A/N: I know, I'm trying to finish this by the end of September, but it's been hard to update because I'm working 40 hours a week. Luckily, work is almost over so I will have more time. And don't think that I'm not writing. I've been more excited about events that happen later in the year, so I've been writing there. It encourages me to keep going, so deal with it! And thanks, of course, to my editors/besties and my reviewers (though few in numbers, they are awesome!!!). Enjoy!

CHAPTER 25: A Test of Loyalties

It had been a week since Kellyn's adventure in the lake and the bruises had faded to a charming greenish-yellow color. That Sunday evening at dinner, Kellyn was minding her own business, poking at her string beans when Hoot flew into the Great Hall clutching a red envelope in his claws. It was unceremoniously dropped in her pumpkin juice and Kellyn was about to rescue it when it jumped out of the goblet and spoke.

"Two-way Howler, from mother to daughter!" the envelope said cheerily, its white fangs flashing.

"Shit shit shit, whatdoIdo???" Kellyn cried as the envelope proceeded to prance down the table, announcing its presence to all in the general vicinity.

"I would open it now and get it over with," suggested James.

"Otherwise, it will probably explode on you and be even worse," added Lily.

"They would know," confirmed Albus, calmly slicing his chicken. "Between the two of them, they have the record for the most Howlers going off in the Great Hall." He flashed ten fingers in the air. James puffed his chest out proudly while Lily merely rolled her eyes.

"But I don't want to!" Kellyn whined.

"At least you can talk back," said James with a mouth full of green beans. With a pout, Kellyn slammed her silverware down on the table and begrudgingly opened up the envelope, which promptly soared ten feet in the air and landed firmly on the table so as to make everyone's plates rattle.

"KELLYN FIANNA XIA WOOD!!! DID YOU LEAVE YOUR BRAIN IN TOKYO WHEN YOU DECIDED THAT YOU WOULD TRY TO PERFORM A WRONSKI FEINT?!?!?!"

"Mom, I—"

"WHAT BLOODY LOGIC SOUNDED SO CONVINCING THAT YOU HAD TO TRY THIS AT THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT BECAUSE IT WOULD BE SOOOO LOVELY IF YOU COULD SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE ISSUE!!!"

"Well, I thought—"

"YOU DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING!!! YOU WERE IMPULSIVE AND IDIOTIC AND TO LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER!!! … WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THIS LAST TIME??? HE'S A TOSSER FOR SUGGESTING IT, BUT YOU REALLY TAKE THE CAKE FOR RASH, ILL-FOUNDED DECISIONS!"

"But—"

"DO NOT 'BUT' ME, YOUNG LADY!!! DO NOT MAKE ME GO TO HOGWARTS MYSELF AND TAKE AWAY THAT BLOODY BROOM OF YOURS BECAUSE THAT BROOM IS FOR A PROFESSIONAL, YET YOU GO CRASHING INTO LAKES—"

"The broom is fine!"

"THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE BROOM! TO BE A PROFESSIONAL, YOU MUST ACT PROFESSIONAL! FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, THINK BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING INCREDIBLY STUPID!!! YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN YOURSELF KILLED AND SCARED ME HALF TO DEATH! BE CONSIDERATE! AND EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!!!" With that, the envelope flew back up in the air and shredded itself into many pieces, which fell onto the table like red snow. Kellyn gulped, feeling her cheeks burn red with embarrassment as the entire hall was dead silent.

"Thank you, Miss Wood, for that delightful entertainment," drawled Professor Sharp. "Ten points from Ravenclaw."

"Well, that could have been a lot worse," said James once the hall began to stir again. Kellyn shot him a death glare before shoveling a forkful of green beans in her mouth and ferociously chewing.

Monday brought the return of conditioning and Kellyn felt out of shape after her week off. Andrew, however, insisted that she make it up after classes ended on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Thursday before practice.

"Why not today after classes?" she asked.

"Because of you have Dueling Club tonight and we have Transfiguration to go over. You know there is an exam on Wednesday…?"

"Oh crap."

So, after Ancient Ruins, Kellyn dashed to their usual meeting spot and eagerly opened all her books, absolutely determined to do well on the exam. Andrew was surprised and slightly frightened by her eagerness as she made her way from table to table in the room, in which she had books and notes sprawled out on top. Andrew could only frantically follow her as she figured out how to transfigure the bottom of her chair to have wheels and roll around the room. He seemed impressed.

"How did you do that?"

"Oh, that spell thingamabob… uh… I think it's on that table," she pointed.

"Yes, I remember Professor Lupin mentioning it briefly in class. It is a brilliant chair."

"Muggles use them all the time and they are simply ace."

"Clever indeed. Well, let's move on to practicing the spells we performed today. You seemed to be having a little trouble with them…"

"…to put it mildly." Kellyn recalled her failed attempts to turn her feather to a kettle. In the end, the best she could do was make a slab of leather resemble some odd-looking canteen. Her excuse was that their purpose was similar while Teddy merely shook his head at her and refrained from rolling on the floor laughing.

"So how about you just give it a go and we will see what you've done wrong?"

"Okay." Kellyn got out her wand and pushed back her sleeves. She began to recite the incantation when the door to the classroom swung open to reveal a girl with a camera.

"Sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here," she explained hastily.

"No problem, Kathleen," said Andrew. Kellyn remembered Stella talking about a Kathleen, who was a Hufflepuff and a brilliant photographer. "This is Kellyn," Andrew introduced her. "Do you need this room? We could move."

"Oh, no. I was just looking for students studying. Need some pictures for the Trough, you understand. First issue of the year comes out next Friday!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Well, we are studying. You could take some pictures of us," offered Kellyn, both surprised and pleased to see Andrew squirm.

"Although, I'm not exactly photogenic…" Andrew attempted to add, but Kathleen would here none of it, gently persuading him.

"Just forget that I am here. I will sit right there and not say a word. Just continue about your studying and act natural. No, be natural." Andrew looked on skeptically, but Kathleen gave an encouraging nod.

"Well, where were we?" Andrew said with a conceding sigh.

"Oh, that, um, spell that turns the feather into a kettle."

"Go on." Kellyn prepared her wand and opened her mouth, the words failing to come out. "Well?"

"How does it start again? I know something about cutting through air and being black… and that's all I remember."

"'Cut through air no more, light and soft be gone; hold water and do not soar, the color black you shall don.'"

"Oh, yeah… I remember now." Kellyn cleared her throat and recited the incantation, her wand flying about. Upon finishing it, she ended up with a black… thing.

"You can't just swing your wand around and expect to get a kettle," said Andrew, glancing over at Kathleen, who immediately pointed for him to look at Kellyn.

"Why not?"

"Because it doesn't work that way."

"But I got the words right!"

"The words are only half of it. During the incantation, you are to move the wand in a sideways figure eight, then a circle then a smaller oval twice. Practice that."

"Figure eight… oval… circle…"

"Circle, oval."

"Figure eight, circle, oval."

"The oval is to be smaller than the circle."

"It's just so much to think about!"

"Try once more… there, much better. Now try with the incantation," Andrew said, easily turning the black "thing" back into a feather. Kellyn took a deep breath and began to wave her wand, at the end giving a triumphant jab. Kellyn saw the feather turn into a black kettle before exploding into a gooey black tar. Sheepishly, Kellyn looked over at Andrew.

"Um, you have a little on your nose," she gestured.

"Really? You think?"

"Sorry! I just got excited and…"

"Jabbed! This is not DADA, it's Transfiguration. You want to transform the feather, not demolish it."

"You have to admit, it was kind of funny."

"Messy."

"But funny!"

"Messy." It was then that a bulb flashed. Andrew and Kellyn turned their heads at the same time to look at Kathleen.

"Oh, that's going to be a wonderful picture I'm sure. What a story! Thank you!" she cried, scurrying out of the room.

"I sincerely hope you know a spell to clean this goop up," said Andrew.

On Tuesday during lunch, Kellyn received another letter from home, this time from Laurel. Kellyn smiled, opening up the lengthy letter while she ate grapes.

Dear Kellyn,

I am sorry I was unable to warn you about your mother sending the Howler. I tried to tell you, but your mother moved too quickly for me. She is quite a marvel when truly angry. I do believe she lectured your father on and on for a good half-hour. Indeed, she has the brains of a Ravenclaw—her argument was most intelligent—but I do believe that your father's temper has rubbed off on her after all these years.

I am sure by now you have had plenty of people tell you how incredibly dangerous your little stunt was. I only ask that you take care of yourself. You are a very good friend to me, even if your letters are terribly short! I know, however, you must be very busy. Even Glen says he is unable to write to me as much as he wishes, but I understand that Quidditch plus classes and his Head Boy duties make his schedule rather hectic.

Sorry, tangent.

Anyway, please be careful (I know this may be rather difficult for you) and do not get yourself killed. Despite your mother's anger, she was terribly worried and was about to rush over to Hogwarts to see that you were alright. A little word to the wise: as you are underage, your parents are still in control of your medical records, so they receive notification every time to go to the Hospital Wing. Your father has had a good laugh reading how you have injured yourself in Herbology.

The letter continued with Laurel telling about the usual activities at the house, announcing that Kellyn's parents have been very kind to her.

I do believe your mother misses the presence of both you and your brother. For the first week, she seemed to walk around the house, looking for you two, but after that, kept herself rather busy. Unable to care for you, she has taken her motherly instincts out on me, insisting I come to dinner and buying me new ribbons for my hair. I got a very lovely set that I think I will wear when you and Glen come home for Christmas…how long away it seems!

She finished off insisting Kellyn write back soon with more on the Keepers and Rebels, as Kellyn mentioned she met them and Glen had mentioned that their first concert of the year was that Friday. Kellyn smiled to herself, promising to rehash the event's weeks later.

That evening, Kellyn sat in the Ravenclaw common room around ten, when most other Ravenclaws had gone to bed. The other girls were cold while Kellyn was still warm, so she went downstairs and sat in front of the open window with her Transfiguration notes. Her eyes skimmed the pages, feeling rather confident and making small notes on things to quiz herself. She then began to practice answering the questions, but found herself stumbling over the answers, not quite remembering the correct terminology or flat-out forgetting what the spells were. She started to panic, knowing that she would have to endure tutoring with Andrew until she had achieved an exam average of E. Considering her current grade was a P, she had a ways to go. Frustrated, Kellyn used her wand to send her book flying into a wall. Just then, Andrew had walked down the stairs and the book narrowly missed hitting him.

"Sorry! To you, not the stupid book," Kellyn clarified. Andrew picked it up.

"Transfiguration. I had figured. You feel alright about the test tomorrow?"

"Yeah… no." Andrew looked at her sympathetically. "I know that I know this stuff but then I end up forgetting it but I know I know it and it's just really frustrating because it's lingering on the tip of my tongue but I just can't spit it out and then I choke and it really sucks."

"Kellyn, breath between paragraphs!" Andrew exclaimed. Kellyn obediently took a deep breath. "Good, you were kind of turning purple." Kellyn laughed, feeling better already. "So, you remember that spell we learned last week? The one to transfigure water into a rock? Explain to me how it works."

"Well, there are minerals and whatnot in water, so the spell just takes the minerals out of the water and duplicates then and then forms the rock… the spell is… um… shit, I can't remember."

"You know it, just take another breath and think about it."

"It's…Apedrato," she said after a few moments.

"See, you know it. You just have to calm down and think."

"Yeah, not too good at that."

"Well, practice makes perfect. Um, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Half paying attention to the boring Professor Binns, Kellyn chose to review for Transfiguration during double History of Magic on Wednesday rather than take detailed notes, figuring she could always look at the book later and make a trip to the library. She shoved Sam awake and bolted out of class as soon as Professor Binns dismissed them, as Kellyn was determined to arrive to class on time and ready to calmly take the test.

She entered the nearly empty room and got out her quill and ink. Teddy approached her with a concerned look on his face.

"How are you feeling?"

"Well. I studied really hard," Kellyn insisted, nodding her head vigorously. Andrew entered the room and did a double-take at Kellyn.

"Kellyn, you are turning purple again." Kellyn took a deep breath.

"She tends to forget to breath when she is nervous, Professor Lupin," explained Andrew.

"I have noticed," said Teddy, rather bewildered, before walking to the front of the classroom.

"You are going to be fine," said Andrew, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. And Kellyn was: when Professor Lupin announced for the class to put down their quills, Kellyn had just finished checking her answers. Additionally, she managed to correctly transfigure three items, although with one it took a second try. Overall, she was quite pleased and skipped off to DADA.

After classes, Kellyn changed into running clothes and met with Andrew out on the Quidditch pitch with her Transfiguration books, where she by principle refused to talk about the test, sure that she would jinx it. Andrew attempted to persuade her otherwise, but soon gave up and began to discuss their next section of study. After, Kellyn made up her conditioning and Andrew looked on, occasionally yelling at her to push herself. She blocked everything out until her body was numb and focused on keeping moving until Andrew hollered that she could stop. She slowed to a walk and began to feel her body protest, much to her chagrin. She had gotten lazy and stopped taping her left leg, which had a habit of getting shin splints, and now was going to pay for it. She felt a pain shoot up her leg with every step but continued to walk it off.

"You're hurting?" he asked.

"Naw, I'm fine."

"You're hurting. Sit down and let me take a look." Kellyn reluctantly plopped on the ground. "Shin splints?" Kellyn nodded. Andrew examined it and began to explain shin splits, poking her leg as he went.

"Shin splints occur when the tibialis anterior—that's your shin muscle—contracts to flex your foot as you run. As you step, you land on your heel, but then you point your toe to take the next step, resulting in the tibialis anterior muscle tearing away from the periostium—that covers the bone. Since I can't have you resting much more, you are going to have to just tape it, ice it, and stretch by flexing your toes more. And try to run on your toes."

"How do you know this?"

"I don't know," he said after a beat, rather bewildered himself. "Probably from Shaylee or Glen… I don't know how I even remembered all that. I remember the oddest things… most of which I would honestly rather forget."

"Well, you are a true Ravenclaw." He smiled at the compliment.

"Although, you, however," he said cautiously, "are the oddest Ravenclaw I have ever met."

"How so?"

"You have many Gryffindor and Slytherin qualities. You play Quidditch rather bravely and are always trying new, dangerous moves and your life is just one big adventure, with you always leaping onto bigger, better things."

"I just don't think how the rest of the team thinks," Kellyn said, a defensive tone edging into her voice.

"Exactly. In fact, you don't even really think."

"Excuse me?"

"During Quidditch! You don't think, you just act, and you do your own thing."

"What exactly are you trying to say, Andrew?" asked Kellyn.

"I am trying to make out your character in hopes of discovering where your loyalties lay—with the team or with your own ambitions."

"Are you saying that I am trying to sabotage this team?"

"No! I just wonder if you are out here for personal glory or for the team!"

"Personal glory?"

"I know your plans. Jay-Jay mentioned that you wanted to play professionally."

"So why the hell am I here if you put so little faith in me?"

"Because this team needs you as much as you need this team."

"You hypocrite! You accuse me of using this team and you are using me! You want that Cup so damn badly!"

"Hell, I do! I want this team to get it, this House, because we have waited for so long, so yes, I put you on this team because I knew that despite your Quidditch quirks, you are a bloody good player."

"And you are yourself. You could play professionally too. Scouts will come if I'm on your team, you bloody well know that, so don't pretend like my presence is all convenience and coincidence."

"It's not like that! Look, all I have to say is that while you are on this team, my team, you play by my rules, which means you play as a team, not a one-man show on a mission to dazzle the world. After that, I could care less what you do with your life, Kellyn Wood." Kellyn was taken aback at his protectiveness of the team and his flippant comment.

"You said," she said after a moment, "that you were trying to make out my character. What exactly have you discovered?"

"That you are a paradox."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked quietly, her voice low and steady.

"That I have no idea who you are."

"Damn right you don't. And if you stopped being such a prejudiced prat, maybe you would realize I'm not a complete bitch. Then again, I don't care what you think of me," Kellyn said turning to walk away.

"Kellyn!" Andrew called, realizing what he had said.

"Bugger off!" she called over her shoulder, limping back to the common room, determined to play loud music and scream into her pillow.

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