JENNIFER

I will never forget the look on Remus's face when I told him that Launa was in St. Mungo's. Ashen, grey, sucked of any hope, replaced with despair and fear. He didn't cry, but I think it would have been better if he had. When Mrs. Weasley came to the door to see what was wrong, she didn't ask any questions. She simply put her hand on his shoulder and steered him into the kitchen to make some tea.

"Jennifer, dear, do you want a cup?" she asked, busying herself over the kettle.

"No thanks, Mrs. Weasley. I… I have some business to finish up at Hogwarts," I said, unsticking my throat. I called Kreature and we Apparated back to the Hospital Wing. Kreature looked really fed up with me, and I wondered if he was thinking about slitting my throat so he wouldn't have to be my transport.

Harry and Hermione were in the Wing with Hyden when I entered. "Where's Ron?" I asked, pulling up another chair.

"He went to drop off our cloaks," Harry explained. "I only just got here myself."

"Right." Hyden just stared up a the ceiling, blinking far too little. I reached over and grabbed his cold hand. "She's gonna be fine, Hyden. Sarlanda's found the cure and is working on it right now. Maybe… maybe in a few days or something I can take you out there to visit her," I offered gently. He shut his eyes and sighed, but he didn't say anything.

"Oh, Jennifer, this was in her bag," Hermione said, pulling a small potion bottle out and a note. "I think they're for you."

I accepted them and flipped open the note. It just read, "Jennifer, try this out. If it works, I can make more. Love, Launa." I nodded and stuck them in my cloak pocket. "Yeah, thanks, Hermione." I stood again. "I've got to find Cedric… have any of you talked to Dumbledore yet?"

Harry shook his head. "McGonagall said that he's not here."

I frowned. "Alright, well, I assume she'll tell him when he gets back. Write me if anything else comes up."

"We will," Harry promised, and we hugged before I left for Hogsmeade.

The walk through the snow was silent to my ears, but roaring with thought inside my head. I was trying to make sense of the day, but nothing really connected. A cursed necklace? Where had she gotten that? Had she been hexed into taking it? And she was giving it to Dumbledore, or supposed to be? How had this happened right under our noses? Was it the work of Death Eaters? No, we would have seen them… hopefully. But maybe… maybe Harry's theory about Draco Malfoy was right…

"Jen?"

And how much of this was my fault? I had gotten soft, inattentive. I had wanted too much to forget we were at war, and now a friend was in the hospital, had very nearly died. An innocent girl, and it's my—

"Jen! Is everything alright?"

I looked up from my feet and saw Cedric standing next to the fence, near where Launa had gotten cursed. His cheeks and nose were red from the cold, his thick, brown hair was messy, and his eyes were full of concern. He held out his hand for me to take.

I took a shuddering breath before replying, "Well, Launa's at St. Mungo's and Hyden's in the Hospital Wing being treated for shock. I had to go tell Remus what happened, and I—" My voice shook as I held back everything I was really thinking. "I don't know what to do anymore."

He frowned. "Look, the kids are headed back up to the school, so once they're all gone we're in the clear, and then we can go home."

"Cedric, we can't, I—"

"We need to go home," he said firmly, yet gently. "I've already swept the village, there's no clues about who cursed her. You're obviously stressed and I can already tell you need to decompress. We'll go home, I'll make you tea, we'll talk, whatever you need. Okay?"

He pulled me into a hug, and I mumbled, "Okay," into his shoulder.

We watched students leave in pairs and groups, and did a final sweep of the village when everyone had left. There were no stragglers. Not even any of the shop keepers were in the streets. The sun was setting rapidly, and I shivered even harder than before. We soon left for the flat, and I immediately excused myself to the bathroom.

I sighed when I looked in the mirror. It hadn't been apparent to me how much of a toll the stress of the past few months had taken on me until now. My face was thinner, paler, the bags under my eyes more pronounced. My hair was incredibly untidy, and I tried to comb it out in some desperate attempt to appear normal. I looked myself dead in the eyes, and said, "It's not my fault. It's not my fault." I repeated it over and over, but still doubting it every time.

Knock, knock. "Jen? Can I open the door?"

"Yeah." Cedric slipped inside the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub. "Did you, uh, h-hear me?"

"It's not your fault, you know."

"But—"

"It's not. Think about it." He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the mirror, making me sit down on the floor. "You had no idea any of it would happen. Nothing terribly suspicious had happened, there were no signs. It just happened, and all we can do now is work to make things better." He moved and sat down next to me on the cold tile.

"But I'm, I'm better than this," I said, crestfallen. "I'm loosing my edge."

"Jen, you're overworked exhausted. I'm surprised you're still standing somedays."

"That's not—"

"And, on top of it all, you're no only wanted by the most dangerous dark wizard yet, but you have maniac stalker who won't let you have peace. But you're still here. You're still fighting, against all odds, and that's brilliant. You're brilliant."

"Okay. Thanks," I finally replied, my head on his shoulder. "I just… I guess I feel like I'm no doing enough to keep everyone safe."

"I don't want you going off and dying on me," Cedric said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I won't, but I've got to keep everyone safe. My own self isn't that high of a concern."

"It should be."

"There are far more important people out there than me. I mean, who am I? I'm here to protect my brother, to help him bring down Voldemort. It's not like I'm that important, because there are a lot of other people out there doing the same thing."

Cedric let out a small laugh, almost to himself. "Jen, you're being thick." I frowned. "But really. Ever think that maybe… I dunno, I need you? Or your other friends, like Brittany or Ophilia? Think of how many times I'd be dead if it hadn't been for you."

I was surprised. "I… I hadn't really… thought about that."

"I know you haven't." He pulled me closer. "I just… I don't think you know at all how much you mean to me. If anything happened to you… I don't know what I'd do."

I swallowed, unsure of how to respond. Finally, I said, "Cedric, I just… I want to keep you safe, because, you know, you mean a lot to me, too."

"But can't I protect you, too? I mean, between us, you're the most likely to be in danger, so…"

"But—"

"What, you don't think I can't take care of myself?" Cedric asked, and I wasn't sure if he was being serious or teasing.

"Of course you can, but—"

"Come off it, Jen. You can't protect everyone, and you don't need to." He was definitely being serious now. "I love you. Take care of yourself."

Before I could argue more, he kissed me. His lips were hot, soft, and slightly hungry, and I couldn't help but give in to him and quit arguing. Maybe he was right. Maybe I needed to focus on myself and less on other people. Who knew.

When Cedric pulled away, he was grinning. "What?" I asked.

"This song," he said, nodding his head towards the door. "Listen."

The Weird Sisters' lyrics were drifting to us from the living room. I grinned. "I remember this one."

"They played it at the Yule Ball," Cedric added.

I stood up and held out a hand to him. "Come on."

"What?" he asked, letting himself be pulled up and out of the bathroom.

"Let's dance," I said, pulling him into me and spinning slowly on the spot. Cedric hummed along to the slow tune, smiling at me.

"I was so embarrassed when you made me dance to this at the Ball," I said.

"Why?"

"Because I thought people would think I was some sap falling in love with you," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.

He laughed. "Well, were you?"

"I am now," I snorted. "Right now."

"Good," he murmured, and he pulled me into another kiss, his hand on my back, pulling me close. I giggled into his mouth as he spun me, pulling me onto the couch as the song ended. He pulled away, his thumb stroking my cheek. "We should do this more often."

"As often as we can," I agreed, kissing him again, his hand tracing gently down my thigh, pulling my leg up over his knees. I readjusted myself so I was straddling him on his lap, kissing him like he was the only thing in the world, wanting him and to block out all the problems that existed outside of this flat.

I desperately needed that sense of peace, even if it was only for a few hours.