A Good Start

Six Months Later

Sally-Anne arrived at the Burrow, taking a moment to straighten her hair and her dress. Rose hadn't been kidding when she said her dress would grow with her; she hadn't worn the ballgown form of her dress since the Yule Ball, but it still fit.

A quick wave of her wand sorted everything out, then she knocked on the door.

Molly opened it and smiled.

"Happy Christmas, Molly," Sally-Anne said, giving the Weasley matriarch a quick hug.

"Happy Christmas, Sally-Anne." She stepped back and admired her. "Don't you look lovely. And you're just in time. Your boyfriend is so slow."

Sally-Anne closed her eyes for a moment. Knowing Ron, he'd gotten sidetracked before getting ready to go.

"I'll go talk to him," Sally-Anne said. "What about Harry and Ginny?"

"Harry's been here all day," Molly said, letting her in. "How are your parents?"

"Tired from celebrating Christmas all day, but excited to see Hogwarts again."

"It's good they kept the name," Molly said, walking her to the kitchen. "I'm sure I would've been calling it Hogwarts anyway. That's what happens when you grow old."

Sally-Anne smiled at her.

"Nonsense, you're looking lovely as always."

"I hear the sound of someone kissing up to my mum," Ginny said as they entered the kitchen.

"Of course I am," Sally-Anne said as Ginny stood up. "She's my boyfriend's mum. I'd be foolish not to."

She gave Ginny a light hug. Her friend had on an orange and red dress. Her hair was pulled back, and she'd apparently refused make up to hide her scars.

"Are you sure?" she asked, motioning to the scars. "You could—"

"I'm sure." Ginny grinned at her. "I'm fine."

Sally-Anne glanced over her shoulder as Molly went to get the boys. As she passed them, she muttered about men taking forever to get ready.

"Grand reopening of Hogwarts," Sally-Anne said. "Do you think something's going to happen too?"

"It's not the first day of classes," Ginny said. "Or Hallowe'en. That'd probably go wrong."

Sally-Anne laughed, thinking back on her experience with Hallowe'en. A troll, basilisk, Sirius, the Triwizard Tournament…

"We'll have Professor McGonagall at the helm," Sally-Anne said. "Has Harry made a decision about working for Remus?"

"I don't know what he'd be doing, but I think so," Ginny said. "He can't start right away… he only just graduated, and they think it'd be difficult to oversee people you just went to school with."

Sally-Anne nodded. Being a teacher's aide was a bit different from being Head Boy or Head Girl.

"What about you?" Ginny asked. "Dad's been singing your praises for months. Both my parents love you." She lowered her voice. "I've heard them planning your and Ron's wedding already."

Sally-Anne blushed a little.

"It's far too early for that. Lucius is the one that's been doing most of the heavy lifting. I'm only there to smooth out any rough edges."

"The Ministry's accessible to any Muggle that knows it's there already," Ginny said. "At least now we won't have to go in."

"I've already told your father," Molly said, walking into the kitchen. "No politics tonight. This is an event to celebrate the reconstruction of Hogwarts."

"Where are the boys?" Ginny asked.

"Ronald was busy reciting the entire history of Hogwarts. He was sure there was something important about it, but I can't think what could've been so important to have slown him down." She looked apologetically at Sally-Anne. "I—"

"Ron's got his flaws," Sally-Anne said. "Sometimes he needs a bit of guidance, that's all. We're still young. We've got a lot of growing to do."

"If we don't hurry, we're going to be late," Molly said, summoning her bag to her. "Arthur went on ahead with Bill and Charlie. We'll be traveling by port key."

She walked over to the stairs, followed by Ginny and Sally-Anne.

"We could all apparate," Ginny said.

"No, dear, it'd be better to use a port key."

"Is there any word from Hermione?" Sally-Anne asked when she was sure Molly couldn't hear. "Is she going to be there?"

It'd been a difficult conversation explaining everything after Hogwarts had fallen. Harry, Sally-Anne, and Ron had fielded most of the questions. As she had every day since, Rose had made herself scarce. It was just as well. Molly exploded any time Rose was mentioned.

"She hasn't said anything to me," Ginny said. "She or Moon. They might be celebrating in the forest, though."

They covered their ears as Molly hollered up to her son and honorary son.

"We're not in danger of being late," Sally-Anne said, glancing at the clock. "Why don't I go up and—"

"I won't hear of it," Molly said, waving a dismissive hand. She started up the stairs, looking like a woman on a mission.

Sally-Anne knew better than to try talking Molly out of anything. Ron and Ginny had both come by their stubbornness honestly.

Harry sighed again as he fussed with his dress robes. He was sure he'd had help doing this last time, and it couldn't have been from Alavel. Neville maybe? He couldn't remember now.

All the while, Ron had been attempting to put the original design of Hogwarts into context for him.

"We were starting from scratch," he said again. "There were so many improvements we could've made, rather than using the old design."

"We've been over this," Harry said, glaring at Ron in an attempt to avoid Molly yelling at them again. "The old layout's familiar to the staff. They want to encourage students and regulators that this doesn't change anything. It's the same Hogwarts as before, less one manipulative intelligence bent on the death of all humans."

Harry knew they'd restored the Room of Requirement even. That had been one of his conditions, and the staff had taken the argument Hermione had laid out for him back in fifth year well.

It was odd how much he'd wished Rose could've helped the reconstruction, but her help had been neither offered nor wanted. McGonagall still wasn't thrilled that she was alive, and wanted as little to do with her as possible. She'd been the most respectful about it. Molly had been less so.

"I still think—"

"I think you need to hurry up and get ready," Harry said, finishing his own robes. "Otherwise your mum—"

"BOYS!"

"Will do that."

He heard the stomping of feet approaching them and stood up straight. Unlike Ron, he was ready to go.

"What in Merlin's name is taking you two so long?" she demanded when she reached their room.

She looked at both of them, her gaze settling on Harry.

"Harry, dear, don't you look handsome." She walked over to him and smoothed his robes. "I can��t tell you how wonderful it is to see you and Ginny together at last."

Harry smiled and nodded.

"Thank you."

What he wanted to say was that she needed to give both her children some space. She loved them both, and they — and Harry — loved her, but he'd needed to calm Ginny down more than once after her mother leaned into them to do something for which they weren't ready. Not to mention Sally-Anne and Ron, on whom Molly had been putting pressure to get married for the past month.

"You!" Molly snapped, turning to Ron. "How long does it take—"

"I'll take care of him, Molly," Harry said. "Tell Ginny and Sally-Anne we'll be leaving in two minutes."

He put his arm around her and walked with her to the door to Ron's bedroom. Ron was tough, but the night had put him in a bad way. Harry knew something was eating away at him, and that Sally-Anne would have it sorted by the end of the night. However, Molly's presence was not helping the situation.

"But—��

"I'll take care of it," Harry said. "I've been helping him along already, and see how far we've gotten? There's nothing to worry about. Two minutes." He held up two fingers then walked back into the bedroom.

Ron was still fidgeting with his robes, trying to get them to look right. Harry closed the door behind him so Molly wouldn't hear them.

"She really doesn't care," Harry said. "Princess, I mean."

"But if it's off," Ron said, "Mum will throw a fit, and I'm getting tired of hearing her ridicule me."

The more he talked, the more worked up he got. Harry caught his hands before he tore his robes. He held Ron in place for a moment, then backed up.

"Stand up for a moment."

Ron stood up and turned to face Harry.

"Look," Harry said, fixing his collar, "it's a lot easier for me to do on another person. Don't ask me why, it's not supposed to be, but it is. That said, don't worry about your mum. I know she's bugging you and Sally-Anne about getting married, but you're too young, and she should know that. She wants me and Sally-Anne to be official parts of her family is all, but she doesn't realize how much stress it's putting on us."

Ron huffed as Harry finished with his collar.

"Sally-Anne will take care of it from there," Harry said. "You don't have to look perfect for her, only presentable. She wants to know you put in the effort for her."

"How do you know?"

"It's written all over her face," Harry replied. "I'll point it out next time I see it."

It was a little odd, seeing the effect living with his mum had had on Ron. Molly had been noticeably worse the past few months. Harry chocked part of it up to anger at Rose, which had put Molly more on edge than he'd seen her. It concerned him a little that Rose would likely be at Hogwarts that night.

"Come on," Harry said, motioning to the door. "Our time's up."

They walked down the stairs, Harry leading the way. He pushed down the knot in his stomach when he saw Ginny. Smiling, he walked up to her and kissed her cheek.

"You're beautiful," he said.

"Thanks. You're alright too, I guess."

He smiled, then slipped his arm through hers.

Sally-Anne smoothed Ron's robes again and adjusted his collar.

"Perfect," she said, smiling a little wider than usual.

<That's the look you want,> Harry said. <Her smile's a little bigger than usual because she's having trouble containing it.>

Ron didn't take his eyes off Sally-Anne as they walked out of the Burrow.

<Was everything alright?> Sally-Anne asked him.

<Molly's stressing everyone out.>

The four of them walked behind Molly, who produced a large key from her pocket.

"This will take us just outside Hogsmeade," she said. "Is everyone ready?"

Harry looked at Ginny again and smiled. Ginny smiled broader, barely containing a laugh.

"We're ready," Harry said.

"It should've occurred to me earlier," Hermione said, sitting with Moon in the Forbidden Forest. "Toad, you're not going to suck the happiness out of the place, are you?"

He shook his head.

Hermione looked down at her date, who was curled up in a ball. While Hermione had donned a glittering sapphire gown, Rose was still in her usual black dress and cloak. Not Toad, Moon, Reflectesalon, Tutela, Crookshanks, nor Hermione had been able to convince her to move.

"That's probably a good thing," Hermione said. "Since Rose is quite capable of sucking the happiness out of everything all by herself."

She hadn't meant to be snippy with her girlfriend, but Hermione's patience was beginning to wane.

<That was probably unnecessary,> Toad said.

"Right, it was. Sorry."

Rose looked up at her and tried to smile. It didn't come out right, looking more awkward than convincing.

"They don't want me there."

Trevor — who they'd found living inside the Forbidden Forest — croaked.

"Trevor's right," Luna said. "We do."

Hermione looked back at Luna and Neville, then smiled at Rose.

"Besides, you wanted to dance with me at the Yule Ball, and I want to dance with you now. Isn't that what you want?"

Rose nodded, but her heart wasn't into it.

"I want Professor Dumbledore to not be dead."

"If you hadn't killed him," Luna said, "we wouldn't have beaten Slytherin. He helped me find the way to the cavern with the Spektres, and showed me what to do to get Toad's soul out. Without his guidance, Evil Toad would've killed me."

Hermione looked back at Luna. This was news to her. Luna had always danced around the topic of what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets six months ago.

"See?" Hermione said. "I bet he understood the moment he was part of the collective that you hadn't meant to do any of it."

<He knew before that,> Neville said.

Hermione smiled at him, glad for his help. She was also glad to have her and Luna as primary nodes in Rose's telepathic network, allowing Neville to communicate through Luna. It had gotten quite annoying needing to manually go through Luna to talk to Neville.

"See?" Hermione asked, smiling and offering her hand to Rose. "Professor Dumbledore forgave you. Alavel forgave you."

"Mrs. Weasley doesn't like me."

Hermione rolled her eyes. According to Harry, that was something they'd be dealing with that night. Molly was not happy with either of them, and had been taking it out on her family.

"She's still upset with me for dumping Ron. Her approval is only required if you intend to be a part of her family. You don't need to have everyone's approval, Rose. The three people that love you the most are all here, telling you to get up, get ready, and come dance with us."

Rose blinked at her. She stared for a moment, then reached out and took Hermione's hand.

Hermione pulled her to her feet. Rose lifted her hands, then ran them along her dress. As she did, the black dress gave way to sparkling crimson. Her sleeves receded, her cloak shrank into a shawl, and her skirt extended to her ankles. Her boots turned into slippers, and Reflectesalon slid down to her waste.

<You're missing something,> Neville said. <Do you still have the rose I gave you?>

Rose frowned, then pulled her basket off her bracelet. She shoved her entire arm inside, then pulled out a shimmering rosebud.

"That needs to go in your hair," Hermione said, taking it from her and walking around behind her. She ran her hand through Rose's hair until she found her circlet. Then she carefully wove the rose's stem through it.

When she was finished, she put her hands on Rose's shoulders and turned her around. After inspecting her work and adjusting the rose, she stepped back to admire her friend.

"There," she said, smiling. "Perfect."

"If anyone causes trouble," Luna said, "we'll take care of them."

Neville folded his arms and put his hood up to look intimidating. Hermione knew them too well to know they wouldn't try anything.

Luna glanced at Crookshanks and Trevor, who were sitting together in their small clearing.

"Are either of you coming?"

Trevor croaked and hopped back into the trees. Crookshanks curled up and closed his eyes.

"So that's a 'no'?" Hermione asked.

Luna turned back to her and Rose.

"Trevor says he's got to keep the peace movement going now that the Ministry's gone, and Crookshanks wants to go to sleep."

Despite knowing Luna for years, there were still times Hermione wasn't sure if she was being serious. Instead of questioning her, Hermione turned back to Rose and smiled.

"Right. Let's get going."

Luna and Tutela, the former looked about the same apart from doing her hair up, the latter of whom wore a tiara, walked over to them. As a group, they began the walk to Hogwarts.

Ginny felt the butterflies in her stomach as they walked through Hogsmeade. Harry kept her close, protecting her as always. She tensed when they walked near the Shrieking Shack, and she knew he'd felt it.

<I'm fine.>

She smiled at him, if only so she could stare at him again. The one person in the world that had never given up on her, that had never thought of her as only a murderer. The man that had never left her side when she needed him the most.

They climbed into a carriage, and it started off towards Hogwarts.

Like her friends, Ginny didn't show any sign Hermione had spoken. They all knew how her mum would be once Rose was there.

<Are you going to be alright?> Harry asked her.

Ginny smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

Hermione had told them before that Rose wasn't using the magic she'd been using. Most of her spells were gone now. As she was, Hermione and Luna could easily take her.

As a result of that and her latest demeanor, she didn't look the same as she had in the Shrieking Shack.

They arrived at Hogwarts as the other guests walked inside the castle. Ginny spotted several familiar faces among them, but stayed close to Harry before she got swept away in the chaos.

The halls of Hogwarts felt the same. They were a little different here or there, but it was hard to tell there'd been any changes. Candles floated in place, leading them to the Great Hall.

Dripty stood proudly at the entrance and welcomed them inside.

"Dripty has been setting a table aside for his friends."

"Thank you," her mum said, "but we'll all be sitting together."

Dripty frowned and looked to Sally-Anne.

Ginny spotted her family, crowded around a single table. Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Alex, Percy, some woman Ginny didn't know…

"Thank you, Dripty," Sally-Anne said. "Please show us to our table."

Ginny's mum looked at all of them. There was an argument flaring inside her, Ginny could tell.

"We told you we were sitting on our own," Harry said. "Luna and Hermione might be joining us, so we want to have the space."

"We'll come over later and chat," Sally-Anne said. "Promise."

Ginny looked at Harry and Sally-Anne. They were the ones that could stand up to her mum.

When her mum didn't answer, Ginny followed Harry, Sally-Anne, and Ron to an empty table with eight chairs. While they walked, Ginny looked up at the enchanted ceiling. Stars littered the night sky as snowflakes drifted down to the floor below.

House-elves pulled out their seats for them as they gathered around the table.

"I hope you all don't mind," Sally-Anne said. ��I thought a night to ourselves would be nicer."

"Are you kidding?" Ginny asked. "A night without Mum's nagging? I'd love one."

"It is starting to get on my nerves," Sally-Anne said. She glanced over at the table where Ginny's family was sitting. "I'm glad they're alright after Azkaban."

"Reduced Dementors, probably," Ron said. "With a lot of them here, the effects wouldn't have been as bad."

"Do you think that's why she's been like that?" Harry asked.

"I think that's part of it," Sally-Anne said. "She's probably afraid we're going to die. We've all either died or almost died."

Ginny looked down for a moment. Harry took her hand and squeezed it.

<You're better now.>

She smiled at him and nodded. Once again, Harry was the only one that she felt wasn't blaming her.

Oddly enough, that was the reason she wasn't mad at Rose. She understood somewhat how she must've felt. Rose had said before that she wasn't trying to kill Ginny, only scare her. That'd been how Ginny saw her attack on Ron and Harry. She wasn't trying to kill them, she was only angry at them.

Her mum wouldn't understand. All she saw was a woman that had beaten Ginny, and wanted her to stay away so it couldn't happen again. So long as Luna and Hermione were there, Rose wouldn't hurt anyone; she couldn't.

"Speaking of people that have died," Harry said, nodding towards the entrance to the Great Hall. "They're here."

Losha could smell Rose's apprehension as they entered the Great Hall. She smiled and tried to sound reassuring.

"Everything will be fine," she said.

<Remember, we were invited.>

A feeling of confidence came over her, and she stood up straighter. Tutela and Toad were with her; everything would be okay.

A wall of smell hit her when they walked in. She could only see through Toad and Tutela, but even if she couldn't, she felt the eyes on them. Then she smelled their first obstacle.

Mrs. Weasley stormed over to them, glaring straight at Rose.

"You," she hissed. "What are you doing here? Get out of here."

"We were invited, of course," Losha said, stepping between Mrs. Weasley and Rose.

"She wasn't." There was enough venom in her voice to kill a mountain troll. "She isn't welcome here, after what she's done."

"She's my date," Brain said, taking Rose's hand.

Losha smiled when she smelled the relief and love from them. It was a beautiful, calming scent, providing a welcomed balance to the anger from Mrs. Weasley.

"Now if you'll excuse us," Brain said, "we'd like to go sit with our friends."

Toad spotted them sitting at a table with four empty seats. He waved to Skyeyes, who motioned to them and waved back.

Before they could, Mrs. Weasley moved to stop them.

"Don't you go near my children."

Brain stopped and stared at Mrs. Weasley. She met her gaze, contained anger radiating from the pair of them.

"My girlfriend and I are going to sit with our friends," she said. "They're welcoming us, Molly. Perhaps you should too."

Before Mrs. Weasley could respond another voice cut in, bringing an air of authority with it.

"Molly, I'll tell you what I told Septima many years ago," McGonagall said. "If you're going to talk to or about my students that way, I invite you to take it up with me instead."

Mrs. Weasley turned on McGonagall instead, her anger unchanged.

"After what that thing did—"

McGonagall raised her hand to stop Brain or Losha from doing something they'd later regret. Nevertheless, Losha bared her teeth and Brain clenched her fists.

"Ms. Peta-Lorrum might have saved us all. She is here as my guest. She is surrounded by three people each capable of stopping her should she go rogue." McGonagall turned her attention to Rose. "But the point is moot, isn't it, Ms. Peta-Lorrum?"

Rose squeezed Brain's hand.

"It is. I… I just want to be with Brain."

McGonagall turned back to Mrs. Weasley.

"Despite everything she's done, Albus still trusted her. You read that sealed file too. Albus knew what she was up to. I believe she's earned a scrap of trust." She motioned back towards the other Weasleys. "Please. Return to your family."

Mrs. Weasley took another look at them, then started back towards her own table.

McGonagall watched her walk off, then turned back to them.

"I'm happy to see all of you." She looked at Rose. "All of you."

Rose averted her eyes.

"Thank you."

McGonagall waved a dismissive hand.

"You sacrificed yourself to stop others from hurting your friends to get to you. Your… girlfriend was ready to give her life to save everyone else's. Neville did give his life to save hers and Luna's. The three of you are likely the three bravest Gryffindors at Hogwarts."

Rose blushed, and even Toad felt a little embarrassed.

McGonagall smiled when Losha relayed Toad's message.

"Now, I believe your friends are waiting, so I'll only say you all look lovely tonight."

"Thanks, professor," Brain said.

Losha smiled at her as they made their way to the table with their other friends. She caught the calming scent of welcoming and friendship, and felt something she had so rarely felt when growing up: belonging. They took seats, Losha and Brain on either side of Rose.

"Did my mum give you grief?" Cohort asked.

"She called Rose 'that thing'," Brain said, glancing back at her.

"I'm so sorry," Princess said.

"If she hadn't been your mother, I would've punched her."

<It's fine now, though. How are you all?>

The four of them paused and stared at Toad.

"You can hear him too, right?" Cohort asked.

"Rose can explain," Brain said, turning to Rose.

Rose, who'd been staring at the table, looked up. Losha still found it a little odd that she could smell Rose, something she'd never been able to do before.

"I… the telepathic network I made lets anyone on it route other people's messages. So… I put Moon and Brain on it, so Toad can route himself through Moon."

"What a brilliant idea?" Princess said.

"That's a lot easier than talking through Luna," Cohort added. "To answer your question, we're alright."

"Apart from my mum being crazy," Firecracker mumbled.

Losha looked at Firecracker, who was avoiding eye contact with Rose again.

"How are you, Firecracker?" she asked.

"What?" She looked up, confused. "What'd you say, Moon?"

"How are you?"

Firecracker smiled a little.

"I'm alright. Trying to figure out what to do next. Dad's gotten me a few tutors so I can finish up my studies. What about you?"

"I'm the protector of the forest now. Umbridge did a lot of damage to it, so we've got to fix it up and bring it back."

The horrific sight of hundreds of trees destroyed, the Acromantula nest in ruins, littered with carcasses, it all came back and threatened to overwhelm her.

Comfort forced its way inside her, and Toad's soothing voice filled her head.

<We're fixing it. Everything will be alright.>

Losha smiled at him, then looked back at the others just in time for Firecracker to make eye contact with Rose.

"Skyeyes said that… it's sort of normal to beat people where you're from, but—"

"What I did to you was wrong," Rose said. "No matter what happened to me, it was wrong. My old world was harsher than this one. Death was part of everyday life. Terror and fear were always there. But my family knew better than that… mostly." She looked at Brain, then back to Firecracker. "I used to think Shadow was the only person for me because she didn't care if I killed people. That's all I knew. Being here has made me better. I know what you're going through. Feeling like you're invincible, only to be knocked down to size. I…"

"We're all alive," Skyeyes said. "We're all here together. Rose, we know you're not going to do that again."

"Even if you tried," Firecracker added, "Brain would stop you."

"With love and insanity ooze," Brain said, putting her arm around Rose.

"Dumbledore forgave you," Princess said. "Remember that sealed file? He'd worked out a lot of what had happened, right down to knowing we were being used as leverage."

She turned to Cohort, who was glowering at Rose, and nudged him.

"Right?"

He had his arms folded still. The table went quiet, waiting for him to speak.

"I never wanted to put in any effort before I met you. But you didn't give me much of a choice. I'm not going to forgive you, but I'm glad that you, in your own completely unnecessary way, made me a better person."

Losha smiled as the air filled with joy. Before anyone else could say anything, Professor McGonagall's voice rang out through the Great Hall.

"I'd like to thank everyone for joining us to celebrate the reconstruction of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Applause filled the Great Hall.

"Of course, there will be changes. First and foremost, there is no Chamber of Secrets. We checked."

Another round of applause rang out, along with some nervous laughter.

"Second, no Dementors, murderers, or Dolores Umbridges."

No one cheered louder than their table.

"We've also modified the wards, taking suggestions from various sources. Most importantly, like the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts may be found and entered by Muggles who know it's there. On that note, I'd like to welcome Sarah and Wilfred Perks, and Dan and Emma Granger back to Hogwarts."

Toad looked back at their table. Sarah, Wilfred, Brain's parents, Eric, and the Malfoys were sitting around the table. Wilfred stood up and took a bow, making Princess laugh.

"Hogwarts is trialing a new enchantment, developed in part by our own Matthias Rix and Hermione Granger."

As the audience applauded, Rose most enthusiastically of all, Brain stood up and received recognition.

"This enchantment will notify the staff of any student requesting help within the castle or grounds. We expect this to cut down on bullying, troll attacks, basilisks, and homicidal maniacs."

A nervous laugh went over the crowd. Losha was glad the bullying was being taken care of at last. She'd always had Rose or Toad to take care of her, but not everyone did.

"Enough about us," McGonagall said. "I won't take after Albus and intentionally delay food for my own amusement. Let's eat!"

Food appeared on their plates, courtesy of the house-elves. It pleased Losha that nothing appeared on her plate, nor on the plate in front of Toad beside her.

"Are none of you hungry?" Princess asked, eyeing the four empty plates.

"Eating complicates things," Brain said. "We're traveling now." She smiled at Rose. "Just me and Rose."

"Of course we will," Brain said.

"So long as Moon's there," Rose added. "We're visiting her."

Brain stifled a laugh. Even Toad found it a little funny.

<There's a bit of the old Rose.>

"You'd better come by to visit us," Princess said.

"Depends," Brain said, her smile faltering. "Will your mother-in-law be there?"

Princess closed her eyes for a moment, reeking of frustration.

"Don't you start on that too. We've been officially dating for six months, and I've already got his mum planning our wedding." She glanced behind them at the Weasleys. "If we're not careful, they're going to try and coerce us to get engaged by the end of the night."

Toad looked at Ron, who was keeping his eyes on his food.

"Who do you think Mum wants to get married more," Firecracker asked, "me and Skyeyes or you and my brother?"

"I'd appreciate things settling down first," Princess said. "Then we can all talk about it."

"I don't know," Brain said. "Moon and Toad are bound for life. I'm sure we could arrange that."

"Can we please stop talking about this?" Cohort asked.

Brain glanced at Rose for a moment, who was still trying to avoid eye contact.

<You're trying too hard to make her laugh,> Toad said so that only Losha and Brain could hear. <Don't worry about her; she'll be fine once the dancing starts.>

"What about you two?" Princess asked Brain. "Do your parents know you're dating Rose?"

Brain glanced over at her parents' table, then back to Princess. Losha didn't need to know the answer; she could smell it on Brain. Apprehension, fear, stress.

"It's a lot to unpack for them. I'm waiting for them to come to terms with the whole 'Rose is alive' part, then we'll move on from there."

Tutela, who'd been pacing the Great Hall looking for trouble, trotted over to Rose. She rested her head on Rose's lap and closed her eyes.

<Tutela missed you,> Losha said.

Rose said, scratching behind Tutela's ears. <She's a good homunculus. She kept you safe, like she was supposed to.>

Losha and Brain had spent months regaling their tales of walking all over the United Kingdom following Rose's clues. Losha missed it a little; she was glad to have grown so close to Brain. She was a little jealous that Rose and Brain were going off on their own, but she had responsibilities back in the forest. This time, she'd have Toad by her side. No more running away.

Ron was glad when no one else brought up marriage again. With Harry going to teach at Hogwarts alongside Remus (who himself was looking at retiring to spend more time with Tonks), Ginny being accepted by the national Quidditch Team, who were funding her studies, and Sally-Anne looking to work with Lucius and her mum, he'd had enough pressure to figure out what he was doing. Until he figured that out, he didn't want to consider getting married.

His eyes fell on Sally-Anne again. Her dress sparkled in the dim light of the Great Hall, with snowflakes catching delicately in her hair. He'd never seen anyone more beautiful, and the idea of spending the rest of his life with her was one that kept coming back to him. But he wouldn't be any good to her sitting around all day doing nothing.

He'd talked about it with Sally-Anne. He liked that they could talk about anything, no matter how frightened he was of it. She'd suggested applying for the DMLE, or at least talking to Bones about it.

Watching Hermione and Luna, he realized everyone else had their lives sorted out but him. He was only 18; was he supposed to have his life sorted out at 18? Sally-Anne always had everything sorted out. He didn't want to be dead weight the whole time.

<So you know,> she said,

He didn't want to talk about it just then; it'd ruin the night.

<Is it about finding work?> she asked.

Just like it was impossible to detect Harry, it was impossible to keep secrets from Sally-Anne.

<You're a good leader, Ron. We'll talk to Amelia before we go. I'll bet we've got more practical experience than any new recruits she's ever had. You'll be fine.>

She smiled at him, and he knew she was right. Everything would always be fine so long as Sally-Anne was there.

<Thanks.>

<Thanks for sticking up for Rose,> Sally-Anne said.

He looked up at her for a moment. There she was, the woman that had killed plenty of people, sitting with Hermione.

That's not all she's done. She saved our lives one more time.

Ron watched Rose for a moment, then she looked over at him. For once, she held his gaze.

<Thanks for saving Hermione,> he said.

She flashed a small smile that even Harry might have missed, then nodded.

<Thanks for saving both of us,> she said.

He nodded, then they went back to ignoring one another for the remainder of dinner. When they finished, the plates vanished, and McGonagall announced the start of the dancing.

They all stood up and crowded around the dance floor. One by one, members of staff took to the floor in a slow dance.

Ron turned to Sally-Anne.

"May I have this dance, Lady Princess?"

She smiled and took his hand.

"You may, Lord Cohort."

He'd spent years hating that nickname, but it made him smile whenever Sally-Anne said it. One more thing to love about her.

He led her to the dance floor, then took her waste and began to dance.

Nothing else mattered on the dance floor, only that he was there with Sally-Anne. He stared into her eyes, letting himself get lost in her. She smiled at him, reminding him that everything would be alright.

Her eyes flicked behind him for a moment, and she frowned.

<What's going on there?>

Ron and Sally-Anne turned in place, allowing Ron to see Charlie dancing with Alex.

Sally-Anne let out a quick laugh.

<Thank you.> She looked over his shoulder. <How are you doing with Rose being here?>

Ron glanced over at his mum, who still looked annoyed at Rose.

Sally-Anne put on her stern face, telling Ron he hadn't given a good answer.

Sally-Anne smiled at him. It was all the encouragement he needed to lean in and kiss her.

<I'm glad she came to Hogwarts,> Sally-Anne said, pressing her forehead to his.

Ron stared into Sally-Anne's eyes, letting his troubles wash away. She was there with him. That was all that mattered.

Rose sat at the table with Brain, watching people move around the dance floor. After everything she'd done, it felt strange to be back inside Hogwarts. Even the feeling that Slytherin was lurking around wasn't there anymore.

<Why don't you ask Brain to dance?> Reflectesalon asked.

She sank a little in her chair and glanced at Hermione's parents. They were still sitting with Sally-Anne's parents. She didn't want them to see her dancing with Brain. If they did, there was a chance they'd reject them both, and she couldn't do that to Brain.

The first dance ended, and everyone applauded. Rose glanced at the band, then at the exit, hoping they weren't about to start screaming.

Instead, they went into another soft, slow song. When they did, Brain got to her feet and extended her hand.

"I'm not letting you sit and sulk," she said. "If people can't accept us, that's their problem. Even Toad and Moon are dancing, and he's a Spektre."

Rose glanced over at them. There they were, Toad and Moon. She smiled at them, happy they'd found one another. Her death had done that, in part.

"We've all made mistakes, Rose," Brain said. "But I love you anyway."

Rose took Brain's hand and got to her feet. Without letting go of her hand, Rose pulled Brain into a hug.

"Thank you."

"Stop thanking me." Brain stared into her eyes, then led her to the dance floor. "Just dance."

They pushed through the crowd, then Brain slid her arms over Rose's shoulders.

<You do know how to dance, right?> Brain asked, smiling.

They swayed back and forth on the dance floor. She caught Toad and Moon smiling at them, and smiled back.

<I'm glad I ended up here,> Rose said. <I'm glad I met you, Brain.>

Brain leaned in and kissed her. Rose couldn't remember a more perfect moment in her entire life.

<I'm glad you got stuck here too. I'm better for it, and so are you. Never forget that. Your family, your mum and dad, Ozerl, Sk'lar, even Shadow, they'd all be proud of you.>

For a moment, Rose could see them in her head. Sk'lar, mouthing "good choice" as he stood tall beside Carolina, smiling with her kind green eyes. Uncle Ozerl, nodding his approval of her. Shadow, her mask concealing her face and emotions from the world, her presence there the only sign that she was happy. Alice, grinning and giving her a thumbs up, mirroring Bowie, who'd still manage to show more teeth.

Her mum and dad.

"We're proud of you, Rosie," her mum would say.

"You don't have to save the world anymore," her dad would say. "Just live your life."

<You're right,> she said. <And they'd love you as much as I do.>

Brain held her closer, and Rose allowed everything to fade away. She smiled, finally feeling like she could keep going.

Whatever happened next, she and Brain would face it together. It'd taken years, but she was finally keeping her promise to Brain.

Bab 184: A Good Start

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Bab 184: A Good Start

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