A/N: Okay, third chapter!! Sorry this one took a bit longer to get out... and it's not even as long as the other two :( But I kind of like this chapter, because you can start to see the plot starting to develop... well, at least I can because I know where I want to go with this.

Um, just a quick question for all of my readers/reviewers- Would you guys like me to reply to your reviews through the PM thing? You know, the one that like sends it into your e-mail? Or do you want me to reply to them on each update in the author's note? Cause I know people that do it both ways, and I was just wondering what's preferred.

Also, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this in any part of the story so far, but it's kind of important: Persephone looks exactly like Lily, except for her eyes. She has James' eyes. So they're blue. Kay?

Anyways, enjoy the chapter and thank you for all of your reviews so far!


The next day, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin wouldn't stop starring at me. It wasn't a creepy kind of stare, just the kind that makes you feel like everything you're doing is being closely watched and scrutinized.

We had disbanded into pairs to work on a new, highly advanced, defensive spell that Lupin had been teaching us. I was working with Draco, but finding it increasingly difficult to focus on my spell with Lupin watching my every move. I eventually messed up so badly on a countercurse that I made Draco's nose bleed.

"Oh Draco!" I moaned as I rushed to his side and cradled his blond head against my arm. "I'm so sorry!"

"Killer aim, Seph." He smirked through the blood pooling around his mouth and I held him a little tighter.

"Parkinson!" Came Professor Lupin's voice from behind me and I turned to find everyone had stalled their own practicing to get a better look at what had happened.

"Yes sir?" Came Pansy's nasally voice as she stepped forward from the group of students.

"I need you to take Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing." He stated as he bent down to examine his nose.

Draco glared up at him. "Why can't Persephone just take me? She's the one that hurt me."

"Exactly." The professor nodded pointedly at me. "Which is why she needs to stay here and practice." He smiled simply and patted Draco's head in a dismissive manner as he stood up to bring order back to his classroom.

Draco opened his mouth to protest again, the blood starting to stain his lips red, but I silenced him.

"Don't worry," I said, smiling reassuringly down at him. "It'll be fine."

He sighed, but nodded in agreement. I placed a hand under his back and put his arm around my shoulders as I helped him stand up.

Pansy was right there, waiting to take Draco away from me as soon as we stood up. She pulled his other arm securely around her own shoulder and wrapped her hand around his waist, looking a little too happy about the situation. She turned her head and gave me a thankful wink just before they disappeared into the hall.

I bent over to pick up my wand then and noticed that everyone had lost interest in their brief interlude since they were back to casting spells at one another again. I searched through the crowd for Milicent, remembering that she was Pansy's partner and figuring that we could work together now.

I found her near the back, looking anxious as she tapped her wand on the palm of her hand.

"Hey Milicent." I smiled as I approached her and she gave a small smile back. "Would you like to work together since both of our partners are gone?"

"Yes, of course!" She exclaimed, and I realized that she must have been anxious because she thought she wouldn't have anyone to practice with.

I did a little better working with Milicent, mostly because Professor Lupin had finally decided to leave me alone and walk around the room to give the students tips. Milicent and I worked well together, and by the end of class we had pretty much mastered our new blocking spells.

When the bell rang, it took me a while to gather up my books and I ended up being the last person left in the classroom. I didn't realize this until I stood up to walk to my next class and the only other person there was Professor Lupin. I smiled uneasily at him and made to dash quickly out of the room before he stopped me.

"Persephone, wait!" He called out, and I froze mid-step.

"What is it Professor?" I questioned, turning to face him as I hugged my school books tight against my chest, like some kind of security blanket.

"Um, well I just wanted to talk to you-"

"Is this about me giving Draco a bloody nose?" I interjected. I already felt embarrassed about the interaction, and now Lupin was going to address it further? Maybe that was why he was starring at me- he thought I was awful with defensive spells. I mean, he did say that he wanted me to stay back for more practice.

He paused for a second, seeming to think to himself before nodding quickly. "Yes, yes- that's exactly what this is about."

"I'm really sorry, Professor! I was just distracted and Draco was doing really well so I felt bad and I don't know!" I exclaimed desperately, not wanting him to know that I had really messed up because of him.

"It's okay, Persephone." He put a hand into the air to silence me. "I was just going to offer you some… extra help in the Dark Arts. Not that you really need it, but a person in your situation could use some additional practice, right?"

"My situation?" I inquired, taking a few steps closer to his desk.

"Oh, uh, yeah. You know, what with you being the local celebrity." He glanced uneasily down at his desk, making me think he was definitely hiding something.

"Nobody at school has ever tried to hurt me." I stated bluntly, giving him a suspicious look.

"Oh, right, well…" he paused and looked up, like he was searching for another excuse. "I heard about that Dementor that almost attacked you."

I looked down at the floor in embarrassment. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, I know a spell that can ward off Dementors." He declared, still looking rather unsure.

"You do?!" I looked hopefully up at him and he broke into a smile, looking triumphant.

"Yeah, I do. And I'd be willing to teach it to you. That and plenty of other things to keep you safe." He placed his hands on his desk and leaned forward with enthusiasm.

I still didn't understand what I needed to be kept safe from, but I didn't want to be caught so defenseless around a Dementor again. "Okay. I'll do it." I smiled and he practically beamed back at me.

"Why don't you come by my office Thursday night and we can start then?" He suggested, looking pleased.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks Professor!" I smiled and readjusted my books in my arms before heading out of class.


Draco came into Charms class about a half hour late with a note from Madam Pomfrey. I smiled as he came to sit next to me in our usual spot near the back.

"So, was Pansy dreadfully helpful on her quest to escort you to the hospital wing?" I whispered as he opened his book to the chapter we were currently reading in our text books.

He shrugged nonchalantly and rested his head in his hand. "She wasn't so bad."

My mouth dropped open in disbelief, but Draco didn't seem to notice as he starred mundanely down at his book.

"You mean she didn't drive you crazy with her constant flattery and girly talk?" I encouraged, trying to entice some sort of negative reaction out of him. He was never this mellow when it came to Pansy, and it sort of freaked me out.

"Not really, I guess. I mean, she's my friend for a reason- she doesn't bother me all the time."

"That's not what you're usually telling me." I pointed out, poking him roughly in the shoulder.

"What's your deal, Seph?" He questioned somewhat irritably. "She's your friend too, isn't she? Do you want me to talk bad about her?"

I was silent for a moment as Draco starred suspiciously at me. "No, of course not!" I hissed, my voice growing louder. "But don't you think it's kind of annoying that she's all over you all the time?"

Draco thought for a moment before responding. "Nah. It's actually kind of nice sometimes. To know that someone cares that much."

"Whatever, Draco!" I snapped loudly, causing Flitwick to deduct five points from Slytherin.

I seethed in silence the rest of the hour and tried my hardest to pay as little attention to Draco as possible. As soon as class was over I darted out of the room and made my way to the Astrology tower without giving him a second glance.

I stormed all through the castle and up to the Astronomy tower, not sure what, exactly, I was upset about. All I knew was that that tart Pansy apparently annoyed me a little bit more than I had thought.

I was most certainly not in the mood for Professor Sinistra's perpetually cheerful mood today as I trudged into her distractingly dark room. I let my books hit the surface of my desk with a loud thud, causing more than one person to glance in irritation behind them.

I slid quickly into my seat and nearly jumped a foot into the air when someone actually sat in the chair next to me. I didn't know anyone in this class and usually was able to keep an entire desk all to myself in the back.

I turned to my left to find a bushy haired brunette girl sitting there, looking rather nervous. I noticed immediately that she was wearing a red and gold tie and glared uneasily at her, thinking that she must be up to something.

She fidgeted anxiously, obviously feeling my gaze on her, and turned to me after Sinistra had begun her lecture for the day.

"What is your problem?" She whispered, trying to keep her eyes on the teacher and me at the same time.

"What is your problem?" I retorted, placing my hands on my desk and leaning towards her in agitation.

"I'm just sitting here," she replied, flipping her text book hastily to some page the Professor had just said. "You're the one trying to glare a hole through the side of my head!"

My eyes narrowed even more. "Don't you usually sit with that red-haired guy? Rod?"

"Ron," she unnecessarily emphasized. "Is sick today, and this was the only empty spot."

"Well that's just great." I mumbled to myself as I slumped back in my chair and folded my arms in irritation.

"We're on page 465." The brunette whispered, eyeing my unopened book.

"I heard her." I retorted, but made no move to open my book. She continued to stare confusedly at me though, so I sighed in aggravation and flipped it open to the appropriate page.

"Happy now?" I hissed. She simply stared at me with her huge brown eyes before turning back to her own book.

"You're not winning any popularity contests here, you know." She whispered as she began to read.

"And who said I was trying to?" I snapped, pretending to read along in my own book.

She shrugged slightly, not moving her eyes. "It just doesn't make any sense to be so rude."

I sighed and laid my palm flat against the sticky page of my text, leaning closer to her. "I'm… sorry," I mumbled very quietly. "I'm just having a bad day, and the last thing I need is a know-it-all Gryffindor telling me the ins and outs of popularity."

"I wasn't trying to-" She started, but I stopped her with a sigh.

"I know, it's my fault." I stated simply, hoping she would just drop the subject so I could go on ignoring her for the rest of the hour.

"No, it's not." She said bluntly, making me glance over at her again. She was smiling slightly at me, almost as a peace offering. "It's the prejudice's fault."

"You mean that ancient Gryffindor vs. Slytherin thing? That had nothing to do with it." I rolled my eyes but smiled back to let her know I was kidding.

"Yes and Professor Sinistra doesn't cast a Cheering Charm on herself every day before classes." She commented, and I had to cover my mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

"I thought I was the only one who noticed!" I pursed my lips together in amusement as she shook her head. "It's kind of awful, isn't it?"

She rolled her eyes in agreement and I chuckled again, causing the Professor to politely request for us to keep it down. But that just made us laugh harder.

After we had calmed down, I fidgeted with my stuff awkwardly for a minute, feeling like I should say something more.

"I'm kind of surprised." The girl suddenly spoke up, as if she was just coming out of some sort of trance.

"And why's that?" I inquired, meeting her curious gaze.

"Well, I thought that if I ever tried to talk to you it would end a little differently than this." She confessed.

"I am capable of being civil to Gryffindors." I declared, sounding offended by nature. I saw her give me a cautious glance. "I've just never really tried."

I caught her lips quirk into a smile as I held back my own. Who would have thought it was so easy to talk to a Gryffindor?

I started to say something else but Professor Sinistra told us to be quiet again, this time sounding considerably sterner, so I shut my mouth. This also brought attention to the fact that my new table partner hadn't been taking notes on anything that Sinistra had been saying, so she quickly threw herself into vigorously writing down every little thing she said.

I wrote down a few things that I thought would be important later, but mostly let my mind wander for the rest of the hour. I was grateful that nobody else from Slytherin was in this particular class for once, because I would surely be banned or exiled or Crucioed for having such a normal conversation with a Gryffindor.

When class was over, I gathered my things and was about to walk away from my table when the brunette stopped me.

"My name's Hermione." She supplied, giving me a friendly smile.

I wanted to sneer at her and walk away. I wanted to tell her I didn't care. I wanted to just leave and forget this ever happened.

"It was nice to meet you, Hermione. You're not as bad as I thought a stereotypical Gryffindor would be."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Persephone." She walked past me and I swear I heard her whisper something along the lines of, "There's still hope for you."


Thursday night after dinner I found myself tapping my wand nervously on the inside of my palm, standing outside of Professor Lupin's office. I reached up a shaky fist and knocked tentatively on the door, not even sure if he'd be able to hear it.

I had a real trust issue with people. That's why I spent a whole ten minutes simply standing outside the Professor's door, debating on whether or not to even show up to this meeting we had agreed on. Who knew what he could really be up to? Snape didn't seem to like or trust him very much, and his opinion weighed heavily in my brain. Why was I willing to blindly agree to something like this when I had only known Lupin for a few months?

Strangely though, some little voice inside my head told me that he was okay. That I should trust him- maybe even more than Snape. I don't know where this came from, but the same thing happened when I thought Professor Lockhart was a phony, so I tended to trust my instincts.

The door swung open to reveal a tired, but pleased looking, Professor Lupin.

"Uh, hi Professor." My voice sounded small as I wrung my hands around my wand.

"Hello, Persephone! Come in." He stepped back and held the door open as I ducked my head down and walked briskly inside.

"Sit down, please." He gestured to the swivel chair across from his desk as he shut his door.

I sat down quickly and starred intently at my hands in my lap, feeling awkward and cursing myself for agreeing to this.

"So, you want to learn how to defend yourself against Dementors?" Professor Lupin started as he leaned against the side of his desk, not bothering to sit down.

"Yes, sir." I nodded and sat up a little straighter.

"Well, there is a spell that can be used, but it is highly advanced magic- well past your year." He explained. "So, I think we should apply the theoretical motivation first, before we actually try it out."

"What do you mean, sir?" I asked, wondering how you can theoretically apply a spell.

"When you cast a Patronus Charm, you're not just saying the words and making it happen. You have to envision something truly powerful and unique in your mind for it to work effectively."

"What do you have to envision, Professor?" I inquired, leaning forward a bit with interest.

"Happiness." Professor Lupin stated, smiling down at my confused expression. "Dementors feed on the dark and depressing thoughts in your mind- this is what draws them to a certain target. When you use the Patronus Charm, you have to fill your entire being with a happiness that cannot be touched or destroyed by them." He clarified as he stood up and began pacing around the back of his desk. "So, in order for the Charm to work, you have to be able to conjure a memory that fills you with absolute happiness."

"…What if I can't think of anything that fills me with happiness?" I nearly whispered, averting my eyes to the ground.

"There must be something, dear." He started, bending down so that he was eye level with me, forcing me to look him in the eyes. "What makes you happier than anything in the world?"

I shook my head slightly and blinked several times. "I don't know." I replied simply, feeling about ready to cry. But Slytherins don't cry. At least not where other people can see them.

"It's okay, Persephone." He soothed, standing back up again. "I guess it's just something you'll have to think about for next week's lesson. Kind of like your homework for the week." He smiled kindly down at me and I nodded apathetically.

"Be sure to think hard about it." He paused for a moment, before continuing almost hesitantly. "And if you can't…I know of something that will help you."

"Really?" I questioned somewhat hopefully.

He nodded and smiled earnestly at me. There was no way to believe Lupin was lying when he smiled so genuinely at you.

"So, I guess that's all for tonight, sorry it was kind of short. I think we'll have a lot to do next week, though." He headed towards his office door and I stood up to follow him.

"Thank you, Professor. For meeting with me tonight." I smiled politely at him as he held open the door and I made my way into the hall.

"It was my pleasure." He stepped into the doorway as he talked. "Now, hurry on back to your dormitory- it's getting late and I'd hate for you to get caught out after hours by Filch."

"Yes, sir. I'll see you tomorrow." I nodded and waved as I made my way back to the Dungeons.

Professor Lupin wasn't that bad, I had decided.


A/N: I hope you liked it! Expect a longer chapter next time, sorry this was a bit shorter. Let me know what you thought in a review! Thanks!!