Hey, just a quick note. I recently got a review wondering if Draco is going to end up with Hermione.

The short answer is no.

The long answer is just that I've tried writing this pairing more than once and it doesn't work out. They're friends. He wants to help her with something that will effect the rest of her life very negatively, and puts her in a lot of danger. They're also cousins via the adoption, which means something to him.

But again, they are friends. I understand some people cannot accept Draco as deserving of a redemption arc, or just being a good person. In the case that this is unsavory, I thank you for reading this far and hope you've enjoyed the rest of it!

About the pairings, though - when I began this fic seventy years ago I did have pairing ideas. I… may have forgotten what they were. As of now, Hermione is the only person whose end pairing I know. I think Harry is going to be with Ginny again. Ron, I'm not sure. If anyone has any ideas/requests, let me know!

Anyway, please enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chapter Twenty-Five

Sirius entered the library late that night to find a book he'd left in there days before and found Remus and Hermione lounging on a chair and couch, completely immersed in their respective books. The sight made him chuckle - she was basically the tiny, female version of his friend. "Having fun there, kids?"

Both of them looked up at him in surprise, and Remus smiled. "I thought you'd be in bed by now."

"Sorry, Mom," Sirius rolled his eyes. "If I knew you'd try and uphold my bedtime, I'd have made another Marauder's Map to avoid you."

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, sitting up abruptly. "I had a question about that."

The friends looked at her curiously.

"Well," Sirius hummed, walking over. "You see, those are super secret Marauders secrets. Only Marauders can know them…"

"I think he wants you to become a Marauder," Remus said when Hermione looked at the man like he was stupid. Understanding and annoyance flashed across her face.

"I'm not going to pull pranks, especially now that I actually respect my teachers and the people running the school."

"I'm not saying you have to prank at school," Sirius assured her. "Although that would make me proud. No, I'm suggesting you prank my family- our family. Earn the knowledge."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Sirius, is this just your way to get my help pranking Tonks?"

"Come on, I never got to when she was a kid!" Sirius told her, throwing his hands up. "Promise to help me once and we'll tell you whatever you want about the Map."

"Nothing that will hurt her," she said firmly. At his immediate nod, she tilted her head back. "Okay. I'll help you once."

"Yes!" he grinned. "What d'you need, kitten?"

Hermione adjusted to sit further up on the couch and set her book down on the table. "Well, in the past, people only showed up on it when we knew they existed. So I looked at the map the day after we got there and I only saw the three of us and the founders. Then, when we knew Helena was there, she showed up, and the same with another friend of ours. It kept updating when we met more students."

"And now, it updates whenever anyone enters the castle," Remus nodded his understanding. "It's because we connected the Map to the log book. I assume that wasn't created when the Founders ran the school hundreds of years ago. Failing to have the book, it must've relied on whoever held it to find the people."

"Fascinating," she breathed. "And dangerous."

"Did it get you in any trouble, kitten?" Sirius wondered, taking a seat across from the pair of them. She shrugged lightly.

"Not exactly. The only time it might've, we didn't even have it on us to rely on it and we got in trouble anyway. I just have to wonder if there's a more… efficient way of working that out."

"Like what?" Remus wondered, tilting his head at her.

"Well, do you guys think there's a way to… I don't know. Transfer all of the information and spells from that log book to the map itself? That way, if the log book were ever unavailable again, it would still be functional?"

The two men exchanged a glance as they considered her question together. It was Sirius who spoke first with a small sigh.

"Not with this map, no," he frowned. "This one- the spells are too specific."

"But there's no other map, right? You guys said this is one of a kind."

"It is," Remus assured her. "But that's a… a really good idea, Hermione."

She shrugged, looking between them. "So, what then?"

"So," Sirius gave her a bright grin. "You get to help us make a new one!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The last person they had to resort was Neville Longbottom, who had just accidentally been nowhere that the Founders were. It was how Helga found herself taking a trip to Longbottom Manor with the hat in hand. She was greeted by an elf and asked for Neville, and she waited in the sitting room for the teenager.

"Hello, Professor," Neville smiled as he walked into the room. He bowed his head slightly, reminding himself to be polite.

"Neville, I'm so glad you are home," Helga smiled brightly. "It seems we didn't manage to resort you."

Neville hesitated now. "Do I have to? I mean… no offense, professor, but I don't want to leave Gryffindor."

"Many people have gone to different Houses," she assured him. "And because of that, we'll have many different inter-house common rooms as there used to be in our time."

"How will classes work?" he asked her, a little less hesitant now.

"We plan to split classes up evenly," she explained. "There should never have been only two Houses in a class at once. It only presses the House divide further."

"Okay," he said, relieved. "Alright."

She summoned the hat and, once in her hands, she placed it on his head. He took a minute to be sorted, but when the hat called out his House, he sagged with relief.

"Gryffindor!"

"See?" Helga smiled sweetly as she put away the hat. "Nothing to worry about. Are you still worried about being away from your friends?"

"It's not just them," he admitted quietly. When she just waited patiently, he shifted slightly. "It's… both of my parents were in Gryffindor. I don't know much about them, but I know that."

"Did they pass?" Helga wondered with a sympathetic sadness to her. When he shook his head, she frowned in confusion.

"They were tortured to insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband when I was a baby," Neville said in a near-whisper. "They're in St. Mungo's spell damage."

Helga's eyes widened slightly. "What spell was used?"

"The Cruciatus," he managed. Confusion flooded through her.

"I'm sorry, Neville, but you said they were in spell damage still?"

"Well, yeah."

"Why?"

Neville stared at her, lost. "What do you mean… why? They were tortured. It's not- there's nothing left, according to the healers."

"Oh, of course there is," Helga disagreed. "What sort of healers do you have? The most difficult part of healing after the Cruciatus has driven one insane is the physical healing. As it's been years, I imagine they are physically fine."

"Well, yeah," he agreed slowly. "But their minds aren't."

"Not if the proper mind healing hasn't been done."

Neville shook his head. "But mind healing is impossible without complete consent from the patient, and my parents can't give that."

"Then the healers are attempting the wrong sort of mind healing," Helga frowned. She'd expected healing practices to only have gotten better. This boy had been left without his parents for his entire life because some incompitent healers didn't know how to do the simplest healing transfers? "Neville, would you mind if I paid a visit to your parents? I'd like to speak with their healers."

"Um," he glanced back. "Nan is out right now, but… if we get back before noon, I think- yeah, that's fine."

"Then we should hurry," she decided, waving toward the floo. There was a lot of work to do.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Godric was sitting with Harry and going over the merits of starting first years on weaponry training when they got the Patronus from Helga.

"This horrible mediwitch claims it's impossible to heal a torture victim's mind. Please come assist. St. Mungo's spell damage ward, please."

"Uh," Harry watched as the patronus faded away. "Why's she at St. Mungo's?"

"I have no clue," Godric stated, getting to his feet. "She was supposed to return an hour ago. She was only resorting Neville Longbottom."

Understanding passed through Harry as they stepped toward the floo together. He wasn't given the chance to explain, however, as his uncle stepped into the floo without another word. Instead, he followed behind and came out the other side in a waiting room in the spell damage ward, where he immediately took in the scene before him.

Neville sat in a chair, looking overwhelmed. Across from him was Helga and a healer that looked almost as frustrated as the founder before her. Godric was making his way over to his friend, so Harry stepped out of the floo and walked over to sit with Neville. "What's going on?"

"I'm still in Gryffindor," Neville began tiredly. "Then I told Professor Hufflepuff about my parents, and she didn't understand why they're still here, so I brought her. She's called Healer Markward 'glaringly incompetent' three times."

Harry grimaced. "Seems like she knows something about how to help your parents. Are they not listening to her?"

"They don't even believe she is who she says she is," Neville sighed. "Healer Markward threatened to admit her to Janus Thickey for saying she's Helga Hufflepuff and she can cure my parents. Or the aurors."

Harry's eyes lit up with an idea. He got to his feet and strode over to the group before him and interrupted the argument. "Hey, you wanted to call aurors, right?"

"This madness has only gotten worse!" Healer Markward exclaimed. "Yes, I need aurors. I have work to do and I cannot do that with this-,"

Harry interrupted by casting a patronus. "To Tonks. Can you bring Kingsley and come to the Janus Thickey ward at St. Mungo's, please?" The patronus flew off and he crossed his arms, slightly amused.

The fight resumed with a slightly relieved healer. It only took Tonks and Kingsley five minutes to floo over, and when they did, they spotted the disagreement before them. While Tonks went to break it up, Kingsley came to stand at Harry's side.

"What is it?"

"Professor Hufflepuff thinks she can cure Neville's parents," he said. "I assume she came to do that and they got in an argument. She sent us a Patronus, we came, now this. He doesn't even believe they are who they say they are."

"For the love of Merlin, man, do you not read the paper?" Kingsley asked, addressing Healer Markward, who was irritated and offended.

"They're dead!"

"They are not!" Harry shot back, rolling his eyes. "Aren't I famous for doing impossible things? I did this, too."

"Even if it is true that they are who they say they are," Markward glared. "It is impossible to cure the mind of someone driven insane via torture, the way that Alice and Frank were. There's nothing left of them."

"Now, that just isn't true," Helga huffed. "Perhaps you're too glaringly incompetent-,"

"If you call me that one more time-,"

"To see it, but there is a way! And it's very simple and completely non-invasive. If you would just allow me to show you-,"

"There is no way in hell I'm letting you anywhere near my patients!"

"Okay!" Tonks put her hands up. "Shut it, Markward. Professor, can you explain what you want to do?"

"You believe she's Helga Hufflepuff?"

"By the gods, you are exhausting," Helga stated. She pulled her wand and pointed it upward. "I do swear on my wand and magic that I am Helga Hufflepuff, a founder of Hogwarts."

When the tip lit up, the curse words he let out made just about everybody in the room blush, with the exception of Harry, who just snorted his laughter.

"The point stands," Markward said when he gathered a sliver of his composure. "They cannot be healed."

"Not by you," Helga said somewhat snarkily. "I'm unsure how it happened, but it seems the spell in question is no longer common. The spell I want to use will remove the oppressive blanket over their minds that keeps them shells of who they used to be, and it will place it on someone else. We typically use small animals for this."

"But it's never been heard of before," Markward insisted.

"I lived eight hundred years ago," Helga said dryly. "You think it improbable that, in the last eight centuries, perhaps a few things have been lost along the way?"

Markward let out a sigh that told of exhaustion. He glanced over at Neville, who looked very much like he didn't want to be in the middle of this. "The Longbottom heir or Lady will need to consent to special treatment for their condition."

"Yes," Neville spoke up tiredly. "Yes, she can do it. Please, Professor."

Markward let out a small huff. "A mediwitch will escort you to the room and assist however you require."

While he walked away, Harry grinned at his cousin. "Thanks, Tonks. You guys are the only Aurors I really know. I hope I didn't interrupt anything important."

"Just more boring ass patrols," Tonks assured him. "Hey, Kings, why don't I hang out here and make sure things go okay?"

Kingsley chuckled. "Stay now and you'll have three more patrol hours next week."

Tonks shrugged. "That's a next week me problem."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Helga stood over the bed on which Alice Longbottom lay. On a table next to her was a small ferret that had been deeply sedated. It was already sick, much to her relief. Her wand hovered over Alice and she sucked in a long, deep breath before she cast.

"Moventur Per Potentiam Opprimunt."

Alice jerked slightly as the magic left Helga's wand and moved into her mind. It swept up the thick layer that had been formed so many years ago to protect Alice from further torture and, once it had all been collected, pulled it straight from her mind. Helga quickly moved toward the ferret and carefully placed it inside the poor creature's mind instead.

Once she was done with the ferret, the mediwitch Kendra moved it out of the way and brought in another small animal, this one also sedated. They moved around to Frank's bed and repeated the process, though this time with a bit more difficulty.

It was only when they'd finished and Helga had lowered her wand that Neville moved closer nervously. "What's supposed to happen?"

"Well, they should be fine," Helga told him. "They'd be awake if we hadn't put a gentle stun on them first. Would you like to remove it with me?"

"S-sure," he agreed. He didn't stutter often anymore, but the situation certainly called for nerves.

"I'll wake your father," she offered. She was slightly concerned for the state of his mind, as it seemed there was some more damage that had been masked by the torture, likely from invasive mind spells.

They got into position and she waited for Neville to move first. He took his time and used it to calm himself slightly, trying to take deep breaths. Finally, he raised his wand and pointed it at his mother. "Finite Incantatem!"

It took a moment before Alice moved. She began stirring slightly, and he rushed to her side and took her hand. Eventually, she blinked her eyes open and met his.

"Mum?" he said softly.

"Oh, Neville," she gasped. His eyes widened in wonder, but before he could speak again, she reached up and wrapped him up in a tight hug. "My sweet boy."

"Neville," a slightly gravely voice said from their left. Neville turned and saw Frank sitting up.

"Dad," he said, eyes wide.

"I'll give you some time," Helga offered. She quickly made her way out of the room, waving the mediwitch along behind her.

They'd been robbed of too many years together. They certainly deserved time.

OoOoOoOoOoOo