Kayla sat in Potion's class staring at her book as Slughorn lectured at the front of the class. He had been saying something about how the next potion they would be brewing would take some time to complete. He had gone into a tailspin of a harrowing story of misuse of the potion and before the class had realized it, he had gone into the next story and the next story. Kayla however, was deep in thought. A week had passed since Catherine had shared the letter she'd received from her mum. Kayla had a first felt angry that Catherine had kept something like that from her, but after she had cooled off, she had acknowledged that Catherine had her reasons and she needed to trust her. Dane however, was less convinced.

"Why would you keep this from Kayla? Didn't you think she deserved the right to know?" Dane whispered loudly as they walked to class. Kayla had walked between them as they argued over her. She was staring at the stones beneath her feet, counting them as they walked along.

"Of course I was going to tell her! That's why I'm telling you all now! But I needed to hear from my mum before I made any rash decisions." Catherine was holding the letter from her mother. Dane reached for it, "What does it say?" Catherine stuffed it into her robes. "None of your business!"

"All I'm saying is if what you heard and what Kayla... received from Draco is correct, that means my family's name could be on this list as well."

They stopped as the crowd of students around them swirled around them, all heading for their classes. Kayla stopped, still staring at the ground.

"Yes, I know that!" Catherine retorted, "Which is why I had to have confirmation from my mother that it will be safe to go home for Christmas."

"Why would you go home? If your father is involved in an inquiry, wouldn't it be better for you to stay here?"

"No." Kayla said simply.

As if remembering that she was still there, both Catherine and Dane looked at Kayla. She looked up. "Catherine needs to go home. She wants to go home. She needs to find out more about this list. If they are recruiting people like us, then they're recruiting all manner of creatures and people with abilities. This could be behind your sister's disappearance."

Catherine gestured her hand out to Kayla and shot Dane a look. "Exactly! See?"

Dane ruffled up his hair, obviously frustrated and confused. Both Catherine and Kayla had withheld so many things from Dane that nothing was adding up. He was flustered. But the look on Catherine and Kayla's face was filled with calm. Kayla placed a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me and I promise I'll fill you in on everything so you know it all."

Catherine gave Kayla a jab with her elbow, knocking Kayla back into the lecture with Slughorn. Kayla moved upright suddenly, which caught Slughorn's attention.

"Ah, Miss Roth! I'm sure you can tell us the side-effects of such a potion!" Slughorn eyed Kayla eagerly. Thankfully, Kayla had read ahead on the potion they would be brewing.

"Yes," she said, straightening, "Side-effects may include partially transforming into animals or part-humans. And it will not reverse automatically."

"Excellent!" Slughorn exclaimed, "Anyone fancy to answer what the characteristics of this potion are?"

Dane shot his hand up, "Before the addition of the final ingredient it should be thick and mud-like!" Slughorn nodded in agreement.

Kayla shot her hand up in the air as well, "It should also bubble slowly."

"Yes, yes! Well done. My feistiest Ravenclaws always on their toes. And what about after the addition of the final ingredient?"

Simultaneously, Dane and Kayla answered, "Taste and colour vary depending on the person being turned into!"

Dane and Kayla exchanged looks from across the classroom and both began to blush.

Catherine rolled her eyes.

"Can anyone name three ingredients in said potion?"

As Kayla's hand shot up, Catherine knocked it down with her own and raised the opposite hand. Before Slughorn could call on her she said, "Lacewing flies, leeches, and boom-slang skin. Amongst other ingredients of course."

Slughorn eyed the three of them with slight suspicion before a smile spread across his face. "Always competitive Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Well done all of you! 10 points to each of your houses!"

The rest of the class stared at them slack-jawed, unsure of what had just happened.

Feeling eyes on her, Kayla stared down at her book again, going over what would be happening over the next couple of weeks. Catherine would be heading home in a couple of days. The plan was for her to use get into her father's study and find any evidence of what the Ministry was after. If that didn't work, there was a Plan B and a Plan C. The main goal however, was to find out as much as possible as soon as possible.

When Slughorn concluded the lesson and teased that they would not begin brewing until after the holidays, the class collectively sighed. The idea of brewing a potion that allowed them to transform into another had excited them. As Kayla and Catherine began to pack up their things, Catherine asked, "What do you think I would taste like?"

Repulsed, Kayla arched an inquisitive eyebrow. "I mean in Polyjuice potion?" If it takes on taste and color of the person you're changing into, what would I taste like?"

"Hmmm..." Kayla said as she placed her Potion's book into her rucksack. "Well, you'd definitely be purple. You'd probably smell like apple blossoms and taste sweet. Not too sweet. And a little tart."

Dane walked over to them just in time to hear their conversation. "You guys are talking about what your own Polyjuice potions would taste like, aren't you?"

As they began walking out of the classroom together, Catherine joked, "Bet you'd taste like piss and vinegar." Dane rolled his eyes. Kayla nudged his side. The small physical touch did not escape the Catherine's watchful eye. "You know she likes you when she berates you and teases you."

The three of them walked down the hallway, the thought of two weeks off from school was just beyond their grasp. One more day of classes and they would be free.

"What about Draco Malfoy?" Catherine asked, exchanging a look with Kayla. Kayla rolled her eyes. "If I had to guess, his Polyjuice potion would look silvery. He'd taste like... something dark... I'm not sure what."

"Dark chocolate?" Catherine suggested. Kayla nodded, her fist beneath her chin as she thought intently. Dane walked quietly beside them, wishing more than anything that the conversation would change to something, anything but this.

"But with Irish cream mixed in."

Catherine pounded her fist into her palm. "Yes, that sounds right. I think. I'll think about it over break and get back to you."

"You guys really think about things like this a lot don't you?"

Kayla and Catherine stopped and said at the same time, "Yes?" As if that was a question...

As they walked toward the Great Hall, Catherine eyed Dane's slightly red face. "What do you think Kayla would taste like, Dane?"

Dane opened his mouth but snapped it shut. His face grew scarlet. Kayla grabbed Catherine's sleeve and pulled her along. "Think he just had an episode," Catherine joked.

Ahead of them, a group of Gryffindor girls were giggling. A girl, whom Kayla recognized as Gryffindor student Romilda Vane, stood in the middle of them clutching what appeared to be Gillywater. She saw Kayla staring at her and then turned away. Romilda giggled and then waved to her friends as she placed the bottle of Gillywater in a small satchel. Kayla picked up her pace, and bumped into her. Her hand brushed Romilda's.

"Sorry about that." Kayla apologized.

"No problem." Romilda said, a smile on her face. She walked off, practically prancing toward the Great Hall.

When Catherine and Dane caught up to Kayla, they stopped beside her.

"She's planning on smuggling Harry Potter a love potion," Kayla declared.

"That's not right," Dane said suddenly, "Spiking someone's drink with a love potion. It isn't right to force someone to like you."

"How do you prefer on getting the ladies then?" Catherine scoffed, "Drool over them until they notice you?"

Not hearing any of this, Kayla took off into the Great Hall.

"Will you stop it!?" Dane asked. "Only if you tell her!" Catherine retorted.

The Great Hall was already bustling with students ready for the night's feast. The Great Hall was also louder than normal due to the excitement of the students for Christmas break. Kayla spotted the Gryffindor table and searched up and down. She didn't see Harry Potter but spotted his friend Hermione Granger. Kayla didn't know Hermione super well. When they had been in classes together, they had been fiercely competitive. Hermione was poring over a textbook while she waited for the feast to begin, something Kayla did more often than not.

"Hermione," she said, as she approached the bushy haired girl. Hermione looked up, a confused look on her face. At first, Kayla thought Hermione didn't remember her. But then, recognition suddenly spread across her face.

"Yes."

Kayla leaned over an whispered in her ear, "Romilda Vane is trying to smuggle Harry Potter a love potion."

She said nothing else but headed off into the direction of the Ravenclaw table, sure she had done the right thing.


Catherine sat at her desk in front of a mirror that had been provided to her by Professor McGonagall. She aimed her wand at her face again, sighed and then set it back down on desk before her. She had been waiting for the lesson since the beginning of term. The idea of having her eyebrows finally match her hair colour had excited her for reasons that would probably sound ridiculous to anyone else. But now, the thought of aiming her wand at herself gave her the willies.

"Is there a problem Miss Delaney?" McGonagall asked, as she paced over to Catherine. Catherine shook her head 'no'. McGonagall nodded and wandered off to observe other students who were successfully and very unsuccessfully changing the colour of their eyebrows. The spell was meant to change entire hair colour. Eyebrows were just the start. If she could master the spell by end of class, perhaps she could successfully change the colour of her hair just in time to scare the hell out of her mother the time she arrived home.

Catherine breathed a heavy sigh, picked up her wand, aimed it at her eyebrows and muttered, "Crinus muto." To her surprise, her eyebrows began to turn from a lighter brown to a dark auburn.

That was one thing down for the day.

After Transfiguration, Catherine left the classroom to find Kayla waiting just outside for her.

"So, I'm thinking about wearing this black dress with lace at the top, but I'm afraid my legs are going to get cold," Kayla said, immediately speaking as if she were in the middle of a conversation already. "I have this long dusty rose coloured dress but I'm not sure if it's too fancy or not. Do you think it'll be cold? Or do you think I should go with the longer dress? -I'm also trying to figure out what the bloody hell to do with my hair..."

Catherine grabbed Kayla's arm. "First off, what are you talking about?"

Catherine swore Kayla's eyes were about to fall out of their sockets. "Slughorn's Christmas party! He invited you, Dane and I!"

She had completely forgotten. She'd been so preoccupied with going home, making sure her mother and father were okay and planning her investigation that she'd completely forgotten about the party. She had no dress, no shoes, nothing. To be perfectly honest, parties were not exactly Catherine's thing. She'd rather sneak some mead from the party and drink alone in the Slytherin common room. On second thought, that sounded quite sad. While she thought of this, she was completely oblivious to the fact that Kayla had been clutching her hand.

"No, you're not going to sneak some mead out and drink alone. But, if you come to the party for an hour I'll sneak some mead out with you and we can drink together."

"And where do you propose we do that?"

"In the Slytherin common room."

Catherine held a hand to her own forehead, "You can't get in. And I've got to pack. I'm leaving in the morning for home. I need to go to bed early."

Catherine walked down the corridor alone. Kayla stood still, saddened that she would not be attending the party with her best friend.

But a moment later, Catherine turned around, "The black dress, those old-fashioned red shoe you have, wear your hair up with some pieces falling. And red lipstick."


Just as Catherine was finishing packing her trunk, a first year Slytherin girl approached her. "Sorry, but um, there's a guy downstairs wanting to talk to you." Catherine grabbed her wand and headed to the door to the common room. She thrust it open, her wand held out before her. Dane stood before her, dressed to the nines. He leapt back slightly in shock, his hands extended before him. "Hey, hey! Is that for me?" He asked, pointing at her wand.

Catherine tucked her wand into her pocket, "No, it was for... nevermind. Why are you here?"

Dane placed his hands in his pockets and stared at his shoes. "Um, I wanted to talk to you. I know you're going home tomorrow and everything's set in motion and stuff. It's just that..." He stared up at her with his glassy blue eyes, "I wanted you to know that I'll look out for her while you're gone."

Catherine snickered. "What?" Dane asked, half frustrated and half laughing, "Can you stop making fun of me for like five seconds? What did I say?"

"You think she needs looking after?" Dane said nothing. "Kayla can protect herself. What she has trouble doing sometimes is coming out of her shell. She acts like she's got all this bravado and courage and confidence but she doesn't share a whole lot. You've known her since September. I've known her for years. What she needs is someone else besides me who she can trust."

Dane nodded, "I hope I'm the right person to do that."

"Me too," Catherine replied.

There was a moment of awkward silence between them before Dane spoke. This time his voice was lower.

"I really, really like her. I think you know that already. But I do. I wanted to ask her out to Slughorn's Christmas party tonight but she was going on and on about something else and I couldn't get a word in edge-wise."

"That's Kayla," Catherine laughed.

"I just really-"

"-You like her. I know. I've known. I'm sure everyone knows but her."

Dane flushed. "You look really nice you know."

Was that a compliment? Dane didn't dare ask.

"Just you two look out for each other while I'm gone. And if things work out, just... be uh, safe."

Dane's face turned beet red and he adjusted his tie, "Wha- I mean, I wasn't... I uh..."

"And if you hurt her, I'll kill you."

Dane paused.

"And I'll make it hurt. Cruciatus curse for a good while before I finish you off with the Killing Curse."

Now Dane wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. But before he could say anything, Catherine shut the door in his face.


Kayla wasn't sure what she had been expecting when she entered the party. Even though her family was Jewish, they had gone to numerous Christmas parties. But rumours had circulated about Slughorn's Christmas parties and therefore, she was unsure of what she should expect. The ceiling immediately caught her attention. It was draped with hangings of their school colours in such a way that it made it feel as if she were in a tent. There was a dangling lamp that drenched the entire room in a crimson glow. House-elves walked amongst the crowd, carrying large silver trays that were bigger than themselves with food. Immediately, she felt her heart begin to race in her chest. She felt as if she were saturated with stimuli and knew that before long, she would have to retreat to her common room. She felt her palms become clammy. She was backing up from where she had come when she collided with something large and lumpy behind her.

Professor Slughorn's eyes lit up when he saw her, "Ah! Miss Roth! So glad you accepted my invitation. Is Miss Delaney around?" Kayla shook her head, "I'm sorry Professor, but she has to retire early. She's leaving in the morning for home."

"And you're staying, I presume?" Kayla nodded.

For the next several minutes, they spoke about the complexities of Polyjuice potion. The conversation eased Kayla's anxiety. They talked about what a new edition of the Potion's textbook should contain and what it shouldn't contain. Slughorn suggested that Kayla was a very gifted Potion-maker, which made her blush slightly. The rapid conversation made her dizzy and soon Kayla felt her energy begin to drain. A hand then rested on her shoulder. She turned around to find Hermione Granger. She looked lovely.

"'Scuse me. I just wanted to thank you for what you said the other day. I really appreciate it."

Kayla smiled in response. Slughorn pushed past Kayla, "Miss Granger! How lovely to see you!"

Kayla pushed past the lot of them and headed for a table nearby that had a few dishes. She really wanted the table to steady herself more than anything.

Suddenly, there was a tug on her dress. Kayla wheeled around, "What?" She asked, frustrated and overwhelmed.

Before her stood Dane. She hadn't meant for her mouth to fall open, but she could help it. He was dressed in a handsome black suit with a blue and gold pocket square. His tousled hair appeared darker tonight which made his blue eyes appear brighter and clearer.

Dane smiled sympathetically, "Overstimulated?"

"What?" Kayla asked, her face red.

"Uh, I mean too much stimuli in the room?"

Kayla nodded, finally understanding what he meant. Although, if she was being honest with herself, it wasn't just the room that was overstimulating. She shook her head to rid herself of the thought.

"I always find that this helps," Dane said, offering her a glass of mead.

Kayla took a swift sip of it. Held it in her mouth with her cheeks puffed out and then swallowed it hard. The expression on her face made Dane blush.

"I don't think I like this." Kayla admitted.

Dane took the glass from her, "You don't have to drink it."

Kayla leaned against the table, steadying herself. Dane joined her. "It's overstimulation. For people like you and me, we get overstimulated by stuff like this."

"I thought it was just anxiety." Kayla admitted.

"It's that too. I get it as well I mean."

Kayla grabbed the glass from Dane, took another terrible gulp of mead and then turned to Dane, "I once was in this Muggle shop and heard this kid say this phrase I've always wanted to say. -So, you wanna blow this popsicle stand?"

Dane nodded, "I don't know what that means, but yes."

Kayla made sure they grabbed an unguarded bottle of mead before they left.