Railway to Baator

"Luna!"

Luna turned to see Rose running toward her. A smile formed on Luna's face. In a world of constant confusion, Rose was the one constant that told her right where and when she was.

Rose threw her arms around her "little sister", who gladly returned the hug.

"How was the rest of your summer?" Rose asked her.

"It went alright," Luna replied. "You just saw me last chapter."

"I know, but that felt like weeks ago," Rose said. "Any luck with the Crumple-Horned Snorkack?"

"Not yet, but Daddy and I are working on it," Luna said. "What about your return to De'rok?"

"Sk'lar and Uncle Oz are working on it," Rose said. "Sk'lar was able to open a gate to the Rowling Plane last night, but couldn't pass through it. He thinks we might be able to talk to one another through it."

"That sounds like fun," Luna said as the girls boarded the Hogwarts Express.

"Yeah," Rose said as they made their way to the back of the train. "It'll be nice to hear his voice again, rather than just in my head."

"I can see why that might get old," Hermione said from behind them.

The three of them found Neville waiting for them at the last compartment of the train. On their way, the girls passed a compartment in which a man was sleeping.

From the look of him, he appeared to be homeless. His clothes were ragged, his hair was unkempt, and his face was unshaven. Hermione couldn't think for the life of her why he was sleeping on the Hogwarts Express, unless the staff didn't realize that a homeless man was using the Express as a bed.

That was, until Hermione realized the more likely reason: This was their new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. Professor Dumbledore had hired Lockhart because there were no other applicants. That meant this man was probably the bottom of the barrel, taking the job simply because he wanted a place to sleep.

So long as he's not Sirius Black, Hermione thought.

After the rest of their group took their seats and the train started to move, Rose handed everyone a pair of blue pearls.

"Put these in your ears, and don't ever take them out," Rose instructed.

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"It's probably best not to–" Hermione began.

"Continuous doublespeak," Rose replied. "I'm working on a second telepathic network, so if you notice them missing, that's why."

"So if we just start talking, then it'll be hidden to everyone else?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Not quite. You've got to consciously activate it, but I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I don't suppose we've got status worked into this?" Hermione asked as she fastened them into her ears. Oddly enough, the pearls didn't interfere with her ability to hear.

"Not yet," Rose said. "I had other projects over the summer."

"Like the kleptomaniac?" Ron asked bitterly.

"Ob, yeah," Rose replied.

"I'm surprised either of you know that word," Hermione said.

As Neville fastened the pearls into his ears, he ran through what he wanted to say to Rose.

Rose, can you teach me to fight? he recited in his head. Rose, can you teach me to fight?

"How was your summer, Neville?" Rose asked.

Neville jumped. "Fine. It was… it was fine."

Come on, Neville, she's just a person, he told himself. It's just asking to learn to fight. The worst she can do is say 'No'. Even you can't screw this up.

Despite his best efforts, it wasn't until they were halfway to Hogwarts and the sun had gone down that he finally asked her.

"Rose, can you–"

Before Neville could finish his sentence, the train stopped abruptly and the lights went out.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked from the other compartment.

"The train's never stopped before," Ron said.

"It's cold," Neville added, looking around.

As Luna looked around her, she noticed a fog setting in. She blinked a few times, but her eyes started to feel heavy, as if she were asleep. Luna rubbed her eyes, and checked to make sure Rose was sitting beside her.

The crimson-haired girl was on her feet, but her presence was comforting to Luna. So long as Rose was by her side, everything would be alright.

Luna was startled by a crash, then looked around her in horror.

She was in her house, but everything was on fire. The crashing sound was a beam falling from the ceiling as its supports burned away. There was an explosion earlier from down in the basement. Only one person ever went down there. Luna prayed that everything was alright.

Luna made for the staircase in the middle of the house, taking the steps two at a time. She nearly tripped more than once descending into the basement. There, surrounded by runes and sigils, was her mum.

"Mummy!"

Luna ran to her mum as chunks of stone collapsed around her. She shook her mum, but she wouldn't move. Small fires had started around them, and the house was beginning to collapse. If they didn't escape soon, they'd be crushed by the falling chunks of debris. Luna knew she had to leave, but she wasn't going to leave without her mum.

"Please, wake up!" Luna shouted again, but it was no use. Her mum wasn't moving, and they needed to leave. Luna was terrified, but she knew it would be alright. She clung to her mum, knowing that any second she would wake up and save them. That was what her mum did; she would always come to Luna's rescue. So why wasn't she coming to her rescue this time?

Maybe this was just another one of Luna's dreams. It was just a bad dream that seemed real, but she'd wake up any moment to see her mum standing over her. Everything would be fine.

"Mummy!"

Somewhere in the distance, someone was calling her name. It didn't sound like her dad; it was higher in pitch, more like a girl's voice. Who else would be in their house?

"Luna!" Rose cried as Luna began to scream. "Luna, it's alright."

Rose held her friend close, noticing that a thin coating of ice was setting in on the metal of the compartments.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Neville wince and bring his hand to his head.

"Neville, are you alright?" Rose asked.

He didn't respond, bringing his other hand to his head instead.

<Ref, what's wrong with Toad?>

<He can't hear you. All he can hear are screams of agony.>

"Hermione, what's–"

Like Luna, Hermione was on the floor, but she was simply staring off into space in horror. She was looking up at the ceiling as if it were about to come crashing down on them. Tears trickled down the girl's cheeks as her entire body trembled in what Rose could only assume was terror.

Rose looked across the aisle and saw Harry and Sally-Anne in similar states. Harry was on the floor, presumably unconscious, and Sally-Anne was crying. Ron and Ginny were doing their best to stay calm and figure out what was happening, but Rose could see Ron's hands trembling. He was trying hard not to lose it.

<Rose, check your blindsight.>

In all the chaos, Rose hadn't noticed the feeling she was getting that something was near. Looking around, she saw it approach. As she saw it, her eyes widened in fear.

"Crab apples," she whispered.

It laid a skeletal hand on the side of the compartment threshold, then stuck its hooded face inside. The dark gray cloak covered its entire body, and it floated along, surveying the distressed students.

Rose didn't know much about her current home, but it was hard to mistake that creature. She hadn't seen anything else like it in the two years since she had arrived.

It was a Spektre. Sally had sent his shock troops to intercept the Hogwarts Express. Rose had noticed the cold climate of the Chamber of Secrets, but assumed it was due to the location, not the Spektres. She wouldn't have noticed the nightmare effect, given that mind blank would stop any attempts to influence her thoughts. But why?! What reason could Sally possibly have for making a show of this?! Was he trying to drive home the point that he could get to her anywhere at anytime? Rose was positive he was trying to keep a low profile, so how was he planning on explaining this?!

Looking closer, she realized that there was something wrong with this one. Its "cloak" wasn't a dull green like the rest, but instead a dark gray, almost black. Was this a Spektre? Or was this something else entirely?

After thinking about it, Rose realized that she didn't care. Crimson Thorn appeared in her hand, but remained folded up. There was no way she was going to attempt to wield the large double-bladed sword in the small compartment, nor did she need to after the modification she'd made to him over the summer.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A large, shimmering, ghostly white dog lept at the creature and pinned it to the floor.

"He's not here," came a hoarse voice. "Leave these children alone."

Whatever the wraith thing was, it wasn't pleased with its current situation. It rose up from the ground, then glided off through the train. Rose watched it exit the train at the front of their car.

Once Rose was certain that it wasn't coming back, she turned to face the source of the spell.

Standing before her was the man she had seen sleeping on the train. He wore a worn out old coat, with several holes torn through it, and had dark, greasy hair.

"What in the name of the Seven, Disgustingly Pleasant Heavens of Celestia was that thing?!" Rose demanded of the source of the voice.

"That, young girl, was a Dementor," the man said. Looking around at her friends, he reached into his pocket and produced a few bars of chocolate. He broke off a few chunks and handed one to Rose. "Eat this, it'll make you feel better."

"No, it won't," Rose replied, turning down the offered sweets. "I feel fine. A little annoyed that something was allowed on board that's making my friends so upset, but otherwise fine."

The man eyed her. "Are you Rose Peta-Lorrum?"

"Salutations," Rose said, curtsying. Despite her polite behavior, she still glared at the man. "How'd you know?"

"Your reputation precedes you," the man said. "You should make sure your friends are alright."

He handed some chocolate to Rose, then proceeded to hand it out to the members of the other cabin.

Rose held the chocolate in her hand for a moment to allow Reflectesalon to analyze it.

<It does not register as poisonous.>

<Told you that was a good idea.>

<I only argued against detect ship, not against any of the other detection spells.>

Rose handed Hermione, Neville, and Luna pieces of the chocolate, then returned to her seat beside Luna.

"Thanks," Hermione said softly. "I should've known when they said the Ministry was sending guards for the school they'd mean Dementors."

"I'm sorry," the man said. "It seemed to have fixated on this area."

"The Basilisk went after us too," Sally-Anne said. "Not the worst thing that's happened." She took another bite of chocolate. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," the man replied. "I'm Professor Remus Lupin, by the way."

"Are you the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor?" Sally-Anne asked weakly.

"I am," he replied, sitting down in the aisle, apparently exhausted from handling the Dementor. "Professor Dumbledore asked me to take the Express in case… well, in case exactly this happened."

"He knew this was going to happen?" Rose asked.

"Dementors are attracted to people with bad memories," the new Defence Professor replied. "He said you lot hold the highest concentration of negativity on the train."

"Thanks for coming to our rescue," Sally-Anne said, forcing a smile.

"I'm only sorry that I didn't get here sooner," Professor Lupin said.

Sally-Anne looked from one cabin to the other before replying, "I think we'll be alright. Shouldn't you check on everyone else?"

Professor Lupin took one last look at each side of the aisle before climbing to his feet.

"Probably. I'll–"

"Why was it here?" Rose asked.

Professor Lupin paused for a moment, evidently unsure if he should answer. A hesitation on which Rose picked up.

"I'll find out eventually," Rose said. "I always do."

"It was looking for Sirius Black."

Rose opened her mouth to protest, but Professor Lupin cut her off.

"Rose, there's nothing to do now but make sure your friends are alright," Professor Lupin said calmly. "You take care of them, and I'll see to the rest of the students."

After Professor Lupin walked off, the train slowly started moving again. Rose helped Luna back onto the seat, and the two of them moved over to make room for the rest of their friends. All eight of them crowded into the single compartment, huddling together until the horrible feelings passed.

"That was awful," Harry whispered. "I could just hear this woman calling my name, then everything went black."

"I heard screaming," Neville said. He clenched his fist. "Like people were in pain."

"I felt just like when I first went up against the Basilisk," Ron said. "Or back in the Philosopher's Stone chambers. I felt so useless, like I should do something, but I was helpless."

"The Basilisk," Sally-Anne said. "It was coming after me again, and I couldn't stop it." She started shaking again, and her voice got louder. "I couldn't run away. I just had to wait for it to… to…"

"I saw the troll again," Hermione said, relieving her friend. "It was going to kill me. It was going to kill me, and my parents were never going to hear from me again. I'd never see them again."

"I didn't see anything," Ginny said. "I just felt like all the happiness was gone in the world. Like there would never be anymore laughter or fun days. It felt like every day was going to be miserable."

No one asked Luna what she'd seen, nor did she volunteer the information. They all knew how Rose got when someone pushed Luna too hard.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Mind blank stops any attempts to influence my thoughts or emotions," Rose replied.

"Of course," Sally-Anne said. "Luna? Are you going to be alright?"

Luna's dreamy smile returned to her face, but Sally-Anne could see that her heart wasn't in it. She didn't speak a word until they pulled into the station at Hogwarts. By then, the veil of misery had lifted, and they were all feeling better.

Almost immediately after they departed the train, they heard a familiar voice mocking them.

"I heard you lot had some trouble with the Dementor," Malfoy jeered. "What's the matter, can't–"

Rose spun around, her wand in her hand. Malfoy immediately went for his wand, but couldn't find it.

"What?!" he shrieked. "Where's my wand?"

"With what do you think I'm threatening you?" Rose replied, lowering Malfoy's wand. "Maybe I'll let you have it back, if I'm in a better mood later. I wouldn't count on it though!"

Rose tossed Draco's wand into her quiver, ignoring the boy's screams of distress, as the group continued towards the carriages.

<Good work, Ob,> Rose pathed to her furtive filcher.

Luna didn't smile when she saw the Thestrals, but she stopped frowning. Luna stroked one gently, and it nodded its head affectionately.

"What's she doing?" Ginny asked.

"The carriages are pulled by Thestrals," Hermione explained. "Only people who've seen someone die can see them."

"Figures," Ginny huffed. "I killed a basilisk, but nothing for Ginny. No, I need to see someone die."

"Don't worry about it," Sally-Anne said. "You're with the right group."

As the carriages slowly pulled them up to the castle, Sally-Anne couldn't help but notice there was still a depressing mood about them, even without the Dementors present. Harry spotted a few off in the distance, confirming everyone's fears that they would be there all year.

Although, judging by the look on Rose's face, they might not last that long.

The general tone in the Great Hall was about the same. People were starting to feel better, but looking around, there were still plenty of people upset by the Dementors.

"This is horrible," Hermione said. "It's always so loud on the first night, but I can hear myself think."

"I know," Sally-Anne said. "Why does the Ministry think putting Dementors around children is a good idea?"

Hermione glanced over at Rose, expecting her to be grimacing or glaring, but instead, she was frowning. Not at anyone in particular, either.

"Rose, are you alright?" Hermione asked.

Rose didn't reply for a moment, then absently said, "Yeah. Sure."

"Are you sure?" Sally-Anne asked.

"I said I'm fine!" Rose snapped.

"There's no need to be upset," Sally-Anne said. "We'll be fine after we've had some rest."

"Sure," Rose said curtly.

After Professor Dumbledore explained not to antagonize or approach the Dementors, the students dragged their feet up to their rooms.

Before they reached Gryffindor Tower, Alex intercepted their group.

"Rose, Professor McGonagall wants to see you," Alex said.

"Good," Rose said. "I want to talk to McGonagall too."

After Rose broke off from the rest of the group, Harry turned to Sally-Anne.

"Sally-Anne, I think something's wrong," he said.

"You mean other than the Dementors?"

"You know how Rose always says 'professor' before each staff member's name?" Harry asked.

Sally-Anne scrunched her face in thought, and realized that Harry was right.

"Yeah."

"She called Professor McGonagall 'McGonagall' just now. No 'professor'."

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

"She's angry," Hermione said, having overheard their conversation.

"Someone should really go stop her," Harry said.

"Go right ahead," Hermione said, motioning to the direction in which Rose left. "Be my guest."

Harry glanced down the corridor, then said, "Professor McGonagall can handle Rose, right?"

"I'm not sure anyone can handle Rose," Ron muttered.

Minerva was trying to relax after the ordeal on the train. Who in their right mind had allowed a Dementor to board the Express? Why would Sirius Black have been on the train, for Merlin's sake?! Did they think Peta-Lorrum had shoved him inside that large black hole of hers?

Minerva was jolted out of her thoughts by a loud banging on her door. It wasn't someone knocking on her door; someone was repeatedly slamming their fist against her door, as if attempting to force it to open by slow torture.

"Come in!" she called.

Instead of opening the door, her visitor continued to slam her fist against it.

Well, there's only one person who that can be, Minerva thought.

"You can leave the door alone now, Ms. Peta-Lorrum!" Minerva called. "It has done nothing to you!"

The door was flung open to reveal an angry Gryffindor girl with crimson hair. Her gloved fists were clenched at her sides, as she glared daggers at the Transfiguration Professor.

"Why?" she demanded, walking into the room, the door closing behind her.

"Ms. Peta-Lorrum, I wish I could tell you," Minerva replied. "I don't know what that Dementor was doing on the Hogwarts Express earlier today."

"It was searching for Sirius," Peta-Lorrum replied. "Professor Lupin already explained that."

"Then why–"

"But why was it allowed on the train?" the girl asked.

Minerva sighed. Why did Albus insist that they attempt to reason with Peta-Lorrum? Maybe she didn't respond to standard punishment, but there had to be something. Her behavior was difficult at best.

"Ms. Peta-Lorrum, we honestly didn't have a choice. Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban makes two embarrassments the Ministry has suffered within the past year, and–"

"They're overcompensating trying to contain this one," the girl finished. "I understand."

Minerva nearly breathed a sigh of relief, but caught herself. "That's all I needed to talk to you about. Is there anything else you need?"

"Nope!" the girl replied cheerfully. Far too cheerfully for a girl whose friends had undoubtedly just relived a basilisk attack, among other nightmares.

"Ms. Peta-Lorrum, I must warn you," Minerva said sternly. "If you attack the Dementors, it will be seen by the Ministry as an obstruction of justice, and you will be arrested."

"And?"

"Ms. Peta-Lorrum, you and your friends have unique memories," Minerva began. "I understand that when they approach a Dementor, they will relive the Basilisk, or–"

"Moon had to watch her mother die," Peta-Lorrum snarled. "No one should have to live through that, and especially not more than once!"

Minerva struggled to remain calm.

"Moon is Ms. Lovegood, I presume?"

Peta-Lorrum rolled her eyes. "Who else would it be?"

"I assume you are unaffected by them?" Minerva asked.

"Mind blank," the girl replied curtly.

"Be that as it may, do not attack the Dementors!"

"Why?" she shot back. "Because I'll be arrested?! So what?! You should not do something because it's wrong, not because you'll get in trouble for it!"

Minerva was beginning to become impatient with the girl.

"More wisdom from your siblings?" Minerva asked through clenched teeth. Even she had heard of the tidbits of advice Peta-Lorrum's possibly made up brother and sister had given the crimson-haired girl.

"No," Peta-Lorrum replied smugly. "Worked out that one for myself."

Of course she believes her own morals supersede the law, Minerva thought.

"Only when they do," Peta-Lorrum shot back. "Seriously, learn Occlumency. I'd hate to have Professor Dumbledore leave such an embarrassment in charge of Hogwarts again."

Minerva snapped. She had had enough of this child, and if Peta-Lorrum made it out of that office alive, it would be a miracle. She no longer cared about Albus's opinion of the girl.

"Care to repeat that, Peta-Lorrum?" Minerva said, rising out of her chair.

"Sure," the girl said, jumping up on Minerva's desk to put the two of them at eye level. "I said you're an embarrassment to Hogwarts. I've been getting information out of you for years, and you've done nothing to stop me. When that happened to Bowie, it got his brother killed. In your case, it nearly got Professor Snape, you, and I all killed."

"What?!" Minerva snapped.

"Only three people apart from myself knew about my sensitivity to sound in the Philosopher's Stone chamber," she said. "Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, and you. Quirrell didn't learn it from the men, so it must've been you whose mind he read. The woman."

Minerva clenched her fists at her side.

"Quirrell couldn't–"

"But Voldemort could," the girl said. "They were sharing a body, so how hard do you think it would have been for Tommy to have read your mind, Minerva?"

"I think that's quite enough," a calm, wise voice interjected.

Both of them turned to see Professor Dumbledore entering the Transfiguration Professor's office.

"I was informed by one of the portraits that I should make my way here immediately before someone was killed."

"And you!" Rose shouted at the Headmaster. She hopped off the desk and strode straight over to him. "What's wrong with you?! Allowing those things onto the grounds!"

"If I hadn't, Rose, I would've been arrested for obstruction of Ministry business," Albus replied calmly. "They wouldn't have put Professor McGonagall in charge, either. The Ministry would've placed one of their own in charge, who would no doubt have insisted that more Dementors were placed around the grounds. Please believe me when I say I know exactly who would've been put in charge, and, believe it or not, I would prefer Lucius Malfoy be placed in charge of Hogwarts rather than that woman."

Rose took a few deep breaths, which Albus took as a good sign. He glanced behind her and saw Minerva's face.

Minerva was trembling with barely contained rage.

"The Dementors guard Azkaban."

"Correct," Albus replied.

"Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban."

"Once again, correct."

"So he can sneak right past the Dementors."

"It seems so."

"So the Ministry decides to solve this by sending more Dementors, even though they failed to contain him inside a high-security prison."

"Yes."

"To whom does that make sense?!" Rose screamed.

"Logic is a rare gift in this world," Albus said. "There are few that will logically assess a situation as their first idea."

Rose's demeanor mimicked Minerva's in almost every way. Had the situation been half as tense as it was, Albus knew he'd find it amusing.

"Why those things?! Send Enforcers after him! Send professors after him! Send Madame Bones after him! She seemed competent! She didn't even stop to question why a basilisk's severed head was in High Emperor Gau Halak's office, she just went straight after me! That was brilliant!"

"'Enforcers'?" Minerva asked, slowly calming down, but, in a moment that reminded her of two years ago, remained ready to expel and/or kill the girl if she saw the chance.

"Yeah, Enforcers," Rose replied. "You know? They're the ones that are always late to stop an NPC attacking the PCs, but are right there when the PCs attempt to shoplift."

"I believe you mean Aurors," Professor Dumbledore said. "Law enforcement, yes?"

"Yeah," Rose said. "Why not send them?"

"Fudge certainly doesn't trust the professors, nor me. I believe he has sent the Dementors because they will not attempt to aid Sirius Black, as he knows there is no way to threaten, intimidate, or reason with them. Therefore, not only will they not assist Black escaping, they–"

"Don't you dare," Rose said, becoming even more enraged at the Headmaster than she had been. "Don't you dare attach that name to him!"

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Professor Dumbledore replied, once again, ensuring his voice remained calm. "Help me understand, Rose."

"Shadow Black is my best friend," Rose said, fighting to keep her voice level. "She holds the name Black. Not some second-rate maniac from this screwed up plane!"

Albus was quickly becoming concerned about the little girl from another world. Even when Luna Lovegood had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets at the end of the previous term, Rose had stayed relatively calm. Now she was screaming, angry, and if Albus had to take a guess, there might have been tears in her eyes if she weren't mostly undead. What was different this time?

Albus knelt down to put himself at eye level with the little girl.

"Rose, what else is bothering you?"

"I'm fine," she replied defiantly.

"No you're not," Professor Dumbledore replied. "I have seen plenty of misfortune come your way, more than most in your position, but never have I seen you like this. Please, tell me how to help you."

Rose didn't say anything for a long time, but Albus was thankful for the silence. It gave everyone a moment to calm down and think about what they were saying.

"My friends are suffering," Rose said at last. "Mum and Dad were heroes. Sk'lar and Ali took care of me before they even knew me. Carolina will sacrifice anything to help people. Uncle Oz was the only person at Arcrel to show me kindness, and I wasn't even the same species. I want to be just like them. I'm bad at it, but that's why I like Shadow so much. She's bad at it too, but at least we can be bad at it together."

A weak smile found its way to her face, but vanished as quickly as it'd come.

"Last year, you wanted my help. You were all terrified that I was behind the basilisk attacks, but I thought I proved that I was a good person. I ran into the Chamber of Secrets to save Little Moon because I thought that was the right thing."

"Of course it was," Albus said.

It was an odd feeling, but he somehow felt… validated, as if all the trust he'd placed in her was well-placed.

I knew you were a good person, Rose. Deep down, behind the layers of regrettable arrogance, you are a good person. With a lot of behavioral issues.

"Now you're asking me to sit by and watch them suffer just to make your incompetent government happy."

"I don't want them here either, Rose," Albus said. "I promise you that if you leave the Dementors alone, then they will leave you and your friends alone."

"What if they come inside?" Rose asked.

"If they enter the castle, then you've got my blessing to tear through them like…"

"A first-level Wizard's spellbook?"

"Yes. They aren't allowed inside the castle; I was adamant about this. The Minister fought me on it, but I had the backing of some of his advisers."

Rose glared at Professor Dumbledore, who stared kindly back at her.

"Fine," she agreed.

Without another word, she stormed out of Professor McGonagall's office.

"I don't know why you buy all that nonsense she tells us," Minerva said after the girl was gone.

"Because I don't believe it to be nonsense," Albus replied. "Neither does she."

"If any other student–" Minerva hissed.

"But she isn't any other student," Albus replied, still calm. "We both know she can find Sirius Black, although I don't know the limits of her powers to do so."

"You let her get away with whatever she wants!"

Albus took a deep breath. He was quickly growing tired of explaining himself to everyone, but such was the life of someone in charge.

"I don't like the way she speaks to us either," Albus said. "I wish she would respect our authority like the other students, but until I find a punishment that sticks, we can't do anything. We can't expel her, as I suspect she'd be back within an hour, if she left at all."

"So we just put up with it?!" Minerva snapped. "That's your solution?"

"I don't want to lose another student to the other side," Albus said firmly. "Once we get rid of the Dementors, Rose will calm down and realize what she's done. She gets carried away, but she's not currently dangerous. Even if her family doesn't exist, she does something that undeniably calms her down."

Albus stood still for a few moments to let his words sink in.

"I don't like her," Minerva said finally. "I can't see how you put up with her."

"You've seen the stack of complaints I get about Severus and Argus every year," Albus said. "I've got a knack for finding difficult people."

"What was the Muggle phrase?" Minerva asked. "Oh yes. 'We are not amused.'"

Albus knew Minerva well enough to know that her making jokes signaled her agreement.