Hello, all! Sorry for the wait. The chapter is here now! Hot and ready to be served :). That was weird, I apologize. Anyway *cough cough* the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

I could barely see as I scavenged through the tunnel and into the darkness that lay ahead of me. Who knew Hogwarts had so many unexplored nooks and crannies? Well, Apollo did, obviously. But that's beside the point. Is that a mouse I smell? Oh, I am famished. Maybe a detour—no. No. No detours. Gotta find Apollo.

If I get caught, I will be in so much trouble…

After about five minutes of wandering, a small speck of light appeared. Ominous. How lucky for me, I get to go straight into it. The option to go after the mouse was still on the table, wasn't it? No, no. Onwards, I must go. How fortunate that my fox persona showed no fear. The human part of me on the other hand, not as brave, I'm afraid. Before I knew it, the light hit the back of my fur in full force as I appeared on the other end of the tunnel.

A new batch of fresh air hit me in the face, rifling my whiskers. My supersensitive vision panned around the room. The first thing I saw was empty space. Well, that's anticlimactic. I thought there would be something out of the ordinary. Nothing. Four brick walls, wood floor, a hole in the wall for a fox to fit through…normal. Going back to my human form seemed like the only thing to do. A wiggle of my nose and I was 5'6" again.

"Much better," I said to myself, "now to look for Apollo."

I scanned the floor for any remnants of my furry friend. The floor boards squeaked as I stepped on them. Something didn't feel right. One board squeaked louder than the rest of them. I swayed on it, then off it, then on it again. I knelt down to inspect it. I knocked. It gave a hollow echo. My fingers grazed the crevices connecting it to the panels on either side. With a slight pop, I lifted the board right off the ground. My eyes widened at the new hole in the ground.

Its contents were even more interesting than its hiding place. A book sat in plain view. I lifted it out of the hole. The thick layer dust stuck to my fingers. I blew off some of the excess to read the title. Advanced Potion Making. Huh, strange. Why would a potions book be in the floor? I peered back into the hole. There was a lot of dirt. Gross. But, wait—what's that?

Under the lip of the adjacent board, I noticed a shimmer. I placed the book next to me. The object was cool under my fingertips. I pulled it out of the darkness. It was a ring. Kinda dusty, but a ring nonetheless. I wiped it clean with my sleeve. It couldn't be? Was that—

Clunk!

My head snapped forward. How did someone find me here? I'm in a hidden room, for Merlin's sake. I held my breath. Another clunk. I jumped again. I took out my wand and gripped the ring tight. I don't know why, but I felt like I needed to keep it safe.

The wall rattled around the entrance hole I scurried from. Out the opening popped the orange head of my little fox. I let out a huge sigh.

"Apollo! Oh, thank Merlin's beard and all his socks! Where have you been?"

He scampered cheerily into my arms. His rough tongue scraped the palm of my hand.

"Lo, are you alright? You seem oddly happy. We are in a barrel, technically. I don't see the plus side to this."

He nudged the book with his muzzle, lifting the cover.

"What are you doing?"

I looked closer. The first page wasn't attached.

"Oh, it's broken. That's a shame. A book should never have to go through that."

Apollo rolled his eyes. Can foxes do that? This fox could, it seems. He pulled the paper over to me in his jaws.

"Am I missing the point?" I asked, grabbing the paper. Apollo blew air out of his nose. "I am. Okay. Let's take a look at this, then."

It was a note. Great! Just what I needed right now. Another ominous letter. The last one was just so good. The sarcasm oozes out of every pore, I know.

I opened it up begrudgingly. Even better! It's the green ink from the last one! Oh, joy. I began to read, already knowing that I wouldn't like the contents.

'This book is not for your eyes.

Yet, here you are.

At least I know the things you want hidden.

You don't know what you've started.'

Here comes the panic. What is this supposed to mean? I mean, I know what it means, but like, why? Why is this a thing that's happening? This thing shouldn't be happening.

"Apollo, what do we do?"

He ran back out the entrance.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

I shoved the book into my shirt. I nearly forgot about the ring sitting in my palm. I shoved it in my pocket without a second glance. I'll deal with that later.

I took a deep breath like before. Two seconds later, my whiskers quivered and my nose twitched. Fox-mode initiated. I scampered after Apollo, back into the basement. He sat waiting for me on the other side. I quickly changed back, letting out a sigh of relief for not being caught.

"Miss Wilde?"

Oh, for Merlin's sake. Please, please, please tell me I did not just get found out. I turned to the voice. It was Regulus Black with a perplexed look on his face. Shit.

"Did you just—"

"No."

"But I just saw—"

"No, you didn't."

"Are you an Anima—"

"Lovely seeing you, Regulus, but I've got to go. That headache from last night, you know. Can't seem to shake it," I rushed picking up Apollo. "Bye!"

"Is that the fox from last night?" he shouted after me.

I practically ran to the common room. Apollo growled when we stopped. He hates being jostled around like that.

"Maybe if you would have stayed put this morning, you wouldn't be in this situation."

I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this is happening.I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING. Regulus saw me transform. He saw me transform from a fox to a human. He know I'm an Animagus. He asked me if I was an Animagus! This isn't happening. This is all a horrible, terrible dream and I'm going to wake up with Apollo laying on my chest, licking my nose. I pinched my arm to wake myself.

"Ow!" Shit. Not sleeping. I answered the question, got in the dormitory, ran up the stairs, then rammed my body into my bed. A low groan that grew escaped my mouth hideously. I kicked around a bit, as well. Not my proudest moment, not going to lie, but I needed to get it out my system. Throwing a tantrum like a five year old was the only way to make that happen.

I sat straight up in my covers, bunching them all around me. The blanket and my body became one in a giant fort of coziness. Some Christmas. All I got was a death threat, a book about plants (probably, I still haven't opened the gift from my parents), and…

I pulled the shining jewelry from my pocket. It was just as I thought. I stared at it for a long time. A sweeping tiredness came over me. I yawned. I needed a nap. Too much stress for one morning. Transforming takes a lot out of me. I put the ring on my bedside table. The sun pendant resting on the circle of gold watched as I closed my eyes. It would match well with my necklace and bracelet.

Well. What do you know? Apollo wasn't stolen after all. Sorry if you were hoping for that. Although, it's not all sunshine and daisies, so don't worry ;). A bit of mischief is still to come.

What's up with that jewelry, though? It's about time I addressed it in these author's notes. Have you guys been noticing them?

Tell me in a review! What do you think they mean? Do they mean anything? Let me know!

Until next time, friends! Stay cool :).