(1) Alright, so this is my first update in a while. It has been over a year since my last update. To be honest, I'd prefer not getting into why I've been away. Just know that the story is still being written.

(2) I want to seriously thank those of you who commented on when the next chapter would be out. You were some of my biggest inspiration.

The world of Harry Potter and its characters belong to JKR. I do not support JKR. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Trans people are people.

Chapter 18: Teenage Rebellion

As the end of May approached, a warm afternoon shone in the halls of Hogwarts. The sun hit the many stone floors and walls through the windows in the castle, this was not the case for the Potions classroom. Ron would've said he was dying. In fact, he was pretty sure this was the most torturous way to die, being bored to death by Snape's class. It wasn't that he thought of Potions as boring, however, Snape just managed to make anything he touched completely unbearable.

That along with a very bad night of sleep did not help. He had been having nightmares again, and he felt absolutely exhausted. Homework, prefect duties, the Tournament, and Quidditch training were driving him absolutely mad. Surely Snape wouldn't notice him resting his eyes for a bit, right? Right.

People began to pack up, and Snape erased the blackboard. The students walked out and he noticed that there seemed to be an obstruction in one of the lines. Ron Weasley was sleeping soundly on his desk. A good surprise for a frustratingly simple day, nonetheless, a good surprise. Walking near his desk, Snape poked him with his wand. Weasley did not move. Instead, he only mumbled something in his sleep.

Snape whacked him with some parchment paper on the top of his head. With a start, Weasley woke up.

"Pepper-Up Potion," he exclaimed in a hurried and slurred voice. He blinked a few times and looked up at Snape. His face immediately paled as he looked around and saw that Potter and Granger were both staring at him from afar, probably ready to jump in the defence of their friend.

"I suggest," said Snape. "You use your Potions book for actual reading, instead of sleeping, Mr. Weasley."

"I––"

"Five points will be taken from Gryffindor," he continued, cutting his student off. "And I expect three extra inches on your essay. Surely, it will be nothing to the Champion of Gryffindor."

Weasley looked at Snape with a sour and hateful glare. He picked up his books and cauldron. Weasley uttered something under his breath.

'Insolent dunderhead,' the Potions professor thought.

"May I know what it was you decided to mutter under your breath so cowardly, Mr. Weasley?"

Potter and Granger looked worried and tried talking him out of it, but with a determined look in his eyes, Weasley turned around.

"I said piss off, arsehole," he said clearly angered, and outraged before, he shut the door of the dungeons.

"What else did you expect?" Cedric asked him as Ron walked down to the Training Room. "You swore at him."

"Yeah, but I didn't think he would take away 50 points off me," Ron almost hissed.

"Don't bite my head," Cedric said defensively. "I'm not the one that forced you to swear at him.

Ron didn't know what had come over him. He would've normally kept the insult to himself or to his friends. However, the lack of sleep alongside the nightmares and all of the things he had to deal with were taking a toll on him.

"Sorry," Ron grumbled. "I guess I'm just tired is all."

The two parted ways as they headed to their own private rooms. Ron took off his robes, putting his bag down on top of the bed. As he changed into more comfortable clothes he looked in the mirror. There he was. Scrawny, lanky and freakishly tall Ron. His eyes had bags under them, and his ears looked bigger than usual. His pale skin also seemed paler making his freckles stand out. His blue eyes looked grey. He looked like he felt.

Terrible.

As he changed into other clothes he wished that he would not look like that. He couldn't even remember the last time he had looked in the mirror and saw something he liked. Merlin, he needed to get better. And the only way was to train and study even harder.

Ron groaned out loud.

Oh for Merlin's sake.

He was doomed.

"Watch it!"

Ron had tripped on his feet and one of Luna's targets had hit him. Perhaps it had been his fault, but he was too mad –albeit at himself– to care.

"Sorry," Luna said.

"No," Cedric intervened. "Don't apologise, Luna. Ron, you've been biting our heads all day, what's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," he practically barked, making Cedric roll his eyes.

"Fine," he relented, going back to his own exercises.

Daphne looked at Ron. For the past week or so Weasley had acted strange. There were times where he would almost fall asleep during class, and from what she saw today in Potions it seemed that he got rid of the almost in that sentence. His eyes looked darker, and less bright than normal. However, his behaviour was the weirdest of all. Some days he would be perfectly calm and somewhat friendly towards her at times, while others he would snap at her at the slightest provocation. The slightest provocation sometimes meant simply standing in the same room as him.

However, today she would try to make peace with him. Instead of trying to bite his head, like he would do too, Daphne would try and be on more amicable terms.

"Listen Weasley," she said in the most neutral tone she could achieve. "As someone who's been at odds with this group, I think we all work our best when the air is clear."

"Yeah," Weasley said absentmindedly. "Sure."

Daphne took a deep breath, and then continued.

"Look," Holy shit! Why the actual fuck was Greengrass still talking to him? Could she not see that he was not in the mood for her bullshit. "I'm just saying I know what it's like to be stressed."

"Oh I am sure I can imagine," he said sarcastically. Daphne did not take the bait.

"And there's absolutely no shame in asking for a break whenever you're feeling overwhelmed."

"Or psychotic," Ron had heard the word in his head, but his mouth uttered it in a mumble that Daphne seemed to hear.

"I'm sorry," she said, quite perplexed. She had not expected him to go as low as to throw insults. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"S' nothing," he told her.

"No," she stopped him. "You said something, and I'm pretty sure it was about me, so spit it out."

Cedric rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath ' Here we go again ', while Luna sighed in defeat.

"Are you really so self-centred that you think that I have something against you?" Ron barked out.

"You do. We've both been out to get each other from the start, Weasley," Ron then grimaced in anger in a very unnatural way for him. "And I understood it before, I was not any more pleasant than you were, but I'm trying to be diplomatic with you now."

There was this ugly feeling that began settling in Ron's stomach. Normally he would've just shouted at her, called her a cow, or something, but not today. Today, he internalised the anger he felt towards Greengrass and himself. He quieted down, his tongue swiped the inside of his mouth before he cleared his throat. His nose in the air looking down at her, he looked very unlike himself.

"Very well," Ron said slowly in an alarmingly calm voice, it did not sound like his normal self. "Let's clear this up then."

"That's actually a good idea," said Cedric, who noticed Ron's strange behaviour.

"Fine!"

"Yes," continued Ron. "How about we talk about the fact you almost amputated my bloody arm?" he stepped closer to Daphne, his tone more vicious with every word. "Or how you nearly pierced me with those splinters a few weeks ago?" another step, another hint of hatred and anger. "Or how you have been nothing but a horrible person to me for no reason?" Ron stood still, his tone more calm and natural to the one Daphne had grown accustomed to the past few weeks. "That's without mentioning the fact you almost killed Luna in the Demonstration Match and acted as if nothing happened when Cedric and I had to intervene." He seemed to express genuine concern for the blonde witch who heard his words attentively.

There was a tense silence that followed Weasley's rant. Cedric looked ready to step in between the two, and Luna seemed intrigued with Daphne's answer. The Slytherin girl was quiet however, as if trying to think of an answer was a chore in and of itself she grabbed her robes in a tight grip. Ron seemed to look at her, expecting an answer from her his face deceitfully curious, but actually taunting.

"Ron" Cedric sighed. However, Daphne continued to ponder in her silence, her gaze away from everyone, she stammered senseless sounds and tried to achieve invisibility without waving her wand.

"It's alright, Daphne," Luna said calmly. "I took no offence. I'm sure that you did not mean to seriously harm me. I don't hate you or hold any resentment towards you."

'Why?'

"And I'm sure that none of us will judge you."

'Liar'

"If you say what is on your mind."

Ron looked at Luna incredulously.

'Say something!' her mind practically screamed.

"See? Luna doesn't… Look, Green– Daphne," Cedric said, trying to find words to best appease the situation. "I want us to work together too. So I also need you to help me by just saying why you felt the need to use that spell on Ron at the Demonstration Match. I promise that no one ," and he looked at Ron pointedly who rolled his eyes. "Will say anything bad, alright?"

'Anything, please!' her mind continued internally screaming. 'Oh Tom where are you when I need you?'

"It could help us understand if you talked about it–" Luna had started, before being quickly silenced.

"I don't know alright!" Daphne bellowed. "All I know is that Weasley was too close! A-and everyone was watching and… and… I don't LOSE!"

Daphne's breath was heavy and she felt as if a thousand pound weight had been lifted off her back, now she only had to deal with the other thousand pound weights that hung off her shoulders, legs and arms. She felt the air heavy around her, hard to breathe and even harder to look at them in the eye.

"I can't lose," she said tiredly, as if those words were eights she had carried on her shoulder for a long time. "I just can't , alright? There is no such thing in my family as losing. And it was maddening, you know? I just kept throwing whatever I could come up with and you would just shrug it off… And everyone was cheering for you… And it felt… It felt as if I wasn't good enough to be worth your time… Like you were looking down at me. So I panicked and… I didn't mean to hurt you so bad… I'm sorry… Ron."

Ron Weasley looked at her, his taunting expression being shaked off by him as he seemed to close in on himself in a sort of shame. Cedric Diggory himself was silent, staring at Daphne with something comparable with pity, but it seemed that as soon as he realised it he stopped and looked away from her, his gaze now on Ron. Luna Lovegood was the only one not to show pity in her expression, instead she showed something comparable to solidarity.

"It's fine," said Luna, breaking the silence and walking up to Daphne, putting a hand on her shoulder. "As long as you believe yourself to be worth your time, and you didn't mean to seriously hurt Ron, I figure that's enough."

"Yeah," Cedric said softly. "I mean, who doesn't feel angry and scared every now and then."

"Easy for you to say," Ron muttered, his tone bordering hateful, and full with spite. And yet, it lacked the ease in which he spoke with that spite moments ago, his fiery passion seemed to water down.

"It's not all fun and games when it comes down to being me," Cedric threw back.

"Well it sometimes seems like it," Daphne said. "You are Cedric Diggory."

"Well it's not ," Cedric said, clearly trying to keep himself in check. He took a deep breath before explaining himself. "Because with having as many responsibilities as me it feels like if you aren't what people expect you to be the whole world will come crumbling down. And you work all the time to prove that you can stand the weight."

"But even then it doesn't seem like enough, right?" Ron asked sympathetically, his ears turning red at his words. "It's like the world keeps putting on more and more. Or maybe, you're the one that's putting on the weight. You don't feel like the person that everyone thinks you are. And there's a haunting feeling that everyone who you know is not actually who they are, what they think of you is not what they say. It drives you–"

"Loony," Luna cut him off. The three stared at Luna for long moments. She cleared her throat before speaking. "I am aware of the fact that I am not the most popular person in school. I am also aware that people don't always mean what they say, or say what they mean. And because of that it's sometimes hard for me to understand them, but that won't stop me from being myself. From being Loony."

"You're not Loony, Luna," Ron said. He chuckled underneath his breath with no malice behind him. "You're honestly the best."

"Thank you," Luna said, smiling and blushing.

There was a silence that followed, and Daphne saw the faces turn into small encouraging smiles, it felt as if they had somehow grown closer. She felt a warm feeling inside her chest, and it filled her with something that reminded her of Tom. A feeling of being special, simply because she was Daphne Greengrass.

Tom had always made her feel special simply because she was herself as well. However, special also sometimes meant unique, one of a kind, and also alone… Friendless… But this… This made her feel far more special, as if what made her special also made her part of something. The sense of belonging that Daphne often ignored felt extremely nice, and comforting to her otherwise lonely life.

"I'm sorry too, Daphne," Ron's voice said, tearing her away from her thoughts. He had a tired and guilty expression on his face. "I haven't been the best either. What do you say we keep it in the past and focus on just being…"

"Friends?" Cedric suggested, arching his eyebrow. Ron looked pointedly at him for interrupting him, but couldn't hide his amused smile.

"Friends," he said, nodding and extending his hand towards her.

Daphne looked down at his hand. Perhaps this was what Tom had wanted for her all along. For the two of them to be separated just so she could understand how capable she really was on her own. Friends. True friends. Not allies, but friends. The expression made her feel giddy. She now had friends. And it was all thanks to Tom.

Ron struggled to close his eyes. Although, he had managed to settle things down with Greengrass for now. There had been a burning sensation that had crossed through his body when he had managed to calm himself down. So much anger that he could not explain ended up going to where it normally went: himself.

Whenever Ron would get mad he would usually just get mad at someone else until the guilt started to set in, then he would simply just want to be left alone, in which case his anger would then combine itself with his guilt creating a perfect solution for self-deprecation. Today was no different. Although he knew he was making progress thanks to training, Quidditch and even his tutoring sessions with Gryffindor, he could not help but to look at all his peers and feel small in comparison.

Unable to fall asleep, he got out of his bed and was about to go to the bathroom to wash his face when his stomach rumbled. Today he had not been so hungry during dinner, and had decided to skip out on it. Harry and Hermione had joked about the end of the world, and the familiar voice that took the form of his insecurities had called him out on it. He walked back to his bed, put on his slippers and stepped outside his dorm, before doing so the cold steel of Daphne's gift reminded him to put the ruby locket back inside his drawer. As he was always tired he would sometimes forget to take it off before going to bed.

Although his prefect schedules did not align with a patrol out today, they did allow him to volunteer sometimes. Or at the very least they gave him an excuse to sneak out. Tonight was one of those times. He was hungry.

He walked down the castle, his steps were a bit wonky. Sleep was seemingly clawing its way towards him as he reached the fruit bowl portrait that hid the kitchen. When suddenly, he was pulled back. Someone had covered his mouth, and they had him grabbed by the arms as well. He tried yanking himself off the other person's grip, but they held him tight. He felt powerless, like in his dreams, and this time he wasn't going to let someone take a hold of him. He yanked his body forwards feeling as the other person held tight still on his body, his head nearly went between his knees when his mouth was finally uncovered. The other person groaned on the ground as they gasped for the air that had been knocked out of them. Ron rounded up on them, fist raised ready to fight Malfoy, or Crabbe, or…

Cedric?

His handsome face was slightly screwed up in pain, as Ron's knee was held deep beneath his ribcage near his diaphragm, a trick he learned from Gryffindor. He stepped off his fellow champion, and his superior when it came to prefect duties.

"Merlin's fuckin' beard, Cedric!" he hissed. "You can't just–"

He stopped himself from continuing. He sighed, and held out his hand to the Hufflepuff who in turn accepted and stood up.

"I should be saying that," Cedric said in between a groan. "Merlin, Ron. You can fight like a Hippogriff."

"Thanks?" Ron said confusedly, unsure of what to make of the compliment. "What are you doing here?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I came for a snack?"

"No."

"No?" Cedric said as he brushed the dust off his bum. "What are you down here for?"

"A snack."

Ron's face remained absolutely serious as he said this. Cedric laughed, and Ron had to admit, the handsome bastard had a very contagious laughter. Ron tickled the pear, and the portrait opened up like a door.

"What are you getting?" he asked Cedric.

"Probably a bit of the roast from dinner. You?"

"Something sweet, and something salty. Something like a Shepherd's pie maybe?"

"Like Mrs. Weasley's famous Shepherd's pie?"

Ron turned to look at Cedric in a scrutinising glare.

"How do you know about my mum's Shepherd's pie?"

"Uh, Ron. We're neighbours. Remember?" Cedric said quite obviously, making Ron feel a bit dumb. "The twins and I used to hang out quite a lot before we came to Hogwarts."

"Oh yeah," he said. "I almost forgot about that. Why did you stop coming over?"

Cedric shrugged his shoulders.

"My mum didn't like how I smelt like a shop full of fireworks whenever I returned home. She made them out to be small miniature criminals, y'know."

"That would be a good way of describing Fred and George."

"Criminals?"

"A shop full of fireworks." Ron corrected.

The house-elves almost scurried to grab a table and a chair for Ron and Cedric when the little creatures saw the two enter the kitchen. They almost forcibly sat them down and began to ask for what the two wanted. In the end Cedric got the roast from dinner, accompanied by a side of potato stew and a glass of Sparkling Ginger Juice. Meanwhile, Ron got a Shepherd's pie, half a roasted chicken, a glass of Butterbeer and some fairy cakes –the last ones, Dobby told Ron, were for his birthday.

"Oh, that's right. Happy birthday, mate," Cedric said after swallowing down a piece of beef. "Sorry for not getting you anything."

"It's fine," Ron said as he ate almost ravenously a piece of chicken. "I already got plenty of things."

"Like what?"

"Like the cigarettes."

"Those were a gift?" a random voice said from the entrance of the kitchen. Ron and Cedric brandished their wands, mouths stuffed full of food, and fingers covered in grease in Ron's case.

"Head Boy! What are you doing out of bed?!" came from Cedric's mouth more like a muffled sound as he covered his mouth with his other fist to not appear rude.

"Prefect! No students are allowed–" is what seemed to try to come out of Ron's mouth before he nearly choked on his food. He too had been generous enough to have covered his mouth, but in doing so he had tainted his lips with the chicken's grease.

By the entrance to the kitchens of Hogwarts were both Daphne Greengrass and Luna Lovegood. The two were staring at both Ron and Cedric differently. Luna looked at them curiously, while Daphne looked at them as if they were idiots. In this case, Ron could not really blame her for that assumption. The two lowered their wands, Ron cleaned his wand, hands and mouth with a napkin, while Cedric only cleaned his mouth as he had only used utensils to eat.

"Who would give a child such a gift?" It was Daphne who asked both questions.

"Someone from back home," said Ron, as he stared at the two girls. "But that doesn't matter. What are the two of you doing here? You're supposed to be in bed."

"We got hungry," Luna stated quite simply.

" I felt a bit famished, and decided to go out on a stroll for a midnight appetiser," Daphne corrected. "I just happened to encounter Lovegood on the way here. And we could be asking both of you the same thing."

" We are a Head Boy and prefect," Cedric explained, pointing at himself and Ron, who was continuously nodding his head in agreement. " We are supposed to be on patrol. And as such we are allowed to be out."

"In the kitchen?" Daphne asked. "Where there are no students? And tonight? When it's Malfoy and Parkinson's turn to patrol?"

Cedric raised his finger ready to refute, but he only stood a bit still trying to think of a way to not look like a Head Boy who was clearly abusing his powers just a tiny bit.

"She's got you there, mate," Ron said, chuckling as he took a bite from the Shepherd's pie.

"So it's not your turn to patrol either, Ron?" Luna asked, and whether it was intentional or not he cursed her silently. He swallowed down his piece of pie, and just shrugged, his eyes looking into another direction.

"You know," Cedric continued, seeing Ron surrender without giving any sort of fight renewed his spirit just a bit. "You are making this situation out to be way worse than it actually is."

"The two of you got hungry and decided to raid the kitchens by yourselves. And the only reason you could do so is because you are Head Boy and prefect." They both had the decency of looking a bit embarrassed, at how plainly she had stated their entire predicament. Ron's ears turned red which made Luna speak up once more.

"Don't feel bad, Ron," Luna said calmly. "We were planning the same thing."

"Lovegood," Daphne chastised.

"I'm sorry, Daphne," Luna responded. "But it would be quite hypocritical of us to criticise them for their stomachs feeling empty, when we were about to break the same rules."

Daphne looked like she wanted to respond, but instead she decided to refrain from doing so. Instead she just crossed her arms and watched the house-elves that had been spectating their entire conflict. A small awkward silence settled, and then the house-elves put down another set of chairs for Luna and Daphne.

"You can join us." Cedric stated. "There's plenty of food."

Luna smiled and skipped over to the table sitting down and talking to a nearby house-elf. Daphne seemed to think for a second before she hesitantly joined the table as well. The house-elves ended up bringing Beef Wellington to Daphne, and chicken soup to Luna. The four champions ate peacefully, and talked lightly towards one another. There was a bit of tension, as it was the second time they had hung out outside training.

"So how's everyone doing in class?" Cedric asked in an attempt to break the awkward silence that had settled at the table.

The other three stared at him, it was Ron who spoke first.

"A bit tough," he explained. "Since I'm taking my O.W.L.s this year the teachers are being so bloody–" Cedric cleared his throat to remind Ron that he was not only a prefect, but in front of two women. "They're being a bit difficult with homework and all that."

"How's Snape for you?" Luna asked.

"Awful," Ron responded almost automatically.

"He's not that bad, Weasley," Daphne piped up.

"That's because he likes you," Ron argued. "Other than Hermione you're the best at Potions in our year."

The compliment came as a bit of surprise to everyone, even Ron.

"Thank you," she said simply and felt a bit proud.

"But you're shite at Care of Magical Creatures," he said after taking a sip from his Butterbeer.

"I am not," she said undignified. "Professor Hagrid has a habit of showing us dragons for an afternoon class. Who wouldn't have problems with that?"

Ron immediately pointed at Cedric, who was surprised and his cheeks went a bit red.

"Doesn't count," and as Ron was about to mention someone else Daphne interrupted him. "Neither does Potter."

Ron looked quite pensieve and then shrugged his shoulders. The three went on to continue eating, but this time Luna spoke up.

"How about you, Ron?" she asked. He raised his head, and noticed the other two had stopped eating as well and were now looking at him. "Would you have a problem with that?"

"Well, I don't know," he said unsurely. "I mean. I don't think so."

"Didn't Harry and you get points back in your second year? I assume it was for helping the school with the Chamber of Secrets."

"Don't be ridiculous, Lovegood," Daphne chastised. "How could two twelve year olds–"

"Harry was twelve, I was thirteen," Ron interrupted. She rolled her eyes.

"How could two second-years help save the school from Lord Slytherin's revenge?"

At her question the three stayed quiet. Daphne looked around feeling a bit silly for some reason. Her eyes gazed around the other champions before they settled on Ron, they widened just a bit as she asked.

"Was it?" she then clarified in an almost whisper. "Was it related to the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I mean," Ron's ears reddenned. "Yeah?"

Her eyes widened further, and she nodded her head in understanding.

"Very well," she looked at her fellow champions once more. "Does anyone else have any stories they'd like to tell?"

No one spoke, until Luna did once more.

"During the summer my dad found two gnomes copulating."

"What?" all three said at the same time.

And so they began to talk far more naturally than before. Stories and facts about themselves seemed to spew like liquid. They learned a lot about each other, like how Cedric had been allowed to keep the miniature dragon from last year's tournament after begging the teachers and about three Ministry officials.

"That can not be allowed!" Daphne protested in disbelief.

"Oh but thankfully for Pendragon," Cedric responded. "It is."

"Pendragon?" Ron inquired. "What kind of name is Pendragon?"

"Well you see, I thought about this joke…"

They also learned Cedric did not make the best jokes. Luna talked about the summers she had spent in South America to investigate rumoured creatures that could travel through time, Ron spoke of the trip his family took to Egypt three years ago.

"Who's there?!" a gnarly voice had interrupted Ron's story about his visit to the pyramids. It was Filch. All four Champions froze, they looked at each other with a childish panic in their eyes, like a child who realised they had not done what their parents told them to do. Their hands moved around without grabbing anything. They seemingly looked for something to take or put away before going over another part of the table. Ron swallowed down the last of his butterbeer and approached the doorway slowly.

What the hell was Ron doing? They were about to get caught and there was no time to play the hero. Cedric was about to grab him by the arm when Ron cleared his throat, and spoke.

"It is me, Argus," and from Ron's mouth came the waspish voice of Snape. "I thought I had heard some students, but I was mistaken."

"Ah professor Snape," Filch said, his growly voice sounding a little less hostile. "I see. Very well. Good night."

"Good night, Mr. Filch," Ron hissed and they all could hear the sound of Filch's footsteps growing weaker and weaker with every step.

All three were dead still, their breathing the only thing that could be heard. When there was finally no sign of Filch's growling or his limping steps Cedric laughed outlandishly as he approached Ron. Daphne and Luna were smiling and laughing far more reserved as they walked towards the boys.

"You bloody maniac!" Cedric exclaimed. "You are one crazy son of a–! How the hell did you pull that off?!"

"I've heard that greasy git speak for 5 years of my life," Ron explained. "It's in the throat. You need to try and sound as miserable and contemptuous as possible."

"That was actually impressive, Ron," Daphne confessed, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

"Oh so it's Ron now," Ron said in a fake surprised tone. "I suppose I can call you Daphne, then?"

"I'd prefer your majesty, but Daphne's fine."

They laughed, and went back to eating. When they had finished they said their goodnights and went back to bed. Bellies full, and cheeks tired from laughing.

For the rest of the night Ron did not have nightmares.

McGonagall was worried. The heads of Houses along with the founders, Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey were all waiting nervously to understand if there was anything dangerous threatening their students. Before breakfast and classes would start the Champions had been called to the infirmary for a random inspection. In actuality, they were checking Daphne Greengrass, and possibly the others for traces of dark magic related to possessions. A plan that Flitwick and herself had come up with.

Now, McGonagall was less worried for Ms. Greengrass who seemed quite fine, and more so for her own student. Ron Weasley looked particularly tired. Although he had grown this year not only academically, but also physically and magically, his current state seemed distressing. There were deep eye bags under his eyes, and she had heard that he'd been caught sleeping in some classes. It was unlike him, having observed him, Mr. Potter, and Ms. Granger for the last five years had given her a small insight into the youngest son of the Weasley family.

He seemed to work harder than before, but what before looked like a new admirable dedication to improvement had now become borderline obsessive behaviour that worried the veteran professor. However, she was proud to say that his ability to socialise with other houses was improving. All four of the Champions looked quite comfortable, and even friendly in each others' presence. She had not seen a single glare or frown from either him, or Daphne Greengrass.

"That is all," Pomfrey said as she finished waving her wand over Luna Lovegood, the last Champion examined. "Well, all seems to be perfectly alright. Although, Mr. Weasley I advise you to consider sleeping more often. I am going to give you some Dreamless Sleep Potion for you to take throughout the rest of the week."

"Uh, thanks," the young boy replied as he awkwardly looked at Snape, who arched his eyebrow.

All four Champions left, leaving the faculty and founders to deal with the evidence.

"Well?" asked Gryffindor impatiently. "Is one of our students being possessed or not?"

"Patience, Lord Gryffindor," Lord Slytherin hissed. "Magic takes time."

"It does," Pomfrey confirmed. "However, I am fairly sure that there is nothing wrong with any of them."

"Are you sure?" Slytherin inquired.

"Yes," she continued. "Magic leaves traces, no matter how small. There are very small traces of very tame dark magic, which mostly come from hexes, jinx and light curses. However, there is no other presence, or trace of a foreign presence occupying the body, mind or soul of any of the Champions. If there were an active presence, it could be detected. I believe whatever happened to Ms. Greengrass was perhaps a case of tame dark magic discharging."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore questioned.

"I am positive. Dark magic tends to corrupt those who use it with too much passion and emotion. It distorts parts of them, and even tends to change them mentally, emotionally and even physically. For a young growing woman like Ms. Greengrass the training she is undergoing may have been stressful, leading her to become emotional and letting herself be willed by impulses and urges given by the light, but still dark magic."

"What if there were to be a foreign magical object with a presence that could possess or influence one of them?" Dumbledore asked.

Madam Pomfrey, as well as other members of faculty, looked positively puzzled.

"Well," she continued. "I've never heard of such a piece of magic. Perhaps, if I would be let to investigate alongside a St. Mungo's healer I could be of more help. However, to trap a presence such as a mind, or conscience inside an object is unheard of, Headmaster. Things like the Imperius Curse are quite hard to detect without the caster's wand, I would not know where to even start with the description of a foreign magical object ."

"Yes," Dumbledore acknowledged, his face serious. "I suppose so."

"So there is nothing to be concerned about?" Sprout asked while looking at Dumbledore.

"Not so much no," Pomfrey said as she went to prepare for the rest of the day. "Although, perhaps let them relax a bit. Rest is very good for the mind, body and soul."

Relax. That looked like a foreign concept to McGonagall nowadays, but for some reason the founders looked at one another with grins on their faces.

Ron walked down the hall very happily, when he suddenly remembered.

He walked up the stairs, and to the Gryffindor Common Room to get to his dorm. He had almost forgotten to put his locket on.