Elizabetha could swear Draco and Ginny were acting weird recently. Draco was acting cringy and nervous whenever she saw him, especially around Ginny, and Ginny herself kept rushing off, leaving terrible excuses in her wake.

"I have to go do history homework." Was the latest one, and as Elizabetha watched Ginny speed off she scoffed before flopping back onto a loveseat.

"She does know that you can just write "Oogily googily goblin wars" and get an A, right? Or that if you write all of Ooglily googily yuugily boogily you can get an O?" She asked her other friends, minus Draco who was in detention for hexing Potter in the halls, again, who were scattered around her on various couches. They were in the Slytherin common room again, and now, with the Gryffindor gone, they were getting much less glares, even if Luna was still there, mumbling merrily away in her corner and not responding to any of them.

"Really?" Blaise asked, and she nodded. Yes, I am all knowing, Peter. Plus Sirius told me.

"Yep. I tried. It's all I write for answers in that class anymore, and I'm still passing. I think it's because I actually do anything and write something down, because apparently most of my other classmates don't." She explained, and Peter grinned.

"How do you think erinaceous goblin wars would work?"

"An E, at least. You'd pass, but barely. Try mixing in pouf-pouf or jentacular occasionally and I can guarantee an A for sure."

"I thought this conversation was about Ginny?" Blaise asked, and Elizabetha paused in her listing of other things to write that would get Peter an O. Aww, didn't even get to say Finatrixiebellianabethaniti goblin wars...

"Ah, yeah, I forgot. Gin's lying. I don't know what she's doing, but it probably has something to do with the huge snake in the walls. They seem alarmingly close." When the others froze and stared at her, aside from Luna who had started cheerily humming, she frowned. I thought I told them about that... "Did I not mention that there was a huge snake in the walls?" They shook their heads, and Luna switched tunes. "Oh. I could've sworn I did. Anyhow, there's a giant, Salazar-be-damned snake slithering through the pipes and walls of Hogwarts. I thought you knew, Blaise. Was it not there last year?"

"No. No, there was not a big snake in our walls, or pipes, last year. How- how big, exactly?"

"Oh, big enough to easily swallow a thestral, why? Don't worry, it won't eat you. It's not allowed to eat purebloods. It possibly can eat me, though, so I think I'm gonna high-tail it to Professor Snape and ask him for some decent defense spells, just in case. And maybe warn him that it can possibly eat him too. He'll probably want to know that."

xXx

Ginny hurried down the hall and into the Gryffindor common room, ignoring the looks of disgust and suspicion she got as she headed toward the dormitories. Even the Slytherins themselves are nicer to me then my own house nowadays. At least most of them only seem annoyed by me now. And Mina talks to me. Mina, as it turned out Peter's sister was named, was actually quite nice. Peter had introduced them to each other the third day they were friends, and the older Slytherin was easily among the kindest people she knew. Apparently her big ambition was actually to become wise, and personally Ginny thought she had already reached it. The pretty freckled third year had been helpfully dumping advice on her whenever she asked. Also, Elizabetha double checked her homework for her. You literally couldn't find a better friend then that, as far as Ginny was concerned.

Just as she got to the dormitory entrances, a third year stepped in front of her, barring her path. Bethany Feltip, if she remembered correctly.

"Ginny Weasley." The girl began. She was tall and stocky, with curly black hair. Behind her stood one of the Patil twins, and another third year Ginny didn't recognize. "We need to talk. We've all noticed that you've been hanging out with the snakes a lot." Bethany said, gaining the attention and nods of several people around. She pronounced snakes like it was a stain upon the earth, and Ginny felt anger rise within her. Ginny cast a quick look around, but no one she knew was about. At least, no one who would help her. Her siblings were all gone, as well as Harry and the brown-haired girl, Hermione. She looked back at Bethany as the girl continued. "And we want to tell you to stop. Or else." She said menacingly, or at least she probably thought that's what she sounded like. Ginny had heard much worse when a Hufflepuff had insulted Draco, unknowing that Elizabetha was right behind him. It had taken both Peter and her half an hour to calm the blond girl down. And he had still had his books shredded by the blond.

"What if I don't want to." Ginny shot back, and Bethany startled, as if she had not actually expected Ginny to refuse. Then she smirked.

"Then I'd say your brave. And that you don't belong in this house."

"Well last I checked Gryffindors house is actually about being brave, not hating Slytherins you don't even know for no other reason then their house. Elizabetha's made more effort to be my friend then you, so yeah, of course I like hanging out with her more then you. Are you jealous, or something?" Ginny snapped, and Parvati and the other girl tittered as Bethany scowled.

"Well maybe I don't want to associate with some snake wannabe! Maybe you have no friends for a reason, Weasley." The girls snapped, and despite herself Ginny felt her eyes prickle. Bethany, seeing her reaction, continued. "What, are you trying to get in with You-Know-Who? Does the littlest Weasley want to be a Death Eater?" At that accusation, half the room began to mutter among themselves, and Ginny could practically feel what already delicate relationships she had with her house mates shatter, with just that. If it was me, it would take much more to lose my trust in a person, I'm sure. How can they give up that easily? "I bet that's what your friend will end up as. Your friend the death eater. You think she's friends with you because she likes you? Ha, I bet she's just using you!" That struck a cord, and Ginny pushed past the older girl in tears as she rushed to get to anyplace private. When she reached the empty room she usually shared with a few other girls she threw herself down on the bed and cried.

When the tears had slowed to a reasonable amount, she fished around in her schoolbag for a pencil, and then from beneath her pillow produced a little black notebook.

Tom, she wrote, her writing neat but blurred by tears. I'm sorry I'm crying on you. But I need to talk to you.

Moments later there was a reply, words in an elegant script appearing on the plain page as if written by an invisible hand. Whatever is wrong, Ginny?

Snape looked up as the door of his classroom opened. He didn't have another class for an hour, though. Or maybe it was the Potter brat, here to complain again...

"Hello, Professor!" A cheerful rasp said instead, and in came a girl with pale skin, ringlets, and dark circles under her eyes.

"Elizabetha." He drawled, setting aside the papers he had been grading. As usual, Harry Potter was hopeless. You simply do not confuse blueberries with beetle eyes. They're totally different. A definite P. "What can I do for you?"

He actually liked Elizabetha. As much as he could like anyone. She was talented at potions, and polite, and pleasant in general. He knew most people thought she was odd, that there were rumors about her flying around already, not all of them kind, and she definitely was strange but she wasn't an idiot in his book. She was as crazy as Baba Yaga, but she wasn't absolutely terrible, or a total imbecile. Which was the best you could get with him.

"I was hoping to learn some spells that would help me defend against an, oh, say, hungry thirty something meter long snake that lives in the pipe network of Hogwarts. Just for example." He stared at her. Crazier then Baba Yaga...? "What? Just for instance. Oh, and also because there actually is a hungry thirty something meter long snake living in the pipe network of Hogwarts. Don't tell anyone, it's a secret. So, any helpful spells?"

If he didn't know any better, he'd think the girl had been raised by crazy people. Unless she was, he didn't know her parents. And quite seriusly, if they had managed to produce a child like this, talented or not, he had no desire to.

"What kind of snake?"

"Big as hell. With sharp, pointy, poisonous fangs and a gaze that kills. Literally. And getting hungrier by the moment." She told him, absolutely serious.

"The killing curse is all I can think of at this point, honestly."

That and Sirius Black puns, but he wasn't going to tell her that. He had hated the man, but Merlin, the humor stuck forever.

I love Sirius Black puns. Snape is right, they stick forever.

Sooooo... I haven't gotten any more reviews on the matter, so I'm just going to go ahead with the one I did get and have Narcissa as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. That way she can fawn over Draco and spoil the Slytherins. Plus, Cissa is awesome. So thanks for recommending her, Toraach.

Anyhow... I'm sorry, I don't know any of you but I want to brag, and guess what? I got two new cats, Avaati (Orange tabby) and Bellatrix Black (Black and white), and they are utterly adorable! They like to stare at my fish tank and sleep on my keyboard and knock things over, but they're so cute I totally forgive them.

And that's all. Please for give me for all the butchering I've done to this series, and please review! Byeeeeee!