"Hello?"

Aly looked around. She stepped out of the fireplace. "Hello?"

She set her bag on the ground and looked around again. The living room was empty, and the television was off. She walked over to the coffee-table in search of a note. There was none.

Perplexed, she walked into the kitchen.

"Hello, Aly."

Aly stopped at the sight of her mother, who was sitting at the kitchen table, holding a cup of tea in her hands.

"Hi, Mum," Aly said hesitantly, joining her at the table. She studied her mother. She looked the same as ever, same brown hair and blue eyes, but she looked more exhausted and weary.

"What're you up to these days?" Joy grinned, leaning forward. "I haven't talked to you since the beginning of summer."

"Well, a lot's happened since the beginning of summer."

"Too right there has," Joy replied, leaning back in her chair, studying Aly intently. "Have you been reading the Daily Prophet?"

"Who hasn't?"

Joy magicked a cup of tea for Aly to drink. She blew on it and sipped it carefully.

"Aly, obviously you know why I asked you to come here. About Adam."

"I knew it," Aly grinned. "Char owes me."

"He thought I wasn't going to talk to you about that," Joy stated.

"Exactly. He tried to be optimistic."

"How are you two doing, by the way?" Joy asked curiously. "Last I saw you two, you looked pretty happy."

"We had our ups and downs," Aly shrugged. "But we're fine, thanks for asking."

"What about the others?"

"Hayden's peachy; He got back together with Kylie. Damien's fine...Amanda...not so much."

"Unhappy because you bailed out of the mission, huh?"

Aly nearly dropped her cup. "Wha-How did you know that!"

"Floo. I decided to stop in for a little peek and I heard you whole entire plan." Joy smirked.

"Oh," Aly said, embarrassed at being caught.

"But at least you had some concern for the parents. You really tried to push it, didn't you?"

"Well, it felt wrong, not going." Aly looked up suddenly, realizing something. "You asked me to come down here because you didn't want me to go, didn't you?"

"Exactly. You're just as smart as your..." she stopped speaking and changed her answer. "You're just as smart as me!"

Aly caught it, but said nothing. "That was dirty. Amanda hates me now because she thinks that I 'bailed out.' And if I try to explain to her that you purposely dragged me down here, she's not going to believe me. She'll think it's some stupid excuse!"

"Well, I had no idea how she was going to react like that," Joy shrugged. "Maybe Amanda has a bad temper."

Aly glared at her mother. "That was completely unfair, Mum. I'm going back to Hogwarts." She stood up.

"Really? I don't think so."

Aly glared at her again.

"The floo network connected to my house won't open until tomorrow afternoon at noon. You can't go anywhere. You may as well sit down."

Aly sighed angrily and reluctantly sat down.

"Now. I want the truth. The whole truth. Have you been meeting with Adam or John this year?"

Aly narrowed her eyes. "Before I say anything, I want your word that you will take absolutely no action. I'll tell you and you can yell at me, but I want your word that you won't go running off and telling everyone, or try to get them in trouble. Because if you do, I doubt you'll see me again."

Joy nodded.

"Fine. I've met with Adam twice in the past few months. I've only seen John once. The one time he tried to kidnap me, if you remember, he was sent to Azkaban. I screamed for help and McGonagall discovered John. Rather than receive unwanted publicity, they put John in the booth in London." She smirked. "Those non-verbal spells come in handy."

"And Adam?" Joy questioned.

"Twice. He surprised me at the beginning of the year, sometime in late September. He only wanted to check up on me. He said he was able to get away from the center for a while to come see me. The second time he surprised me right before break, but Devon, Natasha's crush discovered us."

"You must be joking!" she said loudly. "He saw Adam?"

Aly decided to sip her tea and put it down in disgust. It was cold.

"Yeah. Adam decided to be an idiot and stupefy him. He thought he modified Devon's memory."

"That was a stupid move," Joy agreed. "What happened to Devon?"

"Well," Aly grinned. "We struck a deal. Devon loves Natasha. Natasha's my best friend. If Devon tells everyone about Adam, Natasha will hate Devon for the rest of their lives. So, in order to make Natasha happy, he has sworn on his life that he won't say a word."

"And how do you know he won't tell?" Joy asked, playing devil's advocate.

"I don't," Aly shrugged. "But Devon's a good guy and I really think that he's true to his word."

"Fine, but don't come running to me when your secret gets out." Joy smiled in spite of herself. "Sounds like you've been busy."

"Tell me about it. Char and I had our first fight."

"Really?" Joy asked, her eyes sparkling. "Tell me."

"After I met with Adam the first time, I forgot that we were supposed to go to Hogsmeade. When I came back, Char got all angry because I met with him, and I told him not to try and protect me. Then he goes on about how Adam's dangerous because he's related to a death eater."

"And what did you say?" Joy asked, knowing what was coming next.

"I told him that he of all people shouldn't be talking."

"That was wrong, Aly," Joy said with disappointment.

"If you were in my situation, Mum, you would've done the same thing," Aly pointed out.

"And you've resolved your problems," Joy stated, leaning back in her chair.

"Yes."

"My, my, you have been busy." She leaned forward again. "Luckily for you, I don't have any problem with you meeting Adam."

"Did you slip something in your tea?" Aly asked teasingly. "I would've thought that you would've been the good responsible parent and chastise me for meeting with him."

"Well, he's your friend," Joy shrugged. "But I do think that your earlier plan was a bit out of line."

"Yeah," Aly agreed after considering it. "Maybe we should've only told you, seeing as how you're so nice about it."

"Quite the contrary," Joy grinned. "I have no problem with you meeting Adam, as long as it's in secret, but sneaking out of school by floo without a word is irresponsible. You could've gotten hurt or attacked by John."

"Come on, Mum. It's me!" Aly grinned.

"Yes, but you're not allowed to use magic outside of school, are you?"

Aly fell silent.

"So really, you'd be defenseless."

Aly knew she was right. "So, what do you suppose I do? I do want to see Adam. I promised, way back in September."

Joy grinned. "I don't see why you can't nip there tomorrow morning. With me, of course."

"Really?" Aly squealed with excitement. "You mean it?"

"Sure. But we'll have to be sneaky about it," Joy winked. "Those Ministry guards are like hawks."

"The guards," Aly said, remembering. "Won't they know?"

"I'll take you by side-along apparition," Joy explained. "We'll arrive down in Charing Cross Road and catch the knight bus. I'll just leave a note saying I went out. They're protecting the house, not me."

"Mum, I love you," Aly said as she walked around the table to hug her mother. "You're the best."

"I know," Joy said grinning up at her daughter. "But don't think that I'll be like this all the time."

"I figured." Aly grinned. "Should we bring the others?"

"No," Joy responded. "This is something for you. Even the others admitted so."

"Shouldn't I at least tell Char? He'll be worried."

"Oh, come off it. That boy will be fine for another twenty four hours without you."

"Yeah, but as soon as I get back, they'll ask me what I did. I can't just lie to them."

"Aly, you're my flesh and blood. You must've inherited my amazing abilities to lie."

Aly laughed. "Why are you being so...ok with this?"

Joy sighed. "Truly? I've had the same experiences."

"Really?"

"Yes. Sit down and I'll explain."