A/N: Okay people, I know you're out there—I can hear you breathing. Reviews would be wonderful, guys. Enjoy!


Of all of the classes that Robin had been looking forward to, Potions was certainly at the top of her list. After learning that it was the class taught by Severus Snape, the oh-so serious teacher she'd noticed at the feast. It was always the serious ones that were the most fun to play with. Not that she was planning any mischief…but a puck never passed up an opportunity.

From the moment she entered the classroom, Robin could feel the fear in her classmates. Nearly everyone (with the exception of Slytherin students) was on edge, looking around nervously and whispering quietly, always casting glances toward the door. Malfoy was one of the few students at ease, though he was clearly enjoying playing up his hippogriff injury. His arm was in a sling, and a few girls would stop and ask him how he was feeling. Robin spotted Jack sitting just behind him looking bored. The sprite rolled his eyes as Malfoy poured out for sympathy, and Robin smothered a laugh—it would seem that Jack was not enjoying his company very much.

The class dissolved into silence as a tall dark figure slammed into the room. Suddenly, Severus Snape was in their presence, striding up to the front of the classroom. When he reached the front, he turned and appraised his class with a glare, before barking out instructions on the Shrinking Potion they were going to make. Robin sat next to Hermione in utter confusion, staring at the ingredients before her. Why the hell would you need a potion to shrink something? One blast of Glamour and the job was done. But as Snape began to stalk down the aisles, the disguised sprite quickly began to copy Hermione, all the while thinking that none of these herbs or plants looked the same here as in the forest, and some of them she knew by very different names.

As they worked, a particular little herb caught Robin's eye, and she couldn't help but grin. The wizards obviously had no idea that this herb combined with wild mushrooms and a little magic could produce the most amazing experience…one particular night with the mermen came to mind. Feeling Jack's gaze, she turned to see him holding up the same herb and raising an eyebrow at her. She quickly smothered her chortle as Snape paused by her table and glared. Fortunately, some commotion between Malfoy and Ron caught his attention before he had a chance to say anything.

The real trouble didn't begin until Snape decided that it was time to test their concoctions. For some reason, he picked Neville to go first. Robin couldn't help but feel sorry for the lad as all eyes suddenly turned to him. Snape rolled his eyes as Neville stuttered a bit, too frightened to know where to begin. Suddenly, the teacher scooped up Neville's toad Trevor.

"How about this? If Longbottom's potion works, then his toad will be reduced to the size of a tadpole. If not, then it will die a horribly painful death." Snape dangled the toad by one leg over the cauldron to the gasps of the other children. Robin slid around till she was close enough to have the toad in clear sights, and just before the animal was released, she breathed out a small Glamour, covering it with a cough, and sent it toward Trevor. The toad turned into a parakeet just as Snape released it and flittered up to the rafters.

The Gryffindors cheered at the miraculous escape, but their celebration didn't last long as Snape whirled around, glaring at each of his students in turn. "Alright, which one of you did it?" he snarled. Everyone hushed up quickly, and Robin painted on her best innocent face. It could fool just about anyone, with the exception of Oberon. "Well?"

"Squawk! Snape is a moron," Trevor called. The class giggled as Snape's face went red.

"Quiet!" he commanded, which shut most of the class up quickly.

"Squawk! Snape sleeps with a nightlight," the bird answered. Of course, this just set the class off again.

"I said quiet!" Snape bellowed. Unfortunately, Harry and Ron had a harder time putting a cork in their laughter this time. When their laughter continued after the others had quieted, Snape zoomed in on them.

"So, you think this is funny, do you, Potter?" Snape spat. The two immediately quieted. "I suppose it was one of you who thought up this little prank."

"But we haven't even learned how to transform living animals yet," Ron squeaked out. Snape smiled a very disturbing little smile.

"But I suppose that would be the sort of thing that a particular know-it-all would be able to tell you," he answered, turning his glare toward Hermione. Robin quickly realized that her prank was going to get her charges in trouble, and she couldn't let them take the fall for something they hadn't done…that was just rude. She thought a moment, then smiled to herself, and in the next moment, let Trevor take care of the rest.

"Squawk! Look under Malfoy," he said. Snape, as well as most of the class, looked at the blond boy, who looked utterly bewildered. Snape stalked over to him and pulled something from under his chair. It was their textbook from Transfiguration, open and bookmarked to the page about turning one animal into another. Snape glared at Malfoy.

"But…that's not…I didn't…" Malfoy stuttered. Snape merely snapped the textbook closed and dropped it on the desk.

"Twenty points from Slytherin," was all he said, before going up to his desk. "Class dismissed."

The students lost no time clearing out of the classroom. Jack gave Robin a sideways look and knocked into her on the way out, causing her books to fall to the floor. She seized the opportunity to fall to the back of the crowd, and ducked out of the classroom just long enough for it to clear. Robin put her books on the floor and looked around, making sure the coast was clear, before going about her business. A blink of an eye, and she was in her own form, invisible to any mortal who passed her. She stepped back inside the classroom and whistled. Trevor flapped down to her arm, and she hurried outside again. A blast of Glamour and a few moments later, Robin Fellows ran down the hallway, calling for Neville and the others to wait up.

Several of the Gryffindors had been walking together, surrounding Neville, who was worried about Trevor and if he would be able to change him back. Just as the others were assuring him that they'd think of something, and that maybe Professor McGonagall could help, Robin ran up, panting, and holding the newly transformed Trevor, who was happily croaking in her hands.

"I found him hopping outside the classroom," she said, handing him to Neville. Everyone perked up and started walking again.

"So, was that you then? Did you turn him back?" Hermione asked Robin. The disguised sprite laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Hermione. Where would I have learned to do something like that? I'm nowhere near that talented. Why, I thought that it might have been you!" Robin answered, innocence and laughter in her eyes. The others laughed too, because it was ridiculous to think that the quiet new girl who hadn't even been at Hogwarts before now, could know enough magic to be able to do a thing like transform a toad into a bird. Absolutely ridiculous.


A rattling wardrobe stood before the students as something banged around inside, obviously trying to escape. Students from Gryffindor and Slytherin eyed it with caution as their newest professor grinned at them. "What can you tell me about a boggart?" he asked. Robin continued to watch the wardrobe as Hermione rattled off a book memorized answer about what a boggart was. Boggarts. Wonderful. She could practically feel Jack bristling in the back.

Under normal conditions, Robin wouldn't have been worried about a boggart. Puck's natural state was one of laughter, and boggarts either steered clear of her or were dealt with quickly. But as Robin, a boggart was dangerous. They weren't just shapeshifters, but mind-readers. Boggarts could poke into one's mind to discover their deepest fear. And if a boggart were to look into Jack and Robin's mind, it would find that they were not wizard children, but faeries, and there was a good chance that it would blow their cover.

Robin was shuffled into line as the students prepared to face off with the boggart. She had vaguely heard Professor Lupin going over the spell that the wizards used for boggarts (not a bad one—at least they were smart enough to know to use laughter against it). She ended up between Ron and Harry, a few kids back from the front of the line. That left her precious little time to figure out what she was going to do. As Lupin released the boggart, Robin felt something inside her shift, putting her on edge. This was a creature of the UnSeelie Court, an enemy of Oberon's, and therefore, an enemy of Puck's. And it was just a few feet away…

The boggart went from being Professor Snape, to a mummy, to a banshee…one student after another faced off with the boggart, defeating it with their new spell. Before she knew it, Ron had taken the legs off of his spider, and Robin was at the front of the line.

Though the line had been moving fairly quickly before, everything froze when Robin hit the front. The boggart, which had been flopping on the floor, stilled, and Robin felt it narrow in on her. She could feel it poking around in her mind. When facing a human, it only took the boggart a split second to know their fear, because humans tend to wear their fears much closer to the surface. But Robin was a sprite, and a jester at that—if she had to pick something that she was afraid of, she wasn't sure that she would be able to. At least not without her acting serious, and that rarely happened.

Robin felt the boggart smile in her mind, and she felt her heart drop. Oh yes, it knew what she was, and after a line of wizard children, it certainly knew what her game was too. The boggart twisted in on itself, becoming a shadow of blackness. Slowly, a woman stood, the blackness wrapping around her into a flowing dress. The class fell into silence, starring at this tall pale woman who was as chilling as she was beautiful. Robin recognized the form and suppressed a shiver. The boggart had turned to Nicnivin, the queen of the UnSeelie Court. But it seemed that the boggart wasn't through. The faux queen reached into her wraps and pulled out a bulky object that caused cries of disgust from the students behind Robin. The sprite found herself starring at the severed head of her king. 'Hobgoblin,' the boggart hissed in her mind, 'look what you did.'

Robin wasn't afraid at the sight of the boggart—no matter what it turned in to, she knew that it was just an image. But hearing Nicnvin's voice in her mind and seeing that particular sight awoke old memories that quickly sparked into anger. How dare this lowly boggart…

A murmur was rumbling through the class, and Lupin had regained his voice and was encouraging Robin to go at the boggart with the spell. All of that faded to the background as the sprite's anger roared in her ears. She could feel Jack mentally thumping her in the back of the head, begging her not to do anything stupid. Fortunately, the long sleeves of her robe hid the sparks of Glamour that were swirling around her arms. Robin narrowed her eyes at the boggart, and she could feel it take a step back, out of her mind. It seemed to have realized that it may have crossed a line.

Before she could even think, Robin thrust up her arm and a force of green Glamour flew from the tip of her wand. The stream hit the boggart in the chest and threw it back through the air. The wardrobe rocked back as the boggart hit its interior with full force. The doors flung closed behind it, and Robin lowered her arm. As silence filled the classroom, reality settled in on her. 'Oh crap,' she thought.

Lupin was the first to find his voice. "Umm…I think that's enough for today. Class dismissed." Just when Robin thought she might be home free, his voice halted her. "Robin, could I see you please?"

A few of the students cast a glance towards her as they exited the class. Jack looked at her with caution in his eyes—he knew as well as she did that they were on thin ice. As the last student left the room, Robin turned to face Lupin, who was leaning up against his desk. "That was…very…interesting. Might I inquire as to what…exactly that was?"

Robin paused, looking down and shuffling her feet. She needed to play this smart, as close to her cover as she could. Regain the image of being small and meek. The straight man. Right. "I…don't exactly know, sir," she answered, sounding confused and repentant. "My best guess is I…I don't feeling scared, so I guess I got angry instead and just sort of…lost control." This last part was said in a rush, and Robin peaked out from under her bangs at the professor as innocently as she could, praying all the while that he was buying her act.

Lupin studied his student for a moment, debating with himself. On the one hand, she seemed quite sincere in her explanation—such as it was. On the other hand, however, he'd never seen anything quite like what he'd just witnessed, from any wizard, child or not. But Lupin had always liked to give people the benefit of the doubt. He smiled kindly at the girl. "Alright then. Best get on then. Don't want to make you late." Robin gave him a small smile back, before turning and leaving the classroom as quickly as possible without it seeming obvious that she was that eager to leave.

Once outside the room, Robin breathed a sigh of relief. The sound of someone clearing their throat caused her to look of to the side. Jack stood there, leaning against a column, in his own form. He raised his eyebrows at her, and Robin rolled her eyes and headed toward him. Once she'd passed by the column, her disguise was shed, and Puck emerged on the other side.

"Well?" Jack asked. Now Puck raised an eyebrow at him.

"You should have just come inside," she answered, sliding to the ground. "It's not like he would have seen you."

"And if he'd made you?" Jack asked, squatting next to her. "I didn't want to be next. At least one of us is capable of keeping in character." He laughed sarcastically. "And you wanted Oberon to send you alone."

Puck glared at him. "Well he didn't make me." Her gaze turned dark. "And how did you expect me to react? That boggart is lucky to be in one piece."

Jack's look turned slightly more sympathetic. "It'll never happen," he said. "That bitch could never better Oberon, and you know it." Puck looked at the ground, and Jack angled his head around, trying to catch her gaze.

"It wasn't that," she said quietly. "It was what it said." Jack's brow crinkled in concern and confusion.

"What? What did it say?" he asked. Puck blinked her eyes a few times, almost as though to blink away tears.

"You know how all the hobgoblins sided UnSeelie during the war?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was the only one who didn't. Obviously. Being tied to Oberon…made me different. But towards the end, Nicnivin…came to me with an offer. She said that I could have my run of the mortal world. No rules, no morals. I could be free," Puck explained slowly. "All I had to do was betray the one creature in all the world who trusted me completely and unequivocally." Now she looked up and met Jack's gaze. "My king."

She laughed bitterly, looking out into space. "Didn't do it, obviously. Couldn't. And I'm not a complete idiot. Even if I'd wanted to, I knew that I couldn't destroy Oberon without destroying myself. But seeing that bitch holding his head…real or not, it's what could have happened."

Heavy silence descended on the two sprites. "No it's not," Jack answered forcefully. Puck looked up at him as he slid to the ground next to her. "Look, if it's one thing I'm certain of, it's that if there was ever a changeling and a master that were meant for each other, it's you and Oberon. The day that something happens that can tear you two apart…that's the day the universe will implode and cockroaches will build up their mighty empire." Half a beat later Puck burst out in laughter, the gloomy mood lifting. Jack patted her knee and started to get up.

"Now come on. I've got to get back to my ailing wimp." He leaned over to give Puck a hand up. "Honestly, can't we just let Illyria have that one?"

Puck sighed and shook her head, dusting off her pants. "For the last time, no. Now get on with it. It's almost time for dinner."

Jack snorted. "Yeah. You better hope Oberon doesn't find out you've been eating chocolate. We're going to get home and you're gonna be craving the stuff, and then what'll happen?" Puck just rolled her eyes and waved him off. A few moments later, Robin Fellows and Jack Polk were heading in opposite directions towards their respective houses.


Silence fell over the Gryffindor common room as Robin entered. Whispers and quiet conversation started as she meekly walked over to where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting. She looked rather embarrassed as she slid into a chair, staring at the floor. The trio exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. The new girl's unusual display of power had been the topic of conversation since they'd left class, as well as what was going to happen to her. "What did Professor Lupin say?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

Robin looked up and gave a half-shrug. "Nothing really. Just let me go," she answered quietly. More glances were sent across the round table.

"Robin…what was that?" Hermione asked. Robin opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, Seamus's voice piped up from the next table.

"Oy, Robin—do you think you could teach me to do that? That was wicked!"

"Yeah. Wish I could do that sort of thing in Potions. That would teach Snape a lesson," Neville added. Robin blushed and ducked her head.

"I don't really know what happened," she said, sticking to the same answer she'd given Lupin. "I just sort of…lost control, I guess." There were a few groans of disappointment, and a subtle sigh of relief filled the air. Nothing to worry about after all.

"So what was that thing anyway?" Ron asked. "That woman…gave me chills, even before she pulled out the head."

This Robin was prepared for. "My uncle used to tell us all sorts of scary stories when we were kids," she said. "He had a book with all of these old drawings and stories about wicked creatures. The one that always scared me most was about this evil queen who cut off her enemies' heads. There was this one gruesome picture of her holding a head that gave me nightmares for years."

Words of support came next, and inwardly Robin breathed a sigh of relief. Ah yes, her cover truly was safe. She was gaining the children's trust, and they suspected nothing was off about her. Now if they could just find some trace of Illyria…