The next day I slept in late for the first time in a long time. When I woke up, the dorm was empty, proof of just how late it was.

It took me a minute to figure out why I was so tired and why I did sleep in. Then my dark mark, which hadn't stopped hurting since the day before, gave a particularly painful throb, it all came back to me.

Last night. I was in pain. I went to Snape. We heard an egg.

Snape had right away assumed that Harry was up to mischief and only backed off once Moody had showed up and shooed all of us away. He took his anger of not getting Harry in trouble out on me, giving me a hissy lecture about my friends and how Harry was annoying and stuff like that. I didn't really pay attention. I decided to go and find Harry, to see how things had went for him.

The common room was empty except for a few sixth and seventh years. I wandered down to the Great Hall, unconsciously cradling my left arm as it continued to sting. There I found Ron and Hermione having lunch, yes I'd slept that late.

"Finally!" Ron exclaimed, "Sleeping beauty joins us."

"Oh, be quiet." I mumbled, a grin on my face, "Where's the other one?"

"Harry? He's in the library." Hermione told me, "He figured out what the egg means. He's got to go in the lake for the next task. We've been in the library all morning trying to find out how to survive under water."

"Thanks." I said and took a peanut butter sandwich from Ron's plate, "I'll be up there with him when you guys are done."

"Hey, that's my sand-" Ron cut himself off when I threw him a withering glare.

"What was that you were saying?" I asked menacingly. My serious tone was betrayed when a smile broke across my face.

"Oh, um. I got you this sandwich!" He laughed.

"Why, thank you Ronald! How kind of you." I laughed with him, "See you."

Harry was surrounded by a stack of thick books when I found him in the library.

"Hey! Find anything about trying to be a fish?" He didn't look up from the open book in front of him when he answered dully.

"No."

"Oh… want me to look as well?" Harry slowly turned a page of the book and read for a bit longer before saying in a voice that was just as mundane,

"No, not really. Ron and Hermione were helping me earlier."

"And that's relevant how? What's the matter?"

"Last night."

"What, you didn't get any? I snickered, but he gave me a very serious look.

"I saw you with Snape."

"Oh! Don't worry, he didn't get any either." I could help it. I burst into a fit of giggles. I thought making a joke might get me a smile out of Harry, but he just looked even angrier. "Harry, I'm being serious now." And for a second, I thought I was. Then I looked straight into his eyes and for some reason, it made things funnier. I couldn't keep a straight face as I asked him again, "What's the matter?"

"It was the middle of the night. We don't even like being around him during the day." That sentence wiped all trace of humor from my face. Snape and I had come from the dungeon area and we were in our pajamas. I suppose the fact that we had run to the scene and were out of breath didn't make things look any better. Eww. What was Harry thinking?

"Well last night…something came up." I answered calmly, "I needed to see a teacher."

"Since when is Snape at the top of the emergency teacher list?"

"I never said he was the first teacher I went to." The lie came out of my mouth like it was actually the truth, "McGonagall was the first one I tried to find. And I don't know where any of the other teacher's live." I made a point of looking very sad and dejected, like being with Snape was actually as horrible as Harry thought. He still looked slightly suspicious, but his anger faded a little.

"Oh. So what happened last night?"

"Well," I started slowly, my mind was racing. Trying to think of some excuse, any excuse to give him. I glanced around and leaned in close to him, "Don't tell anyone. But…well I was kind of trying some advanced spells and one of the transfiguration ones went…bad." His eyes widened a little, he was instantly hooked on this story. Inside I breathed a sigh of relief. "I um…was trying to give myself wings."

"What?" He gasped, "Why would you want to do a spell like that?"

"To say that I could." I said as if the answer was obvious. He considered me for a moment before nodding in agreement and urging me to continue, "Well…it didn't turn out like I'd…expected. I kind of turned my arm into a tentacle." Harry's eyes widened slightly and he began to laugh.

"Like the giant squid?" He could barley stop his laughing to form the words that he spoke, "Oh! You should mess up the spell on me and maybe I can handle this next task!" I glared evilly at him while doubled over, trying to silence himself so as not to attract Madame Pince.

"Be quiet!" I hissed vehemently, "It's isn't funny, it hurt and it was embarrassing having to run for help in the middle of the night!" I know it didn't actually happen, but Harry thought it did, and he was laughing at me. A strange dark feeling rose from the base of my spine as I watched his body shake with another bout of laughter. I felt anger swarm around my body like a cocoon and when it reached my arm, the pain burned more than ever. I stood suddenly, "Keep it up Potter." I spat, "I'm not going to help you now." I stormed away from him before he could say anything.

As I moved towards the library exit, the dark feelings wrapped my mind in haze and I didn't pay attention to where I was going. I ran into someone. The shock unbalanced me and I tripped to the floor.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "I'm so sor-" I cut myself off abruptly when I saw who it was. Snape, "Oh. Hi." He raised a sardonic eyebrow and gazed down his nose at me on the floor. I scrambled to my feet and straightened myself, trying to seem unflustered. Seeing him had shoved the vicious thoughts and feelings from me, but I was confused about why I had them in the first place. I was also unnerved by the fact that Snape made me feel better and nervous at the same time.

"Have a nice trip?" He asked quietly, his voice was as cold as always, but the laughter that had appeared in his eyes made me grin.

"Yes, it was grand. Maybe next time you'll join me." I said it lightly, but he read the playful threat that my words hid. Snape stepped closer.

"You just try and trip me and see what happens." This time he actually smiled back at me, but it faded quickly. The pain in my arm spiked that moment and it made me remember that he was going through this pain too. Just as I was going to say something, he spoke again, "I'm in here to find you actually. Professor Dumbledore wants to speak with you."