Sharing and Caring

At Hogwarts, whenever anything exciting happened, people simply had to obsess over it. There was simply no stopping them. Usually, it was Harry Potter attending school with them that had everyone excited. It was just so interesting that a celebrity was going to school with them.

Fortunately for the poor "celebrity", someone else held the spotlight at dinner that evening. Sure, everyone was still gathered around the Gryffindor table, but at least they were ignoring Harry.

Sally-Anne wasn't used to so much attention from people, but she was dealing with it the best she could. She was finding that the hardest part of all the attention was explaining why she couldn't leave the shield up all the time.

"It takes a lot of energy to maintain it," she explained for what she thought was the sixth time (In reality, it was the eleventh). "I could only use it as much as I did in my duel because it also absorbs spell energy. Every time it stops a spell, it gives me part of the energy of the spell."

Once again, this raised several gasps and whispers from the audience.

"Where'd you get it?" Parvati asked.

"Tell us!" Jonathon Nertlyn shouted.

"That's a secret," Sally-Anne said, smiling slyly.

"Come on!" Lavender complained.

Sally-Anne caught Harry's eye. He was smiling for what Sally-Anne thought must have been the first time in weeks. He was happily chatting with Ron, who was patient enough about it to know he would learn all about whatever tricks Sally-Anne had. When Harry noticed Sally-Anne, he mouthed "Thank you".

Sally-Anne mouthed "You're welcome" back to her friend. While Sally-Anne wasn't sure about all the attention she was currently receiving, she didn't care, so long as her friend was happy.

The other Gryffindor champion of the dueling club, Rose, had slipped off while Sally-Anne had everyone distracted. Rose had escaped to the Ravenclaw table, where for once, she was greeted in a manner that was almost warm.

"Hey, Peta-Lorrum," Penelope Clearwater said.

"Salutations, Penelope!" Rose said as she sat down beside Luna.

"Don't tell anyone I said this," Penelope said, "but that was brilliant what you did to Lockhart. I don't care who he thinks he is, but my marks shouldn't have to suffer just because I don't know what his favorite colour is."

"You too?" Rebecca asked. "I barely made it through those stupid books of his. Nothing he says in class is relevant to defending myself against dark wizards."

"He set his hair on fire once in one of my classes," Rose said, grinning. "It was really funny."

"Wish I could've seen that," Roger said, joining the conversation. "Although, he did nearly blow himself up in one of our classes."

"Was that a naked mole rat into which you transfigured him?" Penelope asked.

"Yup!" Rose exclaimed. "It was Hermione's idea!"

"Granger?!" Rebecca asked, glancing over at the Gryffindor table where Hermione was sitting. "I guess that was a good idea."

"Of course it was!" Rose exclaimed. "Like I said, Hermione thought of it."

Rebecca rolled her eyes, although she promptly stopped when she saw Rose glaring at her. She decided that badmouthing Granger while her best friend was sitting within spitting distance was a bad idea. Especially after what she had just seen the crimson-haired girl do to the Defence Against the Dark Arts "professor".

"Leave it to Granger to come up with something like that," Roger chuckled. Noticing Rose's tilted head, he added, "I mean that in a nice way."

Rose leaned over to Luna. "Are they afraid of me?" she whispered.

"I can't think why they would be," Luna replied. "You only ever attack students in self-defence."

"Exactly," Rose replied. "Thanks for understanding, Luna."

"You're welcome, Rose," Luna replied happily. "Have you talked with your brother yet?"

"Not yet," Rose said. "Actually, I can probably do that after dinner. I'm sure Alice will want to hear about my duel with Lockhart, too."

"Don't forget," Luna said, taking another bite of food. After she finished, she added, "Sk'lar gets anxious when you don't check in."

"That's one word for it," Rose said. As much as she loved her big brother, she hated how overprotective of her he was. It's not like she didn't understand why, but she didn't have to like it.

"Is your brother overbearing?" Penelope asked, trying to be nice to the bizarre girl.

"A little," Rose replied. "He's nervous because he can't sense my status since I'm on another plane, and he's afraid I'll die without him knowing."

Penelope, not knowing how else to respond to such an absurd statement, simply said, "Okay."

After dinner, Sally-Anne was followed by a herd of Gryffindor students, all still in awe of her and her Shield Rune. She was flanked by Ginny and Hermione, both of whom ensured that no one bothered her too much. They were assisted by the Twins, although Sally-Anne wasn't sure she was comfortable with them being that close to her.

Following just behind the crowd were Ron and Harry, still talking about Quidditch, or how terrifying Professor Snape was, or anything other than the fact that Harry was a parselmouth or the existence of the Basilisk. Harry was enjoying being a normal boy, and Ron was enjoying talking with his best mate. She knew the trick to their hats, so when one of them took another form, she tracked them by the headpiece they had to wear.

After returning to the Gryffindor Common Room, the entire house was still riding the high of beating Slytherin at a competition, and someone suggested a party. No one was quite sure who it was exactly, since the only one who had seen was Hermione, and all she knew was that it was one of the Twins.

With the Twins providing the food, drinks, and even some live entertainment, the party went well into the evening. Hermione spent most of the night talking with Ginny, who was surprisingly chatty when Harry wasn't near her.

Rose was nowhere to be found, but for once, Hermione wasn't worried. She checked up on her friend now and then using the seashell Rose had given her, which Hermione had dubbed the condition conch. During one of her check-ins, Hermione had mentioned this to Rose, who was ecstatic about it.

<How do you feel about calling the seashell the condition conch?> Hermione pathed to Rose.

<THAT'S THE BEST IDEA EVER!>

Hermione had been so startled by Rose's reaction that she'd fallen over where she was sitting in the Common Room.

<I'm glad you like it, Rose.>

Hermione smiled thinking about it. She wasn't sure what tomorrow would bring, but Hermione decided that for the time being, she would just relax and enjoy herself.

"Hi, Hermione."

Hermione glanced up as Alex sat down beside her. Hermione hadn't seen much of the curly-haired prefect over the past few weeks, other than the occasional safety instruction. She'd think it was odd, but Alex was taking her cousin's wrong-doings personally, and kept insisting that she see to him. Hermione figured that Alex felt responsible for her cousin, just like how Percy felt responsible for Fred and George.

"Hello, Alex," Hermione replied. "Enjoying the party?"

"I've enjoyed it a lot more since I lost track of Jonathon," Alex replied. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said. "Sorry, what I meant was–"

"There are five other prefects," Hermione said simply. "He's not even in my year. There's another prefect that should be looking after him, isn't there?"

"Yeah, I know," Alex said. "He's family, and I feel like I've got to look after him."

"Alex, I can't believe I'm giving you advice on people," Hermione said. "Actually, I can't believe I'm giving anyone advice on people, but here's how I think about Rose: There's someone responsible for dealing with her, and it's not me. I used to think 'She's my friend and housemate, so I've got to keep her out of trouble, cos if I don't, it'll reflect poorly on me', but right now, I'm thinking 'She'll be fine, and if she gets caught, it'll be a first.'"

"You've relaxed more than last year."

"Over the summer, I realized I've just got to roll with whatever Rose does," Hermione said. "She's going to do strange things, and they might get her into trouble, but that's what she does." Hermione shrugged. "It's not my fault if she does, so I'm not worried about it."

"Wow," Alex said. "That's pretty mature, Hermione."

"I'm still working on implementing it," Hermione said, "but I've certainly felt better since working on it."

"'Implementing'?" Alex asked.

"Putting it into effect," Hermione clarified. "Sorry, I read a lot."

"I gathered," Alex said, laughing. "You said 'I read about that' in some way at least 12 times last year."

"Really?"

"I was counting," Alex said. "Changing the subject, how's Sally-Anne been doing this week?"

"She's been alright," Hermione said. "Still a little jumpy, but that might be due to whatever Rose has been doing to her." Seeing Alex's questioning look, Hermione continued. "Most people try not to spend more time with Rose than they need to, even Sally-Anne and I, but Sally-Anne's been spending more time with Rose this past week. Honestly, I'm a little afraid to leave Rose's side with the Basilisk in the school. For the moment, I'm alright, since Rose said it's still recovering."

"She said the same thing to me," Alex said. "How can she know that?"

"She personally pummeled it senseless," Hermione replied casually. "Also, she can find anyone or anything that she's already met. Rose said the Basilisk hasn't moved since last week."

Alex blinked. "Uh huh." The prefect looked around the room. "Where is Rose?"

"No idea," Hermione said. "I could ask, but either she won't tell me, because she doesn't want me to know, or she will tell me, and I won't want to know. So I'm just gonna let her be."

"Okay then," Alex said. She leaned in closer. "Do you know why Harry keeps glancing at Sally-Anne?"

Hermione looked over at Ron and Harry, who were sitting on the opposite side of the room from her. Sure enough, within a few seconds, Harry glanced over at Sally-Anne.

"Not sure, but probably because of their fight," Hermione said. "I don't think they've talked about it yet."

"It's not good to keep things pent-up like that," Alex said. "They should–"

"Hello, Hermione!"

Hermione jumped at the stereo greeting of the Weasley Twins.

"That's a little creepy when you do that," Hermione said.

"We know," one of them said. Hermione couldn't tell them apart, so she dubbed that one George.

"That's why we do it," Fred said.

"Of course it is," Hermione said, feeling sorry for their mother. How did Mrs. Weasley handle not only having enough children that Hermione had to consciously count them in her head, but two of whom were Fred and George?

"Fred, George," Alex greeted the both of them. "What do you need an alibi for this time, boys?"

"An alibi?" gasped Fred.

"Alexandra, how could you?" George said, looking offended.

"We're hurt that you'd think–"

"–that we're up to something!"

"Sure you are," Alex said, rising to her feet. "Whatever it is, don't break anything, don't hurt anyone, and don't let me find out about it."

"You can count on us!" both boys said.

"I'm sure I can," Alex said, walking away before she got involved.

That was perfect, Hermione thought. I hope I can be that calm about Rose someday.

"Are you really up to something?" muttered Hermione, an unrelated idea popping into her head.

"Why do you ask?" George asked her.

"Because I need your help," Hermione said. "We can't leave the Common Room since it's past curfew, but if Harry and Sally-Anne don't talk about their fight soon, I'm afraid Harry's going to just bottle it back up and never talk about it."

Hermione wasn't sure what concerned her more: The grins on the Twins faces, or that she was happy to see them grinning.

"We were saving this for Ronykins," Fred said.

"But Harry's family enough," George said.

"Mum made him a jumper."

"That practically makes him family."

"Alright," Hermione said. "What's the plan?"

"Sleeping draught," Fred said.

"Just a small amount in everyone's drink," George continued.

"Not enough to knock them out–"

"–But enough to make them sleepy."

"So sleep they can't walk straight, you see," Fred said.

"So their friends will need to help them," George added.

"So even if they don't get something to drink," Hermione said, "they'll still need to leave."

"It'll clear out everyone," George said, still grinning. "You catch on quick."

"Thanks," Hermione said. "I think. Where is it?"

"In our room," said Fred.

"We'll go grab it," said George.

Hermione was amazed by how effective the plan actually was. Sure enough, nearly everyone was drowsy within a few minutes. Harry and Sally-Anne remained unaffected, as did Hermione and Ginny. One by one, people were taken upstairs, including Ron.

"Come on, Ronykins," Fred said, taking one arm of his brother.

"You need your beauty sleep," George added, taking the other arm.

Despite Ron's lethargic protests, his brothers still dragged him with them up the stairs, leaving Sally-Anne, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny alone in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Come on, Ginny," Hermione said. "We should get going, too."

"Alright," Ginny said quietly, once again nervous about being around Harry. She quickly followed the older girl up the stairs.

"I've got the strangest feeling that this was planned," Sally-Anne said, realizing that no one else remained in the Common Room.

"Why's that?" asked Harry.

"Just a feeling," Sally-Anne replied.

"Alright," Harry said. After a minute of awkward silence, he said, "Hey, Sally-Anne?"

"What?"

"Thanks," Harry said, smiling. "For earlier, during dinner. It was nice feeling normal for a moment."

Sally-Anne smiled back at her friend. "You're welcome, Harry."

"And…" Harry paused for a few moments to gather his thoughts. "I'm sorry for yelling at you last week. I was just so–"

"You don't have to explain anything," Sally-Anne said. "I've already forgiven you, and it wasn't your fault that I was attacked."

Harry nodded, his entire apology stopped short. "Still, if I hadn't–"

"But you did," Sally-Anne said. "And I'm telling you that it's alright. There's nowhere to go now except forwards." Sally-Anne smiled. "It's really alright. I know how much stress you've been dealing with the past few weeks, so I don't blame you. Everything will be alright. Between the teachers and Rose, the Basilisk will be gone before you know it, and it will be back to… I was going to say 'normal', but that doesn't really fit Hogwarts, does it."

"As normal as ever," Harry said, smiling. "Thanks." Harry looked down at the couch, then up at Sally-Anne. "I never had friends growing up. Any time someone tried to be nice to me, Dudley always scared them away or threatened them so they wouldn't go near me."

"That's awful," Sally-Anne said.

"It got better once I found out that he was doing it," Harry said. "Before that, I thought there was really something wrong with me. I didn't understand why someone that would try to be nice to me one moment would become scared of me the next. I know it sounds strange, but I was relieved when I found out that Dudley was frightening everyone away."

Sally-Anne smiled and took Harry's hands in hers. "Don't worry, Harry. No one can frighten me away, and Ron and Hermione are too attached to you. And… well, we both know nothing frightens Rose."

The two friends shared a relaxing bout of laughter at that.

"Thanks, Sally-Anne," Harry said. He leaned over and hugged his dirty-blonde friend. "I'm glad you're alright. I don't want to lose any of my friends."

Sally-Anne smiled and returned her friend's hug. "Don't worry about me, Harry." As they released each other, Sally-Anne turned her hand so her palm was facing the ceiling. "Strada," she whispered, causing a small, translucent disc to appear above her outstretched palm. "Rose has been teaching me to fend for myself."

"I know," Harry said.

"You do?" Sally-Anne asked as the disc vanished.

"Hermione and Ron figured it out," Harry said. "Ron noticed that you two had been spending more time together, and Hermione suggested that Rose might be helping you cope with the attack."

"Oh," Sally-Anne said, her face turning a faint shade of pink. "I was hoping no one had noticed."

"That you've been spending more time with Rose, that you shake every time we go by Myrtle's bathroom, or that you flinch whenever you hear hissing?"

Sally-Anne stared at her friend. Had she really been that obvious? She was a little disappointed; she thought that she had been hiding it well. What had given her away? She was careful to walk behind them when going by the bathroom so her friends didn't notice her shaking uncontrollably. How had Harry noticed her?

Thanks to her amulet, Sally-Anne figured out the answer: Harry's glasses. They not only drastically improved his vision, but they apparently improved his other senses as well. His hearing and sense of smell were both enhanced thanks to Rose's gift, which meant that the subtle signs that she was afraid would be more apparent to "Scarface", and less obvious to the others.

That didn't explain how Sally-Anne hadn't heard him thinking about it, though. She couldn't remember all the rules to her amulet, but decided to ask Rose about it later. She was sure there was an explanation for it.

"Don't worry," Harry said, having counted out five seconds since his friend had answered. He wasn't sure if it was a good rule, but he was trying to work out how long it normally took for his friends to answer. Sally-Anne usually answered within a few seconds, so Harry was pretty sure that when she took longer to answer, it meant that there was something bothering her. At least, that's what Harry was assuming. "I don't think Ron and Hermione noticed how bad it really is."

Sally-Anne started shaking, remembering her attack a week ago. She had a sudden flash of the duel when the snake lashed out at her and caught her arm.

"Sally-Anne?" Harry said, as he spotted a tear falling out of her eye and onto the couch. What had he done? He had upset her again! What was he supposed to do?

Run after her and apologize, Potter.

"I'm sorry, Sally-Anne," Harry said, remembering Rose's words. "I didn't mean to–"

"It's alright," Sally-Anne said, forcing a smile and wiping tears out of her eyes. "I think I'm just tired, and… that snake Malfoy summoned just… it scared me."

Harry smiled. "That I can handle."

Sally-Anne looked at him. "What?"

"Hermione suggested that we look up parseltounge, so me and Ron did Monday morning," Harry said. "I can talk to snakes, but I can also command them. So next time a snake attacks us, I can order it to leave us alone."

Harry wasn't sure exactly how true that was, but it was cheering up his friend, and that was the important part. Harry couldn't stand to see Sally-Anne upset again, although that might have been in part due to the trauma of Rose nearly killing him the last time he had upset her.

"Thank you," Sally-Anne said, smiling sadly. "I think I need some rest."

"Okay," Harry said, standing up from the couch. "Good night, Sally-Anne."

"Good night, Harry," she replied, turning to begin the six-flight journey to her room.

"What's on your mind?" Hermione asked Ginny as the two girls ascended the stairs.

"It's nothing," Ginny said.

"Is it about Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe," Ginny mumbled.

"Don't worry about him," Hermione said. "There are plenty of other boys in this school. Besides, there's nothing going on between Harry and Sally-Anne. They just needed to talk about their fight last week."

"What happened?"

"Harry was upset and took it out on Sally-Anne," Hermione said. "She got upset, ran off, and ended up another victim of the Basilisk."

"Oh," Ginny said. She already knew that Sally-Anne was attacked, as did the entire school. She was also there when Sally-Anne and Harry got into their fight, so none of this was news to her. She had asked thinking that there was more to the story, specifically more to their relationship. It was always on her mind. How did Hermione not worry about boys? Most of Ginny's roommates talked about boys, most of the older girls with whom she had spoken talked about boys, but Rose and Hermione never did. "How do you do it, Hermione? I've never once heard you talk about boys."

"I guess boys aren't as high of a priority to me as the possibility that I'm going to die at any second," Hermione said. "And I'm not just referring to the Basilisk. This sort of thing seems to happen a lot around Rose. It's not like she's dangerous, but she goes looking for trouble." Hermione paused, then added, "Well, not trouble, but… entertainment. She gets bored easily."

"So, you're not interested in boys at all?" Ginny asked.

"Not at the moment," Hermione said. "I'm sure that will change soon, but for now, they haven't been on my mind. Not in that sense, anyway."

"What about Rose and Sally-Anne?"

"I don't know about Sally-Anne, but I'm almost certain that Rose doesn't care."

"Why not?"

"She's… Rose." Hermione blinked. "I need a better adjective for her than 'Rose', but I'm not sure there is a better one."

"She's not normal, is she?" Ginny asked.

"Not one bit," Hermione said, laughing.

"If she's so strange, why be friends with her?" Ginny asked.

"I'm not normal either," Hermione said. "I've been an outcast as long as I can remember because unlike most people, I enjoy learning. I enjoy school and books and classes."

Ginny made a face of disgust. "I don't know how anyone could like class."

"Precisely," Hermione said. "Rose and I are both different from everyone else, and she keeps us safe."

"I guess Sally-Anne's doing better with that now, too," Ginny said sullenly.

"Three things," Hermione said. "First, Harry's sweet, but he's also oblivious. Second, I'm not sure that Sally-Anne likes him, more that she's worried about him. Finally, if you want Harry to notice you, stop treating him differently. He says he hates that. Harry just wants to be a normal boy, so treating him like some sort of hero is just going to annoy him."

"Okay," Ginny said, nodding her understanding. "Is there anything else? Should I learn more spells, or practice Quidditch more?"

"Stop there," Hermione said. "Be you, Ginny. Don't be the girl that you think Harry wants you to be, just be yourself. If you want to learn more spells or take up Quidditch, then go ahead, but do it because you want to do it."

Ginny nodded. "Wow. You sound almost like Percy, but in a good way."

"Thanks," Hermione said. "I've never thought of myself as being good with people, but do you know how your parents always give you lectures and pep talks?"

"Yeah," Ginny said, sounding like any other kid that was tired of being lectured by their parents.

"I spent some time a few weeks ago writing down all of those talks I've had with my parents," Hermione said. "I've got a good memory, and one of those talks was about trying to make friends. My parents were worried when my marks were slipping a few years ago. They were slipping because my classmates hated me when I got better marks than them, so I thought they'd like me more if I didn't try so hard. My parents told me not to worry about what the other kids thought, and that I should just be myself."

"You remember all of your parents' lectures?" Ginny said, her eyes wide. "That must be annoying."

"Not really," Hermione said. "Actually, it's been rather helpful. It's like my parents are still with me, even now. It's hard with them back home and me being here."

"I've got Percy, so it's like Mum and Dad are both here," Ginny said.

Both girls laughed as they passed the fourth floor.

Hermione liked Ginny. She was a little hotheaded, but she was good at heart. Almost like a younger version of Rose, although not quite so… quirky. Hermione could tell that the red-head's obsession with Harry was bothering her, so Hermione did the only thing she knew that could cheer up anyone: Magic.

"Ginny, would you like to see a new spell I learned?" Hermione asked. "I can teach it to you if you'd like."

"Sure!" Ginny exclaimed, eager to learn something that her brothers might not know. Being the youngest of seven, Ginny was always the last one to do anything.

"Sh!" hissed Hermione.

Ginny clapped her hands over her mouth as Hermione pulled her wand out of her pocket and waved it around.

"Lacarnum flurrus," Hermione whispered. As she continued to wave her wand, four small buds of blue fire popped out of her wand like bubbles from a bubble wand. They floated through the air, circling around Hermione's head.

"I found that in a book last month," Hermione said. "It's a variation on the blue bell flame. They don't produce much heat, but they give off plenty of light. I thought they'd make good reading lights."

"Wow," Ginny breathed.

"I know," Hermione said, smiling. "It's called the 'blue bell flurry' spell. Rose got a kick out of it. She said they reminded her of the sigils that orbit an Illumian's head, whatever that means."

"What's an Illumian?"

"Exactly my point," Hermione said. "I've got no idea. One of those Rose things, I guess."

Ginny pulled out her wand. "Alright. How did you do that?"

Hermione showed her the wand movement again, and made her practice it before trying the actual spell. After a few wrong tries, Hermione took Ginny's hand and moved it through the motion, after which Ginny understood what she needed to do. Fortunately for Hermione, Ginny had an easier time speaking the incantation than her brother did. Hermione didn't know what it was with Ron, but the boy always had problems with incantations.

The girls walked slowly, and by the time they reached the sixth floor, Ginny had learned the blue bell flurry spell.

"Good job, Ginny," Hermione said as they arrived at her room. "Make sure you dismiss them before you get to your room." Hermione waved her wand. "Flurrus finae."

The flames around her head shrank, and slowly faded away into nothing.

"Flurrus finae," Ginny repeated, and the flames that she created vanished from sight. She smiled. "Thanks, Hermione."

"You're welcome," Hermione said. "Again, don't worry about Harry. There are plenty of other boys just as oblivious as he is. You should try obsessing over one of them."

"You first," Ginny said, flashing a grin that reminded Hermione an awful lot of the girl's brothers.

"Sure, I'll get right on that," Hermione said, laughing. "Good night, Ginny."

"Good night, Hermione."

Hermione watched the first-year walk up the stairs a ways, then turned to her room. To her surprise, she found the last person that she had expected to see in their room.

"Rose?"

"Salutations!" the crimson-haired second-year replied. "How was the party?"

"It was alright," Hermione said, noticing that both Lavender and Parvati were already fast asleep. "Party's aren't exactly my cup of tea."

Rose cocked her head. "Huh?"

"I don't care for parties," Hermione clarified.

"Oh," Rose said. "Me either. Last party I was at got crashed by a squadron of red dragons."

Hermione frowned. "Was… was that when you…"

"No," Rose replied. "They burned Thars to the ground, though. That's the capital of Luna. Shadow's been helping with reconstruction for the past few years, now." Before Hermione could ask any further questions, Rose added, "Was there dancing at the party?"

"No."

"Then I definitely don't care. Parties are only fun when there's dancing."

"You really enjoy dancing, don't you?" Hermione asked as she walked over to her soft, comfortable bed.

"Yup!" Rose exclaimed happily. "Mum and Dad taught me how to dance." She smiled. "One night while we were out camping when I was six, we heard some music when we were sitting around our campfire. It turned out that there was a Bard and his troupe not too far from us, and they were practicing for some performance they had soon. I asked if we could go see them, and Mum said just for a minute."

Hermione couldn't believe it. Rose never talked about her parents. All Hermione knew about them was that they had died when she was nine, her dad had red hair, and her mum had black hair. Yet here they were, with Rose telling Hermione a story about the foreigner's parents.

"So the three of us all walk over, and we see the Bard. He introduced himself as 'Seeker'." Rose grinned. "I've met him a few more times since then. He's a friend of Bowie's, and the founder of the Seekers of the Song. Anyway, he says we're welcome to stay and listen to them play, because his music was available to anyone who wanted to listen." Rose's grin faded to a dreamy smile. "After a few minutes of listening, Dad turns to me, offers his hand, and says 'May I have this dance, young lady?'" Rose laughed at the memory. "So the two of us start dancing like mad Kobolds, and then Dad has this wonderful idea. We both grabbed one of Mum's arms and pulled her into our dance."

Hermione smiled, not just at the story, but at her friend's face. It was full of emotion, of honest joy. It wasn't the over-the-top smile that Rose always had on her face, but a calm, gentle smile. Her smile was one of a little girl lost in a happy memory with her parents.

"So we danced all night, listening to Seeker and his troupe. We danced until I fell asleep." She turned to look at Hermione. "That's why I love camping so much. It was always so much fun with them, and with Alice and Sk'lar." She returned to staring at the ceiling. "Well, Sk'lar the one time Alice and I convinced him to go camping with us. He didn't care for it, since he only started appreciating the outdoors after he met Carolina."

Something tripped Rose's blindsight, and she turned to see that it was Hermione. The bushy-haired girl threw her arms around Rose.

"I'm sorry about your parents," Hermione whispered.

Rose returned the hug. "It's alright. Carolina says what's important is that I remember them. That way, they'll always be with me."

"Have you been up here all night?" Hermione asked as she returned to her bed.

"Yup," Rose replied.

"Talking to your friends back home?"

"Yup!" Rose exclaimed, beaming. "They love the name 'condition conch'."

"I'm glad," Hermione said, a little proud of herself for coining the name. "How many are there?"

"Ten," Rose said.

"So you've got nine more of these?" Hermione asked, holding up the condition conch.

"Nope," Rose replied. "I've only got one more with me. Everyone got two." She began to count off on her fingers. "Carolina gave one to each of her parents, Sk'lar gave his to Uncle Oz and Alice, Bowie to Arytiss and Harold, and Shadow to Q. Shadow and I are the only ones who still have one."

"There's something I've been meaning to ask," Hermione said. "Did Shadow's parents really name her Shadow?"

"Of course not," Rose replied. "That would be ridiculous. She gave herself that name."

"So it's not her real name," Hermione said.

"Yes, it is," Rose replied irritably. "Like I told the Exalted, my name could be Florence Anderson, but I'd be no different. A name is just something to call a person, and I've always known her as Shadow Black."

Hermione knew she had hit a nerve of some kind, so she dropped the subject.

"Like the famous Shakespearean line," Hermione said. "'A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet'."

Rose grinned and whipped out her notebook. "I'm writing down that one!"

Hermione smiled. She still had a lot of questions, but she knew Rose would tell her eventually.

"It's been a long day," Hermione said. "I think we could use some rest."

"Agreed."

Both girls turned to the entrance to their room and saw Sally-Anne dragging herself up the steps.

"Hey, Rose," she greeted her crimson-haired friend. "Hey, Hermione. Thanks."

"For what?" Hermione asked.

"Clearing the room so Harry and I could talk."

"I didn't do that," Hermione said. "What makes you think that I–"

"You're a terrible liar," Sally-Anne said.

"I'm still denying it," Hermione said.

"That's the spirit!" Rose exclaimed. Quieter, she added, "Deny everything!"

"Right," Sally-Anne said. "Anyway, bed."

"Bed," Hermione agreed.

"Bed!" exclaimed Rose.