The Good Fight

Walking around Hogsmeade with Lavender, Ron felt ambivalent. On the one hand, it felt good to have a girl with him, one interested in him and no one else. On the other, as they went around town together, she kept pushing him one way or another.

Another problem was that she never stopped talking. Ron knew Lavender liked to talk, but he hadn't understood how much.

"Oh! There's Thindro's Jewelers!" she exclaimed as they rounded a corner. "Everyone says they've got the cutest jewelry. I've never been inside, but everyone says they're great. Maybe we should look at it!"

"Erm…"

"You're right, too soon. Perhaps for our next date you can take me there. Oh, and if you bought me jewelry, how romantic would that be! Wouldn't that be so romantic?"

At a loss for words, Ron nodded.

"That's what I like about you, Ronniekins, you're so agreeable. It's like we're always thinking the same thing. We were just meant for each other. What are the odds that two people so perfectly suited for one another would be in the same year?"

"What a coincidence."

"I know! I had Divinations the other day, and Professor Trelawney was saying that some things are just fated to happen. People dying or being together. The stars will align, they'll meet, fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after."

As Lavender lived out her fantasy in her head, her voice grew dreamier and she held tighter to Ron's arm.

"Isn't it romantic?"

She gazed up at him and batted her eyelashes. Then her eyelids drifted closed, and she leaned it closer.

Ron couldn't believe it. She was trying to kiss him. Even Hermione hadn't wanted to kiss him. Then again, Hermione had hardly wanted anyone to get near her, apart from he and Rose.

She always liked Rose better than me.

He leaned in and kissed Lavender back. It felt good, yet… lacking. Like something was missing, but he didn't know what it would be.

"What were you expecting?" Sally-Anne asked when he told her that night during their rounds. "It's just a kiss."

"I know, it's just… I don't know."

"Suppose you built it up to be something it's not," she suggested. "It's possible you thought it would be some magical moment, but it's the most ordinary thing in the world."

"Oh."

Ron slumped as he walked.

"Daddy says it can be magical, if you let it. Any of it can be. That's the best part, he says. Sharing those intimate moments with someone special."

"Was that how it was with—"

Ron realized bringing up her ex-boyfriend was a bad idea, but it was too late.

The same sad look Sally-Anne had had for a month appeared on her face.

"With Viktor?"

Ron slouched more.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"It's alright."

Ron heard her smile in her voice. A warmth came over him, joining his confusion.

"It is?"

"I'm not happy to think about him, but that you're truly sorry means you realized right off it wasn't a good thing to say." She beamed at him. "I'm proud of you, Ron."

Ron didn't know what to say.

"Thanks, I guess."

"To answer your question, it wasn't really that way with Viktor either. I liked him well enough, and he was always so polite, but I can't help but wonder if he wasn't really seeing me sometimes."

Ron scowled at her.

"Huh?"

Sally-Anne smiled.

"Never mind. Just remember it's important to understand who a woman is."

Ron still didn't understand.

"Let me put it another way. If I treated you the same as I did everyone else, how would it make you feel?"

"Terrible, I suppose."

"Exactly. That's how it was with Viktor. He was nice, and sweet, but he didn't really see me for who I was. I thought he did at first, but looking back on it, it felt like he was treating me like any other woman."

Ron nodded again. He didn't understand why Sally-Anne was talking about Viktor. She didn't like talking about him.

"Why tell me all this?"

"To help you understand. I want you to be happy."

Ron blushed a little and looked away before Sally-Anne saw.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"You're welcome. Remember, you deserve to be happy, too."

Ron smiled at the thought. Sally-Anne was the only one that made him feel special. Although, he'd felt special knowing Lavender was bragging about dating him. He decided he'd stay with Lavender. Not that he had a choice; she was his only option, but she was a good option.

"Thank you. And… you deserve to be happy too."

That sad look was back on her face. Even though she nodded, Ron had a feeling she didn't believe him.

Harry went to Snape's office Sunday afternoon. He'd heard about his friends' Occlumency lessons from Ron. Ginny had been conveniently missing. According to Ron, it hadn't gone… horribly.

He was happy it would be just him. In particular, Hermione had been annoying to work with, and he didn't trust Sally-Anne.

Besides, Snape was just a stepping stone to Quidditch that night. It was his year, his turn to be captain. He was surprised he hadn't been kicked off the team, but luckily, they hadn't even had Quidditch after Umbridge had taken control. Something about it being unnecessary to an educational environment or something.

He wrapped on Snape's door when he arrived.

"What?"

"It's Potter! Dumbledore ordered me to keep you company in your old age!"

The door creaked open. Snape loomed from behind his desk.

"I can hardly wait," he said. "Inside. Sit."

Closing the door behind him, Harry walked inside and sat down at one of the desks.

"This will be a continuation of your lessons last year, but on a shorter time table," Snape said. "You've got a lot to learn, and little time in which to learn it."

Harry raised his hand.

Snape glared at him.

"What? Did I talk too fast?"

"Why?"

Under Snape's glare, Harry caught on that the professor was waiting for him to elaborate.

"Why is any of this necessary, sir?"

Snape liked it when students called him "sir".

"Because the headmaster has required it of both of us."

"I got that, but—"

"That's enough questions, Potter."

Snape stood up and tapped the blackboard. A list of course objectives filled the board.

1. Teach Potter not to be a complete failure at Occlumency. 2. Teach Potter the difference between various forces of the Dark Lord. 3. Hold Potter's hand while he struggles through figuring out how to spot an impostor. 4. Improve Potter's miserable reflexes. 5. Ensure Potter isn't utterly useless in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Harry copied down each objective as it appeared on the board, keeping an eye on Snape while he did. Knowing Snape, there was a good chance he was using the objectives to throw Harry off his guard. It raised the question as to how he should get to his wand while writing.

"What do you understand of the importance of Occlumency?" Snape asked.

Harry chose his words to avoid Snape wasting more of their time being condescending.

In the end, it didn't matter.

"I'll take that as nothing." Snape tapped the board again, and the word "Occlumency" appeared at the top. "Occlumency will keep your mind shielded against invasion. Preventing someone from reading it is only the first step. With access to your mind, I can alter it, manipulate you to my will without you realizing it."

Harry wrote "Occlumency is important" in his notes.

"To prepare you, I will be attempting to enter your mind."

Harry put down his quill.

"What should I—"

"Legilimens!"

Harry was back at the Yule Ball. He could feel Ellie in his arms. She was so beautiful, so perfect. In spite of everything, she smiled at him. She was a mute witch, but she could still find joy in the world.

Next he was walking to the Forbidden Forest with Ellie. Something was wrong with her. She wasn't herself. Someone was tricking him, but he didn't know who. Was it Ellie?

"You're awful at this!"

Snape relented and allowed Harry to return to the present.

"I just walked inside your mind! You didn't even offer resistance!"

"How could I? I don't know what I'm doing!"

Snape scoffed at him.

"Obviously not."

Snape readied his wand again, and Harry brought up his. He fought back the instinct to react the moment Snape cast the spell.

"Legilimens!"

He was walking to practice with Ellie. She reassured him that everything would be okay.

Sally-Anne was telling Umbridge and Fudge some lie about how he and Ellie had snuck out and lied about it. His best friend had betrayed him.

Alavel was fighting Lux. He'd already fended off Voldemort. Why couldn't he handle Lux? She moved as if she knew everything he was about to do.

He was laughing in the common room with his friends. Rose had said something ridiculous again. They were all so young, so naive.

Harry was back in the classroom with Snape. Snape was glaring at him, nursing an injury. Harry realized he had his wand trained on Snape.

"Again."

They did that for the rest of the hour. Snape entered his mind, distracting Harry with memories. Harry began to catch on and started retaliating. By the end, he got Snape out after the first memory.

Snape assigned an essay on the history of Occlumency, then dismissed him.

As Harry lost himself in the memories dragged up by Snape, he wondered about Ellie. He hadn't seen her around school. Was she there and he'd missed her? He decided he'd look for her at dinner.

While Harry met with Snape, Hermione met with Dumbledore. She had been provided the password to his office by post, but even then, the gargoyle remembered her.

"You're not a good guardian, are you?" she asked. "Of course, I never understood why bother with a password at all. It makes it awfully difficult to visit. A magically locked door would be sufficient."

She climbed the steps to his door, then knocked. The moment her hand touched it, she heard a click, and the door swung open.

Professor Dumbledore sat at his desk, but beside it stood an object Hermione didn't recognize. It was a basin of some sort, with runes carved along the outside. A faint glow came from within.

"What is that?"

"Right to business, I see," he said. He rose from his seat and walked around to the other side of his desk. "This, Ms. Granger, is a Pensieve. It collects memories for later perusal. I've found it helps to spot patterns and links one might not otherwise see by simply losing oneself in one's thoughts."

"Is that what we're going to do here?" Hermione asked. "We're going to go through memories looking for Rose?"

"We're going to look at memories of her to figure out what she's up to," he said. "Starting from the time she first arrived at Hogwarts."

He motioned for her to approach the basin. When she looked inside, it swallowed her up, and she fell through a blue void.

She landed inside Hogwarts. It looked much the same as she remembered it.

"Hello?" she called.

"Right here, Ms. Granger."

Hermione nodded at Professor Dumbledore, then realized there were two Professor Dumbledores.

"Wait, what… oh!"

One of them walked straight through her, while the other one walked up to her and addressed her.

"Pay attention," he said. "We're looking for anything that can help us."

Hermione looked past the other Dumbledore and saw where he was walking.

Rose stood just past him, talking to the walls, despite protests from the talking portraits.

Hermione couldn't help but smile. It was so like Rose to be ignoring the portraits in favor of the wall.

"Hello?" the other Dumbledore asked.

Rose whirled around to face him, her hood pulled over her head.

"Salutations!"

A short laugh escaped Hermione's lips. She quickly covered her mouth and recomposed herself. It was amazing to see Rose again, to hear her.

"My dear, it's a little early for Hallowe'en," the other Dumbledore said.

Hermione glanced at Dumbledore, ready to laugh, but he kept his focus trained on the old conversation.

"What's a 'Hallowe'en'?"

Rose lowered her hood while tilting her head to the side.

It's when bad things happen, Hermione thought. Every year.

"Pay attention to how she talks and acts," Her Dumbledore said, speaking over the other one. "Anything she says could be important."

"I stumbled upon this place by accident," Rose was saying. "Is this your castle?"

"It is. I think you had better come with me, Ms…"

"Peta-Lorrum!" Rose jumped up and down as she answered. "Rose Peta-Lorrum, sir!"

And that might be the one and only time she's ever called Professor Dumbledore 'sir'.

Rose curtsied, as was her way.

"Ms. Peta-Lorrum, my name is Professor Dumbledore. Would you please follow me?"

"Certainly!"

Hermione and Dumbledore followed Rose and Dumbledore. They began the trip downstairs. Rose skipped alongside her Professor Dumbledore.

"We're going to the Hospital Wing," Dumbledore told Hermione. "Her voice sounds the same as I remember it, and she doesn't seem to be acting any differently than I recall."

"It all seems… normal."

Hermione's joy at seeing Rose faded away when it hit her that this was just a memory. Her friend as she knew her was gone for good. She glanced around the castle. Had Sylvia been watching Rose and Dumbledore then?

"Ms. Peta-Lorrum, that accent sounds Scottish. Are you from around here?"

Rose hesitated before answering "yes!"

"She was asking her brother what that meant," Hermione told Professor Dumbledore. "When he didn't know, Bowie would've told her to just agree."

Professor Dumbledore nodded.

"How did you find your way here?"

"I don't know. I just sort of wandered in. I was plane shifting and wound up outside on accident."

"She was on her way between the Material Plane and Celestia," Hermione said. "Valignatiejir, the dragon that attacked her, was imprisoned there. Well, his soul was. Her parents would take her there sometimes to check on the defences, but she'd insisted on going on her own. She was trying to recover, but then ended up here."

"They died when I was nine," Rose was saying, answering a question about her parents.

"That's true, but Sk���lar resurrected them," Hermione said. "He told her to tell you that so you wouldn't go looking for them."

"I do regret that I'll never get to meet him," Dumbledore said. "She spoke rather fondly of him."

"He's rather clever," Hermione said. "I met him once. After the boggart incident, we went outside the wards to talk to her family. She'd been cut off from them that year, but Sk'lar opened a rift between our worlds so they could talk."

"And you're sure it wasn't a trick?" Dumbledore asked. "An illusion she conjured?"

Hermione nodded.

"She's never been good a thinking ahead, or thinking of too many things at once. Conjuring entire stories and personalities for a bunch of people seems like too much for her."

"Seems," he said. "That's the point of this. To catch anything she slipped out about her true intentions."

"Then we're not going to find anything watching old memories," she said. "We'll want something from third or fourth year, after she'd met Sylvia. What about the Yule Ball?"

"Ms. Granger, we're not looking for evidence of what we already suspect, we're looking for something we've missed."

Hermione frowned and returned her attention to the memory. They'd arrived at the Hospital Wing, where Dumbledore was introducing Rose to Madame Pomfrey.

"Poppy, this is Rose Peta-Lorrum."

Rose curtsied instinctively.

A small laugh escaped Hermione's lips. She covered her mouth and blushed.

"A Muggle-born orphan who has wandered in here by accident. Rose, this is Madame Pomfrey, Matron of Hogwarts."

"Hold on, did you just introduce her as a Muggle-born?" Hermione asked.

"Why not? She clearly didn't understand the Wizarding World, but no Muggle can get inside Hogwarts."

"Then how did my parents get inside during the Triwizard Tournament?"

"We temporarily lowered the wards for that very purpose. Otherwise, Muggle parents wouldn't have been able to enjoy the competition."

Hermione thought back to her parents at the time. "Enjoy" wasn't the word she'd use.

"Sure, enjoy."

Hermione turned her attention back to Rose, who had discovered that the beds in the Hospital Wing were somewhat bouncy. Once again, she couldn't help but smile at her friend's antics.

"I used to go to a school called Arcrel."

"What's Arcrel?" Madame Pomfrey asked, turning to Dumbledore for an explanation. "Have you heard of that?"

"I'm afraid not. Rose, where is that?"

"Near Kor'el," Rose and Hermione answered at the same time.

"And where is that?"

"Continent of Faera," they answered together.

Dumbledore gave her a look that said "stop it".

Hermione looked down sheepishly.

No sooner did Dumbledore leave the Hospital Wing did the entire scene vanish. Hermione fell through the blue void again and landed back in Professor Dumbledore's office.

"What did we learn?" Hermione asked.

"I learned that her stories have consistency with what she told you," Dumbledore replied. "That's a good sign. It means she likely was lying to both of us, or neither of us."

"We really should go over memories from my third or fourth year."

"I already have. I reviewed memories of what I learned about her various experiences, and came to the conclusion that there was something living in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Sylvia let you do that?"

"I hadn't realized it would be a problem until Rose told me as such."

Hermione frowned. From what Rose had told her about Sylvia, her friend didn't appreciate people knowing about her.

"I'd like to review your memories from the boggart incident," Dumbledore said. "Along with any other times you've had contact with her family or Sylvia."

"I've only met Sylvia the once, at the Yule Ball. Then I talked to her parents at the end of our third year, and her uncle just before the Yule Ball."

"Then perhaps we should start with the Yule Ball."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. While she hadn't done anything too intimate with Ron, it was still her and Ron. She still felt horrible about what she'd done to him.

"Did you and Mr. Weasley get up to any amorous activities?" Dumbledore asked, sensing her hesitation.

"What?! No! Nothing like that!"

"Then I'm not going to judge you any differently. I understand that it's embarrassing for a young woman such as yourself to walk through her own memories with someone else, but I'm afraid we've got to move quickly."

Hermione frowned, then nodded. Her mind drifted back to the Yule Ball. It'd had its ups and downs, but overall, it was a happy memory.

"She brought Sylvia with her to the Yule Ball." Hermione counted the memories on her fingers. "It couldn't hurt to look at when I first met her. Then I met her brother and sister after the boggart incident. And at the end of third year, she introduced me to her parents and told me about everything from her life."

Dumbledore nodded to show he understood.

"Where do you think we should start?" he asked.

"At the beginning. The first time I met Rose, before she knew too much about this world."

"Then we shall do so next time."

Harry looked for Ellie at dinner, but she wasn't there. He tried thinking back to other meals, but he couldn't remember seeing her. When he couldn't find her, he put her out of his mind. Quidditch tryouts were that evening, and he wanted to be focused for it.

He met his current team in the Pitch right after dinner was over. Ron and Katie were his last two remaining teammates.

Also joining him were Ginny and Jonathon, their only two reserves.

"I think we need to do better with keeping up our reserve players," Harry said. "That way, we'll give more people a chance to fly and practice." He turned to Ginny and Jonathon. "As our current reserves, you two have got first pick on positions. Anything you'd—"

"Chaser," Ginny said.

Harry turned to Katie.

"What do you think?"

"I think a Seeker's not all that different from a Chaser," she replied. "Easier to be a Chaser than a Seeker. I think she's got what it takes."

Ginny smirked, but Harry shook his head at her.

"This is a team, Firecracker. Remember that."

"I know that!" she snapped. "Why wouldn't I know that?!"

"Because as a Seeker, it's easy to forget," he said calmly. "As a Seeker, you block out everything else going on, and only focus on finding the Snitch. Every other position has to watch all the other players, but the Seeker only cares about the Snitch."

While Ginny continued to fume silently, Harry turned to Jonathon.

"What about you? You did well last year as a Keeper. Everyone here knows my friends and I always get into trouble somehow, so there's a possibility Ron won't be able to play."

"Oi!"

Harry turned back to Ron. He kept picturing himself as Alavel, tall, calm, collected, and rational. Harry couldn't hope to imitate that voice — no one could — but he tried to speak the same as Alavel as well. All the better to keep people working together.

"I'd rather play a permanent position, Potter," Jonathon replied. "Chaser, if I can."

"We'll have to see," Harry said. "We'll run you alongside the other tryouts. In all likelihood, we'll be at this all night."

"What, have you got a date?" Ron asked.

"Potter wishes," Katie scoffed, thumping him on the back. "We'll need a strong third for a Chaser. Wood and Johnson never settled for anything less than the best."

"Then why'd they pick Ron?" Ginny jeered.

"Like she just said," Harry said. "Only the best."

Ron flashed a small smile at him.

<Thanks.>

<No problem.>

As he'd predicted, tryouts lasted well into the night. Harry couldn't hold tryouts for a single position; he needed a Beater and a Chaser, and reserves for every other position. Wood had never run reserves, due to the amount of time it took to train them. When Harry had joined, Gryffindor had struggled with a losing streak. They were comfortably ahead now, even if Harry wasn't allowed to use his equipment in their matches.

By the end of the night, he had his team. The Nertlyns, like the Weasleys before them, comprised most of his team, with Brett and Tim joining as Beaters. Despite Tim only being a second-year, Harry was surprised how well he worked with his brother.

After he dismissed everyone, Harry held Ginny and Ron back.

"We can't be using the network during a match," he said. "I'll be exchanging my glasses and gloves at the start of our matches. So far as we know, nothing else we've got will be a problem. To make sure nothing goes wrong, we should talk to Professor McGonagall about it."

"Who cares?" Ginny asked. "We've got—"

"It's cheating, and it's wrong," Harry said. "If we need to resort to cheating, then we shouldn't be playing in the first place."

Harry looked at Ginny and Ron, waiting for a reaction from either one of them.

Ginny's face tightened, and her fists clenched. She was ready to defy him.

"If you can't follow my orders, Firecracker, then you can't play on this team."

He and Ginny stared each other down for nearly a minute before Ron piped up.

"I've got my bracelet, but that's all I can think of," Ron said. "And my ring. Rose never gave me much. But runic tattoos are a fairly new sort of magic, so there aren't any rules in Quidditch about them."

"Reading books isn't exactly an edge on the field," Harry said. "And Ginny, your ring probably won't be a problem either. It's just what she gave me that's a problem. But I can't be sure, so we should make sure."

"Agreed," Ron said. "Bill and Charlie would've done the same."

Harry didn't understand why Ron had brought up his brothers until he saw Ginny's reaction. The tension drained out of her, reducing her facial expression to a minor pout.

"Fine."

"Good."

With that, the three of them left the pitch.

<That was good thinking,> Harry told Ron, <bringing up your brothers like that.>

<Thanks. It works on me, I figured it'd work on her.>

<I meant what I said earlier. You're easily as good as Wood was.>

Harry and Ron walked back together. He was glad there was still someone he could trust.

After checking on her girls, Sally-Anne left the common room for her rounds. She knew her relationship with them was strained, but Dumbledore had refused to accept her resignation. Alex had never had the same problems. She'd always been perfect. Even Percy, as absent as he was, at least cared about his boys enough to not betray them to a passing Ministry…

Sally-Anne pushed the thought aside. At least she hadn't been the only one the Ministry had tricked.

She walked down to the Dungeons. She didn't understand why they always had to meet down there. She was at the top of Hogwarts, so they could've met just as easily on the top floor.

Draco stood in a corridor waiting for her. He gave a half smile when he saw her.

"Sally-Anne."

She smiled back at him.

"Draco."

She beckoned for him to follow her, and they began their rounds of the castle.

"How was your summer?" she asked.

He didn't answer right away. She gave him time to think over his answer. She didn't expect a straight answer from him, but she respected his right to keep secrets. Especially if one of those secrets involved his family hosting Voldemort.

He's not involved, she told herself. He's just a kid.

"Fine," he said at last. "Parents will be parents."

She provided a nod as her answer. He didn't want to talk about it.

They made small talk most of the night. It wasn't much, but at least Sally-Anne was getting Draco to open up to her.

"Any trouble from Parkinson?" she asked towards the end of the night.

Draco glowered at her, making her believe she'd overstepped her bounds. Nonetheless, he didn't stop talking.

"She doesn't give up easily," Draco said. "She went to her parents, who went to mine, but I convinced them the Parkinsons weren't worth it. The money we'll save not having to buy love potion ingredients will be worth it alone."

Sally-Anne frowned. Why would he be buying love potions?

"Love potions?"

"Why do you think they teach us how to brew it? Most pureblood houses are married together, whether they want to or not. They can't divorce, otherwise it'd be a disaster. So they brew love potions, drink them every morning in their tea, and use the lie to get through the day."

Sally-Anne stared at Draco, making sure to keep her mouth closed. She wanted to stare at him slack-jawed, it was such an outrageous concept.

Then she took another moment to consider it. Purebloods weren't that different from noble houses, and they didn't always marry for love either. They married for status, but had to live with whomever they married. There was no magic potion for them if they didn't love the person they were with, they were just stuck that way forever.

"That makes some sense, I suppose," she said.

Draco laughed, an odd sound when he wasn't laughing at her.

"'Some sense'," he said. "There's no sense in anything purebloods do."

Sally-Anne smiled at him in adoration. She didn't tell him why. It was warming to hear him breaking free of his chains.

"It can't be that different in the upper class of muggles, can it?"

Sally-Anne started to find it odd how proud of him she was for hearing him talk about muggles as if they were people.

"Madame Walker, my elocution teacher, says it's pointless to search for sense in the upper class."

They walked in silence for a time while Sally-Anne thought about her next question. She wanted to ask Draco if he'd found someone else, but part of her said it was none of her business. Yet, another part of her thought it was important.

"Are… are you seeing anyone else?"

"What's it to you?"

"I'm your friend, I just want to make sure you don't fall down another obnoxious void."

"What?"

Sally-Anne blushed just a little.

"It sounded better in my head."

"If you must know, no, I haven't. I'd rather wait until all this… never mind, family matters."

"And you'd rather wait until it's all over?"

Draco glowered at her, evaluating whether to tell her. Once again, she gave him time to think it through. She didn't want to overstep her bounds, or worse, make him think she was trying to pry. She knew whatever it was that in which his parents were mixed up was bothering him, but if she pushed too hard, he'd lock down and never tell her anything. So she waited for him to come to her.

"Something like that."

They didn't speak the rest of the night, not until they arrived back at the Dungeons.

Draco pointed at her pendant.

"That pendant."

Sally-Anne frowned and looked down at her pendant.

"What about it?" She looked back at him. "I don't use it on my friends."

"You'd better not."

She stepped back, but smiled.

"We are friends, though." She smiled wider. "I think everyone needs a friend sometimes."

Draco glared at her, but nodded at the pendant.

"I will say this about that pendant of yours. Peta-Lorrum had good taste."

Sally-Anne smiled at the complement, knowing it was truly intended for her.

"Good night, Draco."

"Good night, Sally-Anne."