Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K Rowling.

A/N: Howdy y'all, hope you've had a great time! So here we go, finally crossing the 200k word line, which is a pretty great achievement for me. I went back and read the first chapter of this story, purely out of curiosity, and I'll say, I think a lot has changed in my style over these 200k words. It's been fun... So in some kind of celebration, you'll have an extra long chapter, though this length has become a little too common recently.

Anyways, here you go, chapter 39 . . .

Chapter 39: Unusual Normalcy

-Harry-

"Focus," Rowena urged me gently. She didn'y say anything else.

Ever since I got back from the break, my master had urged me to prioritise my occlumency learning above everything else. That was what I was doing, or trying to do. My mind felt like a small rock floating around in space without direction. The planets pulled me to masses of memories and emotion all the time, distracting me from what I needed to do.

Confidence. Belief. Resolve. That was what I needed, so when I strayed close to a planet filled with anxiety or loss, I felt myself losing those three.

I tried to remember the duel against her, my fight against the aurors or anything else where I achieved something for real. I needed to know that my mind was unbreakable, that was the only way for me to be sure Voldemort would never access my mind.

My master cleared her throat, causing my eyes to snap open. "Are you ready?" she asked.

I was about to say no, becuase I didn't feel ready, but I realised that just that was what was holding me back. I had to believe that I was ready to be ready. My mind had to belive that I could repel her, that was the solution.

I nodded and pushed pictures of everything great I had ever done inside my mind, I readied my defences.

"Legilimency," Rowena whispered.

For a few moments, it felt like I was hanging from the top of a tree and Rowena was staring up at me from below. Even from the distance, I could see her purple eyes glowing with magical might; I had never seen them do so before. I got an eerie reminder that she was one of the most powerful witches ever.

All of a sudden, the tree collapsed to the ground, like someone had used a jigsaw to cut it down. My master's eyes stared down at me imperiously, and I felt like I was getting pushed inside a bottle.

Then it all broke lose, Dudley, Alice, Greengrass, Hermione and Dumbledore, all of them passed in front of my eyes quicker than I could register.

I woke up, seeing that I had fallen down to the floor. My shirt was soaked in sweat and i was panting slightly.

"Well done," Rowena said. "Next time, try not to think about the person breaking in, and if you do, don't think about their power, think about them as a small bug, easily quashed under your boot."

I pushed myself back to my chair. "Yes master, it's just hard."

"Good, that means that you're not an idiot. If you managed to convince yourself that you are perfect in a couple of days, you'd be naive and stupid."

"It would help to be naive and stupid when learning occlumency then?"

Rowena rolled her eyes. "Yes, but remember, it is confidence you need, not arrogance."

"Really? You've never told me so before," I said dryly.

She shook her head. "I'd like for you to spend the rest of the summer practising this, okay? Plus, I'd like for you to get an actual vacation this time..."

I raised my eyebrows. "What does that mean? A trip to the Bahamas?"

"Be with your friends," Rowena said sternly. "I know you've drifted away from them over the past year, but you need people by your side, now, more than ever."

"I guess I can ask Dumbledore to stay at the Burrow for a while..."

Rowena tilted her head. "Harry, the headmaster respects you. Tell him what you want, and make sure you get it. Don't go around asking him for anything."

I chuckled. "Sure. I think he's concerned about me more than he respects me though."

Rowena stared inside the roaring fire in her room, its purple flames crackling and cackling. "Who is to say one is not born from the other?"

-()-

The sun was pinning everyone inside with its glaring, scorching beams. The air inside the Burrow was fresh and cool. Hence, everyone was stuck inside.

There was still a month left of the summer and there was no end in sight for the heat which had taken Britain by surprise. Ron was, at this very moment, occupied with writing a transfiguration essay for McGonagall. Hermione lingered close by with the intent to supervise.

I had arrived two days ago and been embraced by the family as I always was. Something was different now, even if no one spoke about it. Mrs. Weasley was determined to make sure that I had as little time as possible for myself. Ginny had practically been forced upon me several times, something which had sparked more than one verbal confrontation between the two females in the house.

Dumbledore had promised that Sirius would be allowed to visit soon, although he had given no indication as to when.

The whole experience over the past two days reminded me why I missed Nanshu so much. Having independence to do whatever one wanted, without anyone constantly looking over your shoulder was relieving.

Here, Mrs. Weasley wanted me to do chores, Hermione wanted me to do homework and Ron just wanted to play quidditch.

None of those things were outrageous by any means, but I realised that things just went better when I could do them myself.

I also missed two people. Alice was given, but that was someone I would have to learn to miss.

The thing was, my master had wanted me to leave her horcrux in her room. Something about how she wanted some rest aftrer all the time away from the castle. Perhaps even my master got homesick sometimes.

So after everything, I was stuck resting; laying in shadows, sleeping in more than I should, charming my quill to write the homework.

I didn't even realise how exhausted I had been because of the tournament and everything before I took a proper break and relaxed. Having nothing to do was both so incredibly relieving. The thing was, it also felt purposeless. Hadn't I had the occlumency, I was sure I would have broken down altogether.

Even if Voldemort had been silent, I knew he was up to something. No matter how much Dumbledore's order had worked to oppose him over the past year, Voldemort was bound to make progress.

At some point soon, I would have to start opposing him. That was written. That was inevitable.

But also because I wanted to live. There was still things I could do. Things which could make me happy.

I had promised Alice that I would have fun, I would do that.

My future had potential, if I only got to that part.

The future reminded me of another thing. Or person, really.

It wasn't the first time over the past two days that I was contemplating sending her a letter and meeting up somewhere.

There was no guarantee that things would go better than last time, but she appeared willing to try again. The other option was that she just tricked me to make me look like a pig for an evening. I wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be true.

Yet I had to try. If I tried and it just turned out that the two of us would never work out, then that was unfortunate. If I never tried, I would never know.

I got up in a mechanical moment and went inside my room. It was Fred and George's old room, which I had been given now that they moved out.

I sat down at the desk and took a hold of a quill. I had really no idea what to write.

I put the quill down, sighed, and took it up again.

What would I write to a girl?

What did anyone ever write to a girl?

I held no illusions that we were friends yet either, not even acquaintances, to be frank.

I exhaled sharply and scribbled a couple of characters on the scroll.

Same place, same time as our first meeting? On Thursday.

Regards, Harry.

I stared at the letter and shrugged. One would be hard pressed to find a letter containing less personality than that one. Perhaps that was for the better, we could get to know each other face to face. Assuming we wouldn't start throwing insults at each other, which was, considering our history, the most likely scenario.

Hedwig flew away with the letter, one small dot on the horizon.

I wondered how on earth I would explain my absence.

A thought passed over me, a thought I hadn't even dared think previously.

If I wanted something, I should make sure I got it.

I had proved my independence in Nanshu, I had been the one to clean up the mess at Hogwarts, I could leave for a short date if I wanted to. All I needed to bring with me was vigilance.

And perhaps leave a piece of paper behind, to make sure no one believed I was kidnapped.

The only question was how I would get to Surrey and meet Greengrass at the café.

I needed someone to help me: Sirius.

But that meant that he needed to be here, and how would I get him here?

I chuckled to myself. I knew the perfect way, but I would have to move quickly.

-()-

-Hermione-

I stared at the broken leg. Harry's leg was twisted in an inhuman way, I almost felt queasy looking at it. Mrs. Wealey was practically beside herself, running around the garden like a frantic mouse.

Harry was staring at the leg, his eyes open in shock. Fucking quidditch, I thought to myself.

"We need to notify Dumbledore if we are to bring him to Saint Mungos," Mr. Weasley said.

Harry's head fell back to the ground. He must have fainted from the pain.

Minutes went by, Remus and Sirius arrived in a flash of flames, both of them approaching Harry like a single misstep would break his other leg.

Harry's eyes fluttered open, his eyes settled on Sirius dimly, and they sparked in recognition. He whispered something in Sirius' ear.

Sirius frowned at his godson for a moment, before he shouted, "everyone! Give us some space, return to the house."

I had no idea why or where Sirius adamance came from, but soon enough, only Sirius remained by Harry's body.

I stared at the two of them through the window. They seemed to be having a rather heated debate; that was strange, considering the injury.

My eyes practically bulged out of my sockets when Harry just stood up and jumped on his broom to fly away. Sirius turned into Padfoot and ran after. All of us remained frozen in the window for a moment, mouths hanging open. As the pair reached beyond the fence to the property, Sirius turned back and both disappeared.

-()-

-Harry-

Sirius had helped. I was pretty sure he would get a handful from Dumbledore for this, but I thanked Sirius non the less as we disappeared through apparition.

We appeared back in the familiar area of Surrey and I let out a deep breath. The heat wasn't any better or worse here, at least.

"Is it far from here?" Sirius asked with a frown, glancing around the neighbourhood.

"Five minute walk," I guessed. "I'll be fine."

"Just remember what I've told you and you should be fine."

I snorted. "I might as well listen to flitting advice from an infant, I doubt Greengrass will appreciate being called a 'fisherman's dream'."

"That pick-up line worked on two girls! Two! That's two more than you can speak of."

"And for how long did you stay together with those girls?"

"One of them, sixteen minutes."

I raised my eyebrows. "And the other?"

Sirius smiled sheepishly. "29 seconds."

"How can you say that the pick-up line worked if you were together for 29 seconds?"

"It is still longer than you and Greengrass have been friends, from what I've heard. Perhaps those 29 seconds are all you need?"

I shook my head. "I'll see you later Sirius." I gave him a stern look. "And I swear, if I see as much as a trace of a black dog around the café…"

"You'll do nothing, as you would get persecuted for it," Sirius said with a smile. "And I will still have to stay around as a guard, I can break the rules a little, but not entirely."

I rolled my eyes and walked towards the small establishment.

It was exactly the same as last year. I gave the owner a nod as I entered and he waved back, a smile on his face.

I selected the same table and sat in the same chair.

My eyes surveyed the café. It was rather busy, despite the warmth. Couples and gatherings of friends sat in the cooling shadows and drank cold beverages.

I hoped I would get the same one day.

No, I didn't just hope.

I resolved to get it. That process would begin at any moment.

The chair scraped in front of me and a girl sat in its place. She was wearing a green blouse, her hair set in a ponytail.

"Hello, Greengrass," I started amiably.

The girl looked at me for a moment, as if expecting something more to happen.

"Hello, Potter," she answered slowly. "Had a good summer?"

"It's been…alright, considering the circumstances."

Greengrass nodded. "Alright… I guess that is what it has been for me too."

I looked at Greengrass discreetly. She looked… healthy. Or at least healthier than last year.

She had managed to get something of a tan which disguised her numerous pimples a little. The girl didn't look deprived of sleep either. It was stirkingly different to the girl I had met, and bound, in Umbridge's office. I would almost have guessed I was sitting with another person.

"Why did you choose this place?" she asked, dragging me from my thoughts.

Her blue eyes were the opposite of the weather. I shrugged. "I was hoping for us to get a new start, I suppose."

"By going to the very same place that we got off to a bad start?"

I opened mymouth and closed it again. "Perhaps I am aiming for a symbolic meaning that things are different this year -that we can sit here without insulting each other and storming off."

Greengrass scoffed. "But at the same time, both of us just remember what happened her last time. Choosing this place was...ignorant," Greengrass responded.

I sighed. "It is rather impressive that you can't go more than a couple of sentences without insulting me."

Greengrass exhaled sharply and met my eyes cooly. "And that just proves that you are only waiting for a moment where I do anything which you can use to blame me for…this," she said and gestured between us.

I held back the comment about how she was the one to insult my mother and promise infedelity.

"Perhaps we should just start anew entirely? A new place, a new time," I suggested sweetly.

Greengrass gave me a blank look. "You got me to come here and want to leave within five minutes? That's rude."

"Right, because coming here and calling me ignorant within a minute isn't rude at all," I said dryly. I clapped my hands together. "Okay then," I said in exasperation. "Just a new place then? Not a new time."

"Sure." Greengrass stood up and curled her lips into a mocking expression. "Where do we go then?"

"You were then one who wanted to go somewhere else," I pointed out.

"And you were the one that invited me, so show me that you are good at more things than just using your wand."

We left the café behind and began walking around the area, not having any real goal in mind.

Neither of us said a word, both of us sourly waiting for the other to break the silence. After what must have been something like fifteen minutes, we came upon a small park with a pond in it.

Greengrass stopped in her tracks and observed me with an unimpressed expression. "Are we really just not going to say anything? Are we supposed to walk around in silence the entire day? For in that case, I'd rather go home and walk in silence with someone I like."

"What do you want us to do then?"

Greengrass sat down on a bench, folding her arms. "I don't know. Talk? Isn't that what people do when they try to get to know each other?"

I sat down at the other side of the bench, there was space for a third person between us. "I tried doing that but you wanted to leave."

Greengrass scoffed and let out a deep breath. "If you say so." The girl turned and met my eyes. "This is a place, why don't we start anew here?"

I looked around. The sun was reflecting off the pond, a family was sitting under a tree with a picnic. "Why not? I don't see any other place."

"Good," Greengrass said.

We fell into silence again, until Greengrass rolled her eyes.

"So Potter, what classes are you taking next year?"

I blinked at the normalcy of the question. "Defence, transfiguration, charms… uhh… maybe potions and care too," I listed quickly.

Greengrass nodded curtly. "I don't even have to ask which is your favourite."

"You think you know me that well?" I asked with a pair of raised brows.

Greengrass rolled her eyes. "Everyone, and I mean everyone, know you that well."

"That seems rather ignorant of you."

Greengrass breathed in slowly and breathed out even slower, she looked up into the sky, as if praying for something to come and sace her. "I disagree, everyone knows you," she said, turning her gaze on me defiantly.

I arched my brow. "Really? Do you even know what my favourite colour is?"

"Red, probably, but that's beside the point," she said, looking at me like I was five years old. "What I mean is that you constantly make yourself seen, therefore everyone knows you."

"Seeing someone doesn't equate knowing them," I responded nonchalantly.

"Yes, it does," she countered. "If I asked a random student to name anyone from the third year of Hufflepuff, they probably wouldn't be able to. If I asked anyone to name a sixth year Gryffindor…" she trailed off, leaving me a pointed look.

"You don't think that could be because I've survived several attempted murders by Voldemort?"

Greengrass winced, almost imperceptibly. "That's the thing though, several. Not one, which was the case when you came to Hogwarts. You do noteworthy things, which puts you in the forefront of everyone's mind."

I raised my eyebrows. "So you believe I told the truth? About his return."

"Yes," the blonde responded bluntly. "If he turns out not to be back, you'll be the greatest idiot this world has ever seen."

"Really?"

"You've alienated half of the country with those claims. It would be ridiculously stupid to do that for nothing. I know you're an idiot, but surely not that much on one?"

I ingored the insult. "One could argue that I would do it for attention."

The girl laughed mirthlessly. "You had just won the Triwizard Tournament, if you just rode that wave, you would have had plenty of that," she said.

"But then I wouldn't be able to play the 'victim' card to gain the affections of my future wife," I responded with a thin smile.

"You're an imbecile," the girl said blankly. "Do you want me to believe you are a deficient dumbwit? I mean, I already do, but..."

"Rather a 'deficient dumbwit' than a liar," I said with an amused look. "I appreciate that you believe me, even if you have an unhealthy proclivity for insults."

Greengrass' lips curled ever so slightly. "Was that your best attempt at an insult towards me?"

I scowled. "Everyone around hasn't taken the time to get a master's degree in insults. How do you even come up with 'deficient dumbwit'? You probably have a fucking dictionary you've used more than your defence textbook somewhere."

Greengrass arched an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?"

I looked at her blankly, her eyes looked at me the same way back. "Why can't it be both?" I suggested.

Greengrass shrugged. "Thank you, then, I guess."

"You're welcome."

-()-

-Hermione-

Harry had left to do something with Sirius. Oh my god, what on earth was that little stunt he had pulled?

Mrs. Weasley had practically torn her hair off her head.

However, this was the perfect opportunity. There was no conceivable way in which Harry overheard me. It wasn't any problem if he overheard me, of course. I was merely looking after him, but still, I didn't quite think he'd see it the same way.

Ginny was lounging in one of the armchairs with an essay in hand. I peered over her shoulder -Flitwick's essay, it seemed.

I sat down in front of her and cleared my throat.

The redhead looked up and glared at me. "The one time I'm actually studying like you want me to, you disturb me?"

"I'm sorry," I said dismissively. "But this is the only opportunity."

The girl raised her eyebrows and folded the scroll of the essay. "The only opportunity for what?"

"I need to talk to you about something," I said quickly.

Ginny's eyebrows rose even higher on her forehead. "I see, is it about… you know?"

I frowned. "Is it about what?"

"About…" she trailed off awkwardly. "Him," she said and gave a nod towards the door, towards Ron.

"No!" I said with a huff. "It's about Harry!"

Ginny blinked a couple of times. "Wait," she responded. "Do you have a thing for Harry?"

It was my turn to blink. "What!?"

"What do you mean 'what'? You are the one who came here and acted all weird and now you want to talk about Harry?"

I shook my head in exasperation. "Ginny, you've got it all wrong. I'm not here to talk about…relationships, or well, not in the way you're thinking."

"Right…"

I let out a sharp breath. "I have a few questions about the chamber, if you don't mind?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed, sharp as knives. "The chamber of secrets?" she clarified coolly.

"Yeah…" I trailed off awkwardly. "I…I think I would like to know more about it."

Ginny looked at me. "And how is this connected to Harry, apart from the obvious?" she said slowly.

"I…I guess it's not really, but he has been there…" I met Ginny's eyes. "I just want to know what it is like."

The redhead gave me a hard look in return, she claerly didn't believe me. "Suuure…" She leaned back in her armchair and closed her eyes. "I'll help you, because you helped me last year with defence class."

I prevented myself from breathing out a sigh of relief. That was the first, and greatest, obstacle gone.

"Thank you, Ginny," I said earnestly.

The girl frowned but still didn't open her eyes. "What do you want to know?"

I paused. "What does it look like?"

The youngest Weasley opened an eye and peered at me. "It's uhh…dark. Everything is either dark green or dark grey, or black."

"Apart from the chamber, is there anything else inside?"

Ginny didn't even try to hide her suspicion. It flowed over like an over-full glass of water.

"That I remember: no. As far as I know, it is only the chamber itself and the pipes surrounding it."

I hummed thoughtfully.

"But I guess something else could be inside," the girl mussed. "We live with magic, right? There must have been some hidden room or something."

"I guess," I said vaguely. "You don't have any…any memories of anything else?"

Ginny froze for a moment. "Do you mean my own, or his?" she bit out sharply.

"Either."

The young girl stood up and picked up her essay. "I don't have any memory of what you think might exist." Ginny walked away but stopped in the doorframe. "I say this to you because we are friends, going around and asking these kinds of questions when you can't even tell me the truth about whyis…fucking strange, Hermione."

"I'm just curious."

Ginny scoffed. "I can tell, but why?"

-()-

-Harry-

I was lying under the branches of an oak and thinking about yesterday. The sun had stopped its relentless onslaught and the glow was tiredly orange. It was a wonderful evening. All my mind had been filled with was images from my first 'date'.

Could it be called that? A date.

My picture of a date was a romanticised picture of a table with two chairs facing each other, a bright candle burning between us. Light, but meaningful, conversation and shy smiles. Blushing against each other and getting lost in the other's eyes, like they were the most beautiful things on earth.

The one I had been to had contained none of these things. Yet perhaps that was a good thing -relationships weren't something to be experienced in one's imagination, because the other had an imagination too. It was simply not possible for two imaginations to merge, and such, it had to be lived.

I don't even know why I felt like we had moved forwards somehow, we had just bickered and insulted each other. Perhaps the reason why was because I kind of had fun. Kind of.

Calling the whole occasion nice would have been an exaggeration, but it was kind of fun.

There was supposed to be a grand Weasley dinner in just a couple of minutes. Charlie had arrived when I was gone, and Bill just after I returned.

Surprisingly, the latter had been met very coldly by his mother. I wondered what was going on there, but I hoped the dinner wouldn't be awkward.

I closed my eyes and breathed out deeply.

I had missed this, solitude.

Doing nothing, but doing nothing when doing nothing didn't leave me feeling purposeless.

I knew the world didn't stop spinning just because I closed my eyes, but it was one of the few ways I could make it seem so.

I heard approaching footsteps. The silent thuds in the dry grass.

"Dinner's ready," Hermione said from above me.

I opened my eyes and looked at her. She stared defiantly back, I got the impression she had taken my 'great escape' personally.

"Alright," I said and got up. "Let's just hope that the twins hasn't caused too much mayhem already."

Hermione hummed absently.

There were sounds of conversation coming from inside. I opened the door and was almost overwhelmed at the noice; I had forgotten what a Weasley dinner entailed.

It felt like people were everywhere and that every one of those people was making some kind of nuisance. Ron was levitation in the air with a grumpy look. George and Fred were bouncing like a pair of children with amusement. Bill was talking with Ginny and Arthur was talking to Charlie.

It was a mess. A beautiful mess. If this was what a family was -then I could see no reason to dislike it.

All the same, I did feel like I didn't belong here. I reckoned Hermione felt the same, based on how she remained next to me.

Mrs. Weasley waved me over and gestured for me to take a seat. Everyone soon followed and the clashing catastrophe of scraping chairs was the most symphonious thing I had ever heard.

After a short while, when every plate was stuffed, Mr. Weasley stood up, glass in hand.

"I would like to make a toast," he began and held his glass up mightily. "Things are not perfect, but here, between us, they are." The Weasley patriarch's expression was light. "To us!"

"To us!" echoed the entire family, me and Hermione.

People seemed satisfied to varying degrees at the statement, Bill even rolled his eyes. After the toast, all of us dug into our huge, but surely delicious meals.

"So Harry," Charlie began from across to me. "I read in the newspaper about a spell you used regularly during the Duelling Days. It reminded me of a spell I saw you using during the first task, is it the same one?"

I swallowed my mouthful of food and nodded. "Yup, the very same."

"Huh," Charlie said with a small smile. "But I don't understand how that is possible. Dragons are very resistant to magic, trust me on this, and I don't get how something so powerful that it can affect a dragon wouldn't knock a regular human into the next world."

I paused and contemplated the question. "As far as I've understood it, the damage is proportional to who it is cast on -it will feel like a punch regardless if you're a dragon or a dwarf."

"I see, that's a very useful spell you've found there…" The Weasley man trailed off. "Would you mind teaching it to me? It would be very useful in my line of work."

And that was what I had feared.

"I don't know," I said honestly. "It's…a bit of a secret I am not supposed to unveil."

Charlie shrugged. "Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll be the first one in line."

"Who's secret is it?"

It was said in such an innocent and curious manner that I would have believed it to be so, had it been anyone else than Hermione. Yet I knew she just wanted to know how I learned; and replicate it herself.

"Not anyone in particular, but I promised that I wouldn't reveal the things I learned so…" I trailed off casually.

"And who did you promise this to?"

I raised my eyebrows at Hermione. "It doesn't really matter, she who wrote the books is dead."

"How can you make a promise to a dead person?" Hermione pressed on.

"Perhaps it was more of a wish," Charlie cut in. "Perhaps it said in the beginning of the book that the knowledge within wasn't to be spread; Harry wants to respect that."

Bless Charlie.

"Something like that," I said vaguely.

Hermione nodded but didn't look upset at all. Actually, she looked rather pleased with herself. That was…not good, I realised.

The rest of the meal went on in relative ease. I was asked a question here and there but nothing dangerous. Perhaps calling things 'dangerous' were an exaggeration, but that was how I felt -there were so many lies I had planted in my garden, someone was bound to uproot one eventually.

"Has it got a date set yet?" Charlie asked his father.

I listened in, despite not knowing what the context was.

"25th of August," Mr. Weasley said. "They've released a long list of names of people which will testify too."

"Is that even legal?" Hermione pressed. "Isn't there any witness protection in this country? If they tell the whole country who'll testify, they knows exactly who to go after to affect the results."

Mr. Weasley grimaced. "It's not ideal, no, and it doesn't usually go like this."

"But when it is such a high-profile case, like Umbridge is, then it is bound to garner attention."

"What about Umbridge?" I asked curiously. "Is this about her trial?"

Charlie exchanged a look with his father. "You haven't heard?"

"About the trial? I obviously know there will be one, but not much else."

Mr. Weasley cleared his throat a little awkwardly. "Umbridge will go on trial for her crimes at Hogwarts in August, but she has mounted a pretty good defence and we don't really know how it will go."

"I've been asked to testify," Hermione said. "Ron and Ginny too."

I raised my eyebrows. "Is that a good thing for you? Considering everything all of you did to the Slytherins as well."

Mrs. Weasley scowled. "Harry, what that Umbridge woman did was foul -you must know this. Hermione and Ron did the right thing, they can't get persecuted for that."

I shrugged. "What matters is that the judges see it that way."

Charlie smiled thinly. "What do you think'll happen?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, imprisonment without a trial isn't unheard off, but even if there is one, I would feel no surprise whatsoever if she got off without a hitch."

"It's good to see you have faith in the legal system," Charlie said with a chuckle. "But I meant with your own trial and everything, did you think you were the only one to be tried?"

I blinked rapidly. "My own trial? I have a trial?"

I didn't even know what to say.

Charlie looked at his father and then at his mother. "You haven't told him?" he said incredulously.

I clenched my fists under the table, how the fuck the I have a trial which these people hadn't told me about?

I let out a long breath. "I have a trial about the incident in Umbridge's office?" I guessed.

Charlie nodded. "Yeah… Umbridge claims that you attacked ten aurors unprovoked and proceeded to hold herself and a group of students hostage."

"I see," I said with sigh. "I guess I should feel content that one can't get away with anything in this country."

Charlie smiled weakly. "I guess so, your trial will be just after Umbridge's, I think."

"Great," I said. "So my trial will basically be determined by another trial, on which I have very little power to affect."

"In essence, yes," the man said. Charlie turned back to his parents. "I don't get it though, why haven't you told him yet?"

"We like to just ignore problems in this family," Bill said with a pointed look at his mother. "By doing so, we just hope that they will disappear."

Mrs. Weasley gave her eldest son a warning look. "Bill…" she said. "We have talked about this, you don't have to bring it here…"

Bill sent me a glance. "But Harry will come back here every summer. The problem won't go away with time."

"Perhaps you'll come to your senses and it will," Mrs. Weasley responded with a levelling look.

Bill stood up with a furious expression. "Don't insult her, mom. If you don't want her here…sure. But don't insult her by telling me I am crazy for being with her." The eldest son sat back down again with a glare at his mother.

"Can anyone tell me how I am involved in all of this?" I said evenly. I suddenly didn't find the whole gathering as beautiful.

The table was silent. No scraping of cutlery. No whispers of conversation.

"Bill is dating Fleur Delacour," Charlie said.

There was silence for another couple of moments. I could feel every single pair of eyes upon me.

"I see," I said. "And you don't think I'll be happy about that?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled forcedly. "Harry, dear. Most of us saw the final task, all of us know that you don't like her and respect you enough to not associate with her," Mrs. Weasley said with a pointed look at Bill.

"I…dislike her, yes," I said. "Perhaps I even hated her, back then."

I turned to Bill who was watching me with a frown. "But if you're a couple, then I will have to hope that she has changed for the better."

"She has changed," Bill said immediately. "And I know she feels regret…"

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes. "Of course she would, attacking Harry made her lose the one and only thing she had going for her."

Bill glared at his mother and stood up again. "I won't stand you sitting here and insulting my girlfriend. Goodbye."

Bill left through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

"Mother has allowed none of us to see her yet," Charlie explained. "But I can tell you, she seems nice, and as for her appearance... well, that butterlfy-." Charlie swallowed uncomfortably. "It did one hell of a job," he whispered.

Mrs. Weasley stood up now too. "You've met her?" she asked icily.

Charlie shrugged. "Sure, several times. She stays at Bill's place so I will see her if I ever visit."

Mrs. Weasley went ashen. "They've moved in together?"

Charlie grimaced. "Yes…" he said weakly. I got the notion that that particular fact was not to be revealed yet.

"But Bill lives in an apartment in London, with only one bedroom," Mrs. Weasley said. Her complexion went even more weight. "That means they sleep in the same…"

"Molly!" Mr. Weasley cut in. "Ron and Ginny's here."

"We do know what a bed is, dad," Ginny said. "And what people do in it." Ginny glanced at Ron. "Or I do, at least."

"I don't think you need to remind your mother any more of this," Charlie said with amusement. Then he frowned. "Wait, how do you know what people do in it?"

It was Ginny's time to have every set of eyes upon her. Mrs. Weasley's expression was that of a thunderstorm.

"Your room, now!" she shouted. Ginny stood up with a glare at Charlie and left. Mrs. Weasley followed her daughter with her eyes narrowed, storming after.

A perfect family dinner.

-()-

-Daphne-

Morning greeted me slowly, patting me on the back. I lay tangled in the sheets for longer than I wanted to know. Doing nothing except being. I was floating, like a bird in the clouds.

Then someone put a rope on me. Suddenly, I was tied to the ground like a dog on a leash. I couldn't stray further. I was stuck, anchored to the ground.

I let out a loud sigh and allowed my eyelids to flutter open. With a loud jawn, I got out of bed and stretched. My mirror revealed a tornado; my blonde hair was like the set of bushes my mother had bought home the other day. Twisting and snarky.

My mother would spend the rest of the summer taming them into well-behaved, proper bushes.

I would do the same with my hair, it would only not take the rest of summer to do so. A careless shrug and I set to work. There wasn't anything to do today; if you considered sitting around and doing nothing, to be nothing. I sure didn't -something my sister didn't shy away from pointing out.

The cup of tea from yesterday evening was standing lonely on my desk. I had been gifted the cup from my mother when I turned fourteen. It had been accompanied with a note, a note telling exactly what to do, and what not to do when it came to boys.

I glared at the girl in the mirror. There was no reason to get anything extravagant done with my hair now. If I wanted to have some fun, I could do that later.

I walked down the stairs to the living room, which also served as an informal dining room.

Astoria was already sitting around the circular table. Presumably, my father had been down here an hour or two ago. My mother should appear at any moment. I sat down and accepted the bowl of cereal from Azalea, our house elf. Astoria was painting her nails a shocking shade of pink.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning mum," my sister said absently and painted another stroke over her nail.

"Good morning Astoria, Daphne," my mother said and hugged the two of us in turn.

My mother sat down at her slot on the table. My mother liked to say that she had cloned herself twice to get her daughters, or well, Astoria's hair was black, but otherwise just the same. Her hair looked perfectly identical to mine; if much less well-behaved, if I was allowed to say so. She didn't take care of her hair properly, neither did my sister.

Hair was a two way relationship: if you took care of your hair, your hair would take care of you.

"Are you going somewhere today, dear?" my mother asked tenderly.

I didn't look up; I already knew she wasn't addressing me.

"Maybe," my sister responded vaguely. "I was thinking about meeting up with Jen' and going to Diagon."

"Great!" my mother responded with a broad smile. "I think it's great that you're getting out there and meeting people."

Astoria smiled smugly at me.

I only took another spoonful of cereal and stuffed it in my mouth. Sometimes I forgot that my mother was the only person not a Slytherin in the house, she didn't know any subtlety.

"Anyways," my mother continued, oblivious to everything around her. "Are you doing anything today, Daphne?"

I swallowed my mouthful of cereal and forced a small smile "I was going to-"

"-Think," Astoria interrupted rudely. The little girl smiled at me sweetly. "Isn't that right Daphne? You're going to do nothing and think."

I clenched my fists under the table. "Yes," I said automatically. "I have to make up for the lack of it from someone else."

"Now now," my mothers scolded with a stern frown. "Behave yourself Daphne, one does not go around and insult people, and definitely not your own sister."

"Of course mother." I stuffed another spoonful in my mouth and stared out the window.

Astoria stood up and straightened her skirt. I stared at it. My mother had picked up a newspaper and luckily didn't see it, I doubted that she would have approved.

My mind mulled over whether or not I should call attention to it.

No, I decided. I was the mature one. If Astoria wanted to be childish and do whatever she could to get me in trouble, fair enough. I would prove that I was the mature one -regardless of what my parents said.

Astoria disappeared out of the room quickly, her black hair dancing around it. I shook my hair in disgust; black hair was horrible. Every time my eyes saw that colour upon one's head, my hands wanted to rip it off.

"So," my mother said and looked up from the prophet. "How is it going?"

"Please be a little less specific, mother," I said, not raising my eyes.

"How is it going with your betrothed?"

I faked a smile. "Splendidly."

Isabella Greengrass hummed thoughtfully. "For him or for you?"

"Why can't it be both?"

"I think you know perfectly well why," my mother said and turned a page of the newspaper. Her eyes scanned the page but I doubted any info was gathered.

"I know what I am doing, mother," I said with a finality.

My mother pinched her nose. "You think you know what you're doing," she corrected. "I wonder if that is really true."

I scoffed, earning me a stern look. "Perhaps you can just trust me, your daughter, for once?" I proposed.

My mother smiled. "Your father and I have a lot of faith in you, Daphne. We're merely wondering if this is one step too far a little too soon."

My nostrils flared. "I won't make the same mistake as with Umbridge. I've learned from that."

"Daphne," my mother said sharply. "Don't fly too close to the sun. I'm telling you, he's no good."

"Hence why I am killing him," I said coldly. "Do you think that the man who 'stole your daughter' should walk away without a scratch?"

My mother pinched her nose. "Don't be petulant, Daphne. You know we care for you. But I've told you before: why do you have to do this?"

"Don't you think I can do it?" I said challengingly.

"It doesn't matter," she responded and folded the newspaper. "I just don't want my daughter to end up in a situation where she is hurt, or worse."

I scowled, earning me another glare. "As if she hasn't already."

There was a big picture of Potter at the front of the newspaper. Right, he had a trial coming up soon, together with Umbridge.

"I actually have something to do today, mother," I said with a smug smile. I twirled a lock of hair between my fingers, I could see my mother glaring at my right hand, she always hated when I didn't sit still and docile as a statue. "I am going to see Harry."

"Don't call him…"

"Don't call him what?" I raised my eyebrows in a silent challenge. "I'll call him whatever I want. I could call him 'husband'. Wouldn't you prefer that?"

My mother leaned back in her chair with an exasperated sigh. "I think you're lucky that you got a husband for free. I can't see many proper men wanting to mate with someone with your petulance."

I clenched my fists and stormed away. Who even used the word 'mate' in the 20th century?

"No short skirt and no cleavage!" my mother shouted after me.

I got inside my room and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. The cup of tea stood at my desk, I threw it against the door. A million shards rested on the floor. My mind envisioned them catching fire and consuming the entire room.

Either way, I penned a short letter to Potter about meeting up.

Hopefully, he could offer at least a little better company than my dignified, well-behaved, proper mother.

I glanced at my wardrobe. There was no point going against my mother's wishes. She would make damn sure that I stayed within her limits.

Clothes on, I turned towards the mirror and smiled. At least there was something I could do until Potter's reply arrived; I assumed he would say yes.

My eyes settled on the box with make-up.

No, I decided. There was no reason to. I didn't want to.

So I picked up my brush and began.

The blonde girl in the mirror smiled at me confidently, like someone who was about to do precisely what they liked the most.