- Legolas -

I do not like this place. I realize I've said this before, but I do not like this place.

And our research is getting us nowhere. I hate not knowing what I'm doing. Ask Kayli. Any time.

I rub my temples and tune out the droning of the supposed 'Seer.' Seer, my immortal ass. I've met trees with more precognitive ability. And I am not exagerrating.

I walk out of the room without excusing myself. Conversation in the room stops when I step away from the window, and I hear it resumed in whispers when I close the door behind me. I could understand them if I wanted...but I really don't. I retrieve my bow and quiver from our room and go outside.

I'm practicing when Kayli finds me. The three young ones are with her, Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Ron is looking from me to my targets with wide eyes. Hermione has yet to look up from her book. Harry seems to be examining my bow with curious eyes. Kayli's leaning against the tree and rubbing her eyes. She didn't sleep very well last night.

"You're good," Ron says, sounding impressed.

Kayli snorts. That is one of the most disgusting noises I've ever heard a human make and it is absolutely impossible to get her to break that habit. I thought my brother's wife was going to die when she heard Kayli make that noise. Of course, we were talking about spider-hunting at the time, and my brothers are a bit descriptive. I don't think she wanted to be invited along. She does NOT like spiders.

"You'd be good if you had thousands of years of practice, too," she mutters, and leans her head against the tree, closing her eyes.

"Thousands of years?" Ron blurts.

I sigh. Explaining immortality to mortals is like explaining flying to a fish. Or so I would assume, anyway. They just don't get it.

"It's a long story," I say instead, and go to retrieve my arrows. Kayli follows me, and the children settle beneath the tree. I watch Hermione drag out a book and try to tempt the boys into studying, but it seems to be a lost cause.

"Harry wants to learn how to fight," Kayli says.

I sigh. Sometimes, she is far too good-hearted for her own good. "And you agreed to teach him."

She winces, and mutters something about the little voice in her head sounding like me for a reason. I ignore that. If she's losing her mind, I definitely want to be the last to know. "Not...all of them. They all wanted to learn, you know."

I sigh and rub my temples. "Why?"

Kayli suddenly ducks under my arm and...rather burrows against me, like she has a tendency to do when she needs to tell me something, but really doesn't want to. "Because, apparently, he's had an evil Dark Wizard out to kill him since he was a baby, his godfather JUST died, he doesn't think he can beat this dude with conventional magic, whatever the hell that is, and it's not like I could ask for parental permission, because he doesn't HAVE parents, they were killed by that same evil dark wizard, and his godfather's dead too, and the only people he really has for parents are that crazy Dumbledore guy and his best friends parents, which is great, I guess Ron has this great, huge family, I mean, apparently he has more brothers than you do, but -"

She will not stop talking. There is only one tried and true method of shutting her up. And even THAT doesn't always work, you know.

She makes a startled little "Hmph!" sound. Behind me, I hear someone clear their throat. Then there's the sound of a fist hitting flesh, and Ron yells "OW!" Kayli giggles and pulls away from me, smiling at them. "They're so cute," she whispers.

I laugh. You wouldn't think this, from the tough, cynical exterior she presents to the world, but she's actually...very soft towards people. Even children, as much as she says she hates them.

- Harry -

I really don't think he's so bad, once you get used to him. He's startling, at first, and a bit frightening, but other than that, he's all right. And, quite obviously, Kayli adores him. They're...cute. You can tell she's babbling, even from this distance, and even though she seems to have her face burrowed into his chest.

And when he tilts her head up and kisses her, apparently to shut her up, Hermione makes this little 'aww' noise that makes Ron blush, mutter, and stare at his shoes. I just smile. Some things, like this, I kind of understand. I can see that kind of affection, that deep love, in the present and the future. Right now, I see it with Ron's parents, although they're not quite as...uh, as public with their affection as those two are. And I can see Ron and Hermione being the same bloody way in the future.

It's going to be great. I hope I see it. I hope I live that long. I hope we can make it possible for them to have it. To have...tons of little sprogs with freckles and bushy red hair and lots of books.

I want it to happen. I want it to happen so bad it makes my throat tight. And when I think that Voldemort might take that away from them, just like he took my parents away from me, Neville's parents away from him, Sirius away from Remus...I get so angry that I think if he was right in front of me, I'd kill him or die trying.

Which is sort of the point, I guess.

We start a slow trek back to the castle, Hermione and Kayli engaged in another debate about some Muggle story, something about a demon, an angel, and the end of the world. Legolas has his arm around her waist. I swing my arm around Ron's shoulders. He grins at me and swings his back around mine.

And I watch with a small smile as he winds his fingers through Hermione's.

It's perfect, really.

- Neville -

I really have no idea WHY Gran acts the way she does. My grades have improved drastically since last year, and she was quiet after the whole thing with the Ministry, but now she's harping even more on the fact that I'll never be as good as my father.

Hermione was the one who pointed at that, well, if I kept listening to what she was telling me, I'd never live up to my full potential. Or something like that.

Really, it sounds like a load of rubbish to me, but I would never tell Hermione that. She's smarter than me, so she should know what she's talking about. And I don't mean that in a self-...self-putting-down way, Hermione's smarter than everybody.

Um. Anyways.

I like it up here, especially at night. Of course, that's what the Astronomy Tower is for. It's usually not occupied today, since there's early classes tomorrow, and all the snoggers are in broom closets and wardrobes and empty classrooms. So speaketh the Voice Of Experience In Opening The Wrong Doors And Then Wanting To Gouge His Own Eyes Out With A Spork.

It's not empty tonight, however. There's a young girl - well, woman, really - balanced on the edge of the tower, her legs hanging over the edge, seeming very intent on not looking down. I've seen her with Harry, Hermione, and Ron lately. I recognize her because of the hair. There's nobody else with hair like that at Hogwarts. it's long, black, and looks like she doesn't do much with it. Including brush it.

She glances back over her shoulder at me and smiles slightly. "Hi," she says casually, swinging her legs back over to this side of the ledge. I breathe a sigh of relief. I really didn't want to be up here if she fell. "Shouldn't you be in bed? If the nasty guy with the cat catches you, you'll probably be in detention for a month."

I manage to nod and clutch my telescope. "I just...I just wanted to look at the stars," I mutter. Merlin, could I sound any more pathetic?

She shakes her head. "It's okay, kid, I'm not going to turn you in." She looks at me curiously, probably taking in the fact that I'm wearing a dressing gown and pajamas and a Gryffindow scarf and no shoes. I blush. "Do you have a name?" she asks.

I mutter my name at my telescope, and she leans forward slightly. "What was that? Didn't quite catch it."

"Neville Longbottom," I snap, loud and clear.

She grins at me, and holds out one hand. "Kayli."

I manage to smile and shake her hand. She tilts her head back to look at the stars, looking sad for a moment. So sad, in fact, that it looks like she's almost beyond crying. Or maybe as if she's realized it's a useless pastime, that it won't bring back whatever's she's missing. I learned that lesson a long time ago.

"Is something wrong?" I ask.

Kayli smiles at me, this sad smile that reminds me of Harry, when he's watching Ron and Hermione argue, or the twins come up with another brilliant scheme. "I guess I'm just missing home." She gestures at the stars, like it's all their fault. "Not even the stars are the same here."

I stare at her. "Aren't the stars the same everywhere?" I blurt out. "I mean...they're in different PLACES, but they're the same stars everywhere."

She smiles at me. "Not where I'm from, honey." She sits back down on the ledge and gestures towards my star chart. "So what's this for, anyway?"

TBC...