Chapter Three. Sharp Eyes, Sharper Mind

Gwendolyn helped Rhea to and from her classes until they ended the day in the Great Hall. Rhea was exceedingly thankful for both the guide and the fact Gwen had helped her make two new friends.

"How did your classes go?"

"Not bad," Gwen shrugged, "Lots of classes with Slytherin though."

Pari nodded, "Yeah, they always seem to pair those two houses together. It's so annoying. Can't we have the Hufflepuffs or the Ravenclaws? They're all decent human beings."

Gwen chuckled, a smile on her face. She took another bite of her dinner, seemingly relaxed with everything. Rhea was talking to her new friends, Elaine was chatting idly with another Gryffindor and Maria had joined in on Pari and Gwen's conversation. It was all going so smoothly, so nicely.

And those things, for Gwen, never lasted long.

Gwen was walking the grounds, looking for Hagrid near his hut. He was trained as gamekeeper and a close friend of hers. They shared a love of magical creatures and naturally, Gwen loved talking to people who shared her passions.

"Hagrid!" Gwen greeted with a large grin, waving at the half-giant as she approached.

"Ah, Gwen, it's great to see ye."

"What have you got today?" She wondered, glancing around him.

"Nothin' today, love," Hagrid apologized. "Soon though, I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that, Hagrid," Gwen smiled warmly.

Hagrid only chuckled in return. Gwen started back up the path back to the school, when she noticed someone was watching her. She turned her gaze to the top of the hill, where a man she did not recognize stood. He had on Slytherin robes, with dark blond hair in the breeze. She couldn't make out his eyes before he turned and walked out of her view.

She didn't find him particularly unsettling, but she had to admit he was odd. She was not very familiar with Slytherin's, mostly just Gryffindor's and a little bit of the Hufflepuff's. Gwen sighed and made her way to her Transfiguration class.

Gwendolyn felt gloomy due to the rain, even though she didn't particularly mind the rain, but a lot had begun to plague her mind. The wizarding world was growing darker, her parents were harboring secrets, Oliver was who-knows-where, the boy she believed was actually good despite others opinions sat near the forefront, she had tons of homework that needed doing, and her mind was making her completely restless. All she could see with her "third eye" was darkness and she knew her mind was desperately searching for answers, desperate to see something, desperate the shed light on the unknown that laid before her.

She was frustrated. She didn't like her visions much, she usually tried to block them out — but this was different. It was like there was a wall between her and what she should be seeing. The past few nights, the visions reached out for her, but she could never grasp them. As soon as she had gotten close, she would be surrounded by black and then she would wake up.

Gwen and her friends made their first trip to Hogsmade later that month. Gwen was generally in search of sweets and perhaps a butterbeer.

"Hey,"

Gwen turned to the unfamiliar voice, to meet the blonde boy, who she recognized as the one who was watching her on the hill. Elaine gave her a look of "oh, he's cute" and made sure to pull the others away.

"Hi?" she raised a curious eyebrow — Slytherins never went out of their way to talk to Gryffindors — unless it was Lily and Severus, or in the case of last year, her and Cassius.

He gave a smile, and a small chuckle, "Alexsei Volkov. Apologies to not have met you sooner."

Gwen could hear a faint Russian accent underneath his British lit. "And why should we have met sooner?"

"Pretty. Smart. I'm sure you and I will get along."

Alexsei Volkov was the embodiment of a Slytherin — snake-like with sharp, calculating eyes and a cunning nature. He was tall and lanky, but he was a Slytherin Chaser, and so he was built with muscle.

"Mhm, right," Something about him just didn't sit right with her. "I must be getting along."

Gwendolyn left without another word, she could not get over the feeling in her gut, and she hoped a butterbeer would soothe her nerves.

Heading into the Three Broomsticks, Gwen was called over to a table by Pari, who gave her an inquisitive look. Gwen just shrugged at her and sat down.

Too distracted by the conversation her friends were having about supposed Merpeople in the Black Lake, she could not overhear the other conversation the Marauders were having about her.

"She's nice," said Remus, sharing a look with Peter — hoping this wasn't going to be another Lily.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "She's more than just nice, Moony. Did you see last year? She's like—"

James came from trying to have a conversation with Lily outside, and sat down at the table. His friends eyes turned to him for a moment, before back to Remus.

"The lioness of Gryffindor? Yeah, you said that last year, mate, when she and Cassius had that fight." Remus said.

"At least they broke up," Peter started, "They would have been a bad combination."

"Oh, she's really nice if she's conversing casually again with a Slytherin." James told Sirius, cutting off Peter.

Sirius raised an eyebrow in question.

"Volkov was chatting her up just a few moments ago."

"Oi, that bloke," Sirius rolled his eyes. "He's been eyeing her up in Defense. It's creepy, especially because Volkov and Malfoy are friends."

"Well, I hope you'll be making your next move soon, Padfoot. Someone else might sweep her off her feet." said James. "Besides, we have to focus on finishing the map."

Remus nodded, "We're almost done."

Sirius sighed, "But how do I get a girl like that to say yes?"

"I'll talk to her in Charms, all right? Maybe she got the wrong idea." Remus reasoned with his friend. "Maybe she thought you were an arsehole the first time."

"I wonder what would give her that impression." James smirked.

Sirius pushed his arm with an "Oi!" before he let out a retort, "Perhaps Lily thinks that of you?"

The two best friends descended into lighthearted jests after that — ending in a fit of laughter.