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A/N: I am SO SO SO SORRY! I know it's taken so long for me to update but my life suddenly got unbearably busy and I just couldn't find the time to write. Though I did to a one shot thing that you can read :-) Thank you faithful readers, I hope I didn't throw you off with my inconsistency! I'll really try to post soon, but I really can't make any promises!

- Flyaway Dove

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Chapter Forty-Five

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Pepper entered the common room to find it empty. The fire was beginning to die and she went to sit on the couch to mull over the day's events. When she sat down she heard a muffled sob and almost jumped when she looked over and saw Hermione curled up in an armchair. She couldn't see her before because the back of the chair had been facing the portrait hole, and Pepper discovered now that she was indeed not alone.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Pepper asked cautiously, getting up from the couch and sitting on the arm of the chair.

Hermione didn't look up at her; she just kept her face buried in her knees.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Pepper repeated, stroking Hermione's hair.

"Everything," Hermione choked out. She cried some more before her sobs subsided and she was able to talk. "I'm glad you're back, Pepper," she said shakily. "You've missed so much."

"Like this?" Pepper wondered. "Do you cry at night all alone a lot?" Hermione nodded. "Oh Hermione! I'm so sorry I haven't been here for you! After all that's happened to you, you had no shoulder to cry on! Why didn't you go to Ron?"

Hermione shrugged. "He wouldn't understand."

"Harry?"

"He has too much on his plate already."

"And I don't?" Pepper joked.

"Oh—"

"Hermione, it's fine! I want you to come to me with your problems. I'm just sorry I haven't been here for you." She rested her chin on the top of Hermione's head. "I want you to talk to me, Hermione, whenever you need to. And I think Harry and Ron, but especially Ron, would want to be here for you as well. So don't feel like you ever have to go through anything alone.

"So, anything new happen with you and Ron while I was a living zombie?" Pepper lifted her head up to look at Hermione's face when Hermione didn't say anything. She was blushing. "Hermione…?"

"Nothing really happened," Hermione said, though her voice was tiny.

"Hermione…"

"We kissed," said Hermione.

"I've seen you bloody kiss! I want to know if anything else happened."

"No, that's all," said Hermione. "I swear it is. If anything else happens, you'd be the first to know, well, besides Ron anyway."

Their first class on Monday was Potions.

"Professor Dumbledore has decided that I should…treat you," Snape said reluctantly to the surprised students before him. "Therefore, today you may pick your own partner, as long as your partner is from a different House."

Everyone got up to scramble their seats around. The first one to sit next to Harry was Eowyn Cuomo, which made Harry a little uncomfortable…

Hermione sat down with Padma Patil, Ron sat with a Ravenclaw boy…and Pepper was left standing and looking around the room, feeling stupid. "Halliwell, take a seat!" Snape barked.

To Blaise's displeasure, the only empty seat was next to him, and that's where Pepper sat. She could tell he wasn't very happy about this. Pepper tried to start a conversation but he cut her off.

"Why do you hang around me and Alana?"

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows. "Because I like to," she replied, chopping the lizard's tail and dropping a few pieces into their cauldron.

"But we're Slytherins," he said, leaning past her (just close enough that Pepper could catch the cinnamony scent of his hair) and grabbing a knife so he could assist with chopping up ingredients. "Aren't you worried about ruining your precious Gryffindor reputation?"

"No, I'm not," said Pepper indignantly. "Do you really dislike me that much?"

"You're turning Alana into a Gryffindor. She's gone soft without realizing it and I think you're a bloody bad influence."

"Funny, most people would say her going soft is a good thing…"

"The point is, Halliwell," Blaise continued, ignoring her as he sawed at a mouse bone, "is that I'm upset you two are friends and you're friends are upset, so why are you and Alana even friends?"

"Because I like her! She's fun to hang out with and so are you. I'd like to be your friend as well as Alana's, Blaise, but it's obvious that you're not going to let me do that. Why are Slytherin's so prejudiced?"

"We're supposed to be prejudiced, Halliwell. That's one of the qualifications that make us Slytherins."

"Then maybe Alana shouldn't be a Slytherin."

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of maybe you shouldn't be a Gryffindor." He grabbed the diced worm segments and threw them in the cauldron while Pepper stood there, thinking about what he'd just said.

"Oh, Harry, you're so good at making potions," Eowyn purred to her partner.

Harry was having a rather difficult time ignoring her Siren charms as he worked on the potion. She was good at getting attention, and he had to be good at ignoring it. It was a skill he really needed to work on. He had to keep repeating in his head what Hermione had told him about Sirens and again he wondered why Dumbledore had let Eowyn in the school. Though, he realized, he really didn't mind her company too much and perhaps it might be alright for him to let jus guard down enough to talk to her. He didn't want to seem rude, after all.

"What would you like me to do Harry?" Eowyn asked.

"Could you pass me the mortar and pestle?" said Harry. When she handed it to him, their fingers brushed, and he felt an electric charge run through him, much like he felt when he touched Pepper, but the feeling was much stronger with Eowyn. Harry gulped and jerked his hand away from hers, almost dropping the mortar.

Eowyn smiled up at him. She knew she would get him under her spell. She had told them all that all she needed was some time.

"Was working with Eowyn alright? You didn't pay any attention to her, did you, Harry?" Hermione asked at lunch.

Harry looked down at his potatoes. They were very creamy today, he noted. "Of course I didn't," he said. His cheeks were burning from the memory of touching Eowyn's hand. After that incident, he had indeed paid attention to her. In fact, they had talked for the rest of the class.

"Harry," said Hermione warningly, "don't lie. Usually I think you're pretty good at it, but this time I can tell you're lying. Why did you talk to her?"

Harry's head snapped up. "You don't understand her, Hermione! She's a great, wonderful, beautiful person!" he said defensively. His cheeks were now red with anger instead of embarrassment.

"See! She's already got you under her spell!" Hermione declared. "That's why I said to stay away from her!"

"Now you really have to avoid and ignore her," said Ron. "You should have listened to Herms in the first place."

Hermione, Pepper and Harry (his anger momentarily forgotten) looked at Ron skeptically. "Herms?" Hermione asked, sounding slightly disgusted.

Ron shrugged. "I thought I'd try it out," he said.

"Well, don't," Hermione grimaced. "It reminds me too much of Grawp."

"Speaking of Hagrid," said Harry, no longer angry at Hermione over Eowyn, "have either of you talked to him about his moving?"

Hermione and Ron shook their heads and Pepper sat there, pushing her food around her plate, but not actually eating any of it. She still couldn't forget their Valentine's Day brunch and what Hermione had said about being perfectly secure with who she was. ("No offense Pepper.")

Harry noticed this lack of eating. "Pepper, why aren't you eating anything?"

Pepper looked up from her plate and Hermione and Ron looked across the table at her. "I ate," Pepper lied. "I'm just not very hungry."

Harry looked skeptical, but the three of them went back to their conversation. Great, Pepper thought, my weight is something else to add to my extensive list of things to deal with.

They had some time to themselves after lunch, so Pepper and Hermione headed to the library to look up information on the Indirect Imperious Curse. Pepper decided she was going to invest her energy into this thing so she could be sure to cure Malfoy before his father's curse fully took over his body again. She wanted to make sure he was on the side of Good and he wouldn't betray them all.

"Pepper, I don't think we're going to find anything about this curse anywhere. We've already been through the library twice before," said Hermione as they tried to figure out where to start their search. "The only place we haven't been is in the Restricted Section."

"And the only way we're getting in there is with the Invisibility Cloak, right?" said Pepper.

"Or with a note from Snape," Hermione said. Pepper looked thoroughly surprised. "I mean, he and Malfoy are pretty close, don't you think?"

"Yeah…so…?" Pepper clearly wasn't catching on.

"So it would be a lot easier if we just told Snape what is going on and we can get a note from him. That way we can roam the Restricted Section freely without having to worry about getting caught."

"Brilliant plan, Hermione!" said Pepper, spinning on her heel to leave the library. "We'll ask him on Wednesday."

Tuesday found Dumbledore paced the teacher's lounge. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before and he looked heavy and bedraggled. The Hogwarts faculty was all gathered into the spacious room, trying to come up with ideas to protect the castle and students. They had already decided that no students were to leave the castle, and Care of Magical Creatures classes were to be held in a contained classroom. Even though the grounds were protected from Apparate and the like, the Forbidden Forest extended beyond Hogwarts grounds and Apparation could occur there. Plus, demons did things besides Apparating.

"We'll need to get the Charmed Ones to help us protect the grounds from ways of demon travel," said Professor Giancarlo. "Even though the students know a little about demons and ways to fend them off, they don't know how to destroy them and I really don't think we can risk a demon attack on the school. Besides, I'll get fired from my Auror position because the students' protection is the reason I came here. And I'm sure none of you want to see any student put in danger, either."

"You would be quite right about that," said Professor McGonagall. "Why aren't the Charmed Ones meeting with us today?"

"I believe they have some things to attend to at home, though I can inform them of our meeting later. Right now I'm more concerned about Mr. Malfoy. Severus, can I ask you to watch him a little closer?"

"Certainly, Headmaster, though he and Miss Halliwell have seemed to be getting along lately"—a look of slight distaste crossed Snape's face before he continued—"and I think he's getting her help with all of this."

"Well that's good news," said Professor Sinstra. "But maybe we had all keep a close eye on those students we know are targeted."

"Particularly Miss Halliwell and Mr. Malfoy," Flitwick squeaked. "It seems to me that they are in the most danger."

There was silence before McGonagall said, "I bet we all wish the Ministry of Magic controlled the Dementors now."

No one replied until Dumbledore spoke up. "Quidditch will have to be cancelled for the time being. The students will be escorted to Herbology and under no circumstances can the students leave the grounds. I will have a talk with the Charmed Ones about precautions they believe we should take. Thank you all for meeting with me. Good day."

As the teachers filed out of the room, Snape caught Dumbledore's arm. "Draco and I have another Death Eater meeting next Saturday, you know."

"Yes," said Dumbledore grimly, knowing what was supposed to happen at the next meeting. "Yes, I am aware of that."

That night, Pepper went to visit her aunt's tower again.

"Question," said Pepper to her aunts, folding her legs under her. She was sitting on the floor, looking at the Charmed Ones who were all three seated on the couch across from her.

"What's your question?" Piper asked.

"If Harry's dad was my godfather does that mean that his mom was my godmother?"

"Yes, it does," Phoebe answered. Her legs were stretched out over Paige and Piper's laps and her head was lying on the couch's armrest. "And your mom was Harry's godmother as well. I'm not sure if Harry knows that or not."

"I don't think he does…" said Pepper. She wanted to find out all she could about her parents. There was a lot about them that she didn't know.

"Wait, how much older was Sirius than Prue?" Paige wondered.

"Five years," said Pepper. "She was in her second year when he was in his seventh. And then she got pregnant in her seventh year, when she was seventeen and he was twenty-two…that sounds sort of gross."

Piper laughed. "It does, but it was a sort of love at first sight thing with the two of them, so I don't think they ever thought about age."

"What did Sirius's parents think about Prue's pregnancy?" asked Paige. It was clear that she wanted to know as much about Prue and Sirius as Pepper did.

"I don't think they ever knew," said Phoebe. She lifted her head from the couch to look at Piper for confirmation. When Piper nodded she laid her head back down. "No, his family wasn't very supportive of anything he did. He moved in with James for a while, I believe. And then he moved in with us for a summer!"

"Okay, you guys said that Harry and I used to be best friends, right?" Pepper asked.

"Yes we did…" Phoebe replied.

"Well if we did everything together then how come I thought I just met him for the first time at the beginning of the school year? Why did I loose all contact with him?"

"I'm not exactly sure how Prue's mind worked," said Piper, "but I know she was devastated after Lily and James died and then Sirius got blamed for it and was put in Azkaban…I think she wanted to cut off that part of her life. But you heard about Harry after Sirius was released, right?"

"Yeah, but I think I would have liked to know him as someone I took bathes with before I knew him as my boyfriend," Pepper said dryly.

Pepper stayed later then she had expected she would and as she hurried back to Gryffindor Tower she turned a sharp corner and literally ran into someone.

She god up from the sprawled position she was in from her fall to come face-to-face with none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Ah, Halliwell, just the person I needed to see," he said, grabbing her forearm roughly and her down the corridor into an empty classroom. Pushing her towards a desk, he closed and locked the door before turning to face her.

"You know Malfoy, we have got to stop meeting like this. What do you want this time?" Pepper asked, trying to copy his signature drawl while rubbing her injured arm. She sat herself on the desk he had pushed her against.

"Your cooperation," he said lazily, coming closer to her.

She raised both of her eyebrows and got ready to spring at him if he tried anything. "Cooperation? With what, exactly?" she asked.

"You have two choices," he continued, ignoring her. "You can either clone yourself or get killed."

"What?" she cried.

"Whether you realize it or not, Halliwell, all evil is after you. I got the messy job of kidnapping you and if I don't there will be hell to pay. My ass is on the line here, and the only way this will work is if you clone yourself. That way I can kidnap your clone and take her to the Dark Lord. Neither of us will die that way. Not immediately, anyway," Malfoy explained. He didn't sound at all affected by this.

Pepper took a moment to process this. "And what happens when they find out the clone isn't me…or that it's not pregnant?"

"By then we can tell Dumbledore what's going on. Both of us should be safe in Hogwarts for a little while. It will take some time for the news to travel to the Death Eaters in training. Besides, as long as we're on our guard we should be fine until the Death Eaters find a way to get into Hogwarts."

"You're actually willing to talk to Dumbledore now?" Pepper asked. She was surprised at this; from her previous talks with Malfoy she had concluded that he hated Dumbledore and thought he was incapable.

"When worst comes to worst…" Malfoy said in a sing-song voice. "I didn't realize things were as dangerous as they are." He turned around to face the wall and there was a pause before he continued. "The day of the attack on Hogsmeade I saw the power of the Source…"

"Scary, isn't it?" Pepper said knowingly.

He turned around again to look at her. "He's so much more powerful than the Dark Lord. If there was a way we could somehow get them to betray each other—"

"And fight against each other," Pepper added.

"Then we'd just have to step in and—"

"Bam, one of them is destroyed."

"Then all we would have to do is defeat the other one."

"And they'd be weakened from the evil-on-evil fight so—"

"It would be so easy to win this war."

"The question is," said Pepper, "how the hell are we going to do that?"

"No idea," shrugged Malfoy.

"You know, that was really creepy," Pepper nodded. "We just finished each other's sentences."

"I noticed," said Malfoy. "So are you going to cooperate or what?"

"What if it doesn't work? What if the clone disappears or they have someway of following it here or something! What if we all die?"

"Stop being such a drama queen, Halliwell. If you follow everything I say then nothing should go wrong," said Malfoy.

Pepper jumped down from the desk she was sitting on. "Who died and made you king?" she said. She was tired of his cockiness.

"Look, Halliwell, I'm trying to save your ass here, the least you could do is do what I say. A 'thank you' would be nice as well."

"What if I say I won't do it? Hmm? What will you do then?" snarled Pepper.

"I'll just kidnap you right now and then you'll die for sure," said Malfoy in the same tone of voice. "I don't have time for this, Mudblood. Either you're going to be nice or I'm going to get you killed."

"You're such an ass," Pepper mumbled, running a hand through her hair. Malfoy seemed to ignore her. "Fine, fine, I'll do it!"

"There's a good little Gryffindor. The next Death Eater meeting, my deadline for delivery, is next Saturday. I'm going to need your clone then."

Pepper tried to ignore the fact that he just said she was a "delivery." Really, her clone was the delivery, but she still didn't like his usage of the word. "Fine," she grumbled.

"You really owe me now, Halliwell," said Malfoy as Pepper made her way to the door to leave. He walked closer and closer to her, pushing her back up against another desk.

"I'm working on it," Pepper sighed, trying not to show her uneasiness that grew with each step he took closer to her. "I just…er…forgot some things for a while," she continued. "But I'm working on it."

"It would be helpful if I could think for myself during the Final Battle," he said, his voice low because he was so close to her now. He was only a few feet away and Pepper could almost feel his breath on her face. "There's something else I want to say to you too…"

"What would that be, Malfoy?" Pepper asked.

"Why the hell are you hanging around Blaise and Alana?" He seemed to be very mad about this.

"Because I like them," Pepper smirked.

"I don't like the fact that you're hanging around my best mates," he said, taking yet another step closer. Pepper was almost on top of the desk now.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, Blaise hates me," said Pepper. "Alana and I really get along though. She's thinking of asking Professor Dumbledore to change her house to Gryffindor just so she can be my best friend." Of course now Pepper was just saying things to make Malfoy mad, and it seemed like her plan was working as his face was scrunching up in anger.

"Look, Halliwell, I don't want you hanging around them anymore. Alana's changing and I don't like it," Malfoy snarled.

"Funny, that's exactly what Blaise said to me today," said Pepper, slightly amused but slightly intimidated by Malfoy at the moment.

"Then why won't you listen to us!" Malfoy practically yelled, making Pepper jump.

"Malfoy, I'll run my life how I like and you run yours the way you like. Now is there anything else you wanted to ask me before I go to bed?" Pepper said calmly.

Seeming to physically calm down, he asked one more question: "What did you tell Ginny?" He turned his head when he said this, as if he was embarrassed.

"I told her that you love her," Pepper gave a feeble half smile, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"I don't love her," he said, now looking at the floor.

"What?"

"I'm not in love with her."

"But…I thought…" Pepper was flabbergasted and her face showed it.

"It's complicated and I don't really want to talk about it. I don't owe you an explanation."

"No, but you owe Ginny one."

Malfoy turned around completely, leaving Pepper to stand up straight without leaning on the stone desk. He rubbed the back of his neck. "My father's orders got mixed up. I was supposed to tell that to Pansy. I'm supposed to marry her."

And Pepper, mouth slightly agape, watched as Malfoy left the room in embarrassment.

Remembering that she could Mirror, she used her power to get back to Gryffindor Tower because it was way after curfew by now. She had assumed that it would be too late for anyone to be awake but she was obviously mistaken, for the sight that met her eyes was Hermione and Ron on one of the couches in front of the dying fire, snogging like there was no tomorrow.

Pepper tried to sneak past unnoticed, averting her eyes as she did so, but Hermione saw her. "Pepper!" she cried, hurriedly breaking away from Ron and scurrying away from his lap. Ron shot Pepper a glare and Pepper smiled meekly at him. Ron hadn't been too fond of her the past few weeks, and this was icing on the cake.

"Where have you been Pep," asked Hermione as she tried to fix her hair. "I thought you were in bed."

"I'll bet she was with her Slytherin mates," Ron mumbled.

"Yes to Slytherin, no to mates," said Pepper.

"Malfoy?" Hermione said.

Pepper nodded her head.

"You've got to stop meeting him in the dark like that."

"I know, that's what I told him," smiled Pepper. "Plus, it wasn't my fault. I was walking back from my aunts' room and he pulled my into a classroom to tell me that I need to clone myself by Saturday so he can kidnap the clone and give it to evil so they can abort it's non-existent baby and then kill it. And once they find out that the clone isn't me they'll come and kill me and Malfoy though he said we'll supposedly be safe for a time in Hogwarts. Then he yelled at me for hanging around his best friends. He also said that he…." Pepper glanced at Ron, deciding not tell him about Malfoy's confession of not loving Ginny. "Well, what is important is that I'm going to die, whether it's now or in a few months."

"Pepper…" said Hermione in a you're-totally-overreacting voice.

"Pepper, we're not going to let you die. There's no way you're going to die at sixteen," Ron assured her.

Pepper was slightly surprised, since Ron had been rather miffed at her lately. "Thanks Ron, it's nice to know that I have friends to back me up."

"And I'm sure the teachers will be on high alert now that there's been an attack at Hogsmeade," said Hermione. "They all know you're the main attack target, so they'll all protect you. There's no way that Voldemort—Ron why do you still shudder at that?—or the Source can get to you."

"What about all the Death Eaters in training at Hogwarts that can attack me?" asked Pepper, worrying herself now.

"Pepper, I'm sure they're taking all the precautions to keep you, Harry, and the rest of the school safe. Your aunts are here as well and they definitely won't let anything happen to you," Hermione reminded her.

"Thanks, Hermione, I'm reassured now. Sorry I interrupted your snogging session. I'll be going to bed now. Goodnight," said Pepper and after Ron and Hermione said their goodnights she headed up to bed.

Ivi Spada shifted on her cot as the man outside the bars stared at her. "Is it almost over?" she signed timidly. Her voice was thin from being in the prison for so long, and she was tired of the lack of personal hygiene here.

"Yes," Avery said, dropping his stare. "Only a few Dementors remain here, and once they are under the Dark Lord's control as well, it will be safe."

"Good, because I'm so bloody tired of this place! How is Eowyn working out? She hasn't been by to visit me in weeks."

"From what I hear, she's having trouble getting close to Potter."

"Damn. This is a problem. I knew she wasn't good enough."

"No matter. Out army is bigger and stronger than theirs, anyhow. It will al work out in the end," Avery assured Ivi.

"I hope it does."

"We will get you all out. There is no way we can loose this war."

When Pepper made her way down to breakfast the next morning, she discovered that Ron and Hermione weren't there yet; she made her way over to Harry and Ginny, who were engaged in a conversation.

"Hi," she greeted, grabbing a piece of toast as she sat down.

"Hey," said Harry. "Where are Hermione and Ron?"

"I expect they slept in a bit…they had a rather late night last night," said Pepper. "I caught them snogging in the common room at two in the morning."

"Ah," Harry said knowingly.

"Ginny, I've got something to tell you," Pepper said, talking behind her bitten toast so that Harry wouldn't see. "Malfoy isn't in love with you after all. His Imperius Curse orders got mixed up. Sorry."

Ginny looked indifferent and Harry looked at the two of them suspiciously. "And I have something to tell you Harry," Pepper added, trying to draw the attention away from the toast-whispering. "My aunts shared a bit of information with me the other night."

"What information would that be?" asked Harry.

"We used to be best friends when we were babies," Pepper shared.

Harry and Ginny both looked shocked.

"And there's more but I don't know if I'm going to share," said Pepper, referring to the bath taking that she and Harry apparently used to do together.

"Students!" said Dumbledore, rising from his seat to get their attention. The Great Hall fell quiet and Dumbledore continued. "It is with great displeasure that I make this announcement. Since the demon attack on Hogsmeade last weekend, the Charmed Ones, the rest of the staff and I have been discussing ways to make you all safer. Therefore, Care of Magical Creatures will take place in classroom fifty on the second floor, no students will be allowed on the grounds and Quidditch is hereby cancelled until further notice."

This last statement caused many groans from the students, and Harry threw his fork down in protest.

"I know this is a disappointment," Dumbledore went on, "but it must be done. These rules will be strictly enforced. Please pass this message onto your fellow students who are sleeping in this morning. Enjoy the rest of your morning."

He sat down and the students started their protest again.

"No Quidditch!" Ron exclaimed. "How can he cancel Quidditch?"

"He's done it before and he did it again," said Harry sadly. The four were on their way to Potions, where Pepper and Hermione were going to ask Snape for a note to get into the Restricted Section.

"Silence!" Snape ordered as he strode into the classroom just as the bell rang. And class began.

After the lesson was over and the students were leaving the room, Pepper and Hermione approached Snape's desk. "Excuse me, sir," Hermione said politely, getting his attention.

"What is it, Granger?" he asked, his head snapping up.

"It's about Malfoy," said Pepper. "He asked our help with this Indirect Imperius Curse his father put him under and we've been looking in the library for a solution but we can't find one. So we were wondering if you could give us a note to get into the Restricted Section so we could see if we can find anything there."

Wordlessly, Snape pulled out a piece of blank parchment and wrote on it. He handed it to Pepper when he was done and the two girls left his classroom, somewhat surprised at his willingness to give them permission.

"So does this mean we're going to go today?" Pepper asked, sticking Snape's note into the pocket of her robes.

"I guess so," said Hermione. "Does after dinner sound alright?"

"Sure," said Pepper.