February 1948

"How am I meant to concentrate on healing you if you keep looking at me like that?"

Ro laughed at Poppy's fond retort. They'd finally made the journey up the secret staircase after their conversation in the alcove behind the tapestry, and were now sat back in the dormitory so that Poppy could heal the injuries that still marred Ro's face from her fight with Druella. Her cheek still stung from where long nails had been dragged across her skin and her nose still oozed sluggishly with dark blood, but the lingering feeling of Poppy's lips on hers left her split lip feeling hardly noticeable.

That changed when Poppy touched her wand to the corner of her mouth and said "Episkey." Ro gasped as her mouth burned hot then took on a freezing numbness, resisting the urge to rub at it before the pain went away. "Sorry, that one's the worst I promise," Poppy continued, putting her wand down and rummaging around in her bedside table drawer for presumably her dittany bottle.

"It's ok, it's better than the last time you did it at least," Ro offered to try and make her feel better. The memory trying not to collapse in a bathroom after her last fistfight with Slytherin House was funny in hindsight but at the time it had just been miserable.

Poppy didn't look up from what she was doing as she said "Were you planning on following that up with a comment on the state of your nose?"

Ro burst out laughing again, meeting Poppy's wry look with a beaming smile. "S'alright," she shrugged as Poppy sat back down just in front of her. "I might have never looked the same again but it's just me now. And you love it, right?" she joked.

"That I can't disagree with," Poppy sighed, smiling as she leaned forward to lightly kiss her again.

They both jumped apart when they heard the door opening, sitting back just in time for Millicent and Irma to walk into the room. Minerva and Septima were with them too, and Minerva rushed forwards immediately to where they were sitting. "Merlin's beard, Ro," she said with a shake of her head, glancing around Ro's face where her injuries lay. "And Druella did all this?"

"Yep. I gave as good as I got though," Ro said in an attempt at reassurance, jumping up to hug her when she still looked just as worried. Poppy took Ro's right hand in hers when she sat down, rubbing bruise cream over her bloodied knuckles from their impact with Druella's jawbone with a tenderness that made Ro's stomach flutter.

"She really did, it was very impressive," Millicent added, meeting Ro's grin with one of her own. "I don't know about you but the image of her having to go back to the Dungeons and explain to Malfoy and Black who did that to her is bringing me a lot of joy right now. It's absolutely what she deserves after the stunts she's been pulling lately."

Ro glanced over at Irma as Millicent spoke, suddenly aware of the consequences that her actions might have when she eventually returned to her Common Room. "Irma I'm sorry, I should have thought properly before I hit her. Are you- will you be ok to go back to your dorm tonight?" she asked worriedly.

Shrugging, Irma sat down on the end of Minerva's bed. "I'm not sure. It certainly makes me nervous the thought that she might get Cygnus or Abraxas or someone to take revenge of sorts," she explained with a grim expression.

"Well if you need to stay with one of us for a few nights you know you can," Septima said firmly, with everyone else nodding their support. "I can stay with Philip if you wanted my bed but I know you tend to bunk in here when you need to."

Ro hummed in agreement. "We can work it out, either Minerva can sleep as a cat for a few nights or I doubt she'd say no to staying with Larry for a bit," she teased lightly, breaking off to laugh at Minerva's good-natured groan. "Or me and Poppy have shared a bed before if we all wanted to stay human. We'll work it out." She didn't notice how suddenly nervous her voice sounded until the words were out, but she forcefully reminded herself that she and Poppy had shared her bed over the summer holiday when they were all staying in London so no one was going to think anything of it.

"It'll be ok," Millicent said. She seemed to notice Ro's relieved expression as the attention was directed away from her as she shot her a small smile once everyone was looking away, which Ro returned with a grateful look.

It made her wonder if Millicent had guessed more than she was letting on; she and Poppy had decided they weren't going to make any sort of announcement to the rest of their friends until they'd worked out what they even were, but if any of them were going to notice a change then of course it was going to be the ever-observant Millicent. And sure enough, as they all made their way down to the Great Hall for dinner Millicent fell back to walk beside her and murmured "Took you long enough."

Ro was silent for a moment, unsure of what was safe to say, before she exhaled quietly. "Maybe. Probably. I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping it to myself."

"Silly Gryffindor. Too caught up with being right to think about being happy."

"Yeah, I guess so," Ro laughed ruefully, glancing away from her feet for the first time to meet Millicent's easy smile. "So, you noticed then? I don't know how we're going to tell people because, y'know, not everyone's ok with it," she finished awkwardly, an unhappy weight in her stomach.

Millicent hummed, looking thoughtful for a while before she stopped walking and motioned for Ro to pause with her. "Do you remember when I told you all what happened to my mother? That she fell in love with a Home Guard officer and they eloped together?" Ro nodded, wondering where she was going with that story, before she continued with "Well, what I didn't mention back then was that the 'handsome officer' is actually another woman."

Ro stared speechless for a second, then her mouth curved into a huge smile. "Really?" she asked.

"Yep. Her name is Georgianna and they married in secret a few years ago. My father is perfectly comfortable with it, not that I can say the same about Trudy," her expression turned sour at the mention of her father's girlfriend, "but he's never tried to keep Tabitha or I away from them since mother left. All three of them agreed that it wouldn't be made common knowledge to protect us from those who don't agree with it. But believe me, there's more support out there than you think there is. And the people who really love you will never ever give a damn."

As Millicent finished, Ro barely waited a second before launching at her and wrapping her arms tight around her shoulders. "Thank you," she whispered in a choked up voice. Somehow, in the space of a few short minutes, it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.

Despite Millicent's reassuring words, Ro and Poppy decided to officially keep their relationship a secret as the Valentine's Day craze faded and term returned to normal. However it was as much of a poorly kept secret as Minerva's Animagus ability was. They didn't shy away from letting themselves be affectionate so long as they were only with people they absolutely trusted; it didn't take Ro long to kiss Poppy's cheek before she left for Quidditch practise, and if Minerva had noticed one of them creeping across the dormitory to share a bed every so often then she didn't comment. All in all it was a comfortable situation that they were both happy to stay in for the time being.

Before too long the Easter holiday rolled around, and as Poppy had predicted they all felt like they'd been hit by the Knight Bus the minute that lessons stopped for the holiday and they had a little more breathing space. All the while she continued to juggle Quidditch and school work it all felt perfectly manageable, most likely because she was too busy to be tired, but as soon as life hit pause her body was suddenly craving back every hour of missed sleep she'd racked up since January. Despite feeling far worse for the first week it did turn out to be the rest they all needed, since by the time the castle was filling back up at the end of April for the summer term Ro felt ready and raring to take on the final portion of their sixth year.

There was one more challenge they had to face before all that could resume though: Apparition exams. A number of examiners were scheduled to come to Hogsmeade on the last Saturday before the summer term began to assess all those who'd taken the 12 week course over the spring term and were of age. Millicent barely snuck in as her seventeenth birthday was only a week beforehand, meaning it was only Poppy who was left in the castle as the others took their tests.

"Don't worry about me, worry about yourselves," she laughed as she waved them off. "I've got my own plans keeping me busy today!"

"Oh really?" Ro laughed, trying her hardest to stall despite Minerva's hands around her wrist.

Poppy gave a knowing hum. "I do, and I'm running out of time if I'm to make it up to the library on time. Go on, off with the lot of you. Good luck!"

After smiling that beautiful brilliant smile at them all, she turned around and disappeared through the crowd of sixth years back towards the main body of the castle. Ro watched her go for a moment before letting Minerva tug her forwards, nerves beginning to play around in her chest now that Poppy's grounding presence was no longer with them. The twins were wearing identical expressions of worried concentration, while Millicent absent-mindedly played with the frayed sleeve of her cardigan and Minerva twisted the end of her plait around her fingers. Ro resisted the urge to wring her hands together as they walked into the village, determined to keep her head on and do herself proud.

It wasn't a typical Hogsmeade so there were no students rushing excitedly up and down the High Street as the sixth years gathered in the Hogs Head Inn. It wasn't their usual haunt, everyone knew that the butterbeer wasn't as good as in the Three Broomsticks, but Minerva pointed out that since it wasn't as popular it would be more suitable for an exam environment.

"Good afternoon students," spoke the familiar drone of Augustus Tweddle. Ro resisted the urge to roll her eyes; she had never been fond of their instructor but he'd lost all favour with her after she and Wilhelmina were splinched and he did nothing to help.

There was no reply from the sixth year students. They all looked as nervous as Ro felt when she glanced around the Inn, noting the few faces who were missing and the few who weren't normally part of their cohort. Poppy wasn't the only one too young as they were missing Emily Stretton, William Tonks, and Alphard Black too, replaced by Cleatus Weasley and Sophie Sommerby from seventh year and the return of Apollyon Pringle after his shameful dismissal to the year below. He was back sulking with the rest of the Slytherins again, glaring daggers at anyone who gave him so much of a questioning glance.

Tweddle continued his speech after a moment's pause, Ro forcing herself to pay attention to what he was saying for hopefully the last time. "Welcome to your Apparition exam. Today you will be required to demonstrate your Apparition aptitude in order for us to award you with your licenses, which will allow you to Apparate freely along with your free use of magic as adult wizards and witches. Each of you will be given five distances to Apparate across and you must complete all of them with fewer than 5 minor fault or you will be forced to retake your test at a later date. The tests will take place individually in alphabetical order."

OWL exams were a recent enough memory that the students all filed into alphabetical order pretty much instinctively. Ro whispered quiet goodbyes and 'good luck's' to her friends before they all parted ways, Irma and Septima heading to the back of the queue while Ro slipped between Wilhelmina and Duane.

Wilhelmina turned to give her a firm nod with a half-smile-half-grimace on her face. Ro understood; they were the only two students who'd been splinched in the year, and knew better than anyone else what the risks truly were.

"Bagnold, Millicent-Mae," read out the first of the examiners, with Millicent squaring her shoulders resolutely before walking across the pub and into the back room as directed. It was a few minutes before Hector Bones was called in next, and the fact that Millicent never walked out the room could only be taken as an encouraging sign.

When Ro's name was called she entered the back room just like everyone before her had done, her nerves instantly spiking when she was confronted by one of the dreaded metal hoops again. She was convinced she'd ruined everything when she fell back into her old habit of reappearing in the exact same spot she'd Disapperated from on her first attempt, but the examiner merely marked it as a minor fault and told her to try again. With more deliberation than she'd ever put in before she made it into her hoop, and then out to the back door of the pub where she met the next examiner and her hopes started to rise a little. The next jump took her through the building and the one after right up the High Street, until finally with a last challenging Apparition across the village she found herself right by the boundary of the anti-Apparition charm that surrounded Hogwarts Castle.

"Hooch, Rolanda Xiomara, correct?" asked the final examiner, to which Ro nodded. He stared at his clipboard for a moment, Ro balancing on tiptoes to watch a series of ticks mark themselves in numerous boxes with only one cross at the bottom of the sheet that she assumed was a record of her fault. "Congratulations Miss Hooch, you have passed your Apparition exam and will be awarded an Apparition license. It will arrive through the Owl post in approximately 5 working days."

Ro couldn't help but feel as if it had been a bit anticlimactic as she walked back towards the Entrance Hall, almost jumping at the loud crack when Duane Inglebee appeared behind her. Wilhelmina had waited for her by the castle door, her face lighting up at the sight of Ro's grin. "You passed too I take it?" she asked, falling into step beside her.

"Yep," Ro said proudly, warmly accepting her high five. "No more left behind bits 'n' bobs for us two."

Laughing, Wilhelmina gave an odd sort of shrug. "I think I might have left half an inch of hair behind at the third checkpoint but thank Merlin she wasn't looking that carefully. Maybe splinching hair off just counts as a minor fault, I suppose it isn't on our bodies so isn't dangerous," she wondered aloud.

Ro wasn't sure if she had a point or if she'd just been lucky which examiner she'd made the mistake in front of. "Might be, one of my brothers works in the Department for Transportation so I'll see what he's got to say on it. And at least you've got hair to lose," she added, ruffling her windswept bob, "if that happened to me I'd be a lot worse off!"

They parted ways at the bottom of the Grand Staircase as Wilhelmina headed back to the Hufflepuff Basement, while Ro remembered where Poppy said she would be during the tests and set off for the library. When she got there she was forced to search through the bookshelves for a few minutes, wishing she had Irma with her, until she came across a banner with 'HEALERS CLUB' written in poorly attached bandages. Poppy was sat in a circle along with a number of other students from across Houses and years, some of who Ro recognised and a few youngsters who weren't familiar to her. She did recognise Clementine Vance as one of her cousin Heidi's friends and the three little Gryffindors, Amelia Orville from fourth year plus Carlin Anderson and Beatrice Amberley from second year. And it was easy enough to guess from the way her hands were making shapes that the girl sat on Poppy's left was Lyrena Sparrow herself.

She would have been content to just sit and read a book until they were finished, but it was impossible to refuse when Poppy patted the space next to her with a happy smile. Ro kept her hands firmly in her lap as she sat down between Poppy and Carlin, grinning at the second year boy who didn't seem to know how to react to their Quidditch Captain sitting next to him. While she was in no way rightly qualified for a Healers' Club, she still watched in quiet fascination as Lyrena taught the group how to sign their names with their hands and tried not to let her gaze linger on Poppy's slender fingers for too long.

By the end of the session she'd been introduced to the rest of the members by watching them fingerspell their own names out, and even gave her own mercifully short name a try after Lyrena's hard eyes refused her excuses. As the younger students filed out and Lyrena set about taking the banner down, Poppy turned to Ro and asked "How did it go?"

Ro couldn't keep her grin supressed any longer. "I passed!"

Poppy gave a high-pitched gasp, flinging her arms around Ro's neck. "That's amazing Ro! I'm so proud of you I knew you could do it."

"Congratulations," said Lyrena from behind them, and when Poppy finally stopped compressing her torso she found herself looking into the Slytherin girl's pale blue eyes. She was an intimidating presence now that they were both standing and Ro realised how tall she was, but the kindness and patience she'd had while teaching signs to the younger students lingered in Ro's mind.

"T-thanks," Ro replied with slight hesitation after a second's silence; clearly Lyrena was a women of few words and many signs. Scrambling to put her thoughts in order she added "I think what you're doing in brilliant by the way. I bet signing will be super useful when you're both Mediwitches."

The genuine smile Ro's spotted earlier returned to Lyrena's face. "It's one of the many things that Magickind could learn from Muggles," she commented, and Ro nodded as she thought of everything that Poppy and Millicent had taught her over the years.

After asking Poppy "Same time next week?" and waiting for acknowledgement, Lyrena shrunk the banner to fit in her bag and then left the library. She paused to make a motion with her hands before she disappeared between the bookshelves though, and by the way Poppy also raised her hand and bent her fingers towards her palm twice Ro guessed it meant goodbye.

"We should go and find the others, do you know if any of them passed?" Poppy asked, her hand finding Ro's as they followed slowly after her.

Ro hummed a two-toned no. "I know Millicent did ok at least at the start since she didn't walk out of the test room. The only person I saw afterwards was Wilhelmina and she passed too," she said.

"I'm glad you two both did ok after what happened that time."

Laughing dryly, Ro gave a firm nod of her head. "You and me both. Think it might have been fear factor more than anything though, that's not a mistake you ever want to make twice. Hey, there's Irma and Septima!"

She pulled ahead as she caught sight of the twins just passing the first floor on the Grand Staircase, both of them pausing to let Ro and Poppy catch up before they continued upwards towards the Towers. "How'd you do!" Ro asked excitedly, looking between them to gauge the expressions on their faces.

"Passed," Irma said primly, looking pleased with herself as she glanced expectantly towards her sister.

"Failed," sighed Septima, though looked more exasperated than truly annoyed.

Ro continued to look from Irma's raised eyebrows to Septima's thin sheepish smile and back when no further explanation was offered. "I'm sensing a story here but alright fine, I'll pry it out of you when we've got Minerva and Millicent too," she said, winking when Septima gave a good-humoured groan.

True to her word, once they were all sat in the Gryffindor Common room along with Cleatus and a few members of the Quidditch Team, Ro's eyes were blazing as she rounded on Septima. "Go on then, spill the beans," she encouraged, already grinning in anticipation of what she knew would make her day.

Septima groaned again, covering her eyes with her hands for a second before she admitted. "I panicked and landed in the Black lake."

There was a second's pause before they all fell about laughing, Septima perfectly happy to laugh at her own mistake. "Sweet Merlin's knickers, that's fantastic," Maggie Jordan burst out between wheezing breaths, giving Septima a hearty pat on the back from where she was perched behind her on the back of the sofa. "Happens to one every year. What about you Cleatus, have you finally done it after 6 attempts."

Everyone swivelled to look at Cleatus in the armchair, who's freckled face was split by a triumphant grin. "I did," he declared, bowing his head comically as a few people cheered. "Though it felt a bit anticlimactic when I finally reappeared at the last checkpoint to find Septima being fished out of the lake. I really hope they haven't forgotten to officially pass me after all that!"

"Irony of ironies, that'd be," Larry chuckled, his thumb brushing over Minerva's hand as she'd paled at the mention of another friend taking an unwanted swim.

"I was thinking it wasn't too bad since I was the last one to be tested and then suddenly you were there standing all by yourself," Septima laughed ruefully. "I'm used to being last on the register. Felt odd to have someone come after me for once." Ro supposed that made sense, though being in the earlier end of the alphabet it wasn't something she'd ever given much thought to.

Cleatus shrugged, still beaming proudly. "That's the other thing us Weasley's are cursed with," he said, pausing for a second at the pair of quiet confused hums as both his brothers raised their heads from opposite ends of the Common Room at the sound of their surname. But both Atticus and Felix whooped loudly as Cleatus added "Ginger hair and being stuck at the bottom of the register!"

Thankfully Septima didn't seem too bothered by the fact that she'd failed her test, and took great joy in writing to her parents to inform them that Irma had succeeded in an area where she had not. Irma had watched that letter getting written with an odd touched expression on her face; while they had made enormous strides of progress since reconciling five months ago there were still a few rocky areas, but Septima's willingness to recognise her father's faults at last had done wonders to restore Irma's trust in her. The only thing that bothered her a little was not knowing when she would next get the opportunity to get her licence since Tweddle hadn't mentioned anything about retake opportunities, but when Ro explained that she could book a test with the Ministry she was content to wait until she and Poppy could get their licenses together.

With the Easter Holiday over and done with, the restart of term signalling the racing time toward both the Quidditch Cup Final and their sixth year exams. Compared to OWLS the level of exam pressure felt like nothing, sandwiched in between the fifth years coping with OWLS and the seventh years struggling with NEWTS, so Ro was determined to enjoy the period as much as she could. Their position in the Quidditch points standings was very comfortable although she wasn't about to discredit the Hufflepuff team by turning up unprepared to the final match. They had a new Captain that year in Alfred Diggory, fellow Seeker and fellow sixth year student, and Ro knew that new Captains often came alongside serious shakeups in both players and strategy.

"That's amazing Verity, don't lose it now!" Ro shouted across the field during their final practise, watching as Verity flanked Minerva tightly in a defensive formation. Verity smiled down at her for a second before returning her focus to her practise, plait streaming out behind her just like Minerva's was. Ro thought they could have been sisters in that moment with their matching uniforms and matching hairstyles, the one exception being Minerva's black hair compared to Verity's mousy brown.

Happy that the Chasers were doing well, she turned her attention to Ernest and Xander who she'd instructed to practise their precision by batting a Bludger to each other up and down the pitch. Precision was something the Gryffindor team had been revered for with Nancy Campbell as their Beater, and Ro was determined for Ernest and Xander to train as close to her standard as possible. "How's it going boys?" she shouted as she flew over.

Her question distracted Ernest enough that he let the Bludger fly right past him. "Going alright boss!" he replied with a grin, making Ro laugh while keeping a close eye on the Bludger that was circling round.

"Good job. And Xander, what do we not do in the next match?" Ro added, asking the question that she'd teased her youngest Beater with every practise since their last match with Ravenclaw.

Xander grinned. "Bludger the Seeker, boss!"

Ernest and Cleatus both cheered at that, with Larry, Minerva, and Verity laughing as they flew in to join the impromptu mid-air gathering. Ro's smile was wide as she looked around at them all, letting herself relish for a moment in how lucky she was, before she clapped her hands to call them to attention. "Right then you lot. Two days until the big day, let's get the reserves in here and play some Quidditch!"

Their final practise match was a resounding success, leaving Ro happy that they were ready for anything that Hufflepuff could throw and them and her reserves in good enough shape that they could take over if needed. It wasn't a fun thing to be prepared for but Ro knew her sport well enough to know that it was necessary.

The day of the match came around with a persistent feeling of nerves for Ro, sympathising entirely with Minerva when she was unable to stomach the idea of a pre-match breakfast. Since the start of her captaincy she had a reputation for never losing a match, something she was fiercely proud of and constantly dreading the day her streak would be lost. But Poppy's comforting presence sat on her bed as Ro pulled her uniform out of her trunk was a massive relief. She kissed Ro before it was time for them all to leave for the Quidditch pitch, taking advantage of Minerva leaving the dormitory to find Larry in the Common Room even though Ro was at the point with Minerva where she didn't care if she knew or not. But that was a dilemma for a time other than the morning of their Quidditch final.

The atmosphere was heavy in the changing room before the match, with Verity and Xander preparing for the first final as well as Larry, Cleatus, and Ernest preparing for their last. Ro knew it would likely be an emotional post-match party, presuming they had a reason to hold one, but was determined to put the match first and her emotions later.

With a grim expression she checked the buckles on her arm guards before pulling her gloves on, touching Poppy's anklet for good luck as she propped her foot upon the bench to tie her boot laces. Fully dressed, she picked up her broomstick and gave the Rocket a quick once-over to make sure there were no last minute adjustments she needed to make. She'd polished and cleaned it a few days before so knew it wasn't about to let her down. Once all her checks were made she put her goggles on with the eye piece resting on her forehead so she could look at her team properly before they were called. Minerva, her oldest and dearest friend. Larry, the calming presence she needed. Verity, her sweet little prodigy. Cleatus, the first position she'd appointed. Ernest, the team's core spirit who'd been there longer than any of them. Xander, everyone's little brother who was going to go so far.

"Right then lads. Everyone ready?" she asked quietly. She could hear Maggie Jordan making a start in the commentary box, her final match too, so knew they didn't have a lot of time.

Six resolute nods answered her, and Ro gave a lame one of her own. "Usual formation then, we lead in on Marilyn's whistle." A pause, and then she finished with "And I'm so damn proud of you all."

The whistle sounded then, so Ro cocked her head up and marched out onto the pitch. The crowd went wild as she grinned up at them all, her nerves vanishing as she sought out Poppy in the crowd and with the aid of a spurt of courage blew her a kiss. At the start of her captaincy she found that walk to be the most nervewracking part of the match, but now older and wiser she could let herself enjoy the atmosphere and let the crowd lend them all some last minute courage.

"The Gryffindor team for 1947-48; Hooch, Spencer-Moon, McGonagall, Arundel, Lawrence, Flaherty, and Weasley!" Maggie shouted over the megaphone, to the cheers of the crowd. "And the Hufflepuff team; Diggory, Whittle, Sommerby, Grubbly, Stebbins, Macmillan, and Applebee. With both today's Captains playing Seeker this is bound to be quite the competitive match!"

Ro grinned as she stepped forwards to shake Alfred Diggory's hand. He looked quite different to the boy she'd been in Care of Magical Creatures with yesterday, a spark in his eyes as he gripped her hand firmly before they both mounted their brooms.

The Snitch was released, the Quaffle thrown, and then they were off. Ro skimmed the grass as she flew under the Hufflepuff Chasers in her bid to avoid the crush of all six Chasers flying for the Quaffle at once, knowing she would have to be incredibly quick on her toes if she was to stay ahead of Diggory. The last time they'd played he had never attempted to take her on in a direct race but in the two years since he'd grown taller and gained a new broomstick, meaning Ro wasn't about to base her performance on what she'd been up against back in fourth year.

Verity managed to take the Quaffle first in an impressive snatch from right under Chaser Sommerby's nose, a show that made Ro pause for second in admiration considering Verity was a team newbie and Sommerby was a former Captain. To her disappointment though the new Hufflepuff Keeper, Cerys Applebee, was on good form and managed to stop Larry from scoring before sending the Quaffle back down the pitch. As tempted as Ro was to keep an eye on her Chasers she knew she didn't have that kind of luxury, as she was regularly reminded by Diggory circling above her like a bright yellow shark.

She tilted her broom sharply to avoid a Bludger that she saw out the corner of her eye, double checking to make sure the culprit wasn't Xander again and her smile falling when she saw Hufflepuff Beater Stebbins on her tail. He was another sixth year and not someone Ro got on with particularly well, and the memory of when he'd taken out one of Slytherin's Beaters of all people in the February games was enough warning for her to fly carefully.

A quick listen to the background hum of Maggie's commentary told her that Hufflepuff were up 40-10 after the first 20 minutes, but barely seconds after that announcement the score was brought up by Minerva scoring a goal by the tiniest of margins. Ernest managed to get a hit on Applebee after that which made their job a lot easier, so while Hufflepuff still managed to keep the lead on them the Gryffindors never lagged too far behind.

It was half an hour into the game when Ro first saw the Snitch. While she normally liked to use her drop-and-deceive technique it was on the same altitude as her so that wasn't possible, meaning she just pivoted the Rocket on a sharp angle and shot straight for it. She could see Diggory coming at her from the opposite direction and spared a moment to hope that their Beaters were nowhere near them, praying she wasn't in for a repeat of how the first half of the Durmstrang match had ended.

While they weren't knocked out in quite the same manner, it did turn out to be not quite the end of the match. A sudden burst of sunlight shone down from the parting clouds and left Ro blinded, her first thought being that she'd lost sight of the Snitch and her second being pain as Diggory flew straight into her.

Despite a moment of stomach-lurching terror where she thought she was in for a hefty drop they both managed to stay on their brooms. Ro pressed one palm to her forehead where they'd collided, laughing when she turned to see Diggory clutching his own head. "Safe to ask if you fancy a timeout?" he asked with a slight tone of laughter.

"Sounds good with me," Ro grinned, both of them putting up their hands to signal to the referee.

Since it was both Captains requesting a break Marilyn was more than happy to comply, blowing her whistle for everyone to touch down for 10 minutes. Madame Quinine came down onto the pitch and gave the two Seekers an ice pack each which Ro held to her forehead as she sat down on the grass with her team. "Everyone else doing alright?" she asked, glancing around at each of them.

"My Cleansweep is a few bristles short but I'm doing ok," Larry chuckled.

"Xander's broken a finger," said a blunt voice that wasn't Xander's, and everyone turned their heads to see Ernest looking grim and Xander looking betrayed. "Sorry but you weren't going to tell them!" Ernest argued, not unkindly.

Ro chuckled, looking back at Xander who reluctantly gave his hand over to her. "Well look, I'm not going to stop you from playing," she said after examining his fingers for a moment. "Poppy won't be impressed with either of us but she'll fix you in a jiffy once we've landed for good."

Xander smiled, and Ernest took the opportunity to lightly elbow him in the side. "See, I told you she wasn't going to send you off," he teased, and Xander shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish laugh. Ro watched the pair with a warm smile; despite Xander's outer brashness, he had a surprisingly sensitive streak hidden underneath that Ro always made sure to not overlook.

After a few more minutes of Ro icing her head, Marilyn checked in with both them and the Hufflepuff before sending them off airborne again. As much as she was more than fit to continue the slight headache above her eye was enough to make her want to finish off the match as soon as possible and get somewhere she could lie down and rest her head on something. Preferably Poppy's lap, but at that point she wasn't fussed.

The scores were staying frustratingly even as the game continued on, a testament to the skill of both teams' Chasers. Ro made sure to keep an eye on Xander as well as looking out for the Snitch though she knew that he was safe with Ernest watching out for him, relieved that other than her head and his finger they hadn't sustained any other injuries. Minerva had another very near miss with a Bludger as she neared the scoring post, somehow managing to shoot and score despite hanging upside down from her broom, the crowd's nervous 'oooo' swelling into applause as she righted herself.

Still nervous that the intermittent sunlight would lead to someone else having a collision, Ro shielded her eyes with one hand as she looked upwards towards the clouds. But all other thoughts were chased out of her head when by some miracle that action lead to her spotting the Snitch about 20 feet above her. With a reckless lunge backwards she aimed the Rocket upwards and soared towards victory.

She turned a double cartwheel in the air when she felt it's fluttering wings safely enclosed in her fist, beating out a pattering rhythm that matched her still racing heartbeat. At the sounds of her team shouting celebrations far below her she took off her goggles and paused a moment to look around the stands, letting herself bask in the glory alone for just a second, and then she dropped from the sky to rejoin the rest of the players.

Minerva was the first to reach her, both of them still in flight as they embraced tightly and spun a few lazy circles in the air. She hugged Larry next as soon as she was on the ground before bending her knees in anticipation of Verity flinging herself into Ro's arms. After spinning the delighted Chaser around a few seconds she turned to her rowdier boys, laughing joyfully as she threw herself into their group hug and Minerva, Larry, and Verity followed suit. It was a sweaty and borderline painful embrace but it was their celebration and she didn't care.

Congratulations were made from the other team, photos were taken with Professor Dumbledore and the Quidditch Cup, before they all piled into the changing room to strip off their uniforms so they could get the afterparty started. Ro refused to let Poppy look at the bump on her forehead until she'd healed Xander's finger and she'd done her duty as Captain to look after them all.

Once they were back in the Tower though she was forced by Poppy and the entire team to lie down for a while, under threat of not being allowed anywhere near the smuggled-in butterbeer. Poppy sat down on one of the sofas and beckoned for Ro to join her, holding a fresh ice pack on her injury with one hand while she lightly combed her fingers through Ro's hair. With the sounds of celebration in the background and pride still singing in her chest as she closed her eyes, Ro didn't think she'd ever been happier.

Eventually she was allowed to rejoin her players in celebration, revelling in the last time she would party like that with her beloved seventh years after a Quidditch match. Maggie had already been tipsy by the time the team had arrived back from the changing room so it was no surprise to see her drunkenly daring Xander and reserve Beater Cyril Hadian to slide down the stair banister by a few hours in, with Ro taking one look at their daring smiles and deciding not to intervene. Ernest and Cleatus weren't far behind as they shouted out the lyrics to a song on the Wizarding Wireless from atop the coffee table. Her sudden search for Larry found him in Minerva's arms on the edge of the party, tears in his eyes as they just watched the celebration together with sad smiles on both of their faces.

The sight of them brought a sudden wave of emotion over Ro at the thought of saying so many goodbyes, letting out a half-sob-half-laugh when Poppy's hand found hers and she gave her a concerned look. "I'm alright," she choked out, managing to grin as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm happy, I'm sad, I'm just a lot at the moment."

Poppy smiled in understanding, and Ro found herself shocked by the realisation that she actually did properly understand. With another glance around the party to see if she would be missed, she tugged on Poppy's hand and pulled her underneath the girls' staircase. Poppy's confused hum was silenced when Ro placed a tentative hand on her cheek, waiting for Poppy to nod her consent before leaning in and crashing their lips together. She didn't know why she'd needed to do that so suddenly but with all the emotions of the day she'd just needed to feel someone.

Too wrapped up in each other, neither of them noticed someone else's presence until a surprised squeak made them both jump apart. It was Minerva who'd made the sound, her arms around Larry's neck and his hands on her waist though they were both frozen looking directly at Ro and Poppy.

There was silence from all four of them for several long seconds. Then Ro sighed, looking at Poppy first before she reached out to take one of her hands again. "So," she started, surprised at how her voice was shaking all of a sudden. "You know the secret now."

Minerva nodded. Larry had taken a few paces backwards so it was just the three of them under the staircase. "I wondered a while ago. I just wanted to wait until you were both happy to tell me," she said slowly, but the hesitation in her tone was clearly sourced from nervousness not anger.

"I guess we were all waiting for the same thing then," Poppy murmured quietly, squeezing Ro's hand.

Her gaze strayed down to Ro and Poppy's conjoined hands for a second, before Minerva surged forward to wrap an arm around each of their shoulders and pull them both into a hug. "I would never have minded. Not in a thousand years. You're both my closest friends and I'm nothing but happy for you," she whispered in a choked up voice.

Still gripping onto Poppy's hand, Ro looped her other arm around Minerva's waist and rested her head on her shoulder. "Thank you," she sighed, letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding as a months-old stress evaporated in a second.

They stayed huddled together under the stairs, Poppy dropping Ro's hand in order to hug them both properly. With another Quidditch cup to her name, her friends around her, and her true self formally accepted at last, Ro didn't think she'd ever felt quite so happy.

Author's note:

Another one! And we're back to a Ro chapter at last, I've missed writing her POV since I've picked the fic back up over this last month. And this will be the last chapter for a little bit I imagine since I go back to uni online on Wednesday but the next chapter is a big one so hopefully I can keep riding the motivation wave with that.

I actually hadn't planned for Millicent's mother to have married a woman when I first wrote out her story, but I had the idea at the start of this chapter and had to go along with it. I do really love Millicent and constantly worry that I neglect her in the fact of the remaining five so I was so glad she got to have that moment with Ro. I knew I wanted the coming out journey to feature highly in this chapter since it is such a thing (ignoring the extra pressures of the time period) but that ending scene with Minerva felt perfect to me. Going back to this fic's roots and all that.

And that's the last Quidditch match with Ernest Cleatus and Larry. Gosh I'll miss them, obviously this won't be the last we see of them (that's all I'm saying) but it'll be different bringing in another three new players for next year. I'm glad everyone's warmed up to Xander and Verity in Nancy and Anthea's places though so hopefully you all take a shine to my next lot of newbies. And maybe I'll try to develop Poppy's healer club friends too, again that was a completely spontaneous decision because I liked the concept of Lyrena too much to let go.

Much love from me to you all, hope you're all doing ok with everything and if this fic is helping people keep going then I'm so so glad. Until next time :)