Potterbook | *Started*

Bonnie blinked, and a familiar ceiling swam into view. Where was she? Oh, right. The Hospital Wing. That certainly was familiar. Bonnie had been here many times before- but her head had never hurt like it did now. What on Earth had she done to it?

Oh. Right. That.

Head still pounding, Bonnie groaned and pushed herself into a sitting position. Ow. Her arms hurt, too. What had she done to them?

Oh. Right. That.

She ran her hand over the left side of her face, and felt the grooves there. Very odd- almost like she'd been lying on wood flooring for ages. But why would she-

Oh. Right. That.

"Good. You're finally awake. I'll give you something for the concussion, then you can leave."

Bonnie looked up to see Madam Promfrey attending to Snape's leg. She opened her mouth to talk, but Snape gave her a death glare, so she bit her lip instead.

She couldn't keep her mouth closed for long, however.

"I feel sick. In fact, I feel awful. What was I doing? Oh. Right. That."

Another death glare from Snape. "And what exactly would "that" be?"

Even if Bonnie hadn't had a ear-splitting headache,it would have taken her a few minutes to realize that it might be a good idea to lie.

"We-ell..." it all came out in a rush, "I-thought-it-took-far-too-long-to-walk-down-the-stairs,-so-I-slid-down-the-banister-only-I-forgot-that-the-staircases-move."

Madam Pomfrey and Snape stood in stunned silence for several seconds. Snape was the one to break it.

"Twenty-five points from Ravenclaw, and three weeks of detentions for pure idiocy." And with that he swallowed the potion he'd been given in one gulp, and stormed (well, half-stormed, half-limped) out of the room.

Bonnie sighed. She had a feeling Ravenclaw wouldn't be winning the house cup anytime soon...

Professor Snape | Near Slytherin House/Slytherin Common Room:

Snape stalked along the corridor--well, more like he half-stalked, half-limped, but either way, he was clearly not happy--and towards the Slytherin Common Room. He cursed most everything as he walked, including the headmaster and the bratty little Ravenclaw girl--and most especially, Hagrid's cursed dog. Why couldn’t the gameskeeper find some other critter to watch the trapdoor? One that wasn’t...quite as violent?

He sighed, shaking his head and muttering about stupid headmasters, annoying students and horrid three-headed dogs as he approached the entrance to his house’s common room. He had students to check on. Snape muttered the password at the wall before stalking through the wall as if it weren’t there--which was a rather adept description, really, seeing as it wasn’t actually a wall, but a doorway concealed by a very strong Disillusionment Charm. One that Snape himself and cast and set to let someone pass only if they knew the password.

Snape passed through the illusionary wall and through the hidden alcove behind it, pushing the door close behind him. Most of his house was already in the common room, and talking in hushed voices among themselves. Snape’s gaze narrowed as he noticed that he had two students missing. Potter and Devereux. He heard the door open and close and turned towards it. His missing students walked through the door, alone. Good. He didn’t need another Professor seeing this.

“Potter. Devereux.” He stalked forward, barely concealing his limp. The common room had fallen silent. “Where have you been? The midst of the action, I assume?” He scowled at both of them, noticing that Devereux had lowered her face and wouldn’t look at him. He decided he might speak to her later. “Do explain yourselves, and do not test my patience. It has already been worn thin enough tonight.”

Potter glanced at her partner-in-crime and cleared her throat. She looked a tad nervous. “We...we can explain, sir. We were only...trying to rescue Selwyn from getting himself killed.”

Snape scoffed, cutting her off before she could continue. “Trying to rescue a Gryffindor?” he sneered, and shook his head. “How very... noble of you. If I didn’t know better, I would say that Hat put you in the wrong House, Potter.”

“Terribly sorry, professor.” Her tone had become stiff. “But are you saying that Slytherins stand by and let others die rather than do something about it?” Devereux’s head came up at that, as if the girl was startled by Potter’s question. Snape merely shot Potter a dark look.

“That is most certainly not what I am implying, Potter,” he snapped. “Detention with me for the next week, Potter. As for you, Devereux, add another detention to the ones you are already serving with me.” Devereux groaned, lowering her head again. Snape ignored her and focused on Potter again. “You are lucky you are not both dead. Manticores, young or not, are not creatures to be trifled with.” And with that, he turned and stalked out of the common room, his robes billowing out and then falling with a snap. He also failed to check his limp.

Out in the hall, all his anger and annoyance abruptly left him. He scowled at his own stupid reactions and stalked back to his own rooms, trying not to limp too much. Oh, he was definitely going to be talking to that stupid oaf of a gameskeeper. Three-headed dog indeed.


Samara Devereux | Slytherin Common Room:

Samara groaned again--for probably the fifth time that night since Snape had left. Detention. Again. Couldn’t he pick on someone else for once? Alice was glaring around at the others, who had swiftly gone back to their respective conversations. “I’m really starting to hate that,” Samara muttered, shooting Alice a glance before crossing the common room and heading for their dorm room. Hopefully, Alice would follow--which she did. “It’s really annoying, having detention all the freaking time. Can’t he pick on someone who isn’t me for once?”

Alice seemed to find that amusing. “It’s Snape,” she said. “I think we know him well enough by now that he only gives you detention so you can help him with his potions. You are one of the better students in our class.”

Samara shot her a glare. “You say that like it’s a good thing.”

“Well, it is.”

The redhead smiled at her, and Samara sighed. She couldn’t even find a flaw in that logic. “Fine,” she muttered as they entered their room. “Just don’t go telling everyone.” She flopped down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Especially Snape. He has enough of an ego as it is...” Suddenly, she sat up. “Did you talk to Selwyn? I wasn’t quite sure if you got the chance.”

Alice eyed her for a moment as she sat on her bed. They stared at each other until Samara looked away. Alice sighed. “No, not yet,” she muttered, falling back on her bed. “Too many Professors around.”

“Oh,” Samara said in a very small voice, looking towards the entrance to their room. She swiftly stood and changed before anyone else could enter the room, noticing that Alice was doing the same. “Goodnight Alice. I hope we’re still speaking to each other in the morning.” She promptly got into bed and laid down, her back to the other girl. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, leaving Alice staring at her as she, too, got into bed. Hopefully things would be better in the morning.

Alice Potter | Great Hall, Next Day

Alice had decided that breakfast in the Great Hall wasn’t going to be an uneventful matter; especially after last night. She also had a bone to pick with a certain Professor Snape--he was the very first person to actually give her a detention at Hogwarts, and Alice wasn’t happy. Which was probably the reason why his hair was such a violent shade of pink this morning. Alice almost swaggered into the Great Hall happily, but decided not to. With that look on his face, Alice was sure he wouldn't hesitate to triple her detention period on some imaginary excuse.

Allen barely choked down the chicken in his mouth, stifling his laughter. “What in the name of Merlin's bearded wand did you do to Snape?” he snorted. “His hair looks like it belongs to a Valentine Day’s card, or something.” He gnawed thoughtfully at the bone, only to break out into giggles as his eyes landed on Snape. The man in question glared back.

Alice smirked and shook her head. It was amusing. But she hadn’t come here all by herself to talk about Snape’s hair. She plonked down on the bench in front of him, shoving a weedy-looking first year Gryffindor off to the side. He opened his mouth to complain, but Alice waved his complaints off. “How’ve you been lately?”

He paused mid-giggle and closed his eyes, still chewing contemplatively on the bone. “You don’t wanna know, trust me. These last weeks have been horrible. First Rockharrow found me at--” His eyes widened for a brief moment, and then he shook his head. “No, it’s nothing.”

“What is it?!” Alice demanded, but he only kept shaking his head. She sniffled and then turned her head away, towards the staff table; for some reason, the headmaster was looking over his spectacles at her. Alice looked away. Allen’s plate looked clean and shiny, as if there hadn’t been any food in the first place. “Hey, Allen.”

He turned around, just as he began to get up. “Hm? What is it?”

“...I’m sorry. About what I said, yesterday.” She bit her lip, looking at her own plate; she hadn’t put any food on it yet. “Also, I...I’m sorry for landing you in detention.” Even though it wasn’t my fault! A little voice at the back of her head screamed. She didn’t look up as Allen sat himself back down; for a few moments, Alice couldn’t hear anything but stilted murmurs all across the table, and saw a few curious eyes directed towards them.

Allen drummed his fingers on the table, looking anywhere but at her. “You know, I...sort of missed playing around with you these last few weeks.” She glanced up to see a slight red tinge on his cheeks. “I don’t...I don’t really have any other friends...other than...you and Sammy...” he mumbled, still blushing; Alice realized she was leaning forward to catch his words. “So...so I guess I’m asking...canwebefriendsagain?”

Alice blinked at him for a moment; and then just as she was about to open her mouth and inevitably embarrass Allen by remarking on how he looked, a certain pair of twins appeared. Dragging along a confused Sammy with them.

Kaius & Julius Rousseau | Great Hall - Breakfast:

It was pure luck that they found the Slytherin firstie alone in the hall on their way to breakfast. Pure. Luck. Julius wasn’t impressed with snagging the firstie and dragging her with them to breakfast, but heck. That was his problem. Kaius just wanted some fun.

“Do we have to do this, Kai?” Juls asked, sounding a little worried. Kai scoffed and shot his brother a glare. The other boy merely gazed back, rather calmly, if one were asking Kaius.

“Yes, we do,” Kai snapped, jerking the girl round in front of him. “Where is she going to be sitting, eh?” He shook her when the girl frowned at him sleepily. It seemed like they’d caught her half-awake. “Or do you want me to tell everyone about your father, again?”

That seemed to wake her up a little. “DO NOT BRING MY FAMILY INTO THIS!” she shouted, giving him a shove. He didn’t move and she started struggling, kicking him in the shins and everything. None of it made Kai let go. “I faced down a Manticore last night,” the girl sneered in warning. “Don’t make me angry!”

Kaius snorted at the girl. “Pfft, like you could, little girl.” He glanced towards Julius, who sighed and shook his head, as if he was weary of his brother’s actions. “Now. Tell me. Where?”

“It’s Samara,” she muttered, all anger gone. “Not little girl. Do try to remember that.”

“Well?”

‘Samara’ seemed to hesitate and then sighed. “She’ll be sitting at the Gryffindor table today. Probably trying to get Selwyn’s attention. We did save his butt from being kicked last night.” Kaius merely raised an eyebrow at that and waited. Samara sighed in frustration. “Fine! I’ll show you.”

Kaius smirked and shoved the girl ahead of him, knowing his brother would follow anyway. She led them into the Hall, and straight over to Potter and the Gryffindor boy. He pulled her to a stop just out of hearing range and muttered a spell, aiming it at Samara. He watched as she abruptly stumbled and almost fell over. Julius caught her before she did, and met his brother’s gaze. Kai nodded and abruptly butted into conversation Potter had been in with the Gryffindor boy.

“Hello little firsties! How’s breakfast this fine morning?” Kaius said cheerily, grinning at the redhead and then at the boy with the scar of his face. They both glared at him.

“You didn’t put anything in the food, did you?” the boy asked, warily. Kaius laughed. Behind him, Julius was scowling and looking between the girl and his twin. ‘Samara’ seemed very, very confused, and it was annoying Julius. Why did Kaius have to cast Confundo on her in the first place?

“Of course not,” Kaius said, affronted. “I wouldn’t do that now, would I?” He winked at the boy, who scowled and looked away. It only made him laugh more, smiling at everyone who looked his way. A lot of those who did look appeared wary of the twins. Kaius didn’t blame them. He’d be wary of himself, too, if he wanted to. Which he didn’t. Obviously.

“You.” The voice was steeped in so much venom you could tell straight away it was one of the Snakes; just not a famous redheaded first-year, however. “What do you want, Rousseau?” she hissed, much like a snake again. Kaius swore he could hear a rattle in her voice. Rattlesnake? It sparked his interest all over again. After the bribe back at the Gryffindor Victory Party, he wanted to see more of Alice Potter and how she reacted to things. It was rather amusing, really.

“Oh, just a little chat, is all,” he said, rather nonchalantly, smiling a bright, cheerful smile that was sure to piss off more than one person. Potter was glaring at him, and the Gryffindor boy... Kaius shot him a smirk, winking as he did so. The boy flushed--just a little. It made his smirk grow. “Chatting can’t hurt, can it?”

“Oh, believe me, it can,” the Gryffindor boy mumbled, still red in the face. Potter’s mouth was twitching downwards, and Kaius swore he could hear a vein popping somewhere in her forehead. “Alice, are you going to come?” The boy stood up, as if he was going to leave. Potter glanced at him and then looked back at Kaius. Her eyes spotted the Slytherin firstie looking confuzzled and blank.

“What...did you do to Sammy?” There it was again; that tone, except it was more intense. It almost made the hair on the back on his neck stand up, but he’d seen scarier performances before. By Snape, no less, who was currently looking like cotton candy. Wait. Kaius glanced at Snape’s hair again. Cotton candy? “Oi. Answer me when I’m talking to you, Rousseau!”

Kaius tore his gaze off Snape and smirked at the little redhead. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just a little spell.” He smiled sweetly, watching as her eyes narrowed. “It shouldn’t last long.” He paused, as if considering it, keeping a watchful eye on Potter as he did so. “In fact, it should wear off in a few hours. Do try not to let her wander.”

“...you...” He couldn’t exactly place the expression on her face; which was rather scary. How did a first-year actually manage to unnerve him? Even if it was only a little. “...I’m going to...I’m going to!” She never finished her sentence; a moment later, Kaius found his collar grabbed and his head spinning back and forth. The little firstie was trying to choke him! And in the Great Hall, in full view of the entire school, to boot!

Professor Snape | Great Hall - Breakfast, Staff Table:

Snape was annoyed. His hair was...was... pink! Oh, whoever had done that was going to pay--in detentions and House points. By Merlin, if he found out... He growled and stabbed at the food on his plate again, furious. He was fuming, and it most definitely not funny. Eyes on Potter now, because he was sure it had been her, he put the fork down and watched the scene unfold. The fury that grew now overshadowed the one that was related to his hair being pink. This fury was far nastier. No one messed with his Slytherins and got away with it. And those Rousseau twins...

He abruptly stood and stalked towards the group when he saw Potter attempting to strangle the life out of the blue-eyed twin (which he was pretty sure was Kaius Rousseau, if he didn’t know any better). Still limping, his robes failed to billow like the normally did, and instead did the whole billow-snap-fail thing as he stalked towards them.

“What is going on here?” Snape demanded in an icy tone. When they ignored him, he roared, “LET HIM GO, POTTER!” and silenced the entire Great Hall, much to the amusement of the Headmaster. Snape couldn’t care less. “Potter.” She finally released the older boy and looked towards him. Snape was not surprised by the utter fury in her gaze. “Now, I will ask again. What is going on here? Explain. Now.”

“Professor!” Potter looked slightly surprised, but still seemed angry. “Thank goodness you’re here. Rousseau attacked Samara with a jinx. Just look at her!”

Snape glanced towards Devereux and frowned. That was, indeed, a jinx. Confundo, if Snape was correct. He short the Hufflepuff twins a dark look but said nothing. And then he spoke, and it was in a very quiet, icy tone. “Detention every day for three weeks with me and twenty-five points each for cursing another student. That is not tolerated in my House. Understood?” He glanced towards Potter now and noticed the smirk on her face. His eyes narrowed. “Another detention with me, Potter, for letting them encourage you. Do not be late.”

And with that, he snagged Devereux’s arm and dragged her out of the hall, leaving two rather shocked Hufflepuff twins, a rather upset and furious Potter and an awkward-looking Selwyn in his wake. Now he could focus on trying to unjinx the girl.

Allen Selwyn | Great Hall, later in the week

Alice had yet to give Allen a proper answer as to whether they would still be friends; she had been busy 'being a good kid' the entire week, which made him suspect she was planning something big. From what he knew of Alice, she was proud, even though she was his own age and therefore, shouldn't have been able to be this...vehement. She was quite vehement, wasn't she? To think she even started choking Rousseau in front of the entire school...he thought all this while chewing on a carrot. Rockharrow sent a glare at him.

"Hand me that plate over there, Selwyn," she demanded, pointing to a heavy looking plate piled with chicken salad. Allen of course, didn't need to use his full strength to even lift the thing. Being a werewolf did have its perks.

He simply didn't like the other side of it. Junior glared at him as he set it down on the table in front of her, and made him dish it out as well. He rolled his eyes. The full moon was in a few days, but still she wouldn't let him off. Rockharrow sure was taking full advantage of this whole slave deal...

"Allen!" It was Alice, waving to him as she entered the Great Hall. By now, the entire table was used to her butting in on their meals, apparently, and no one bothered to question her presence or stare at her--except for Rockharrow, that is. Alice was currently the only subject of her attention, but the redhead barely noticed. "Oh, hey Rockharrow," she said amiably, with a smile, as if she hadn't realized it was Rockharrow she was speaking to. Somewhere, a light bulb went off in his head as she smiled at him, almost sleepily. "Say, Allen, are you free right now? I wanna show you and Sammy something."

"I...uh...." He glanced at Rockharrow to gauge her. She seemed to be focused entirely on Alice's mere presence and not what she was saying. He turned back to Alice inquiringly. "Um, yeah, I think so?"

"That's great!" A grin dawned on her face. "Now, if only I could find Sammy...there she is!" Devereux came in through the doors, looking just as tired as Alice. Allen briefly wondered what Snape had made them do in detention today as Alice waved the girl in question over. Devereus looked even more exhausted up close; she wasn't as bouncy as Alice, and it showed at times like this. "Come on, I have something to show you guys!"

Which was the reason why they were currently standing on a seventh-floor balcony, looking up at stars. After a few minutes, Allen broke the silence awkwardly. "Um, Alice, you know, the night sky is pretty, and all, but what are we waiting for?"

"Ssssshhh!" She put a finger to her lips. "Just wait for it. Professor Sinistra told me it would be here any minute."

"Professor Sinistra?" He and Devereux glanced at each other. Alice had been talking to the Astronomy professor? Allen wondered what on earth for--wasn't Astronomy an elective taken in third year? "Alice, what are you...?"

"Look, there it is!"

The stars, Allen realized, weren't the only things that shone in the sky now. A spray of moving lights swept across the sky, showering their vision with an example of exactly how beautiful fire could be. A meteor shower! Gold and red melded together to form sparks of beauty which rapidly faded away, leaving them staring at the stars again; and the moon, which had come out of the clouds by now. A nearly full moon.

"What, that was..." Devereux blinked, confused. "It was pretty."

"Yeah..." He found himself agreeing with a smile. "It really was pretty." But it felt empty. They had gone so far from each other in the last month that Allen wasn't sure anymore they could ever get back together as a trio again; and that was when Alice turned, just as he completed this thought, her bright amber eyes brimming with tears.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault we're like this. I..." She swiped at her cheeks, trying to stop the tears from falling, but more came to replace them. Allen realized that this was the second time she had looked as though she was in pain; the first time had been during the argument on Halloween. "I just want us to be friends, but I guess I'm too late..."

"Oh, come on, it's not too late--" Devereux started, putting a hand on Alice's shoulders, but the redhead shook her head. She looked up again, still trying to swipe the tears from her eyes and suppressing her sniffles.

"It's too late...to keep going...like we were..." she whispered. "All I'm asking is...if we could...start over again. I guess..." She tried to smile, but failed as the tears came out even worse. "I guess I'm just asking you guys not to...hate me. Please don't hate me..."

"Oh, Alice..."

It had turned into an awkward group hug after that; Allen wasn't sure who started it, but it was a bit awkward, considering Devereux was taller than him. Alice, the shortest, shook in their arms violently as her small frame wracked with sobs. He shot a glance at Devereux and she stared back, looking confused. Alice was always so lively; where did all this pain come from?

Spoiler

It's been a long time - a combination of issues topped with nasty internet. I promise not to let this happen again. And I'll try not to break it this time.

Matt|In Bed

Oh wow.

The past ... week? Two? Three? Four? Eternity? had flown by incredibly fast, like a whirlwind. I lay in the bed, thinking. Life might've stopped spinning and rushing, but I could feel the four poster bed spinning into a black hole, spinning into a large chasm of darkness. Even my head was spinning.

I stood up and drew my dark red velvet curtains shut. The other four were probably down in the common room, which was good for me - I needed to get everything in my head straight. The last few weeks had been... weird to say the least. It started off with the Quidditch trials where that bastard called Alex forgot to come to lead the trials, leaving it to me.

And then... there was the snowball fight between me and Owen. That was alright. And there was something about a stone. A stone! The stone! What stone? I didn't know. Owen, Sae and I found ourselves eavesdropping on Hagrid and Dumbledore while having a conversation with Snapescum and McG. I didn't want to eavesdrop, but I couldn't let myself miss out on anything important.

But Dumbledore seemed to have saved us from being scalded by boiling water! How on earth--Occlumency? I once overheard my father murmur something to my mother when I was little about a discovery to do with ... Occlumency was it? Later, he scolded me and told me that I shouldn't listen to grown-ups' conversations. That was before they hated me.

"Nicolas."

"Stone."

"Gringotts."

"Trials."

I didn't understand. What were they talking about? I just had to find out. While I wasn't advanced enough in magic to read minds yet, I had the library at my disposal.

I woke up at 5 am the next morning. The dorm was calm and cool. It was still dark outside, but I knew it'd lighten quickly. I stood up and slipped into some clothes, before creeping down the stairs and slinking out of the common room towards the library.

I kept close to the walls. Step by step. Left. Right. Left. Right. I don't know how I managed it, but I found myself at the library. The restricted section. What?

I was looking for a book called 101 things that should not land in the wrong hands. I'd heard of that book in the acknowledgements section of another book. It was probably here in the restricted section because it had dark stuff in it.

I muttered under my breath, "Accio book!" I waited a few seconds. Nothing happened. And then, suddenly--

"Argh!"

I buckled, clutching my stomach. A hardback cover book had flown into it, before opening on a page. It was covered in dried blood, and before I knew it, the book was shrieking.

"Edmunds!"

I was done for.

***

It was Midday on Saturday and I had a detention with Snape. He seemed to have - somehow - known I'd go to the library then. I didn't know how, but he definitely did. I had "I must not go to the restricted section without permission before daylight" to write 150 times before I could go.

"You are nothing like your father, silly child," he hissed as I wrote frantically. "Your father will most certainly not be pleased with you."

I breathed heavily, trying to keep my cool. "I am going to the owlery. If any of you dare to even speak, you shall be sorry that you were born." He stood up and gracefully strode out of the room.

Once his footsteps died away, I looked around at the large numbers of detainees. I then shouted, "Does anyone know a Ctrl C and Ctrl V spell?"

"What?"

"Is that an algebra thing?"

"Copy and Paste on your word processor?" I asked, almost astounded.

"What's that?"

"Naw, that's a muggle thing, right? You muggle-born?"

"I'm a pure-blood! But down at the muggle school in the village, they use--oh never mind. I doubt any of you'd know." I turned to my lines.

"I'll help you." I looked up to see the Girl-Who-Lived looking at me. The Girl-Who-Lived! She was... speaking to me. Was I really that special to be spoken to by her? I gazed at her. "If you help me out."

"S-s-sure," I stammered.

"I have to practise this spell. Can you help me?"

"Um. I. Er--" I felt something hit my chest, and then, suddenly--"Snapescum-is-such-an-idiot; I-think-he-was-waiting-for-me-to-get-in-trouble-anyway-I-can't-believe-he's-going-to-tell-my-dad!-He's-not-going-to-tell-any-of-yours-is-he?-I-hate-my-dad-actually-he's-such-an-idiot-and-he's-so-aggressive-I-got-the-scar-on-my-neck-because-of-him-when-he-was-having-a-rage-and-then he-slashed-at-me-with-a-knife-and-nearly-killed-"
I couldn't stop. I tried - I really did - but I just kept on talking. The whole class was laughing so hard they were in tears. What on Earth was going on?!
"No-No-No-Matt-Stop-It!-No-Why-won't-"

I inhaled, and then I continued talking, "No-stop-why-what-what's-going-on-why-can't-I-stop?!-argh!-Goddarn-i----I-think-it-was-Snape-Stupid-Snape-he-was-waiting-for-me-to-enter-the-library-which-reminds-me-has-anyone-heard-of-a-stone-it's-something-important-that-I-overheard-Dumbledore-talk-about-and-Snape-and-McGonagall-and-Hagrid-and-Quirrell-maybe-had-something-to-do-with-it-apparently-it's-in-Hogwarts-instead-of-being-in-Gringotts-because-that's-what-it-sounded-like-maybe-it's-in-the-third-floor-nah-it-wouldn't-be-but-that-STUPID-IDIOT-Snape-if-it-wasn't-for-him-and-now-he's-blabbing-to-my-father-who-I-hate..."

I kept talking, and talking, until Snape came back in.

"...and-I-think-dad-and-him-were-friends-ugh-how-could-my-dad-make-friends-with-such-scum-like-Snape-I-can't-believe-it-Snape's-hair-is-so-greasy-when-was-the-last-time-he-washed-it-and-anyway-he's-such-an-idiot-and-I-think-he-just-likes-giving-detent..."

"Ahahahaha," laughed Snapescum, sarcastically, whose face was now red and glowing like hot coals. "So, very funny. It's even funnier when you have detentions every Sat--no, Sunday for the next six weeks!"

Alice, the-Girl-who-Lived-But-I-Wish-She-Died, had her head down and carried on her lines. I could hear her snickering quietly. I'd fallen for a stupid, stupid trick.

Professor Snape | Potions Classroom - Detention:

Snape glanced towards Alice warily. The girl was amused, if her snickering was anything to go by. Snape’s gaze narrowed; what was she up to now? He flicked a look back at Edmunds and smirked. Potter did have good taste, though. Really? A Babbling Curse? He should teach her some more advanced ones---but not if he had a death wish. He’d teach her some more useful spells later.

“Edmunds,” Snape snapped, tearing his gaze off the babbling boy. “You’re done here. Kindly remove yourself from my classroom and report to the Hospital Wing. I’m sure Pomfrey has something to counteract that Curse you are under.” The Potions Master proceeded to glare at the rest of the students in detention and shook his head. “Devereux. Weren’t you meant to be working on that potion I assigned you?”

“Yes, Sir,” said Matt, slinking out of the room. Snape watched him go with a scowl. At least the boy was out of the room now, and no longer babbling the Headmaster’s secrets to everyone in the room anymore.

“Sir?”

“Yes Potter?” Snape turned on the redhead, and his scowl darkened when he noticed that she wasn’t even halfway through her lines yet. He gave her a dark look--clearly a warning, telling her that she was writing too damn slowly for his liking. “Did you have something to share with the rest of the students currently in detention?”

Potter gave him an innocent look, blinking at him. “Nothing whatsoever, sir.”

Snape’s gaze narrowed. Somehow, he just knew she was up to something. As to what? He didn’t know yet, but he was sure the Potter girl was definitely up to no good--despite the so-called innocent look she gave him. “I’m sure,” he drawled and turned to make a round of the room. Devereux was on the far side of the room--trying to avoid the Rousseau twins. And Snape didn’t blame her--Kaius Rousseau had hit her with a Confundo. He doubted she’d even considered forgiving them yet.

He checked on the potion he had Devereux making--Calming Draught, if she’d done it right. Devereux didn’t even look up as he passed, instead adding the powdered moonstone before reaching for the glass spoon used for mixing in the ingredients. Snape checked the colour of her potion before returning to the front of the room and Potter. Devereux was doing well--the potion was the correct colour for the moment, and she was very calm about making it, too. He approved--silently, of course. He wouldn’t dare state that approval out loud. Merlin only knew what the other students would think.

“Potter,” he snapped. The girl jumped and shot him a glare, seemingly not as unnerved as he first thought. “You’ve missed a line.” His lips quirked as she frowned up at the board. Then she shot him a glare--worthy of Lily Potter. And his heart skipped a beat. Snape had to look away for a moment before meeting the redhead’s gaze again.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Potter said calmly. “But perhaps you could point it out?” She smiled sweetly, revealing two sets of canine teeth. Sharp and gleaming. All resemblance to Lily was immediately lost, and Snape scowled at her. Potter merely kept on smiling.

“You are dismissed, Potter,” he snarled and threw a gaze towards the door, clearly telling her to get out of his classroom before he gave out more detentions. Snape turned to the Hufflepuff twins. He considered docking House points from them, but swiftly reconsidered. He had no real excuse to do so, didn’t he? “You, too. Get out.” Finally, his gaze landed on Devereux. “You are not going anywhere until you finish that potion and clean up the mess you make.”

He half-watched the Rousseau twins as they skipped merrily out of his classroom. Alice Potter didn’t move, though, and he turned a narrow-eyed glare on her. She was watching him now--with such a suspicious look. Snape was aware of Devereux half-watching them now, and merely snorted. Potter still did not move.

“I told you to leave, Potter,” Snape muttered, striding to the storage cupboard at the back of the classroom. The girl ignored him, apparently, and stood by the blackboard a moment longer. “Potter--”

“What’s the Philosopher's Stone?” She cut him off swiftly, and left him looking back at her with his mouth hanging slightly open, startled. He felt caught out. How in the name of Merlin does she know about that?

Spoiler

Oh gosh I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long. Here's Sae! It's a bit filler-like, but I just want to get her back into the flow of action xD

Sae Carrow | Castle grounds

Sae stood out in the courtyard watching the falling snow gather on her white rabbit. It was a lovely thing, just as lovely as that book had been. A small bird landed on the rabbit's head and Sae decided to look for other muggle books to read. Perhaps they would be as lovely as Alice had been.

"Sae!" a familiar voice called from behind her. "Sae it's cold out here and you left your scarf in the Great Hall."

She turned to see Owen just as he wrapped her blue scarf around her neck, tying it snuggly in front of her. "Thank you," she said, giving him a pleased smile.

"The dueling club is starting soon," he said as he stood beside her, their arms nearly touching, as they watched the big fluffy flakes of snow fall onto her rabbit. "If I don't get it going soon, the Quidditch team will have me hanged." He laughed a little, but Sae imagined he didn't actually think it was very funny.

"If you miss Quidditch so much, why did you stop?" Sae asked, casting a playful sideward glance in his direction.

He shrugged, but didn't say anything in response.

"I'll be there, you know," she said, turing her gaze back to the rabbit. "Mother and Father met in a dueling club when they were at Hogwarts. I think they would be proud if I joined."

Owen nodded. He didn't say anything, but Sae was sure he was wondering if she would have time to be there. She hadn't quite managed the time turner yet. She felt guilty just as constantly as she could feel the metal of the magic piece pressing into her stomach under her shirt. Owen and Matt were her dearest, and only, true friends at Hogwarts.

Of course there were the boys who offered the flowers for her hair, and said such sweet things to her, but they never took the time to really talk with her. They didn't appreciate all of her, all of her oddities, as Matt and Owen at least attempted to do. Without them, she didn't know what she would do.

It was terribly lonely being strange.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind and smiled, turning to Owen and grabbing his hand in hers. "Who knows, perhaps I'll meet my own husband there!" She laughed and pulled him along behind her as she ran toward the doors back into the castle. "Come, let's see if Matt has been released from the dungeon yet!"

Valentina Esparza | Snape’s Office

It was five past eight when Valentina slipped into Professor Snape’s office. Her dark hair was falling out of the loose ponytail she had tied it back into, and a part of the hem of her robe was caught in the back of her boot. As soon as she stepped into the office she felt a shudder passing through her; three weeks of detention surrounded by those large tanks of slimy, half-dead creatures and watched constantly by the cold and unsympathetic Snape had certainly not made her dislike this place any the less.

At first he didn’t seem to notice her, pacing from side to side with his back to her and pointlessly examining the creatures and supplies. Then he tensed, as if he could sense Valentina intruding upon his half-trance. He whipped around, his robes swishing and his face hardening. Valentina felt almost sure that if Snape ever flushed, an angry and guilty flush would be creeping up his neck right now. Yet he remained pale and greasy-haired, as always. For a moment she had caught him without his mask on, but it was too short a time for her to be able to distinguish the expression on his face in; before she knew it, the cold mask was firmly in place again, but there seemed to Valentina to be something even shiftier about him than usual.

“You’re late,” he snapped.

“I’m sorry, Professor.”

She said it in her most sincere voice, but still Snape seemed to battle with annoyance for a few minutes before settling for “Five points from Gryffindor. And don’t be late again, or I’ll add another week to your detention.”

Valentina shuddered. While Snape showed her to what she would be doing today (today, all the supplies were in order, and so she would only be going through detention cards) she let the more subconscious part of her mind drift off a little. A small but deep knew that she deserved these detentions, for all that she had done – such an act as bringing a dark arts book into school could have resulted in expulsion under different circumstances. Yet as the weeks grew on, she felt her own emotions hardening, and as she spent more and more time alone with only the most casual acquaintances she began to feel almost bitter about Snape having taken her book from her – as if by doing so, he had in a way prevented her from learning about the only thing she might succeed at one day.

Every time she tried to think about it, her thoughts would war against one another. It was a bad thing to do. How did the dark arts ever benefit anybody? How was it so wrong? There is something beautiful about them, in reality.
Hogwarts does not approve of them, and Hogwarts is where you belong now. But I’m beginning to think that it’s what I was always meant to be.

Her thoughts constantly contradicted each other, skimming around her mind- the hardly intense but still unstoppable desire for some kind of power, some kind of recklessness or intensity- and the desire to leave her family behind for good and to truly fit in at Hogwarts. She tried to ignore the thoughts, because they weren’t making any sense at this time. She could only hope that they would make a little more sense in the future.

Instead she shut off that drifting, subconscious part of her mind and focused on the detention cards. She was sifting through them and placing them in alphabetical order, without the help of any magic. It was dull, uninteresting work, but by far preferable to cleaning out Snape’s creature tanks.

She sorted and sorted, and still Snape did not say a word. Valentina found herself almost wishing that he would say something. The silence was so stifling that she was beginning to find it difficult to breathe easily.

As if he had read her thoughts, Snape began to speak. “Have you been looking for that Dark Arts book, Miss Esparza?”

She looked up, instantly worried by the grim expression on his face. “Nuh-no!” she said.

“No, sir,” he sneered.

“I haven’t, sir,” she said.

“And have you seen it around anywhere?”

“No,” she said, perplexed.

He stood up then, slamming his drawer shut with a flick of his wand. “Then why,” he said in a low voice which almost resembled a growl, “Is the book I confiscated from you gone?”

She felt all the blood seeping out of her skin as she paled. “I don’t know, sir,” she said. “I haven’t seen it since you took it.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’m telling the truth, sir!”

“There’s a way to test that out.” He said. Although Snape’s voice was calm, almost placid, she could tell that he was angry. She didn’t reply to this; simply stood there, shaking with shock and fear. If he really thought she had taken the book, would she be expelled?

Snape opened the drawer again, keeping an eye on Valentina all the time. Within a moment, he had brought out a small vial of clear liquid. He held it up in front of Valentina.

“Do you know what this is, Miss Esparza?”

She shook her head.

“This is Veritaserum. It’s the only sure way to tell if you’re telling the truth. Now, we don’t usually use it on students, but I think that there is no other solution in this case. We can’t,” he said, his voice turning from placid to strained, “have Hogwarts students so keen to explore the Dark Arts.”

Valentina felt a shiver crawling up her spine.

“Are you going to make me drink that, Professor?” she asked.

“Unless you choose to tell the truth to me first?”

Valentina stood staring at him in shock.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Snape tensed and looked towards it, but didn’t answer. Then he seemed to unfreeze and within a moment he had hidden the vial of clear liquid behind his back, just in time to see Professor McGonagall push the door open and look around the room. At the sight of another professor, Valentina felt relief enter her body as some of the tension eased away.

“Severus, what are you hiding behind your back?” asked Professor McGonagall, her eyes narrowed. “I do hope it’s not a potion of some kind which you intended to use on students.”

Snape shifted a little, and then a small, almost sneering smile replaced the look of guilt. “I was just explaining to Miss Esparza here what the properties of Veritaserum were,” he said sweetly. “But I suppose it’s time that she should be going. Miss Esparza, your next detention is on Monday. And be here on time this time, unless you really wish to face the consequences.”

For a moment Valentina stood still, looking between Snape and McGonagall – both of whom seemed to be waiting for her to leave – and then she stood up and left the room without another word.

She was halfway down the corridor when she heard the sound of rushing footsteps behind her and another rushing body careered into her. “Oh, sorry!” the other girl said as Valentina tried to gather herself where she half-crouched on the floor. “Are you okay?”

Valentina looked up. “I’m fine,” she said.

“You really need to be more careful, Alice,” said the girl by her side. They walked on together, seemingly having completely forgotten about Valentina. Valentina stood still there for a while, just watching them, before resuming her walk back to the dormitory.

She had heard about Alice Potter many times – the Girl Who Lived. She had often wondered what it was like to be her, but now that she met her in person, she didn’t like her very much at all. She supposed it was just their contrasting natures; some people were born to do good things, while others, like herself, tended more towards darkness.

I guess that’s probably the way it’ll always be, she thought, not without some resentment.

Alice Potter | Potions Classroom - Detention with Snape

“Professor?” She added a blink for more effect. Maybe if she looked stupid and innocent enough, Snape would give in. They say the more you look as though you don’t know what you’re asking about, the more people think you’re as harmless as a mosquito flying by. Not that mosquitoes were harmless, to be honest. After all, if you gave them an inch, they bit you and made you feel all itchy and murderous. So murderous. Alice would know, since the cupboard under the stairs were chock-full of those little insects.

...but back to her current predicament.

Behind her, Samara looked like a sock puppet hit by a ten-tonne hammer; well, her expression did, at any rate, while Snape sounded as though he was considering morphing into a king cobra, what with the disgruntled hiss in his throat. It was a few more moments before he finally cleared his throat and shot a very suspicious glance at Alice, which made her twitch just a little; obviously the act wasn’t working.

“I’m afraid I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, Potter,” he muttered, turning away and attempting to delve into his storage cupboard again.

Alice followed closely behind him and tuned up her voice a little higher. “Would you know someone who might, Professor? Maybe Professor McGonagall...” This time, her voice trailed off by itself. Anyone who didn’t have a death wish would probably have done the same, as the glare Snape was currently shooting her didn’t bode well for her health.

“It would not be wise to approach Professor McGonagall about this, Potter,” Snape hissed. “I suggest you forget all about the--” Here, Snape cleared his throat. “Stone. Or whatever it is you think I might have known about.” The Potions Master’s glare intensified as he stalked into his storage cupboard.

“S...sorry, sir...” Alice stepped back with a nervous grin and turned to Samara, who had apparently already finished the potion; now she was clearing up the counter she’d been using. She looked up as Alice approached.

“What was all that about?” Samara hissed. “Snape looked like he wanted to grind you or something. What were you thinking, asking him about something like that?”

Alice shook her head and shrugged. “I was just curious. That idiot Edmunds blurted it out during the...well...” She broke off as the door to the cupboard swung ominously behind her, and rubbed her head nervously. Snape was beginning to scare her just ever so little. She blinked as a sudden thought came to her and peered at Sammy curiously. “You know about it?”

“Of course I do!” Sammy whispered back, but before she could finish, Snape strode back into the classroom, closing the cupboard door behind him very carefully. He seemed to have some new ingredients and potions with him; what exactly, Alice wasn’t particularly eager to find out, especially not with that evil glint in his eye. She turned back to Sammy, who had finished cleaning by now, and grabbed her arm.

“Um, um,” Alice started, sounding nervous. “Thank you for your time, professor!” Without further ado, she dragged Sammy out of the classroom before Snape could so much as say a single word and through several corridors before they finally stopped, huffing and puffing like one of those train chimney...things. Alice didn’t know the name for them; she didn’t particularly care much at the moment, either. After a while she stopped huffing and glanced up at Sammy.

“That was...close...” She collapsed onto her knees, shaking with laughter. After a while, she’d stopped laughing, too. All the while she was aware of the way Sammy was looking at her, with the typical raised eyebrow. She looked up and grinned. “Don’t mind me...that was a lot more fun than I’ve had in ages.”

“...uh huh.” Sammy sat down on the ground beside her and drew her knees close. “You wanted to know about the Stone.”

“Mm. Hey, you think Allen might...?” She trailed off, looking at Sammy, and then shook her head to herself. “I think he’s had enough of us for a while.”

“You think?” Sammy grinned. “It was his robes you’d soaked to death. I’m surprised he didn’t catch his death of pneumonia!” She dodged a thump aimed at her head and only stuck her tongue out at the other girl. Alice stuck her tongue out as well and they turned back to contemplating the design of the dungeon walls. “You’re weird, Alice, you know that?”

“Yup!” The cheerful answer was typical of the redhead, but Sammy ignored her and went ahead.

“First you argue, then you save his life, then you try to make it up to him, then you sob all over his shoulders and now you want to tell him about the Philosopher’s Stone. Weeeeiiird.”

“I can’t help it!” Alice mumbled into her knees. “I guess I overreact sometimes and I get too serious about stuff sometimes, too, but I can’t help it. I really can’t...” She shot an irritated glance at the other girl. “Can we lay off me for a bit?”

Sammy put her hands up in a peace offering sort-of-way. “Okay, okay! Fine, I’ll stop. Let’s head to dinner, okay? And grab Selwyn while you’re at it. Might as well tell him. If I know you, you’re going to feel guilty about not telling him too.”

“Ugh...” Alice glared, but said nothing else; she knew Sammy was right. They stood up together, dusting off their skirts and socks (well, in Alice’s case, at any rate) and moved away from the corridor, walking side by side towards the Great Hall.

Samara Devereux | Great Hall - Dinner:

Selwyn’s face was, for some inexplicable reason, covered in gravy; and for some inexplicable reason, Alice was rubbing his nose off with a napkin. “OW! That hurts!” Samara, sitting off to the side, snickered at the pair. “OUCH! ALICE!”

“Oh, be quiet!” she snapped, rubbing the napkin even more forcefully into his face. Samara swore she could hear whimpers from his end. When she finally drew back, Selwyn’s face was sparkling clean...and red. Very red. It almost hurt to look at it, but Alice looked satisfied. “There. Now you look all clean and squeaky!”

Samara cleared her throat, trying to attract the attention of the bickering pair across the table from her. Selwyn and Alice both looked towards her, Alice with her hand still raised to wipe at Allen’s face with the napkin. Samara’s gaze narrowed at the pair and then she smirked, raising an eyebrow at Alice. Alice stuck her tongue out at Allen before standing up and putting the napkin back into whatever space it had come from...Samara wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She coughed and leaned forward. “So...do you want me to tell you about the Stone or not?”

Allen was still pouting. “Sure, but that didn’t mean you had to rub my face off!” Alice was going to reply, but before she could even open her mouth, Samara coughed again.

“Yes or no,” she snapped. “Otherwise I’m leaving.”

“Yes, yes!” Allen mumbled, sounding frustrated. Alice plopped back into her seat beside Samara and started chewing on a carrot she’d snatched from the salad bowl, right under Rockharrow’s nose. The aforementioned girl glared at her before turning her back on the trio. Allen sent her a wary glance before leaning forwards, putting his arms on the table. “So? What’s this about a stone?”

"The Philosopher's Stone,” Samara said, lowering her voice and leaning forwards more. “It’s a legendary alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals into gold or silver. Things like lead and stuff.” She flicked a glance around the room. “It's also believed to be an elixir of life, you know. Immortality? Never ever dying?” She looked between her two friends, noting their mostly blank looks, and sighed. “Nicholas Flamel supposedly created it.”

In the silence that followed her statement, she thought she heard laughter over at the Hufflepuff table. That isn’t the Rousseau twins, is it? she though, throwing a scowl towards the table in question. Alice and Allen were still giving her mostly blank looks--and then Selwyn blinked. “The Stone?” he asked, eyes suddenly wide. “But...isn’t that like, a legend? A myth? It doesn’t really exist, does it?”

Samara snorted and shook her head. “Oh, it exists, Selwyn. Flamel’s still here, isn’t he?” She sighed. “Boy, you need to learn to redefine the words ‘myth’ and ‘legend’.” She smiled at him and leaned back in her seat. “I’m wondering, though... Why would Snape know about it? He’s got no real interest in immortality...as far as I can tell, that is.” She frowned at Alice. “Who told you about the Stone?”

“...I might have used a Blabbing Hex on Edmunds?” Alice grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. Samara merely sighed, again and shot Alice a wary look. Selwyn glanced between them, apparently confused.

“You hit Edmunds with a Blabbing Hex?” Samara asked. Alice nodded, sheepish grin still on her face. “I was wondering what you’d done to him in detention,” she muttered. And then she grinned at Alice. “Think it’s worn off yet?”

“...I hope not.” She glanced at the Ravenclaw table and back again; Edmunds was missing. “He’s quite amusing when he starts. It would really be a shame if it wore off. Besides, I wanted to ask him about the Stone...” Alice trailed off, looking at the wall. A Gryffindor lion made a clawing motion at her from one of the banners. “...but the Professor Snape sent him to Pomfrey.”

“Oh, right,” Samara muttered. “I’d almost forgotten about that... But, you know, Snape’s reaction was awfully suspicious, don’t you think? It’s like he knows something we don’t...other than just knowing about the Stone.” She scowled, gaze dropping to the table. Samara proceeded to frown at it, as if demanding it give up its secrets. Apparently, it wasn’t ever going to work.

"...well. What can work once can work twice, right?” Alice fiddled with her wand, as if to prove a point. Samara gave her a disapproving look, but didn’t protest. They did have to find out more, didn’t they? And Edmunds would be their first stop.

Valentina Esparza | The Gryffindor Common Room

By the time Valentina arrived at the common room, it was filled with Gryffindor students alternately relaxing or rushing to get their homework done. The gentle light of the crackling common room fire lit up the room, for it was already dark and cloudy outside, and although not all the Gryffindors in there were calm, the general impression of them was a calm one. Valentina herself, however, felt anything but calm.

She rushed straight up to the dormitory rather than hanging around any longer in a room full of people, searching for a quiet place to let her thoughts run their course. It was with a half-sigh that she sat down on her bed and curled into herself without looking around her once. For the first time since leaving Snape’s office, she allowed herself to truly think about what had happened. Where was the book now? She hadn’t touched it or even seen it since Professor Snape had found it; that much was true. She shook her head silently. All this trouble, just because of one book. Then she remembered that the book wasn’t her only trouble, but her whole self – at least, as far as her family was concerned. After that, she didn’t want to think of it any more.

“Oh-Val. Are you okay?”

Valentina started. Without her noticing, Leo Rockharrow had snuck into the dormitory. Now she heard a subtle click as Leo let the door slide from her hands and close.

“I’m fine,” Valentina said, pulling herself to her feet whilst trying not to give away any indication that her words weren’t, in fact, true. “I just remembered that I needed to get something from the library.”

“Val, I had something to ask-“

“Look, I really need to go,” Val said, and she streamed out of the dormitory. She walked as fast as she could without running, but was still not far away enough not to hear Leo mutter, as she left, “What is it with her?”

Trying not to let those words affect her, however understandable they were, Val carried on walking until she had reached the outdoor grounds. Here she was faced with the beautiful vision of the Hogwarts grounds at night, which were at first blurry in her sight but assumed a surprising clarity once her eyes had adjusted. The air was fresh and chilly, and Valentina shivered, regretting that she had not worn something warmer. Still she walked on; she knew she couldn’t go back now – at least, not until Leo and the others were asleep.

This wasn’t the first time she had done this. There was something incredibly peaceful and idyllic about having the moon and night stars above her light her way as she walked into the night, surrounded by fresh air, following her shadow’s way along the path to the Forbidden Forest. She had never gone too near it, of course – only paused some metres away to admire the skeletal, winged and horse-like creatures which sometimes came out on clear night like this one. She would stay there for ten minutes at most, and then hurry back to the dormitory. Nobody would ever notice she had been gone.

Tonight, though, she felt the conviction that she could never be quite the same as other Gryffindors so strongly that it almost propelled her forward, and she walked forward with some determination. She would go a few metres in: just to see if the horse-creatures were there, for she loved horses. She had seen people riding by on horses back at her parents’ house and begged to be able to do so herself but they, of course, never agreed to letting her engage in such a Muggle activity.

Maybe I should have been placed in Slytherin after all? she thought, a few steps into the forest. The thought only made her walk faster. She was soon surrounded by overgrown trees and bushes which seemed to assume a life of their own, swallowing the moonlit night behind her and leaving her stranded in a much darker, much lonelier one.

She suddenly began to feel afraid. She had been warned of the things that lurked within the forest at night, and knew that at least some of these warnings were not just rumours. Still, she thought that surely most of the dangers lurked more deeply within the forest. There had never been any mention of the skeletal horses, and she trusted by their humble and graceful swoops through the air that although they had a morbid manner to them, and for some inexplicable reason made her think of death, that they would never bring her to any harm.

Although she felt afraid, she tried to convince herself that she did not, and took a deep breath. One step forward, toying with her fears, daring herself to go further in. Once you started on a self-destructive mission, it was all too easy to go on, more difficult to stop. Another step forward.

Then she heard a rustling in the overgrowth and in one clumsy, impulsive movement, she swung around and ducked behind a clump of dark, twining bushes beside her. The sound of her stumbling, and then the sound of her breathing, seemed to resound in the still air for seconds after they had started.
She tried in vain to still her thumping heart. A part of her instinctually wanted to close her eyes and play dead; it seemed that the instinct originating from whatever ancestors humans had had was still there in wizards. The more rational, human part of her knew that it would be futile to do so, so she let her trembling gaze sweep from one end of the forest to another, searching for the thing which had caused the disturbance.

Eventually her gaze came to a rest a few metres away from her; there they were: the skeletal horses. Black and majestic, the five of them stood together as if in a line of infantry. A moment passed, and Valentina’s heart stilled, a tingling sensation spreading through her skin. She felt almost light-headed with relief.
One of the horses pawed the ground with a delicate yet sturdy hoof; another nudged it with its muzzle in response. Valentina was about to rise gently from the ground when she heard the voice.

“But Master…” The voice trailed off into the night.

Valentina froze again, feeling for a moment her throat close up and bile begin to rise up in it; then she gathered herself somewhat and tried to breathe sufficiently but quietly. She was now beginning to feel completely detached from her body with fear. When would this nightmare end? When?

“I want the Stone.” Something about the word ‘Stone’ made Valentina think that the word was for some reason meant to be capitalised; it was said in an air of utmost importance, and desperate longing. But that was not what bothered her the most; the thing that bothered her the most was the voice of whoever had voiced the wish. It was weak, yet somehow seemed to hold a lingering hint of old power in it; male yet infantile; passionate yet so cold that it sent shivers up her already frozen spine.

Before Valentina had any time to think any more about it, or how she could possibly get out of this situation, the voice continued. “I want the Stone, and you’re going to get it for me. You’re going to get me the Stone, and the girl.”

The girl?

“But Master … there is no way to get past the dog. At least, if there is, I do now know of it.” The voice which kept addressing the other as ‘Master’ was also somehow fearful, but considerably more like that of a human. Still, it didn’t make Valentina feel any easier.

“There is a way to get past the dog,” said the inhuman voice, in a voice like the low hiss of a serpent. “If the oaf can get past it, so can we.”

“Please, Master. I do not know how.”

“So find out,” the hiss grew all the more menacing. “Find out from the oaf. Unless you cannot even perform such a simple duty as that? Are you not my true servant?”

“O-of course I am, Master. I’m sorry.”

“Very well. Take me back.”

There were no more voices; only the sound stirring and then the sound of footsteps. The odd thing was that it sounded as if there was only one pair of footsteps – but Valentina was sure that there had been two men talking. Still, although she could not see the figures, every footstep she heard sounded further away, and blind relief slowly began to sink in and take the place of blind panic.

She did not know how long she waited there; only that she waited until the footsteps were completely gone, and then some time longer – eventually finding the strength to scramble up to her feet, she rushed out of the forest and back towards the castle. Once again, once she had gathered the courage to start, it was easy to keep going. If she hadn’t, she thought she might have collapsed.

There was nobody around the hallways of the castle when she got back; Valentina mentally assured herself that it would all be alright; she would get back to the common room and then fall asleep, safe. And however much she hated to admit it to herself, she knew she would never have the courage to go out to the forest again by herself. Now, looking back on it, it seemed like the worst of ideas in the first place. If only, she thought, she could have had that outlook on it before she had started off.

---

She was so lost in these all-encompassing thoughts as she made her way back to the common room that she did not notice Professor Quirrell standing in the hallway until she crashed straight into him. She took a step back, raising her hand to her mouth.

“I-I’m sorry, Professor!”

The shock on his face registered for a minute, and then seemed to fade away, leaving only that look of permanent anxiety which seemed to reside on his face for most of the time. Subconsciously, he raised a hand to adjust his turban.
“M-m-miss E-e-sparza?” he inquired, his stutter seeming even worse than usual.
Although Professor Quirrell was hardly the bravest of professors, his stutter just proving that point, Valentina felt warm relief and safety flooding through her at the sight of another professor in the first place. She tried to ignore the other feeling which accompanied the first two – the feeling of uneasiness, something she could not quite put a finger on when she looked at Quirrell’s face.

“W-w-hat-t w-were y-“

“I just had to get something from the library,” Valentina lied. “I didn’t realise how late it was, and I got lost on the way to the common rooms, but I know where I’m going now. I’m sorry, sir.”

He nodded.

“Y-you m-m-"

“Go?” she said, in a subconscious effort to spare him from stuttering through the entire sentence.

Quirrell nodded in the direction of the Gryffindor common room, and Valentina sped off towards it as fast as she could. Despite her annoyance at Valentina’s late arrival, the Fat Lady swung open to allow her in. In the dormitory, everybody seemed to be asleep, including Leo.

Valentina lay on her back on her bed, fully clothed, sleepless, and wished she had not been so unfriendly to the girl. Then, at least, she might have somebody to share her fears and experiences with.

Leopoldina Rockharrow | The Great Hall

"So... what do you and Potter talk about anyway?"

Allen stared at her. "I'm not so sure that's any of your business."

"I command you to tell me!" she said, but there clearly wasn't enough conviction in her voice because Allen just looked at her. She sighed. "Fine. It's just I thought that maybe we could be civil to each other, that's all."

"Why would you want that?"

"Well, you are following me around everywhere. It'd be nice not to have to suffer your abuse all the time."

"I don't abuse you!"

"Yes you do!"

"How?"

"Mentally," Leopoldina said nastily.

"You can read thoughts now?"

"I can read yours. They're practically painted on your face. Okay. Your new task for the day."

Allen groaned. "What?"

"Be nice to me."

"That was not part of the agreement!"

Leopoldina stood up, leant over to Quin sitting a few places down the table. "Hey Quin, did you know that Allen is a-"

Allen grabbed her arm. Leopoldina smirked and sat back down.

"A what?" asked Quin.

"A smelly poo!" Leopoldina giggled.

Allen looked at her with the gravity of a man eight times his age. "You are so immature, do you know that?"

Leopoldina shrugged. "That's not a very nice thing to say to someone. Oh, look, it's your favourite people."

Potter and Devereux were approaching the table. "Rockharrow," Potter said icily and Allen turned to them and began listening intently to whatever it was they had to say that was so important. To Leopoldina, it sounded like a history lesson. Nicolas Flamel, the Philosopher's Stone. Dear goodness, Allen was a Selwyn, you'd think he'd have heard of such things before, that he wouldn't be so interested. Samara neatly finished her meal.

Of course, her own mother had done her thesis on the Stone, looking at it from a medical point of view. That paper had been lying around the house for weeks. Little Leo had once picked it up by mistake thinking it was something more interesting, like a Witch Weekly supplement. She had been six pages in before she realised that it was never getting to the clothes section.

"Edmunds..." Potter trailed off, looking up towards the Ravenclaw table, and the three went into further discussion.

"Come on, Allen," Leopoldina said as sweetly as she could, dabbing her mouth. "Let's go."

Alice looked up at her. Leopoldina decided she liked standing while Alice was sitting. The height advantage was nothing short of delicious.

"What do you want, Rockharrow?"

"I want Allen here to accompany me back to the common room."

"Why do you act as if he's your slave all the time?" Alice demanded. "And why do you let her?" she asked Allen, eyes blazing.

"I'm not her slave- I'm not a slave- I..."

Well, he had no choice now, did he? He could either cave to Leopoldina's suggestion or let the truth come out.

"We're... friends," he said.

Leopoldina bit her lip to stop laughing, but managed to keep a straight face. "Come on then, Allen. Let's go."

She swung her hips as she walked the length of the Great Hall back to the door, leaving Devereux and Potter steaming in her wake.

"You've really done it now," Allen said angrily, catching up with her. "They won't believe that!"

"Then you'll just have to be more believable, and that means being more polite and less threatening, thank you very much."

Allen was breathing very heavily. "Don't push your luck, Rockharrow. Full moon's in less than a week..."

"Yes, and I can't wait to play with that beautiful puppy again. You're so much sweeter as a dog, do you know that?"

They went through the Entrance Hall.

"Why all the interest in the Philosopher's Stone, by the way?"

"What?"

"You and the Slytherins. What's with that?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. It's just my mother is a world authority on the Philosopher's Stone. If you wanted to know something about it, I could tell you."

They got up to the Common Room. "Now. I'll see you seven am for breakfast, and I expect you to have my Potions scroll with you. Understood?"

Allen sighed. "Yes, Leopoldina."

"Perfect! Goodnight!"

She went up the stairs to her own dormitory, only to find a flustered Valentina upstairs. "Oh- Val. Are you okay?" She let the door close.

"I'm fine. I just remembered that I needed to get something from the library."

As quick as a shot, Valentina left the room, slamming the door on her way out before Leopoldina could even finish her sentence.

"What is with her?"

Allen was a werewolf. There was a chance that Valentina was a Death Eater or something.

Leopoldina chuckled to herself at the thought.

Samara Devereux | Dungeons/ Great Hall - Breakfast:

Samara left the Slytherin common room late--Alice’s bed had been empty when she woke up that morning, and now she was heading to breakfast. Strangely--or not so strangely--the halls in the dungeons were empty, leaving Samara wary. Why were the halls empty? Usually, she would see several students--Slytherin, of course, and normally the upper years--lingering in the hallways, especially the dark corners and alcoves. But on this morning? Nothing. Completely devoid of anyone.

“What in the name of Merlin?” she muttered, looking left and then right before starting off towards the Great Hall for breakfast, looking over her shoulder every now and then. She had the strangest feeling that she was being both watched and followed. It was a very...odd feeling, one she could barely describe.

It was while she was looking over her shoulder that her foot hit something, making her trip and stumble before she fell, landing heavily on her hands and knees. She yelped, wincing and hissing a low ‘ouch’ before she sat back and brushed off her hands. Samara stood slowly and looked for what she’d tripped on, thinking it was just a loose stone in the floor.

She did not expect to find a Dark Arts book laying in the middle of the hall.

“What...the...?” She hurriedly picked it up, tucking it up against her chest before warily looking around to make sure no one had seen her do so. When she was sure that no one had seen, she pulled it back so she could actually look at it. There was a name scribbled across the page just inside the cover of the book; Valentina Esparza. Samara stared at it for a long moment. “Isn’t that that Gryffindor girl?” she mused aloud, frowning at it. “What is she doing with a book like this?”

Samara swiftly tucked the book into her bag, checking over her shoulder before she started walking again. It was strange, to find a Dark Arts book just lying there on the floor. Someone had to have put it there--or dropped it. And somehow, she doubted it was the Gryffindor girl--most Gryffindors didn’t come down to the dungeons when they didn’t have classes--and it couldn’t have been there long. After all, all the Slytherins would have walked this way to get to breakfast. And there was a potions class first up after breakfast. It would have been incredibly risky to just leave it there where anyone could have come across it--- Samara’s eyes went wide.

“Unless...unless it was meant to be picked up by me?” she whispered, eyes darting down to her bag. And now she felt like an idiot--carrying it in her bag like she was to breakfast. She stopped briefly to slap a hand over her face. “I am an idiot!”

Several Minutes Later, in the Great Hall...

Samara wandered into the Great Hall, incredibly aware of the now, possibly-heavy burden she had in her bag. How was she going to get through the day with That Thing in her bag now? She didn’t know. What she did know, however, as she scanned the hall was that Alice was not at the Slytherin table, or the Gryffindor one. She was, in fact, at the Ravenclaw table. And she seemed to be pestering Edmunds. Samara stared at the scene for a moment before she groaned. When would the other girl stop pestering people?

With a huge sigh, Samara started out for Alice, glancing towards Allen and Rockharrow as she passed. She noted, distantly, that Allen looked particularly more tired than normal this morning, but filed it away for later contemplation. She had a redhead to interrupt.

“Alice!” she shouted as she neared the Ravenclaw table. “What the hell are you doing?” Alice turned to look at her and Samara shook her head. That smile...

“...what does it look like I’m doing?” Alice pointed at Edmunds, whose face was contorted into an expression that said ‘I’m not going to say anything, I’m not going to say anything’. Finally, he seemed to give up, just a little, and started ranting.

“I’m-not-telling-you-anything-but-I-am-no-I’m-not-but-we-heard-about-the-Stone-at-Hagrid’s-that’s-enough-I’m-not-saying-anything-else.” He clammed up and ran from the table, leaving Alice and Samara staring after him. Alice was the first to break the silence.

“Well, that was revealing,” she said conversationally, slanting a look at Samara. The other girl frowned for a moment.

“Indeed,” she replied, and then turned on Alice. “What did I say about using that Hex on him!?” Alice had the decency to look suitably sheepish. Samara growled and threw her hands up into the air before stalking off towards the Slytherin table. “ALICE!”

“Alright, alright.” Alice rolled her eyes before following suit. “I won’t use it on him again. Absolute promise.” She muttered something under her breath, however, something that sounded suspiciously like ‘doesn’t mean I mightn’t use something else on him’.

Samara merely glared at Alice for a moment before sighing. “You are impossible, Alice. You really are.” She promptly sat down at the table and pulled a plate towards her, the book sitting in her bag currently completely forgotten. “Anyway, we should eat. Class starts soon.”


Julius Rousseau | Dungeons - Outside Snape’s Office (Three Nights Ago):

Julius stood outside the doorway, leaning against the while his brother raided Snape’s office. The dungeons were completely dead at this time of night, what with everyone sleeping and most of the Professors making rounds on the upper floors of the School. It made for the perfect time to raid the Potion’s Professor’s office and personal potions supplies--not that they’d use any of it, but more that they’d sell it to the other students. Julius grinned at the thought. Easy galleons. Who wouldn’t want that?

But back to the point. He was keeping a lookout for his brother, and it was becoming rather boring. He’s only seen one student so far--a prefect--and he hadn’t even noticed the Hufflepuff boy leaning against the wall outside the Slytherin’s Head of House’s Office. At least, not under the concealment spell Julius wore. They’d worked on it for years, trying to perfect it just-so and now it worked. Only an Occlumens could sense them, and it was just their rotten luck that Snape was one (not that they knew, of course). Julius still had no idea how the potions Professor caught them all the time--one moment, they’re creeping down a corridor wearing their modified concealment charm, and the next it’s ripped away by a powerful Finite Incantatem. And then it was detention with the Snake for two weeks.

Footsteps approaching down the hall alerted him to the fact that someone was coming, and he tensed, ready to distract whoever it was that was just around the corner. He spent several tense moments waiting--only to see the Prefect from before as he rounded the corner and swept past, leaving Julius completely unnoticed. Next it would be Snape--he just knew it. And therefore it was probably time for them to be getting out of there.

“Kai!” he hissed, creeping towards the doorway and attempting to nudge it open so he would peer inside. It was incredibly dark in there, and Julius didn’t know how his brother could see, let alone see what they were after. There was a loud metallic bang, as if something--a cauldron, perhaps--had been dropped or knocked over, and then he heard his brother’s hissed ‘What?!’. Julius smothered his laughter--no time for that now. They could laugh all they like--later. “You better be done! We need to go! Snake-boy could walk around the corner any minute now!”

“Shit!” Kaius cursed, and there was more banging and clanging from within the room. Julius scowled and thumped a fist against the door, listening with grim satisfaction as his brother cursed again and jumped, dropping yet another cauldron.

“What in the name of Merlin are you doing in there?!” Julius hissed at him, pushing the door open more. His jaw dropped open when he caught sight of his brother, wand in hand with a Lumos lighting up the tip and a heavy bronze cauldron on top of his head. “Ahahaha! Come on, Princess. Time to leg it before Greasy comes along. We don’t want to get caught again, do we?”

Kaius scowled at his brother from under the cauldron when Julius laughed and then pouted at the other boy. “I don’t see you helping!” he snapped, gently lifting the bronze monstrosity off his head and setting it down on a nearby table. He muttered a spell that would put everything but what he’d taken back as it had been when he’d entered the room and swiftly joined his brother. “Alright, alright. Let’s get out of here already.”

Julius smirked at his brother. “What do we say if Greasy catches us?”

Kaius merely smiled. “Let me handle that.”

Kaius Rousseau | The Great Hall - Breakfast (Three Days Later):

Kaius grinned, remembering how they’d snuck into Snape’s office three nights ago. It had been rather fun--and apparently amusing for his brother. Not so much for him. After all, Julius wasn’t the one who had ended up with a cauldron on his head. Forgetting about where he sat at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall, he laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Juls asked, slanting a look at his twin. Kaius merely shook his head. “You keeping secrets from me?” The green-eyed twin pouted. “And I thought there were no secrets between us!” He put on a suitably hurt-looking impression and nudged his brother.

Kaius nudged back. “No, Juls, not at all.” He grinned and flicked a glance towards the staff table and Snape. “Just remembering the other night. You know? When we snuck into the dungeons and did a little shopping?”

Julius grinned. “Ah, yes. That.” Laughter bubbled up. “You...looked so funny with the cauldron on your head! And that pout! What in the name of Merlin was that about?!” He leaned over and put his forehead against the table, still laughing.

The other twin glared at him and shook his head, scanning the Hall. “Hey, hey,” he hissed and nudged Juls, directing his attention to the girl who had just entered the Hall. “Remember that book we found? And how we thought it might be funny to dump it in the dungeons, not far away from the Snake Dorms?” He met his twin’s gaze, and saw him nod. “Well, doesn’t she look pretty jumpy, eh, Bro?”

Julius watched the girl as she made a beeline for Potter. “Devereux picked it up?” he asked, incredulous. “Oh, dear lord. You know her father’s a Death Eater, right?”

Kai rolled his eyes. “Duh, Juls. Our parents are Death Eaters, too, remember?”

“Oh....right.”

The pair fell silent as they watched the Ravenclaw boy say something and then leave the Hall at a fast pace. Potter and Devereux exchanged a few words before going over to the Slytherin table. Julius frowned, and when he met his brother’s gaze, Kaius was grinning.

“Well now,” he said. “Isn’t that interesting?”

Owen | Great Hall -- Slytherin Table

He couldn’t believe who Matt had pointed at. He clapped a hand on Alice Potter's shoulder and turned her to face him. He wasn't rough, but his grip was forceful. There was no violence in his movement -- it was all in his eyes.

"So it was you, Potter," he said quietly. The-Girl-Who-Lived? Now she’d shown her true colours. She was nothing more than a common Slytherin.

"I'm-sorry-Owen-I-tried-not-to-tell-her-more-about-what-Sae-found-out-about-the-Stone-but--"

"It's alright, Matt," Owen replied. All the time he never took his eyes off Alice. "It's not your fault."

"Oh, hello Pepperidge.”

“Potter,” he replied. “It looks like you cast a Blabbing Hex on my friend. Care to explain?”

Potter apparently had the decency to look sheepish before she turned away, not bothering to look him in the eye. “Well, it’s his fault,” she mumbled. “If he hadn’t agreed, I wouldn’t have cast it on him in the first place. And if I hadn’t cast it on him in the first place, I never would’ve found out about the Stone. And if I’d never have found out about the Stone, I wouldn’t have come and bothered him, so there!”

Owen scowled. If there was one thing he hated about first-years it was the immaturity. This little navel-gazer simply didn’t have it in her to consider anyone but herself. What made it worse was her heritage. How had two great Gryffindors created such a slithering Slytherin?

"Is your friend alright?" asked the student next to her. Owen couldn't quite remember her name -- was it something like Sami? Interestingly, the girl seemed genuinely concerned about Matt. Perhaps he should go easy on them... They were just first years, after all.

“You’re lucky, Potter,” said Owen finally. “I don’t hit girls.”

Potter looked as if she was going to hit him just for the sexist comment.

“But I do duel with them,” Owen continued. He took his hand from her shoulder and straightened his scarf. “Duelling Club. Tonight. It’s the first meeting. I’ll let you attend if you promise not to hex any of my friends outside a duel again.”

She bit her lip and looked as though she was considering. Then she gave a slight nod. “Okay, but I’m not the one who really needs the club.” She shot a brief glance at Selwyn and Rockharrow sitting together and looked away, her eyebrow twitching downwards. “Just...I have a bad feeling that Allen’s being bullied.”

Owen felt a real smile form on his face. That was more like it. Perhaps she wasn’t so bad after all.

“Allen Selwyn?”

A nod from Potter.

“I’ll make sure he’s there.”

Owen put his arm around Matt and guided him away. It wasn’t much of a showdown but she was only a first year. If she pushed it any further Owen knew he could always duel her. She may be The-Girl-Who-Lived but she certainly wasn’t a duelist. Not yet, at least.