Isabella lay on her bed and listened to Hermione reading an article from the Daily Prophet.
"Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, reinstated member of the International Confederation of Wizards and reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, has so far been unavailable for comment. He has insisted over the past year that You-Know-Who is not dead, as was widely hoped and believed, but is recruiting followers once more for a fresh attempt to seize power. Meanwhile, the "Boy Who Lived" -
"There you are Harry, I knew they'd drag you into it somehow," said Hermione, looking over the top of the paper at him.
Harry was sitting on the end of Ron's bed and Ginny, whose ankle had been mended in a trice by Madam Pomfrey, was curled up at the foot of Hermione's bed. Neville, whose nose had likewise been returned to its original size and shape, was in a chair between Isabella and Hermione's beds. Luna, who had dropped in for a visit, clutching the latest edition of The Quibbler, was reading the magazine upside-down as she sat on Isabella's bed, not listening to a word Hermione was saying.
"He's the "Boy Who Lived" again now, though, isn't he?" said Ron darkly. "Not such a deluded show-off any more, eh?" He helped himself to a handful of Chocolate Frogs from the immense pile on his bedside cabinet, threw a few to Harry, Ginny, Isabella, and Neville and ripped off the wrapper of his own with his teeth. There were still deep welts on his forearms where the brain's tentacles had wrapped around him. According to Madam Pomfrey, thoughts could leave deeper scarring than almost anything else, though since she had started applying copious amounts of Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction (inspired by Isabella's success with the Memory Modifying Charm) there seemed to have been some improvement.
"Yeas, they're very complimentary about you now, Harry," said Hermione, scanning down the article. "A lone voice of truth... perceived as unbalanced, yet never wavered in his story... forced to bear ridicule and slander..."
"I notice they don't mention the fact that it was them doing all the ridiculing and slandering in the Prophet," Isabella pointed out quietly. She had received no major physical or magical damage, but Dumbledore had insisted she stay in order for her mind to recuperate.
Hermione read down the newspaper and threw it aside with a scathing remark about the "Exclusive Interview with Harry Potter".
"Daddy sold it to them," said Luna vaguely, turning a page of The Quibbler. "He got a very good price for it, too, so we're going to go on an expedition to Sweden this summer to see if we can catch a crumple-horned snorkak."
"That's fantastic," Isabella said warmly, knowing how much Luna had wanted to go looking for the mythical creature.
"So, anyway," said Hermione, sitting up a little straighter and wincing. "What's going on in school?"
"Well, Flitwick's got rid of Fred and George's swamp," said Ginny. "He did it in about three seconds. But he left a tiny patch under the window and he's roped it off -"
"Why?" said Hermione, looking startled.
"I think he left it as a monument to Fred and George," said Ron, through a mouthful of chocolate. "They sent me all these, you know," he told them, pointing at the small mountain of frogs beside him. "Must be doing all right out of that joke shop, eh?"
"Did they send the incantation to put up the swamp?" Isabella asked, a little disappointed.
"No, they - what?" Ron asked, his mouth gaping open and revealing a mash of chocolate.
"How did you know there was an incantation to put up the swamp?" Ginny asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Oh, I - well," she blushed as all eyes, save Luna's, turned towards her. "Oh, all right. I knew the spell all along. Fred and George showed me before they set it off. I just wanted to see Umbridge suffer."
All seven of them looked around. Professor Umbridge was lying in a bed opposite them, gazing up at the ceiling.
"Madam Pomfrey says she's just in shock," whispered Hermione.
"Sulking, more like," said Ginny.
"Yeah, she shows signs of life if you do this," said Ron, and with his tongue he made soft clip-clopping noises. Umbridge sat bolt upright, looking around wildly.
"Anything wrong, Professor?" called Madam Pomfrey, poking her head around her office door.
"No... no..." said Umbridge, sinking back into her pillows. "No, I must have been dreaming..." Hermione and Ginny muffled their laughter in the bedclothes while Luna and Isabella shared tired smiles.
The others fell into a conversation about Divination teacher and prophecies, while Isabella allowed her attention to wander. Her eyes drifted to the window and its tall peak reminded her irresistibly of the archway. She only snapped back to the present when Harry stood suddenly and abruptly said goodbye.
After a while Neville and Ginny left and Ron drifted off to sleep, his mouth hanging open slightly and a struggling chocolate frog still trapped in his hand. Luna folded her copy of The Quibbler and put it in her pocket.
"So," she said conversationally. "What did Dumbledore tell you about the veil?" Isabella blinked, and roused herself slightly with a nervous shifting of weight.
"Uh..." she hesitated, not sure how much she should tell Luna. Hermione was looking on curiously and Luna's large eyes were staring at her expectantly. Isabella suddenly remembered that Luna could see the Thestrals.
"Who was it?" Isabella asked abruptly. "Who did you see die?"
"My mother," Luna said simply. "She was quite an extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to experiment and one of her spells went rather badly wrong one day."
"I'm sorry," said Isabella, immediately regretting asking. But now that she knew about it, she felt that she could tell Luna about the veil. "But it's not as though you'll never see her again, is it?"
"Er - isn't it?" Hermione asked uncertainly. Isabella shook her head, keeping her dark eyes locked on Luna's.
"They are there, just beyond the veil," Isabella told her.
"You mean..."
"In the room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, that's all," she explained to Luna. "You heard them." Luna's face was impassive for a moment, then the tiniest of smiles tugged the corners of her lips.
"Are you sure?" she asked, sounding slightly hopeful.
"I was there," Isabella assured her.
"Did you see them?" Isabella hesitated, then shook her head.
"I din't go all the way through the arch," she explained. Luna seemed satisfied by this; she stood, gave Isabella and Hermione a little wave, then turned and skipped down the length of the ward.