that she has greatly missed the atmosphere of being in the classroom, especially potions. Professor Snape is not the only one with narrowed eyes after hearing that.

"I trust we won't be having any more incidents like this again?" The tone of Jess's voice brooks no room for argument, and it is definitely not a question. Glory frowns slightly as she watches her mother. "No more attempts at poisoning yourself on some foolish whim?"

"Wait, you think I did this for myself?" Glory interrupts quickly, her voice every bit as serious as her mother's. Glory runs her hands through her hair and sighs in frustration as she explains herself yet again. "No, no you got it all wrong. You just don't get it. Zane…"

"Ry, we've had this discussion before. You know how I feel about him." There is a sudden sharpness to Jess's voice that was not present before, one that leaves both of the observing parties staring at her in surprise. It is a tone Snape remembers well from their times together at school, one that he was glad to rarely be on the receiving end of and that even now makes him wary.

"You're right, we've had this discussion before, and it never changes anything." Glory answers back coolly, appearing completely unfazed by her mother's harsh tone, a fact that isn't missed by the potions master, who finds he is reluctantly gaining respect for the headstrong young woman. "I know you don't like him, but even if I could get out of all of this, I wouldn't. This is more than just a work thing; it's about keeping us all safe. You can't even imagine the number of times Drew has snuck out there by himself after dark and I don't even want to think what could have happened to him if Zane hadn't been looking out for him." Glory pauses for a moment, her face clouding over with the dark thoughts swirling in her head and she shudders, missing the shocked look that passes across Jess's face at this previously unknown tidbit of information. "He's never done anything but protect me, and all of us really. You just won't give him a chance because of what he is!"

"But Ry, he's dangerous," the sharp edge disappears and is replaced by concern as Jess lowers her voice, almost pleading with her daughter to listen to what she has to say.

"Who isn't?" comes the smooth reply as Glory shakes her head and shrugs lightly. "Each of us has that potential, but Zane is no more a danger to me than Galen or Athelina, Ian or Remus. He wouldn't hurt me. He's done nothing but look out for us from the beginning, more than you even know. I just wish you could just try to understand, because there is no going back for me."

Glory looks away as Jess shakes her head, both women frustrated that the other doesn't seem to understand her point of view on the matter.

"If he's not a danger to you, then why poison yourself?" Jess points out quietly, sure that this will finally prove her point and get her daughter to see this from her perspective.

"That was never about me; it was about everyone else in that room. I was trying to protect them." Glory lets out a frustrated groan and drops back to lie on the bed, pulling a pillow over her face and screaming in frustration. After a moment, the pillow is removed and her face is a mask of calm once more. "I've explained the rules to you already and I have no intention of getting into them with you again. Zane is a part of my life whether you like it or not. I'm sorry mum, but that will not change. It can't. But if it makes you feel any better, he's about as happy with me as you are about this whole thing."

Glory doesn't receive a response to her last comment, nor did she really expect to. She knows that she has given her mother a lot to think about this night, and maybe, just maybe it will be the first step to her finally being able to think of him as a man instead of a monster.

Feeling drained, emotionally and physically, Glory sits up and wraps her arms around her mother, finding a measure of comfort when the hug is returned without hesitation. It is an odd moment for the two observers, who almost begin to doubt that there ever was an argument to begin with.

"I should be leaving now," Jess comments lightly as Glory fights against, but fails to contain, a jaw-cracking yawn. She meets her daughter's eyes and speaks in a tone devoid of all humour. "I expect you to behave yourself from now on Ry, and please, take the dreamless sleep potion when it's offered. Madam Pomfrey tells me you've been having nightmares." Glory glances up quickly between her mother and the mediwitch, noticeably paling as Jess continues quietly. "Screaming about your father…" she trails off.

"Please, Jess—"

"Why can't you just—"

"No, mum," Glory cuts her off sharply. "Don't ask me this." Jess frowns and opens her mouth to ask again. Glory growls, the alarming pallor fading slightly beneath the flush of indignation. "This isn't the kind of thing anyone should have to tell their… No, I can't. I'm not doing this. Not now." Glory sighs heavily, silently cursing herself for her weakness, first in getting caught, then reacting so openly about the situation. She takes a deep breath and risks a glance up at the three adults, who are watching her with expressions in various degrees of alarm.

"Ask Remus, the next time you see him, if you're that desperate to know." Glory offers unexpectedly, staring at her mother with a hint of regret in her eyes. "But don't bother sending a letter, because he won't put it in writing. Trust me," Glory adds with the slightest hint of bitterness in her tone. "You'll have to ask him in person. And while you're at it, you might want to ask him whose idea it was to keep it a secret in the first place." The twist of Glory's lips is not at all reassuring, more of a sneer than the mock smile she'd intended.

Seeing the sheer determination in her daughter's face, Jess nods and agrees to drop the subject for the moment, vowing to contact Remus the moment she returns home to find out the whole story.

"And I'm not taking the potion." Glory adds almost as an afterthought. Knowing that the comment is bound to be taken as a challenge, Glory pre-empts the lecture she knows is headed her way. "Athelina couldn't guilt me into it, Galen couldn't threaten me to do it, Remus couldn't beg me to take it; hell, even Zane couldn't force me to take it, so what makes you think anyone here could change my mind? I'm not disturbing anyone else, so just leave it be."

"If you're screaming in your dorm like you have been in here every night, you must be waking up your roommates," Madam Pomfrey points out curtly, not used to being so blatantly disobeyed by a patient as she has been by this particular young woman. Refusing to take her potions, trying repeatedly to sneak out of the ward; not even Potter has given her this much trouble.

"That's what silence wards are for," Glory mutters under her breath, ignoring the sharp look she earns from her mother, and positions herself more comfortably in the bed. Thinking about what she said, Glory curses herself inwardly and peeks over at the dark and silent potions master still lurking nearby as she realises she has just slipped up. Admitting to extracurricular magic use of that scale, something most schools would frown upon, was a definite mistake, especially with that particular professor present. Glory resists the urge to cringe, waiting for the inevitable snarky comment. It doesn't come.

"Stubborn little brat," Jess shakes her head after a moment with a roll of her eyes. "Fine, take the potion or not, it's your choice, but if I find out this is some sort of prank or something cooked up by your father…"

"If only it were," Glory cuts her off quietly, her tone doing nothing to reassure any of the adults of their worries about the current situation. With a frown, Jess watches her daughter try yet again to contain a jaw-cracking yawn. Telling her to get some sleep, Jess says goodnight and turns to leave, determined not to wait any longer to find out what this has all been about.

"My love to everyone back home," Glory adds quietly, and Jess manages a small smile for her daughter. With a wave to Madam Pomfrey, Jess grabs her old school friend by the sleeve of his black robes and pulls him out of the ward after her. The mediwitch returns to her office after only the briefest of frustrated looks at her obstinate patient, already fast asleep in the cot, curled up with a pillow over her head.
'

The halls are empty and silent but for the soft crackle of the torches that line the stone walls. As the students and teachers occupy themselves with their classes, not yet ready to break for lunch, and a lone figure makes her way through the well-lit corridors for the first time in many weeks.

Finally released from hospital wing, Glory allows her thoughts to drift as she slowly makes her way towards Gryffindor Tower. Deciding that it would be best if her patient was integrated back into the student population gradually, Madam Pomfrey ordered Glory to head straight up to the dormitory, waiting for the morning's lessons to start before allowing her to leave the ward.

Shaking her head, Glory brings her mind back to the present and glances over her shoulder. There is nothing there. She turns back and continues on her way, now paying more attention to her surroundings, as she realises that she has taken a wrong turn and wandered into the Charms corridor. Glory turns around and begins retracing her steps, determined not to be caught walking the corridors after being expressly directed to Gryffindor Tower. As she turns a corner, she narrowly misses walking into another student, a surprised-looking girl with dirty-blond hair. With a quick apology, Glory continues on her way, unable to ignore the feeling of eyes following her every move.

After a few more turns and a flight of stairs, Glory finally thinks she back on the right track, but the feeling of being watched persists. Covertly checking behind her every so often but not actually seeing anyone, Glory makes a quick decision and slips into an alcove behind a suit of armour and waits silently to see who will pass by. Moments later, the girl Glory almost ran over walks slowly by and continues on for a few steps before pausing. After waiting a few moments and seeing that the girl isn't going anywhere, Glory steps out of shadows behind her.

"You've been following me for quite a while now. Don't you think it's time you introduced yourself?" She smiles as the girl turns around to face her looking completely unfazed by the situation.

"You're a fan of the Hobgoblins, aren't you?" The girl asks vaguely in a dreamy voice, staring at Glory with unblinking silvery grey eyes. Glory frowns slightly and fights to keep from laughing at the pure randomness of the question that was really more of a statement. She answers anyway.

"They're ok, I guess. Why?" The girl just smiles and shakes her head and turns away, wanders off humming to herself. Glory shakes her head, wondering momentarily if she imagined the whole thing and continues on her way back to Gryffindor Tower.

As she walks through the halls, Glory passes a small group of Slytherin sixth years on their way down the stairs. She pauses as a tall boy with dark hair nods in her direction and tells his companions that he'll catch up with them later. It takes a bit of convincing, but they eventually leave, shooting the boy sceptical looks as they go. Waiting until they have reached the bottom of the stairs, he turns to Glory with a wicked smirk.

"Roman," his tone implies familiarity as he gives a slight, almost mocking bow.

"Zabini," Glory matches his smirk with one of her own and returns his tone and gestures in kind. "It's been awhile."

"Aunt Olivia's 40th birthday party," Blaise drawls as he positions himself directly in front of Glory, almost but not quite touching her. He stares directly in her eyes for a few silent moments to judge her reaction and when she doesn't pull away, slides his arm over her shoulder.

"Right," Glory answers slowly, drawing out the word with exaggerated thoughtfulness as she nudges him in the ribs with her elbow. "Where you spent the entire evening trying to drag me off into dark corners for a snog."

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy the attention," Blaise grins unrepentantly as he tugs on a loose strand of her hair. Glory shrugs and gives him an innocent smile in return. There is an unmistakable glint of triumph in the young Slytherin's eyes. "That's what I thought. You were missed at the party this year."

"I was… ill."

"So I heard," Blaise takes a step back and studies the girl in front of him closely. "If your potions couldn't take care of it, it must have been serious."

"Deathly," Glory's tone remains light but the earlier hint of teasing has gone. She watches Blaise as closely as he has been watching her and her eyes never waver. Blaise blinks at her a few times as he takes in the comment and decides it would be better not to ask for the details.

"I see," Blaise says slowly. After a moment of silence, he speaks softly, his tone carefully controlled so as not to alarm Glory. "I overheard Aunt Olivia telling mother that she was sure it was just an excuse, and you were really in hiding so nobody would find out just how much like your mother you really are."

Glory narrows her eyes and frowns as she thinks over the words, only realising the implications when Blaise glances significantly to her midsection. Her jaw drops momentarily and she steps back until she is leaning against the stone wall.

"Did she really say that?" hearing the faint trace of amusement in her voice, Blaise risks a small grin as he nods. "I shall have to remember that for the next time I see her."

"What can you do about it though?" Blaise asks with a shrug, recognising the devious look Glory wears on her face. "She is a Roman, and Romans always stick together."

"She may be married to my uncle, but that does not make her a Roman." Glory smirks with only the slightest cold bite evident beneath her satisfied tone. "She is not one of us by blood, but through marriage only, and that can be easily remedied."

"Remind me not to cross you anytime soon," Blaise answers playfully, making Glory laugh and effectively pulling her out of her darker thoughts. Seeing a small group of Hufflepuff 3rd years walk by, both Glory and Blaise realise how long they've actually been standing in the corridor. Blaise holds out his hand to Glory as he offers to walk her to her dorm.

"You're willing to risk being seen in such a compromising position with a Gryffindor?" Glory teases lightly as she takes his hand and nestles herself against his side, pointing him in the right direction.

"You're not just any Gryffindor though, now are you?" Blaise grins down at her as they walk. "It won't hurt me or my reputation any to be seen with a Roman, but you on the other hand…"

"How long have you known me Zabini?" Glory shakes her head slightly, catching his meaning even as his comment trails off. How would people, especially other Gryffindors, react to seeing Glory hanging off the arm of one of their rivals, even one as low key as Blaise. "When have I ever cared what anyone thinks of me?"

"You care what some people think," comes the shrewd response. Glory studies him in silence for a moment, trying to gage the implied meaning behind the comment.

"All right, I'll give you that," Glory nods, conceding the point before making one of her own. "But have I ever let that stop me?"

Blaise just laughs and follows Glory's lead, making a steady path towards Gryffindor Tower. They walk in comfortable silence past silent statues and hanging tapestries, pausing briefly to allow the Grey Lady to pass. Neither notices the curious look on her face as she turns to watch them continue their journey. Not long after, Glory pulls Blaise to a halt, telling him to wait.

"As much as I'd love for you to walk me right to my door, I think it would be best if we parted here."

"Having second thoughts, are we?" Blaise teases ruthlessly, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms. There is a hint of triumph in his eyes that makes Glory grin wryly.

"Blaise, I've as good as shown you the way into our common room, and hell, I'd take you in there myself if only to see you knocked on your arse trying to get to my room," Glory explains her position slowly and very clearly, determined to make her companion understand without Blaise taking any offence at not wanting him to be seen. "But if the Fat Lady sees you anywhere near the entrance, she'll tell everyone who'll listen that I was giving you the password, and do you know how much trouble someone can get in for passing that info along to anyone from another house?"

Blaise just shoots her a faintly haughty smile, assuring her in a tone much like someone would use explaining something to a small child that he was only toying with her. He bows slightly and turns to leave before pausing, as if having second thoughts. He turns back with a smirk, his chocolate-brown eyes sparkling darkly, almost sinisterly, and closes the distance between them, pulling her tightly against him and locking his lips onto Glory's. She tenses momentarily in his arms before relaxing into the embrace, sliding her arms around his neck and returning the kiss with enthusiasm.

A few moments later Glory pulls back with a sigh, threading her fingers through Blaise's hair and giving a gentle tug. No words pass between the two teens as they catch their breath, both grinning like fools. Glory giggles quietly as she pulls away and whispers goodbye. Blaise nods silently

"Thank you, Glory," Blaise calls after her as she makes her way down the hall. She turns back with raised eyebrows at his serious tone and he answers the unasked question he reads in her eyes. "For what you did that day in potions. For trying to protect us from the wrath of the Elders."

"How do you know about that?" Glory's eyes widen slightly in shock at his words, wondering just how much Blaise actually knows and how he came by his information. She watches all trace of seriousness fade from his face as Blaise shoots her a mischievous grin. He turns and walks away, tossing a last comment back over his shoulder, leaving a slack-jawed Glory in his wake.

"You're not the only one who keeps in touch with Ian."
'

"So we're really going to do this?" everyone can hear the nervousness in Neville's voice as he asks the question that all of them have thought at least once since they started working on this together.

"Keep your voice down!" Seamus hisses, glancing around quickly to see that nobody is looking in their direction. They have reached the critical stage of planning and don't want anyone overhearing that shouldn't. He catches Hermione watching them from behind her Ancient Runes textbook, so Seamus motions for the other boys to follow him to their dorm to continue the discussion uninterrupted. They wait until they are up the stairs and the door is shut behind them before any of them say a word. "Of course we're going to do this! Why else would we have been spending so much time on the plans?"

"I know, but I meant," Neville looks around at his friends, thinking about the best way to get out what he is trying to say. "Are we the only ones who are going to be in on this? Should we, I don't know, tell Ginny at least?"

"She's a prefect," Seamus points out flatly, his expression one of exasperation at having to go through this argument again. It's a battle they have been fighting since they first came up with the idea.

"So is Ron, and he knows."

"That's different," Seamus rolls his eyes at Dean and shakes his head, pacing around the room. "Ron's not…"

"Not what?" As one, the three boys turn see Ron standing in the doorway, with Harry partially visible behind his left shoulder. Ron watches them with narrowed eyes as Harry looks to be fighting off a laugh at the identical expressions of surprise on their friends faces. "I'm not what?"

"Er," casting a glare sideways at Dean, who now laughs openly at the situation, Seamus goes for the direct route. "You're not like a real prefect. That's why we could tell you the plan."

The look on Ron's face clearly shows that he doesn't know whether to be pleased by this comment or offended. He shakes his head and enters the room. Harry closes the door behind him and asks what they were talking about. Neville gives him a quite recap and asks Harry and Ron what they have to say about it.

"She's a Weasley," Harry grins, remembering just how much like the Twins Ginny can be when she feels like it. "And that's good enough for me. Anyway, I don't want to be around when she finds out she wasn't included, do you?" After a moments thought, all five young men begin to laugh. Ron agrees with Harry's comment and tells Seamus he's outnumbered. Seamus shrugs and says he's fine with it if they are.

"Anyone else you want to tell then?" There is silence as each of them thinks about it. Neville quietly states that Hermione should never find out about their role in this thing and is met with quick agreement from the others, who shudder to consider the lecture they'd be in for if she ever knew just what they're up to.

"Luna's already agreed to help," Harry mentions, telling them how he had caught up with her after class this afternoon and filled her in on everything. She had happily agreed to do whatever they needed her to. Thoughts of another person come to Harry's mind, but he quickly brushes it away without mentioning it to the others. "That should be enough people to pull this off."

Finally in complete agreement, the boys split up and head in search of Ginny, wanting to get her up to speed on everything as soon as possible. Checking in classrooms, the Great Hall and the library, even stopping to ask people in the halls if they've seen her, they find no hint to where she might be. Finally, meeting up in their dorm again, the boys decide to give up and wait for her to show up on her own. Dean decides to go wait down in the common room for her and Seamus and Neville decide that it sounds like the best plan they have. Ron says he'll catch up in a minute and pulls Harry back when he is about to follow the other three downstairs.

"What about the map?" Ron suggests, and Harry's curious look turns to one of amazement as he realises that if they had done that in the first place, they might have already found her. Moving across the room, Harry begins digging through his trunk, searching beneath haphazard piles of clothes and books, finally giving a cry of triumph as he emerges from his trunk with the Marauder's Map in hand. Ron closes the door and leans against it, just in the off chance that someone tries to get in while they have the map out.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Harry mutters, quickly unfolding the map and scanning it for any sign of Ginny Weasley. Double checking all of the usual haunts for a student, once again they come up empty. Harry frowns and begins scanning other areas, laughing aloud as he finally spots her. His eyes widen slightly as he notices the other name in the room with her and he quickly wipes the map and puts it away. Ron asks him if he found her.

"She's in the girls' dorm with Ry," Ron just stares blankly for a minute before shaking his head and leaving the room, muttering to himself about wasting all that time searching the school for her. By the time Harry follows him to the common room, Ron has filled in the other conspirators of Ginny's location. Seamus sits on the arm of the couch, trying to sweet-talk Parvati into going upstairs to get the other girls. It appears to be a losing battle for the moment, but Harry pulls up a chair to watch the entertaining situation unfolding in front of him to pass the time.

"What's going on?" Harry looks away from the sight of Seamus theatrically kneeling in front of Parvati as if she was a princess and he her knight, to see Cassie standing next to his chair.

"He's trying to convince her to get Ginny."

"I just saw her, she's upstairs with Ry," Cassie says with a shake of her head. "I can get her for you, if it's that important." And before waiting for an answer, Cassie turns around and practically flies up the stairs to the girls' dormitory, leaving Harry staring after her. A few minutes later Cassie reappears followed closely by Ginny.

"What was so urgent that you had to send Cassie up to get me?" Ginny settles herself on the arm of Harry's chair, her lips twitching as she watches the scene enfolding with Seamus and Parvati. Cassie smiles as Harry thanks her and wanders over to a small group of her fellow first years doing their homework.

Harry looks around quickly before standing and motioning for Ginny to follow him. He leads her to one of the more secluded corners of the common room, where they are less likely to be overheard. As an extra measure of safety, Harry casts a simple silencing spell, taught to him by Glory earlier in the year, so that nobody who walks by can accidentally or otherwise overhear as he explains to Ginny every detail of the plan so far.

"And why are you just telling me about this now?" Ginny asks sternly, her grin showing that she is only playing with him. The look in her eyes is more than enough proof for Harry that they had made the right decision in getting her involved. Harry carefully glosses over the reasons for the delay and she lets it drop when he asks if she has any suggestions. "I have a couple of ideas, but I'd like to think them over a bit before I say anything. But, first thing I'd suggest is to tell Ry about the plan."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Harry says slowly, not bothering to cover the hesitation in his voice or expression. "I mean, as much as I'm sure she'd enjoy it, she did just get out of the hospital wing. And I'd bet she's not looking to get into any more trouble just yet either."

He watches as Ginny shakes her head and sighs. He doesn't quite know how to react when she reaches forward and pats him on the head slowly a few times in a slightly mocking manner.

"Really Harry, I thought you knew her better than that," Ginny teases him with a laugh. "That girl's middle name is trouble."

"Actually, her middle name is…" Harry trails off with a roguish grin, leaving a slightly frustrated Ginny standing in front of him. He knows better than to complete that sentence. If word ever made it back to his god-sister that he was telling people her middle name. Harry suppresses the urge to shudder at the thought of how she would react to that situation that she would almost be sure to see as a betrayal. Instead, Harry shakes his head, and Ginny goes back to what she was saying.

"You know she'd want to be a part of it, even if it was just to give suggestions on how to pull it off without getting caught," Ginny pauses, her expression turning wicked as she grins knowingly at Harry with a fire in her eyes. "And when it comes to getting caught, your record isn't all that awe inspiring, now is it."

Harry can't help the surprised laughter he emits at the comment, and offers no denial of the statement. Seeing that Ginny isn't about to give up anytime soon, Harry agrees to bring it up with the rest of the guys later that night. Ginny gives him a satisfied smile and asks if she can go now.

"What's the rush?" Harry asks, adding a joke about her not liking him anymore. He adds an exaggerated pout for good measure that makes Ginny burst out in a fit of giggles.

"I was in the middle of prying information out of Ry, actually." Harry can feel his eyes widen at the comment, whispered conspiratorially. Ginny mimics Harry's earlier roguish grin as he demands to know more. "Sorry Harry, but we're starting to draw attention, holed up in a dark corner like this. You wouldn't want to give anyone the wrong idea about us, would you?"

Harry breaks the spell around them reluctantly, fearing what state Glory might be in on her first night back from the hospital wing and what she might inadvertently reveal. Not that he felt anything but complete trust in Ginny, but knowing how his god-sister guards her secrets he can't help but worry a little. He watches warily as the girl, no, young woman, he has come to count as one of his closest friends, turns away from him with a wink and heads straight for the stairs.

Harry stays where he is, watching until Ginny disappears from his view completely. Even after she is gone, he doesn't move, staring off blankly lost deep in his thoughts. It is Neville who, after a few failed attempts, finally breaks Harry out of his daze, asking if he is ok. Harry shakes his head to clear his thoughts before answering.

"Everything's fine," Harry doesn't notice the sceptical look on Neville's face as he says it. Remembering the main purpose of tracking her down in the first place, Harry manages a small celebratory smile. "Ginny's in."

Neville mutters a comment about not having any doubt in his mind that she would say yes to their adventure, and looks at Harry shrewdly. "What else did she say?"

"She wants to tell Ry," Harry shakes his head in wonder at the changes that he can see in his friend since their god-sister's arrival at Hogwarts, and especially since the incident in potions class. The fact that he is not only openly taking part in this plan, but was a key part in coming up with the idea in the first place, says more than anything just how much he's changed. Definitely he has become more confident, more willing to speak up with his friends and take risks.

"Would that be so bad?" Neville interrupts Harry's thoughts, looking slightly confused. He spends a few moments thinking about all of the stories he's heard throughout the years about what Glory and her friends have pulled off at other schools and can't help but smile at the thoughts. "I think she'd be disappointed to be left out."

Harry doesn't hesitate to tell Neville that he'd thought of Glory earlier when Seamus had asked if there was anyone else they thought should know, but he didn't mention it due to his worry. How many more rules could she break before the staff would band together and have her kicked out? Neville's eyes widen, as if he hadn't thought of that possibility.

"I still think we should at least run the plan by her," Neville says slowly after a few minutes of silent thought. Harry shrugs, saying that he's already agreed to check it with the other guys. Neville scans the common room for the others and chuckles quietly, seeing Ron and Dean camped out on chairs, still watching Seamus trying to convince Parvati to go upstairs. He sends a grin over his shoulder at Harry. "Should we tell him that Ginny's already come and gone?"

Harry shakes his head and laughs at the mischievous spark in Neville's eyes, and tells him he's been spending too much time with Glory. Neville laughs at the statement and says there are worse things he could do, before heading across the room to fill Dean and Ron in on the latest news.

As he watches his friends laughing together, Harry smiles to himself, glad to see everyone getting along so well. Despite the horrible things going on outside the walls and wards of Hogwarts, the continued Death Eater attacks and current upheaval with the Ministry, at least here they have a place where they can forget about it all for a time and just be teenagers having fun. And with that thought, Harry makes his way out from the dark corner and joins his friends, not wanting to be waiting alone on the fringe any longer.

End of Chapter 7…
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A/N: Sorry for the extreme length of time between updates, but there's been a lot of stuff going on for me for the last year or so, including being without a computer for a few months. Hopefully this won't happen again, and if you're still reading this, thank you. As always, questions or comments would be much appreciated.