Clever Workaround

Losha bolted through the treetops. She asked the forest about her pursuers. They weren't far behind. She dove into a thick underbrush to try losing them, but they kept pace with her.

Slapping the ground with a rune-covered hand, she sprouted a new tree to block the way. Her pursuers went around it. She tried again, growing branches out of old trees. The runners cut through the branches without stopping.

An arrow struck her back, but couldn't penetrate the acromantula silk of her dress. She dodged past another one.

"Turn and fight!" Mars shouted.

"No, keep running away," Mercury said. "Fighting only gets you hurt."

Losha strained to keep a hold on her own memories, track the centaurs chasing her, and work out a path to take.

Another arrow flew past, narrowly missing her neck.

What do I do?

A flash of Toad entered her mind. He would fight. Is that what she should do? Or was she getting her memories and Mars's memories confused?

She dropped down to the forest floor and turned on her pursuers. They drew swords and kept up their speed. She extended her claws and fangs, then sprinted at them.

One swung a sword at her, but she dove under it and swiped at its arm. Blood seeped from the wound.

She had a flash of the centaur's family. His mate, his children. She'd played with them. She couldn't do any more harm.

The other one, much larger than the first, grabbed her with one arm and shook her.

"Three moons we've been at this, Losha," Magorian said. "Yet still, your human side causes you to hesitate. You flee like a coward, hold back like a new warrior. You have no fighting spirit, no drive to finish the job. It's no wonder that human witch blinded you." He tossed her to the ground. "How can the forest rely on your protection if you will not do whatever is necessary to protect it?"

He motioned to the other centaur, and the pair took off for the centaur camp.

Losha sat on the ground, fighting back tears.

She felt Mars shaking her head in disgust.

"I can't believe we come from the same person," she spat. "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't want to kill them. I can't kill them."

"You don't have to kill them. You can wound them enough that they can't keep fighting. Demoralize them until they bend to your will. It's easy for me, so what's wrong with you?"

Losha trembled, struggling to make sense of the flood of memories and emotions. If she lost who she was, she would lose Toad. If she didn't fight back, she'd lose him anyway. No matter what she did, she'd be alone.

Ginny sat next to Professor McGonagall in the stands of the pitch. She wasn't allowed her wand, nor to be with the team. She kept her arms folded and glared at the Gryffindor team as they took to the skies.

"Demelza Robins grabs the Quaffle — a reserve player with a lot to prove, but making up for it. She flies ahead, passes to Katie Bell, who passes to Jonathon Nertlyn, then gets it back to Robins… she throws it in… GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"

The rest of the match was just as bad. Robins, her replacement, flew strong, keeping up with the others.

Of course, Ronniekins, the star of the team, held Hufflepuff's offence at bay. The Chasers kept up with the Quaffle, providing him with support when he needed it. Once or twice, he didn't make an attempt at the Quaffle. Instead, he waited for one of the Chasers to handle it. Gryffindor was unstoppable.

A few times, Hufflepuff managed to get ahead of Gryffindor's offence and rid Ronniekins of his precious support. These were the only times they scored on him. Ginny cheered when Hufflepuff scored. It served Ron right for thinking he was better than she was.

After the match ended and Gryffindor had ground Hufflepuff into the dirt, Ginny left with Professor McGonagall. Nothing would've made her happier than to have gone off on her own, but McGonagall had her wand hidden away somewhere.

That's how it was. She always had a chaperon lurking in the shadows, be it a student or teacher. If she didn't, she was asked to turn over her wand. That meant she wasn't allowed her wand at night.

Ginny waited while Professor McGonagall forgot about her and talked with Professor Flitwick on the way to the castle. She waited while they walked indescribably slowly to the staff room. She stood and glowered at anyone that came near while Professor McGonagall went inside and ordered her to stay put.

While she was waiting, Bell and some of the other seventh years came by.

"Weasley!"

Ginny growled at them.

"Potter hasn't got the guts to say it, but we all saw what we did out there. You don't belong on this team."

Ginny flicked her wrist, then remembered her wand wasn't there.

"What did you say?"

"I don't think I can be more clear. Quit the team. It's better for everyone."

Ginny clenched her fists.

"I'm still on the team, and I'm better at flying than you are. If you like Robins so much, maybe you're the one who should quit."

Bell scoffed to her friends. Her friends were smarter than she was. They had the good sense to look afraid.

I won't be wandless forever.

"I'm not the one that tried to kill her teammates," Bell said. "I'm not the one that gets practice stopped every ten minutes so the captain can lecture me. You don't belong on the team."

"You're not the captain," Ginny shot back. "It's Skyeyes's choice who stays, not yours."

"Don't get comfortable with it. The way Potter leads the team, he won't be captain for long."

Ginny lunged at Bell, but something held her back. She struggled, thrashing to get at Bell.

"Ms. Weasley!" McGonagall snapped, her spell pulling Ginny away from Bell.

"She started it!" Ginny screamed. "Didn't you hear her? No one talks about me or my friends like that!"

Bell looked pleased with herself until McGonagall glared at her.

"That's quite enough, Ms. Bell. Do not provoke another student like that. Five points from Gryffindor for provoking her, and another five for insulting Potter. I will not tolerate disloyalty in Gryffindor. Ms. Weasley, another five points for fighting. Now, Ms. Bell, leave us."

Bell spared a glance at Ginny before turning and walking away.

McGonagall lowered Ginny to the ground.

"Ms. Weasley."

"She—"

McGonagall raised her hand and shook her head.

"I don't care if she provoked you. You must learn to keep your temper under control." She held out Ginny's wand. "If I find that you've harmed Ms. Bell in any way, you will be expelled. Is that clear?"

Ginny glowered at her, but nodded all the same.

"Yes, professor."

"Good."

McGonagall handed Ginny her wand.

"You are a gifted flyer, Ms. Weasley. I'd hate to see that talent go to waste over this."

Ginny fastened her wand back into place. It felt good to know someone knew she could do it.

"Thanks."

She walked off towards the Room of Requirement, the only place she was allowed her wand unsupervised. She wanted to practice fighting. She knew she couldn't do anything against Rose, but at least she'd be able to fight the other Death Eaters when the time came.

As she paced back and forth in front of the Room of Requirement, a pair of unexpected faces arrived.

Brain and Toad rounded the corner and stopped when they saw her.

"What are you doing here?" Toad asked.

Ginny heard her tail slip off into the shadows. As she'd learned, Toad, Princess, and Skyeyes were all sufficient supervision.

"I wanted to practice for when we've got to fight Death Eaters again," Ginny replied. "What are you doing here?"

They exchanged glances.

Ginny narrowed her eyes. She had plenty of ideas what they'd be doing, sneaking around like that. They clearly didn't want her to know what they were up to.

"Are you two sneaking around behind Moon's back?"

"What? No!" Brain exclaimed.

"That's what it looks like to me. If you're not, then what are you doing?"

The two exchanged glances again.

"You can't tell anyone," Toad said. "Alright?"

Ginny nodded.

"We're going to try taking out Rose. Us and Taltria."

Ginny lit up. This was her chance.

"I can help!"

"Rose is immune to fire," Brain said. "You won't be able to hurt her."

Ginny folded her arms and glared at them.

"Let me help!"

"You won't be going after Rose," Toad said, "but you—"

"I can—"

"But," Toad said, raising his voice, "it won't just be Rose there. You can provide a distraction to keep anyone she's got with her off us."

Ginny grinned. It was perfect. Her chance to prove to everyone she was better than the rest.

"Okay!"

That night, Hermione met Neville in the common room. They didn't speak a word until they were sure Ginny wasn't around.

"This is a bad idea," Hermione said. "Ginny nearly killed Harry and Ron a few weeks ago."

Neville shrugged.

"Taltria's plan was never going to work. This way, we've got a chance."

Hermione hoped Neville couldn't see her hesitation.

"I… I guess that makes sense."

She imagined them going against a hoard of Death Eaters. With Ginny running interference, they could focus on Rose. Without her, Hermione would have to handle Rose's magic and deal with the other Death Eaters. It allowed her to focus on her real goal: answers.

Without the obstacle of the other Death Eaters, Neville and Taltria would be more motivated than ever to fight. That meant it'd be even harder for Hermione to talk them out of it. If they did the impossible and killed Rose, it'd be Hermione's fault. She didn't want to kill Rose.

"Toad, do you really want to kill Rose?"

To her relief, Neville shook his head.

"Nothing about this makes sense, but going after Rose gives me a shot at Lestrange." He clenched his fist. "I'm not letting her get away this time."

Hermione nodded, thinking back to Luna. Something still didn't add up with her, but she chose not to bring it up.

"What if Taltria kills her?"

"I don't know. Everyone keeps saying how she killed Lavender, but it doesn't make sense. Rose wouldn't kill someone like that."

"I can't see how she killed Alavel," Hermione said. "She refused to tear down the first task. Rose doesn't have it in her to destroy something she made."

Neville shook his head.

"I don't know. We're missing something. Did Professor Dumbledore say anything?"

"We couldn't find anything. He hasn't told me anything lately. When I meet with him, it's to explain how to counter Rose's magic."

Hermione thought back to the memories she'd relived, to seeing Rose again. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she'd been hoping Rose would find a way inside. Hermione wanted to see her again. If Rose came to her alone, then Hermione might finally have the answers she wanted.

As on every Sunday, Harry met Snape in the Dungeons. Having an actual Defence Against the Dark Arts professor had helped. Every time he met Remus, it gave Harry the chance to go over what Snape had taught him.

As far as Harry could tell, Snape knew what he was doing. Remus and Harry hated how harsh Snape was, but it'd been effective. Harry was learning everything about the dark arts. Hundreds of curses and their countercurses, how to spot someone under the Imperius Curse, how to resist it, how to fight various dark creatures Voldemort would have under his control.

Harry had worked out they were preparing him to fight Voldemort, although he didn't know why. Why did it have to be him? Surely his friends could manage it together, or Dumbledore could do it on his own.

He'd taken to asking Snape that same question at the start of every lesson. Snape had yet to give him an answer.

"As Professor Dumbledore has yet to approve my request to train you to resist the Cruciatus Curse, I will instead be teaching you some dark magic. The more you learn of it, the more you'll pick up on the flaws in it."

Harry made sure not to show how confused he was.

"This one is called sectumsempra," Snape said. "You are never to use it on someone who isn't about to kill you. You are to know how to stop it from harming you."

Snape conjured a mannequin, then recited the incantation and swiped his wand through the air. A large gash appeared through the mannequin, precisely where Snape had moved his wand.

"How do I stop that?" Harry asked.

Snape rolled his eyes.

"Use that tiny Gryffindor brain of yours and work it out. Or ask Granger, I'm sure she'll tell you all about it. Even Longbottom could figure this out, Potter."

Snape pointed at the mannequin and backed away.

"Try it."

Harry focused on the mannequin and moved his wand.

"Sectumsempra!"

Another slash appeared in the mannequin. It took Harry a moment to realize the trick to stopping it.

"They've got to move their arm when casting it," he said. "Stop their arm, and you stop the spell."

"I'm almost impressed," Snape said. "One point from Gryffindor."

"From? What for?"

"Because I don't like you, Potter."

Harry considered talking back, but held his tongue. He knew why Snape didn't like him, and taking only one point was better than Snape's usual five.

I think he's starting to warm up to me.

A week later, Draco received yet another letter from home with orders, but instead of coming down from his father, the orders came from another lieutenant.

Dear Future Slave,

Your lord and master grows weary of your slow progress. Bring him something within the next week, or I get to keep you.

Your Future Master,

Aurora Lux

Draco glared at the letter, then hurled it into the fire.

"Dobby is being sorry, Master Draco," Dobby told him. "Dobby is being made to bring these letters."

Draco glared at the fireplace before answering.

"I know. It's not your fault. Thank you, Dobby."

Dobby bowed, then vanished.

Draco took a moment to clear his mind, then left the common room for rounds with Sally-Anne.

They met each other with a glare. He looked behind her while she looked behind him.

"Anyone?" she whispered.

"No, you?"

"Nope."

Their glares turned to smiles, and she kissed him. They proceeded to their rounds, holding hands on occasion. That was his favorite part, even if they couldn't do it all the time. Part of him didn't care if anyone knew, but if anyone found out, word would reach his father before long. He wouldn't risk her like that.

"Is something the matter?" she asked. "You seem distracted tonight."

Draco paused for consideration. He wanted to tell her. He'd told her more than that thus far.

"Remember how I mentioned they want information on Dumbledore?" he asked.

"Of course."

The look of concern on her face raised his spirits. He didn't understand why, but something about knowing she cared made everything worth while. It was hard not to start laughing.

"Father keeps sending me letters asking for updates. I got one today, but it wasn't from him. It was from the Dark Lord's new favorite. This woman called Lux."

Sally-Anne stopped walking.

Draco looked back at her and started to worry. Had he said something wrong? He still hated how vulnerable he felt around her. He cared so much about what she thought of him, but he knew she wouldn't take advantage of it. She'd had plenty of opportunities to do just that.

"What is it?"

"Her… her name isn't Aurora Lux."

Draco thought for a moment, then realized he hadn't mentioned a first name.

"How do you know her name?"

Sally-Anne took his hands.

"This is going to sound mad, but I swear I'm not lying."

"Of course not!" he snapped. "You never lie!"

Sally-Anne smiled a little, but it faded fast.

"She's Rose."

Draco's head began to spin, but he gathered himself before too long. He didn't know whether to laugh or scream. The Dark Lord's favorite was really Peta-Lorrum?

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Hermione is. She recognized the name from Rose's stories."

Thinking back on his encounters with Lux, her being Peta-Lorrum made a lot of sense. Perfect sense, in fact. The more he thought about it, the more he realized she couldn't be anyone else.

"That means… is she spying on him?" he asked.

Sally-Anne shook her head.

"We don't know what she's doing."

The Dark Lord couldn't know it was really Peta-Lorrum. Draco would be in the clear if he told him.

"I can tell him," he said. "That'd be perfect to bring to him."

Sally-Anne took his hands again.

"Please don't."

He was surprised to see fear in her eyes. Like he did for her, she laid her emotions bare for him.

"You don't know what she'll do. Hermione's the only one who can even guess. I… I don't want her to kill you like she did Lavender."

Draco gave that consideration. Not only would he get out from under the Dark Lord's gaze, but he'd get rid of Lux while he was at it. It was perfect. All he had to do was trust Granger's opinion.

He looked at Sally-Anne. If she trusted Granger, he could trust her too.

"Ask Granger what to do. She's the expert on Peta-Lorrum, right? So she'll have some idea in that annoying head of hers. Then I'll go home for the Easter holiday and deliver it in person."

Sally-Anne squeezed his hands.

"Alright."

She leaned in and kissed him.

"Whatever happens, promise you'll come back to me."

He nodded, not knowing if he was telling the truth.

"I will."

He stared into Sally-Anne's eyes. Returning to Hogwarts for her was enough to give him the strength to survive. Whatever happened, he'd come home to her.

Draco tried to stop his body from shaking as he descended the stairs to one of the many hidden chambers in their manor. Nausea threatened to overwhelm him, and he was sure people would notice how pale he'd become. He hated this feeling. The overwhelming fear, even in his own home. Sally-Anne was right; it wasn't right of the Dark Lord to have taken over their home. Their family had folded to him. Now, if they tried to back out, Voldemort would kill them… eventually.

The fear was worse today, because he had information for the Dark Lord, information he'd insisted on delivering in person. What he knew, what Sally-Anne had told him, it would change everything. Lux, the Dark Lord's most faithful follower, the one who never did anything wrong, was Rose Peta-Lorrum in disguise. There was no telling what he'd do when Draco said this. He hated the idea of saying anything. He knew they'd ask how he knew, and he'd have to tell them about Sally-Anne. Even though she'd told him it was okay to lie, to say he'd been manipulating her, that she'd know the truth and that was all that mattered, it still meant she'd become a target.

He focused on his mind, keeping his thoughts hidden, praying Voldemort wasn't strong enough to get inside. If he did, no one would be able to save him from whatever the Dark Lord did to him. Nor would anyone be able to save Sally-Anne.

An image of her smile formed in his mind, and his nerves eased. The nausea faded, and he regained control of his emotions. He owed no loyalty to any of them, but he swore that moment he wouldn't let them hurt her.

He walked through the threshold and into the main chamber. It was always dimly lit and full of people, and today was no exception. A large table stood in the center, with the Dark Lord himself at the head. His pet Lux sat to his right, and Auntie Bella a few seats down from her, having been shamed enough by Lux to fall down the ranks. Draco's father sat to Voldemort's left hand, still as prominent as ever.

Draco bowed on one knee, as he'd been instructed to do numerous times by his mother.

"Draco," Voldemort said with a chilling smile and tone to match. "What news have you?"

Draco knew better then to try speaking directly to him without an express invitation, and that wasn't it.

"I've infiltrated Potter's friends through my manipulation of the mudblood Sally-Anne Perks."

It took everything Draco had to maintain his Occlumency shields while calling Sally-Anne a mudblood. He was starting to understand why it angered Weasley so much to hear it.

"And? What have you learned?"

It was the moment. Draco kept himself calm, knowing that he had to say it.

"She's told me of a spy in our ranks."

It didn't surprise him that Lux had the nerve to chuckle.

"These are serious accusations, Draco," Voldemort said, his voice taking on an edge. "How do we know this information is reliable? It did come from a little girl, a mudblood."

Draco didn't break his gaze from the floor. He stayed calm, keeping down the idea of screaming at Voldemort. It wouldn't do either of them any good. That's what Sally-Anne would've told him.

"She didn't tell me," Draco said, as he'd rehearsed. "I overheard her talking to another of her friends, Hermione Granger. Dumbledore has brought Granger into his inner circle. Neither had any way to know I was listening."

Voldemort took a moment to consider what he'd said. Draco knew this was only the first complication to clear. The next would be getting Voldemort to believe that Lux really was a traitor. Draco focused on the conversation he'd heard Granger and Sally-Anne hold. They'd specifically held the conversation so he'd have a memory to use. As much as he hated her, he couldn't deny that Granger was clever.

"Very well. Rise, Draco, and tell us who this spy is."

Draco rose to his feet, taking in the faces of the assembled Death Eaters. His father betrayed no emotion, as always. Auntie Bella looked concerned, which was an odd expression for her face. Lux was intrigued.

His focus remained on Voldemort himself. He knew better than to let it stray.

"My Lord, the spy is Aurora Lux."

No one spoke a word, but most of the Death Eaters shifted in their seats. Auntie Bella narrowed her eyes for a moment, but didn't dare look at Lux directly.

Voldemort slowly rose out of his seat, and it took everything in Draco not to run away.

"You accuse my most faithful disciple of being a spy, based only on the words of two mudbloods?"

Fear hit him like a Bludger, trying to shove him out the door. Draco wanted to look at Lux, to see if she'd faltered, but he didn't dare. He couldn't take his eyes off Voldemort, not even for a second. Why hadn't it occurred to anyone that she'd deny everything?

"You've never had a spy in your ranks before, have you?"

Draco, along with everyone else at the table, couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

Voldemort looked down at Lux. Lux grinned back at him.

"That's how spies work. They gain your trust, so you won't believe they're spies." She turned her grin to Draco. "Although, Butterhead, you're not quite right."

She hopped up on the table, her body already shrinking.

"See, being a spy includes reporting back to someone else and getting secrets for them. That implies having allies."

Her hair turned crimson, and her black cloak turned red and parted to reveal a black dress.

"I haven't got allies."

Peta-Lorrum sat down on the table as the rest of the occupants began to murmur to one another.

"I'm just here for fun."

Voldemort turned his anger from Draco to Peta-Lorrum.

"You," he hissed.

"Me," she hissed back, still smirking.

"I killed you," he said.

She looked down at herself, then back up at him.

"No, I don't think you did."

Draco didn't know what to do. Peta-Lorrum had outed herself. It didn't make any sense. All she needed to do was stay quiet, and Voldemort would've killed him, securing her position. She was a fool!

Granger had warned him she'd do the opposite of what people expected. She'd told him not to run; anything that drew her attention would cut his chances of making it out.

Voldemort drew his wand, and the nausea came back. With Voldemort in a bad mood, there was no telling what he would do to Draco. If Peta-Lorrum didn't kill him, Voldemort would.

"Thanks for having your clubhouse underground," Peta-Lorrum said. "It makes it easier to do this!"

Without so much as a wave of her hand, her spell activated. Draco only knew it was her because he'd seen her do the same thing before, casting magic without making a move. The first time, she'd stuck him to the ceiling. This time, she turned Voldemort to stone.

"Don't any of you get any ideas," Peta-Lorrum said. "I'm going to turn him back in a few rounds. I'm just proving a point."

Draco's head spun as he tried to get a handle on what was happening. He exchanged glances with his father, but neither had any more of an idea about what to do than the other. Auntie Bella just glared at Peta-Lorrum with a look of pure rage. Draco was impressed by her restraint.

Without warning, Voldemort turned back into flesh and began breathing again.

"If I wanted you dead, Voldie, I would've killed you by now. Instead, I want to help you. You need to get into Hogwarts, and I want to keep having fun without worrying about administrative overhead."

Peta-Lorrum patted herself on the head, much to the confusion of everyone, including Draco.

"I have no need for your assistance." Voldemort raised his wand again.

She pulled out the locket that hung from her neck. Her grin widened, and she started to sway back and forth along with the locket.

"Look familiar, Voldie?"

Voldemort froze. Draco couldn't see the locket too well. It was gold, and he thought he caught the glint of emerald. What was so special about it?

"It's too bad Regulus isn't here to tell them all about it," Peta-Lorrum said. "I can, though! I can tell them all about this, and the rest of my collection that I stashed in Hogwarts."

No one at the table moved. They all waited for a sign, an order, lest they risk invoking the Dark Lord's wrath.

"The goblet Belly gave up," Peta-Lorrum said, holding up a finger and lowering the locket, "the diary Goldilocks gave to me… the one with a hole in it's a fake… the diadem I found in Hogwarts, the ring that was hardly guarded at all." She held up the locket again. "And this locket that was hidden in the Black house." She laughed. "Yeah, Regulus betrayed you and went back for it."

She wiggled her fingers.

"Five! And I know where the last two are, and I can take them whenever I want! There's absolutely nothing you can do to stop me!"

She fell over with laughter.

"Crucio!"

Mostly on instinct, the table excused themselves and backed away.

Peta-Lorrum kept laughing.

"That's not going to work!" she exclaimed. "Why would that work? You can't kill me! You can't control me!" She lifted up her arm and revealed the missing dark mark. "And your little tattoo on my arm was an illusion! If I wanted to stop you, Voldie, I would've done it by now!"

She sat up and stopped laughing.

"But I don't want to. Like I said, I want to help you."

Draco realized then that Sally-Anne was right (again). Peta-Lorrum was completely mad. She'd lost what was left of her mind. There had always been two ways to stay safe from her: 1. avoid her; 2. hope the teachers were still banning her from killing students. Looking between Peta-Lorrum and Voldemort, Draco didn't know which one of them was worse.

"You can hit me with another useless curse," Peta-Lorrum said. "Or I can tell you how to get inside Hogwarts, kill the old man, kill Potter, and take back all your precious belongings."

She turned her head and grinned at Draco.

Draco took a step back, afraid of what Peta-Lorrum would do.

"I'm just going to need to borrow Butterhead."