A/N: WOOHOO! I LOVE you reviewers! You guys are so cool! Thanks to all of you who answered my last authors note, its cool knowing where all you people come from. In answer to Lady Emerald Black, I am now doing a poll on a middle name for Pepper. If anyone has any ideas please tell me! Zurine, I'm in Spanish 2 and thanks for the Espanol lesson...Oh, and Kirsten, you are in this chapter, by the way.

I'm sorry that this is a really short chappy, but it had to end where it did because it's a perfect ending! I'm a little sleep deprived as it is 1:08 in the morning, so I'll stop rambling now before I get going and I don't stop writing for pages!

Here it is, chapter twenty five!

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Hey Ginny, where were you earlier?" Ron asked his sister, coming up behind her in the library. She was sitting in a high backed chair across from a picture window that looked out onto the grounds, a book open in her lap.

Ginny turned her head to face Ron and Harry as they sat on the windowsill across from her. "I've been here for a while...Diandra (A/N: Kirsten! It's you!) and I...er...we had a project to finish for Herbology."

"Have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked, biting his lip in worry and ignoring Ginny's hesitant answer.

"No, she didn't travel on the Hogwarts Express. What's wrong? Why do you look so worried?" Ginny wondered, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"You haven't heard about what happened?" said Ron. He had expected Ginny to find out about Hermione's parents some way, though he wasn't sure why he assumed that.

Ginny shook her head. "Why, what's wrong?" she asked.

Harry opened his mouth to respond but before he could say anything Pepper rushed into the library. Ignoring yells from the librarian, Madam Pince, she ran straight to the group sitting by the picture window.

"Ron!" she panted, putting her hands on her knees and breathing heavily. It was clear she had just run a long distance.

"What?" Ron questioned.

"Hermione – what – happened – you – her – what – happened?" Pepper said between heavy breaths, not making much sense at all. Catching her breath for the most part she stood up straight and looked Ron in the face.

As Ron saw her flushed, tear-stained face he became concerned. "What are you talking about Pepper? What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's Hermione --- what pushed her over the edge? She said a lot had happened while I was gone... WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WHILE I WAS GETTING HER SLEEPING POTION RON?" Pepper said a little too loudly, grabbing Ron by the shoulders and shaking him so hard his teeth rattled. "She said something about you so I've been racing all over the school to find you!"

It took Ron a moment to recover from Pepper's sudden burst of violence, but when he did he said, "What's happened? What do you mean what 'pushed her over the edge?'"

"She's followed my example Ron...she's followed my example..." Pepper said, taking a step back from Ron, her expression crumpling a bit.

"What example?" Ron asked, getting frustrated and impatient with Pepper's indistinct answers to his questions.

"Just tell me why she's so irked!" Pepper exclaimed. "I've got to know! What did you do to her?"

"Followed your example...Pepper, you don't mean – " Harry began, but Pepper ignored him.

"What happened?" Pepper asked again, her teeth clenched.

"I did," a sickly sweet voice said. Sadie Montgomery walked up behind Pepper and rested her hand on Ron's arm lightly. Pepper took another step back, staring in disbelief. Ron moved his arm away and shook his head violently at Pepper, praying she wouldn't believe a word that was about to come out of the Slytherin's mouth.

"Get out, Montgomery," Harry hissed at her.

Montgomery laughed lightly. "You see, Halliwell, Ron here had forgotten that he was in fact with me when he saw Granger today, so I made it a point of reminding him."

At this point, unable to sit in the shadows any longer, Ginny jumped from her chair. "It's a lie," she said, not wanting to believe what the girl was saying. She knew it couldn't be true, Ron had liked Hermione for years he couldn't have just dropped her for some Slytherin over a Christmas vacation. Ginny knew Hermione meant a lot more to Ron than that. "It's a lie," she repeated.

Montgomery laughed again. "Aww, poor little Weasley. She doesn't want to believe that her big brother got some sense knocked into him and ditched that little Mudblood."

In an instant four wands were whipped out from four robe pockets and pointing in the Slytherin's face. The hatred in the air was so heavy it was almost palpable. "Get the hell out of here before you have so many hex marks on you no one will recognize you," Ginny growled.

Montgomery's bubbly laugh surfaced again. "Don't make threats you can't carry out, Weasley," she said.

"Who says we won't carry it out?" Pepper said.

"Besides," Montgomery continued as if Pepper hadn't said anything, "Ron wouldn't want you to harm me, would you Ron?" She smiled seductively and made a motion to touch Ron but he just put his wand closer to his face. She laughed again.

"What is going on here?" the brisk voice of Madam Pince said as she came upon the five students. After assessing the situation she screamed, "Out! Out! All of you! Now!"

Pepper, Ginny, Ron, Harry and Montgomery all ran out of the library. They were all covering their heads, as the librarian had bewitched a book to fly after them, banging them on the heads with all its might.

"Ron, you know you loved shagging me," Montgomery said, still trying to convince the lot of them she was with Ron.

"What is this, screw Slytherins month?" Pepper sighed exasperatedly, storming from the corridor.

Montgomery smirked in satisfaction and Ron and Harry looked desperately down the corridor at Pepper's retreating back. Harry, Ron and Ginny all hurried after Pepper, Ron wanting to talk to her about Hermione, Harry wanting to get her back and Ginny wanting to know what the hell was going on.

Sadie Montgomery stood there, a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face. "Isn't it amazing what people will believe?" she said to herself, shaking her head slightly. "Draco better pay me well for this...I had to touch Weasley....ick."

"What is going on?" Ginny asked Harry and Ron as they walked through the maze of corridors that was Hogwarts.

"Why can't Pepper stay in one place so we can talk to her?" Ron wondered aloud.

"Not that she'll talk to me," Harry mumbled.

"And apparently no one will talk to me!" exclaimed Ginny. "I would like to know what's going on here...I say we go back up to the common room. If Pepper doesn't want to be found we won't find her."

"No kidding," said Ron. "C'mon Harry, I agree with Ginny."

Pepper apprehended there wasn't really anywhere she could go to get away from people. Hermione was locked in their dormitory, Ron, Harry and Ginny were hanging out by the library and many people were in the common room.

An idea came to her: she could go to Professor Ardel. She did have a question about his assignment on Chipauras...

On her way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room she went over what had just happened in the library. It was a very similar situation to what had happened with Spada and Harry; except that Ron really seemed surprised that Montgomery had approached him. Harry hadn't seemed too surprised about the Slytherin approaching Ron, and Pepper thought that was odd.

Her brain then switched to Hermione who was asleep in the dormitory. Pepper had practically force fed Hermione the Sleeping Draught before throwing all sharp objects out the window and locking her in the dorm room. Pepper didn't want to risk Hermione doing anything while she was gone, even if the girl was asleep. Pepper mentally kicked herself for the millionth time for giving Hermione a horrible example to follow like that. She had never even imagined that Hermione would hurt herself, though. She supposed she would never imagine that Hermione's parents would die like that, either. Too much was happening at once, and Pepper realized she was in way over her head. Emotions were running haywire, (not just her own emotions, either), and everything was happening simultaneously.

Soon, she arrived at her destination and she entered the room. Finding that Professor Ardel was not there she went to the front of the room and up a short staircase, coming to his office door. She knocked a few times and the door was answered almost immediately.

"Miss Halliwell, come in," Professor Ardel welcomed with a smile. Pepper entered the office to find it almost empty; everything was packed into boxes and bags.

"Professor, what's going on? Are you leaving?" Pepper asked, her confusion very apparent.

"Ah...yes...an extremely urgent situation has come to my attention. I am needed elsewhere, for the safety of many people. I wish I could stay, Pepper, but I'm sure the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be more than capable of helping you and Harry prepare for the War," Professor Ardel explained. Pepper saw that his expression was that of concern and sadness.

"But you can't leave, not now, on such short notice!" Pepper exclaimed.

"I'm afraid that I must," said Professor Ardel. "You will, of course, continue with extra lessons, as that is necessary. I would stay if it was possible but that is out of the question. Hogwarts no longer needs me."

"Yes it does! Harry and I need you, you've been such a great help!" Pepper cried desperately, trying to convince the professor not to leave, even though she knew it would be in vain.

There came a knock at the door and Professor Dumbledore poked his head into the office. "Hello Miss Halliwell. Garrick, your carriage is here, shall I escort you?"

"No thank you Albus, I believe I can find my own way," Ardel said. He then turned to Pepper. "Miss Halliwell it was a pleasure teaching you. I look forward to seeing you again."

Before Pepper could say another word, he was gone.

"Why, Professor?" Pepper asked the headmaster. "Why did he have to leave? Why does everything have to happen at the same time?"

"The time will come when you will see why all of this has to happen," Professor Dumbledore said wisely. "Everything happens for a reason, Miss Halliwell. You may not know it now but all that has happened to you has happened for a specific purpose. Nothing happens at random. Every hardship you must face makes you a better, stronger person and one day you will be very thankful for that. I know that that may be hard to understand at this point in time, so I am now offering my ears to you. Anytime you need to talk, Miss Halliwell, anytime at all, just come to my office.

"Now I suggest you head down to dinner, as I am going to do. I am sure you are quite hungry after all the day's events. I also advise you bring some food up to Miss Granger, as she will undoubtedly be hungry when she wakes up."

"Thank you, Professor," Pepper said meekly.

Professor Dumbledore left without another word to Pepper, closing the door slowly behind him. Pepper was left to stare at the empty wall behind ex-Professor Ardel's desk which used to hold a giant picture of a Demiguise.

Pepper shook her head in disbelief. Her parents' deaths, cutting herself, kissing Malfoy, secrets from her friends, the Féminin Vivreencore Curse, finding out about her mother's foreseen death, Harry's Slytherin girlfriend, breaking up with Harry, shagging Malfoy, Hermione's parents, Hermione cutting herself, Ron's Slytherin companion...

Pepper stood and walked out the door, making her way down to the Great Hall for dinner...

Her new world which she had known for such a short time was slowly crumbling, piece by piece, right in front of her face.

!!!! !!!!!!!!!

A/N: So what's up with Ginny? Isn't she acting oddly? And why did Professor Ardel have to leave? Why are the Slytherin girls with Harry and Ron? Tune in next chapter for answers (maybe)!