Return of the Unicorns

by West29

After he is murdered in the Little Hangleton graveyard, Cedric Diggory finds out that he can reincarnate back on Earth. It's a golden opportunity to re-claim his life - but what will come of it?

19. Chapter 19

Return of the Unicorns, Chapter 19

Note: This chapter will alternate from the perspectives of Professor Dumbledore and Hope. It's pretty long, but that's just because a lot happens! Hope you like – this is a big one!

Professor Albus Dumbledore was spending a quiet evening in his study, pacing back and forth in his favorite silk pajamas under his favorite velvet bathrobe with his favorite fluffy pink bunny slippers on his feet. One would be a heathen to forget the bunny slippers. As he paced, he pondered the future.

For instance, would he live to see the infamous Lord Voldemort defeated? He knew he was an old man, but surely the dark wizard's defeat was nigh? Or maybe he would go to Heaven and witness the defeat of Lord Voldemort from there? Dumbledore knew that he'd made his mistakes in life, but he also knew that he'd done his best thereafter to atone for his mistakes and make the most of his life. Surely his fate was Heaven?

Then, a roar sounded from his fireplace. Green flames burst forth before a young witch, clad in wizard's robes, paired with sneakers, jeans, and a Weird Sisters T-shirt, emerged from his fireplace. She had spiky pink hair and an irrepressible grin.

The young witch tripped over the ledge of his fireplace, causing her to fall forward. At the last minute, she tucked her head in and managed to somersault out of her fall. "I meant to do that," she grumbled.

"Ah, Nymphadora," he greeted the young witch.

"Don't call me Nymphadora," she protested.

Dumbledore knew not to call her Nymphadora, of course. He just liked getting a rise out of her sometimes. "Well, good evening, Tonks," the headmaster corrected himself.

"Well, I wish you a good evening, Headmaster, but I have a bone to pick with you," she replied as she stepped out of the fireplace, brushed off her ashes, and stood before the professor.

"What is that?"

"Well," Tonks said, "I understand you approved the admittance of a reincarnated unicorn, Hope Marshall, to be admitted to the Order of the Phoenix?" asked Tonks.

"Indeed I did," replied Dumbledore.

"Well, I think she had a past life that might've involved Hogwarts. She knew a lot of the members of the Order of the Phoenix by name, even before being introduced to them, and we had some very good converstions about Hogwarts, even though she doesn't recall having actually been at Hogwarts."

"I see. Yes, that would make sense. Would you like for me to… jog her memory?"

"Yes, and you're to do it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" asked the Headmaster.

"Her birthday is on the Winter Solstice – the day after tomorrow. And I only found out that her birthday is coming up because she said she would be twenty two, as of then. This is a disaster! Hope Marshall loves birthday parties and she loves Christmas, but she doesn't want to celebrate either this year because she's depressed about being cut off from her family! So, I thought, if she remembers her past life, that's got to cheer her up! And just in time for her birthday and Christmas! Right?"

Ahh, only a Hufflepuff would see a lack of Christmas and birthday cheer as this much of a crisis. Dumbledore grinned. "Indeed. I shall summon Ms. Marshall here first thing tomorrow morning and see about jogging her memory."

"Thanks, Professor. I'll hold you to it!" Tonks said cheerily. With a wave and a wink, she stepped into his fireplace and vanished amid a flare of green flames.

Hope awoke to Tonks banging a wooden spoon on a frying pan, scaring an owl around the kitchen. "Morning, sleepyhead!" she proclaimed.

"Why such a racket?" Hope complained after Tonks finally set down the spoon and frying pan, allowing the owl to alight on their counter.

"Because I can," shrugged the pink-haired witch. "Oh look, it's a note for you! From Albus Dumbledore! Maybe he's going to wish you Happy 22nd Birthday a day early!"

"Tonks, I- I'm sorry, but I'm just not feeling like celebrating. I crossed the Atlantic, explored my wizarding powers in Britain, and joined the Order of the Phoenix all on some hunch that I don't even know where it came from. And now I'm separated from my entire family! I know that I made the right call in joining the Order, but I don't know why and-" She felt tears beginning to pool in her eyes, so she cut herself short and wiped them away. She was not going to descend into feeling sorry for herself yet again. Feeling sorry for oneself never did anybody any good.

"Things could get better! You never know!" said Tonks, placing a soothing hand on Hope's back. "And also, you aren't separated from your ENTIRE family. After all we've been through in the past several weeks, Sirius, Remus, and I have started to think of ourselves as your family, so you've still got us!"

At this, Hope couldn't contain her tears any longer. She enveloped Tonks in a great big bear hug and allowed herself to cry into the other witch's shoulder.

When they broke apart, Tonks handed Hope a kitchen towel to wipe her face with. "Now, let's see what Professor Dumbledore has to say to you."

The note bore the elegant, slanting cursive that was particular to Professor Dumbledore and it read:

Dear Ms. Hope Marshall,

I would like to invite you to meet me in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this evening. In the meantime, I would like to invite you to explore Hogwarts and her beautiful grounds and see if anything sparks a memory for you. I do look forward to learning of your discoveries.

Yours Truly,

Professor Albus Dumbledore

"Well, come on!" said Tonks, who'd read the note over Hope's shoulder. "What say we get dressed and I can take you to Hogsmeade for breakfast before you set about exploring?"

"Okay," said Hope nervously. "But I have my last statistics report due to the Ministry today and I have to meet with Kingsley to discuss some of my findings-"

"Dumbledore will have told the Ministry to wait on the report and Kingsley that you can't make it to your meeting. He's a smart bloke."

"Okay, but I'll have to get back in time for my shift guarding the Hall of Prophecy tonight."

"Worry 'bout that later. Now, get dressed!"

Hope did as she was told, donning jeans and boots and a cashmere sweater, and then donning a warm traveling cloak, some gloves, and a Hufflepuff scarf she'd borrowed from Tonks over the ensemble.

Once she was ready, she gripped Tonks's arm and allowed herself to be side-along apparated to Hogsmeade. They apparated into a quaint, snow-filled alley and Tonks led Hope to the main street, where a fresh snowfall had left a dusting on top of the signs for the various magical shops. Hope felt a rush of familiarity, all at once.

"Oh my gosh! There's Dervish and Banges! And there's Hogsmeade Train Station, where the Hogwarts Express comes in! And there's Honeydukes sweet shop! I haven't tried any of their sweets in this lifetime, but somehow I know I'm a big fan of their chocolate frogs! Oh, and there's the Three Broomsticks, where you can get butterbeer!" Hope gushed excitedly.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks. We can get a couple of butterbeers and a couple of slices of their best Black Forest cake."

"Butterbeer and cake for breakfast?!" scoffed Hope.

"Why ever not?"

"Well… I don't know why not!" said Hope, and followed her friend through the door of the familiar establishment.

After a tasty and decadent breakfast at the Three Broomsticks, Tonks had to depart, but not before showing Hope where to walk to Hogwarts.

"Right, just follow the path all the way to the castle and the front door should be unlocked, so you can just go right in. If anyone thinks you don't belong there, you've got the note from Professor Dumbledore, so you can just say he invited you. Will you be all right from here? I'll see you in the evening after your meeting with him, yeah?"

Hope nodded. "Yeah, okay."

Tonks skipped off and disapparated, leaving Hope to her own devices for the first time in weeks. Ever since she'd met Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, someone was always with her – either Sirius or Remus or her roommate Tonks or someone in the Order of the Phoenix. Since Hope was something of an introvert, the solitude came as a welcome relief.

Then, she remembered what she was supposed to be doing and stared at the castle and gulped. It loomed ahead of her, its impressive form towering above the snow, its towers impaling the sky like spikes. It was beautiful, but it was fearsome, and Hope couldn't help but feel that in opening the front door, she was about to open a pandora's box full of secrets. Could she deal with all those secrets once she discovered them?

Then, Hope reminded herself that ignorance was NOT bliss and she needed to discover whatever needed discovering here. And if she couldn't figure it out today, then Albus Dumbledore and Nymphadora Tonks would be here to help her get it eventually. This wasn't a test, this was her life. There was no right or wrong way to do things and it was okay to be confused.

Even after her internal self-lecture, Hope still felt nervous, but she put one foot in front of the other one anyway and began her walk to the castle.

Hope opened the door to the Entry Hall and slipped in easily, as Tonks predicted she could. A chill ran up her spine: she knew this place, even if she didn't know how. She pondered the question further and her head started to hurt. But the pain had to be associated with trying to recall her memories, so perhaps, the only way around it was through it.

The halls were quiet; class must be in session. She sprinted down the corridor, knowing where it would take her and yet feeling surprised all the same. She took one corridor and then another and another, knowing where she was but not knowing where she wanted to go.

The sprinting continued until – SMACK! She ran right into a witch who was turning a corner and sent both of them falling to the ground.

The fall hurt, but adrenaline propelled Hope to get right up and extend a hand to the witch. "I'm so sorry! Are you all right?"

The witch had on green robes, a black pointy hat, and spectacles. Under her witch's hat, she had her hair pulled back into a tight bun.

"Oh my God! You're Professor McGonagall! You teach Transfiguration!" Hope exclaimed. The witch propped herself into a sitting position and fixed Hope with a stern look that would've made Devil's Snare wilt.

"Did someone recently turn you into a loudspeaker on wheels? If so, I'd like to turn you back into the loudspeaker for a moment, so that I might press the off button."

"Sorry," murmured Hope, extending a hand to help Professor McGonagall to her feet.

"Follow me into my office, miss. I need to chastise you a bit further and decide how many points to take from Hufflepuff." The professor led her down a few doors into her neatly organized office.

"I'm, uh, actually not a student here," said Hope.

"Oh, my heavens!" she exclaimed. "You're the unicorn that just joined the Order of the Phoenix, aren't you?"

"Yep," Hope replied nervously. "I have amnesia and I'm here to, uh, see if I can recover any memories I think I might've lost?"

"Well then, carry on, Miss Marshall, but perhaps with less sprinting and yelling. Unless I can answer any questions for you first? To jog your memory?"

"I haven't got any questions now, but can I maybe ask you later? I need some air, I think I'll go to the Astronomy Tower."

"Very good, then," she said with a curt nod, and she opened the door to her office for Hope to leave.

"Listen, before I go, I just wanted to say I love your accent. It is honestly fascinating and I could listen to you read the Ministry of Magic's code of bureaucratic procedures and still not get bored."

"How interesting," Professor McGonagall mused. "You know, a student named Cedric Diggory once said the exact same thing to me. Say, might I ask you one more question, out of curiosity?"

"Sure?"

"If this castle is missing only one thing, what would you say it needs the most?" she asked.

"Well, you've got towers, beautiful grounds, an intriguing forest nearby, a lake, and a Quidditch Pitch, but I'd say you could benefit from having really cool water slides." Hope cleared her throat bashfully. "Sorry if that was random or strange or immature."

"Why, Cedric Diggory also said the same thing as well!" she exclaimed. "You two must have so much in common!"

"See you later?" asked Hope.

"But, of course," replied Professor McGonagall. And then she actually grinned at Hope while she left.

Hope's head still hurt like crazy after the encounter with Professor McGonagall, but she found she was getting used to it. She suddenly remembered that she'd been in the woman's classes! How was that even possible?! Was that how she'd learned Transfiguration?

Heeding Professor McGonagall's warning against sprinting and being loud, Hope restrained herself to walk quietly up to the Astronomy Tower, even though impatience made her want to run.

When she approached the viewing platform atop the tower, she realized that she knew what the tower looked like: the grounds would expand below her in all their splendor as she felt like she stood beneath the dome of the impeccable blue sky. The sun's rays would warm her skin directly and but for the movement of the sun and the shadows cast by the castle, it would seem as if time stood still. And indeed, when she reached the viewing platform, she saw the exact same snowy expanse that she'd anticipated.

And then the scenery inspired something in her: she needed to fly! She wasn't sure how or where she'd learned, but she knew how to fly a broomstick. So, she pulled out her wand.

"Accio, Broomstick!" she yelled. And then, as if propelled by an Imperius Curse, she jumped directly off the tower.

For half a moment, Hope was afraid that she was going to fall to the ground and break all her limbs, but then a broomstick came zooming out of nowhere and caught her. The landing on the broom was a little rough and Hope wobbled as she got her bearings on the broom. But then, the skill came back to her just like riding a bike and she found herself circling the castle.

On her second lap, she caught the eye of a student – she knew his name was Ernie MacMillan – in the North Tower, where Divination was being taught. He gawked at her, perhaps thinking her insane for jumping off the Astronomy Tower like a lunatic. "WHAT?!" he mouthed through the window. Hope just shrugged and gave him a nonchalant little grin in response. If he thought her insane, well… so be it.

She did another couple laps around the castle and when she returned to the North Tower, Ernie was still staring at her. Well, Divination was a notoriously boring class, so she figured she may as well give him a show.

Staying in view of North Tower, she flew in theatrical circles before incorporating a few tricks she'd learned in aerial skiing into her flying. Flips and turns and a couple of times when she dismounted her broom to slide down the roof and get back on at the last second… She could tell he was amused.

At last, when she saw the Divination classroom had emptied out, she deduced that it was time for lunch and headed down to the Great Hall. Maybe she could partake of lunch if she kept quiet and went unnoticed?

So, she dismounted the school broom she'd been borrowing. As she got off, it occurred to her that it flew unusually smoothly, for a Hogwarts School broom. And come to think of it, the broom looked to be new and in unusually good condition. She took a look at the handle and saw it was labeled "Property of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." But that label was written on a piece of spell-o tape. Curious, Hope pulled it back and read the inscription underneath: "Property of Cedric Diggory." So, this broom was so nice because it'd been donated after Cedric Diggory's death. Huh.

Choosing not to ponder the coincidence that Cedric Diggory's broom was the one that'd come to her, she smoothed the tape back over the old inscription and banished the broom back to the closet where the school brooms were stored.

When she made her way down to the Great Hall, Hope was once again struck by the same sense of déjà vu that'd been following her around all day. The enchanted ceiling mirrored the blue sky outside and the tables had magically filled themselves with delicious food. Students were sitting down at their respective house tables, chatting about their classes and about life.

On one end, were the Gryffindors and on the other end of the hall were the Slytherins. The Faculty Table was perpendicular to all four house tables so that the staff could watch everyone. Hope caught Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore watching her, so she gave them a little nod and a wave. The two wizards put their heads together and began discussing something in hushed voices. Were they discussing her? What would they even have to talk about?

Then, Hope felt herself drawn to the Hufflepuff Table. It felt the most familiar and she recognized a lot of the faces there. But a wave of self-consciousness overcame her: even wearing the Hufflepuff scarf that allowed her to blend into the sea of Hufflepuff yellow, Hope knew she didn't truly belong at this table because she wasn't a Hogwarts student. She backed up, overcome with self-consciousness.

"Merlin's Beard, it's her!" exclaimed Ernie MacMillan, jumping up from the Hufflepuff table and pointing a finger at Hope.

"Blimey, yeah, it is!" piped up another Hufflepuff who Hope recognized as Justin Finch-Fletchley.

Hope stood there like a deer in the headlights, wondering what Ernie and Justin were going to tell the other Hufflepuff students about her. "Zach, you have to meet her! She's the one who was performing crazy tricks on a broom when I was in Divination and when Justin was in Defense!" proclaimed Ernie. "She's a mad talented flyer!"

Then, a student who Hope recognized as Zacharias Smith got up and pointed at Hope. "Blimey, if you can fly all around the roof doing crazy flips, then you have to teach us how to do it! You can help out the Hufflepuff team at our next Quidditch practice! Tell me, where did you learn to fly like that?!"

"I actually don't know where I learned to fly," she replied self-consciously. "I… have amnesia."

"Never mind that!" piped up Zach. "You might not remember your own flying lessons, but that doesn't mean you can't teach us a thing or two, right?"

A chorus of Yeahs erupted from Hope's end of the Hufflepuff table. Maybe Hope did belong among these students, after all.

"Hem, hem!" A simpering little cough sounded behind Hope. The cough itself was objectively pathetic, but the person doing the coughing somehow managed to still make that simpering cough resonate enough to make Hope's ears bleed. It defied logic.

Hope turned around nervously to face the woman doing the coughing. She was short and squat and clad all in pink. She had mousy brown hair and a face that made her look almost like a toad, so her girlishly high voice clashed garishly against her appearance.

"If you are not a student, dear," the woman simpered, "then I believe you must leave this castle at once. I ought to have you ejected for your broomstick theatrics, too!"

"Um…" Hope wasn't sure how to respond.

"Now, I shall take fifty points from Hufflepuff for every student who deigns to let this interloper sit at your table."

Hope had disliked the woman on sight, but she didn't know how to go about confronting her, so she muttered that she was sorry and nervously backed away. She went back to the entrance hall, out of view of Professor Umbridge.

But in the entrance hall, she felt a tap on her shoulder – Ernie and Justin had caught up to her.

"Sorry about that," said Ernie. "Don't mind Professor Umbridge. She's a cranky old toad who lives to make all the students here miserable. But unlike her, we like you! Do you still want to join us for lunch? We can eat in the Hufflepuff common room, since it's right next to the kitchens."

"Sure, that would be wonderful!" exclaimed Hope.

She let Ernie and Justin escort her to the Hufflepuff common room. You entered it through a stack of barrels close to the kitchen and you had to knock the rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff" on one of the barrels. Rather than volunteering to do the knock, she let Ernie do it instead. If you got the knock even slightly wrong, the barrels would squirt you with vinegar, and she didn't want to risk that.

Once inside the common room, Hope realized that she already knew what it was going to look like: it was a basement-level room with windows that peeked out at ground level, to let in plenty of sunlight. It was decorated in sunny yellow hues and embellished with green leafy patterns. And was that… oh my… some of the green leafy patterns were actually moving magical plants that vaulted about the common room, bestowing affection upon students. Probably placed there by Professor Sprout? Man, this place was awesome.

Already, a number of students had already gone to the trouble of bringing in platters of sandwiches and pastries and cookies and other tasty treats from the kitchen, along with pitchers of delicious pumpkin juice. Before she knew it, Hope felt a plate of sandwiches being pressed into one of her hands as a goblet of pumpkin juice was pressed into the other.

Her mouth was watering. She recalled that the food at Hogwarts was excellent and as she took her first bite and washed it down with pumpkin juice, that knowledge was confirmed.

"So, what's your name, broomstick girl?" asked Ernie after he'd found her a spot to sit on one of the soft yellow sofas.

"It's Hope. Hope Marshall. I'm here at Hogwarts today because I have a visit with Professor Dumbledore later."

"Right on," he said approvingly. "Well, I'm-"

"Wait, don't tell me your name or anybody else's names yet!" Hope interrupted.

The common room, which had begun to fill with lots of chatty and curious Hufflepuff students, became silent.

"I, uh, I have this totally pointless talent where I can guess people's names and favorite ice cream flavors, as well as what the flavor says about the person," Hope explained lamely. "Can I try guessing with you guys?"

"Cedric Diggory could do that too," gasped Hannah.

"Coincidence?" winced Hope.

"How do we know you're not lying?" interrupted Zacharias Smith, who was clearly peeved that her name-and-ice-cream-guessing skills matched up to Cedric Diggory's.

"Because… your name is Zacharias Smith and your preferred ice cream flavor is Chocolate Fudge Brownie. You always like to top it with hot fudge and a veritable mountain of whipped cream. When all the molten chocolate in the sundae sticks your mouth shut, that's when you truly know you're enjoying it. Then, you smile when you're done eating your chocolatey creation and your teeth are all black."

Zacharias blinked and stood back, taken aback. The other Hufflepuffs burst out laughing.

"She's got you there, Zach!" roared Ernie MacMillan. "Guess me next!"

And so, Hope spent a while guessing all the Hufflepuffs' names, favorite ice cream flavors, and what each person's favorite flavor said about them. She got it right most of the time, though she slipped up a fair bit with the first-year students.

"Don't worry, I'll get it one day!" she promised them, and they seemed happy with this reassurance.

Soon enough, lunch whirled by in a blur of conversation, Hogwarts gossip, and laughter. Hope hadn't smiled this much in weeks.

Then, lunch ended and all the Hufflepuffs had to hurry off to get to class, but they bid her goodbye with promises that she was welcome to come back and visit anytime she liked.

The one person who stayed behind the departing crowd was Zacharias Smith. When the common room had finally emptied out, he spoke to her.

"Listen, I've got to go to class," he said, "but I'm sorry I was rude to you."

"Don't worry about it," said Hope. "It's really not necessary. May I, uh, ask if your year's been going okay? You seem really stressed."

"No, it's not," he sighed. "Cedric Diggory was one of my best friends – kind of like an older brother, to be honest. He tutored me in a lot of my subjects, and it's been hard to pass my classes without him. Hell, it's been hard to do life without him."

"I'm sorry for your loss," said Hope. The phrase felt like a sad cliché the moment she said it.

"And then no one actually knows how he died. Some people say it was an accident. But I don't believe that – Cedric was way too competent to just get killed in a random accident. But I also don't believe people when they say he was murdered by You-Know-Who. You-Know-Who is dead! How can he have gone and murdered Cedric? So then I thought Harry Potter must've murdered him to get all the glory of winning the Triwizard Tournament, but I don't want to believe that, either!"

Hope nodded. "That must be really frustrating." She knew in her heart of hearts that the story of You-Know-Who murdering Cedric Diggory was true, but she sensed that telling Zacharias wouldn't do any good.

"I don't know what to do. I don't like that Ministry witch Umbridge, but it seems like the Ministry people are the only ones with any sense about them!"

Hope pondered this for a second and then chose her words carefully. Zacharias Smith was a stubborn idiot – a lovable idiot, but still an idiot – and she knew that if she just told him what to believe, he'd reject it outright. If he was going to be persuaded to do anything, he had to be the one persuading himself. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he replied with a helpless shrug.

"So, you don't know who murdered your friend. And you don't know if You-Know-Who is back. And the world is blaming Harry Potter for lying about the return of You-Know-Who. Can you tell me who should be investigating Cedric Diggory's death and providing some sort of definitive information about whether You-Know-Who is back and what went wrong in the Triwizard Tournament."

"I think it's wrong of Harry to lie, but I guess he can't do an investigation," said Zach. "Not if he's insane like the Ministry says he is."

"Well, who investigates crimes and murders?" asked Hope.

"The Ministry?" asked Zach.

Now, he was getting it! Hope smiled and nodded. "And now, let's assume that You-Know-Who isn't actually back. What are some situations where you might have to use magic to defend yourself?"

"Huh…" he paused, giving the matter some significant thought. "People get attacked by Boggarts and magical creatures in their own homes or out in the world, I guess. And You-Know-Who isn't the only dark wizard who ever lived, so I might have to fight off other wizards."

"So, even with You-Know-Who not being back, would you have to learn to defend yourself?"

"Well, yeah! And Defense Against the Dark Arts this year bloody stinks! All we do is sit around and read the stupid textbook. With the way Umbridge is teaching, nobody's learned anything in her class!"

It was so satisfying to see a student finally grasp a new concept like this. Hope grinned and nodded, urging him to continue.

Zach slammed both fists down on a nearby table, startling Hope and all the moving plants in the common room. "You know what? Hang if You-Know-Who is back or not, the Ministry aren't doing their jobs! They haven't gotten justice for Cedric, they're not teaching us to defend ourselves, and Umbridge is a bully who's determined to mess up everything that's good about Hogwarts!"

Zach paused, red in the face from his emotions. His expression went from outraged to crestfallen. "Bloody Hell. I just realized I've been being an idiot all year, fighting with my friends about this stuff. I guess that's unsurprising, since I'm an idiot in all my subjects, too."

"Zach, it's okay," said Hope, reaching out to give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "And I'm not sure you're actually dumb in your studies."

"I kinda am," Zach admitted. "I can't sit still to study, I can't focus, I get bored way too damned easily, and I interrupt conversations too often. Plus, when I read, it's like the letters jump around the page and refuse to form words. Face it – my brain doesn't work right."

Well, if that didn't sound like textbook-description ADHD and dyslexia, Hope didn't know what did. "Well, have you ever just considered… that your brain works differently than other people's? That you just need to be taught a bit differently than other students here?"

"Huh… I guess Cedric was good at teaching me differently? I'd never thought about that."

"Here, why don't I teach you a couple of spells? The first one will make textbooks read themselves to you so you don't have to worry about the letters jumping around, and the second one will make your quill take dictation so that you don't have to worry about making errors when you write."

"That'd be great!" Hope quickly taught him each spell and made him perform both of them five times. When she was satisfied that he had them both memorized, she ended their little impromptu lesson.

"And hey, about the Ministry of Magic/Cedric stuff… just know that grief makes people in a lot of different ways and it sounds like you were having a really hard time after losing your friend Cedric. Just apologize to your friends and say you want to do better. I'm sure they'll forgive you."

Zach practically barreled into her as he gave her a hug. "Thanks, Hope," he said. Then, he turned around and was leaving through the common room door before Hope could say goodbye.

With Zach gone, Hope was in the Hufflepuff common room by herself. She needed a moment to process things, so sat back down in one of the squishy yellow armchairs and watched the dancing plants dance about in the window frames.

This whole place felt so familiar. She felt as if she knew so many of the Hufflepuff students – it was as if they were her friends! And she knew a lot of the magical skills they taught at Hogwarts. And she knew the castle by heart. And she knew Professor McGonagall – and probably a number of the other professors, once she had a chance to meet them and jog her memory. And, of course, she knew how to fly a broomstick.

Taken together, it was uncanny.

Hope sat in her chair for a while, drinking it all in, before she decided that the only way forward was to do even more exploration.

She suddenly shot out of her chair, wondering if her unicorn memories played any role in her understanding of Hogwarts. Well, there was only one way to find out! She sprinted through the empty corridors, right down to the Entrance Hall. Once out of the doors, she peered around to see that no one was looking, and then turned into her unicorn self.

Once transformed into her unicorn self, Hope seemed to remember a lot of time running around here – not necessarily close to the castle, but close to the far side of the lake and close to Hagrid's cabin. She sprinted to the lake, thinking to cross it first. When she approached the water at a run, she wasn't sure what would happen, but the liquid somehow allowed her to magically run across it until she reached the far bank. Then, she trapsed through the Forbidden Forest until she reached Hagrid's Cabin.

Sure enough, Hope could see the Half-giant standing in front of his cabin, teaching a lesson on Flobberworms to a tired-looking group of fifth-year students.

Well, that just wouldn't do! Unicorn Hope tiptoed up behind Eloise Midgen, who was chopping up some lettuce from her Flobberworms, and nudged the girl between the shoulders with her nose.

Now, Eloise Midgen was somewhat of an outcast. She had a bad case of acne that made her want to avoid boys, and on top of that, she was quite an introvert. It was clear that the girl wanted to make friends, but wasn't sure how to begin.

No matter. Unicorn-Hope could be her friend.

Feeling the gentle nudge between her shoulders, Eloise startled and stared the unicorn full in the face, her expression full of shock. She backed up several steps.

The unicorn advanced a bit further, bent its front legs a little, and nudged Eloise again.

"Does it want me to… ride it?" Eloise asked Hagrid.

Unicorn-Hope nodded.

"Yeah, I think it does," replied Hagrid. "Be careful now while you mount it." He helped Eloise up onto the unicorn's back, so she could comfortably get astride.

Once Eloise was astride her back, Unicorn-Hope took a second to let the girl adjust and then headed off at a canter into the forbidden forest.

She could tell Eloise was shocked by the initial movement, since the girl was hanging onto Hope's mane, but Hope knew her unicorn canter was impeccably smooth, so she kept on going and eventually felt the girl relax on her back.

They ran through several open parts of the forest, and then across the lake – yes, running atop the water – and then directly back to Hagrid's cabin.

By the end of the ride, Eloise was holding her arms out and screaming "WHEEEEEE!" – clearly having the absolute time of her life.

When they got back to Hagrid's cabin, Hope let Eloise down and gave rides to just a couple of other students she'd picked: Ernie MacMillan and Hannah Abbott. Both were thrilled by their rides.

As for the rest of the students, Unicorn-Hope didn't let them ride her, but she made sure each one had a chance to pet her and get nuzzled by her soft unicorn snout.

Just before the after the long afternoon's Care of Magical Creatures class ended, Hope turned around and sprinted off into the forest, out of sight from the class.

Once they were gone, Hope turned back into her human self and made her way back to Hagrid's cabin. She found the half-giant greeting her at the door, his hands on his hips.

"Well, you've completely interrupted my lesson with your unicorn shenanigans. What've you got to say for yourself?"

"Uh… that I had fun doing it?" asked Hope nervously.

"Bah! There's no helping you! You're lucky you make a cute unicorn, so it's easy for me to forgive you."

Hope laughed.

"So, Hagrid, I see your face is healing since the last time I saw you."

"Aye, it is," he replied. "Care to come in for tea? Why don't you tell me what you've been up to since we last met?"

"Don't mind if I do," replied Hope.

Like all pleasant meetings, tea with Hagrid went by far too quickly and pretty soon, Hope found herself walking next to the half-giant as they returned to the castle for dinner in the Great Hall. She'd had a great time regaling Hagrid with her adventures at Hogwarts and by the time they reached the Great Hall, he suggested that she sit back down with the Hufflepuffs, since she seemed to know them so well. Hope nodded and joined the end of their table.

"Hey, thanks for the reading and writing spells," said Zacharias Smith as he scooted onto the Hufflepuff benches. "They've been a miracle with homework and I've only just started trying them!"

"I'm glad I could help," said Hope.

"Hey, did you hear?" asked Ernie MacMillan. "A unicorn interrupted our Care of Magical Creatures class this afternoon!"

"No way!" Hope exclaimed with fake-surprise, as she and Zach leaned in to listen to the story from the Hufflepuffs' point of view. Seeing how happy the unicorn encounter had made them all, Hope was glad that she'd gotten the opportunity to do something really nice from such an incredible group of students.

All too soon, dinner was ending, and Hope wondered where she should go from here. Should she make her way up to Professor Dumbledore's office now, in order to meet with him? Should she continue exploring just a bit longer?

Ernie MacMillan discreetly pulled a Galleon out of his pocket. "Well, I'd better be going," he said with a wave. Hannah Abbott noticed he was departing and did the same.

"Wait," said Zach, "I think I'd better be going with you. I owe everyone… an apology and everything."

"Are you sure?" asked Hannah.

"Yeah," replied Zach.

"Bye, Hope," the three of them chorused after getting up. She waved them goodbye.

A moment later, Hope decided to follow them. She knew she couldn't be seen, but she suddenly remembered that there was an invisibility cloak shoved into the helmet of one of the suits of armor in the left corridor on the 7th floor. So, she apparated to the 7th floor, retrieved the cloak (which had a tag on the inside saying "property of Amos Diggory" – that was odd), and threw it over herself.

Before she could apparate back to follow Hannah, Ernie, and Zach, the three of them were emerging from behind a tapestry and checking to see that the coast was clear. Then, they paced back and forth three times, before a door appeared before them in the blank wall on the opposite side of the corridor. They all went in.

Just before the door closed, Hope snuck in behind them.

Behind the door, there lay a spacious room, which was apparently equipped for a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, judging by all the posters on the wall explaining defensive spells and all the practice areas set up within the room. Hope had the layout of Hogwarts Castle entirely memorized, but she'd never had a clue that this room existed. How curious was that?

Already inside the room were Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Fred and George Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Dean Thomas, Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe, Luna Lovegood, and a few other Hogwarts students.

"Right! Welcome to your last Dumbledore's Army lesson before Christmas Break!" announced Harry. Then, his gaze flicked to Zach and his eyes went wide.

"What're you doing here?" demanded Ron Weasley. "Didn't you desert us?"

"I came to my senses," replied a nervously trembling Zach. "It's wrong for Umbridge not to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everything she's doing is wrong. I want to help you all stand up against her and I'm not going to question my decision or abandon you again. I swear it."

"Well, it's about damned time," scoffed Ron in response.

Meanwhile, Ernie and Hannah each gave Zach a congratulatory pat on the back, whispering "well done" in his ears. Hope's heart swelled with pride at the scene.

A few more Dumbledore's Army – or DA – members gave Zach a warm welcome back while Harry launched into today's lesson on shield charms.

And did Harry Potter ever make a brilliant teacher! He started out teaching the DA members how to conjure a shield charm, then watched them practice the spell, and then had them engage in little duels with each other to be able to use the spell in a fighting context.

Hope watched in amazement as the dueling students practiced not just the shield charm, but also the kinds of advanced jinxes and hexes that could baffle even some Aurors! Hope desperately wanted to join in their practice, but she knew she couldn't just throw off the cloak and proclaim herself.

So instead, she snuck around the sides of the room and watched the students practice. The student who captivated her the most was, of course, Cho Chang. Merlin's Beard, her skills in Defense were incredible! Her gorgeous face was mesmerizing to watch as she concentrated and performed a perfect Levicorpus spell on a second-year student named Dennis Creevey. Damn, she was brilliant. Hope felt her heart swell with pride.

But she didn't want to stay hiding in one place for too long, so she continued wandering around the edges of the makeshift Defense classroom.

"What's with Harry and Cho?" asked Dean Thomas, gesturing to Cho, who was now working closely with Harry.

"They fancy each other," whispered Ron Weasley.

Hope looked to the pair and saw Harry's hand gently guiding Cho's through some complicated wand movements. They made eye contact with each other and exchanged sweet, shy smiles. "You're a really good teacher, Harry," Cho said sweetly.

"Thanks, Cho," replied Harry, blushing a little.

And then an entirely unexpected feeling came over Hope: jealousy. What the Hell was Harry Potter doing with the girl she loved?

And then she realized: that was it. She loved Cho Chang and she knew that because… because they'd been together. Because they'd dated while at Hogwarts. Because in in a past life, Hope had been a student at Hogwarts.

Hope stumbled out of the Defense practice room with tears of heartbreak streaming down her face. God, I miss you, Cho. I want to hold you close and gaze up at the stars with you just like we used to. I'm so sorry I died on you…

And the memory of her own death came back to her: the jerk of a portkey, a graveyard, a cold and shrill voice shouting "kill the spare!", a flash of green light…

She fell to the ground, bruising her knees. She had died the death of Cedric Diggory… because she'd lived the life of Cedric Diggory.

Albus Dumbledore exited his chambers and entered his study to witness a communion between two very beautiful, very pure beings.

The prepossessing Hope Marshall was holding out her left arm for Fawkes the phoenix to perch on it. The two were looking into one another's eyes curiously. Perhaps they were having some telepathic conversation about the ways in which they'd been reborn.

Hope extended her right hand to stroke Fawkes's head, running her fingers gently over his red-and-gold plumage. When she saw Dumbledore, she gave him a wide-eyed stare and bit her bottom lip. She was nervous.

"Wonderful and curious creatures, phoenixes and unicorns," Dumbledore observed. "I can see why my phoenix, Fawkes, likes you. The two of you have a lot in common. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die, and then they are reborn from the ashes. Similarly, unicorns reincarnate in a new body and live a new life after they have died. Phoenix tears and unicorn blood both have healing properties. And both creatures are very strong – capable of great endurance and of carrying immensely heavy loads. And of course, both creatures are endlessly beautiful and pure of heart."

"Thank you," said Hope, her voice filled with uncertainty.

"Fawkes and I met shortly after I started teaching Transfiguration at Hogwarts. He simply flew into my classroom as I taught, sat down on my desk, and from then on, I was his person. I felt so lucky to have a phoenix choose me as a companion. I felt similarly honored when I heard that you decided you wanted to join the Order of the Phoenix."

"That is… very high praise, professor." She let Fawkes fly back onto his perch by Dumbldore's desk and wrung her hands nervously. Her gray eyes flitted toward the ground. It didn't surprise him; unicorns were such perfect, yet such humble creatures.

He gave her a soft smile, wanting to put her at ease. "I can tell that you've learned something today, Hope. Why don't you tell me what it is?"

She nervously cleared her throat and then spoke tentatively: "My name is Cedric Diggory. I've had two past lives. In my first life, I was the unicorn Rocinante, and in my second life, I was Cedric Diggory."

Dumbledore stretched his arms open and embraced her warmly. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Cedric. It is so very wonderful to have you back."