"I'm surprised at you, Ada," Freddie said to her invisible friend after they had passed through the gate and there was no one around. "Sneaking off to Hogsmeade with me. You used to be so prim and proper. Aren't you scared of getting in trouble?"

"Please," Ada snorted. "I graduate in two weeks. What's the worst Madame Maxime could do to me? There are much more serious things to be worried about."

"That's true. Have you been to Hogsmeade before?"

"Yes, we went with the Hogwarts students a few weekends. Most of the other girls thought it was a 'dingy' little village, but I liked it."

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me you were here. I could've come to Hogsmeade one weekend."

"I wanted to surprise you," Ada said and even though she was invisible Freddie could tell she was grinning. "I'm so glad you came last night. ...Do you think Professor Dumbledore knew something bad was going to happen? Perhaps that is why he invited you."

"I'm not sure. He did seem a little worried. He has a sixth since about these sort of things."

"I am glad he is on our side. ...I have been thinking of how I can fight back against You-Know-Who, ever since we talked last night."

"You're still serious about that then?" Freddie asked, unable to help but feel concerned for her friend.

"Absolutely. I want to practice my dueling. The rumor around the castle is that Harry Potter dueled You-Know-Who last night and won. Do you know if that's true?"

"I think so, but...I'm not sure how a 14-year-old could have beat the Dark Lord in a duel," she said, shaking her head. "There are grown wizards who can't do that."

"Well I want to be prepared. If I have to fight, I want to be ready," Ada said determinedly.

"Have you ever dueled before?"

"Not really. We learned the spells in our Defense class at Beauxbatons, but I have never been in a real fight. Have you?"

"I've sparred with Snape a few times, just for practice."

"Did you win?" she asked curiously.

"No, never," Freddie laughed.

"You think he would let you win, at least once."

"No way he'd do that. I wouldn't want to win like that anyway. I want to win because I'm strong, not because anyone lets me. I've caught him off guard a few times though, to where it seemed like I could almost beat him. He's a lot stronger than I am though."

"Maybe you could help me. We could have a Wizard's Duel. I know all the formal rules."

"I guess we could do that. I could use the practice, too," she said thoughtfully. "I've never dueled with anyone but Snape. ...But you know if you ever do fight against the Dark Lord or Death Eaters, they won't be playing by the rules."

"I know, but just the same I would like to train."

"Alright, we can find a place to do that after lunch. I'm free til 7:30 anyway."

"Bien," Ada said brightly and squeezed her hand. "...Hey Freddie?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you call You-Know-Who the 'Dark Lord'? I thought only Death Eaters called him that?"

Freddie hesitated and she wanted to let go of Ada's hand, but the girl held her hand firmly. She wanted to avoid the question, but she didn't see any way out of it. Maybe it was time to tell her friend the truth.

"Well," Freddie said slowly. "You know how I was raised by my aunt and uncle?"

"Yes, you said they were terrible people. Were they Death Eaters?"

"They were big supporters of the Dark Lord, but they weren't part of his inner circle...my parents were."

"Your parents were actual Death Eaters?" Ada whispered. Freddie wished she wasn't invisible so she could see her face.

"Yes," she said with a grimace. "They're serving a lifetime sentence in Azkaban."

"Oh Freddie..." she said softly, squeezing her hand again. "I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I dunno. I didn't want you to hate me. You're Muggleborn," she said, shrugging.

"I could never hate you, Freddie, don't be ridiculous. You can't be blamed for what your parents did."

"I don't like talking about them anyway. My aunt and uncle always said I should be proud of them – they went to Azkaban for the Dark Lord and they didn't rat anyone out to try and save themselves – but I never have been. I hate them," she said bitterly.

"When was the last time you saw them?"

"My parents? They were arrested when I was 7 and I haven't seen them since. My uncle tried to take me to Azkaban to visit when I was 17. He said since I was of age I'd finally be allowed to visit, but...I didn't want to and he made me go anyway. The moment I got there it was horrible. There was screaming, it was freezing cold and the dementors... I never made it inside, I ran away as fast as I could. Once I was far enough away I Disapparated. I never went back there, never went back to my aunt and uncle's house. That's how I first came to live with Severus, the summer before my seventh year."

"What were the dementors like?" Ada asked quietly. "I've never seen one."

"I hope you never have to. They're awful. They look like cloaked wraiths and their hands are like rotted corpses. Everything gets cold when you're near them and you feel like you'll never be warm or happy again. They really do suck every bit of happiness from you. I thought about throwing myself off the cliff before I thought to Disapparate to Hogwarts instead," she answered softly. "...Can you do a Patronus Charm?"

"No. I tried for a while, after you showed me your kneazle Patronus after the Potions Championship, but I never could get it right. It's been a while since I tried though."

"Maybe I could help you with that, too. It would be good for you to learn...though I hope you'll never need to use it."

Just thinking about the dementors had Freddie craving chocolate so as soon as they reached Hogsmeade they headed for Honeydukes. They ducked into an alley along the way to remove their Disillusionment Charms and Freddie dug an extra set of Muggle clothes out of her bag for Ada.

"I think your jeans are a bit too big for me," Ada said as she changed behind a pile of empty crates. "Do you have a belt?"

"I don't think so," Freddie said, digging through her bag to check. "You can shrink them with a charm if you want. I don't mind, I have plenty of others at home."

"Thanks. Reducio."

When Ada came out from behind the crates she was wearing Freddie's jeans and Nirvana t-shirt with her own pale blue heels that were part of her Beauxbatons uniform.

"Sorry I don't have any extra shoes," Freddie said as she opened her bag for Ada to stow her dress in. "I know those heels can't be comfortable."

"I'm used to them," she said with a shrug. "Are you ready to go eat?"

"I want to grab a bar of chocolate at Honeydukes first. All that talk about dementors," she said with a shudder.

"Lead the way, mon ami."