~an- I only own half story credit, my editing skills and Promise. ~

Promise wanted to roll her eyes, but she couldn't. She was in a mix of gratefulness, pity and 'oh get over it'. Pomphree went to tend to her and check her over. For someone like Promise, the way she can rattle off a list of injuries would have been nothing. For someone like Hermione, who most likely had never been in a fight in her life, it was understandable why she was in pain. Concussion, second degree sprained ankle, black eye, broken nose, and 2 bruised ribs. Verity winced as she said each injury. Poor Hermione! Then she thought of the list of injuries Promise had rattled off earlier. Poor Promise! The ratio of pain person to person was about the same for them both. It was just that Promise had a much, MUCH higher tolerance for pain.

Promise momentarily inwardly cringed at Hermione's list. She knew that she herself had much worse injuries, but she was used to it. All Promise could do at this point is pity/owe her.

Pomphree gave Hermione a potion to dull the pain. She again asked if Promise or Cedric needed any. Cedric shook his head, not wanting to look wimpy in front of his new found sisters.

"... Aw, what the hell I'll take one." Promise tried to pass it off as nonchalant as possible, but she was in a considerable amount of pain at the time. Promise glanced at some of the faces in the room for their reactions. Harry smiled and nodded. He understood, and he wouldn't say anything. Verity did the same, rolling to her sister's side. She gently squeezed Promise's hand. Cedric let out a small sigh of relief. He knew Promise was good at dealing with her pain, but he didn't like the idea of her being in pain at all. Ron seemed oblivious, as he was too wrapped up in telling Hermione all that had happened while she was asleep. The twins were also seemingly unaware, as they were deep in conversation about what would happen if Oliver couldn't play the first match. Promise gulped down the potion and after a few moments, asked in an uneven voice, 'Ms pumphree, ish there any.. Errrr.. SHIDE EFFECTS to thish potiun..?"

"No, sweetheart." Pomphree said, sweeping hair out of Promise's eyes, "Some people do feel a little tired after taking it, but that's it. If you feel too tired to stay awake, I'm sure none of your friends would mind if you dozed off for a bit." It was halfway through Pomphree's second sentence that Promise was already half asleep.

"Ya," Verity said, "get some rest, Promise. You're gonna need it if you're gonna be better in time for Harry's game!" Verity pulled the blanket up to Promise's chin and tucked her in. It felt good to be the one taking care of her for once. Promise, a few minutes shortly after, was looking down on herself- literally! 'Whoa. Well, this is totally weird and unexpected..' Promise was doing astral projection! Sweet.

Verity held her sister's hand. Promise looked so peaceful as she slept. It was a bitter sweet feeling however. She was hurt because of Verity... again! Though Promise always said that she didn't mind doing these sorts of things, Verity could never get over the guilt of how often they were in this position, or one similar: Verity had been teased, Promise defended her, Promise got hurt, and there was nothing Verity cold do to help her. Tears came to her eyes as the all too familiar feeling she hated so much came to her: helplessness. She wanted so badly to be able to make it all better, but she couldn't.

Promise, at this level of spirituality, could sense and, at this point, feel emotions and thoughts; it was like she was being an emotional sponge as she soaked up verity's emotional distress. Promise went to lay a hand on Verity's shoulder only to have it pass right through. Verity felt a chill go through her, like what you feel when you get touched by a ghost. She looked around, but saw no ghosts. Then a small light caught her eye. An aura, or energy cluster, floated there in midair. 'Promise?' she thought, 'Is that you?'

'.. Side affects, my ass. I'm astral projecting, how are you doing?' Promise hasn't projected since the accident, so she was trying to readjust to the odd feeling of floating. 'I'm fine. And it's probably not the potion making you project. It might be that we just unlocked our abilities to telepathically communicate' She smiled 'either that or you hit your head REALLY hard!'

'I'm rooting for the former. Hey do you spose I could talk to other people?' Promise floated over to Harry, who didn't seem to be sensing her at all.

'No, it's probably just me. I'm only able to see you because of our.. ablilties. Promise, you seem really calm about this. Have you ever... done this before?'

'Huh? Oh.. Um..' Promise stopped floating and stayed still. She did not want to tell a lie, so she changed the subject and playfully joked, 'Hey do ya spose I could maybe pull ghostly pranks? Or! Ooh! Take over some git's body?'

'I think you'd have to be an actual ghost to do those things! Promise.. is... is there something you're not telling me?' Promise stopped putting her arm through Ron's head and ceased her laughter at his chills. She floated over to Verity and inquired, '... I'll tell you something you don't know if you tell me something I don't,' Promise knew that Verity was hiding something about the accident as well. She wasn't stupid. Every once in a while she would slip up and let out a detail about a mysterious 'Him', and Promise can get mighty curious.

Verity bit her lip. After a minute she nodded. 'deal!'

'.. Before... The accident.. I actually used to astral project all the time,' Promise began, a little uneasy about this subject. 'But after.. IT happened, I've never projected since... Such a dark presence; it felt as though it haunted my very existence for years, now, however, it feels like a weight's been lifted..'

'So, you're saying the trauma of the expierence blocked out your ability?'

'I guess, it just feels so safe here; I guess that may be why it's only been till now that I'm doing it..?"

'Oh. So, did you project... during the attack? Or were you just outcold?'

'Yes.. Yes I-I think so! Because.. It would have just been impossible for me to feel that dark, dark sinister evil that I had felt, were I merely outcold.. It was like I was being swallowed whole; I couldn't see anything.. But that anger.. That hatred...!'

'Yea, I could sort of feel his..I mean IT'S hatred too. It was scary!' She hoped Promise wouldn't notice her slip of the tongue... or mind.. or whatever. Promise did, however. She noticed the first night they got to Hogwarts when she had the nightmare and explained what it was about! '... I think it's time you tell me who this Him is; or WAS for that matter.' Verity bit her lip again. She didn't even be know where to begin to explain. She had no clue how to start, but she had to try. Promise looked at her with eager eyes. The suspense had her hanging by a thin thread, and she was going to snap if she didnt get to know who this Him was.

Verity took a deep breath to calm her self. She decided to just up and say one of the most blunt parts of the story to get it out of the way. 'It wasn't a dementor that I was protecting you from that night' she started 'there was one, but after you passed out, daddy made it go away.' Promise half knew this part. She wasn't stupid; Verity's 'Him' was probably Promise's 'dark presence'! Promise was hoping that Verity has that one missing piece- who that menacing figure is. 'It was one of the deatheaters, though I guess that's kind of obvious...'

Promise was slightly angered and irritated. '.. You mean you DON'T KNOW WHO IT IS..?' The air around Promise seemed to become cold and slightly electric. 'He was wearing a mask!' Verity snapped slightly, "They ALL wore masks back then! It was kind of a deatheater trademark!' Promise stayed silent, seething in anger. Suddenly there was a strong whirl coming from nowhere as the approaching fall storm somehow blew the windows wide open; Promise was MAD! Verity's anger vanished. She tried not to show it, but at that moment she felt something she never thought she would towards Promise: Fear. Verity was in that instant terrified of her own sister's power.

Promise suddenly smiled at the one piece that she had aquired from her sister. There was a death eater at the scene. Promise wanted to know how many death eaters there are, WHO they were. She was going to find out who that son of a boggart was. 'I..I do remember thing..' Verity gulped, 'His voice. The way he spoke to me and how it sounded!' She shivered as the voice came into her head. The voice that haunted her nightmares. 'And..and his eyes! I..I saw them through the mask before he...did it!'

Promise was about to go search for clues when she stopped; she looked at her sister with her ghostly, questioning eyes. The wind stopped as she calmed down, baffling the boys that were just closing the windows.

'They were... blue? No! Grey! They were a steely, hard, stoneish, silvery grey!'

Promise's look softened before she disappeared to look for clues as to who this mystery man is. 'Promise! Where are you going?' Verity panicked.

'Going to find out who put you in that chair.' Promise was flying down the hall; flying toward the library.. The forbidden section.

Fred put his hand on Verity's shoulder. "Are you ok? You're making some pretty random faces,"

"Huh? Oh, ya I'm fine!" She tried to cover her tracks "Just thinking. Worried about them all, you know?" Fred looked skeptical. "If worry means making that pissed off face you made at breakfast a few days ago, then I think you might need a therapist. C'mon, something's buggerrin' ya.." Verity had to think of an explanation. Luckily, Promise had taught her a thing or two about how to lie convincingly when needed. "Just thinking about Jeb... and all the ways to make him pay for this shit!" Fred nodded sharply. "I'm right there with you.. What do you have in mind so far?" Promise began to tune back in to Verity, bemused with her sister's responses.

"Simple." Verity said. She actually had been thinking about it before. She watched Fred's eyes get big as she responded, "An eye for an eye; at the quiditch match, you and George send a bludger at him! If you can, Fred, and by that I mean if you're comfortable doing it, KNOCK HIM OFF HIS BROOM!" Fred got up and backed away from her. Not out of respect, but out of disbelief. "Verity..." Fred looked as though he'd been slapped. "That was practice, but doing that kind of nastiness at a match... Quiditch matches are sacred; even some Slythryns would agree,"

"Well, I disagree with the idea that the Slythryns wouldn't do that, because we both know they would, but I realize that you couldn't possibly do that. I'm sorry. I was just so.. so... so MAD!"

"Its not about me or the Slythryns!" Fred was practically yelling at her until he realizes what he's doing; he sees Verity's apologetic and hurt face and began to trail off in his words. "It.. It's just.. There's certain rules that shouldn't need to be said..." Fred wanted to stop, not wanting to see the tears stinging at the corner of her eye. "Oh shit...!" Cedric whispered, "Weasley, what did you just do?!"

Verity shakes her head, trying in vain to stop the flow of tears. Fred had just yelled at her! "Fred." Cedric hissed, extremely annoyed, "She's a FIRST YEAR! How the bloody hell do you expect her to know this shit?!"

"Verity.. I..." Fred sat back down. He tried to make her face him to the point of scooting his chair in front of hers. "Verity.. Verity, I-I'm sorry-" Before either of them could say another word, Verity snapped her breaks open and zoomed out of the hospital wing. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't care. She just had to get away. She heard Fred shouting behind her and Cedric cussing him out, telling him how jerky and moronic it was to yell at her over quiditch. 'Promise,' She thought, tears streaming down her face, 'I need you!'.