Hello all! So after reading reviews I want to address a couple of things. I'm not always the most confident in my writing, and I definitely want to get constructive criticism because it helps me improve. I won't lie and say that it doesn't bother me if someone leaves a review that expresses some form of disappointment or dislike, cause it does, but it lets me work in the right direction. So, I only got one review that said it, but just in case anyone agrees with it and just didn't say it, I can promise all of you that this chapter isn't a rehash of the last couple of chapters. Now, the other thing I want to address. I have a feeling quite a few of you want to know why Vanessa hasn't told Harry the truth yet, or if she ever will. I'm not going to answer that completely, because it will be in the story at some point and I don't want to spoil it. BUT, Harry will know Vanessa is his sister eventually. Just not yet.

I really am so happy that so many of you are enjoying the story overall, and I don't want to turn anyone off to the idea of leaving me any reviews either. Even if I'm briefly offended, I'm an adult and I can take it. Please, don't stop telling me what you think, it makes each and every update that much more worth it for me. And since this is officially the longest author's note I've ever left now, I'll let you get on with reading.


Christmas break came sooner than I was prepared for. With it came the inevitable conversation I had to have with my father. I'd been holding a grudge since the beginning of September, but I wasn't willing to give up our traditional reclusive Christmas dinner in his chambers. So a few days before the holiday I found him in his classroom, finding a place to get to work preparing ingredients for the next step of the wolfsbane with ease. He took no less than a moment to acknowledge me, sliding a knife over to me so I could get to work. We were never good at heartfelt conversations, so it mostly only involved my explaining my anger and his clarifying his reasons for agreeing to take me out of Charms.

I didn't necessarily forgive him for it, but it did make me feel better knowing he'd had an alternative for me the moment he heard I would have extra time on my hands. Once classes started again, I was going to be spending my former Charms periods sitting in on the seventh year N.E.W.T. classes. I'd mostly be grading essays from the years below me during those times for him, but if he felt I was up to it he would have me brew a potion along with the seventh years. It was certainly better than the idle wandering I'd adopted.

Harry joined us for Christmas dinner again, bringing along a gift he'd gotten from some mysterious source. The firebolt was certainly flashy, but the lack of a note was something we couldn't ignore. Harry was happy to turn it over to my father, especially since he didn't do any sort of regular flying. He'd considered trying out for the quidditch team, but he didn't want to take the seeker position from Malfoy and he wasn't interested in the other positions. I was just happy he didn't consider flying on a broom that could have been tampered with.

On the 27th of December I received another letter from Mr. Malfoy, as well as an official letter from the Ministry. It was then that I was forced to admit to my father that I was the one who started the case against Dumbledore, as I'd received an official summons to the hearing in March. He was quite upset to learn that was why I'd been corresponding with Mr. Malfoy, but made sure I knew he would support me through the whole process. The letter from Mr. Malfoy explained that he would meet me at the Ministry and escort me to the court room the trial would take place in.

He wasn't stupid enough to make it obvious, but I could feel Dumbledore boring holes in the back of my head with his eyes every time we were in the same room. He knew it was my fault he was caught. The names of everyone testifying for either side was released with the date of the trial, and I was one of three students on the list. The other two were both muggleborns, one a fourth year Ravenclaw and the other a second year Gryffindor. I had very little doubt that I was the only wizarding raised victim of his. Both boys were a little scared to approach me, especially the little lion, but eventually they came to speak with me. It was the second Tuesday after classes had resumed, and the little Gryffindor was shaking in his robes as the Ravenclaw shoved him forward.

I raised an eyebrow at them, shutting my Arithmancy book and leaning back against Cedric "Finally dared to meet me then?"

The Ravenclaw frowned at me "I'm Eddie Carmichael, this is Colin Creevey."

"Yes, I know." Their brows furrowed, making me sigh "I've got connections all over the school, you don't think I wouldn't have asked around about you two? You've both got some level of nerve if you're willing to testify against him."

I felt Cedric tense behind me, his arm coming around my shoulder protectively "I still can't believe he'd do something like that."

My eyes rolled, even as I patted his arm and looked to my fellow victims "So, what do you need from me?"

Colin opened his mouth to speak, but Eddie slapped a hand over his mouth and eyed me warily. A small smirk formed on my face, he knew to be careful with his words "What will we owe you?"

I shrugged as Cedric choked on a laugh, giving them an amused smile "This time around? Nothing. Any favors pertaining to the trial are free for you two. Technically, you're already doing me a favor by testifying."

Eddie still seemed unsure, something I couldn't blame him for. Luckily for me, Cedric came to the rescue "Trust me, she doesn't joke around when making deals. If she says it's free, she means free."

Eddie sighed, letting Colin talk "How do we get to the trial? Can my mum come? Is there such a thing as witness protection? Do we need some kind of wizarding lawyer? Or-"

"Whoa, kid, slow down. My father's going to let me use the fireplace in his office to floo there, I can make sure you two come with me. If your mother is representing you then she can come, otherwise, there's really not a moral support kind of thing that happens in court. And what in Merlin's name are those other two things you said?"

They both seemed a little disturbed by my answer "So, if the headmaster were to, say, try to intimidate us into lying for him, we wouldn't be protected from that?"

I stared at them blankly, extremely confused "Why would anyone do that? Does that happen in muggle courts?"

"You're telling me no one has ever tried to intimidate a witness? Not ever?"

My head shook, the idea of it sounding ridiculous "The only criminals willing to do something like that after a trial has been determined are usually the kind that are proud of what they've done. Besides, even if it was common, putting the Chief Warlock on trial for fraud is a massive case. They'll be using veritaserum on anyone testifying to screen for outside influences."

"Verita-what now?"

I frowned "Veritaserum, the truth serum? One drop will force the consumer to tell the truth, even if they don't want to."

"Then why not use it on Dumbledore? Leave us out of it?"

Cedric let out a sigh this time, looking to me in exasperation before speaking "It's not always right. Whoever drinks it will be forced to tell the truth, but that can be anything as long as the drinker believes it to be true. Which is why it's really only good for screening. A case like this, they'll have you take the serum, answer questions that prove your testimony will be unhindered or what has influenced it, then take the antidote before you step into the court."

"So that's a no on the witness protection then?"

"If Dumbledore makes any attempt to interfere with your testimony the Wizengamot will know before you testify and it won't work in his favor. He's more inclined to stay away from you."

Colin perked up, looking at me hopefully "And the lawyer? My mum says I shouldn't have to go to court without one."

Puzzlement took over my expression again, the term unfamiliar to me "Sorry, really, but what's a low-yer?"

Eddie grimaced, gripping Colin's shoulder "A lawyer is a person who is fully educated on the law and represents a plaintiff or defendant in court. They are there to advise, protect, and speak on behalf of their client. In our cases it would be more likely for us to speak with the lawyer representing the side against Dumbledore, instead of getting one for ourselves."

I stared at them, a little concerned for muggles "Sorry, in muggle courts you don't let someone speak for themselves?"

"Muggles can represent themselves if they choose, it's just not typical."

"Why?"

Eddie seemed to be growing frustrated with my questions "Because the law is complicated and not everyone is willing to study it for eight years just to be well versed in the basics of it. It's easier to just pay someone who did study it and continues to study it."

I tried to understand it, really, I did. But the whole idea was just baffling to me. Laws were laws, how complicated did it have to be? It was ridiculous "Muggles are so strange." Eddie scoffed, but I continued before he could say anything "No, we don't have lo-wears in the wizarding world. If you're called to court you speak for yourself."

"And what happens if you accidentally say something self-incriminating?"

My brows furrowed "You don't." I shook my head at them "Look, you two are getting a bit too worked up over this. It's simple for you. You show up at the hearing, you get screened, you wait your turn, and when you're called in you answer the court's questions. You have nothing to worry about when you've done nothing wrong. They're basically going to ask you if the evidence they've been presented regarding you is true and then you'll be done."

Colin turned somber very suddenly "What about you? You're just a witness too, aren't you?"

I sighed "Creevey, we're not witnesses, we're victims. He's used our names to commit fraud, that's why we've been asked to testify." His sad look didn't improve, so I dug up what little lion heart I had and looked him in the eye "No, I'm not in the same situation as you. I'll be asked far more than you two will."

"Why?"

I looked up at Eddie with a frown "I'm the one who discovered it at Gringotts. The goblins don't pay much attention to names of muggles showing up as frequent use accounts. Parents of muggleborn students tend to have deposits in and then out because they don't know the inner workings of wizarding banking very well, which is sensible for them to do. But it also means the goblins don't flag it for suspicious activity like they did for mine. My father has had an account with them since he was a student, so they recognized my name."

"So if he hadn't used your name-"

"Why did he use your name?"

I glared at him for that one "There are some questions that shouldn't be asked, Carmichael."

Cedric took my hand in his, gripping it tightly before I could get too angry. Knowing it would take a wrong turn if I didn't stop things there, I stood to make my leave. I reassured the two that I would make sure they got to the Ministry on time that day before turning on my heel and dragging Cedric behind me. Not even I knew the whole reason he was willing to use my name, but I knew it couldn't be anything good. I'm not sure anyone would ever truly know Dumbledore's reasoning behind anything.

It was two days later that I noticed something a little strange. On my way out of the Arithmancy classroom I saw Granger heading in its direction with Harry and Nott. I found nothing about it unordinary, as I'd seen it happen dozens of times before. But just a half hour later I caught sight of her scrambling into a closet down the corridor from me, something I was sure was impossible. The girl was a Ravenclaw through and through when it came to her studies, and there was no chance she would be caught dead skipping any of her classes. So I made to check in on her, but when I opened the door, she was gone. It made no sense to me. I kept a closer eye on her after that, and on four other occasions I found the same thing happening. I was quite curious, enough so to go to the Weasley twins for a little outside help.

It wasn't information I wanted them to know I had, but this was one thing that was worth discovering. I made sure to corner them away from prying eyes at least "I need a favor from you two."

They looked at each other, smirking mischievously "And what-"

"Would that be?"

My eyes rolled as I crossed my arms, annoyed at what I had to say "I need a look at your map."

That made them freeze, a defensive posture taking over "A map? What map? Have you any idea what she's talking about Fred?"

"Not a clue George. What map would that be Snapette?"

I frowned, trying to think of something that would make them cough it up "I know you two have it." They continued to stare at me blankly, not a peep escaping them. Reluctantly, I let out a sigh "I'll give you the password to the Slytherin common room for a week."

Thankfully, that bought their attention "A week you say?"

"And if we had this supposed map, is a week really worth it?"

My hand ran over my face in distress. I really didn't like the idea of selling my house mates security for an extended period of time. I could get away with a password from last month if I gave them a week, because they'd want to plan something big and miss their chance, but for longer? I couldn't risk that "If you don't think that's worth it, name a price."

They stole a few glances with each other, doing their weird twin telepathy thing before nodding in some silent agreement "We've got some products that need testing and no one to test them on. You want this map so bad, you owe us ten test subjects."

Funnily enough, that was an easy bargain for me. There were plenty of things that scared people away from me, but there were also quite a few different reasons people asked me for favors. Half the time the favors were never big enough for me to really need to cash in, so I usually just had them give me something someone else had asked for. It was a good working loop I had, and it was really going to pay off for me now. I held out a hand for the map "Done."

They looked at me skeptically, before one of them pulled it out of their robes and handed it to me "How did you know about it?"

I snatched it from his hand before he could take it back, unfolding it as I spoke "Jordan owed me a favor, I wanted to know how you two got around the castle without getting caught all the time. He sold me that info for a fair price, it was more of a steal on his end." A frown came to my face at the blank parchment, raising an eyebrow at them "Either you're thick or you're clever, which is it?"

They both grinned at me, the one on the left speaking for the two of them "That's the map, if you want it revealed, you owe us another twenty test subjects."

Even I had to laugh at that. It was a fair shot, and it was the kind of thing I pulled a few times myself. I couldn't be mad over it "Alright, it's a deal. You won't get them all at once, but I'll send them to you."

They nodded happily, the one on the right tapping his wand against the parchment "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

The ink slowly formed on the parchment, a sight I'm sure was fascinating, but I could only look at the two with a slack jaw "Seriously? That's the key? What made you two think of that?"

"We didn't-"

The sight of one elbowing the other was a bit strange, but I deigned not to speak on it "Of course you two didn't make it. You're always busy thinking up pranks." Knowing they wouldn't let me leave their sight with the thing in my hands, I turned to inspecting it closely "Now, where are you?"

"What are you looking for anyway?"

"You've had to be sitting on this for a while already."

My eyes narrowed as I found her, practically sprinting if the speed of her inky footprints was any indication. She was heading towards the Muggle Studies classroom there, but I didn't stay focused on her for too long. There was only two explanations for what I'd been seeing from her in the past week. Either she was apparating on school grounds – highly unlikely for anyone, much less a third year – or she was in two places at once. It took another moment, but I found a second print of her name running into the castle from outside. I would have thought that was the only extra one of her if her name hadn't popped up with Harry and Nott just on the edge of the Forbidden Forest in my periphery.

Three Hermione Grangers, all at once. No wonder she's looked so tired this whole year. Harry mentioned she'd said she was taking every single elective this year, but I didn't think about what that meant at the time. It wasn't possible to take every elective at once, because they were all scheduled in a way where they all ran at the same time as at least one other. There was no option for all of them to be taken together for this exact reason. You'd have to be able to travel in time or duplicate yourself to do it. I was going to have to do a lot of digging to find out how she was doing it.

Once I was satisfied I folded the parchment back up, handing it to one of the twins "Right, got what I needed. See you Weasels."

"What, that's it?"

I turned to leave them where they stood, not looking back as I spoke "Just about, yeah."

It took me three days to find any information about time travel in the library. If there was some other way to be in two places at once, I wasn't going to find it at Hogwarts. Even time travel was ridiculously hard. The only mention of it outside of the Ministry's control was from centuries ago, when it was in its experimental phase. Now, traveling through time required a time turner, all of which were tucked away in the Department of Mysteries and strictly controlled. It wasn't surprising, considering how dangerous messing with time could be.

It was the only way Granger could be getting to all her classes, something I'm sure was eating at her. Adding multiple hours to your day would have to take a toll on you. She had to be running on just four hours of sleep to work twenty-four hours each day. Keeping that up for even just a week sounded exhausting, and she'd been doing it since September. It certainly earned her more respect in my eyes, but it didn't keep me from worrying about her. That kind of diligence led to burnout, and it was going to hit her eventually if it hadn't already. So I stepped in a bit.

She wasn't in Slytherin, which made it harder to do, but I would do what I could. I'd make her join me in the library, giving her pointers to improve her work, or giving her a book she would have spent hours looking for. I made sure Harry, Nott, and Malfoy knew to let her sleep if she fell asleep studying with them. I even caught the boys sneaking food from the Great Hall for her when I told them which professors were more lenient about eating in class. There was little I could do for her, but I did notice some improvement in her complexion after I pointed the boys in the right direction. Things like that made me proud of my little brother.