A/N: I know, I know. It's been awhile. Class and work have me a bit busy right now, which means I might not be able to update as often as I was. I will still try to give you a new chapter at least once a week, though!

Chapter 11: Cardinal Rule

7 September, 1991

"Why do you wake up so early? On a Saturday?" came the muffled sound of Kaya's voice, surprising her. Violet's friend rarely said a word to her, preferring to stay silent during all the little confrontations her friend staged in their dorm. Mia had just stepped out of the bathroom from her after-training shower, and wasn't expecting any of them to be up yet.

"I'm an early riser," Mia told her with a smile as she crossed the room to her trunk.

"Uh-huh. Okay, Mia," she grumbled as she sat up and looked around the room bleary-eyed before stumbling into the bathroom.

'At least she doesn't call me Freak,' she thought as she glanced over the rest of her sleeping roommates. She could see Pansy fast asleep, drooling a bit as she snuggled into her pillows. She got dressed quickly, leaving her curls down since she wouldn't be attending any classes. When she saw that it was almost fifteen to eight and her roommates still hadn't woken up she decided to go shake them awake. Millie woke up almost at once but when she went to go wake up Pansy, Millie held her back and shook her head. Instead the quiet girl reached over and threw a pillow at her friend, making Pansy bolt up straight, fists flying.

"What?" she asked, her hair a mess around her face and fists still raised.

Mia was too busy laughing to answer her so she turned to Millie. "You needed to wake up. I learned to do it from far away after you knocked me on my back at your sleepover," the dark-haired girl told her in amusement.

"But did you have to throw it at my face?" Pansy grumbled as she flopped back into bed.

"Well no. But it was more fun," Millie said with a laugh before she got up. "C'mon we have to get up or we won't make it to breakfast."

"Should we wake her up?" Pansy asked with a wrinkled nose as she nodded towards Violet's closed bed drapes.

"It's okay, I'll do it," Kaya said as she came out of the bathroom. "She's not much of a morning person," she said with a sigh. That made Mia snort.

"I don't think she's much of a day or night person in general, really," Millie said dryly.

Kaya threw them a small smile before she went to open Violet's drapes.

"Right well I'm having a great morning so I'm leaving now while it's still that way. I'll see you at breakfast," Mia said as she picked up Artemis and left the room. There were no rules against pets in the Hall and she didn't have classes so she was going to use the opportunity to give her cat the grand tour of the castle.

Breakfast passed without incident; afterwards the boys announced they were going down to the lake to try and see if they could get the giant squid to throw back Jamie's football. Mia quickly declined an offer to join them and instead made her way to the library. She'd already spent quite a few hours in the giant room, studying and completing assignments for the week. She loved the smell of old books that permeated the air and how you could see old tomes floating about as they were returned to their proper place. The room itself was against the south wall on the second floor so the large windows overlooked the lake and the forest beyond. The bookshelves ran the length of the room and nestled between and round them were long study tables, as well as comfortable armchairs and small couches.

Mia made her way to what she liked to think of as her corner. She had found it on her first day in here while she was searching for a place to read. All the tables had been occupied by older students but she had found an armchair and small table hidden away behind the last bookshelf. It had a small window that faced over the Forbidden Forest and no one seemed to know about it. She sat down and put Artemis on her shoulder before crossing her legs and settling down to read the DADA book she had checked out from Madam Pince two nights ago.

She must have lost track of time because soon Artemis was digging her claws into her shoulders and butting her tiny little head against Mia. When Mia looked up she noticed the sun was shining much higher in the sky and when she got up to check one of the clocks, she noticed lunch was in ten minutes. If she didn't make it down to the Great Hall soon, Harry would be insufferable.

"C'mon my beauty. Time to go find my grumpy brother," she said as she settled Artemis under her hair once more. She picked up her book and hurried out of the library, giving Madam Pince a fleeting smile as she passed her by.

She was a bit late sitting down in the Hall because one of the staircases had decided to move last minute but she was able to find a seat near the entrance tables. She sat down across her brother, leaning over to give Draco a quick peck on the cheek.

"Did Aunt Cissy like her presents?" she asked him as she reached to fill her plate. Her aunt's birthday had been yesterday and she and Harry had sent off their gifts with Hedwig.

"Haven't heard from her yet. I imagine she'll send an owl soon though."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the lunchtime flurry of owls entered through one of the large windows. She was keeping her eye out for Medusa or Hedwig so she was quite surprised when Fawn, one of her father's owls, dropped a package and a letter in her lap before landing on Draco's shoulder.

Harry threw her a curious look from Blaise's side when he noticed the owl but returned to his meal, sure she would share whatever it was with him later. More than a little curious and hoping for an explanation, she opened the letter first.

Little fox,

Don't open the packet until you're with your brother, alone.

It's time to add to your tutors, love. This one's a snake charmer, if you can believe it. And he's only taken on seven students.

Love, Papa

p.s. Careful with your step in the castle, 'doors can lead you false

"What is it?" Draco asked as Medusa swooped in with a letter and a package of her own.

"I forgot one of my favorite jumpers and dad sent it to me," she lied smoothly, shooting a meaningful look at Harry. He gave a slight nod and turned to finish his lunch.

"Mum says thank you for the earrings and the dress," he said as he scanned his own letter before opening the package. "Ooooo. She's sent us sweets," he exclaimed delightedly before he started handing them out.

Once they had both finished their lunch Mia and Harry stood up together. When they were asked where they were going, Mia rolled her eyes and said Harry didn't want her walking down to leave her jumper in her room by herself. Since everyone knew how particular Harry was about his sister, they didn't question it and went back to their meals.

Harry opened his mouth to ask her what was in the package when they exited the Hall but Mia squeezed his hand, warning him to be quiet. It wasn't until they were safely inside her brother's dorm, that she showed opened the package.

"He sent us a cloak?" he asked confused, shaking out the piece of fabric.

"There's a note," Mia said as she picked up a piece of parchment that had fallen out of the package.

Pup,

This belonged to Prongs. We were going to wait until Christmas, but you'll have need of it.
It'll help you follow our cardinal rule. Share it well.

Love,

Padfoot and Moony

"I don't get it," Harry said as he put it on. When Mia looked up she gave a startled yelp and fell back on his bed.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked alarmed.

"Your body. It's—it's gone. Oh, I know what that is Jamie! But where did your dad get one?" Mia asked with wide eyes.

"Ahhh!" Harry yelled as he glanced down and through his body.

"It's an Invisibility Cloak. They're extremely rare," Mia whispered as she got up to take a closer look at it. When she reached out to grab it, she had the strange sensation of touching water. It felt liquid somehow—smooth and cool to the touch—but was still tangible.

"What's the cardinal rule again?" asked Harry with a grin.

"Don't get caught," Mia replied immediately, mischief shining in her strange eyes.

"So, they want us to sneak around. But why?"

"Oh, the letter!" Mia said as she reached into her back pocket. "I almost forgot. Here, read it."

"Lessons? Here? With him?" Harry's eyes had widened with every word.

"Unless you know anyone else Papa would refer to as a snake charmer," she replied dryly. "We must go see him at seven. That's not the important part. Jamie, look at the last line," she said as she pointed to the letter once more.

"Careful with your step in the castle, 'doors can lead you false," Harry repeated out loud, clearly not understanding. He repeated it once more, slowly, before his eyes widened and he looked up at his sister.

"'doors? As in Dumbledore? You don't think dad is warning us about the Headmaster right?" he asked incredulously.

"I think he's trying to tell us that we need to be careful around him. You remember what Papa said when we talked about training while at Hogwarts. He said we mustn't let him see us, see me."

"So, what do we do now?" he asked as he sat down on his bed, gently petting Artemis where she lay on his pillow.

Mia sighed. "Keep the Cloak in your trunk, inside your gym bag. Those are spelled to only open for us. And to meet the professor….how about we meet in front of his office at seven?"

"Yeah, alright. What do we do until then?" he asked as he glanced up at her.

"Well I don't know what you're doing, but I am going to go for a walk. Alone." She said firmly, already anticipating his offer to accompany her. Harry snapped his mouth shut but frowned at her, clearly unhappy with the arrangement. He knew better than to argue, however.

Mia gave him a quick peck and placed both notes in her pocket before walking out of his room, holding the door so Artemis could follow. It amused her to no end that the boys could not enter the girls' hall but she was free to come and go as she pleased. When she was in the common room she glanced around to ensure she was the only one there and quickly crossed to one of the roaring fires, throwing in the notes and waiting until they were nothing but ash.

"Come on girl, let's take you exploring," she said as she picked her up once more. She made her way outside and headed towards Hagrid's hut, thinking she could stop by and say hello. It didn't appear as though he had much company besides that of his dog. He was out watering the pumpkins when she finally made it down, Fang lounging in the sunlight close by.

"Hello Hagrid!" she called out in greeting when she was close enough. The giant of a man looked up and gave her a smile before putting down his Mia-sized axe.

"Well hello to ye Miss Mia. What brings ye down to my hut?"

"Just out for a walk," she told him as she bent to put Artemis down so she could explore. Mia knew she had to feel a bit restless from being cooped up inside. The little feline immediately bounded over to the giant and began to swat at his trousers.

"Ho! And who might this be?" he cried as he picked up the kitten in one hand. "Blimey, look at 'em eyes! She's a beauty she is!" he cooed at her kitten. It was funny to see such a large man being so gentle with such a small creature. Artemis didn't take up half his palm and he only used one finger to pet her carefully.

"That's Artemis. Papa gave her to me as a birthday present. I named her that because of that spot she has on her ear, the one shaped like a moon. It seemed fitting," she said as she took a seat on a tree stump near the pumpkins.

"Of course it is! Bet she'll be right huntress, won't you?" he said as he brought the cat up to his face. Artemis, seeing his beard move as he spoke, started swatting her claws until she got stuck, making Hagrid boom out a laugh. "Oh, ye got spirit," he said as he managed to untangle her.

"You're really good with animals. Did you have many pets growing up?" Mia asked him curiously.

"'Fraid not. Wasn't 'till I got to Hogwarts. Now I have Fang here and Fluffy. Now there's an animal with spirit! The trick though, is knowin' how to calm 'em. Fluffy will fall right to sleep with a wit' bit o' music," he said with a smile before his eyes widened, like he'd said too much. "Yes, well, I better finish wit' this wood. The elves will be needin' it for the fires in the castle," he said gruffly.

Mia got the distinct impression that he was suddenly very uncomfortable; he wouldn't quite look her way, though for the life of her she couldn't think of a reason for the change. "Alright, I think I'll take her down by the lake then. Goodbye Hagrid," she said as she hopped off the tree stump and took Artemis from him, putting her back on her shoulder.

"Bye Mia. Be seein' ye later," he mumbled as he turned back to his pile of wood.

Mia brushed aside his strange behavior and continued down to the lake, finding a spot under one of the trees and sitting down. Artemis climbed down and began to explore curiously; she chased after a few dragonflies that zoomed by, swatted at the tall grass, and fell over a couple of times as she tried to climb a nearby sapling. Mia was quite content to sit and watch her cat play, occasionally looking out over the lake. She loved Hogwarts, loved her brother and cousin, but sometimes she just wanted to be by herself for awhile—without having to pretend like the magic didn't make her restless or that the stares that followed her and Harry didn't bother her. She stayed like that, leaning against the tree and looking over the lake, for a long time.

When the sun started to go down she finally made her way back inside the castle. She went up to the library again to pass the time. She might as well be comfortable until she had to go down to meet the professor. She had forgotten her DADA book in Harry's dorm, so she walked over to the Transfiguration section and pulled the first interesting book she saw. She made her way over to her corner and settled in to read until she felt her wand vibrate against her arm. It was time then.

She debated taking Artemis back to her room but decided against it since she didn't want her roommates asking where she was going that she couldn't take her cat with her. That's how she found herself outside his office at five, struggling to untangle Artemis's claws from her hair and necklace when, when he opened his door.

"Miss Black. Trying a new hair trend?" he asked, his lips twitching with the hint of a smile.

Mia blushed to the roots of her hair as she finally managed to get Artemis's claws free and settled her against her arms. "Sorry sir. She sort of likes to get into my hair but she's always getting caught. Didn't want to take her back in case anyone saw me leave again," she apologized.

"And where is your…brother?" he asked as he stepped aside to allow her entrance.

"He's running a bit late, sir. He needed to distract Draco so he could get away. We didn't think you'd like anyone knowing we were meeting," she explained as she took a seat in front of his desk. His office was quite different from the classroom—warm and welcoming, with comfortable armchairs and a cauldron simmering softly in the background.

"A prudent observation-" but he was interrupted by a hurried knock on his door. He raised a brow at her but went to open the door. Her brother stumbled through, red-faced and puffing slightly.

"Sorry I'm late! Had to make it down from the fourth floor," he gasped out, clutching a stitch on his side.

"Take a seat, Mr. Potter. Before you collapse on my floor, if you please" the professor said sardonically.

Harry complied happily, shooting his sister an apologetic look as he tried to regulate his breathing. Hurrying down corridors and stairs was much harder to do when you had to avoid people and look inconspicuous. He'd had to sprint the last leg or he never would have made it.

"Now. I have spoken with your father and uncle about your….gifts. It's rather impressive to possess such strong wandless magic at your age. I also saw your little display outside this morning, Miss Black. I cannot say I was impressed with your negligence in ensuring you were, indeed, alone," he told them, looking as though they had personally offended him by being caught.

"Sir? What exactly did my father say?" Harry asked, sitting up straight all at once.

"Relax, Mr. Potter. I know about the tree and the healing. I also know that until recently, you had been training in wandless magic—one of the few sound ideas to come out of your father, I dare say," he said as he leaned forward over his desk.

"And why would my father tell you about that? Not even my aunt knows," asked Mia, watching him curiously, almost suspiciously, as she began to fidget with her necklace. Their heightened magick had been one of the secrets they had been taught to keep from everyone—so why was her father telling this man about it?

"Your father and I have one thing in common: we have your best interest at heart. As members of my house, I am responsible for your wellbeing. It would not reflect well on me if two of my charges injured themselves, or others, because they could not control their magick," he said smoothly, but Mia thought she saw him glance down at the snake that adorned her neck.

"You'll be teaching us then? How?" Harry asked.

"We shall be practicing in an empty classroom here in the dungeon. It is currently my storage room, but I will clear and prepare it for our lessons. We will meet after dinner Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at eight o'clock starting next week. I hope I do not have to tell you to keep this quiet?" he asked with a frown. He was becoming increasingly unsettled by Mia's unwavering gaze and trying to move this along quickly.

"No, sir. Professor…" Mia started but paused, unsure of how to pose her question. When Professor Snape raised a brow, prompting her to continue, she decided to just throw it out there. Sometimes subtly had to be abandoned in favor of bluntness. "The Headmaster. My father is under the impression we should be careful with him. Do you know why?" she asked, her strange eyes unblinking.

Severus leaned back in his seat and observed the students for a moment in silence. Once Harry began to fidget, he inclined his head once and gave a careful answer. "Sometimes, Miss Black, righteousness can be blinding," he finally said before standing up and going to his door. "Better get going or your friends will miss you at dinner."

"That was rather cryptic," Harry grumbled as they finally sat down to dinner. They had kept from talking on the way up, not wanting to risk being overheard in the corridors.

"Hmmm," was all Mia said as they began to eat.

19 October, 1991

"I can't! I already told you, I don't know how!" Mia yelled frustrated, near to tears at this point from the blinding headache she had. They had been at it all week! It was Saturday and she was tired and hungry. She'd had to skip dinner in order to finish an assignment on time, so she could come to this bloody lesson.

"Focus! You have done this before. I am not your father, to be pacified with effort. The elements are in your magick! They are your magick! You just have to focus!" he snapped at her.

"Lay off her! She's trying!" Harry growled, stepping in front of his sister. Professor Snape turned to look at him, a flicker of something passing through his eyes before he gave him a sneer.

"Should I need or appreciate your opinion, Mr. Potter, I will be sure to inform you. I doubt, however, that your level of…celebrity will do much good here. You're lucky she's shared her power with you, lucky she strengthened you" he said scornfully. "Thanks to her you might be known as more than just "Poor Orphan Potter," he bit out viciously. And that did it. Harry's face had become whiter with each word, but Mia had burned quickly with fury.

Ever since the tree incident, she had been hyper aware of her magick. It sat uncomfortably inside of her, stretching her too thin—making her feel more restless with each passing day. She had tried exercising to work it off but it did nothing. The magic she performed in class or in the halls with her wand helped some, but never enough to make a difference. But now, now she couldn't hold it back if she tried.

"HOW DARE YOU!?" she growled. She could feel every drip of power inside her now. She felt her magick stretch, growing as her anger fed it, until it was too much to keep inside …so she released the hold she hadn't been aware she'd been keeping on it.

A wave of energy slammed out of her and knocked into her professor, sending him crashing back against the stone wall of the empty classroom. He barely had enough time to throw up a shield before a strong wind tore through the room, pinning him and shield against the wall, slamming into his shield over and over again.

"Mia!" she heard someone yell, but in her fury she couldn't tell who it was.

"MIA STOP! AYA STOP!" she heard before she felt someone wrap her in a tight hug. It was hearing that old nickname that finally did the trick. The wind disappeared as fast as it had come, the only trace being the slumped over form of the professor against the wall.

"Jamie?" she asked, her whole body shaking.

"I'm fine, went right through me. Can't say the same for the professor though" he said, his own voice a bit unsteady.

"Oh Merlin, Professor, I'm sorry!" she cried as she went to check on him.

He groaned and rubbed his head, brining away fingers covered in blood. "All things considering, it could have been much worse. A reminder to not purposefully provoke you to make a point," he said with a weak chuckle before he winced.

"You did that on purpose? Are you mad? She moved a bloody tree last time!" Harry was looking at him as though the professor had suddenly sprouted a third head.

"Yes, well, not a pleasant experience but it had to happen. She was a ticking time-bomb with that much magick bottled up inside her. Rather it happen here, where I was expecting something, than out in the castle with an unsuspecting dunderhead who crosses her on a bad day," he told them as he stood up and went to open one of the doors in the back. He rummaged around until he pulled the sky-blue vial of a Pain Relief potion before drinking it with a grimace.

"I could have really hurt you," she whispered as she looked down in shame.

She heard him sigh before he came closer. "Miss Black. Look up child," he said in a much gentler tone. He waited until her watery gaze met his before he continued. "Although I did not anticipate such a…strong reaction, I knew it could happen. You are a powerful witch with extraordinary power. But you are afraid of it. Keeping it on such a tight leash, never letting your magick out fully, that is dangerous. You must accept that it is a part of you and learn to control it. So that you may prevent future unwanted…episodes like these," he said with a small smirk. Mia sniffled a few times before she suddenly frowned.

"That was rather unkind, you know. Saying those things," she told, her anger returning as she remembered what had started this.

"Ah, yes," he replied and guilt flashed across his face. "I must apologize, Mr. Potter. I should not have spoken to you in that matter. You seem to be your sister's only soft spot, however, and I felt I had little choice. She needed to let her magick out," he told her brother sincerely.

" 'S alright," mumbled Harry, looking away.

"No, it is not 'alright'. I may be your unofficial tutor, but I am still your teacher and Head of House, and as such you deserve the respect that comes with that. My apologies for crossing that line," he said firmly, not accepting Harry's easy dismissal. Her brother looked up warily at him for a moment before nodding his head.

"We better get going," Mia finally said, glancing at the wristwatch she had brought with her. It was almost curfew and people would be wondering where they had gone off to.

"Yes. I will see you Monday for our next lesson. Hopefully it will not be so…eventful," he said with a small smile. Both children quickly said their goodbyes and pulled on the Cloak, making sure they were almost to the common room before they carefully took it off and stored it in Mia's bag.

"Where were you at dinner Mia?" Draco asked as they walked in.

"I had an essay to write and lost track of time," she mumbled before she remembered she'd told Harry she'd gotten there early and taken some food to go.

"You mean you haven't eaten since lunchtime? Its nearly ten o'clock!" Draco said, looking absolutely horrified by the idea.

"C'mon," Harry said as he pulled on her arm and heading back out. "Where going to get some food from the kitchen. The twins showed us how to get there."

"Are we using the Cloak?" Draco's voice startled them both since they hadn't seen him get up to follow them.

"We? Didn't you already have dinner? Hold on a moment, how does he know about the Cloak?" she asked her brother annoyed. It was supposed to be a secret for Merlin's sake.

"Uh-huh, but I'm feeling a bit peckish. I know because he left it out the other day and I found it and hid it before Blaise could see," Draco answered with a shrug.

"Well thank Merlin for that," she said as she frowned at her brother's guilty expression.

"Yes, quite. Are we using the Cloak, then? Because I'm fairly certain it's passed curfew now," Draco said as he glanced around.

"We might as well. No use getting a detention because you're feeling 'peckish'," she said as she rolled her eyes.

They huddled together before she pulled out the Cloak and threw it over them, making sure it covered their feet. Then she took out her wand and murmured a silencing spell in the direction of their feet to muffle their steps.

Draco, upon seeing this, raised his eyebrows impressed. "That's quite useful."

"It'll be quite useless if you don't shut up," she hissed at him.

They carefully made their way upstairs, stopping a few times when they saw the Prefects doing their curfew rounds. They were on their way to the third floor when the staircase they were on decided to move at the last minute, making all three children grip the banister to prevent themselves from falling over.

"Why are we even on the third floor? I thought the twins said it was on the second floor," whispered Draco annoyed, accidentally stepping on Mia's foot as he tripped.

"What? And you're telling me this now?" muttered Harry back.

"Jamie, I thought you said you knew where we were going!" Mia hissed quietly and turned around to head back before she suddenly froze. Mrs. Norris was staring right at them from the end of the hallway they had just come through.

"Oh no, we're in the off-bounds corridor. We have to move. Now!" she said as she shoved the boys further down the hall. When she heard Filch's voice she pulled off the cloak and started to flat out run. She took the first turn she could see, hearing the boys' feet slapping on the floor behind her. She felt Draco yank on her sleeve and pull her with him as he spied a door ahead.

"Where'd they go my beauty? In here? Don't worry, we'll catch them," they heard Filch say from around the corner.

"In here!" Draco whispered loudly but when he went to open the door it didn't budge.

"Move!" Mia snarled. She was not about to get detention for something as stupid as an attempted trip to the kitchen. "Alohomora!" she said quickly and the door opened. Luckily for her, in his panic to get inside, Draco did not notice she did it wandlessly.

They quickly shut the door behind them before locking it and slumping against the doorway. They felt the door rattle once beneath them and held their breath with closed eyes.

"This one's locked, my beauty. They must have turned around," they heard his muffled voice through the door say.

Mia let out a relieved breath and opened her eyes and gasped, causing the boys to look up as well and give surprised yelps. Staring at them, were three pairs of glowing yellow eyes. And the eyes were attached to the biggest animal that Mia had ever seen. 'Cerberus,' her brain suddenly supplied for her.

It had to be over three meters tall, with heads bigger than her father's old car. Its body was covered with sleek black fur that shone in the moonlight, and its jaws opened to reveal razor sharp teeth the size of her arms. The Cerberus was watching them intently, moving its head menacingly as though daring them to come closer. When it shifted its body, Mia saw that it was standing over a door of some sort. She lost track of it, however, when it hunched over and a tag the size of chalkboard zoomed into her field of vision.

'Fluffy?! Oh, you must be joking!" Mia exclaimed in complete shock. This was Hagrid's animal?

"Don't move," she hissed when she felt Draco shift beside her. "It'll provoke him. He's the hunter in the room, and we're prey," she said, never taking her eyes off the beast. Her uncle had educated them early on animal behavior; if they moved too quickly and it saw them as a threat or prey, it might attack.

"Well what are we supposed to do? I don't want to be eaten by a three-headed dog!" her cousin hissed back fearfully. She thought back furiously to what the giant man had said about his pet. There was something, something about knowing how to calm…

"Harry, I need you to whistle the tune to Hey Jude," she said quickly, barely breathing.

The boys nearly choked with shock.

"WHAT?" Draco cried out in a voice two octaves higher than usual.

"Are you insane? Mia now is not the bloody time!"

"JUST DO IT," she snarled back. Harry threw her a look that clearly said he thought she'd finally lost it but he began to hum the song that their father had sung to them at bedtime sometimes. Draco, recognizing it from the times he'd spent the night, joined in. Very carefully, in the most soothing voice she could manage, Mia began to sing the words over their humming. They watched in shock as slowly the Cerberus's heads began to lower down, its eyelids drooping slowly. After a few more seconds it lowered its body and rested its heads down, huffing out a hot breath over them. She raised her hand and waved it, telling them to keep it going, when she heard one of them falter. When the dog gave was fast asleep, she turned around quickly, unlocked the door and pushed them out into the hallway.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT?"

"WHY IS THERE A THREE HEADED DOG IN THERE?"

"Will you two shut up before you get us caught. I did not avoid Filch and that Cerberus to get detention now," she snapped annoyed.

"How did you know to sing?" asked Harry suddenly, looking back at the door they had come through.

"Lucky encounter with its owner earlier today. Very lucky encounter. Now let's go before Filch finds us again," she said as she pushed them away from the door.

"Most painful death indeed," muttered Draco as he glanced back at the door one final time.

"But you still haven't eaten!" Harry said before snapping his mouth shut at the dark glare his sister sent his way. "You know what, I think I might have some sweets in my room. I'm sure you'll be fine until breakfast," he backtracked quickly.

As they snuck back into their common room, all Mia could think about was the door she'd seen under the beast. It was obviously guarding something. The question was, what?

31 October, 1991

"I heard Lord Black took her in because when her parents left her out in the street."

"Lilith says she's seen her walking around by herself at the lake with that cat of hers. Talking to it."

"Can you believe that Harry Potter has to live with her?"

"I bet she's just as freaky as she looks. My sister has class with her and the girl's like a walking textbook. It's a wonder she has any friends, showing everyone up all the time."

Mia had just gotten out of History of Magic and had been in the process of getting a book for her Herbology essay when she heard them behind the bookshelf. When she carefully pulled out a book, she could see a few older students from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff sitting around a table. It shouldn't have bothered her, after all she'd been hearing these sort of comments since she could remember. And the comments about her eyes didn't surprise her—she knew they were a bit strange. But she couldn't stop the stab of pain when they said she had no friends because it was true. Besides Harry, Neville, and Draco, who were practically family, she didn't really have many friends. Blaise talked to her because she was Draco's cousin; the twins talked to everyone, so they didn't count; and she only really spoke to her roommates during meals or in class. There wasn't anyone she could think of that sought out her company or liked spending time with her without her brother. It's why she read so much, why she wandered by herself. There just wasn't anyone that wanted to be her friend.

Mia quietly put the book back and quickly went to her table to gather her things. She wasn't feeling much like studying anymore, and she was tired. Maybe she'd go down to take a nap before the Halloween Feast in the Great Hall, since it had been pushed back to eight specifically for the feast. She was drained from her morning training with Harry and classes, but mostly it was the continuous lessons with Professor's Snape that had her ready to fall asleep on the spot.

She had quickly learned that he would accept nothing except results. He worked them nonstop for two hours after dinner, until they accomplished what he thought they were capable of. He pushed until she was able to perform small elemental feats, like making a flower bloom or creating a small breeze. He would push them until her and Harry could share their magic at will; made them practice until they could perform whatever wandless spell they were working on that day. And it left them exhausted. Thankfully, though, today was Thursday and that meant no lessons after dinner.

She was trying to distract herself from the tight knot around her throat with thoughts of a nap as she crossed by the front entrance on her ways to the dungeon when she felt someone bump in to her hard. She felt herself fall on her back, cracking her head on the floor, as the books she'd been carrying went flying.

"Watch it, snake," she heard someone say as people broke up in snickers. Mia looked up and saw a fifth-year, a Ravenclaw, smirking at her as his friends laughed. She looked around and saw a couple of older students but she also saw someone she didn't expect. Blaise was standing next to a third-year she recognized as his cousin, not saying a word and not quite meeting her eyes. Mia stared at him for a moment before looking away and pushing herself to her feet. She went to gather her books but one of the girls kicked them further away, making the rest of them laugh. Mia steeled herself and wiped her face clean of any emotion, like her aunt had taught her and stood up.

"Where do you think you're going snake?" the girl that had kicked her book asked.

"Original. I'm sure it must have hurt quite badly to come up with such a horrifying insult," Mia said as she rolled her eyes.

"What did you say to her?" she heard the first boy ask.

"Oh really, now. I thought you 'Claws were supposed to be intelligent. Or is it that you're just a bit slow of hearing?" she snapped back.

"Oh, I heard you Freak. I'm just giving you a chance to apologize to your superiors," he sneered.

"I'll be sure to do that if I ever bump into them," she said coldly.

"My, my. What a vicious little silver tongue. Do you think your parents knew you'd be a freak and they threw you out so they wouldn't have to deal with you? It's why you have no friends besides that cat of yours," he said with a cruel smile. "Isn't that right Zabini?" he asked without turning around.

Mia glanced behind him and saw Blaise look up. He stared at her before glancing at the students around them and straightening up.

"Yeah. She's just the house know-it-all. Only reason people talk to her is because of her brother," he said obviously trying to placate the older student and not meeting her eyes.

"That's enough," a cold voice cut it. She glanced up to see their sixth-year Prefect Jade and the Gryffindor Head Girl heading her way. Jade looked murderous, her wand clasped tightly in her hand.

"As I recall, William, the only reason you have friends is because daddy dearest bought your spot on the Quidditch team," she told him with a tone sharp enough to cut.

The Ravenclaw, William, turned red with anger and went to grab his wand but the Head Girl jumped in.

"I wouldn't do that. We all know she'd wipe the floor with you. Save yourself the embarrassment. You've already made a spectacle of yourself by going after a first year. Really Will," she chided him. The Head Girl had her wand held loosely and the smile she gave the boy was daring him to try something. Only an idiot would take on the school's Dueling Champion, however.

"Whatever. Keep the little Freak. We were just leaving anyway," he said and just like that he turned to leave with his friends, but Blaise hung back.

"Mia—" he tried to say but she cut him off.

"You know, people must think you're a snake because you're so cunning. Truth is you're just too cowardly to be a lion, too thick to be an eagle, and too fickle to be a badger," she told him quietly before picking up her books and walking away.

"Hey, wait!" she heard Jade call after her and Mia stopped, turned her head back to look at the older girls.

"Are you alright?" Jade asked gently, looking at her bleeding elbows. She had taken her robes off in the library and hadn't had the protection of the fabric to cushion her fall.

"I'm fine. Thank you. Both of you. I'm just going to go clean up," Mia told them quietly.

"Mia!" she heard Fred call happily as he rounded the corner.

"There's our favorite witch!" she heard George's voice echo after him.

But she couldn't handle them right now, so she pretended she didn't see them, turning away so none of them would see the tears that were starting to escape.

"Hey where's she going? What's wrong with Mia?" she heard Fred ask behind her.

"Ask him," Jade answered coldly, no doubt pointing to Blaise.

"What did you do?" she heard one of the twins ask accusingly before she finally turned the corner.

She hurried down the hall and once she was out of sight, she ran until she found the girls' lavatory. She checked to make sure it was empty before she locked herself in the farthest stall and slid down until she was leaning against the wall. She brought her knees up to her face and started shaking with silent sobs. She had stood stoically through the cutting barbs only because she remembered her aunt's words in training: black women do not show weakness. But now that she was alone, she could finally let it go.

She might have been able to ignore it under normal circumstances, but the whispered conversation in the library had already had her feeling rather brittle. She could have probably even dealt with the cruelty from the older students. But what was really hurting her was that Blaise had joined in on it. She knew they had never been great friends, but they had grown up together. He had been at every single one of her birthday parties since she was five but he had turned his back so easily. And that was the problem, wasn't it? She really didn't have many people who wanted her besides her small family.

'Not even my parents wanted me,' she thought to herself, a new hurt slicing through her. She knew that her father said they'd had no choice but that didn't change the fact that it felt like they'd abandoned her. Harry's mom had sacrificed herself for him, but hers had thrown her away. She reached up and clasped her necklace tight, feeling the snake move beneath her fingers. 'Did you love me? Did you ever want me?' she thought as her shoulders shook.

She had kept these feelings bottled up for years, never telling anyone of the open wound she had carried since the first time she'd overheard a woman say she'd been abandoned. She knew her family loved her, of course, but that did not stop the doubts from creeping through her; it did not stop the insecurities from growing with each new whispered comment. The constant commentary on her eyes, of her strangeness, only made it worse—made her feel like the freak everyone was always calling her.

So Mia hid in the bathroom, missing her first Halloween Feast at Hogwarts, and let herself feel all her hurt and loneliness. Because sometimes, wounds have to ripped wide open before they can finally begin to heal.

"Where is she? I already checked the library. Twice!" Harry asked agitated. The Feast had started thirty minutes ago and Mia had yet to walk through the doors.

"I'm sure she's fine," Draco said as he grabbed some roast beef. Harry was about to demand that he accompany him to look for Mia when he felt someone stop behind him at the table. When he turned around he saw Jade standing there, a frown on her face.

"Potter," she said with a nod.

"Oh, uh, hello Rourke," he said a bit thrown. He had only spoken to the girl a handful of times, so he was more than a bit surprised to see her.

"Look I thought I should tell you that there was an incident with your sister. Some older students cornered her. She's not hurt, calm down, they were just being nasty to her. Look she walked away before me or Laura—the Head Girl—could talk to her properly. Laura's been to the girls' first-floor lavatory and she says Mia's still in there. She thinks she's crying but she can't be certain since she wouldn't answer her. She finally left her in there because she needed to come to the Feast, being Head Girl and all. Look, I just thought I'd tell you so you don't worry about why she's not here. She probably won't be stopping by, if I had to guess," she told him calmly. Despite her tone, however, Harry could see that she was worried.

"What happened?" he bit out. If anyone had hurt his sister, he'd be using them as their new sparring dummy.

"Ask that friend of hers. Zabini," she said and threw the boy in question the iciest look Harry had ever witnessed before she walked away.

Draco had stopped eating at this point and seeing Harry's face become increasingly red, decided to interfere before his cousin jumped over the table to strangle Blaise.

"What happened?" he asked the dark-skinned boy curiously. Blaise, however, wouldn't meet his eyes and instead stared down into his food. He'd been incredibly quiet since the Feast had started but Draco had just assumed he wasn't feeling well. Suddenly all the glances he'd kept throwing at the doors made sense.

"Blaise. What happened?" he asked again, this time a lot less friendly. Blaise might be his mate, but Mia was his cousin.

"Nothing. Just some friends messing around with her," he finally mumbled but still wouldn't meet their eyes.

"What did you do to my sister?" Harry hissed at him.

Before Blaise could answer, however, the doors to the Great Hall burst open and Professor Quirrell staggered in, making everyone fall silent.

"TROLL! In the dungeon! Tho—thought you ought to know." And then he fainted.

All hell broke loose in the Hall, students staggering to their feet and yelling in panic, trying to push people out of the way so they could get out. Before they could take more than a few steps, however, the Headmaster's voice rang out loudly.

"Silence!" he bellowed and waited until the voices had quieted before continuing. "Now then. Prefects, calmly collect your students and head to your common rooms. Slytherin will remain behind in the Hall with their Prefects and the Head Students until we deem the dungeon safe. Professors, if you can follow me please," and with that he stepped down and went to leave the room.

"Professor! Professor Snape!" Harry cried out desperately. The man was too far away to hear him over the raised voices of the student body, however, and he was gone before Harry could catch up with him. He turned around and searched until he could find the Prefects.

"Jade! Jade, Mia is still out there!" he said as he fought his way through the crowd.

"She'll be alright Harry! She's probably back in the common room by now!" she tried to reassure him as she calmed down a group of hysterical first years.

"She could be in danger! We need to go get her!" he tried yelling over the heads of students.

"Harry, she'll be fine. The professors are on their way. I can't leave the students by themselves, I'm sorry!" she told him firmly. Harry looked at her incredulously before turning around and hurrying towards the door.

"Harry! Harry where are you going?" he heard Draco ask as he grabbed Harry's shoulder.

"You heard Jade, Mia is still out there! She has no idea what's going on. I need to get to her!" he told him fiercely before turning to look at Blaise who looked like he was about to be sick. "If anything happens to her, I'll show you just how good I am with my muggle sport. Then I'll tell my dad what you did," he snarled at the boy before running out of the Hall with some Ravenclaws. He heard Draco call his name but he didn't turn around again.

lmmmmmmmml

Mia had just managed to pull herself together when she heard the door open. She was in the process of washing her face with cold water, however, so she didn't bother to turn around.

"Laura, I'm fine. Honest. You can go back to the Feast," she said as she dried her face on some paper towels. Instead of the response she was expecting, though, she heard a loud growl and shuffling behind her. She spun around quickly and for the second time in two weeks, felt her stomach drop. Standing there, blocking the exit to the girls' lavatory, was a Mountain Troll.

It was big—bigger even than Hagrid. It had hard leathery green skin and a small head that sat atop a very large body. Its arms hung down, abnormally long, and it was dragging what looked like a small tree behind him.

'No, no that would be a very large club,' Mia corrected herself nervously as she saw the troll lift it. It was standing there, looking around, and Mia was trying not to move to not catch its attention. A good rule of thumb with any creature was to stand still until you could make a getaway. Only problem was, the chances of her sneaking past this particular creature were not looking good. Before she could decide what to do, the door to the lavatory slammed open and in walked the last person she wanted to see right then.

"HARRY, NO, GET OUT!" she yelled as she saw the troll turn its head towards her brother. Before he could realize what he'd walked into, the troll gave a roar and swung its arm wide and hit Harry right in the chest, sending him crashing hard into one of the walls. His head snapped against the stone before he crumpled to the ground.

When Mia saw Harry go down, something snapped inside her again, like it had in the classroom with Professor Snape. She felt her magick react to her fear and send out a wave of pure energy, slamming into the troll and sending it stumbling away from her brother. She quickly ran over to him and knelt down to feel his pulse, just like Mr. Travers had taught them. His heart rate was steady and Mia let out a breath, almost sobbing in relief. Before she could savor the feeling, though, the troll got its footing under it once more and began to advance on them. It swung its club wide once more, hitting the porcelain sinks above them and sending shards flying everywhere. Mia threw herself over her brother, covering her head with her arms, as she protected them both as best she could. She lifted her head and looked around, trying to find a way to get them out of there when the troll once again gave a bellow and swung its club. This time, however, it was aimed right at them and Mia wouldn't be able to move Harry out of the way fast enough. It all happened in slow-motion.

Mia saw the club coming down on them and saw herself throwing up her hands, before a surge of magick heated her palms and blue fire erupted from her hands. Her magick lashed out on a wave of magical energy, disintegrating the club before throwing the troll back against the toilet stalls. Its head cracked through the stall door and the wall hard enough that it passed out, slumping down to crush the toilets under its enormous weight. Mia stared at the troll a moment before looking down at her still glowing hands, thankful that for once her magick had been useful without knocking her unconscious.

She quickly bent down to check on Harry and once she was reassured that the shattering sinks hadn't reached him, she crawled away from him and towards the troll. He might be down now, but Mia needed him to stay down until she could get her brother to safety. She grabbed her wand and did a spell she had only ever read about in her father's auror books.

"Incarcerous!" she said as she pointed it at the troll. To her relief, thick ropes shot out of her wand and wrapped around the creature, successfully binding him. That done, she turned around and pointed her wand at her brother. "Mobilicorpus"

Once Harry's body was floating in front of her she quickly made her way to the door and cleared it of debris so she could open it. She carefully guided him outside and was just about to head to the infirmary, when a group of professors rounded the corner.

"Oh sweet Merlin!" she heard Professor McGonagall gasp before the woman broke into a run down the rest of the corridor. "Child what happened? Ms. Black what happened to your brother?" she asked worriedly as she glanced at Harry.

"There was a Mountain Troll. It threw him into a wall," she told her shakily.

"In w-which direction d-d-did it g-go?" stammered Professor Quirrell.

"I tied it up in the girls' lavatory. I need to get him to the infirmary" she told them, missing the looks of shock that crossed all of the professors' faces because she had just noticed something interesting in the DADA professor's robes.

"Pardon? Did you just say you tied it up?" Professor McGonagall asked astonished.

Mia knew there was a good reason for their surprise, but she was too tired to remember. "Yes. Incarcerous. It's back there, by the stalls," she said waving a hand in its general direction before stumbling. Professor Snape saw this and quickly leaned forward to catch her, helping her stand upright again.

"My dear, are you levitating your brother?" the Headmaster asked in a strange voice.

"Albus, leave her be," Severus finally snapped. "She's obviously exhausted from handling the creature and needing to levitate her brother. She's probably suffering from magical depletion from performing such high-level spells."

"I s-s-say. How a f-f-first year managed to d-d-defeat a Mountain Tr-tr-troll is a bit of a m-m-mystery," Quirrell stammered out, looking at Mia very closely. Severus, not liking the look on his face quickly took out his own wand and took over Harry's levitation spell before putting his arm behind Mia's back and gently pushing her forward.

"I'll be taking these two to Poppy, then" he said as Minerva came out of the girls' lavatory, a disbelieving look on her face. Mia must have left quite the scene behind.

"Yes, yes. Before you go, my boy, I think some points are in order. Twenty points to Slytherin, Ms. Black. For impressive use of a wand and quick thinking," he smiled at the young girl who looked two seconds away from joining her brother.

"That could wait until another time. I'm taking them now," huffed Severus annoyed, still watching Quirrell out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes. Come see me once they've settled in," Dumbledore said after Severus turned to walk down the corridor.

"Albus, I don't know how she did it but those two shouldn't be alive right now. It's a fully grown adult, not some fresh sapling. It looks like a bomb when off in there…" he heard Minerva say behind him before her voice faded away when he turned a corner.

He made it halfway to Poppy's office before Mia finally fainted from magical exhaustion. He was surprised she had lasted this long, if he was honest. He'd had his wand ready when he felt her legs give and in a moment had her levitating next to her brother. He quickly made his way to the second floor and burst into the room, startling the nurse.

"What's happened?" she asked immediately when she saw the two students.

"Mountain Troll in the girls' lavatory got to Mr. Potter. I'm not sure about Ms. Black—possible magical depletion," he said as they laid them down in two nearby beds.

Poppy immediately got to work, firing off diagnostic spell after diagnostic spell and muttering under her breath the whole time. Once she was done working over both children and pouring potions down their throats, she sat back with a frown and turned to him.

"The boy had a concussion from hitting his head on something. Some light bruising, that's it. Ms Black, however, had several more injuries apart from depletion. Injuries, I might add, that were not recent," she said as she glanced down at the little witch.

"What do you mean, not recent? The attack happened no more than twenty minutes ago," he told her impatiently.

"Severus, the girl had a head injury that was an hour or two old already. She probably had a mild concussion before this whole mess even started. Her elbows and lower back were skinned and her shoulder blades bruised. All injuries consistent with someone falling back. I've seen enough of these in my years to know that she didn't fall on her own," she said somberly, a frown marring her face.

Severus rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself. "You think she was attacked?" But it was more statement than question.

"I think you'll need to talk to her when she wakes. I can think of one reason why a girl like her was hiding in the girls' lavatory during her first Halloween Feast, and it's not a good one," she said quietly. "You know how the kids can be with your House. Add to that what everyone says about the poor girl and, well. You can imagine."

He could.

"Mia?" she heard before someone shook her awake. When she opened her eyes, it was to see Harry's emerald ones looking down at her with concern.

"Hello Jamie," she said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Some help I was. I don't remember anything," he said frustrated.

"Ah, good. You're awake." They both startled at hearing the deep voice of their Head from the doorway. "Now you can tell me what happened last night," he said with his signature arched brow.

Mia sat down and described her encounter with the Troll, telling him every strange detail about what her magic had done.

"It looks like those lessons he's put you through did some good," Harry said cheerfully. Hearing the whole thing made him very glad his sister was so powerful since he would otherwise most likely be dead right about now.

"Hmmm, so it would appear Mr. Potter," Professor Snape said dryly.

"Professor, there's something else. Last night, when you found me and Harry. I….well I noticed something strange," she said carefully.

"Oh?"

"Professor Quirrell had Cerberus slobber on his robes, by his legs. I could see where the drool had eaten through his clothing and burned him. Why would he try to get past Fluffy?" she asked him, watching as his face went expressionless.

"And how, pray tell, would you two know about Fluffy?" he asked silkily.

"We, uh, well we kind of got lost," Harry said quickly.

"And it just happened to be in the one place in this school you are banned from?"

"We really got lost. Almost got chewed on but Mia got us out of it. Still don't know how, by the way. It's not my first instinct to sing to a hulking hellhound, but that's Mia," Harry told him, his voice conveying he was still surprised it had worked.

Professor Snape turned to face her and stared for a moment before looking away. "Mr. Potter, I need a word with your sister. If you could wait outside."

"Oh. Uh, sure, sir," Harry told him as he threw a curious look at Mia, who just shrugged her shoulders. Once he had left the room and the door had closed behind him, the professor turned back to her.

"How did you know about Fluffy?" he asked her with a slight urgency.

"Hagrid. He let it slip when I went down to talk to him once. I asked about his pets and he told me that the key was knowing how to calm them. He said something about Fluffy falling right to sleep with some music. I didn't even know what it meant until I saw the tag on the Cerberus," she told him honestly.

"I see," he finally said after a thoughtful pause.

"What's he guarding?" she asked him. When he looked surprised at her question, she sighed. "I saw the door he was standing on. I know he's guarding something."

She didn't think he was going to reply, he was silent so long. Finally, though, he lowered his voice and answered. "Miss Black, what he's guarding is the business of Nicolas Flamel and the Headmaster. That is all I will say on the matter. Be sure you do not ask again." He stared at her hard until she nodded her understanding before he went to take a seat by her bed.

"Now that we've gotten the Troll incident out of the way, I want you to tell me what happened before that," he said as he stared intently at her.

"Sir?" Mia couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. She was ashamed of her reaction to what had occurred with Blaise.

"No point trying that Ms. Black. I am aware that there was an incident in the hall with some older students. Mr. Malfoy was quite…agitated when I stopped by to check on the students. He told me the reason you'd been in the lavatory was because you'd been in a verbal confrontation and had become upset. But according to Madam Pomfrey, it was a bit more physical than that. Care to explain what happened?" he asked gently. Unfortunately, he'd had to deal with too many of these incidents over his years as Head.

"Nothing happened sir. I tripped. Some of the older students happened to be nearby and helped me," she said, still not meeting his gaze.

"How interesting. Because I had both Ms. Rourke and Ms. Davenport come looking for me this morning, telling me quite a different story. A story, I might add, that involved your…friend," he said still watching her face carefully.

Mia's jaw tightened before she turned to face him. "Nothing happened. Some students had nothing better to do and they thought I was an easy target. But I can give as good as I get, my father has made sure of that. As for my…friend, you don't have to worry about it. I will deal with him," she told him finally.

Severus stared at her a moment before nodding. "See that you do. Well then, I'll be on my way. You are excused from classes for the rest of the day, as is your brother. I suggest you take advantage of that. You know where to find me, should you have need." With that he swept out of the room.

A/N: There it is, another chapter. Hope you liked it! As always, leave a review and let me know what you think. I love reading your suggestions and comments!