The first day of classes in January was rather uneventful. Umbridge seemed more stressed out then she had been before the break. It turned out that Hogwarts had taken to making the water either too hot or too cold whenever Umbridge attempted to bathe.

According to the notice board the next Hogsmade weekend would be on Valentine's Day. This information sent several of Bree's dorm mates into a fit of girlish giggles. Bree slowly edged away from them.

The members of the D.A. wanted to know when the next meeting would be and kept asking Harry. Harry's answer was always the same.

"I'll let you know in the usual way when the next one is, but I can't do it tonight, I've got to go to - er - remedial Potions."

Yep, all and all it was an uneventful day; at least it was until that evening. Sometime after six o'clock, after Harry had gone down to the dungeons for remedial potions, Bree was in the common room talking to Fred and George. Well, more like Bree was trying to dodge awkward questions about Alice and why Bree had never mentioned that her cousin looked exactly like her.

Bree was halfway through an "It never came up" when pain lanced through her head. The fireplace flared up and all Bree could feel was anger, anger, anger, STOP HURTING HIM! Hogwarts was furious and Bree felt as if her head might explode from the pain. There were tears in her eyes and she was vaguely aware of being led to the hospital wing.

It was hours before Hogwarts had calmed down, but even so Bree could feel the rage beneath the surface.

The next morning everyone who came into the Great Hall was surprised to see that the ceiling didn't reflect the calm blue sky outside. Instead, it was a raging storm with dark clouds and flashes of lightning followed by rumbles of thunder.

This was overshadowed by the headline of the Daily Prophet which read: MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN.

There were ten pictures on the front page. Antonin Dolohov, read the legend beneath a wizard with a long, pale, twisted face, convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett.

Augustus Rookwood, said the caption beneath a pockmarked man with greasy hair who was leaning against the edge of his picture, looking bored, convicted of leaking Ministry of Magic secrets to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Bellatrix Lestrange, read the caption under the picture of the only witch, convicted of the torture and permanent incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom.

Well, that wasn't good.


After Bree left the Great Hall she found herself being urged along in a seemingly random direction by Hogwarts. The last time this had happened Bree had found herself in front of the Room of Requirement so she just went with it.

She found herself in front of a painting of a landscape. The landscape looked like the Hogwarts grounds before the castle had been built. There was a loud creaking as the painting swung open like a door. Bree stepped into the room behind the painting. Torches on the walls lit up and the fireplace burst to life.

The entire room was decorated in red and gold. There was a portrait of Godric Gryffindor above the fireplace.

"Well, it's about time someone found this place." The portrait stated.

"I didn't really find it so much as I was dragged here." Bree replied as she sat down in an armchair in front of the fireplace, sending up a cloud of dust. Bree coughed and tried to wave the dust out of her face.

"Ah, so you must be the one that woke up Hogwarts." Godric said.

"Yeah, it was an accident. I was practicing bush magic on the grounds when I brushed up against it." Bree explained.

"Good to see that someone finally rediscovered the old magic." Godric stated. "Most of the wards have been inactive. They're supposed to be tied to a person in order to be effective."

"Why?" Bree asked.

"Well," Godric began. "Some of the wards are monitoring wards. They tell if students have been harmed, if dark creatures have gotten in, or if someone is trying to attack the castle. There are also security wards that can be activated to deal with a threat, they can't be active all the time or else it would pose a danger to the students and since we can assume that they would be needed in an emergency they are tied to a person so that you do not have to go to one of the keystones to activate them."

"Keystones?" Bree repeated, clueless.

"The stones that all of the wards of Hogwarts are tied to. There are eight of them. Four at each corner of the foundation and one in each of the founders secret rooms for easy access to the wards in case we wanted to add or update some wards." Godric explain.

"How many wards are active now?" Bree inquired.

"I'd say only the very basic ones." Godric replied. "And of course Hogwarts herself. We gave the old girl some sentience so that when we were away she could alert someone if there was an emergency. Of course back then people knew of Hogwarts and of old magic."

"So that's why, whenever I leave the castle, she gets unhappy." Bree said.

"Yes. You are the only one who knows of Hogwarts and of old magic." Godric responded.

"Would there be a way for me to leave the castle, without Hogwarts getting upset?" Bree asked.

"Well, the best way would be to alert someone to the sentience of Hogwarts and teach them old magic, but, in a pinch, I suppose you could take a piece of one of the keystones with you. After a few months it will become an ordinary rock, unless you return it to Hogwarts, but it would allow you to keep tabs on what's happening within the castle." Godric answered.

"Okay. So can I activate the wards and tie them all to me?" Bree questioned.

"You could, but you'd be dead within a minute." Godric explained. "The wards would overwhelm you." He elaborated at Bree's incredulous look.

"The wards work best when tied to four individuals, that's the way we designed them." He said.

"So I need three more people." Bree muttered.

"For full effectiveness, yes, but you could activate a few wards on your own." Godric said.


The fact that Hagrid was now on probation became common knowledge within the school over the next few days, but hardly anybody appeared to be upset about it; indeed, some people, Draco Malfoy prominent among them, seemed positively gleeful.

There was only one topic of conversation in the corridors now: the ten escaped Death Eaters, whose story had finally filtered through the school from those few people who read the newspapers. Rumors were flying that some of the convicts had been spotted in Hogsmeade, that they were supposed to be hiding out in the Shrieking Shack and that they were going to break into Hogwarts, just as Sirius Black had once done.

Those who came from wizarding families had grown up hearing the names of these Death Eaters spoken with almost as much fear as Voldemorts; the crimes they had committed during the days of Voldemort's reign of terror were legendary. There were relatives of their victims among the Hogwarts students, who now found themselves the unwilling objects of a gruesome sort of reflected fame as they walked the corridors: Susan Bones, whose uncle, aunt and cousins had all died at the hands of one of the ten, said miserably during Herbology that she now had a good idea what it felt like to be Harry.

"And I don't know how you stand it - it's horrible," she said bluntly, dumping far too much dragon manure on her tray of Screechsnap seedlings, causing them to wriggle and squeak in discomfort.

It was not only the students' mood that had changed. It was now quite common to come across two or three teachers conversing in low, urgent whispers in the corridors, breaking off their conversations the moment they saw students approaching. This was because new notices had appeared on the house noticeboards the morning after news of the Azkaban breakout:

BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS

Teachers are hereby banned from giving students any information that is not strictly related to the subjects they are paid to teach.

The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-six.

Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor

Of course Ben was exempt from this rule as Umbridge had no authority over the Smith Academy so he was able to tell Bree everything. The Third Option, as Bree liked to call the group he Aunt and Uncle had started back when Voldemort was at the height of his power, was hunting the ten escaped convicts. The word was they were doing much better than the Ministry or the Order of the Phoenix.

It had been determined from evidence The Third Option had gathered and from statements made by their sources in the ministry that the Dementors had changed sides and the Ministry wasn't telling the public about the danger. That was how the ten Death Eaters had escaped; the guards of Azkaban had released them.

You would had thought the breakout from Azkaban might have humbled Umbridge a little, that she might have been abashed at the catastrophe that had occurred right under the nose of her beloved Fudge. It seemed, however, to have only intensified her furious desire to bring every aspect of life at Hogwarts under her personal control. She seemed determined at the very least to achieve a sacking before long, and the only question was whether it would be Professor Trelawney or Hagrid who went first.

Every single Divination and Care of Magical Creatures lesson was now conducted in the presence of Umbridge and her clipboard. She lurked by the fire in the heavily perfumed tower room, interrupting Professor Trelawney's increasingly hysterical talks with difficult questions about ornithomancy and heptomology, insisting that she predicted students' answers before they gave them and demanding that she demonstrate her skill at the crystal ball, the tea leaves and the rune stones in turn. It looked like Trelawney would crack under the strain when Bree finally got fed.

"I told you before it doesn't work that way." She hissed. Umbridge turned to her. "Divination is a lot like trying to hold a handful of sand. The more you force it, the harder it is to do."

Umbridge sniffed derisively. "I do not believe that you are this class's instructor." She said.

"I know more about the future than you ever will." Bree stated.

"Really, than why don't you make a prediction for me." Umbridge suggested. "A real one, not like what you gave last time."

"Are you sure you want that?" Bree asked. "Are you absolutely sure that's what you want? After all, there will be a cost."

Umbridge looked affronted. "You want money for this?"

Bree threw her head back and laughed, before turning serious. "Be careful what you wish for. When dreams come true and wishes are granted there will always be a price to pay. For everything you desire, you have to pay an equal price in return. You can't get more nor give more. Can't be more or less. Must be in balance. Or else, there'll be mishaps. Divination is an 'exchange' between the diviner and the recipient of divination. If I give you a prediction, you will have to give something up; you don't have a choice in the matter. You can gain information but lose your peace of mind. You can gain knowledge but lose your sense of safety, so I'll ask again, are you sure you what to pay the price for my prediction?"

Bree was pretty sure she had just quoted someone, but she couldn't remember who.

Umbridge moved away from Bree and reminded herself that trying to humiliate Bree never worked.

Hagrid was not doing much better then Trelawney.

Though he had shown them nothing more frightening than a Crup — a creature indistinguishable from a Jack Russell terrier except for its forked tail - since before Christmas, he too seemed to have lost his nerve. He was oddly distracted and jumpy during lessons, losing the thread of what he was saying to the class, answering questions wrongly, and all the time glancing anxiously at Umbridge.


Bree had activated three wards. One was for detecting when a student was being harmed, since that was why Hogwarts had dragged her to Godric's room in the first place, and the other two were command activated security wards. That was why Bree found herself being alerted to a student in danger shortly after Harry had left the common room for his second remedial potions lesson.

Bree trudged down to the dungeons where the wards said the student in harm's way was. She sighed as she realized she was getting close to Snape's room. What had Harry gotten himself into this time? Now that she was closer the ward was able to tell Bree exactly how Harry was being hurt, his mind was being invaded and ripped open. This made Bree very, very angry. Her anger fed into Hogwarts's anger which in turn made Bree angrier until it was impossible to distinguish her rage from Hogwarts's fury.

The door to Snape's dungeon flung itself open with such force that it hit the wall with a loud bang. Snape paused in his attack on Harry and looked over to the source of the noise.

"Bree." Harry said, surprised and looking worse for wear.

"Harry." Bree responded, her voice tense with anger. "Go back to the common room."

Snape sneered. "You are interrupting a private lesson, Smith." He said.

"A lesson." Bree began chuckling darkly and soon it and turned into full-blown madness induced laughter. "A lesson he says." She said in between fits of laughter. Harry was edging toward the door.

"Stay put Potter." Snape growled. Bree abruptly stopped laughing.

"Go back to the common room Harry." She said. Snape glared at her. Bree glared back.

"You're not giving a lesson; you're attacking his psyche and ripping open his mind." She hissed.

"And how would you know about that?" Snape asked.

"I have experience with this kind of thing." Bree stated.

"What sort of experience?" Snape pressed.

"The kind of experience that rips open your mind and lets in things that were never supposed to be there. The kind of experience that changes you for life. The kind of experience that nearly kills you." Bree explained. She frowned.

"I understand why you would want to do that to Harry, but I don't get why he would let you." She said.

"He's teaching me to shield my mind." Harry mumbled.

"Oh, that's fantastic. And who's the hare-brained idiot that came up with this idea?" Bree snarled.

"Well Dumbledore," Harry began to explain, but was cut off by Bree.

"Dumbledore? The same Dumbledore that set you on the Dursley's doorstep in the middle of the night in November? The Dumbledore that put a Cerberus in the school? The former chief of the Wizengamot that didn't see Sirius Black get a fair trial? The headmaster that didn't notice that one of the teachers he employed had Voldemort growing out of the back of his head or that another had been replaced by an escaped convict? That Dumbledore?" Bree growled.

Harry nodded, dumbfounded.

"Dumbledore is a powerful and widely respected wizard." Snape stated tensely.

"He's manipulative old coot who took credit for the works of others during Voldemort's rise." Bree snapped. "He cannot be trusted."

"Let's go Harry; I know where we can find an actual teacher." Bree stated as she ushered Harry out of the classroom.


"Well, Snape's method would have worked eventually." Ben stated after Bree had explained the situation to him. "After years of constant attack his mind would have eventually adapted and built up defenses."

"Years?" Harry echoed in disbelief.

"I suppose you need it sooner than that?" Ben said.

"Er, yeah." Harry said.

"We can begin as soon as you're ready." Ben stated. "I'll understand if you need some time to recover from Snape's repeated assault."

"Thanks, but I need to get started as soon as possible." Harry replied.

"Very well then." Ben said.


"So how'd it go?" Bree asked. Ben had been investigating Harry's mind similarly to hoe Healer Michaels had once investigated Bree's mind.

"It's as bad as I thought it would be." Ben responded. "His mind is easy to get into, his memories are in the most obvious places, there is no layering, everything exists on the same plane. Compared to your mind he might has well be shouting his most personal thoughts and feeling in the Great Hall while standing on a table." He sighed.

Harry looked irritated. "How is Bree's mind defended?" he asked.

"There's a complex layering system, a mental construct that acts as a guardian for her mind, her memories are hidden where you would least expect them, and there are mental barriers that only let you if Bree allows you in, and that only let you out if Bree allows you to get out. If she wanted to she could keep someone prisoner in her mind." Ben explained.

Harry was stunned. "Wha? How?" he said.

"Years of having my mind attacked repeatedly followed by someone putting in a barrier for me." Bree stated.

"How long?" Harry said. "I mean, how long were you being attacked?"

Bree tilted her head thoughtfully. "I know was very little when it started and it ended a little while after the first task of the tri-wizard tournament." She answered.

Harry gaped. "But that's almost the entire time I've know you!" he exclaimed.

Bree looked a little sad. "Yeah, it's kind of why I am the way I am. Nothing was taken out of my head; it's just that things were put in it, things that never should have been there. After the attacks were stopped my mind was still open to the things so a barrier was put in place to keep the things out." she stated.

"What kind of things?" Harry inquired.

"Information," Bree began. "about the universe, about everything that ever was and will ever be."

"So you were a seer?" Harry blurted out.

"No. I just have memories of events I've never witness. It's all irrelevant really. Who cares if I remember Pompeii on volcano day? Those people died thousands of years ago. Who cares if the earth is going to burn up in five billion years? We'll all be dead by then. And everything else, everything that happens in the present, those events all occur thousands of miles away from me, there's nothing I can do about them, so the memories were suppressed, I can no longer access them easily." Bree said.

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone?" Harry asked softly.

"I did." Bree stated flatly. "There are those in the school who know about creatures I've seen."

"What! Who?" Harry asked in shock.

"Everyone who I told about the Vasta Nerada and the Weeping Angels." Bree replied.

"But," Harry began to protest. "but you were making those things up, weren't you?"

"No Harry, she wasn't." Ben replied. "In fact we've already started lessons about those creatures and a whole host of similar ones."

Harry was stunned.


"Where did you find Ben?" Harry asked Bree as they walked back to the common room.

"He works for my Uncle." Bree answered.

"Isn't your Uncle a muggle?" Harry said.

"Yeah, but he knows about magic. He knew about it even before I did, part of his job really." Bree explained.

"What does he do?" Harry inquired.

"Imports and exports." Bree stated vaguely. "Oh look, we're here." She said for they had arrived at the Fat Lady's portrait.


As Bree lay in bed that night she found herself thinking about who she could trust to be tied to the wards. Ben certainly, his loyalty was to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Vince who both loved their niece, plus Ben was already aware of bush magic and had promised to teach Bree in summer once they were away from the Hogwarts wards. Not the twins, it wasn't that Bree didn't trust them, it was just they were planning on leaving Hogwarts and starting their business soon. Harry had enough on his plate as it was, so he was out.

She needed someone who could keep a secret, maybe from the D.A. but she didn't know many of them that well so she'd have to investigate.


Everyone in the D.A. even Zacharias Smith, had been spurred on to work harder than ever by the news that ten more Death Eaters were now on the loose, but in nobody was this improvement more pronounced than in Neville. The news of his parents' attackers' escape had wrought a strange and even slightly alarming change in him. Neville barely spoke during the D.A. meetings any more, but worked relentlessly on every new jinx and counter-curse Harry taught them, his plump face screwed up in concentration, apparently indifferent to injuries or accidents and working harder than anyone else in the room. He was improving so fast it was quite unnerving and when Harry taught them the Shield Charm - a means of deflecting minor jinxes so that they rebounded upon the attacker - only Hermione mastered the charm faster than Neville.

Bree made a mental list during the meeting, trying to decide to who to include. Everyone who was graduating that year was ruled out immediately, so was Zacharias Smith. Neville's determination to improve himself was promising, but Bree was not sure of his loyalties. Dean had been behaving strangely around Bree lately. It seemed that he wanted to ask her something, but the twins would show up and chase him off before he could get the words out. Bree wasn't sure what to make of that. Luna was a viable candidate as an outsider who often said things that were never believed.


Dean looked left, then looked right, then he looked up, over his shoulder and behind a suit of armor. The coast clear he approached Bree.

"Will you go to the next Hogsmade weekend with me?" he blurted out quickly.

"Um… okay?" Bree said, looking confused.

"Great! It's a date then!" Dean exclaimed before running off. Bree blinked.

"A date?... What just happened?" she asked Lee who was gaping a pointing from across the hall. He stayed like that for a full minute before running off as well.


"I see." George said after Lee had informed him of the situation.

"You know what we must do Forge." Fred stated grimly.

"Yes I do Gred, we have to kill Dean." George responded.

Fred sighed. "No, not that."

"Maim him?"

"No, no, not that either."

"Can I at least ruin his date with Bree?"

"That was what I was going to suggest in the first place, so yeah."

"Um, why do we want to keep Dean away from Bree?" Lee asked. The twins started at him for a moment.

"She needs to be protected." George stated.

"Yeah, but why?" Lee said.

"She's oblivious." Fred explained

"She doesn't understand that things have changed since first year." George said.

"I think she's noticed the whole Umbridge situation." Lee said incredulously.

"No, not that." Fred replied.

"She hasn't noticed that she's… grown up." George stated somewhat awkwardly.

"What, you mean like she'd taller or something?" Lee inquired even though he had caught on to what the twins were talking about. He just wanted them to say it.

"She had boobs Lee!" Fred exclaimed.

"It's like she dosen't even notice they're there." George groaned.

"Like when she bends over to pick something up off the floor." Fred complained.

"Or when you're researching ideas for prank products and she leans over you to see what you're reading and they're right there pressing up against you!" George exclaimed.

"That was a very specific example." Lee noted.

"The point is that someone could take advantage of her and we need to protect her." Fred said.

"Are you sure you're not just keeping her for yourselves?" Lee asked.

"What!" George yelled.

"Of course not!" Fred shouted.

"Are you sure? Because last year at the yule ball Bree did end up going with you George." Lee pointed out.

"She asked me!" George defended.

"Well it's not like you went out of your way to make yourself unavailable to her." Lee stated.

"She's like a sister!" George insisted.

"Really? 'Cause I don't see you chasing the boys away from Ginny." Lee said.

"Shut up." George growled.

"That's not answer." Lee pointed out.

"We're not talking about this anymore." Fred stated. The twins began planning to sabotage Dean's date with Bree while ignoring statements Lee made about their relationship with Bree.


I am writing from inside of an R.V at a campground with a less than ideal internet connection. Please excuse any delay and review please.