Your Worst Nightmare

A few weeks went by, and Hermione began to learn more about the equations necessary for wandless casting. As Professor Vector had warned her, they were complicated, and even with her hair clip, she couldn't do the calculations in her head on the spot. She could do them in her head, which surprised even Professor Vector, but it took her a few seconds. Her attempts at running them became easier after her fourteenth birthday, during which Rose increased the bonus on her hair clip once more.

"After that, it's going to jump to divine enlightenment," Rose said. "I'll wait until next year to do that."

"Thanks," Hermione said. "Really, I appreciate it this year."

It was Sunday, and the girls were in the Room of Requirement.

"Show me what you've got," Rose instructed Hermione.

Hermione nodded, then closed her eyes. She had the equations for lumos memorized, even the generic one. She ran through them, calculating it not for a general use, but for her specifically. Hermione had learned a week ago that it was possible to further optimize spells for a single person. Doing so made the wandless version of a spell more efficient, since it was optimized for a specific conduit. In this case, it was Hermione herself.

"Lumana!"

She flicked her hand, and it lit up, casting light around the room.

"Alright, so you can use a cantrip," Rose said.

"What's a cantrip?"

"A zeroth-level spell," Rose said. "Sk'lar can almost literally do that in his sleep, and as many times per day as he wants."

"Well, excuse me for not being your brother," Hermione shot back. "He's been doing this for how long? Ten, twenty years?"

"He's one hundred and ten."

Hermione blinked, and the light flickered out. "What?"

"An Elf lives for around 900 years," Rose said. "He's not that old, actually."

"I'll keep that in mind," Hermione said. "Still, it's all I've got right now. I'm still working on it."

"You're fine," Rose said. "You've got utility, Hermione. Never doubt the power of having a bag of tricks at your disposal. Sally-Anne's got her rune, which is great for defence, but she's got problems attacking with it. Ron's good at pulling everything to him, but that's only going to help him so much. Harry's going to be a great sniper, Ginny's good with fire, and I think Neville can be a great Fighter, but everyone's going to encounter a situation for which they've got nothing prepared. But you can craft a new spell on the spot."

Rose smiled and poked Hermione in the forehead.

"Just keep using that brain of yours, Brain."

Hermione smiled back. "Thanks, Rose. Thanks for looking out for me."

"Pretty soon, you won't need me to," Rose said. "I'm looking forward to fighting side by side with you. That will be a good day. Before then, you'll want to do something about your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Hermione asked, despite knowing the answer.

"It's too long and unmanageable, and it's going to get in your way," Rose replied. "I've got control over my cloak, but your hair is actually attached. It'd be easy for me to grab it during combat."

"You've got no idea," Hermione said. "I want to try using magic on it, but I'm not sure that I can."

"Why not?"

"Well, I can, but I can't maintain it over the summer, unless I can do it wandlessly."

"Well, it's good that you're learning," Rose said. "Keep it up. Come on, I'll take us back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Already?" Hermione asked.

"If all you can do is make your hand light up, then you've got more to learn before we can continue," Rose said.

"I'm working on it," Hermione said. "Professor Vector says there are equations like the one for lumos, but for the different types of spells. I think that means charms, curses, and hexes."

Rose tilted her head. "That makes no sense. Why not break it into categories that actually have to do with what you're trying to do? Like Evocation, Transmutation, and Conjuration?"

"I don't know," Hermione said. "Nothing in the Magical World makes sense. Even that name; Most people say 'Wizarding World'."

"You should try learning magic back home," Rose said. "Elves have always told me that I can't be an Artificer because I'm Human. Dwarves have told me that I'm the best Artificer De'rok has ever seen."

Hermione laughed. "Is that why you talk like them?"

"I was five, and they sounded funny. It started as a joke, but I just loved doing it so much, I stuck with it. Same reason I say 'salutations'."

"What Dwarf said that?" Hermione asked.

"None of them did," Rose replied. "Alice said it, I imitated her, and it was fun to say."

Hermione's laughter and smile faded.

"What's happened to you, Rose?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this is the first time in weeks you've acted like you."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do!" Hermione said exasperatedly. "You've hardly spoken to any of us, you snap at anyone who pries, and you were willing to let Buckbeak kill Malfoy!"

"Well–"

"And I don't care if he deserved it!" Hermione snapped, pointing her finger menacingly at Rose. "You would've still helped him, if not for whatever's been bothering you! The Dementors can't affect you, so what else could possibly be bothering you?!"

"There's something bothering me, but I don't want to talk about it," Rose admitted after some hesitation. "I can handle it on my own. When Alice left after I graduated from Arcrel, I took care of myself. I made my own way, and even when the worst creature you could imagine hurt me, I killed it by myself. That Abomination is dead because of me. Not Alice, not Shadow, not Sk'lar, me." Rose emphasised her last word by pointing at herself. "So I would appreciate your concern, Hermione, but it's annoying. Stop asking about it, because I don't want to tell you."

For a few minutes, both girls glared at one another. Hermione stood over Rose, having grown over the summer, whereas Rose remained the same size as she had been when Hermione first met her. Hermione didn't want to believe that this was the same girl that had saved her life so many times, but something was certainly different about her.

"Whatever you've got to do to deal with this, do it," Hermione said. "I just want my friend back."

Rose flashed her a weak smile.

"It'll be fine," Rose said. "Let's head back."

Hermione took Rose's hand, and the girls reappeared back in the common room.

"Good morning, class," Professor Lupin greeted them Tuesday morning. "Today's lesson will be about a creature called a Boggart. Can anyone tell me–"

Hermione's hand shot up, followed quickly by Ron's.

"Too slow, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger's hand was up first," the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor said. "Ms. Granger?"

"A Boggart is a shapeshifter that takes the form of a person's worst fear."

"Well done," he said. "Five points to Gryffindor. Mr. Weasley, can you tell us how a Boggart knows a person's worst fear?"

"Similar to Legilimency, a Boggart is capable of reading a person's surface thoughts, but unlike Legilimency, Occlumency has proven ineffective against a Boggart."

"Very good," Professor Lupin said as his students exchanged a quick high five. "Another five points. Now, in order to combat a Boggart, one uses the spell Riddikulus. Everyone try saying it once."

There was a chorus of Riddikulus from his class.

"The way to combat a Boggart is to use the Riddikulus charm to turn it into something amusing, or ridiculous."

There were a few snickers from the class.

"Now I want everyone to close their eyes and imagine their worst fear."

Remus watched as his class all closed their eyes. He had met with Albus before this particular lesson to discuss a few of the students. Remus had been informed that he was not allowed to let Harry or any of his friends approach the Boggart. In fact, there was a list from least dangerous to most dangerous.

At the bottom of this list was Neville Longbottom, as he was more afraid of Severus than anything else. Above him was Ron Weasley, who was deathly afraid of spiders, which wasn't that bad. Those two were deemed acceptable to allow to face the boggart.

After Ron was Hermione Granger, although there was an asterisk next to her name. Albus had a few theories behind her worst fear, but only one of them was dangerous, that being a mountain troll. The worst case scenario with that one, Rose jumped in and cut the thing to pieces as she did with the real thing.

After her was Sally-Anne Perks, whose worst fear was reportedly the Basilisk, and if the boggart took its form, then half the class would be rendered unconscious or petrified. Harry himself was after Sally-Anne, because his worst fear would be Voldemort, although Albus insisted that the Dementors had left a greater impact on the boy than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Finally, at the very top of the list, was Rose Peta-Lorrum. Albus didn't have the faintest idea what her worst fear was, and while he claimed to want to know what it was, both men had agreed that it wasn't worth risking the students just to find out. After all, this was the girl that faced a Basilisk without blinking an eye, ran into fight He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named without hesitating, and had to be calmed down so she wouldn't go out and start destroying Dementors. Whatever actually scared the girl, they didn't want a boggart taking its form.

"After you've got it in your head, I want you to imagine it turning into something that makes you laugh," Remus instructed.

There were several giggles from around the room as everyone began to imagine their worst fears turning into something funny.

"When you're ready, open your eyes so I know," Remus said.

He looked out and saw students opening their eyes, and waiting attentively. The only exception to any of this was Rose Peta-Lorrum, who hadn't closed her eyes. Remus figured that she either knew she wasn't going to be participating, or didn't care.

"Alright, it looks like everyone's ready." Remus smiled. "Let's begin!"

Rose felt a searing pain shoot through her body, originating from her right leg. Her eyes snapped open, and she realized that she was no longer in her workshop, but instead inside a dark, dank cavern. The perfectly spherical cave was dimly lit by torches that lined the walls.

More pain shot through her body, this time coming from her left leg. Looking down, she saw both of her legs were bent in the wrong direction. As her eyes adjusted, she looked up and saw the major feature of the room that was so obvious that she'd missed it the first time.

A black dragon towered over her. Torchlight reflected off the sleek black scales that lined its body. Powerful wings were folded against its sides, and it held its tail curled up behind it. At the end of its long neck sat its gnarled head. Two horns jutted out alongside its maw, upon which a sneer formed as it realized she was awake.

"Oh good, you're awake," it crowed. "I do so enjoy hearing the screams of my victims. I'm almost disappointed, though. I don't think you'll be as entertaining as the Elf and Human that came to rescue you were."

"What?" Rose asked wearily.

"I didn't realize Episti allowed headmasters to be so young, but that ring was proof enough," it continued. "I'm not sure which I like more: my new vest, or that foldable ax his companion had."

Rose's eyes widened with fear.

"You're lying!" she shouted.

"Am I?"

The dragon reached behind it and produced two objects. Holding them up, Rose's worst fears were confirmed. In the dragon's claw were the heads of Alice and Sk'lar.

"No," Rose whimpered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No!"

The dragon grabbed her and slammed her into the wall.

Rose started to slip out of its grasp, but the dragon quickly grabbed Reflectesalon and tore him off her.

"No!" Rose cried again.

"You need to learn to behave yourself," the dragon scolded. "This should teach you. Besides, after I'm through with you, you won't need any mementos of the Humans you call your parents. You won't need your 'brother' or 'sister', because you'll have a new family."

Rose panicked. Reflectesalon was all she had left of her mum. She had already lost Alice and Sk'lar, and that meant that she might never see her parents again. If she lost Reflectesalon…

No. Rose wasn't about to let that happen, so she did the only thing she could think to do.

"Red like Roses!"

A flash of red light lit up the cavern, and Rose's equipment began to fly into her picnic basket. One by one, each of her magic items were stored safely away into the basket, leaving Rose wearing a black leotard that she kept under her dress at all times.

The last to enter was Reflectesalon, after which the basket returned to its position on her bracelet, sealed until she unlocked it.

They were safe; all of her keepsakes and treasures were safe from whatever this thing was. No matter what happened now, the abomination before her couldn't hurt them.

Rose smirked, but her smile faded as one appeared on the dragon's face.

"Perfect," it crowed, its pale yellow eyes glistening in the torchlight. "Now the real fun can begin."

It grabbed her bracelet, tearing through her hand in the process, then threw the bracelet across the room.

Rose screamed as the dragon took Rose and slammed her into the ground.

There were many traditions at Hogwarts. Gryffindor and Slytherin playing each other in the first Quidditch match of the year and Potter being nearly killed during that match, the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor being evil in some way, and a monster finding its way into the school were all some of these traditions.

Another tradition was that of Rose Peta-Lorrum having a breakdown of some sort in the middle of class. The past two years had seen this happen during Transfiguration, although that year she switched it up and had it during Defence. Another difference between the current year and the past two years was the explanation. Previously, it had happened at random; that year, it was obvious what set her off.

Most of the students handled the boggart with little issues, as it didn't do good impersonations of their worst fears. For some, their worst fears were minor. After all, they were only children, and what did children have to fear?

For Rose Peta-Lorrum, it was a black dragon.

The beast was curled up around the wardrobe, what looked like a sneer on its face. This wasn't a type of dragon anyone had seen before; there was intelligence in this one's eyes, something that didn't exist in other dragons. It even appeared to be talking to Rose, although all noise was cut out after she started screaming.

Remus hadn't reached Ron Weasley in time to stop him from approaching the boggart, but after it turned into a simple acromantula, he had no worries that everything would be fine. He was so relieved that he hadn't noticed that Rose Peta-Lorrum was directly behind Ron, and he hadn't got to her in time either.

He had nearly thrown himself in front of the boggart when a large object had caught him out of nowhere. The Defence Professor was hurled across the room, and now sat slumped in the corner, unconscious.

Hermione winced as she heard the girl calling out for help in her head. That had never happened before. Every time Rose sent a message to Hermione, it was directed at Hermione. Hermione knew that in order to send a message to someone on the network, one had to focus on the intended recipient. That meant that this dragon scared Rose so much that she couldn't concentrate.

No one knew what to do; Hermione and Ron both knew the best way to combat a boggart was to confuse it by exposing it to two people at once, but no one dared go near that thing.

Students began to run towards the door, but they caught the dragon's attention. It made a growling noise, and locusts appeared at the entrance to the defence room, stopping students from escaping.

Turning towards the students now amassing at the door, the dragon spat a bolt of some green substance from its mouth. The bolt streaked through the air, straight towards the students.

Above all the screaming and chaos, Hermione heard a metallic voice in her head. Despite it being a new voice, Hermione had an idea of to whom it belonged.

The second the dragon spat what Hermione could only assume was acid, she had a moment of clarity. She wasn't sure if it was some sort of side effect from hearing Rose scream in her head, but she understood what was about to happen.

The dragon had fired a blast of acid at the students. Dragons didn't spit acid, they breathed fire, which probably meant that it was truly following the rules of Rose's world. That acid wasn't as potent as it would've been had this been the real dragon that murdered Rose, but it would still be dangerous to touch.

That meant it would injure or kill the students, and Rose was in no state to bring them back. If students were in danger, then there was one person who was sure to put herself right between them and the danger.

"Strada!"

A large, shimmering disc appeared between the students and the dragon. Directly behind the disc was Sally-Anne, ready to put herself in harm's way to help others.

Hermione looked at the bolt of acid, then at her friend.

The bolt of acid struck the shield, but instead of being absorbed by it as Sally-Anne would've expected, it shattered her barrier. Sally-Anne had only a few seconds to be afraid before the acid struck her head on.

She felt herself knocked to the ground, the bolt of acid missing her and striking someone else instead.

Hermione screamed as the acid burned through her.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron gasped. Both boys rushed to her side as the dragon reared up again.

Harry, Ron, and Sally-Anne looked up at the dragon. There was nothing they could do this time; no Hermione to come up with a plan; no Rose to save them.

Harry saw Rose slowly turn to see her best friend lying on the ground, writhing in pain. Rose stared at them for a moment, then her fear was slowly replaced by hatred.

Serendipity appeared in Rose's hand, and she stood to face her worst nightmare.

"Grahk d'ka," the girl hissed.

Glowing, red cracks appeared in the dragon's skin. They crept along its stomach, then covered its wings and limbs. The second they covered its head, the dragon exploded, turning to dust with a deafening bang.

Time stood still as everyone stared at the empty wardrobe, not sure what to do next. Save for Hermione's whimpering, no one made a sound. The swarm of locusts faded from the entrance, just as two people arrived in the classroom.

"Move!"

Harry and Ron were shoved aside by Madame Pomfrey as she ran over to Hermione. The Mediwitch was followed closely by Professor Dumbledore, who walked past them and straight over to Rose.

"Rose," Albus said, joining the girl at her side.

Rose's head snapped around to face him. At first, she looked confused, her face slowly took on a look of anger and betrayal.

"Doublespeak," she hissed.

"Rose, I'm–"

"I used to think you were like my uncle," she said. "You were kind, and you were wise. I respected you because of it, but I see now that I was wrong. I was wrong about who you were, and I was wrong to respect you."

Before Albus could say anything else, Rose vanished, leaving rose petals in her wake.

"It's alright," Poppy said, attempting to comfort her new patient. "I'm going to get you to the Hospital Wing, and we'll fix those burns."

"We're coming with you," Harry said.

"Do as you will, but don't get in my way."

Poppy picked up the girl, then addressed one of the portraits on her way out of the room.

"Get Septima and Minerva to the Hospital Wing! Now!"

With Harry, Ron, and Sally-Anne behind her, Madame Pomfrey bolted off to the Hospital Wing.

Albus looked around at the classroom. What few students were left were cowering in fear, one student was bruised from being shoved to the ground, another student was being rushed to the Hospital Wing with burns all over her, and the last of that trio of young women was now AWOL.

"Needless to say, class is dismissed," Albus said, walking over to where his Defence Professor was lying.

"Remus," he said. "Are you alright?"

"What happened?" Remus asked, climbing to his feet. He looked around at the chaos that had ensued.

"Albus, I'm so sorry," Remus said.

"You're skipping lunch," Albus replied. "Come with me."

Without waiting for his friend, Albus walked briskly out of the classroom.

Ginny knew it was a bad day when she didn't see most of her friends at lunch. What was worse was that her entire table was whispering about something, but no one would tell her what it was.

"Luna," Ginny said, running over to where her friend was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, "what's going on?"

"I don't know," Luna replied. "I believe something is amiss, but no one will tell me what it is."

"Me either," Ginny said. "Do you still have Intelligencer?"

"Yes," Luna replied. "He's not talking, though. I think he might have an infection of some sort."

"Why?"

"There you two are!" Neville exclaimed, rushing up to the girls. "Come on!"

"What?" Ginny asked. "Neville, what's happening?"

"Hermione's in the Hospital Wing," Neville replied. "I'll explain–"

"What?!" Ginny shrieked.

"I'll explain on the way," Neville said. "Now come on! We've got to hurry!"

Both girls jumped out of their seats and followed Neville out of the Dining Hall and towards the Hospital Wing.

"What's this all about?" Ginny asked.

"During Defence Against the Dark Arts, we had the lesson on boggarts," Neville explained. "They turn into a person's worst fear."

"So?" Ginny asked.

"Rose faced it, and–"

"Nothing happened, because mind blank stops it from getting inside her head," Luna said, a defiant look on her face.

"Wrong," Neville replied. "It turned into this dragon, and–"

"What color was it?" Luna asked, fear creeping over her.

"Black, but that's–"

"The Abomination," Luna whispered.

"You know what that thing was?" Neville asked. "It had Rose scared to death. She's not afraid of anything, and… and I didn't even want to know what that thing was. It must be awful to scare her that much."

Luna didn't speak another word, but hugged Intelligencer tightly.

"What happened to Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Sally-Anne tried to stop it from attacking the others, but it broke through her shield."

"What? How?"

"I don't know, but Hermione figured out it was going to happen," Neville said. "She knocked Sally-Anne out of the way, and the dragon attacked her instead."

"Is there anything you do know?" Ginny snapped.

"I know that our friends need us right now, so we should run faster!"

"Good point," Ginny said.

Septima raced from the seventh floor straight down to the first. She didn't know why a portrait started raving that she should get to the Hospital Wing as quickly as possible, but she had a theory. She didn't want it to be true, but there was no other reason why she'd be summoned by Poppy herself unless it was one student in particular that was in the Hospital Wing.

Septima met Poppy at the Hospital Wing, and her worst fears were realized as she saw the crying student in Poppy's arms.

"Merlin, no!" she gasped. "Hermione! Poppy, what happened?!"

"I'll explain in a moment!" Poppy shouted. "Doors!"

Septima and the Weasley boy threw open the doors and ran along beside the mediwitch. They were followed closely by Perks and Potter.

Where's Peta-Lorrum when you need her? thought Septima. She didn't care for Peta-Lorrum, but the girl could do different magic, which meant that magic might involve healing burns.

Poppy ran over to one of the beds and gently laid the girl down on top of it. She looked around, then spotted what she needed on the opposite end of the Hospital Wing.

"Septima!" Poppy barked. "That cart at the other end of the Wing! I need it!"

"Done!" Weasley shouted, his wand already at the ready. "Accio cart!"

The cart wheeled itself over to them quicker than either woman could run, stopping abruptly when it reached the third-year. As it did, the various supplies on it toppled over, although Poppy took no notice.

Without skipping a beat, Poppy pulled open one of the drawers on the cart and took out a small vial. She uncorked it and poured some cream onto her hands, then gently applied the cream to the Gryffindor girl's burns.

"Is that arctic cream?" Weasley asked.

"Yes," Poppy mumbled, more interested in the injured girl than in her curious friend.

"Those are acid burns," he said. "Clear lake ointment works better for–"

"Then it's a shame I haven't got any in stock," Poppy snapped.

The cream was absorbed by her skin, the burns began to heal, and the girl's cries turned to whimpers.

"Arctic cream works well, even if it isn't made for acid," Poppy said, grabbing another vial. "She's still hurt a lot worse than that. Septima, open her mouth."

"What's that?" Perks asked.

"Sedative," Poppy replied, cutting off Weasley before he could say anything. She poured a few drops down the third-year's throat. "If she wakes up, she'll still be in pain. As Mr. Weasley pointed out, those are acid burns on her, although it's not a type I've specifically seen. As Mr. Weasley also pointed out, arctic cream is for generic burns, but I don't know how well it's going to do with those."

Hermione slowly settled down, then her eyes fluttered shut.

"Hermione!" Ginny shouted as her group arrived at the Hospital Wing. "How is she?"

"She's alright," Madame Pomfrey said. "She'll recover."

"Now," Septima said, rounding on the students that weren't unconscious on a hospital bed. "What happened?"

"Rose faced the boggart, and it turned into a dragon," Sally-Anne said. "It attacked the students with some sort of acid, and when I tried to stop it, my shield broke."

"Then why is Hermione on that bed instead of you, Ms. Perks?"

"Because Hermione shoved her out of the way," Harry said.

"We don't know how, but Hermione knew what was about to happen," Sally-Anne added.

"Because she's the most brilliant witch to walk the halls of this school, that's how," Professor Vector snapped. "Why didn't Lupin stop the boggart?"

"He tried, but it knocked him aside with its tail," Harry said. "He really did try to stop it. Not like Lockhart pretending to stop it, or Quirrell just fainting."

"That's brilliant," Professor Vector said. "At least he tried."

"It wasn't his fault!" Harry shouted.

"And what of Peta-Lorrum?" Professor Vector asked Sally-Anne, ignoring Harry.

"That thing had her terrified," Sally-Anne replied. "I don't know what it was, but–"

"Where is she?" demanded Professor Vector.

The students exchanged glances.

"We don't know," Sally-Anne said. "She disappeared after class."

"Of course not," Professor Vector said. "The one time we actually need her, and she's nowhere to be found."

"Septima, if you're going to talk to or about my students that way, I invite you to take it up with me instead."

Everyone turned to see Professor McGonagall stroding into the Hospital Wing.

"Poppy, how is she?" Professor McGonagall asked Madame Pomfrey.

"She's seen better days, but she'll see plenty more after this one."

Professor McGonagall nodded and turned to the other students.

"Are you alright?"

Harry, Neville, Sally-Anne, and Ginny nodded. Luna continued holding tightly to Intelligencer, and Ron was staring intently at Hermione.

At least someone asks about us, Harry thought.

"Where's Ms. Peta-Lorrum?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"We don't know," Sally-Anne replied.

"If you hear from her, notify one of us immediately."

"We will, Professor."

Professor McGonagall turned to Professor Vector.

"Septima, please keep an eye on Ms. Granger for me. Let me know as soon as she wakes up."

Septima glared back at Minerva.

"Septima, I know you're upset, but right now, we've done all we can for Ms. Granger. Another student is missing, so right now, we need to concentrate on finding her before she does any harm to anyone. Don't you agree?"

Septima hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"I'll see to it that someone brings you all some lunch," Professor McGonagall said as she turned to leave.

"Professor?" Sally-Anne called after Professor McGonagall.

"I'm a little busy, Ms. Perks."

"I just have a quick question!"

"Make it brief."

Sally-Anne quickly gathered her thoughts.

"Every time we've been in the Hospital Wing, no one ever gets angry in front of us, but now, you're nearly shouting at one another."

"Your question?"

"It's the Dementors, isn't it?" Sally-Anne asked. "They're putting everyone on edge."

Professor McGonagall paused for just a moment, then replied, "You're not wrong."

"And the next thing I know, Albus is standing over me, Hermione's being rushed to the Hospital Wing, and Rose is missing."

After Remus finished explaining to Albus, Minerva, Severus, Pomona, and Filius about what happened just minutes ago, he turned to the Headmaster.

"Albus, I'm sorry for what happened. I should've been faster, and I could've cost those students their lives. In light of this, I'm going to write a formal apology to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, taking full responsibility, and then hand you my resignation."

"Your resignation won't be necessary, Remus," Albus said. "As for her parents, I will notify them. It will sound far better coming from me than from you."

"I'm going to need help with that, then," Remus said.

"You may want to give Septima time to cool off," Pomona said. "She always gets anxious when the possibility of Ms. Granger leaving arises. I think you did commendably, given the circumstances, and it's not your fault that Ms. Granger threw herself into the line of fire."

"Never mind whose fault it is," Albus said. "We now have the matter of Rose Peta-Lorrum being missing. She has been unstable this year, and I don't know what she'll do now."

"Do you think she's dangerous?" Remus asked. "She seems moody, but I figured it was just puberty hitting her."

"I doubt it's possible for her to mature," Severus grumbled.

"It isn't the students in danger, but rather our unwelcomed guests," Albus said.

"Why exactly is it a problem if she does away with the Dementors?" Pomona asked. "As ridiculous as that sounds, if anyone can, it's her."

"For two reasons," Albus said. "The least important of which is Rose herself. She doesn't realize it, but the ability to harm Dementors is unheard of, and I think we can all agree that Rose isn't normal."

"Finally you admit it," Severus muttered.

"If the Ministry discovers her unique abilities, I honestly don't know what will happen to her. Despite her recent bad attitude, she's still a student, and we're responsible for her. I think we can all agree on that."

There were nods from around the room.

"Which brings me to the other reason: Because the Ministry will still take it out on us. I don't want the Dementors here, but unfortunately, Cornelius believes that the Dementors won't harm anyone apart from Sirius Black. Despite this, it's apparent that the Dementors have taken their toll on all of us."

"I can't imagine Ms. Perks is the only student that's picked up on it," Minerva said. "If we can't be at our best around the students during a crisis, then we don't deserve to be here."

"Quite right," Albus agreed. "Therefore, whether Cornelius likes it or not, we will be aiding in the investigation. Any information any of you have regarding Black will be welcome."

Albus looked straight at Remus when he said this.

"I know you two were friends, Remus, but–"

"So were James, Lily, and Peter," Remus said. "I don't know what happened to Sirius–"

"'What happened'?" Severus asked. "Black was always like this."

"Now isn't the time for this childish squabbling," Minerva interrupted. "Peta-Lorrum can find people no matter where they are, as she has proven on more than one occasion. The sooner we find her, the sooner we find Sirius Black."

"Which is all the more reason to find her," Albus said. "Talk to her friends, talk to the paintings, and talk to the house-elves. Wherever she is, however long it takes, we will find her."

Severus left the meeting and descended into the Dungeons. It was hard to believe that they were actually trying to find that mad little girl, rather than attempting to expel her once again.

He walked into his office and sat down, then realized that something wasn't right. Over the summer, Severus had memorized the exact layout of everything in his office, ensuring that he would notice when something was out of place. The purpose was to guarantee that Peta-Lorrum and her friends wouldn't steal something from him, despite Severus knowing the chances of that were minuscule. Still, it paid to be prepared.

Severus spun his chair around to face the intruder.

Sitting to the right of his desk was Peta-Lorrum. Her legs were drawn against her chest, and she had her arms wrapped around her knees. On her arms rested her chin while she gazed vacantly at the floor.

Upon realizing that she had been spotted, the girl looked up at Severus, but she didn't grin. Instead, she just stared back at him with her blue-green eyes.

The two quietly stared at one another for a time, then Severus turned around and began organizing his notes for his next class.