Author's Note:
Sorry about the long wait everyone, I've been ever so busy between work, university, friends and my own personal issues that need dealing with. But here it is, the next chapter in my story. I hope you enjoy it. I'll try to write the next chapter soon; I promise you won't have to wait this long again.
Peace and love everyone

Update (5th August)
I've written the next chapter but I'm not going to bother to continue with this story if people don't actually like it. Sure, I can see the traffic on this story and I can see how some people are keeping up with it but with only two reviews, it doesn't make me happy because how the hell am I supposed to know if anyone even likes it? Stuff is about to go down hardcore in Hogwarts (imagine Half-Blood Prince, but 'accelerated'), but I won't bother with this if no one reads it. I'll post the next chapter in the next few days and I'll wait one month for some results.


"Indico Obscurus!" Samuel almost thundered as he jabbed his wand at the locked wooden box on his desk with as much force as he could. The professor sighed at the failed attempt and placed his hands on his hips as he stood on top of a small mountain of textbooks.

"Mister Flinter, that's incorrect! You need to hold your wand in the Uriar Grip, jab trice and pronounce each vowel quietly while each consonant must be loud and drawn out, now try again."

The diminutive Professor Flitwick admonished Samuel once more for his pathetic attempt at casting the fairly-complex Indico Charm. While over three-quarters of the class could already cast the spell with relative ease, the other half including Samuel could barely get their wand to flare, let alone emit the bright-purple rays that the others could. They had all been going out it for over an hour now, chanting the pronunciations in an assortment of different ways but to Flitwick it must have been obvious who had read their textbooks during the break and trip to Hogwarts and those who had not. All across the room, wooden boxes were being rendered transparent by the charm, allowing the students to glimpse the contents which was generally just a stack of feathers.

It was finally Friday and the weekend was just hours away marking an end for a startling first week filled with work, work and more work. Samuel had chosen his subjects very haphazardly, not really considering a future career in any field. It had come down to Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Ancient Runes and Astronomy. Immediately upon his entrance into each class the professors would take him aside and compare what knows against the curriculum. Each had been surprised at the amount of knowledge Samuel had when it came to Potions, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts, but he was only found to be average in Charms and Ancient Runes. Professor Sprout had almost refused to allow Samuel to enter the Greenhouse with the rest of his class when she found out that he hadn't even been introduced to a Mandrake or a Shining Ireboll, but in the end she had allowed him in on probation as long as he caught up quickly. Between the extra study he had taken up in order to stay in Herbology and the massive work-load from his other classes, Samuel had barely enough time to see the friends he had made so far. Only Luna and Leanne were in his classes as Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff shared class-times, but even then Leanne had a lot of her own friends to hang out with. Samuel reckoned that Leanne was still thinking about the incident with the Love Potion at his party as it would explain her constant blushing but she wasn't giving him much chance to make it up to her. Just that morning Taryn had jokingly referred once more to Leanne's missing pair of panties as she told the story of Samuel's party to some of the other Ravenclaws, causing Leanne to flee from her spot opposite Katie who had sat next to Samuel.

"Wow, she's still embarrassed about that? I'm sure I explained your theory about the temperature... or maybe I forgot," Katie had told Samuel, winking playfully. "Let her work it out for herself, my poor Leanne needs something to help her forget all the crazy stuff happening outside these walls."

"But what if she gets the wrong impression of me? It was at my uncle's place and she had been sleeping right next to me."
"Oh toughen up, princess. Besides, it wouldn't really be the 'wrong' impression, would it?"

Samuel had relented after that and had organized to have lunch with the girls later on, promising them that they would all work out a revenge plan against his cousin in the process. He had seen Samantha even less than Taryn and Katie as Samantha had been sorted into Gryffindor, but he had bumped into her and Ginny once or twice since arriving. They had avoided him whenever possible but even then Samuel went out of his way to try tracking her down once or twice, just to make her sweat a bit.

Glancing across the flashing lights to the other side of the room, Samuel flashed an embarrassed smile to Leanne. The witch had been one of the first to grasp the method of casting the spell correctly and had taken to helping her fellow Hufflepuffs.

"Mister Flinter, I asked you to cast the charm correctly, not to try charming the young ladies across the room!" Flitwick said as loudly as his small form could manage with a degree of both sternness and playfulness, exciting laughter from the rest of the class while Leanne blushed and began jabbing her wand in an erratic behavior while her face grew even more red.

"You aren't really doing it right," Luna's dreamy voice pierced the heightening anger in Samuel's head that was threatening to erupt at any moment.

"No kidding, Luna. If I was doing it right then I'd have already done it, wouldn't I?"
Samuel's vision was obscured for a moment as Luna's hand reached across and pressed two fingers into the space between Samuel's eyes. "You're supposed to imagine yourself seeing inside the box over here, through what daddy calls 'Your Sixth Eye'."

"And what's your Third, Fourth and Firth Eye?"

"Well, your Third Eye is how you can see the future and divine prophecies. Your Fourth Eye is how people can only see animals that are hidden until death itself is seen while your Fifth Eye allows you to see into the Oreigon Sphere," Luna replied while staring inside the chest she had been assigned.

"I have no idea what that means, I hope you know that Luna. I've never heard of the Oreigon-" started Samuel, but Flitwick had noticed the chattering sixth-years.
"While I don't expect any of you to actually successfully cast this charm on objects any more complex then a simple unlocked box as it is N.E.W.T.s level, those of you who do understand the thought-process that goes into making this charm work will go on to become great users of Charms indeed! Remember, you must concentrate on the chest and firmly believe in yourself!"

Samuel threw a malevolent look at Flitwick's turned back and concentrated on the words in his mind, holding his wand in a three-fingered grip, much the same as one would hold a pencil. Jabbing the wand's tip three times, he tried again.

A horribly-striped purple cushion flew through the air straight at Samuel but he reacted too slowly. Whacking into his face with a muffled thump, the cushion dropped onto his desk revealing a grinning Micheal Corner on the other side of the room who immediately stood and high-fived a pimply, stocky boy next to him. Turning at the noise, Flitwick gazed at Samuel with disgust.

"What's this, Mister Flinter? It's not a time for resting; it's a time for learning! Put that cushion away and get back to work or you'll have to make this up during your lunch break," threatened the vertically-challenged professor before turning to help one of the Hufflepuffs while Michael and his friend jeered at Samuel. Grumbling under his breath, Samuel knocked the cushion to the ground and concentrated on the chest again. During the week Michael had been a regular arse towards Samuel and seemed to particularly enjoy humiliating him with these sorts of displays. At first Michael had just bad-mouthed Samuel behind his back after Samuel made it perfectly clear that he had no interest in being friends with him, but that had escalated rapidly into snide rumors and nasty pranks. During dinner on his third day at Hogwarts, Samuel had almost bitten into a toffee apple that Michael had enchanted to grow to an unbelievable size once its structure had been compromised. During Potions on Thursday, Samuel had almost poured fish flakes into his Bedlam Poison after it had been switched with the White Tiger skin cells that he was supposed to use. Samuel had smelt the difference after the switch and promptly summoned back the right ingredient which had found itself underneath the desk Michael had been using. Professor Slughorn saw the flying cup of skin cells but said nothing, keeping his eyes on Michael for the rest of the lesson and finding as many ways of disparaging him as he could.

Lazily waving his wand in the air, Samuel chanted the words for a spell that he hoped might turn the odds around in his favor.
The entire class erupted into giggles as a purple mist was discharged out of Samuel's wand before dissipating in the air. Only Leanne didn't laugh, who had seen Michael's prank with the cushion and was now casting a disapproving look at him. Flitwick turned back to Samuel with a pause and began to berate him once more.

"This is a serious breach of class etiquette, Mister Flinter! I try to be understanding to all my students here at Hogwarts but you are seriously trying my patience. It's not everyday that I get students from other countries join us so late in their school life but I'm determined to see you progress with the rest of the class-"
On the other side of the room, Leanne had half-stood out of her seat, winking to Samuel before poking her wand between the shoulders of the pair of Hufflepuffs sitting in front of her to aim at Michael. Ernie MacMillan and Hannah Abbot had turned in shock at the wand's proximity, but Leanne whispered something silently to them. Both of them then turned back to watch the proceedings, Ernie offering Samuel a thumbs up.

"-It would be a real shame if I had to keep you in for extra Charms work, Mister Flinter. You're showing a surprising lack of progress with this spell. I had specially prepared these chests to be used in my class by casting a variety of charms that would render them vulnerable to the Indico Charm but even then you haven't made a single step forward-"
Leanne began to chant a spell under her breathe while giving her wand a single swish. Thinking quickly, Samuel jabbed his wand towards the chest again.
"Indico Obscurus," Samuel cried out right as a silvery flash of light shot out of Leanne's wand and hit Michael squarely in the back of the head. His own wand seemed to grow hotter in his hand, similar to how it had acted on his first night at Hogwarts before releasing a brilliant wave of purple light that cascaded over half the room. Instantly every chest in the path of the spell was rendered see-through while even the students and Flitwick himself had become partially transparent. Samuel looked in wonder at the people around him, watching their hearts beat in rhythm, sending blood flowing through their veins and pumping into their organs. The class was absolutely silent until a shriek rang out.
Across the room, Michael's skin had begun to grow at a horrific rate, sending his nose, ears and chin soaring far below his shoulders while his fingers which had grown almost twelve inches longer flopped around as the excess of skin caused him to lose his grip on whatever he tried to grab hold of. Michael tried to open his mouth but all that came out was a liquid gurgle.

Flitwick dashed towards Michael, pulling out his especially short wand and waving it in a circular motion.


"So then Flitwick had to begin shrinking Michael, one limb at a time? That's too much!" Katie Bell giggled, her mouth full of pumpkin pie.

"As a prefect I would have been obligated to stop our dear Leanne from causing all that fuss, but personally I decided that Corner deserved that jinx; his constant jabbering during our classes was disturbing my studies," Ernie announced rather pompously, but nevertheless brought some laughter to the group of friends that had gathered for lunch.

At first what was planned as a lunch between Samuel, Katie and Leanne had turned into a proper gathering; Ernie MacMillan, Hannah Abbot and a dark-haired boy who Samuel didn't know joined them from the Hufflepuff table, Hermione Granger had dragged Ron Weasely with her from the Gryffindor table while Tasia Abramovich and Luna Lovegood gradually made their way from the other end of the table, both of them taking their time while discussing one absurd topic or another. The group of ten were taking up a significant amount of space on the Ravenclaw table and it was difficult to communicate with the whole group so they had quickly decided it would be better to take their group elsewhere. Katie, Hermione and Ernie had all conjured wicker baskets and began to gather food off the table, preparing several picnic hampers.
After five minutes arguing with a slightly pink Michael Corner who was demanding to know why they were taking so much food off the table and out of the Great Hall, Samuel found himself sitting out on a blanket with the rest of the group near the coast of the Great Lake, the smell of freshly-cut grass in the air. Samuel took a ham and salad sandwich from the platter conjured on the blanket, taking a small bite out of it while the group continued to discuss that morning's events.

"Turn's out that Leanne's Stretching Jinx was a bit stronger then she expected, eh Leanne," Katie nudged Leanne's ticklish side with her elbow playfully, causing her friend to seize up and squeal.

"That little git did look a bit red," Ron commented, almost spraying the chicken in his mouth everywhere.
"You can talk, Ron," joked Katie, causing the red-head's cheeks to grow as red as his hair while the group laughed.

"I heard Madam Pomfrey talking to Slughorn about it, apparently after Professor Flitwick stopped the Jinx from stretching him any further he couldn't undo it fully, so Michael had to go to Madam Pomfrey," Tasia said, barely taking her eyes from her novel. "Madam Pomfrey was able to shrink his skin again but for some reason Michael's skin is staying all pink and red no matter what anti-Jinx she uses so she went and asked Slughorn for advice."

"Damn, I was hoping they wouldn't realize," cursed Samuel. "I did that to him, when I was pretending to cast the Indico Charm. Remember that purple mist?"

"You mean when you managed to cast the Indico Charm on the entire class? That was quite extraordinary, I must say," Ernie said thoughtfully, gripping his chin with one hand like an old Greek philosopher. "And to think that you seemed to be having trouble with casting the spell even at a functional level."

"You cast the Maxima Indico Charm without even knowing how to cast a regular Indico Charm properly? That's amazing!" Hermione's eyes were brimming with excitement and she leaned towards Samuel. "You've got to show me, that's brilliant! I've read all about it, it takes hours, if not days in preparation of your targets in order to cast a Maxima Indico Charm successfully. What happened?"

Samuel shrugged. "It just kinda happened, you know? Flitwick was bugging me and I just tried casting it again, and that was it. Flitwick had to dispel almost everyone in the room."

Hermione nodded, almost shaking from excitement as she processed and categorized what Samuel said into her brain for future reference. "What did it feel like? A normal Indico Charm can't penetrate the human form, but the Maxima Indico Charm can."

Ernie and Hannah shook their heads as neither of them were caught in the spell's arc, but the boy who sat with them, who Samuel learn twas named Justin Finch-Fletchly sat forward and looked at Samuel in a strange way. "It was kind of funny, felt light, as if I could almost float upwards," he said, speaking slowly. "At one point I looked downwards, saw right through my own stomach. Freaked me out."

"Mate, if I could straight through my stomach I'd probably be freaked out too," Ron said, awkwardly patting Justin on the shoulder. Luna stood up and began to pace around the group, counting under her breath.

"Ron, if we saw what was inside your stomach we'd probably faint. You basically devoured an entire chicken and pudding," Katie joked, once more causing Ron's face to grow red as the group giggled and laughed. Hermione tried to stifle her giggling when Ron looked angrily at her but she failed miserably.

"But seriously guys, something strange is going on with my wand. On my first night here it grew super-hot and when I tried casting a flame arrow spell I instead got a swarm of dozens of arrows which traveled hundreds of feet before exploding. Then when I tried transmogrifying a tinderbox into a mouse, it instead blew up into a giant rat! My raven nearly shat itself at the sight," Samuel burst out. He had been wondering what it meant, why his wand was acting so peculiarly. "This morning it did the same thing; it grew hot and then it made me cast the Maxima Indico Charm."

"Maximized Flame Arrows doing plus two D six fire damage," Tasia mumbled, not taking her eyes away from her book and missing the strange looks everyone gave her.

"It doesn't sound too impossible," Hermione stated. "But it's not something that a student should have. Maybe you should ask Flitwick or Dumbledore, both of them know a lot about magical artifacts and I'm sure they can help you out."

"Of course they will; the moment they see what my wand can do they'll take it away from me. They'll tell me how dangerous it is and that will be the end of it."

"Mate, it does sound kinda dangerous." Ron was looking at Samuel curiously now, like he was some sort of animal in an exhibit.

"It's fine, it doesn't happen all the time anyways. Besides, after I received my grandfather's wand I left mine back at my uncles. If this gets taken away then I'll have nothing here to use. I'll go into the library tomorrow and start researching, maybe I'll find something similar in there."

"I'll help you look." Tasia announced quietly, peering at Samuel over the top of her novel. "I'll be in there anyways."

"Erm... I'll help too. I need to go in the library for our Ancient Runes essay so I can help you out for a few hours," Leanne offered before lapsing into giggles as Katie began to tickle her again.

"I still think you should go to Dumbledore-" started Hermione again, but Leanne's shrieks of laughter interrupted her. The dark-haired girl struggled to pull away from Katie's relentless assault but Katie wasn't budging. Squirming around until she could no longer take it, Katie only stopped once Leanne had tears of laughter gathering around her eyes. Huffing, Leanne laid back onto the blanket, exhausted.

"Katie, where's Taryn? Doesn't she had lunch off?" Samuel asked, changing the subject.
Katie gave him a wicked grin then waved her hand lazily at the castle. "Rebecca Clearwater broke down in Care of Magical Creatures and was told to relax in the Common Room and try to calm down so when Taryn heard about it she took Rebecca for a walk about the castle. Her sister Heather has also been having a few problems lately so she wasn't really in the right state to take care of Rebecca. Since we're on the subject of missing persons, where's the third member of your trio, Hermione?"

"Harry? I'm not sure," Hermione said, rather unconvincingly. "I think he may have stopped by the library."

"Fifteen steps," Luna announced.

No one paid any attention to her.

"The library? While I can respect his dedication to study more as we are soon approaching our N.E.W.T.s year, it's only the first week," Ernie stood up, wiping the crumbs from his robes. "Well everyone, I must take my leave now. There's much work to be done."
Hannah and Justin stood up, bidding the others goodbye. Together the three Hufflepuffs made their way back to the castle.

"I hope we can do this more often, it's more fun then eating alone." Leanne had been silent for a while, watching the proceedings like the member of an audience. "Don't you think so, Tasia?"

The book-worm jumped at the sound of her name, her novel dropping into her lap as she nodded enthusiastically before taking off her glasses to wipe them. Hermione leaned over to see the cover of the novel while Ron picked up his third pumpkin pie and began to consume it in record time. They still had some time left before their afternoon classes started so no one was in any particular rush.

"Fifteen steps," Luna said loudly, once again trying to get everyone's attention. Hermione just rolled her eyes while Tasia turned around suddenly to stare at the blonde girl.

"What's fifteen steps?" Samuel asked.

"It takes exactly fifteen steps to make one full circuit of this blanket," Luna replied, once more walking around the group as if to reinforce her point.

"And that means...?"

Hermione buried her head into her hands as Luna launched into an explanation. "When a flat surface takes exactly fifteen steps to walk around its circumference, that surface becomes a beacon to the Gilgori. The Gilgori can use their magic to turn the beacon into a portal that leads into their place of existence. Daddy says that if you stand within the portal during the thirteenth hour of the day then the Gilgori can enter your mind. It's almost one o'clock."

"Luna..." Leanne started, but Luna pressed on.

"Once they enter your mind, they feed on your magical ability. Not consuming it, just feeding off the residue that is made after each spell we cast. Once they eat up enough they can split their form, entering the minds of any children that are born from the victim."

"Oh come off it, that's impossible Loon-" Ron started, letting out a cry of pain as Hermione poked him in the side with her wand. "I-I mean, that sounds too fantastic to be real, Luna."

"Daddy told me about them over the holidays, he told me that Uncle Loken found himself caught in a portal once and from then on always saw these shining purple fires in the corner of his eye. I think we should get off the blanket now."

Hermione looked like she was going to argue but Samuel interrupted her. "We've still got a minute, we'll just stand on the grass until it's one minute past one then we can sit back down again. Does that sound reasonable? Hermione?"

Hermione didn't answer; she stood up and promptly tugged Ron backwards off the blanket. Katie laughed at the absurdity but offered no argument, stretching as she strolled closer to the lake's coast. Tasia gathered up the small mound of books that she had brought with her and placed them into a sack that quickly shrunk enough that it could fit into her pocket. Tasia took off her glasses in order to clean them once again, her ever-present red cloth wiping the non-existent dust away as she sat in among the flower beds, reminding Samuel of a beautiful little doll sitting in a glade. Samuel hadn't really spoken to Tasia much over the week; the small girl was always either reading or studying.

"What's your favorite part about Hogwarts?" Samuel asked her while Luna hurried Leanne off the blanket.

Tasia didn't reply at first, surprised at the suddenness of the question. "Ummmm... I would say... my friends," she answered, brushing a few of her fingers through her black hair. "That's sort of a strange question..."

"I guess I just haven't spoken to you much yet, you seem to like reading a lot."

Tasia shrugged, pulling off her glasses and tapping them with her wand. Tasia watched the glass tint before replacing them back on her face. "I've always liked to read; I'm not very good with real people. The world is kind of overwhelming sometimes. A book is so simple, so easy for me to follow."

"Maybe you just need some more practice." Samuel stared at the clouds above for a moment before continuing. "Is there anything you've ever wanted to do?"

Tasia watched Luna count the seconds down on Hermione's watch. "I always wanted to see a dragon. There was some at the Triwizard Tournament but I didn't go and missed out." Tasia's voice was tinged with sadness, startling Samuel, but she wasn't finished. "It was all my fault though; I wanted to read in the library instead of watching the first event. I guess if I had been a bit more social I might have had some friends to go with."

"You didn't have any friends?"

Ron immediately jumped back down onto the blanket after Luna blew a sigh of relief. Hermione looked at him with disgust then sat down, putting away whatever food hadn't been eaten yet. It proved to be a race against time as Ron began to scavenge whatever pumpkin pies and cherry croissants were left; stuffing as many into his mouth and pockets as he could.

"No, not really. I've always kind of been alone," Tasia looked at Luna before turning to the castle. "Luna and I became friends last year after we were partnered for a project in Divination. I met Taryn and Katie near the end of last semester and here I am. Usually people would ignore me because of my books but they didn't. I'm glad," she said simply, a faint smile touching her lips as she looked at Katie now reclining at the very edge of the lake.

"I would be really happy if you'd come and hang out with us more often," Samuel grinned, gesturing to the others around them. "It's wonderful to meet so many different people, to make such a diverse group of friends-" Samuel stopped, seeing Tasia's eyebrows raise in a amused way. "I guess that sounded a bit strange and stupid, right?"

"A little. Too much like a protagonist from a teenage fiction novel. I don't mind though, I know what you meant. I'll be glad to come along more often, thank you Samuel." Tasia smiled back at Samuel, her doll-like features appearing even more apparent. Samuel could almost imagine her inside some old museum exhibit; a curio from the eighteenth century crafted in a time when the finest doll-makers existed. Standing up, she brushed her robes off and stared at Samuel for a moment, letting the wind catch her long hair and lightly blow it across her face. Stepping closer, she gave Samuel a quick hug.
"Thanks," she said quietly before quickly saying goodbye to everyone, hurrying back towards the castle to prepare for her next lesson. Luna seemed to almost float after her, turning to wave silently only briefly.

"I guess that's our cue too. Ron, stop whining," Hermione ordered, swishing her wand in a wide arc. Instantly the baskets began to float up in the air at chest-level. Ron just lay on the ground, holding his stomach and groaning.

"I ate too much," he groaned, his face full of agony. "Just leave me behind, its only Potions."

"Get up Ron! You're not going to miss out on the very first lesson of Potions of the year so get rolling."

"What about you three, what are your plans for the afternoon?" Hermione watched Ron begin to slowly wriggle himself into a sitting position, moaning and groaning as his stomach burbled.

"I'm going to see Madam Pomfrey; a few of the students who were working as her nurses during their free time were pulled out of Hogwarts so she's been looking for replacements," Leanne said, idling swishing her wand about. "Professor Flitwick told me I have a penchant for healing charms and I should give it a shot."
"Can you do anything for him?" Hermione nodded her head at Ron.

"Sure, just march him to bed and don't let him eat for the rest of the day," called out Katie from where she lay. "You all go and have fun, I'm just going kick back over here for a while. Next week I'm going to have an absolute pile of work to do between my N.E.W.T.s and Quidditch so here I am, relaxing while I can. Sam?"
"Oh hell, don't call me that," Samuel grimaced, sitting down next to Katie. "I'm gonna stick around here with Katie; I didn't take Arithmancy or Muggle Studies so I'm fine to chill for the rest of the afternoon until Astronomy."

"Fair enough, we'll see you later then."
Hermione and Ron walked back towards the castle with Ron holding onto Hermione for dear life as they went up the slight hill. The breeze blew against them, causing both of the struggling Gryffindors to pause as they threatened to tumble over.

"I'll see you both later at dinner. Please don't stay out here too long," Leanne asked, a look of concern in her eyes. "With all this trouble going on..."
"It's fine, we won't be long. Even if Katie refuses to, I'll just drag her back to the castle by the hem of her robes."

"Sounds kinda kinky, who says I wouldn't enjoy that," Katie teased, a playful glint in her eyes. Samuel heard Leanne take a sharp intake of breath and noticed her face pale, but Katie merely laughed and waved away her comment. "It's alright Leanne, I'm not the one you need to fight for him over with."

Katie's laughter echoed in the wind as Leanne ran to the castle, not turning around even a single time. Samuel shook his head, a shy grin plastering his features as he took a seat next to Katie, his hands on his knees.

"Fucking hell, did you really have to do that? As if it wasn't hard enough to try and get her to calm down after all that stuff that happened at my place, now I'm going to have to deal with that all over again."

"Oh stop complaining so much." Katie leaned up onto one elbow, slugging Samuel's bicep with the other hand. "You've really got to deal with all this nonsense. It's obvious to anyone with half a brain and two eyes that both Leanne and Taryn have a thing for you; both of them showing it in different ways. Leanne is nervous, shy; she's amazed by you and is far too insecure of herself so she's just staying by the side-lines, hoping that you'll come around and sweep her off her feet. I wouldn't object to that; Leanne needs someone reliable and intelligent. Not to mention good-looking." Katie laughed before launching herself at Samuel, pushing him down onto the grass.

Samuel struggled with the brunette, laughing along with her as they grappled dangerously close to the lake's surface. At first Samuel didn't fight back too hard, worried that he'd hurt Katie if he pushed her too hard, but Katie wasn't a weak girl. Years of Quidditch had toughened her up, surprising Samuel with hidden reserves of strength. Within no time at all Katie pinned Samuel's hands above his head, watching him squirm beneath her body while she sat on his torso.

"It's too bad I'm loyal to Taryn, or you'd be such a catch! But, since we're talking about Taryn..." Katie leaned forward until Samuel felt her breath hot on his face.

"Here's the deal; I know you like her and I know she likes you. Taryn will sooner or later make her move unless you do it first; she isn't a shy person like Leanne but make no mistake, she won't do it somewhere public so stop being so nervous!" Katie exclaimed, letting go of Samuel's wrists and swinging her legs over the side of his body. She still sat on him but at least Samuel could move now.

"Katie, I don't know the hell you're going on about. They're both just my-"

"Shut up."

Samuel cried out in pain as Katie reached around and slapped him across the face. He felt the hurt flesh beneath his hand, radiating across his face. Katie leaned in again.

"Don't pretend you only think of them as friends. As I said, I know you like them both. But they aren't the only ones, are they? You're a very complicated person, aren't you?"

Samuel tried to push Katie off, but the witch wouldn't budge. He was getting desperate, and not just for Katie to get off of him. He had always been a very private person, his thoughts always being known to only one person and that was himself. Tensing his muscles, he prepared to try pushing Katie off again.

"None of that now. Calm on, you should be able to figure out why I'm telling you this." Katie stood up, letting Samuel go.

"Don't you trust me? Aren't we friends? We may have not known each other for so long-" Samuel started, scrambling to his feet but Katie sighed with exasperation.

"Samuel, shut up. You like like them both more then just as a friend so stop denying it, just like there's someone else in the school who you like. Let me make something clear; don't you dare hurt any of them." Katie's face had taken on a stern nature, jabbing her finger at him with each sentence. This was the first time Samuel had seen her like this; usually Katie was very jovial, care-free, but she was showing her inner self now. She was doing what every friend would do; making sure that her best friends weren't hurt by some idiot who couldn't make up his mind.

"Katie... I know. I'm sorry." This was it and Samuel knew it. If his secret was known then there was no reason he couldn't speak freely now. He reached out and grabbed her left hand and held it with both hands, releasing emotions that he had imprisoned deep within him, too far for most people to see them. "I've been a moron. I haven't always been this way, I just can't help it. My life is just a mess right now, no matter how much I don't want to admit it. There are people dying out there, my grandfather being one of them yet here I am; falling for almost every girl I meet. I don't know what it is.
When I first met Taryn, I was completely taken away by her. She was just so... Irish. Fun, beautiful, intelligent; she was adventurous and courageous. Tackling that baby dragon together brought something out of me; I saw her for what she was and I wanted to be with her so badly. Then that episode at St Mungos happened. I'm not an idiot, I heard what the Healers were saying and more or less understood between them and what Faolán had told me. I want to be there for her, to help her in case something happens like that again. Then I met you and Leanne at the hospital; I remember Leanne being so shy, blushing constantly and barely saying a word. I understood that it was because of me and I felt so happy; it was absolutely wonderful for me because never before had a girl shown interest in me like that. She's almost as doll-like as Tasia, the part of my brain that wants to protect people going into overdrive for her.

But you're right; I can't make up my mind. About either of them. About anyone. Until I can fix this then I can't be with no one. I guess that's an answer right there; I can just ignore my feelings and stay alone, at least then they won't be hurt."

Katie snorted. "Stupid, you're missing the obvious point here. They like you. If they can't be with you then they'll be hurt regardless and I'd really prefer that not to happen. Not that I'd have to be the one to punish you of course. You met Maon, Taryn's younger brother. I heard he'd already nearly killed another student because of her."

"True enough," Samuel sighed. "What should I do?"

Katie didn't say anything. She didn't have to. They both stood in silence for a while, watching the sun slowly manoeuvre its way towards the horizon. Neither noticed the other's silence, too engrossed in their own thoughts. Samuel could only think of each of the girls in turn and how he would hurt them with his uselessness and idiocy. Katie was right; he would need to make up his mind and act soon, before they could act on their feelings. If even one of them tried to talk to him about it, the rest would all be effected.


In a distant part of the forest, the trees no longer sang. A dark force had come, scattering the wild animals and sentient ones alike. The proud centaur clans of the north abandoned their part of the forest, retreating from the darkness that killed all that beheld it. Scouts were sent to perceive what the danger was and to gather help from the humans but no news of this ever reached Dumbledore's ears. Their groves destroyed and their fields burnt, the centaurs cried out for the days of yore.
Gone were the days of peace and life in the Forbidden Forest; instead death had come bearing wielding forces almost as great as the old magic of the forest. Giants strode in the vanguard; gathering great trunks from the oldest trees while beings with hearts of darkness trailed behind them, hiding their sizable allies from the eyes of any that would look across the breadth of the forest. Things were going to change soon, but the trees could only watch as their forest was overwhelmed.