We entered Hogwarts discreetly, covering myself and the girls with a layer of invisible blood. We reached the lair, where Ginny and Luna were waiting for us… who, upon seeing me, couldn't help but leap onto me and hug me, pressing themselves against my chest and even, I could swear, sniffing me.
"Easy, let me wake the others first, and then we'll talk," I said, setting the unconscious girls down and waking them up one by one.
They opened their eyes, dazed, with their memories altered and heads muddled. But as they reoriented themselves and saw my silhouette in front of them, after rubbing their eyes as if fearing they were dreaming…
"RED!" almost all of them shouted in unison, pouncing on me to hug me too.
If it weren't for my strength, they would have knocked me to the floor. It was clear how much they had missed me, especially after what had happened. In fact, if I hadn't erased parts of their memories, the reaction would have been much more intense: uncontrollable tears and a palpable fear of letting go.
The girls with their minds intact just sighed at the scene, shaking their heads. They thought that, sometimes, ignorance could truly be bliss. They all remembered being on the brink of death, and while they envied the naive calm of the others a bit, they couldn't help but smile with some bitterness. Pansy, in particular, looked annoyed because they weren't leaving her any space to hug me; and Lavender frowned, as if bothered that she had been separated from her "red queen," her new living fetish.
"Calm down, girls, let me breathe," I asked, though I did nothing to push them away.
"Red, when did you get back?"
"It's so good you're here!"
"You saved us, didn't you?"
They all spoke at once, making a coherent conversation impossible. I took a moment to calm them down before continuing.
In the end, they were all sitting in armchairs forming a semicircle around me. Those with altered memories seemed calmer, not understanding why the others were so exhausted or had lingering fear. They interpreted it as some being simply stronger than others.
"I leave for little more than a week and you already get into a mess like this," I said in an accusatory tone, though it was more a comment to relieve tension than a real scolding.
The girls looked at me, embarrassed. They knew they had been reckless, but they hadn't imagined things would escalate so much. No one expected to encounter an army of such strange and dangerous spiders in the forest.
"Thanks for saving us, Red… I really thought they were going to devour us," Parvati murmured, embarrassed and shy.
"Yeah… though I don't remember what happened in the end. I think I passed out," Padma added, and several others nodded, feeling something was off, but unable to pinpoint it.
"You're lucky I left an emergency clone here, just in case something happened. I didn't think I'd have to use it so quickly. And you should be thankful that I knew the father of those spiders, because otherwise, none of you would be telling this story," I said, in the tone of a father scolding his daughters.
"You know about those spiders?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"I know where they come from… and that they were in the forest fighting against the acromantulas. They sensed that you had some relation to me, and that's why they didn't devour you. Though they did give you a good scare and some bruises," I added, pointing to their dirty and torn robes. "It will be a lesson for you."
The girls blushed, nodding in silence. None of them planned to enter the Forbidden Forest again without being much better prepared… or ignoring the danger signs again. This time, they had been too lucky.
"Sorry… we were following a lead. We didn't think…" Hermione said in a thread of a voice, clutching her robe tightly.
It had been her decision to follow Hagrid's trail, and even though I had erased the worst part of the experience, she still felt guilty. Tears got the better of her, and despite her effort to stay strong, she ended up running to hug me for comfort.
"It's okay, calm down," I said, stroking her head, while noticing the annoyed looks from Pansy and Ginny, and others with looks of envy rather than anger, like Susan, who also wanted a little comfort. "You didn't do badly, really… you just went at the worst possible time. But now you're safe," I concluded, holding Hermione more firmly.
"So… we're without leads again?" Cho asked, who was the most sore of all. She had been the one poisoned for the longest, and even though I cured her, she still felt weak and exhausted.
"In a way, yes. Aragog no longer exists," I replied calmly. "But you were quite right: Hagrid is one of the key pieces in this mystery."
"But the ministry took him away…" Tracey recalled, frowning.
"Yeah, now we can't ask him anything," Padma added, with resignation.
"It might be difficult," I conceded, gently patting Hermione's back and guiding her back to her seat, "but I know you'll be able to keep moving forward."
"I don't know if I want to keep investigating…" Susan murmured, almost in a sigh. No one seemed to hear her but me. When she noticed my gaze fixed on her, she fell silent, although deep down she still felt the fear of what she had experienced. A part of her wanted to give up, but another part was convinced to keep trying, even just a little more.
"Listen closely," I said in a serious, almost paternal tone. "You're on the right track, but don't rush into things blindly again. Investigation, yes… risking your lives, no. I don't know if I'll always get there in time to save you, though I will try."
"Red… are you going to leave again?" Hermione asked, now much calmer, but with a plea hidden in her voice.
"Yes. In fact, I have to go now. This little trip was too risky. If they suspect I was here, it would be a problem. And you all keep your mouths shut: you never went to the Forbidden Forest, and I was never here. Understood?" I added, putting a finger to my lips as a sign for silence.
"Can't you stay a little longer?" Susan asked, voicing what everyone was thinking. After what they had been through, they felt vulnerable and needed the security my presence gave them.
"Five minutes… no more," I said, rolling my eyes, though I couldn't help but smile at their relieved looks.
"What's Brazil like?" Tracey asked, suddenly more animated, leaving her previous apathy behind and filling with curiosity.
"Is Hannah okay?" Susan asked, worried.
"And the magic there? Is it so different?" Hermione inquired, leaning forward.
"How do they play Quidditch? Do they play like the Americans?" Cho added with a sparkle in her eyes.
And so, each one launched their questions, one after another. I stayed with them a few more minutes, telling them the little I had seen, satisfying their curiosity as much as I could. I made it clear that I had to leave, but also that they would never be alone. Although reluctant, they accepted my departure and promised not to interrupt my journey again… at least, not so soon.
In the end, I left the clone on the ground, motionless, as if it had lost all energy. It was up to them to return it to that small room.
They carried me with a certain sadness, wishing I could stay longer, and they did the best they could.
That night, however, many of them came back to the clone. They sat beside it, talking in low voices, as if it were really me listening… seeking spiritual comfort, the illusion that I was still there, protecting them.
Ginny and Luna were the first to approach… with somewhat questionable intentions. I noticed the doubt in their eyes: perhaps they suspected I was exaggerating the clone's uselessness. They began to move it around like a rag doll, testing its reactions. Seeing that it didn't respond, they exchanged dangerous glances, as if considering doing something improper. Luckily, in the end, they decided not to take the risk and walked away.
Hermione was different. She brought some books, sat beside me, and leaned against the clone, talking to me from time to time as if she genuinely expected answers.
Tracey, Parvati, and Padma appeared together, giggling in whispers. They set about giving the clone a "makeover": painted nails, makeup, hair clips. When they finished, they left in fits of laughter, as if they wanted to leave a prank ready for me the next time I used it.
Susan also came, but with a different air. She always brought some food she had cooked, as if she wanted to share it with me. She even tried to put cookies in my mouth more than once, as if she could force the clone to "eat."
Penelope, on the other hand, came because I called her. We didn't waste time: a quick game, failing her against the wall, leaving her with trembling legs and a blush that betrayed more than she would have wanted.
Pansy… she came with a different fire. She threw herself at the motionless clone, kissing it with a ferocity as if she wanted to rip out what she felt she was owed. Between kisses, she reproached me for not fulfilling my obligations, for letting the other "sluts" steal the time that was hers. She was about to leave, filled with rage, when I gave her a squeeze on the backside before going motionless again.
"What?!" she spun around, startled. "Red…?! are you here?" Then she paused as if finding some enlightenment. "You lied to us! You could move all along!" she said, in a spark of intelligence and reasoning I hadn't expected from her.
I saw her so determined that I knew she wouldn't believe anything else. I slowly sat up, giving her a teasing smile.
"RED!" she screamed, pouncing on me, hitting my chest with her fists. "You lying bastard!"
The girl released her fury completely, angry that I had made her believe I wasn't there… and for all the lost time, time they could have shared alone. What enraged her most was the thought that she had wasted the opportunity for it to be a secret just between the two of us, a privilege she would have taken behind the backs of the other girls.
"Shhh… nobody has to know about this," I ordered in a low, but very serious voice.
She wanted to maintain her rage, but my gaze broke her. From a fierce wolf, she became a trembling pup, a victim of frustration, with no option but to accept my rules.
"Make it up to me… I want you to kiss me like your life depends on it, as if every moment away from me left you incomplete… just as I felt," she demanded with a resentful pout.
I smiled and hugged her tightly, kissing her with the same passion she asked for. The kiss was rough, brusque, and invasive, as if our tongues were fighting to fuse together.
That was just the beginning. Now that Pansy knew the truth, she would come to this room to get her dose of love, almost as if it were a drug. In a way, it was; she was addicted to the adrenaline of love, a feeling so potent that it made her hatred and resentment disappear.
But I didn't stop there. I took things a step further, and while I kissed her, I squeezed her nipples through the clothes hard enough to make her let out small, sharp yelps of pain.
"So… getting into trouble, forcing me to save you, interrupting my business…" I scolded her between sighs, punishing her. Each time I did so, I filled her with pain, a pain that mixed with the future pleasure of relief when I let go. I was training a rebellious Pansy, and despite her initial rejection, she docilely accepted the pain, almost as if she deserved it. Additionally, she felt a particular euphoria from the fact that we were going further, without crossing that barrier she was still not ready to cross.
I also made sure the other girls I already considered mine knew the truth. Daphne, Millicent, and Lavender, who now also came occasionally to keep me informed of what was happening in the castle… well, Lavender came for very different reasons. In a way, I felt relieved to be able to help her release that "stress," because otherwise, she would go crazy, though she never stopped asking me to let both the Red Queen and I "subdue" her together.