Catching Up

Once they reached the common room, Harry and Ron went straight up to bed before something else exciting had so much as a chance to happen.

"I'm not risking it," Ron said as he headed for his room. "If we stick around here too long, something's going to go wrong, and I'll regret not going to bed."

"It's only the first day," Sally-Anne said. "Tomorrow will be better."

"Doubtful," Rose muttered as she began the trip up the stairs.

"I hope so," Hermione said as she made her way to their room. "I can't wait for Arithmancy."

"What's so great about Arithmancy, anyway?" Ginny asked.

"What's your favorite thing to do?" Sally-Anne asked the second-year.

"I dunno," Ginny replied. "I guess I like Quidditch."

"Alright, so it'd be like playing Quidditch twice a week," Sally-Anne said. "That's what it's like for Hermione."

"I guess that's not so bad," Ginny said as she started up the stairs.

No sooner than her foot touched the step, the girls heard a crashing sound from the common room.

Sally-Anne looked over and saw an entire bookcase on its side, and two boys standing around it, laughing. It wasn't the Weasley Twins, though; one of them was Jonathon, Alex's cousin, and the other was one that Sally-Anne recognized from the Sorting the previous night. His name was Brett Nertlyn, which made him Jonathon's younger brother.

"BOYS!" shrieked their cousin. "How many times–!"

"Alex, I've got this," another boy said irritably. "Jonathon's one of mine, and I'm capable of handling him."

"Right, sorry Phil," Alex said.

"Ha ha!" Brett jeered.

"You two, up to bed, right now, or I'll have a talk with Professor Snape to get you both extra assignments!" Sally-Anne shouted before she realized what she was doing. She stormed over to confront them. "Don't believe me? Ask anyone! He's always happy to make Gryffindors suffer! Now march!"

"But Sally-Anne!" Jonathon started.

"I don't want to hear it!" Sally-Anne shouted. "March!"

Grumbling something under his breath, Jonathon, followed by Brett, began the long walk up to their own rooms.

Both prefects stared at Sally-Anne.

"How'd you do that?" Phil asked. "I've been trying to get Jonathon to listen to me for a whole year, and I've got nothing to show for it."

"I couldn't tell you," Sally-Anne said, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry for undermining both of your authority."

"Whatever gets the job done," Phil said cheerfully. "I'm gonna get some shuteye before my rounds. Catch you girls later."

Phil patted Sally-Anne on the shoulder on his way past, leaving the girls mostly alone in the common room. Sally-Anne glanced over her shoulder and saw that her friends had already gone up to bed. Other students filed in slowly, but paid no mind to the bookshelf.

"How come there's never anyone around when you need them?" Sally-Anne asked, looking around the common room.

After hearing no reply, she looked over to see Alex staring off into space.

"Alex?"

Alex looked up at Sally-Anne.

"Sorry, what?"

"Alex, it's alright," Sally-Anne said. "You're a prefect, remember? You can take points from them. I don't think you yelling at them is helping anyone."

"Right," Alex said. She rubbed her eyes. "Yeah."

"You're not the first prefect to have siblings at Hogwarts," Sally-Anne said. "I know, because Percy's got the Twins, and no offence to your cousins, but they don't compare to Fred and George."

"Yeah," Alex said again.

Sally-Anne frowned.

"Is everything alright?" Sally-Anne asked.

"I'm fine," Alex said.

"I've got to stop asking that question," Sally-Anne said. "Between you and Rose, no one answers me honestly. Let's try this: What's wrong?"

Alex sighed.

"Sally-Anne, can I talk to you as a friend?" Alex asked.

"Alex, we are friends," Sally-Anne replied, sitting down in front of the fire. "Remember? I'm pretty sure that was one of the first things you said to me two years ago when I started school here."

Alex nodded, then joined Sally-Anne next to the bookshelf.

"I'm on edge because I'm a little annoyed that I wasn't picked for Head Girl," she admitted as the two of them lifted the shelf back into place. "I was so sure I would be picked, but then Penelope Clearwater, one of the Ravenclaw prefects, was chosen instead of me. I don't understand why it wasn't me."

"I'm sorry," Sally-Anne said.

"I do well in all my classes, I take good care of you girls," Alex said. "Well, I guess I screwed up last year."

"That's not fair," Sally-Anne said. "Rose drags us along, and people can't really stop her. You stayed up waiting for us when we went to fetch Harry from the Philosopher's Stone chamber. I don't know Penelope that well, but I doubt she'd have done that for the Ravenclaws."

"What about the incident today?" Alex asked. "I don't see the Ravenclaws getting into trouble."

"We didn't get into trouble," Sally-Anne said. "We worked to save a guy that, as everyone keeps pointing out, has tried to kill us or left us for dead twice in the past two years. Then you've got the Ravenclaws that my friends found harassing Luna last year."

"Luna Lovegood?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Sally-Anne said. "So if you need more proof that it was a bad decision, you've got the Gryffindors that tried to save someone who hates us, and Ravenclaws that were bullying one of their own. Whatever the reason Professor Dumbledore chose Penelope, it wasn't because her girls turned out better than yours."

"You're on fire today, Sally-Anne," Alex said approvingly. "First the Hippogriff, then handling Malfoy, the professors, and my cousins like a pro. I don't know what you want to do with your life, but I'm sure you're gonna be good at it."

"Thanks," Sally-Anne said. "Whenever I'm upset, Dad says to stop wallowing in self-pity, because he says it only makes it worse. Why don't you ask to see Professor Dumbledore?"

"The Headmaster doesn't just talk to anybody," Alex said. "I never spoke to him directly until two years ago when I became a prefect, and even then I don't usually get directions from him."

"Really?" Sally-Anne asked. "I've already talked to him once today."

"I think you're a special case."

"Then talk to Professor McGonagall. Maybe she'll know something."

"Maybe," Alex replied. "Speaking of the incident earlier today, are you girls alright?"

"You already asked that during lunch," Sally-Anne said.

"Right, when you were pale as a sheet," Alex said. "You overused that rune of yours."

Sally-Anne frowned, confused as to how her prefect knew that.

"I never said that."

"I'm in Professor Babbling's class, Sally-Anne," Alex replied. "She talked about the Shield Rune last year. Professor Babbling always does this class just before the exams where she just talks about whatever people want to talk about, so long as it relates to runes."

"That sounds like fun," Sally-Anne said. "I'm taking runes now."

"I know," Alex said. "I keep a list of the classes you girls take in case anyone needs help or something."

Sally-Anne smiled.

"For the past two years, I've always been worried about one thing or another, whether it be a large dog or a giant snake, but I just realized that I'm never worried about the small things. That's all you, Alex. When I came here, I was so scared of everything because I had no idea what to expect. I'm timid without being in a new world, but on top of that, I thought no one would be there to help me. But then I met you, and you told me that it'd be alright. I wouldn't have made it past the first day without you, Alex."

"Thanks, Sally-Anne," Alex said. "That means a lot."

Sally-Anne leaned in closer. "I never told anyone this, but when I saw how badly Hermione was handling first year, I nearly left. I thought if someone as smart as Hermione couldn't handle it, then someone like me was never going to last."

"You could've told me," Alex said.

"I didn't want to bother you," Sally-Anne replied. "Now, I don't care."

"It's my job to be bothered by you," Alex said, laughing. "I think you know that now."

"I do," Sally-Anne said. She yawned, then said, "I'm going to bed. It's been a long day."

"Sleep well, Sally-Anne," Alex said. "If you have bad dreams, don't feel ashamed to talk to me; it's perfectly normal to have nightmares when Dementors are about."

Sally-Anne offered a weak smile to her friend.

"You already have," Alex said.

Sally-Anne nodded.

"I promised myself I wouldn't let it bother me," she said. "There are people that count on me, so I've got to put them first."

"All I'm asking is to put yourself before me," Alex said. "I'll be alright on my own."

"Well–"

"And even if I weren't, you're still my responsibility for the next year. Get some rest, Sally-Anne. You've earned it."

Alex watched the other girl walk up to her room, then finished cleaning up the mess that Jonathon and Brett had left for her.

The next morning, while the rest of the third-year Gryffindors enjoyed a free period, Hermione made her way to the seventh floor for Arithmancy.

"Happiness sucking demons or not, it's still Arithmancy," Hermione said to the empty classroom.

"Good morning, Hermione," Cedric said to her when he walked into the classroom not two seconds later. "How are you?"

Hermione jumped, startled by the unexpected noise.

"I'm sorry," Cedric said. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I'm alright," Hermione replied, blushing a little. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well," Cedric said. "Although, I'm not sure you understood my question. Are you doing okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Hermione asked.

"Word got out that that Dementor on the train went straight after you and your friends before we even reached Hogwarts, and then whatever happened yesterday."

"What happened yesterday was nothing," Hermione replied dismissively. "Not the first time Malfoy has done something stupid, and probably won't be the last."

"Did he really almost get himself killed?" Cedric asked.

"He did, but he also antagonizes Rose on a regular basis, and if he does that now, she will kill him."

"It's only been a day with the Dementors," Cedric said. "I know they've got a bad effect on people, but it shouldn't have happened that fast."

"There's something else bothering her, but she won't say what."

Cedric nodded.

"Hold on, your dad works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," Hermione said. "Did he know they were sending Dementors?"

Cedric paused for a moment, then replied, "Yes."

"Did you know about them?" Hermione asked, raising her voice.

After another pause, Cedric nodded.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Cedric said. "Honestly, I thought I wouldn't need to. I thought–"

"That one on the train came after us!" Hermione shouted. "It wasn't looking for Sirius Black, it was coming after us!"

"I'm really sorry, Hermione," Cedric said. "No one should have to deal with them outside of Azkaban, especially not us, but they're here to help. I'm sure we'll be fine."

"How can something like that be helpful?" Hermione asked. "Harry passed out, and Luna didn't say another word all night. I don't think Luna's fully recovered, and I think Rose is actually contemplating murdering someone."

"I still didn't think she'd actually hurt students," Cedric said.

"Not the students, no," Hermione said.

"I'd hope not," Professor Vector said as she walked into the classroom.

"Although, she was awfully angry two nights ago when she went to see Professor McGonagall," Hermione said. "Come to think of it, Professor McGonagall didn't seem too thrilled with Rose yesterday during class."

"So I've heard," Professor Vector said. "The nerve of that girl, talking to a teacher like that."

"What did she do?" Cedric asked.

"I'm afraid it's not my place to say, Mr. Diggory," Professor Vector replied.

"What'd she do?" Cedric whispered.

"I don't know," Hermione said. "Rose hardly spoke a word yesterday. Like I said, something's bothering her, but she's not saying what."

During class, Hermione did her best to pay attention, but she could feel half the class staring at her. It wasn't that different from the end of the previous year, once word had spread that she had a research paper published, but she hadn't been expecting that she'd feel like the entire class was judging every move she made. The moment she'd answer a question, she swore she heard whispers in the back of the room, but Professor Vector didn't say anything about it like she normally did.

Hermione also thought about what happened the previous day. The first person to react had been Sally-Anne, because she didn't need to use her wand. During her first month at Hogwarts, Hermione had nearly been hexed by Malfoy because she couldn't get to her wand to defend herself. Finally, Rose was simply faster than all of them because her magic typically needed little more than a thought to use.

All of this led Hermione to her conclusion: Wandless magic had to be more efficient than wanded magic. If that was the case, how come everyone used wands? Why not go wandless? Was it simply a tradition, and no one wanted to stray from the path? Was it Ministry propaganda, intended to prevent them from breaking the underage magic law? Hermione had read that the Ministry had something called the Trace on every underage witch and wizard, and it wasn't removed until their seventeenth birthday. She only had three more years, but she wouldn't mind getting to practice over the summer.

Hermione planned to talk to Professor Vector once class ended, but once the professor ended her lecture, Cedric caught Hermione's attention.

"Hermione, we've got a study group that meets on Saturdays," Cedric said. "You should join us. It might help take your mind off of everything."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"You looked uncomfortable with something during class, so I thought something must be bothering you," Cedric said, smiling.

Hermione smiled back. It was nice knowing that people cared about her. Rose was nice, but her unique brand of "You made my friend cry, so now you must die" style of caring got a little stressful. Cedric knew how make Hermione feel like someone cared about her, but without making a big scene.

"I'd love to," Hermione said. "Thanks, Cedric."

"Brilliant," Cedric said. "One o'clock, right after lunch, in the library. I'll see you Friday."

"See you," Hermione said, waving as Cedric left.

At least someone's still normal, Hermione thought.

She didn't want to admit it, but Rose was starting to scare her. Hermione could handle the over the top antics, but the quiet brooding was abnormal for the crimson-haired girl.

"Hermione, he's gone," Professor Vector said. "You can put your hand down."

Hermione jumped, turning red as she realized that while she was thinking, she had kept waving.

"I… um…"

Think, Hermione! Think!

"Question!" Hermione shouted. "I've got a question that might seem a little odd."

"There are no odd questions, just unexpected ones," Professor Vector replied.

"That sounds like something out of a fortune cookie," Hermione replied.

"It is. How can I help you, Hermione?"

"The incident yesterday got me thinking about our wands. Why is it necessary to use them? It seems like it'd be more efficient to not use them, since they can be destroyed or lost."

"It isn't necessary, it's just highly encouraged. You've got Arithmancy to thank for it. When magic is concentrated through a conduit, such as a wand, it makes the equations cleaner. Take lumos for example; it's a basic, three-dimensional polar equation when focused on the tip of a wand. It's not possible to optimize it any further, and– Have I mentioned optimization?"

"Only briefly, but I've read about it," Hermione replied. "Arithmantic optimization is the reduction of an equation down to only its necessary components, thus reducing the wand movements and incantation length."

"Correct," Professor Vector said. "As I was saying, if you remove the wand from the equation, it becomes far more complicated. I'm not sure I've ever encountered a spell that could be optimized by removing the wand. Further, there are many variables that become conditional, because now the person is the conduit instead of the wand. Thus, you'd have to run most of the computations on the spot, and on top of that, you'd need to factor in your own body."

"It can't be that bad," Hermione said.

"Before I show you just how horrible it is," Professor Vector said. "Why don't you tell me why you want to know?"

"Like I said, it was about the incident yesterday," Hermione said. "It reminded me of my first month here, when Rose and I became friends. I was backed into a dead end by Malfoy, and I was terrified. I dealt with bullies back home; I guess it comes with being different, but I was so scared that he was going to hurt me, and no one was around to stop him."

"He shouldn't be allowed to get away with something like that," Professor Vector said.

"He doesn't anymore, at least not with me," Hermione said. "I remember thinking at the time, I just needed a second so I could get to my wand and at least make it a fair fight. With what happened yesterday, I was lucky that I saw it coming, but I won't always be able to do that."

"So you want to learn wandless magic to remove the burden of your wand?" Professor Vector asked.

"Yes," Hermione said. "I don't want to be helpless anymore."

"Hermione, contrary to what Ms. Peta-Lorrum might have told you, you don't always need to fight. Sometimes it's simply best to let others handle it for you."

"But one way or another, I always find myself in trouble," Hermione explained. "I used to think that if I were a good girl, and always followed the rules, that everything would work out just fine. Now, the people that make the rules sent demons to catch a serial killer, after removing the man that was going to protect us last year. Following the rules isn't enough anymore."

"Very well," she said, turning to the chalkboard. "But I don't want to hear about you hurting anyone."

Professor Vector wrote a simple equation on the blackboard.

"That's the equation for lumos," Hermione said.

"With a wand," Professor Vector said. "Light focused in a sustained burst at the end of a simple conduit designed to be Arithmantically efficient. Now, we have the unimaginable chaos of frustration that is the human body."

Hermione frowned.

"I'm not sure that makes sense."

"It doesn't," Professor Vector replied, sighing. "It really doesn't."

As Hermione watched, Professor Vector wrote another simple equation on the board.

"Is it really that bad?" Hermione asked as her teacher finished writing. "It looks like basic multiplication of terms."

"Both of those terms are matrices," Professor Vector explained. "The left one is a special matrix that in essence represents the conduit used for magic. When a wand is made, runes are traced into the body of it to normalize the effect it has on the equations. In this case, it cancels a lot of the second matrix to create the simple polar equation we've got written above."

"But the human body isn't Arithmantically designed," Hermione said.

"Unfortunately not. This is how the matrices appear when a body is used as the conduit."

Before the chalk could touch the blackboard, Hermione heard a voice in her head.

<Hermione? Eom.>

"Ah!" Hermione yelped.

Professor Vector frowned and looked to her student. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Rose just–"

<Defence the Third wants to know where you are. Eom.>

"Defence the Third?" Hermione mouthed.

"That seashell of yours?" Professor Vector asked.

"Yeah… OH MY GOD!"

Hermione scrambled to gather her belongings.

"I'm late!" Hermione exclaimed. "I've never been late in my life! I'm going to be late, and–"

"Hall pass," Professor Vector said nonchalantly, handing her a small slab of wood. "It will vanish once you reach your destination, so don't worry about returning it."

Hermione held up the piece of wood. It was a dark brown slab, about the size of a charge card, with golden letters emblazoned on it:

Hogwarts Hall Pass, Courtesy of Septima Vector

In the bottom left corner, the words Given to Hermione Granger appeared. Opposite them, in the bottom right, was Professor Vector's signature.

After staring at it for another few seconds, Hermione shoved the last of her books inside her pack and raced off down the corridor.

"Ms. Granger, so nice of you to join us," Professor Lupin said as Hermione raced into the classroom.

"Hall pass," Hermione panted, handing him the wooden slab. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sure it won't happen again," Professor Lupin said. "Please take your seat. Your friends can fill you in on what you missed while I continue."

"What did I miss?" Hermione whispered to Ron when she sat down.

"Well, he introduced himself, then… er…"

"You weren't paying attention, were you?" Hermione asked.

"I was!" Ron stage-whispered.

Hermione rolled her eyes, then leaned to Rose, who was on her other side.

"Rose, what did I miss?"

"Stuff."

"Thanks," Hermione replied bitterly.

She began to scribble down notes as Professor Lupin wrapped up his overview of the curriculum.

"As a special treat, the last class before the winter holiday will be spent on a topic outside of the curriculum that I suspect is on everyone's minds," he said. "No one pays any attention during that class anyway, so we might as well have some fun with it."

"So how do you think this one's going to try to kill us?" Ron whispered to Harry, who was sitting on the other side of him.

"I don't think Lockhart ever tried to kill us," Harry whispered.

"Nah, he was just subtle about it. Fred and George said it's almost like it's part of the class. You have to figure out how the professor's gonna screw up. Actually, I think they're taking bets on how this one's gonna get sacked."

"I like him," Harry said. "I think he did alright on the train, he hasn't stammered once, and he really knows what he's talking about."

"Come on, what do you think?" Ron asked.

"I think you should stop talking and pay attention," Hermione hissed.

Ron opened his mouth to argue.

"Mr. Weasley, have you got something to add?" Professor Lupin asked. "Professor McGonagall tells me you're quite the genius."

"No," Ron said. "Nothing to add."

Professor Lupin seemed like a competent teacher, although this served to make Rose suspicious of their new professor, so after class, she approached him.

"Ms. Peta-Lorrum, how may I–"

"Defence the First and Defence the Second both tried to kill me," Rose said. "I'm sure you're plotting to do the same, so I'll save you some time: Don't. If you cross me, you won't live to regret it. I'm out of patience for stupid people, and I haven't decided if I'm going to let High Emperor Gau Halak live yet."

"I understand," Professor Lupin said. "Quirrell and Lockhart weren't qualified for this post, but I'm going to work hard to prove to you that I am."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"For a start, I won't lecture you about the Dementors. I can't encourage you to attack them, but I'm not going to tell you to leave them alone, either."

Rose narrowed her eyes at the professor.

"Thank you," she said. "I still don't trust you."

"I wouldn't expect you to, given what's happened these past few days." He nodded towards the door. "Your friends are waiting for you."

Rose nodded, then started off towards the door.

"He wasn't always like that."

Rose turned around.

"Who?"

"Professor Snape," Professor Lupin elaborated. "He used to be nicer. I know; I was friends with his best friend once upon a time."

"What was his name?"

"Her name was Lily."

Rose nodded, then left the room, writing the name down in her notebook.

Dan and Emma were always concerned when they heard knocking on their door after dark, and their concern only grew when they saw who was at their door.

"Mum, Dad, we've got a problem," Hermione said when her parents opened the door.

"What happened?" her father asked as they girls walked inside the house.

"Remember how the Ministry of Incompetence was going to send people to help find Sirius Black?" Rose asked. "Well, they sent monsters that literally suck the happiness out of the air around them."

"You're kidding," Emma said flatly.

"She's not," Hermione replied in an identical tone of voice.

"It gets better," Rose said, a snarky smile on her face. "They patrol the prison from which Sirius Black escaped."

"So the Ministry thinks that because they did such a great job stopping him from escaping a high security prison, that more will certainly be able to find him?" Dan asked.

"That about sums it up," Hermione said. "They even got a head start this year on making our lives miserable."

"What's that mean?" Emma asked.

"One searched the train for him," Rose said irritably. "Couldn't even wait for us to get to Hogwarts."

"We found out later that it hardly stopped on its way to the back of the train," Hermione said, "where we were sitting."

"What?" Dan asked. "Are you girls okay?"

"We're fine now," Hermione said.

"Dementors exist by feeding off of happy memories," Rose explained. "They hunt by incapacitating their prey by dragging up horrible memories, causing the victim to give up out of despair. It sensed the concentration of bad memories in our group, and went straight for us."

"So the Ministry can't actually control them," Dan confirmed.

"Not in the slightest," Rose said.

"Rose, we don't know that," Hermione said. "They go where the Ministry tells them to, so they must know some way of controlling them."

"And Dumbledore let this happen?" Emma asked.

"To his credit, he got them to stay out of the castle," Rose said.

"What?!" the other three exclaimed.

"They were going to be inside the castle?!" Hermione shrieked.

"The Ministry was going to allow that?!" Dan shouted.

"He promised me that they'll leave us alone if we leave them alone," Rose said. "That's the best I've got."

"Before everything gets too out of hand, I think we should all sit down," Emma said calmly. "Girls, thank you for telling us this."

"I didn't want to keep it from you," Hermione said as the four of them sat down at the kitchen table. "I was afraid that you'd make me come home, but I thought if I just told you, then you'd understand."

"Rose, how fast can you find Sirius Black?" Dan asked the little girl.

Rose shook her head. "I can only find him if I've got something he owned, or if I've already met him. Otherwise, discern location won't work."

"Is there something else you can use?" Hermione asked.

"No," Rose said, shaking her head again. "There's nothing better than discern location for finding people."

"Is there anything else you can do?" Emma asked, hoping that there was some other trick Rose had.

"I can start destroying the Dementors, but Dumbledore seems to think that'll make things worse."

"What about Hermione?" Dan asked. "I'm sure you and your friends had a hard time on the Express, so what about protecting her?"

"It wasn't that bad," Hermione said. "Luna and Harry were worse."

Dan and Emma exchanged glances.

"Luna's the little girl that Rose looks after like a little sister, since her mum died," Hermione explained. "Which she had to relive when the Dementor found us on the train."

Emma gasped.

"I can put mind blank on Hermione," Rose said. "It protects me from them, so it should work for her too."

"No."

All three of them turned to look at Hermione.

"I want to figure this out for myself," Hermione said. "I don't want–"

"If you're not going to let Rose protect you, then–" Dan started.

"I don't want Rose protecting me!" Hermione shouted. "I'm already helpless, and I don't want people reminding me of that!"

"You don't need to fight back," Emma told her daughter. "It's alright to let other people help you."

"Everyone keeps saying that, but you're wrong!" Hermione looked to Rose for help, but Rose had already left the room. "I… I can't just avoid trouble! It's going to find me whether I like it or not, so I've got to learn to take care of myself!"

"We're not going to send you back there if we can't be sure you'll be safe!" Dan shot back.

"Dementors don't actually hurt people," Hermione argued. "They make them feel awful, but that's it! It's not like the Basilisk that could kill me at any second!"

"There's still a murderer on the loose," her mum said.

"But we're not talking about him, we're talking about the Dementors," Hermione said. "If we get proof that he's on the grounds, then I'll talk about it then. Right now, I don't want Rose enchanting me with anything else."

Neither Dan nor Emma wanted to give into their daughter's demands, but the defiant look on Hermione's face told them everything they needed to know. They had two choices: Listen to their daughter and allow her to go about Hogwarts unprotected, or force her to transfer for her own safety.

"I've got a solution," Rose said.

She'd returned to the room with Ana by her side.

"I'll toughen up Hermione, just like I did with Sally-Anne. She'll be able to defend herself, so you two won't need to worry, and Hermione, you can stop relying on me. Everyone wins. No need to come back here."

Dan and Emma exchanged glances.

"You won't hurt her?" Dan asked.

"You've got to trust me," Rose said. "She'll be hurt, but just think of it as revenge for when she annoyed you as a kid."

"That's an awful way to think about it!" Emma exclaimed.

"I'd rather not think about it at all," Dan said.

"Then don't," Rose said.

"Don't I get a say?" Hermione asked.

"You do," Rose said. "Either this, or get transferred to the other school that's name I don't remember."

"Rose, I remember random facts from when I was a kid," Hermione said. "How do you not remember?"

"Not important," Rose said. "Have we got a deal?"

The Grangers exchanged glances with one another.

Neither Dan nor Emma liked the idea of Hermione being hurt. Dan wanted his little girl to remain safe from the world, but Hogwarts had destroyed that hope. Now he didn't have a choice in the matter. If he wanted her to forgive him before she moved out, Rose was his only viable option.

"I'd rather just send her to Beauxbatons where she'll be safe," Dan said. "Rose, thank you for the offer, but–"

"I can't just run away!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Let's all calm down," Emma said. "Rose, can you promise Hermione will be safe?"

"I can," Rose said.

"This isn't something only Rose can do," Hermione said. "Alex can keep an eye out, and the Dementors can't hurt us if we don't go outside much."

Dan and Emma exchanged glances again. Emma knew Hermione would need to learn to stand up for herself. It wasn't what she wanted for their daughter, but it was the only way they could all be happy. Besides, Rose was always on standby, and Hermione was right in that Alex and the other teachers could keep them safe.

"As soon as anything new comes up, you are to inform us immediately," Emma said, looking at Dan. "We reserve the right to remove you from Hogwarts at any time."

"Alright," Hermione said.

After bidding her parents good night, Hermione walked with Rose to the front door.

"One thing," Hermione said, triggering her earpods to keep her conversation private. "Leave my ring alone. I don't want you enchanting it without me."

"Why?"

"It's my decision, that's why. If you don't fight me on it, I won't fight you on enchanting my hair clip again."

Rose looked at her for a moment, but Hermione couldn't tell what was on the girl's mind.

"You'll have to pick something," Rose said. "Sally-Anne wanted to learn to use her Shield Rune, so you've got to pick something yourself."

"Wandless casting," Hermione said.

"It's a start, but you'll need something more specialized later. Even I focus my combat abilities almost entirely around Crimson Thorn."

Hermione nodded.

"Thank you, Rose."

Rose smiled, then drew her staff of passage.

"Things are bad enough without you leaving, Hermione."

Hermione took a hold of the staff in her friend's hands. Together, the girls returned to Hogwarts.