"This place is strange…where am I?"

The words echoed faintly in the deserted hall as Hunter shivered. Whether from the cool air that pressed at her exposed skin or the growing fear that was tightening its grasp even now she was unsure. What she did know, however, was that she was very lost and utterly alone. Or perhaps not. The fear spiked suddenly as she heard voices approaching. Normally she might have been elated to find someone in what she had thought to be a desolate place but under such circumstances… Well, her caution could hardly be called into question. Moving swiftly from her crouched position in the middle of the hall, she hid herself as best she could in the darkening shadows. Last she remembered, it had been near dusk as it was here. Perhaps no time had passed at all. Perhaps… The voices passed her then. There were two of them though she had eyes only for the taller, paler boy. It was only a moment when she saw his face and yet it was already etched onto her memory. So the 'test' had worked. Her eye slid shut just as the boy froze then turned slightly to glance back the way he had come. Hunter could tell the other boy waited for him to speak. To command, really. Though the boy may have held some illusion about friendship in truth the other was his master.

"Odd."

That one word held more in it than Hunter would have thought possible. Strange…strange that the test had worked and yet she still held no notion of where she was. Was he the one she was searching for then? How could it be when he held so little care for anything? It was so obvious in the way he held himself. People had always been open books to her but he…this boy was…

"What's that?"

She grimaced slightly then froze. If she moved now they would see her. As she stilled her breath, her heart responded in kind and naturally slowed as she began to count silently in her head. She was always very good at being still. It helped her to think clearly and now even more so. The test had worked. It had actually worked. She breathed in, her chest barely rising, and held that breath to a count of ten. Slowly, so slowly as to escape notice, she let the breath go. Then repeated the motions. Time seemed to crawl but finally he turned away and started walking once more. The other boy had to jog to catch up with his long, quick strides.

"It was nothing, just a thought."

Hunter resisted the sudden urge to follow him. She might have been able to succeed in doing so while avoiding detection but it was risky especially if he would be as aware of her presence as she was of his. Too risky and yet she still had to quell that desire. The test had worked. Too well perhaps. Sighing heavily, she rose and left her hiding place to go in search of more suitable clothing. Being mostly naked was not only embarrassing but highly uncomfortable in such a place. It felt like winter within the stone walls which worried her some as it had been summer before… before whatever had happened, happened. The only warning was a flash of black in the corner of her eye but it was enough. Dropping to the floor, she heard the projectile hit the wall with a crash. Rising to a crouch, she did not bother to look for her assailant and instead raced to the end of the hall. She just barely made it around the corner when a second projectile whizzed past her head to hit the wall now opposite her.

This time she caught a glance of the projectile before it smashed against the wall. Some kind of beam of light or perhaps a ray. Gun maybe or magic. A spell then, had to be. As she thought, she ran; now fully erect and at an all-out sprint. This place… she knew this place. Had to. That was how it worked after all. She just had to remember which book it was that had jumped into her memory before she had blacked out. That would be her answer but there were just so many… Sliding to a stop, she hid behind a large statue of what looked to be a dancing troll and glanced cautiously down the hallway back the way she had come. It looked clear. She crouched there in the shadow of the statue and tried to slow her breathing and met with little success. Her heart refused to stop pounding regardless of her best efforts.

Giving it up as a lost cause, she rose and jogged to the first door she saw. As her hand curled around the door handle, a shout echoed down the hallway that sounded curiously like 'stop'. Stupid really. Who in the history of mankind ever listened when someone shouted stop? Perhaps it was because he was used to being listened to. Even from this distance; even when it was a single, shouted word, she could recognize his voice. The door slammed open as she applied more force than strictly necessary. Her heart was, as impossible as it seemed, pounding even harder now. Shit. The window. She started towards it then flew forward as a sudden force hit her back. It felt like a car had run into her and for a moment her vision was filled with stars and she the only thought left in her head was consumed with the effort of trying to remember how to breath. He was talking then and though her mind could not even begin to comprehend what he was saying, her heart rejoiced at the sound. Too well, it worked to well. He's trying to kill me and I'm happy about it because it's him. Shit.

Her lungs filled with a gasp and she tried to rise but fell back to the floor as her vision darkened. His voice paused for a moment but continued once he saw her gaze on him. What he was saying held some meaning but she could no more focus on it now than a minute ago as her lungs struggled to work. She could only stare, mouth hanging open slightly, as she watched his lips move. The were delicate, full lips; the kind that belonged to the girls in fashion magazines. The arrogant tilt of his head suggested self-importance; the glint of anger in his eyes a hidden danger in even looking at him. He moved with an odd grace that reminded her quite distinctly of a snake. It was the kind of grace that suited him; beautiful but deadly. He paused once more then scowled. Even that was beautiful. What ever had Marcus done to her?

"Are you quite finished or shall I turn for you too?"

Hunter grinned stupidly, barely able to speak. Shaking her head slightly, she let her eyes slide close. Not being able to see him helped a little. It was enough.

"If you did, I suspect I would not be able to stop laughing for some time."

He seemed agitated, angry even, at her answer. She supposed that was to be expected. Sighing, she pressed the palm of her hands against her eyes and smiled.

"You should probably think of me as something other than a normal person. It might help when I don't act like you expect me too. Because I won't act like anyone else. Because I'm not really normal even considering…"

She trailed off, arms falling to her sides as she laid back against the cool floor. He was still angry but she could no more return that anger than she could force herself to stop her own breathe. It had worked too well. This had been the part that she was most afraid of so of course it would be the part to malfunction. Marcus had said her personality was an obsessive one. Perhaps that was it. Perhaps the test had malfunctioned because she was abnormal. It made more sense than anything else that had occurred to her so far and the instinct to blame any oddities in her life on her condition was a strong one. Hunter rose then though her eyes remained mostly closed. Slowly, she took a single step back then opened her eyes halfway. She could not bear to look at him. Those cold eyes that were watching her even now as her body started to tremble. This would be difficult but…

Lunging forward, Hunter slammed her fist into his stomach as hard as she could, a pang shooting through her chest as she practically felt the air leaving his lungs. He fell, stunned, to the ground as his wand left his grasp. Wand. That struck a note in her memory but she had no time to ponder that train of thought any further. Turning on her heel, she ran for the window and threw it open. Without another thought, Hunter launched herself through the opening. Sliding a ways down, she caught the railing just as she was about to fall off the side of the roof. Swing over to hang off the side of the roof, she let herself drop to the balcony below. This place was much bigger than she had thought. A castle of some sort. Again the word struck her as something significant but the man who occupied the balcony as well stole her attention. The half-moon glasses seemed oddly familiar as did the quietly assessing gaze. When she felt the feather-light touch on her mind, she balked as the realization hit her. Where she was…this castle…this man. Slamming a mental iron curtain around her thoughts, she backed away quickly from him, stopping only when she felt the wall behind her. Mustn't panic, mustn't scream… It was building slowly but she could still quell the urge. It had worked; the test had worked. She was here. Was that not what she wanted? But it was wrong, all wrong. Because she wasn't normal. Because… Clamping down hard on the scream that had lodged itself in her throat, she mustered a weak grin. The words came out as a slight croak at first but on the second try were much clearer.

"Good evening headmaster."

He seemed taken aback for a moment though the look was passing. It must have been her appearance that had him puzzled or that she could protect her mind or maybe simply the fact the she had just dropped from ten feet from above him then greeted him with such a casual air. Or a combination thereof. She knew she was staring again but in a blank, almost unfocused way this time. It was too much. Her vision was going dark as the fear and the panic began to take hold. It was too much to handle. She was through. She gave in then, almost with relief, and her mind blanked out completely. She was running again though she had no idea as to where. Simply to be away from where she was moment to moment. Can't stay still, can never stop. He was close. His shout was expected and she could almost completely ignore it. The stairway loomed just ahead of her but as she was forced to stop her headlong run as she reached the end of the stairs and met not a landing or another doorway but empty space. Of course; they liked to move. She could hear him behind her now, his breathing slightly heavy.

She let her eyes slide close as she turned around slowly. They flickered open for a moment as she leaned back. He seemed even more angry than before. She smiled as gravity took hold and she plummeted downwards. This would certainly not improve his mood. She twisted in mid air, aiming for the staircase just below the one she dropped from. She was just slightly off in her aim and instead of landing on her feet, Hunter hit the railing with a sickening crunch. She held on though barely and managed to pull herself over the railing. Hobbling through the archway, she paused halfway through and considered her choices. The fact was that she did not have a single choice that was a good one and her time was running out. Why she ran in the first place… she discarded each reason almost as soon as they occurred to her. There was no concrete reason, only instinct. Fear and panic were such illogical emotions but instinct had never failed her before.

She sighed, winced, then hobbled forward, her hand trailing along the wall for balance. Someplace safe…someplace safe… A sudden pang shot through her and it was all she could do to stay upright. She needed to hide. There was no way he could run anywhere. There was door just a few feet away. Strange. She was almost positive there had not been a door there before. Grasping the handle, she shoved it open with what remained of her strength then leaned against it till it shut with a strangely final sounding click. The room was dimly lit but it was light enough that she could take in the odd array of items that filled the place. A large bed took up roughly half the place. This in itself was worrisome. Someone's bedroom was not a good place to hide. Then her eyes locked on the bedside table. A bottle labeled 'skele-gro' sat there next to a glass of what looked to be water and a pitcher which most likely held more of the same.

Hunter realized two things at that moment: One, that she was parched and two that this was most definitely the safest place in the castle. Grinning, she hobbled over to the table and grabbed the bottle by the neck. Ripping out the cork, she gulped done half of it before gagging then reached for the pitcher. As the jabs of pain grew worse, she crawled up onto the bed and collapsed. It was looking to be a long night indeed.

A/n: Just to clarify: After she runs from the balcony, it is the boy who is chasing her. The room she has discovered is the Room of Requirement but then hopefully that part was obvious. Looking for a Beta for this story.