It wasn't odd that they were all together. It happened all the time, but Blaise was getting tired of finding out about secrets. Why was there always some level of subterfuge? He leaned back on the comfy couch and picked up a perfect little cake. The elves at the keep were always outdoing themselves. At least it made the confessions a bit more palatable.

"When we first decided to try some of the more complicated spells together, Luna said we needed to gather the prophecies before others used them against us." Blaise watched as Hermione pulled five ebony boxes from her bag. "We designed the boxes. We spent months fine tuning the magic in the design. We finished the boxes last week."

"You stole from the Ministry?" Blaise blinked and looked around the room. No one else even looked shocked. "Aren't any of you worried about this."

"Technically, we broke no laws." Hermione smirked. "After the war, I helped draft the Prophecy Protection Act. The subject of a prophecy is informed any time a prophecy regarding them is submitted. Blah, blah, blah. It went on for rolls and rolls of parchment. No one wanted to review and catalogue the existing ones, so I suggested a solution."

"Of course you did." Theo rolled his eyes. "You really should have been placed in Slytherin."

"Yes, yes. I'm a sneaky little lioness." Hermione flicked her riot of curls over her shoulder and raised her tea cup in acknowledgment. "We took the boxes into the room, opened them, and they did all the work."

"I was quite surprised by the volume, especially after we destroyed so many on our previous visit." Luna lifted her box. "I'm glad we charmed them to be weightless."

"How many prophecies could there be?" Draco leaned forward as Hermione opened her box. The bright glow of the light from within making them all blink. "I thought these things were rare."

"We didn't bother to count them, and they are rare. True prophecies are very rare, but the Ministry has thousands of years worth in their stores. They took them from Greece to protect them from Grindelwald, but they never returned them." Luna opened her box and added to the light. "I don't know if I want to open them anyway. They're so pretty like this."

"There must be dozens in this box." Greg frowned as he looked in Millie's box with her. "What does this mean? Potter only had one, right?"

"He had one, but there may be more." Hermione sighed. "We used a spell that draws on blood and magical signature to call for these."

"It seemed foolish to rely on names alone." Luna smirked. "Hermione has far too many anyway."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at the blonde witch, and all the women laughed together.

"We need to catalogue these." Theo stared down into the box resting in Luna's lap. "We need to know what they say."

"Why?" Neville shook his head. "Nothing good comes from prophecy. Tell me one time when a prophecy made things better."

"Forewarned in forearmed." Theo gestured to the boxes. "The sheer number of these is alarming. I want to keep the girls safe."

"What if you knowing something in these sets off a reaction that causes the trouble?" Hermione sighed. "Prophecies are fickle things. We took them so they couldn't be used against us. I don't know if we should listen to them. I was happy before I knew about them. I am happy now. I don't want to mess with them."

"I agree with Hermione." Susan pushed one of the glowing orbs around. "Why take the risk?"

"I'm curious." Hannah plucked one from her box. "What did Madame Lenormand see about my life? Wasn't she a squib? I didn't know they could see."

"Actually, it's one of the skills that doesn't depend on magical ability. There have been several squib seers. They used to do quite well in the muggle world." Luna shrugged. "The Flints had a squib that used her skills as a seer to survive in the muggle world. She straddled the line between the worlds rather easily."

"So, you have all of this knowledge and you're going to ignore it?" Theo stood up and started to pace. "Divination may not be easily accessible, but if every one of these boxes is as full as Luna's we might be able to find a common theme. There might be some truth we can uncover. There is no crime in gathering information."

"Then you won't mind if we make boxes for you." Hermione smirked. "Forewarned is forearmed, after all."

Blaise watched as Theo sat back, hoisted on his own petard. Hermione really did have more than a few Slytherin traits. He glanced at Draco and exchanged a smirk. There was no doubt that Theo had been lured into the trap. Poor sod.

Alice wiped the sweat from her brow and glared at her mother in law. The witch in question smiled and sipped her tea in pristine splendor. The obstacles on the training course had left her wiped out. It was infuriating. Asking Augusta to help her sharpen her skills had seemed like such a good idea, but the woman was a demanding tyrant.

"You're improving dear." Augusta smiled. "Perhaps we should invite Narcissa over for a duel. She's quite skilled."

Alice snarled and flung a hex at the wards Augusta had erected around her comfy viewing stand.

"Power is only part of the equation, Dear." Augusta chuckled. "You're focusing too much on it. Finesse is important. Stop beating against the door and try knocking."

Alice blinked and considered the advice. She took a deep breath and let her magic spool out slowly. She felt the shield pushing against it. Frustration surged through her. In times of crisis her magic worked perfectly, but the rest of the time it was unwieldy.

"You are trying to force things." Augusta dissipated the shield with a wave of her hand. "Magic works far better when it flows. You know this, so why are fighting yourself?"

"What else am I supposed to do?" Alice threw her hands in the air. "My children don't need me. They've both got lives of their own."

"You think they don't need you?" Augusta shook her head. "They're both quintessential Gryffindors. Wait twenty minutes, and they'll be knee deep in trouble."

"They can get out of it all on their own." Alice sighed. "The wedding practically plans itself. The elves do everything before I even get a chance. What am I supposed to do?"

"They are independent, but they both love and need you." Augusta conjured a chair and gestured toward it. "The war forced them to grow up too quickly. They both need family and the joy of it in their lives."

"So, a family game night?" Alice sat in the chair. "That isn't much."

"They don't need grand gestures." Her mother in law offered her a cup of tea. "They learned to hate that sort of thing after the war."

"Why?" Alice took a sip of the tea and listened as Augusta outlined a tale of heroes and the nonsense forced upon them. Suddenly, game night seemed like a very good idea.

Pansy Parkinson was lurking about Diagon Alley in hopes of cornering Millicent. It was discomfiting to feel as if she were on the outside looking in. The society pages were filled with speculation about the event. It was already being labeled as the event of the season. The invitations had gone out, but she hadn't received one. Her owls had returned with their letters still attached. It had to be an oversight. Millicent obviously needed to be reminded of her duty to her true friends.

"You pushed me at your brother." Lavender stared Ginny down in the dingy tea shop at the edge of Hogsmeade. "I get it. You wanted Hermione away from Harry, but you hurt Ron. He's nameless because of you. He's gardening in the muggle world to make ends meet."

"Yes, I wanted her away from Harry." Ginny sighed. "She does whatever she wants, and everyone goes on about how clever she is. How am I supposed to measure up?"

"You're trying to measure yourself on the wrong scale." Lavender frowned. "I used to think like that, but I know that I need to measure myself on my scale not someone else's."

"Let me guess, Hermione told you that." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Her and her perfect friends are running with Slytherins now. Of course she doesn't want to be judged."

"They're people. She sees them as more than just members of a group from school." Lavender took a deep breath. "You judge everyone. Even me. You decided I was dumb enough to use. That special blend of tea you gave me, I'm not drinking it anymore. It's amazing how clear headed I've become." Lavender smiled as Ginny took a step back. It was gratifying to see that tiny spark of fear. "You're lucky that I'm trying to be a better person. I've bought some of the undo tires mix. I'll know the details of what you did to me soon enough. Until then I think you need to become acquainted with Honestia Totalus."

Ginny raised her hands, but the soft white light hit her squarely and spread over her skin before sinking in.

"What did you do to me?" Ginny stuttered and stepped further back from Lavender.

"You won't be able to lie, not even to yourself." Lavender smirked. "I know you weren't my friend, but I do hope that someday we can be family again."

Lavender spun and left with a confident stride. She was going to become a woman worthy of forgiveness. She needed to be strong for her baby and for Ron. She stepped out of the dark store into the sun and felt lighter than she had in years.

Greg watched as Millie worked at her desk. She was humming a song he didn't recognize and smiling. She was the most beautiful witch he'd ever seen. The crown of flowers on her head was constantly changing. Some strange sparkling lilies turned into the wild ruffles of white peonies. He'd seen some bright yellow flowers earlier and some lavender woven in with roses. Millie just shook her head and smiled each time it happened.

"What's with the flowers?" Greg gestured toward her head awkwardly. "It's pretty, but it's odd."

"Susan is trying to pick her flowers. Bones marry barefoot and flower crowned traditionally." Millie shrugged. "Hermione thought this spell would help her decide, but Susan refuses to make a choice. It's not so bad. I could cancel it if you want."

Greg shook his head. There was something mesmerizing about seeing her so comfortable in her own skin. He'd always known Millie was lovely, but he wanted the whole world to see it, too. She deserved to be appreciated.

"I love you." He smiled and touched her shoulder. "What are you working on?"

"I'm looking over my family history. The blades came to us, but do we meet their needs or do they meet ours?"

"Does it make a difference?" Greg looked at the old scrolls and journals on the desk top. "Could it be both? Magic works best in concert with the environment. Maybe this is like that?"

"You're brilliant, Greg." Millie blinked up at him and smiled. "It doesn't have to be one or the other. Some things happen when the conditions are right."

Greg nodded. He knew he wasn't brilliant, but he was smart enough to know that it was dumb to argue with your witch. She sprang from her chair and kissed him. Brilliant.