The Secret Meeting

Teddy didn't have long to wait to find out what his godfather and his grandmother thought of his brush with the Zero Toleration Policy. Professor Longbottom must have spoken to Harry directly through the fireplace in his office, and Andromeda Tonks had gotten word either from Harry or from the Headmistress herself.

As morning deliveries arrived at breakfast the next day, Teddy smiled for a moment, when he saw his grandmother's owl, and then realized that she had probably heard about what he'd done. Suddenly the prospect of receiving a letter from his grandmother was much less appealing.

Dread turned to horror when he saw what his grandmother had sent. The owl deposited a bright red envelope on his plate. Wisps of smoke began curling out of it. Along the bench on either side of him, his fellow Gryffindors instinctively began scooting away.

“Best open it and get it over with, Lupin!” Nigel Crossing called, from down the Gryffindor table.

“Go ahead, mate,” said Albus, with barely-concealed glee.

Teddy sighed, grabbed the envelope, and tore it open.

The Howler sprang into the air, but while his grandmother's voice echoed loudly enough to be heard at the other houses' tables, it wasn't a scream. Teddy had never heard his grandmother scream. Even when she was angry, she never lost her temper. But he could hear the suppressed fury in her voice.

“THEODORE! REMUS! LUPIN!” she said, almost barking each word. “I AM ASHAMED AND DISAPPOINTED! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D DO SOMETHING SO FOOLISH! WHATEVER WERE YOU THINKING, YOUNG MAN? YOU HAD BETTER STAY ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOR HENCEFORTH, BECAUSE IF YOU GET EXPELLED, YOU WILL BE SORRIER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE! I DO HOPE YOU REMAIN CLOSE TO YOUR COUSIN VIOLET, BECAUSE SHE HAS TEN TIMES THE COMMON SENSE YOU DO, AND YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY IN NEED OF A BABYSITTER!”

The Howler burst into flames, and crumbled to ashes over Teddy's sausage and eggs.

Laughter erupted around the Great Hall, while Teddy withered and died. At least, he wished he could wither and die. Instead, he just sat there forcing himself to look cool and resigned. He had been on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from Andromeda Tonks before, but never one like this. Of course, he'd never done anything to deserve one like this before.

At the Slytherin table, Violet was also maintaining her composure with an effort. Her cheeks burned as she tried to ignore all the giggling and snickering directed at her. Really, did her Great-Aunt have to include her in Teddy's scolding?

“This can only get better,” Teddy thought, as another familiar owl delivered a letter from his godfather. At least this one wasn't a Howler.

Harry's message was less controlled fury and more controlled disappointment.

“Teddy,

Neville told me everything. I also heard from your grandmother, who heard from Professor Llewellyn. Sit still and endure the Howler, because you earned it.

I'm not going to belabor what you already know, which is that I'm very unhappy and disappointed in you. I won't claim that I never did dangerous and foolish things at your age, because you know very well that I did. But your motives are what concern me, so I'm going to tell you something about your father I've never told you before.

Remus was a good and wonderful man. There was nothing he wouldn't do for those he loved. If he had one flaw, it was his unwillingness to take a hard look at himself and his friends. He was loyal to a fault, and he craved approval. At times, his desire to be liked got the better of him, and sometimes he allowed his loyalty to override his conscience.

I hope you see what I'm getting at here, Teddy.

As for Hogwarts' new Zero Toleration Policy, I'm not thrilled about it, but Mair Llewellyn has the right to do what she thinks is best for the school, and I intend to support her. That means you'd better get used to the new policy, and act accordingly.

Finally, you did the right thing by telling Neville about Slipfang. We're investigating now. That means you don't have to! And I'm still debating whether or not to take the Map back. I'd better not hear one more word about your misbehavior.

Love (yes, still),

Harry”

Teddy was silent and lost in thought for a long time after he finished Harry's letter.

Yes, he saw what Harry was getting at. He looked around at his roommates, whose teasing was the reason he'd gotten himself into trouble in the first place, and then he glanced down the table at Chloe. He had been quite the fool, hadn't he?

But that didn't mean Harry was right about everything. So his godfather supported Professor Llewellyn? Well, Harry worked for the Ministry now. He had responsibilities. He had to back authority figures. He was an authority figure.

“Fine,” Teddy thought, rising from the table. He wouldn't tell Harry a word about what he was up to.

By that afternoon, no one had heard anything about the wand-thief, though rumors were all over school. Teddy mustered his courage, and approached Professor Longbottom during Herbology class.

“Professor,” he said, finding Longbottom in the back of the greenhouse, moving some pots containing odd gray cactus-looking plants, while the rest of the class was busy potting Flitterblooms.

“Are you finished with your Flitterbloom, Mr. Lupin?” Longbottom asked. He seemed to be inspecting the gray cacti.

“Um, almost.” Actually, Violet was still packing the dirt around theirs, but she had merely sighed and nodded when Teddy whispered in her ear and left her to talk to Longbottom. “Professor, have you found anything out about Slipfang? Is Professor Llewellyn going to make an announcement?”

Longbottom stopped what he was doing, and stood there a moment, then slowly turned towards Teddy. His expression was perfectly placid, but his tone seemed a little forced.

“That's not your concern, Mr. Lupin. I assure you, the Hogwarts staff and the Auror's Office are not simply sitting around waiting for Slipfang to strike again.”

“But who is Slipfang, Professor? Is it a goblin?”

Longbottom closed his eyes. “We don't know yet. We'll announce something when we can tell students more than a name. Please, leave the investigating to us.” He opened his eyes. “Now get back to your plant, Mr. Lupin.”

“Yes, sir.” Teddy rejoined Violet.

“Did he tell you anything?” Violet asked quietly.

Teddy shook his head. “They don't know anything. Or they're not going to tell us. After all, we're just kids,” he said bitterly.

Violet arched an eyebrow at him. “I'm not sure that resentful and rebellious is an improvement over moody and self-pitying.”

He frowned at her, but his retort was interrupted by Nero.

“Hey, Lupin,” the Slytherin boy said, glancing over his shoulder to check that Professor Longbottom was still out of earshot. “You really know who's been stealing wands?”

“Not exactly,” Teddy said, “but...”

Nero lowered his voice to a whisper. “Are you really trying to get Geoffrey's expulsion overruled?”

“Well...” Teddy said.

“How are you gonna do that? You figure your godfather can pull some strings? Why would he help a Death Eater's kid?”

“Now, wait...” Teddy suddenly realized that many of the other Slytherins, while patting down the soil around their Flitterblooms and straightening their vines, were watching him and Nero.

“Come to our meeting,” Violet said. “Teddy will tell you more then. We'll let you know where and when.”

Nero glanced at Violet, squinted skeptically at Teddy, and then nodded.

“Now what?” Teddy murmured, once Nero had turned his back, and begun arguing with Alfred about whether or not their plant needed more soil.

“Now you and Dewey do what you planned to do,” Violet replied.

“Did you tell the other Slytherins I can bring Montague back?” he demanded.

“Of course not. I told them you wanted to bring Montague back. That's enough to get them to listen to you.”

“And what am I supposed to tell them?”

She looked at Teddy, and held up their potted Flitterbloom, pushing it towards him. She gave him one of her rare smiles as he took it, and said, “You'll think of something.”

Teddy spent the next week talking to Dewey and Kai and Violet about the logistics of their as-yet-unnamed club. When they could meet in the library or an empty classroom, Mercy Burbage sometimes came too, bringing Sung-Hee Moon with her. Teddy noticed that Violet never seemed comfortable around Mercy, though she was always polite to her.

The Room of Requirement was the most obvious meeting place for their club, but Teddy was balking a bit at this.

“Pretty soon, everyone in school will know about it!” he protested.

Mercy pouted a little. She had been excited when the others told her about the Room, and she was eager to actually see it.

“I don't think it's that big a secret,” said Kai. “Cho told me about it, and apparently Slytherins go there to snog.”

Violet rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, as opposed to Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, who just snog out in the hallways.”

“What?” Kai and Teddy both blinked.

“Peter Honeybourne and Hannah Holmes,” said Violet. “I think Professor Longbottom wanted to give them detention, except he was probably just pleased to see a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw kissing instead of hexing each other.”

“That explains the wand alarms this afternoon,” muttered Kai. The Ravenclaws still hadn't let Honeybourne live down the game he'd lost to Hufflepuff. True to Kai's prediction before Christmas, wand alarms had been banned, but a few students were still secreting them on their persons and slipping them on when they had to walk around Hogwarts alone.

“If we're done talking about snogging?” Dewey said, a bit stiffly. Mercy and Sung-Hee both giggled.

“Anyway,” Teddy said, “maybe there are a lot of students who know about the Room of Requirement, and I know Professor Longbottom does, but it's not much of a secret club if everyone knows exactly where we meet.”

“We'll just have to swear people to secrecy, then,” said Dewey.

“We could use a curse, like Hermione Granger did!” said Kai.

Teddy blinked. “Aunt Hermione used a curse?”

“Yeah. My sister's friend Marietta still has scars.”

“None of us know any curses like that,” Teddy pointed out, with a frown.

“And cursing anyone who crosses us isn't what we had in mind,” said Mercy. “Really, I didn't think we were starting some kind of rebellion!”

“We're not,” said Teddy. “We're just asking for more reasonable rules. Professor Llewellyn's policies are unfair, and we have a right to let them know how we feel!”

“Right! Down with the Headmistress!” Kai grinned. Violet glared at him, and his grin faltered. “I'm just kidding!”

“Professor Llewellyn has a very difficult job,” said Violet. “The houses were running amok last year. She had to do something.”

“Whose side are you on?” Teddy demanded. “I thought you agreed that Geoffrey Montague got a raw deal! Not to mention everyone else who's been expelled this week!”

A Gryffindor and a Slytherin student had gotten into a shoving match outside the Great Hall on Monday. Both were expelled. On Tuesday, Douglas McFee, in Hufflepuff, had responded to taunts from Slytherin Quidditch players by drawing his wand and throwing a Fumble-Fingered Jinx at them to make them drop their books. He was expelled. Ms. Pince caught a Ravenclaw trying to sneak a book out of the Restricted Section of the library. It wasn't a book of Dark magic, but he was expelled for theft. One of Stephen White's roommates stuck his wand-hand into Stephen's bookbag, planning to cast some unpleasant spell on its contents, and screamed when a pair of Biting Dentures started chewing on his arm. Stephen got detention for the magical booby-trap, but his roommate got expelled. Eleven students had been expelled in the first week of school, thanks to the Zero Toleration Policy.

“I do agree,” Violet said. “I think the policy is excessive.” She frowned. “But...”

“But what?” Everyone was looking at her now.

“Aside from a few idiots who couldn't control their tempers, no one else is flinging hexes or ambushing people in the hallways. You have to admit... it's been more peaceful.” She shook her head. “I'm not saying I like the Zero Toleration Policy, but if we have to choose between that and being at war...”

“We don't!” Dewey said. “I won't believe that! That's why we're doing this.”

Mercy smiled at him. And Teddy nodded in agreement.

“Right,” Teddy said. He grinned. “But that doesn't mean we can't be a little rebellious too.”

“A little rebelliousness could get us expelled,” said Dewey.

“Then we'd better not get caught.”

Dewey and Kai exchanged looks. Teddy's single-mindedness sounded familiar.

It sounded familiar to Violet as well. “So determined... so lacking in common sense,” she thought.

It was time for the six of them to go to dinner, after which Teddy would have to report for his next evening of detention with Filch. The new, stricter regime made this easier on him in some ways; on any given evening, there might be up to a dozen other students serving detention along with him, which meant there was only so much misery that Filch could pile on any one person. But the last few nights, they'd been cleaning the Owlery and all the pens and stables where Hagrid kept his creatures for his Care of Magical Creatures class. Filch was giving them the dirtiest jobs he could think of, and Teddy always returned to his room tired, filthy, and stinking.

Dewey grabbed Teddy, before they left, and Violet as well. “Hey, there's something I wanted to ask you two.” They turned and looked at him expectantly, while Kai and the Hufflepuff girls paused.

“You know our club isn't just for agitating against the Zero Toleration Policy, right?” Dewey said. “We also wanted to let Muggle-borns from different houses talk to each other. And help some of the other kids who've had a hard time in their houses.”

“Yeah,” Teddy said, not sure he liked where this was going.

“So, I was hoping Violet would get Stephen to come,” he said.

“I think I can,” she said. “Although I suggest you try to keep him separated from Nero and Anthony and Christopher.”

Dewey nodded. That was the easy part. “And...” he said, taking a deep breath. “I think Chloe –”

“Oh, bollocks to that!” said Teddy.

“Teddy...” Dewey pleaded, but Teddy was already indignant and outraged.

“She can find her own bloody friends! She's good at that! If she's got problems adjusting it's her own fault! You were worried about secrecy, well, she'd probably sell us out to get out of one night of detention!”

“Teddy, most of those Slytherins you want to invite have been just as nasty as Chloe – sorry, Violet,” Dewey added. Violet frowned a little, but said nothing. “She gets on well with Edgar, and personally, I think you hate her mostly because she made a right fool out of you!”

Teddy looked even more indignant. “It's not what she did to me, it's –” Then he paused, and said, “I don't hate her.”

Dewey looked at Violet. “I know you've got more reason than Teddy to dislike her, but if we're really going to try to reach out to other houses, even to kids who've been enemies in the past...”

Violet wasn't looking at either of them. She was wearing her usual frown, the one that meant she was mulling something over and not inclined to share her thoughts.

“She hasn't even apologized!” Teddy said. “Not to Violet, anyway.”

“What if she does?” asked Mercy softly.

Teddy and Violet both turned towards her, along with Dewey.

“Can't you extend her a little bit of forgiveness?” Mercy asked, looking from Teddy to Violet.

Teddy looked at Violet, who looked uneasy again, and could not meet Mercy's eyes. Finally, Violet shrugged.

“It's up to Teddy,” she said. “She's in his house. If he wants to bring her, I won't be fussed about it.”

Teddy studied his cousin. “Are you sure? Do you want her there?”

Violet shrugged again.

Teddy frowned, and looked back at Dewey and Mercy.

“I'll think about it,” he said. “But I'm only bringing her if she promises to apologize to Violet.”

Violet glanced at him, and shook her head, though for a moment, there was a trace of a smile on her lips. Then she glanced at Mercy again, and once more became fidgety. “I'm hungry,” she said. “Best we get to dinner.”

Everyone nodded, and they proceeded down to the Great Hall and their respective tables.

Because of Teddy's detention, the only viable meeting time was between the end of classes and dinner. They settled on the third Friday in January, one week before the Ravenclaw-Slytherin game, for their first meeting.

What Violet had said was true; Hogwarts was more peaceful, inasmuch as students were not fighting or hexing each other in the hallways. Madame Pomfrey had only the usual cases of magical maladies and botched charms and transfigurations to deal with. But morale was no better. Everyone lived in fear of being expelled, and even some of the teachers were reluctant to enforce the new policies. Some professors deliberately looked the other way, rather than be forced to send someone to the Headmistress for a minor jinx.

No one spoke to the student body about Slipfang, either.

Teddy, Dewey, Kai, and Violet had each taken responsibility for selecting members of their own houses to recruit for the first meeting, swearing each one to secrecy. Privately, Violet thought any pretense of secrecy was probably gone by the time over a dozen first-years from all four houses knew about the meeting, but she dutifully told the Slytherin boys to keep their mouths shut about it. They promised they would, but Violet was completely unsurprised when Nagaeena accosted her that evening, flanked by Decima and Bernice, and demanded, “Why haven't you invited us to this secret club of yours?”

“I didn't think you'd be interested,” Violet replied. “And it was supposed to be secret,” she thought.

Nagaeena looked offended. “Well, of course we are!”

Violet sighed. “It's going to be first-years from all four houses. And you have to be civil to them. Even Ravenclaws.”

Nagaeena frowned. “Is your cousin going to be there?”

“Yes,” Violet replied warily.

Nagaeena smiled. “What about that nasty little minx from Gryffindor?”

Violet frowned. “She might be there too.”

“Well,” Nagaeena said. “This sounds very interesting.”

“Really?” snorted Bernice. “Stupid boys and annoying girls from other houses.”

“That didn't work out well last time, did it?” Decima mumbled.

Bernice nodded. “Could be us who gets ambushed this time. What's interesting about that?”

Violet gave Bernice an unblinking stare, and the other girl was the first to look away.

“There will be ice cream,” Violet said, very seriously.

Dewey invited all of his roommates. Edgar was immediately enthusiastic about the idea, as Dewey thought he would be. Simon wasn't immediately enthused, but Dewey persisted.

“You and Edgar can talk to other Muggle-borns,” said Dewey.

“There are other Muggle-borns in Hufflepuff,” said Simon. “Like Irene Baker.”

“Well, do you talk to her?” Dewey asked.

“No,” Simon admitted.

Dewey didn't find that surprising. Irene Baker was a pretty girl in the fourth year, and her boyfriend was one of the Beaters on the Hufflepuff team.

“I think you'll get on well with the others,” Dewey said. “I mean, when you think about it, you didn't come here already expecting you were supposed to be friends with some houses and enemies with others. So just keep an open mind.”

Simon finally agreed to come, albeit a bit reluctantly. Dewey thought twice about inviting Alduin, but decided to anyway. Alduin, however, proved even less enthusiastic about the idea than Simon.

“Is that pint-sized Ravenclaw with the oversized glasses going to be there?” he demanded.

“You know his name perfectly well, mate,” said Dewey, annoyed. “Yes, Kai is going to be there.”

“Forget it.”

“You really do owe him an apology for accusing him of stealing your wand, you know.”

“Well, there's a good reason for me to go. Socialize with misfits, and give Chang a chance to publicly humiliate me.”

Dewey failed to persuade Alduin, and was only able to wring a promise from him not to say anything to anyone else. He felt quite frustrated after talking to his pureblood roommate. In his opinion, Alduin Beauxjour was obviously one of the Sorting Hat's “missortings.” He could easily see the proud and arrogant boy being happier in any other house but Hufflepuff. But Alduin didn't seem to see any problem with being in Hufflepuff, and he didn't see any point in talking to first-years in other houses.

Kai fancied himself much more mindful about the need for secrecy, so he discreetly talked to each one of his roommates individually.

Gilbert wanted to know if Nagaeena was going to be there.

Kai didn't actually think she was, but he hedged. “A lot of Slytherins will be, I reckon.” But then he couldn't help adding, “She really doesn't fancy you, you know.”

Gilbert frowned. “I'm not stupid!”

“Well, then why do you keep after her?”

“Persistence worked for Lupin, didn't it?” Gilbert said.

Kai couldn't hide his reaction. He laughed, sputtered, and then just shook his head. “Right,” he finally managed to say. “Try letting the Slytherins work you over for a week and then see if she fancies you!”

Gilbert frowned at him, and turned and stalked off.

“So you're coming, right?” Kai called after him. And then muttered to himself, “He's just not right in the head.” But then, hadn't he and Dewey said pretty much the same thing about Teddy?

Connor's response was predictable. “I'll come if Colleen wants to.”

“And she'll come if you want to. So of course you'll both come,” Kai said firmly, noting to himself to make sure that Teddy said the same thing to Colleen.

He'd thought Rodney would be interested. The melancholy boy had something in common with a lot of Slytherins, after all.

Rodney thought so too, which was why he vehemently refused. “Whatever made you think I'd want to talk about my father with Slytherins?” he demanded angrily.

“Well, they'd understand, I reckon,” Kai said.

“Are you stupid?” Rodney snapped at him. Kai was taken aback. He'd never seen Rodney lose his temper before.

“There's no stain worse than being from a Death Eater family!” Rodney went on. “You really think they're going to want to talk about it with someone from another house? Or that I'd want to talk about it with them? I shouldn't even have told you!”

“But...” Kai said, but Rodney refused to hear any more.

“Two out of three isn't so bad,” Kai thought. He had a vague sense that Teddy or Dewey or Mercy, or maybe even Violet, might have handled Rodney better, but his awareness of his own blind spots was never better than vague. For example, it didn't even occur to him to invite any of the Ravenclaw girls, whom he hardly knew, until Deana Forte approached him.

“Are you and Teddy Lupin really holding a secret meeting to talk about the wand-thief?” she asked him.

Caught off-guard, Kai was a bit peeved. “Well, it can't be much of a secret if you found out about it!”

She frowned at him. “Gilbert told me. I think it's a good idea. If you let me come, I promise I won't tell anyone. Except Aisha. She wants to come too.”

“Right.” Kai wondered if there was anyone in school who didn't know about their “secret meeting” by now. “Just you and Aisha, then.”

Teddy also had mixed results with his roommates.

“An ice cream social, with Slytherins?” Albus asked, in disbelief. “Look, Lupin, I know you fancy your cousin –”

“I don't fancy her!” Teddy snapped. “Not like that. Anyway, it's not just because I know some Slytherins who are nice. You might realize some of them are nice too, if you'd give them a chance.”

“You sound like a Hufflepuff. Was this Parkinson's idea, or Diggory's?”

“Well, Dewey's,” Teddy admitted, “but it's not just for socialization. We also want to talk about the wand thefts, and what the professors aren't telling everyone, and also about the Zero Toleration Policy, and how it's unfair!”

“You mean, you know more than what you admitted?” Alfred asked. He glowered at Teddy. “And you didn't tell Professor Longbottom?”

“I did tell Professor Longbottom!” said Teddy. “And I'll tell you too, if you come.”

“What do you mean the Zero Toleration Policy is unfair?” asked Colin. “It's strict, all right, but it seems perfectly fair to me.”

“You think students being expelled for a shove, or sneaking a peak at books they shouldn't, or having family photographs, is fair?” Teddy demanded.

“Family photographs? You talking about that snake Montague?” Alfred and Albus both looked at Teddy, shocked.

“Well, yeah. Not just him.”

“After all the crap he pulled, you should be glad that sorry Dark-worshipper got expelled!” Albus snorted.

“Well, I'm not!” Teddy snapped. “And what makes you think he practices Dark Arts?”

“You've lost your mind, Lupin,” said Albus. “Is it that time of the month?”

It took Colin, Alfred, and a rather ineffectual Edan, clinging to one leg, to hold Teddy back. “Get out of here, Albus!” yelled Colin, as he wrapped an arm around Teddy's neck and tried to pin one flailing arm. Albus scowled, but reluctantly left the room. Teddy finally calmed down after the other three boys had to practically sit on him.

“All right, I know that was a cheap shot,” panted Colin, “but it's not worth getting expelled over! Especially going after a fellow Gryffindor.”

“I wish you'd all remember I'm a fellow Gryffindor!” Teddy snarled, still feeling agitated and spoiling for a fight. “If I hear one more werewolf crack...” He glared at his three remaining roommates.

They at least had the decency to look guilty.

“Sorry, Teddy,” said Edan.

“But seriously, trying to help Slytherins?” asked Alfred.

“You sure this isn't because you almost got expelled yourself?” asked Colin.

“It's because I wasn't expelled,” said Teddy, and they all looked confused at that.

“Will you at least think about it?” Teddy asked, and they all nodded, with wary expressions.

But he'd rather have taken on all four of his roommates at once than have a conversation with Chloe. He had barely acknowledged her since October, though he had to see her every day, and he knew she kept looking at him with sad, hurt eyes. She didn't have many friends in Gryffindor, now. Even Roger Drocker and the other boys who had ambushed Violet with her help considered her a silly little girl who was beneath their notice.

She jumped when Teddy approached her before breakfast and said, “Chloe.” Then she turned, with an anxious expression.

“Don't look at me like that,” he grumbled. “I'm not going to hit you.”

“I know that.” She straightened up, and frowned slightly.

“What you did was horrible,” he said. “It was mean and hurtful, and you did it just out of spite.”

“Is that all you wanted to say?” she asked, looking down.

“We're going to have a... party, kind of. Not like the last party,” he added darkly. “But there will be kids from all the houses there, including Violet.”

Chloe looked at him uncertainly, but there was a hint of hopefulness in her eyes that made his stomach flutter again. He felt a familiar nervousness, with those bright green eyes focused on him, and he reminded himself what a cunning, manipulative brat she was.

“You're invited,” he said. “On one condition. You have to apologize to Violet.”

Her face froze, and for a moment, her gaze hardened.

“Is this all to punish me, then?” she asked quietly.

“No, it's not to punish you!” Teddy snapped in exasperation. “Some things are actually not about you, you know!” And he felt guilty when she flinched at his words.

He sighed. “It's to talk about a lot of things, and try to bury grudges, and prove that we really can get along. But for you, it's about doing the right thing, what you ought to have done months ago.”

She looked back up at him, blinking back tears. He wasn't sure if they were tears of remorse, or self-pity. Or maybe just calculated tears to make him feel sorry for her, which was what they were doing.

“What if – what if she won't forgive me?” Chloe whispered. “What if she wants revenge?”

“Then take it like a Gryffindor,” Teddy said, as coldly as he could manage. “Look, come or don't. It's up to you.” And he walked away.

By the third Friday in January, Teddy was sure that practically every first-year in school knew about his “secret” meeting, and probably lots of older students as well. He just hoped no one had gone running to the professors.

He and Kai waited outside in the seventh floor corridor, while Dewey, Violet, Mercy, and Sung-Hee went about arranging refreshments inside the Room of Requirement. Teddy knew the Room would accommodate itself to the needs of those who entered it, but it had still been a little surprising to find it much larger this afternoon, exactly the right size for a gathering of twenty or so, and with a dozen small tables and chairs, all set with bowls and spoons.

The room couldn't provide food, though. Teddy had been delighted when the Hufflepuffs arrived bearing large buckets of ice cream, jars of dessert toppings, and pitchers of butterbeer and fruit punch and pumpkin juice.

“The house-elves will make anything for you, if you ask nicely,” Mercy said.

From what Aunt Hermione had told him, you didn't even have to ask nicely, but Teddy decided he'd have to make sure to find a way to thank the house-elves.

Inside, Dewey was trying to arrange tables and chairs so as to make it inconvenient for everyone in each house to sit together, which he knew would be their natural tendency.

“You and I and Sung-Hee should sit at separate tables,” he said to Mercy. Sung-Hee looked a little nervous at that. “You want to make friends outside of Hufflepuff, don't you?” he asked her.

“Yes?” Sung-Hee replied.

Violet was quietly arranging the jars of candy sprinkles, nuts, chocolate sauce, butterscotch, marmalade, and other toppings next to the buckets of ice cream. Mercy drifted over to her and asked quietly, “Is everything all right?”

Violet started, and stared at Mercy in surprise.

“Of course. Why?” she asked nervously.

Mercy smiled gently. “You're always nervous around me.”

“No, I'm not,” Violet said nervously.

Mercy looked down. “I don't hold it against you, you know.”

Violet started to protest that she didn't know what Mercy was talking about, but she couldn't. She fell silent.

“Dewey probably told you I was named in honor of my aunt Charity.”

Violet nodded slowly.

“You don't need my forgiveness, you know. You had nothing to do with her death.”

Violet nodded again. “I know,” she said, very quietly.

There were many details Violet didn't know about what had happened during the Voldemort years. One of the details she did know was that Charity Burbage was murdered by Voldemort in Malfoy Manor. This was public knowledge; the reformed Ministry of Magic had formed a commission to investigate all deaths that occurred during Voldemort's reign, to give as full an accounting as possible. Some bodies had never been found, and there were people missing to this day. Some families would never know how or where or when their loved ones died. But although Charity Burbage's body had never been recovered, the Malfoys had testified to witnessing her murder, in their home.

Mercy's face was so kind that Violet had to look away again.

“Then why do you look like you feel guilty?” Mercy asked softly.

...

“So I won't be visiting Father next week?” a younger Violet asked, already knowing the answer.

“No!” snapped Pansy Parkinson. Violet's parents had had another argument, ending with Pansy throwing an entire tin of Floo Powder into the fireplace, making her father's face vanish in an explosion of magical flames and fumes. Pansy threw herself onto the sofa, looking angry and bitter, and poured herself another glass of wine. “No, I don't think you need to spend time with a man like your father!”

Violet frowned. Her lower lip trembled slightly. “But I want to!” she whined. She was barely seven.

“Come here, Violet,” Pansy said, “and let me tell you something about your father.” She patted the sofa by her side. Violet slid quietly up to her mother and sat down next to her, and Pansy put an arm around her little girl. Violet didn't like it when her mother drank, but she wasn't afraid of being hit; Pansy had never been violent with her. But she knew when her mother was already angry at her father, drinking just made her even more spiteful. And when she leaned over and put her lips to her daughter's ear now, her words were dripping with venom.

“He's a bloody murderer!” Pansy whispered.

Violet's eyes widened. She shook her head. “No he's not! He said –”

“He said he never killed anyone. Of course he said that! What would you expect him to say? He'd have gone to Azkaban otherwise!” Pansy idly brushed Violet's hair with her fingers, trying to make it part more like her own. “But sitting there watching someone die and doing nothing about it, that makes you just as guilty, doesn't it?”

Violet didn't know how to answer that, and she wished her mother would just stop talking about her father. But she didn't. Pansy took another drink from her glass, and went on.

“Your father certainly thinks so. All that fall and winter, before you were born, what do you think he moaned about in his sleep? What did he have nightmares about? And who was the bloody, innocent fool who was there to comfort him when he woke up blubbering about Miss Burbage? Oh, he was so sorry!” Pansy sneered mockingly. “We all knew Miss Burbage from school – silly, harmless woman – and he just sat there and watched the Dark Lord feed that poor Muggle-loving idiot to his bloody snake!”

The images that brought to mind gave Violet nightmares for weeks, but unlike her father, she never cried in her sleep, and didn't seek comfort from Pansy when she awoke. She was still too young to fully understand any of this, though even then, she had heard enough about Voldemort to think that if he was killing someone, her father probably couldn't have done much to prevent it.

Pansy looked at Violet. “Your father, and your grandparents, watched her die, right there in their home! The very home he wants you to come visit!”

She misunderstood Violet's wide-eyed, horrified look, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Don't worry, darling, you won't have to go back there again if I can help it! It's just fortunate for him I kept my word. Never told a soul. I doubt he'll ever have the guts to tell the Burbages all the details.”

She drank the rest of her wine, and then gave Violet a squeeze. “I've only ever told you, Violet, dear. Draco can't say I haven't kept his secrets in the family.”

...

“I don't,” Violet answered Mercy. She looked away again.

Mercy studied her, and then suddenly put her arms around Violet and gave her a hug.

Sung-Hee paused in what she was doing, and Dewey's eyebrows went up. Violet was very grateful no one else was in the room.

“Then stop being nervous around me,” Mercy whispered to Violet. “Whatever you feel guilty for, I forgive you, if that helps. So does my family. We don't hate your family.”

“You don't even know what my family might have done,” Violet said.

“I don't care. We forgive you anyway.”

It must be very strange, being a Hufflepuff, Violet thought.

As students began trickling up to the seventh floor, Teddy kept checking the Marauder's Map. The Headmistress was still in her office, all the other professors were likewise either in their offices or their private quarters, and Filch was, for the moment, prowling about near the base of the Astronomy Tower, as a crowd of older students seemed to be engaged in something at the top of the tower. Teddy and Kai repeatedly opened the door to the Room of Requirement, letting the arriving first-years in, one by one or in pairs or threes.

Of Teddy's roommates, only Edan and Alfred showed up. Teddy hadn't expected or wanted to see Albus, but he was a little disappointed that Colin declined to come. Chloe arrived, with Colleen and Connor McCormack. She looked at Teddy uneasily, and seemed to brace herself before she entered the Room. Deana Forte and Aisha Allouzi arrived after them. Teddy returned Deana's smile, which made her brighten even more. Confused, he turned away and waited for the next arrivals. Gilbert Zirkle and Stephen White both came alone, and so were walking down the corridor more or less together, and Kai admitted them both into the Room at once. Finally, the rest of the Slytherins arrived, boys and girls together, all looking wary and ready for something to happen, so close to Gryffindor Tower.

Hello!” Teddy said cheerfully. They all looked at him suspiciously. Teddy looked over his shoulder, and nodded to Kai, who walked three times in front of the wall, and grinned as he always did when those who hadn't seen the door appear before gasped.

Intrigued now, the Slytherin boys filed past Teddy and Kai and into the room, followed by the girls.

“I do hope this party will turn out better than the last one, Teddy,” Nagaeena purred. She was wearing a green and silver headscarf, complimenting the sari she'd donned before coming upstairs.

“Um, me too,” Teddy replied. He wasn't sure what to make of Nagaeena; she made him nervous. She smiled at him, and preceded Decima and Bernice into the Room.

“She's dressed to impress,” Kai commented wryly, watching Nagaeena and her friends go.

“Who's she trying to impress?” Teddy asked. He thought Nagaeena's sari was pretty, but it was awfully formal. Ignoring Kai, he looked at the map, and saw that none of the other first-years seemed to be coming.

“Mischief managed,” he said, before putting the blank map back in his pocket. “Let's go.” And he and Kai entered the Room of Requirement.

Teddy was feeling anxious. He'd counted four Gryffindors, four Hufflepuffs, four Ravenclaws, and eight Slytherins. With Dewey, Kai, Violet, and himself included, that was twenty-four first-years! And everyone was waiting to hear him speak.

Except when he entered the Room, no one noticed, because everyone was standing in a circle, and their attention was on Violet and Chloe in the center.