And Exhale

The next morning, Hermione descended the stairs to the common room. She was amazed that she had gotten any sleep the previous night. Hermione had spent the entire night, and most of the morning, trying to figure out what she was going to do. She finally felt like she belonged here, but once her parents found out about the troll attack, they'd pull her out of here for sure.

Not to mention that every time Hermione closed her eyes, she saw the troll raising its club, or the snake-dragon unleashing a blast of fire on them. She shuddered. She had nearly died twice. If life at Hogwarts was going to be this dangerous, then maybe she shouldn't stay. She'd have to ask Professor McGonagall about it. It was still so difficult to tell what was normal in the Magical World.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she found Rose sitting in one of the chairs in the common room. The crimson-haired girl had her legs crossed and her arms folded. Her shoulders were hunched, and she had a sour look on her face. Hermione had seen that expression on her little cousin Estelle, who was six and didn't always agree with the phrase "It's time for bed now." Hermione recognized that look; Rose was pouting.

"This is about the thought bottle, isn't it?!" Rose shouted at the ceiling.

"Something wrong?" asked Hermione. For once, she was thankful that she was still sleepy, because had she been awake enough to fully take in the scene before her, she was sure that she'd be rolling on the ground laughing. Here was this girl that slaughtered both a dragon-serpent and a troll the previous night, without breaking a sweat, and she was currently pouting like a child.

"Chapter Bonus has been revoked," Rose grumbled. "Either that, or the chapter still hasn't ended. Considering that we all went to bed after a big incident, I would assume that that chapter has ended, and a new one has begun. However, I did not get any XP."

"I'm sorry, I don't follow," Hermione said. Had it been almost anyone else, Hermione would have thought that she were still asleep. But this was Rose, who rarely made complete sense, if she made any sense at all.

"Up until now, I've been getting a bonus of XP after every chapter," Rose said. "Presumably, this is to counterbalance the lack of encounters in a story-based campaign. However, I did not receive one from the most recent chapter, leading me to believe that the Writer or the DM, although I believe those two to be one and the same, has seen fit to reduce the amount of XP I've been receiving. This is most likely due to the large amount in my reserve at the moment," looking up at the ceiling, she shouted, "which I was planning on using!"

"What's 'XP'?" Hermione asked. Also on her mind was What does Rose mean by Writer? and Why is Rose shouting at the ceiling?, but Hermione figured she'd get to those two later, as she was certain that neither explanation would make sense.

"Experience Points," Rose replied, still glaring at the ceiling. "It's what allows me to use Serendipity, and keep my suite of spells on me during the day."

Hermione paused for a moment. Why did experience allow her to use magic? That didn't make any sense. How did one give up experience in order to use anything? Was Rose giving up her very memories every day?

"How does experience allow you to use magic?" Hermione asked, vocalizing her internal dialog. "That doesn't make any sense!"

Rose unfolded her arms, and looked at Hermione, tilting her head to the side.

"Every adventurer needs XP," she said. "It's what allows them to level up and become stronger!"

"That makes sense, but what doesn't make sense is how you use it to cast spells. Are you seriously giving up memories in order to use them?"

"Oh, no!" Rose replied, smiling. "Nothing that ridiculous! XP doesn't just encompass memories! It's the very essence of an adventurer! It's tied to my memories, in a way, but giving up XP doesn't mean giving up my actual memories."

"Then how do you use it to cast spells?" Hermione asked, getting impatient.

"Some spells and infusions have an XP cost," Rose explained. "In order to use those that do, I have to give up a part of myself. Not memories, exactly, but a sort of essence. I retain my memories, so I remember people, places, and foods, but it slowly wears down my ability to perform certain tasks, such as my infusions. It's like a sort of life force. I don't necessarily become physically or mentally weaker, but I become less able to stab a giant in its face. If I burn too much of my XP, then I'll lose a level, and then I will become physically and mentally weaker, and possibly forget how to do all those kethé things I did."

As Rose explained all of this, other students walked by, but none stayed to listen after they realized that Rose was once again talking nonsense; at least, none other than Sally-Anne.

"So it's like Qi?" she asked.

"No, that's what Monks and Ninjas use for their cool and disappointing tricks, respectively," Rose said. "Their Ki Pool refreshes at the start of the day, if I recall correctly. Not really sure. Carolina would know." Rose paused for a moment, as she tilted her head to the other side. "Anyway, XP is mostly earned by winning encounters, but it's also earned by doing stuff special to your character." Rose looked up for a second, then back at the girls. "I guess it's kinda like Ki, but even more essential."

"So without… XP," Sally-Anne said slowly. "You can't do all those amazing things you did yesterday?"

"Pretty much," Rose said.

"So whenever you cast spells, you're using part of your life force?" Hermione asked. "I wouldn't have thought that that was real, but I guess if magic's real, then anything's possible. So without this bonus, you have to win encounters or be yourself?"

"Bonus?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Chapter Bonus," Rose said. "Pretty much. Shadow always got XP for being paranoid, and Sk'lar for being smart. I get it for having fun!"

"Of course you do," muttered Hermione, knowing that Rose's definition of fun differed from that of everyone else.

"Chapter like in a book?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Yup!"

For a few minutes, neither girl said anything, but instead just stared at Rose. The crimson-haired girl beamed back at them.

"I think I'm just gonna ignore that one as well," Hermione said, exchanging glances with Sally-Anne. "So you'll be fine so long as you…" Hermione's voice trailed off as it dawned on her that everything else that earned Rose her 'XP' fell into a single category. "Break the rules," she deadpanned.

"It's no fun if you think about it like that," Rose said.

"How else am I supposed to think about it?" Hermione asked.

"Now we get to go out and have more adventures together!" Rose exclaimed, grinning.

"I don't want to have adventures!" Hermione exclaimed. "I just want to have a normal… magical… life!" As she said it, it occurred to Hermione just how ridiculous that sounded. "I just want to go to school!"

"Hermione, you're a PC," Rose said. "There is no normal." She turned to Sally-Anne. "Sally-Anne, same thing." Rose grinned, suddenly very excited. "Do you girls want to work on character progressions later?!"

Both girls stared at Rose.

"I'm sorry?" Sally-Anne asked, looking to Hermione, hoping that the older girl would explain. "What's a 'PC'?"

"Player Character," Hermione replied. "Rose has some… strange ideas about reality."

Sally-Anne nodded her understanding.

"Although, I don't know what a 'character progression' is," Hermione continued. "That one's new on me."

Rose took a deep breath, as if she were about to give a long, in-depth explanation. Hermione was pleased when she was cut off before she could begin. Rose was nice enough, but some of the things she said were just ridiculous, and it could be a real chore listening to her.

"Hello, girls," Harry said. "Is it alright if we stop by the Hospital Wing to see Ron? I just want to make sure he's alright."

"Sure!" Rose exclaimed. "I can explain character progressions on the way!"

"Character progressions?" Harry repeated.

Hermione groaned.

As the four Gryffindors began the long walk from the seventh floor to the ground floor, Rose explained the leveling process, classes, feats, and skills to all of them. By the time they reached the Hospital Wing, the other three Gryffindors had completely tuned out the girl. Rose remained completely oblivious to this, and continued talking anyway.

"Thank you all for meeting me at such an early hour," Albus opened the second staff meeting in as many days. "I'm sure that most of you are only here because I promised that there would be coffee, but your presence is appreciated nonetheless."

It was a reduced staff meeting, consisting of his Heads of House, and anyone else that opted to attend. The head count ended up being his four Heads of House, as well as Septima, Aurora, and Quirinius, since no one else particularly wanted to be there that early.

"Who would like to start?" Albus asked them.

"She appears out of the blue," Severus began. "The girl refers to people and places that don't exist, and claims to have crafted her own wand."

"Which is good enough to get Ollivander's approval," Minerva added.

"She is talented at just about everything she does," Filius said.

"She talks with inanimate objects," Pomona added, a little sourly. She didn't like how everyone was being so hostile towards this poor girl, but they did have a point. Besides which, she didn't want to endanger the other students because of this one girl. "Including the castle, plants, and… I believe her cauldron?" She looked to Severus for confirmation on that last one, who nodded. "Yes, her cauldron," Pomona concluded.

"She constantly glares at me as if she expects me to attack her at any moment," Aurora put in.

"Keeps trying to be nice to me," grumbled Severus.

"She has also had-d-d a ps-s-sychotic episode," Quirinius stammered. "And p-p-pos-s-sibly–"

"And possibly killed a troll with a concealed weapon," Septima said. It was too early to wait all day for Quirinius to finish a sentence. Naturally, the tree-hugging, friend-to-all Sprout gave her a dirty look for being "insensitive" to Quirrell's condition.

"On top of everything else," Severus concluded. "She is an Occlumens."

Most of the staff turned to look at Severus in confusion, as most of the staff was unaware of this bit of information.

"Albus, I know you try to give every student a chance," Minerva said, "but I don't think this girl should stay here any longer. Sure she's stable now, but what if that doesn't last? What if she snaps and begins to attack the other students?"

"In her defence," Pomona said, "couldn't we say that about every student?"

"But she's the only one that recently killed a troll," Minerva shot back.

"She's still one of your students, Minerva," Pomona countered. "Not to mention that she killed a troll to save her classmates. And if we want to talk about a 'Threat to the Students', what about Mr. Malfoy, who makes a point to harass other students, including using some unpleasant hexes that his father no doubt taught him."

"That is a good point," Minerva said, turning to glare at Severus. "Severus, why is it that one of your students is allowed to hex my students without consequences?"

"And who told you that he did this?" Severus asked calmly.

"Mses. Peta-Lorrum, Granger, and Perks all verified this story," Albus said. That wasn't entirely true, but Hermione and Sally-Anne certainly hadn't looked confused about that part of Rose's story. "And I believe Pomona is also referring to the cases where several Hufflepuff students claimed that he attacked them."

"Merely rumors floating around intended to harass the son of a well-known political figure," Severus said dismissively.

Minerva, Aurora, Filius, and Pomona all turned to stare at Severus, scepticism clear on each of their faces. Each of them had had Draco Malfoy in their respective classes; each of them knew that he was rude, pretentious, and quite convinced that the rules didn't apply to him. Not unlike his father.

"Regardless, this isn't about Malfoy," Severus said. "This is about Peta-Lorrum."

"Alright, why don't we just get her side of the story, then?" Pomona asked.

"We already have," Aurora said.

"I mean the entire story," Pomona said. "If we hear what she believes to be her story, then there might be some truth to it. Maybe there will be some explanation as to what happened last night, even."

This was why Albus liked Pomona. She stubbornly defended the students, no matter what they had done. Unless they went after one of the Hufflepuffs. In that case, all bets were off. Had the troll found a group of Hufflepuffs instead of a group of Gryffindors, there would have been nothing Albus could have done or said that would have stopped Pomona from literally throwing Quirinius out of the castle. Pomona was like a mother bear like that.

"What about the other students that were with her last night?" Septima asked. "Mses. Granger and Perks sound like normal girls. Why don't we ask them what happened? It may not give us all of the answers we want, but it may give us enough information to discredit Ms. Peta-Lorrum."

Albus wasn't sure if it was a Slytherin thing, but Septima and Severus always seemed to think of the move that the others, and sometimes even Albus himself, had overlooked. Or maybe it was just the analytical nature of the Slytherins' chosen professions. Whatever it was, it was one of the reasons that he had hired Septima.

"Why don't we talk to each of the young ladies individually?" Pomona suggested, pleased that someone else was willing to give the poor orphan a chance. "Then talk to Ms. Peta-Lorrum again?"

"I agree," Albus replied. "We shouldn't act without knowing the entire story. I believe the young ladies have Potions class this morning until lunch, so Minerva, as their head of house, why don't you and I plan to meet with them in here after lunch?"

All eyes turned to Minerva. The Headmaster had already spoken, so they knew that there was nothing further any of them could do.

"Very well," Minerva sighed.

"Alright, it's settled then," Albus concluded. "Good day, everyone."

"Madame Pomfrey, is it alright if we visit with Ron?" Harry asked the Mediwitch when they arrived.

"Only for a few minutes," Madame Pomfrey said sternly. "Your friend still needs his rest."

"Understandable," Rose replied. "He's only level one, if that, so he's not going to heal that many hit points after just one night's rest."

Poppy eyed the girl, then dismissed the comment entirely. Too many strange things were happening today. When she checked the Weasley boy over earlier, he was fine. He had suffered several fractured ribs, and even with her magic, they should still be cracked at the very least. But they weren't. The boy didn't have a scratch on him.

The Gryffindors walked (or in Rose's case, skipped) over to where Ron was resting.

"Salutations!" Rose greeted him.

"How are you feeling?" asked Sally-Anne.

"Better," Ron replied. "A lot better, actually. I woke up this morning, and I felt fine. My sides don't hurt at all; the pain's completely gone."

"Madame Pomfrey must have used some magic on you," Hermione said.

"I guess I just didn't expect to be better so soon."

"You'll be back up and ready for action in no time!" Rose exclaimed.

"I'm just glad I'm not going to miss the Quidditch match tomorrow," Ronald said.

"Really?" Hermione asked. "After everything that happened, you're more worried about a sports match?"

"It's not just a sports match!" Ronald exclaimed. "It's Quidditch! And it's Harry's first match! I want to be there to support him!"

Hermione turned to Harry, then back to Ronald.

"I guess that makes more sense. But still–"

As the two of them continued to talk (pronounced "argue"), Harry and Sally-Anne began to talk amongst themselves.

"Does Ron always talk this much?" asked Sally-Anne.

"Pretty much," Harry replied. "I don't mind so much, since he fills me in on a lot of the Wizarding culture."

"Rose talks a lot, too. And when she's not talking, Hermione usually is. I don't mind either, since I don't talk much."

"That's alright, I guess." Harry glanced over at Madame Pomfrey, who was starting to glare at them. "Hermione, Ron, Madame Pomfrey looks annoyed. I think that we had better get going."

The four Gryffindors bid their friend farewell for the time being, and left the Hospital Wing.

As they left, Hermione glanced over at Rose, who was grinning way too much to not be up to something.

"Rose, I'm sure I'll regret asking, but why are you grinning?" Hermione asked her friend.

Rose continued to grin.

"Wait," Hermione said. "Rose, did you have something to do with Ronald getting better so quickly?"

"Of course not!" Rose exclaimed, grinning. "What reason would I have for stopping by the Hospital Wing during the night to cast heal on Ronald after cleaning up the damage done by the troll?"

Harry and Sally-Anne stared at her.

"Did that seem too specific to you?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Just smile and nod, Harry," Hermione said, as she smiled and nodded at Rose. "Just smile and nod."

Argus Filch approached the section of hallway where the troll had attacked. Or, where he thought the troll had attacked. He was going to clean up the strange dust, but found that someone had already done so. Someone had also already cleared up the wreckage.

He stalked off, muttering under his breath. No one had said that they were going to clean it, so why had they? Had they just decided not to tell him anything anymore? It wouldn't have surprised him. Pompous wizards.

Severus Snape had been the only one to think to check the status of the Package to verify that no one was trying to steal it last night. It would have been the perfect opportunity to go after it.

But what did his quick thinking get him? An injured leg. As a result, he chose to sit at his desk during his class that morning, and glower at the students from afar.

"Professor Snape, are you alright?"

Of course, this drew the attention of Peta-Lorrum. The girl's voice was starting to become physically painful to hear. Like nails on a chalkboard. Was she doing that on purpose? Severus groaned internally. Why couldn't Albus just kick her out already?

"I'm fine, Peta-Lorrum," he growled.

"Are you sure? Usually you're walking around, efficiently and effortlessly striking fear into the hearts of all who enter your classroom. But you're not doing that today. Are you challenging yourself by attempting to terrify us Gryffindors from your desk?"

Severus would probably regret this later, but it seemed like the only way to get her to shut up. He'd tried everything else. The girl didn't seem to care about points; every time Severus took points away, she just kept talking. It was almost as if she were trying to lose points. He didn't dare risk a detention; that would be a nightmare. Any additional homework he gave the girl was on his desk first thing the next morning. Except for once, when it was on his nightstand the following morning.

Severus had to suppress a shudder. He didn't even want to know how the girl knew where his flat was.

"Yes," he said, his face still devoid of all emotion. Perhaps agreeing with her would work. "You got me."

The crimson-haired girl beamed, and returned to her work.

Severus would have breathed a sigh of relief if he believed in exhibiting emotions. It actually worked. It was so easy… too easy. It couldn't possibly be that easy to get that girl to stop talking. Severus glared at her. What was she up to?

"What was the point of that?" whispered Sally-Anne, who was Rose's partner that day. With Ron in the Hospital Wing, Harry was working with Hermione.

"It's hard not to think about something when someone else mentions it. I just hope Ref actually got something this time."

She looked down at the clasp that held her cloak together.

<Ref, you get anything?>

<One word,> Reflectesalon replied. <Dog.>

Rose grinned, and jotted down "SS ∧ Dog" in her notebook. Next to it, she wrote "Fluffy?", and circled it.

At lunch, Professor McGonagall approached the girls at the Gryffindor table.

"Mses. Perks, Granger, and Peta-Lorrum," Professor McGonagall said. "Please come to the Headmaster's office after lunch."

Sally-Anne and Hermione both stopped eating, and stared at her with wide eyes.

"Don't worry," McGonagall reassured them. "None of you are in trouble. We would just like to talk to you about the events of last night."

The three girls silently nodded, and Hermione and Sally-Anne finished eating. After they were through, Professor McGonagall lead them through the castle to a gargoyle.

"Alright, Ms. Granger, we'll start with you," Professor McGonagall said. She turned to the gargoyle. "Sherbet Lemon."

As she spoke the words, the gargoyle moved aside to allow her entry.

Rose watched it, then began to scribble down "Sherbet Lemon" in her notebook. She recognized where they were; they were outside Professor Dumbledore's Office. That meant that that password was connected to the Headmaster. After she was finished, she flipped back a few pages. As she read her notes, she grinned.

"Blubber! Tweak! Oddment! Nitwit!" She looked up as Professor McGonagall and Hermione disappeared into the stairway. She turned to Sally-Anne. "Don't you see?! It was a puzzle!"

Sally-Anne just nodded.

A few minutes later, Hermione came out of the office, accompanied by Professor McGonagall.

"Ms. Perks?"

Sally-Anne rose from her spot on the floor and followed her teacher inside. She climbed a staircase, and after going through a door, came out in Professor Dumbledore's Office.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Perks," Professor Dumbledore greeted her. He offered her a basket with candy in it. "Would you care for a lemon drop?"

"Thank you, Sir," she said quietly, taking one of the candies. "Am… Am I in trouble?"

"Not at all!" Professor Dumbledore replied cheerfully. "I just wanted to talk to you about what happened last night."

"Oh," Sally-Anne said, looking down at the floor. "Well… err…"

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to hear your side of the story," Dumbledore continued. "I've already heard Hermione's and Rose's sides, but there seems to be some conflict between the two. Would you be able to clear it up for me?"

"Well… Hermione and I were on the way to the Hospital Wing to see Rose, then… then Malfoy came and… and he attacked Hermione, and messed up her legs, and he was going to attack me. But then the troll came, and he ran off, l-leaving… leaving us…" Tears formed in Sally-Anne's eyes. "We were going to die."

"It's alright, Sally-Anne," Professor McGonagall said softly. "I give you my word that you're safe now."

"When you're ready," Professor Dumbledore said. "Would you mind telling us what happened next?"

Sally-Anne nodded, and after taking a moment to clear her eyes, she continued.

"Rose found us. I don't know how. She just… just sort of appeared there. I don't know, I had my eyes closed. And then she blinded it with this egg thing, then fixed Hermione's legs, and we ran off."

"Then what happened?" McGonagall asked.

"Then… then we found Harry and Ron, and… and…" Tears returned to the young Gryffindor's eyes. "It was… it was horrible."

"The dragon?" Dumbledore asked.

Sally-Anne looked up at him.

"How did you know?"

"As I said, I've already spoken to your friend Hermione. She told me that you found something that seemed to be a cross between a dragon and a snake."

"Yes, Sir. It… it shot fire at us… and Harry and Ron tried throwing rocks at it so we could run, but there was nowhere to run. It… it attacked them… then Rose…"

Sally-Anne suddenly felt ill. Remembering what Rose had done to that thing… it was enough to make anyone sick.

"It's alright," Dumbledore said. "You don't need to tell us anything else. You may go."

Sally-Anne got up to leave.

"Oh, and Sally-Anne?"

She turned back to face the Headmaster.

"Fifteen points for bravery the likes of which I have rarely seen in someone so young. Well done."

As the young Gryffindor left, Albus turned to Minerva.

"Both girls gave similar accounts," Minerva said. "Both of which conflict with what Ms. Peta-Lorrum told us. She lied to you, Albus."

"As I suspected from the beginning," he said. Minerva eyed him. "She may be an excellent liar, but her friends gave her away immediately. What I don't know is why she lied, and I would very much like to know."

A few minutes after Sally-Anne sat down, Professor McGonagall walked out of the Headmaster's office.

"Mses. Granger and Perks, if you would please follow me, I'll escort you back to Gryffindor Tower." See how confident Lucius Junior is when a teacher is escorting them. "Ms. Peta-Lorrum, the Headmaster would like to talk with you."

"Okay!" Rose turned to her friends. "See ya later!"

Rose skipped up the stairs, and entered the Headmaster's Office.

"Salutations, Professor Dumbledore!"

"Rose, I'm going to be blunt," Dumbledore said after Rose had sat down. "I know you lied to me about what happened last night."

"That's because I don't like talking about dragons, Sir," she replied. "So I made up a story to cover up the dragon so I wouldn't have to talk about it."

"Why don't you like talking about dragons?"

"Dragon killed me once. It hurt a lot."

"I'm sorry, but I must confess that I do not understand," Albus replied. "What do you mean 'killed'?"

"I mean there was a bloody hole in my chest!" Rose half-shouted, jumping out of her chair. "What do you think I mean?!"

Dragons. Touchy subject, Albus noted. "Rose, please calm down."

Rose eased up, and sat back in her chair. "I'm calm."

"Alright," Albus said calmly. "Now, here's what your friends have told me. After Mr. Malfoy attacked Sally-Anne and Hermione, Sally-Anne attempted to carry Hermione, but was unable to do so. Hermione used an object you gave her to contact you, then you appeared in front of them, stopping the troll's club. Neither girl knows how, as both of them had their eyes closed."

Rose raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"If you tell me all of this, what's to stop me from agreeing with you?"

"I'm not asking whether I'm correct. I have already received two accounts of these events that conflicted with your original story. The other two girls gave me accounts that were similar to one another, but not similar enough that they sounded rehearsed, which leads me to believe that their accounts are in fact correct. Not only that, but they are not nearly as good at lying as you are. Therefore, I am not verifying events, I just need you to fill in a few holes."

"Then you should probably skip ahead to the questions."

"How did you kill the troll?"

"Crimson Thorn. Two hits, one to take off its arm, thus disarming it, and a second hit, which dealt lethal damage enhanced by power attack. Using him as a two-handed weapon doubled the damage from power attack, and scoring a critical hit further increased that damage."

"What is Crimson Thorn?"

Rose held out her right hand, and a ruby red rod appeared in it. She pushed a button, and after a second, and a series of clicks, a pair of crimson blades shot out of the rod. She stared back at the Headmaster, then pushed the button again. The weapon folded back up, and vanished.

So it is a sword.

"Why, might I ask, are you carrying a dangerous weapon with you?"

"I made him!" she exclaimed. "I also need to defend myself against anything that might try to do me harm." Growling, she added, "Like dragons."

Very touchy subject, Albus noted.

"Also, if we want to talk about dangerous weapons, what about those wands you've got?"

"But we are teaching students how to properly use their wands."

"I've got Weapon Supremacy with Crimson Thorn."

"I'm sorry?"

"I get a +4 to resist being disarmed, I can use him while grappled, I can apply a +5 bonus to a single attack, I can freaking take 10 on an attack roll once per round, and I get a +1 to AC." The "Scottish" girl grinned. "It's the culmination of the weapon feats."

Albus paused for a moment, attempting to comprehend his student's last statement.

"Alright, then I'll try it this way," Albus said. "The rest of the staff are concerned that you may be a threat to the other students."

"If word got out that I seriously hurt a student," Rose began. "My uncle would lecture me in the most boring tone imaginable for three days straight, my brother's girlfriend would throw me through a window, my sister would beat me upside the head, and my brother would give me his 'I'm very disappointed in you' look, which makes me burst into tears and apologize for anything and everything that pops into my head. So, I have no intention of severely injuring any of the students. Especially not with Crimson Thorn! That would be silly!"

Albus thought for a moment. The girl didn't look to be lying to him, but it was always possible that she was just better at lying than he thought.

"Besides which, Ref would stop me!"

"Your imaginary friend?"

"Yup!" Rose exclaimed. "Oh, speaking of which, Professor, while we're sharing, I have a question for you."

"Go right ahead."

"I've mentioned that Ref can read minds. The strange thing is, he can't read yours. Or Professors Snape's or Quirrell's. How come?"

"It's a practice known as Occlumency. It allows a person to protect their mind from invasion. In fact, Professor Snape is convinced that you are capable of such a feat as well."

"No, that's definitely not a feat," Rose replied. "But I think I've heard that somewhere before." She pulled out her notebook and flipped through it. "Aha! That was the word the Sorting Hat used!"

"So it was unable to read your mind as well?" asked the Headmaster.

"Yup! I had already decided that I wanted to be in Gryffindor, though. I get into too much trouble to be a Hufflepuff."

"I see," Dumbledore said. He decided that the question of how she was doing that could wait. "My turn: How did you contact me last night?"

"Intelligencer!" Rose exclaimed. She pulled out her basket, and from it flew Intelligencer. He flew around Rose, then perched on her shoulder, eyeing the phoenix sitting next to the Headmaster's desk. "He's an expeditious messenger."

"I see," Albus repeated, not seeing. "I'm not sure I'm familiar."

"An expeditious messenger allows the crafter to communicate through it!"

"Now I see. Interesting. And with that, I believe I am finished."

"One more thing, Headmaster," Rose said as she rose from her seat. "How were people supposed to get 'Sherbet Lemon' from 'Nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak'?"

Professor Dumbledore gave her a grandfatherly smile. "It becomes much easier when one knows that I enjoy sweets."

"Oh."

"She stays."

Albus' four heads of house had joined him once again in his office that evening. With the exception of Pomona, they were all shocked to hear this.

"There is certainly more to here than meets the eye, but she is stable, and knows that the consequences for harming anyone are severe. Further, she assures me that she has a system in place to prevent her from harming students."

"With all due respect, Albus," Minerva said, "we all thought Sirius Black was stable."

"I didn't," muttered Severus.

"My point is that sometimes it's impossible to tell."

"I did not say that we would not watch her," Albus said. "If anyone sees something that she does that they believe constitutes a threat to anyone, I am to be notified immediately."

Each professor nodded their agreement in turn.

Great, thought Severus. I'm never going to get rid of her.