Welcome to the final chapter of Year 4! Before we start, I'd like to assure you all that, as of this week, Year 5 is finally done! Much like I've warned before, 1993 is an absolute batshit year from start to finish; but now that I'm mid-way into 1994 I can confidently say that I've fulfilled the promise to myself to pivot back to normal and funny storylines.

That said, after this chapter I'm going to take a 1-2 month break. Why? Because I'd like to NOT catch up on my writing! I'm hoping to write up the Summer of '94 and move into Goblet of Fire events before that time is up. At the latest, I'll start re-posting on July 20th; but I may return earlier if I write a lot and get antsy about it.

There's also a GOF query for you all at the end of the chapter. Be sure to check it out!

"What are we going to tell her parents?" The question hung heavy in the air. By a grace of goodwill, Dumbledore had allowed Harry to spend the next few hours with his godfather …though Harry hardly felt an urge to feel grateful.

"I'm not sure," Sirius replied. "I never told them that she woke up. Thought it would be best, in case this happened. Azkaban…" Sirius shuddered. "I'd only wish that on my worst enemy, and he's there already. She's going to be in the same place as Wormtail. My cousin, too, and her husband. I spent ten years there. It was- I'm sorry, pup, but it was Hell. Who knows, maybe all that Devil talk means she'll be alright; but I doubt it."

Devil. Right. That was a whole thing to unpack, but Harry had no energy for it. He sunk further into the couch. "We should tell them. At least part of it. She'll need support once she's out."

"Won't be easy," Sirius confessed. "I ought to talk with Dumbledore. See what story he plans to give. Just in case."

Harry huffed at the idea. "He's as bad as Melly is. They'll both try to act like nothing happened."

"Well let's check anyway to be sure."

There was a belch at the door. Sirius walked over and let the visitor into their flat. "Ted! I'm glad you're here."

Hearing the name, Harry twisted and sat upright on the couch. "How is she?"

"Bennett's alright, all things considered. She's a strong one, I'll give you that." Tonks reached the living room and sat in the armchair. "They'll be shipping out tomorrow morning for Azkaban. I convinced the court to go for a minimum security wing. That said, I don't think a single one of them is comfortable with the arrangement."

"Why'd they go for it, then?"

"Wouldn't look good to the press. Putting a fourteen year old in Azkaban is tricky enough," he explained, "and the judges want to keep the whole thing hush about the deals she made. Weirdly, Doyle did us a favour in that. …That idea he had about You-Know-Who leaving a trap, that's going to be the whispered story."

"How would that work?" Harry shook his head at the idea. "The whole school knows mine and Rowle's side of things. There's no way that will last."

"Maybe, maybe not. An official story as a secret can have more credibility with adults than school-wide rumours. Either way, the point is that Bennett isn't seen as the one responsible, only an unwilling accessory. That's about the best we can hope for."

The wizards chewed over the idea, mulling and talking it over until they settled on Tonks' assurances. Shortly after, Ted got up from his seat. "I should go. I'll need to prepare the final paperwork for the transfer and make sure Weasleys' payments are all settled."

"Their payments?" Harry asked.

"Oh, you didn't know? Bennett sold off some of her possessions to pay for George Weasley's prosthetic and recovery."

"Oh right, he mentioned that. But I didn't know she resorted to selling anything to afford it. It's not like she has much to sell."

"You'd be surprised. The accordion alone got a lot of money at a muggle auction. Salvatore handled things on the magical side, and he says there was plenty of money to afford the whole package and have the boy's brother along for the trip."

It couldn't be helped, Harry's jaw fell to the floor. "She- She sold her instruments?"

"That she did."

"She sold her Weird Al Accordion?!"

Both adults looked at him strangely. Sirius was the one who took the hanging question. "Is that important?"

Is it important?! SHE TOOK THE WEASLEYS TO WAR OVER THAT THING! His thoughts screamed. His mouth, on the other hand, simply said. "It's her most prized possession." Well, maybe the golden flute would top tha- the flute! Is that how she could afford it?! "Selling that must have been hard."

"Well, the loss is certainly worth the reward of helping that boy out." Tonks replied. "It's the noble thing to do."

Harry said nothing, still surprised over the revelation. So Sirius filled in with a polite "Right" before escorting Tonks to the door. After their cousin-by-marriage left, with promises to give their regards to the family, Sirius went over to sit by Harry's side. "He's right, you know. Things could have been a lot worse."

A very reluctant "...I suppose" muttered back at Sirius.

Harry felt as Sirius flopped against the back of the seat. "It's funny you know, All that stuff coming out about Peter, and that locket. You know she got that off of Kreature, right?"

He snapped his head over. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah. Shocking, I know. My, uh, my brother died filching it from You-Know-Who. I never knew. All this time Kreature had it. Beat himself up over it when he couldn't break it like Reggie wanted. Then… I don't know. She must have seen it or something and talked the little beast into giving it up." He hit his hand against the armrest and continued on in a voice of teasing exasperation. "He refused to tell me who did it. Just went 'Oh, the little miss Good Witch dids it', the bastard. I thought someone broke into the house! Here I am stressing over home security, and it turns out the culprit walked right in. Invited. By me." The other hand smacked his forehead. "I've been paying March extra on security and he probably knew it was her the entire time! That sneaky, one-armed bastard!"

Seeing this sudden, rambling anger, Harry laughed in spite of his mood. The laugh tapered into a wistful smile. "Those two fooled us both."

"Ugh, no kidding!" Sirius groaned with annoyance. "Lit-tle Miss Good Witch." The words came like a mocking song. "Thought it was someone dark; and yet… she's the reason I'm free. Guess Kreature was right- I can't believe I just said that-" He muttered quietly. "It had been a good witch, after all."

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "She really is."

April, Rewind, 1993

*Drip*

*Drip*

*Drip*

Melissa's eyes cleared, the haze fading. The wholeness of Ted Tonks' office gained her notice once again.

"Incredible," Tonks said in awe.

Melissa eyed the antidote in Salvatore's hand as he capped the contents. "I take it that it went well?"

"Well?" Mister Tonks replied. "That was incredible! Dangerous." He leaned in close. "Lucifer couldn't answer a single one of Salvatore's questions! Everything was either 'a part of the deal' or 'left out by his original self'. And you, how can you hide away your own memories? With proper occlumency you should just be able to fight the veritaserum; but you genuinely didn't know the answers to questions you wrote yourself. That should be impossible!"

Melissa smiled knowingly, stroking the phoenix nestled on her lap. "I think these sessions have proved that impossible isn't in my repertoire."

"But, how- how is it that this works? Changing answers. Shielding memories. None of your thoughts should work like that!"

"It's not just about shielding them," she answered, "it's about belief. In that state I believe that any memory I give to Lucifer is gone. Lucifer now believes that he is the devil, himself." She gave Tonks a wicked smile. "And, as he once explained to me, belief is a very powerful tool."

April, later on

"If we go through with this, there's something you should know." Ted placed the parchment in front of Melissa to read.

She read the wand-highlighted portion with confusion. "Associating with demons? …That's a thing?"

"Yes, and you'll be confessing to it."

"So, innocent or not, I'm admitting guilt to something."

"Essentially. Yes. So you have to prepare for the minimum consequences."

The conclusion came. It fought her mind, though she prayed for denial. "Azkaban really is a guarantee. Isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so."

Taking in a deep breath, Melissa rested her head on the chair, staring up at the ceiling. "...I'd be lying to say I don't deserve it, or that I'm surprised. …That said, it's almost a relief to know it's a certainty."

"We'll fight for a short sentence," he promised.

"Of course," her answer came small, almost defeated. "May, 1994. Lucifer is willing to bring back any memory I ask him to hide, except for the ones I first left in his domain, until I'm fifteen. If I'm in prison by the time I turn sixteen I won't be able to stop what's coming. I'll take any punishment within a year."

Worriedly, he asked. "...What is coming?"

A huff of a laugh came with the answer. "That's the trouble. I don't know. I do have some small hints, though."

"Such as what?"

Melissa looked him in the eyes, a sad smile on her face. "In the future, your Dora's going to have a baby."

"What?!" The response wasn't in anger, just in shock. So the smile continued.

"Yeah. Cute kid. He's a metamorphmagus, like her. Loves the turquoise look." Imagining that, this turquoise babe in the arms of his pink-haired daughter, a warm smile grew on his face. "And… she calls him Teddy. In your memory."

Their smiles vanished. An understanding grew between them at once. Tonks swallowed as if in pain. "May, 1994."

A single nod. A promise struck. "Then, and no later."

May, 1993

*SQUAWK!*

Her hand waved at the fiery bird as it squawked overhead. "Don't be so dramatic. It's not that bad."

Fawkes perched onto a broken statue. He cawed loudly as she sprinkled bits of dragon eggshells into an open chest. "It's not stealing. This is the room of lost things for an ancient castle. Can the things here really be considered property after a few decades? I don't think so."

She tossed a few gleaming jewels into the pile. Meanwhile, an angry set of chirps followed her. "No, no, no, no, no! Dumbledore has his own vault of money at Gringotts. And the school runs on a budgetary committee by the school board. If everything here fell to the property of the school, they wouldn't need a stipend from the government. They'd have just sold all this. So, really, all this stuff here doesn't belong to anybody."

*SQUAWK, SQUAAAAWK!*

"I am paying with my own money! I drained my muggle account dry, and I only have one thing left in my Gringotts vault just to keep it valid." and because only a fucking idiot would sell the alchemist flute to the first bidder. Hand to heart she exclaimed dramatically. "Why, I even sold my most beloved possession!" She threw a pouch of silver into the chest. "I could have held onto it, waited for the invention of eBay. But no, out of the generosity of my heart, I sold it before I could make the best profit out of it."

Then again, Off The Deep End just released and it was a pretty big album. A pretty good time for a sale, really. But, damn, I won't be able to hear it again until I get out!

*SQUAA!*

"Yeah! I loved that accordion. Now it's gone. That's worth making back my fortune with these abandoned trinkets, right?"

Fawkes grumbled, an act oddly melodic thanks to his fiery heritage.

"So… you'll drop these off for me?"

The phoenix gave her a stink eye, yet gave another melodic grumble. With a grin Melissa skipped over and kissed his cheek. "Aww, you're the best, Fawkes!"

Present Day

The boat lurched against choppy waves. The morning, grey and dreary, held rain that challenged the ocean spray for aquatic dominance. Melissa, lead judge (due to lack of protective clothing and magic) could honestly say that the two were neck and neck. Sometimes the wind gave a cutting advantage to the rain, but then the waves would offer a bathful of ice water just to keep things 'Fresh.'

"Almost there, now, Inmate." The auror behind her sneered.

Ominous comment that it was, Melissa found herself staring past the rain to see if he was telling the truth. A flash of lightning cut into the sky. Its light only fell obscured by a jutting tower. Tall, straight-edged, and imposing. Another flash of lightning, and all the straight edges warped as a towering wave crashed against it. She could feel the crash equally as she saw it. This great, monstrous thing. A pinnacle of evil and sin and misery. Her new home.

Summertime for Azkaban: Day One.

And now we say goodbye for the next two months.

But before you go, a question for all of you! I have two ideas for how The Goblet of Fire could go, and would like your opinions on it. Which of these would be a funnier / better storyline, and Why?
1. Cedric and Harry remain our champions, in all their Honey Badger glory; while Melissa navigates magic that caters to her own needs/interests.
2. Melissa ends up in the Triwizard Tournament due to shenanigans, and has to tackle a mishmash of eventualities and off-canon changes.

Ciao!