"Rook, over here!"

George motioned Rook over to where he and Fred sat at the Gryffindor table. Fred begrudgingly made space for her as she sat. Angelina had conspicuously chosen a seat at the other end of the table, and sat there with Alicia and Katie now. The Halloween feast was about to start, and Rook was admiring the elaborate decorations of live bats, countless floating jack-o-lanterns, and enchanted orange streamers.

"This place is incredible…" she said, looking around in awe. She cocked her head. "Should we be worried about guano? I heard bats poop around thirty times a day."

"Just think of it as extra seasoning."

The sound of Rook's laughter only served to remind Fred of her date with Spencer, which had apparently gone well if she was in such good spirits now.

"So, how was your visit after I left?" Rook asked once the feast had started. "I saw you at the Three Broomsticks with Angelina, Fred. I just love that butterbeer stuff they have!"

"It was largely uneventful," George said, saving Fred the trouble of answering. "How was your date with Spencer?"

"It was okay, I guess, but we're not going on another."

Fred and George exchanged a look. "Why is that?" George asked.

"Did he smell bad?" asked Fred, unable to repress a smirk.

"No… Actually, it's funny you say that because he smelled really good..."

"He did?" Fred pressed, surprised.

Rook's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Why do you ask? Did you do something?"

"Naturally."

"Rook, if we're in a joke shop and he's right there—"

"I get it, I get it! I should have known!" Rook exclaimed. "But, wait—was he supposed to smell bad?"

"Hold on," George extracted the Can you smell something? packaging from his robes and read the description carefully. "I don't believe it! These also come with good-smelling stickers!"

"What would even be the point of that?" Rook pondered indignantly.

Fred eyed Rook curiously. "So, if he smelled so great," he said, "what's the problem?"

"Oh, well, actually that was the problem," Rook explained sarcastically. "He just smelled so good, I spent the whole date deeply inhaling his body odor and it freaked him out for some reason."

"Hate to say it, Rook, but I can kind of see where he's coming from," George spoke seriously.

"Yeah, that's clearly third date-level intimacy," Fred agreed. "Constant sniffing on the first date makes you look pretty desperate."

They continued in this fashion as they ate. Fred still wanted to hear the real reason Rook wouldn't be going out with Spencer again, but for now it was a relief just to know that she wasn't.

The feast was delicious, and finished with entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. Fred had such a good time, he had forgotten all about his awkward interaction with Angelina; at least until he caught sight of her as they all made their way to Gryffindor Tower. He hadn't time to dwell on it, however, as he, George and Rook were distracted by some commotion at outside the common room. The corridor was congested with confused Gryffindors, and Albus Dumbledore had appeared on the scene. Soon after, Professors McGonagall, Lupin and Snape joined him, and it became clear to Fred that something had happened to the Fat Lady, as Dumbledore ordered a search for her.

"What happened?" Rook wondered aloud, trying to get a glimpse of the painting through the throngs of students. Fred directed her attention to Peeves floating above them, and they stared as Peeves gleefully revealed the identity of the Fat Lady's attacker: Sirius Black.

The students were ushered into the Great Hall: not just the Gryffindors, but the Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as well. Dumbledore announced that they were all to sleep in the Great Hall while the castle was searched for Sirius Black before providing them with sleeping bags. While the Gryffindors apprised the rest of the school of the attack, Fred looked over at Rook. She was hyperventilating and staring blankly into the distance. George had already noticed, and touched her arm lightly. She jumped slightly and looked at George as though he had jumped out at her in a Snape mask.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Oh, I-I'm fine, I just—" she looked around the Great Hall with a fearful expression. "Wh-where are we?"

George looked over at Fred, his brow furrowed with concern. Fred moved nearer and said, "We're in the Great Hall, Rook. We're just going to wait here until they search the castle, right?"

"Why don't we lie down over here?" George grabbed three sleeping bags and they started to settle into them while the other students were still buzzing with the news of Black's infiltration.

Rook sat on top of her sleeping bag, hugging her knees, and continued to stare blankly forward.

"Rook, there's really nothing to worry about," George assured her. "Even if they don't find him, Dumbledore won't let anything happen to us."

"I'm sorry," said Rook in a quiet voice. "I'm sure you're right, it's just that this whole thing reminds me of… something."

Fred exchanged another worried look with George.

"Camping?"

Rook blinked and looked over at Fred questioningly.

"Well, there's the sleeping bags and the sky," Fred pointed at the enchanted ceiling. "And I'm pretty sure I saw a couple of loose bats on the way down here."

Rook seemed to process this. "I suppose it wouldn't be a real camping trip without an escaped convict on the loose," she said, smiling slightly.

"What kind of camping trips have you been on?"

"George, escaped convicts are a staple of Texas."

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags, and no more talking!"

Rook climbed into her sleeping bag as all the candles flickered out at once. Fred settled himself into his own. He still wondered whether Rook was going to be okay. For a moment she was so out of it, she didn't even know where they were, and she seemed so terrified. She had said that this reminded her of something. What could have happened to her in the past that reminded her of a mass murderer at large?

"All right, Rook?" Fred heard George whisper.

"I am now," she whispered back.

Rook was silent for some time after that, and Fred assumed she had managed to fall asleep. He and George quietly speculated just how Black had managed to get into Hogwarts, and whether he would be found, but after a while, George was unable to stay awake. At half past two, Fred was still awake, simply staring at the starry ceiling above them when he heard Rook's voice.

"Fred? George? Are you awake?"

Fred hesitated a moment, waiting for George to answer, but he was fast asleep. "I am," Fred whispered in reply. "What's up?"

"I just… I got scared again, and I didn't want to feel alone."

Her voice was small and faint. Fred could sense the fear in her tone and was unsure how best to respond.

"I'm here," he whispered at last.

There was a long silence, and Fred briefly thought maybe Rook had fallen asleep when she whispered, "I never told you this, but I… I was adopted. Before I was adopted, I lived with a woman whose husband…" Rook's voice trailed off ominously. "Her husband was a… a bad person. Being here, with everyone afraid like this… I guess it just makes me think of how we would sometimes have to hide from him." Her voice broke as she finished, and Fred realized his heart rate had quickened. He struggled to think of what to say, but he was so taken aback by this new information he was at a complete loss for words.

"Anyway," she continued after several moments of Fred saying nothing. "I'm sorry to just say all that now… I know it's depressing."

"Don't be," Fred finally whispered. "I'm sorry that happened to you…" He paused. "And… I'm glad you're here now."

"Me too," she whispered and Fred could hear the smile in her voice. "Even with a killer on the loose."

The following day brought the news that Black had not been found, and the entire school was rife with gossip speculating about how he had managed to break into the school undetected and then depart without a trace when the entire staff had been searching for him. Fred tried to maintain interest in the mystery of Sirius Black, but found himself preoccupied with the mystery of Rook's past.

She was adopted, and she hadn't told them. He had an inkling, by the way she would avoid certain subjects, that she had been hiding something, but never in a million years would he have guessed this.

Fred had so many questions. Did she know who her real parents were? Were they magical? Was she an orphan? What else had happened to her when she was in the system, before she was adopted?

It occurred to Fred, as it must have occurred to Rook herself, that her parentage may have something to do with why she had been accepted at Hogwarts, but why had she been accepted so late?

Fred said nothing to George. He didn't know whether it was supposed to be a secret. Rook seemed to be back to her usual self. Though it was a Monday, their classes had been cancelled and Rook, to Fred's chagrin, was devoting much of this unexpected free time studying.

"When is she going to be finished?" Fred whined later that evening as he and George sat eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans in the common room. "I don't believe this! We get a day off and she spends it in the library!"

"She's only in the library because you wouldn't stop pestering her," said George, yawning. "And she's only studying so hard because she wants to have classes with us next semester." He put a bean in his mouth and made a face. "I think this one might be dandruff-flavored."

"She said that?"

"Well, yeah. Must be weird being the oldest student in all your classes. Fred, I think I'm done with these. Dumbledore woke us up so early, and I can barely keep my eyes open."

"You're going to bed?"

"Yeah, I think so. Are you staying up?"

"Just a bit longer."

"Remember we have a training session tomorrow," George called after Fred as he departed for the boys' dormitories.

Once George was out of sight, Fred headed for the portrait hole.