Sequel to "THORNS"

- Of Earth & Stars -

Chapter 25: 1992 - 1993

August 1992

"Good night, Geoff."

"Good night, Suri," Geoff Marker replied. There was a longing sort of sadness in his eyes. Suri looked down, unable to meet his gaze for very long. When Geoff reached out, gently tilting her chin up to look at him, Suri's entire body tensed. Geoff Marker, for as long as she'd known him, had always been incredibly kind, but physical touch could still catch her off guard. Something like sympathy flashed in Geoff's eyes. He didn't know about her assault, he just thought she was jumpy. He smiled gently.

"Hey, don't look sad like that. No hard feelings, I promise."

"Okay, I'm so sorry." Suri tried her best to smile and Geoff chuckled gently. What else was there to say? Geoff had walked Suri back home in Vienna, and when they were halfway there, she told him they couldn't see each other anymore. They dated for nearly five weeks, Suri knew she wasn't as invested as Geoff. She and Granna decided to move back permanently to Northern Ireland and would leave before the end of summer. Since then, Suri saw no point in growing attached. Geoff would always be a good friend—he was Mia's older brother after all—but unfortunately nothing more.

"You don't need to apologize," Geoff laughed taking a step back and letting go of Suri's chin. "You gave us a go and that's all I wanted. At least now we know we're better off as friends. We are still friends, right?"

"Of course we're friends, Geoff. I wouldn't get rid of you and Mia even if I wanted to," said Suri. "You'll make someone really happy one day," Reaching into her pocket, she extracted her house key and stuck it into the doorknob.

"You will too," Geoff smiled. He bounded down the steps of the porch before he turned, waved, then disappeared into the night, apparating home.

Slipping into her house for one of the last times, Suri closed the front door behind her and locked it, resting her forehead against the cool wooden frame. She wondered if something was wrong with her. Nate and Gemma were still together and as in love as she'd ever seen two people be. Her childhood best friends from Vienna—Mia and Sophia—and even Carly and Willem from Hogwarts talked about people they fancied so easily. Perhaps it was what happened in October that messed with her ability to be romantic, but Suri felt like she didn't have the same interest in a relationship like her friends did. Or maybe it wasn't her assault, maybe she was just weird.

"Suri, is that you?" Amalia Rosier called from the kitchen.

"Yes, Granna." Suri kicked off her sneakers and padded through the hallway, ignoring the moving boxes littered around the house, and into the kitchen. Granna stood at the kitchen island pouring a cup of tea for herself.

"Make that two," Suri asked, leaning against the counter across from her. Amalia reached for her wand and charmed a teacup from the cabinet onto the island to pour Suri a cup.

"There's mail for you," said Granna, nodding at a thick envelope at the edge of the island.

"Oh?" Suri slid the envelope over to her, immediately noticing the red Hogwarts seal. "It can't be my grades, we got those already," Suri mused, slipping her finger beneath the red seal and breaking open the letter. As she pulled out the letter, a shiny, golden pin rolled across the island. Suri caught it before it fell to the ground. Turning the pin over, Suri's eyes widened when she saw a large, golden P fixed over a background of a partially coiled silver snake atop an emerald green background.

"Is that a Prefect Badge," Granna asked, her regal face breaking into a smile. "What's the letter say?"

Suri quickly unfolded the letter and read it aloud. "Dear Miss Rosier-Black, we are pleased to inform you that you've been elected to be a Prefect at the start of the 1992 term. Your consistent demonstration of ambition, determination, and resourcefulness, key qualities of your represented house, have been noted and deemed as exemplary for our younger students. Please respond as to whether or not you'll accept this position by the end of August." Suri quickly scanned the signature of names at the bottom. It included, Dumbledore, each head of house, and Madam Pomfrey, the school's matron.

Suri turned the badge over in her hands. Even after everything that happened last year, particularly during the Fall and Winter quarters, she still managed to be nominated as a Prefect. She smiled when Granna came around the island to kiss her forehead.

"That's quite an honor, love. I was a Prefect back in my day. So was your mother."

"That makes sense," said Suri, thinking of Tessa. Of course her mother was a prefect. Suri considered the letter and the badge, chewing her lip. "What if I don't do it?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Granna raised a blonde eyebrow. "It's a privilege."

"I know it is, but I don't think I'll have time. Between classes and my apprenticeship with Madam Pomfrey and…" Suri trailed off. She planned to continue her Legilimency studies with her friends' help. Suri had kept this from her grandmother, especially after finding out Granna had given her sleeping potions to suppress her magic. Looking at Granna's quizzical expression, Suri did her best to keep her chin up, even if she felt guilty. This was just one more way she was deviating from her perfect mother. Tessa was tall, Suri was petite. Tessa was a chaser who lived for quidditch; Suri was a former keeper who lost her desire to play. Tessa was a Prefect, Suri wouldn't be. With a smile, she shrugged her shoulders. "Fifth Year is just going to be really busy as it is. I don't want to overload myself."

"Well, I suppose that makes sense," said Granna not bothering to hide her disappointment as she smoothed Suri's stylishly tousled hair. "You know you best. I'll support you no matter what."

"Will you support me if I told Dumbledore I wanted to transfer into Gryffindor?" Suri teased, knowing that Granna , a proud Slytherin through and through would hate nothing more.

"If you must, darling," Granna sniffed, drinking her tea delicately. Suri laughed, reaching for a bit of parchment to decline the prefect offer.

"Don't worry, Granna, the only other house I'd transfer to is Hufflepuff—I'm kidding! I'll graduate a Slytherin because it'll make you happy."

X

September 1992

On the Express back to Hogwarts, Suri found her place with her friends Nathaniel Avery, Gemma Farley, Carly Davis, and Willem Thorne. No one spoke about how Mara Selwyn sat with Marcus Flint and a handful of other Slytherin students who'd seemingly become a tight-knit group over the summer.

"Happy birthday, Suri!" Her friends greeted as soon as she sat and three presents were dropped onto her lap.

"Hurry and open them," Carly Davis urged. "I don't want to be late for the Prefects' meeting!"

For the first time, Suri noticed the Prefect Badge on Carly's robes. "You're going to be a great prefect, Carly! Dumbledore chose well. As for you, Nate…"

"Please, I was born to tell people what to do." Nate flicked at the badge on his shirt. "Open your presents, I haven't got all day!"

Carly and Willem had pooled money together to get Suri a book on the surprising uses of everyday herbs and foliage for healers. Nate bought her a beautiful journal from his holiday in France, and Gemma had bought her a black jumper with a muggle band's—The Beatles—logo. Carly and Willem looked perplexed at this gift, not quite understanding Suri's interest in muggle pop culture.

"These are all great," Suri beamed at her friends. "Really, thank you."

"It's about time you caught up to the rest of us," Nate teased. Suri, having turned fifteen today, was the youngest of her friends.

"Now I feel a little less weird about being a Sixth year," said Gemma. Like Suri, she was young for her grade as well. Nate draped an arm around Gemma's shoulder, his expression saying it was anything butweird that she was older. Everyone refrained from rolling their eyes at the couple, which only egged Nate on to kiss Gemma in front of them all.

"That's my cue to leave," Carly groaned, rising to her feet. "I don't know about those two, but I'm not going to be late for my first Prefect meeting."

"Okay, okay, we're coming," said Nate as he stood, pulling a blushing Gemma to her feet. Willem opened his mouth to make an inappropriate joke but the glares from all the girls in the car made him refrain. Instead, he and Nate wiggled their eyebrows at each other.

"Don't be gross," Suri frowned just as Gemma and Carly smacked both of Nate's arms.

"Ow," Nate exclaimed, frowning at the girls as they left the compartment. Glancing back at Suri, he grumbled, "see you in a little bit."

With all the prefects gone, leaving Willem and Suri, Willem cleared his throat. "Er, Suri," he asked, shifting uncomfortably. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She could sense Willem's tension as he looked down at his dark hands. Following Gemma's and Nate's public display of affection, Suri briefly panicked, thinking Willem was about to ask her out.

"Well, I was thinking about trying out for quidditch this year. I know you don't play anymore, but I was hoping you could give me some advice. Anything at all would help."

"Okay," Suri relaxed, holding back a relieved sigh. "I mean, I could tell you some things, but I think asking Nate or someone else still on the team would be better. They would be able to tell you what Flint wants this year."

"I guess you're right," said Willem, looking slightly crestfallen. "You're a brilliant flyer so I was hoping you could share your secrets. I think a lot of people are trying out this year and I really want to stand out."

Suri fidgeted uncomfortably. Even if she didn't play, she still loved quidditch as a whole, but thinking about Slytherin's team was too close an association to Marcus Flint. Still, the determination in Willem's eyes was admirable. "If I was looking for players to join the team, I would look for someone who can multitask without falling off their broom. I'd want to know my teammates can fly forward and backward andcatch a quaffle or dodge a bludger at the same time. Also, I'd look for someone who can follow orders and run a play instead of going rogue and doing their own thing."

Willem laughed. "I'll try to remember that. Will you be okay by yourself if I go talk to Flint about it? Maybe if I ask him early enough, that'll help me."

"Go ahead," Suri laughed, hoping to mask her discomfort at talking about Marcus.

Willem left and Suri unfolded the side table beneath the window, propping her feet up on it. Suri had just cracked open her medicinal foliage book when a swift knock interrupted her. The visitor didn't wait for her to say it was okay to open the door. Instead, the door slammed open and Hermione Granger frantically looked into the nearly empty compartment. Finally, she addressed Suri.

"Have you seen Harry or Ron?!"

"No, I haven't seen them...is everything alright?" Suri put her book aside, unfolding her legs from the table.

"No! That means they didn't make it on the train!" At once, Suri was on her feet. Before she could ask more questions, Hermione hurried away, slamming the compartment door shut.

Suri calmly rationalized that there was nothing wrong. Maybe Ron and Harry were in the loo and missed the last call for boarding the Express. They were clever enough and surely there were some witches and wizards on the platform that could help. They're fine, Suri assured herself several times, even as she thought the worst. She'd written to Harry over the summer and on his birthday, but he never wrote back. She tried not to take it personally, but it was hard. Eventually, she stopped writing.

Angry voices outside of her compartment alerted her. Curious, she slid open the door finding, a few compartments down, Marcus Flint and Oliver Wood standing toe to toe. Flint, the taller and older of the two, used his height to stare down Oliver, but Oliver seemed unbothered. Behind Oliver, Hermione stared, nervous and wide-eyed.

"What the hell?" Suri was out of her compartment at once and at Hermione's side. She knew Marcus had a streak for playing horrible pranks on underclassmen that often went too far. "What's going on here?"

"Just telling Flint he should watch his mouth when it comes to people in my house." Oliver's brown eyes flickered over to Suri quickly. He refused to budge.

"Then you should tell that little Gryffindor mudblood that she shouldn't stick her nose where it doesn't belong." Flint sneered, and Suri frowned at the derogatory name mudblood. She heard it almost daily in Slytherin, but it still struck her whenever it was directed at someone.

"Flint." Suri snapped, pushing herself between the two taller boys until they were arms length from her. She held her chin high, forgetting how small she was compared to them, forgetting her fear of Marcus Flint. All of this was replaced by anger and a drive to right a wrong. "That's enough out of you. Hermione wasn't bothering you, and neither was Oliver. Sit down."

Nearby students clapped at her intervention and snickered when the back of Marcus's neck turned red. Glaring, he took a step closer to her. Where he was a few inches taller than Oliver, he towered over Suri. Suri heart raced painfully by having him so close, but she stood her ground. Marcus looked her up and down, before smiling cruelly and backing away, hands up defensively.

Suri took a couple steps back as well until she bumped into Oliver. She lightly pushed him and Hermione toward her compartment. "Let's go," she said, following after them.

"Bitch."

Anger blazed through Suri just as Oliver moved to go after Marcus. Suri's rage made her faster than Oliver. Without thinking, she whirled around, wand in hand, and cast a shower of sparks at Marcus's feet, startling him so much he yelled out loud and jumped into a nearby compartment, crushing Draco Malfoy.

"Did you hear him scream like a girl," a nearby Ravenclaw student giggled. Soon the whole car was laughing.

"Mudblood lover!" Marcus spat furiously. Pushing off of Draco, he rose to his feet.

"Still better than a coward," Suri's eyes narrowed, unwilling to use the horrible word. Her wand was still pointed at him. "If you don't walk away, if I hear you insult someone like this ever again, I swear I won't miss next time." Suri cast another jet of sparks at his feet, and once again Marcus danced away from the sparks. He made a rude gesture with his hand at her before he disappeared into the compartment, swearing under his breath.

Suri slid into the compartment, sitting beside Oliver and across from Hermione. She put her wand away. "I'm sorry you saw that. Are you okay, Hermione?"

Hermione's eyes were wide as she blinked, the way one would if they didn't want to cry. "I'm fine. He's such a jerk."

"Tell me about it," Suri mumbled. She glanced at Oliver who was looking at her with a crooked smile. As her heart raced now, it was for a different reason besides her worry. It was all Suri could do to keep her cheeks from turning pink.

"Why are you apologizing, that was brilliant! I've never seen Flint so scared!" Oliver laughed, bringing a smile to Suri's lips. His expression then sobered as he searched Suri's face. "What about you? Flint really shouldn't have called Hermione anything, but he definitely should have called you those names, either."

"I'm fine," Suri nodded, finally starting to process what had just happened. She'd stood up to Marcus Flint after her assault. She wanted nothing to do with the idiot, but she managed to scare him. Hermione quietly excused herself from the compartment, intent on continuing to look for Harry and Ron. Suri and Oliver were alone.

"You're sure," asked Oliver, noticing Suri's quietness. "I can take care of him, you know. Quidditch hasn't started and I really doubt, outside of Slytherin, anyone would mind if he were roughed up a bit."

"Don't," Suri touched Oliver's arm. "Thank you, but don't. Anything that has to do with him is something I'm going to handle on my own. Besides, if you get caught, that could hurt your chance of playing this year, and I wouldn't want that for you." Looking at her hand on his arm, Suri let go, placing her hand in her lap instead. For the first time she noticed Oliver was holding a small paper bag that looked familiar. A smile tugged at her lips. "Is that for me?"

"Ah, it is, and I think it might have been squished a moment ago," said Oliver, chuckling apologetically. He unwrapped the bag and presented a cauldron cake, the same kind for the past five years. "Happy birthday, Suri. I heard Hermione run up and down the Express looking for Potter and Weasley. A couple of us went to help her look, then I notice the trolley witch go by. I thought I'd run into you while we helped Hermione look."

Suri unwrapped the cake and broke it in half for Oliver to share. It was a bit flattened, but still she took an appreciative bite. "Yum," she said around a bite of gooey chocolate cake. "Still good."

X

November 1992

"Okay now bend your arm like this. Good..." Suri sighed heavily for the fifth time while she instructed Harry through a series of stretches following the regrowth of bones in his arm.

"Suri, er, are you okay?" Harry asked, adjusting his glasses with his other hand. "You seem upset."

"Wiggle your fingers," Suri commanded. She sighed again. "That idiot professor charmed the bones outof your arm when all he had to do was walk you to the infirmary to have Madam Pomfrey heal it. I told Nate that man was a sham. Make a fist, please."

"So you're not a fan of Lockhart," said Harry. Suri fixed him with a look and he smiled a little, showing he was teasing. After his restless night in the hospital, Harry wasn't a fan either.

"I'm willing to bet that Lockhart is a fraud," said Suri, folding her arms across her chest and taking a step back. "Your bones and ligaments all seem normal. They shouldn't prevent you from playing your best during quidditch."

"That's good," said Harry, relief flashed across his distracted face, as though it hadn't occurred to him that he wouldn't play well. The boy fell silent as he stared at the other end of the infirmary shrouded behind curtains and whispers. The reason why Suri oversaw Harry's arm exercises instead of Madam Pomfrey was because Pomfrey was needed for the horrific attack on a young Gryffindor named Creevy. Suri followed Harry's gaze. Creevy was found early this morning and naturally, the whole school knew about it now.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," Suri said confidently, even if she, like many other students, felt jumpy. "In the meantime, promise me you won't go anywhere by yourself? Make sure you and your friends as always together."

Harry nodded, sighing heavily. Suri was just as worried as Harry was about the petrified kid. Everyone in Hogwarts was on high alert.

"Suri? Erm, I think I need to apologize. You wrote me a few letters over the summer and sent me a package on my birthday, but I never wrote back. It's not because I didn't want to, it's just because I couldn't. Are you angry with me?"

"Oh. Of course I'm not angry." Suri blinked in surprise. "Why couldn't you write back?"

Harry frowned. After a pause, he said, "I wasn't really allowed to use magic or do anything related to Hogwarts at my aunt and uncle's house. So everyone's letters got tied up."

"That's awful, Harry. You're a wizard and doing magic or sending letters by owl is natural for our kind just as driving those car things is normal for muggles."

"Right," Harry smiled weakly, looking away. The way Harry refused to meet her eyes made her believe he was keeping something from her. Before Suri could use Legilimency on him, Madam Pomfrey stepped through the white curtains and joined them.

"Miss Rosier-Black, I'll take over from here. Your shift is just about over. It'll be best if you gather your belongings and escort Mr. Potter back to his dormitory."

"I'll be back in a minute," said Suri. She was allowed to go behind the curtain to Pomfrey's office where she kept her belongings during her apprenticeship hours. Surrounding Creevy's bed were Snape and Dumbledore, conferring in hushed tones. Snape narrowed his eyes at her when she ducked into Pomfrey's office, gathering her jacket and knapsack. From there, she freely looked at Creevy, petrified into place. She frowned slightly. What did this to the poor boy? If he couldn't talk and couldn't respond, maybe Legilimency…

Suri exhaled slowly and pushed into Creevy's mind. Almost instantly she was greeted by a shriek as loud as a banshee's scream and something like an abrupt stone wall that made her quickly pull back from his mind. Swallowing her gasp she stared, wide-eyed. A banshee didn't petrify a person. Maybe Creevy's petrified state also affected his mind?

"Do you need help Miss Rosier-Black?" Snape snapped from beside the boy's bed, glaring at her standing in the doorway. Suri frowned at him, even Dumbledore seemed to sigh at Snape's tone.

"No, sir—"

"Then I suggest you snap out of whatever stupor you're in and answer your friend's calls."

"Mr. Avery and Miss Doyle are looking for you," said Dumbledore in a friendlier manner. "They're here to escort you and Mr. Potter back to the dorms."

"Thanks, Professor," Suri smiled, openly ignoring Snape as she pushed around the curtains. Sure enough, Nate, Gemma and Harry waited for her by the infirmary's entrance.

"Is he still there," Gemma asked in a quiet voice as they walked with Harry to the Gryffindor tower.

"That Creevy kid? Yeah, there's still no change." Suri's words hung in the air between the four of them, heavy and uncomfortable. Suri knew Harry was in the infirmary when Creevy was brought in, so he's seen Creevy's body. Already Harry was having a rough year between crashing a muggle car into the Whomping Willow and the bones charmed out of his arm. Beyond that, Suri knew Draco Malfoy wasn't making things easy for him, either.

"Well we're here," said Nate briskly when they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady leading to Gryffindor's Common Room. Suri raised an eyebrow at Nate's standoffish tone.

"Believe it or not, it is possible to be nice off the quidditch field." Suri looked from Nate's abruptness to Harry's discomfort.

"It really doesn't matter," said Harry, giving Nate a surprising amount of side-eye.

At the same time, Nate bared his teeth. "Who's not being friendly? I am friendly. See? A smile." His smile looked more like a sneer. He had not come to terms with Slytherin's defeat against Gryffindor.

"See you around, Harry," Suri shook her head as she left with her friends. Harry waved before entering his Common Room.

Once they were alone, Suri, with a quiet voice said, "You guys don't have to escort me back to our dorm, I should be fine getting there by myself."

Nate and Gemma were silent, and Suri knew it was because they were all thinking the same thing. The rumors around Hogwarts said something was attacking muggle-borns. If this was true, Suri being part of the most ancient and noble house of the Sacred Twenty-Eight had nothing to fear.

"We know," Gemma said, "but it's a new safety precaution Dumbledore wants us to follow. No student should be found walking the halls alone. And there's going to be an earlier curfew."

"There are talks of quidditch being cancelled, too, but hopefully that doesn't happen," Nate added. Absently, he reached for Gemma's hand. "By the way, we have a favor to ask you."

"Anything."

"Anything?" Nate smirked. "Well then, maybe I should reconsider my favor. I was just going to ask if you'd be one of the upperclassmen we can count on to escort younger students between classes, but if I can have anything…"

"Don't be such a toad," Suri scoffed; Gemma lightly smacked Nate's arm.

"We'll need as much help as we can get," Gemma continued, keeping them on topic. "Some of the prefects from the other houses are refusing to patrol the halls because they're either muggle-born or half-bloods. They're making the rest of us pick up their shifts." It was unspoken knowledge between Nate, Suri, and Gemma that Gemma technically was a half-blood, too.

"Yeah, of course," Suri promised. "But I don't know how helpful others might find me. If there's something out there attacking muggle-born students you know Slytherin is the first to be blamed. We're already being blamed because Draco thinks it's a joke."

"You really should be a better sponsor," teased Nate.

"Ugh,youtry being that twit's sponsor. I'll trade Draco for Theo any day." Suri rubbed the side of her head, as though massaging out a headache. "Anyway, I signed up for that duelling club over the Christmas holiday, you guys should do it, too. With the way things are going, seems like dueling might become a needed skill."

X

December 1992

"Suri I don't know about this," Carly reluctantly followed Suri, Nate, and Willem to the first duelling club meeting in the Great Hall. Gemma had decided to go home for the holidays.

"Don't worry, no one is going to do anything that bad," Suri assured Carly. "There are second years here after all."

"I don't know…" Carly fidgeted with her wand nervously. "I just think it's all silly."

"You'll be fine," Suri assured again. Students gathered in groups around the Great Hall, chatting and waiting for the club to start. In the middle of the room, Suri frowned upon seeing the two professors apparently leadingthe club.

"My two least favorite people," Suri muttered when Lockhart and Snape called the group to attention. Suri half-heartedly listened as they demonstrated the expelliarmus charm and warned all the students to onlyuse this charm. Once that was over, the professors told everyone to partner up. Immediately Suri and Nate paired up.

After two rounds of using the expelliarmus charm—Suri and Nate tied—Snape stormed up to them without warning. "Find a new partner," he ordered.

"We're good as is, sir," Suri responded coolly; Snape narrowed his eyes.

"Selwyn!" He called, glare never leaving Suri, and Mara walked over to them, leaving Carly behind. "You and Rosier-Black will be partners now."

"Sir, this probably isn't a good idea…" Suri and Mara stared at each other, clearly uncomfortable with each other. They hadn't said a word to each other this school year. They even slept at opposite sides of the girls' dormitory now when they used to be right next to each other.

"Afraid, Suri," Mara sneered, her pale face scrunching with hostility.

Unwilling to back down, Suri raised her chin, meeting Mara with a cold and arrogant stare. "Of you? That's funny. Let's do this."

"Bow," Snape demanded when the girls stiffly got into position. Both Suri and Mara bent their knees ever so slightly, neither wanting to yield to the other. Both girls raised their wands at each other.

Snape looked from Mara to Suri. "On three. One. Two. Three—"

"Expelli—"

"Levicorpus!"

One moment, Suri's feet were firmly on the ground, the next, she was looking at the Great Hall, hanging upside down. At least she'd had the forethought to change out of her school uniform, which included a skirt, and into a casual white sweatshirt and black jeans. Even as blood rushed to her head, Suri pointed her wand at Mara.

"Flipendo!"

The jinx sent Mara flying backward and losing control of her own jinx on Suri. Instinctively, as Suri fell, she tucked, rolled, and jumped to her feet, just like falling from a broom. Suri glared at Mara, but kept her wand down. It was cowardly to attack a person when they couldn't defend themselves. Mara was no exception as she struggled to her feet.

Apparently, Mara didn't share Suri's values. On her feet, she jabbed her wand in Suri's direction and shouted, "incendio!" Flames shot forth, creating a blazing wall of flames that were taller than Suri. Gasps erupted from nearby students, even a pair of second years who managed to end up in a physical fight as they quickly moved out of the way.

Suri could feel the fire licking at her exposed hands and face. Through the flames, Mara smirked at her, clearly proud of herself for beating Suri. Raising her wand, Suri waved her wand in a wide arc in the direction of the flames, a look of concentration burned in her grey-blue eyes. Slowly at first the flames shrunk until they were a manageable size. Suri flicked her wrist once and the flames disappeared with a soft crack. In their place, on the stone ground of the Great Hall was a single, unlit match.

Even Professor Snape was speechless as Suri stepped forward and picked up the match. Mara stared daggers at her. Then, without warning, Suri flicked the match in Mara's face. Mara let out an angry growl, attempting to bat away at the match that had already fallen.

Suri, full of spite, gave Mara a mocking bow, ending their duel. "No hard feelings." Suri said loudly enough for only Mara to hear. "About anything."

When she finally paid attention to the other duelists around her, she realized, since Mara's fire spell, and maybe even before that, students stared in quiet awe. Nate and Carly, several yards away smiled at her, as if knowing she could have done so much worse to Mara. Beyond that, Harry blinked at her from behind his glasses, trying to hide his smile. Draco Malfoy wasn't far too far away and he looked like he didn't know whether to be proud of Suri as his sponsor, or be upset because she'd made Mara's attempts look like child's play. Draco was part of Mara's group of ignorant Slyterhins obsessed with blood purity.

Claps from the center of the Great Hall made Suri jumped. She turned to see Professor Lockhart grinning with his too-white and too-straight teeth. "Bravo to a spectacular performance, ladies."

"Don't encourage them," Snape said darkly, his dark eyes fixed hatefully on Suri. "A clear inability to follow orders should not be awarded."

Suri expected Snape to take points from them, but she quickly realized he wouldn't, not when that meant taking points from his own house. Instead, Lockhart and Snape called the rest of the room into attention and managed to rope Harry and Draco into doing a proper demonstration of duelling. Suri and Mara weren't the only students failing to stick to the expelliarmus charm.

Suri stood with her friends, watching Harry and Draco square off. Naturally, she wanted Harry to win, but as Draco's sponsor and housemate, she had to admit that he was quite talented both at quidditch and in classes. However, it was his conceited, narrow-minded attitude, likely coming from his parents, that made it hard for Suri to like him.

As naturally as Suri and most other Hogwarts students in the room wanted Harry to win, Draco naturally chose a spell that wasn't the expelliarmus charm. From Draco's wand, a snake burst forth, hissing and aggravated. It locked eyes with a Hufflepuff boy and coiled, looking dangerously close to striking him.

Snape stepped forward to fix the situation before anyone got injured, pointing his wand at the snake. Before he could do anything, a strange hiss sounded from behind him. Suri paled when she noticed Harry's emerald green eyes lock on the snake and speak. However, he didn't speak English. He spoke in parseltongue.

Rumors of Slytherin's heir being at the school circulated, ever since Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, was found petrified. There was no way Harrycould be that heir.

The duelling club disbanded shortly after Snape got rid of the snake, and the Hufflepuff boy spoke angrily to Harry. "What are you playing at," he demanded, and Harry could barely defend himself. Not even Harry realized what he'd done.

As the students filtered out of the Great Hall and back to their dormitories, Suri caught up with Harry. "You didn't know you were a parselmouth?"

"No," said Harry, confusedly. "I don't even know what that is?"

"It means you can talk to serpents," Suri clarified. Lowering her voice, she added, "it's a very...Slytherin trait. And it looked like you were sending it after that student who happens to b muggle-born." Harry gave her a look that said he wanted nothing to do with Slytherin.

Sri squeezed Harry's shoulder before she caught up with Nate and her other friends. The level of bewilderment on his face was enough to prove he was just as confused as everyone else who saw it happen. "Don't worry, Harry. I believe you're not the type to attack someone out of the blue."

Beneath her fingers, she felt Harry's shoulder relax fractionally, as if knowing someone believed in him was enough.

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April 1993

Spring arrived, and with it, came Career Advice meetings for fifth year students. On a bright, sunny afternoon, Suri found herself in Snape's dank office instead of outside. The silence was almost deafening as Suri watched Snape scrutinize her grades. He held the paper so close to his face, she was sure his large nose touched the papers, leaving behind oil stains.

"So, Miss Rosier-Black, what are you interested in studying," Snape asked, his tone less than enthusiastic. It made Suri want to stay quiet. Snape gave her an exasperated look.

"As much as you seem to believe the world revolves around you, Miss Rosier-Black, I haven't got all day for your insolent silence."

"A healer, professor," Suri said through gritted teeth.

"A healer must obtain and maintain no less than 'Exceeds Expectations' in transfiguration, potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Charms. Your grades indicate quite the dip last year, especially in the fall and winter terms."

"Y-yes. Fall and winter were rather difficult for me last year, but you can see I brought everything up to Outstanding, sir. And I believe I'm definitely doing better this year than last year."

"On paper you seem like a likely candidate to become a healer," Snape grudgingly conceded. "And just because I am your head of house, do not expect any favors or leniency from me should your grades slip at any point."

"I never dreamed of it," Suri answered flatly. "Otherwise, am I on the right track?"

Tight-lipped, Snape answered, "it appears so."

Suri left Snape's office not long after Snape informed her of the courses she should be taking during her sixth and seventh years. If she managed to keep up her grades and maintain her position as Madam Pomfrey's apprentice—plus her stint as a quidditch player demonstrating the ability to work on a team—she would be a strong candidate for St. Mungo's if she chose. Suri actually left Snape's office with a smile, feeling hopeful about the trajectory for the next couple of years. Healing made sense to her, the same way quidditch and Legilimency came naturally.

As Suri walked up the stairs and away from the dungeons she noticed something on the ground at the end of a long corridor. There was no one else around. Chills instantly ran down her spine as she groped for her wand in her robes. Getting closer, she realized the mass on the ground were bodies. Hermione Granger and Ravenclaw prefect Penelope Clearwater stared up at the ceiling with unseeing eyes. A mirror lay between them.

A scream ripped from Suri's lungs. "HELP! THERE'S BEEN AN ATTACK!"

Snape was the first to arrive, and together they levitated the bodies to the hospital wing.

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May 1993

"How're you feeling?" Suri asked Ginny Weasley, handing her a cup of lavender tea with honey.

"Alright," Ginny attempted a smile, though the smudges under her eyes revealed her exhaustion, accepting the warm mug. In the infirmary, she was surrounded by nearly the entire Weasley family, along with Harry. Molly Weasley rubbed her daughter's back soothingly. Both Fred and George were uncharacteristically quiet. However, they'd been mildly threatened into silence by Madam Pomfrey as a precaution. After everything that Ginny had gone through this year, the twins seemed to find it in themselves to follow the rules, just this once.

"I think I'm going to try to sleep now," said Ginny, putting the half-drunk mug on the table beside her then tucking herself into the narrow hospital bed. "I'm so tired."

"Of course love, just rest. Your father and I will be here," Mrs. Weasley said encouragingly. She leaned down and kissed Ginny. Straightening up, she addressed the boys. "You lot better get back to your dormitories. No use in all of us staring at her while she sleeps."

"C'mon, Forge," said Fred, nudging his twin and rising from his seat. "We know when we're not wanted." Mrs. Weasley scoffed quietly at her boys as they kissed her cheek and shuffled out. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley settled in chairs at either side of their youngest child.

Suri nodded at Percy, the twins, and Harry and Ron as they left the infirmary; she was replacing pillow sheets at the beds closest to the entrance. "She'll be alright, right?" Harry paused nearby. Putting down a pillow, Suri pointed to the infirmary door and followed the boys out. She and George walked so closely together their hands brushed. Immediately, Suri pulled away.

"She's expected to make a full recovery," Suri promised. "She just needs sleep and nutrition. Once she's rested, I think teasing her like normal might be helpful too, to make her feel back to normal."

George nodded, with good humor he smiled gently. "You'll take care of her, right, Rosie? I don't trust that Pomfrey woman. She's always telling us what we can and can't do. We have to be quiet, we can't keep giving students sweets that make them sick so they don't have to take an exam. The nerve of her."

"I'll make sure Ginny receives only the best treatment." Suri chuckled.

"You're good at this," said Geroge, nodding to the infirmary behind them. Following an undisclosed experiment that had gone wrong, the twins had to stay in the hospital overnight after a mysterious outbreak of green hives that smelled faintly like moss.

"I don't think George would mind having you as his nurse," Fred called out from a few yards away. Suri chose to ignore the way George's ears turned pink, the same way she pushed down the furious blush that blossomed across her face. Fred grinned until George walked over and shoved into him irritably.

"How about you, Harry?" Suri briskly changed the subject. Harry came to the infirmary half an hour after the Weasleys did. Like Ron, his robes were dirty and battered, but Suri eyed the angry gash on his arm exposed through the tears in his robes. "I was worried about you."

"Y-you were?" Harry looked shocked.

"Of course, I was," was Suri's only response. There was no way to explain to him her sense of protectiveness over past things. "Did you get healing treatment?"

"I did," Harry answered vaguely, "I'll have a couple bruises, but I'm okay. How's Hermione?"

"Snape is actually on his way now to administer the mandrake potion, so hopefully Hermione and the others will be back to normal soon." Suri replied. With wry amusement, Suri remembered this time last year, she and Harry were having their first heart-to-heart in the infirmary.

"I feel like whenever something happens at this school, you, Ron, and Hermione are going to be in the center of it."

"Believe me, I don't go looking for it," said Harry.

"I know. Either way, it's a nice break for me. It means people stop glaring at me long enough to talk about you. And for the sake of your sanity, I hope your third year will be far less exciting than your first two years at Hogwarts."

"Me too," said Harry.

Author's Note:

If I were to divide this story into parts, Chapters 1-25 would be Part One. The next chapters are Part Two, and if you know the HP timeline, be ready for some major characters coming back. :)

Thanks for reading! I'm so glad you're here!

Reviews are love.

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