Disclaimer: I own my plot and my OC's, but not anything else you recognize from J.K. Rowling's ingenious series. :] All that belongs to her. I am merely using it for my own imagination.

A/N: What's up? How is everyone? I would love to hear your replies, but I can't hear you through the computer screen. Sorry! :] And I am so sorry about the long wait! But, as you are about to find out, this is a long chapter. :]

Anyway, have you all forgotten about the third and final task? I hope not, that's going to be another fun one. Hopefully I've managed to keep your attention, I mean, I have so far right? Anyway, don't hate me for what's going to happen in that chapter.

One last final note, two actually. Keep those reviews coming! And second, beta readers are still wanted! (Needed actually) The computer can't spot all grammatical errors and neither can I, so that's why I need the human computer to do it! (And by that I mean your brain)

Ok, I'm done here. Onward with chapter 28!

Life as a Snape: Chapter 28

The weak morning sunlight shone through the window of my dorm, just my luck being that the window was right across from me. Groggily, I open my eyes and sit up, rubbing my eyes, trying to get used to the dim light in the room. Once my eyes focus on the room, I notice that everyone else is already awake and out of the dorm, which catches me by surprise, considering that there was no way that it was past eight thirty in the morning. Shaking off that fact, I slump out of bed and groggily get out of bed and get dressed in my school robes, and head down to breakfast. But on my way down through the common room, I notice that it too is deserted. It doesn't look like anyone has even been down here. Oh why am I getting the sense that something terrible has happened? I think desperately to myself, but I shake it off. Pull yourself together. There is no way that Harry, Ron, or Ginny told anyone. There's no way… I trail off. Trying to shake the ludicrous idea out, I continue to walk towards the Great Hall.

The hallway towards the Great Hall wasn't any different. Echoing behind me were my own footsteps, not being interrupted by anyone else's. Where is everyone? Am I late? I ponder to myself. I guess everyone else is in the Great Hall. I try and reassure myself, but just to make sure, I ask my brothers, who hopefully are already up. 'Hey, guys? Are you up?' I ask them.

'Yeah, we're up.' Arsenio answers perkily.

'What's up?' Malik asks curiously. I notice that his question spikes Arsenio's attention.

'Where are you guys right now? Are you in the great hall?' I ask them. I feel the curiosity rise higher between the two of them.

'Yeah, we're there.' Arsenio answers, waiting for his brother to ask his unspoken question.

'Why do you ask?' Malik asks doing exactly what his brother wanted him to do.

'Well, my common room was deserted this morning, and it can't possibly be that late, so I was just being, being…'

'Paranoid?' Malik suggests, filling in my blank.

'Yeah, paranoid…' I trail off again. 'So? Is everyone in the Great Hall?' I ask them.

'Yeah, it looks like most of the school is in here, but, Malik and I walked by the library on our way here, and it looked like a decent amount of students were in there as well.' Arsenio answers my question, somewhat reassuring me.

'Did someone sleep in this morning?' Arsenio asks jokingly using the tone that someone would use with a younger child.

'Ah, shut it. Maybe it did, ok. Last night wasn't something that a normal person would go through every day. So lay off!' I reply with that same joking tone, but that shuts them up real fast. 'I'm heading into the Great Hall now.' I say, rounding the corner and walk through the grand double doors of the Great Hall. I spot the Gryffindor table third from the right and search out for Harry, Ron and Ginny. My heart lifts when I spot them exactly where they normally sit, with one empty seat next to Harry, which is where I would be sitting. But something doesn't seem right. Harry and Ron are huddled over the top of the table, whispering secretly to each other while shooting nasty glances my way, while Ginny hangs her head down, concentrating on something below her. Still waiting at the entrance of the Great Hall, I search for my brothers, hoping for some last minute courage. I find them sitting at the Durmstrang table with some of their friends I've never met or seen before. They must of felt that I was trying to get their attention because they both turn around on their seats, and look straight at me, with a warm identical smiles plastered on their faces. 'You got this Mia.' Malik reassures me, while Arsenio nods his head towards Harry and Ron.

I weakly smile back to them, then turn my attention back to my friends, take a deep breath, and begin my stride over to my friends, and take my seat next to Harry. 'Morning guys!' I say, trying my best to keep an upbeat tone of voice, trying to portray as if nothing happened.

But my upbeat attitude gets me nowhere. Ron jerks his head towards me, and his furious eyes lock with mine, his boring in to me. His head jerks back down as he mutters something spitefully at me that sounded all too similar to 'Filthy Snape.'

Harry on the other hand, hides his eyes in fear, as if he's scared that I will do something awful to him or as if he's afraid to say something out of turn. 'Harry? You ok?' I ask him, putting my hand on his shoulder. Big mistake.

Harry's eyes widen even more if possible. He jerks his shoulder out from under my grip, and dusts his shoulder off as if I were contagious. 'Don't touch me.' He mutters over and over again but it doesn't seem as if he's talking to me. His eyes are telling a different story than his words or his actions. For the split second that my eyes meet with his, they tell me everything I need to know.

He's conflicted. He knows that I haven't done anything wrong but he's split between whether he should support me and whether he should stay with Ron. He's sorry. His shining green eyes tell me all of that. I break the contact and try for Ginny's attention, hoping that I will have better luck with her, knowing that she didn't mutter a word last night, nor did she make any eye contact with anyone.

'Ginny? What about you? Are you ok?' I ask her, trying to get her attention in any way I can. Snapping my fingers, waving my hand in front of her face, and calling her name as loudly as I can without attracting any attention to myself all came to the same conclusion, no attention from Ginny. I come to a last resort. I double check to make sure that no one is really watching, and then I get to work. Sitting undisturbed in my golden goblet, sat pumpkin juice that is made of almost twenty percent water. With my hand under the table, I concentrate on the water in the goblet, and slowly get a little bubble of water floating just above the pumpkin juice. I raise it just a bit higher, and when it is just hovering above the goblet, I extend my fingers, sending the water flinging towards Ginny's head, hopefully getting her attention.

It succeeds. Her bright green eyes come shooting up, searching for the source of the noise, and her eyes lock with mine. But, she doesn't say anything. Instead her eyes harden just a small bit before her eyes return to the book she was reading before. 'Come on you guys…' I trail off, trying to see if I can get a reason as to why they are ignoring me. I mean, I know why they are mad, but I mean, if people notice that something isn't right behind the golden trio, then it will attract more attention, and I really don't need that. 'Come on, talk to me.' I plead.

'Talk to you?' Ron spats quietly, glaring at me. 'Now why in the world would we do that? We don't talk to traitors.' He sneers, turning away from me. Ginny remains concentrated on her book as if her brother never spoke, and Harry takes one last sorry look at me before returning his attention to Ron, the ringleader of this whole mess. My heart drops down to my stomach, and my stomach lost its appetite. I sadly grab an apple, but stare at it for a long time. I put it back, and grab a banana instead and walk away, trying desperately to keep the tears from pouring out of my eyes. With one last desperate look at my friends, who were glaring viciously at me, I turn around at run out of the Great Hall, not caring who the hell saw me. My closet friends are ignoring me; did I make a fatal mistake by telling them? I think hopelessly to myself.

I made my way around a corner and sprint outside to the willow tree. I find my rock that I normally sit on, and finally let the tears fall. I plop down on the hard granite rock and sniff, looking down at my reflection. Slowly making their way down my flushed cheek, the salty tears fall and they land silently in the lake below, creating rings that ripple in the reflection. I shed my robe, leaving me in just my muggle clothes, my skinny jeans and white t shirt, and bring my knees into my chest. I hug them tightly, and let my head fall to my arms. Crying silently, I don't notice that someone rushes up to me, calling my name as the person runs down the hill. I hear a schoolbag hit the ground with a ton of force, as if it was just dropped carelessly. 'Hermione? Hermione!' I hear someone call, and I can tell from the voice, that it was a guy.

I lift my head up, and wipe the tears away from my eyes, clearing my vision. Kneeling down in front of me was a very, very worried looking Theo, his eyes frantically searching my eyes for any sort of pain. 'Mione? Are you ok?' he asks gently, slowly getting up to sit next to me. I couldn't trust my voice to speak right now, so I just shake my head. 'What's wrong? Can you tell me?' he asks, putting his arm around me, rubbing aimless circles on my shoulder, trying to calm me down.

I shake my head again, and I lean my head against his shoulder, shutting my eyes again. 'Shh, it's ok Mione, please don't cry.' He murmurs, gently lifting my head off his shoulder as if I'm made of glass. 'You know I can't stand it when you cry.' He murmurs in my ear, continuing to rub my arm as he searches my eyes with his caring black ones. 'Come one Mione, do you want to come back to the Slytherin common room? I think that's where everyone else is. I can go find your brothers if you want me to.' He offers hopefully. 'Come on, I think the Slytherins can help you.' He offers once again.

'No,' I mutter, finding my voice again. 'I just want to stay here for now, with you.' I mutter again, smiling weakly up at him. His smile is enough to brighten my mood. His smile spreads across his face from ear to ear and his eyes light up as well.

'Well, then I'm going to do everything in my power to at least get you to stop crying. Seeing you cry absolutely breaks my heart.' He admits as he begins to rub circles on my arm.

'I actually have a question.' I say, sitting up against the willow tree with Theo right next to me. 'How did you find me here?' I ask him, looking deep into his eyes.

Theo laughs deeply. 'Ah, well, I was on my way back from the Great Hall when I saw you run out. And knowing me, I dropped everything I was doing and ran after you. I guess it's a good thing no one else was really paying attention. And I must admit you are really fast.' He says, laughing.

That makes me laugh. 'Really? I outran you?' I ask, laughing quietly.

Theo smiles, happy that he got me to smile. 'Well hey, I got you to smile, are you feeling better now?' he asks me, checking over me once more with his eyes. 'And yes, you outran me. But you got a head start, and I was the one that had to follow you, so that doesn't count.'

I stay quiet for a moment, feeling the small smile take over my facial expression. 'Yeah, I guess after laughing, I feel better. Is your offer still up? To go back to the Slytherin common room?' I ask him.

'Of course it is.' Theo says smiling.

'Well, come on. I really just want to be around friends right now. You know, friends that don't hate my guts right now.' I say, trying my best to crack a joke.

Theo acknowledges my joke and chuckles. 'Nice try.' He says, smirking at my lame attempt at a joke. 'And come on. I'll take you in, and then I'll go find your brothers. I'm pretty sure they saw you run out, and probably want to know if you're ok.' Theo reasons. I nod, letting him know I agree. He gets up to show me the way, but stops in mid stride. 'You know, I'll just have to tell you the password. I don't think you want to be seen with me down that hallway. You go ahead and I'll find your brothers. And don't worry; it's always the same people in the common room, Pansy and Astoria. No one else is ever in there.' Theo says, helping me up off the rock. 'The password is Superbia. You know where the common room is right?' he asks.

'Yeah I know. And superbia? That's Latin for pride.' I say, smirking a small bit.

'Oh you smart girl.' He says, smirking slightly. 'Ok, I'll see you in the common room, kay?' he asks.

'Yeah. And Theo?' I ask, getting his attention before he runs off in search for my brothers. He turns around, facing me with curiosity. 'Thank you.' I say, smiling. I walk up to him, and gently kiss him on the lips, then pull back before something gets way out of hand. I pull away and smile up at him. His smile brightens up like a star at night. He smiles down on me and rests his forehead on mine.

'And you, just made my day.' He mutters, smiling down at me, before he turns around, and runs up to the castle, disappearing from view. I smile to myself, and walk up to the castle, in the other direction towards the Slytherin common room.

Walking by myself in the empty dungeon, I decide to contact my brothers. 'Hey, has Theo found you guys yet?' I ask them.

'Yeah, he just got here. What's going on?' Arsenio asks curiously, but that edge of seriousness wasn't totally eliminated.

Before I get the chance to answer him, Malik cuts in. 'Oh nevermind. Theo just told us. We saw you run out of the Great Hall, and we were going to run after you, but considering yesterday,-'

'You mean earlier today.' Arsenio cuts in smartly.

'Whatever. Considering earlier today, we figured that you wouldn't want to be put in more stress than you already are. So, we kind of, well, ignored it. I'm sorry.' Malik apologizes, ignoring what his brother said with an air of amusement of in his voice.

'I'm sorry too.' Arsenio apologizes directly after his brother.

'Ah it's fine. I mean, I would have done the same thing. And, while we're on the subject of truth, I think we should tell the Slytherins.' I say, speaking my mind, in my mind.

'We should tell them… what exactly?' Arsenio asks, not getting the point. I suppose Malik doesn't get it either, because I feel confusion from bother of them.

'You know, the rest of the story. Our, bond with each other. I just want to put everything out there, and not hold any secrets from my friends anymore. Keeping secrets gets worse the longer they remain secrets. And besides, I think that they would take the news a lot better than Harry and Ron.' I tell them, preparing myself for a battle of the persuasive, but it never comes.

'Ok. Fine by me.' Arsenio agrees without any struggle at all.

'We've actually been meaning to tell them for a long time. I actually think it's funny that you had the same thought the exact same time we thought that.' Malik says, laughing at his little connection.

'Ok, so I'll see you guys in a minute.' I say to them, pulling out.

I rounded the corner heading deep into the dungeon, but I stopped in my tracks. My footsteps died off the moment I stopped walking, but I heard footsteps walking towards me, at a rather fast pace. And it didn't sound as if the person was alone. Desperate for a place to hide, I dash to next corner and fling around it, for now out of sight of the people who were behind me. Breathing as quietly as I can, I turn my head around the corner, trying to see who was behind me. My heart sinks. Just down the hallway, were two pairs of gleaming eyes, one green, and the other blue.

'Come out Hermione.' One says indifferently. I sigh deeply, knowing I was caught. I round the corner and face my two furious friends. Well, one was furious, the other looked like he just wanted to be anywhere but there. 'So, what are you doing down here Hermione? Looking out for the snakes you call friends?' Ron sneers, glaring at me.

'N-no. I'm on my w-way to the library.' I stutter, hoping they don't notice that my excuse is far from true. Anyone who's been here for more than two years would know that the library is in the opposite direction from where I was heading.

'Were you now?' Ron asks, in disbelief, seeing right through my feeble excuse. 'Because, I didn't know you could get to the library through here. Care to show me the way?' he asks, smirking at me.

'Ron, no. I'm not showing you where the library is.' I say feebly. I turn away from Harry and Ron, and head back in the direction that I was headed before, just hoping that Ron lost interest. Because if Ron did, Harry would follow.

But just my luck, Ron runs up to me, with Harry lagging at his feet, somewhat reluctant. 'Oh no, I would much rather go with you.' He says, smirking. 'After all, the daughter of the most hated teacher in the school must surely know her way around the snake pit they call a home.' He sneers, whispering spitefully in my ear.

I feel my eyes begin to water once more, so in one last final attempt to get him to stop, I slowly bring my arm forward, and yank in backward, straight into Ron's gut. I turn around swiftly to find him doubled over in pain, his arms protecting his recently injured stomach. But when his head jerks upward, his eyes only seem to double in rage. 'How dare you, filthy ferret!' he roars at me, glaring at me. I look helplessly at Harry, who only looks back at me, trying desperately to stifle his laughter, but the amusement shines through his green eyes. I smile weakly at him, before turning my attention back to Ron.

'Ron, I'm sorry, but please-' I try to apologize, but he cuts me off.

'No! I don't want to hear anything that is about to come out of that mouth! How dare you do that to me!' He roars, standing straight up, apparently forgetting all about his previous pain. He stops, dead straight in front of me, glaring down at me with the evil glint gleaming in his eye. But, he gaze tears away from me, looking around at his surrounding before turning his attention back to me. 'Well look here, lying ferret. There isn't any water here for you to splash me with. What are you going to do now?' he asks me rhetorically.

Hopelessly, I jerk my head around, for anything that could help me. The tears in my eyes obscure my vision, and nothing comes to mind. But Ron's sudden falter in anger catches me off guard, his eyes boring into mind, with an edge of fear that I didn't see before. The only thing that I could think of, through the undeniable anger and sadness whirling around in my mind. My eyes must be violet. I think to myself. Something else weasels its way through the emotion clouding my mind, two little words. My tears… I yank my hands out from Ron's wavering grip, and I bend the water off my face, and extend my fingers, sending the water flying towards Ron's eyes, sending him flying backwards.

My window of opportunity is closing fast. I mutter an apology, then bolt of towards the Slytherin dormitory and lucky for me, the Slytherin common room was just around the corner. I run inside the indentation in the wall and catch my breath, waiting to see if Ron or Harry followed me in here. I hear footsteps, but from the sound of the echo, they were walking the other direction, away from the Slytherin common room.

'Superbia.' I mumble into the snake on the door, who gazed at me with a suspicious look in his eyes before he opened up. I hesitantly looked around in the common room. Everything was either a polished silver, dark green, or black metal in that room. It had a much different feel than the common room that I was used to. The common room I was in only empowered my overwhelming emotions even further. I fall to my knees on the hard stone beneath me, and the tears finally fall. My head falls to my hands, and I hear two people rush up to me.

'Hermione, Mione? Is that you?' one asks, a female.

'Astoria, come on! We have to at least get her to the couch.' Another says. Both take one side of me, and help me up. Together, they helped me over to the couch, then they both gently set me done. They stroke my arms comfortingly. 'Astoria, don't you think that you should find the others? Draco, Blaise, Theo, and her brothers?' Pansy asks, looking over my shaking shoulder.

'Yeah, you watch her. I'll be right back. I think Draco and Blaise are in the library.' Astoria says, leaving my side. I hear the portrait hole swing open, then close again, and Astoria was gone.

'I-is anyone e-else h-here?' I sob, trying to form my words correctly.

'No, no one else is here Mione.' Pansy says, trying her best to comfort me. 'It's normally just us, you know, our normal group.' She reassures me. I nod, crying silently to myself. Pansy does nothing but rub my shoulder comfortingly.

Not long after, the portrait hole swings open, and three pairs of loud footsteps come thundering towards me. 'Mione? What, what's wrong?' Theo asks, running over to me, immediately swinging his arm over my shoulder, rubbing my arm on the opposite side, while knocking Pansy's arm off of mine. 'What happened? Did you run into Harry and Ron again?' he asks me worriedly.

I nod frantically, leaning my head into his shoulder, as he continues to rub my arm. He gently kisses my head, trying his best to comfort me as the tears continue to fall. Malik takes my right, and Arsenio is standing behind me, behind the couch. 'Hermione? Are you ok?' Malik asks me this time, taking my free hand and rubbing it. Arsenio begins to stroke my hair.

'Do you want us to go beat the crap out of them? We did it once, we can do it again. And this time, we can get Draco, Theo, and Blaise to help us this time.' Arsenio says, trying to crack a joke, but only fails. And it doesn't matter, because the anger in his voice pretty much overpowered his lighthearted joke anyway.

'Yeah! You know I'm all up for beating up people who upset you. All of us are.' Theo says, shaking me gently, trying to get me to laugh again, and knowing that it worked last time.

I shake my head, but I can't help the smile that begins to make a reappearance on my face. I smile to Theo, then up at my brothers, who smile back at me, knowing that they've cracked the depressed me. 'No, that won't be necessary.' I say, trying hopelessly to keep the laughter out of my voice. I gathered myself up enough to speak clearly. Theo's smile also makes a reappearance on his face.

Just then, the portrait hole swings open once more, to reveal a very disheveled worried Draco, an amused looking Blaise, and a very agitated looking Astoria. Draco is at my side at an instant, shoving Theo away from me. 'Mione! Are you ok?' he asks me worriedly. His eyes scan over me making sure I wasn't injured in anyway. 'What happened?' he asks me once he calmed down, his arms around me in the blink of an eye.

My eyes meet with his, and it gives me the courage to speak clearly. 'I, I told Harry, Ron, and Ginny my secret. I told them that I was the daughter of Snape.' I tell them. Looks of shock and impression came across everyone's face.

'They didn't take it well.' Draco said blankly. It wasn't a question. He knew the answer. His stormy gray eyes grew stone hard. 'They made you feel this way.' He says again, not asking a single question.

'No, just Ron. Ginny won't talk to me, and Harry, well, he's wavering in between.' I answer his statement because he didn't phrase it like a question.

'I swear to Merlin!' Draco outbursts, his anger flooding the room, drowning everyone in it. His arms leave me to flail around in the air above his head before they move straight to his hair again. 'That filthy weasel will pay for this! How in the world can he hold this against you? You haven't done anything wrong, none of this is your fault!' he rants, pacing back and forth. 'Why can't that weasel just keep his mouth shut? It's not like anything that vermin says is worth the air it takes for him to spit it out!'

'Mate, calm down. You know Hermione, she will tell you if she wants you to beat the crap out of him. And right now, I think she just wants you calm and by her side.' Blaise says rationally. Draco glares at him, and then his gaze softens.

'Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry Mione.' He apologizes, walking back over to me, and sits next to me. 'But please tell me that you want us to beat the freckles off of his face.' He begs.

'No need. I took care of that last night. We were there, and we kinda lost control. I, I think I nearly choked him.' Arsenio says, smirking to himself, proud of his work.

'Yeah, we were there with her last night, and Ars nearly beat the freckles off his face. Ron wasn't too happy with any of us. His sister didn't say a single word, and Harry, well, he ran off into his dorm when I nearly choked him.' Malik says more calmly, but he does exchange a smirk with his brother, not sorry for anything that happened last night.

'Hey, good for you!' Blaise says, grinning madly at the twins, who smirked back proudly.

'Aw come on! You didn't leave any freckles for us? I wanted to beat him up too!' Theo says, rather disappointed but nonetheless proud that at least someone beat him up. Really? I know they care, but this is a little bit over the top. I'm sure Ron doesn't mean all of that, he can't… he can't possibly be avoiding me for something that is out of my power. I'm still the same old Hermione, just with a different name.

'Shut up guys! Hermione will tell you if she wants the Weasley beat up.' Pansy speaks up, Astoria nodding beside her, agreeing.

'But, that doesn't mean we don't want a word with him either.' Astoria reasons, developing that trademark Slytherin smirk on her face. Pansy mirrors it.

'No, guys it's fine. I don't want you guys to do anything you would regret, or get you expelled. I need you guys here, not at home.' I say, laughing, causing everyone around me to laugh, releasing all that anger put into the air a few moments ago. 'But, right now, you guys are the only ones that will talk to me. Most of the other Gryffindors noticed that Harry, Ron, and Ginny aren't talking to me, and they've been avoiding me as well. So, I have no one else to turn to.' I admit, my smile turning into a frown.

'Well, you could write to Ara.' Malik says, then pauses. 'I, I think we might have to do that as well Ars.' He admits. It strikes Arsenio's attention. It also raises an unspoken question among the rest of us, including me. 'We haven't told any of our friends either, that we are the twin sons of Severus.' He answers, noticing all of our confused looks.

'Yeah, we had to do a ton of damage control when Malik's name was pulled out of the goblet.' Arsenio adds on, raising the eyebrows of everyone in the room even higher. 'We didn't, we didn't exactly register at Durmstrang under our real name.' he admits sheepishly.

'Yeah, Father registered us under the name of Malik and Arsenio Anderson. He had to keep us protected. Ara is registered as Ara Frella at her school.' Malik says, admitting the truth.

'Really? Why is that?' Blaise asks curiously, taking a seat on the floor.

'Because, because Father lied to Voldemort. He lied, and said that all of his children died. Arsenio and I died of a tragic accident, and Hermione was captured by Mr. Malfoy, and was killed by him, but he was allowed to keep Ara out in the open.' Malik says.

'That's right, Father saved Mione, gave her away to a muggle family. He did it to save everyone actually.' Draco says, putting two and two together. 'But why Ara and not you three?' he asks curiously.

'Father was allowed to keep Ara, was because he had to save us, because, of a certain reason…' Arsenio trails off, being evasive about the topic.

'Then why is Ara registered under a different name?' Pansy asks, catching that detail.

'Father took extra precautions. Voldemort doesn't know what school she goes to anyway.' Malik answers. Merlin, Father really thought this all through didn't he.

'We have to tell them, especially when you two brought up this topic.' I tell them, trying to persuade them again, sensing doubt coming from Arsenio.

'Ok, can you tell them though? We'll elaborate because we know more about it.' Malik says, agreeing with me. Arsenio silently agrees, nodding his head at the two of us.

'And what would that certain reason be?' Pansy asks curiously, asking the unasked question of everyone else.

'Because, Voldemort thought of the three of us as a threat.' I begin, scanning over their faces. I was only met with confusion, so I continued. 'We three together, we are what's known as Supernatural Triplets. They are a group of, well, triplets that possess special powers. That's our own prophecy, we are to help Harry eliminate Voldemort.' I tell them, cowering from what might happen. They might take this the wrong way, like how Harry and Ron did.

Silence is what meets my ears. Malik, Arsenio and I exchange worried glances when no one says anything. Their faces remain the same, and the air remains silent. 'Guys?' Malik asks uncertainly, waving his hand in front of Draco's face, trying to bring him back to reality.

'Come on, can't you say something?' Arsenio asks, waving his own hand in front of Astoria's face, trying to accomplish the same thing.

'Really?' Theo asks, being the first to come back to reality. Malik, Arsenio and I nod, looking him dead in the eye. 'That's so cool!' He exclaims, his face showing pure excitement, as if he were a little kid again.

'What can you do?' Pansy asks, being the second to come back, she too sounding like a little child. Astoria snaps out of it next, her face possessing one of excitement as well. Blaise comes back next, his expression being one of high interest, while Draco is the last to come out of his state of shock, and he too, has an expression of pure interest and curiosity.

Malik and Arsenio release relieved sighs, and I let the smile overtake my face, being beyond describing how relieved I am that they didn't react badly. 'Well, do you remember that day, that day during winter break, when our eyes changed from violet to gold?' I ask them. They nod, letting me continue. 'Well, that, that was due to the fact, that we three are super natural.' I say, waiting to see if they could peace it together.

'So, when Arsenio kicked my arse, that's his power?' Draco asks. Arsenio nods.

'Yeah, I don't think mine's as cool as the others though. But, my master told me something…' he trails off, deep in thought.

'So, when Mione saved me by making the water shoot me out, and warmed me up, is that hers?' Draco asks again, putting all the pieces together.

'Yeah, that's mine. I can control the natural elements of earth. Like this.' I say, giving them a little demonstration. I look around, and I see a small puddle of water, sitting near the window. I concentrate, and strain my fingers, making the water rise. I bring it closer, and whip it around my fingers, showing off the little skills that I could do here. 'I've only begun my water training. But, when if I get good enough, I can control the weather!' I say, getting over excited, but I gather myself under control. 'Sorry…' I mumble blushing under Draco's amazed glance, and Theo's look of awe.

'You guys never saw mine, so, I'll just tell you. I have the power to heal people.' Malik says, not bothering to give a demonstration.

'Wow! You guys are amazing!' Pansy exclaims excitedly.

'That's not all.' Arsenio cuts off everyone's party for more information. Everyone quiets down again, and returns their attention back to my brothers.

'We also have the power to communicate with each other without speaking. We can also feel each other's emotions. That's how close this destiny makes us.' Malik says. 'Here, Blaise, whisper something in my ear.' Malik says, returning Blaise's skeptical look. Blaise walks over to him and whispers something in his ear, causing him to laugh. 'Ok, he said that me that we are all acting mental, and he doesn't believe us. Shall we prove him wrong?' Malik asks, smirking at the two of us.

Arsenio returns his smirk. An identical one was plastered on my face. 'Oh, we'll prove him wrong alright.' Arsenio says, smirking madly at Blaise. 'So? You think we're mental now do you?' he asks, stifling his laugh at Blaise's bewildered face.

'Aw come on Blaise, you should know us better than that. We're not mental.' I say, smirking at Blaise with the same amount of amusement as my brothers.

Blaise's mouth opens and closes, muttering like a fish, but no real words come out. 'I, I don't u-understand!' he exclaims. 'But, I believe you now!' he says.

'Well that's good.' Malik muses, smirking at Blaise, who still really didn't believe us. At least, not by the look on his face.

Just before anyone else got the chance to say anything else, the portrait door swings open, making everybody cringe, hoping that it isn't one of the Slytherins. Draco instinctively moves in front of me, shielding me from whoever is on the other side of that door.

'There will be no need for that Mr. Malfoy.'

Dumbledore steps through the portrait hole, with a bright smile on his face, and that same twinkle in his eyes. 'There will be no need for that.' He repeats, smiling. Draco backs up from in front of me and the small blush evident on his cheek.

'I'm sorry sir.' Draco apologizes. 'Is there a reason why you're here Professor?' he asks, sitting up straighter.

'I am here to collect Miss. Hermione, and Mr. Malik and Arsenio.' Dumbledore says, catching our attention.

'Sir?' Malik asks, standing up alongside his brother.

'There are people here to see you.' Dumbledore says, gesturing for the three of us to follow him to his office.

'Oh! Ok, um, we'll see you guys later, ok?' I say, walking over to my headmaster. I turn around and wait for my brothers. 'Come on.' I say, waving my hand towards me.

They walk over, and wave goodbye to the Slytherins, who wave back kind of disappointedly. 'We'll see you guys later.' Astoria says.

Draco gets up, and walks over to me. 'I'll see you later, ok?' he asks, with a small smile creeping up on his face. I nod, and smile up to him. He smiles back down at me, and lightly kisses me on the cheek before stepping backwards, letting me go. I smile, and turn away, hiding the blush that was creeping onto my cheeks. Dumbledore opens the portrait hole again, and allows us to walk ahead before closing the door behind him.

I walk a couple paces ahead of my headmaster with my brothers on either side of me. 'So? You and Draco huh?' Arsenio asks, smirking at me.

'What? Where, where did you get such a, such an idea?' I ask, trying madly to hide my blush again.

'Oh, from nowhere, just that little scene back there, in the common room.' Malik says, wearing that same Snape trademark smirk on his face, identical to the one his brother is wearing. 'So? You're gonna go for it? You already know he's falling in that bottomless tunnel of adulation.' Malik slurs, elbowing me in the side.

'Adulation, a synonym for love.' Arsenio clarifies, sensing my confusion.

'Oh ha ha, very funny.' I mumble, hiding my blush from my brothers. Too bad they can feel it anyway. Sometimes I really have to curse this stupid connection we have. And truth being, I knew what adulation meant, but, uh, my mind is kind of fogged up right now.

'So? You never did answer my initial thought, do you like him?' Arsenio asks, knowing the answer well enough for himself. He knows perfectly well that he can feel it coming from me, but he wants to hear me say it. I can feel Malik trying to pry his way into my thoughts as well.

'Argh you guys are so infuriating!' I shout mentally, making them both physically cringe backwards, clutching their heads. 'But fine, I'll answer your stupid question. Yes, I like him, but I, I also kind of like Theo…' I say, admitting the truth to now, the only two people who know.

'Well, who do you like more?' Arsenio asks all evidence of tomfoolery gone from his voice.

'That's the problem, I don't know!' I exclaim, becoming increasingly distressed.

'I'm sorry, sorry. But, we shouldn't be talking about this before your training. We'll talk to you after, maybe we could help you.' Malik says, cutting off all other questions.

'My brothers, help me with guy problems?' I scoff off, turning the corner to Dumbledore's office.

'Hey, we're guys! We know how guys think!' Arsenio backs himself up. 'No matter what you say, we're going to help you after our training. Then maybe after, we could go back to the Slytherin common room, maybe you can see how each of them really feel.' He adds, giving his brother a genius moment.

'That's it! Each of us will ask either Draco or Theo some questions! Then we just tell you the answers, and maybe that will help your dilemma!' Malik says, sounding utterly excited. 'We'll do that after our training. Ars and I will go ahead to the common room after we're done, then you could meet us there!' Malik says sounding extremely impressed with himself.

'So it's settled. After training, we'll head back to the common room, and question them! Ah, I like where your head is at Malik!' Arsenio exclaims, sounding just as impressed.

'Yeah yeah, I'll meet you guys after training.' I say, pulling out. I walk into Dumbledore's office, with my brothers and headmaster right behind me. 'Hey Ivory!' I exclaim, greeting my master in the most informal way ever.

'Hello Hermione! Ready to get started?' she asks me, with a smile on my face. 'Come on, we're going to get to some serious water bending today.' She says, sounding almost, excited.

'Sure am! Let's go. Bye Arsenio, Malik. Thanks Dumbledore!' I say, waving to everybody before my master and I walk out of Dumbledore's office.

Once we are halfway down the hallway, on our way to the lake, I ask her the question that popped into my mind. 'You said that we're getting to serious water bending today? What does that mean?' I ask her.

'Oh, it means we're getting to the fun, advanced stuff. Since you mastered all the basic forms, and you actually mastered all the advanced forms, so I thought you would be able to handle the much harder things. You are lucky, mastering all of your forms with a lot of time left to play with the advanced techniques.' She says, sounding like a little child herself.

'Like what?' I ask her as we walk out towards the lake. But before I give her the chance to answer, I spoke up once more, about something entirely off subject. 'Hey, Ivory? Is it ok if we also work on some mental training? I got into a fight with my friends and I almost lost control.'

'Of course!' Ivory exclaims. 'But, we're gonna have to put that in with your training today. But, I thought I would be fun to start with some really fun advanced water bending.' She adds with a small all-knowing smirk.

'Like what?' I ask again, this time not interrupting her.

'Oh nothing, maybe just some weather controlling.' She says, smiling madly. My shocked expression must have fueled her excitement. 'Now don't worry if you don't get this on the first try. This is very, very difficult.' She reassures me. I smile broadly at her, and she smiles back at me. 'Alright! Ready for a demonstration?' she asks me. I nod enthusiastically. 'Alright! Here is weather bending at its best, I think.' She says, back pedaling just a little bit. She shakes it off, and takes her stance. 'Ready?' she asks me. I respond by nodding. She nods, and then begins. Her motions are bold and grand, swirling her arms around and around her. Looking upward, I notice that the clouds above her begin to swirl around and around, getting darker and darker. She continues to swirl her arms around her until the clouds become black and are circling faster and faster. She stops, and forcefully bring her hands down. With the movements of her arms, the water in the clouds fall with it, reaching terminal velocity within a matter of seconds. The rain comes splashing down hard on arms that are protecting my face. 'And that is how it's done.' She says, bowing slightly at me.

'That's amazing! Is it my turn to try?' I ask her excitedly. She nods, and steps aside, letting me take my own stance.

'Whenever you're ready.' She says, smiling encouragingly.

MALIK'S POV

'Hello Master Marc.' I greet him formally, bowing slightly before him.

'Ah stand up Malik.' Marc laughs, straightening me up with his hands. 'We've got work to do. Let's go.' He says, walking towards the door of Dumbledore's office.

'Coming sir. Bye Ars, thanks Dumbledore.' I say, waving them out.

Marc and I walk down the hallway on our way to the library where we normally train. Marc has his own private section in the library for us to train in, which is good. Having someone walking in on you healing something with your mind isn't exactly something you can cover up with little white lies. 'Hey, Marc? Can I ask you something?' I ask him as we make our way to the library.

'Sure, but is it something about your other master?' he asks, seeing right through me and my questions.

It never fails to astound me how he is able to do that. I guess being a healer for so long enables you to read people's body language and know what they're going to say before they say anything. 'Yeah, but there's something else too.' I say. It catches his attention as he turns to face me, waiting for my question. 'Ok, the other night, my sister told her friends about her secret, and they got really upset with her. They started yelling at her, and saying things that really irked my brother and I. He went all super human on one of her friends, but I did something that I'm not entirely sure of.' I start, looking into his eyes hesitantly.

'Oh? What did you do?' he asks curiously, his full attention focused on my experience.

'Well, I, uh, I really don't know what I did, but I was almost strangling another one of her friends without laying a hand on him. He was just hovering off the ground right in front of my hands. The only thing I really remember about that besides that was that I was looking straight into his eyes, almost laughing at the fact that he was begging for mercy. Is there something wrong with me?' I ask, scared.

He thinks for a moment before answering. 'Well that depends, you said that they said something that really upset you. Do you remember what that was?' he asks me, exploring the possibilities.

I rack my brain, trying to remember what the ginger one said. I shut my eyes tightly in concentration.

'You're wrong. She will never be happy with you, not as long as she's related to you!'

My eyes flash open. That's what the ginger one said! The anger comes flooding back. The anger, the power, the rage, the hatred, the doubt… snap out of it! I shake my head loose of all those emotions I felt before. 'He, he said that my sister would never be happy as long as she was related to the Snape's.' I tell him, my voice quiet.

He remains quiet for another couple moments. 'How did you feel, after he said that?' he asks again. Knowing him, he's probably onto something.

I think again, back to the emotions I felt after I remembered. 'I really don't know how to describe what I felt. I felt indescribable amounts of anger, rage, and hatred. But I also felt surges of power rushing through my veins. So, what does that mean?' I ask him.

He thinks everything through for another moment. 'Well, remember when I told you, that if you ever felt enough negative emotion, a triplet with your kind of power possess the power to control the body of another person. Since you control the human processes, you are able to do anything that involves the human body. But this is only something you can do when you feel all of those emotions in monstrous quantities.' Marc says, back pedaling on his theory.

'But, there was something else I felt too.' I add on, breaking him out of his trance. He doesn't look up, but I continue anyway. 'I also felt a flicker of doubt.' I say, my voice getting much quieter. He looks up at me, but this time it isn't curiosity that flickered in his eyes, instead, it was genuine concern. 'I mean, what if he was right? I mean, she would have never fought with her friends if she wasn't related to us…' I trail off, my voice cracking. The steady flow of tears slowing makes their way down my face.

'Malik you are talking nonsense.' Marc says, putting a comforting hand on my shaking shoulder. 'You know your sister loves you, and she would do anything for you. You know that better than anyone.' He comforts me. 'And you know, I thought you knew better than that.' He jokes slightly, lightening my spirit instantly.

'Yeah, I know. I'm sorry.' I say, wiping the tears away with my sleeve, feeling ashamed of my sudden overreaction.

'Yeah, you know that better than anyone. Now, answer this for me. Do you ever want to do something like that again?' he asks.

'What? Of course not! The pain in Harry's eyes was almost too much for me to bear! But, for some reason, I didn't stop. I never want to put anyone in that position again.' I say truthfully. 'I don't think I will ever be able to handle that much negative power.' I say, looking Marc straight in the eye.

'Then it's settled. We are going to work more on controlling your emotions. Because we all know the inevitable is going to happen. Voldemort will find out that you are alive, and will try to force you to do something very similar to this. We are going to have to work on controlling your emotions so this never happens.' Marc says smirking all-knowing at me. 'And let me tell you, this training isn't going to be a walk in the park.' He informs me. 'Are you up for it?'

'I'm always up for a challenge.' I smirk, mentally preparing myself for what's to come. 'I mean, how hard can it be?'

'Well then, let's get started.'

'Wait, what about my other master? That was my second question.' I say, stopping him in his tracks, wanting to know about the other person responsible for teaching me the art of healing.

'Of course. I have been teaching you the physical side of healing, being able to do this side is definitely important, but learning the emotional side, as I was talking about before is probably more important. That is why you have two masters, me and Ascella.' He begins, and he continues, knowing me well enough that I have about a billion questions. 'But let me warn you, she doesn't train normally. She possesses the ability of legilimency. She will be able to reach inside your mind and pull out your worst fears and memories. That is why she is one of the best healers there is. She will pull out your fears, and help you overcome them. That is why she is my partner.' He tells me. 'She will be able to help you with all sorts of things you could use during the third task, if I can get a hold of her in time.' He adds on, transcending back into his mind.

'Really? That's amazing, and kind of intimidating.' I admit. 'When is she gonna be here?' I ask eagerly. 'What kind of things will she teach me?'

'I don't know, on both of those. She is an extremely busy woman and she has her own way of teaching, but I will try and contact her again when we are through here. But I promise you that you will see her sometime. She must teach you to get your emotions under control. I alone cannot teach you that. She can, and will. Now, are you ready to show me that fracture healing technique I showed you?'

ARSENIO'S POV

'I guess that just leaves you and me.' I say to my master, who laughs heartily.

'Yeah yeah, come on Arsenio. I actually have to talk to you about something, something that might make your day.' Brock says, smirking at me all knowingly.

Excitement surges through me. 'Really? Like what? Does it have something to do with my fighting?' I ask him. He nods, and his smirk widens. 'What is it what is it?' I ask curiously, trying to get something out of him, but it isn't working.

'Nope! I remain silent until we get to the training grounds.' Brock says. 'Thanks Headmaster, I'll take it from here.' Brock says, waving to the headmaster of Hogwarts.

'It was my pleasure Brock. Now go train.' He says, smiling brightly before turning around back to his desk. Brock leads me out of the office and leads me down the stairs and out into the hallway.

'Brock? Were you a student here?' I ask curiously, making the connection of how close the headmaster and my master seems to be.

'Wow, smart lad you are.' Brock says, smirking lightly. 'Yeah, I went to school here. I was actually in Gryffindor, top of my class.' Brock says, laughing at his past memories. 'This is where I decided to become a material arts master.' He tells me, then holds his finger up, silencing my question. 'I know what you're about to ask, so I'll answer it. I decided I would become a material arts master because I was actually beat up a lot here, in my younger years. So, I thought I would train myself in the art of material arts. I'd rather not go into the details though.' He says, getting quiet all of a sudden.

I caught on, and decided not to question him any further. He must have had a tough first couple of years here, which is strange. I always got the vibe that Hogwarts was a safe school, unlike mine. My school crawling with future death eaters… it disgusts me. 'I bet your experiences are kinda like mine.' I mumble.

But he heard me. I can't decide whether or not I intended for him to hear that, but it doesn't matter now. 'Why? What's wrong with Durmstrang, besides the fact that it is mainly focused around dark magic?' He asks me.

'Well, you know the place is crawling with death eaters right? Well, the only thing they seem to want to do is perfect their dark magic skills. Malik and I keep to ourselves, but we have to do it, it's a part of our grades.' I admit to him. I don't think I have ever told that to my sister… probably because she would flip and demand we transfer schools immediately.

'Wait, does that mean that you've performed dark magic?' Brock asks the serious tone in his voice cut through me.

'Y-yeah…' I stutter, trying not to make my voice crack.

'Like what?' he asks seriously again. Seriously, if he keeps up with the serious hard hitting questions I'm going to have to roundhouse kick that mouth so he can't ask anymore. I think spitefully to myself.

'T-the un-unforgivables.' I say weakly, my voice cracking through the silent tears flowing down my face. 'I'm sorry! I never wanted to! I never wanted to perform any of those god forbidden spells! They're awful, and I never want to inflict that much pain on anyone ever again!' I cry out loud, my voice cracking in every sentence.

Brock stops walking, and puts a hand on my shoulder. 'I'm proud of you.' He says simply.

That stops tears almost immediately. He's proud? 'What…?' I ask weakly.

He smiles reassuring at me. 'I'm proud, because you didn't turn out like everyone else at your school.' He begins, holding up his finger to silence my questions. 'I'm proud, because you held all the power of Voldemort in your wand, yet you hated every moment of it. You hated inflicting pain on someone else on purpose, for reasons other than self-defense. That tells me a lot about your character Arsenio.' He tells me.

My spirit is lifted with each of his words. 'Thanks Brock…' I smile, and then hug him, thankful for such an understanding master.

'I see a lot of myself in you, you know?' he tells me truthfully as we begin our walk back to the grounds. 'I've always hated the fact that some people think they have the right to hurt people just to make themselves feel bigger. That's why I learned material arts, so that I could defend myself when needed, not to cause anyone any harm.'

No words come to mind, and I don't feel the need for them to. Brock just gave me one of the most powerful weapons against Voldemort, that evil is always at a disadvantage, no matter how staggering the odds are. 'Thanks Brock, for everything.' I mutter again, before something else comes to mind. 'Hey, Brock? Didn't you say that you had something to tell me? Or was that it?' I ask him.

His face lights up with the entire laid back attitude it had before. 'Oh, that.' He smirks lightly. 'You'll love this. It's something I've been researching for quite some time now, ever since I started training with you.' He begins as we walk onto the grounds. 'Ok, so you said that your sister has the ability to bend the natural elements?' he asks just to clarify. I nod. 'Well, whatever element she just so happens to be bending at the time, you have that power too. Sort of. Take for example, say she's bending air. You will have that power at your disposal. You will be able to use the air around you in your fighting. It's kind of hard to explain…' he trails off, in search for a better way of explaining this.

'Maybe we can just ask my sister and her master if we can train with them, maybe later on this week.' I suggest.

'That's a brilliant idea. Merlin, you are a bright boy. So, I will ask Ivory when we are done training here. I'm sure she's heard about this.' Brock says, accepting my suggestion and moving on with my training. 'Now, show me that double roundhouse kick with an upper cut.'

HERMIONE'S POV

The rain falls down from the dark swirling cloud above and gently pours down on my face, mixing with the sweat that was already slowly making its way down. Panting hard, I turn to face my master, who had a look of pure impression and pride on her face.

'Hermione, that was amazing.' She praises me, walking over to me. 'I don't think that I caught on that fast when I was learning, and I had to teach myself! You are definitely not someone to mess with.' She compliments me, but that strikes a nerve, just a little bit.

'I know, but, now that I know how to do it, what happens if I lose control? Will I subconsciously create something like that?' I ask her, slightly scared of my own power.

She thinks it over for a moment before answering. 'Yes, there is a chance that you might do something like this, but that's what the mental training is for. I'm sure your brothers are doing the same thing, based on what you told me.' She reasons, making me feel better.

'Alright.' I nod, accepting her reason. I guess all I have to do is not lose my temper, and everything will be just fine… I think to myself. My attention moves from my master to Arsenio, who are walking up to Ivory.

'I hope I'm not interrupting, but I have some questions for you Ivory.' Brock says, smiling politely at my master. Arsenio walks out of the castle door and runs down to greet me. 'I have discovered something that will help Arsenio fight better. You know of Arsenio's power, fighting?' Brock asks.

'Yes, I have.' Ivory answers, with a nod of her head, her golden blond hair bouncing up and down.

'Well, this is kind of hard to explain…' Brock trails off, trying to think of a good way of explaining this.

'Whatever element my sister just so happens to be bending at the time, I am able to manipulate that same element if that particular element is at my disposal.' Arsenio answers for his master. 'That's how Brock explained it to me earlier.'

'Thanks Arsenio.' Brock says, flashing a smile of appreciation towards his student. 'So, with that explanation, would it be ok if Hermione and Arsenio trained together, so Arsenio can get used to this new found power?' Brock asks Ivory.

She nods. 'Of course, the next time we come to train, you two can train together.' Ivory approves. 'Now come on Brock. Let's go find Marc and report our progress with Dumbledore. Hermione, you are done for today.' Ivory says, waving goodbye.

'You too Arsenio, good job today. We will practice again tomorrow, only this time you get to spar with your sister.' Brock says, striking excitement in my brother. Not only could I feel it, but I could see it painted on his face. This should be good.

'Really? Awesome!' Arsenio yells, pumping his fist in the air, causing me to laugh. This should be fun… I think to myself once more, shooting an amused look towards my brother.

'And if anyone gets hurt, that's where Malik can help!' I add in, fueling Arsenio's excitement.

'Yeah! I won't hold back if you won't.' Arsenio says with a glint of raw power shone brightly in his violet eyes for just a moment before it disappears.

'Good grief Ars.' I scoff, shoving him away from me goodheartedly. 'And don't worry; I won't make this easy for you.'

Arsenio smiles, but then his smile retreats a bit. 'But, Mione, please tell me to stop if I hurt you. I would never forgive myself if I actually hurt you, even if Malik healed you.' Arsenio says, walking back to me.

'Hey! I'm not some little kid you know.' I exclaim, mock offensive in my voice. 'Don't worry about me. Just consider yourself lucky I've only learned one element, and one fourth of my full material arts potential.'

'Oh, so you're at the advantage. Gee, thanks Mia…' Arsenio smiles goodheartedly. 'Well then, with all that put aside, may the best sibling win.' He says, offering his hand out.

I laugh, and extend my hand out to meet his. 'I plan to.' I smirk jokingly. I shake his hand firmly. I hear him laugh, and lets go of my hand. 'Come on, we should go find Malik now.' I say walking away from my brother, waving for him to follow me. He runs back up to me and walks by my side, matching my pace.

But it doesn't take long to find him. I spot him down the hallway, talking with the masters. Arsenio and I rush over to them.

'Oh, are you guys done too?' Malik asks as he notices us.

'Yeah, we're done. Come on! It's time to investigate!' Arsenio says, dragging his brother away by the wrist, chanting excitedly. I'm just surprised that he remembered, and still wanted to go through with this as badly as he did.

'Wait! He might not be done talking with Marc yet!' I say, grabbing hold of Malik's other wrist, pulling him back with no avail, my brother's superior strength overpowering mine.

'No, I'm done. Go have fun Malik.' Marc says, shooing him off with the flicking of his hand, smiling at him.

'Ok! See you tomorrow Marc!' Malik says, taking his wrists back from both me and Arsenio. 'Ok, so, two things, one, our masters were talking about this fight that the two of you were going to do tomorrow, explain that.' He asks eyeing both of us with curiosity.

'Oh, well Brock was researching, and discovered that I could fight with whatever element Mione is bending at the time. So, we were going to train tomorrow, then, we were going to spar. That's where you come in. If we get hurt, you can practice your healing on us!' Arsenio says excitedly, his excitement drowning the both of us.

'Ok, calm down Ars, you're flooding my mind with excitement. You just want to fight Mione, don't you.' He says, his "question" coming out as a statement rather than an actual question, seeing right through his brother. The smirk on Malik's face grows broader and broader, the longer Arsenio says nothing.

'I can answer that.' I cut in, eyeing Arsenio playfully. 'Yes.'

'That's not true!' Arsenio exclaims, countering me. 'It's the wonderful educating experience in the art of fighting, and fighting against someone who can bend the elements makes the whole experience that much more enriching… yeah your right.' Arsenio says, giving in to the truth, laughing.

'As for the second one, are we really going to go on with this, in your words interviewing Draco and Theo?' Malik asks, sounding kind of skeptical.

'Yes! Why shouldn't her two greatest brothers help her out with her problems?' Arsenio exclaims excitedly. 'Come on; let's head over to the Slytherin common room. I've got detective work to cover.' He smirks lightly before both he and Malik run ahead of me.

The only thing I can think the entire way back to the Slytherin common room is I feel terribly sorry for whichever friend gets Arsenio.

A/N: Alright! There's a long chapter for you people. :] You're welcome. The next following chapters will be more interesting, I promise. And for all of you who review, thank you! You are the sole reason I write EVERYDAY, so I can update as soon as I can. But, I've gotten really busy all of a sudden, so no promises. But I can promise one thing. I will at least have the next chapter out before summer is over. Wow, those are depressing words, "Summer is over." Wow… =/ Ok, before I depress you all, I'll just go straight to the questions.

Ok, now for my question to you all.

Who do you think is going to be the first to approach Hermione again?

Theo or Draco? Who would you like more?

Alright, see you in the next chapter! And remember, review, review! :]

~Prongs