𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗔𝗟

ACT TWO, CHAPTER TEN
the beginning of the end.

THE SLYTHERIN COMMON room was cold.

For the past five years, the dark room under the lake had brought nothing but comfort. But as Penelope trudged through it after she was transported back to Hogwarts — where she had landed in Dumbledore's office after hearing Nymphadora went to St. Mungo's and that an unconscious Ron was being transported moved to Hogwarts, ignoring how he wanted her to go to the hospital wing — she suddenly realized how much it compared to the Department of Mysteries. Maybe it didn't have weird fucking brains that tried to attack boyfriends or a strange veil that absorbed people like they were nothing, but it was definitely dark and cold.

Penelope's body ached and trembled as she walked across it. Nobody was in there, thank Merlin — it was early, and most of them were probably still sleeping. Her head throbbed, her knuckles were sore from being bruised, and she could still vaguely taste the blood in her mouth. But that was just the physical things. Those could all be fixed. But the mental things, however . . .

Flying on a Thestral. Seeing her mother for the first time. Ron being attacked by a brain and basically almost suffocating. Bellatrix torturing her. Sirius dying. Using the Cruciatus Curse for the first time to torture her mother back. Voldemort suddenly showing up. The fight between him and Dumbledore.

Everything just made her . . . dizzy. Not in the good way like Ron Weasley did. It was too the point where she even stumbled going up the stairs because her mind was going at a million miles an hour. She rubbed her eyes as she walked down the corridor towards her dormitory. Maybe she should have gone to the hospital wing, but all she wanted to do right now was take a shower and maybe drown herself in her thoughts.

Because all Penelope wished to do right now was disappear.

She finally made it to her door. There was a small ray of light shining from under the door — clearly artificial, which told Penelope it wasn't the sun rising. Her eyebrows knit in confusion. None of the girls were early risers. Nevertheless, Penelope took a deep breath and turned the doorknob, opening the door.

"Oh, you've got some fucking nerve," Pansy's voice immediately said

Penelope stopped in her tracks. Pansy was standing in front of her with her arms crossed, a murderous expression on her face. Millicent was standing off to the side, yawning slightly. Tracey and Daphne were sitting on their respective beds, concerned looks on their faces.

"You, Penelope Lestrange, are the biggest bitch I have ever met," Pansy continued. "What happened in Umbridge's office was—"

"I don't want to deal with this right now, Pansy," Penelope interrupted, brushing past Pansy to go to her own bed.

"Well, we are. You punched me—"

Penelope whirled around, her eyes shining with tears again. "Oh yeah? I punched you? Did it hurt? Because I can tell you it did not hurt as bad as the Cruciatus Curse."

Pansy froze. "What?"

"My mother used it on me," Penelope admitted, her voice a whisper. "And I can tell you it hurts a hell of a lot more than a punch."

"Your mother?" Daphne repeated incredulously. "Penelope, where did you go? Pansy told us that Umbridge disappeared in the Forbidden Forest with Potter, Granger, and Black, and then about the fight in Umbridge's office . . ."

"The Ministry of Magic," Penelope let out, slumping onto her bed. "I don't really want to talk about it. A lot of shit happened. Um . . . I have to go see Ron in a little bit, anyways."

Nobody, not even Pansy, pushed her. They could all see from the way she kept averting her gaze and how her hands were trembling that this had deeply shaken her. None of them had ever seen her like this. It was enough to tell them that what happened at the Ministry was making her freak the fuck out. Pansy let the dormitory in silence, Millicent trailing behind her after sending a very concerned glance to Penelope. Daphne squeezed Penelope's shoulder comfortingly before leaving, and then it was just Penelope and Tracey.

"Hey," Tracey called, using her hand to pick up Penelope's chin so that she was looking at her. "You're strong, Penny. Stronger than you think you are."

"I'm turning into her," Penelope admitted quietly. "Bellatrix's a big fan of the Cruciatus Curse. Tonight . . . I wasn't thinking, and I—" she tried to swallow the lump in her throat "—I used it on her. And you know what she said? Like mother, like daughter. Trace, I've always been afraid of being like her, and it's happening . . ."

"No, it's not," Tracey stated firmly. "Never in your life will you turn into your mother. You fight on the right side of things rather than the wrong. And you don't owe anyone an explanation of what went down tonight. However long it takes . . . I'll be ready to listen. So will Daph, probably."

Penelope wanted to smile at her, but she couldn't muster one. "Thank you."

"What are best friends for?"

With that comment hanging in the air, Tracey left the dormitory, sensing that all Penelope wanted to do was be left alone for a while before going to see Ron. Penelope sat there in silence on her bed for a couple moments before ultimately deciding that she wanted a shower. She grabbed a change of clothes from her trunk and walked into the bathroom. The hot water of her shower calmed her headache, but not much. Penelope scrubbed at her skin, washing off the dirt of the Department of Mysteries, but no matter how hard she scrubbed, she couldn't get rid of how disgusted she felt about her own self.

Once she was finished, she brushed her hair and got dressed for the day. She stuck her wand into the waistband of her skirt before descending down the steps into the common room. The lake was a little brighter than it had been earlier, telling Penelope the sun was most definitely rising now. She exited the common room and slowly climbed the stairs up to the entrance hall.

Only a couple people were inside the Great Hall, obviously for an early morning breakfast. Penelope ignored them and walked in the direction of the hospital wing, where she knew the rest of them were waiting. It was a nice walk through the castle — a slight early morning chill, a sunrise, a chorus of birds chirping. Even that wasn't enough to lift her spirits.

Finally, after a while, she entered the hospital wing. Ginny seemed to be doing the best out of all of them — her ankle looked as good as new. Neville as well — his nose was back to its original size and shape. Hermione was laying in bed, her eyes shut. Charlotte and Elijah were engaging in a quiet conversation from their beds next to each other. They seemed fine as well — just a couple of bruises and scratches. Luna was staring dreamily up at the ceiling, her eyes full of stars. Venus and Harry were also talking quietly next to each other, their hands intertwined as Venus sat upright in bed. And finally, Penelope's gaze landed on the person she wanted to see — Ron.

She approached his bed. Instantly, she frowned and felt a lump form in her throat once more upon noticing his arms. Where the brain's tentacles had wrapped around him, deep welts and red patches were staining his skin. He was awake, and his blue eyes trailed over to her as she sat down on the edge of his bed. Ron reached out his hand and laced their fingers together once she did so.

"Hey," Penelope greeted. "You feeling all right?"

Ron shrugged. "'M fine. Madam Pomfrey said thoughts could leave deeper scarring than almost anything else . . . they'll never go away, but . . ." He then stared up at her. "But bloody hell, I should be asking if you're okay. P, the Cruciatus Curse—"

"I'm okay," Penelope reassured him. She then noticed the disbelieving look on his face. "More psychological damage than physical." Penelope looked down, her gaze on their interlocked hands. "I used it."

"What?"

"The Cruciatus Curse. I used it. On Bellatrix."

"Penelope, how—"

She shook her head, stopping his sentence. Penelope let go of his hand and reached up behind her neck. She unclasped the golden chain with the crown on it. Once it was off, she slowly placed the piece of jewelry in Ron's palm. Her eyes filled with tears once more and she sniffled a little.

"What . . . what are you doing?" Ron questioned, his voice holding nothing but heartbreak.

"I'm a monster," Penelope whispered, a tear falling down her cheek. "I used an Unforgiveable. This . . . this is so you don't have to associate yourself with someone like that anymore."

"If you think that, you're just bloody mental."

Penelope's head snapped up to look at him. "What?"

Ron sighed. "Listen, Penelope. I don't like you using the Cruciatus Curse, and I don't think you like yourself for using it either, but you're one of the best people I've ever met. One little bump in the road isn't going to make me leave you." He offered her necklace back to her.

"You're not gonna run away?" Penelope inquired timidly, her voice quiet.

"From you? Never."

She sniffled again. Penelope hesitantly took the necklace back from him and put it back on. Ron took her hand again, and through the windows, the sun was rising. The orange glow from the sky made Ron's hair look even more red, and it ignited the feelings Penelope had for him in her heart even more than usual. She studied his face for a second, her eyes trailing across the freckles that dotted his face and how he was staring at her in a way that made her melt.

"You know, back at the Ministry when I was facing my mother up in the Atrium with Harry, all I saw was burning red," Penelope revealed softly. "But then I thought about you for a moment, and everything turned . . . golden. Like daylight."

"Are you saying I'm your sunshine?" Ron replied.

"Don't make me take it back."

"Got it, sorry."

・゜・。・゜。・。・゜★

PENELOPE JUST KNEW the Daily Prophet would suddenly turn its fucking mind around and finally put out a story about Voldemort and what happened the Ministry. So when it eventually got published, she wasn't surprised.

HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED RETURNS

In a brief statement Friday night, Minister of
     Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-
     Who-Must-Not-Be Named has returned to
     this country and is active once more.
"It is with great regret that I must confirm
     that the wizard styling himself Lord — well,
     you know who I mean — is alive and among
     us again," said Fudge, looking tired and
     flustered as he addressed reporters. "It is
     with almost equal regret that we report the
     mass revolt of the Dementors of Azkaban,
     who have show themselves averse to continuing
     in the Ministry's employ. We believe that the
     Dementors are currently taking direction
from Lord — Thingy.
"We urge the magical population to remain
vigilant. The Ministry is currently publishing
guides to elementary home and personal
     defense that will be delivered free to all
     Wizarding homes within the coming month."
The Minister's statement was met with
     dismay and alarm from the Wizarding
     community, which as recently as last
     Wednesday was receiving Ministry assurances
     that there was "no truth whatsoever in these
     persistent rumors that You-Know-Who is
     operating amongst us once more."
Details of the events that led to the
     Ministry turn around are still hazy, though it
     is believed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
     and a select band of followers (known as Death
     Eaters) gained entry to the Ministry of Magic
     itself on Thursday evening.
Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated
headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
     and Wizardry, reinstated member of the
     International Confederation of Wizards, and
     reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot,
     was unavailable for comment last night. He
     has insisted for a year that You-Know-Who
     was not dead, as was widely hoped and
     believed, but recruiting followers once more
     for a fresh attempt to seize power. Meanwhile
     the Boy Who Lived—

"There you are, Harry, I knew they'd drag you into it somehow," Hermione voiced, looking over the top of the paper at him.

The whole group who had gone to the Ministry were gathered back in the hospital wing again. Hermione was currently reading them the front page of the Sunday Prophet. Ginny was curled up at the end of Hermione's bed to listen. Neville was resting on a chair between the two beds. Harry, Venus, Charlotte, and Elijah were all sitting side-by-side on another spare bed they had dragged over. Luna was by them, although she was reading the latest edition of the The Quibbler upside down. Penelope was sitting at the end of Ron's bed, occasionally glancing over at him.

"He's the Boy Who Lived again now, though, isn't he?" Ron repeated darkly. "Not such a show-off maniac anymore, eh?"

Ron then helped himself to a handful of Chocolate Frogs from the towering pile on his bedside cabinet. He threw a few to Harry, Ginny, and Neville before ripping off the wrapper of his own with his teeth.

"Don't open it with your teeth," Penelope scolded.

"What?" Ron asked, his mouth full of chocolate. "It's convenient."

Penelope stared at him. "Swallow your food, and then maybe I'll consider listening to you."

"Yes, they're very complimentary about you now, Harry," Hermione agreed with Ron, obviously moving past his and Penelope's interaction. "A lone voice of truth . . . perceived as unbalanced, yet never wavered in his story . . . forced to bear ridicule and slander . . . hmmm." Hermione frowned. "I notice they don't mention the fact that it was them doing all the ridiculing and slandering, though . . ."

She slightly winced and placed a hand on her ribs. The curse Dolohov had used on her was obviously damaging, even though it was less effective than it would have been if he had said the incantation out loud. She was now taking ten different types of potion every day. Hermione was improving greatly, but it was evident she was bored out of her mind staying in the hospital wing.

"You-Know-Who's Last Attempt to Take Over, pages two to four, What the Ministry Should Have Told Us, page five, Why Nobody Listened to Albus Dumbledore, pages six to eight, Exclusive Interview with Harry Potter, page nine . . . well—" Hermione folded up the newspaper and threw it aside "—it's certainly given them lots to write about. And that interview with Harry isn't exclusive, it's the one that was in The Quibbler months ago . . ."

"Daddy sold it to them," Luna revealed vaguely as she turned a page of The Quibbler. "He got a very good price for it too, so we're going to go on an expedition to Sweden this summer and see if we can catch a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

Penelope smiled. "That sounds lovely, Luna. I'd love to hear about it when you come back."

Hermione then sat up a little straighter and winced again. "So anyway, what's going on in school?"

"Well, Flitwick's got rid of Fred and George's swamp," Ginny answered. "He did it in about three seconds. But he left a tiny patch under the window and he's roped it off—"

"Why?" Hermione cut in, looking quite startled.

Ginny shrugged. "Oh, he just says it was a really good bit of magic."

"I think he left it as a monument to Fred and George," Ron stated through another mouthful of chocolate.

Penelope gave him a look. "Ron."

He made a big show of swallowing his chocolate. Penelope rolled her eyes despite the ghost of a smile on her face.

"They sent me all these, you know," Ron added, gesturing to the small mountain of Frogs beside him. "Must be doing all right out of that joke shop, eh?"

"So has all the trouble stopped now Dumbledore's back?" Hermione questioned, looking rather disapproving.

"Yes, everything's settled right back down again," Neville responded.

"I s'pose Filch is happy, is he?" Ron inquired, propping Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card against his water jug.

Charlotte scoffed. "Are you kidding? That dude's the most miserable I've ever seen him." She lowered her voice. "He keeps going on and on about how Umbridge was the best thing that ever happened to Hogwarts . . . maybe I should get him a therapist, too."

"Lottie, at this rate, you'd have to get, like, ten people a therapist," Elijah told her, looking ultimately calmer now that O.W.L.'s were over.

"I stand by what I said."

Their whole group then looked over. Umbridge herself was lying in one of the beds opposite to them, gazing blankly up at the ceiling. Dumbledore had journeyed into the forest alone to rescue her from the Centaurs. Nobody knew how he had emerged from the trees with no injuries while supporting Umbridge, and Umbridge certainly wasn't going to tell. She hadn't uttered one word since she had returned to the castle. Nobody knew what was wrong with her, either. Penelope didn't really give a fuck. It was a good day if she didn't hear a word come out of Umbridge's mouth.

"Madam Pomfrey says she's just in shock," Hermione whispered.

"Sulking, more like," Ginny countered.

"Yeah, she shows signs of life if you do this," Ron revealed, making soft clip-clopping noises with his tongue.

Umbridge immediately sat bolt upright, looking around wildly.

Madam Pomfrey poked her head around her office door. "Anything wrong, Professor?"

Umbridge sunk back into her pillows. "No . . . no . . . no, I must have been dreaming . . ."

Penelope laughed slightly. "Whatever. She'll be out of Hogwarts soon, thank Merlin."

"Speaking of centaurs, who's Divination teacher now?" Hermione asked. "Is Firenze staying?"

"He's got to, the other Centaurs won't take him back, will they?" Harry replied.

"It looks like he and Trelawney are both going to teach," Ginny added.

"Bet Dumbledore wishes he could've got rid of Trelawney for good," Ron voiced, now munching on his fourteenth Frog — how he ate so much, Penelope didn't know. "Mind you, the whole subjects useless if you ask me, Firenze isn't a lot better . . ."

"How can you say that?" Hermione demanded. "After we've just found out that there are real Prophecies?"

Penelope looked down at her lap. The Prophecy had smashed back in the Death Room. She wondered what it said, but that wasn't really any of her business.

Hermione shook her head. "It is a pity it broke."

"Yeah, it is," Ron responded. "Still, at least You-Know-Who never found out what was in it either — where are you going?" he added, looking both surprised and disappointed as Harry stood up.

"Er — Hagrid's," Harry answered. "You know, he just got back and I promised I'd go down and see him and tell him how you two are . . . well, five, if you count Star, Charlie, and Eli . . ."

Venus then offered to go with him, obviously concerned for her boyfriend. Harry quickly reassured her that he would be fine.

"Oh all right then," Ron said grumpily, looking out the window at the blue sky. "Wish we could come . . ."

"Say hello to him for us!" Hermione called. "And ask him what's happening about . . . about his little friend!"

Term was quickly coming to a close. Penelope had finally built up enough courage to tell Tracey and Daphne about what happened at the Ministry. Pansy and Millicent seemed to be staying away from her, just like they had basically all year. Just like Ron, the two of them told Penelope that they didn't view her as a monster like Bellatrix. And as she packed her trunk, she felt a sense of relaxation set into her — the year at Hogwarts had been terribly tense, and now she was going back to Ted and Andromeda's. The only thing she would miss about Hogwarts was the new friends she made, and Ron, of course.

Umbridge had finally left Hogwarts the day before the end of term — thank fucking Merlin. It seemed like she had crept out of the hospital wing during dinnertime in hopes that she would depart undetected. Unfortunately for her, she met Peeves on the way out. He seized his last chance to do what Fred said, which was give her hell. The Poltergeist chased her gleefully from the premises, whacking her alternately with a walking stick and a sock full of chalk.

Finally, they were all back on the scarlet steam train that was the Hogwarts Express, heading straight to Kings Cross in London. It was a full compartment — Penelope had invited Tracey and Daphne to come, and they had accepted. In this compartment was them three, Ron, Harry, Venus, Hermione, Charlotte, Elijah, Neville, and Ginny. Tracey and Daphne seemed to be getting along with everyone well, which made Penelope's heart soar.

Also, Draco — she was so over it. Apparently Harry, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abott, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Anthony Goldstein, and Terry Boot had used a variety of hexes and jinxes on Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle when they tried to attack Harry in the corridor of the train. They kind of resembled three gigantic slugs in Hogwarts uniforms. Harry had then brought a large pile of Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties back to their compartment.

Elijah was tucked into his book, as per usual. Venus was talking to Charlotte about the similarities and differences between Hogwarts and Ilvermorny. Hermione was reading the Daily Prophet again. Ginny was doing a quiz in The Quibbler. Neville was stroking some kind of plant that made some odd noise when it was touched. Harry and Ron were playing wizard chess. Penelope, Tracey, and Daphne were discussing more of their summer plans.

Hermione continued to read out snippets from the Prophet. It was full of articles on how to repel Dementors, Ministry attempts to track down more Death Eaters, and hysterical letters of people claiming to see Lord Voldemort walking past their house.

"It hasn't really started yet," Hermione said gloomily as she folded up the newspaper with a sigh. "But it won't be long now . . ."

"Hey, Harry, Venus," Ron called, nodding his head towards the glass window.

Penelope looked over. Cho Chang was passing with Marietta Edgecombe, who was wearing a balaclava. Penelope raised an eyebrow as she watched Harry and Venus share a look. Apparently something had happened between the three of them.

"What's — er — going on with you, her, and Venus, anyway?" Ron inquired quietly. "You know, after the whole asking Venus out for Valentine's Day in front of her incident?"

"Nothing," Harry answered. He looked over at Venus with a smile. "Doesn't matter, anyways."

"I — er — heard she's going out with someone else now," Hermione admitted tentatively.

"You're well out of it, mate," Ron stated forcefully. "I mean, she's quite good-looking and all that, but you want someone a bit more cheerful. Thank God you found Venus."

Harry shrugged. "She's probably cheerful enough with someone else. Besides, I'm happy with Venus."

"Who's she with now anyway?" Ron asked Hermione.

Ginny answered instead. "Michael Corner."

"Michael — but—" Ron stammered, turning around in his seat to stare at his sister incredulously. "But you were going out with him!"

"Not anymore. He didn't like Gryffindor beating Ravenclaw at Quidditch and got really sulky, so I ditched him and he ran off to comfort Cho instead."

Ron looked highly delighted at this revelation. "Well, I always thought he was a bit of an idiot. Good for you. Just choose someone — better — next time."

Penelope scoffed. "It's hilarious how you think you have control over who Ginny chooses to date."

"Well, I've chosen Dean Thomas, would you say he's better?" Ginny questioned vaguely.

"WHAT?" Ron shouted.

He flipped over the chessboard. Crookshanks plunged after the pieces and Hedwig, Pigwidgeon, Aria (Venus' owl), and Annabeth all began to twitter and hoot angrily from overhead.

The trains lowed down in the approach to King's Cross. Penelope wrapped up both Tracey and Daphne in tight hugs — the Davis family would be leaving as quickly as they could to go on vacation, and the Greengrass family (despite being one of the nicer ones in the Sacred Twenty-Eight) would have to round up both Daphne and Astoria without seeing Penelope, so Penelope decided to say goodbye to them now rather than later.

Penelope got down Annabeth's cage and gathered her trunk. Together, she followed Ron, Harry, Venus, Hermione, Ginny, Charlotte, and Elijah off the train — Neville, Tracey, and Daphne followed them as well, but soon found their families on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. When the ticket inspector signaled them it was safe to walk through the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten, there was a group of people standing there.

Atlas and Mary Black, whom Venus had instantly ran to; Mad-Eye Moody, his bowler hat pulled over his magical eye; Remus Lupin, with a pale face and gray hair wearing a long and threadbare overcoat over his shabby jumper and trousers; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, dressed in clothes Penelope could only assume that they had worn to try and look like Muggles; Fred and George, wearing brand-new jackets in a green scaly material; and finally, all three of them smiling brightly, was Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphadora Tonks.

Penelope set down her cage. She immediately threw her arms around both Andromeda and Ted, soaking up the comforting embrace of them before turning to Nymphadora. Nymphadora seemed to be fine after what happened at the Ministry. However, Penelope still sent her a worried expression.

"I'm fine," Nymphadora reassured her, hugging her as well. "Hey, I know something that might cheer you up. You wanna fu—"

"Nymphadora," Andromeda scolded.

She sighed. "You wanna mess with some Muggles?"

Penelope blinked. "What Muggles?"

Nymphadora nodded her head, and Penelope glanced over to see three very normal looking people waiting at the station, looking very appalled. "That's Harry's Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and cousin Dudley — the Dursleys. We may or may not be threatening them." She looked up at Andromeda and Ted. "Nel and I will be right back, mum and dad."

Her and Penelope rejoined the group. Ron instantly held out his hand, and Penelope took it, smiling slightly as her heart beat against her chest. Mad-Eye Moody and Mr. Weasley took the lead of bringing them over to the Dursleys.

"Good afternoon," Mr. Weasley greeted pleasantly to Vernon. "You might remember me, my name's Arthur Weasley."

Vernon's face turned a deeper shade of purple as he glared at Mr. Weasley. Petunia seemed to be both frightened and embarrassed. She kept glancing around like she didn't want to be seen with this group at all. Dudley (what kind of fucking name was that?) was in the midst of trying to make himself look smaller, but he was failing . . . miserably.

"We thought we'd just have a few words with you about Harry," Mr. Weasley continued with a smile.

"Yeah," Moody agreed. "About how he's treated when he's at your place."

"I am not aware that it is any of your business what goes on in my house—" Vernon began.

"I expect what you're not aware of would fill several books, Dursley."

"Anyway, that's not the point," Nymphadora interjected. Her pink hair seemed to offend Petunia, since she had closed her eyes instead of looking at her. "The point is, if we find out you've been horrible to Harry—"

"—and make no mistake, we'll hear about it," Lupin added.

"Yes, even if you won't let Harry use the fellytone—" Mr. Weasley began.

"Telephone," Hermione corrected.

"Yeah, if we get any hint that Potter's been mistreated in any way, you'll have us to answer to," Moody voiced.

"Are you threatening me, sir?" Vernon demanded loudly, making some people turn to stare at them.

"Yes, I am."

"And do I look like the kind of man who can be intimidated?"

Penelope looked at him up and down. "I'd say so."

"Well . . ." Moody trailed off, pushing back his bowler hat to reveal his magical eye. Vernon leaped backwards in horror and crashed into a luggage trolley. "Yes, I'd have to say you do, Dursley." He tthen turned to Harry. "So, Potter . . . give us a shout if you need us. If we don't hear from you for three days in a row, we'll send someone along . . ."

Petunia whimpered. Penelope let out a quiet scoff. These people were filled with such bullshit.

All of them began to say goodbye to Harry. Penelope's turn was after Charlotte and before Venus, so she decided to make it quick so Venus could have more time.

Penelope pulled Harry in for a tight hug. "I'm always an owl away, Harry. You know that." She let him go for a moment, but kept her hand on his shoulder. "What we both saw at the Ministry . . . just, please know you have someone else who also can't get that image out of their head." Penelope squeezed his shoulder and offered him a small smile. "Have a good summer, Harry."

Harry grinned back at her. "Bye, Penelope."

Penelope turned around. Ron instantly slung his arm around her shoulder as they walked back towards where they left their trunks.

"So, you'll come visit in the summer, right?" Ron inquired.

She raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't aware that I was invited."

"'Course you're invited. Mum's been talking about it since Christmas."

"I'll see," Penelope responded. They finally stopped by their trunks, and Penelope reached up, her hands resting on either side of his face while his settled on her hips. "In the meantime, you'll write to me, yeah?"

"Weekly," Ron responded. "Er, if I remember . . ."

Penelope shook her head in amusement. "Shut up and kiss me."

Ron obliged. The two of them kissed in the middle of Kings Cross, their hearts racing and their minds spinning.

Penelope Lestrange might still hate the way she's perceived and definitely does not know where her fucking teenage dream was, but if one thing was for sure, it was that Ron Weasley was making her enjoy her youth more than she had before.

☆ 彡

𝙴𝙽𝙳 𝙾𝙵 𝙰𝙲𝚃 𝚃𝚆𝙾

. . . HOW DID THIS BOOK JUST END????? HELLO?????

I'll put a sequel announcement up at the end of this book when it's out!!!! I'm not sure when that'll be because I still want to finish london boy and I just started my college classes, so please just be patient :)

comment here if you want a dt <3