QL, Round 7, Kestrals, Chaser 3. Cedric Diggory - prompt: (dialogue/quote) "Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders!" Optional prompts: (word) invisible, (word) search, (action) rolling on the floor.

Hogwarts, Round 2, Slytherin, Epidemiology Task 3 "Write about cause and effect."

Word count: 1017

Betas: 2D, Aya, Ivy, Zoomie.

Notes: Potential not canon compliant. Occurs during war.

Susan Bones stared intently down the Great Hall after she heard that the petrified were now free. She watched from the Hufflepuff table as Hermione ran down and hugged her two friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Like everyone else, she clapped loudly. But no one paid attention to her; she was invisible. Sometimes, she wondered if people would have noticed if she had been petrified—but she was a pureblood and safe.

Her aunt always made sure that she was safe, and she was glad and appreciative, but that made her feel like she couldn't have any adventures because of it. She was safe. Safe and boring. It left her wondering what it would be like to be noticed, to be a hero in a time of importance, to be brave in the face of danger.

That was until she saw the silhouette of a man in her third year. He was looking out one of the windows at the bottom of the Gryffindor's Tower.

"Are you okay, Sir?" she asked him, wanting to be helpful and show that she wasn't scared of everything.

He shot around and made direct eye contact with her. His black hair was dishevelled, his face narrow and malnourished, and his stare intense. She knew it was instantly.

"You're… You're…" but before she could say 'Sirius Black,' the man disappeared right before her eyes. She stumbled backwards quickly, her eyes darting around rapidly to find him.

Then she heard a growl and looked down to see the Grim!

She tried to scream, but her voice wasn't working.

She tried to run, but her legs were stuck in place.

All she could do was stare back into the black hole that was this Grim's eyes.

She watched the Grim run up the Gryffindor Tower and leave her sight.

Shaking, she attempted to leave but stumbled back against the wall and slowly dropped to the ground.

She tightly pulled her knees to her chest to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible. She could have been killed. That man was a murderer; she was sure it was Sirius Black.

A brave person would follow it or alert a professor. But Susan didn't. She stayed, unmoving from her spot, trying to comprehend who and what she witnessed seconds ago. She couldn't move if she tried, paralysed from fear. When students began to fill the halls, she slowly uncurled from her spot on the floor. Gasps and screams jolted her from her frozen position, and she followed the others up to see what had happened, see what she had failed to prevent—had someone died?

She watched, silently, invisible, from afar at the ripped portrait. This was another chance for her to stand up, speak up, and tell someone what she had seen.

But she didn't. Instead, she watched others search for clues—for the intruder—and allowed herself to be led to the Great Hall with her classmates, where it was safe.

Susan had always been scared. She didn't like to speak out in class or answer questions, and she avoided praise as much as possible. While she wanted to, she was just too scared that she'd say the wrong thing and everyone would laugh at her.

She turned up to her seventh year at Hogwarts out of fear of what would happen if she didn't. Despite the horror she experienced there, she still struggled to speak up, to stand up to the bullies.

Then Harry Potter and Severus Snape duelled in front of her in the Great Hall, and the fight began; Susan could have gone with the younger students to safety and convinced herself that she was helping them. But she didn't run and hide for the first time in her life. She stood there observing.

Susan stood there.

She waited for a sign.

She watched as people fought.

Suddenly, a spell hit her side and she went flying to the ground with a painful thud. Susan rolled across the floor and into the corner as she looked around for the source.

In the distance, she saw Harry run past; he ducked into the Great Hall and took a deep breath. Their eyes met, and he ran over to her.

"Are you okay?"

Susan felt awful. Harry—the Boy Who Lived, the one who was destined to save everyone—stopped what he was doing to check on her. She was now distracting him.

"I'm fine. You go do what you're doing."

He nodded. "Have you seen Ron or Hermione?"

Looking around aimlessly, Susan remembered seeing them head… which way? Her gaze was set on the double doors of the Great Hall, where Harry had previously appeared. She could do this.

"Maybe," she replied, almost distracted by her thoughts and memories.

Harry's eyes lit up with hope, and that was enough for her to push herself up. She leant heavily against the wall; she had always been a good finder.

She was known for finding her dad's keys or wallet when he missed-placed them—she constantly wondered what he did when she was there. And when her dormmates lost their homework, quills, or shoes, she was the one who was able to locate them.

Would this be much different?

"I'll help you search," she said with a confident nod, pushing herself away from the wall and ignoring the pain in her side. "They went this way about five minutes ago!"

She felt Harry's presence close to her with his wand out. Susan slowly took on his stance and urgency and brought her wand out, too.

"I know where they're going!" Harry said. "Susan, can you find Luna and tell her where I'm going?"

"Yes, I can! Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders," she said, nodding excessively.

Harry put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll see you after all of this."

"Good luck," she called after he started running off.

Susan looked around, gripped her wand tightly, and then ran off in search of Luna. A broad smile made its way to her face; she did it—she finally did it! She finally wasn't invisible anymore. She could be a hero at last.