Blade Dancer

Ginny crept out of Gryffindor Tower. It'd become easier to sneak around after Neville had shown her where to go. The places the portraits couldn't see you, the places Filch didn't check. She got out of the castle before anyone noticed she was there. Once she was out, she sprinted over the grounds towards the Whomping Willow.

As she'd expected, Taltria waited for her not far from it, hidden from view near the pumpkin patch. She stepped out where Ginny could see her when Ginny got closer.

<You're sure about this?> Taltria asked.

<I overheard Brain and Princess earlier,> Ginny replied. <I'm certain.>

Taltria eyed her, then turned to the Whomping Willow.

<Why here?>

<There's a secret passageway that leads from under the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack.>

<How do you know?>

<Skyeyes told me.>

She thought of him, flying through the air during Quidditch. He'd be disappointed in her if he knew what she was doing.

I don't care.

The Willow thrashed at them as they drew nearer. Ginny flicked her wand into place.

<Don't,> Taltria said. <If you burn it down, you'll give us away.>

Ginny looked up at the branches, looking for the knot Harry had told her opened the passageway and immobilized the tree.

<There,> she said, pointing to a branch that didn't move like the others. <There's a knot on that branch. Push it, and the passageway opens.>

Taltria bounded nimbly past the other branches and jabbed the knot. When she did, the tree stopped moving, and a piece of the trunk vanished.

Taltria crawled through the tunnel first, then Ginny followed. Once she brought Rose's body back, everyone would see that she wasn't some defenseless little girl that didn't know anything. They'd see that she didn't need anyone else to help her. She hadn't needed Taltria to pull the lever, it was only easier for her than for Ginny. There was no sense getting herself needlessly injured.

The tunnel gave way to a dark and dusty room, strung about with cobwebs. She covered her mouth so she didn't make any noise when she coughed.

<Where is she?> Taltria asked.

<I don't know. We'll have to find her.>

Creeping through the rooms, wand at the ready, she kept her eyes out for Rose. She was there, Ginny was sure of it. Failing that, they could wait for her. They had plenty of time.

After they climbed a flight of rickety stairs, the sound of something creaking caught Ginny's attention. The sound was coming from a room up ahead. She held up her hand to signal Taltria.

Careful not to make a sound, Ginny crept up to the room. The creaking sound was constant, as though someone was rocking.

In fact, someone was. The sound Ginny heard was a rocking chair.

Rose sat in it, rocking back and forth staring at a boarded up window.

"You're not Brain," she said, her gaze fixed on the window. "I was expecting Brain to visit me."

Rose turned her head to face them. Ginny stepped back in spite of herself, but Taltria held her ground, swords drawn.

"I'll just have to wait to see her again." A smile crept over Rose's face. "How is Brain, Firecracker? What about you, Taltria, have you talked to her recently? Does she know you're here, or are you two all alone?"

"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Alavel!" Taltria shouted, leveling a sword at Rose.

"All by yourselves?" Rose asked, looking between the two of them. "Ha."

"We don't need anyone else to defeat you!"

Ginny hurled a fire bomb at Rose. The fire wouldn't hurt Rose, but the explosion would. Taltria leapt back as the blast engulfed the room. Ginny heard the chair bang against the wall, but it sounded wrong.

Shouldn't it have been ripped apart?

Once the explosion subsided, Taltria bounded into the room. She swung a sword down, but Ginny didn't hear it make contact.

When the dust cleared, Rose stood in the middle of the room, holding Taltria's sword at bay. Her chair lay on the ground, in one piece. Everything else was undamaged. There weren't even scorch marks on the ground.

Ginny looked around, trying to understand what Rose had done.

"I've been expecting Brain to show up with new magic in her arsenal," Rose said. "I made sure we wouldn't disturb the neighbors with our racket."

Rose's lips parted with her next smile.

"That means no one's going to hear either of you scream."

Taltria swung her other sword at Rose, who released the first one and tumbled under her.

Rose appeared in front of Ginny and grabbed her wand arm. She whipped the girl over her head, then slammed her on the ground.

Ginny kicked at Rose, who whipped Ginny over her head again. This time, Rose jabbed Ginny the moment she made contact with the ground, then hurled her across the room at Taltria as she approached.

Taltria tumbled aside to avoid getting hit by Ginny, then went after Rose with a barrage of sword strikes.

Rose dodged aside each of them. She smirked the whole time, dancing around as if it were all a game.

When Ginny hit the wall, the force of the impact caused a small gasp to escape her lips. She recovered and threw another fire bomb at Rose. On her feet, she started a volley of bombs as Taltria dove for cover. She realized that Rose stood between her and the only exit, but it wouldn't matter. In a few moments, Rose would be dead.

Ginny didn't let up, hurling bomb after bomb at the spot Rose had been standing.

"Can you explain to me why you thought you could beat me with that?"

Ginny spun around and launched a meteor at Rose's voice. It struck Rose, leaving no mark on her.

"Did you think it'd be easy to kill me?" Rose asked, walking closer, undeterred by Ginny's attacks.

Taltria dove at her and swung her swords in a frenzy. Still smiling, Rose ducked aside each attack as it came.

"Didn't you tell her about all my defences, Taltria? Did you tell her it's nearly impossible to hit me? Or that even if you do, I can recover from it?"

Ginny stopped and stared at Rose.

"What?"

Taltria roared and stabbed at Rose. Rose twirled aside and jabbed Taltria in the gut.

Taltria stumbled back, then attacked again.

"These little attacks of yours aren't going to phase me. You'll need something stronger. Like an enchanted sword." The smirk never left Rose's face as she knocked attack after attack. "Or if you'd brought Brain along, you might've been able to damage me."

She slammed into Taltria and sent her sprawling.

"But no, Brain's still convinced I'm on her side, isn't she? That leaves you two. The Nimblewright struggling to be a real Swordsage, and the weak little girl that doesn't know any better. Neither of you have changed since the forest."

Taltria leapt to her feet and swung at Rose again. Rose grabbed her arm with one hand and jabbed the other into Taltria's wrist. Taltria's arm turned to dust on contact.

"Alavel couldn't beat me. Why would you be able to beat me?"

Taltria swung at Rose's legs with her remaining arm. Rose jumped to avoid it, then kicked Taltria in the head.

Ginny fired another meteor at Rose. It struck her, but didn't slow her down. Ginny threw another, then another, looking for any gap in Rose's defences. All the while, Taltria swung and stabbed at Rose.

Tears appeared in Ginny's eyes. Why was nothing working? Rose had to be harmed by something! What was her weakness?

Taltria caught Rose on the side of the head, sending Rose sprawling. Taltria leapt on top of her before Rose hit the ground. Stabbing her sword as fast as she could, Taltria tried to land another hit. Even prone, Rose's defences still held.

"Die!" Taltria screamed. "Die!"

Rose caught Taltria's blade with one hand.

"After you."

With her other hand, Rose struck Taltria in the chest. Her gold armor turned black, and red cracks branched out from Rose's fingers.

Taltria struggled against Rose's grip.

"Die!"

Her final cry echoed through the Shrieking Shack as Taltria exploded.

Ginny screamed and waved her wand. It was a complicated spell, but nothing she couldn't handle. With Taltria gone, she no longer had to worry about collateral damage.

"Cefla gwyt latan!"

A shimmer rippled through the air. Rose stood up, looking as smug as ever.

"Go ahead, Firecracker. Give it everything you've got."

You won't be so smug in a minute.

Ginny ignited a small spark at the tip of her wand, and the room exploded.

The blast knocked Ginny off her feet. Rose's chair was hurled once again into the wall. Ginny saw enough to spot Rose being thrown from her place in the room.

A grin spread over Ginny's face. She climbed to her feet and stared into the settling dust.

"Not so tough now, are you?!" Ginny screamed. "See? I'm better than all of them! I'm better than Taltria! I'm better than you! Maybe you're just an NPC too!"

Something tapped her shoulder. She spun around and found herself face to face with Rose.

"What were you saying?" Rose asked. "I didn't hear that."

Ginny clenched her fists. She'd had enough of Rose's stupid grin. She punched Rose. She jabbed at her again and again, but Rose still stood and smirked at her.

"Shut up!" Ginny screamed. "Shut up and die!"

Rose punched her in the stomach. Ginny recoiled, then Rose punched her again. Ginny raised her wand, but Rose grabbed her arm and twisted.

Something snapped and pain radiated through Ginny's arm. She stepped back, but Rose grabbed her and flung her into the adjacent room. Ginny recovered, clutching her arm. She went at Rose with her good arm, but Rose jabbed her in the stomach again.

Ginny fell to her knees. She tried to think of a way out, but she had nothing.

Rose wasn't about to show her mercy. She kicked Ginny in the face, knocking her to the ground. Grabbing a handful of Ginny's hair, Rose lifted her up and threw her into the wall.

Ginny got up and went at Rose, her resolve waning. She tried kicking Rose, who grabbed her leg and bent it backwards.

Ginny screamed in pain, falling to the ground. She tasted blood in her mouth and wondered when she'd started bleeding.

Rose kicked her across the room and down the stairs. Ginny struggled to get up. She didn't think she had the strength to pry open the front door, but she spotted the passageway she'd used to enter the shack. She limped closer, hearing Rose's footsteps drawing nearer.

She felt like a coward. Tears rolled down her eyes. She wanted to fight, but she was out of options. Rose wasn't even using magic. Ginny hated everything about it, but at that moment, all she wanted was to see home again. To see her friends. To play Quidditch.

She fell to her knees, screaming as she landed on her broken leg. She thought of Toad dragging himself through the tasks in the Triwizard Tournament. Dragging herself with her good arm, she pulled herself closer to the passageway.

Skyeyes���s face popped into her head. Of all the people, he'd never given up on her. There was one person that didn't see her as a child. He'd be ashamed of her if he'd known what she'd done.

I'll get back to Hogwarts. I can explain it to him. He'll understand. He always understands.

He'd tell her he was disappointed, but glad she was safe. Just like he'd done last time. Horror swept over her as she realized she could've killed her brother and Skyeyes. What would she have done then?

She looked ahead to the passageway. Only a few more feet, and she'd be home free. Free to see her friends again.

She reached out and opened the passageway. With what strength she had left, she pulled herself inside.

Something grabbed her foot and dragged her back into the Shrieking Shack.

Rose lifted her into the air, dangling her upside down.

"Let this be a lesson to you Firecracker. Next time, don't go in without one of the big kids."

Rose hurled her away from the passageway. Ginny watched helplessly as salvation sailed away from her. That was when it hit her that she was going to die. Every dream, every ambition, they all ended there, in a dark shack.

"No," she groaned.

Rose walked up to her and kicked her again. Her smirk was the last thing Ginny saw before darkness set in.

Harry sprinted down the stairs to the common room two at a time, the map under his arm. As he'd requested, his friends were gathered in the common room.

"She's not in her bed," Sally-Anne said. "Where is she?"

Harry slammed the map down and pointed to the Shrieking Shack. His friends looked down in time to see the "Taltria" marker disappear.

"What happened?" Neville asked.

"One of two things," Harry replied, folding up the map after checking on McGonagall and Dumbledore, "Rose teleported or killed her."

His head spun, but he tried to keep himself composed. Hermione wasn't talking, Ron looked like he was going to cry, scream, or both, and Neville was already sprinting to the portal.

As a group, they ran to Professor McGonagall and woke her. They only needed two words.

"It's Rose," Harry said.

McGonagall led the way to Dumbledore's office. Harry's heart hammered in his chest as they explained.

"How did Ms. Weasley know where to find Peta-Lorrum?"

She directed her question at Hermione, who didn't make eye contact.

Harry didn't know whose glare was worse: McGonagall's or Ron's.

"I don't know," Hermione said.

"I asked her," Sally-Anne said. "Ginny must've been eavesdropping on us."

"If you had to know," Ron snapped, "which you didn't, why didn't you use the network?"

"It doesn't matter now," Harry said, hoping to stop a fight from breaking out, "we've got to get to her before it's too late."

They arrived at Dumbledore's office to find the man himself waiting for them.

"Where are they?" he asked.

Harry nearly opened the map on instinct, then realized he was asking Hermione.

"Moving," Hermione said. "Heading to the entrance hall."

Neville turned and bolted down the corridor. Harry and Ron ran to keep up. It wasn't until they'd almost arrived that Harry realized where Neville was going.

When Harry, Neville, and Ron reached the cavity with the moving staircases, Neville jumped over the edge. Harry and Ron followed him, creating three bangs as they hit the ground.

They ran to the Entrance Hall, then Ron and Neville flung the doors open.

"Wait for the others," Harry said.

"There's no time!" Ron shouted, trying to push past him.

Neville grabbed his arm.

"We can't do anything to help her without Brain and Dumbledore. If we charge in, we'll end up like Taltria."

Harry peered into the darkness. He couldn't see far into the grounds, and Rose and Ginny were outside his blindsight.

"Anything?" McGonagall asked as the others arrived.

"We haven't seen them," Harry said, turning to Hermione. "How close are they?"

Harry could still hear his heart beating. It filled the silence while he waited for Hermione to answer.

"They're near the forest," she replied in a small voice. "Ginny's still alive."

Harry looked towards the forest and spotted something moving.

"There they are," he said, pointing ahead.

Dumbledore and McGonagall stepped in front of them. McGonagall shot Ron a glare to try to convince him to move back.

When he wouldn't, Neville and Harry pulled him back to safety.

"We've already lost Taltria," Harry hissed. "If there's anything we can do, we aren't going to lose Firecracker."

"Ron, please," Sally-Anne added.

Ron glared at them, but eased up his resistance.

"Thank you," Sally-Anne whispered.

She rested a hand on Ron's shoulder. She tried to smile, but Harry could tell she was as frightened as the rest of them.

Rose entered his blindsight, but he didn't sense Ginny at first. It wasn't until Rose got closer that he realized she was dragging something.

Sally-Anne gasped when Rose came into view and saw Ginny.

Rose dragged their friend behind her with one hand. Ginny was covered in blood, leaving a trail back the way Rose had come.

Harry's heart stopped. In all the possible scenarios, this wasn't one of them. If he'd known it would come to this… what could he have done? What would Alavel had done?

"Rose," Professor Dumbledore said, taking his place at the front of the group.

Rose smiled at him. No, not at him, past him. Her gaze was fixed on Hermione.

"I believe this belongs to you," Rose said, tossing Ginny's body at their feet. "I broke the other one, but I think you can still fix this one. I would, but I'm tired of always fixing your messes."

McGonagall levitated Ginny's body towards the castle. Harry strained to see any sign of movement, but he couldn't tell.

Rose's face formed into a pout.

"Brain, I thought you were going to come visit me. I'm hurt."

Harry didn't know what to say, wheels turning in his head for the first time since he'd noticed Ginny out of her room. Why had Ginny gone looking for Rose?

The answer struck him like a Bludger. Ginny must've thought she'd be able to take Rose on by herself or maybe even with Taltria's help. Had that been why Taltria had given up so easily?

Harry felt sick, in part from the sickening stench of blood, in part from the realization that Taltria had met the same fate as her brother.

McGonagall moved them all back into the castle.

"I'll see you soon, Brain!" Rose called after them.

Harry heard the fluttering of rose petals, signaling that Rose was gone.

They all raced to the Hospital Wing.

Dumbledore called Dripty while they ran and ordered him to wake up the other house heads. They barged into the Hospital Wing, waking up Madame Pomfrey.

"Get her over here!" Pomfrey ordered, pointing to a bed. "Minerva, stay with me! Albus, tell Pomona to come inside when she arrives!"

The moment McGonagall brought Ginny over, Pomfrey waved her wand around the bed. A curtain popped out of the wall and swung around it. The moment it blocked them from view, it also cut out all sound from within.

Harry sat on one of the beds, struggling to collect his thoughts.

Taltria is dead.

He repeated that over and over again, forcing himself to come to terms with it. Once he'd decided he was fine, he looked to Ron.

Sally-Anne sat beside Ron, trying to comfort him. He stared into space, not saying a word out loud.

<Any luck?> he asked Sally-Anne.

Sally-Anne glanced at him, then subtly shook her head. She nodded at Hermione.

<She needs someone too.>

Harry walked over to Hermione and sat down with her.

"Rose spent a week forging them," Hermione said. "Every detail, every piece of their personality, she designed it all. Alavel and Taltria. Knight Sword and Blade Dancer. It doesn't make sense."

Harry nodded.

"Brain—"

She jolted her head up and frowned at him.

"Oh, Skyeyes. I thought you were Professor Dumbledore. I'm fine."

Harry smiled sympathetically at her.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "People get us confused all the time."

After patting her shoulder, he got up and went back to his spot.

The other house heads arrived. Professor Sprout ran in to help Pomfrey and McGonagall, a box of what Harry could only assume were extra supplies under her arm.

"What's going on?" Flitwick asked.

"Ms. Weasley and Taltria tried to go after Ms. Peta-Lorrum on their own," Dumbledore explained. "Taltria is dead." He pointed to the bed Ginny was being operated on. "Ms. Weasley is in there."

Unlike Flitwick, Snape didn't look shocked by this at all.

"Typical Gryffindor," he muttered.

"Would you mind?" Harry asked. "She's our friend."

Snape looked from the operating room back to Harry, then to a glaring Professor Dumbledore. Looking away, he muttered something that sounded like ��Apologies".

"Will Ms. Weasley survive?" Flitwick asked.

"I'm sure she will," Dumbledore said, more for the students than for his companion. "She's got the best possible care. For now, we're all going to relax."

"How'd they find Peta-Lorrum?" Snape asked.

Hermione held her legs closer to her chest.

"We can't be sure," Dumbledore said. "We'll have to find out when Ms. Weasley is well enough to tell us what happened."

After an hour in the Hospital Wing, the ticking of the clock threatened to drive Harry mad. Every so often, McGonagall or Sprout would emerge for a moment, say nothing, and return to work. As far as Harry could tell, they were taking a moment to catch their breath. Madame Pomfrey took no such breaks.

The sun rose, barely visible through the curtains.

Dumbledore made rounds to them, asking them how they were, if they wanted anything. This got a variety of responses.

"Nothing you can give," Neville had said.

"My sister," Ron had said.

Hermione had said nothing, yet Dumbledore had spent the most time sitting next to her. Harry had a feeling the headmaster knew what Hermione was thinking.

She probably thinks this is her fault.

"Harry," Dumbledore said as he sat down next to him. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," Harry said. "I'm getting tired of finding out that Rose has killed my friends."

"I've informed Sirius of the situation," Dumbledore said.

Harry frowned. He hadn't seen Dumbledore leave the Hospital Wing.

"When?"

"Not me personally," Dumbledore explained. "But I ensured word reached him about Taltria. I'm given to understand they were close. I imagine they grew so in the wake of Alavel's death."

Harry understood then why people thought Dumbledore knew everything.

"Something like that." He glanced behind him at the operating room. Unlike Ron, Harry had made a point to put it out of his field of view.

"I'm worried about this too," Dumbledore said. "I look forward to having a proper explanation. The best I've got is that there were plans to kill Rose, but certain students thought better of it, and others didn't."

Harry looked around at his friends. Taltria had been appearing on the grounds, and he'd seen Neville, Hermione, and Ginny going out to meet her. Neville had stopped weeks ago, but he'd seen Hermione and Ginny still out.

Of course, Hermione had said something about Taltria recruiting her to kill Rose, threatening to go after Hermione's parents if she didn't. If that wasn't a red flag, nothing was.

"That's about right," Harry said. "It's my fault. I told Taltria about Rose."

Dumbledore waved his hand dismissively.

"Nonsense," he said. "You didn't tell her to seek revenge on Rose for Alavel. You of all people had every right to want it, but you moved past it. When you saw Ms. Weasley out of her room, you rallied your friends immediately. You've done a remarkable job with all this. Alavel would be proud."

"That means a lot coming from you, Professor. Thank you."

"You are most welcome." He turned to the other professors. "Severus, Filius, you don't need to stay here."

Dumbledore stood up and started talking to the other members of staff. Flitwick glanced at the sun, then excused himself to tend to his house.

Snape made little indication he'd heard anything, and chose to stay right where he was.

"Have you all had enough rest?" Dumbledore asked them.

Harry, Sally-Anne, and Neville nodded. Ron held his glare on his sister's bed. Hermione said nothing.

"Do my parents know?" Ron asked.

"They've been informed," Dumbledore said. "I imagine they'll be here as soon as they can. In the mean time, it won't do any of us good to wait around—"

McGonagall and Sprout stepped out from behind the curtain. Sprout sat down on one of the beds while McGonagall addressed the group.

"Ms. Weasley is stable. When Madame Pomfrey is finished, we'll bring her to St. Mungo's for long term care. As we did with Mr. Longbottom last year, Ms. Weasley will have to take her exams late. No one is to disturb Ms. Weasley until she regains consciousness."

"When will that be?" Sally-Anne asked.

"There's no telling at this point," Sprout replied. "She's not well off. When you do see her, be prepared. She'll look different."

Harry nodded. He didn't care how she looked, only that she'd survive. He took a few breaths to calm himself before saying anything.

"What can we do to help?" Harry asked.

Sprout shook her head.

"There's nothing we can do for her now except let her rest."