Thanks again to ChuckTheElf for beta-reading this for me!

Chapter 16: Halloween

Holly returned to the Gryffindor Common room one evening after training, cold and stiff but pleased with how practice had gone, to find the room buzzing excitedly.

"What's happened?" she asked Ron and Hermione, sitting in two of the best chairs by the fireside and completing some star charts for Astronomy.

"First Hogsmeade weekend next Saturday," said Ron, pointing at a notice on the battered old bulletin board. "End of October. Halloween."

"Excellent," said Fred, who had followed Holly through the portrait hole. "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets."

Holly threw herself into a chair beside Hermione, her high spirits fading. With Aunt Marge's visit and the subsequent blowup, she hadn't gotten her permission form signed. There's no way McGonagall will let it slide…

Hermione seemed to read her mind. "Holly, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time. They're bound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already," she said, referring to the Dufftown sighting a few weeks prior.

"Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade," said Ron. Thankfully, they'd come to a mutual, non-verbal agreement not to discuss what happened the other night. "Ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Holly. The next one might not be for ages—"

"Ron!" said Hermione. "Holly's supposed to stay in school—"

"She can't be the only third-year left behind," said Ron. "Ask McGonagall. Go on, Holly—"

"Actually," said Holly, making up her mind, "I reckon I wouldn't mind staying here." After all, she had a deadline to meet, and most of the places in the village had locations in Diagon Alley. She'd seen it last year and wouldn't be missing much. Besides, signed permission form or not, Holly doubted McGonagall would allow her to go anyway.

Hopefully.

"You wouldn't?" Hermione asked, surprised.

Ron seemed far more disappointed. "But it's Hogsmeade! Everyone's going!"

"But we already saw it last year, didn't we?" said Holly to Ron.

Hermione pursed her lips.

"Yeah, but it's not the same! We didn't go to the Shrieking Shack or Hog's Head!"

Holly shrugged. "I'll be fine. And besides, it's not as if I can't give you two some money and have you buy some stuff for me, can't I?"

"I suppose..." said Hermione, looking at her speculatively. "Are you sure you're alright with not going?"

"It's our first Hogsmeade weekend ever," stressed Ron. He seemed oddly insistent.

"Don't get me wrong, I wish I could go, but there'll be dozens of Hogsmeade weekends. And after they catch Black, I'll be next to you two."

"I still reckon you should ask McGonagall tomorrow," said Ron, unwilling to let the matter drop.

Holly frowned. Why was he so insistent? Hogsmeade would be a welcome break, of course, but they'd done without it for the last two years. It wasn't out of the ordinary. Then she looked at Ron, who had turned his attention to his neglected Potions essay.

Is he trying to ask me out? She internally rolled her eyes at the question. There's an obvious answer to that. But should we go out on a date? What will people say? It was bad enough last year…would Ron be able to handle it?

Before she could think on it further, Crookshanks leapt lightly onto her lap. A large, dead spider was dangling from his mouth.

"Does he have to eat that in front of us?" said Ron with a scowl. Holly grimaced.

"Clever Crookshanks, did you catch that all by yourself?" said Hermione, scooping the half-cat up. Crookshanks slowly chewed up the spider, his yellow eyes fixed insolently on Ron.

"Just keep him over there, that's all," said Ron irritably, returning to his star chart. "I've got Scabbers asleep in my bag."

Holly yawned. She wanted to go to bed but still had her own star chart to complete. She pulled her bag toward her, took out parchment and a fountain pen, and started working.

"You can copy mine if you like," said Ron, labelling his last star with a flourish and shoving the chart toward Holly.

Holly grinned. "Thanks Ron, you're a lifesaver. I finished my Potions essay, so if you haven't done it yet you can look at it."

Ron smiled back, ears reddening. Hermione pursed her lips again but didn't say anything. Crookshanks was still staring unblinkingly at Ron, flicking the end of his bushy tail.

Then, without warning, he pounced.

"OY!" roared Ron, seizing his bag as Crookshanks sank four sets of claws deep inside it and began tearing ferociously. "GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"

Ron tried to pull the bag away from Crookshanks, but Crookshanks clung on, spitting and slashing.

"Ron, don't hurt him!" squealed Hermione. The whole common room was watching; Ron whirled the bag around, Crookshanks still clinging to it, and Scabbers came flying out of the top—

"CATCH THAT CAT!" yelled Ron as Crookshanks freed himself from the remnants of the bag, sprang over the table, and chased after the terrified Scabbers.

"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" yelled Holly.

Her aim was true. Crookshanks was halted on his way to an old cabinet, levitating mid-air. Hermione grabbed him around the middle and heaved him away while Holly cancelled the spell; Ron threw himself onto his stomach and, with great difficulty, pulled Scabbers out by the tail.

"Look at him!" he said furiously to Hermione, dangling Scabbers in front of her. "He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!"

"Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong!" said Hermione, her voice shaking. "All cats chase rats, Ron!"

"None of the other cats do! There's something funny about that animal!" said Ron, who was trying to persuade a frantically wiggling Scabbers back into his pocket. "It heard me say that Scabbers was in my bag!"

"Oh, what rubbish," said Hermione impatiently. "Crookshanks could smell him, Ron, how else d'you think—"

"Here's an idea," began Holly, stepping between the two. "How about we make a cage for Scabbers? We could ask McGonagall or Percy to help us—"

"Why should I? Scabbers isn't hurting anyone! If anything that cat should be locked up!" spat Ron.

"How could you say that?" cried Hermione, clutching the half-Kneazle.

"That cat's got it in for Scabbers!" said Ron, ignoring the people around him, who were starting to giggle. "And Scabbers was here first, and he's ill!"

Ron marched through the common room and out of sight up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

~•~

And…done!

Holly, dressed from head to toe in blue brewing robes, enchanted gloves, and Spelled goggles that covered her entire face in a semi-permeable bubble, pulled the silver funnel from the final Mane-Gro bottle. She stopped it with a matching cap—once the customer got it, they could insert the included dropper—and put it by the others. After casting a mild Cleaning charm on the bottles, packing them into the boxes Alex sent her with padding, and sealing them with tape, she shoved them into the Vanishing Shoebox.

And with a day to spare, she thought as she changed into her school robes for DADA and headed out. Then I'll have to finish up my Rune work during History. I also have to get my Transfiguration essay back from Fay since I asked her to look it over during breakfast…

With everything she had going on, Holly almost forgotten about Malfoy and his antics.

Almost.

Though she had saved him from a Hippogriff-induced injury, Malfoy had been playing up the 'emotional distress' card as an excuse not to practice for Quidditch. At first, she thought it would pass over, just a minor annoyance at the beginning of the school year. But it was mid-October now, and there were no signs of his act dropping.

"Holly!" said Ron, waving her over to walk with him and Hermione as they made their way to Defence. "Where've you been? You missed lunch!"

Her stomach rumbled uncomfortably. She'd only had a bag of crisps. "Oh, you know, here and there," she waved off. "It's just lunch."

Ron nodded and put his hands in his pockets. Holly nodded. Hermione was reading, muttering under her breath.

Holly nodded again as if steeling herself to go to war, but she couldn't find the words to break the awkward silence between them.

"So…did I miss anything?" asked Ron hesitantly.

Holly scratched her knuckles. "Um, well, Oliver thinks that Slytherin won't play on the 6th."

"What are they playing at?" asked Ron hotly.

"'Emotional distress'," she said with disdain, rolling her eyes. "It's stupid, but now we have to practice our moves against Hufflepuff, too, just in case they drop out." Hoping the older girl would join in, Holly glanced at Hermione, whose face was buried in a book. "I mean, I got sliced by the Hippogriff, but you didn't see me whining. It's complete bullshit."

That got her attention. Hermione shut her book with a snap! "Language!"

"So that's the key to getting Hermione's attention – just curse!" joked Ron.

Holly laughed.

They were distracted, however, by a disturbance at the front of the DADA door. Lavender Brown seemed to be crying. Parvati had her arm around her and was explaining something to Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were looking very serious.

"What's the matter, Lavender?" said Hermione anxiously as she, Holly, and Ron went to join the group.

"She got a letter from home this morning," Parvati whispered. "It's her rabbit, Binky. He's been killed by a fox."

"Oh," said Hermione, "I'm sorry, Lavender."

"I should have known!" said Lavender tragically. "You know what day it is?"

"Er —"

"The fourteenth of October! 'That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the fourteenth of October!' Remember? She was right, she was right!"

The whole class was gathered around Lavender now. Seamus shook his head thoughtfully. Hermione hesitated; then she said, "You — you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?"

"Well, not necessarily by a fox," said Lavender, looking up at Hermione with streaming eyes, "but I was obviously dreading him dying, wasn't I?"

"Oh," said Hermione. She paused again. Then—"Was Binky an old rabbit?"

"N-no!" sobbed Lavender. "H-he was only a baby!"

Parvati tightened her arm around Lavender's shoulders.

"But then, why would you dread him dying?" said Hermione.

Parvati glared at her.

Holly winced. Come on Hermione, please take the hint.

"Well, look at it logically," said Hermione, turning to the rest of the group. "I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he? Lavender just got the news today—" Lavender wailed loudly "—and she can't have been dreading it, because it's come as a real shock—"

"Don't mind Hermione, Lavender," Ron loudly interrupted, "she doesn't think other people's pets matter very much."

Professor Lupin opened the classroom door at that moment, which was perhaps lucky; Hermione and Ron were staring daggers at each other, and when they got into class, they seated themselves on either side of Holly and wouldn't talk to each other.

"Hermione—" started Holly.

"Don't," snapped Hermione.

Holly shook her head. This was the problem with Hermione when she thought she was right about something. All of Gryffindor had heard about Trelawney's predictions about the fourteenth of October, and Lavender and Parvati were especially eager to see if it had come true.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was most people's favourite class. Only Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin. "Look at the state of his robes," Malfoy would say in a loud whisper as Professor Lupin passed. "He dresses like our old house elf." But no one else cared that Professor Lupin's robes were patched and frayed and were often excited for the next lesson.

"Good afternoon. Today, we will be working on Kappas. Can anyone tell me what they are?"

Holly glanced at Ron and Hermione, who were still giving each other the cold shoulder. She sighed inwardly before raising her hand.

"Kappas are Japanese water demons," Holly answered when prompted, trying to draw her attention away from the awkwardness. "They're said to inhabit rivers and ponds, preying on unsuspecting victims by dragging them into the water and drowning them."

Lupin smiled, pleased with her response. "Excellent. And does anyone know how you would defend yourself against a Kappa?"

Holly nudged Hermione, who finally raised her hand. Lupin nodded in her direction. "One way is to bow deeply to the Kappa, which causes it to reciprocate. Then, you can take advantage of its bowing by pushing down on its head, spilling the water and escaping."

Lupin nodded, acknowledging her understanding of the topic. "Very good. Five points to Gryffindor."

Hermione gave a slight smile.

"Can anyone give some examples of spells that might work against this creature?" asked Lupin.

Ron raised his hand. "A Trip Jinx, I guess? It'd fall over and spill the water in its head."

"That's correct, two points. Any other spells that may work?"

While Fay Dunbar gave another example, Ron leaned in next to Holly, his earlier argument with Hermione momentarily forgotten. "Were you able to finish your Runes work?"

Holly shook her head. "No, but I'll do it during History, it's no big deal."

"Well, if you need any help, just let me know alright?"

She gave a smile of thanks and clicked her pen, taking notes of what Lupin was writing.

After class was dismissed and they began packing their things, Ron lingered by their desk, looking very nervous.

"Hey, um, Holly," he started, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I was, uh, wondering if maybe... you'd like to, er, study together sometime?"

Holly felt her stomach twist. They never asked each other to study together; it just happened. If she saw Hermione or Ron studying alone, she'd join them and vice versa. They never had to ask.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Holly looked around subtly for Hermione. She was out of luck; the girl had vanished again. "Um…" She looked at Ron's hopeful eyes. "Well, I—"

Her pocket buzzed, and Holly could have jumped for joy. Thank you Alex! "I'm meeting Tracey later on," she quickly lied.

The hope faded. "Oh." Ron's shoulders slumped slightly at Holly's response. "Oh, right. Yeah, of course," he muttered.

Holly felt a pang of guilt at his crestfallen expression. "Sorry, Ron," she said softly, "I just... I have a lot on my plate right now, you know? But maybe we can study together another time?"

Ron managed a weak smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah, sure. No problem, Holly. Whenever you're free."

The awkwardness between them had renewed, and Holly was more than eager to be by herself by the time History had ended.

Ugh, she pondered after she had made herself comfortable in her Hideaway. Why can't I just make up my mind and give Ron an answer one way or another? This isn't fair to him at all.

With a sigh, she waved her hand, Levitating her Muggle work bag and withdrew some maths papers. Algebra was making more sense than her life at the moment, which was a sorry state of affairs. She cleared off a section of her workbench, opened her laptop, and settled in for a few hours of work.

Alex is finished with school by now, thought Holly at five-forty. Maybe he can help me make sense of this question.

Once she called him, the video chat pinged briefly before Alex answered. "Hey, what's up?"

"What's up with you?" she asked, noticing the exhaustion in his features. "You look like crap."

Alex ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Yeah, I know."

Even through the screen, Holly could tell he looked worse than usual. His hair was sticking out all over the place, his eyes had bags under them, and he looked stressed as all got out. "Seriously, have you gotten any sleep in the past few days?"

He scoffed. "I don't need that much sleep."

"You need more than you've been getting. You look like Hermione."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you look stressed out like she does because she's taking all the school's electives, so she's hardly around anymore." Holly crossed her arms. "Did you pick up more classes?"

Alex glanced away off-screen. "Well…"

"Tell me you're joking. Please tell me you're joking." When Alex remained silent, Holly snapped, "You aren't going to have time for anything else if you pick up too much work!"

"I can handle it!"

"Right, and how many classes are you taking other than English, Maths, Science, History, and Latin?" she asked.

Alex frowned for a moment before saying, "Business, Engineering, Classical Civilization, and Economics."

"That's ten GCSEs!"

"Eleven, actually," he said. "The science I'm taking is three papers, so it'll be three certificates," he explained.

"Wait, you're taking Bio, Chem, and Physics separately?"

Alex nodded.

Holly gasped. "Are you kidding me? I'm taking Economics already, and besides, I'll only have five altogether!"

"Well, you are doing magic school full time. No one is expecting you to take a ton of extra classes."

"You should really drop a class or two," said Holly. "You need to spread out the workload better. Maybe start a class next year."

But Alex disagreed. "I'd rather start and finish everything at the same time. Besides, taking more than I need to means that if I end up not liking it, I can always not take the exam."

She didn't like the idea. It was surely bound to backfire like it was starting to for Hermione. At the same time, she didn't want to be unsupportive or make him feel like she doubted him. The last thing she needed was to get on Alex's bad side as well.

Holly remained quiet for what felt like a lifetime. "Alright," she finally conceded. What else could she do? It wasn't as if she could force him to quit. She'd fill his mum in and let her handle it if worse came to worse.

"I got the bottles you sent earlier. I'll ship them out later once I get my work done," Alex promised.

"Oh! Speaking of." Holly pulled her worksheets in front of the laptop. "I need your help with a few of these questions…"

~•~

To be fair, Holly did meet with Tracey later that week. That reasoning helped ease the guilt she still felt about the situation with Ron, but Holly knew it wouldn't be long before he asked again.

"Holly, can I ask you something?" Tracey's voice interrupted her thoughts as they exited Myrtle's bathroom, the sound of her knapsack sealing away the Basilisk cargo breaking the silence.

"Sure."

"Are you and Weasley an item?"

Tracey's question hung in the air, creating a moment of awkward silence.

"No," replied Holly. The rumours had clearly spread outside Gryffindor. Malfoy, Parkinson, and the rest of that lot would have kittens. "Why would you think that?"

Tracey shrugged nonchalantly. "Just the way you two interact, I guess. People talk, you know?"

Holly sighed inwardly. She was tired of constantly saying, No, Ron and I are just friends. No, Ron and I aren't dating. No, Ron and I aren't in a secret relationship. It was wearing on her patience, and she just wanted it to stop.

"We're just friends," said Holly, a touch of frustration in her voice. "Honestly, Ron and I have been friends for years. There's nothing more to it."

At least not on her end.

Mostly…

Tracey nodded, seemingly satisfied with her response, but Holly couldn't help but feel like she and everyone else were just waiting for the moment when her and Ron's friendship would inevitably blossom into something more—a notion that Holly found very frustrating.

Holly decided to shift the conversation to a safer topic. "How is the broom design coming along?" The last time they had met, she and Tracey had debated the pros of broom racing over Quidditch, as well as Tracey's desire to create her own one-of-a-kind broom.

Tracey's expression brightened at the mention of her project. "I'm still researching," she said, a hint of excitement creeping into her voice. "Broom designs take decades to be released, so I have to work from really old models. Forget the Fletchley Calming Charm, some of them don't even have the basic comfort charms!"

"And the Fletchley Calming Charm is…"

"A charm that keeps you from generating too great a backwash when you're flying," said Tracey.

"So it prevents sonic booms, then?" asked Holly. "That's pretty cool."

"Well, I don't know about that," said Tracey sceptically. "No one has ever made a broom that goes that fast. But it still gives me a good starting point. Hopefully, by the time I take NEWT Runes, the broom will be almost done."

Holly nodded, impressed by Tracey's dedication. "That's incredible. Do you think you'll test any of your designs before then?"

Tracey's eyes gleamed with excitement. "I hope to. Maybe next summer when I have a year of Runes down,I can start working on prototypes and see if I can get them to fly. It's a lot of work, but it's also really exciting."

As they approached the Great Hall for dinner, Holly's thoughts drifted back to her own brewing agenda. She had her hands full with schoolwork and business ventures, but Tracey's idea of creating something as innovative as a new broom design sparked a flicker of inspiration. Maybe she could do the same, combining magic and science.

It'd have to be something useful, though. Maybe I could break down one of Dudley's old electronics and make it work in Hogwarts. No sense in destroying one of my own in case I can't put it back together. Wonder how Alex's dad managed it.

There was no point in asking them, of course. She'd long since learned that lesson.

Holly frowned. Am I even able to break them? She thought, thinking back to the amount of abuse her PDA and laptop had taken over the last two years and year, respectively. They seemed indestructible. She doubted she could even begin to take them apart without resorting to high-level spells.

"Holly, are you okay?" Tracey's voice broke through her musings.

"Oh, yeah, just thinking," said Holly, giving her a small smile. "Your project sounds amazing, Tracey. I can't wait to see what you come up with."

They entered the bustling Great Hall, the chatter of students filling the air as they parted. Holly glanced around, her eyes landing on Ron and Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table. She hesitated for a moment, then steeled herself and walked over to join them.

"Hey," she greeted them, sliding into the seat across from Ron.

"Hey, Holly," said Ron, a bit more subdued than usual. Hermione gave her a polite nod, still looking somewhat distracted by the book she was reading.

As they ate, Holly tried to start a light conversation, hoping to ease the tension. "So, Hermione, any interesting predictions from Trelawney lately?" she teased as she scooped up more mixed vegetables.

Hermione snapped her book shut as quickly as she said, "No."

Ron snorted before swallowing a spoonful of mash.

"Come on, Hermione," said Holly, trying to lighten the mood. "Surely she must have had some outlandish vision recently?"

Hermione sighed, looking exasperated. "Oh, just the usual nonsense. She's convinced that one of us is going to meet a grim fate before the end of the year. It's always the same with her."

Holly chuckled. "Well, at least she's consistent."

"Consistently incorrect," muttered Hermione.

"She gets things right sometimes," conceded Ron as he poured gravy over a chicken thigh. "Remember Neville's teacup? How many did he break that first lesson?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron. "You're as bad as Lavender and Parvati."

"What's that supposed to mean?" retorted Ron, his voice rising slightly. "Just because I think Trelawney might have had a point about Binky doesn't mean I'm as gullible as they are."

Hermione huffed. "It means you're putting stock in nonsense, Ron! Honestly, Trelawney's predictions are just vague enough to apply to anything. You can't take them seriously."

"Maybe not, but you don't have to be so bloody dismissive about other people's pets," Ron shot back, glaring at her. "Binky was important to Lavender, and you could have been more sympathetic."

Holly could see Hermione's frustration building, but the older witch tried to stay calm. "I am sympathetic, Ron. But you can't expect me to believe that Trelawney actually foresaw Binky's death. It's just a coincidence."

"Coincidence or not, you could have been nicer about it," insisted Ron. "You always think you're right, don't you? Just because you're good at school doesn't mean you know everything."

Hermione reddened. "I don't act like that!"

"Yes, you do!" exclaimed Ron. "You're always so quick to dismiss anything you don't agree with, like Crookshanks attacking Scabbers. You never consider that maybe Crookshanks is just a menace!"

"Crookshanks is not a menace! He's a cat, Ron. He can't help his instincts."

"Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before. You always defend him, no matter what. You don't care that Scabbers is scared out of his wits because of your cat!"

Holly decided to step in before things escalated further. "Guys, can we not do this right now? It's dinner, and everyone's staring."

Both Ron and Hermione looked around, realizing that several students were indeed watching their argument with interest. They both muttered apologies and returned to their meals, but the tension between them remained palpable.

Ron, unsurprisingly, was the first to finish. "Gotta go find Percy, he said he'd help me with a Transfiguration spell."

Shortly after, Hermione left as well, citing an Arithmancy project.

What's the point of eating with them if it's going to be in silence, end with an argument, or end the night eating alone? She thought as she picked at her side salad. I could have stayed in the Hideaway and asked Alex to send me some of his mum's cooking, even if I had to return the plate. Holly sat there for a moment, staring at her cooling meal with annoyance before pushing her plate away.

Bugger this.

She gathered her things and left the Great Hall.

~•~

On Halloween morning, Holly awoke with the rest and went to breakfast, feeling somewhat saddened about the Hogsmeade situation, though she was doing her best to act normally.

Despite Ron's assertions, she hadn't expected Black to be caught anytime soon. She had even chanced a Dementor exposure the previous day to talk to Hagrid, who, coincidentally, was caring for the unicorns.

"Hagrid," she had asked as she combed through a unicorn's tail hair, furtively pocketing the loose strands, "did you happen to see Black last year?"

Hagrid's face had contorted into a glower. "No, we were kept on separate floors, but the others moaned abou' 'im enough."

He then assured her — in his own gruff way — that not getting her permission form signed was a good thing and that she would be safe in the castle until Black was caught and locked away for good.

Hermione's voice brought her back to the present. "We'll bring you lots of sweets back from Honeydukes," she said, looking desperately sorry for her.

"Yeah, loads," said Ron. Her friends had finally forgotten their squabble about Crookshanks in the face of Holly's difficulties.

"Don't worry about me," said Holly in an offhand voice, "I'll see you at the Feast. Have a good time."

She accompanied them to the entrance hall, where Filch, the caretaker, was standing inside the front doors, checking off names against a long list, peering suspiciously into every face, and making sure that no one was sneaking out who shouldn't be going.

"Staying here, Potter?" shouted Malfoy, who was standing in line with Crabbe and Goyle. "Scared of passing the Dementors?"

Holly ignored him and made her solitary way back up the marble staircase, through the deserted corridors, and back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Password?" said the Fat Lady, jerking out of a doze.

"Fortuna Major," said Holly quietly. The portrait swung open, and she climbed through the hole into the Common room. It was full of chattering first and second years and a few older students, who had obviously visited Hogsmeade so often that the novelty had worn off.

"Holly! Holly! Hi, Holly!" It was Colin Creevey, a second year who was deeply in awe of her and never missed an opportunity to speak to her. "Aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Holly? Why not? Hey," — Colin looked eagerly around at his friends — "you can come and sit with us if you like, Holly!"

She shrugged. "Sure." With no other plans in mind, she figured spending time with Colin and his friends wouldn't hurt. "How's your yearbook project coming along?" Rumour had it that Colin was working on a video yearbook but hadn't managed to find any spells that could record sounds and integrate them into pictures like video cameras could.

Colin's grin widened as he proudly displayed the hardcover book, the pages filled with pictures and handwritten notes. "See, I've been taking pictures of everyone throughout the year, and I've been asking them to write little messages next to their photos. It's turning out better than I expected!"

Holly flipped through the pages, looking at the dozens of snapshots of students caught in candid moments. She couldn't deny his talent despite how annoying she had found Colin's first camera last year. "Wow, Colin, this looks really good. You've really captured the essence of Hogwarts."

Colin beamed at the praise. "Thanks, Holly! It's been a lot of work, but I think it'll be worth it in the end. I wish I could figure out how to add sound to the pictures."

Holly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that would be a nice touch. Maybe you could ask Professor Flitwick for help."

Colin's eyes lit up with excitement at the suggestion. "That's a great idea! I'll definitely talk to him about it. Thanks, Holly!"

The more they talked, the less annoying she found Colin. Sure, he was overexcited and hyper, but his enthusiasm was infectious. It reminded Holly of simpler times with Alex before Hogwarts, before everything became so complicated with threats and tensions.

Holly helped Colin and his friends with their yearbook project as the morning passed. They laughed as they shared stories and snapped more photos around the common room. Holly felt herself relaxing for the first time in days, the weight of her worries lifting slightly.

But there was only so much Colin she could handle, and after two hours Holly was ready for some peace and quiet.

"I — I've got to go to the library," she lied. "Got to get some work done."

Colin gleefully waved her off, too busy looking over his newly processed photos to care much, and Holly quickly made her escape.

Holly wandered dispiritedly toward the library, but halfway there, she changed her mind; she didn't feel like working. It was for that exact reason she didn't go to her Hideaway. There would no doubt be an order or two waiting for her, given the positive response from the Finch-Fletchleys. She turned around and came face-to-face with Filch, who had obviously just begun patrolling the corridors.

"What are you doing?" Filch snarled suspiciously.

"Nothing," said Holly truthfully, holding her hands up as a show of innocence.

"Nothing!" spat Filch, his jowls quivering unpleasantly. "A likely story! Sneaking around on your own — why aren't you in Hogsmeade buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and Whizzing Worms like the rest of your nasty little friends?"

Holly shrugged. Was there even a point in trying to be rational with an angry Filch?

"Well, get back to your common room where you belong!" snapped Filch, and he stood glaring until Holly had passed out of sight. But Holly didn't go back to the common room; she climbed a staircase, thinking vaguely of visiting the Owlery to see Hedwig, and was walking along another corridor when a voice from inside one of the rooms said, "Holly?"

Holly doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin, looking around his office door.

"What are you doing?" said Lupin, though in a very different voice from Filch. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Hogsmeade," said Holly.

"Ah," said Lupin. He considered Holly for a moment. "Why don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson."

"A what?" said Holly.

She followed Lupin into his office. In the corner stood a huge tank of water. A sickly green creature with sharp little horns had its face pressed against the glass, pulling faces and flexing its long, spindly fingers.

"Water demon," said Lupin, surveying the grindylow thoughtfully. "We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong, but very brittle." The grindylow bared its green teeth and then buried itself in a tangle of weeds in a corner.

"Cup of tea?" Lupin said, looking around for his kettle. "I was just thinking of making one."

"All right," said Holly awkwardly, looking out the window.

Lupin tapped the kettle with his wand, and a blast of steam suddenly issued from the spout. "Sit down," said Lupin, taking the lid off a dusty tin. He passed Holly a chipped mug of tea. Catching her gaze, he asked, "You're not worried, are you?"

"No," said Holly. She thought for a moment about telling Lupin about the dog she'd seen in Magnolia Crescent but decided not to. She didn't want Lupin to believe she was a coward, especially since he already seemed to think she couldn't cope with a boggart.

Something of Holly's thoughts seemed to have shown on her face, because Lupin said, "Anything worrying you, Holly?"

"No," Holly lied. She drank some tea and watched the grindylow brandishing a fist at her. "Actually, yeah, there is something," she said suddenly, putting her tea down on Lupin's desk. "You know the lessons when we fought the boggart?

"Yes," said Lupin slowly. "Why didn't you let me fight it? I know I was out that day, but Hermione and Fay got to make up that class. Why not me?" asked Holly abruptly.

Lupin raised his eyebrows. "I would have thought that was obvious, Holly," he said, sounding surprised.

Holly, who had expected Lupin to deny that he'd done any such thing, was taken aback.

"Why?" she asked again.

"Well," said Lupin, frowning slightly, "I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort." Holly stared. Not only was this the last answer she'd expected, but Lupin had said Voldemort's name. The only person Holly had ever heard say the name aloud (apart from herself) was Professor Dumbledore.

"Clearly, I was wrong," said Lupin, still frowning at Holly. "But I didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staffroom. I imagined that people would panic."

"I didn't think of Voldemort," said Holly honestly. "I — I remembered those dementors."

"I see," said Lupin thoughtfully. "Well, well . . . I'm impressed."

He smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Holly's face. "That suggests that what you fear most of all is — fear. Very wise, Holly."

Holly didn't know what to say. Was it really dementors that she feared most, or what they could show? She drank some more tea.

"So you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable of fighting the boggart?" said Lupin shrewdly.

"Well . . . yeah," said Holly. She was suddenly feeling a lot happier. "Professor Lupin, you know the dementors —"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," called Lupin. The door opened, and in came Snape. He was carrying a goblet, which was smoking faintly, and stopped at the sight of Holly, his black eyes narrowing.

"Ah, Severus," said Lupin, smiling. "Thanks very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?"

Snape set down the smoking goblet, his eyes wandering between Holly and Lupin. "I was just showing Holly my grindylow," said Lupin pleasantly, pointing at the tank.

"Fascinating," said Snape, without looking at it. "You should drink that directly, Lupin."

"Yes, yes, I will," said Lupin. "I made an entire cauldronful," continued Snape, "if you need more."

"I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thanks very much, Severus."

"Not at all," said Snape, but there was a look in his eye Holly didn't like. He backed out of the room, unsmiling and watchful.

That was weird, she thought. Snape was almost civil. Then again, it's not like any sane adult would put up with a rude arsehole for long. Holly looked curiously at the goblet.

Lupin smiled. "Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me," he said. "I have never been much of a potion-brewer, and this one is particularly complex." He picked up the goblet and sniffed it. "Pity sugar makes it useless," he added, sipping it and shuddering.

"Why—?" began Holly.

Lupin looked at her and answered the unfinished question. "I've been feeling a bit off-colour," he said. "This potion is the only thing that helps. I am fortunate to be working alongside Professor Snape; few wizards are up to making it."

Professor Lupin took another sip, and Holly had a crazy urge to knock the goblet out of his hands.

"Professor Snape's very interested in the Dark Arts," she blurted out.

"Really?" said Lupin, looking only mildly interested as he took another gulp of potion.

"Some people reckon—" Holly hesitated, then plunged recklessly on, "some people reckon he'd do anything to get the Defence Against the Dark Arts job."

Lupin drained the goblet and pulled a face. "Disgusting," he said. "Well, Holly, I'd better get back to work. I'll see you at the feast later."

"Right," said Holly, putting down her empty teacup.

The empty goblet was still smoking.