Little Hangleton was quiet the night of November nineteenth. The air was a bit chilly but it was still and calm. None of the residents had any concern. So it goes without saying that when a ball of flame erupted near the old Gaunt estate, no one really cared. The Gaunt house, more like hovel, hadn't been inhabited for the longest time. Its last resident, one Morfin Gaunt died after he had been sent to prison for murder and the residents of Little Hangleton gladly let the house ruin. It went undisturbed for years until one night, when a black cloaked figure stole into the house and then left soon after. No one took notice and no one would have brought any attention to the act if they had. The ruin was best left alone.

Harry staggered slightly as he flamed to Little Hangleton. This was his last stop before going back to Hogsmeade. He needed to acquire the ring of Gaunt, one of the last of Voldemort's horcruxes. Once he had it, he would go back to his house and store both the diadem and the ring in a special warded room he had created just to keep the horcruxes in. He would destroy them, but he was sure that Voldemort would be able to sense their destruction. So Harry had decided to wait until the even of his resurrection before cleansing the artifacts.

Harry cautiously approached the ramshackle hut. He remembered the place from the pensieve memories that Dumbledore had shown him just before the old mans death. The rotten carcass of the snake was still nailed to the door; what little of both there was left. Harry reached out with his left arm to open the door and had to bite out a scream as his shoulder twinged painfully.

After the debacle in the bunker, Harry had managed to flame back to his hotel room. Once there, he managed to patch up his arm with the limited medical knowledge he possessed. It would have to do until he was done here in Little Hangleton. "I'll stop by St. Mungos when I get back to London," he muttered to himself.

He pushed the door open gently and stepped into the ruin. The door had agitated the thick layer of dust on the floor and Harry cast a quick bubble head charm on himself. It served two purposes; Harry didn't exactly want to breathe the dust, and he remembered from the pensieve memory that there was a gas trap on the hole the horcrux was stored in. Struggling to remember where exactly the loose floorboard was that hid the hole; Harry began to look around the cottage. Either the Gaunts weren't very family oriented or the place had been pillaged long ago, as Harry found no indication as to who had lived here. As he paced around the floor he suddenly heard a creak from underfoot. The floorboard.

Harry knelt down and began to scan the wood for any magical energy. Fortunately, the only thing he picked up was faded residual energy that indicated a magical family had once lived here. Satisfied, he carefully pried the loose wood away from the rest of the floor. It wouldn't do for him to fall victim to a muggle trap either.

The wood came away cleanly and Harry released the breath he had been holding. He was walking into this situation blindly as this was the only horcrux besides the diary and the locket that he and his friends didn't recover. The only foreknowledge that Harry had was the memory of the memory in the pensieve.

Harry though was relieved to see a green marble lockbox that was bound with silver. It seemed that the ring was definitely still here. He cast an advanced unlocking charm on the key hole and after a click, opened the box. Harry was glad he had cast the bubblehead charm because sure enough, a cloud of green gas came billowing up from the open chest. Harry cast a few airborne scourgifys to clear the air and turned back to the ring in the box.

It looked so harmless, sitting on a cushion of black velvet. One wouldn't think that it housed a piece of the soul of the most dangerous and evil dark lord in history. Harry closed the box and took a moment to rest. He felt he deserved it. The ring was the last of the horcruxes next to Nagini. He decided to let Rose know that he was back in England.

"Hey, Rose? Are you there?"

Her reply was almost instantaneous. "Harry!" she nearly shouted. "Are you back? Hurt? How are you? I've missed you."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's enthusiasm. "I'm fine, Rose, but I'm really tired right now so I can't keep the link open for long," he told her. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm back in England and I'll see you soon."

"Ok, we have a lot to talk about when you do. Just one question before you go?"

"Go on…"

"Any tips you can give me on changing a guinea pig into a guinea fowl and back again?" she asked hopefully.

Harry guffawed. He and Rose were way too much alike. He had the same problem with the same spell when he was a fourth year. It's all about intent. You have to want the animal to change. Now I have to go. Be good."

"Bye Harry."

Harry leaned against a wall with a tired sigh. Even that short contact nearly drained him. He hoped that he had enough magic left to apparate to St. Mungos.

After crawling over to the hole, Harry made sure not to agitate his left arm as he reached down to lift the box. As soon as he began to move it, he knew something was wrong. His consciousness began to feel dark and smothered. Harry dropped the box but it was too late, and a black mist floated up from the hole and enveloped him. The trap had been triggered and Harry was dragged forcefully into his nightmares. His last waking thought was, 'Voldemort sure does enjoy the concutio charm.

(((o)))

The room if you could call it that was black or more precisely nothing. It was as if nothing existed in this space, yet Harry was standing on something solid. He was lost and had no idea where he was, or what he was supposed to be doing. Then he was aware of someone's presence from behind him. Spinning around, Harry nearly had a heart attack at what he saw.

His parents were standing there. But something was wrong with them. They looked, for lack of a better word, incomplete. Once Harry recovered, he tried to move toward them but found that he couldn't. He had no motor control in this…room. "Mum? Dad?" he managed to say.

The two specters focused their baleful gazes on his green eyes and seemed to glare through him. Harry shivered. He suddenly felt very cold. "It's your fault…" they moaned in unison.

"What?"

"Your fault that we died…" Lily moaned.

"If it hadn't been for you, he would never have come." James said.

"No!" Harry shouted feebly. "It's not my fault!"

Then Harry was aware of a third presence to his left. Standing there, looking almost exactly like his parents was Sirius. Harry felt the blood drain from his face. Not Sirius too…

"They're right, Harry," Sirius said in a hollow voice. "If you hadn't gone to the ministry, I would have never tried to save you." Harry shook his head and tried to back away. "I would never have died."

"No…please…" Harry begged. "It wasn't my fault. It…it was Voldemort." It even sounded feeble to his ears.

"Everyone who gets close to you dies," the three moaned together. Harry fell to his knees and shook his head. He tried to deny it, but they were right. It was his fault.

"I-I'm sorry," he said weakly.

"It won't bring us back…" Lily said. "We lost our lives because of you."

Then Sirius said, "Now you have a whole new dimension of lives to ruin."

Harry's head snapped up and he looked at his godfather's specter in a panic. Rose… "No…NO!"

Then, as if on queue, a specter of Rose entered the space. "Why weren't you there to protect me, Harry?" she said in a voice as hollow as James, Lily and Sirius'. "Why'd you let Snape kill me?"

Harry clasped his head in his hand and clenched his eyes shut, but he could still see the four ghosts. Everything was his fault, and now Rose had to suffer for it too. Why did he have to interfere? Why couldn't he have just walked away?

"I thought you loved us, Harry," Rose said sadly, black tears flowing from her sunken eyes. "I thought you loved us…"

"I do love you!" he cried, reaching out to the girl. "Please forgive me…I'm so sorry, Rose."

"I'm sorry…"

(((o)))

"Dammit!" Rose swore for what seemed thousandth time that evening.

She and Hermione were seated comfortably in the Gryffindor common room and Hermione was helping Rose with her transfiguration homework. Or trying to, more like it. The more Rose failed to change her guinea pig into a guinea fowl, the more frustrated she became. And the more frustrated she became, the more she failed.

Hermione was fast becoming exasperated. She just didn't know how to convey exactly how to change the animal. It just came naturally to her, but Rose seemed not to understand. "I don't get it," she said.

"I know, I'm terrible," Rose said with a sigh. She dropped her wand and buried her head in her hands. The best she had been able to accomplish so far was giving the rodent feathers and avian feet.

"No!" Hermione backpedaled. "No, that's not it. You're holding your wand perfectly and your incantation is flawless…I don't understand."

"Then what's wrong?" Rose asked angrily. "Why do I suck so much?"

"That's what I can't figure out!" Hermione said, throwing her hands up in frustration. Rose glared angrily at the bushy haired girl. "No, no, no…I'm not saying you suck. I just can't figure out why it's not working for you."

"So, who are you going with to the Ball?" Rose said with a cheeky grin.

Hermione instantly turned red with the change of subject. "I told you it's a secret," hissed. "You'll find out with the rest of the school next Friday."

Suddenly, Rose felt a mental contact in her mind. It was weak, but she was certain.

"Hey, Rose? Are you there?"

It was Harry! He must be back. At least he was in England if he was contacting her. "Harry!" she nearly shouted. "Are you back? Hurt? How are you? I've missed you."

"I'm fine, Rose, but I'm really tired right now so I can't keep the link open for long," he told her. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm back in England and I'll see you soon."

Rose was infinitely relieved to hear from him. The other night, she had had a nightmare that Harry had been killed, and she worried about him almost constantly. She had many things to tell him, and even more to ask, but she decided to listen and let him go. "Ok, we have a lot to talk about when you do. Just one question before you go?"

"Go on…"

"Any tips you can give me on changing a guinea pig into a guinea fowl and back again?" she asked hopefully.

Rose could hear Harry laugh hard through the link. Even he was making fun of her. Git. It's all about intent. You have to want the animal to change. Now I have to go. Be good."

"Bye Harry."

Harry closed the link and noticed Hermione staring at her weirdly. "What?" she asked.

"Your face went blank there for a moment," Hermione said. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," Rose said hurriedly. "I'm fine. Just trying to think of a way to make this stupid spell work."

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence as they both pondered transfiguration. Intent, Rose thought to herself. If all it took was intent, then the stupid rodent should be clucking and flapping around the common room by now. What was holding her back? Maybe she didn't want it to change. Perhaps, she needed it to but didn't really want it to, hence the partial transformation. She just needed a reason to want it to become a bird. But what?

Did the guinea pig want to be a guinea fowl? Probably not. Then it hit her. She wanted to know that she could change it. That's all there was to it. With a smile on her face, she focused on the feeling she would get when she successfully changed the animal and cast the spell. With a small pop, the rodent became the perfect guinea fowl, right down to the markings on its feathers.

"Oh, Rose, that was brilliant!" Hermione crooned, clapping her hands excitedly. "What did you change?"

There it is, Rose thought. The satisfaction of a job well done. "I just wanted it to change," she explained. Hermione made a confused face.

"Didn't you want it to change earlier?" She asked.

Rose shook her head. "Yes but I didn't know why. It wasn't enough for classwork." She explained. "I needed to find out exactly why I wanted it to change. I wanted the satisfaction of a job well done."

Hermione nodded. It made sense to her. Thinking back, she realized that most transfiguration worked on the same principle. Intent. "I see," she said.

Rose concentrated and then tried a spell that Harry used in the shrieking shack to conjure the leather sofa. She waved her wand and a burgundy colored leather recliner popped into existence next to the sofa they were currently sitting on. Hermione gaped at her.

"How?" she breathed. That spell was very advanced. The only person she had ever seen using it was Dumbledore.

"Intent," Rose said with a cheeky smile. "I wanted a chair that was more comfortable than this couch. So I made one."

"But…but…" she stuttered. "HOW? You even conjured the leather correctly."

Rose composed herself in a playful mockery of Hermione's 'professor mode' and smoothed her robes. Right as she was about to explain, as best as she could, how she conjured the chair, her head exploded in pain and she collapsed to the floor clutching her brow. Hermione was instantly at her side as was, surprisingly, Ginny.

"Oh my god!" Hermione shrieked. "Rose!"

Ginny hesitantly reached out and felt Rose's forehead. "What's wrong with her?" she asked.

Hermione shook her head in confusion. "I don't know. Last time she told us about her head hurting like this it was you-know-who," she said. Hermione tried to get the girl's attention. "Rose? Rose, can you hear me?"

Rose couldn't, in fact, hear her. She was too busy listening to the echoing voice in her mind. It was Harry, and he was in pain and suffering. She heard a constant, 'I'm sorry, Rose…' echo over and over in her head. She quickly raised her Occlumency shields and sat up, rubbing her temples. Finally, she heard Hermione's and Ginny's worried voices.

"I'm fine," she said quickly, getting to her feet.

"Is it your scar?" Hermione asked. Rose quickly shook her head. "It's not?"

Rose glanced cautiously at Ginny, who was standing there looking just as worried as Hermione. Perhaps she should give Ginny a second chance too, but now wasn't the time for that. "No, it was…" she paused with another glance at the Weasley girl. "It was Harry. He's in trouble."

Ginny looked lost but Hermione looked resolute. "No," she said instantly. "You should go get a teacher, probably Dumbledore."

Rose glowered at the bushy haired girl. "Hell no! It's none of his business." She growled. "Besides, Harry doesn't trust him either."

Hermione looked pensive and Ginny lost. "Wait, Harry who? Is he the guy you kissed at the first task?" Ginny asked. "And what's wrong with Dumbledore?"

Rose sighed and looked at Ginny apprehensively. She still hadn't forgiven the youngest Weasley and loathed telling her anything. "Look, I don't have time for an inquisition," she said quietly. She opened the link again, and tried to reach Harry while ignoring Ginny's hurt expression.

"Harry?" she called. "Harry, where are you?"

The link was silent for a minute and Rose tried again. "C'mon Harry, talk to me. Let me know you're all right."

Rose was suddenly overcome with images pain and loss. She knew without a doubt that Harry was in trouble and her worry multiplied a thousand fold. "Please, Harry!"

She then saw images that were vaguely familiar. She saw a graveyard with a statue of the angel of death, a worn down manor, and lastly a run down cottage. Rose recognized them from a memory that Harry had shown her when they first met, but where were they exactly? It took her a moment to remember but then it came to her; Little Hangleton!

"Hermione!" she suddenly blurted. "You can make portkeys, right?"

Hermione nodded hesitantly. "Yes, but…why?"

"I need to get to Little Hangleton," Rose explained. "I need to get to Harry. He's in trouble, I can feel it."

"Rose…" Hermione began.

"Please, Hermione," Rose begged. Hermione sighed.

"I can't, Rose," she said imploringly. "I don't want to get in trouble with the ministry and even if that weren't the case, I don't know where Little Hangleton is. I can't make a portkey to a place I've never been. I'm not that good yet."

Rose looked at Ginny as if the younger girl would miraculously come up with an answer. Ginny just looked hurt and confused. Rose growled in exasperation and stamped her foot. She wanted; no needed to be by Harry's side. Now. Then, suddenly, she vanished in a burst of golden fire.

(((o)))

As soon as the disorientation wore off, Rose blinked bemusedly. Somehow she had transported herself all the way from Hogwarts in Scotland, to the Gaunt house in Little Hangleton with little more than a thought. She glanced around at her surroundings but couldn't see much through the dust that her appearance had kicked up. Still, she was sure that Harry was here, and she called out for him. All she received in response was a slight whimper of suffering and she made her way through the cloud of dust in that direction. When she came out on the other side she gasped.

Harry lay on the floor with what looked like an incorporeal wraith cloaking him, and he was writhing on the ground in agony. Rose hurried over and, against her better judgment, tried to shoo the wraith away, but she only got burned for her efforts. She winced in pain and clutched her blistered hand close to her chest and hissed. She couldn't touch the thing but she needed to get it away from Harry. She didn't know how, but she knew that it was killing him slowly.

She ran through all of her options in her mind. She tried casting a light spell, but that did nothing but make the wraith harder to see. Her stunner passed straight through it and her banishing spell just fizzled before it even reached the thing. Then a crazy idea came to her. She remembered in her third year, Remus teaching her how to cast the Patronus. She remembered that hit worked not only on dementors but on demiguises as well, and the wraith looked like the pictures of a demiguise that she had seen.

Rose focused on every happy memory that she could, most of them being about Harry, and leveled her wand at the wraith. "Expecto Patronum!"

Rose gaped at the animal that erupted from the tip of her wand. When she had first learned the spell, her Patronus had been a stag, just like Harry's. But now, it wasn't Prongs that burst from her wand; it was a brilliant silver phoenix with disheveled feathers on its crest. Her Patronus was Harry's animagus form.

Rose watched with an uplifted spirit as the bird swooped through the wraith and banished it from the dank cottage. Then it flew back around and landed on her shoulder. It nuzzled her hair before dissipating. Her attention was drawn back to Harry when he moaned weakly and began to stir. She ran over to him and sank to her knees. "Harry?" she asked. Harry looked so fragile that she was afraid to touch him.

"Rose." His voice was no more than a whisper. "I'm so sorry…"

She burst into tears and wrapped her arms tightly around Harry. He winced and hissed when she bumped his shoulder and she withdrew quickly. "You're hurt!" she gasped.

Harry pulled himself to a sitting position and leaned heavily against the wall. "It's nothing," he muttered weakly. "I'm sorry…"

Rose tried to blink her tears away. "What for?" she asked bemusedly. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Harry seemed to blink and return to reality. He noticed Rose for the first time and suddenly threw his arms around her, holding her like she was a lifeline. "Merlin, Rose!" he breathed. Rose calmly hugged him back, carefully avoiding his bandaged shoulder. When he finally calmed down, he pulled away shakily. "How did you even get here?"

Rose shrugged, and told him exactly what had happened. "I just wanted to be here, and then…" she made a gesture like an explosion with her arms. "Foof! It was really hot then I was here."

Harry smiled weakly and his eyes began to dim. "I guess we know what your animagus form is…" he said. Then he lost consciousness.

"Harry!" Rose shrieked. She shook him gently but elicited no response from him. Rose was at a loss for what to do. She didn't know exactly how she ended up here but she was pretty sure that she couldn't go back the same way, so she lay Harry down after casting a cushioning charm on the floor. She tried to make him as comfortable as possible while she pondered her next move.

While she thought, she noticed a ring on the floor by Harry. She figured that it was what Harry had sought after by coming here and gingerly picked it up and put it in her pocket. As she did so, she felt dirty, like the ring was trying to invade her. Once she put it in her pocket, the feeling faded, but Rose couldn't forget it. She didn't realize until then just how dangerous the horcruxes were. She unconsciously rubbed her hands together as if trying to clean them while she turned her thoughts back to their current situation.

She nudged Harry again and got no response. It looked like he was going to be dead to the world until she got some help, but she wasn't sure if there were any wizarding healers in the nearby village of Little Hangleton. Eventually, at a loss for any ideas, she decided to try and teleport the two of them back to the hospital wing in Hogwarts. The problem was that she had no idea how to go about doing it. When she had flamed here she had simply wanted to be by Harry. She had wanted it with every fiber of her being. Maybe that would work in reverse. She just had to make sure that she took Harry with her.

Gently, she took hold of Harry's shirt and closed her eyes and began to concentrate. She focused on the hospital wing and every detail she could think of. Merlin, she had been there enough times to know how many ceiling tiles there were in the ward. Once she had a clear picture, she focused on being there. She wanted, needed for her and Harry to be there and be cared for. Then miraculously and without warning, the two of them were enveloped in golden flames and vanished, leaving a burning and smoldering cottage behind.

(((o)))

Poppy Pomfrey wasn't busy today. Indeed, she was a bit bewildered that she hadn't had so much as a firstie with a cauldron burn, but she wasn't one to look a gift thestral in the mouth. No, instead she decided to enjoy a nice cup of earl grey tea while she organized her potions stock. She was inwardly relieved that she had a day off. With all the emergencies she had faced since the Potter girl had started at Hogwarts, she hadn't had so much as a weekend to herself. That and her potions stock was so disheveled it took her an appalling ten seconds to find most of her potions.

Clucking her tongue, she began to sort her potions how she preferred; alphabetically and by effect. From left to right she organized them from the least severe; mild head ache potions and pepper-up's to the most severe; skele-gro and dreamless sleep. She was about halfway through it when her personal wards alerted her that someone had entered the wing. Most curiously, they hadn't come in through the doors.

She bustled out into the ward proper and stifled a scream. Smoking, singed and huddled in the middle of the room was none other than Rose Potter.

"I really need to work on that," she muttered.

Madam Pomfrey hurried over to the girl and quickly helped her to her feet. She began to check the red head over for injuries. "Dear lord, young lady, what have you been doing?" she said.

Rose opened her mouth to reply but didn't have the chance as Pomfrey frog marched her over to a bed; the same bed she stayed in every time she was admitted into the wing. The nurse was muttering something to herself about no common sense as she forced Rose to sit on the bed and began to check her over. She interrupted Rose every time the girl tried to say something. Finally, she sighed in exasperation. "There is nothing wrong with you!" she snapped.

"Not me!" Rose snapped back, pointing at Harry's slumped form on the floor. "HARRY!"

Madam Pomfrey seemed to come to her senses as she stared at the smoking, bloody form for the boy on the stone floor. "Merlin's beard! What happened to him?" she asked as she levitated him into a bed. Rose stayed mum and Pomfrey looked at her expectantly. "Well?" she asked in exasperation.

"I…I can't say," Rose said softly. "Just make sure he's okay…please?"

Poppy always had a soft spot in her heart for the girl and her stern façade faded. She sighed, "Very well. I'll need you to go fetch the headmaster and-"

"No."

"Pardon?"

"Dumbledore doesn't need to know," Rose said patiently.

"I beg your pardon, but-" Pomfrey began but Rose interrupted her again.

"The last thing Harry wants is for Dumbledore to know that he's here," Rose explained. "I would have brought him to St. Mungos but I wasn't thinking clearly. Please, just treat him so he can go back to Hogsmeade."

Realization dawned on Madam Pomfrey. This was Harry Evans, the new face in Hogsmeade and Rose's boyfriend. She thought the boy looked familiar and she could tell how people mistook him for James Potter. "Fine then," she said. "But I want you to go and get some rest and get cleaned up."

"You'll have to levitate my cold dead corpse out of here before I'll leave Harry." Rose growled.

Poppy simply nodded.

"And don't you dare think of getting the Headmaster involved." Rose added. "And thank you."

(((o)))

Harry cracked his eyes open and immediately shut them. The early morning light streaming in the windows burned and agitated his headache. Slowly, he opened them again and squinted up at the ceiling. He recognized the ceiling tiles. He was in the hospital wing. He sighed; even after graduating it seemed that he was still fated to end up here. He took a moment to gather his wits and tried to sit up, only to find a comfortable weight on his chest.

Glancing 'down' he noticed that Rose was snoring blissfully, her head pillowed on his stomach. She had his right hand clasped in both of hers and was drooling slightly. Harry smiled fondly. The last thing he could remember was saying some cheeky comment about her animagus form before passing out. He assumed that she managed to get the two of them back to Hogwarts. He took a moment to find out who exactly in the castle knew of his presence.

Hogwarts informed him that she had made sure that Dumbledore was completely in the dark and told him that the only two people that knew were Madam Pomfrey and Rose. Rose had made sure that Poppy wouldn't tell anyone either. He sighed in relief and the motion woke Rose.

Rose lifted her head from Harry's torso and blinked blearily. She wiped her wet cheek on the sleeve of her robes before noticing Harry's amused grin. "Morning, beautiful," he said cheekily.

"Harry!" Rose shrieked, throwing herself fully onto him. She began to sob and blubber something about losing him but Harry couldn't make out anything clearly enough.

"Hey, hey now…calm down," he soothed, rubbing calming circles on Rose's back. "I'm fine now thanks to you. How long was I out anyway?"

Rose sniffled and calmed herself down. "Two days," she said wiping her eyes and smiling at Harry. "It's Monday now."

"Have you been here the entire time?" Harry asked. Rose nodded. "Well thank you."

Then Rose's demeanor completely changed. She scowled at Harry and slugged him hard on the shoulder; the uninjured one fortunately. "Don't you EVER do that to me again, Harry!" she growled. Harry had the good graces to grimace. "If you feel like going off on some stupid adventure again, you are taking me, no questions asked."

"Yes dear," Harry said impishly. Rose glowered at him. "Sorry…" Harry then realized that he had forgotten the ring. He began to rummage around in his discarded clothes for his shrunken chest and looked for any sign of the horcrux.

"Looking for this?" Rose asked, pulling the ring from her pocket. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and took it from her. Rose rubbed her hand on her robes.

"Oh thank Merlin," Harry said. "Feels nasty, doesn't it?"

Rose nodded. "Slimy or something."

Harry reached up and brushed a finger over Rose's scar. "It's because of this," he explained. "You can feel the piece of the soul in the ring."

"I don't like it…"

"I wouldn't expect you to."

Madam Pomfrey chose that moment to enter the ward from her quarters and Harry hurriedly put the ring into his shrunken trunk. "I thought I heard voices out here," she said as she fastened the tie on her dressing gown. "How are you feeling Mr. Evans?"

Harry blinked for a moment in confusion before realizing that, of course she would know about him and his alter ego. "I'm doing much better now, thanks to you Poppy."

Madam Pomfrey blushed demurely. "Yes well," she glanced at Rose. "I suppose I should be able to discharge you after a last check up. Tell me, what caused your coma. Do you know?"

Harry nodded. "I was affected by the concutio charm," he said. Poppy blanched and hurried to her potions stores while Harry rambled on. "Stupidly I might add. Never thought to check for that stupid charm… Why do they call it a charm anyway? It should be a curse."

"Harry, you're rambling," Rose said.

Harry shut up. Madam Pomfrey bustled back to his bedside and handed him a colorful orange potion. "Drink that," she ordered, and Harry quaffed the potion. "It should relieve the after effects of the charm."

Harry smacked his lips. The potion was really rather tasty; like mangoes. "That wasn't that bad," he remarked.

"It's from my personal stores," Poppy explained. At Harry's raised eyebrow she elaborated. "I flavor all of my potions. I figure that the fouler tasting the potions I give the students, the less likely they'll want to end up here."

"I KNEW it!" Rose blurted. Harry struggled to keep his mirth contained.

"Anyway, think I'm well enough to leave?"

Madam Pomfrey checked him over and clucked in satisfaction. "I suppose so, Mr. Evans," she said. "Just make sure to take it easy on your shoulder for a few days and you should be right as rain. I still think we should inform the Headmaster."

Harry instantly went serious. "No. Please don't. Albus and I won't get along very well."

Poppy sighed in resignation. "Very well then, but I should warn you; the castle has most likely already informed him."

Harry smirked mischievously as he picked his clothes up and took them behind a screen to get dressed. Rose instantly began to fantasize about a nearly naked Harry. "Hogwarts won't tell Albus anything Rose and I don't want her to," he called. He emerged moments later, dressed and ready to leave. "And thank you for caring for me, Poppy."

"Yes, well," Poppy said with a pleased smile. She almost never received thanks. "Just don't go getting yourself hurt."

Harry turned to Rose. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

Rose scowled in the general direction of the Headmaster's offices. "The old man forbade me from going."

Harry simply smiled. "What he doesn't know won't hurt us, will it?" Rose couldn't help it and smiled back.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Hogwarts will cover for us."

Harry and Rose left the castle undetected and headed toward the village. Harry put his arm around the slight girl's shoulders and held her close. He owed her a life debt now, but it was one he would gladly repay. They walked in silence for most of the way there before Rose spoke.

"I took the Sword of Gryffindor from Dumbledore's office the other day," she said. "I think I left him in shock."

Harry had to laugh. It wasn't everyday that the normally unflappable Albus Dumbledore was left speechless. "Well, I guess I'll have to teach you how to use it. We can work on it after your animagus lessons," he said.

Rose bounced happily, anxious to tell Harry all her good news. "Oh, and McGonagall told me that I can go to the ball with you."

They walked a bit further before Harry said, "Well?"

"Well what?" Rose asked.

"Aren't you going to ask me to the Ball?"

Rose stopped on the path as a blush crept all the way up her neck. "Will you go to the ball with me?" she asked quietly.

"I'd love to go with you, Rose," Harry said, beaming at the girl. "I guess we need to teach you how to dance then?"