YEAR 4

A few months later….

Chapter 64

(The Portkey)

About a week before the Quidditch Cup I was laying around my herb garden in tiger form. Our neighbors- of which there were very few- never looked out their windows, plus the yard was fenced in. The warm sunshine was shining down on my outstretched form. I was drifting in and out of sleep when I started to dream…

It was the library at Hogwarts. Lily, who looked to be about twelve, was sitting beside a young Snape. A fifteen-year-old version of Mother was sitting directly across from Snape. Lily was deeply immersed in a Potions book and working on an essay. Snape and my mother were leaning across the table, whispering to each other, and looking at something in a book.

"What are you two so interested in over there?" Lily asked finally.

"Nothing," Snape and Mother said simultaneously, trying to hide the book. Lily frowned then started tickling Snape. He laughed helplessly and fell sideways off his chair. Lily slipped and fell on top of him, but got up to grab the book, laughing. As Lily browsed through the book, Mother looked down at Snape and rolled her eyes.

"Was that the best resistance you could muster?" Mother asked him as he scrambled back into his chair.

"She tickled me!" Snape protested. Mother rolled her eyes again, but smiled at them. Lily wasn't smiling anymore however.

"Sev! How can you look at this?" Lily demanded, shoving a picture in his face, "It's terrible!"

The picture was a Muggle man who had been cursed horribly. Whatever the curse was, it had rearranged the man's limbs, contorted them until he was barely recognizable as human. Snape stammered unintelligently. Mother reached forward and lifted the book out of Lily's grasp.

"You sound like you swallowed a Babbling Beverage, Severus. And relax Lils…it's not like we're going to be using the curse. It's just harmless fun," Mother said coolly. There was an air about her as if she weren't someone to argue with. Lily sighed and inclined her head reluctantly.

Lily returned to her Potions work. Mother tried to get Snape's attention with the book again, but he pushed it away and scooted his chair closer to Lily to offer her help with her essay…

"Abigail, are you awake?" said a voice, jarring me into reality. I leapt to my paws, my fur standing on end. When I heard Snape chuckling I sat down again.

"You shouldn't sleep in the garden, Abigail. It's too open," he said to me.

"Mm. What are you doing home? Shouldn't you be working?" I asked, yawning.

"I thought I'd leave early so I could come see what you were up to and tell you that I finally booked a campsite. We'll have a bit of a walk, but you don't mind, do you?"

"Not as long as I can still see the match."

"You'll see it," he assured me, "Now, we'll have to use a Portkey to get to the campsite early on the morning of the match. Once we're there, there's no magic allowed, so we'll have to put up the tents by hand. There'll be plenty of time to walk around and I'm sure there'll be things for sale before the match."

"Sounds good," I said, but I wasn't really listening. My mind was on my dream again.

Early Monday morning Snape knocked on my bedroom door. Then he opened the door, flooding my room with light. I groaned sleepily and covered my face with my pillow. I had been in the middle of a very good dream. One that had involved Lily, as so many of my dreams did recently…

"Wake up, Abigail," Snape said loudly. I didn't say anything. I heard him walk into my room, then he grabbed the pillow from me.

"Wake up," he repeated, then he hit me with my own pillow. It didn't hurt, but it was enough to wake me up.

"Do we have time for breakfast first?" I asked with a yawn, getting up.

"Of course. I'll see you downstairs."

When Snape left I got dressed in Muggle clothes- Black jeans, black t-shirt, black tennis shoes. I had also started to wear a little bit of makeup. I put on black eye shadow, eyeliner, and mascara. Then I went downstairs to cook breakfast. The coffee was making in the coffeepot and I was frying eggs when I noticed Snape looking at me.

"Why do you always dress goth?" he asked when I brought him a cup of coffee.

"I don't know. I like dressing this way. Why do you wear black all the time?" I retorted, but not in a mean way. He didn't respond.

After a breakfast of eggs and bacon, Snape led me out of the house.

"The Portkey closest to us is out in the middle of a field…it had to be somewhere Muggles wouldn't find it accidentally. The Portkey leaves at 7am. We should be meeting up with the other Wizarding families in the area," Snape said as we walked out. It occurred to me that he had just, inadvertently of course, referred to us as a family. Some family, I thought to myself, but I half-smiled.

"There are other wizards around here?" I asked, surprised.

"Very few. The Parkinsons live a few miles in the opposite direction of the Portkey, we should see them. I don't know if the Johnsons got tickets or not. Alice Duncan may still live in the area, but I can't say for certain. She left Hogwarts already," he said absently, "I do wish we didn't have to walk quite so far…"

About an hour later, Snape and I found the Portkey in the old field. Standing next to an old tire was a red-haired girl who looked to be about nineteen. She was very pretty. She had sky-blue eyes and sparse freckles on her nose. She was dressed in Muggle clothes, too- jeans and a clean, white t-shirt.

I had about ten minutes to talk to her before the portkey was set to leave, but we became fast friends. Her name was Alice Duncan and she was Muggle-born. She had finished Hogwarts three years ago. She had been in Ravenclaw. She lived alone now. Her dream was to become a photographer for the Daily Prophet.

Suddenly, two minutes before 7am, we saw three more people making their way through the field towards us. One of them was Pansy Parkinson, the girl who shared my dorm that I rarely spoke to. The other two were obviously her parents. They were all dressed in expensive-looking robes.

"Daddy, why do we have to trek through this disgusting field?" Pansy was complaining.

"Quiet, darling. It's the only way we can get to the Cup because you aren't old enough to Apparate," said her father. I never liked Pansy Parkinson much. She had a face like a pug and she thought she was better than everyone else. Her parents looked as if they shared her attitude. As they got closer, her mother spied Alice.

"Oh, a Mudblood," she said, sounding disgusted. Alice looked uncomfortable. I couldn't stop myself from letting out a low growl.

"Quiet, Abigail," Snape said softly, "We can't do anything about it."

"Hmph," I muttered. Pansy's father looked disdainfully at me in my Muggle clothes, then smiled when he saw Snape.

"Hello Severus. It's been a while," he said, shaking hands with Snape.

"Indeed," said Snape, "How are you, Andrea?"

"Just fine," replied Pansy's mother, but she was looking at me in a curious way, "Say, Severus- I didn't know you had a kid."

Snape glanced at me quickly. I had a briefly annoyed expression on my face.

"She's Julia Prewett's daughter," Snape said as if that explained everything.

"Oh? I thought Mary was older than that. She was in preschool back in the day," said Pansy's father.

"No, Julia had another child. This is Abby," Snape said. I was glad he introduced me as Abby and not Abigail. Andrea Parkinson was still looking at me like I was some interesting new specimen.

"Why is she wearing Muggle clothes?" she asked incredulously.

"I like these clothes," I said, eyes narrowed. Snape touched my shoulder reassuringly.

"She does what she wants," Snape said to Andrea with a shrug.

"And I don't appreciate being talked about like I'm not here," I said, swiping his hand away. There was a brief silence.

"Ten seconds," said Alice urgently, reaching for the tire, and looking at her watch. We all grabbed hold of the portkey right before it turned blue. I shot Snape a death glare as we got pulled into the Portkey.

Chapter 65

(The Campsite)

I felt my feet leave the ground. I could feel Alice's shoulder bump into mine as we went forward through a howl of wind and swirling color. All of a sudden, my feet his the ground. Alice crashed into me and we went sprawling to the ground together. Pansy Parkinson laughed shrilly. Snape offered me a hand up, but I glared it away. I got up on my own, then held out my hand to help Alice up. She accepted it with a smile.

"Seven o'clock from Green's field," said a wizard who was wearing a kilt and holding a list. He threw the used Portkey into a box, then consulted his list.

"Let's see…Parkinson, you're about a quarter of a mile's walk that way. First field you come to, ask for a Mr. Roberts…Snape, you've got about half a mile that way. Second field you come to. Ask for a Mr. Payne," said the kilted wizard. Ours was in a different direction that the Parkinsons, thankfully.

"Thank you, Basil," Snape said to the kilted wizard.

We walked off towards where Basil had pointed. It was hard to see anything through the early morning mist.

"Listen, Abigail, I'm sorry about that, but they-"

"Hey Abby! Wait up!" called a voice from behind us. I turned my back on Snape to see Alice running towards me through the mist. I heard Snape make an irritated noise.

"We got the same campsite," she said to me.

"Great," I said enthusiastically, "You can walk with us."

"I'm excited about the match, aren't you?" Alice asked as we walked.

"Yeah," I replied brightly, "Who are you rooting for?"

"Oh I dunno. Ireland's great, but Bulgaria has Krum," she replied dreamily.

"Who's Krum?" I asked blankly.

"Viktor Krum, of course! He's only the greatest Seeker ever!"

"Hm. Never heard of him."

When we reached the campsite we found the site manager, Mr. Payne, who happened to be a Muggle. Snape paid him and he pointed us to our reserved spot. Alice's spot was on the other side of the campsite, but she walked with us anyway. There were dozens of tents already set up. Some had tried to make their tents look as Muggle-like as possible. Most had failed.

"Wow. I never realized how little wizards know about Muggles," Alice said as we passed a tent with a chimney coming out of it.

There were a few people stirring. They had probably come the day before. Most were dressed in Muggle clothes. A few looked odd, as if they didn't know anything about Muggles, like Basil in his kilt.

We found our reserved space. It was a small space at the edge of the woods. Snape hoisted the pack off his shoulders.

"Since we can't use magic, we'll have to put this tent up by hand," Snape said, "…any idea where we start?"

I looked at the mess of poles and things he laid on the ground. I shook my head. Alice laughed at our incompetence. She had a cute laugh…it reminded me of Lily's. Even Snape look momentarily confused.

"I can help," Alice said, walking over to the mess of poles, "I used to go camping with my Grandpa when I was little. He taught me how to set up tents, fish, what things in the forest are safe to eat, how to find water…"

I watched in quiet fascination as Alice set up the tent. When she was done, I peered inside. I had expected a small, normal tent. What I got was a magically-enhanced tent. It was one room. There was a couch, a radio, a small, comfortable-looking bed in one corner, and a small kitchenette.

"I borrowed this tent from Dumbledore," Snape said, following me inside, "He used to travel in his younger days, apparently."

"Explains the décor," commented Alice, sticking her head inside. Everything was styled like the 70s. There was even a tacky gold-ish yellow shag carpet.

"Hey Abs, I'm gonna go find my spot, okay? I'll come find you again before the match, okay?" Alice said to me.

"Alright then," I replied

When Alice left, I morphed into tiger form. I leapt onto the bed and tucked my tail around myself.

"Dibs on the bed," I said coolly.

"I would have given it to you anyway… Abigail, I'm sorry about earlier, it's just-"

"Forget about it," I said quickly.

"But-"

"I'll tell you what- you want to make it up to me?" I asked and he inclined his head, "Then let me call you by your first name."

Snape looked mildly surprised. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time. He smiled his small, twisted smile.

"Alright then," he said. I smiled and jumped down off the bed. I started to walk around the tent, but my claws snagged in the shag carpet. I lifted my paw, dismayed, and shook my claws free. I morphed back into a human and walked outside of the tent. Snape followed me.

"We should go gather firewood. Since we aren't allowed to use magic, we'll have to cook outside," Snape said as he walked out.

"You mean I'll have to cook outside," I said, smiling, "You never cook."

"Well you're so much better at it…"

I chuckled quietly.

"Alright, Severus…let's go get firewood," I said, nodding to the woods.

When we finished gathering firewood we headed back to the tent and I stacked it up in a useful pile.

"I'll go get water- this map the Muggle gave me has a tap marked on it. It's not too far away. Will you be okay on your own for a minute?" Snape asked me.

"I think I'll survive," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. When Snape walked away, I selected a few dry logs off the pile and stacked them together. I'd never had to build a fire by hand before and was slightly baffled by the concept of matches. It took a few tries, but eventually I got a small fire going. As it grew, I added more wood, feeling triumphant. I sat cross-legged on the grass beside my creation.

"Hello there," said a voice, sounding surprised. I looked up to see a man with blonde hair and grey eyes standing a few feet away. There was something familiar about his face…

"I'm looking for Severus," the man said, "Is he here?"

"He's gone to get water. He'll be back in a minute. Who are you?" I inquired.

"Lucius Malfoy."

"Oh," I said, recognition dawning on me, "You're Draco's father."

"I am…and you are?"

"Abby Prewett. …Snape's my legal guardian."

"Ah. You're Julia's daughter," Malfoy said. I nodded my head, wondering how all these people knew my mother. I spotted Snape walking towards us quickly.

"Lucius," Snape said to Malfoy, "How are you?"

"Splendid. I was hoping to have a word with you, Severus…in private."

"Of course. …Abigail, would you go inside?" Snape said to me. I frowned slightly and went into the tent. I spotted Snape's wand sticking out of his bag and grabbed it. I burned a small hole in the wall of the tent so I could look out at them.

"...Someone is organizing us. I don't know who it is," Malfoy was saying to Snape, "But we are gathering as many of us as possible."

"I'm sorry, Lucius, but I can't," Snape replied coolly.

"Why not?"

Snape nodded towards the tent.

"The girl? So what? Draco's here as well. No one would dare harm them," Malfoy said indifferently.

"My decision is final. I won't risk it," Snape said finally.

"Hmph. Very well then," Malfoy said, and he turned on his heel and left. I put Snape's wand back where it came from and walked out of the tent.

"How is it that almost everyone I've met today knows my mother?" I demanded, frowning at Snape. He was silent a moment.

"We were all friends in school," he said, "…why don't you go find your friend and walk around? I'll cook something for supper."

"Okay," I said, then added, "…we're not going to die of food poisoning are we?"

"I can cook, Abigail," he said.

I half-smiled.

"Later, Severus," I said, then walked off.

Chapter 66

(The Match)

I found Alice outside of a plain-looking tent. I could tell this one wasn't magically expanded on the inside. She smiled when she saw me coming.

"Hey Alice. You wanna go walk around some?" I asked her.

"Sure, let's go," she said eagerly.

By noon, the Ministry wizards gave up the battle against the inevitable displays of magic. Saleswizards were Apparating every few feet with various things on display such as luminous rosettes which squealed the names of the players- red for Bulgaria and green for Ireland. I bought Alice a green one when she wasn't looking and gave it to her when we stopped to eat lunch which we'd purchased from a vendor.

I found it extremely easy to talk to Alice. I told her everything and asked her opinions on a lot of things.

"I don't know why I always pick fights with Severus. Recently, I hate fighting with him. …it makes my stomach hurt," I said to her as we walked past a man selling binoculars.

"Ah. I'll bet it's your hormones that make you so…hot-tempered. And what makes you feel like that about Snape," she said.

"My…hormones?" I repeated.

"Yes. You're a teenage girl, it's only natural for you to be hormonal."

"Any helpful suggestions?"

"Nope. You'll just have to work through it. I recommend trying to find inner balance. When you feel irritable, do things that make you happy."

We spent the rest of the day talking. We walked around the camp together, enjoying each others company.

"You know, Abs, you're really cool. You should write me…after the match is over and you have to go home and I have to go home," Alice said.

"I definitely will," I assured her, "I like talking to you. And we could hang out. You don't live too far away from where Snape and I live."

"Yeah, that's true. …I just feel like the match is gonna be over and I'm never going to see you again-" she was saying, when all of a sudden a gong rang out. Red and green lanterns lit up in the trees, lighting the path to the field.

"It's time for the match!" I exclaimed excitedly, for I had almost forgotten about the match, "…What were you saying?"

"Never mind. Let's not talk about depressing things. …come on, let's go," she said, linking arms with me and smiling.

We walked down the lit path to the field. I found Snape, using my mind, and the three of us sat together in the stands.

"I never really thought about how many witches and wizards there are in the world," I mused, looking around at the thousands of witches and wizards, each sporting the color of their favorite team. Alice smiled at me and Snape just chuckled.

A hundred thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats, which rose in levels around the long oval field. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light, which seemed to come from the stadium itself. The field looked smooth as velvet from where we sat. At either end of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high. Across the field from where we sat was a gigantic blackboard. Gold writing kept dashing across it and then disappearing again. There were a lot of various advertisements running across the board.

About a half an hour later, the stands were full and a magically amplified voice rang out across the stadium.

"Ladies and gentlemen…welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

Thousands of people screamed and clapped. The huge blackboard cleared and now showed BULGARIA: 0, IRELAND: 0.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce…the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!" exclaimed the magically amplified voice. There was a roar of approval from the fans in red as a hundred golden-haired women glided out onto the field. They were so beautiful…they couldn't possibly be human.

"Veela," murmured Alice, whose eyes were also on the field. The Veela started to dance and my mind went blissfully blank. Nothing else in the world mattered but watching them dance. They danced faster and faster…

Suddenly, Alice snapped her fingers in front of my face. The Veela had stopped dancing. Angry yells filled the stadium- the crowd didn't want the Veela to go. I didn't either, but when I tore my gaze away from the field and looked at Alice, I forgot their exotic dancing. She was smiling as if she'd like to laugh. Snape had a vacant expression on his face and was still staring out onto the field. The Veela lined up on one side of the field.

"And now," said the commentator, "kindly put your wands in the air…for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

The next moment, what seemed to be a great green-and-gold comet came zooming into the stadium. It did one circuit of the stadium, then split into two smaller comets, each hurtling toward the goal posts. A rainbow arced suddenly across the field, connecting the two balls of light. The crowd ooohed and aaahed, as though at a fireworks display. Now the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to soar over the stands. Something like golden rain seemed to be falling from it- it was golden coins. People scrambled to scoop up as much gold as possible.

"It's Leprechaun gold," Snape said before we could start scooping up gold, "It disappears. It's worthless."

The great shamrock dissolved- it was easy to see now that it was composed of hundreds of little bearded men with red vests carrying lanterns- leprechauns, that went to the opposite side of the field of the veela.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome- the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you- Dimitrov!" called the commentator. A scarlet-clad figure on a broomstick, moving so fast it was blurred, shot out onto the field from an entrance far below.

"Ivanova!"

A second player zoomed out.

"Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaand- Krum!"

"There he is! It's him!" Alice exclaimed, grabbing my arm in excitement. I squinted but couldn't make out his features. I had seen posters of him around the campsite, however, so I already knew what he looked like.

"And now, please greet- the Irish National Quidditch Team!" yelled the commentator, "Presenting- Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaand- Lynch!

"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"

It was Quidditch as I had never seen it played before. The players were so fast the commentator could barely keep up with the Quaffle. I knew enough about Quidditch to tell that the Chasers for the Irish team were superb. It was almost like they could read each others minds, the way they positioned themselves so perfectly around the field. The Beaters were hitting Bludgers at them as ferociously as possible.

The match was long and ended abruptly- Krum had caught the Snitch, but in the end, Ireland had more points so they one.

"IRELAND WINS!" shouted the commentator, sounding surprised, "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH- BUT IRELAND WINS- good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"

The cheers from the Irish supporters were deafening. I clapped loudly, glad that Ireland had won, but confused.

"Why did Krum catch the Snitch if he knew he was still going to lose?" I called to Alice over the roar of the crowd.

"I think he must be injured," she replied, "Look, he's surrounded by mediwizards…his nose is bleeding."

Soon we were swept up in the crowd leaving the stands and heading back towards the campsites. Raucous singing was borne towards us on the night air as we followed the lantern-lit path back to the campsite. Alice was latched onto me so she wouldn't get swept away and I had my mind locked onto Snape's so I wouldn't get lost. When we got back to our tent, I offered to walk Alice back to hers.

We wound our way through the maze of tents and people. Their celebrating was deafening and I wondered if I'd ever be able to sleep that night. When we reached Alice's tent she turned to look at me.

"Will you come find me before you leave tomorrow?" she asked me, "…I'd like to be able to say goodbye."

"Of course! I won't leave without seeing you," I promised her. She smiled, then hugged me quickly.

"Goodnight Abs," she said to me.

"Goodnight, Alice," I replied as she ducked into her tent.

I walked back towards our tent in a daze. I took my time. I wasn't in any particular hurry to get back. When I finally ducked into our tent, Snape was already asleep on the couch. I half-smiled and climbed into bed. It took me a while to fall asleep. Not only was there the noise from the celebrating Irish, but the fact that Snape was sleeping a few feet away unnerved me. When I finally drifted off to sleep, I dreamed…

I was kissing Lily Evans slowly and passionately. We were in a deserted corridor somewhere in the dungeons and somehow I knew we were safe- no one was going to come barging down this corridor. My hands were entangled in her long red hair. I could feel her arms around me, cleaving me to her. I pressed her against the wall. I could feel her body pressed against mine. The flickering light of the torches cast shadows across her beautiful face. Her lips were so soft, so delicate. Her green-eyes were half-closed in passion…

All of a sudden I was in the dark, as if the torches had been extinguished…only Lily was gone. The sinking feeling in my stomach told me she was gone forever. I refused to believe it. I started to run, reaching, wanting, weeping.

"Lily! Lily!" I called desperately, "Lily!"

"Abigail? Abigail!" said Snape's voice, "Wake up!"

I opened my eyes and looked around wildly. I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming for Lily. My brain took a few minutes to re-organize everything. I was shaking uncontrollably and I was drenched in sweat. I let out a cry of pure anguish. I took deep, gasping breaths, trying to make everything make sense again.

Snape had his arms around me, trying to calm me.

"It was just a dream, Abigail…shh," he murmured softly to me. His emotions were blazing- confusion, fear, urgency, protectiveness…

I clung to him, crying and trembling while my brain sorted things out. I obviously hadn't been myself in my dream…I had been Snape. And now Snape was here, with his arms around me, but what I wanted most was Lily. Snape was only a small comfort…he was warm and I felt safe with his arms around me-

"Not helping," I said aloud to my thought, and I squirmed away from Snape. He sat on the edge of my bed, watching desperately as I curled into a ball, clinging to my pillow.

Finally I managed to calm myself down. Snape looked thoroughly distressed. He wanted to help me, but didn't know how.

"It was…just a dream," I said to myself, trying to sound convincing…but I knew it wasn't just a dream. It was a memory…Snape's memory. And Lily really was gone forever. It had been Snape who pressed her against the wall, his hands wrapped in her red hair, kissing her passionately…not me.

I pressed my face into my pillow and let out a frustrated growl. Why were my emotions so warped?

"You were screaming in your sleep," Snape said to me, "It sounded like…but no, of course it couldn't have been…"

All of a sudden, screaming filled the night. It wasn't they joyful screaming of the Irish. It was real, terror-filled screaming. Snape and I locked eyes and something seemed to register in his mind.

"We have to get out of here!" he said, his voice full of urgency, "Now!"

He searched for his wand, found it, and pulled me to my feet.

"But why?" I asked, reaching for my wand with my free hand. He half-dragged me out of the tent.

There was fire everywhere. People were running and screaming. A group of people in robes, wearing masks, were laughing cruelly. One of them stopped in our path and looked at us.

"Join us!" he exclaimed, then rushed off. I was scared and confused. Snape turned me around to face him and looked directly into my mismatched eyes. I think my heart stopped beating.

"If there was ever a moment you chose to obey me without question, this would be it," he said to me, his black eyes glittering in the light of the fire, "I swear to you, I will explain when there is time."

"Okay," I said breathlessly.

Snape and I were running through the field, avoiding all the spells that were being shot all around. The Muggle who managed our campsite, Mr. Payne, could be seen doing somersaults through the air, looking terrified, directed by one of the people in masks who was laughing cruelly.

Then a scream reached my ears…a familiar scream.

"Alice!" I screamed, feeling the same sheer terror from my dream. I tore free from Snape's grasp, grabbed his wand, and ran towards her scream.

"Abigail, no!" I heard Snape yell behind me.

I ran as fast as I could to Alice's tent. When I got there one of the masked figures was coming out of her tent, adjusting the front of his robes. A few of his friends whooped loudly when they saw him come out. Cold realization of what had happened to her washed over me and I saw red.

"Confringo!" I shouted furiously, brandishing Snape's wand. The man coming out of her tent was blasted off his feet. He hit the ground hard and moved no more. The two who had been whooping ran at me, wands raised.

"Electrius!" I shouted. Instead of a small spark of electricity, one of the men was struck by what looked like a bolt of lightning. The other man lowered his wand and started to back away slowly.

"What do you care?" he said in a deep voice, "She's a Mudblood."

"Stupefy!" I yelled and he was blasted backwards. I ran into Alice's tent.

She was lying motionless on a blood-soaked sleeping bag. I thought at first she was dead, but she stirred slightly and groaned.

"Alice!" I exclaimed, my voice full of relief that she was alive.

"Abby? …ow…" she said, disoriented.

"It's okay. I'm here," I murmured to her. She weighed a lot less than I did, but I still had trouble scooping her up. Somehow I made it out of the tent, where she was immediately lifted from my arms by Snape.

"Abs?" Alice asked feverishly.

"I'm here," I assured her. Her eyes closed as she fell unconscious.

I ran in front of Snape, blasting aside anyone who got in my way. It probably wasn't the best way to get to the woods, but it was the most effective. It also helped me vent my anger, worry, and fear. We made it into the forest, but we didn't stop until I was out of breath. We could no longer hear anything from the camp. I quickly made a small clearing with Snape's wand. Snape laid Alice on the ground gently and started to look her over, but I shoved him out of the way to do it myself.

"Abigail, let me do it," Snape insisted, "If you want to do something helpful, build a fire."

I pointed his wand at the center of the clearing and a fire appeared, crackling as if it had been burning for hours. I paced while Snape looked her over. I cast every protective spell I could think of around our clearing.

"Cave Inimicum, Protego Horribilis, Protego Totalum, Salvio Hexia," I murmured.

"Overkill, isn't it?" Snape asked and I shook my head, "I need my wand to heal her."

When Alice was completely healed she opened her blue eyes. I shoved Snape out of the way again. This time he didn't object.

"Abs…where are we?" she asked sleepily.

"We're safe. Don't worry," I said softly, sitting down beside her. She lifted her head, only to lay it in my lap.

"I'm not worried. I'm with you," she murmured, closing her eyes. I ran my fingers through her long red hair until she fell asleep. I sat in silence, staring at her. In the dim light, her red hair reminded me of Lily. After careful consideration, I decided what to do.

"Give me your wand, Severus," I said, my voice hollow. He gave it to me wordlessly. I took a deep breath and pointed his wand at Alice.

"Obliviate," I said quietly. I had never performed a Memory Charm before, but I felt it had worked right. Snape looked shocked.

"But why-?" he began.

"Because it's better for her this way," I said quietly, "She won't remember being attacked…and she won't remember me."

"…but…you love her…don't you?"

"…yes…" I admitted, "But I don't particularly care what's best for me. I care what's best for her. I'm already screwed up emotionally and mentally. She's pure and innocent. She can continue her life carelessly if she doesn't remember any of this. …it was the best thing I could do for her."

"Your intentions are admirable, Abigail…but why should you have to suffer?"

I considered my answer a moment.

"My daily life is already ridden with inevitable grief and sorrow. Small, everyday things remind me of my family…and every night I have these dreams…what's a little more pain?" I asked, my voice slightly hollow. Snape looked completely lost as to how to respond.

Slowly and without waking her, I took Alice's head off my lap and laid it on the ground. I leaned over and kissed her lips as gently as possible. She didn't even stir. Her lips were soft, like I could remember Lily's being in my dream.

My dream…I thought to myself, remembering it with fresh sorrow. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to be home in my bed.

"Can we go home?" I asked softly, my voice full of grief.

"Of course…you're just going to leave her here?" he asked, helping me up.

"She has her wand and the protections I put around the clearing will keep away predators…human or otherwise. The weather's fair," I said, looking up at the sky, "So she won't have to worry about rain-"

I trailed off as something green burst into the sky- a skull with a snake coming from its mouth. Snape subconsciously touched his forearm.

"…no…that's…" he muttered.

"The Dark Mark," I finished quietly. Mother had the Dark Mark branded on her left forearm…so did my stepfather. All the Death Eaters did…

"We really should go…now," Snape said urgently. His face was deathly pale. I stared at the mark in the sky a moment longer.

"I hope that isn't the first thing Alice sees when she wakes," I said heavily, "…Let's go."

"Take my arm," Snape instructed. I did as told and immediately I felt as if I was being compressed and squeezed through a dark tube. Then we were standing in my bedroom suddenly.

We were silent for a moment. With the sense of urgency gone, the weight of everything that happened came crashing down on me. First I lost Lily in my dream, then I gave up Alice for her own good. I felt tears well up in my eyes. I stumbled a few steps backwards and sat down on the edge of my bed. Snape looked torn for a moment, then he came and sat beside me. I allowed him to wrap his arms around me. He held me while I wept silently. For once he seemed kind, warm, and deeply sympathetic.

I could sense Snape had thrown all caution to the wind, for the moment. Who else could better understand my situation? He had lost Lily, too. I only felt love for her because he did, and his love infected me when he shared his memory. Now I was dreaming memories of her that weren't my own. Obsessing over her, even though I tried hard not to.

"These red-headed Muggle-borns will be the death of me," I murmured aloud. Snape, who looked perplexed, said nothing.

I don't know if he stayed in my bed that night or not. I don't even remember falling asleep, though I was certain he was there when I did. I awoke the next morning alone. However, the sheets on my bed were rumpled as if he'd laid there, at least for a short while.

I was feeling groggy so I went and took a hot shower. I stood under the hot water for a long time, letting the warmth pour over me. I was in there so long Snape came to check on me.

"You're not trying to drown yourself, are you?" he asked from the other side of the bathroom door.

"No. I'm just thinking," I replied.

"Oh. Well come downstairs when you finish thinking."

"I was planning on it."

I joined him at the breakfast table about ten minutes later wearing my newest Muggle clothes- a short black skirt and a green top. Snape's eyes were on me as I sat down. He had conjured up breakfast from Hogwarts this morning.

"Green, huh?" he commented on my clothing, "Such a drastic change from your usual black."

"The Muggle girl at the shop recommended it. She said it would bring out my eyes."

"She was right," he said, "…Your Hogwarts booklist came earlier this morning. I thought we could go to Diagon Alley today, if you feel up to it."

He handed me the envelope and I opened it. I scanned my booklist and item list.

"Dress or dress robes?" I read aloud in question.

"Hm? Oh, yes…the dance…"

"What dance?" I inquired.

"Ah…I'm really not supposed to tell you…but of course some of the other students will know. I don't want you to be left out…"

"Tell me, Severus," I said pleadingly.

"…well alright. Hogwarts is hosting the Triwizard tournament this year. Do you know what that is?"

"Yes. A competition between the three largest schools of magic in Europe, banned some number of years ago due to the death toll."

"The Department of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports decided to try and reinstate it. This year it'll be at Hogwarts. Between the three tasks, on Christmas Day, they have the Yule Ball."

"A ball? I don't think so!"

"What, no sappy romantic Cinderella fantasy for you?" he asked sardonically.

"I'd rather eat fire slugs!"

"You have to go. Everyone you know will be going. All your friends…"

"Maybe I will go," I said, then added, "but I'm not dancing. And I'm wearing a Muggle dress."

I had spent a lot of time looking at Muggle dresses, but I'd never had a reason to buy one.

"Abigail, must you be difficult?" Snape asked me.

"It says I can wear a Muggle dress! I like Muggle clothing, ergo I shall wear a Muggle dress."

"Fine, but you'll be the only Slytherin girl wearing a Muggle dress."

"So? I'm stating my individuality. I'm not going to be like everyone else. I'm not going to hate Muggles or Muggle-borns…I can't."

"I never said you did. You can wear a Muggle dress. It doesn't matter to me. Good luck finding someone to go with, though."

"You mean a boy?" I asked, disgusted, "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because that would imply dating. I don't date. Like I really need another stress factor in my life? Besides, teenage boys are gross and annoying."

Snape just laughed.

"I suppose we could go shopping for a dress in London after we go to Diagon Alley," he said.

There was a faint tapping at the window in the kitchen- it was an owl with the daily newspaper. Snape went over to the window, opened it, and paid the bird. He looked down at the newspaper in his hands. His face paled slightly and he came to sit down. Before he could protest, I swiped the paper from his hands. I immediately saw what made Snape go pale- a large black and white photograph of the Dark Mark hovering over the treetops underneath a headline: SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP. I scanned the article quickly for any mention of Alice. There was none. I sighed quietly and pushed the paper back towards Snape. She hadn't been found. She was fine. …now I just had to forget her…

As we finished our shopping in Diagon Alley, I found Jenny walking around alone.

"Hey Abby," she said, grinning when she saw me, "I just finished shopping. Wail until you see my dress robes! They're gorgeous. Have you gotten yours yet?"

"No, I'm heading into London. I'm going to get a Muggle dress."

"Of course you are," Jenny said, shaking her head incredulously.

"You want to help me pick out a dress?" I asked her.

"Well, I certainly can't let you go with him," she said, nodding to Snape, "This is girl-shopping."

"Thank god," Snape said, sounding relieved, "I was really dreading that part of today. I'll go for a walk while you go do your girly things."

I scowled at him.

The girl working at the Muggle dress shop seemed to know exactly what I wanted. Within five minutes, she had suggested what I deemed to be the perfect dress. It was a strappy black dress that showed a lot of skin.

"It makes my boobs look bigger," I commented as I tried it on and looked in the mirror.

"That's a good thing," Jenny assured me, "You looked fantastic!"

I blushed.

When we left the dress shop we continued to walk around, peering in windows.

"You should get black silk gloves for the ball, since you always keep your hands covered," she said, peering in a shop window at a pair of black, lacy, half-gloves. I nodded my head and we went into the store. I also bought some silk pajamas from that store.

"Why don't you get Muggle lingerie, too?" she asked laughingly, looking up at the satin nighties on the wall.

"I've been thinking about it," I admitted, blushing, "But I'd feel too embarrassed to ever wear something like that."

She looked surprised.

"You should, if you want to. You never know," she said to me.

We met up with Snape later that afternoon. He raised an eyebrow at the three or four bags in my hands.

"I thought you were only buying a dress?" Snape asked.

"It's just accessories and various other girl things," Jenny said to him, "Hey Abby, I've got to get back to my sister's diner. See you on September first."

"See you, Jenny," I said.

When Snape and I got home, I took my bags up to my room. I put on my new black pajama pants and a white tank top. I opened my new schoolbooks and started to read through them. That night I fell asleep reading my potion's book. I started to dream…

I was walking along the beach, looking down at the ground as I walked. I saw little crabs running around and even some washed up jellyfish.

"Come on, Sev, come build a sandcastle," said a voice. I looked up to see Lily looking back at me as she ran ahead, her bare feet splashing in the waves. My stomach flip-flopped. She was wearing a green bikini that barely covered her. My breath caught in my throat.

I helped her build a sandcastle, feeling hot and clumsy the whole time, trying not to look at her. When we finished our castle, Lily ran out into the ocean to find a shell to use on top. When she came back, she was dripping went and I accidentally smushed the sandcastle with my elbow when I saw her. I blushed bright red. Lily frowned a moment, studying me, then her face lit up. She smiled knowingly.

"I know what's wrong with you, Severus Snape. You're all hot and bothered because I'm wearing a bikini, aren't you?" she asked. I blushed even harder, wishing the sand would swallow me up. Lily laughed and came to sit beside me on the sand. She leaned into me.

"You don't have to be so shy," Lily whispered, pressing her breast against my arm as she leaned over to kiss my lips.

We continued walking down the beach. The sun was starting to set. Lily let me put my arm around her waist as we walked. Suddenly, she spotted a stick and hurried forward to grab it. She started drawing in the sand. When I caught up with her, I saw she was drawing a heart in the sand with our initials in it: S.S. & L.E.

Lily looked at me and smiled, her red hair glowing in the setting sun. I felt warm inside.

Suddenly I was last in the darkness again. I was falling fast, completely alone. Despair washed over me. Lily was gone…

Someone was shaking me awake. I sat upright, my Potions book falling to the floor. My face was wet with tears and I was trembling.

"I heard you crying in your sleep," Snape said to me, "Are you alright?"

"J-just a nightmare," I stammered.

"The same as at the World Cup?"

"In essence, yes…"

"Maybe you should tell me about them?" Snape suggested.

"No way! …you wouldn't understand…I could never explain it…"

"…well if you won't talk, you could take a sleeping draught to prevent dreams. Lucky for you, I have some lying around."

Snape left my room for a moment and returned with a small vial. I was still trembling. He came and sat beside me. He handed me the vial. I uncorked it and sniffed it tentatively. It smelled like a sleeping draught. I downed it quickly. It worked fast, making me grow drowsy almost immediately. I leaned my head sleepily on his shoulder. He put one arm around me. He took the empty bottle and set it on the nightstand.

"Nice to know I passed the poison test," he commented quietly.

"I don't think you'd poison me, Severus," I murmured tiredly, "But you can never be too careful…"

There were a few moments of silence in which I clung to him sleepily, comforted by his mere presence.

"Would you like for me to stay with you until you fall asleep?" he asked me softly.

"Mm," I responded, on the edge of sleep. I felt him chuckle softly, then I was asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, he was still in my bed, asleep. My head was resting comfortably on his chest and he had one arm around me. I slipped out of bed as quietly as possibly, my heart pounding, and managed to make it downstairs without waking him. I felt groggy from the sleeping draught. I was grateful Snape had stayed with me, even though it had probably been an accident. His being there probably helped more than the potion.

I started breakfast- bacon, eggs, and toast. I was finishing up the bacon when Snape walked in. He sat down at the table where the Daily Prophet was waiting on him.

"…I fully intended to return to my room, but it seems I fell asleep," he said without looking at me.

"It's okay," I said quickly.

As I was taking the frying pan off the burner, an unbidden image appeared in my mind- Lily soaking wet in her bikini. I accidentally touched the hot burner and let out a howl as I was burned.

"Ow! Piss!" I swore, shaking my hand, "Fuck!"

"Abigail!" Snape said shocked, "A girl shouldn't use language like that!"

"Well I burnt my effing finger! It hurts!"

"Shall I kiss it and make it better?" he asked sarcastically. I shot him a death glare and headed out to my herb garden to get some aloe.

On the morning of September 1st I got up, got dressed, and made sure my trunk was completely packed. Snape was already downstairs. I started cooking breakfast.

"Would you like to go to Hogwarts with me, or would you rather take the train with your friends?" Snape asked, sipping his coffee.

"I'll just go with you," I replied with a shrug.

We arrived at Hogwarts hours before the train arrived. We had used Side-Along Apparation, like we had to leave the forest after the Death Eater attack on the campsite. We appeared right outside the gate because no one could Apparate or Disapparate within the grounds.

We passed Hagrid on our way up to the castle. He was walking around the grounds with his dog, Fang. Hagrid waved and Snape acknowledged him with a nod. We also passed McGonagall and Flitwick, their arms stacked high with books, in the Entrance Hall. Neither looked surprised to see me. I supposed all the teachers knew about Snape being my guardian.

I took my trunk to my dormitory before heading down to Snape's office. I spent a few hours helping him plan classes for first-years, but I found this to be dull work.

"Remind me to never become a teacher," I said with a sigh, "Do you think Madam Pince would let me check out a book this early?"

Madam Pince was the librarian.

"Possibly," Snape said absently.

"I'm going to walk up to the library and see," I said, getting up.

"Just be back in time for the feast," Snape replied as I headed for the door.

When I entered the library Madam Pince, who was dusting shelves, looked at me and frowned. Then her expression cleared.

"Oh yes," she said, "You're Snape's girl, aren't you?"

As irksome as it was, I merely nodded.

"Would it be alright if I check out a book?" I asked quietly.

"Of course, of course. Take as long as you like, dear," she replied, smiling at me.

I stayed in the library the rest of the afternoon and when it came time for the feast, I made my way back down to Snape's office. Rain was pouring down outside and when my classmates walked into the Great Hall soaking wet, I felt exceptionally warm and dry.

"Where were you at?" Jenny asked, sitting down beside me.

"I came here with Snape instead of taking the train. It seemed less of a hassle," I replied.

"At least you didn't get wet," Brandy said, sitting on my other side. She took off her shoes and emptied them of water. Jenny scanned the staff table.

"Where's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" she wondered aloud. I looked up too. There were two empty seats- Professor McGonagall was probably supervising the drying of the Entrance Hall.

"Do you know who it's going to be?" Brandy asked me, "Did they even get one?"

"I…didn't think to ask," I replied. I had been saddened by the loss of Lupin, but hadn't thought of who would replace him.

The seat stayed empty even once McGonagall led out the first years and placed the Sorting Hat on the stool. The hat, as usual, opened wide its brim to sing:

A thousand years or more ago,

When I was newly sewn,

There lived four wizards of renown,

Whose names are still well known:

Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,

Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,

Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,

Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.

They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,

They hatched a daring plan

To educate young sorcerers

Thus Hogwarts School began.

Now each of these four founders

Formed their own House, for each

Did value different virtues

In the ones they had to teach.

By Gryffindor, the bravest were

Prized far beyond the rest;

For Ravenclaw, the cleverest,

Would always be the best;

For Hufflepuff, hard workers were

Most worthy of admission;

And power-hungry Slytherin

Loved those of great ambition.

While still alive they did divide

Their favorites from the throng,

Yet how to pick the worthy ones

When they were dead and gone?

'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,

He whipped me off his head

The founders put some brains in me

So I could chose instead!

Now slip me snug about your ears,

I've never yet been wrong,

I'll have a look inside your mind

And tell where you belong!

The hall broke out in applause and the Sorting began. I watched, only half paying attention.

"I'm starving!" Brandy moaned quietly, "I'm gonna die before this Sorting's over."

I chuckled quietly at her impatience. When the last first-year was Sorted, Dumbledore got to his feet, smiling around at the students, his arms open wide in welcome.

"I have only two words to say to you," he said, his deep voice ringing throughout the silent hall, "Tuck in."

Several people applauded enthusiastically as the golden plates were magically filled.

"Did you hear about what happened at the Quidditch World Cup?" Jenny asked as we ate.

"Yeah! Real, live Death Eaters," Brandy said in awe, "They haven't done anything really bad since the days of the Dark Lord."

My friends looked at me for my input. I lowered my eyes.

"I was there," I said quietly, "…it wasn't exciting. It was scary. There was fire everywhere and spells being fired…people being tortured…"

"Yeah but you're pureblood," Brandy said bracingly, "It's not like they would have done anything to you."

"…they hurt one of my friends…she was Muggle-born…" I murmured.

"You shouldn't be friends with Mudbloods anyway," Brandy said, disgusted.

"Don't use that word," I said quietly.

"She can be friends with whoever she wants," Jenny said, rolling her eyes, "She even got a Muggle dress instead of dress robes."

"A Muggle dress?" Brandy said, frowning.

"Even you can't have anything bad to say about it once you see it. It's beautiful," Jenny said brightly.

When the feast had disappeared Dumbledore stood up to address the school.

"So! Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you all that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some 437 items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it.

"As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

There was a quiet uproar from the various Quidditch players and supporters. Even Draco looked glummer than usual.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teacher's time and energy- but I am sure you all will enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts-"

At that moment there was a deafening roar of thunder and the doors to the Great Hall were thrown open.

There stood a man who was frightening and creepy. He walked towards the High Table and everyone in the hall was silent and we could hear the dull clunk, clunk of a wooden leg as he walked. His face looked like it had been carved out of wood, too, and every inch of it was scarred. He had a large chunk missing from his nose and only one of his eyes was normal. The other eye was larger than the other and vivid electric blue in color. It seemed almost mechanical and it was whirring around in its socket, staring at everyone. The man shook hands with Dumbledore and then sat down.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Professor Moody," Dumbledore said brightly. Only two people applauded, one of which was Dumbledore and the other of which was Hagrid. Moody didn't seem to take the lack of enthusiasm personally. Everyone was pretty much transfixed by his appearance.

Who is he? I wondered, pushing my thoughts at Snape. A few distorted memories crossed our link. I had learned to ignore the flashes of memories like that, which meant he was remembering something.

"His name is Alastor Moody- but he is more commonly known as Mad-Eye Moody. He used to catch Dark wizards for a living. Now he's a paranoid old man," Snape replied in my mind.

"As I was saying," Dumbledore continued, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an even that has not been held for over a century. It is my great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said someone loudly from the Gryffindor table. It was one of the Weasley twins. Nearly everyone laughed and even Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.

"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley, though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar-"

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly and Dumbledore smiled sheepishly.

"Er- but maybe this is not the time…no…where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament…well some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation and allow their attention to wonder freely.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some 700 years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry; Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years and it was generally agreed to be the most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities- that is, until the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued.

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament. None of which have been very successful. However, our own Department of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.

"The Head of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons prize money.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts the Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age- that is to say, seventeen years or older- will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be unable to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion. I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

Dumbledore sat down and began to talk to Mad-Eye Moody as the Great Hall began to empty. I followed my friends out of the Great Hall.

"I already knew about the Triwizard Tournament. Mum works at the Ministry," Jenny said as we walked, "Did you know?"

"Draco told me on the train. His dad is good friends with the Minister of Magic," Brandy said. Draco's father was a Death Eater, I recalled, Maybe his being friends with Minister is not as harmless as it seems…

"I already knew, too," I said to my friends, "Snape told me when I saw dress robes on the list of school supplies."

By the next morning, the storm had blown itself out. Gray clouds were swirling overhead as I sat down at the breakfast table. When Snape handed out our class schedules, I looked over mine to see what classes I had today.

"Alright!" Jenny said enthusiastically, "Transfiguration first thing this morning."

"And after that we've got Care of Magical Creatures…with the Gryffindors," said Draco, smiling evilly.

Professor McGonagall spent all morning talking to us about how important our OWL exams were… which weren't even until next year. After Transfiguration, I followed my classmates outside to Hagrid's hut. The Gryffindors were already there, peering into large crates which contained creatures that looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters. They were pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in odd places. They had no visible heads and were crawling blindly over each other. They smelled terrible and every now and then, sparks would fly out the end of one and propel it forward several inches.

"On'y jus' hatched," Hagrid was saying enthusiastically, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yourselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!"

"And why would we want to raise them?" asked Draco coldly, "I mean, what do they do? What is the point of them?"

Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard. He didn't seem to find an answer.

"Tha's next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. Now, yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few different things- I've never had 'em before, not sure what they'll go fer- I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass snake- just try 'em out with a bit of each," Hagrid said to us.

I didn't much enjoy poking various slimy things into the boxes with my Blast-Ended Skrewt, which is what they were called. It didn't even appear to have a mouth. I tried to force it to eat with my mind, but that didn't seem to work either. After about ten minutes, one of the Gryffindor boys let out a yell.

"Ouch! It got me!" yelled the boy.

Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious.

"Its end exploded!" he said angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand.

"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off," said Hagrid, nodding.

"Eurgh!" said a Gryffindor girl, "Eurgh, Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?"

"Ah, some of 'em have got stings," said Hagrid enthusiastically, and many people quickly withdrew their hands from the box, "I reckon they're the males…the females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies…I think they might be ter suck blood."

"Well I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," said Draco sarcastically, "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"

"Just because they're not very pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful," Hermione Granger snapped at him, "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?"

As I tossed some more frog's liver into my skrewt's box, I examined it curiously, but cautiously. I kept my hands away from the box. The skrewt I had been feeding had a sucker on its stomach. It crawled over to the frog's liver I had just thrown and crawled over it with a sucking noise. When it moved, the liver was gone. I hoped I could control it when it got older.

Later that evening as I was heading into the Great Hall for dinner I overheard an argument between Draco, Potter, and Weasley. I didn't really want to get involved, but I stopped to listen anyway.

"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter!" Draco said, his cheeks flushed pink.

"Keep your fat mouth shut, then," retorted Potter and turned away. There was a loud BANG as Draco shot a curse at Potter, who ducked out of the way. Before Potter could even reach his wand there was a second bang. Mad-Eye Moody was coming down the stairs and he had his wand out.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!" He said loudly. We all turned back to Draco, only it wasn't Draco. Where Draco had been standing sat a pure white ferret, shivering on the cold floor. Everyone who was in the entrance hall fell silent and watched.

"Did he get you?" Moody asked Potter.

"No. Missed," he replied. Crabbe leaned over, about to pick up the Draco-ferret.

"LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted at him. Moody started to limp towards Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret. The ferret streaked off towards the dungeons.

"I don't think so!" Moody roared, pointing his wand. The ferret flew ten feet in the air and came back down, bouncing once on the stone floor.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher, squealing in pain, "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do…"

The ferret flew through the air, flailing helplessly. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or not. Crabbe and Goyle looked sort of frightened.

"Can't you get him down?" Goyle muttered to me. I started. I wasn't used to Crabbe or Goyle speaking.

"Me? …well I could but I'm not getting turned into a ferret," I replied with a shrug. A few of my classmates looked disappointed that I wasn't going to jump to Draco's rescue. I knew more magic than most of them- I was the pride of Slytherin house.

"Never- do- that- again-" Moody said, speaking each word as the ferret hit the floor.

"Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice. It was McGonagall, coming down the staircase with her arms full of books.

"Hello Professor McGonagall," Moody said calmly, bouncing the ferret higher.

"What- what are you doing?" she asked, her eyes following the ferret.

"Teaching," replied Moody.

"Teach- Moody, is that a student?" she cried, dropping the books she was carrying.

"Yep."

"No!" McGonagall cried, pulling out her wand. A moment later Draco lay on the floor, his blonde hair tousled and his face flushed.

"Moody, we never use transfiguration as a punishment," said Professor McGonagall weakly, "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"He might've mentioned it, yeah, but I thought a good sharp shock-"

"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the student's head of House."

"I'll do that then," said Moody, staring at Draco with dislike.

"Wait'll my father hears about this," Draco grumbled.

"Oh yeah? Well, I know your father of old, boy…You tell him Moody's keeping a close eye on his son…you tell him that from me…Now, your Head of House will be Snape, will it?" Moody growled.

"Yes," said Draco hatefully.

"Another old friend," growled Moody, "I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape…Come on, you…"

He grabbed Draco's arm and marched him off to the dungeons. I was sorely tempted to follow them, but I noticed Crabbe and Goyle looking expectantly at me. I turned and went into the Great Hall. They followed me.

"Why are you following me?" I asked coolly, "I'm not Draco."

They looked at each other thickly, frowning slightly, and shrugged their massive shoulders.

After we were all finished eating I headed towards Snape's office. Crabbe and Goyle followed me, just like I had expected. We passed Moody limping out of the dungeon, his wooden leg clunking eerily. I knocked on Snape's door and his quiet voice said 'enter'. I walked in with Crabbe and Goyle following. Draco was sitting in the chair I usually sat in, looking extremely annoyed.

"Yes, Abigail?" Snape asked quietly.

"I came to give Draco his cronies back," I said lightly. I smiled at Crabbe and Goyle so they'd know I wasn't being cruel and they smiled back foolishly.

"I think they got a little lost. Also, I was hoping to have a word with you," I said quickly to Snape. He nodded to me.

"Draco I think you can go now," Snape said to him.

"Yes Professor. Come on, guys," Draco said, motioning for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him. I shut the door behind them and waited until I heard their footsteps before sinking into the chair Draco had abandoned.

"They're like weird little puppies," I said, referring to Crabbe and Goyle, "They follow who ever pays attention to them."

"Indeed. They aren't very smart. …did you want something in particular, Abigail?"

"…not really. Can I sit in here and do my Transfiguration homework?" I inquired. He inclined his head.

We had our first class with Moody the next day. Jenny, Brandy, and I were the first ones in the classroom. The rest of the class looked a little more nervous after what happened to Draco. My friends and I took the three seats closest to Moody's desk. I noticed that Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle sat at the very back.

Everyone sat down and started to take out their books. It was deathly quiet as we waited for Moody. Then we heard the distant clunking footsteps that meant Moody was coming. I noticed Draco pale slightly. Moody clunked over to his desk, his magical blue eye spinning in its socket, fixing on each of us for a brief moment.

"You won't need those books. Put them back in your bags," Moody growled, sitting down at his desk. Everyone quickly put their books away, looking nervous and excited. Moody began to call roll. He stopped at a few names, but didn't say anything. When he got to my name, however, both his eyes fixed on me.

"I've heard a lot about you…You're Snape's girl, aren't you?" he asked me. A few of my classmates snickered, but Moody ignored them, his eyes boring into mine.

"Yes," I said, staring back at him defiantly, "I am."

Moody continued to call roll, but his magical eye stayed fixed on me.

"Right," he said when everyone had declared themselves present, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. He told me you've all had a pretty thorough covering of Dark creatures- boggarts, Red Caps, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves. But you're behind- very behind- on dealing with curses. So, I'm here to bring you up to date on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark magic."

No one said anything, but every eye was fixed on Moody and no one was talking. I was paying rapt attention to everything he said.

"So- straight into it. Curses come in many shapes and forms. The Ministry of Magic claims I'm supposed to teach you counter curses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. However, Professor Dumbledore has a higher opinion of your nerves. He reckons you can cope, and I say the sooner you know what you're up against the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to be nice and polite to your face. You need be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to do that on your own time, Miss Parkinson!"

Pansy Parkinson jumped and I heard something break against the stone floor. She had been painting her fingernails underneath the table. She had dropped her bottle of bright pink fingernail polish on the floor and it had broken.

I pointed my wand at the broken bottle and repaired it nonverbally. I cleaned the paint off the floor and made the bottle refill itself so Pansy wouldn't have anything to complain about. That didn't stop Pansy from looking at me distastefully, however. I shrugged indifferently, but Moody fixed both his eyes on Pansy.

"Say thank you," Moody growled, sounding threatening. Pansy glanced at me reverently.

"Thanks," she muttered to me.

"So…" Moody continued, looking around the class, "Do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by Wizarding law?"

A few people raised their hands nervously, including Jenny and Brandy. Moody's eye looked at Brandy and he nodded to her.

"The Imperius Curse," she said promptly, "It lets you control people."

"That's right," Moody said, getting to his feet. He took a jar of spiders out of his desk and selected one. He held in the palm of his hand so we could all see.

"Imperio!" he muttered, pointing his wand at the spider.

The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward, as though on a trapeze. Then it cart wheeled onto Pansy's desk. She shrieked loudly and tried to smash it. Moody made the spider leap onto Crabbe's head to avoid being smashed by Pansy. Crabbe let out a yelp and Goyle tried to smack the spider away. The spider landed on my desk and Moody made the spider pretend to jump at me. I didn't even blink. I knew Moody wouldn't make it bite me…and if he did, I had the herbs to stop the poison in my pockets.

"Total control," Moody said to the silent class, "I could make it jump out the window, drown itself…throw itself down one of your throats…"

Moody dangled the spider in front of my mouth so that even my friends sitting beside me drew back. Everyone watched to see what I would do. Unperturbed, I blew the spider away from me. Moody regarded me silently for a moment, then continued the lesson.

"Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse. Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act...and who was acting of their own free will," Moody said, his magical eye still on me, "The Imperius Curse can be fought and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better to avoid being hit with it altogether, if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE," he barked. Everyone jumped except me. Moody put the spider back in the jar.

"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?" Moody asked, his eye still on me, "…Prewett?"

"The Cruciatus Curse," I said after a moment of silence, "The torture curse."

"Right," he said, selecting another spider, "It has to be a bit bigger to get the idea. Engorgio!"

The spider grew until it was bigger than a tarantula. A few people inched their chairs away. Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered "Crucio!".

At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body. It rolled over and began to twitch horrible, rocking from side to side. It started to shudder and jerk violently. My stomach felt a little sick, but I didn't look away.

"Pain," Moody said softly, releasing the spider from the spell, "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse…that one was very popular once, too."

He shrank the spider and put it back in the jar.

"Right…do you know the third one, Miss Prewett?" Moody asked me. I wondered vaguely what made him so interested in me.

"…Avada Kedavra…the Killing Curse," I said quietly. It occurred to me that this was the second of these curses I had seen used…on my own mother. My stomach clenched up. Moody raised his wand and pointed it at the third spider.

"Avada Kedavra," Moody said loudly. There was a flash of blinding green light, which brought me back to that day…when I had seen Mother and my step-father blown back by this curse and fall to the floor dead. The spider rolled over onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. My stomach reeled and spots danced before my eyes. I got to my feet, grabbed my bag, and ran from the room.

I kneeled beside the toilet in the bathroom until I felt certain I wasn't going to puke. I heard the door open.

"Abby? Are you in here?" Jenny asked quietly.

"Yeah," I said, opening the door and walking over to the sink.

"Are you okay?" she asked me. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, not looking at her.

"I'm fine," I muttered. What made me react like that? I wondered to myself, The way the spider just died…just like Mother…

"Well…Moody said to tell you he wants to talk to you," she said to me.

"Not gonna happen…was he mad when I left?"

"No, he just continued class without saying anything," she replied, "After the bell rang, he told me to find you and tell you he wanted to talk."

"Yeah, so not happening. What's our next class?"

"Uh…we're on break, then lunch," she replied, checking her schedule.

"Good. I'm going out onto the grounds," I said, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Jenny didn't follow me.

After the lunch bell rang, I saw Snape striding towards me across the grounds. I didn't even stand up.

"Are you alright, Abigail?" Snape asked quietly, "I've just spoken to Moody…"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I muttered, not looking at him.

"…what happened?"

"It was nothing," I said, then decided to change the subject, "Why did Moody seem so interested in me? He kept calling on me in class and he called me 'Snape's girl'."

Snape smirked at me and I scowled in return.

"Moody…Moody used to be an Auror."

"A dark wizard catcher?"

"Yes and…let's just say Moody doesn't like me. I don't think he liked your Mother or Father either."

"Step-father," I corrected automatically, "…Tommy was my step-father."

"Really?" Snape asked, seemingly interested by this new bit of information.

"Yeah. Apparently they separated for a while. They got back together but…I wasn't his. It was one of the things they fought about…"

I let my voice trail off and frowned slightly. I got to my feet suddenly.

"I'm late for Herbology," I said quickly.

"…I'll write you a note for Professor Sprout."

When I got back to my dormitory that night, I sat down to write a letter to Lupin. We'd corresponded a few times over the summer and I valued his opinion greatly.

Dear Moony,

Today was my first class with Professor Mad-Eye Moody. I don't think he likes me much, but he kept calling on me in class. I don't think Snape likes Moody much- he also said Moody didn't like my Mother. Apparently he was an Auror a long time ago. Moody said in class that he was going to teach us how to fight off the Imperius Curse. Does that mean he's going to be cursing us in class? Hard to believe Dumbledore authorized that. I hope it doesn't hurt. Write back soon, please.

Your friend,

Abby

I left my dormitory, using my Disillusionment Charm, and snuck up to the Owlery. Arsenius was sitting on a perch next to a beautiful snowy owl. I whistled to Arsenius but he didn't come down. I used my mind to call him down and tied the note to his leg.

A few days later, I went down to breakfast to find Arsenius had come in with the post. Lupin had written me back.

Abby,

Don't worry about Mad-Eye. Even if he doesn't like you, he's not dangerous. Just a few days before term started he sprang out of bed and started cursing everything in sight because he 'heard a noise'. He enchanted his dustbins to scare away the intruders.

Something tells me Dumbledore had a reason to invite Mad-Eye Moody to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. If he thinks you should experience the Imperius Curse firsthand, maybe you should. Let me know if he uses any other illegal curses on you though.

I don't think you'll have any problem with the Imperius Curse. You have a strong mind. Severus taught you Occlumency, didn't he? That should help a lot. Just concentrate on keeping Moody out of your mind. Write me again as soon as you get placed under the Imperius Curse and let me know how it goes.

Your friend,

Moony

As it turned out, later that same day we had our next Defense Against the Dark Arts class. My classmates and I lined up in front of Moody, about to be placed under the Imperius Curse. I watched as my classmates performed amazing feats under the Imperius Curse. Draco jumped onto his chair and started tap dancing. When it came to be my turn, I walked over to stand before him. There was a certain amount of eagerness that I didn't like coming not only from my classmates, but Moody as well. Moody had both his eyes fixated on me when he raised his wand. I glared defiantly back into his mismatched eyes.

His attack hit my mind like a ton of bricks, but I was ready for him. I refused to let him take over my mind in any way. I pushed back with a force so strong, Moody stumbled backwards a few steps. He stared at me in disbelief and I couldn't help but smile triumphantly.

"Damn good job, Prewett," Moody growled, "I suppose Snape's taught you a little on the side?"

I just smiled.

There was a definite increase in the amount of work the fourth years were required to do this term. McGonagall especially assigned us a lot of work. She claimed it was to prepare us for our OWLs…I think she just liked giving homework. Even Snape was piling the work on us, however. We were being made to research antidotes. I didn't mind so much in Potions, because it didn't feel like work to me. He even hinted that he would poison one of us before Christmas to see if we'd done our research properly. I was looking forward to that.

One morning, about a week before my birthday, I walked into the Entrance Hall to find a large crowd of students around a sign that had been put up. I spied Jenny in the crowd and motioned her over.

"What does that sign say?" I asked her.

"It's about the Triwizard Tournament. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be here at 6:00 on the 30th of October. Lessons are gonna end early so we can go outside and greet them."

"But it's potions last thing that day!" I said dejectedly.

"I wonder what the Durmstrang students will be like? And the Beauxbatons?" Jenny mused.

"I read somewhere that Beauxbatons is in France," I said, "I don't know anything about Durmstrang though."

"I heard Viktor Krum goes to Durmstrang. Do you think he'll be coming?" she asked me.

"Maybe," I said with a shrug.

On the morning of October 30th we went down to breakfast to find that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each representing a Hogwarts House. Behind the teachers table, the largest of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and serpent, unite around a large letter H.

There was a pleasant air of anticipation around the castle throughout the day. When Potions ended half an hour early, the students were supposed to take their bags out to their dormitories.

"Will you take my bag back for me, Jenny?" I asked her as we cleared away our things.

"Sure," she said, accepting it. When all the students left, I followed Snape down to the Entrance Hall where the other Heads of Houses were waiting for their students.

"How are the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang getting here?" I asked curiously.

"I'm not entirely sure," Snape replied.

The students started to pour into the Entrance Hall. The Heads of Houses started to line up their students. I stood beside Snape and he didn't tell me to get in line. Everyone left the Entrance Hall and lined up in front of the castle. It was a clear, cold evening. Dusk was falling and a transparent moon was shining over the Forbidden Forest.

After a while I started to feel cold. I inched closer to Snape for warmth. After a second he pushed me away, gently but firmly. He glanced around at the teachers and students surrounding us…not that any of them were looking our way.

None of them are paying attention, I thought, nudging his mind, I'm cold.

"I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea," he replied firmly, "…tell me, Abigail- how have you been sleeping? Anymore nightmares?"

"Not since I started taking a simple Sleeping Draught every night, I replied.

Suddenly from down the line, Dumbledore spoke out to the crowd.

"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!" he called. Snape saw it before I did. Glimpsing it in his mind through our connection, I looked towards the Forbidden Forest. It was a gigantic, powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage the size of a house. It was pulled by a dozen winged, palomino horses, each the size of an elephant.

It landed at a tremendous speed and hit the ground with a large crash that shook the ground. The door of the carriage bore a coat of arms- two golden wands, each emitting three stars. I watched as out walked the largest woman I had ever seen in my life. I doubted she was an inch taller than Hagrid. About a dozen girls followed her out of the carriage as she made her way over to Dumbledore.

"My dear Madame Maxime," he said, kissing her large hand, "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr. I 'ope I find you well?" she said in a deep voice.

"In excellent form, I thank you."

"My pupils," she said, waving a hand behind her at the girls who now stood shivering. Their robes seemed to be made out of light silk and none of them had cloaks. They all stared up at Hogwarts apprehensively.

" 'as Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.

"He should be here any moment," replied Dumbledore.

"She's the Headmistress of Beauxbatons," Snape informed me in my mind.

Wow…who's the other person she mentioned- Karkaroff? I asked him. A number of memories flashed through his mind. They were only brief images, but most of them seemed violent.

"He's the Headmaster of Durmstrang…" Snape said. I looked at him in silent question.

"…he's also a former Death Eater," he continued.

The Beauxbatons students and Madame Maxime made their way up to the castle while we continued to wait for the Durmstrang students. It wasn't long until we heard an odd sucking noise, like a vacuum cleaner sucking up water.

"Look at the lake," said Snape, nodding to it. I stood on my tiptoes to get a better look. The usually smooth surface of the lake had been disturbed by something. What appeared to be a black pole began to rise out of the water.

"It's a mast," I said, eyes wide. A few minutes later and entire ship had appeared and a plank had been lowered onto the bank. I could see bulky silhouetted figures disembarking, but when they moved into the light that was coming from the windows of Hogwarts I could see that they only seemed bulky due to the matted fur cloaks they were wearing. The tall, thin man leading them wore sleek and silver furs and had short white hair and a goatee.

"That's Karkaroff," Snape whispered to me.

"Dumbledore!" said Karkaroff as he marched up the slope, "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied brightly. Karkaroff's

voice was hearty and cheerful. He doesn't sound like a Death Eater, I thought to myself.

"What do you think a Death Eater sounds like, Abigail?" said a snide voice in my head.

"Get outta my head," I hissed quietly to Snape. He chuckled quietly.

"Dear old Hogwarts," said Karkaroff, "How good it is to be here, how good…Viktor, come along, into the warmth…you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold…"

Karkaroff beckoned one of his students forward, a boy with a very prominent nose and thick eyebrows. Jenny ran towards me through the crowd, nearly barreling into me.

"Abby! Abby, that's Viktor Krum," She said, grabbing my arm and pointing to the boy.

"I see him, Jenny," I said, smiling at her.

We walked back towards the castle with the rest of the school, following the Durmstrang students.

"Do you think I could get his autograph, Abby?" Jenny asked as we walked in. Snape was still smirking as he went to join the rest of the teachers at the High Table. Jenny and I made our way over to the Slytherin table, though she was craning her neck to see Viktor Krum. He and the other Durmstrang students were looking around, unsure of where to sit. The girls from Beauxbatons had chosen to sit at the Ravenclaw table. When the Durmstrang students chose to sit at our table Jenny squealed delightedly. Draco leaned forward and began to engage Krum in a conversation about Quidditch.

Dumbledore took his usual seat at the High Table and addressed the Great Hall.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, hosts, and- most particularly- guests. I have a great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable," said Dumbledore, beaming at the foreign students.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," Dumbledore continued, "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home."

As soon as Dumbledore sat down I saw Karkaroff engage him in conversation as the plates before us filled with food. There was a greater variety of food than there normally was, many of which were foreign.

I was mostly quiet, not bothering to listen to the conversations that had erupted, most of which were about Quidditch and Krum. Jenny sidled up next to Krum for a moment and returned to her seat beside me a moment later, clutching a piece of paper bearing his autograph. She looked absolutely thrilled.

When the golden plates had been wiped clean Dumbledore stood up to address the students again. Everyone leaned forward to hear and a pleasant sort of quiet had filled the room.

"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling, "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a round of applause, especially when Ludo Bagman's name was announced. Jenny leaned over and whispered to me.

"He was a famous Quidditch Player back in the day. He was a Beater. You can see where a Bludger broke his nose," She murmured to me.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the past few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champion's efforts. The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

The caretaker now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest that was encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old and a murmur of excited interest arose from the watching students.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways…their magical prowess-their daring- their powers of deduction- and, of course, their ability to cope with danger," Dumbledore continued. There was a great hush at these final words.

"As you know," Dumbledore went on, "three champions compete in the tournament- one from each school. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore now tapped his wand on the top of the casket and the lid creaked open. He reached in and pulled out a wooden cup, full to the brim with blue-white flames. Dumbledore closed the casket and set the goblet carefully on top of it.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have 24 hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it had been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of 17 will be able to cross this line.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

The next morning I awoke later than usual. It was Saturday…and it was my birthday! I scrambled out of bed, grinning to myself. I was fifteen today. I knelt beside the small pile of present at the foot of my bed and started to open them. From my friends were my usual assortment of sweets. From Lupin, there was a small box with a note on top.

Abby,

Happy Birthday! I wish I could be there to run around the forest with you and celebrate. I made you this for your birthday. I hope you like it.

Your friend,

Moony

I opened the accompanying box to find a charm bracelet. There were two charms on it- a wolf and a tiger, both hand-carven. The tiger even had a small green rock for its right eye and a small blue rock for its left eye. I fastened it around my wrist and opened my present from Snape. It was a book- A Guidebook to Dragonology by Dylan Laschond. I flipped through the book interestedly. When we were little, Mother used to read books about dragons and things like that to Mary and me, so I had always had a fondness for dragons.

I spent a while reading my new book. A little while before lunchtime Jenny burst into the dorm, wished me a happy birthday, and dragged me off to lunch in the Great Hall. The Goblet of Fire was sitting in the middle of the room.

"Two Slytherins have already put their names in- Warrington and Flint. All the Hufflepuffs are talking about that handsome Seeker of theirs, Diggory," she said

"I thought you fancied Krum," I said as we left the common room.

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't still think Diggory is handsome," She retorted.

"Get over it. They're both too old for you," I replied, "Three years too old."

"Humph."

The Great Hall had been redecorated since the previous night. Since it was Halloween, a great cloud of fluttering live bats was swarming around the ceiling along with all the usual pumpkins.

"What should we do now?" I asked Jenny once we were finished with lunch.

"Let's go down to the lake and see if we can get a glimpse of Krum," she said excitedly.

I followed her a bit reluctantly. We reached the lake and saw that Krum was out there swimming.

"Ooh, he's so brave! Isn't there a giant squid down there?" Jenny squealed, watching him swim. She wasn't the only one. A gaggle of girls ranging from third year to seventh year were all standing around the shore, watching him.

"Oh, honestly," I muttered quietly, "hasn't anyone got anything better to do than swoon over Krum?"

When we returned to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast it was nearly full. All the Durmstrang students, in their robes of blood red, sat at the Slytherin table with our fellow students. The Goblet of Fire had been moved and now sat in front of Dumbledore's empty chair. The feast seemed to take longer than usual, perhaps because everyone was fidgeting, waiting for Dumbledore to finish eating. Everyone wanted desperately to know who the champions were.

At long last the plates cleared and everyone turned to Dumbledore as he stood up. Almost everyone seemed tense and anxious.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision. I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions," said Dumbledore. He took out his wand and waved it, extinguishing all of the candles except those within the carved pumpkins. The Goblet of Fire seemed to shine more brightly that anything else.

A minute later the flames within the Goblet of Fire turned red. Sparks began to fly from it. Everyone leaned forward to watch and there was a collective gasp as a tongue of flame shot into the air and a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it. Dumbledore grabbed the parchment.

"the champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum," he read in a strong, clear voice. There was a blast of applause and cheering as Krum left our table and walked through the door Dumbledore indicated.

"No surprise there," I muttered to Jenny, "The Goblet's probably a Quidditch fan."

"Shh," she hissed and pointed. The flames within in the Goblet had turned red once more. Seconds later another piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.

"the champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour," Dumbledore announced. A girl with silvery-blonde hair stood up from the Ravenclaw table and made her way to the door. Many of the other girls from Beauxbatons had burst into disappointed tears.

"The Hogwarts champion is next," Jenny said excitedly.

At last the goblet turned red again and a final piece of parchment fluttered down into Dumbledore's waiting hand.

"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory."

The cheer was so loud that I had to cover my sensitive ears. The boy who was Diggory stood up, grinning broadly, and made his way to the chamber behind the High Table. It was some time before the applause died down enough for Dumbledore to make himself heard.

"Excellent!" he said happily, "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute to a very real-"

Dumbledore stopped speaking and every eye in the room turned to look once more at the Goblet of Fire. The flames had turned red again and another piece of parchment flew out. Dumbledore automatically grabbed it. He stared at it for a long moment before clearing his throat and reading out-

"Harry Potter."

Everyone in the hall looked astonished. Everyone was staring at Potter. There was a silence, and then everyone began to murmur.

"He's not of age!" Jenny protested quietly, "How did he do it?"

"No idea," I said with a shrug, "He had to have cheated some how."

Potter got to his feet as Dumbledore called his name again and, with an extremely blank expression, made his way up to the staff table. He went through the chamber.

Dumbledore addressed the students in a grave voice and said that we should all head up to bed. While every eye was still on Dumbledore I grabbed my wand and quickly applied my Disillusionment Charm. Jenny looked over with a start to see I had disappeared.

"Are you going to figure out what's going on?" She muttered quietly.

"Yeah. Wait for me in the common room," I whispered in her ear as I stood up. I hurried up to the High Table without getting trampled. Dumbledore was heading into the chamber the champions had disappeared into and he was followed by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Professor McGonagall, and lastly Snape, who was kind enough to hold the door open for my invisible self.

The three champions and Potter were standing in the middle of the room along with Ludo Bagman. All of them looked bewildered. Fleur Delacour was outraged.

"Madame Maxime," said Fleur at once striding over to her headmistress, "Zey are saying zat zis little boy is to compete also!"

"What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" Madame Maxime asked imperiously.

"I'd rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore," said Professor Karkaroff with a steely smile, "Two Hogwarts champions? I don't remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed two champions- or have I not read the rules carefully enough?"

He gave a short, nasty laugh that reminded me somewhat of Snape.

"C'est impossible," said Madame Maxime, " 'Ogwarts cannot 'ave two champions. It is most injust."

"We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff, "Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."

"It's no one's fault but Potter's, Karkaroff," said Snape softly, "Don't go blaming Dumbledore for Potter's determination to break rules. He h as been crossing lines ever since he arrived here-"

"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said firmly. Snape fell silent those his eyes still glinted malevolently. Dumbledore now turned to Harry.

"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" he asked calmly.

"No," said Harry quickly. Snape made a noise of disbelief, but I could tell, in that mysterious way that I always could tell, that Potter was telling the truth. Either that or he was an exceptionally good liar who could fool even me, and I didn't know of anyone who had ever tricked me with a lie.

"Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?" said Dumbledore, ignoring Snape.

"No," said Potter vigorously.

"Ah, but of course 'e is lying!" cried Madame Maxime.

He's not lying. His emotions are true, I thought, hoping that Snape was listening. He shook his head and his lip curled.

"He could not have crossed the Age Line," said McGonagall sharply, "I am sure we all agreed on that-"

"Dumbly-dorr must 'ave made a mistake wiz ze line," said Madame Maxime with a shrug.

"It is possible, of course," said Dumbledore politely.

"Dumbledore, you know perfectly well you did not make a mistake!" said McGonagall angrily, "Really, what nonsense! Harry could not have crossed the line himself, and as Professor Dumbledore believes that he did not persuade an older student to do it for him, I'm sure that should be good enough for everybody else!"

She shot a very angry look at Snape and I had a sudden urge to kick her, which I resisted. Undoubtedly, kicking her would reveal my hidden existence.

"We must follow the rules of, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament," said Mr. Crouch from the shadows.

"Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front," said Bagman, beaming as though the matter were now closed.

"I insist upon resubmitting the names of the rest of my students. You will set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It's only fair Dumbledore," said Karkaroff.

"But Karkaroff, it doesn't work like that," said Bagman, "The Goblet of Fire's just gone out- it won't re-ignite until the start of the next tournament-"

"-in which Durmstrang will most certainly not be competing!" exploded Karkaroff, "After all our meetings and negotiations and compromises, I little expected something of this nature to occur! I have half a mind to leave now!"

"Empty threat, Karkaroff. You can't leave your Champion now. He's got to compete. They've all got to compete. Binding Magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?" Growled a voice from the door. It was Mad-Eye Moody. His magical eye lingered on me and I fled to Snape's side, grabbing his hand.

Moody can see me! I thought loudly.

"Don't worry. He's ignoring you, see?" He replied in my head. He was right. Moody was talking to Karkaroff, who didn't seem to like him very much.

Why the hostility between Moody and Karkaroff…because he was a Death Eater? I asked Snape.

"Right. Moody's one of the ones that captured him."

We were both suddenly rapt with attention as Madame Maxime and Karkaroff both began to complain loudly.

"If anyone's got a reason to complain, it's Potter," growled Moody, "but…funny thing…I don't hear him saying a word…"

"Why should 'e complain?" said Fleur, stamping her foot, " 'E 'as ze chance to compete, 'asn't 'e? We 'ave all been 'oping to be chosen for weeks and weeks! Ze honor for our schools! A thousand Galleons in prize money- zis is a chance many would die for!"

"Maybe someone's hoping Potter is going to die for it," Moody said quietly.

An extremely tense silence followed these words. Everyone looked at Moody.

"Moody, old man…what a thing to say!" said Bagman nervously.

"We all know Professor Moody considers the morning wasted if he hasn't discovered six plots to murder him before lunchtime," said Karkaroff loudly, "Apparently he is now teaching his students to fear assassination, too. An odd quality in a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dumbledore, but no doubt you had your reasons."

"Imagining things, am I?" Moody growled, "Seeing things, eh? It was a skilled witch or wizard who put the boy's name in that goblet…"

"Ah, what evidence is zere of zat?" Madame Maxime asked, throwing up her hands.

"Because they hoodwinked a very powerful magical object!" said Moody, "It would have needed an exceptionally strong Confundus Charm to bamboozle that goblet into forgetting that only three schools compete in the tournament…I'm guessing they submitted Potter's name under a fourth school, to make sure he was the only one in his category…"

"You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Moody," said Karkaroff coldly, "and a very ingenious theory it is- though of course, I heard you recently got it into your head that one of your birthday presents contained a cunningly disguised basilisk egg, and smashed it to pieces before realizing it was a carriage clock. So you'll understand if we don't take you entirely seriously…"

"There are those who'll turn innocent occasions to their advantage," Moody retorted in a menacing voice, "It's my job to think the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff- as you ought to remember…"

"Alastor!" Dumbledore said warningly. Karkaroff's face was burning and Moody looked satisfied.

"How this situation arose we do not know," said Dumbledore to everyone, "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and Harry have been chosen to compete in the tournament. This, therefore, they will do…"

"Ah, but Dumbly-dorr-"

"My dear Madame Maxime if you have an alternative I would be delighted to hear it."

No one looked very happy. Snape was furious.

"Well, shall we crack on, then?" Bagman said excitedly, "Got to give our champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honors?"

"Yes," said Crouch, "instructions. Yes…the first task…"

He moved forward into the firelight and I got the sudden impression that he looked ill. Moody's magical eye was watching me and I couldn't concentrate at all on what Crouch was telling the champions. I became dimly aware of the fact that I was still holding Snape's hand from when I had grabbed it earlier. I let go quickly. He still smirked at me.

When everyone else had left, Moody turned to face Snape. His magical eye was on me.

"Hell of a disillusionment Charm, Prewett," he growled.

"Thank you, sir," I replied with a certain amount of respect. I had hoped that if I treated him respectfully he wouldn't turn me into a ferret.

"Do you get a kick out of sneaking around invisible?"

"You could just say I was born with an overload of curiosity," I replied. Moody's eye went from me to Snape. I sensed Snape's growing unease under Moody's gaze. Then Moody looked back at me.

"Happy Birthday, Prewett," he said to me, then turned and clunked out of the room.

"You know, Abigail, I think Moody actually likes you," Snape said, bemused.

That night, I took my sleeping draught before I went to sleep, as usual. A dream fought through my peaceful sleep, however…

I was following a Seventeen-year-old version of my mother down a corridor. There were two other boys walking with her.

"Where are we going, Julia?" I asked her. There was a small part of me that didn't want to follow her, but it was trumped by the part of me that knew whatever she going to do would be fun.

"Professor Merrythought has a fire salamander in a crate in his office. I thought it would be fun to let it loose in Dumbledore's office," she replied mischievously.

"This is the third time this week you've called some of the gang out of bed to make mischief," said one of the other boys, "You must be feeling restless, Prewett."

"Well Mulciber, it's my last year here," she replied airily, "I thought I'd get in some mischief before I go join him."

"You mean the Dark Lord?" asked the other boy respectfully, "You're really going to do it then?"

"Of course I am, Avery," she replied certainly, "My family's pureblood, just like yours. My sister was a Death Eater."

"I didn't know you had a sister, Julia," I remarked.

"She was killed by Aurors doing work for the Dark Lord. I'll prove I can do better than her…"

We reached a door, which was locked. Julia pulled out her wand and murmured something. The door sprang open silently.

The scene in my dream changed suddenly. We were sitting in Dumbledore's office. His expression was unreadable as he surveyed us through his half-moon spectacles. Julia was sitting with her arms crossed, a look of defiance on her face. I had resigned myself not to say anything and was now staring at the fire salamander, which was curled up comfortably in the fireplace.

"I get the feeling you are the mastermind behind this childish act, Julia Prewett," Dumbledore said to her,

"Prove it!" she retorted coolly.

"Well you were out of bed, after hours, and were found at the scene of the crime. There's no doubt in my mind you did it. The only thing I wonder is- why? You're graduating soon…you should be thinking about what you're going to do after Hogwarts."

"What do you care?" she shot back.

"I've heard things about you, Julia. The road you take can only lead to destruction."

"What I do if none of your business!"

"Joining him won't bring your sister or mother back. Anything he has told you or promised you is a lie."

"Shut up!" she shouted, getting to her feet, knocking the chair over, "You don't know what you're talking about you stupid old man!"

She left the room, letting the door slam shut behind her. Dumbledore sighed, his eyes on me now.

"You'll both have three days detention. Professor Slughorn will inform you when and where," he said. I nodded my head and got to my feet…

The scene changed again. It was the next morning at breakfast. Lily walked over to my breakfast table. A few of my classmates hissed disapprovingly at her and jeered. I got to my feet quickly and ushered her away.

"Is it true you got detention for sneaking out with Julia?" she asked, frowning.

"Well…yes, but…you know how Julia is," I said earnestly, "I couldn't tell her no."

Lily sighed heavily and looked away from me, staring out over the lake. I looked around quickly- the grounds were deserted. I took Lily's hand and squeezed it gently.

"It's just a bit of fun," I murmured to her, "It's Julia's last year here…"

She continued to not look at me. I touched her cheek gently and turned her face to look at me. I gazed into her beautiful green eyes for a moment, then kissed her…

I awoke with a start. I looked around the dormitory- everyone was asleep. Knowing I would be able to go back to sleep, I slipped out of bed. It was almost midnight, but not quite. I donned my Disillusionment Charm and left.

I knocked on the door of Snape's office and held my breath. A few moments passed.

"Enter," I heard him say from within, his voice full of surprise. I let out the breath I had been holding in a relieved sigh. I walked into his office and shut the door behind me. I quickly made myself visible.

"Abigail? What's wrong?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"I had another dream…and now I can't sleep," I said heavily, sitting down.

"Did you take your Sleeping Draught?"

"Of course. I guess it wasn't strong enough…" I murmured.

"Well that's no problem," he said, searching through one of his drawers. He pulled out a small bottle of a clear potion. I uncorked it and sniffed it tentatively- Wormwood, asphodel…

"Draught of Living Death?" I guessed.

"Correct. If this doesn't stop your dreams, nothing will. You can take that bottle with you- a single sip should do it. If it works, I can brew you an entire cauldron full tomorrow and bottle it."

"Can I help brew it?"

"Of course."

When I returned to my dormitory and crawled into bed, I uncorked the bottle again. I took a sip. It wasn't too bad. Very bitter though. I felt exhausted almost immediately. I had barely set the bottle on the night when I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The next afternoon, Snape and I went down to the Potions classroom to brew the Draught of Living Death. We were about halfway through when there was a knock on the door.

"Enter," Snape said as I chopped valerian roots. The door opened and Karkaroff walked in.

"Severus, I was hoping for a word with you," Karkaroff said, but his eyes were on me as I chopped roots, "And who is this?"

"Abby Prewett. She's Julia's youngest daughter. I am her legal guardian," Snape informed him.

"And why is that?" he asked curiously.

"…Julia and Tommy were killed a few years ago, Karkaroff," Snape said quietly.

"Oh my. That is very grave news indeed. Forgive me, young Prewett. I did not know," Karkaroff said to me. I shrugged my shoulders, uncomfortable, and looked at the ground.

"I'm afraid I'm busy at the moment, Karkaroff. You'll have to come back later," Snape said to him.

"Of course. I'll find you later, Severus. It was nice to meet you…Abby," he said coolly. When Karkaroff left I finished chopping roots, imagining each one to be his face.

"I don't like him. I don't like the way he was looking at me, Severus, or the way he said my name," I murmured, shuddering, "and the emotions coming from him were…unpleasant to say the least."

Snape didn't say anything, but I noticed his fists clench.

We worked on our potion in silence for a while. Snape and I worked together like a well-oiled machine. I read the steps in his mind. I would work on one step of the potion while he worked on whatever would come next. When I finished whatever I was doing, I'd start to prepare the step after whatever he was working on.

Finally, the potion had to simmer for a little while. Snape sat down at his desk. I hovered over the cauldron a moment longer, peering in at the simmering, lilac liquid.

"So what do you think of Potter becoming the fourth Champion?" Snape asked me.

"Well…he didn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire- his emotions were to full of confusion and numb disbelief."

"I know he didn't do it…"

"Do you believe what Moody said? About someone trying to…do him in?"

"…someone's been trying to kill him since he was a baby. Potter's penchant for trouble doesn't help matters," Snape said heavily.

"Who do you think did it then?" I asked him.

"No idea…but when Dumbledore finds out, it won't be pretty."

I noticed he said 'when' and not 'if'. He was certain that Dumbledore would find whoever did it.

"Your faith in wizardkind is admirable. Wish I had that," I said aloud.

"It's not faith in wizard kind- it's faith in Dumbledore. I haven't got faith in wizardkind," he replied dryly. I chuckled quietly and Snape raised an eyebrow at me.

"Why do you trust Dumbledore?"

"If we can't trust him, who can we trust? …oh, right, you don't like him do you?"

"It's not that I don't like him, it's just something about him-"

"Prickles your fur, I know," Snape said, smirking at me. I scowled at him.

"Don't make fun of me, Severus."

"Oh Abigail- I'm laughing with you, not at you."

There was a moment of silence.

"…but…I'm not laughing," I said. He caught my eye and we both started to laugh.

One Friday morning I entered the Common Room to find Draco handing out a box of badges. They all read:

Support Cedric Diggory- the REAL Hogwarts Champion

"That isn't all they do, Abby- look," Draco said, pressing the badge on his chest. The message vanished and was replaced by a green one:

Potter Stinks!

My fellow Slytherins howled with laughter and fought to get a badge. Draco offered me one, but I didn't take it.

I was perhaps the only Slytherin not wearing a badge when it was time for double Potions that afternoon. We were all lined up outside Snape's classroom after lunch and when Potter showed up Draco began his usual gloating.

"Oh very funny," said Hermione sarcastically, "really witty."

"Want one Granger?" Draco asked, offering her a badge, "I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see; don't want a Mudblood sliming it up."

Before I could say anything to Draco about using that word Potter had drawn his wand.

"Go on, then, Potter," said Draco, drawing his own wand, "Moody's not here to look after you now- do it, if you've got the guts-"

"Furnunculus!" Potter yelled at the same time Draco screamed "Densaugeo!"

Two jets of light hit each other in mid-air, ricocheted, and one hit Goyle and one his Hermione. Goyle bellowed and clutched his nose where boils were now springing up. Hermione whimpered and clutched her mouth as her teeth began to grow.

"And what is all this noise about?" said a soft, deadly voice. Snape had arrived.

"Potter attacked me, sir-" Began Draco.

"we attacked each other at the same time!" Harry shouted.

"-and he hit Goyle- look-"

Snape looked at Goyle whose face now resembled a forest floor.

"Hospital wing, Goyle," Snape said calmly.

"Malfoy got Hermione!" Ron said, "Look!"

He forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth that had now grown down past her collar. She largely resembled a beaver.

"I see no difference," said Snape coldly. Hermione whimpered, her eyes filled with tears, and ran all the way up the corridor and out of sight. Both Potter and Weasley started to shout at Snape at the same time, their voices echoing off the stone walls and making impossible to hear exactly what they were calling him. He heard bits of it, however, and that was enough.

"Let's see," he said in a silky voice, "Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention each for Potter and Weasley. Now get inside, or it'll be a weeks worth of detention."

As we all walked into the dungeon classroom I couldn't help but listen in on Potter's thoughts which were just as unpleasant as the rage showing on his face. I shuddered slightly and kept my attention focused on Snape who had entered the classroom and was sitting at his desk.

"Antidotes!" he said looking around at us all, "You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on whom to test one…"

His eyes met Potter's and everyone knew what was coming next. He was going to poison Potter. How delightful. The silence was interrupted by a knock on the dungeon door. The door opened and in walked a very small third year. He walked up to Snape's desk.

"Yes?" said Snape curtly to the boy.

"Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs," said the boy, beaming at Potter. Snape stared down at the boy whose smile quickly faded.

"Potter has another hour of Potions to complete," said Snape coldly, "He will come upstairs when this class is finished."

The boy turned pink.

"Sir- sir, Mr. Bagman wants him," he said anxiously, "All the champions have got to go, I think they want to take photographs…"

I suppressed a snort of laughter at the look of hatred on Snape's face.

"Very well, very well," Snape said annoyed, "Potter, leave your things here, I want you back down here later to test your antidote."

"Please, sir- he's got to take his things with him," squeaked the boy, "All the

champions-"

"Very well!" snarled Snape, "Potter- take your bag and get out of my sight!"

Potter and the third-year boy practically fled the dungeon.

I worked on my antidote silently, occasionally looking up at Snape, who was glowering as he hovered around the dungeon, peering into people's cauldrons and making snide remarks about their work. I was working on a Deflating Draught, slicing caterpillars, when Snape walked over to me. He peered into my cauldron, half-smiled, then walked away.

That night I stayed up late working on an essay for Transfiguration and some Charms homework that I'd left a bit late. I ended up drifting off to sleep and, without my sleeping potion to keep it away, I started to dream…

It was dark…nighttime. There were few stars in the sky and I couldn't see any moon at all. I was trying to stick to the shadows as I made my way down to the broom shed. I was looking for someone…

"Julia," I hissed, "Where are you?"

"Here of course," said a voice from above me. I jumped, startled, and fell over backwards. Julia was hanging upside down from the roof of the broom shed. She was stifling laughter.

"What's this all about Julia?" I asked, slightly annoyed, brushing dirt off myself as I got to my feet, "I get this note telling me to meet you out here and you scare the crap outta me-"

"Chill, Severus. I'll show you why I called you here," she said, then disappeared onto the roof. I craned my neck to see what she was doing. She flipped off the roof suddenly, landing lightly on her feet. She had a cage in her hands.

"Julia…what is that?" I asked, approaching cautiously. She grinned broadly and held it out for me to see. I peered through the bars and ducked as the creature spewed out a jet of flame.

"Careful, Sev. She breathes fire," Julia said, smirking.

"Don't call me that," I muttered, "What is it?"

"She is a baby chimera, of course," he replied brightly.

"What? Julia, they're a class five illegal species. They kill people and they're untrainable!" I exclaimed.

"She's in a cage," she said earnestly, rolling her eyes.

"You can't keep it Julia! It'd be like having a dragon for a pet- insane!"

"Actually, I'd love to have a dragon for a pet…but don't worry. I'm going to let her go."

"Where?" I asked, peering into the cage again. The chimera had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.

"I was thinking about the forest," she replied absently, staring into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest.

"You're insane, you know that?" I asked with a grin.

"Yeah. …and I wouldn't tell Lils about the chimera if I were you," she said.

"What? Why not? Lily's my best friend!"

"She's a goody-goody and she's not your best friend- she's your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," I muttered, feeling my face turn red.

"Oh don't pretend, Severus. I know how you feel about her. I think it's sweet."

I scoffed and stared at the ground. The chimera shot another stream of fire at me and I jumped. Julia laughed loudly…

I awoke early the next morning in the Common Room. Draco was shaking me awake, flanked by his croonies, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Did you stay up all night, Abby?" Draco asked me as I stood up, my homework falling to the floor.

"I was trying to finish my homework…guess I'll have to do it later," I said, rubbing my eyes sleepily, "What time is it?"

"9:00. It's Saturday," he informed me. I nodded my head and picked up my work.

"I'll see you later, Draco. I'm going to find somewhere to do my homework," I said to him.

I walked down to Snape's office where he was sitting at his desk, looking tired, grading papers. He looked up when I entered.

"Can I do my homework here? I need someone to keep me from falling asleep," I said, sitting down in my chair.

"Of course."

I finished my Charms homework quickly and started my Transfiguration essay. I couldn't concentrate, however- my mind was on my dream. There was something I had to know…

"Did Mother let the chimera go in the forest?" I blurted out without really thinking. Snape froze and stared at me. The quill he had been using fell to the floor.

"How do you know-?"

"I can't explain it…just suffice to say I know about it."

"But…no one else knows about it…"

"Can't you just tell me? …please?" I asked quietly. His black eyes held my gaze for a full minute before he responded.

"Julia released her into the forest, about a week after she showed her to me. She lit the girl's dormitory on fire the day before she let her go," he said.

"Really? What happened?" I asked, intrigued.

"Professor Slughorn almost caught her, but Julia has a way-…had a way with people. The girls in her dorm didn't rat her out. They covered for her and helped her put the fire out."

"What do you mean she 'had a way with people'?" I asked curiously.

"Everybody liked Julia. It was impossible to say no to her. …but Julia didn't necessarily like a lot of people. It was hard to tell if she liked you or not. There were times I wasn't entirely certain she liked me," Snape said with a faint smile. I fell silent and continued to work, thinking about my mother. She had been a very unusual witch. I'd never seen the side of her I saw in my dreams. She seemed eccentric and compelling. I wished I could be like her.

One Friday before the first task, I went down to breakfast to find Arsenius circling the hall with a letter for me. Wondering if it was from Lupin, I called him down to me with my mind. The note wasn't from Lupin, however, though I recognized the thin handwriting immediately.

Abigail,

If you're up for a bit of excitement, meet me down by the lake tonight. I have something to show you. It'll be fun.

I looked up to the teacher's table. Snape caught my eye for a moment before continuing his conversation with McGonagall. Curious, I folded the note and put it in my pocket.

The day passed painstakingly slow. I had never been a particularly impatient person, but I was excited and curious about what Snape had to show me. Our last class that day was double Potions with the Gryffindors. After the bell rang and everyone left, I walked up to Snape's desk.

"What's happening tonight?" I inquired, leaning on his desk.

"Shh," he hissed, glancing at the open door. With a wave of my wand, I closed it, then repeated my question.

"I can't tell you, Abigail. It'll ruin the surprise," he said with a small smile, "But I promise you'll like it. You just have to be patient."

"Luckily, patience is one of my more refined qualities. I'll see you later."

I spent the rest of the day reading and doing homework. When it finally got dark outside, I donned my Disillusionment Charm and went outside. Snape wasn't there yet. Looking down by the lake, I spotted the broom shed. Remembering my dream, I climbed up onto the roof. As I waited for Snape, I looked around the roof. There were scorch marks in one place. Could they be from Mother's chimera? I wondered, running my fingers over the burnt places. I imagined my mother sitting here, waiting for Snape, just as I was now. A feeling of nostalgia washed over me.

I remembered that Mother had been hanging upside down from the roof. I decided to give it a try. I hung there for about two seconds- then gravity took hold of me and I fell. Just before I thought I was going to hit the ground, a pair of strong arms caught me. I looked up, dazed, into Snape's black eyes.

"You are a magnet for disaster, Abigail. You're not your mother, you know?" he said to me in an amused, irritated sort of way.

"I was just trying to hang upside down," I muttered as he set me on my feet.

"Julia had an uncanny sense of balance. She was graceful in inhuman ways…a lot of the boys back then were under the impression she was part Veela. She could also perform feats comparable to those of acrobats. …it's clear to me you didn't inherit her talent," he replied, smirking. I punched him lightly in the arm.

"I can be graceful when I want to be," I said coolly, "Now what're we doing out here?"

"Oh I had almost forgotten… I'm not sure I want to take you now, since you're so accident prone," he said teasingly.

"Take me where?" I asked eagerly. He smiled secretively.

"Follow me," he said, motioning for me to follow him.

We passed the Beauxbatons carriage, keeping to the shadows. We walked along the perimeter of the forest for a long time, until the castle was out of sight. Curiosity was ebbing at me. Where could he be taking me that was so far away? Not that I minded. I liked walking with him and there was a certain air of excitement about him that I liked. Suddenly a deafening, ear-splitting roar broke the silence. I saw spurts of fire that didn't make sense until we got closer-

"Dragons!" I breathed in awe.

Four, full-grown, enormous dragons were rearing onto their hind legs, breathing fire into the air. There was one with beautiful silvery-blue scales and long, white horns- A Swedish Short-Snout. There was a smooth-scaled green one, which was tugging at its chain, trying to take flight- A Common Green Welsh from the looks of it. There was a red one which, judging by the fringe of gold spikes around its face, was a Chinese Fireball. The last one was a Hungarian Horntail- a gigantic black one that was roaring furiously and blowing fire at the wizards who were around the enclosure which held the dragons.

Snape and I stuck to the shadows so no one would see us and watched the dragons for a while.

"What're they doing here?" I asked quietly, watching as the Horntail lit a tree on fire.

"Dragon-handlers brought them over from Romania for the first task."

"Oh wow," I said, watching the handlers extinguish the tree. The handlers shot Stunning Spells at the Horntail and it went down.

"Charlie, bring the Sleeping Draught! We should keep her out for a while," one of the wizards called. Another came running up to the Horntail.

"You know what's interesting?" I said to Snape as we walked back up to the castle.

"What?" he inquired.

"A Hungarian Horntail can be knocked out by a Sleeping Draught, but it takes the Draught of Living Death to stop my…dreams."

Snape nodded his head in silent agreement.

When we got back to the castle, Snape and I parted ways.

"Goodnight, Severus…and thanks for showing me the dragons," I said when we reached the entrance to the Common Room.

"I thought you would like to see them. You know not to tell anyone, right?"

"Of course."

"Goodnight then, Abigail," he said, half-smiling.

After lunch on Tuesday I followed Jenny, Brandy, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle out to where the first task would take place. We took a seat in the stands. I took a seat between Jenny and Draco and proceeded to watch. Cedric Diggory walked out from where the champions were and found himself face to face with the Swedish Short-Snout. Personally I thought the dragon was beautiful. Cedric's face was pale as he waved his wand and transfigured a rock into a dog.

"Brilliant," said Draco from beside me, "the dragon's going for the dog instead of him."

Everyone cheered as Cedric made his way to the golden egg he was supposed to be collecting. The dragon turned her head as Cedric grabbed the egg and shot a jet of flame at him. Egg in hand he ran off the field amidst the cheers and worried gasps from the crowd. Six wizards came and led the dragon off the field and led another one out- the Common Green Welsh. Fleur Delacour came out next. She spent a while trying to avoid it's flame. I had begun to wonder if I could control dragons with my mind like I could most other animals. I decided if I was going to try it, I'd try it while Fleur was still on the field.

Walk away from her, I commanded with my mind, pushing at the dragons mind. It stopped chasing Fleur abruptly and turned away. Fleur took the opportunity and hit it with some sort of charm. The dragon went sleepy. Fleur ran forward and grabbed the golden egg. The dragon let out a snore, along with a jet of flame that caught Fleur's skirt on fire. She put it out with her wand and ran off the field, clutching her egg. I cheered loudly along with the rest of the crowd. Inside, I was ecstatic- I could control dragons!

Krum was next and as soon as he walked out there was a cheer from almost everyone. Everyone watched as he aimed his wand at the red dragon's eyes and used a Conjunctivitus Curse. The dragon let out a pained roar and stumbled around, squashing half of the real eggs in the nest. Krum was still able to grab the golden egg and escape in time, but they took points off for the real eggs that were damaged.

Potter was last and almost everyone was jeering at him. He used his wand to summon his broomstick from the castle and then he flew around, making the dragon chase him, until he managed to grab the egg. He looked surprisingly calm for someone being chased by a giant, fire-breathing dragon. The cheers from the audience was deafening and even I couldn't help but clap quietly. That had been some impressive flying. Potter and Krum tied for first place.

That night, I snuck out of the castle alone to get another glimpse of the dragons. I made my way along the perimeter of the forest in tiger form and hid in the trees. The wizards were having trouble with the dragons again- they all seemed exceptionally angry, probably because they'd had their eggs stolen and some squashed.

All of a sudden, something came running out of the forest. It was almost as big as a hippogriff, if not bigger. I only glimpsed it as it ran through, breathing fire- lion's head, goat's body, serpent's tail- It was Mother's chimera!

The handlers began firing spells at her as she ran at the dragons.

Run! I commanded her urgently with my mind, hoping she would listen. The chimera ran off into the woods, spewing fire behind herself as she went. It was possible she had listened to me…or she could have been frightened away. Either way she was safe. I was about to follow her, when I heard one of the handlers say something that stopped me in my tracks.

"A chimera shouldn't be running around wild, especially this close to the castle," one of them said.

"I'll tell Dumbledore to write a letter to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. They'll send someone out to capture it…or dispose of it," said another. Then they went back to work.

I left the clearing and hurried after the chimera, hoping to catch up with her. I called out to her with my mind. Finally I reached a small river in the woods where the chimera was crouching by the riverside, drinking. I approached cautiously in tiger form. Her ears pricked up and she looked at me. She let out a cry.

I couldn't talk to animals but, being an Animagus, I could tell on a basic level what other animals felt or needed. The chimera seemed to find me familiar. She let out another cry and ran over to me, her tail lashing in excitement. I wanted to run as the large animal ran at me, but I knew she didn't mean any harm. She stopped before me. She rubbed her lion head against mine, almost as if hugging me. She was purring deep in her throat. She pawed at me, then ran a few feet away, looking back. She wanted to play with me!

The chimera and I played for a few hours. I learned a lot about her before heading back up to the castle. I hurried down the corridor and burst into Snape's office. He looked up from his work, startled.

"The dragon-handlers are going to kill Mother's chimera!" I exclaimed dramatically.

"What? …Abigail, did you forget to take your sleeping potion?" he asked me.

"It wasn't a dream, Severus! I snuck out of the castle to go see the dragons before they took them back to Romania and I saw the chimera. She ran towards the dragon pen- she's huge now, by the way. When she ran off, the handlers said that they were going to send someone to catch her…or dispose of her!" I explained, "We can't let that happen, Severus, we can't! She didn't mean any harm- she was running at the dragons, not the people. I think she was trying to help."

"Calm down, Abigail. We won't let them kill her," he assured me, "I'll think of something…"

Over the next few days, I worried about the chimera. I spent hours in the forest looking for her again. Finally, late one night in tiger form, I found her firey scent trail. I followed it to a large nest in the middle of the ground. The chimera had put scent markers all around her territory. No animal would be stupid enough to cross her scent…except me, of course. I was human, so I could chose to ignore my tiger-instincts that told me not to cross.

Her nest was lined with grass and soft leaves. I walked around her territory for a while. I found bones from small prey and some droppings, but no chimera. I hoped that she had only gone out hunting.

The next morning at breakfast, I got Snape to go for a walk with me so I could tell him what I had found.

"I think I've got an idea," Snape said once I had told him what I found, "We could put protective enchantments around the chimera's territory. They wouldn't find her nest then. She would be safe."

"That's fantastic. What can we go?"

"Tonight. Meet me out front."

I was outside waiting for him as soon as it got dark out. When he came walking out of the castle, I was already pacing impatiently in tiger form.

"Come on, let's go!" I exclaimed eagerly, butting him with my head. He chuckled quietly and let me lead the way into the forest. I found the scent trail again and headed off towards the forest. It was hard for Snape to follow me with no path. He was having to fight bushes, brambles, and high grass. I was traipsing through the same stuff, but I was a tiger so it wasn't hard.

"What're you, part bloodhound?" Snape muttered as I followed the scent trail across a stream. He made a bridge, using his wand, and crossed. My ears twitched irritably.

"I'm not a dog, Severus," I said, batting him with my paw, claws sheathed, "I'm all tiger."

I said these last two words as I bounded forward into the moonlight, knowing I looked beautiful.

"No need to be so vain, Abigail," he said lightly.

"Is it vain?" I asked, frowning slightly, "…I don't mean to be vain."

Sensing that I was troubled by it, Snape shook his head.

"It's not vain," he assured me, "You are beautiful…as a tiger."

My ears flattened, embarrassed. Then my tail twitched, annoyed.

"Only as a tiger?" I asked, growling as I playfully batted him again. He half-smiled at me and shook his head.

We reached the edge of the chimera's territory and I stopped abruptly.

"This is the edge of her territory. Up ahead is her nest," I informed Snape, who possessed no supersensory nose to let him know such things. Snape followed me forward with caution, wand in hand. The chimera was curled up in her nest, but when I approached she raised her head. She let out her familiar cry and got to her feet. She hurried over to me and greeted me. Then she saw Snape. She blinked her black eyes and blew a jet of flame just over his head playfully. Snape ducked and I laughed.

"I don't think she likes me," Snape said, taking a few steps backwards.

"She's only playing with you," I assured him.

The chimera didn't pay much attention as Snape walked around her territory, putting up protective enchantments. She thought it was a game. She followed him for a while, batting him playfully, but grew bored and came to play with me. I kept the chimera preoccupied while offering Snape spells to put up.

"I think the strongest thing we could use would be a Fidelus Charm," Snape said as he finished, "One of us would have to be Secret Keeper…"

"I think you should do it," I said to him.

"But she was your Mother's chimera…"

"Mother confided in you, didn't she? And no one else. I think it appropriate that you should be the Secret Keeper."

Snape placed the Fidelus Charm on all of the chimera's territory. Now no one would find it unless he told them about it. I knew he wouldn't ever tell anyone.

During the last Potions class of the term before the holidays, I was working on my potion when a note flew across the room, behind Snape's back, and landed on my desk. It had come from one of the Gryffindor boys. It was an invitation to go to the ball with him.

"There will be no note passing in class. 10 points from Gryffindor," Snape said, taking the note off my desk. He read it, looked down at me, and smirked. I blushed bright red. Snape walked off across the classroom. I spent the rest of the class period glowering at the Gryffindor boy whose name I didn't even know.

It only got worse as the holidays proceeded. I spent most of my time avoiding boys, worried they were going to invite me to the ball. I couldn't even hide out in Snape's office because he would pick on me and tell me to get a boyfriend.

One evening I was trying to sneak out to the forest to visit the chimera, when I saw Draco coming down the corridor. I hoped he hadn't spotted me and ducked down a different corridor. I hurried at top speed to Snape's office. I hurried inside and locked the door behind myself. Snape, who was sitting at his desk, looked up at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Hiding from someone, Abigail?" he inquired, "A boyfriend, perhaps?"

"Shut up, Severus," I muttered, "…It's Draco. He's been trying to catch me alone for days now. You think he'd take a hint…"

"Why don't you just-" he began, but was cut off by a brisk knock at the door. Snape smiled a small twisted smile at me and unlocked the door with his wand.

"Don't you dare-" I began.

"Enter," Snape said loudly, his eyes one me. Draco entered the room. He glanced at Snape quickly, then seemed to decide he didn't care if Snape was there or not.

"There you are, Abby! I've been looking everywhere for you," he said to me.

"What's up, Draco?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Well I wanted to ask if you would like to go to the ball…with me," he said, grinning.

"Oh…uhm…no," I said awkwardly. Draco looked momentarily stunned. Then he turned on his heel and left, slamming the door shut behind himself. Snape, who had been fighting laughter up until this point, started to laugh loudly. I glared him into silence.

"God, he's so egotistical!" I growled, annoyed, "Like it would be the greatest thing in the world to go to the ball with him. I got asked by Cedric Diggory this morning- most girls would kill to go with him."

It was true- during breakfast that morning a miniature dragon came flying over to our table from the Hufflepuff table, struggling to carry a note. I took the note from it and the dragon landed on my plate. I played with the dragon while I read his note. I sent Diggory a return note, telling him sorry, but no. He sent me another telling me I could keep the dragon.

"Why don't you just pick someone to go with?" Snape asked me.

"Because I don't want to. My life's already screwed up enough without me throwing a boyfriend into the equation," I replied, "Besides; I don't even like any of the boys who've asked me."

"Hmph… If you're not going to go with someone, will you at least allow me to escort you to the ball?" he asked me. I felt myself blush.

"Well…yeah, I guess that would be alright," I muttered, "At least you aren't a teenage boy."

Snape raised an eyebrow at me.

"Let's just say I learned better than to use Legilimency on my classmates…especially the boys," I said with a shudder. Snape chuckled quietly and looked sympathetic.

After that day, Draco treated me horribly. He and Flint teamed up to try and make my life miserable.

"Oi, Prewett! Is it true you're wearing a Muggle dress to the Ball?" Flint called across the Common Room on Christmas Eve.

"Mudblood Prewett couldn't even get a date- no one would take her. Always dressed in Muggle trash," sneered Draco. I paused in mid-stride and turned to face them, hand on my wand in my pocket.

"Really, Draco? The way I recall, you were pretty upset when I turned you down…or shall we ask Professor Snape? He was there, too," I said coolly. A loud 'oooh' rose from the students in the Common Room. I turned on my heel and started to head for my dorm.

"Snape's the only one that'd have her with that ugly scar on her face," Flint said as I was leaving.

"He doesn't want anything to do with a Mudblood like her," Draco scoffed, "Way I hear it, he got landed with her by default. She didn't have any family left."

I whipped out my wand and turned to face them again.

"You looking to duel, Malfoy?" I challenged. Jenny walked forward briskly and snatched my wand away. She steered me back towards the dormitory.

"It's the day before the ball, Abby, don't go picking fights. Just come to the dormitory…" she said.

"That's right, Prewett," said Draco, "Better listen to your girlfriend."

I tried to launch myself at Draco, but Jenny held me back. She scoffed at Draco and led me into the dormitory.

"They started it," I growled, flopping down on my bed.

"I know. Just ignore him," she said reassuringly, "…will you let me do your hair and makeup tomorrow for the ball?"

"If you want to," I muttered, "I've never been good with girly stuff like that."

I lay awake for a long time that night. Christmas was my least favorite holiday and now I had to go to a dance? It was a miracle I fell asleep without taking my potion. I had wanted to stay awake and ponder things, but ended up falling asleep. Then I began to dream…

I was standing in the middle of the snow-covered grounds of Hogwarts. I was shivering in my Hogwarts robes. All of a sudden, something cold and wet hit me in the side of my head. A snowball. I heard light laughter coming from behind a large tree not far from where I stood. Lily poked her head out from behind the tree. She saw me looking and ducked back behind her tree, laughing.

"What're you doing, Lily?" I asked, walking over to the tree, "It's cold out here. You should be inside, where it's warm."

"What are you doing out here, Severus?" she replied lightly.

"…nothing. I'm just walking around, thinking…"

Neither of us said anything for a few minutes. She moved closer to me and I put my arm around her tentatively. She looked up at me and smiled, her green eyes sparkling. My eyes flicked upwards as I noticed a clump of mistletoe hanging on a low branch of the tree.

"Mistletoe…" Lily murmured, glancing up, then looking back at me. She pressed herself against me and kissed me passionately. It wasn't out first kiss, but my breath still caught in my throat whenever she did that.

Loud clapping from above made us break apart. I squinted up into the tree and familiar blue eyes looked down at me.

"Julia! What are you doing up there?" I demanded.

"Just prompting fate," she said with a shrug. She waved her wand and the mistletoe disappeared. Julia dropped down a few branches, then hung upside down to talk to us. She smiled.

"I was reading," she said, holding up a book, "You two lovebirds interrupted me. What are you guys doing out here anyway? It's too cold for people to be out."

"Well what about you?" Lily asked her, smiling.

"Me? Don't worry about me Lils. The cold doesn't bother me," Julia replied brightly. Julia flipped down out of the tree, landing on her feet miraculously. Lily laughed and clapped her hands at Julia's amazing feat. Julia bowed and winked at me.

"I think I'll head inside and leave you two out here alone," she said to us. We both watched as Julia skipped over the snow back towards the castle.

"She always turns up in the oddest of places," Lily remarked, "She's very… interesting."

"…yeah. She's a good friend."

I awoke with a start to find Jenny at the foot of her bed, opening presents. Everyone else in the dormitory was already gone.

"Where is everyone?" I asked sleepily.

"Already gone. It's almost lunchtime."

A little reluctantly, I got up and started opening presents.

From Jenny and Brandy I'd gotten my usual candy. Mary had sent me a long letter and a book called Useful Household Spells. Lupin had sent me a present and a letter. I read the letter first.

Abby,

Merry Christmas! I know it's not really your thing, but maybe this year will be better, especially with the Yule Ball coming up. Did you ever get a date?

I didn't have much money to buy you a gift, but I found this for you. It's a plant called huisache. It's only found in Mexico and Southern America. If you've never heard of it, ask Snape about it. It's my understanding, however, that it can be used to take the bitter taste out of most potions. Probably wouldn't work on the Wolfsbane Potion, though, would it? I wish I had someone to make it for me.

Anyway, I hope you have a good holiday. Let me know how the Yule Ball goes.

Your friend,

Moony

I opened Lupin's gift to find a small plant with yellow leaves and many thorns. It was in a plain little pot. I lifted the plant out of the box carefully and put it on my bedside table. I would ask Professor Sprout about how to care for it later.

To my surprise, there was no unmarked gift from Snape. I frowned, my feelings slightly hurt, but decided to forget it. I was in a foul mood for the rest of the day, however. I was cheered slightly when Draco tripped down a flight of stairs in front of Pansy Parkinson, who had agreed to go with him after I turned him down. At six o'clock Jenny and Brandy and I headed into the dormitory to get ready for the ball.

I was at the mercy of their beautifying for the next two hours. I sat absolutely still as Brandy did my makeup. Jenny brushed my hair until it was wavy. Finally I put on my black dress and slipped on my shoes.

Brandy had blood-red, satin dress robes, a ruby necklace, and high-heeled shoes. Jenny wore robes of shimmering silver, a silver and sapphire necklace, and high-heeled shoes. When we walked into the Common Room there was a brief moment of silence. I noticed a lot of eyes were on me.

"You're easily the prettiest," Jenny murmured to me, "But they won't have anything to do with you in that Muggle dress."

"I like it better this way," I muttered back, "Even Draco is speechless."

I was the last one to leave the Common Room. I paced nervously for a long time and even considered skipping the ball, but when I finally stepped out of the Common Room I found Snape waiting for me. He stared at me for a minute without saying anything.

"…Wow," he said finally, "You look…beautiful."

I blushed and looked away. We were alone in the corridor, but I could hear the noise of a crowd coming from the Entrance Hall.

"Oh yes…I have a gift for you," Snape said suddenly. He pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a silver necklace with black stones. It was beautiful and it matched my dress perfectly.

"How did you know it would match my dress?" I inquired.

"I had a feeling your dress would be black," he replied, smiling, "May I?"

I nodded my head. Goosebumps broke out over my skin as Snape moved my hair out of the way to fasten my necklace.

"Shall we go?" I asked, feeling flustered. Snape inclined his head and took my arm. We walked into the Entrance Hall together.

There was a crowd of students waiting for the doors of the Great Hall to open. I could see Harry Potter, wearing robes of dark green, standing next to a Gryffindor girl who wore pink robes. I spotted Draco, who was now sneering at me, wearing robes of black velvet with a high collar. He looked like an idiot to me. He was standing next to Pansy Parkinson, who was wearing robes of frilly pink and clutching his arm. Marcus Flint, who was wearing robes of deep blue, looked at me and whispered something to Draco. They both laughed. I tightened my grip on Snape's arm, wishing I had my wand.

"Shall I give them detention?" Snape whispered in my ear. I shook my head and half-smiled.

"They aren't so important," I said to him. I stood on my tiptoes to look outside after the Durmstrang boys came in.

The lawn directly in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights- hundreds of living fairies were sitting in conjured rosebushes and fluttering over statues of Father Christmas and his reindeer.

Professor McGonagall, in robes of red tartan, opened the doors of the Great Hall. Snape and I walked into the hall along with the rest of the students. The walls had been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy, crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished- about one hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones had taken their places, each seating about a dozen people.

Snape led me over to a table where Jenny and Brandy sat. He pulled out a chair for me and I sat down.

"I have to go sit with the teachers," he said to me, "I'll see you later."

I inclined my head and he walked away.

There were glittering golden plates sitting before each of us. There were also small menus. Everyone looked around curiously. Dumbledore looked carefully down at his menu, then said very clearly to his plate, "Pork chops."

Pork chops appeared on his plate. Everyone seemed to get the idea and started placing their orders.

I got a salad but I wasn't very hungry. After everyone finished eating, the dancing started. I was content just to sit and watch for a while. Cedric Diggory was dancing with a pretty girl from Ravenclaw. Fleur Delacour was dancing with an older boy from Ravenclaw. Harry Potter was dancing with a girl from Gryffindor. I was surprised to see Hermione Granger dancing with Viktor Krum.

I danced with a number of boys- some from Hogwarts and some from Durmstrang. They tended to let their hands wander, however, and I slipped out of the Great Hall after a while. I passed Potter and Weasley heading into the castle. As I walked along the path alone, I heard the sound of bushes being blasted away. A girl and boy holding hands, ran out of a nearby bush, laughing.

"Ten points from Hufflepuff, Abbott," said a cold, familiar voice, "And ten from Ravenclaw, Tedder."

I hurried along the path and found myself walking behind Snape and Karkaroff. Snape's emotions were immediately clear to me- anxiousness, annoyance, and a desire to get away from Karkaroff. Karkaroff was feeling panicked and nervous.

"Professor Snape," I said loudly, making my presence known. Both turned to look at me. I didn't like the way Karkaroff was looking at me in my dress and I tried to ignore him as I walked up to them.

"Abigail," Snape said, his gratitude evident to me. He slipped an arm around my waist as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Karkaroff didn't look surprised.

"I vill speak with you later, Severus," Karkaroff said, his eyes still on me. Then he turned on his heel and walked away.

"What's got Karkaroff's panties in a bunch?" I inquired once he was out of earshot. Snape withdrew his arm and closed off his emotions, both of which annoyed me.

"I shouldn't tell you," he said without looking at me, "I'm not supposed to…"

"Oh, well, I'll just let you get back to your little date with Karkaroff, shall I?" I said coolly. I started to march away, but Snape grabbed my arm and turned me around gently.

"I said shouldn't, Abigail…not wouldn't…" he said softly, "Walk with me."

We walked for a little while and he said nothing. Finally we came to a fountain with eight reindeer in a circle, water coming from each of their mouths and pouring into a little pool in the center. We were surrounded by rosebushes. Light came from the fairies and the full moon.

"This is what Karkaroff is concerned about," Snape said, rolling back his left sleeve. The Dark Mark was branded into his forearm, like it had been on Mother's forearm. His appeared clearer, however.

"It's been growing clearer all year," he said as I examined the mark closely.

"What does it mean?" I murmured quietly.

"It means…well, it could mean…that the Dark Lord is growing stronger."

I was quiet for a moment and Snape didn't look at me.

"What happens if he returns? …do you go back to him?" I asked finally.

"I'll do whatever Dumbledore thinks is best," he replied heavily.

We didn't speak for a while. I stared up at the sky. Looking up at the full moon, I wondered where Lupin was. I wondered if he was somewhere safe tonight, where he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else.

I noticed Snape was staring at me, a vacant expression on his face. I snapped my fingers in front of his face and he blinked twice, confused.

"Sorry, Abigail," he murmured, "I was…lost in thought."

"Obviously," I replied with a small smile.

Snow began to fall. Small, cold flakes clung to my dress or skin, then melted.

"May I ask you a question, Abigail?" Snape asked suddenly, surprising me.

"Isn't that usually my line?" I asked with a grin. He half-smiled and inclined his head, still waiting for an answer.

"I suppose so," I said, perplexed. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then held one of my hands.

"Why do you always wear gloves?" he inquired. My grin faded and I stared down at my gloved hands, one of which he still held.

"…would you like to see?" I murmured quietly. Gently as possible, he pulled off one of my black lace gloves. He studied the bizarre scars in my flesh. Then he turned his attention to my face. He touched the scar over my left eye. I made myself not blink or flinch away.

"I always wondered…" he murmured softly.

"…would you like to see?" I asked finally. Snape looked surprised and I met him in my mind on our alternate plane.

I could share it with you, if you want me to…but it's not very pleasant, I thought, sharing my thoughts with him.

"Only if you're sure you want to," he replied gently.

I relived the night of my mother's murder just once for him. When I broke the link between our minds I turned my face away from him. He put his arms around me suddenly, surprising me. I didn't put up with this for very long, however- I slipped out of his grasp and morphed into tiger form. I ran and played in the snow to help clear my mind. Snape watched me the whole time. After a while, I walked back over to him.

"I never realized how…how odd it is to have a memory that's not your own," he said quietly.

"…can I ask you a favor?" I asked quietly and he nodded, "I've always wondered it the scar over my eye is here in this form, but my fur gets in the way and since I don't have thumbs, I was wondering if…"

Without saying anything, Snape motioned me over. I lay my head in his lap and he used his hands to move aside the fur over my blue eye. I could see the scar over my eye in his mind. I was glad it wasn't as noticeable. It felt oddly pleasant to have a human touch me in this form. A low rumble rose in my throat, but it wasn't a growl.

"Abigail, are you purring?" he asked, his voice heavy with amusement. I swiped him playfully, my claws sheathed. I was still purring, however- it was one of those impulsive things, like my tail twitching when I was irritated or feeling playful. It was twitching now.

Still purring, I leapt into the nearest snow drift. Snow went flying in every direction. Snape laughed, but didn't give chase like I had hoped he would.

"I like you better in human form," Snape said, watching as I tried to roll up a snowball with my forepaws.

"You just like looking at me in my dress, don't you?" I asked, smirking. To my surprise, his face flushed slightly.

"Not at all," he said quickly, "I find you far more endearing as a human. Not so…predatory."

"You're scared of me, aren't you?" I asked, still smirking. He shook his head. I laughed loudly and pranced around on top of the snow.

"Let me tell you something Severus Snape- no matter what form I'm in, I'll always be a tigress-"

I morphed back into human form at these words and immediately sank into the snow. Snape's laughter rang out over the snow-covered grounds, but I wasn't laughing- I was freezing!

"Cold!" I exclaimed, scrambling out of the snow. Snape helped me up, no longer laughing. I sat down beside him, wiping melted snow off my arms. My dress was soaked.

"Sorry about your dress," Snape said as he brushed snow out of my hair gently.

"I'm not all that fussed about it, really," I murmured, "It's not like I'll ever have to wear it again."

Snape finished brushing snow out of my hair and he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Goosebumps broke out over my skin again- and it had nothing at all to do with being cold.

"We could go back up to the castle if you're cold," he suggested, "I have to talk to Dumbledore anyway."

I was silent for a moment, looking up at the stars again.

"Is it important?" I asked quietly.

"What?" he asked distantly.

"Whatever you have to talk to Dumbledore about."

"Oh…no, it's nothing that can't wait," he replied, "But aren't you cold?"

"Do you have your wand?"

"Of course."

"Give it here."

He handed it over without question. I conjured up a water-proof fire that could sit on top of the snow without melting it. I gave off a fair amount of heat. I handed Snape his wand back.

We sat by the fire for a long time in silence. After a moment of sitting there, Snape put his arm around me, half wrapping his cloak around me so I would get warm. I searched my brain for something to talk about.

"Lupin sent me a plant for Christmas…he said it's called huisache," I murmured randomly.

"Really?" Snape said, sounding interested, "It is a useful herb. It can take the bitterness out of most potions."

"I know. Will it thrive in my garden?" I inquired.

"Perhaps…yes, I think it should. You should talk to Professor Sprout about how to care for it."

I could hear music floating across the grounds from the castle. I listened to it for a moment- it was a slow song, but it was pretty. Snape stood suddenly and offered me his hand. I hesitated a moment, then accepted it. He held one of my hands and placed his other hand on my waist. He spun me around in a circle, moving his feet in time with them music. I stumbled at first, but I found that, by linking our minds, I could keep up with him. My heart was pounding, however, and my breath caught in my throat as we danced around the fire.

When the song ended, Snape held me close. We listened to see if another song was going to play, but it seemed the band was finished. Snape released me slowly and I let my hands fall limply to my sides.

"If that was the last song, we should probably go back up to the castle," Snape said quietly.

"Yeah, alright," I said, face flushed from dancing.

I was shivering still as we walked up the path towards the castle. Snape removed his cloak wordlessly and draped it across my shoulders.

"Do I have to go back to the Common Room? Can I sit in your office for a while?" I asked timidly.

"Of course."

When we got to his office, I found one of my books that I'd left on his desk. Snape started a fire in the fireplace and I sat down in my chair to read, wrapping his cloak around myself for warmth.

A half an hour later, there was a quiet knock on the door. I glanced up at Snape, who was writing something.

"I don't have my wand to cast my Disillusionment Charm," I murmured quietly. He looked up at me and shrugged indifferently.

"Enter," Snape said loudly.

The door opened and who should walk in but Albus Dumbledore? His gaze swept the room and landed on me. He smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Abby. Have you had a good holiday?" Dumbledore asked me. I glanced at Snape again and half-smiled.

"One of the best so far," I said to Dumbledore. He continued to smile and turned to Snape.

"I believe you wished to speak with me, Severus?" he asked him.

"Oh right…I had forgotten. …Abigail, forgive me, but could you-?" Snape began.

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow, Severus," I said quickly. I got to my feet, shut my book, and headed back to my dormitory. I had just entered the Common Room when I realized I still had Snape's cloak draped around my shoulders.

Oh well, I decided as I changed into my silk pajamas, I'll give it back to him tomorrow.

When I crawled into bed, I took his cloak with me and covered up with it. Somehow, I found it warmer and more soothing than my blanket. I reached for the bottle of potion on my bedside table and took a quick sip. My vision swam as I sat the bottle back on the table and fell into a deep sleep.

I awoke late in the afternoon the day after Christmas. I was groggy and at first thought I was at home in my bed. Then I realized I was in my dormitory, entangled in Snape's cloak. I had the feeling I had dreamed a good dream, but I couldn't remember it. I felt certain it had been an actual dream, not like the memory-dreams. It didn't seem fair that I couldn't remember it.

I got out of bed and got dressed in blue jeans and a black sweater. I brushed the tangles from my black hair, then folded Snape's cloak and put it in my bag to take it back to him. As I passed through the Common Room, I saw Jenny sitting on the couch, doing her homework.

"Well someone got in late last night," she remarked, smiling at me.

"I was just…uh…talking to Snape," I stammered.

"Sure you were," she said, still grinning.

I left the Common Room and made my way down to Snape's office. He was half-asleep, working on grading papers. I pulled his cloak out of my bag and laid it on his desk.

"Would you like some help with those papers?" I offered quietly. He looked up at me, half-smiled, and nodded.

The rest of the Holidays passed without incident. On our first day back in classes it became impossible to avoid Draco, who had taken to jeering at me whenever there were people around to witness it. I tried my best to ignore him. When we walked down to Care of Magical Creatures after lunch we found that we had a substitute teacher instead of Hagrid, a woman named Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"Hurry up, now, the bell rang five minutes ago," she snapped at the Gryffindors as they trudged towards her though the snow.

"Who're you?" asked Weasley, "Where's Hagrid?"

"My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank," she said in a brisk voice, "I am your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"Where's Hagrid?" Potter asked loudly.

"He is indisposed," said Professor Grubbly-Plank shortly.

Draco laughed unpleasantly like he knew something we didn't.

"This way, please," said Professor Grubbly-Plank. She led the class past the Beauxbatons carriages and towards the edge of the forest where a unicorn was tied to a tree. It was a bright white color and it made the snow seemed dull. A lot of people made admiring noises.

"Boys keep back!" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank, "They prefer the woman's touch, unicorns. Girls to the front, and approach with care, com on, easy does it…"

The unicorn pawed the ground and tossed it's horned head when I approached and it wouldn't let me touch it. Professor Grubbly-Plank suggested I go back and stand with the boys, which I did. Draco was talking to the Gryffindor boys and showing them something in the newspaper.

"Well, I think that should put an end to the oaf's teaching career," said Draco his eyes glinting evilly, "Half-giant…and there was me thinking he'd just swallowed a bottle of Skele-Gro when he was young…None of the mummies and daddies are going to like this at all…They'll be worried he'll eat their kids, ha, ha…"

"You-" Potter began.

"Are you paying attention over there?" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank. She was talking about the various magical properties of unicorns. I tuned her out and thought about what I'd just heard. They'd obviously been talking about Hagrid and Draco had said he was a half-giant. I didn't know that.

A few nights later when I found myself unable to sleep I did something I hadn't done in a long time- I snuck out onto the grounds, broke into the broom shed, and went for a fly. The moon was full and, even though it was freezing, I enjoyed flying over the lake, letting my invisible feet barely skim the water. I also liked flying as high as I could, zooming towards the ground, and then pulling up before I hit the ground.

"You really should try out for a position on the Quidditch Team," Said a quiet voice. Startled, I looked around and spotted Snape beneath a large tree. I landed silently beside him.

"Why are you standing over here in the dark?" I asked him.

"The Durmstrang ship is right over there," he said, nodding to the boat floating in the lake a few yards from where I had been flying.

"Oh."

"You should probably go inside. It'd look odd if one of them were to look out and see a broomstick flying around all on its own," he said silkily.

"I suppose you're right," I replied with a sigh, "Oh well. It was fun while it lasted."

I stored the broomstick and followed Snape back up to the castle. We were heading towards his classroom when we heard an unearthly wailing noise.

"What the bloody hell is that?" I asked, clamping my hands over my ears.

"Let's go see…"

We turned to head back up the stairs when Snape paused.

"My office door is open!" he hissed, sounding surprised, "Only a powerful wizard could have broken in to it… you didn't-?"

"No," I said shortly, "Why would I go in your office unless you were in it?"

"Of course…come along, then, let's go see what that noise was."

We left the dungeons and walked up the stairs where we saw Filch and his cat standing, holding something.

"Filch? What's going on?" Snape asked the caretaker as we made our way up the stairs.

"It's Peeves, Professor," Filch said malevolently, "He threw this egg down the stairs."

"Peeves?" said Snape quietly, staring at the egg, "But Peeves couldn't get into my office…"

"This egg was in your office, Professor?"

"Of course not!" he snapped, "I heard banging and wailing-"

"Yes, Professor, that was the egg-"

"-I was coming to investigate-"

"-Peeves threw it, Professor-"

"-and when I passed my office, I saw that the torches were lit and a cupboard door was ajar! Somebody has been searching it!"

"But Peeves couldn't-"

"I know he couldn't, Filch!" Snape snapped, "I seal my office with a spell none but a wizard could break! I want you to come and help me search for the intruder, Filch."

"I- yes, Professor- but-"

There was a long silence. Filch seemed reluctant to go with Snape. He looked yearningly up the stairs, no doubt wanting to go tell off Peeves.

"The thing is, Professor," Filch said finally, "the Headmaster will have to listen to me this time. Peeves has been stealing from a student, it might be my chance to get him thrown out of the castle once and for all-"

"Filch, I don't give a damn about that wretched poltergeist; it's my office that's-"

Snape stopped talking very abruptly . We all turned to see Mad-Eye Moody clunking up the stairs.

"Pajama party, is it?" he growled as he approached. I stifled a laugh. Moody's eye lingered on me for only a moment before turning to Snape and Filch.

"Professor Snape and I heard noises, Professor," said Filch immediately, "Peeves the Poltergeist, throwing things around as usual- and then Professor Snape discovered that someone had broken into his off-"

"Shut up!" Snape hissed at Filch.

"Did I hear that correctly, Snape?" Moody asked slowly, "Someone broke into your office?"

"It is unimportant," said Snape coldly.

"On the contrary," growled Moody, "it is very important. Who'd want to break into your office?"

"A student, I daresay. It has happened before. Potion ingredients have gone missing from my private store cupboard…students attempting illicit mixtures, no doubt…"

"Reckon they were after potion ingredients, eh? Not hiding anything else in your office, are you?" Moody asked. Snape's face turned a nasty brick color and he clenched his teeth.

"You know I'm hiding nothing, Moody," he said in a dangerous voice, "as you've searched my office pretty thoroughly yourself."

Moody's gnarled face twisted into a smile.

"Auror's privilege, Snape, Dumbledore told me to keep an eye-"

"Dumbledore happens to trust me," Snape said angrily, "I refuse to believe that he gave you orders to search my office!"

" 'course Dumbledore trusts you," Moody growled, "He's a trusting man, isn't he? Believes in second chances. But me- I say there are spots that don't come off, Snape. Spots that never come off, d'you know what I mean?"

Snape grabbed his forearm suddenly as if the mark had hurt him. I opened my mouth furiously to say something to Moody, but quickly remembered I was invisible. That didn't stop me from shooting him a deadly look that he could see with his magical eye.

"Get back to bed, Snape," Moody said, laughing.

"You don't have the authority to send me anywhere!" Snape hissed, letting go of his arm as if he were angry with himself, "I have as much right to prowl around this school after dark as you do!"

"Prowl away," said Moody menacingly, "I look forward to meeting you in a dark corridor some time… You've dropped something, by the way…"

Moody pointed to a piece of parchment on the staircase. Snape reached for it, but at the last moment Moody shouted "Accio Parchment!" and the parchment flew into his hands.

"My mistake," Moody said calmly, "It's mine- must've dropped it earlier-"

Snape's eyes darted from the egg in Filch's hands to the parchment Moody had. He quickly put two and two together.

"Potter," he said quietly.

"What's that?" Moody asked, pocketing the parchment.

"Potter!" Snape snarled, "That egg is Potter's egg. That piece of parchment belongs to Potter. I have seen it before, I recognize it! Potter is here! Potter, in his Invisibility Cloak!"

Snape stretched out his arms and began to walk up the staircase like a blind man.

"There's nothing there, Snape," barked Moody, "but I'll be happy to tell the headmaster how quickly your mind jumped to Harry Potter!"

"Meaning what?" said Snape, turning to face Moody once more.

"Meaning that Dumbledore's very interested to know who's got it in for that boy!" said Moody, "and so am I, Snape…very interested…"

There was a pause in which Snape stared at Moody with pure loathing. Then, slowly, he lowered his hands.

"I merely thought," he said, forcing his voice to be calm, "that if Potter was wandering around after hours again…it's an unfortunate habit of his…he should be stopped. For- for his own safety."

"Ah, I see," said Moody softly, "Got Potter's best interests at heart, have you?"

There was another pause which was interrupted by Mrs. Norris who meowed loudly.

"I think I will go back to bed," said Snape curtly.

"Best idea you've had all night," said Moody.

Snape stalked away and I followed him, shooting Moody an annoyed look over my shoulder as I did so.

"What's Moody's problem? …and when did he search your office? And why?" I inquired as I followed Snape back to his office.

"At the beginning of the year. Because he's an Auror and he doesn't trust me," Snape replied, "…but that doesn't matter because Dumbledore does."

When we got back to his office we searched his stores to see what all was missing.

"Boomslang skin," Snape muttered as we looked, "and Gillyweed. That's all that seems to be missing."

"Someone must be brewing Polyjuice Potion," I piped up. It was the only potion I could think of that required Boomslang skin.

"What about the Gillyweed though?" Snape wondered aloud.

"Do you think it was Potter?" I inquired.

"Most likely. …you really should be in bed, Abigail. You have classes tomorrow."

I scowled at him, but inclined my head. He had a point, after all.

"Goodnight then," I said with a sigh.

"Goodnight, Abigail."

The second Triwizard Tournament Task came a few days later. Everyone went down to the edge of the lake where the stands had been set up once more. I took a seat beside Jenny, as far away from Draco as possible.

"Where do you think Potter is?" Jen hissed as the task was about to start.

"Dunno. Maybe he's too scared to show up," I said with a smirk. But at that moment everyone saw Potter run around the lake to where the other champions were waiting.

A few minutes later Ludo Bagman addressed the crowd.

"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One…two…three!"

The whistle echoed loudly in the cold, still air. The stands erupted with cheers. Potter took off his shoes and socks and waded out into the water.

"What is he going to swim?" Jen asked.

"No, he put something in his mouth just before he went into the water," I murmured in reply. All of a sudden gills appeared on the sides of his neck and Potter threw himself into the lake. Both Diggory and Fleur had used the Bubble-head charm.

"Look at Krum," Jen said excitedly. He had transfigured himself into a shark, or at least half a shark. He still had a human body. I wasn't concerned about Krum, however- I had seen Potter put Gillyweed in his mouth. So it had been he who broke into Snape's office.

Once they were all in the lake all the crowd could do was wait. Mostly people just talked, but I became bored quickly. It was nearly an hour later that they pulled Fleur Delacour out of the lake covered in scratches. She had been attacked by grindylows and forced to withdraw, Bagman announced. The next one to come out of the lake was Cedric Diggory with an unconscious girl. I recognized her as the girl he'd taken to the dance, Cho Chang. A few minutes later Krum came out with Hermione Granger. Potter came up last with Ron Weasley and a little blonde-haired girl who was obviously Fleur's sister.

A few minutes later the judges were ready to announce the scores.

"Ladies and Gentlemen we have reached our decision," said Bagman in his magically magnified voice, "Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows…

"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."

There was a quiet applause from the stands.

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour. We therefore award him 47 points."

More applause, even louder than it had been for Fleur.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him 40 points.

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect. He returned last and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However…Mr. Potter's score is 45 points."

The crowd burst into a long round of applause that took quite a while to die off. When it did Bagman continued,

"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the 24th of June. The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."

The students started to make their way back to the castle. I waited patiently for Snape who had been sitting with the other teachers. He had an eerie expression on his face like the cat who caught the canary.

"I guess we know who broke into your office now," I said when he caught up with me.

"Indeed."

"So, are you going to report him?" I asked Snape.

"No."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Torture him…not physically, of course."

"You're going to mess with his head."

"Yes."

"How?"

"You'll see soon enough."

We had double Potions with the Gryffindors on Friday like we always did. My fellow Slytherins seemed to know something I didn't and they were all gathered around outside the classroom door, looking at something Pansy Parkinson had in her hand. I didn't much care what it was, but when Potter, Weasley, and Granger showed up Pansy tossed a magazine towards them.

"You might find something to interest you in there, Granger," Pansy said loudly. Hermione caught it, looking startled. At that moment the door opened and Snape beckoned us all inside. I sat down at my usual desk and as soon as Snape's back was turned to write the ingredients on the board I noticed the three Gryffindors reading the magazine underneath their desk. When they finished reading whatever it was they started a whispered conversation, but I was too busy pulling Potion ingredients out of my bag to listen. We were supposed to be brewing a Wit-Sharpening Potion. I began to pound up scarab beetles with a pestle but I soon became aware that I was the only one actually working. Snape was standing behind Potter, Weasley, and Granger who were still talking in hushed voices, unaware that he was behind them. Everyone else in the room was also looking at them.

"And what did you say?" Weasley asked Granger.

"Well, I was too busy seeing whether you and Harry were okay to-"

"Fascinating though your social life undoubtedly is, Miss Granger," said Snape, making them jump, "I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor."

They were also reading a magazine. It's under the table, I informed him silently.

"Ah…reading magazines under the table as well?" Snape added, snatching up the copy of Witch Weekly magazine, "A further ten points from Gryffindor…oh but of course…Potter has to keep up with his press cuttings…"

I stifled my laughter as an unpleasant smile curled Snape's mouth. My fellow Slytherins were also laughing heartily.

"Should I read it out loud, do you think?" Snape asked me in my mind.

Yes, I said eagerly, though he probably would have done it anyway. He began to read aloud to the delight of me and my classmates.

" 'Harry Potter's Secret Heartache'… dear, dear, Potter, what's ailing you now? 'A boy like no other, perhaps- yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss. Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections. Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has never felt this way about any other girl. However, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate boys' interests. "She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, "but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it." Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate.' How very touching," Snape sneered. Potter and Granger were both blushing furiously. I was shaking with silent laughter.

"Well, I think I had better separate the three of you, so you can keep your minds on your potions rather than your tangled love lives. Weasley, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Potter- that table in front of my desk. Move. Now," Snape said to them.

Potter drug his cauldron and his things up to the desk beside mine. Snape followed and sat down at his desk, watching Potter mash his scarab beetles. I had already dumped my scarab beetles into my cauldron and was now slicing ginger roots.

"All this press attention seems to have inflated your already over-large head, Potter," Snape said quietly once the class had settled down. Probably only Potter and myself could hear him, though Potter seemed determined not to respond.

"You might be laboring under the delusion that the entire wizarding world is impressed with you," Snape went on, "but I don't care how many times your picture appears in the papers. To me, Potter, you are nothing but a nasty little boy who considers rules to be beneath him."

Again Potter didn't respond. My ginger roots were sliced and I now dumped them into my cauldron. I had been trying to concentrate on my potion while listening to them, but as Snape continued I unknowingly stopped working on the potion to listen.

"So I give you fair warning, Potter," Snape said in a dangerous voice, "pint-sized celebrity or not- if I catch you breaking into my office one more time-"

"I haven't been anywhere near your office!" said Potter angrily. I could tell he wasn't lying, but I didn't bother to tell Snape that. Snape looked furious and I was too interested in what was happening to interrupt.

"Don't lie to me," Snape hissed, "Boomslang skin. Gillyweed. Both come from my private stores, and I know who stole them."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Potter said coldly. That was an outright lie, I thought, unsure if Snape was listening or not.

"You were out of bed on the night my office was broken into!" Snape hissed, "I know it, Potter! Now, Mad-Eye Moody might have joined your fan club, but I will not tolerate your behavior! One more nighttime stroll into my office, Potter, and you will pay!"

"Right," said Potter coolly, "I'll bear that in mind if I ever get the urge to go in there."

I suppressed a snort of laughter. Snape's eyes flashed dangerously and he plunged a hand into his black robes. For a moment Potter looked as if he thought Snape was going to curse him. Snape had drawn out a small crystal vial full of a clear potion.

"Do you know what this is, Potter?" Snape asked, his eyes glittering dangerously.

"No," said Potter honestly. Veritaserum, I answered in my head.

"It is Veritaserum- a Truth Potion so powerful that three drops would have you spilling you innermost secrets for this entire class to hear," said Snape viciously, "Now, the use of this potion is controlled by very strict Ministry guidelines. But unless you watch your step, you might just find that my hand slips right over your evening pumpkin juice. And then Potter…then we'll find out whether you've been in my office or not."

Potter didn't say anything else but I found myself watching Snape with admiration. I always wanted to brew Veritaserum, just because it was supposed to be extremely complex…and it was cool to say. Veritaserum. Almost like something said in Parseltongue.

Snape tore his eyes away from Potter for a moment and met my eyes. His eyes were black and fathomless, like the lake.

"Stop staring at me," he said in my head with a smirk. Outside my head he said-

"Abigail, your potion's burning."

I looked down with a start to see that my potion had burned while I was listening to Potter and Snape talking. I blushed furiously as I grabbed my wand, pointed it at the flames, and said "Aguamenti!"

A jet of flames shot out of my wand and I, feeling quite miserable, had to start my Wit-Sharpening Potion all over again.

An unexpected knock on the door captured my attention, but I also concentrated on my potion.

"Enter," said Snape in his usual voice. The door opened and I glanced up as Karkaroff walked past me and up to Snape's desk.

"We need to talk," Karkaroff said in a low voice.

"I'll talk to you after my lesson, Karkaroff," Snape muttered.

"I want to talk now, while you can't slip off, Severus. You've been avoiding me."

"After the lesson," Snape snapped angrily.

Jeez, what does he want? I inquired as Karkaroff continued to hover around Snape's desk.

"How should I know?" he retorted snippily.

No need to get snippy with me, I thought coolly.

"Sorry. Probably the same thing he always wants. To talk about the stupid mark."

Is it burning?

"No, but it's clearer than ever before. Back to how it used to be."

I felt my face go paler than usual and I broke the link between our minds as I started to cut ginger roots again.

At the end of the lesson I left with everyone else, but I slipped back in seconds later wearing my Disillusionment Charm.

"What is so urgent?" Snape hissed at Karkaroff.

"This," said Karkaroff, jerking down his sleeve and showing his Dark Mark to Snape. I heard something and looked over to see Potter pretending to wipe up something off the floor.

Severus, Potter is eavesdropping, I warned him.

"Well?" said Karkaroff, "Do you see? It's never been this clear, never since-"

"Put it away!" Snape snarled, his eyes sweeping the classroom.

"But you must have noticed-" Karkaroff began agitatedly.

"We can talk later, Karkaroff!" he spat angrily, "Potter! What are you doing?"

"Clearing up my armadillo bile, Professor," said Potter innocently, holding up a sodden rag. Karkaroff turned on his heel and strode out of the dungeon, looking worried and angry. Potter left at top speed after that. I walked over to Snape's desk.

"I've always wanted to brew Veritaserum," I said, avoiding the subject of Karkaroff for the moment.

"Why's that?" He asked distractedly.

"Because it's supposed to be really hard to make. Also, it just sounds awesome to say. Veritaserum," I said, grinning. To my surprise he smiled slightly as well.

"Well, the next time I need to brew some I will let you help," he said to me.

The third Triwizard Tournament task took place late in June. I made my way to the stands around what was once the Quidditch field. It was now a maze. I was surprised when Snape came to sit beside me.

"Don't you usually sit with the teachers?" I asked him.

"It's not a requirement. I can see better from here. Also, most of the teachers are patrolling the outside of the maze in case one of the champions needs to be rescued," he replied, absently rubbing his forearm. The stands quickly filled around us and finally the third task was ready to begin. It was getting dark and a few stars dotted the sky.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!" announced Bagman in his magically magnified voice, "Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place with 85 points each- Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts school. In second place with 80 points- Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute! And in third place- Miss Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons Academy!"

There was a loud applause and cheering for all four of the champions.

"So…on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" Bagman continued, "Three- two -one!"

He gave the whistle a short blast and Potter and Cedric hurried forwards into the maze. A few minutes later Krum went in and after him went Fleur.

No one could see what was going on in the maze, all we could do was wait to see who reached the Triwizard Cup first. Sometime during the wait red sparks were sent up halfway through the maze and someone went to retrieve Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour. Now only Potter and Diggory were left in the maze.

A little while later, Snape clutched his forearm. His emotions were flooded with pain. He stood up and jerked his head for me to follow him out of the stands. No one paid any attention to us as we slipped out of the stands.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked, alarmed. Snape rolled up his sleeve and rubbed the Dark Mark furiously as if to erase it.

"It's burning!" he hissed through clenched teeth. I moved his hand aside to see it was clearer than it had ever been and completely black. Without thinking, I covered the mark with my fingers. Snape opened his mouth to say something, then closed it in surprise.

"It stopped," he said, amazed. I heard running footsteps and looked up to see Karkaroff, running away from the stands, clutching his own forearm. Snape was still looking curiously down at my pale fingers covering his forearm.

"Usually it would burn like fire if someone else touched it…" he murmured.

"Karkaroff is fleeing…does that mean-…?"

"I think so," he said quietly, his face pale. He removed my hand and winced slightly, clenching his fist.

"We have to go find Dumbledore," Snape said as he pulled out his wand. He tapped me on the head and I could feel the coldness of a Disillusionment Charm trickling down my back.

It took us a long time to find Dumbledore and to get through the crowd, especially since I was invisible. Before we'd even gotten to Dumbledore the cheers had turned into shocked, confused screams. Potter had shown up, clutching the Triwizard Cup along Cedric Diggory's dead body. It became increasingly more difficult to reach Dumbledore as half the people were running from the stands onto the field or back towards the castle. As we reached Dumbledore, who was talking with Cedric Diggory's parents, I saw Professor Moody carrying away a dark shape that looked like Potter.

I stared down at Diggory's lifeless body on the ground, feeling slightly nauseated. It was a few minutes before everything quieted down a bit. Diggory's parents went off with Professor Sprout, who was the head of his House. All the students were told to go to bed. Then Dumbledore turned and looked at the spot where the Triwizard Cup still lay, abandoned.

"Where's Harry?" He said sharply. No one seemed to know except me, but since I was invisible I couldn't say anything.

Moody took him towards the castle! I forced the words at Snape.

"Professor Moody took him to the castle, Dumbledore," Snape repeated quickly. Something darkened in Dumbledore's eyes and he took off towards the castle at an alarming pace.

"Alastor Moody would never take Harry after I told him to stay," Dumbledore said to Snape and McGonagall, who were following him. Something seemed to dawn on them as well and their pace quickened.

What's going on? I asked Snape as I ran to catch up.

"Dumbledore doesn't think that it is the real Moody."

What?

But there was no reply.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand as we approached Moody's office and he blasted the door apart with a Stunning Spell. There stood Mad-Eye Moody, pointing his wand at Potter who was backed into a corner. Moody was quickly thrown backwards by the force of the spell and knocked him out. Potter was injured in a lot of places and looked about ready to fall out himself. Dumbledore walked into the office and kicked over Moody's unconscious body so that his face was visible. Snape walked over to Moody's foe glass in which his own face, as well as those of Dumbledore and McGonagall, was reflected. McGonagall walked right over to Potter.

"Come along, Potter," she whispered, sounding as if she were about to cry, "Come along…hospital wing…"

"No," said Dumbledore sharply.

"Dumbledore, he ought to- look at him- he's been through enough tonight-"

"He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand," said Dumbledore curtly, "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight, and why."

"Moody," said Potter in a hollow, disbelieving voice, "How can it have been Moody?"

"This is not Alastor Moody," said Dumbledore softly, "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment he took you, I knew- and I followed."

Dumbledore bent over and took two things from Moody's robes- his hip flask from which he always drank, and a set of keys. He turned to McGonagall and Snape.

"Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens and being up a house-elf named Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here," Dumbledore said. They both turned to obey their peculiar instructions at once and I hastened to follow Snape. As soon as McGonagall was gone I started to talk.

"What happened to Potter in that maze? I couldn't hear over the noise of the crowd."

"The Triwizard Cup was a Portkey. Harry Potter found himself face to face with the Dark Lord once more. I don't know more than that. The Dark Lord has returned," He replied. I didn't respond for a moment, feeling slightly ill.

"We're getting a Truth Potion and a house-elf…why?" I asked, confused.

"It's not our place to question Dumbledore's orders," He said tersely.

We went into Snape's office where he retrieved the small vial of Veritaserum. Then we went up a few flights of stairs to a picture of a bowl of fruit. Snape tickled the pear, it giggled, and a hidden passageway opened that led to the kitchens. I had only seen pictures of house-elves before, but here stood hundreds of them, carrying various bowls and platters of food.

"How can we help you, sir?" squeaked one of the elves, sounding a tad bit frightened.

"Dumbledore wishes to speak with a house-elf called Winky," Snape said. They all pointed anxiously over to a fire where sat a dirty-looking elf wearing a filthy dress. She stood up and followed Snape and my invisible self back to Moody's classroom.

Snape stopped dead in the doorway of the classroom, causing me to crash into him. Professor McGonagall, who had caught up with us, also stopped before she collided with me. Both of them were staring at the man on the floor who was no longer Mad-Eye Moody.

"Crouch!" said Snape, "Barty Crouch."

Who? I asked, directing my thoughts at Snape.

"He used to be a Death Eater. He's supposed to be dead. …I think we'll find out more shortly," he replied.

"Good heavens!" Exclaimed McGonagall. The house-elf peered around Snape's legs. She let out a piercing shriek.

"Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you doing here?" she cried. She threw herself onto the man's chest.

"You is killed him! You is killed him! You is killed Master's son!" She shrieked at Dumbledore.

"He is simply Stunned, Winky," said Dumbledore, "Step aside, please. Severus, you have the potion?"

Snape wordlessly handed Dumbledore the potion. Dumbledore crouched down beside the boy, forced his mouth open, and poured three drops inside it. Then he pointed his wand and said, "Ennervate."

Barty Crouch's eyelids opened. His face was slacked and his eyes unfocused.

"Can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

"Yes," he muttered

"I would like for you to tell us," said Dumbledore softly, "how you escaped from Azkaban."

Crouch took a shuddering breath and began in an expressionless voice that wouldn't have been present if the Veritaserum wasn't forcing him to respond.

"My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me as a last favor to her. He loved her as he had never loved me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draught of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draught containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance," he said.

"Say no more, Master Barty, say no more, you is getting your father into trouble!" cried the house-elf.

"The dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban. They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors.

"My mother died a short while afterward in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me," he continued in the same tone.

"And what did your father do with you, when he had got you home?" said Dumbledore quietly.

"Staged my mother's death. A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. The house-elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength I thought only of finding my master…of returning to his service."

"How did your father subdue you?" asked Dumbledore.

"The Imperius Curse. I was under my father's control. I was forced to wear an Invisibility Cloak day and night. I was always with the house-elf. She was my keeper and caretaker. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior."

"Master Barty, Master Barty," sobbed Winky, "You isn't ought to tell them, we is getting in trouble…"

"Did anybody discover that you were still alive?" Dumbledore inquired, "Did anyone know except your father and the house-elf?"

"Yes. A witch in my father's office. Bertha Jorkins. She came to the house with papers for my father's signature. He was not at home. Winky showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard Winky talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. My father arrived home. She confronted him. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently."

"why is she coming to nose in my master's private business?" wept the house-elf, "Why isn't she leaving us be?"

"Tell me about the Quidditch World Cup," said Dumbledore.

"Winky talked my father into it," continued Crouch, "She spent months persuading him. I had not left the house for years. I had loved Quidditch. Let him go, she said. He will be in his Invisibility Cloak. He can watch. Let him smell fresh air for once. She said my mother would have wanted it. She told my father that my mother had died to give me freedom. She had not saved me for a life of imprisonment. He agreed in the end.

"It was carefully planned. My father led me and Winky up to the Top Box early in the day. Winky was to say that she was saving a seat for my father. I was to sit there, invisible. When everyone had left the box we would emerge. Winky would appear to be alone. No one would ever know.

"But Winky didn't know that I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse. There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed almost myself again. There were times when it seemed I was outside his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw, in front of me, a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket. I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. I stole it. Winky didn't know. Winky is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden."

"Master Barty, you bad boy!" whispered the house elf.

"So you took the wand," said Dumbledore, "and what did you do with it?"

"We went back to the tent. Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who had never suffered for my master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved, as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did not. They were merely making sport of Muggles. The sound of their voices awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry. I had the wand. I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. My father had left the tent: he had gone to free the Muggles. Winky was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky.

"Ministry wizards arrived. They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. One of the spells came through the trees where Winky and I stood. The bond connecting us was broken. We were both Stunned.

"When Winky was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found and felt me lying there. He put me back under the Imperius Curse and took me home. He dismissed Winky. She had failed him. She had let me acquire a wand. She had almost let me escape.

"Now it was just father and I, alone in the house. And then…and then…My master came for me. He arrived at our house late one night in the arms of his servant, Wormtail. My master had found out that I was still alive. He had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant- perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door. It was very quick. My father was placed under the Imperius Curse by my master. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years."

"And what did Lord Voldemort ask you to do?" said Dumbledore. I looked up sharply. That was the first time I had ever heard someone say the Dark Lord's name out loud.

"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts," continued Crouch. I chanced a glance at Snape, wondering if he had been offended that the Dark Lord needed a faithful servant at Hogwarts. He didn't. He seemed just as perplexed as the rest of us.

"-Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master. But first-"

"You needed Alastor Moody," said Dumbledore, voice calm.

"Wormtail and I did it. We had prepared the Polyjuice Potion beforehand. We journeyed to his house. Moody put up a struggle. There was a commotion. We managed to subdue him just in time. Forced him into a compartment of his own magical trunk. Took some of his hair and added it to the potion. I drank it; I became Moody's double. I took his leg and his eye. I was ready to face Arthur Weasley when he arrived to sort out the Muggles who had heard a disturbance. I made the dustbins move around the yard. I told Arthur Weasley I had heard intruders in my yard, who had set off the dustbins. Then I packed up Moody's clothes and Dark Detectors, put them in the trunk with Moody, and set off for Hogwarts. I kept him alive, under the Imperius Curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past, learn his habits, so that I could fool even Dumbledore. I also needed his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. The other ingredients were easy. I stole Boomslang skin from the dungeons. When the Potions master found me in his office, I said I was under orders to search it."

I glanced again at Snape, who looked furious.

"And what became of Wormtail after you attacked Moody?" asked Dumbledore.

"Wormtail returned to care for my master, in my father's house, and to keep watch over my father," replied Crouch.

"But your father escaped," said Dumbledore.

"Yes. After a while he began to fight the Imperius Curse just as I had done. There were periods when he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to send letters to the Ministry instead. He made him write and say he was ill. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not being watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit that he had smuggled me from Azkaban. My master sent me word of my father's escape. He told me to stop him at all costs. So I waited and watched. I used the map I had taken from Harry Potter. The map that had almost ruined everything."

"Map? What map is this?" asked Dumbledore quickly.

I knew exactly what he was talking about. It was the bewitched map of Hogwarts that Potter had. I had seen it last year when I was trying to find Snape and had seen the map open on Lupin's desk.

"Potter's map of Hogwarts," said Crouch, "Potter saw me on it. Potter saw me stealing more ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion from Snape's office one night. He thought I was my father. We have the same first name. I took the map from Potter that night. I told him my father hated Dark wizards. Potter believed my father was after Snape.

"For a week I waited for my father to arrive at Hogwarts. At last, one evening, the map showed my father entering the grounds. I pulled on my Invisibility Cloak and went down to meet him. He was walking around the edge of the forest. Then Potter came, and Krum. I waited. I could not hurt Potter, my master needed him. Potter ran to get Dumbledore. I stunned Krum. I killed my father."

"Nooo!" wailed the house-elf, "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you saying?"

"You killed your father," said Dumbledore in a soft voice, "What did you do with the body?"

"Carried it into the forest, covered it with the Invisibility Cloak. I had the map with me. I watched Potter run into the castle. He met Snape. Dumbledore joined them. I watched Potter bringing Dumbledore out of the castle. I walked back out of the forest, doubled around behind them, and went to meet them. I told Dumbledore Snape had told me where to come.

"Dumbledore told me to go and look for my father. I went back to my father's body. Watched the map. When everyone was gone, I Transfigured my father's body. He became a bone…I buried it, while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid's cabin."

"And tonight?" Dumbledore asked.

"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before diner. Turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards," said Crouch, his face lit with an insane smile.

Dumbledore used his wand to bind Barty Crouch with ropes before turning to Professor McGonagall.

"Minerva, could I ask you to stand guard here while I take Harry upstairs?" He asked her. She looked as nauseous as I felt. Her hand was quite steady as she drew her want and pointed it at Crouch.

"Severus please tell Madam Pomfrey to come down here; we need to get Alastor Moody into the hospital wing. Then go down into the grounds, find Cornelius Fudge, and bring him up to this office. He will undoubtedly want to question Crouch himself. Tell him I will be in the hospital wing in half an hour's time if he needs me," Dumbledore said. Snape nodded swiftly and we left the room.

"Are you alright, Abigail?" Snape asked as we walked down the corridor.

"Just peachy," I replied, though I was unable to keep a faint quiver from my voice. He reached out and took my hand gently in a reassuring manner. I felt a little steadier.

"I've never heard one person tell the truth like that before," I said with a hollow laugh, "It was surprising…and really disturbing."

I followed him in silence as he talked to Madam Pomfrey and gave her a brief explanation of what had happened. She left immediately to go get the real Professor Moody and treat him. Snape and I went down to the Quidditch field where we found Fudge standing a little way away from the field, looking stricken. Snape talked to Fudge in a low voice that I couldn't hear. They exchanged words for a few minutes. Fudge wanted to summon a dementor for his own personal safety before going to talk to Crouch. Snape told him Dumbledore wouldn't like that. In the end Fudge won and within an hour there was a dementor on the grounds of Hogwarts. I followed, from a very long distance with my wand out just in case, as Snape, Fudge, and dementor went back to Moody's office.

I stayed outside the office, but no one had to tell me what happened. Despite McGonagall's protestations, the dementor and Fudge had been let in, but before Fudge could question Barty Crouch the dementor had swooped down on him and sucked his soul out through his mouth.

I followed as they, very loudly, made their way towards the Hospital Wing looking for Dumbledore. Snape was following though he was being very quiet.

"His fate is regrettable, but all the same, Minerva-" Fudge said loudly.

"You should never have brought it inside the castle!" yelled McGonagall, "When Dumbledore finds out-"

They burst into the hospital wing where a number of ill people were resting, including Harry Potter with his friends around him.

"Where is Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded of a red-haired woman who had to be the Weasley's mother.

"He's not here," she said angrily, "This is a Hospital wing, minister, don't you think you'd do better to-"

The door opened and in walked Dumbledore, looking rather angry. I moved to Snape's side to avoid being trodden upon and I felt him discreetly take my hand again, squeezing it reassuringly.

"What has happened?" said Dumbledore sharply, "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you- I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch-"

"There is no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore!" she shrieked, "The Minister has seen to that."

"When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question," Snape said in a low voice that commanded silence in the room, "He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him to the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch-"

"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" McGonagall interrupted, "I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but-"

Strange how she can manage to sound like a three-year-old kid, I thought weakly.

"Who, Minerva?"

Yes. She sounds like a child tattling on Fudge. A suck-up.

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

"By all accounts he is no loss!" said Fudge, "It seems he has been responsible for several deaths!"

"But now he cannot give testimony, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, staring hard at Fudge, "He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people."

"Why he killed them? Well, that's no mystery, is it?" protested Fudge, "He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions."

"Lord Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, "Those people's deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been restored to his body."

Fudge looked like someone had hit him in the face with a frying pan. Dazed, he stared back at Dumbledore unbelievingly.

"You-Know-Who…returned? Preposterous. Come now, Dumbledore…"

"As Minerva and Severus have doubtless told you we heard Barty Crouch confess. Under the influence of Veritaserum, he told us how he was smuggled out of Azkaban, and how Voldemort- learning of his continued existence form Bertha Jorkins- went to free him from his father and used him to capture Harry. The plan worked, I tell you. Crouch has helped Voldemort to return."

Why does he keep saying the name? I asked Snape.

"Dumbledore is a very powerful wizard…the only wizard whom the Dark Lord ever feared."

I never heard anyone use the Dark Lord's name before tonight, except Lupin…I always thought it was a bit stupid to be afraid of a name.

But Snape was ignoring me again.

"I am afraid I cannot permit you to question Harry tonight," Dumbledore was saying to Fudge, shaking his head.

"You are- er- prepared to take Harry's word on this, are you, Dumbledore?" fudge replied with a curious smile. There was a silence which was broken by the growling of a large black dog at the foot of Potter's bed.

"Certainly, I believe Harry," said Dumbledore, eyes blazing, "I heard Crouch's confession and I heard Harry's account of what happened after he touched the Triwizard Cup; the two stories make sense, they explain everything that has happened since Bertha Jorkins disappeared last summer."

"You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who…well…"

"You've been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge," said Potter quietly. Many people jumped slightly. They hadn't realized he was awake. Fudge reddened slightly, but an obstinate and defiant look came over his face.

"And if I have?" he asked, looking at Dumbledore, "If I have discovered that you've been keeping certain facts about the boy very quiet? A Parselmouth, eh? And having funny turns all over the place-"

"I assume you are referring to the pains Harry has been experiencing in his scar?" said Dumbledore coolly.

"You admit he's been having these pains, then?" said Fudge quickly, "Headaches? Nightmares? Possibly- hallucinations?"

"Listen to me, Cornelius," said Dumbledore taking a step towards Fudge, "Harry is as sane as you or I. That scar upon his forehead has not addled his brains. I believe it hurts him when Lord Voldemort is close by, or feeling particularly murderous."

"You'll forgive me, Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before…"

"Look I saw Voldemort come back!" Potter shouted, "I saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy-"

Snape made a sudden, surprised movement in which he let go of my hand. Potter's eyes strayed to him, but Snape was looking at Fudge.

"Malfoy was cleared!" said Fudge, clearly insulted, "A very old family- donations to excellent causes-"

"Macnair!" Potter continued.

"Also cleared! Now working for the Ministry!"

"Avery- Nott- Crabbe- Goyle-"

"You are merely repeating the names of those who were acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago! You could have found those names in old reports of the trails! For heaven's sake Dumbledore- the boy was full of some crackpot story at the end of last year too- his tales are getting taller, and you're still swallowing them- the boy can talk to snakes, Dumbledore, and you still think he's trustworthy?" Fudge declared.

Well that's insulting, I thought gloomily, not all Parselmouths are devious.

"You're a Parselmouth and you're sneaking around wearing a Disillusionment Charm. Doesn't that make you devious?" Snape replied in my head.

"Voldemort has returned," said Dumbledore, "If you accept that fact straightaway, Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove Azkaban form the control of the dementors-"

"Preposterous!" shouted Fudge, "Remove the dementors? I'd be kicked out of the office for even suggesting it! Half of us only feel safe in our beds at night because we know the dementors are standing guard at Azkaban!"

"The rest of us sleep less soundly in our beds, Cornelius, knowing that you have put Lord Voldemort's most dangerous supporters in the care of creatures who will join him the instant he asks them! They will not remain loyal to you, fudge! Voldemort can offer them much more scope for their powers and their pleasures than you can! With the dementors behind him, and his old supporters returned to him, you will be hard-pressed to stop him regaining the sort of power he had thirteen years ago!" Dumbledore retorted.

My head hurts, I thought as I leaned my head against Snape's shoulder. He seemed faintly surprised.

"Probably you should be paying attention. If you have questions…"

I stopped caring about this as soon as they started screaming. I think I get the general idea. Fudge is an… idiot who doesn't want to put people into a panic. Dumbledore is trying to keep the Dark Lord from killing everyone again.

"I think I should help…"

By doing what?

"He just can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be…" Fudge was pleading with Dumbledore. Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, yanking up his sleeve as he went. He showed the mark to Fudge who recoiled visibly.

"There," said Snape harshly, "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one from another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. The mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold."

Fudge took a few steps back from Snape, clearly not listening to a word he said. He stared at the Mark on Snape's arm, utterly repelled, until Snape jerked his sleeve back down and walked over to me.

"I don't know what you and your staff are playing at, Dumbledore, but I have heard enough. I have no more to add. I will be in touch with you tomorrow, Dumbledore, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the Ministry," Fudge said shortly.

Sorry, but I think you made it worse, I said to Snape, feeling bad for him. I desperately wanted to embrace him, but held back. I also kept that particular thought and emotion blocked so I didn't have to hear any snide remarks.

The Minister left the room shortly and Dumbledore turned to face the group around Potter's bed.

"There is work to be done," he said, "Molly…am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?"

"Of course you can," replied Mrs. Weasley, "We know what Fudge is. It's Arthur's fondness for Muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride."

"Then I need to send a message to Arthur. All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as shortsighted as Cornelius," said Dumbledore.

"I'll go to Dad," said one of the boys, standing up, "I'll go now."

"Excellent. Tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. If Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry-"

"Leave it to me," the boy said, leaving the room.

"Minerva," said Dumbledore, turning to McGonagall, "I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. Also- if she will consent to come- Madame Maxime."

McGonagall left without another word.

"Poppy," said Dumbledore to Madam Pomfrey, "would you be very kind to go down to Professor Moody's office, where I think you will find a house-elf called Winky in considerable distress? Do what you can for her, and take her back to the kitchens. I think Dobby will look after her for us."

"Very- very well," she said, looking startled, then she left as well.

Dumbledore made sure the door was closed securely before turning back to the others.

"And now," he said, "it is time for two of our number to recognize each other for what they are. Sirius…if you could resume your usual form."

The huge black dog at the end of the bed looked up at Dumbledore and the next moment turned into Sirius Black. Mrs. Weasley shrieked and leapt up.

"Sirius Black!" she screamed, pointing at him.

"Mum, shut up!" Ron yelled, "It's okay."

Snape was staring at one of his childhood enemies with a mixture of loathing, anger, and horror. Sirius mirrored the look.

"Him!" Snape snarled, "What is he doing here?"

"He is here at my invitation," said Dumbledore, "as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other."

I barely suppressed a snort. What Dumbledore was asking was damn near impossible…like asking the sun to stop shining during summer.

"I will settle, in the short term," continued Dumbledore, "for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth stand united, there is no hope for any of us."

Very slowly Sirius and Snape took a step towards each other, shook hands, and quickly let go.

"That will do to be going on with," said Dumbledore, stepping between them, "Now I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher- the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while; I will contact you there."

As soon as Black said good-bye to Potter, turned back into a dog, and left, Dumbledore turned to Snape. He had turned paler than usual, as if he knew what was coming.

"Severus," Dumbledore said to him, "you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready…if you are prepared…"

"I am," said Snape, his black eyes glittering oddly.

"Then good luck," Dumbledore replied, watching with a trace of apprehension as Snape left the hospital wing and I scurried after him. When the door shut, I made myself visible.

"Where are you going? What is it that you have to do?" I demanded, unable to keep my voice from rising an octave. Snape's black eyes met my mismatched ones and I read his answer there.

"Severus, you can't go to him…what…what if he…?" I said, sounding panicked. I was worried about him- I couldn't even attempt to hide it.

"I have to, Abigail. I made a promise and…I just have to," he said quietly. I turned to walk away from him, but he caught my arm. He pinned me to the wall gently and gazed into my eyes for a moment. My stomach flip-flopped and my knees felt weak. I almost forgot what I was upset about.

"I'm sorry, Abigail. I promise you, nothing is going to happen to me," he said quietly.

"You can't promise me that. You can't know that," I said, feeling tears well up in my eyes, "You can't promise me you'll come back."

I pressed my face into his chest to hide my tears. He wrapped his arms around me for a moment. Then he surprised me by pressing a kiss onto the top of my head. Then he held me at arm's length and looked me in the eyes.

"I have to go now, Abigail. You can wait up in my office if you like."

I sniffed heavily and nodded my head. He half-smiled at me.

"Looks like I've finally found a way to get you to listen to me," he said lightly. Then he kissed me once more, this time on the forehead. Then he was gone.

I waited in his office, worried to death. Around 2:00 in the morning I laid my head down on his desk. I was exhausted. If I could just close my eyes for a moment…

A dream began immediately. It was distorted and I only caught flashes of things. I could tell it was Snape and Lily. They were arguing- Lily was crying.

I awoke when I heard the door open. I felt as if an enormous wait had been lifted off my shoulders when I saw Snape standing there, very much alive. He appeared distressed, however.

"I need you to come with me to see Dumbledore. The three of us must talk immediately," he said to me. I was too relieved to question and I followed him out.

When we reached Dumbledore's office, we walked in to find Dumbledore waiting for us. Snape had apparently already been to see him once.

"When I was making my excuses to the Dark Lord, he glimpsed Abigail in my mind. …I had to tell him the truth. He seems particularly interested in her, especially because she's Julia's daughter. I've convinced him to leave her be, for now, but…I'm afraid he'll come after her," Snape said, placing a protective hand on my shoulder. I sank into the nearest chair, stunned. Dumbledore frowned in thought.

"I…I'm good at Occlumency," I stammered, "I could be a spy, too. I-"

"Absolutely not!" Snape interrupted immediately.

"Severus is right. It's too dangerous. You're only fourteen after all-" Dumbledore agreed.

"Fifteen," I corrected through gritted teeth, "And I know more magic than most of these Seventh years!"

"Abigail, it's not open for discussion. You're not going anywhere near the Dark Lord as long as I have anything to say about it," Snape declared.

I glowered at him, wishing Dumbledore wasn't there so I could fight back properly.

"That settles it then. We'll do whatever it takes to keep Abby safe," Dumbledore said finally.

As we left Dumbledore's office, I decided I wasn't going to further pursue the argument. Snape looked exhausted and I was pretty tired also.

"So what happened when you went to him?" I asked quietly as we walked towards the dungeons. He hesitated a moment.

"I can't tell you anything about that, Abigail. I'm sorry, but it's safer for you to not know anything about what I do," he replied heavily.

"Fine," I said, scowling, "I'm going to bed."

The End-of-the-Year feast took place as usual, but with some minute changes. The usual decorations had been replaced with black drapes in honor of Cedric Diggory. The crowd was less noisy than usual and when Dumbledore stood up to address the school everyone fell silent.

"The end of another year," he said, looking around at the tables, "There is much I would like to say to you all tonight but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."

Everyone stood up with their goblets raised, myself included, and we all said 'Cedric Diggory' in a loud, low voice. Then we sat back down.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff House," Dumbledore went on, "He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about. Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

A panicked whispered spread through the hall and people stared at Dumbledore in horror and disbelief.

"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this," Dumbledore continued, "It is possible some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so- either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory. There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death. I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter."

A few people glanced at Potter before looking back up at Dumbledore.

"Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort. He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this I honor him."

Dumbledore raised his goblet in Potter's direction. Most of the people in the hall raised their goblets to him. So did I. Draco stayed in his seat, so did many of the other Slytherins. When everyone was seated Dumbledore spoke again.

"The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened- of Lord Voldemort's return- such ties are more important than ever before. Every guest in this Hall will be welcomed back here and time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again- in light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and anmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.

"It is my belief- and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken- that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst. Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

The next day marked the end-of-term. Trunks were packed and my friends and classmates were heading to the Hogwarts Express. I waved goodbye to Jenny and Brandy, then headed down to Snape's office. Surprisingly when I got there, he had just finished some papers and was ready to leave.

"There's a first time for everything," I remarked as we left his office, "I don't have to sit around waiting on you to get finished for once."

He half-smiled. We made our way out past the gate and he extended his arm for me to take.

We Apparated directly into the living room. Snape helped me drag my trunk upstairs, along with Arsenius's cage. As he set the cage down on my floor, he grabbed his forearm in pain.

"I must go, Abigail," he said to me, sounding apologetic. I sighed heavily and inclined my head. He walked over to me and kissed my forehead swiftly before striding out of the room. I sat down on my bed, staring up at my enchanted ceiling. I could see all the planets clearly. I wished I knew as much about star-gazing as centaurs did. Then I would be able to read my fortune in the stars. As I stared up, I vaguely wondered what future lay hidden from me in the stars…