Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K Rowling.

A/N: I'm sorry about the cliffhanger last week, okay?

I must admit, I really didn't think Alice would be a character most people would enjoy. My own experience with OCs isn't great, so I thought that my own wouldn't be much different. I am truly honoured that almost all of you seem to love her though, it is more than I ever expected writing the story.

I must thank all of you for the reviews for the last chapter(and all the others), reading them was so much fun, they really do make my day. Every time I post a chapter, I eagerly await what you have to say. So again, thank you. I won't keep you any longer before you get to read, but there will be another A/N at the end, where I clarify a couple of things about the future of this story.

Cheers people!

Chapter 37: Greetings and Goodbyes

-Alice-

The lake glistened in the sunlight merrily, the air practically vibrated above it, as if the heat was boling the sky itself. I tore my eyes away from the beautiful, inviting water and back to the notebook in front of me. The letters written in blue ink seemed to smile back at me smugly, as if rejoicing the fact that, no matter how many times I read them, I didn't remember them.

The Twirling Witch, Walter Hedge, 1896

The Spinning Fox, Sebastian Sallow, 1900

'Dasken', Göran Eriksson, 1678

The Laughing Goose, Chaviet Morges, 1967

The list went on and on and on, until the last one, one page later.

Flattering Frogs, Albus Dumbledore, 1945

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, the sun beamed down on me with mockery. The warmth was perfect, just at the point were you wanted to do nothing but sleep and lounge in the air, begging for a cool breeze.

I heard a couple of footsteps echoing against the wooden terrace behind me.

"Here you are!" Grandma said and placed a glass full of cool soda on the table. "If this won't keep you alert, nothing will."

I rolled my eyes but picked the bottle up carefully. "I hope you haven't spiked this one too," I said dryly.

Grandma huffed and sat down in a chair next to me. "I've told you, that drink was meant for your grandpa, not you..."

"So it is okay to spike your husband's drink, but not your grandchild's?" I confirmed.

Grandma shook her head. "Why do you always make me sound like a criminal?"

I sipped the drink and smiled. "Well, you did lie about my age to get me inside the arena for the final of 'Duelling Days'. That's pretty illegal..."

Grandma rolled her eyes. "Duelling Days is for children, there is nothing an eleven year old shouldn't see going on there."

"I know, I still remember it, you know, even if it was two years ago."

"Good," Grandma said and winked at me. "Then you'll know what it's like when you get there."

I pouted and sunk in my chair. "If I get there," I said and sighed. "There's like a thousand duelling techniques I need to learn before Tuesday... I barely know half."

Grandmad picked the notebooke up and skimmed through the notes with a frown. She nodded at a few, smiled at a couple, and frowned at most. "Your Grandpa used some of these when he was competing," Grandma said. "The spinning fox was one of his favourites."

I set up a little straighter. When Grandpa was mentioned, there usually was a pretty great story to follow. But alas, she put the notebook down in front of me and gave me a pointed look. "You should have started studying for this earlier, not leave it until the last minute."

I pouted and sank in my chair like an air ballon without heat. "I know Grandma..."

"However," Grandma peered down at me from behind her glasses. Her wrinkled, grey hair swished in the cool breeze. "I could help you."

I flung myself at Grandma. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I squealed.

She hugged me back tightly, planting a kiss at the top of my head. "You're still the one who was to learn everything, dear."

I bounced back on my feet, practically bursting with excitement. "But you're like the second best duellist I've ever seen, if you can't teach me, no one can."

She rolled her eyes, but the corner's of her lips curled into a smile nonetheless. "Alice dear, it doesn't depend on the teacher, it depends on how you learn it."

Grandmad got up rigidly and hobbled down the terrace to the field of grass, the lake was smiling at us brightly, reflecting the sun back at us. "Come here, Alice."

I smiled widely and leaped to stand in front of her, vibrating like an ecstatic bee. "Show me, Grandma! Show me!"

Grandma smiled. "Let's start with the spinning fox, shall we?"

I nodded enthusiastically, even though I had no clue what it was.

Grandma moved her wand in a precise pattern, flicking away spells at precise intervals. She was agile as a fox, completely released from the restraints of her age. I wondered if I would ever be able to do the same.

I got the same feeling I used to get when I watched Grandpa duel; the feeling that I couldn't possibly become that good, the feeling that I couldn't possibly become a professional duellist.

Was it really possible for me to become as good as Grandpa, or even Grandma?

Yes. Yes it was.

Becasue Grandpa had told me so, with his last words to me, before he went to sleep forever. He had told me that he saw something in me that he had never seen in anyone. He had told me that I would become greater than him.

He had sounded so sure of it, like it was a certain fact I would.

I would never have thought so myself, but his certainty, his absolute certainty that I would, had convinced me.

I only needed to remind myself in times of doubt.

We continued practising the different techniques for hours, or it felt that way. She showed them to me, made me replicate them, then had me tell her the creator and the date.

Suddenly, it felt much easier, when I had to force the answer out as I was doubled over laughing.

The sky was a brilliant shade of orange when Grandma finally called for a stop and settled down in her chair again. "I hope you'll remember these things now..." Grandma said and closed her eyes. The wrinkles in her skin were deep, her hair looked paler than before.

The ice cubes in the drink she had given me earlier were melted away into nothingness.

"Alice," Grandma said.

I perched up and looked at her expectantly. "Yes Grandma?"

"There's something I want you to understand, for the rest of your studies."

I nodded.

"I know Mr. Hutchingsson loves to have everyone rehearse Gamp's Laws of transfiguration week in and week out and it's not fun." She paused for a moment, opened her eyes to peer at me with the same amber eyes I had myself. "Make it fun," she said sternly.

She breathed out a long breath. "Do you remember how your Grandpa used to practise for his duels?"

I nodded quickly. "With you, Grandma."

She smiled. "Yes, but do you know why? Why didn't he practise against someone closer to him in duelling proficiency?"

I shrugged.

"Because he had more fun with me," she said. "You see, fun is a strange thing. It can make something which should be unbearable the very opposite. I know, this may sound obvious to you, because it is, but it is easy to forget." Grandma smiled absently and stared at the horizon where almost all of the sun had dawned, robbing us of its comforting light. "One of the great faults with school is that they almost always fail at this one fundemental piece of the puzzle. It's like trying to build a house without nails or screws, all the blocks are there for success, but they don't hold together, the bulding won't remain standing."

I nodded. "I'll try to have fun."

Grandma nodded. "Good." She gave me a pointed look. "But don't have too fun okay, I don't want to be forced to have another talk with Chaviet about your behavior in her class."

I blushed and refused to meet her eyes. "I promise you I won't, Grandma."

She nodded, satisfied. "Good, Alice. If you do what I've told you, you'll live to be old, just like me, have a handsome husband, just like me." Grandma looked at me with her bright eyes, warmth and adoration spilling out, into me.

"And have a wonderful grandchild, just like me."

-()-

Harry disappeared through the fireplace in a flash of green flames. I stared after him softly, part of me hoping that he would change his mind and come back. Thing was, if he did, he wouldn't be Harry, would he?

I fell down into one of the couches and tried to process everything which had happened. I had met fucking Albus Dumbledore. I had never even imagined that to be possible.

Outside of the tent, I could hear an ever-growing murmur, a concoction growing closer and closer to the boiling point. The excitement was palpable, even from where I was inside the tent, it felt like it did before the rain; the air was charged with electricty.

That Greengrass girl didn't deserve Harry. He sacrificed all of this for friends who had all but abandoned him. If anyone deserved to have a beautiful girlfriend who loved and adored him, it was Harry.

I fidgeted with the necklace I had been given, my fingers tracing the warm silver of the phoenix; the jewlery always felt warm, like there was constant life burning inside.

I smiled weakly, closed my eyes and thought about my future. That was what I held in my hands; my future. For far too long, this apprenticeship had been nothing else but an abstract dream. Now, it was secured as firmly as the phoenix in my hand.

I heard a ruffle from the entrance of the tent; it was Harry's teacher. He smiled at me happily. "Ms. Martson!" he exclaimed, he looked around the tent. "Mr. Potter is visiting the loo, I suppose?"

I grimaced and rubbed my face tiredly, why did Harry have to leave all of this responsibility here with me?

"He's not..." I said. I frowned and smiled sheepishly. "He...uhh...left."

Flitwick frowned. "Left? Where? Did he forget something in his room?"

I shook my head. "No, he...uhh...went to Britain."

It was as if I had struck the half-goblin with 'glacius'. "What?" he whispered sharply. His previously easy demeanor was wiped away.

"There was a patronus, from one of his friends, asking him for help."

Flitwick closed his eyes and sighed defeatedly. "I guess that explains it all."

I smiled weakly. "Harry would give his life for his friends."

"That he would, that he would." The man opened his eyes and squared his shoulders. "I'll have to go and speak to the tournament organisers."

"They'll be happy," I said dryly.

Flitwick nodded sharply. "Don't leave the tent until I return, okay? You never know how people will react when they hear the news."

I shrugged. "It'll be fine, I ain't got no qualms with waiting."

"Good, see you."

The noise outside was boiling, the air was vibrating, as if lightings tore through the air. The noise kept on building and building, reaching closer and closer to the highest temperature.

This would be the first Duelling Days where the final wasn't even played. The win would most likely be granted to Harry's opponent.

Why did he have to be so selfless? Hogwarts was a school, there was no way that something overly horrible would happen. A detention or two was the worst, perhaps expulsion. Harry didn't need to fear for their lives.

Yes, I resolved. I would make damn sure that Harry knew that he was being an idiot when he came back.

Then I would apply to Hogwarts as a teacher, if that was required to make sure he kept his promise.

Missing the win would hurt Harry. My only wish for him was for him to be happy.

It felt like drums were being played above me, a constant dunking, the tent almost shook from the noise; the branches which held us all up quivered.

Then it went silent, as if someone had just put the concotion inside the freezer.

The stew exploded.

The cries of anger and disappointment could be heard from above, beneath and beside.

I shook my head with a smile. Harry sure had a way of making people dislike him.

It was ironic, for someone who did so much for other people, he was very disliked by the same people.

Furious shouting and screams of anger reverberated from the outside.

Then one shout tore through them all and silenced all else.

"Fiendfyre."

-()-

-Harry-

Fire.

Hungry as a famished wolf, yet never satisfied. Greedy like the sun. It always wanted more, and took more and more and more.

Fire was foul. It was ugly and lacked any depth, nuance. Fire was mindless chaos, without any purpose. Apart from one thing, destroy and…take away. Eat away every good part until nothing is left but tasteless ashes.

The birds were singing melancholy over the sunset. I was staring at nothing and everything. The red sun glowed sadly, spilling tears and tears, not that it was enough.

I felt my eyes wet up again and I fought like a small child, trying to repress the sobbing. My entire body was shocked and I wanted to scream. I had already screamed and it didn't work. Nothing did.

Alice had disappeared in flames, like a phoenix.

She wasn't a phoenix though. She was human. She was…

Thinking the word hurt my entire being.

How could the world do this? Why, on this day, of all it could choose?

I clenched my fists until they were white, I held my breath and felt my face go red. To feel something other than this. I had tried fighting and I had tried reading. Nothing worked. Nothing could fill that hole.

How was any of this fair?

This day was supposed to be good, instead it became the very opposite: and no superlatives could describe just how much of the opposite it became.

I heard a couple of footsteps behind me, soft and graceful. My eyes didn't as much as shift, if it was a secret assassin, then I would invite them to come and do their job.

"Hello Harry," a sad, old voice said calmly.

I swallowed thickly. "How did it go with your friend?"

The headmaster made a movement forwards and then ended up standing beside me, looking out over the sunset. "He's alive, barely…" the headmaster trailed off. "I would like for you to meet him over the summer. I think... he would like you."

"But I wouldn't like him?"

"He's a…peculiar character, but one with great information."

I nodded once and went back to watching the tired glow fade. Fade like life had done. Fade like all the good in this world was doing.

At least both of us hadn't lost a friend today.

"I will need to go to the states over the summer," I croaked out like a man who hadn't drank water for a month. "For the…" I let out a long whine. I couldn't say it.

Saying it would make it final. It would set it and seal it in stone. Once it was said: there was nothing to be done.

A single tear ran down my cheek, I wiped my eyes furiously.

"I understand," Dumbledore responded and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I understand Harry, I will make sure it is arranged."

I nodded jerkily. My throat was already exhausted from the few words.

There was a long pause and darkness descended on us. The last trace of her was gone, forever and ever.

"The culprits have been arrested," the headmaster said.

I took in a sharp breath. "They lost a lot today." I swallowed deeply. "Money, freedom, life."

Dumbledore turned to observe my face. "Don't walk this path Harry, revenge will do you no good."

"They deserve to die," I said simply, not taking my eyes away from the spot the sun had been seconds ago. "But nothing I can do can make them suffer as much as they deserve."

"Perhaps that's a good thing."

I snarled. "They lost a lot of money because I didn't fight the tournament, because I surrendered." The sky was suddenly as red as a rose. "If I could choose, they would lose everything. I would burn every single thing they treasure, like they did to me and to…her."

Dumbeldore took a hold of my shoulder and turned me to look into his blue eyes. "I'm sorry Harry, you were friends…you loved her." The headmaster's eyes were pools of sorrow. "You have lost so much, you didn't deserve to lose this too."

I glared at the headmaster and broke free of his grasp. "It's not me who has lost something!" I shouted at him, tears streaming down my face. "It. Is. HER!"

Then and there, I felt a huge urge to punch the old man.

"It is she who lost! Not me. Her!"

Dumbeldore nodded sadly. "The criminals' trial should go without a hitch and they will be imprisoned for life."

"That's a mercy they don't deserve."

The headmaster tilted his head to look at me. "All of them claim that they didn't know she was inside-"

"Yet they still used fiendfyre to destroy my tent," I cut off. "They have no excuses." I clenched my fists. "All of that, just because of a stupid fucking bet."

"Money means a lot to some people…"

"Then they shouldn't have put so much of it on the line," I interrupted heatedly again.

The grey haired man remained quiet and just stood by my side as I shook and swayed. I felt weak, not in the body or in my magic.

"We should leave, Harry. Get back to Hogwarts."

I swallowed deeply.

Leaving Nanshu. Leaving the tournament.

Leaving Alice Marston.

-()-

I walked as if in a trance. People parted like I was a disease when I walked the halls of Hogwarts.

I would have said it felt good to be back, but it wasn't. And I had been back mere hours before too.

Silver bag in hand and a frown on my face, I walked a path trekked many a time before. The fourth floor was empty as always. The shining silver door swung open soundlessly as always. The purple torch inside flickered like a greeting to an old friend.

I walked along the small passage and ended up stopping in the doorframe. My eyes roamed over the room like it was a painting, every detail precious and perfect. Everything was as I remembered it; my eyes stopped on the pair of purple armchairs. It felt wrong that I came in and they were empty. The room wasn't complete yet.

I took the book out of my bag and replaced it inside the cold room. The room which now held two horcruxes.

The door to my master's private room opened and she walked out into the room like every other time.

Rowena arched an unimpressed eyebrow at me. "Is there a reason you haven't said a word to me since the duel?"

I swallowed. "I didn't do the duel," I whispered. "I killed someone instead."

The piercing purple eyes of my master bore into me like a pair of drills. Rowena sat down in her armchair and gestured for me to do the same in mine. She must have detected something in my face, or posture or eyes. "Explain," she said softly, her voice loaded with sympathy and affection I didn't know she had. "Please, just explain."

I did and I did and I did.

From meeting Dumbledore to the patronus to going to Hogwarts to saving Ron and Hermione to…Alice.

I stared inside the fireplace and let out long breaths. Again and again and again.

Rowena raised her hand but then lowered it again, lightings of uncertainty flashing in her eyes. She opened her mouth but didn't say anything and then closed it again. My master looked torn between doing and not doing. What it was, I didn't know.

"I'm sorry Harry, I really am," she said.

I blinked rapidly. "Why is it like this?" I said emotionlessly. "Why does every single chance at having something good disappear in clouds of ash?"

Rowena closed her eyes for a few seconds, torn. "I don't know, Harry. I only know that you can get through it."

I breathed out shakily. I stood up and went to stand right in front of the fireplace. "I will get through it," I said with a solid pillar of determination. Wasn't that the last thing I had promised her? "Alice would never forgive me if I didn't," I added with a small smile, the first one since...

My master stood up and joined me, right next to me. "I know you will, Harry. I'll be here for you, whatever you need." My head turned towards her and our eyes met, they conveyed a message and I believed her in that moment.

Believed that she did care for me.

Rowena would be there for me, she always was. I wanted to give her a hug, show her how grateful I was. I started to lean forwards and then saw her eyes, they screamed, terrified of the contact. I smoothly changed my motion to make it seem like I was just turning around to sit down again.

How could I forget: my master didn't hug anyone.

-()-

-Rowena-

I was such a despicable human being. If I could be called human.

He needed someone who cared for him so much, I could be that person.

He needed someone to show him that he was… to show him that I cared for him. That he still had people around him.

For all the hundreds of years I had existed, I was not better at this now than the last time.

Why couldn't I just be different? Why did I have to be like this? Cursed to never be able to…

Harry had wanted someone to give him a hug, to show him some motherly affection. He wanted to know that he at least had someone who was on his side. When he needed it, I retreated and showed it to him. Showed him my weakness.

He didn't deserve someone like me, he deserved someone who could give him what he needed. Someone who could help him when he was weak.

Why couldn't I just put him first?

Why was I such a bad mentor, incapable of being there when it was important?

It was just like last time.

A single piece of water ran down my cheek.

I stared at the ceiling in my room, the doors Salazar had gifted me protected me from Harry and everyone.

I couldn't change, I couldn't grow.

I would be like this until I met my end.

-()-

-Draco-

The school was in uproar the following morning. I was stared at more than Potter, it seemed everybody had heard what went down in Umbridge's office. Dumbledore was back too, I didn't even know why he had been allowed back. There was a rumour that he had resigned for a super-secret mission to kill Grindelwald. It was obviously a lie, but why had he left?

People kept away from the Slytherin table like we were a pest, I couldn't fault them. There had been several attempts to jinx me in the halls, all that talk for peace…

I couldn't blame them. I couldn't. Doing that would be naive and ignorant.

I would damn well make sure that I was not naive and ignorant.

I would be someone people looked up to, someone people listened to, someone who told people what to do and they did it because it was me who told them.

Blaise sat down beside me with a huge red spot under his eye. I patted him on the shoulder supportively. "How many?"

"Four," he ground out. "Corner was waiting around a corner."

"How fitting," I said humorlessly. "He didn't listen to Potter," I added.

Blaise shook his head. "For a Ravenclaw, he sure isn't smart."

"That spell he was struck by…"

Blaise shuddered. "He was turned to pure crystal! I've never seen anything like it." The Slytherin frowned. "Potter almost looked angry at him too."

I could imagine why, but Corner's comments about Potter's hypocrisy were valid.

"Do you know where she is?" I asked him.

Blaise raised his eyebrows. "You haven't heard?"

I waited for him to continue.

"She's not at school anymore."

"WHAT?" I shouted, drawing some glances.

"Not permanently," Blaise added in a whisper, accompanied with a glare. "She was called home because of some family emergency."

Okay, that was not unheard of. Then a thought struck me and I surveyed our table. A girl with Daphne's hair sat further down the table.

"But why is Astoria here then?"

Blaise shrugged. "How do I know?" He gave me a pointed look. "It could just be that her parents are upset about the whole debacle with Umbridge."

I frowned. "Her father is probably ecstatic, if I know him correctly."

My friend shrugged again. "Well, I don't know what's going on there. Just ask her when she returns."

I could do that. Still, something didn't sit right.

The feeling didn't make sense.

-()-

-Hermione-

Shame. Shame and shame and shame.

Guilt too.

I had led everyone inside Umbridge's office without a second thought.

I had suffered and so had everyone else. So had Ron.

I would never forget Ron's violent shaking and silent screams under the spell.

All of those books and all of those hours inside the room and no one was close to being ready.

How on earth had Harry managed to become so incredibly good in the same way?

He hadn't.

If I couldn't learn and improve enough from books and dedication, I saw little possibility for Harry to do it.

I was better at Harry in school, that was a fact, not me being arrogant.

Yet Harry had not just surpassed everyone at school, he had taken down ten aurors without a scratch. My mind had been searching for possible scenarios, each one became more unlikely than the one before.

In the end, I could only see one thing clearly. Harry had lied about how he learned everything.

I didn't know why or how, but he had.

He must have found a way last year, down in the chamber, perhaps.

But if he had lied about one thing, who was to tell that he couldn't lie about something else.

The realisation made me want to fall.

I couldn't trust anything he said, not really.

He had a secret, something he didn't even want to tell me. One of his only friends.

I vowed to find out.

If he could do it, I would excel at it.

-()-

-Draco-

Daphne sat down beside me during lunch, I cast her a sidelong glance. She looked completely normal, yet different. I couldn't tell what it was.

It was two days after the night where all hell went down. She had returned to the castle late last night. Pansy had been even more put out than usual since Daphne didn't want to tell her why she had left.

Yet something had changed.

Her hair was normal. She hadn't started to wear any make up. She didn't look deprived of sleep or tense either.

I stopped in my tracks. What was I doing? Observing her like an animal, trying to understand how she was doing.

I could…I could just ask her.

I put my knife and fork down and cleared my throat. "Daphne."

The blonde girl turned and observed me with an odd flash in her eyes.

"Yes Draco?"

"I want to talk about something," I said. "Care for a walk?" I added in a whisper, not keen on the entire school knowing about this.

Daphne's gaze held mine for a second before she nodded and actually gave me a small smile. "Okay." The girl stood up and I joined her with a barely contained grin.

Why couldn't it have gone like this when I wanted to get to know her better? When I wanted to be with her?

Didn't I still want to?

We walked out and decided to take a stroll around the lake, not a word said.

"So…" Daphne said with an arched brow. "What did you want to talk about which required this level of secrecy?"

I chuckled weakly. "I…Is everything alright, Daphne?"

The blonde tilted her head and observed me. She let time flow like a calm river before she answered. "Alright, yes."

"But not good?"

Daphne chuckled and I almost startled at how unusual it was. "What is good?" she asked. I didn't know if she was talking to me. "I spent all year trying to feel good and I never did." The girl's gaze met mine and I felt my legs grow weak under the intensity of her stare. "I chased after so many ways but none of them worked…"

"You never felt happy?" I asked hoarsely. The implications were obvious.

Daphne shrugged. "Yes? No? At times?"

I couldn't find my voice to answer.

"I just want to know what I want," Daphne continued passionately. "I want to know what would make me happy."

"Don't you already know? You wanted revenge on Potter," I responded.

Daphne flicked her hair and turned away from me. "I did yes, but when I got it…" she trailed off. "It didn't make me happy," she whispered, barely audibly. I couldn't see her face, the girl didn't want to look at me.

I scoffed, feeling my temper rising. "So you got me and everyone to help you for nothing?" I snarled viciously. "Is that how you thank me? By saying that everything I did accomplished fuck all."

Daphne turned around with a cool expression. "I am grateful, Draco," she said. "I appreciate everything you helped me do and…the time we spent together," she whispered in the last part. Her pretty blue eyes refused to meet mine, they looked everywhere but inside my own.

Words couldn't describe how pretty she looked then. Hair shining in the sun, eyes sparkling like fireworks.

"I…"

My voice faltered.

"I'm sorry, Draco," Daphne continued and turned away from me again.

She looked out over the lake the same shade as her eyes. "If Potter ever disappears…maybe, I don't know."

I let out a long breath. "Then I hope he dies."

Daphne snapped around and stared at me. "Do you think that is right?" Her eyes were desperate, searching for an answer. Begging me to help her.

"He enslaved you," I said seriously. "That's the least he deserves."

Daphne stared out over the lake, her face expressionless. "Yes, perhaps he does…"

The blonde beauty looked like she wanted to say something more. Like a battle of heaven and hell was fought inside.

Daphne Greengrass said nothing.

-()-

-Hermione-

The prophet announced that the trial of Umbridge would take place over the summer. Several students would have to come and testify, I had strangely enough not been requested to myself.

I knew Ron and Neville had been, but not me. It was at the point where I wondered if it was just blatant racism; I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

Despite the dark consequences of going to the office, there was also a lot of good.

People were lounging under trees, without any fear of being accosted by someone. Exams were over. Summer was upon us.

Despite everything, this was a time to savour. There was no telling how long this would last for.

Voldemort was out there and doing something. The public still blissfully unaware, or well, those who believed Harry weren't. Voldemort had been very quiet, almost entirely so. Only the breakout of Azkaban around Christmas was the sign he really was back.

Thinking about it made me shiver. Voldemort was doing something. What that was, no one except Voldemort himself knew.

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't anything good.

Was this how the war was destined to be fought?

In the shadows. Stabs in the back. Whispers and narrowed eyes.

-()-

-Harry-

Having learned that Hermione hadn't just shown the Marauder's map to one person, but forty, had left me shaking with anger. I gave it to her to help her escape Umbridge. Which she technically did, but now everyone in the castle knew that Harry Potter had a not so secret map to find people.

I wouldn't forgive her for that.

Alice would see never have betrayed my trust like that.

Hermione was one of my first friends. But she wasn't my best one.

Who was though?

With Alice gone…

Ron? No.

Neville. Nope.

Angelina? Definitely not.

I had no one. Simple as that.

I had one true, real friend. And she was currently ashes, in a coffin, across the Atlantic.

I surveyed the map again. The person I sought hadn't moved from her spot. It was a classroom on the fourth floor, only a few corridors and turns from another special place of mine.

I stopped outside the classroom and took a deep breath. I knocked on the door three times.

I knew I had no obligation to, the classroom was for anybody to use.

The door opened and exactly the person I had been looking for appeared in its place.

Greengrass looked at me with an expression that said absolutely nothing. "Using your map again?"

I grimaced. "Maybe…May I come in?"

Greengrass tilted her head and looked at me. I looked at her back.

For the first time really. I looked at her; I didn't just see a vessel of anger and a symbol for my lack of future. No, she was a human, a witch, a girl.

"Sure," the blonde said with a small crease in her forehead. I wondered if that was her version of a frown.

I stepped inside and looked around the room. It looked like she stayed in there pretty often, there were a couple of bookshelves filled and even an armchair in front of a fireplace. The fire was out but the room still felt warm.

"Nice place," I remarked. "You did all of this yourself?"

"Yup."

"Okay…" I trailed off and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Greengrass was looking at me like I was a little child.

"I want to say that I am sorry," I said earnestly. "I've said it before…didn't really mean it…but I do now."

Greengrass raised her eyebrows. "You do have some new things to apologise for," she pointed out.

"To be fair, I saved you."

"To be fair, you also knocked me unconscious and bound me by ropes."

I opened my mouth and closed it. "Okay then, you win," I said with exasperation.

Greengrass smiled shyly. "I like this version better than the last one…"

"I've had a bit of time to reflect, guess."

"Really? Also someone to reflect with, right?"

The tone was different from night to day. My mind reeled at the fact that a switch could take place that quickly.

I preferred the other version of her.

"Me and…" I choked on the words. "We weren't together."

Greengrass shrugged. "Of course not," she said with a tone that screamed sarcasm.

I couldn't bring myself to argue against her. I knew the truth, that was enough.

"Look, Greengrass…" I braced myself. "This year hasn't been good between us," I continued.

"That's an understatement," Greengrass added.

"Yes," I conceded. "But we can't stay like this. We will be…married in just a couple of years. We can't be sworn enemies then."

Greengrass frowned and met my eyes with her own. The eyes swirled with so much yet I could tell none of it was pure hatred anymore. The girl swallowed. "Potter, we've both done some…bad things this year. I don't know how this would work," she said and gestured between us.

"I am sorry for what I've done," I answered. "Perhaps, it is best to just put these things behind us and start anew."

Greengrass raised her eyebrows. "Put it behind us?" She shook her head. "I refuse."

I looked at her incredulously. "You just straight up refuse to even try?"

"No," Greengrass said and shook her head. "I refuse to just bury the hatchet. This needs a resolution."

"I have apologised, what more do you want me to do? And I haven't heard you utter any apology."

Daphne smiled confidently, seeing her look at me that way felt…weird. "If you want us to try, then I want you to show me that you are serious about this, that you really are sorry."

I sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

Greengrass smiled wickedly. "Didn't I tell you 'what' after our duel?"

An eye for an eye. Or a pig's face for a pig's face.

I was about to refuse, but I couldn't.

I thought back to that last conversation with her.

If only I knew that was the last one…

I had promised Alice, she wanted me to try. To be happy.

This was the one thing I could do for her. The last and only thing.

"Okay," I said with a long breath. "I'll do it, but you'll have to do something too."

Greengrass pressed her lips into a thin line. "I will." She paused. "For what it is worth, I am sorry for what I did to you too. I was just... so angry. I went too far, I didn't think straight."

I nodded.

-()-

-Hermione-

The last feast before the school year would be over. Come morning, everyone would be boarding the Hogwarts express again. I longed to meet my parents, but it felt more difficult to say goodbye to magic than ever. My parents were great but they could never understand what I was leaving to stay with them.

"Granger!" A voice called out.

I was in the entrance hall with Ron, waiting for Harry to come. He had promised he would, I wondered where he was. In the chamber? Somewhere else he had lied to us to hide?

The voice belonged to Greengrass. I glared at her when she approached with her head raised high. I saw Ron take a threatening step forward.

Greengrass wasn't bothered, or showed no signs of being so.

"I wanted to apologise," the girl said emotionlessly. "I didn't know what Umbridge would do and... I am sorry that you had to go through that…" Greengrass paused. "It is something I will remember with regret."

The Slytherin spun on the spot and disappeared inside the Great Hall, for the final feast.

I sent a glance at Ron, he looked as if he just had seen Dumbeldore run naked across the teacher's table. I reckoned I looked just the same.

"Did that just happen?" he asked, bewildered.

"I think it did," I answered with a scratch on my head. "That was the last thing I expected to happen today."

Ron's eyes widened almost comically. "Speaking of unexpected things…"

I turned and followed his gaze and landed on a pig.

Wait, no. The pig was wearing Gryffindor robes and had black hair and was walking on two legs.

The…pig approached us. "Ready to get to the feast?" he said, surprisingly in his normal voice.

Ron opened his mouth and closed it several times, he had been robbed of the ability to vociferate his thoughts.

"Did she do this to you?" I asked.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Yup, she got me."

"And I thought she had changed," Ron said. "She came up and apologised and everything. I should've realised it was just some Slytherin trick."

Perhaps I had gone mad, but I could have sworn that Harry's pig-face was smiling.

No, it was probably just his facial musculature working oddly.

"You can't undo it?"

Harry shrugged. "Nope."

"And you're fine with going to a feast like that?" I said and gestured to his face.

"It's worth it."

I shared a glance with Ron. Both of us silently decided to just go along with whatever odd thing Harry had done.

My eyes searched the crowd for Greengrass. People all stared at us, or more likely him.

It was almost funny how Harry managed to find countless ways for people to stare at him.

My eyes landed on another blonde in Slytherin robes. He was staring at Potter with wide eyes, mouth hung open. He didn't see me watching him.

His trance broke and he suddenly started walking away from the Great Hall, against the stream of students.

I shrugged and joined Harry and Ron inside the Great Hall.

Seeing Harry eat was disturbing, and based on everyone around the table, they thought the same thing.

Harry tried to look unphased but he dropped his knife a few times too many and sat a little too straight. He squirmed under the attention like fish on land.

Harry sent a glance towards the Slytherin table and I followed his gaze. Greengrass was smirking at him.

Harry inclined his head in some kind of acknowledgement, Greengrass did so too.

What the fuck?

-()-

-Daphne-

Greengrass manor. What a beautiful place, eh?

I'd been taught how to describe the lanes and the lawns and the bushes since I learned how to speak, so that when the day came that I would own it all, I would own it with pride.

The grass straws were exactly one point one centimetres in length. The flowers were only allowed to be pink in spring.

I shook my head. What a perverse compilation. Did none of my ancestors have something better to do than establish traditions to be clutched like one's life depended on it?

The answer was seemingly 'no'. I wanted to change it, I wanted to change it so badly. It was like an itch, no matter how much I scratched it; it only grew in intensity.

My grandma had apparently passed away; something I found doubtful since she had died two years ago.

Still, I had been called home for a family emergency. I held no illusion as to what it would be about.

I had lost. I had gambled on Umbridge and lost. There was no way out of that.

The blank, black doors stood tall in front of me.

It felt like a thousand thoughts passed through my mind in that one moment I pressed the handle down.

Why? Why? Why?

Why had Potter trapped me in the marrige contract? Why had Potter then saved me from Corner?

Did Potter want to protect what he felt was his?

No, I decided. Potter was not what I had belived. I had been wearing a pair of glasses this entire year; my vision, my hearing and my thinking had seen Potter five shades darker than he really was. Potter was no sun, he didn't illuminate everyone around with his brilliant compassion.

He wasn't evil though.

That, he wasn't. I had been wrong, so wrong. The screams of Granger and Weasley echoed in my head, making my hand tremble and hairs stand on end. Their faces contorted in pain, as if they were being burned alive. That picture was as much part of me as my hair now. I had burned it inside my mind by my own stupidity.

I had been following Umbridge around like a kicked puppy all year -it was humiliating. I was Daphne Greengrass, I was better, or rather, I was supposed to be better.

Why? Why? Why?

How had I gone from being a brilliant student with a passion for transfiguration to this?

Potter, that was the answer.

No.

That wasn't true.

It was my fault.

Potter had trapped me and humiliated me and bound me again, but I was the one who insulted him without even asking why the contract was even activated. I was the one who said that his mother was a whore, I was the one who promised to be unfaithful.

I was the one who tortured the other's friends.

Potter was no saint, but I was a devil.

I just wanted to be free.

The bonfire of anger which had burned inside me like someone threw gasoline at it three times an hour had burned down to mere embers, the fuel was out. The embers were still there, clinging desperatedly to the heat to stay alive. The heat was cooling now, every single second since the office. What was left was only a growing desperation, and with every inch that weed grew inside me, I felt heavier and colder.

I just wanted to be free.

Exhaling slowly, palms wet with sweat, I pushed the handle down.

My mother was nowhere in sight; but my father was. Something was off, he was pale and a little sweaty. It was warm outside but inside it was cool like a fridge.

"He's here," my father said without any preamble. "Get to the parlour! Now!"

I stopped in my tracks and stared at him. Then I scoffed and stormed past him.

The pictures on the walls had their eyes linger on me. I ignored them like they were worth nothing; because they were to me.

The door to my parent's room was standing ajar; I heard my mother inside, sniffling. That too, I ignored and went on to the parlour.

I stopped in front of the door and breathed out shakily. My palms were sweaty and I could feel my heart beating like a loud drum.

I did it: pushed the handle down and stepped inside with two graceful steps.

The Dark Lord sat in my father's armchair. My mouth hung a little open, I gathered myself and approached with my eyes nailed on the floor.

"My lord," I said subserviently.

"Good morning, Ms. Greengrass," the Dark Lord said.

I didn't dare to look up and see those infamous red eyes.

"Please sit down," the Dark Lord said and gestured to an armchair I had sat in too many times to count.

I did so and waited for him to continue.

"It has come to my attention that you have a little…arrangement with Mr. Potter," Voldemort said with a thin smile; my eyes snapped to him when he mentioned the contract.

"A marriage contract," I confirmed.

"Yes," the Dark Lord said with amusement. "I was merely wondering, how do you feel about Mr. Potter?"

I paused for a second. "I... hate him."

Lord Voldemort chuckled coldly. "Really? Ms. Greengrass, I want you to speak the truth. I won't kill you if you profess an undying love for Potter."

I gulped, feeling a cold shiver down my spine. "I won't."

"I see, so what do you think of him?" he said sternly. He made it abundantly clear that there would be no room for anything else than the truth.

"I don't know him," I said. "He did a lot of…bad things to me, but he also... did a lot of good. I don't know him. How can I say what I think of someone I don't know?"

The Dark Lord nodded with a small smile. "Aha, well, let me rephrase, what do you think about your impending marriage with Mr. Potter?"

"I hate it," I said immediately.

"Why?"

I paused for a second and bit my lip. "It's wrong. I…want to be free; I want to have a choice."

The Dark Lord hummed thoughtfully. "I can give you one," he said. "I, too, have some unfinished business with Mr. Potter, as you can imagine."

I chuckled nervously, it sounded like dragging nails across a blackboard. That felt like the world's greatest understatement.

"He has left me in a rather sour mood," the man continued. Voldemort paused for a moment and folded his hands neatly in his lap. "I pride myself in not allowing personal feuds to get in between my goals. Yet I want revenge on Mr. Potter." The Dark Lord's red eyes were sharp as a steel dagger, dark as midnight. "Ms. Greengrass, you can never imagine how much I have suffered due to him. I want him to suffer too," he continued honestly, with an undertone of malice. "I don't just want to kill him, I want him to suffer. Really suffer." He said this as one might talk about the newewst song on the wizarding wireless.

I gulped and nodded. "That is... understandable, my lord," I whispered, feeling my throat dry as the desert.

Voldemort nodded. "Perhaps, but the reason that I asked you to come here today was for something else." The man looked into my eyes; his gaze was mesmerising; I felt as if that man could do anything. No one was powerful enough to stop him, of that I was certain.

"Our interests align," he clarified. "You want Potter out of your life, I want him to suffer, and then, die."

I frowned. Killing Potter was obviously something I had contemplated, but killing him was…wrong. I thought.

Did he deserve it?

"There is a problem though, I don't have an easy way to make him suffer so much that he wants to kill himself, slit his own throat," Voldemort said and looked at me with a thin, cruel smile.

I gulped again but suppressed the panic rising at the back of my throat. "My lord, I don't- I can't do amything like that to him, he is too... too powerful for me."

The Dark Lord laughed loudly. "I know, I know, but I wonder, do you really want this? Do you really want the same as me?"

"He enslaved me," I said. "He humiliated me, he attacked me."

He tilted his head with a soft smile. "That doesn't answer my question. Don't you want…revenge?"

Did I want to? That's what I had tried the entire year.

I just wanted to be free.

I was a devil, I was the greatest devil there was, not even the man in front of me was worse.

Now I could rid myself of Potter. Now, I could be free.

I swallowed thickly and tensed up. "I want him gone. I want to be free from him. I want to be able to choose my own partner."

Voldemort chuckled coldly. "Of course! Know this, if you help me, then you can choose whoever you want to be your husband. Ms. Greengrass, you will be rewarded for helping Lord Voldemort, that I can promise you."

I forced a smile. "Thank you, my lord." I paused and felt my hands tremble in my lap. "How will we do it though? How do we make him... make him suffer, and die?"

The Dark Lord smiled maliciously. "I will tell you. First, I just need to tell you one thing." His red eyes met mine with an unearthly intensity. "You will tell no one about this, your parents already know, but apart from them..." He trailed off, his eyes singing of pain and flaying and murder.

"Of course, my lord. I would never tell anyone," I said confidently. It felt like I was floating above my body.

"Good," he said. "I know you can do this, Daphne. I know you will do this."

I glowed like the moon. This was what I had wanted, right?

I just needed some more time to think; I would return to Hogwarts soon. There would be plenty of time to think until then.

A weight had settled in my stomach. Was it right to kill someone? Was it right to not just kill someone, but to make them suffer too?

Was it right to do both of those things, only to be free?

A/N: So here we are, the end of the fifth year, 37 chapters in. The story will go into the sixth and the seveth year, so I guess it's halfway done here. (What have I gotten myself into?) Chapters will continue to get posted every week, nothing will change with the schedule. I don't want to say too much of what I've got planned, but in my opinion, the best is yet to come.

Let's just say that I will up the ante, or try to, at least. It was never my intention for there to be any romance between Harry and Alice, even if a couple of you saw it that way. I guess it'll be interesting, for me and you, what romance will look like when I really try.

Again, thank you a hundred times for the reviews people. Until next week...

Cheers!