Warren was still not used to the length of this pool.

He remembered this when his head smashed into the stone walls underneath the surface of the cool water.

With a grunt, he broke the surface, ropes of crystalline water flung around as he sucked in precious oxygen. His chest heaved up and down, drops of water trailing down his face and shoulders. His raven hair clung to his forehead, matted down with the weight of the chlorine-infused liquid that surrounded him. The murky sun reflected a pallid light off the ripples that waved and sloshed like a metronome rocking side-to-side.

Warren rubbed the top of his head, his hair rough and thick from the water. He could already feel a bruise forming from the collision.

A twitch of his face jumped across his eyes as he heard footsteps patter over the wet stone around the pool. Just what he needed, more people thrusting their noses into his business.

"Excuse me."

The water sloshed around Warren as he spun around and created a small twister in the pool around him. Standing just feet from him on the ledge of the pool was that girl from earlier. The one that tried to take his manga. She was wearing effectively the same costume from before, A a dark Alucard-type mask still donning her face. From this distance, he noticed her chestnut brown eyes, bright and vibrant like swirled honey in a mocha capacchino. Based off her dark tanned complexion and slim face, he could tell she was at least of Indian descent.

"Oh, it's you."

"The girl that took that manga from you," she said in an over-saccharine voice.

"Are you here to steal something else?" Warren said in an annoyed and wispy voice. "I only have two galleons in my wallet. Or are you playing a prank on me and trying to steal my clothes? Because someone tried that my fourth year."

The girl smirked. "As appealing as I bet you would look walking around the castle in only swim jammers, I'm here to help you. I know a thing or two about swimming, and I wanted to assist."

"Why?"

"I felt a little bad about what I did to you earlier. Also, I know you're not just doing this for exercise." The girl said. She kneeled down at the edge of the water and looked deep into Warren's blank, graphite eyes. "And also, I have some interesting information that you may desire."

Warren raised an eyebrow, his blank expression pointed at the girl.

The thief, seeing he was curious, reached down towards Warren. With a lithe finger, she brushed away a stray lock of his hair from his forehead. Warren could not help but flinch at the soft touch.

"There's a story where I'm from. It's about this man. He was just a normal guy. He killed somebody. Put a gun to his head. So, he goes home to his mother and tells her that if he's not back the same time tomorrow to carry on. And he never returned, because nothing really mattered to him. So all of that to say that all of the fun things happening around this school doesn't mean that much to me. What does is that I get what I need from certain people."

Warren blinked and took a step closer. He rested a muscled arm on the ledge and leaned up towards the girl. She smirked at his curiosity.

"You know how to get into the Chamber of Secrets. Don't you?"

Warren remained expressionless. However, internally, his guts tightened up in a ball. There was no way she could have known about that. Sure, she was probably used to sneaking around and tailing her targets, but he thought he had a sense to know when people where following him. Even in the hallways, he felt the eyes of students comb his back like a snake absorbing the vibrations of the ground surrounding it, knowing a possible predator was stomping about.

Of course, there was the possibility that somebody who already knew had said something. His mind flashed the image of a certain cocky guy that considered himself the King of Gryffindor.

"There's a very unique artifact in there that I need to get," she said. "Do you think you can help me?"

Warren shook of the surprise. This girl did not seem to be irrational, and there was no reason to believe that she would talk about this. Especially since he had no idea who seh was, she would out herself as the thief if he found out where any rumors originate from. "And what's in it for me?"

She smirked. "How would you like to find your ring?"

Lacie brushed off the smudge of dirt encrusted on her tight baby blue blouse. She hated how all of this anime always put female in these tight, unsuitable for combat clothing. Sure, she thought she looked good in it, but she could not help but feel like she was in more danger than ever.

She was, in fact, more confused than ever while witnessing the little girl annihilate a giant beast with a fire-blast from her hands. The creature exploded into a rainfall of sparks that sparkled like bubbles down onto the group of people on the surface.

And now, some random room opened up at the end of the corridor! It was an empty room with white walls that nearly blinded her with the reflection of the spotlights above them. A flat marble slab lay in the center, where the strange little girl sat.

Kirito and Asuna where both beginning to cry next to her. Apparently, they had just all found out Yui was some computer program and not an actual human being. They both embraced the little girl on the marble slab. Lacie stood in front of them, a strange feeling of pity and apathy brewing in her stomach.

When they noticed, Kirito tilted his head like a confused dog and lowered his gaze to her. "Lacie, did you want to hug Yui?"

Lacie let out an annoyed noise. "No! I'm not her mama! Why does she keep calling us her parents?"

Huddled in the corner of the blank room, the rest of the Hogwarts students watch on with mild discomfort. Warren looked down at his feet to avoid the tense scene. He knew he was not decent at these emotional moments, and he would rather not get involved. Everyone else just sulked and did their best to get out of the way.

Asuna stood up like an agitated rhinoceros and took out her sword. The metal tip glistened towards her. "How dare you? You are ruining a perfectly emotional moment just because your confused about why you are here."

Lacie grunted. "No, it's because you've been threatening and killing me over and over again because you're jealous!"

At this, Kirito broke out from his tender embrace of Yui and ran in between the two girls. He stuck his palms out to assuage the situation. "Girls, please. This is not the tim-."

"When is it, Kirito?" Asuna asked as she spat mirth at Lacie. "This bitch has been following us around like a leech for too long!"

In the corner, a pack of five other students stood around and observed the scene. They were all perplexed by the scenario, but there was not much they could do. Not because they didn't want to, but because it seemed like Lacie had everything handled.

"I don't want to follow you around," Lacie shouted. "I have to get something from here!"

"Lacie, we're all very hurt by Yui right now," Kirito said. "How about we calm do-."

Lacie smacked away the sword and grabbed Kirito by the collar. She pushed him past Asuna and onto the marble slab. He fell back as Lacie gripped his cloak. "You're the moron that's causing all of this, you Mary Sue OP bastard!"

"What did you call me?"

"God, you're worse than any other Mary Sue," Lacie shouted. "You have the personality of plywood and the appearance of some emo kid in a goth band, and yet you're amazing at everything you do. So die!"

Lacie grabbed Asuna's rapier and stabbed Kirito in the heart.

Like a ghost, he instantly evaporated into thin air. As Lacie looked around the room, a giant white explosion erupted. Shielding her eyes, she blinked and turned back towards the source. It was a giant white orb, and it emanated some cheerful music.

"Congratulations," some announcer said. "You achieved your goal for this dream! Time to move onto the next one!"

"But I didn't even do anything!" Lacie shouted.

And just like that, Lacie and the other Hogwarts students disappeared.

In the midst of their disappearance, Yui and Asuna could only stare at each other at the aftermath of the event.

"So, can you bring him back," Asuna asked to Yui.

"D-Do you really want him back?"

Asuna shrugged.

Callie felt strange adjusting her tie on her school uniform. Not the Hogwarts school uniform of course, but a different one. She was nervous but not just from her usual social anxiety. This was a big moment as she was tasked by the members of the host club to woo a very high-profile client for the school. Apparently, she was the daughter of some big businessman.

"Are you ready, Callie-chan?" Honey chirped to her.

The girl looked down at the innocent boy and gave off a gentle smile. "Yes, Honey. I'll be ready in just a few minutes."

Honey smiled and clamored away towards the rest of the Host Club. Callie was left in his midst, a deep flush on her pale face. She bit her lip and wrung her thin wrists in each hand. The fabric of the baby blue blazer on her skin scratched away on her arms in an uncomfortable grip that clung at her form.

"I'm not ready," Callie said more to herself than anyone else. She gulped down her parched throat before beginning to shake. "What if I fail? Does that mean Aisen will die? Does that mean I'll die?"

Her forest green eyes widened and she began to hug herself. "Whose going to take care of my goldfish at home? What about the rest of humanity? Is the entire wizarding world going to die?" She hyperventilated.

Behind her, a very ostentatious group of students looked on in worry at the girl.

"She seems stressed," Lacie said.

Alistair shook his head. The girl panicking was not going to get them out of this hell hole any easier. Besides, the bright pink walls and marble tile dripping with their reflections underneath them was giving him a headache already.

He brushed past the rest of the students and approached Callie. With a small sigh, he placed his real hand on her shoulder.

"Callie?"

Callie yelped as if she had been zapped by a jellyfish. Spinning around, she clutched at her chest. The blush on her face mimicked a light sunburn. She took a light step back and attempted to catch her breath.

"Callie, you need to focus," Alistair said. "If you can't get us through this, we won't save everyone."

"But that's what I'm worried about," Callie stammered. "I don't know how to charm women or by calm or anything like that!"

Alistair could not help the small smirk on his face. "Then you have come to the right place."

The Slytherin reached over to Callie and grabbed her by the waist. Turning her around, he pointed over at the girl on the sofa.

"That's the one you are supposed to charm, right?"

"Right."

Alistair spun Callie back around to face him again. "All you have to do is stay focused with them. But not just on them, but on everything they say and do. When a female does something, it's the most important thing ever done. You focus on it and you compliment them. But not too much. If you do, you start to make them uncomfortable."

Callie shook her head to jumble the cells in her brain. She was even more confused now. "How does complimenting them make them uncomfortable?"

Alistair tilted his head in an inquisitive pose. Then, a lightbulb flickered on in his head. He put on a deep, teeth-shining grin. He reached over to Callie and, with his other hand, placed it on the girl's neck. With a delicate touch from his gentle, feather soft fingers, he stroked her warm skin and leaned closer to her. Different shades of green stared deep into the other.

"Callie," Alistair said with a low tone. "You are the most beautiful girl in the world."

Callie could not help but nearly spit take at the response. She shivered at those words and ripped herself from Alistair's touch. With a blush emanating on her pale face, she looked down at her feet. Her ink-black shoes showed her own flushed reflection. She tucked back a strand of her blonde hair and shot short breathes into her lungs. Having a sixth year like Alistair say something like that to her made her more embarrassed and flustered than she thought she would be.

"Alistair," Callie said softly. "That...don't say that to me."

Alistair, like he was switching off a lightbulb, dropped his arms with finality and wiped off the flirtatious smile. "But you are a beautiful girl, Callie. How nice you are. How thoughtful you are. But...do you see what I mean? That made you feel uncomfortable. So, you need to be more subtle."

"More what?"

"Less showy," Alistair said. "You told me last time that you asked them if they like jazz. That's fine and all, but you should suggest to do something with them instead. That causes them to make a decision on whether to do something with you. And then you know if they really like you."

He clapped Callie on the back. "Now, go get them, tiger!"

Callie had to admit that she felt much better after the talk. She pulled back her shoulders and raised her head up high. She straightened the velvet tie around her jacket and put on a wide, somewhat forced smile. She strode over the marble floor; her shoes clacking as she bounded over to the sofa on the other side of the couch.

Alistair smiled, his hands on his hips as he watched Callie head off to the group of girls.

"What did you say to her?" Edmund asked as he popped up right next to him.

"The normal anime 'be true to yourself' shit." Alistair said.

Meanwhile, over at the lavender couch, Callie stopped right in front of the girls. With a grin, she ran a hand through her hair.

"Hey," she said in a low voice. "You all want to listen to some jazz?"

Hello everybody!

Happy new year! Shorter chapter just to get back into the swing of things.

I appreciate you all sticking around. Remember, the more reviews, the more motivated I will be. I will keep going as long as people are reading! So thank you so much. And tell me what you think of this chapter.

Thank you. See you soon!