I love getting reviews. And I've only gotten nice ones! #gets starry eyed# I'm so happy! Though you know what kind of irks me? (Yes, irks, yes, I use that word) I'm on the author alert watch of twenty-three people (Twenty-three!) but only five (Five!) of them have reviewed! I mean, I do the same thing so I can't really complain, but still. And there are people who review that don't have me on that thingy, so I suppose I really shouldn't be complaining. I did get seven reviews for the last chapter though, which is more than everbefore! Still a very little amount, but they're enough to make me happy!

Ashibabi – I ain't tellin' what's goin' on 'ere. So there. You'll just have to keep reading to find out. #grin# I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Hope this one's as good.

e – Er… okay?

Krista – It does, kinda, doesn't it? That's actually going to come into play later, but the story is by no means based on Beauty and the Beast.

There're beginning to be so many people who love my story! It's great! I'm glad you love it, I do too. #grin#

Oooohhh! Someone mentioned Ron and Hermione! Hehehehehe….

Dumbledore – Glad it's good! And there's gonna be more magic coming in soon. You can have so much fun with magic… hehehe…

CherryChick914 – Can I call you a faithful reviewer yet? You've reviewed all of my chapters! (The ones that I got reviews for, at least) Thank you so much!

You have no idea how much fun I had writing Cadence when she was around Harry. And poor Harry, he's completely oblivious. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this. Hehehe.

Yes, Cadence is her first name. No, I haven't mentioned her last name before. The rest of her name will come out soon, maybe in this chapter. I'm not quite sure yet. I will have to see how this chapter goes, since I only have a very vague outline in my head. #blushes#

Dattatreya – Thank you for the review! I suppose Cadence might seem kinda perfect… personally, I don't see it. But then again, I also see absolutely no suspense whatsoever in my story (not even enough to wait for thenext chapter like some of my reviewers are hopefully doing) because I know everything that's going to happen. (The one thing I don't like about writing stories) So I 'know' Cadence pretty well, and I don't think she's perfect. She might end up so, but I don't really think she will.

I like my description of the castle too. I see everything when I'm writing, which is so much fun.

Did the first chapter seem rushed? Hmm. I wasn't in a rush when I wrote it… hm… strange. (Yes, yes I am, please do not make too much of a big deal about it.) Ahem. Hehe. #blush#

lucas13 – Written in Portuguese eh? Well, there are some foreign language stories on fanfiction period net, so you never know… I, however, would not be able to read them even if you did put them up. So I'll give you a fair trade and say that I won't post my horribly embarrassing Mary-Sues if you don't post your horribly embarrassing Mary-Sues/Gary-Stus. Howzat?

You know what I've just realised? I've been skiving out on my disclaimer! Oh, the horror, the horror. Anyways. I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER! (Was that loud enough?)

Once and for All Time – Chapter 7

Harry rubbed his forehead in annoyance. Ever since that witch had tried to leave his grounds, this stupid bloody headache had kept coming off and on. It always got worse when he was studying his books on wards, trying to figure out a way to get the witch off his property, so he was spending less and less time in the library and more and more time sitting around doing nothing. And the witch had been there for a month already! A month! And on top of that, the few times she was around Harry she acted like the weirdest thing in the world and Harry had no idea what to make of it. He had mentioned it to Sir Anthony and Earnulf, but they had just brushed it off as his imagination. Then, when he asked Beorhtwaru about it, she had just smiled secretly and refused to tell Harry anything.

So, not only did Harry have a headache that wouldn't go away, he also had the puzzle of why the witch was so weird and he still had the problem of Sir Anthony's animagus-transformation-gone-wrong, which he was still trying to figure out, and then there was Earnulf insisting on even more exercising and spars and fighting against dummies and duelling and Beorhtwaru kept giving him strange looks and giggling and saying nothing when Harry asked what was wrong and he was seriously considering moving back to Azkaban!

… Well, maybe he wouldn't go that far. But this was driving him mad!

"Scuse me?" Harry jumped violently and whirled around, ready to cast whatever it was to all seven hells and back. Standing in front of him was the witch, who looked extremely amused.

"Jesus! Don't do that!" he exclaimed and the witch bit her lip.

"Sorry." She said, the corners of her lips twitching.

"And don't laugh!" the witch snorted and immediately brought a hand up to cover her mouth.

"I'm not laughing, I'm not laughing!" she exclaimed, her voice muffled by her hand and her eyes dancing. Harry glared at her and the effect was almost instantaneous. Her eyes widened, her hand dropped to her side and she started fiddling with her ever present ponytail. Harry curled his finger like claws and turned away. God, he honestly wasn't that scary! Even if he would like to be, he wasn't. But she acted like he was going to eat her! He took a deep breath and held it for a count of ten, then slowly let it out.

"Did you want something?" he asked brusquely. The witch said something that sounded suspiciously like 'oh, only you,' and he whirled around so fast he almost fell over. The witch was staring at him, looking absolutely mortified. Harry heard a snicker from the door and he strode over to it, flinging it open to reveal Sir Anthony and Earnulf looking as though they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Harry looked from Sir Anthony and Earnulf to the witch, who was standing stalk still and blushing like she was on fire, then back to Sir Anthony and Earnulf, then back to the witch, and back once more to Sir Anthony and Earnulf. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then,

"What the bloody friggin' hell is going on here?" he exploded. The witch jumped, looking like someone was coming at her with a working chainsaw, and Sir Anthony and Earnulf backed away from him slightly.

"Well?" Harry demanded when none of them made a move to speak. Sir Anthony and Earnulf gave each other a quick glance, then Sir Anthony took a step forward.

"Well, Harry," Sir Anthony began, "You see, it is just that Miss Cadence really -" Sir Anthony's voice cut off. His mouth was still moving, but no sound was coming out.

"Don't, you, dare." Harry looked to the witch. She was standing ramrod straight, her wand pointed at Sir Anthony, and actually looked quite frightening. Harry blinked at her.

"If you even think" the witch said slowly, taking a menacing step towards Sir Anthony, "of telling him anything of the sort of thing you were going to tell him, I will make sure that your trunk is stuck somewhere where the sun don't shine! Permanently!" Sir Anthony gulped audibly and even Earnulf looked slightly frightened. Harry stared between the witch and Earnulf and Sir Anthony, then shook his head.

"I don't need this." He muttered. "Just… I don't know, go away. Just go away. Leave me alone." Still shaking his head, Harry left the room. He was within earshot long enough to hear Earnulf say,

"Now look what you've done!" and hear the witch reply,

"Me?" Harry sighed in resignation. The entire castle was going mad, and he had no idea why. In fact, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to know. Maybe they'd all eaten salad.

Deciding to forget about the castle's insane inhabitants, Harry headed to a place he had found only a week ago. A place that was as relaxing as it was beautiful, which was saying something.

)OAT)

Harry heard her coming before she spoke, so he didn't jump this time.

"Er… can I… uh… sit here?" Harry shrugged, not looking back. That constant pain in his stomach acted up a bit, but Harry stubbornly pushed it down, refusing to be depressed here.

The witch sat down beside him, over quite a ways and slightly behind, mind, but still beside him. Harry wasn't quite sure how he felt about that.

"I just… uh… wanted to… apologise." Harry looked over slightly, not letting his surprise show on his face. "I don't know what I'm apologising for… no, that's a lie, I know exactly what I'm apologising for. I'm driving you crazy, and I'm sorry." The corner of Harry's mouth that the witch couldn't see turned up slightly.

"Yes, you are driving me crazy." He replied. They were both silent for a moment. "And your apology is accepted." Harry said recklessly. He heard the witch sigh.

"Good." Neither of them said anything for a long while. Then the witch spoke, breaking the silence.

"This place is really beautiful."

"Yeah." Harry answered, looking out.

They were on one of the many roofs of the castle, looking out over the grounds where the lake resided. The sun was just starting to go down and its rays hit the lake, which reflected a vast array of colours onto the trees surrounding it.

"Would you like a chocolate?" the witch said suddenly. Harry blinked, then turned towards her.

"Pardon?" the witch looked slightly embarrassed, but she held her hand out anyways. Resting on her palm were some brightly wrapped something-or-others.

"Chocolate." She repeated. "I love chocolate and I always have some with me. You want one?" Harry stared at her and she shifted around slightly, a little nervously. Harry's eyes went to the chocolate. It didn't seem like it was poisoned. He mentally shrugged.

"All right." He said, reaching over and taking one. The witch looked utterly shocked and Harry grinned at her. This time it was she who stared at him, but then she broke into a smile. Harry looked at her a second longer then looked back over the lake.

"This is really good." He said, surprised, after he put the chocolate in his mouth.

"Isn't it? They're my favourite kind of chocolates. Moritz Icy Squares." She added unnecessarily. Harry nodded once to indicate that he'd heard her. Silence settled over them again but, strangely enough, it wasn't an uncomfortable silence.

When the sun finally set, Harry stood up and stretched.

"It's getting cold." Was all he said when he noticed the witch's quizzical look. She nodded and stood up as well. She stepped through the door that led back into the castle when Harry motioned her forward, and he followed her.

"You know," the witch said as Harry was closing the door, "We were never properly introduced." Harry paused, then turned to her.

"You're right." He replied. The witch blinked at him, then smiled.

"Well, then, I'm Cadence Taggart." She said, holding her hand out. Harry hesitated a moment, then took the proffered hand.

"Harry Potter." He said, shaking her hand once. Cadence smiled at him, then let go of his hand.

"Good night, Harry Potter." She nodded to him, then turned away.

"Night." Harry said after her. She paused, then smiled at him once more over her shoulder.

Harry waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps before heading to his own room.

(OAT(

"Harry, what do you think of Cadence?" Harry paused, then turned to Beorhtwaru.

"Sorry?" he said. Beorhtwaru sighed, smiling slightly.

"Cadence, Harry, Cadence! What do you think of her?"

"Er… well… I… uh don't… that is… I uh… have to… er… go, see ya!" with that, Harry dashed out of the room, heart pounding for some strange reason.

What did he think of Taggart? What the hell kind of a question was that? He didn't even know her that well! Just because he hadn't thrown her off the roof the other day didn't mean they were friends or anything!

Shaking his head and trying to ignore the headache that was threatening to break loose Harry left his room and headed to Earnulf's room, deciding that a good spar would help clear his mind.

At the staircase, Harry paused. There were some weird sounds coming from one of the bedrooms, sounds that shouldn't have been there. Curiosity getting the better of him, Harry walked to the door and pushed it open.

The blast of sound that came out was almost enough to make him deaf and he took a step back, blinking dazedly.

When his ears finally adjusted to the sound and his eyes focused, he raised an eyebrow.

'This must be the room Taggart chose for that dance thing.' He thought, leaning on the doorframe.

It was indeed the room she had chosen, and she had indeed turned it into a 'dance studio thingermabobber'.

There was a mirror all along the length of one wall, with one of those bars in front of it, the floor had been turned to hardwood, and there was a huge sound system on the back wall under the window, which was wide open and letting in sunlight and fresh air.

Music was blaring from the sound system, so loud that Harry was surprised the castle hadn't been shaken to pieces. It was very fast paced, and was violent in its absolute happiness. It was passionate. It was the embodiment of what a suddenly freed slave felt. It was the passion of a man and woman who loved each other more than life itself. Harry felt a strong surge of a violent emotion in his chest rise as if to greet the music, and he had to hold onto the doorframe to keep from falling to his knees. The music was freeing him, letting him fly, letting him forget.

Taggart was in front of the mirror, dancing, a look of pure bliss on her face. The muscles of her face were drawn tight, her eyes narrowed in concentration, her jaw clenched. But her eyes, oh, her eyes, they were lit with a happiness and passion Harry didn't think he had ever felt.

He stared at her like he was under a spell, watched her every move with a strange intimacy. He suddenly knew everything he needed to know about her and, had she looked to him, she would have known everything she needed about him.

Then she did a move Harry couldn't quite describe, fell to the floor and started cursing like a sailor. The spell was broken. Everything that had just a moment ago been as clear cut as a diamond was suddenly as muddled as before, everything Harry had found out about her and himself, forgotten.

Harry raised both eyebrows in surprise, watching bemusedly as she strode to the sound system, still cursing. She flicked a few switches and hit a few buttons and the sound level went down dramatically and another song started.

This one was not as fast as the first had been and was much, much simpler. Harry felt a slight surge of disappointment. Then the words started, and Harry raised a surprised eyebrow.

He's so fine, wish he were mine, that handsome boy over there, the one with the wavy hair,

Taggart, her eyes closed, started dancing to the music, mouthing the words. Her steps this time were much simpler, like the music. Harry watched, interested, awed even, but nothing that he had felt before came back to him.

I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I'm gonna make him mine, be the envy of all the girls, it's just a matter of time,

The song went on and, as Taggart seemingly got into the music, Harry found himself enjoying watching her. When he realised that, he shook himself and stepped back from the door. What was he doing enjoying her company? Well, all right, so it wasn't really company, but still! Harry reached forward and quickly closed the door. Then he turned around and walked stiffly up the stairs, not looking back once.

(OAT(

Harry woke groggily the day after watching Taggart dancing. Earnulf was a monster, a true, complete monster. He had kept Harry up until one in the morning, duelling the entire time. Towards the end, though, it was really just Harry dodging as well as he could and getting a great many painful bruises in the process.

Muttering incoherently, Harry stumbled out of bed, waving a hand to make the bruises go away. Magic really was wonderful for that kind of thing. Unfortunately, magic couldn't wake him up properly. He had yet to figure out why.

Forgetting about the secret door that led to the kitchen, Harry shuffled across his room, out the door and down the stairs. Coffee sounded really good at the moment. Really strong coffee. Really strong coffee. Really, really strong coffee.

'All right Potter! Shut up!' Harry growled in his mind as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Eyes half-closed, Harry didn't see what he tripped over until it was too late. He fell face first, too tired and surprised to do anything, and ended up hitting the floor, very painfully, with his nose. Harry moaned, a bit of a dry sob creeping into his voice.

"Oo-ow." He whimpered, pushing himself up. He looked over his shoulder at what he had tripped over, and he stared at the thing like it had two heads.

It was Cadence Taggart, fast asleep in the middle of the hall.

Harry stared at her for a minute before he came to his senses. When he did, he sat up properly and stared at her some more. Slowly, he raised his hand and poked her side quickly. She mumbled something and rolled over, curling into a ball.

"Ah… Taggart?" Harry called softly. "Taggart?" Harry reached over and shook her shoulder. "Taggart, what the hell are you doing in the middle of the floor?" Harry asked, shaking her more insistently. This time, Taggart rolled over again, latching firmly onto Harry's leg. Harry stared at her, blushing furiously.

"God damn it Taggart, WAKE UP!" Harry yelled, futilely trying to pull her arms off his leg. She just mumbled something again and held on tighter.

"Taggart, I swear to God if you don't wake up now I'm going to float you out of this castle!" Harry said desperately. Taggart frowned, her grip loosening. Harry, seizing his opportunity, yanked his leg away from her. Her frown deepened and she moaned her dissatisfaction and tried to grab his leg again. Harry scrambled back so fast that when he hit the wall, he saw stars.

Taggart, not finding anything to hold onto, frowned again. Then she blinked, somehow managing to keep her eye closed in the process, and sat up slowly.

"Mhndame?" she mumbled, moving her head as though she was looking around, which was impossible as her eyes were still closed.

"Taggart?" Harry asked cautiously. Her head turned to face him.

"Mbrdnamh?" Harry frowned worriedly.

"Are you… er… okay?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Ohmandatlistanmh." Harry raised one eyebrow and stared at her, slightly frightened.

"What?" he questioned, completely confused. Taggart, still facing him, opened her eyes. It seemed to be quite a struggle, too. First, she couldn't even lift her eyelids, then they came open about a sixteenth before closing again. Then an eighth. Then a fourth.

This happened a few times before she got her eyes fully opened, and even then they only stayed open for about two seconds. Harry continued to stare at her.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Harry asked as she began the process all over again.

"Angotguisolatmn." She answered.

"What?" Harry asked helplessly. Taggart lifted a hand, holding up one finger. Getting the message, Harry sat back and watched her go through the process of opening her eyes three more times before they actually stayed open.

Even then she stared around blankly, as if she couldn't see anything.

"Taggart?" she turned to Harry's voice, blinking tiredly.

"Mmhm?" she mumbled, yawning widely.

"What's wrong with you?" Taggart mumbled another mishmash of sounds, out of which Harry only caught three fully formed words:

"Tired… didn't… sleep…"

"And that explains why you were asleep in the middle of my floor… how?" Taggart held a finger up again and yawned three times in a row.

She seemed to be more awake now, and shook her head dazedly.

"What the question?" she asked, her words slurring together. Harry sighed.

"Why were you asleep in the middle of the floor?"

"I was?" Taggart asked back, words still slurred.

"Yes, you were. You made me trip."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Why were you there?"

"Came for breakfast. Couldn't stay awake."

"So you fell asleep on the floor?"

"Mmhm."

"You have to be the maddest, weirdest, most insane person I have ever met."

"Couldn't help being tired." Taggart said as she yawned again.

"Whatever. Don't fall asleep in the middle of the floor again, please. It's not nice to trip over you."

"Why not use door?" said Taggart, her words slurring even more. Harry's eyes widened slightly.

"How do you know about that?" Taggart shrugged, her eyes fluttering closed for a second before she shook her head and they opened again. Harry wrinkled his nose at her. Then, deciding that looks weren't going to be any use when it seemed she didn't even see him, he stood up.

"Look, come with me, I'll make you some coffee, and you can go up to bed. How's that?" Taggart nodded sleepily, stumbling to her feet.

"Good." She mumbled, walking after Harry. He was just at the door to the kitchen when he heard a soft thump and looked back. His shoulders sagged.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," he said, turning around fully.

Cadence Taggart had fallen asleep again, on the floor again, but this time off to the side.

"At least she listened to me." He muttered to himself, shaking his head in annoyance. She was more trouble than she was worth, seriously. Sighing, Harry crouched down beside her.

"Taggart, c'mon Taggart, wake up. You want coffee? You won't get any unless you wake up," he said while shaking her shoulder. He got no response. He sighed again and stood up.

'Hope she doesn't overreact to this…' he thought, lifting a hand. He paused for a millisecond, then waved his hand.

A stream of ice cold water suddenly appeared out of nowhere, right over the witch. She shrieked, jumping to her feet, staring around wildly. Harry bit his lip to keep from grinning. He had always wanted to do that to someone.

Taggart wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly.

"Wha?" she mumbled, blinking. Then her eyes landed on Harry and they narrowed into slits. Harry suddenly found himself quite frightened. She really did look evil. Honestly, she did!

"Dead." She hissed, taking a step towards him and Harry, forgetting that he was master of the castle and could send her to a dungeon with a wave of his hand if he wanted, stepped backwards.

"Er… sorry?" Taggart's glare intensified. She pulled her wand out of the pair of jeans she was wearing and pointed it at Harry. The corners of her mouth turned up into a maniacal smile as Harry continued to back away.

"DIE, EVIL WATER POURER, DIE!" she screamed suddenly, practically giving him a heart attack. He jumped backwards through the door of the kitchen, eyes wide. Taggart glared at him for another minute before the corners of her lips twitched and she burst into peals of laughter.

"Your… face!" she cried, sliding to the floor, her arms wrapped around her stomach. Harry stared at her, heart pounding. Then he narrowed his eyes, turned on his heel and stalked away, completely forgetting his curiosityabout why she had had so much trouble waking up, and leaving her laughing even harder.

(OAT)

There. All done. Tell me what you think!

(Hmm. Cadence has moved up from 'witch' to 'Taggart'. Hmmm.)