AN: So, SAO started November 6, 2022 and ended November 7, 2024 (Wow they really wanted to make it almost exactly two years). That's 24 months, remove another month since the first floor took that long, and you're left with 23 months, or 100 weeks, or roughly 705 days. To get 74 floors done in that amount of time, they had to have been completing a floor at least every nine and a half days, roughly. I'm saying this, because I wanted to avoid anyone saying that they're getting through the game too quickly. Of course, some floors will take less time, others more. It'll balance out, the nine days thing is just a rough guideline for me. Though I'm gonna have to keep track of how much time each floor takes. Otherwise, I get the strange feeling someone's gonna comment, 'Um, with how you've set up the timing for each floor, they would've had to clear _ floor in a day'. Or something like that. Which, don't get me wrong, I'd appreciate it if someone pointed out such an oversight of mine, but I'd rather just avoid it altogether. More Mike than Marzanna this chapter, but that's just how the story decided things would happen. Also, another skip.

December 31th, 2022- 55 days since SAO launch:
Hanna was waiting with Kirito for the boss raid meeting to begin. Since they'd conquered the first floor, the front liners had gotten significantly better. No one wanted it to take a month to get through each floor after all. After wasting a month on the first floor, it seemed to put all the front liners into a frenzy. They'd completed the second floor in 6 days. When they reached the third floor after rushing through the second, most people were a bit too under leveled for comfort. Technically, they could fight the mobs there, but almost no one had felt comfortable with how much damage the mobs had been doing. So, due to most of the front liners grinding, it had taken 14 days. Now it was day eight of floor 4. The boss raid meeting was today, and if all went according to plan, the boss raid itself would be tomorrow.

They're both startled out of the light banter they'd been exchanging when a familiar voice calls out to them, "Oi, Kirito, Hanna!" They turn to look over, finding that it was indeed Klein, who was making his way over, both more than a little shocked that he was here, Klein smiles as he reaches them, "How are you guys doing?"

Hanna gives an unsure smile, "Uh, fine, but Klein you probably shouldn't hang around us. Our reputation- that is-"

Klein frowns, "You mean that whole 'Beater' thing? I heard. What really happened anyway? I may not have known you guys that long, but I know you guys aren't like that."

Kirito sighs, "Short version? The boss was changed from the beta. We recognized the weapon it used from other floors, and tried to warn the raid leader. After the raid, one of the players decided that we knew because we were beta testers and cheaters, ergo Beaters, and decided to loudly voice his opinion. There wasn't really anything we could do about it, so we decided to make the best of a bad situation and at least try to make people stop hating the beta testers. "

Klein's frown deepens, "That's bull man! You guys didn't do anything wrong! You were only tryin' to help."

She smiles gently at Klein, "It's nice to know we've got your support. We only really have each other, Argo, and Diabel. Well, I think Agil, one of the front liners, likes us. He doesn't seem to believe we're so-called 'Beaters' at any rate. However, you really shouldn't associate with us. Whatever reputation you may have will go down the drain faster than you can blink if you do."

Klein snorts, then turns his head towards a group of people not far behind him, "These are those friends I told you about on the first day. The only people whose opinions matter to me are theirs, yours, and Kirito's. Everyone else can say whatever they want about me. I don't give a damn."

Kirito looks startled, "Why would you care about our opinions?"

Klein looks a bit sheepish, "Well, I mean, I know we didn't know each other for long before we split up, but I still consider you my friends."

She smiles gently at him, "Well, I can't speak for Kirito, but I think of you as a friend too Klein."

Kirito nods in agreement, and Klein grins at them. He opens his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a voice that was also unfortunately familiar to her and Kirito, "What the hell are you filthy beaters doing here?!"

They all turned to Kibaou with different expressions. Klein was pissed, his friends also looked irritated, which warms her heart a bit, that they'd be mad at someone insulting her and Kirito despite not really knowing them. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Kirito blank his face, pinning Kibaou with an expressionless look. She herself was annoyed, but upon noticing Diabel making his way towards Kibaou with an angry expression, an idea hit her. She flashes Diabel with a mischievous grin, causing him to pause, then turns to Kibaou, "Scusa, ti conosco?" (1)

Kibaou falters in confusion, then shakes his head, "I know you speak Japanese lady. You-"

She tilts her head while cutting him off, "Certo che parlo giapponese. Un idiota come te, che parla a malapena correttamente la propria lingua, indubbiamente però non conosce una parola di italiano, ed è più divertente pasticciare con la testa." (1)

Off to the side, she could see Klein, and his friends gaping at her in shock. Kirito was noticeably trying to keep himself from smiling, while behind Kibaou Diabel had covered his mouth with one of his hands, and his shoulders were shaking with muffled laughter. Kibaou, on the other hand, growls angrily, "You think you're so funny don't you? Only a beater would find you funny, just so you know. You-"

Again she cuts him off, "Sai, se vuoi provare a fare il furbo, prima devi essere furbo. Altrimenti sei solo un asino." (1)

Kibaou gives a frustrated shout, then storms off. Diabel walks over to them and grins at her, "Really Hanna? A moron like Kibaou can only take so much, it's rather inconsiderate of you to tax his brain like that."

Off to her left, Klein gives a startled laugh. She puts on a look of mock thought, "I hadn't thought about that. You don't think his brain will short circuit, do you?"

Diabel just shakes his head at her, "Well, if you guys are all right over here, I should get back to my party."

She smiles at him, "Yeah. Thanks, by the way. I can handle Kibaou, but it's nice to know you have my back."

Diabel nods, "Of course. See you later Hanna."

One of Klein's friends speaks up while looking at her in interest, "You know Italian too?" She nods with a smile, "Do you know any other languages? Klein said you were American, but that you were fluent in Japanese. So if you're fluent in Italian, that's already three languages you know."

She hums, "Fluently?" He nods, "Well, English, Japanese, and Italian obviously. I'm also fluent in Russian, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese amongst other things." Now they all stare at her, and she shifts awkwardly, "What?"

Kirito shakes his head, "Nothing really, most people don't fluently speak 9 languages. It's just startling is all."

She looks away, "Well, actually I know more than 9, but I didn't feel like naming them all."

Not to mention, amongst the ones she hadn't listed were Latin, ancient Egyptian, Sumerian, and a few other languages that were dead as far as humans were concerned. Her grandparents had been alive when those languages were common though, so they'd taught her when she'd asked. Most might think it useless to know dead languages, but while technically any language could be used when casting magic, specific ones were best for certain types of spells. Latin was great for general spell casting, and quick spells, ancient Egyptian was amazing for wards, and Sumerian was fantastic for rituals.

Technically, it wasn't necessary to know what you were saying to cast a spell, obviously given that most magical schools don't teach the meaning of the words when they teach spells, but it helped a lot. Plus you needed to know the languages if you wanted to create a new spell, ward, or ritual. Most people made the mistake of using Latin for new wards and rituals since it was what they knew and was the most common language used for magic, but when creating new spells, wards, or rituals, one should have a firm understanding of what they want it to do, and pick the language must suitable for that type of magic. After all, even just the basic idea of 'Latin for quick spells, Egyptian for wards, and Sumerian for rituals' wasn't always correct. It was more of a guideline.

She realizes she's spaced off when Kirito waves a hand in front of her face, "Huh? Oh, sorry, my mind wandered. What'd you say?"

Kirito chuckles lightly, "I noticed. The meetings about to start. I asked if you wanted to get closer to Diabel, since he's leading this meeting."

She nods, "Sure."

The boss raid meeting had finished a few hours ago. Since then, Hanna and Kirito had gotten some lunch, went to some shops to make sure they had everything they needed, and did various other preparations for tomorrow's raid. Now it was 6:38.

She glances over at Kirito, "Do you want to do some grinding?"

Kirito hums in thought, "The sun will go down soon. The mobs will be twice as ferocious then."

She nods, "Yes, but they'll also drop more xp and items. An extra level or two is always a good thing."

He laughs lightly, "Too true. Alright then. Where do you want to grind?"

She grins, "Let's go to the labyrinth."

He jerks in shock, "What? The labyrinth? But the mobs there are already twice as strong as regular mobs. Since it's almost night time they'll be more ferocious."

She nods, "Yes, but the system always boosts drops and xp whenever mobs become stronger. Which means we'll get a lot more xp and drops than usual." Seeing him hesitate, she sighs, "Alright, if you think it's too risky we'll go somewhere else to grind. It was just an idea."

Kirito contemplates it for a moment, then sighs, "No. We'll go to the labyrinth. The stronger we are, the higher our chances of surviving this twisted game. The higher the gain, the higher the risk. So it'll be worth it, but..." He gives her a worried glance, "Promise me we'll be more careful than usual. We'll heal more often, and retreat earlier at the very least."

She nods with a smile.

Kirito and Hanna had been in the labyrinth for over five hours. Currently they were sitting side by side resting in one of the safe zones. From the outside, all the labyrinths looked like solid stone, but they weren't. Sometimes they had windows, or stairs circling the outside. This particular one had safe zones that were large balconies.

She glances at her clock when she notices a change in her peripheral. The digits got a subtle red glow, and read 11:59:01. She nudged her companion, "Kirito, look. The clock is counting the seconds until New Year's."

He blinks, then glances down and to the right, "Yeah. I'd forgotten it was New Year's Eve, to be honest."

She nods. They silently watch the clock tick away until there are only ten seconds left, then she starts counting down out loud, "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Happy New Year's Kirito."

Kirito smiles at her, "Happy New Year's Hanna."

Abruptly a large 'BOOM' and a flash of color startles them. Looking out over the rest of the floor, they realized fireworks were going off. She smiled lightly, "I guess Kayaba programmed them in to celebrate New Year's."

He nods. A ding notify her to a new message, which she's sure Kirito also gets, given a window pops up in front of him at the same time hers does. Sharing a glance they open them to find a system generated message. At the top was a large banner, in bold letters it said, "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's!" Below that was a short letter, "Congratulations for surviving so far. Please select one of the following as a Christmas/New Year's gift:

250,000 col

30 large health potions

Two of every type of crystal"

She glances at Kirito, "Potions or crystals? We may not be rich, but we aren't hurting for money either, so I don't think either of us should go for that."

He hums in agreement, "Two of every type of crystal? Then there'll be teleport crystals in there, those alone make that option amazing. Healing crystals too, but at this point we don't have enough health for a potion to not be able to fully heal us. So the 30 health potions are very tempting. Technically, we could each pick one, then split them. One of each crystal each and 15 health potions for each of us. On the other hand, having four teleport crystals instead of two would be fantastic."

She nods, "Potions aren't overly expensive, but having 30 large healing potions would be very nice." He nods back, and she sighs, "But, I agree having four teleport crystals would be awesome." Contemplating it for a few minutes she shakes her head, "We can buy potions if we need them, let's just both pick the crystals."

He thinks it over for another moment, then nods. After picking the crystals and confirming the choice, a little message appeared in front of her, one she assumes it a replica of what's on the window that had popped for Kirito, "Items received:

2 Antidote crystals

2 Healing crystals

2 Teleport crystals

2 Message Record crystals

2 Screenshot crystals"

Hanna gave the message a strange look, "Message Record and Screenshot crystals?"

She glances at Kirito who just gives her an equally perplexed shrug. She shakes her head with an amused grin, then sighs in contentment as she leans her head against Kirito's shoulder, "Today's been a good day hasn't it? We've got the next boss planned out. My idea on grinding in the labyrinth worked spectacularly, bringing us both up to level 21(2). And we secured ourselves four teleport crystals."

Kirito was initially mildly startled when she leaned against him, but relaxes and leans his own head against hers while she's talking, "Yeah. We should start grinding in the labyrinth at night regularly. Four levels each is pretty crazy."

She hums in agreement, "It's not that crazy. The mobs are a lot more difficult, so we had to retreat from almost a sixth of the fights. No, the results aren't crazy, but other people would probably think we are for trying it. Most people refuse to even go out to regular grinding spots at night. It's pretty much considered taboo to go to the labyrinth.'

He nods, "They'd either think we're completely insane, or consider the fact we survived as more evidence that we're beaters."

She nods, but can't find it in her to be annoyed at the mention of their beater statuses. Both the outcome of her day and leaning against Kirito made her far too content to care.

Mike sighs when he notices Ron hurrying over to him. Next to him Hermione glances at him in question, then follows his gaze. Upon seeing Ron, she scowls. Hermione and Ron hated each other. It was only made worse by the fact Ron had believed Mike had put his name in the goblet and abandoned him. Ron had come back around after the first task, but Mike wasn't sure he could trust him. After 23 days of working together to solve the egg, he and Hermione had gotten rather close. At first it had been awkward, then Hermione said something that made Mike realize that she wasn't a no nonsense prude and actually did have a sense of humor. After that he'd taken to joking around with her, just a tiny bit, which had made it much less awkward. Then Mike had said something that apparently made Hermione realize that he wasn't stupid, and was actually very intelligent, and had stopped trying to dumb down her explanations.

Things had become rather relaxed between them after that. Mike had started to enjoy Hermione's company, and she seemed to enjoy his as well. They'd grown close at an astonishing rate after that. When the Yule ball had come around, he'd even asked Hermione to go with him. She'd accepted, after he'd clarified that he was asking as her friend, and they'd both ended up enjoying the night immensely. So two days ago, when Ron finally found him -he didn't seem to even realize Mike had been avoiding him- he'd immediately questioned why he was hanging out with, in his words, 'a loser like Granger'. Mike had immediately hexed him, and told him that if he was going to insult his friends, he should just stay away. Ron had gotten angry at that, saying that he was Mike's friend, not some stuck up know it all. Mike hexed him again, then grabbed Hermione and their things and left.

Needless to say, Hermione had been surprised, and had asked him what was wrong with him and Ron, since it was well known that they were best friends. So he'd explained everything. She'd already intensely disliked Ron, but outright hated him after that. It was truly astonishing. Two months ago Ron had been his best friend, Hermione had been that annoying know it all, and he'd been an arrogant jerk. Now he couldn't stand Ron's presence, Hermione had become his friend and confidant, and he was completely unsure of who he was.

It was terrifying, that uncertainty, but at the same time it kinda excited him. He'd come to realize that the person he'd thought he was, who he'd been before the tournament started, didn't really exist. Most of that person was simply what other people made him be, based on preconceived notions they'd had of him. He'd occasionally noticed it, felt like he was boxed in, trapped, but he'd never realized what it was. He figured it was because while most of it was forced on him, a little bit of it had been brought about by how James had raised him.

On the other hand, he was also terrified of this period of self-discovery. What if he didn't like the type of person he really was? What if Hermione didn't like him? Her opinion of him mattered a lot to him nowadays. He'd told Hermione everything except his fears. She'd been extremely supportive, which he couldn't have been more grateful for.

He'd only been zoned out for a few seconds, but was yanked from his musings by Ron reaching them, "Oi Mike! Where you been huh? I've been looking everywhere for you!"

He sighs again, already tired of Ron's presence, and casts a quick muffliato, "Studying the egg. With Hermione, my friend."

Ron had continued to be a complete asshole to Hermione, so Mike had taken to making pointed comments about how much he liked Hermione and how she was his friend. Rather than getting the blatant hint, it just seemed to anger Ron every time he said anything. Sure enough, Ron predictably flushes with anger, "Why do you insist on hanging out with her? Not to mention, you took her of all people to the ball? What the hell man? This isn't like you at all."

Hermione bristles, "Maybe you don't know him as well as you think! If you weren't such a self-absorbed dick-"

Ron cuts her off angrily, "No one asked you for your opinion! No one wants you around, go away so I can talk to Mike."

Mike is immediately furious, "Don't you talk to Hermione that way Ron! And to correct your poor assumption, I want Hermione around. You need to be respectful to other people, this is the last warning I'm going to give you Ronald. Are we clear?"

Ron gapes at him for a minute, then glances between Hermione and him. Abruptly his face morphs into something ugly, and he gets a horrible feeling. Then Ron rounds on Hermione angrily, "Really Granger? That desperate for Mike to pay attention to you? Then again, you were always unnaturally enthusiastic about potions."

"What the hell are you talking about Weasley?" Hermione looks livid, like she already knew what Ron was saying, but wanted clarification.

Mike has a good idea as well, but surely Ron wasn't saying-, "You know damn well what I'm talking about! You spiked Mike with love potion, you mudblood whore!"

Mike didn't even realize what he was doing until Ron was sprawled on the ground and his fist hurt. Ron gapes at him, which was understandable. Most wizards used magic, and detested physical violence, so getting punched in the face by someone was practically unheard of.

He steps towards Ron, still enraged, but Hermione grabs his arm, "Mike, calm down. He isn't worth it."

He looks at her incredulously, "But he-"

Hermione nods, "I know, and I appreciate you standing up for me, but Weasley really isn't worth it. He's not worth getting in trouble over."

He stares at her for a few moments, then closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and forces himself to unclench his fists. After a good minute of forcing himself to calm down, he opens his eyes and nods stiffly to her. Still holding his arm, she begins to tug him after her. It was only then that he noticed that while there hadn't been that many people in the hallway, every single one of them was staring and whispering.

He mutely lets Hermione drag him along, and is entirely unsurprised to end up in a heavily secluded table in the library. Hermione sets her bag on the table and sits down, still holding his arm. He flops into the seat next to her, slumping down with an old tiredness settling into his bones, and she lets go of his arm. Immediately she grabs the hand he'd punched Ron with and starts examining his knuckles.

He glances at her, "They're sore, but I don't think I broke anything. Well, I don't think I caused myself injury, can't say the same about Weasley."

Hermione hums and finally lets go of his hand. She stares at him for a few seconds, then sighs, "Mike, it's not that I don't appreciate you defending me, I do, I really really do, but you'll probably get in trouble. Points docked at the very least, and likely a detention too. You shouldn't let him get to you."

He looks away, not wanting to see the disappointment that was undoubtedly in her eyes, "I don't regret it. Even if I lose some points and get detention, it'll still have been worth it. Talking to you like that, he deserved a lot more than that."

Hermione sighs again, then brushes his bangs away from his eyes, "I'm not mad Mike. I just don't think you should let an asshole like him get you in trouble. He's entirely unworth it. Honestly, you shouldn't even give him the time of day."

He nods, mind turning over the old notion and examining it for the first time in a long time, now under the new light of his recent discoveries, "Love potion..."

She tilts her head, "What about it?"

He grows distinctly uncomfortable, but pushes himself to answer, "I... used to have a twin. James told me she went missing when we were six. The thing is Marzanna, my sister, told me a week previous that James was drugging mom with love potion, Amortentia to be specific. I didn't believe her, but... Well, now I know that James isn't the person I thought he was, and now that I think about it mom started acting weird shortly after Marzanna went missing, and James was pissed. I tried not to think about that time in my life, but roughly two months later, mom left. I haven't seen her since. James said she ran off with a half breed, but..."

Hermione is quiet for a minute, "You think Marzanna was telling the truth. It almost sounds like Marzanna did something to stop James, most likely destroying his stock, and he got rid of her. Marzanna destroying the amortentia would also explain James being angry, and your mom acting weird. The potion would have begun to wear off by then."

He nods slowly, a pained expression stealing across his face, "That's... not the only time Marzanna tried to confide in me. I- We used to be close when we were younger, but James was always saying things about her. She was a liar, she was a thief, she was mentally unstable, the list goes on and on. At first I didn't know what to think. James had never lied to me, but I knew Marzanna. Then when we were four I found her at the bottom of the stairs bruised and bloody. She said James had done it to her, that he hurt her, but I just couldn't believe it. He was my kind caring dad, wasn't he? So I chose to believe what James had been telling me about her. We weren't close anymore after that. In the two years following, before she went missing, I think we spoke less than thirty words to each other, excluding her trying to tell me about the amortentia. If I'd just listened to her, maybe she wouldn't- just maybe she..."

Hermione runs her fingers through his hair in a comforting manner, "You talk about her like she's dead."

He gives a humorless laugh, "Marzanna and I were twins Hermione, we had the telepathic bond all twins have. Twins can usually sense a lot about each other, their emotions, where they are, if they're ok. With practice, magical twins can even speak telepathically to each other. When I woke up the day Marzanna went missing I couldn't sense her. No matter how hard I tried. Admittedly our bond was far weaker than most twins for reasons I've never been able to figure out, but I should've been able to sense her. The only time twins can't sense each other is if there's a vast distance between them, or if they're dead."

Hermione pauses in her petting, "Oh." She's silent for a minute, then resumes carding her fingers through his hair, "Well, you said your bond was weaker. I mean, it's possible it makes your range shorter, isn't it?"

He sighs, "Technically, yes, but I just don't think that's the case Hermione." He falls silent for a bit, then begins whispering so quietly Hermione has to lean close to hear, "It's my fault. If I'd just listened to her, believed her over James... Maybe she'd still be alive."

Hermione sighs, "Mike, don't do that. It's not your fault." He snorts in disbelief, "No, I'm serious. You were six, just a kid. A child is supposed to be able to believe their parents. Plus James had practically been brainwashing you, and children are very susceptible to suggestion." He starts to protest, but Hermione places her hands on his cheeks and forces him to look at her, "Mike, listen to me. Whatever happened to Marzanna it wasn't your fault. You were a child, who was only listening to his parent. If anyone is at fault here, it's James. Not you, so don't torture yourself over it."

He just shrugs, "I just- I wish I could apologize to them, I feel like they deserve that at least. Even if Marzanna's alive, I doubt either one of them ever want to hear from me again. So maybe it's selfish, maybe I just want to get it off my chest, to tell them that I know I was wrong, I don't know. I just..."

When he trails off, Hermione stops running her fingers through his hair, and wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He appreciates Hermione trying to make him feel better, but he was pretty sure he would take this guilt to his grave.

Severus Snape was making his way to the library. When Lily had run away from James with her soulmate she'd asked Severus to watch over Mike when he started Hogwarts, and if possible, try to negate as much of Potter's influence as possible. He'd been dutifully doing just that since Mike was 11. He hadn't had much luck undermining Potter's influence, but he reported to Lily every weekend on how her son was.

So when he'd rounded a corner just in time to see Mike punch Weasley, he'd gone after him and Granger. After unfreezing from his shock anyway. Weren't Weasley and him best friends? He supposed it didn't matter, but if he was going to change friends at least he'd traded the idiot for someone who actually had a brain between their ears. Even if Granger was an annoying little girl who liked to pretend she knew everything. Lily will approve the higher intelligence at least.

When he'd finally caught up he'd paused behind a bookshelf when he heard Mike muttering about love potion. His interest peaked, he eavesdropped on the conversation. He felt a bit bad for Mike. He knew what it was like to live with crushing guilt. He'd only realized the prophecy could refer to Lily's child after he'd told Voldemort, as before that he hadn't known Lily was pregnant. Lily was back under the love potion by then, so he hadn't been able to warn her. So for more than a year after(3), Severus believed he had inadvertently killed Lily. He still tried to find a way to save her, -and her children, they may be Potter's children, but they were Lily's too- though even he believed it to be impossible. It was sheer luck that Potter and Lily had been called to an emergency meeting an hour before Voldemort struck, being forced to leave their children with Peter Pettigrew. He knew it wasn't luck that saved the children, subsequently killing Voldemort, but he didn't care. No one knew what happened to Pettigrew, most assumed that he also died in the blast of magic that happened due to the killing curse rebounding.

Shaking himself out of his memories, Severus contemplates whether or not he should help Mike. 'This tournament is good for something at least. It's changed him, for the better from what little I've seen. Lily's missed him horribly, this might be the chance for them to be together again. On one hand, he might not be as different as I think. If that's the case, it would hurt Lily even more than the situation with Marzanna already has. As strong as she is, I don't think she could handle that. On the other hand, it could give them both closure over the whole issue, and may even ease Lily's pain over Marzanna, just a little.' Continuing to contemplate the issue for a few minutes he eventually shakes his head, 'Even if she wasn't dealing with Marzanna's mind being trapped, she'd still be furious with me if I let this opportunity slip through her fingers.'

Decision made Severus rounds the bookshelf, and as soon as he sees the two, snaps at them, "Potter! Come with me." Granger starts to protest, since Mike was still clearly being haunted by his thoughts, but he cuts her off, "Now, Potter. I will not tell you again."

Mike slips out of Granger's hug, "It's fine 'Mione."

She bites her lip, glancing quickly between the two, before squaring her shoulders in determination, and grabs her bag, while standing up with Mike. Her intention was clear, she wasn't going to leave Mike alone with him, given the state Mike was in. He doesn't care, he just turns and starts heading for his office.

Hermione was worried. If this was about Mike's fight with Weasley, then it would be Professor McGonagall dealing with it. She knew that was the only thing Mike had done recently that could get him in trouble. The only other thing this could be about was the tournament, which either McGonagall or Dumbledore should be the ones handling it. Mike was in no condition, mentally, to be dealing with the stupid tournament. She continues to worry about it, until Mike grabs her hand. When she looks over he gives her a tired, but reassuring smile, while gently squeezing her hand. She smiles back, but mentally scolds herself. She was here to support Mike, he shouldn't be comforting her.

When they finally make it to Professor Snape's office, he immediately locks the door and casts a large number of privacy wards. After finishing that, he walks over to the fireplace. Grabbing some floo powder from a jar on the mantel, he barks a quick, "Wait here." Then throws the powder in and leaves. Sharing a confused glance, they impatiently waited for Snape to return. Roughly ten minutes later he does. Following him was a beautiful red haired woman Hermione has never seen in her life, but still looks vaguely familiar.

The woman looks Mike over for a minute, smiling in a loving manner, "Hello, Mike. It's good to see you again."

She glances at Mike, only to find him stunned silent. She gets her answer on the woman's identity when Mike collects himself enough to speak a moment later, "Mom?! What are- how- that is- I-"

She's startled by the woman's identity, but can't help but feel slightly amused. Apparently Mike hadn't recovered enough to speak, or at least not properly. Either that or he'd spontaneously forgotten how to speak correctly. Lily also looks amused, then she glances at Professor Snape, "Severus, would you mind getting some tea while I conjure some chairs? I get the feeling explaining everything will take a while, if this is how he reacts at simply seeing me."

Professor Snape nods, then leaves out of a side door, temporarily disrupting the privacy spells, but they snap back into place as soon as the door closes behind him. Mike's mom, what was her name, she wasn't sure if Mike had said, glances at her, "And who might you be dear?'

"I'm Mike's friend, Hermione Granger." Pausing to gently push the still shocked Mike into the newly conjured chair, she tries to remember if Mike had mentioned his mother's name. Giving up a moment later she turns back to Mike's mother, "I'm sorry, Mike mentioned you, but I don't think he ever told me your name."

The woman smiles gently, "I'm Lily Sparda. It's nice to meet you."

It was at this moment that Mike decides to rejoin the conversation, "Sparda? Then you really did run off with some guy?"

Lily frowns at Mike's wording, "Mike, sweetie, I didn't abandon you. I would've taken you with me if I could, but Potter and Dumbledore had already begun to... make you see things their way. I didn't know how you'd take everything. Especially... Well, you adored them both, so I didn't know how you'd take... finding out they'd been working together to... well-"

Hermione, seeing her struggle, decides to speed things along, "So it's true? James had you under amortentia? And Dumbledore was involved?"

Lily gets a startled look on her face, "You know? How?'

Upon getting confirmation Mike immediately gains a look of both pain and shame, "Marzanna tried to tell me. I-I didn't believe her. I'm sorry, I should've, maybe if I had she'd-"

Lily's expression becomes alarmed at that, and she immediately cuts across Mike, "Mike, what did James tell you happened to Marzanna?"

Mike looks away, "All he told me was that she went missing. I don't believe that anymore, but Marzanna's my twin, Mom. Our bond may have been weaker than most, but I was always able to sense her. I haven't sensed her since I woke up the day James said she disappeared."

Lily gains a look of understanding, "She isn't dead Mike." Mike immediately jerks at that, staring at her with wide, hopeful eyes. Lily nods, "It's true. We've been living together since I left. You couldn't sense her because James apparated her over to America and left her there, after she destroyed all of his amortentia."

Mike breathes a sigh of relief, "So she's ok then?"

Lily gets a pained expression at that, "Not exactly." She shifts her gaze to Hermione, "Have you heard about the Sword Art Online incident?"

She frowns at the seeming unrelated topic shift, "My dad told me about it in his last letter. What does that- Oh. You mean?" Lily nods with a tight expression, "Oh, I'm so sorry. That's horrible. I-"

Mike interrupts, "Hermione? What are you guys talking about?"

She takes a deep breath and begins to explain. It takes a while, since Mike's a pureblood through and through, and doesn't even know what a video game was, but eventually they get the basics of the situation across. It was actually Snape, who'd come back at some point, who eventually made Mike understand. Though they all knew his example of being stuck in a pensive memory where you control what happens was very far off from what was actually happening.

After finally getting the general idea, Mike sits back to absorb the information. Eventually he looks at his mother, and makes a hesitant request, "Can I visit her?"

Lily smiles, "Of course." Glancing at the clock quickly, she sighs, "Not today though. It's gotten rather late. Tomorrow wouldn't be a good day either, as you'll need someone to take you and we'll all be busy. After that's Monday, so you'll have class all week, and I don't want to distract you from your studies. Next Saturday though, I'll take you, ok?"

Mike nods, clearly a bit put out that he'd have to wait a week, but more happy to be able to see his sister. He gets a determined expression, and Hermione feels like she knows him well enough to guess why. He was probably promising himself right then and there that if she made it back from that place, he'd do everything he could to make up for not believing her when they were younger.

(1): If this is wrong, I apologize, but I had to use Google translate. The translations should be:

Scusa, ti conosco?- Sorry, do I know you?

Certo che parlo giapponese. Un idiota come te, che parla a malapena correttamente la propria lingua, indubbiamente però non conosce una parola di italiano, ed è più divertente pasticciare con la testa.- Of course I speak Japanese. An idiot like you, who barely speaks his own language correctly, undoubtedly doesn't know a word of Italian though, and it's more fun to mess with your head.

Sai, se vuoi provare a fare il furbo, prima devi essere furbo. Altrimenti sei solo un asino.- You know, if you're going to try to be a smartass, first you have to be smart. Otherwise you're just an ass.

(2): I looked it up, in canon around this time, Kirito was level 17 and Asuna was level 16. So it's not far off.

(3): In case anyone's confused, the prophecy was made before Harry was born, and Voldemort attacked when he was 15 months old. That's all canon. Which means Voldemort didn't attack for at least sixteen months.