Gold like the Sun
Dan and Emma arrived at the Perks residence after sending Hermione back to Hogwarts. Neither of them liked doing that. They both knew it could get her killed, especially since Rose had gone on offence.
They pulled in behind the Perkses themselves, and the four of them went inside.
"Do either of you know anything about the Statute of Secrecy?" Dan asked when they were all sitting around the kitchen table.
Sarah and Wilfred exchanged glances.
"I can't say we know much," Sarah said. "If you'd like, I can asks Sally-Anne's friend Alex."
Dan shook his head.
"No, that won't be necessary."
"We're concerned because they're too efficient about maintaining it," Emma said. "The four of us now know, but what's to stop us from shouting it to the world? What if parents start boasting about their magical children?"
The kettle whistled, and Wilfred got up to tend to it and pour them all some tea.
"Aren't you being a little paranoid?" Sarah asked.
"Our concern is that they'll take steps to ensure we never tell anyone," Dan said. "Harry's aunt despises magic. What if she wasn't always like that? What if they made her like that?"
"I'm sure they've got people keeping an eye on things," Wilfred said, walking over with a tray of four cups. "They're not going to start interfering directly with us, that'd draw too much attention. Sort of defeats the purpose if they make a big fuss."
Emma added some sugar to her tea and stirred it.
"We're worried they're going to make us forget Hermione. Or that part of her life. I may not be thrilled how much danger it's put her in, but it's still important to her."
Wilfred took a sip of his tea.
"I doubt it. I can't say Magicals always think things through, but it'd be a massive undertaking to worry about every Muggle family with someone magical in it."
"They probably assume the parents will ignore it," Sarah said. "Honestly, they haven't got a high opinion of us as it is. They treat us more like something to be studied than as actual people that could pose a threat."
Dan frowned, considering her words. Something still felt off, but he nodded all the same.
"I suppose that makes sense," he said. He frowned as he realized what felt off. "How do you know all that?"
"You think Ms. Control Freak over here hasn't had the same thought?" Wilfred asked.
"Love you too, dear," Sarah said dryly.
"She spent hours pouring over everything after last year," Wilfred said. "Like she said, nothing to worry about. McGonagall told us never to tell anyone, and I think most families leave it at that."
Dan and Emma exchanged looks. It put their minds at ease, but it was hard to tell without anything definitive. How could any of them be sure what the Ministry would do?
"Anyway," Wilfred said, "I'm far more worried about this stuff with Rose."
Emma nodded. She'd been worried about it too. They'd all been informed about it.
"It's hard to swallow," Emma said. "Rose was… odd, but to know she faked her own death, then killed another student."
The thought of that student being Hermione had also crossed her mind.
"Sally-Anne seems awfully worried about Ron," Wilfred said. "The girl Rose killed, Lavender, was his girlfriend."
"That's a shame," Dan said. "Ron's alright, too. Can't be easy on him."
"I still can't think why Rose picked her in particular," Sarah said.
"I'm still adjusting to the whole 'Rose killed someone' bit myself," Emma said. "I mean… are they safe there?"
"Hermione insists they're safer there," Dan said. "I can't think why."
"Dumbledore, I imagine," Sarah said. "I know he hasn't had the best record, but Alex insists our experiences aren't normal. She's almost as worried about our children as we are, but she swears Dumbledore won't let anything happen to them."
Once again, their friends managed to put their minds at ease. By the time Dan and Emma left, they were feeling a little more secure with Hermione's safety.
Draco found Sally-Anne waiting for him at their usual meeting spot for rounds. Her arms were folded, and she glared at him.
A pain formed in his chest. Her look made him feel small, pathetic, weak. How was she doing that? No matter. She had no power over him.
"Mudblood," he sneered.
The pain went away, and he smirked. That felt a lot better.
Her glare didn't soften. Her posture didn't change. All the hatred she felt for him was still there, but at least he knew it didn't bother him. Not one bit. He wasn't going to apologize to her. He was a Malfoy, and Malfoys didn't grovel or beg. They gave orders.
Sally-Anne didn't speak to him that night. They walked in silence, their wands lighting the way through the cold, empty castle.
He thought back to the winter holiday. Being forced to meet with the Dark Lord. He'd hated every second of it. Why couldn���t he have been born to another family?
His father insisted it was necessary. They needed to align themselves with powerful allies, and they didn't come more powerful than Lord Voldemort. The strange thing was that the Dark Lord wasn't the worst part of it. That was Lux.
The Old Man's got you doing rounds in pairs, hasn't he? I'm sure one of them must be a Gryffindor, and we all know those are his favorite. Why don't you ask one of them what he's doing?
Draco tensed at the anticipation he'd felt, waiting for the Dark Lord to make a decision. He still hadn't made up his mind about it, but once he did, Draco's father would inform him.
None of them knew what had happened between he and Sally-Anne. Draco would've been tortured if they knew she knew about him. His stomach churned at the thought. If they found out, he was finished. If the Dark Lord chose to make him get to Dumbledore through Sally-Anne…
He glanced at Sally-Anne. Her face was still cold. She wouldn't meet his gaze. The pain in his stomach got worse, and he looked away. What was she doing to him?
After their rounds, he returned to the common room, only to find someone he hadn't expected.
"Dobby?"
The house-elf handed him a letter, then vanished. Draco didn't need to read it to know what it said.
It was orders from his father, passed down by the Dark Lord himself. He was to do exactly what Lux had suggested.
He crumpled the letter and hurled it into the fireplace. After storming to bed, he laid there the rest of the night.
Why me?
Professor Vector flipped through the notes Hermione had on Rose's magic. Her eyes widened with every page.
"Hermione, this in amazing," she said at last. "Truly amazing. You've discovered a new branch of magic."
"I'm not sure how usable it is," Hermione said. "You can't optimize it for day-to-day use like standard magic. You've got to know the formulas for it. I can only keep them in my head because of my hair clip. Any normal person would have to work out the incantations earlier."
Hermione lit up as excitement took over.
"It's exactly like it is in Rose's world. Spells are rated based on how much space they take up in a spellbook. They can't keep casting spells like we can, because they're so complicated. That all means our magic has a common basis with theirs! It's so brilliant!"
Septima smiled at her star pupil.
"I'd expect nothing less of you. I always knew you'd do great things Hermione, but this… this exceeds my expectations by leaps and bounds."
Hermione was hardly listening. As she'd done a lot over the holiday, she was too absorbed in her work.
"Once I work out how to enchant objects with them, they'll become easier for personal use," Hermione continued. "I'm close to that. Warding the school will be a good first step."
The smile faded from Septima's face.
"Yes, that."
Hermione frowned, the sudden tone shift knocking her out of her thoughts.
��What's wrong?"
Septima's face shifted as she searched for words.
"I don't like that Professor Dumbledore has thrown you into the middle of this."
"He hasn't thrown me anywhere, I'm doing this willingly. No one else knows Rose like I do. So if… the worst should have to happen, I should be in the middle of it."
Septima looked as though she wanted to say more, but said nothing.
"With the data Rose gave me, I think I've got dimension lock. I've got to work out how to attach it to something. It isn't like a normal spell, the radiation fades and the spell breaks apart. That's why her magic isn't as permanent as ours. That means I've got to attach it to something that will hold the spell together. Well, rather runes that will keep generating the spell."
"And you think you can do that?"
"Positive. Rose went on and on about how her crafting worked. I understand it from a higher level, so I'll need to work out how it will work in detail. But I can do it."
Hermione grinned. She knew the direction she was going, but if they could stop Rose from hurting anyone else, there was a chance she could bring her friend around in time.
A few weeks later, Neville got a letter from an unexpected source.
Meet me at midnight in the Forbidden Forest near Hagrid's Hut.
Taltria
Neville frowned at the letter. What did Taltria need?
That night, he went to the common room after everyone had gone to sleep. When he got to the common room, he found someone else trying to sneak out.
"Brain?"
Hermione stared at him for a moment. Like him, she wore all black.
"Toad, I… haven't got a good explanation."
He held up the letter.
"You meeting Taltria too?"
Hermione relaxed.
"Yeah. I don't know what for."
Neville shook his head.
"Me either. I've got a bad feeling about it though."
Hermione looked around the common room, then held out her hand.
"Are you ready to go?"
Neville nodded, then frowned at her outstretched hand.
"Sure, but what are you doing?"
Hermione grinned, a look that looked too much like Rose for his taste.
"Getting us there the easy way."
Something felt wrong to him. A mysterious meeting, and Hermione possibly offering to teleport them there. He didn't like it.
"I think I'll walk, thanks."
Hermione's grin faded, and she withdrew her hand.
"Alright. Lead the way; you know it better than I do."
They slipped out of Gryffindor Tower, careful not to wake the Fat Lady. Staying away from portraits, the pair slowly made their way down to the ground floor.
Once they were out, they bolted across the grounds before anyone could spot them.
Hermione said when they reached the forest.
They crept through the forest, until they spotted someone gold.
While Hermione did whatever it was she was doing, Neville waited. He stayed weary of the forest, wondering what creatures already knew they were there.
"Why did you want to meet us?" Neville asked.
"I need your help," she said. "I'm going after Rose."
Neville and Hermione exchanged glances.
"Define 'going after'," Hermione said.
"I'm going to hunt her down and make her pay for what she did to my brother," Taltria snapped. "I can't do it without a second martial fighter and magic coverage. That's you two."
Neville scoffed.
"The three of us are going to take down Rose? We don't stand a chance."
"Brain can shut down her magic, then the two of us will go in and take her down. Then the Death Eaters will be ours for the taking. They can't hurt me; you saw how much trouble the big bad had with my brother. Help me take out Rose, and I'll help you take out Lestrange."
Neville glanced at Hermione. She wasn't saying anything.
He thought of Luna, deep in the forest. She was afraid to come out because of Lestrange. If he killed Lestrange, Luna would come out again.
"I'll do it," Neville said. "Brain?"
She looked at him, then at Taltria. He couldn't tell what she was thinking.
"Alright," she said. "I'm in."
Ron dragged himself out to the Pitch for practice. While he was thankful that it gave him a chance to get away from Hogwarts, he didn't want to do anything. Everything was harder than it had been before, like his body was filled with lead. Convincing himself to leave his room and go to practice had been a chore on its own.
He'd forgotten about rounds the first night he'd been back. When Sally-Anne had returned, she'd told him not to worry, that there hadn't been any problems. He hadn't forgotten since.
A chill hung in the air, but without snow, it wouldn't be a difficult practice, not where the weather was concerned. What would make it difficult was the company.
Ron was a little surprised to see his sister at practice, although it could've been loathing and not surprise, he wasn't sure. She'd been at the previous practices since their defeat back in November, but every time, she drew closer to Harry kicking her off the team. After seeing her over the holiday, it wouldn't have surprised him if she'd get herself kicked off before their next match in March.
"I know we haven't been in great shape lately," Harry said. "But we've still got a few weeks before our match against Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw's undefeated so far, so it's up to us to stop them in May. This match isn't going to be the hard one. Hufflepuff hasn't got Cedric anymore, so their team's average at best. But if we lose, then it won't matter how we do against Ravenclaw."
"Then it's not gonna matter," Katie snapped. She shot a glare at Ginny. "Some of us care more about themselves than the team!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny shouted.
The girls rounded on one another.
"Exactly what it sounded like."
Ginny flicked her wand into place.
"Stop it!" Harry roared. "This is what I'm talking about! We've got to work as a team!"
"I'm not the one who—" Katie started.
"I don't care! I'm stopping this right now!" Harry addressed the rest of the team. "Any infighting will result in me grounding you for the rest of practice! That goes for today, and every day as long as I'm captain! Is that clear?"
There were nods and grumbles from his team.
Ginny put her wand back into place and glared at Harry.
Ron understood perfectly, but he wasn't the one that kept picking fights with everyone else. He hadn't been the one to start any fight over the holiday either. What was her problem?
They took to the air and started running drills. Harry worked them hard, just as Angelina had the year before. They'd run maneuvers, then Harry would have them run them again and again, over and over until he decided they were fast enough.
All the while, Harry rotated players around, giving their reserves a chance to practice. He worked them just as hard as he worked the rest of them. When their reserve Keeper took over, Ron was grateful for the break.
Katie passed the Quaffle to their reserve Chaser, Robins (Ron had forgotten her first name), who feinted the reserve Keeper. She then passed it off to Ginny, who hurtled towards the posts.
Their reserve Keeper, whose name Ron had also forgotten, screamed and moved himself and his broom out of Ginny's way.
Ron rolled his eyes. Their reserve had a lot of work to do.
Harry ran them well into the evening. He called them all to the ground as supper approached.
"We're almost done," he panted.
While he'd been having them run drills, he'd been practicing his own maneuvering. A few times, he'd dived out of the sky to snatch the Quaffle as practice. It wasn't the same as the Snitch, but it wasn't bad practice either. Truth be told, it'd startled Ron the first time he'd done it.
"I just want to run a few more defence drills. Ginny, Katie, Jonathon, Ron, you all stay here. Everyone else, reserves included, can go rest up. You've all done great today."
The rest of the players made their farewells for the evening. Once they were gone, Harry turned to the remaining players.
"I meant that. I've seen a lot of improvement out there today. We're going to run a few more throwing drills, and then we're done."
He handed Katie and Jonathon each a Quaffle, then they all took to the air. Katie and Jonathon would play offence, and Harry would keep supplying them with balls to throw. Ginny and Ron were on defence. The idea was to improve endurance and coordination. If Ginny and Ron couldn't cooperate, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the volley of Quaffles.
Ron figured out that that was the point. He didn't want to work with Ginny, and she didn't want to work with him. And Harry had picked up on that.
Katie started off, zigzagging around to throw off Ginny. She hurled her Quaffle past Ginny, but Ron grabbed it and passed it back to Harry. Katie circled around and grabbed another Quaffle while Jonathon kept the pressure on.
Quaffle.
Ginny knocked it away and scoffed.
Quaffle.
Ron ducked down to deflect it, keeping an eye on Ginny.
Quaffle.
"Got it!" Ron shouted.
Ginny didn't hear him, nor did she see him right behind her when she blocked it.
Quaffle.
Ron darted to the other end of the hoops to block the next shot.
Quaffle.
Ginny hurtled towards Jonathon to throw him off his game, then snatched the Quaffle just after he threw it.
Quaffle.
Ron's arms and legs were sore from clinging on to his broom and redirecting himself for so long.
Quaffle.
Ginny reached out to knock it away, but it glanced her fingertips.
Ron darted after it, keeping everyone in his field of vision.
Quaffle.
Ron turned around in mid-flight to shoot after the next one. He punched it away, not being able to reach it to grab it completely.
Quaffle.
Ginny let out a roar of frustration when she missed another one.
Ron realized a fatal flaw in Harry's plan when he covered for her again.
Quaffle.
Ginny was tiring, which meant she'd keep making mistakes. Jonathon was wearing out too, but Katie looked like she could keep it up all night. Ron didn't think he could outlast her, which meant sooner or later, he'd miss a shot.
Quaffle.
Ron was putting in twice the work to cover for Ginny. Even if it looked like she had it, he went for it anyway. After ten times, he had yet to be wrong.
Quaffle.
Ron's entire body ached with the strain of forcing his broom to maneuver constantly. He was out of breath, struggling to keep up.
Quaffle.
Once they missed a shot, Ginny would flip out. She wasn't learning anything.
Quaffle.
Harry looked like he had no intention of stopping the drill until they missed a shot.
Quaffle.
I wonder if Sally-Anne would consider mediating again.
Quaffle.
Ginny knocked it away.
Quaffle.
Ron barely blocked it.
Quaffle.
Ginny caught it with the tips of her fingers, but didn't stop it entirely. She sent it spinning, changing its trajectory.
Ron had to fly harder to keep up with it.
Quaffle.
It went through Ginny's blind spot to the hoop farthest from Ron.
He darted after it. It grazed the tips of his fingers before going in.
"Alright!" Harry called. "That's it."
Ron looked at Ginny, whose face had already started to turn red.
Even his mind voice sounded tired.
"What was that?" Ginny shouted at him. "We could've held out longer!"
"Really?" Ron asked as he struggled to uncurl his fingers. "Could we?"
They circled to the ground, with Ginny yelling about all the reasons it was his fault.
"I had to do everything myself!" she shouted. "You were never there when I looked, and—"
"How often did you look?" Ron panted. "Because every time I tried to get your attention, you ignored me."
"Before you two start," Harry said, "we're done for the day. You two lasted a lot longer than I was expecting, but both of you need to work on communicating."
He nodded to Katie and Jonathon, and they both started out of the Pitch. He did the same to Ron after giving them a head start.
They tried tuning out Ginny while she kept shouting at them.
"How're you doing?" Harry asked. "With everything else, I mean."
"What?!" Ginny snapped. "You too?"
"What?" Harry asked.
"It's bad enough that mum and dad bought his whole 'pity me' bit, but now you too?"
Harry and Ron exchanged glances.
"What?" Ron asked.
"You, with your whole bit about how your girlfriend died. Get over it!"
"What's wrong with you?" Ron shouted back. "Ever since the forest, you've been angry or moody! If Harry didn't trust you, I'd say you were a Death Eater in disguise!"
"I am not!" she screamed. "I'm fine! So what if I killed someone, why can't everyone get over it? I saved Brain!"
Her response caught Ron off guard. Ginny had killed someone in the forest? He was sure even Neville and Luna hadn't done that, and they'd dominated their part of that fight, apart from Lestrange. Was that why she'd been acting so strange?
"Both of you, calm down," Harry said.
"I'm fine!" Ginny screamed.
"No, you're not," Harry said. "You've been getting worse and worse. Firecracker, if this keeps up—"
"What? What are you gonna do, Skyeyes? What are you gonna do?"
"If you keep this up, you're off the team."
Ginny screamed and hurled a ball of fire at them. It struck something between the boys and Ginny, then exploded. It tore at the stands and knocked the boys off their feet. Ron was hurled into the stands by the blast. His body screamed in pain from the flames.
He heard another voice there with him. He heard a few voices, in fact, and he swore one of them was calling for him. Before he could respond, the world went black.
Harry woke up in the Hospital Wing. The sun was just climbing over the horizon, as Madame Pomfrey was opening the curtains.
"You're awake," she said, turning her attention away from the windows.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a woman in a portrait running off.
Madame Pomfrey hurried over to him and checked him over.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Ms. Weasley nearly killed you three is what happened. She has put under watch for the next few weeks."
After Pomfrey left him alone, Harry felt around for his glasses. Picking them up, he looked around the room.
"Hi," a small voice said.
Sally-Anne sat in the bed next to him, looking almost as bad as he felt. She had burns and bruises over her body.
"What are you doing here?"
"She and Professor McGonagall dragged you and Mr. Weasley back," Madame Pomfrey said. "It was fortunate that they got there when they did."
Harry frowned and looked around the Hospital Wing. He and Sally-Anne were the only two there.
"Where's Ron?" he asked Madame Pomfrey.
"Mr. Weasley himself has been taken to St. Mungo's for care. He was injured badly enough that I felt it was for the best."
"Professor Dumbledore sent Alastor and Tonks to watch him," Sally-Anne added.
"What were you doing on the Pitch?" Harry asked.
"Ron called me. I think it was just after you finished practice. I got there just as Ginny was throwing that fireball at you."
Harry recalled picking up someone on his blindsight. It'd made him hesitate for long enough that he hadn't been able to stop Ginny.
"If you hadn't, I could've stunned her!" Harry shouted.
"If she hadn't, Mr. Potter," a McGonagall-sounding voice said, "you'd be dead."
McGonagall strode into the Hospital Wing, looking apparently unharmed by the ordeal.
"Of course, had she not run in ahead of me to protect you boys from harm, she'd probably be fine."
Harry took a moment to take it in. Ginny had honestly tried to kill him and Ron. If Ron hadn't called for Sally-Anne, they'd both be dead. He was alive because of Sally-Anne Perks.
"Mr. Potter, I've got a few questions for you," McGonagall said, taking a seat next to his bed. "You will answer them to the best of your ability, or I will be forced to use veritaserum. Is that understood?"
The bluntness of her statement caught Harry off guard, but he nodded all the same.
"Why did Ms. Weasley try to kill you?"
Harry thought back to the incident.
"She was angry."
"That's all?"
Harry recounted the details as best he could, hesitating only when asked to recall Ginny's exact words.
"It sounds as if Ms. Weasley has lost her mind," McGonagall said. "She was not like this last year, but I've noticed this behavior becoming worse over time this one. Have you any idea why?"
Harry didn't hesitate, he flat out didn't answer, choosing instead to stare down McGonagall.
"Mr. Potter, do not test me. I will have the answer one way or another."
"We're just trying to help, Harry," Sally-Anne said. "Nothing you say leaves this room, right professor?"
Harry turned from Sally-Anne to McGonagall, who nodded.
"She…" A flash of the scene from June emerged in his head. "She killed someone. A man called Macnair."
Sally-Anne gasped, apparently unaware of this.
"He was one of the Death Eaters that attacked us last year," Harry said. "I tried to talk to her about it, but she just shuts everyone else out."
"How did you know his name?" McGonagall asked.
"He was the same one that attacked Hermione. Hermione recognized his voice from the World Cup, and I recognized it from when Voldemort took me to the graveyard."
McGonagall frowned in thought.
"Was it an accident?"
Harry hesitated again, but this time because he was remembering the exact details.
"I don't know for sure. I think so, but I don't think she cares. She'd singled him out, and keeps saying she was protecting Brain— erm, Hermione. She keeps saying he was only an NPC."
McGonagall groaned and massaged the bridge of her nose.
"That's a Peta-Lorrum term?"
"It means someone unimportant, I think. Hermione would know."
"Professor, if I may," Sally-Anne said.
"Please, Ms. Perks."
For the first time in almost a year, Harry didn't glare at her when he looked at her.
"I think Ginny thinks she's got to do the things no one else will. I don't think she's angry because she killed someone, I think she's angry because no one else understands why. At least, that's what I've picked up."
"Have you ever killed someone Ms. Perks?"
Sally-Anne frowned, evidently thinking about it.
Harry spared a thought that their lives were such that they had to think about that question.
"Not that I can recall."
"Then you won't know how it changes someone. I agree that Ms. Weasley likely believes her actions are justified, but I doubt that is the only source of her anger. In all likelihood, she has convinced herself her actions are justified. Inside, it will be eating away at her, whether she knows it or not."
Harry also spared a thought that McGonagall knew all that.
"Then we should talk to Alastor," Sally-Anne said. "He'll have dealt with Aurors killing people in the line of duty before. He'll know what to do."
"Are her parents aware of any of this?" McGonagall asked.
"No," Sally-Anne said. "Mrs. Weasley would've said something to me by now."
McGonagall pressed her lips together in thought.
"I shall inform Alastor of these events and ask his opinion. I doubt it will take long for these events to reach the rest of the school, but please keep this to yourselves. I shall also be informing Mr. and Mrs. Weasley about this, but after I hear from Alastor if possible. I'd rather they hear it from me or her than someone else. This sounds like a matter of self-defence."
She stood up to leave.
"I'm glad both of you are alright." She glanced at Sally-Anne. "Both of you."
With that, she left the Hospital Wing.
"Sally-Anne?"
Sally-Anne turned to him slowly, wincing a little as she did.
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
She managed a smile that looked genuine for the first time Harry had seen in almost a year.
"You're welcome."
The smile faded, giving Harry a good sense for what she was about to say.
"I'm sorry about last year. I'm sorry for what Umbridge did, for my part in it, that I believed her over you, for… Harry, I'm so sorry!"
She winced as she spoke, while breaking into tears. She recoiled with every sob, each one likely making the pain worse.
"Because we were in the forest," Harry said, "Alavel's dead. The best friend I've ever had is gone. All I've got are my memories of him."
He clutched his sheets to stop his own tears.
"I know. Harry, if I could, I'd change it all. I miss him too."
Harry stared at his sheets to avoid meeting Sally-Anne's eye.
"I could really use his help right now," Harry said.
He tried to think about what Alavel would say. Probably something about how Ginny was troubled, that he shouldn't blame her.
It is best to forgive, Lord Skyeyes.
Harry looked up at Sally-Anne.
"What do you think we should do?"
Sally-Anne drew a sharp breath.
"What I told Professor McGonagall. We can't know what Ginny's thinking, and I don't expect she'll welcome our help. At the same time, she isn't some bloodthirsty killer. She's only lost her way."
Harry turned his mind back to Taltria. She'd been blinded by hatred too. That wasn't what Alavel would've wanted.
"What's going on with you and Malfoy?" Harry asked. "I know you told him about my old crush on Cho."
Sally-Anne averted her gaze.
"He overheard me talking about it," she said. "It was the same time he'd overheard me about my old crush on you."
Pieces began falling into place. Sally-Anne hadn't told Malfoy everything, he'd overheard it. She hadn't devised lies to hurt them, she'd been brainwashed and had to fill in gaps without them. She hadn't been trying to hurt them, she'd been trying to help them.
"And now?"
She began to cry again. For the first time in a year, he felt bad about seeing her upset.
"He was my only friend, but he can't ignore his parents. He… He…"
"You don't have to say anything else."
Harry knew a broken heart when he saw one. She'd fallen for him. Like she'd said, he'd been her only friend.
"I forgive you, Sally-Anne," he said. "I… I know you only meant to help. That's all you ever do. It's why you sent Professor McGonagall to the pitch back in September, wasn't it?"
Sally-Anne managed a small smile and nodded.
Even though Harry couldn't see it, he knew Alavel was smiling at him too.