I had a ton of time on my hands, and was able to post this much earlier than I expected :) Please leave a comment, with enough encouragement I might be able to pull this off another time (no promises, though)

I hope you enjoy this!

Best Wishes!

Chapter Four

"Guys, I really don't know about this…"

"Oh, shut up. Don't you want to get back at her for telling your dad about those House Points you lost for no reason at all? She's completely power-mad. She needs to be taken down a notch." Roxanne was unwavering, once her sights had been set on a goal, particularly if that goal involved causing some damage, she was unstoppable.

"Well, first off, it wasn't exactly no reason. I mean, a bit of the couch in the common room did catch fire…" Hugo protested weakly, though he knew he didn't really stand a chance.

"Yes, but it wasn't your fault, now was it? Who's given her the power to dock points because of misguided attempts to do charms homework in the common rooms? Nobody, that's who! And I, for one, won't stand for it!" Roxanne said, quiet adamantly. She was leading a revolt of one (with some apprehensive younger cousins and their friends dragged along for support). Roxanne motioned for them to be very quiet, and she mumbled something that made the door ahead of them open "How'd you learn the-" Lily started to say

"Shh! Don't worry about it. Come on." Roxanne led them into the small, dark room. "Now, here's the plan…"

So, Lara thought, that's got to be about five. Remarkable! Three different shades of green, with gold and brown…

"Uhh, Lara?" Albus asked, waving a hand in front of the mesmerized girls' face. "Are you all right?"

"Hm? Oh, yes! I'm fine! Hahaha…" and kill me now…

"Alright…well then, if you're sure" he said, looking wary. "Do you want me to explain that again?"

Well, I heard none of what you said the first time, so that might be a good idea "Yeah, I'm not sure I quite get it yet. Could you just explain it once more?"

Lara had gone to Al for help with transfiguration since the end of last year, when she had accidentally changed a button into a crill instead of a quill. Professor Boot had suggested she seek the help of an older student, and much to both Lara's chagrin and pleasure, he suggested Albus , who was incidentally one of his best transfiguration students.

Ever since the, Lara and Al had spent had spent an hour every Thursday and Sunday in the library working together. She was always glad for the opportunity to spend time with him, but always felt like a complete idiot and got frustrated whenever she made a mistake in front of him. The entire situation was rather confusing for her.

"…and then you're done. Got it?" Albus asked her, looking very hopeful.

"Oh, right, of course I got it. No problem" Lara lied. In truth, she was much too distracted to focus on school work today "Lets go back to the common room for a bit, I'm tired of all this" she gestured to the assortment of books on the desk in front of them.

"Yeah, alright" Albus picked up all the books and carried them out of the library. Only seconds after stepping into the common room, a resounding "AAHHHHH!!!" was bellowed from the girls' dorms. Lucy Weasley came flying down the stairs, her eyes flashing and her hair slightly askew.

"ROXANNE ALICIA WEASLEY!"

"Yeah, cuz?" Asked Roxanne, from her vantage point on the couch in the corner.

"What were you thinking? What could have possessed you? What sick, twisted part of your brain decided it would be funny to transfigure all of my clothes so they'd be see-through?!"

"Well, I'll admit, it's a bit unimaginative; but I think 'sick and twisted' is a bit uncalled for." Roxanne replied, smiling, as if she knew a secret and would never be convinced to tell it.

"This wasn't just your usual stupid prank, this was a personal attack!" Lucy still looked furious

"Look, you've always said you hate it that I get other people involved in the little games I like to play, so this time I thought I'd keep the theatrics to a minimum. Keep it inside the family," Roxanne responded, still smirking.

"I can't even look at you right now! And you lot!" she said to the common room at large "Get out of here!" She had nothing left to argue, and was too shaken. Without another word –but not without another contemptuous glare- the Head Girl stormed up the girls' staircase to her dorm. Everyone was too shocked to speak, and nobody seemed to be meeting anyone else's eyes for fear of bursting into riotous laughter.

The portrait of the Fat Lady abruptly swung open to reveal a smiling Fred. "What'd I miss?"

Lily Potter had grown up consistently being told how very much like her mother she was. Her hair, obviously, was the same vivacious shade of red, and her eyes the same shade of brown, if a little bit larger; but Lily couldn't always see the similarities. She had heard many of the stories from her mothers' time at Hogwarts, and of her courage in the war, and Lily couldn't reconcile herself with that strong image. Sure, Lily could be argumentative and stubborn, but she couldn't see herself fighting any Dark Lords any time soon. Lily had, however, inherited many of what she'd heard were her grandmother and namesakes' best traits. For instance, Lily was sincerely compassionate and kind hearted. She was also a force to be reckoned with academically. Lily was the top of her class in Potions, Charms, and D.A.D.A.

Lily loved almost all of her classes (though she was quite ambivalent on Defence, as her father's guest lectures were both fascinating and a little uncomfortable) but her time was often split between her studies and her fascination with the forest. She has an undeniable adventurous streak, which often led her on solitary trips through the forest. If Lily had any artistic talent, she would have drawn or painted the trees and creatures that so often incited her curiosity. As it was, she contented herself with just watching from a safe enough distance.

Today, however, Lily was distracted. While walking a few meters past the old cabin at the edge of the forest, Lily saw a shadow moving off in the distance ahead of her, and a small voice in her head urged her 'Go back to the castle. Don't follow whatever that was!' Unfortunately, a much louder voice was prompting her to 'Follow it! What do you think that was?'

Lily hiked after the thing, and from what she could tell, whatever it was, was no taller than her waist. She came up to the place she had spotted it, but instead saw only a large pond. Deciding the light must have hit the water and tricked her eyes, Lily turned to head back to the castle. After just a few steps, she heard a soft splashing noise. She spun around just as a bird-like creature rose out of the water and, blinking a few times, shot back underneath. Lily was mesmerized as it rose back out of the water, now resembling a pixie. Her feet felt as if they were glued to the ground, and she was scared to even blink as it ducked back under the dark water, and arose this time much, much larger.

The thing now resembled a dark colored horse, with a mane of green and brown reeds. It stepped up out of the water slowly, and turned to face her. It tilted its large head and stared at her.

Lily suspected she should feel threatened or nervous, but the horse was so striking and unlike anything she'd ever seen before, she couldn't look away. Lily could only see the huge black eyes staring right back at her. She stepped closer to it, unsure what she was doing.

"Wait, no! Stop!" A male voice shouted from somewhere behind her, forcing Lily to break her stare and turn to face him. "Don't go any closer! Don't you know what that is?" The boy asked, not unkindly. He hurried over to Lily, who had yet to move from her position right beside the horse. "Just step back slowly, he won't hurt you." He sounded so sure of himself that Lily couldn't not obey. The boy raised his wand toward the horses head, "Locus equus". The horse's eyes drooped, and he sat down beside the pond for a moment. A bridle appeared over the horses head, and the boy grabbed the reins, directing the horse back to the side of the lake. "All right then, go on" The boy prompted, and the horse slid back into its pond.

The boy turned to face Lily now. Perhaps it was because he may have just saved her life, but she decided he had very nice eyes. His hair wasn't bad either. "I'm Evan Chambers" he held out his hand, and Lily shook it.

"I'm Lily-"

"Lily Potter, yeah. I know your brother." He explained, and smiled "I'm guessing you haven't yet learned about Kelpies?"

"No, I'm only in second year."

"Well, that explains it then" He said, wearing the same easy smile "Generally, you don't want to get too close to them. They have a nasty habit of drowning and eating people."

"Oh!" Lily gasped. "Well, don't I feel like an idiot" She laughed nervously.

"Don't worry about it. I've had much closer calls than that in here before. Come on, I'll walk you back to your common room" He nodded his head in the direction of the school, and he and Lily set off together.

So, maybe Lily and Ginny had more in common than before. The hair, the eyes, and a crush on a seemingly unattainable friend of their older brother…