Hey everyone,
So this chapter is going to be about two things: Jillian taking a safe risk (yes, they exist) and Snape and Dumbledore realizing something important, something that links the end to Goblet of Fire to the end of Order of the Phoenix – an ending I hate with a passion and that I will always work my absolute hardest to change.
Hope you're interested,

Venquine1990

Chapter 12
Taking Safe Risks

5th of November 1994
Hospital Wing, Hogwarts
Jillian's POV

Waking up without being able to see anything is by now something I am used to and so I easily, yet with a wince of pain, reach my arm out to my bedside table and put my new sunglasses on before pulling off my night mask and lying it down where my glasses had been. "Good morning, sweetie." I then hear and twist my neck.
Sirius is sitting beside my bed with a large smile on his face as he says: "Your body seems to be healing nicely." To which I nod and say: "That did hurt a little, but at least the wound on the back of my neck is finally gone." At this Sirius nods and says: "I guess the best thing we can do is just replenish the potions on your bandages."
At which I nod and a few minutes later Madam Pomfrey leaves me with my breakfast and my bandages once more covering most of my body, yet to my relief did the woman tell me that my chest has fully healed, that my spine is back in one piece and that most of my bones have been mended. Just my skin and some small stuff needs to heal.

"You sure are healing a lot faster than I expected, sweetie." Sirius then says and I smile at him before I ask: "Sirius, would you mind if I tried something?" At this the man tilts his head and I say: "I – I want to – I want to try and – wear something sexy." I mumble in the end, hoping he'll accept, but not wanting to upset him.
"Are you sure, Jillian?" The man asks worriedly and I nod as I say: "I am. I mean, I know why you and the girls told me what you did and I get why they keep dressing me in modest stuff, but – I'm just constantly in here inside this cubicle and no one can come in here without the twins', your and Madam Pomfrey's acceptance.
And besides, I won't deny what you guys told me scares me, but – after that night a few days ago – I just don't want to feel scared anymore. And – when I was still Harry – the only thing I liked about myself was my eyes. And now – now I have so much about my looks to be happy with; I don't want to keep hiding what I can be proud of."

At this the man sighs and then smiles at me as he says: "I can get that, little one. And I know that adulthood and parenthood are synonym to hypocrisy, but I don't think it should count for this. And yes, Jillian, when I was your age, I was a real ladies' man, so good looks were definitely something important to me."
At this I smile and a few minutes later the girls are all here, the twins having changed their seating so that now one of them is at the doors and the other is just outside my cubicle and while the one at the door has the map, does the one at my cubicle have his wand in his hand to prove that no unauthorized people should try coming in.
"Are you sure about this, Jillian?" Katie asks me and I say: "I get that you want me to be cautious, but your constant warnings make me scared and, after the fear Ronald and the other instilled in me that night, I just – I want to feel comfortable, I want to like looking beautiful and attractive, not constantly fear how my looks can entice others."

At this the girls nod and Angelina shrugs as she says: "Well, we did make sure you have a few sexy clothes, but we thought we had to keep them at the bottom of your trunk. You know, for when you're home for Christmas or something. But, if you're sure." To this I ask: "If you were protected like I am, wouldn't you want to try?"
At this the girl looks thoughtful for a few minutes before she says: "Fair point." And I smile before I say: "Look, when I say sexy, I don't mean revealing or transparent, just – a cloth that accentuates my curves and allows me to show what I have instead of hiding it behind thick and modest looking fabrics and textures."
I don't want to wear a shirt that is practically a bra or a skirt that makes it impossible for me to crouch down or something, but I don't want to hide what I have any more either. I mean, we have to do that enough as it is with our usual Hogwarts uniforms. And it's not as if anyone other than you girls and Sirius will see it."

"Well, I do believe we have just the cloth for that." Alicia happily smiles and she digs into my trunk as Katie says: "You sure are a girl who knows what her powers are, I'll give you that." Yet to this I hear an ancient voice gasping and I look up and say: "Oh, good morning Professor. Here to see me wearing something that looks good?"
But the man smiles and says: "Actually, I was wondering if you had been informed of what had happened with Mr. Ronald last night yet. But I'm sorry, my dear girl, what Mss. Bell just said made me realize something vitally important. I will have to take my leave, I will come back later." And the man turns around and leaves.
"That sure was odd. What did I even say?" Katie asks and I shrug as I say: "Hey, that's Dumbledore for you. Who says he always makes sense." And the girl nods before Alicia shouts: "Aha, found it." And the cloth she pulls out of my trunk has my mouth drop as I think: "Thank you, sweet Morgana, for giving me that."

And instantly I try to sit up, but then wince and remember the tenderness of my skin and the wounds and cuts that have yet to heal. Instantly Angelina pulls out her wand and says: "Hold on, I've got this. Mobilicorpus Jillian Potter." And I feel my body gently get moved off the bed and in a upright position besides it.
I then happily raise my arms up and Alicia uses the same spell on the dress, allowing for it to slide down my body, Sirius closing the curtains before he vanishes my Hospital robe just before the dress fully covers me and after Katie quickly makes sure that the neckline is put right and that the button on the back is buttoned up.
And with that do I turn my eyes and my huge smile downward as I admire the beauty of the dress. Evergreen in color with a darker shade in the skirt, gorgeous bling covering the body piece from the chest down to my belly button, where there is an eye-shaped split showing off my skin and a fluttering skirt made of a really fluffy material.
The skin shown through the split does have bandages wrapped around it, but this doesn't bother me. There is also a ring of bling around my neck, the part between my neck and chest is a green transparent color and around the top part of the skirt and the skirt itself fluffs up and reaches just an inch above my knees.

All in all the whole thing looks gorgeous and really does exactly what I want it to do as I feel more gorgeous than I did when I got my first look at myself. "And even in this you look modestly beautiful. How do you do that?" Katie asks and I shrug as I happily move my hair to cover the green transparent part of the dress.
"It looks brilliant on you, sweetie. Just – just look at you, you're just utterly glowing." Sirius tells me and I let Angelina put me back on the bed as I motion him to come over and while the man hugs me, do I say: "I'm glowing, Sirius, because for the first time in my life, I actually have looks that I can be proud of having.
I actually feel as if people will have something to like about me that is all me. Not my Quidditch talents which I got from my dad, not my fame, which cost me my family. But looks that, while reminiscent of my family, are still all me and that I can make use of to make pretty cloths look even better. Good god, I'm turning vain, aren't I?"
"Are you always going to judge others based on how they look?" Alicia asks and I shake my head as she says: "Then no, you're not turning vain. You're just voicing pride at what you have. As long as you keep appreciating other aspects in life, you have nothing to worry about, sweetie." And the others all nod as I sigh relieved.

"So, what happened with Ron? Was it that illness Fleur told me about when she and the Champions visited me?" I then ask and the others nod to which I ask: "So, what happened?" And the girls explain to me what they found out through help of Sirius, Lupin and Collin, shocking me as I cannot believe Ron would sink this low.
"He – he – he was planning – what?" I ask terrified and instantly I pull my blankets up to my chin, the dress now suddenly feeling way too revealing and as if it is cursed to draw Ron and his horrible beliefs and behavior towards me. But Sirius gently comes to lie down next to me and pulls the blanket down a little as he says:
"Sweetie, don't worry. You're safe. The twins are now twice as determined to keep Ron out of here and Dean and Neville practically swore oaths to keep you safe from him once you get out of here. Also, he went through the curing process last night so now it's just a matter of waiting for Albus to tell us how he's now doing."

"You – you think he'll – apologize?" I whimper and the girls growl: "He better if he knows what's good for him." But Sirius looks at them before he says: "We don't know yet. And even if he doesn't, he's a Hyena now. And Albus told us that this means that his schedule can be changed if the teachers feel it better for his victims.
And even without that are Lavender, Dean and Neville planning to constantly be around you when moving between classes and do most of the students of the other Houses – bar Slytherin, of course – plan to sit around you in class, so Ron can't get anywhere near you.""Except for when I want to head for my new dorm."
I whisper, but Katie says: "That's not true. Lady Hogwarts got new portraits installed that lead directly to each of the three dorms; boys, girls and the Hyena hallway dorm." And finally I feel my fear receding, making me sigh relieved and cuddle up against Sirius, feeling super glad that he is here to help me with this.

"You are my gorgeous little girl and I am going to make as many people as I can want to do everything in their power to keep you safe from creeps like Ronald and traitors like Granger, I promise. But – heh, I have a class I have to go too – and so do you girls. Especially, you Mss. Bell, you have me next."
At this the girls nod and Sirius ask: "Are you okay with the twins staying here for the morning? I know Remus has a free period right now, do you want me to get him to come over?" But I shake my head and say: "The twins will do. Thanks Sirius." And the man nods before the four of them leave and the twins enter.
And the rest of the morning they prove me right as they do their absolute best to make me laugh and feel better. And while they send constant looks at the Map to make sure no untoward characters come close, do their other actions help me forget my former best friend and how far he keeps going to prove how little he thinks of me.

In the mean time
Near the old DADA office
Dumbledore's POV

"You sure are a girl who knows what her powers are, I'll give you that." I am well aware that Mss. Bell just wanted to compliment her new best friend, but her words actually reminded me of the one reason I always believed that Harry would be fine even after he faced Voldemort or a shade of the monster like in his first and second.
"The prophesy. Now that Harry is Jillian and died to become her, the prophesy has changed. It's no longer a fact, it can happen in anyway or form. Or perhaps even, not at all. Tom can finally have a reason to forget about the Prophesy and focus on his original goals; I can guide him into leaving Jillian to her own life. If I do this right, that is."
I think to myself as I have used a House Elf to bring Severus to me and have been rushing for the Death Eater's old office, feeling glad that Sirius was willing to keep Alastor's stuff in place for when the scarred man was released from the Hospital. And when I get there does it take Severus only a few minutes to arrive after me.

"Severus, thank you for coming. Look, some of Alastor's stuff has been affected by the Death Eater, they're now fine-tuned to keep him in contact with his client or contact." I tell the man and he seems confused and worried before I turn to him and say: "You know what happened on Halloween, Severus, how it all went wrong."
At this the man nods and asks: "Is there a reason we speak of it now? Or in here?" And I answer: "There is, because a lot more has changed than just the number of Champions or Mr. Potter's gender. His power could possibly have changed as well." And instantly the man catches on and gasps: "The prophesy." At which I nod and say:
"Harry is now Jillian. And what's more is the attack that led to it. Before now, whenever Harry was in a dangerous situation like that, his magic – his power – would come out. However, I have a theory that might explain why Mr. Weasley was able to go as far as he did, other than the barriers and the group of attackers he collected."

The man looks curious and I say: "Last year, Harry actually managed to cast a spell that, as crazy as it sounds, brought forth the dead. The Patronus charm. It took the shape of his father's Animagus form and attacked the Dementors. However, I – I am of the belief that, with that spell cast like that –." And Severus ends:
"Potter brought an end to Lily's protection. Because he summoned the spirit of his father's Animagus form in a spell that requires happy emotions to repel beings that cause fates worse than death." At this I nod and say: "And now that he has changed into Jillian through his near-death experience, I have no doubt that power is utterly gone."
"So Potter – is no longer a threat to the Dark Lord?" Severus asks and because I am sure that the mechanics here only capture sounds, but not vision, do I send him a silent look that says: "I trust you, Severus." Before I ask: "What does that information mean to you, Severus?" And the man turns stony before he turns and runs off.

"The end of an oath, it seems." I sigh, if only to help Severus keep cover and I turn to the device that I know is listening to this all as I say: "You may have gained back one servant, Tom, but you lost another. Your Death Eater has been Kissed and thrown through the Veil and Harry's death meant the end of his Champion contract.
You took me a friend and a teacher, but I at least managed to keep my student." And with that do I leave, knowing I need to contact Horace as Severus can't be seen by the students anytime soon after my statement. Yet at the same time do I send a silent prayer to the man, hoping he can go on where I just left off.
"I hope – you can keep her safe." I think to myself, yet also silently to Severus as the idea of Jillian having to face both Voldemort and the Hyenas, even now that Ronald has been healed – but showing little change since before he was healed – is one that I know I will fight tooth, nail, blood, sweat and tears to prevent.

Damn, Dumbledore.
That really is a risk and to be honest, I wasn't entirely planning on pulling Slughorn into the picture. Still, I can't deny that it will definitely fit the story quite nicely, especially because Horace will want to keep a treasure like Jillian safe at all costs; the daughter of his late favorite student, yeah duh!
Also, next chapter I'm going to delve into the topic that was most relevant to Halfblood Prince and Deathly Hallows, but I won't go and send someone on a wild crazy goose chase. Instead, I'm going to delve a little into Ancient Egyptian mythology and history and deal with the issue head on, destroying it the best I can.
Or the best "he" can,

Venquine1990