Adoring Fans

"Come on!" Ginny exclaimed. "Let's go to the Hospital Wing!"

"What if Madame Pomfrey wants to treat him here?" Hermione asked.

Ginny pouted at Hermione, looking for all the world like a little kid.

"Come on," Hermione said, continuing towards the castle. She exchanged glances with Sally-Anne, and the girls saw that they were both holding in a laugh.

"What if he's not there?" Ginny whined. "We should be going to the tent to see–"

"He's there, Ginny," Sally-Anne said. "Hermione was only teasing you. Madame Pomfrey will want to treat him in the Hospital Wing."

"Why can't Rose just fix him?" Ginny asked as they followed the procession of people.

The same question had occurred to Hermione when she saw Neville in about the same condition coming out of the tent as he was going in.

"Our visitors don't know about her," Hermione replied. "Professor Dumbledore probably asked her to lie low and not draw attention to herself."

"I'd have probably done the same after what happened last month," Sally-Anne said. She turned to Ron, who'd been silent most of the afternoon. "So, Ron, still upset about not being allowed to enter?"

Hermione eyed Ron as he thought about his answer, which, if nothing else, was a good sign.

"I guess not," Ron said. "You'd have to be mad to want to do this."

"I could've done it!" Ginny protested. "Just blow up all the rocks, then–"

"Get thrown off the platform when it stops!" Ron said.

"Like you'd do any better!" she shot back.

"Maybe–"

Sally-Anne grabbed both of them by the ear, silencing the siblings in an instant.

"I'm under orders from your mother to keep both of you in line. If you don't stop bickering right now, I'll send you both to bed without supper."

Hermione and Harry exchanged glances this time. Neither one was sure if they should be frightened or amused by Sally-Anne.

Sally-Anne released them, leaving them to massage their sore ears.

"I thought I was the responsible one," Hermione said.

"Only when it comes to Rose," Sally-Anne replied. "I've got to deal with this lot year round."

"Better than sitting around at home all day," Hermione muttered.

"Rose doesn't visit?" Harry asked.

"Sometimes, but not a lot," Hermione replied. "Why?"

"We hardly ever see her," Sally-Anne said. "We thought she was with you."

Hermione knew a bad sign when she saw one, especially when it came to Rose. If she wasn't spending time with her or her friends, then she was up to something.

"Maybe she's with Neville all day," Hermione suggested.

"He hardly sees her either," Ginny said.

"That's not good," Hermione said. "When she disappears like that at my house, she's working on something."

"So she's making something," Ron said.

"She never crafts during the year," Hermione replied. "She just has Inar do it for her."

"Who cares?!" Ginny exclaimed. "Look at this crowd! It's gonna take forever to get to the Hospital Wing with all these people."

Harry looked around, then squeezed his eyes shut.

"What's wrong?" Sally-Anne asked. "Your scar?"

"Concentrating," he replied. "I remember seeing something on the Marauder's Map about a passage near Hagrid's Hut."

"If we slip off into the trees, we can find out," Hermione whispered.

"Lady Brain, are you suggesting we break the rules?" Sally-Anne asked.

"We're going back to the castle," Hermione replied. "We're just taking a different path than everyone else."

"Certainly not the responsible one anymore," Sally-Anne mused.

Harry slipped into the trees, followed by his friends. Harry led them to a tree, then pulled out the Marauder's Map.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," he recited.

When the map filled the page, he pointed to a line that led from the Forbidden Forest to the second floor.

"Perfect," he said. "According to the map, it's not far."

Hermione studied the map, then closed her eyes. She could still see every detail in her mind.

"Got it," Hermione said. "Let's go."

Hermione led her friends to another tree. This one was wider than the others and opened at its base.

"Perfect," she said as she ducked through.

"Quickly," Harry whispered. "I think I hear someone."

One by one, they followed Hermione into the tree. The tunnel itself was dark and damp, but after Ginny had a few fireballs orbiting her head, there was enough light for them to follow the tunnel.

They got to the Hospital Wing well ahead of everyone, except for three people.

"Salutations!" Rose exclaimed when they got the Hospital Wing. "I see you found the passage!"

"You knew about it?" Harry asked.

"I take note of every passage at the start of the year," Rose replied.

"Hey guys," Neville wheezed.

"Toad!" Ginny exclaimed, rushing over to his bed at the far end of the Hospital Wing. "That was amazing! Everyone else was scared when those rocks came down on you, but I–"

"She was just as worried as the rest of us," Hermione said before Ginny got carried away. "I've got the bruises on my hand where she squeezed it to prove it."

"How are you doing?" Harry asked as they all sat around Neville.

"Madame Pomfrey says I'm not allowed to leave here until I graduate," Neville said. "I got one of the good beds, so I'm not complaining yet."

"I don't recall saying I was going to let you leave," Madame Pomfrey said as she pushed through them to force something down Neville's throat.

Hermione looked Neville over. Madame Pomfrey had cleaned him up since he left the arena, and lying in bed, he didn't look that bad, especially for someone who'd been crushed under rocks less than an hour ago.

"What was that rope you had on the sword?" Hermione asked.

"It looked like a tendril of Devil's Snare," Luna said.

"That's exactly what it was," Neville replied. "I asked Professor Sprout what plant would stretch like that, and she said the best thing on hand was Devil's Snare."

"I thought that hated sunlight," Harry said.

"It does, but it can withstand it in small amounts," Neville replied. He winced and forced a smile. "I guess I need more now."

"Rose, when's the second task?" Hermione asked.

"February."

"That's how long you've got to find more," Hermione said, smiling.

"And how long I've got to figure out that thing," Neville said, struggling to point a finger at the orb sitting on the nightstand beside him.

Hermione looked at it. It looked so ordinary for something which Neville had nearly died retrieving.

"Maybe you smash it open?" Harry suggested.

Neville tried to shrug, then said, "I don't know. I can't really try right now."

"Who cares?" Ginny asked, clearly still riding her high from earlier. "Hogwarts is in the lead!"

"Professor Karkaroff certainly tried his best to stop that," Sally-Anne said. "I can't believe he gave everyone other than Krum a three."

"It's almost like he forgot the lecture Professor Dumbledore gave everyone before the task," Rose said.

"Lecture?" Hermione asked.

"He reminded them to judge everyone fairly, based on creativity and success."

"I don't think Karkaroff caught that," Harry said.

"What did the others do?" Neville asked. "I couldn't watch theirs."

"Fleur went out first," Ginny said. "She tried this blue orb thing that bounced all over the place. That's when we saw the force field around the orb. Then she fell and conjured a rope to grab onto the rocks. She made a bunch of them, and it made a whole web that knocked the orb out of place when the rocks moved."

"That sounds brilliant," Neville said. "Why'd she lose points?"

"Acid kept eating through the ropes," Hermione replied. "And nearly her. Those platforms weren't much safer than your approach."

"I figured when everyone kept coming into the tent looking worse."

"Cedric was next. He used the same spell Fleur used at first, but more of them. The bouncing balls destroyed a lot of the rocks, then he threw another one to knock the orb out of place."

"Krum dove right in like you did," Ginny said. "He used one of the flame geysers to bump the orb. Nearly got roasted!"

Hermione noted how excited Ginny seemed about the prospect of a student burning, then glared at Rose.

<It's not my fault,> Rose protested.

<It's entirely your fault.>

"I guess there was nothing to worry about after all," Neville wheezed. "You still haven't managed to kill me yet, Rose."

"Wait til February," Rose replied. A grin crept across her face. "That's when we really try to kill you all."

Except for Neville, all of her friends slowly turned to look at Rose. Each of them stared at her as if they'd forgotten she existed until that moment. The only exception was Luna, although her face rarely betrayed emotion apart from pleasantly confused.

"Rose?" Hermione said.

"Brain?"

"Mind elaborating?"

"Mind e-what?"

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath to prevent herself from punching Rose.

"What did you mean?"

"Oh!" Rose exclaimed. "I designed the first task."

Hermione turned it over in her head, trying to think of the right words to use to coax the answer out of Rose.

"Why?"

"Because–"

"Other than 'Professor Dumbledore asked'," Hermione interjected quickly.

"My official title is 'Chief Engineer'," Rose said. "Like I said, I designed today's task, and the next one. You don't see me as much because I'm usually busy building the third task." She tilted her head. "Also, Professor Dumbledore asked me not to spend a lot of time with Neville. He's worried the other schools will think Hogwarts is trying to cheat if anyone finds out."

"That was surprisingly helpful," Sally-Anne said.

"Yeah, it was," Hermione said, still suspicious of Rose.

Hermione ran through what she knew about Rose's involvement with the Triwizard Tournament, and the questions she still had. She was glad Rose was telling her the truth again, although still annoyed that Rose had kept it a secret, and furious that she'd apparently told Neville and not her.

"Figured it out, then?" Rose asked.

"The sword should've reflected the lightning bolts," Neville said. "Then I realized the traps were all either lightning, fire, or acid, which are three of the big energy types in your world."

"Why you?" Harry asked.

While she was thinking over Rose, Hermione made two notes: 1. Harry was talking more, and 2. Ron was talking less.

"Professor Dumbledore said it was the best way to ensure that I didn't try to enter and ruin the tournament," Rose replied. "He also made me swear not to tell any of you about it, directly or indirectly, at least until after the first task. He figured it probably wouldn't matter after that, because Brain or Moon would figure it out." She grinned at Neville. "I guess we showed him, didn't we?"

Hermione relaxed, relieved that Rose had finally told them her secret. It left her with a lot of other questions, as Rose often did, but Hermione pushed them to the back of her mind. She figured she'd wait to ask Rose when it was just the two of them.

"So you know how the orb works?" Neville asked.

"I'm the one that made them," Rose replied. "Before you ask, no, I won't tell you how. That wouldn't be fair, but trust me, it's better than it was. Originally, Professor Dumbledore was gonna use eggs, and you had to dunk them underwater or something, and it was really confusing. I mean, how were they supposed to figure that out?"

"Why eggs?" Hermione asked.

"The first task was originally going to be dragons. Dragons! Come on! How boring is that?"

"I can see why you would think that's a bad idea," Hermione said.

"I know, right? I've seen this world's dragons, and they're pathetic. In my world, they're the stuff of nightmares. Little children are told tales of dragons to scare them into following the rules. If you saw a dragon flying towards you, you didn't stop and check if it was one of the nice ones, you just ran for cover and hoped it wasn't hungry."

For the second time in less than five minutes, Hermione found herself at a loss for words. Everyone around her, apart from Luna, shared her disbelief (although Luna could've and just not shown it on her face). This time, even Neville looked surprised.

"Hermione?" he wheezed.

"Yes, Neville?"

"She's talking about dragons."

"I know, it's bothering me too."

"Of course, if it's a bright, sunny day, and you see the light reflecting off its scales, then you're safe," Rose continued, seemingly ignorant to the looks her friends were giving her. "Metallic dragons are almost all nice. You don't see many of them because they aren't in their true forms often. Oh! Gold and silver ones are, but usually only those." She grinned and bounced in her seat, which concerned them all the more. "There was one time I was lost in a forest during survival training, and a squirrel started following me. I got attacked by a pack of Goblins, which is something no kid wants to see." Rose started laughing. "Anyway, Squirrelly turns into a Bronze Dragon and wipes out the Goblins. Doesn't say a word, then turns back into a squirrel and followed me the rest of the way home."

The more Rose laughed, the more frightened the others became. Hermione, Sally-Anne, Harry, and Neville exchanged glances.

"Rose, I can't remember the last time I asked this," Sally-Anne said, "but are you feeling alright?"

"Of course I am," Rose replied. "You know veil of undeath prevents me from getting sick."

"And mind blank stops all mind-affecting spells," Luna added, hugging Rose.

Rose beamed and returned the hug.

"What's everyone want to do the rest of the day?" Rose asked. "Professor Dumbledore said I can have the day off, so I'm not doing anything."

"Alright, I'll just say it," Hermione said. "Rose, you growl at us when we talk about dragons. Not like a normal person, who might try to change the subject or leave. No, you growl, like a mad person. Now here you are, laughing about them. What's going on?"

"I'm fine!" Rose exclaimed, beaming.

"But–"

"I'm fine."

"She's fine," Luna said.

"Fine," Hermione said.

"Hogsmeade might be open," Ginny suggested.

"Gryffindor will probably want to celebrate before dinner," Sally-Anne said, "or after dinner, so it can run later."

As it turned out, dinner itself was the celebration. Professor Dumbledore raised a glass to the four champions, and informed everyone that the next task would be in exactly three months. Hermione noticed that tensions weren't nearly as high as they'd been when she arrived that morning, but there were still some people that refused to relax.

After a nice evening, Rose brought her home, where her parents were no doubt waiting to hear how everything had gone.

"What did you mean 'you're fine'?" Hermione asked when they appeared a few blocks from her house, where people were less likely to spot them, and Hermione had time to talk to Rose alone.

Rose averted her eyes, then looked back at Hermione, indicating that Hermione was likely to get an honest response.

"Someone reminded me recently that I wasn't Valignatiejir's only victim," Rose said. "I've had a lot of support lately, and it all reminded me that I'm not a victim anymore. For the sake of what few survivors of him there are, I've got to be strong. And for the sake of everyone else, I can't let him beat me anymore."

Hermione smiled and hugged Rose.

"Good for you, Rose."

"Thanks."

"Was that story about the dragon true?" Hermione asked.

"Yup," Rose replied. "He still lets me call him Squirrelly! I'd forgotten that there were nice dragons." She grinned. "Emerald Dragons are the best! I met one once. She was just as paranoid as Shadow! It was brilliant!"

It was Hermione's turn to laugh.

"Of course she was, Rose." She sighed, processing her new information. "You're friends with dragons. That's gonna take me a while to wrap my head around."

"Sort of. Squirrelly's the guardian of the Rymy Forest in Faera. Every forest on De'rok's got a guardian." She tilted her head. "How many of them do I know?"

"More than just Squirrelly?"

"Carolina's the guardian of the Emering Forest on Thedo. I guess I've met a lot of members of the Guardians of the Green, who assign the guardians." Her face lit up. "They're the ones that showed me speak with anything!"

Hermione found the conversation uninteresting, apart from learning more about Rose's world, although it did remind her of another question she had.

"Rose, is it alright if I talk with your family?"

"So long as you wait until after I've left," Rose replied. "It'd be rude."

Hermione laughed at Rose's hypocrisy, although she appreciated Rose's trust.

"You do that all the time."

"You can't prove anything."

In spite of everything, Hermione and Rose laughed the rest of the way home. Hermione wasn't sure who Rose was underneath everything, but she knew that of everyone, she had the best idea, and she was looking forward to seeing what came next.

The following Monday began as a normal day for Luna. The weekend had been exciting, what with the first task the previous Thursday, but Luna still found time to enjoy herself amidst all the excitement.

"Ms. Lovegood, would you please stay for a moment?"

Luna glanced at the door and spotted Firecracker in the corridor. Luna caught her attention and indicated that she should wait.

After a nod from Firecracker, Luna approached Professor Babbling's desk.

"Yes, Professor?"

"I've received a letter from your father," Professor Babbling said. "He says you're leaving after this year."

"I am," Luna said, nodding.

Professor Babbling gave Luna a look that told her Professor Babbling was waiting for her to elaborate. If Luna had learned anything from keeping a secret her whole life, it was to never offer information.

"Why?" Professor Babbling asked.

Rule Two: If you must offer information, only offer unhelpful information.

"We've noticed a rise in wrackspurts lately, and–"

"Luna, I've known you your whole life," Professor Babbling said. "I was there when your parents were married. I was one of the first people to hold you when you were born, and one of the first people to learn of your mother's passing. The rest of the world sees your father as eccentric or mad, but I know better. I have no doubt that wrackspurts played a part in it, but that's not the real reason, is it?"

Luna wanted to tell her the real reason, but the truth was, she didn't know the real reason. Both Rose and her dad knew, but neither of them explained anything beyond "You'll understand later". Unless they had, and Luna got confused and dismissed it as another dream.

"I don't know why," Luna said. "Daddy won't tell me."

Luna began to run through her memories again. She ventured into her mind, opening the storage cupboard in her head in which she stored every memory from every Luna. Every drawer was marked, and every memory was organized.

She picked through the memories from her life, looking for anything about why she was leaving. She'd done the same thing hundreds of times, but she kept working at it, hoping she'd find something she missed.

"The reason I'm asking is that I've been looking over your work, and I'd like to offer you the opportunity to work with me as my research assistant," Professor Babbling said.

Professor Babbling's words knocked Luna out of her daze, but threw her into a new one. She didn't know what to say. What was she supposed to say? She wasn't sure she wanted to study runes for the rest of her life. She couldn't just tell Professor Babbling that. What if she got upset?

What do you want? Rose would ask.

I don't want to leave, Luna thought. Would she stay if she took the offer? Was she still leaving? She didn't know what to do.

She frantically picked through her own memories, tearing through them for information.

Can I stay if I accept?

Brain was Professor Vector's assistant, wasn't she? No, she was Professor Snape's. No, that wasn't right either. Luna was certain Brain was doing research with someone, but she couldn't remember who it was.

I want to stay. Am I still leaving? What do I do? Where am I? Who am I?

Thoughts and memories that Luna worked tirelessly to keep organized fell apart. A whirlwind of jumbled noise flooded her head as the memories of hundreds of Lunas stole her ability to think straight. Her storage cabinet didn't just fall apart; it fell on top of her, burying her in information.

Where am I? Who am I?

"Luna?"

Luna snapped her head towards the sound and saw Professor Babbling sitting behind her desk. What had they been discussing? Was she supposed to say something?

"I… I…"

"You don't have to make a decision now," Professor Babbling said. "Just think about it."

Luna didn't know about what she was supposed to be thinking, but she frantically grabbed her belongings, or at least she hoped the lone pack sitting in the classroom was hers, and ran out of the room.

"Luna?" a voice she vaguely identified as belonging to Ginny Weasley said.

Luna didn't stop to see if it was her that had spoken, choosing instead to race down the corridor.

"Luna!"

Luna struggled to keep her thoughts together long enough to use them to find a place to hide.

What floor is this?

Professor Babbling taught Ancient Runes, didn't she? Or was it Defence Against the Dark Arts? What floors were those?

Luna reached the cavity that held the moving staircases and counted the floors.

"Five below," she muttered. "What's closest?"

Ravenclaw Tower was two floors up, but she didn't know if that was safe, nor if she was in Ravenclaw. She was usually in Ravenclaw, wasn't she? If she understood her own thoughts now pouring out of their imaginary storage cupboard correctly, it usually wasn't. The Room of Requirement was on the same floor as Ravenclaw Tower (probably), but it wasn't always there.

"Nowhere's safe," she whispered. She concentrated on the past few minutes, but couldn't figure out what she'd been doing. "How did this happen?"

She raced down the stairs, bumping into people with different uniforms. Was she still in Hogwarts? If not, where was she?

When she reached the bottom floor, she ran outside and into the vegetable patch. It was the one place she remembered always being empty. To her good fortune, it was empty again.

Luna sat down in the patch and gathered her thoughts. She felt a pack on her shoulder and vaguely remembered grabbing it from Professor Babbling's classroom. She pulled it off her shoulder and looked at it. There were two large "L"s on it, so she hoped it was hers. Who gave it to her? Or did she steal it? Or make it?

If you ever lose your way, just look at this rune, and it will help you find your way back.

Her mum's words broke through the storm like a shining light, coming to save her from the chaos. Luna unrolled her left sleeve and found the rune of which her mother spoke.

Every Luna had a tattoo in the exact same spot, but each of them had a different runic pattern. In every version of her life, her mum imprinted it just after her fifth birthday, when the dreams began confusing her. She glanced at it from time to time when she thought no one was looking. Luna couldn't possibly explain it to anyone that asked, and she didn't want to risk giving away her family's secret. When she desperately needed it, she could use it to identify where she was and piece her mind back together.

Hers were a few in the shape of a flower, which meant…

"Moon," she whispered.

She was Moon, which meant Tutela was inside her pack. Luna opened her pack and allowed the homunculus to emerge.

Tutela nuzzled against Luna, comforting her and telling her stories about her life to calm her down.

Once she had her thoughts reorganized, Luna remembered why she'd ran in the first place. Professor Babbling wanted her to study runes, but that wasn't what Luna wanted. Runes were fun, but she liked studying animals better. If she said "no", Professor Babbling might not like her anymore. Would Ancient Runes still be fun? Would Professor Babbling be mad at her? What was she supposed to do?

<Why don't you ask Rose?> Tutela asked.

"What if she's upset too? She's always happy when I use runes. What if she's not happy anymore?"

"Princess is always so busy, and Brain's gone."

"What if… if I accept, can I stay here? I'd have to stay here, right?"

"He's leaving me," Luna cried. "I don't want to leave."

Tutela nestled against Luna, who gladly embraced her homunculus.

Tears fell onto Tutela's fur, disappearing in the pitch black fuzz.

"I don't want to leave," Luna repeated. "Why do we have to leave?"

This wasn't news to Luna, but she was thankful for Tutela's company and soft voice. It comforted her, reminding her that she wasn't alone. She'd never be alone again.

<Rose can still visit, just like with Brain,> Tutela said. <Even if you have to leave, you'll still have us.>

Luna wiped the tears from her eyes, cheered up by Tutela's words. She hugged Tutela one last time before they returned to the castle.

She found Princess and Firecracker waiting for her at the gate.

"There you are!" Princess exclaimed. "We were worried."

"Why'd you run off like that?" Firecracker asked.

"Professor Babbling said something about an unknown animal near Hogwarts," Luna replied in her normal, dreamy voice, designed specifically to mask her real emotions. "I thought it was the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, so Tutela and I went out to look." She tilted her head. "It wasn't."

"You gave us all quite a fright," Princess said.

"I didn't mean to worry anyone," Luna said. "I didn't want to miss it."

Princess frowned at Luna, who felt someone rooting around in her head. She was no stranger to the feeling. She'd felt it when the sorting hat picked through her mind and when she practiced with her dad. Princess used detect thoughts, so it was harder to sense, but it was certainly there. It was how Luna knew about the pendant.

"We'd all be grateful if you said something next time instead of rushing off," Princess said sternly.

"Okay," Luna replied noncommittally.

With everything else happening, Luna decided Professor Babbling's offer could wait, and pushed it to the back of her mind inside her filing cabinet. Besides, she was certain Toad was in the Triwizard Tournament, and he might need her help. After all, he was always nice to her.

Harry left for flight practice just after lunch on Wednesday. He was surprised to find that he enjoyed it, despite only getting to fly for demonstration purposes once or twice.

"Potter!"

That particular day was notable because Madame Hooch never approached him before class. He was expected to show up before her to have the students ready when she arrived.

"Madame Hooch?"

"I've got a meeting, so you'll have to manage on your own. It's the last class before winter, so it's free-fly. Don't let them stand around and talk. Have them run some of Wood's practice drills if that's what it takes to keep them in the air."

"Yes, Madame Hooch," Harry replied automatically.

"I'm counting on you, Potter."

It wasn't until after Madame Hooch left that it sank in that he'd be teaching the class on his own.

Why'd she wait until the last minute to say anything? She could've at least given him a chance to prepare. He'd be going in blind, with no idea what to do. He wasn't ready for running it on his own.

"Let's just get this over with," he muttered when he reached the courtyard.

"Good afternoon, class!" Harry barked.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter!" the class recited.

"Madame Hooch will be joining us later," he said. "Until then, it's–"

One of the students raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Pritchard?"

"Is it true Longbottom cheated on the first task?"

The question caught him off guard, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. Graham Pritchard was every bit the stereotypical Slytherin that Malfoy was. If he'd had blond hair and a pair of goons, Harry would've mistaken him for Malfoy.

"Of course not," Harry said. "Please keep–"

"I heard Dumbledore told him what the task was," Pritchard said.

"No he didn't!" Dennis Creevey exclaimed.

"Quiet!" Harry shouted. "I know the Triwizard Tournament is exciting and we all want to talk about it, but this is flight class, not gossip class."

"If he didn't cheat, how'd he win?"

"Practice, which is what we are going to be doing today," Harry said. "Who likes watching Quidditch?"

Most hands went up.

"Since it's the last class before winter, there's nothing to do except practice, so I'm going to show you some maneuvers. If you keep practicing, you might even be picked for the team next year." He paused to let it sink in. "Or would you all rather keep talking about rumors?"

Hearing no arguments from the other students, he took a bag of tennis balls out of his bag.

"These are called 'tennis balls'," he explained, knowing that wizards didn't have tennis. "They're part of a Muggle sport, for you purebloods, but they're great for Quidditch practice. I want everyone to partner up and try tossing them between yourselves while in the air. Spread out every time you catch one, and see how far you can get before one of you misses."

As he had expected, the students partnered up with members of their own house. Harry thought it was something learned, but from day one, students kept to their own houses.

He watched the students toss the tennis balls, complementing them when they did well, and tossing the balls back up when they didn't.

Alas, flight class wouldn't be flight class without something going wrong.

Pritchard and his partner, Malcolm Baddock, grabbed the tennis ball from Dennis and his partner, Demelza Robins, possibly the only pair that hadn't dropped it yet.

"Pritchard! Baddock!" Harry barked. "Give it back!"

"Or what?" Baddock jeered.

Harry smiled. It wasn't a smirk, just a smile, something he realized he'd picked up from Rose. Most of the students hadn't met Rose, and none of them knew her I'm-going-to-kill-you-now face, so none of them knew what he was about to do. Without a word, he drew his broom from his pack. He had the attention of every student now, along with the few onlookers he knew were lurking in the shadows, because apparently people didn't have anything better to do on a Wednesday afternoon than stalk him.

Harry held his broom but didn't mount it. His eyes followed the tennis ball as Baddock and Pritchard tossed it between themselves, laughing at Dennis and Demelza as they frantically tried to get it back.

"Out of the way!"

The students obediently withdrew to the sides of his line of sight, giving him a clear shot at the two Slytherins.

"You want this, Potter?!" Not Malfoy said. "Fetch!"

Three years ago, Malfoy said the same thing just before throwing Neville's Rememberall at Gryffindor Tower. Harry had caught it while Professor McGonagall watched, and he was given permission to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team a year early. In the process, Harry had nearly collided with Gryffindor Tower and killed himself.

He wasn't eleven anymore, and he wasn't riding a school broom.

Harry mounted his broom and kicked off, shooting through the air at Pritchard. The tennis ball hadn't traveled a foot when Harry caught it, stopping abruptly in front of a shocked Pritchard.

"This isn't a school broom," Harry said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "it's a Firebolt. Every flier at the World Cup used one." He tossed the ball in his hand. "This is three times the size of the Golden Snitch, and you can't throw it half as fast. To the untrained eye, it can't be seen." Harry turned to Demelza and tossed her the ball. "Robins, Creevey, you both did good work." He swiveled in-place to face Pritchard and Baddock. "Pritchard, Baddock, on the ground. You're done."

"You can't–" Pritchard started.

"No, I can't," Harry said. "All I can do is wait for Madame Hooch to get back, or I can call for another teacher." He pulled out his wand. "I can also cover your broom in grease so you fall off and slow your descent so you aren't hurt."

Pritchard and Baddock exchanged looks while Harry hovered next to them.

"What's it going to be?"

The boys slowly descended back to the ground, and Harry with them.

"Good choice," Harry said as he unmounted his broom. "Sit next to the wall until everyone else is finished, and be thankful I'm not Madame Hooch. If I were, you'd be out of here faster than you can say 'Quidditch'."

With that, the other students resumed their practice.

I'm really glad that worked, Harry thought. I need to ask Ron about a spell that can cover a broom in grease so I'm not bluffing next time.

Madame Hooch showed up ten minutes before class ended, and Harry explained the entire situation. Sure enough, Pritchard and Baddock received detention.

As the students began to leave, Harry got Demelza's attention.

"Robins, in two years, most of the Gryffindor Chasers graduate, and I'll likely be captain of the team," he whispered. "Make sure not to miss tryouts."

"Mr. Potter?"

"I doubt Angelina Johnson, the best on the team, would've caught the ball half as much as you did today."

The little girl blushed and looked at something interesting on her shoes.

"Thank you."

"Your friends are waiting," he said, smiling at the young girl.

Harry thought back to an hour earlier when he'd been annoyed at going alone for the day, but he was proud of himself. Everything had gone about as well as he'd expected, maybe even better.

"Good work today, Potter," Madame Hooch said.

"Thank you, Madame Hooch," Harry replied.

He watched her leave, then cleared his throat and turned to another corner of the courtyard.

"A lady doesn't spy on a gentleman," he said in his best Sally-Anne impression.

"I should've known you'd spot me," Sally-Anne said, stepping out of the shadows. She had the biggest grin he'd ever seen on her face. "Nothing escapes you."

"What are you so happy about?" Harry asked.

"You," Sally-Anne replied. "That was brilliant."

"Thanks." He smiled back at her. "I've never really said, but thank you for getting me this. If you hadn't stood up for me last month, I wouldn't be here."

"You deserve this," she said. "I wish we had someone like you in our first year. I was terrified when you flew after Neville's bauble."

Harry looked into Sally-Anne's eyes and saw the fear she'd felt that day. Maybe it was worse because they were friends. He got a sinking feeling when he realized that if he'd failed, he'd never have known Sally-Anne, and they'd never have been friends.

"I'm glad I caught it," he said. "Not today, but back then. If I hadn't, I never really would've met you."

Sally-Anne blushed, reminding Harry of Demelza a few minutes ago.

"I'm glad I met you too," Sally-Anne said.

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