The Last Fight

It took a few days before I left the flat again. Cedric had contacted Mr. Blotts and explained that I’d accidentally Splinched myself and wasn't feeling well, but that was only half true. I wasn't well at all, but it had more to do with the fact that Lance had somehow completely unhinged my mind and less to do with skinning my arm. I spent those days curled up on our couch, drinking coffee and reading feverishly to keep myself awake. I feared sleep. Cedric made me sleep after he got a hold of some Dreamless Drought, and that worked the few times I drank it. I didn't dare close my eyes without it.

The day I was due to go back to work, I received a note from Dumbledore. It read:

Jennifer,

I do hope you have recovered and are willing to come up to the school tonight to start patrolling duties. You, Sarlanda, and Nymphadora will be on duty to make sure the students arrive safely.

Of course. It was September first. How could I have forgotten?

Please report promptly at five o'clock to Rosemerta and myself. The shift will end at midnight. We will coordinate other shifts from there.

Best Regards,

Albus Dumbledore

I left the note on the counter and made my billionth cup of coffee that week. Well... at least Lance wouldn't be able to get to me at Hogwarts. Hopefully.

"What's this?"

Cedric had come home and was now examining Dumbledore's note, still in his work robes.

"Note from Dumbledore. Did you tell him about the Splinching?"

"Yes," Cedric said without looking up. "I thought he should know."

"Yeah. That was probably a good call."

"And I didn't want you to re-live it right after it had happened," he added, looking at me with tired eyes. "But, you know, you should probably talk to him about it at some point. He might be able to help you figure out what Lance is doing."

"I know what he's doing," I said irritably, setting my mug down. "He's messing with me. I just need to find out how to stop him."

“That’s what I mean,” he said calmly as I folded and pocketed the note. He walked around behind me and set his hands on my shoulders, massaging them. "Jen, I'm really worried about you."

"Join the party," I said, closing my eyes. Merlin, his hands felt good.

"How can I help you, then?"

"Cedric, I… I dunno. I honestly don’t think there’s much you can do…”

“Anything. Literally. I’ll help you get to sleep, I’ll cook—”

I snorted.

“—okay, I’ll try and cook, I’ll… I’ll walk you home from work—”

“—well, seeing as I can Apparate now…”

“—whatever. You name it, I’ll do it.”

I turned to him and smiled, gulping down a small sob. “Thanks, Cedric.” He grinned back and kissed me without reserve.

I wish I could have just as much faith in myself as he had in me.

-

I left for Hogsmeade at five 'til five. The funny thing about Apparating is that it works a lot better when you're calm. I found myself at the street that wound through the village and started for the Three Broomsticks. Nostalgia washed over me, and I dearly missed both my brother and Hogwarts. With luck, I'd get to see both of them tonight.

The pub was surprisingly empty, though I guess I had never visited it unless I was there on a trip with the rest of the school. A few stray witches were gathered around one table sipping Firewhiskey, and at the bar sat Tonks, Sarlanda and Dumbledore, with Rosemerta behind the counter.

"Ah, Jennifer," Dumbledore said when he noticed me. I slid onto the stool next to Sarlanda. "You look better than I expected,” he continued, his piercing blue gaze looking over my small scars on my arm. I shifted my cloak so that it covered my arm a little better.

"Thanks," I said awkwardly, avoiding his and Sarlanda’s eyes. "What're we up to tonight?"

"Nymphadora will be securing Hogsmeade while you and Sarlanda take the perimeter of the grounds," Dumbledore explained. "They've already been secured by protective charms, but I feel some extra precaution will be needed tonight. We don't want to take any chances when it comes to student safety."

I almost snorted.

"Dawlish, Proudfoot and Savage will be here to relieve you at midnight," he continued. "Rosemerta, make sure they meet here first."

"Will do," she replied, wiping down the counter.

"Well, I must get back up to the school. Filch will more than likely wish to remind me for the seventh time to mention the banned items," he said with a slight chuckle. As he stood, I caught a glimpse of his right hand—it was black, withered, and dead looking. But he shook his robes over it, said, "Good night and good luck," and left. Tonks, Sarlanda and I all exchanged looks before standing ourselves and following him outside.

"Just hope this is a quiet night," Tonks said, smoothing out her cloak around her before walking down the street. Sarlanda and I set off towards the gates to the grounds.

"What's up with Tonks?" I asked once we were out of Tonks’ earshot.

"What?" Sarlanda grunted.

"Her hair. It's brown."

"So?"

"Never mind."

We walked in silence for maybe five minutes until we reached the gates and took up our posts on either side of them. Maybe another minute passed before Sarlanda spoke up.

"So... heard you Splinched yourself."

I flinched.

"You gonna tell me what happened?"

"Nothing much happened. I just Disapparated when I was panicked and Splinched my arm. Lucky Cedric was home."

"That's not all I heard." She looked at me with those cold, calculating grey eyes. Eyes that made me want to squirm. "Cedric said you could hear Lance's voice in your head. That he nearly unhinged your mind."

“That’s not—”

“Lance is a huge threat to the Order. Obviously, if this is happening, then you need to be kept under better protection—”

"Just what are you suggesting?” I asked heatedly, my arms shaking. I had a fleeting thought of pulling my wand out.

"Look, Jen, if he's breaking into your mind, that’s a liability. And if you’re not protected where you’re at, then maybe living with Cedric just isn’t safe anymore."

"Lance attacked me when I was in Diagon Alley,” I snapped back. “How is that Cedric’s fault? Are you suggesting that I quit my job?”

"It's a threat to everyone,” Sarlanda said sharply. “If Lance can get inside your head, think about all he could learn. Lots of other people would be at risk, because let's face it, you know a lot."

I didn't exactly have a response that didn’t sound stupid. "Well, it… it’s not Cedric’s fault. So leave him out of this. Blame me all you want.”

She chose to remain silent, infuriating me. Why was she holding her tongue? When I couldn't stand it any longer, I said, "I'm going to go walk the border."

"I'll let you know if I need you," she responded blankly.

I walked for maybe an hour before I came back and Sarlanda took up her round. I was glad to have the time to myself, to cool off, and not take it personally. After all, she was just looking out for my best interests, right? Hopefully.

It was nearly seven when she came back, and it was freezing cold now. Why it had to be this cold in September, I didn't know. I drew my cloak tighter around my shoulders, wishing that I could make a fire or something, and wondering when the train would get here.

"There's the carriages," Sarlanda said, pointing down the path. I squinted, just able to make out the Thestrals and the carriages they pulled coming towards us. Just when the first one reached us, Sarlanda pointed her wand at the gate and it opened silently. I gripped my wand tight in my frozen fingers, hoping I wouldn't have to use it. While the carriages that passed, I attempted to see inside them for a familiar face, but to no avail. We watched as the students were carried up towards the castle; in the distance, Filch checking their names and faces as they disembarked and entered the glowing - and probably warm - Entrance Hall.

When the last carriage passed through, we closed the gates once more. "It's weird," I said, trying to make conversation again. I couldn't remember the last time we had been this awkward.

"Not being in those things?" Sarlanda asked.

"Yeah."

We waited around the gates for an even longer stretch of time than before. Nearing eight-thirty, Sarlanda left to patrol again. Luckily, it had been fairly quiet so far.

Sarlanda had been gone for a while when I saw two people walking up the path towards me. I gripped my wand tightly. "Bloody hell, of course," I muttered.

But as they came closer, I saw that it was Tonks and... Harry. It was Harry.

"Harry? What's—Harry, what happened?" I asked, panicked when I saw the blood that was covering his cheek and chin.

"Malfoy tried to send me back to London," he said grimly as I hugged him tight. "And broke my nose for good measure."

"But we've got him now," Tonks said. She conjured a Patronus that went flying up to the school.

"Well, we should get you up to the castle," I said, turning to the gate and realizing that I had no idea how to open it, and Sarlanda wasn't anywhere nearby. I hated being out of the loop.

"It's alright, someone's coming down," Tonks said, and we watched a light float down from the Entrance Hall towards the gates. I really hoped that was McGonagall or Hagrid.

But no, it was Snape. "Well, well, well, nice of you to turn up, Potter," he sneered at us through the bars before opening them.

"I meant for Hagrid to get my message," Tonks frowned.

"Incidentally, Hagrid was late for the start of term feast, just like Potter here, so I took it in his stead," Snape said greasily, pulling Harry out of my reach.

"Write me," I muttered to Harry before Snape slammed the gate in our faces. Harry just nodded as Snape led him back up to the castle.

"Well, I'd best get back to Hogsmeade," Tonks said gloomily before turning to leave. She was almost out of sight when Sarlanda turned back up, slightly breathless and pink in the face.

"What was that all about? I saw a light come down from the castle," she said, frowning slightly.

"Your little brother tried to send mine back to London, so Tonks and Snape had to bail him out," I summarized, kicking a rock. "But then again, Harry was probably spying; you know him."

"Yeah, probably."

I checked my watch. We still had almost three hours left before we could go home. "Hey, Ophilia's doing okay, right?"

"Yeah, why?”

“I just… I dunno, I don’t see her very often.”

"You work just down the street from her.

"Mr. Blotts wants me there every day. I expect he’d want me to live with him if he could convince me to. Terrified Death Eaters are going to bust in and take him."

"They could."

"Yeah, but, really... Ollivander, I kind of get. Blotts? It's not like people wouldn’t be able to buy spellbooks if Blotts was gone."

"They killed Flourish," she said darkly.

"Still... isn’t having me there a bit more of an incentive to attack the shop?"

"Depends on what they're after."

"Right."

More silence.

"How's everyone else? I've been really out of contact."

"Yeah, you have been. Lee and Fred have started up a radio station. It's nothing much, but it's good to hear from them. Jared and Colin have been doing really regular patrols in London. Colin even saved these Muggles from a whole pack of Dementors."

Her voice was still very cold. I hunched my shoulders a little bit. Perhaps I had been neglecting my friends just a bit too much.

"Let's see... Sophia and Brittany have been working so hard I have no idea what's going on with them. Same with Stacey. And well, Fred and George are good. Fred's been better since Ophilia's been back." She looked at me pointedly. "You honestly look dead on your feet."

"Gee, thanks."

"No, really. This is worse than last May."

"I can't sleep," I admitted. ‘Not without Dreamless Draught.’

"Cedric's had me bring him Dreamless Draughts. For you, I assume?"

"Yeup. Only way I can sleep."

Sarlanda stared at me, thinking hard again. Then she sighed heavily. "Look, Jen... I'll see what I can come up with for protecting you better. Occlumency would help."

"Yeah, because I'm so good at that," I replied sarcastically.

"It's a method. I'll see what I can dig up on counter-hexes and such. I have a few good Legilimency books if you want to read them."

"Bring them by. I need new books to read; I think I've gone through about twelve in the past few days." I didn’t really see the point, but I guess it could never hurt to try.

"Alright."

There was more silence, and then I said, "I'll walk the border now."

"See you back here in a few."

"Yeup."