January ended with a grumpy grumble, leaving a trail of bad memories and thorns to trip over. February began with a hopeful whimper, well for everyone but Harry. Everyone else was buzzing with excitement or unable to keep their hands away from their lovers as they hurried into the pink-themed Great Hall for breakfast.

Even Ron - Ron who had been snappish, easily aggravated, and a brooding cloud of anger - was happy. It was evident that he shared Hermione's excitement for visiting Hogsmeade.

He to was happy for a chance to escape the suddenly stuffy castle, especially since it would give him a chance to avoid Professor Kale's concerned glances in his direction.

Occlumency…had been getting worse for him. He thought that he would be driven up a wall by Snape and his venomous insults, but ironically it was Professor Kale. Always gently prodding him for his emotional state and urging him to write in his journal even though he was fine and needed to keep tabs on Voldemort.

Although it was hard to stay fine with his strained relationship with Ron and the upcoming Quidditch game against Hufflepuff. The Quidditch game he was banned from playing in.

A knot formed in his stomach, bitter and hot as he tried to focus on eating his porridge and toast. His gaze wandered as he took note of Ness and Ginny—still miles apart from one another—with smiles on their faces.

Did they have plans for Hogsmeade as well? Well, there was an obvious answer to that question but it was a little odd to see Ginny constantly sneaking glances at Ness then up at Hermione. Who was bouncing in her chair and wolfing her food down as if the world was ending.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry asked, lowering his spoon as Ron glanced up from his toast, "Yea, you've been acting weird all morning." Ron noted, flushing as Hermione coyly replied, "And you haven't Ron?"

"N-not that's there nothing wrong with that." Harry quickly added, a small part of him worried that Ron might take that the wrong way, "It's just…surprising."

Ron blinked, as if he hadn't noticed how sour his mood and demeanor had become. Or how everyone had started walking around on brittle eggshells around him. Rumors were now as thick as pea soup as they floated in the halls.

"How is it surprising?" Ron asked.

Harry looked at him in disbelief. Had Ron not noticed? He was pretty sure that practice was super tense thanks to the rumors and the fact that Ness had been acting more off than usual after that fight broke out at the train station.

Thankfully Hermione came to his rescue, sounding a little miffed as she bluntly stated, "Because you've been acting like a giant git when it comes to certain topics."

Ron blinked but seemed to get the hint, bristling a little as he opened his mouth to retort only to be interrupted by Harry, "So! Hermione, why the…sudden eagerness?"

Hermione beamed him a smile, "Simple. Ginny and I have been working to get you and some witnesses to be interviewed about You-Know-Who and Umbridge."

The spoon slipped from his hand, long forgotten as Ron blinked and grinned, "Wow…good for you Hermione!"

"W-why?" Harry managed, "I can understand Voldemort but-,"

"Ginny insisted, claiming we could allude to some ties she might have with You-Know-Who—I mean, don't you find it a little odd how Umbridge is so hellbent on painting you and- ah, some other students, as crazy people and making school horrible for everyone?" Hermione asked, catching herself for some odd reason before pressing on. "Besides, we need the public to realize that we're in danger and that we need to wake up. The Ministry is failing at its duty to protect the wizarding world."

Ron gave a solemn nod of agreement as Harry tried to find words. A feeling of dread joining the knot in his stomach at the idea of another follower of Voldemort actively working to murder him.

"I…I suppose so." He agreed, "So…who's the interview with? And um, where?"

"The Three Broomsticks, 1:30." Hermione explained, ignoring his first question as she glanced at Ron who grimaced, "You'll have to do it without me then, I'm going on—going to be busy at 1:30."

"With what?" Harry asked, wondering why Hermione was fighting to hide a triumphant grin and why Ron was glancing behind him "Hold on, do you have a da-," he barely got the words out before Ron shushed him, glancing around nervously.

"Yes, I may have an outing with someone. But she doesn't want to make a big deal out of it."

Harry raised an eyebrow before mentally relenting, understanding Ron's current social standings and wondering who would want to go out with him.

It wasn't anyone in Gryffindor, that was for sure, and Hufflepuffs in their year had barely glanced at him in co-op classes.

Slytherin was a definitive no and Ravenclaw—Wait, he glanced at the Ravenclaw table then back at Ron, "Did you score a date with someone not in our class groups?"

A faint flush appeared as Ron nodded, a bashful smile on his face, "We just kept, bumping into each other. It was small stuff, her dropping her things when we were walking by and all that. But one day—when we were heading to bed early when you went to your extra potions class with Snape—she asked for a moment alone outside the library and talked to me."

"He came back completely amazed." Hermione added, rolling her eyes a little as Ron's smile grew. "We're kindred spirits, Hermione!"

"Kindred?" Harry repeated, wanting to press for more information about this mysterious girl they had kept bumping into. He did remember a girl with a bunch of curls that could almost rival Hermione's popping up but he couldn't place her face and name.

Of course, Ron either didn't hear or didn't want to push his luck of keeping his date a secret since he merely replied, "Kindred," with that lovesick smile stuck on his face.

Harry gave up and focused on eating his breakfast. The walk to Hogsmeade was nice. The weather was still cold but for February standards it was warm, almost refreshing.

Ron immediately hurried off, not wanting to keep his date waiting. Hermione hummed about going to the Three Broomsticks to wait for Ginny and Luna.

"Luna's the witness?" Harry asked, a little surprised given how…well, detached Luna was. She was a good fighter and a master at counter jinxes but that was it for magic skills. Plus, she had a tendency to annoy Hermione with her…er, almost outlandish creatures and warnings.

Hermione sensed this and nodded, easily answering, "Not exactly, but her father writes the Quibbler."

"The Quibbler?" Harry repeated, the name picking at something in the back of his head as Hermione deadpanned, "It's like the Mystic Informer but much more…loose about the facts they use for their stories. It's like a gossip rag you would see in supermarkets."

"Oh. OH. But why…?"

"Skeeter's been fired from the Daily Prophet." Hermione explained, "It happened thanks to a combination of my threat and Skeeter trying to focus on what the Ministry doesn't want people to see."

"Ah…so Rita writes it, Luna's father publishes it."

"Yup,"

"But then, who's the witness?"

"Ness of course. He's been Umbridge's second target and he was with you at the graveyard. Remember?"

Sadly, yes. He did remember it. He's been having nightmares about it every so often. Interrupting his quest for clues thanks to the bone rattling yells and—

"Harry!" He jumped and glanced at Hermione, a little confused to see that they were now off the path and near a small patch of brush and trees.

"Breath Harry." Hermione ordered, sending a jolt of realization through him as he felt his lungs burn from the lack of air. When had he stopped breathing? Why had he stopped breathing?

"I'm-," he started, coughing as Hermione shot him a worried look, "I'm fine."

She didn't believe him, her concerned look morphing into one of annoyance, "No, no you are not fine Harry!" He flinched back, surprised at her anger and weakly managed, "Honest, Hermione. It's just a one-time thing."

"Harry, you were having a panic attack over the mere mention of the graveyard." Hermione chided, "You are not fine!"

A panic attack? But he hadn't been panicked, just a little…nervous, yes! He was just nervous about the upcoming interview and flustered by his bad week. "Yes, I am. It's just been a bad week, that's all." Harry replied, his tone firm as he shot Hermione a look, daring her to press him for more information.

"A bad-," Hermione started before she scowled and moved on, "Fine. But you're bad week had better be talked about after this interview. Preferably with Ness since he's been dealing with PTSD this entire school year."

"I don't have-,"

Hermione held up a hand, increasing her scowl, "Save it. I'm off to the Three Broomsticks to prepare for Luna, Skeeter and Ness. You go off and…do something until then."

"But-," Hermione shot him a look, killing his argument and briskly walked Harry watched her disappearing down the path his mind was in a fierce tug of war over him having PTSD.

It was impossible, sure the graveyard had been bad but it wasn't that bad! A small scowl formed, then slipped off as his traitorous mind hissed, "Then why do you flinch whenever someone mentions rock n roll, hmmm? Why do your memories keep pulling you back to that fateful day in Occlumency?"

"Because, because Ness is connected to it." Harry found himself muttering, as he violently shook his head while he tightened his winter robe around him and hurried into the village, "And Ness is a mystery. Related to almost everything that seems to happen around here."

And speaking of Ness and mysteries another one had formed…Now if only he could remember it... with a frown he glanced around the bustling square before ducking into a Quidditch gear shop. Grabbing a random chest plate to have an excuse for hiding in the changing room himself in a small changing room.

A bit excessive but he wanted to play it safe. He wanted to remember his splintered dream in peace.

"Now…what happened?" he closed his eyes, leaning against the wall and picturing himself in the never-ending hallway. He was walking…walking.

Deeper and deeper into the twisted darkness until he reached those two doors. One door was the one Voldemort was after, the door he always turned to, the other…he didn't know what the other was, but it had to be the door Ness had come from before he had rushed to protect Mr. Weasley.

That was the only other explanation. The first door was pushed open. The room was a blurry mess as he rushed through, finally stopping in a giant room filled to the brim with pearl white orbs floating in the air—no, they weren't floating. They were resting on shelves, shelves that were hard to see for some reason.

His breathing hitched as a hand that wasn't his reached out then stopped, a faint garble of noise causing him to freeze as he turned around. Somehow out of the room of pearly white orbs and back in the hallway, facing the second door.

The second door was now cracked open—now, it was slowly swinging open, revealing a silhouette wearing a hat. Shifting…shivering? He couldn't make out the form, they—

Were they reaching out? Was that—

Was it Ness? He bit his lip trying to force the bits and pieces from his dream to sharpen it into focus. The colors blurred and blended into a grey mess, he saw a pair of solid black eyes looking at him—yes! It was Ness! Ness was there! But why?—

Then— Harry's breath hitched as his mind jerked to the graveyard, the wind being punched out of him as he felt the cool dirt on his hands, the thunderous rumbles and roars from the earth flying into the air.

The screams of pain and mindlessly roars of anger, the absolute terror on Voldemort's face and—

"No! Stop it!" biting his lip Harry slammed his head into his hands, his scar pulsing and burning as the vivid senses and picture evaporated. Safe. He…he was safe.

With a shaky gulp of air Harry opened his eyes, the small box of a changing room slowly coming into view with bits of static and blobs of grey coloring before they slowly faded away. Allowing him to see properly.

"What…?" Harry murmured, leaning heavily against the wall as he reached up and touched his lip, surprised to feel something warm and sticky and startled at the sight of blood. "How…how long was I out? What…what just happened?"

Swallowing a groan, he gingerly touched his scar, noting how the pain felt different than when Voldemort had taken his mind for a joyride. This one felt…more mental, dull to touch but burning deeply in his mind.

What in Merlin's beard had just happened? Did…did Ness know about this? Was he somehow investigating that room before he rushed to save Mr. Weasley?

"I need answers…" Harry moved to open the door when he heard a faint cry of, "Cky—Paula!" and froze as the voice continued, "Those people aren't lucky! They've been tortured and left for dead!"

Ness. Why was Ness here in a Quidditch gear shop? He didn't play Quidditch, nor did he seem to care for it. And who was this Paula? Her name sounded familiar, very familiar. But he couldn't place why.

There was a faint, "Not changing my mind on this.," said Paula as Ness gave a faint exclaim of, "Oh come on!" prompting Harry to jump as he realized they were leaving. And taking his opportunity of maybe setting up a time to talk in private right underneath his nose.

Dropping the chest plate, Harry rushed outside, cringing as he found himself looking in a sea of young witches and wizards almost joined at the hip walking through the village. Not a baseball cap in sight as Harry desperately scanned the crowd before switching to a different tactic. Ness was with a girl, a girl who sounded very familiar and was driving him crazy and they were both wandering around Hogsmeade seemingly alone.

Which meant this was a private outing—maybe even a date! Which meant they would most likely be heading to that tea shop. What was it called…? Madam Puddifoot's tea shop?

That sounded right, he had heard rumors about it, mostly about how it was perfect for couples and small get togethers but that was about it. But there was still a chance Ness and his girlfriend would head there.

Or would they? Ness wasn't normal, he did things outside of the box or inside out. Which meant that if Ness was trying to impress her then they wouldn't go to a crowded area, they would probably find somewhere quiet and quaint to chat.

Or…again would they? Harry faltered a knot growing in his stomach as he realized he knew nothing about Ness aside from his PSI powers, his usually friendly demeanor and his Hogwarts friends.

"Well…of course I wouldn't, we aren't friends…" Harry thought slowly moving forward in a random direction as his mind split in half, creating the for and against debate he had been having more and more lately.

"But isn't he? He's saved us, twice even. Surely that means something."

"But what?" the other side argued as Harry turned a corner, "That doesn't mean anything, all we know is that Ness is here because of Dumbledore and that he hates it here."

"True, but if he hates it then why doesn't he just leave?"

"He can't. I…think."

"He endangered his family to stay here, to help us. Or…Or perhaps…"

"Or perhaps what?"

"Perhaps we're wrong, perhaps he is merely trying to accomplish something we keep interrupting."

"You mean that HE'S interrupting! He's started this whole mess!"

"Which mess? What mess?" the against faltered, or was it for? His head was swimming with half baked arguments and slivers of evidence to keep them afloat.

"Let's say…this mess, Ness doesn't seem so friendly to us now does he?"

Harry grimaced, his mind playing back memories of every encounter he had with Ness this past year. Starting with the argument that nearly derailed the train to Hogwarts, the frosty exchanges they sometimes had afterwards, him blackmailing Ness to come to Occlumency, Ness looking horrified at the fact that he was jealous of him and now…Now Ness was barely speaking to him.

Not that was anything new but…it felt as if it was choice made by Ness and not by their separate classes and year groups taking up their time... That had been proven true since he had stopped showing up for the Deterrence Aegis meetings. "Of course not, Ness doesn't seem so friendly to us. We've been making his life hell." The voice hissed, "Just because we want to be the heroes-,"

"Shut up." Harry ordered, his pulse quickening as the voice faltered then murmured, "Hermione's right, we need help. We need to talk-,"

"I'm FINE." The voice faltered again but didn't speak. Allowing Harry to focus on a bigger picture, a more important picture. Ness's connections to that room and why he was seemingly trapped behind a door. Ness played a bigger part than he previously thought, maybe even more than Voldemort knew originally.

But why? What role did he play? Was he enemy or friend? Why did he keep so many secrets and—

"Harry!" he almost jumped out of his boots, spinning around to see a red faced Ron breathing heavily as ran out of an alley. "Have you—Ness! Where?" Ron demanded, struggling to breathe and talk as Harry blinked and tried to process Ron's choppily formed question.

"Have I seen Ness?" he guessed, looking around and surprised to find himself a couple blocks away from Madam Puddifoot's tea shop. "Er, no, but I was looking for him as well. What happened?"

"He, and this girl! Blonde haired and wearing all pink, spooked my date and-!" Ron started, cutting himself off to take a deep breath before trying again.

"My date and I, we were having tea at Madam Puddifoot's tea shop, just chatting and stuff when she spots someone looking at me. I glance around and see Ness and blondie chatting to Cho and Cedric. For some reason Cho looks angry about something and then she abruptly leaves with Cedric who shoots Edg—my date a look and then leaves."

"And…what does Ness have to do with this?" Harry asked, "I mean…it sounds like your date did something to upset Cho, not him."

Ron opened his mouth, then faltered, weakly arguing, "Yea but…they were chatting, Ness knows everyone, he…he could have lied about something to tick them off."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Ness…doesn't really lie. Omit things maybe but lie?"

Ron scowled but his anger had died down a bit, "Maybe…" he bitterly agreed, "But she told me…"

"Told you what?" Harry prompted, greatly confused since it was sounding more and more like Ness being in the wrong place wrong time and doing absolutely nothing.

"She told me that Ness was creeping her out, and she was worried that…I dunno."

"Ron…it sounds like it's a misunderstanding of some sort." Harry stated, repressing a flinch as Ron exploded.

"Yea right! Why would he even be at Madam Puddifoot's tea shop with his sister?!"

"Sister? I thought she was his date."

"No, remember? There was this blonde girl that hung around Ness during the Tri-Wizard tournament. Trace or something." Ron recalled, "My mum sat next to his and they were chatting. She looked like Ness."

Harry racked his brain, trying to remember the girl and recalled a moment where Ness was chasing around a smaller blonde girl wearing his wizard's hat with black eyes. "I…guess…But he said Paula, not Trace." Harry concluded, a nagging feeling that there was another blonde girl that Ness was spending time with. Someone a bit more important than his sister eating away at him as Ron took this in.

"Well-,"

"Ron. Let's just, ask your date what happened." Harry interrupted, "It's…You're reaching. For anything to get mad at Ness."

"Because he is behind everything!" Ron started, "Seriously Harry! Everything that has happened is because of him!"

Harry tried to argue but Ron had a point, him ending up in the gr-graveyard? Ness. Hogwarts being haunted? Ness. Mr. Weasley being attacked? Ness. He seemed to have a magnet for trouble.

"Okay, true but-," Harry started when a loud haughty voice called, "Oh REALLY. So, it's Earthbound's fault that you abandoned your date?" prompting a few disgusted mutters as they looked across the street. A group of green and purple cloaked fourth year Slytherins and Ravenclaws watching them as Karma—Ness's Slytherin friend glared at Ron with a vengeful smirk.

"What?" Ron repeated, the flame of anger burning out for a moment as Harry blinked then scowled, "Ron didn't abandon his date!"

"Really? Then where's Edgecombe?" a Ravenclaw challenged before a ghost of a smirk appeared, "Or, perhaps she's trying to save her dignity before being hanged."

"What dignity?" another Ravenclaw questioned, "I think it's gotten lost in the wash when she went out with trash."

"Oy! Ron is not trash!" Harry snapped, "Now get lost!"

"We were until we heard a certain carrot top insulting my friend." Karma sneered, moving to join them as his group followed. "It's pathetic how you try to pin everything on Ness when you've done more damage than he has."

"But he's-," Ron started, venom in his voice before he cut himself off and snarled, "You. You know."

"Know what?" Karma challenged, "Know that you're angry over a small argument you and Ness had?"

"That's not it and you know it!" Ron snarled, "It's because he attacked my dad!"

"How." The first Ravenclaw questioned, "How could Earthbound attack your father being in the place he shouldn't have been at?"

"With that logic shouldn't you also be blaming Harry for the attack?" the second Ravenclaw asked, "Y'know, since he apparently warned you all about it?"

Harry choked on air, his insides freezing at the thought, the accusation as Ron opened his mouth to retort only to be cut off by Karma who's eyes briefly widened a bit then narrowed, "Save it Weasley, we know how you Gryffindors work, always bending the truth to fit your perfect little picture of heroism and bravery." He gave a haughty sniff and turned away, "Come on, let's leave these Golden Gryffindors to their follies and focus on more important things."

The others murmured in agreement, reluctantly leaving the pair alone before one of the Ravenclaws stopped and tossed a murderous glare at Ron, "Weasley, be warned. If you ever, ever hurt Edgecombe. Then we'll hex you to an inch of your life."

"I—I wouldn't hurt her!" Ron protested, "I-,"

"Save it." The Ravenclaw ordered, his eyes cold and hard, "We Ravenclaw tend to look out for those in our flock. We don't want to see Edgecombe sullied and slander because of you. Nor do we wish to see our house in tattered ruins because you encouraged infighting."

"Infighting?" Ron repeated, the anger drained out of him as he looked at the boy in shock, "W-what infighting?" The boy regarded them for a long moment before sneering, "Pathetic."

And running off to catch up with his friends who were laughing and jeering about something. Harry could only watch them, feeling sick at what the group had hinted at as Ron spluttered for air and excuses. "Ron…W-where's Edgecombe?" Harry asked, wondering why he wanted to desperately get away from everything.

"Wha—Oh, she should still be inside, I told her to wait for me while I get ans-," Ron started his gaze moving back to the tea shop when he locked onto a girl with bushy hair akin to Hermione's wearing a soft lilac robe with a purple iris in her hand.

"R-ron." The girl sniffled rushing forward as Harry took a step back, feeling as if he was intruding something, "T-they kicked us out!"

Ron blinked then whispered, "What? Why did-,"

"T-they didn't want a scene to be made, I-I think that girl said something to Earthbound and-," the girl—Edgecombe Harry realized broke off and buried her face into Ron's robe, sobbing as Ron pulled her into a hug. Steaming with anger but also uneasy.

"I'll…I'm going to check on Hermione. Will…" Harry trailed off as Ron gave him a small half nod, barely acknowledging him as he moved to lead Edgecombe out of the street and away from the curious couples watching them.

"Infighting." Harry's mind echoed, ignoring Harry's small mantra of 'Shut up' as he hurried to the Three Broomsticks, "That's what you're doing, stirring up trouble and making messes."

"No I am not!" Harry mentally growled, "It's just-,"

"You're scared of Ron~ You're scared he'll turn on you again. But this time it won't be for something petty. This time he'll go away for sure"

"SHUT UP."

The voice paused but hissed, "You know I'm right. You know THEY'RE right. I bet that Karma kid cut Ron off before he could reveal something hurtful, something dangerous."

"No, he wasn't! He was going to defend me!"

The voice hummed in loose acknowledgement, clearly not believing him as Harry walked inside the Three Broomsticks. Hermione, Skeeter, Luna and Ginny were already seated. Ginny and Luna whispering about something as a fifth woman with simple brown hair being held back with a wand hair clip carefully organized a group of plain and boring notebooks and pens.

Not quills, everyday pens. It made him falter at the rare sight of a muggle object but he shook it off. Nodding to Ginny and Luna who gave a small wave in return as he sat down next to Hermione.

"Where's Ness?" Harry asked, a small part of him hoping he was a no show, that he had backed out while a larger part was eager to see him, eager to get some answers for almost everything that happened.

"He may or may not be coming." Ginny answered, glancing at him with a hint of frost to her tone. He would have missed it if he hadn't been so shaken up by those Slytherin and Ravenclaws picking a fight with Ron. What had he done to upset Ginny…?

"I gave him a choice if he wanted to come or not since this is sensitive information."

Skeeter clicked her tongue, prompting Harry to look at her and see that life without the Daily Prophet hadn't been kind to her. "Even more the reason why he should come." Skeeter stated, drumming her polished nails which looked dull under the soft lighting provided by a couple overhead lanterns.

"Rita." Hermione warned, glaring at the woman.

"I'm putting my reputation on the line for this, Granger. It's bad enough that I'm working with the Quibbler but sharing the scoop with some kiddy magazines?" Skeeter coldly rebuked, her eyes narrowing with annoyance.

Kiddy magazines? Harry looked at the simple and plain woman who shot Skeeter a look, "The Mystic Informer is a bringer of good news and warnings. We cater to all ages, Skeeter. Besides, I'm paying you for this with extra information."

"Are we really going to…?" Luna asked, glancing at Skeeter with a look of disdain when the woman nodded, her plain green eyes sharpening into something deadly, "Yes, if our suspect is truly behind the temporary death of the Mystic Informer England wing then this shall be perfect karma."

"U…um, who are you?" Harry asked, finding himself shying away from the plain woman who suddenly seemed like a demon hellbent on revenge.

"Hmm? Oh!" and just like that, the aura of pure and utter destruction vanished and was replaced with a sheepish smile and a stammer of, "Mary Sue! I'm a reporter for Mystic Informer, normally we would send someone else to be this far…out but here I am!"

"Out here?" Harry repeated, wondering if he had imagined that hint of malice against Hogsmeade as Mary Sue tittered, "I'm not a big fan of quaint little villages, I prefer the big city and bustle. That's all."

"Of course you do." Skeeter stated, her voice dripping with venom as Sue shot her a quaint little smile that screamed with some negative emotion. A warning perhaps?

"Er, right. Moving on," Ginny interrupted before the two women could come to blows, "Harry, I invited her here for extra exposure. We need the public's opinion on our side to enforce some change."

"And the Mystic Informer spreads pretty much everywhere." Luna added, "Even if the wizards of England don't agree, they'll be forced to when others see the story."

That…made sense, Harry gave a slow nod and turned back to Hermione who seemed please by the outcome. "Well, since Ness appears to be a no show we could-," Hermione started when a voice called, "We're here!" followed by a curt, "Sorry for the wait!"

"Right on time." Luna mused, smiling as a tired Ness and his date, Paula joined them at the table. They both looked happy about something and judging by the bits of grass and frost they probably had a snowball fight of some sort.

"And they apparently don't know what happened to Edgecombe…" Harry thought, moving to wave hello at Ness when Ginny asked, "How was it?"

"Fun!" Ness chirped as Paula deadpanned, "Chaotic," smirking as Ness shot her a look, "Oh don't be like that. You had fun Paula!"

"Define fun." Paula teased, her smirk growing as Ness rolled his eyes in mock annoyance, "This is revenge for me dragging you into that tea shop. Isn't it?"

"Yup, also for making me scream for no real reason."

"I was screaming as well!" Harry blinked then looked at Hermione for help, she didn't seem to understand what was going on either but she seemed amused by how Ness and Paula were playfully bickering.

At least until Ness took note of Skeeter and Sue, "Oh! Skeeter and…lady I don't know, nice to see you." Ness glared at Skeeter and stated, "Sort of. Sort of nice."

Skeeter returned the glare with a cool, but hungry gaze, "Earthbound, I see your Tri-Wizard skirmish didn't affect you too badly." Her gaze slid over to Paula who looked ready to freeze her with her gaze, "And Ms. Polestar, I presume? You were in the tournament as well, acting as the person Earthbound needed to save."

Ah, that was why she looked familiar! But he had a nagging feeling that he had seen her somewhere before the Tri-Wizard cup. Where though? Before he could piece together a location of where he might have seen Paula, Sue clapped her hands and exclaimed, "You two make a wonderful couple! Congrats!"

This declaration broke the tension between the two and Skeeter as their faces exploded with embarrassment, "Oh um, thanks." Ness managed as Paula hide her face behind her hands.

"Well!" Ginny loudly stated, forcing Skeeter and Sue to focus on her instead of the two tomatoes, "Ness, this Mary Sue, she's from Mystic Informer!"

Mary Sue nodded and gave him a small smile, "I heard you're a fan of ours, it's nice to meet you."

Ness returned it with a kind, "Likewise." Before Skeeter snapped, "Yes, yes! This is nice and all but don't we have work to do?" her eyes hungrily locked on Harry who remembered why he hated this woman, "Work involving a certain boy defying the Ministry about You-Know-Who?"

"It isn't defying it if it's true." Luna murmured, prompting Skeeter to briefly glance at her before focusing on Harry then pausing as she remembered Hermione.

"Of course, knowing little Miss Perfect you probably want to spin this story a different way, a safer way." She grumbled, lowering her normal quill in disgust as Hermione coolly replied, "Actually no, we want the truth. The whole truth out there."

She shot him a look, prompting Harry to freeze as she added, "Which includes what really happened at the Tri-Wizard tournament."

"Oh right…you and Earthbound were kidnapped and then brought back to Hogwarts in critical condition." Sue recalled, a thoughtful frown on her face as Ness and his friends nodded.

Skeeter's eyes widened and a faint chuckle slipped free, "Oh-HO. Going all in are we?"

Hermione nodded and Skeeter's grin grew, "This, is going to be the scoop of the century! The Prophet was hellbent on keeping things hush-hush and only stating that Barty Crouch Jr. was alive, acting as a teacher and attempting to kill Potter!"

"Ah, so they purposely left out how two dementors tried to murder my mom and little sister when they tried to murder Barty." Ness noted, his eyes hardening with anger as Sue and Skeeter looked up, eyes wide.

"Excuse me?" Sue questioned her voice faint as Ginny explained what happened. Harry's stomach churning at the memory as Luna added in whatever Ginny forgot.

"Well…WELL!" Skeeter exclaimed, lowering her voice as she began scribbling things down, "This isn't the scoop! This is the cannon the destroy the Ministry's paper walls!"

"Oh, and that's not even mentioning Umbridge abusing her powers as High Inquisitor and disregarding health issues." Luna chirped, a devious grin forming as Skeeter looked at her then at Ginny for confirmation.

"Forget cannon, this is a—a," Skeeter stammered, fumbling for a word of massive destruction as Paula supplied, "Bazooka."

"Yes! That!" Skeeter exclaimed turning back to Hermione with an almost feverish gaze, "And this is connected to You-Know-Who?!"

"We believe so." Hermione answered, struggling not to flinch as Skeeter turned back to Harry and Ness, ordering, "Talk, now!"

Harry moved to glance at Ness, surprised to see the boy pointedly looking away as he took a deep breath and started to explain. A fog of disgust aimed at himself as Ness recounted how he and his friends had noticed something off about Mad Eye Moody and started to investigate.

He talked about he had paid the price for getting too close to the truth and was forced to help Barty Crouch Jr. secure Harry's win. How he had to practically escort him to the trophy so he could revive Voldemort. He explained how Wormtail turned into a rat and was placed in his pocket so he couldn't escape. He went on to tell them about how even if he did manage to escape he couldn't, his muggle mother, sister and father would pay the price with their lives for his disobedience.

As he explained how he was almost killed by Voldemort after completing the deal, Sue's face went several shades whiter as she took in this new information as he added how he had woken up half dead to help Harry escape and passed out when they returned to the castle.

"I don't know what Voldemort said or did…but I'm sure it wasn't pleasant." Ness finished, glancing at Harry.

Harry tried to prepare himself for his interview. Although it felt like he was fighting a ravenous beast instead of just talking to a news reporter. And he wasn't sure what he'd call Sue. She had just been…sitting there, writing blocky words into her notebooks with an eerie silence.

"It…wasn't much." Harry started, realizing with horror that Voldemort had spent their second meeting mostly warning him about Ness. About how dangerous his kind were. How could he have forgotten that? After witnessing Ness's powers and side effects firsthand?

"He was celebrating Ness's death and his rebirth, invited Death Eaters from all over to see it—I couldn't make out who they were but I know several are higher ups in the Wizarding World. We were going to duel each other when Ness came to and we escaped," Harry explained. His words felt like broken shards of glass as he remembered how they escaped. About how dangerous Ness was.

"Then we found out about Barty Crouch Jr. and witnessed Fudge try and silence him with the dementors, to prevent the public from learning about Voldemort's rebirth. It's why there are so many Death Eaters breaking out, and presumably why that man was almost killed by Devil's Snare."

"Ah yes, the attack on St. Mungo's set up by a random terrorist." Skeeter recalled, "Probably someone trying to take advantage of the unease in the magical world at the moment."

He forced a nod, fighting the urge to glance at Ness.

He didn't get a chance to worry too hard about that urge because Sue spoke up, musing, "Perhaps it wasn't a random terrorist. I heard that Arthur Weasley was attacked by guarding some sort of door in the Ministry. I think it was near the Department of Mysteries."

She paused and flushed, realizing that Ginny was his daughter and tried to babble out an apology when Skeeter cut her off, "Why would he even be there in the first place?"

She glanced at Ginny, hinting at her to answer the question as the girl took a long sip from her drink. "We don't know." Ginny answered, giving her a cool look, "The only thing I could possibly think of is someone asking him a favor to stand there."

"But who?" Sue murmured, her eyes sharpening and sending a shiver down his spine.

He didn't think he was like were this was going…Harry glanced at Hermione, trying to silently ask her what was going on but Hermione seemed confused, bewildered almost. She must have thought that she would be keeping a close eye on Skeeter. Not the simple and plain woman who was cooking up some theories boarding on truth.

"It must be someone close, someone who's worried about another party breaking in…" Sue murmured, her pen tapping in an almost perfect rhythm as Skeeter paused and watched, interested in Sue's thought process. "Was…no, did Dumbledore ask your father to stand guard for fear of You Know Who breaking in and obtaining something valuable from the Department of Mysteries?"

Bingo. Harry felt the air sucked out of his lungs as Hermione bit her lip, trying to hide any trace of a non-verbal answer. Deflect, they needed to deflect and focus on Voldemort-,

"We think so. This isn't the first time Dumbledore's gambled with someone's life." What. He turned, ice raining down his back as he looked at Luna who was calmly stirring an onion into her drink.

"Isn't the first time?" Skeeter echoed as Sue glanced at Paula who was playing with her coat, "You…In your interview with Chip and Lily…you mentioned that you were kidnapped and injured after trying to defend yourself against someone named Minerva and a man."

"I was. As I stated before they claimed that they didn't want to hurt me and didn't really seem to want to kidnap me in the first place.," Paula recalled., Her expression was flat as Harry sensed a storm brewing on the horizon, a storm he wasn't going to survive. "They muttered something about Dumbledore before we got into a fight and knocked me out."

"I'm quite sure there is a Minerva working for Dumbledore." Skeeter mused, "Yes, yes! I believe she's a teacher working there at the moment!" she eyed them, waiting for an answer but Paula ended it with a curt, "I really don't want to talk about this. I'm merely here for moral support."

"For your boyfriend?" Skeeter pressed, her grin growing then fading as Paula answered.

"Yes, since he has been struggling with PTSD and an abusive, ignorant and quite frankly racist teacher."

"Who…isn't Minerva?" Skeeter asked, her smile falling as Sue hummed, "She means Dolores Umbridge. I believe you know her Rita. She's been being burned alive at the Mystic Informer alongside Dumbledore."

"Ah yes, you've been grilling him and listening to parents concerns about him still being a worthy headmaster." Skeeter offhandedly recalled, almost bored with the topic until she noticed his expression of barely silenced rage.

"Something Perfect Granger's boyfriend doesn't seem to approve of." Skeeter noted, her smile growing until Ginny dropped a large bundle of papers and files onto the table.

"What's this?" Skeeter asked, glancing at Hermione who seemed confused and then at Ginny who looked very smug.

"Ah, that would be a gift from Ginny, the honorary Slytherin, to nuke the ashes of the Ministry." Ness explained. A small grin formed as Skeeter and Sue took some papers from the pile and studied them, their eyes widening in surprise. Harry barely noticed that as he repeated, "Honorary Slytherin." In his head, wondering why Ginny was so proud of such an insult.

"Oh. Oh my!" Sue exclaimed, her voice dropping to a faint whisper as she moved to examine more papers then looked at Skeeter who looked ready to faint from whatever dirt Ginny had given them. "Two for the price of one!" Skeeter crowded, "A scoop on what truly happened at the Triwizard tournament and a way to get a high-ranking member of the Ministry kicked out and hanged!" Skeeter begrudgingly added, "Metaphorically speaking." as everyone shot her a horrified looks and scathing glares.

"Wha…what is it?" Hermione asked, her voice a little faint as Skeeter and Sue looked at her in surprise. Skeeter's mirth grew as she exclaimed, "You don't—Oh this is wonderful! This is going to be frontline gold! Everyone will be picking up a Quibbler issue for this!"

"And a Mystic Informer." Sue added, looking annoyed as Skeeter grabbed her things. "Yes, yes!" she stated, ignoring Sue's glare as Ginny handed her a copy of the files and papers she had placed on the table.

"Wonderful chat! But I have a gold—no! A platinum mine to explore! Ah-ha!" Skeeter moved to run off but stopped, a devious, almost deadly smile forming as she glanced back at Ness, "By the way Earthbound, I couldn't help but noticed you didn't seem to thrilled to be talking about Dumbledore."

Harry froze, mentally screaming at Ness not to open up that can of worms. Ness looked at her, his eyes an odd shade of black and his mouth placed in a firm thin line.

"Any reason why that is?" Skeeter pressed, her voice honey sweet and sickly.

Sue glanced up, her eyes sharpening, "Perhaps he merely agrees that Dumbledore is unfit to run Hogwarts."

Harry opened his mouth to retort that Dumbledore wasn't unfit for Hogwarts when Hermione stomped on her foot, shooting him a warning glare. Unfortunately, Sue noticed and shot him a plain smile that seemed downright deadly, almost overpowered in malice and genuine curiosity.

"You were about to say he wasn't unfit for Hogwarts, weren't you? But I have a question Potter." She tilted her head, innocent and coy as she bluntly asked, "If he was fit to teach this school then shouldn't he have given you an option for a therapist? Nay, shouldn't he have forced you or urged your parents to take you to a therapist?"

"What?" Harry questioned.

The ice turning into dry ice as Sue pressed on, "I mean, it must have been hard, nay impossible to deal with the fact that your friend was almost murdered in front of your eyes. Earthbound was and might still be going to therapy and required a note so he could work on resting and recovering from the incident but you…you don't seem to be seeing anyone for anything."

"It's because I'm fine." Harry argued, flinching as Sue's eyes darted to Hermione then back to him, "Your friend doesn't agree. She looks worried about you. Perhaps you should spend your next break looking for some outside help."

Skeeter managed a soft, "Ah…" before she scurried off, flinching from Hermione's murderous gaze as she shoved the door open and disappeared outside.

"Thank you for your time, Mary Sue." Hermione coldly stated trying to give her the same glare she gave Skeeter but it wavered under Sue's cool gaze.

"It was a pleasure, anything to bring the truth to the wizarding world." Sue glanced at Harry, curtly adding, "And to those who are blind." Before she gave a nod to Ginny, Ness, Paula and Luna and walked away taking the ice and frost with her.

Harry collapsed in his seat. When had he gotten up to stand? Why did he feel so light headed? He closed his eyes, fighting to keep his breathing steady as he heard a scuffle of chairs being pushed back.

"Well, that went well." Luna hummed, "Got to tackle everything we wanted to."

Everything? Wait.

"You…you wanted them to ask about Dumbledore?" Harry flinched at how hoarse his voice sounded but pressed on, forcing his eyes to open and look at Ginny and Luna who seemed nonplussed by this.

"Vaguely, yes." Ginny admitted.

"Why. Dumbledore's done nothing wrong-," Harry started, struggling to keep himself from yelling when Ness interrupted, "Potter, he's let me in this school. He's let me turn this castle upside down. You can't seriously defend him after how much trouble I've accidentally stirred up over the years."

"He doesn't know how-!" Harry started when he stopped and repeated, "Potter?"

"That's your name, isn't it?" Paula questioned, her tone bringing back the frost and ice Mary Sue had just taken with her as Hermione spluttered.

"Yes, but—Ness normally calls Harry…well, Harry."

"True, but I've recently realized that it's impolite to call people you are acquainted with by their first name." Ness answered.

Acquainted? The term felt like a gut punch to his stomach for some reason. What was going on? Was this a sick joke? First Karma picking a fight with Ron, then Luna and Ginny hoping that Dumbledore was brought up to add him to the pot of deceit and now this?

"W-we aren't-," Harry started when the doors opened and a green cloaked figure with tan skin rushed inside—Karma he realized as the boy stopped beside Ness panting, "Ron—he's coming, and he's pretty ticked off."

"Of course he is." Ness muttered, glancing at Paula who shot him a small smile, "It's alright, it's almost time for me to head home."

"We'll cover you." Ginny promised.

"I wonder if he knows about the Bog Buglers…" Luna mused as Harry found his voice, "Why."

"Why what?" Karma asked, looking surprised then annoyed as Harry demanded, "Why did you pick a fight with Ron!? He wasn't doing anything!"

"Yet." Ginny grumbled, the lack of faith in her brother stinging as Hermione spoke up, "Hold on, what's going on?"

"Simple, Edgecombe lied to Cho Chang about being sick and sent Ron a wild goose chase." Karma stated, looking smug, "It was horrible to witness, the poor girl—Chang—was so upset at her friend. Abandoning her for a boy who abruptly ditched and got them kicked out during their date."

"They only got kicked out because you aggravated Ron and made that scene!" Harry snapped.

"Actually…I think it's more so me telling that waitress that I was the kid who almost got beat up on the train station and Weasley was the attacker." Ness interjected, a flash of guilt crossing his face before it settled into a neutral expression.

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed looking at Ness and Paula who shrugged.

"Well, we didn't want to cause a ruckus so we asked the waitress if there was a back exit and had to explain why we were running." Paula explained, her tone dipping back into ice as she stated, "Not our fault he's built up a horrible reputation."

"He's-," Harry started, trying to say that he's gotten better but wondering if Ron had truly gotten better?

Karma caught onto this and sneered, "Looks like Weasley has a bit of soul searching to do! Not even his own friends believe that this isn't Ron's fault!"

Friends? He glanced at Hermione who was chewing her lip.

"Hermione…it…it isn't-," Harry started when Hermione shook her head.

"They're right though. This sounds more and more like Ron overreacting to nothing."

"Hermione…" Harry tried, feeling as if the walls were closing in as Ness and Paula gave curt nods and left, disappearing into a dark corner as Ron entered, leading a distraught Edgecombe inside. His expression lighting up then darkening when he spotted Karma who hummed, "My cue to leave then, have fun honorary Slytherin."

Ginny shot him a half glare and grumbled, "You're going to wake up with a bunch of snakes in your bed Selvis."

"Jokes on you! I like snakes!" Karma retorted, grinning as he tightened his cloak and walked past Ron, shooting him a look before disappearing outside.

"Why was he here?" Ron demanded, a fierce scowl on his face.

"He's my friend Ron. Deal with it." Ginny deadpanned, returning Ron's scowl as he faltered in surprise.

"I wasn't going-," he started when Ginny shot him a look, forcing him to focus on another topic.

"Er, Harry, Hermione. I'm heading back early." Ron stated glancing at Edgecombe who was struggling not to cry. Apparently for the second time given how red her eyes were.

"Ri…right, we'll catch up to you later." Harry replied, his mouth feeling dry as Ron nodded and lead Edgecombe away. Ginny and Luna shortly followed after him, giving curt "See you later." As Hermione moved to clean up what little she could.

They left an hour before curfew, the sky darkening and the air filled with the warning scent of a storm brewing as they walked down the path to Hogwarts.

It was empty, almost devoid of life given how quiet everything was. It gave Harry a chance to mull over what just happened. It felt like everything had been happening too fast, to quickly for him to properly process and digest.

First, he had left the castle in an okay mood. Ron had a date and Hermione was talking about what to expect and who was going to be there for the interview.

Second, there was the graveyard—he quickly skipped that event—

And wandered into the Sports store to try and recall his dream, his dream involving Ness and warping him back into the graveyard—another skip.

Third, he had tried to find Ness to ask him if he was in that room—why he was in that room and had run into Ron who was angry for Edgecombe when Karma came and provoked Ron—was he trying to buy Ness and Paula time to run? No, Ness could teleport to safety. He wouldn't need Karma's help—with those Slytherins and Ravenclaws—he had seen the other houses getting buddy-buddy but…it rubbed him to wrong way to see Slytherins hanging out with Ravenclaws. They had to be up to something to warrant this.

Slytherins rarely hang out with other houses unless it benefited them.

Finally, the interview. He had said his piece.,Ness had as well then Skeeter had pulled the trigger, manipulating him into spilling more details as Sue swooped in for the kill. Calling him a blind fool and dragging Dumbledore's name through the dirt.

"But isn't she right? Ness IS dangerous and yet he's still here. Why?" that nagging little voice stated, prompting Harry to bite his tongue and mentally rebuke, "Because Ness is needed to stop Voldemort. He almost got rid of Mr. Weasley's magic. He can help stop Voldemort!"

"On his own. Without you."

"No-,"

"Aren't you afraid of that? Of being alone? You try to defend Ron but you flinch at Ron turning his anger on you. Why?"

"That has nothing to do with this!"

"It has everything to do with this. Hermione purposely omitted the fact that Ness was joining the interview. She didn't come to Ron's defense."

"She's just tired."

"Yes, of you and Ron hurting yourself for nothing."

"We aren't hurt!"

"Are you? Ron nearly lost his father. You're unable to even think of a graveyard let alone look at one. You even started blackmailing the one who's supposed to help you-"

"Shut up!"

"Harry?!" He jumped, surprised to see Hermione giving him a startled look, "Are you okay? Did you get another vision!?" Hermione demanded, dragging him off the path as Harry blinked and flushed.

He had yelled that aloud, he didn't mean to do that. Why had he done that? "Er, fine. Just, trying to process something."

Hermione blinked then narrowed her eyes, "Something? Or someone?"

"Er-,"

"Harry, I really think you should do Professor Snape and Kale's homework. You're going to get hurt!"

"Hermione I'm fine." Harry argued, the knot that had been tangling and untangling itself all day melting into a pool of anger and annoyance, "I'm merely tired."

Hermione shot him a stern look snapping, "Tired? Or just unable to come to terms that you ignoring your own mental health is a bad idea?"

"I'm not ignoring my own health!"

"Really?! Harry you had a panic attack on the way here! That is not okay! Mary Sue's right, you do need to talk to someone!"

"Who!? Who the hell can I talk to about this Hermione?!" Harry demanded, facepalming at the obvious trap he tripped into as Hermione rattled off several teachers, herself and Ron.

"Well! That's rich considering how you left out the fact that Ness was coming when we were walking to Hogsmeade!" Harry snapped, feeling triumphant until Hermione hissed "Have you seen the way Ron's been acting Harry!? He's been angry at everything and everyone when it comes to Ness and he's unreasonable!"

"He isn't that bad!" Harry started to argue when Hermione cut him off, "Really?! Since I'm finding it harder and harder to stay around him when he starts ranting about how Mr. Weasley isn't going to be the 'same' and how bad Muggle healthcare is!"

"What? He isn't saying that-,"

"He's implying it Harry." Hermione interrupted, "Why else would he whine and bemoan at Mr. Weasley having scars when he's alive and getting better?"

Harry closed his mouth, she had a point about that. Mr. Weasley was going to be fine, but it would just take time and patience before he was close to getting to 100%.

But that wasn't Ron's problem with it all. It was how Mr. Weasley was going to be close to a 100% recovery. How he would need after treatments and therapy to get close to being able to return to work and resume being a ditzy father who enjoyed muggles and their technology.

It'd never bothered him since he had seen the wonders of wizard magic and understood the basics of Muggle healthcare. Caught up in the awe of how magic could seemingly fix everything. But for Hermione…a girl who's been raised with good parents and exposed to the much more logical side of magic.

"We….we just need to talk to him about it." Harry weakly tried, flinching as Hermione hissed, "Like how you've been talking to someone about your problems? Please! Ron is just going to brush us off and rant about it to his beloved to get some pity and sympathy!"

"My problems are different-," Harry argued when Hermione cut him off again with a strangled laugh, "Different? Different?! Sure they may be different but you both have the same problem. You refuse to listen to anyone when we bring up the fact that you're wrong. You don't need to keep an eye on Voldemort you just want to for some, sick reason!"

"I can help!"

"WHO?! Because you aren't helping anyone when we can't do anything at the moment! This is for the wizards NOT in school, Harry!"

"We can-,"

"We can what? For now, all we and is make the world more aware of You-Know-Who's plans and build up our own skills for the future." Hermione stated, "Why are you trying to do more when we can't-," she stopped and looked at Harry, breathing. "Jealous."

"What?"

"Jealous. You're jealous of Ness."

Something exploded in Harry as he yelled, "I am not jealous of Ness! Why would I be?!"

"I don't know, but why else are you trying to break your own mind getting information about You-Know-Who, who is closely connected to Ness for some reason. You're jealous that despite everything Ness managed to pull through while you were being pulled along like a toy-,"

"Shut up! Hermione now is not the time!" Harry snapped, hating how the voice in his head was urging her to go on, to talk more about the truth lies. "Come on, we're going to be late!" He spun around, fighting the prickling feeling in his eyes as Hermione silently followed after him.

He wished she would say something, maybe ramble on about homework as the voices filled the quiet with sharp little hisses.

"You can't fly to victory. You clipped your own wings fighting Malfoy."

"You can't protect Dumbledore. They're right in a way."

"You can't lead. You can only stumble forward."

"You can't help Ness. You merely make it worse."

"You can't be a hero. You're merely a puppet for everyone to use."

The mantra rattled around his head, growing louder and louder as he desperately tried to ignore the scathing words burning against his mind. He wasn't a puppet. He wasn't! Right…?

Harry. You are almost EVERYONE'S puppet at this point. And maybe even in the official story too given how hard everyone worked to keep you out of the loop only to throw you into the deep end. Although that was probably for the best since while I was surfing the news app on my Ipod I found unpopular opinions for award winning movies and read a statement stating how Harry sort of ruined the movies for the author since they felt Harry was narcissistic and always playing the 'my parents are dead but they were important which means I am to' and 'I'm the chosen one' card while ignoring the fact that Ron is poor and has good reasons to be jealous of Harry's fame- something I forget since the Weasleys' being poor is barely brought up aside from Malfoy's insults- and Hermione does all the heavy lifting to get to the plot.

And wow. She actually DOES. Good thing I'm writing her to be the voice of emotional reason since I've almost NEVER pay attention to her in the books. o-o;

Also, I had a fun moment of whiplash when I went to write Harry meeting Cho for the date that happens in the canon story then realized that, 'oh yea! I saved Cedric! He ain't dead!' and blankly stared at Word trying to figure out what Harry should do while visiting Hogsmeade