Justice for All

The Nimblewrights led the procession to Honeydukes cellar. Ron and Hermione were behind them, with Professors Vector and McGonagall bringing up the rear. None of them spoke a word the entire way to Hogsmeade, although Hermione nearly broke into giddy laughter when she saw the exit.

"I can't believe we made it!"

"We're not out of the woods yet," Professor Vector said. "We don't know who survived the quake."

"It couldn't have been an earthquake," Professor McGonagall said. "If it was, it would be the first to hit that hard. It didn't feel like one, nor would one have done so much damage to the castle."

Hermione dug around her mind for information about local fault lines, but stopped when she realized she didn't know where exactly in Scotland Hogwarts was.

"It's odd," Ron said. "It hit the entrances and common rooms, like someone was trying to kill people."

"You may be right, Mr. Weasley," Professor Vector said.

"We can worry about that later," Professor McGonagall said. "We must tend to the children right now."

That was enough to keep them quiet for another minute. Sirius trotted along behind them, keeping his distance from the professors. Hermione couldn't blame him; he'd been imprisoned for murder, and he didn't know if he could trust anyone.

Ginny met them at the entrance to Honeydukes. She looked battered, but no worse for wear.

"Finally! Come on!"

"It can't be that important, Ms. Weasley," McGonagall said. "Where is Ms. Nertlyn?"

"Everyone else is in Hog's Head! That's where they're keeping Sally-Anne and Neville!"

Professor McGonagall turned to Professor Vector. "Septima, coordinate with Severus, Pomona, and Filius. Albus if he's back yet, although I doubt he is."

"At once." She glanced around the town. "Where are they?"

Hermione relayed her question to Dripty, then informed Professor Vector that they were in the Three Broomsticks. Professor Vector took off, leaving Ginny to limp the way to the Hog's Head Inn.

"What happened to you?" Hermione asked.

"Nearly got run over is what happened to me," Ginny said. "Giant dog Hagrid calls 'Fluffy' was in the Forbidden Forest. Harry tried to stun it, but it was too big, but the light from his spell caught Professor Lupin's attention, so he tackled me out of the way."

"I'm going to need a lot more context than that," Hermione said.

They entered the inn, meeting a wall of noise from rowdy students when they entered. Although the moment they did, dead silence fell over the inn. Professor McGonagall turned to the innkeeper, who nodded towards the stairs. The sea of students parted to allow the four of them to pass. Hermione glanced behind her, catching a glimpse of Sirius outside. He was flanked on either side by the Nimblewrights, likely to ensure he didn't go anywhere.

They reached the second floor and spotted Tutela standing guard outside one of the rooms. She barked when she saw them, drawing them inside the room.

Neville and Sally-Anne were on twin beds. Neville was upright, covered in cuts and bruises, although many of them were healing. Sally-Anne was unconscious, flanked by Harry and Alex, as Madame Pomfrey looked over her. Professor Babbling sat at the foot of her bed, but stood up when she saw them arrive.

"How is she?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Alive," Madame Pomfrey replied. "She's got a concussion, but fortunately she didn't inhale any water. I don't know how she managed that, given that she was underwater for at least a minute. If they hadn't acted quickly, she wouldn't have survived."

Professor McGonagall turned to Neville. "And you, Mr. Longbottom?"

"Nearly crushed under a pile of rocks," Neville said as if telling her about an ordinary weekend. "Rose jumped in at the last minute to save me."

Hermione glanced around the room for Rose, but only found Luna sitting in a corner opposite the beds.

"Where is Ms. Peta-Lorrum?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Hermione glanced at Luna, only to find that Luna was looking at her. Finding it a little unnerving, Hermione turned her attention to Neville, then to Harry, to find that everyone was looking at her.

"I don't know where she is," Hermione said. "Last I knew she was with Professor Dumbledore."

"She said she had something to take care of," Neville said. "That's all I know."

"Does anyone know what happened?" Neville asked.

Hermione and Ron explained what had happened just before the earthquake, leaving out the part about Professor Lupin being a werewolf. Hermione was also sure to leave out the part about the ward blocking Rose's telepathic network.

"What about the rest of the students?" Alex asked. "Did everyone else make it out okay?"

They went around the room, giving a brief report about their respective charges. When they were finished, they realized that Atrien had been the only casualty.

Hermione took a moment to calm down and think about what she'd just done. Between her and Ron, they'd evacuated all of Gryffindor, dodging falling rocks and avoiding collapsing floors. They'd nearly died once that she could remember, although she wouldn't have been surprised if she'd just blown off what would constitute certain death for a normal, sane person.

Hermione, Neville, and Luna picked up their heads.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"Rose is on her way," Hermione said. "She'll probably be going outside. We should go and meet her."

"I'm staying here," Harry said.

"Harry–" Alex said.

"Sally-Anne's one of my best friends," Harry said. "I want to stay until I know she's alright."

"Let me do that," Alex said. "Everything that's happening involves you more than anyone. Someone betrayed your parents, and you deserve to know who it was. Go outside and talk to them. I'll let you all know as soon as Sally-Anne wakes up."

Harry looked at Sally-Anne, laying helpless in her bed, and thought about what she would've said if she'd been conscious. He caught the shouting of people downstairs, and realized that they had no clue about anything that was going on upstairs. Not for the first time in his life, he wished that he were one of them. Completely ignorant to everything going on; just a normal boy with a normal life.

But he wasn't; the great Harry Potter didn't get to have a normal life. He was doomed to be the target of maniacs and fanatics. Forced to live with his aunt and uncle, no matter how bad they were.

"Harry, mate, if it's any good, he saved our lives," Ron said, indicating himself and Hermione. "I know it seems bad, but… if you hear Rose explain it… it was the only time she's ever made sense."

Ron wore a crooked smile on his face, an alien expression if Harry had ever seen one. He didn't understand; none of them could understand what he'd gone through.

He heard shouting and gasping from downstairs. Cries of "What was that?" and "Did you see that?" pierced the silence of the makeshift Hospital Wing.

"They're here," Hermione said.

Harry looked back at Sally-Anne, then settled into his seat. "I'm staying here. I'm not interested in what anyone else has got to say."

The process of returning everyone to the castle had been an easy one. After the professors and Rose had ensured that it wasn't about to come down on their heads, the students had been allowed to return to their rooms. No one got a lot of sleep that night. Half of them were scared that the castle would come down on them at any moment, and the other half were too excited about it.

Breakfast was a haze to everyone. As if drifting along in a dream, they all sat down, but no one knew what to talk about. The Quidditch World Cup coming up in Great Britain? Who cared, they nearly died. End of year exams? O.W.L.s? The castle tried to kill them!

Near the end, after everyone had taken their fill of coffee or tea, Professor Dumbledore addressed the students.

"First, I'd like to thank you all for helping to make the evacuation as smooth as possible," Professor Dumbledore said. "Five points to each student, and give yourselves a round of applause."

Applause resounded through the Great Hall.

"Now, I'm sure you're all wondering what happened. To answer that, we've got to jump back about 12 years. Allegedly, Sirius Black murdered a man named Peter Pettigrew. Not only did Mr. Black not kill Pettigrew, but none of the other people he was accused of killing. Instead, Pettigrew himself killed those people, framed Mr. Black, then escaped. He showed himself last night, and was apprehended with the help of Mr. Black, Professor Lupin, and a few of the students."

"That's it?" Ron whispered. "'A few of the students'?"

"Sh," Hermione hissed.

"Unfortunately, Pettigrew had been placing explosive runes throughout the castle all year. Like Mr. Black, Pettigrew is an animagus. His animagus form is a rat, which gave him nearly unrestricted access to the castle. He placed runes that were set to go off if he entered the castle after a certain point in time. When he was brought into the castle last night, the runes went off. The attack was designed to cause panic and allow him to escape. Once again, thanks to the combined efforts of the staff and a handful of students, the damage was mitigated and Pettigrew recaptured."

"I'll take 'Rose and her friends'," Ron whispered.

"If you don't stop it, I'm going to have your sister incinerate you," Hermione hissed.

"I'll do it," Ginny said.

"To prevent a situation like this from occurring again, security within the castle will be increased. That will not involve Dementors in any way."

A hesitant applause spread over the students. It didn't surprise Hermione in the slightest that the epicenter of it was Rose, who had more enthusiasm in her than the rest of the students combined.

"In fact, if all goes well, no one should notice anything new next year."

"Apart from possibly fifty extra students," Minerva muttered.

"To celebrate, we are giving everyone the week off. I encourage you all to take this time to relax and make sure everything is in its proper place."

"Brilliant," Hermione said as the students all began talking again. "I've got time to study."

"Really?" Ron asked. "That's what you're gonna do?"

"Unlike you, I've got an O.W.L. to prepare for," Hermione said. "I'm completely unprepared, I don't know what's gonna–"

"Who cares? You're Hermione Granger. The day you get anything less than perfect on Arithmancy is the day I stop liking chess."

Hermione couldn't believe her ears. Being the only one apart from Rose who was at all alert, she knew she wasn't hallucinating again. Ron had actually said something nice.

"Did one of those rocks hit you on the head?" Ginny asked.

"Probably," Ron said hesitantly, clearly not understanding his sister's shock. "There were a lot of them falling around us."

A smile crept over Hermione's face as she listened to Ginny and Ron argue with one another.

"Thanks Ron," she said, cutting off Ginny's ramblings. "That made me feel a lot better."

Ron shrugged in his otherwise annoying, macho fashion. "You know, I do what I can."

When Harry reached Professor Dumbledore's office, he found not only Professor Dumbledore, but Professor McGonagall, Sirius Black, and Rose waiting for him.

"Have a seat, Harry," Professor Dumbledore said.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Black… rather, Sirius has a proposal for you," Professor McGonagall said. "He also wants to explain a few things."

"Not interested," Harry said, turning around to leave.

"He wants to give you a way out of living with your aunt and uncle for the summer," Rose called after him.

That got Harry's attention. He turned around, assessed every member of the room, then sat down in the chair set aside for him.

"Alright, I'm listening," Harry said.

Sirius explained to him what Professor Dumbledore had explained earlier that day at breakfast, and what Hermione and Ron had explained even before that.

"I might as well have killed them," Sirius said. "Living in a family of dark wizards, I should've realized that Pettigrew had been turned."

Harry glowered while he listened to Sirius, not knowing what to believe. There was almost no new information, but he hadn't believed it the first two times either. Now, he didn't know what to believe.

"Harry, I'm sorry," Sirius said.

"So?" Harry asked. "You lied to my parents once, and now you're doing it again! People have been lying to me my whole life! I don't care if it was you or Pettigrew who betrayed my parents! I don't want anything do to with either one of you!"

He stood up from his chair and began to storm out of the room. Harry stopped at the door when he found someone standing in his way.

"Harry, please," Sally-Anne said. "Don't think about who's innocent and guilty. This isn't about them, it's about you."

"And I'm choosing not to believe them," Harry said, trying to get around Sally-Anne.

Harry likely saw the slap coming before Sally-Anne thought about it, but it caught him off guard all the same. He brought his hand up to sooth the stinging pain in his cheek.

"What was that for?!" he shouted.

"It's not about them!" Sally-Anne shouted back. "This is about your aunt and uncle starving you! This is about your uncle breaking your arm and not bothering to have it looked at! It's about my mum intimidating your uncle just to get him to leave you alone! It's about your uncle's sister calling your dad a drunk and your mum a bitch!"

"She said what?" Sirius and Professor McGonagall said together.

"This man is offering you a place where you'll be loved and looked after," Sally-Anne pleaded with him. "Where you'll have proper meals, and you won't have some deformed pig beating you up all the time! Most of all, this was your parents' best friend! No one knows your dad better than he does. This is a chance to know who your parents were."

Harry didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he could trust Sirius, but Sally-Anne was right. It was miserable at Privet Drive, and for as long as he could remember, he'd wanted nothing more than to leave and never return. Now, he was finally being given that chance.

"What if he did do it?" he asked her.

"Then why in the world would Rose be standing there?" Sally-Anne shot back.

"Erm–"

"Of course she wouldn't! She'd have him on the ground, with Crimson Thorn pressed against his neck, threatening to cut his head off."

"She's not wrong," Rose said. "Scarface, I got the information out of Pettigrew myself. I can bring him here if you want, but believe me, Sirius is telling the truth."

Harry looked at Sally-Anne, then at Rose. After a moment, his eyes fell upon Sirius.

"So you really want me to live with you?" Harry asked.

"It won't be much, but Professor Dumbledore's helping me find a flat," Sirius said. "What with my pending reprieve, I'll need somewhere to live. I was hoping you'd live there with me."

"Before you make up your mind, there is one other issue," Professor Dumbledore said.

Five sets of eyes glared at the headmaster, but he remained seemingly ignorant to them.

"When your mother died, her sacrifice triggered a sort of ancient magic called 'blood magic'," Professor Dumbledore said. "When your aunt, through whom your mother's blood flows, accepted you into her home, she completed a charm I placed on you when you were a baby. So long as you can call Number Four Privet Drive home, Voldemort cannot touch you while you are inside."

Harry clenched his fists and rounded on the headmaster.

"So what was the point of all of this?!" he shouted.

"Harry, there must be a reason," Sally-Anne said gently, placing her hand on Harry's shoulder.

Harry glared at Dumbledore, awaiting an answer that never came. Before the Headmaster could open his mouth, Rose began to speak.

"You only need to be there to recharge the ward. After you've been there 12 days, it will recharge for another year. Once done, it will remain in place so long as you can return there whenever you like, thus constituting a 'home'."

"Ms. Peta-Lorrum is correct," Professor Dumbledore said. "Privet Drive will continue to be a safe house for you, in the event that Voldemort ever returns."

"I will be sending either Taltria or Alavel with you to make sure you're alright," Rose added. "The other one's going with Princess."

"That way, you will continue to have protection through the summer," Professor McGonagall said, narrowing her eyes at Sirius. "Just in case."

"What do you say?" Sirius asked.

Harry glanced back at Sally-Anne, who smiled back at him.

"Go on," she mouthed.

"I say I can't wait," Harry said, a broad grin covering his face. "I'd love to."

"Brilliant!" Sirius said, standing up. "If there's nothing else, I've got to get going." He shook Professor Dumbledore's hand, and got a nod from Professor McGonagall. After Rose curtsied to him, he started for the door.

"I'm not sure we've been properly introduced," Sirius said to Sally-Anne.

"Sally-Anne Perks," Sally-Anne replied, curtsying. "It's a pleasure to properly make your acquaintance, Mr. Black."

"Like I keep telling him," Sirius said, sticking his thumb back at Professor Dumbledore, "call me Sirius; Mr. Black makes me feel old."

"Alright," Sally-Anne said, pulling a piece of parchment out of her bag. "Harry, the Twins wanted me to give you this. Don't unfold it until later, though."

Harry recognized the parchment as the map the Twins used during the crisis the previous day. Rose had told him the previous night that his dad had made the map.

"Okay," Harry said, taking the parchment. "Thanks, I guess."

"It'll make sense later," Sally-Anne said. "Also, sorry for slapping you."

"It's fine," Harry said, rubbing his cheek again. "I needed that."

"If I had a knut for every time Lily slapped James," Sirius said, "I could buy the whole country."

Sally-Anne and Harry laughed.

"Rose, are you coming?" Sally-Anne asked.

"I still need to speak with Ms. Peta-Lorrum," Professor Dumbledore said.

She must be in trouble, Harry thought. He only ever calls her 'Ms. Peta-Lorrum' when he's angry at her.

Harry and Sally-Anne passed Professor Snape on their way out, who glared at Sirius.

"Perks, Potter," he said as they passed.

"I'll catch up with you later," Sally-Anne said to Harry. "There's something else I want to do."

Sally-Anne made her way down into the Dungeons. Just after Fred and George had parted with the Marauder's Map, she'd used it to check on one student in particular. She concentrated on the location she'd gotten, although she got lost a few times. To her fortune, she found Draco and his gang walking through the corridors not far from where she was expecting to find them.

"Draco."

"What do you want?" Draco snapped.

Sally-Anne took a deep breath, and concentrated on what she was about to say. Everything had to be just right for this to work.

"I'm sorry," Sally-Anne said. "I'm sorry that you felt humiliated by me last year."

"Save your apologies, Mudblood," Draco spat.

He shoved past her, and Sally-Anne squeezed her eyes shut.

"If you want to tell people about me liking Harry, go ahead," Sally-Anne said. "I humiliated you, so it's only fair that you humiliate me."

Draco stopped on the spot, causing Pansy to almost trip over him.

"Why would you do that?" Draco asked. "What are you and those other freaks up to?"

"Nothing, I promise," Sally-Anne said, concentrating on Draco's mind.

First that old man gives me points out of the blue for school service or something, now she's trying to trick me, Draco thought.

"Draco, I–"

"Stop calling me that," he spat.

"Malfoy, I don't hate you," Sally-Anne said. "Actually, you really helped me and Luna out a lot, and I appreciate it. Do what you want with the information."

Sally-Anne turned around and walked away before Draco could say anything. She didn't expect much, but she didn't want to be enemies forever. If she wanted to receive kindness, she'd have to show kindness first; otherwise, he'd have no reason to be nice. She didn't like the idea of everyone knowing she had a crush on Harry, especially Harry himself, but he would find out eventually.

Bright side, Sally-Anne. Maybe it'll help you get over him.

Sally-Anne thought back to an hour ago when Rose asked if she would help convince Harry to live with Sirius. Thinking about it, Sally-Anne was quite certain she hadn't let Rose finish before agreeing to help.

That's gonna be harder than I thought.

Back in Professor Dumbledore's office, Rose sat facing Professors Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonagall. They walked through each of her offenses that year, starting from her disrespectful behavior towards McGonagall on the first day, touching up on her nonchalant attitude towards other people and students suffering, and ending with her habit of breaking statues that guarded the Headmaster's Office. It took Professor Snape a good five minutes to finish reading the list they had prepared, after which they all sat in silence.

"Are you going to expel me?" Rose asked.

"Can you think of a reason we shouldn't?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

Rose wanted to say "Because I was doing the right thing! What you should've been doing all along!", but she knew better. Not only would it make matters worse, but, more importantly, she didn't know that she was right. She hadn't been doing the right thing, and she'd nearly gotten everyone else killed because she'd dismissed Pettigrew from the start. Worst of all, the image of Fudge's bloody, mutilated body was still lingering just behind her eyes. She couldn't keep Valignatiejir's voice out of her mind, reminding her that she was just as bad as he was.

"There isn't one," Rose said. "I got it into my head that I knew better than everyone else, and I was wrong. I'm ashamed of what I've done this past year, and I deserve much more than you expelling me. I'm the one that should be locked up, kept away from other people, so I can't do any more harm." Rose lowered her head, avoiding the accusing glares of the professors. "I'm sorry."

The pause that followed was excruciating to Rose. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so worried about someone else's opinion. Apart from not telling anyone about what had happened after she broke the time turner, she didn't care enough about anything. As the rounds turned into minutes, she began to ponder what they'd do to her. She kept telling herself she didn't care, that she could just pop back into Hogwarts whenever she wanted, but she did care. She didn't want to leave. Rose hated wearing their robes, and she found many of the classes boring, but she wanted to stay with her friends. Failing that, she just wanted to go home.

"I'd rather not expel you," Professor Dumbledore said from behind his folded hands. "Especially not after your invaluable assistance during the recent incident, and your aid in extracting information out of Pettigrew. However, your behavior must be punished in some way. Therefore, you will be turning over every stone in the castle to check for any remaining runes. You will be watched closely over the coming month, and if I deem you ready, I have a constructive outlet for your talents in mind."

Not knowing what else to do, Rose nodded.

"You should also know that in lieu of points, I rewarded Ms. Lovegood with permission to keep her dog at Hogwarts."

Rose nodded again, although her blank stare was replaced by a faint grin.

"Rose, thanks to you, Atrien was the only casualty. You did extraordinarily well, far above what we'd expect of any student. We can all agree that this doesn't make up for everything you've done, but it's the only reason you haven't been expelled, and possibly arrested."

"Thank you, Professor."

She stood up to leave, curtsying to the trio of teachers.

"One last thing," Professor Dumbledore said.

"You're making a habit of that," Rose said, turning back to face him.

"Minister Fudge will be arriving later today to meet with me. You will not go near him. Is that clear?"

"Understood."

Rose left Professor Dumbledore's office, and found Luna and Tutela waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Tutela seems to think you wanted to talk to us," Luna said.

"Telepathic bond," Rose whispered, touching both of them. "Permanency."

"So I can talk with Tutela now?" Luna asked.

"Yup," Rose said. "No distance limitation."

"Kethé," Luna said as the girls began walking.

"I know about your dreams," Rose said. "I know you've been dreaming about your lives, and about mine."

Luna stopped walking.

"How?"

"Other Luna told me," Rose said. "She recognized me, but didn't realize she wasn't dreaming. Since you were already dreaming about other versions of yourself, it wasn't a stretch to assume you were dreaming about me, too." Rose pulled Moon into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Little Moon."

Luna nestled against Rose, happy for the affection.

"It's alright," Luna said. "I'm glad I can talk to someone about them."

"You're right," Rose said, smiling. "It is nice to have someone to talk to about it."

Despite Hermione's fears, exams were easy the following weeks. Sirius was fined for being an unregistered animagus, but ultimately released. Intelligencer informed Rose that Professor Dumbledore's meeting with Fudge went about as well as it could, despite the presence of a rather unpleasant woman wearing a sickening amount of pink.

All in all, everything turned out alright. It was a tough year, but they'd all come out of it.

All except for one. Atrien was buried on the grounds of Hogwarts, and the house-elves were given time to mourn her. No one knew who would be chosen as the next Head Elf, and many weren't ready to move on.

Still, life went on, and before they knew it, it was time to go home.

"Oh, I'm gonna miss you girls so much," Alex said, hugging Sally-Anne.

"I don't know how we're gonna get along without you," Sally-Anne said.

"You'll do great," Alex said as she moved on to Hermione.

Sally-Anne couldn't believe that Alex wasn't going to be there anymore. For three years, her prefect had been there for her. Her words were more than just words; she honestly didn't know if she could get along without Alex there to help her.

"We're gonna miss you too," Hermione said.

"Don't worry, I'll keep everyone out of trouble!" Rose exclaimed as she hugged Alex.

The other girls burst out laughing at Rose's absurd comment.

"Good luck with that," Alex said.

They all stood around awkwardly as people came and went, moving luggage around, and saying farewell to friends. Sally-Anne didn't want to leave yet; she didn't know if she'd see Alex again, and she'd become one of her closest friends.

"We'll be back in a minute," Rose said. "I need to steal Brain."

"Wait, what?" Hermione asked as she and Rose vanished.

Sally-Anne and Alex exchanged looks.

"That's not that much out of character for her," Alex said. "Although, it gives me an opportunity to tell you something."

Sally-Anne smiled, glad that Alex was confiding in her.

"You're working hard to care for your friends, and that's great, just… don't be upset if you can't do it."

For a moment, Sally-Anne didn't understand. Was Alex telling her that she couldn't take care of her friends? Had she done something that seemed like failure? Was it about the Dementors?

"When I was 12, my aunt and uncle asked me to babysit the boys. I couldn't stand them, but I loved my aunt and uncle so much I didn't care. They were always the best, but my cousins were all out of control, and they slammed into a cupboard. This beautiful glass angel fell off and shattered."

Sally-Anne frowned, not understanding the purpose of the story.

"I got so angry that I locked them in their rooms so I could find the spell to fix it."

"What happened?" Sally-Anne asked.

"My aunt and uncle came home and found everything just like that. Their angel on the floor, their sons locked in their room, and me looking over a book. I cried so hard that night, and even more because they haven't asked me to babysit the boys since."

"I don't understand. Why–"

"Because sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just fail. Everything falls apart like… well, like a glass angel."

She put her hands on Sally-Anne's shoulders. Sally-Anne looked up at Alex and for a moment, she was back in first year. A scared, timid little girl, unable to fight back or stand up to anyone. Except Alex was there for her, showing her that she could be strong.

Sally-Anne leaned in and felt Alex's protective hold on her. A mother bear and her cub. Alex had kept her safe from the world, but now it was her turn to keep everyone else safe.

"I thought I'd lost you for a moment," Alex said. "You really scared me."

"I certainly didn't mean to. I just thought if it was a choice between me or Professor Babbling, it was more important for her to go on than it was for me."

Alex's grip tightened, and Sally-Anne heard her prefect's heartbeat quicken.

"Next time, leave everyone else to die. Just save yourself."

"If it's a straight choice, I think I'll save everyone."

"You can't–"

"With the strength you've given me, Alex, I can do anything."

The two girls stood there, ignorant of everyone around them. She hoped Alex could feel the strength she'd passed to Sally-Anne in her hold. Alex had given her the strength to shove her own fears and pain aside to help other people when they needed it more. Even knowing she could do it on her own, she allowed the warmth of Alex's embrace to empower her one last time before saying her final goodbye.

Outside, Rose and Hermione appeared in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. Hermione knew where they were; it was the same place Rose had taken her when they talked to Rose's family.

"Brain, I lied," Rose said.

"Really?" Hermione asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I had no idea."

"I probably deserved that."

"But you've been so truthful this entire time!"

"You can stop now."

"It's like everything you say is–"

"Do you want me to tell you the truth or not?"

Rose still saw defiance through Hermione's smile, an expression she recognized from Alice. When Rose thought about it, she was sure she made the same face.

"Do you remember the first time I showed you the Room of Requirement?"

"I remember almost everything," Hermione said. "You dragged me up seven flights of stairs, spouted a bunch of nonsense, then told me you'd make me a bracelet that would let me read books instantly."

"What was the nonsense?"

Hermione closed her eyes and concentrated on that day.

"Something about deities, brief, confusing description of EL, you first told me about your parents, then…" Hermione stopped talking, opened her eyes wide and stared at Rose.

"'My big brother Sk'lar's going to bring them back'," Hermione recited.

"I was gonna wait for you to remember on your own, but–"

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Hermione hissed.

"At first it was easier, then I didn't want you to find out that I'd lied."

"Your parents are alive!"

"Yes and no."

Hermione glared at her, angry that Rose was still talking in riddles. She'd have punched her friend if it thought it'd do any good.

"The day after Valignatiejir attacked me, Sk'lar brought them back. The actual limit on wish, which he used to res them, is 200 years. If you haven't got a body, you can just use another wish to restore it. If you've got dust from disintegrate, then that counts as a body."

"How are they not alive?" Hermione asked, her patience evaporating like water in a desert.

"I can't talk to them like I can everyone else," Rose said. "Sk'lar or Shadow bring them my letters, but other than that, I can't talk to them. They're dead in the sense that I can't interact with them."

Hermione turned Rose's words over and over in her head. Rose had promised again and again that she wouldn't lie to her anymore, but each of those promises had been lies. It was always another lie with Rose. What was Hermione supposed to believe anymore?

"Why should I trust you now?" Hermione asked. "How can I trust anything you–"

As if to answer her question, a crack appeared in the air behind Rose. It grew larger, then began to split open. Behind it was Rose's brother, but on either side of him were two people. One was a man with dark orange hair, and the other a woman with silky black hair.

"Hermione, I'd like you to meet my parents."