Bab 144: Home
Harry stared out the window of the express. There'd been a lot to process, and so little time in which to do it.
"Where are you staying?" Hermione asked.
"Sirius got a flat. He doesn't like staying in Grimmauld Place."
Hermione nodded, then they both returned to looking out the window.
"What Dumbledore said… is that true? Lux is really Rose?"
Hermione kept her gaze fixed on the window.
"Yeah, it is. That name, Aurora Lux, is from Rose's world. Lux was a doppelganger that tricked and betrayed the Exalted, her friends. If she'd managed to make it to this one, she would've picked a new face and name, not kept the old one. Especially if she'd known Rose was here."
"What you're saying is that Rose killed Alavel."
It wasn't a question. Harry wanted to hear her say it.
"Yeah."
"There must be a reason," Neville said. "It's Rose."
"There is a reason," Harry said. "She's turned on us. That's probably why she nook that name. She's doing exactly what the real Lux did."
"We don't know that," Hermione said. "She could—"
"She's not our friend anymore," Harry snapped. "She stabbed us in the back, just like Perks did."
Hermione and Neville looked like they were about to argue, but both decided against it. Harry was tired of people arguing with him. Hopefully Ron realized Rose was no good too.
Harry knew there was something going on with Perks, something Ron hadn't said. All he'd said was that Rose had turned on them and gone after Perks and Malfoy. If that had been all, why had she been so shaken? Rose had done something else, he knew it.
When they arrived at the station, Harry didn't see Sirius. He spotted a few Order members keeping to the shadows, but no one went out to meet him.
"Who's picking you up?" Hermione asked.
"Sirius was supposed to, but it looks like he forgot."
"Do you need a lift?"
Harry sighed.
"That'd be great."
He checked his pocket for the key Sirius had given him over the summer before going with Hermione.
The ride to Sirius's flat was quiet. The only conversation was small talk. Harry tried to be polite, but it was hard with everything on his mind. He was glad Sirius wasn't staying at Grimmauld place; it gave him a chance to get away from everything. Meeting with Snape to practice fighting Voldemort was bad enough.
He waved bye to Hermione and her family, then unlocked the door and walked in. No Sirius to meet him. Odd.
Also no Sirius guarding the door. More odd.
Harry tuned in to his blindsight, sensing for movement in the flat. He picked up someone in Sirius's room. Slow movement, made to disguise itself.
Harry approached the door slowly. He slowly moved his hand to his wand, then knocked on the door.
After some shuffling from within the room, the door inched open and Sirius poked his head out. Harry took in what details he could see.
Definitely Sirius.
"Harry," he said. "What are… oh no, that was today, wasn't it?"
"You weren't at the station, so Hermione's parents gave me a lift."
Harry picked up another person in the flat, in Sirius's bedroom. Judging by the sense he got, tall, but heavier than their size would let on.
"I'm sorry, I completely forgot that was today." He glanced at the other person in the room.
Harry added another deduction to his list: female. It wasn't hard to tell what was going on.
"I'll… I'll give Hermione a call," Harry said. "See if they can take me for a little while."
"Erm…" Sirius glanced back in his room again. "I don't… I hate to—"
"Taltria!" Harry called. "What do you think?"
Harry smirked as he heard the unmistakable sound of Taltria laughing.
Sirius turned a faint shade of red.
"You are James's son," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure he's done that to me before."
"Move," Taltria said, pushing Sirius aside. "Come on, Skyeyes. We'll talk while this one gets dressed." She ruffled Sirius's hair on her way past.
Taltria herself was back in her normal form. She and Harry sat down at the kitchen table.
"We'd appreciate you not telling anyone about this," Taltria said. "It wasn't planned… well, this time was, but—"
"I don't need to know," Harry said, blushing a little. "Really, I don't."
Taltria chuckled.
"Alavel would've told me off for this. Some lecture on being decent around you."
This time, Harry rolled his eyes.
"He would've, too. I don't know why; he's the one that gave me that whole talk."
Taltria gave a much louder laugh.
"You've got to tell me about that. That must've been the most awkward thing!"
Harry laughed, although not as loudly. It was just… a good memory.
"It wasn't. He didn't try to make it any better, he just said things are going to change. This was after Ellie, so he understood that I already had quite a good idea of what to expect. Said it was just as uncomfortable for him to explain it to me as it was for me to hear it, but if I didn't know it, then I'd run into problems later in my long, boring life after Hogwarts."
"I'm sure he emphasised that too," Taltria said. "The boring part. He was always talking about you. He really wanted you to have that normal life."
Talk of Alavel brought painful memories with it. Memories of a friend now gone. Harry wanted to cry, but then he caught sight of Taltria. Her fists tightened, and her body shook.
"I'm gonna get her," she muttered.
She couldn't have known who Lux was. Why wouldn't Dumbledore have told her? Taltria of all people should've been informed.
"Did they tell you?" Harry asked. "Who Lux is?"
"Who's they?" she hissed.
"Hermione, or Dumbledore, or—"
"They know nothing!" Taltria spat. "They don't know what that woman did!"
Harry frowned. Taltria couldn't have been talking about killing Alavel, everyone knew about that. Unless Rose had paid Taltria a visit like she'd visited Ron and Sally-Anne.
"What'd she do?"
"That woman… Aurora Lux. She's a doppelganger!"
"Hermione explained that," Harry said. "But she said Lux wouldn't have used the same face. Not when she moved worlds. Unless she wanted us to know."
Harry realized he'd made a mistake when he saw Taltria's eyes fixed on him. It hadn't occurred to him that there'd be a reason for not telling Taltria.
"Then who is she?" Taltria asked.
Her voice was low, calm, but Harry could sense the rage it contained. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't tell her it was Rose; that seemed like an even worse idea.
"Tell me, Skyeyes," Taltria said.
Harry already felt the harsh, sickening feeling of regret inside him. He knew Taltria wouldn't give up until she had the answer. Rose had gifted her with stubbornness beyond measure.
"I shouldn't have said anything."
"It's a little late for that, isn't it?" she said. "So tell me, Skyeyes, who is she? If that's not the Aurora Lux that tried to kill the Exalted, then who is she?"
"Hermione… Hermione thinks she's Rose."
Taltria's gaze remained fixed on him. He was sure she was glaring.
"Is she sure?" Taltria asked in a low voice.
Wishing he had a way out of the conversation, Harry nodded.
"What's going on?" Sirius asked, coming into the kitchen. "Everything alright?"
Taltria held her gaze on Harry for a moment, then stood up and looked at Sirius.
"I've got to go," she said. "I don't know when I'll be back." She changed back to human form and kissed Sirius on the cheek. "Thank you."
With that, Taltria left.
Sirius watched her go, then turned to Harry.
"What happened?"
"I think I made a mistake."
After dropping Harry with Sirius, the Grangers drove to their own home.
"You're sure he's fine?" her mum asked.
"He'll let me know if he's not," Hermione replied, staring out the window. "Any luck with the Statute of Secrecy?"
"Those books you keep sending us are helping," her dad said.
"They mention memory wipes," her mum added.
"That's a memory charm. It's pretty harmless otherwise."
"But how do they know who's a threat? They can't wait for it to hit the papers, by then it will be too late."
Hermione frowned. Her parents had expressed concern for themselves after she graduated. They'd have no more strict need to know about the magical world, and were worried they'd be seen as a liability.
"I can ask Professor Vector."
"No," her dad said.
"You can trust her."
"It's a different culture. They may not realize there's anything wrong with it."
"What about Harry's aunt? She still remembers."
Her parents didn't say anything, but not because they had nothing to say. Hermione knew those looks. They were wording a sentence.
"What?" she asked.
"What if… what if they made her hate it, so she'd never talk about it?" her mum asked.
Hermione started to protest, but stopped when she realized with whom they were dealing. This was the Ministry of Magic. They'd done far more backwards things than changing a few Muggles' personalities. It sounded exactly like something they'd do.
"Hmm."
"We're having dinner with Sally-Anne's parents next week after you girls are back at school. We'll see what they think then."
Hermione grumbled something they couldn't hear about Perks. At least she hoped they couldn't hear it.
"We know you're still upset with her over last year," her mum said.
"And you've got every right to be," her dad added.
"But she's just a girl. Everyone does stupid things they regret at your age."
Hermione grumbled again, this time in frustration. She couldn't argue with them on that. Hermione still felt bad about the way she'd treated Ron. Not to mention realizing how badly she'd treated Rose at the Yule Ball. Perks had been miserable all year. Perhaps she did regret what she'd done.
Ginny watched as their parents fawned over Ron from the moment they arrived at King's Cross.
"Are you alright? We heard all about what happened. You'll be safe at our house, we promise."
Ron didn't say anything. He stood and basked in the attention he was getting, giving them a miserable look to feed it.
When they got home, Ginny stormed off to her room. She couldn't take the sight of it.
"Remember, no going out without supervision!"
Ginny ground her teeth. She stormed into her room and slammed the door.
What was so special about Ron? Any praise for her making the team? No. Any praise for good marks? No. Not even a mention that Rose had been her friend too.
Then it hit her. Her mum was always on about marrying them off. That was what this was about! She was upset that Ron's girlfriend had died. It'd be impossible for him to get out of the house now. He��d be like Fred and George, who'd only just moved out. Except that Ron wasn't good at anything. He'd be stuck there forever.
She glared at her room, pacing back and forth. It wasn't as if she were going anywhere either. Why were boys so scared of her? She only lit them on fire if they annoyed her, and they hadn't been that bad yet. No one cared for her, though. The only boy who was nice to her at all was Skyeyes.
If she brought Harry home as a date, her mother would drop Ron faster than he dropped the Quaffle. Her mum would be so delighted she'd forget all about Ron. Unless…
It hit her. Had she been on a broom, she'd have nearly fallen off. Ron had told them what happened in the forest. Harry had known, so Ron must've known too. She hadn't done anything wrong! That NPC deserved to die after what he did to Hermione! Ginny was protecting her! Was she grateful? No!
Ginny hurled her pillow across the room. They were supposed to kill NPCs. They were PCs, like Rose said. No one cared about NPCs. What was everyone's problem?
"I'm going out!" Sally-Anne called to her parents.
"Alright, but we've got company coming over soon!" her dad called.
Sally-Anne mumbled a reply. It didn't matter to her if some friend of her parents was coming over. She could still remember a time when it had mattered. Back when she thought working on her manners made a difference. Now she knew better. No one cared.
She threw on a scarf and coat, just so she didn't alarm anyone by walking around in just her dress. She needed to look the part of feeling cold like a normal person.
The snow crunched under her feet. A harsh wind picked up, tossing her scarf around. She didn't bother to shiver. It was cold, but it certainly didn't bother her.
The snow picked up, flying around her face. It wasn't a time anyone else would've considered going for a walk.
That was good; she preferred the isolation. Isolation kept her safe from being hurt. Out in the cold, the snow was her only company. It didn't lie to her or manipulate her. It was just snow.
I see why Luna likes it so much.
She walked into the village again. She didn't go inside anywhere. Every time she looked at one of the buildings, it seemed to glare down at her. As if even they didn't welcome her.
No one.
She thought of Ron. How could he trust her? After everything she'd done to him… why did he trust her? She'd shouted at him, then defended a boy who'd only turned out to be just as bad as Ron had said.
Hermione and Harry were still weary of her. She couldn't blame them. They had every right to be.
She trudged home through the snow. The wind kept picking up and dying down, as if it couldn't decide whether it wanted to hurt her or show her mercy. That indecision made it the kindest thing in her life. No one else was even considering mercy.
The whole world felt miserable covered in that white blanket of cold. Sally-Anne felt like a character in a film, walking through the cold with nowhere warm to stay. Except this wasn't some story, this was her life. There weren't happy endings in real life. She knew that now.
When she returned home, there was no car in the driveway. No fresh tire tracks. Sally-Anne couldn't even see her own footprints from earlier.
"Must be one of Mum's friends that always gets here late," Sally-Anne muttered to herself.
She walked up to the door and let herself in.
"I'm back," she said, taking off her boots and walking into the kitchen. "If it's alright, I'd like to stay in… my…"
She stopped and stared at the occupants of the kitchen. Her parents were there, but their guest had already arrived.
She wasn't late, she just didn't drive. Had the wind not been so fierce, it wouldn't have covered the extra set of footprints leading up to the door.
"Hey, Princess," Alex said.
Sally-Anne's eyes went wide, and she felt short of breath. The only sound she could get out was a short breath that sounded something like ���Alex".
Her dad looked at his empty wrist.
"Look at that, dear. We've got something terribly important to do in any other room in the house."
With a few helpful nudges from her dad, her mum left the two of them alone.
"What… what are you doing here?" Sally-Anne managed, rubbing her wrist.
"If you'll sit down," Alex said, "I'd be happy to tell you."
Sally-Anne did as she was told and took a seat. It must've been some sort of dream. Her head spun out of control, as if she were in a dream. Perhaps she was. It was the only conclusion that made sense.
"I…" Sally-Anne tried. "You…"
"Your parents said you're having a tough time," Alex said. "I heard from Professor McGonagall about Rose. She told me to keep an eye out, in case… well, that's not really why I'm here."
"Then… why are you here?"
"I wrote to your parents after… after everything that happened in June. I was worried about you. People were saying Umbridge was under investigation."
Sally-Anne fought back tears. Emotions swirled around her, closing in. She didn't know how to handle it all, adding fear to the mix. What was happening?
"I… I… I'm sorry."
Tears forced their way out. From that small crack in her defences, everything spilled out. She started crying, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop.
"It's okay," Alex said. She moved over to Sally-Anne and held her close. "I forgive you."
"Everything I said… how can anyone forgive me after what I did? To my friends… to Professor Dumbledore… to you! How… how can you all not hate me?"
"Because I know you better than that." Alex kissed her hair. "I know Umbridge played you. All you wanted to do was help us."
"It's not just Umbridge. Draco… he did the same thing. He's… he's with them! Ron tried to warn me, but I just shouted at him!"
"Did Ron gloat when he found out?"
"What? No, he… he said he was sorry. That he wouldn't tell anyone."
"And has he?"
"I don't think so."
"Then don't worry about it. He's already forgiven you."
"Why? After—"
"Everything you've done for him? You smile at him when he thinks he screwed up. No one else does that. Remember, I was in Percy's year. I saw how hard he had to work to get out from under his brothers' shadows. It takes its toll, and Ron had it worse. So I know he still considers you a friend. He's probably thinking he's screwed up worse than you have."
"But I—"
"When you realized what was going on, you got right to work fixing it. You knew what was right, and you knew what you had to do, even when Umbridge turned on you. That investigation, it happened because of you. Everything got set right because of you."
Sally-Anne tried to smile, then dabbed at her eyes.
"But… what about you? What I said."
"Oh, that was awful. I was pretty mad at you, but I realized you were just being you. Especially after what happened to Viktor. That's too much for one person to do alone."
More tears streamed down her eyes. It was too much for her to take.
"Everyone… I've been so alone! I hate it!"
Alex rested Sally-Anne's head on her shoulder.
"Not anymore. You've got us."
"Us?"
Alex handed her a parcel that had been resting on the table.
"Us."
Sally-Anne frowned, but took the parcel. It was soft and lumpy. She carefully opened it and found a green jumper with the letters "SA" in gold.
A card dropped onto her lap as she examined it in shock.
Sally-Anne,
You're always part of our family.
Ron
Alex smiled at her.
"I thought of that part," she said, motioning to the card.
Sally-Anne stared at the card, then at the jumper, then at Alex.
"Thank you," she whispered, unable to make more sound.
Alex pulled her into another hug.
"Anything for you, Princess."
Neville sat in his room, staring at the wall. Memories danced in his head. Christmases past, full of snow, and friends, and Luna. He wished he could've stayed at Hogwarts. Maybe then he could've found her.
"She doesn't want you to find her," Evil Neville said.
Neville was tired of hearing him. Tired of seeing him. Neville wanted to be left alone to find Luna, to find Rose.
"At least now I know why Brain didn't want me to go looking for her."
He'd tried getting a hold of Luna before, but she'd never answered. That didn't stop him from trying.
<Moon? Can you hear me? Eom.>
Neville stared at the wall, imagining how happy Luna must be. She was probably celebrating Christmas in the forest. Did they have Christmas?
<Hello, Toad. How are you?>
Neville smiled and sat up in his bed, giddy with excitement.
<Happy Christmas!>
<Is it Christmas? I didn't realize.>
Neville counted to six, waiting for Luna to think it through.
<Right. Happy Snowy Time.>
He grinned. Same old Moon.
<Happy Snowy Time. How are things in the forest?>
<The Spider Clan is doing alright.>
Neville nodded, then remembered that Luna couldn't see him.
<What about you?>
<I'm alright too.>
He hesitated for a moment, but he knew he'd have to tell her eventually.
<Moon… Rose killed Lavender Brown.>
Neville waited through the silence for Luna to reply. He could only imagine what was going through her mind. It was still hard to imagine that Rose had killed one of their classmates. What if it was all some sort of trick? Rose wouldn't kill one of them, nor would she kill Alavel. Something was wrong.
<Moon?>
<I'm still here. I… I don't know. My sister doesn't kill students.>
<That's what I thought. She's not some bloodthirsty monster.>
<No,> Luna said quietly. <She's not.>
Neville was glad Luna agreed with him. That made three of them, including Hermione, that believed Rose was innocent.
<Do you want to meet up after classes resume?> Neville asked. <We can meet in the forest. I know you don't like the castle.>
Evil Neville shook his head, smirking.
<I… I don't know if I can.>
"Told you."
Neville glared at him, then put his focus back on his conversation with Luna.
<What if… I could go there, maybe help—>
<No! They… they don't like humans. It took me a long time to earn their trust, and I don't think they'd like you being there.>
Luna's voice sounded shaky and uncertain. He hadn't thought about how the forest would react to him being there.
<Can… can you come here, or… what about Hogsmeade?>
<Maybe some time, but I can't now.>
<Alright.>
Neville hoped she didn't hear how sad he sounded.
<I… I do miss you, Toad.>
<I miss you too, Moon.>
Neville sank into his bed. He wanted nothing more than to see Luna. To feel her arms around him, to see her dreamy smile. He hadn't thought about how the creatures of the forest would react to a human looking around for her. She'd mentioned that there were humans doing so already.
He held the image of her smiling face from the attack in the forest. She'd been bright, happy. Then Lestrange had attacked her and forced her to leave. She was so delicate, she was probably afraid to leave the forest.
Neville's face darkened. Lestrange. She'd taken his parents from him. Now she'd taken Luna from him. No more.
He got up and went outside. The storm from earlier that week had cleared up, but there was still snow on the ground. He ignored it, drew the Sword of Gryffindor, and began practicing.
Losha sank to the ground, her heart still hammering away at her chest. It'd made her blush to hear Toad call her Moon again.
"That's not embarrassment," Venus whispered.
Losha knew how she still felt about him, but the more she dwelt on it, the more Venus's thoughts interrupted her own. Images she didn't want, memories that made her uncomfortable, it all flooded her head whenever she tried to think of Toad.
The worst part was it felt wonderful to think of him. His hand in hers, his confidence that everything would be fine, the way he held her close, as though protecting her. She never had to worry when he was around.
"He thinks I'm weak," she whispered.
She stood up and sensed the movement of the forest. She needed to be stronger. If she could face Slytherin in the castle, she could see Toad again.
"Or you can grow a spine and invite him here," Mars said.
That was another option. Losha was too weak. If she tried declaring him as her mate as she was, the forest wouldn't accept him. If she was strong enough, they wouldn't care that he was human.
She ran through the forest. The strongest and most noble of the creatures within were the centaurs. They could help her learn to be stronger. She was sure of it.
The day before they returned to Hogwarts, Sally-Anne went to the Burrow. When she and her parents pulled up, she stared out at the house.
"Go on," her dad said. "It'll be okay."
She smiled and opened the door.
"We'll be back later," her mum said. "If any of the boys act up, punch them in the nose. It's what I did to your father on our first date."
Her father smiled and nodded.
Sally-Anne closed her eyes to stop from laughing.
"Thank you, Mum. I'll remember that."
She kissed her parents goodbye, then walked up to the door. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Then she raised a shaky hand and knocked.
While she waited for an answer, she adjusted her posture and straightened her jumper and pack. At the same time, she fought the urge to rub her wrist.
Mrs. Weasley opened the door and smiled.
"So good to see you."
Before Sally-Anne could answer, Mrs. Weasley had her in a hug.
It took everything Sally-Anne had not to break into tears. Slowly, she returned the hug.
"Thank you for the jumper. I love it."
"I'm glad." Mrs. Weasley released her. "Let's get you inside. I've just put a kettle on. Nothing sorts problems like a good cup of tea."
Sally-Anne smiled and followed her inside.
"It's quiet."
"That's because Fred and George have got their own place. I didn't ask where they got the money for it. I'm sure I wouldn't like the answer."
Sally-Anne asked herself the same question and hoped the answer was Harry.
They sat down at the kitchen table.
"Where's Ron?"
"He's upstairs. He's been quiet all holiday." She waved her wand, and a kettle and cups marched over to them.
Sally-Anne wondered how difficult it'd be to recreate that song from that new film Beauty and the Beast.
I bet Ron could do it.
"I'm not sure what's worse," Mrs. Weasley said as the kettle poured them tea. "Ron's quiet, or Ginny's anger."
Sally-Anne shook her head.
"I'm afraid I don't know what's bothering Ginny. She's been off for a while, but… no one tells me anything anymore."
Mrs. Weasley waved her hand, in part dismissing the kettle, in part dismissing Sally-Anne's concerns.
"No need to worry, dear. It'll sort itself out, I'm sure." She took a sip of tea. "Now, I'm sure you didn't come all this way to see me."
Sally-Anne smiled and sipped her own tea.
"I wouldn't mind. I miss the days when things were simple."
"As do I, dear."
Sally-Anne patted her pack.
"I did bring something for Ron."
Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath.
"RONALD! YOU'VE GOT COMPANY!"
Sally-Anne winced at the impossibly loud noise emanating from the Weasley Matriarch.
"That's one way to do it," Sally-Anne said as the ringing in her ears subsided.
She heard a noise upstairs, then something shifted. The noise traveled around to the stairs, then made its way down.
Sally-Anne stood up when Ron came downstairs.
"Hello, Ron."
A sad smile, not unlike the one she'd been wearing for months, crossed his face.
"Hi."
Sally-Anne reached into her pack and drew a small package.
"Dad and I found this at a bookstore the other day, and Mum thought you'd enjoy it."
Ron took the package. He turned it over, looking like he'd forgotten how presents work. Then he gently tore at the paper.
His lips drew into a broad smile at the book inside.
"The Art of War. Professor Burbbage mentioned this." He looked up at Sally-Anne. "Thank you."
Before Sally-Anne could stop herself, she was hugging Ron. To her relief, he hugged her back. All her fears, all her anxiety about what she'd done and what she would do, they drained away.
Alex had been right; people didn't hate her as much as she'd thought.
"I can never thank you enough for sending Alex," she whispered.
"I… I figured I wasn't doing good, so you probably weren't either, and Alex always cheered you up."
She eased back and smiled at him.
"See? You're not as bad with people as you think you are."
Ron blushed, but still looked like a lost child.
As Mrs. Weasley situated them all in the kitchen, Sally-Anne let her mind drift to Hogwarts. Everything was more complicated, but she knew she didn't have to face it all alone.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
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