"Stop it, stop it right now! Hermione she's doing it again!"
Many heads turned toward the Gryffindor table in confusion. Nobody ever understood what 'it' was but it seemed to be connected to the black bird that was currently boring it's yellow eyes into Gwen's own green ones.
"Honestly Neville, just do what we always do." Hermione sighed, not even bothering to lower her book.
Neville fidgeted for a moment before flicking his wand towards the lonely bacon strip and then levitating it towards the bird's beak. The bird didn't even seem to react towards the offered bacon as it leaned closer to Gwen's face. Gwen in returned narrowed her eyes and arched an eyebrow.
Neville had no idea what this was about, that bird came every morning and the same routine would happen. Nothing ever changed about, except for today.
"Alright, alright. You win." Gwen finally snapped and glared as the bird puffed it's chest out.
"Just this once Kronos! Just this once!" to emphasize her point she raised a single threatening finger and nodded when the owl hooted. Grabbing the tied envelope Gwen stared at it for a moment before it lit on fire.
Hermione flinched away as the smoke rose, Neville gaped at the smoke before shaking his head and concentrated on his now soggy cereal.
"I never said I would open it." Gwen shot a smirk towards the gaping bird – if birds could gape. Grabbing her things she stood up from the table.
"Where are you going?" Hermione called out after her.
"Brooding!" Gwen replied not bothering to turn around.
Hermione sighed, this had been happening a lot lately. Gwen being chipper and then the next moment she was brooding. Gwen never told them anything but Hermione suspected it was about that Ezra boy. She hadn't heard of him in a long time. Forgetting about Gwen she focused on her reading.
Lately she has been having trouble sleeping, nightmares lurked in the depths of her subconscious when she closed her eyes. Always the same one, the trill of fear and Gwen looming over her. All the books pointed towards a memory, one in which she was in a semi-conscious state, but this one, this one she had gotten from the Restricted Section and mention memories being erased in such a way that it would be undetectable, except for in the subconscious which was a nearly impossible area to breach. Slamming the book shut, she marched towards the library.
:. You don't understand! He lied to me, in my face, he lied!.: Gwen whined towards the portrait who was gazing at her with amused dark eyes. Salazar Slytherin never in his entire time of living thought that one of Godric's little brats would posses his talent. So when she came barging in where his portrait hung he had amused he was one of his. Something about the green of her eyes reminded him of his late daughter, Selestine.
He sighed, somehow he had ended up being this girl's listening ear.
:. And what did he lie to you about?.: Salazar drawled in a bored tone. Oh, how he wished he was alive, then he would have just dragged her and his heir together and lock them in a room until everything was resolved.
:. Everything! About who he was, where he came from, why he was there and especially his feelings.: she began pacing the empty chamber, occasionally stopping to let out a frustrated growl and yank her hair slightly. And suddenly, she stopped and gaped.
:. I snogged my parent's murderer.: she said in a faint voice. Salazar couldn't help it, he let the chuckle he had been holding escape. In a matter of seconds the chuckle was turned into a full blown laughter. Gwen glared at him but it only seemed to make him laugh harder. Subduing his laughter he faced her with a serious face but the mirth was still lurking in his dark eyes :. Did it ever occur to you that his feelings were sincere?.:
:.Of course not! I mean – they can't have been, can they?.:
Salazar shrugged, something he had picked up from Gwen. He watched her as her brow furrowed and she began to think out loud.
:. He could have been faking it. It's most definitely that he was. But then why does he always send Kronos every morning at the exact time? Probably trying to rescue his mission, it's a possibility. If it was all fake then what about the forest adventures? That seemed so real, and the ring, why is it that when I take it off, I feel empty?.:
She suddenly stopped speaking and turned to the portrait, :. You have to be the most absolute brilliant person that I know.:
Placing a kiss on the canvas she rushed out of the chamber leaving a confused Salazar.
"That was quick." Hermione commented from her seat next to the fire. The fire made her brown eyes seem a hazel-ish color.
"Where's Neville and Ron?"
"Up in the dorm, why?"
Hermione never got her answer as Gwen raced up the stairs and flung the boys dorm door open.
She raised an eyebrow as Dean and Seamus hastily pushed a magazine under their pillow, their faces were a bright red color. She ignored them and without a word she grabbed Neville and Ron by the hand and dragged them downstairs. They sat next to Hermione with wide eyes.
Gwen glanced around the common room and noted a few students lounging about sighing she placed her wand to her throat and with a whispered 'Sonorus' she shouted, "OUT!"
The students all stared at her in confusion before scrambling out the common room.
"What the bloody hell is going on mate?" Ron asked.
"Operation Chicken Escape is now in order." Gwen told them with a grave face.
Neville, Hermione and Ron gaped at her. That operation was never to be used lightly. Neville seemed to recover the quickest, "When shall the operation commence?"
"Tonight!" Gwen replied quickly, to her friend's astonishment.
"B-but we haven't had time to plan. Or anything that is needed!"
Gwen grinned a wicked grin, "I have everything under control. So, who's going to the Hospital Wing tonight?"
It was 30 minutes later that a fidgeting Neville was pulling on his short pajama shorts.
"Do they have to be shorts?" Neville asked with a pleading look.
Gwen nodded sharply, "I always wear shorts, great legs and all that jazz."
Neville blushed and tried his hardest not to look down. He felt very uncomfortable being in Gwen's body, it was much easier testing this out when they were 12. Neville or should we say the temporary Gwen would have to survive the whole night being Gwen.
As for the 'real' Neville Longbottom, well a spell backfired and he was resting in the Hospital Wing. Or so that was the cover story for his absence.
"Now then, I have to go." Gwen told them fastening her dark green cloak that had golden leaves decorating it.
"But where is it that you're going?" Hermione asked. She bit her lip and started tugging her hair. Signs of her worry.
"Can't say, let's just say that all this brooding will stop."
"You're going to see him, aren't you?"
Gwen fixed her with a stare before sighing and nodding. Bidding her friends a goodbye, she walked towards the dark forest.
Gwen always believed she had great plans, no matter what her friends would say. But standing here, in the same graveyard as she had almost 2 years ago made her want to run back to Hogwarts and call it quits. She pulled her cloak tighter and lifted her hood, the newly fallen snow crunch under her shoes. Before crossing the barrier of the Dark Lord's wards she steadily pulled out the flower Draco had given her at the ball. This little silver flower worked wonders. Attaching the flower to the end of her wand – much like Lucius' silver snake – her magic was untraceable, so if the time came and she spotted Bellatrix or even Wormtail she will be ready for revenge. She had secretly been practicing the Unforgivables in the R.O.R on animals. From spiders she worked her way up to apes. Who knew the R.O.R had such a wide selection of animals. Taking steady breathes she crossed the barrier and soon enough she was surrounded by masked death eaters.
"What business do you have for our Lord?" a short masked man asked in a harsh voice. Gwen let out a soft laugh.
"I'm not here to see your Lord, but I'm here to see Tom." it took her a lot of strength to speak the name she had not dared mention in 2 months. For some odd reason, it felt right to her.
The masked men all glanced at each other, "We know no one of that name, we will take you to our Lord."
Gwen gulped, she really shouldn't have done this. Or at least she should have foreseen something like this. Stupid Gryffindor impulses. How she was going to wiggle her way out of this one, she had no idea. As she silently followed her guides, she calculated her surroundings for any escape routes. Nope, nada, everything seemed pretty high security. Paranoid bastards. What did they expect, someone to waltz in? Gwen snorted making the men stare at her in confusion. Idiots, they didn't even ask her to lower her hood.
They came to stop upon two grand black doors. Of course, he would go all out. The throne room look just like how it did in her occasional visions. Dark this, dark that, a little blood here and there for a pop of color.
The Dark Lord was sprawled over his throne like a panther, ready to pounce at any given moment. Graceful, yet alert. Gwen watched as Voldemort dismissed the masked death eaters. Once alone he pierced her with a stare.
"So, Dumbledore's Golden Girl, is stupid enough to walked into my headquarters. How is it that you came upon here?" his voice was smooth and high pitched, just like how she remembered it.
Gwen lowered her hood, "It wasn't very hard to figure out you would be using your father's old manor."
Voldemort's fingers twitched at the mention of his muggle father, "Very clever of you, the reason behind the wards? They repel every single light person."
Gwen smirked, "Salazar has been teaching me Parsel Magic, specifically how to detect wards. I'm not exactly very light am I? You should know that."
"Indeed," Voldemort hissed out, "Why is it that you are here? Finally decided to join the Dark? Are you here to take up my mark?"
Gwen laughed, "I'm here to see Tom."
She said this way more confidently then she felt. In reality, the whole time in the manor she was shaking inside. She was scared, but she will never let Voldemort know this. There goes her Gryffindor blood.
"Tom..." Voldemort said slowly. His thin, pale lips formed a smirk. He smoothly rose out of his throne and Gwen was ready to run when she saw him approach her. But she stood her ground and didn't flinch when he touched her scar, making it burst into fiery pain. His smirk deepened, and with a wave of his wand, two death eaters dragged in a semi-conscious Tom Riddle.