Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or Harry Potter, the former belongs to Dan and Nickelodeon, the latter to J. K. Rowling. This is a collab done with BloodyJesus and the idea is actually his, we're just working together to make this the best story possible.

Chapter 23: Out of the Deep End

Neville had heard Draco saying something about a dragon, and had gone to find Hermione and Harry to warn them. He had had another unfortunate incident and so, ended up besides Ron and Trina. Fortunately, his state was easily remedied, and so he left sooner than the other two. As he went along, headed for the common room, he noticed Malfoy was sneaking about, and when they saw each other, the blonde had gone and taunt him, saying something about getting Harry and Tori, or maybe it would be the Muggle-born ("Oh, that would be just great!") expelled. So Neville had heard about the dragon-napping (or something of the sort) and had gone off to search for those two. It never occurred to him that they could be in the tower, part of him leading him to believe that the Slytherin's story was true.

Keeping up his search, he found more than what he had bargained for. From a classroom he heard pleas and sobbing, and opening the door he found a scared Cat. The door had been locked with magic that would only allow the door to be opened from outside.

"Valentine?" He asked, clearly puzzled; since he didn't know the girl that well, he didn't dare call her by her first name.

"Neville! And my name is Cat, Valentine is my surname." She reprimanded, and soon after, hugged him, making him blush. "I thought I would stay there all night! What are you doing out of bed?"

"Draco!" He remarked as he remembered why he was there. "He said something about Harry and Hermione going to the tallest tower! Something along the lines of them selling a dragon in contraband!"

"Oh no, he's going to expose Norbert!" She seemed genuinely distressed about that, not worried at all about the two Gryffindors out of bed. "Go find Tori, she'll help!"

"You're right!" And he eagerly left for his common room while Cat ran off to see if she could, perhaps, stop Malfoy.

Neville had never been more scared in his life. It was late, he was out of bed, and yet no one seemed to be around. He felt relieved to find himself in front of the portrait and entering the hole to the common room. He found Tori there, with a lounging Jade, a deck of exploding snaps and teasing random pets. They looked up at him.

"Neville?" Tori inquired as the pale girl rolled her eyes, clearly bored.

"I found Cat —"

"What?"

"— she told me I should come get you," he was talking to the Latina, "Draco is searching for a teacher to tell them Harry and Hermione are sneaking a dragon!"

"Breathe!" The tanned girl urged but the plump boy wasn't taking in enough air. "Calm down, then speak!"

"We have to find Harry — he isn't in bed, is he?"

"Alright Longbottom," he immediately went pale and turned to face the remaining pure-blood in the room. "go to bed and forget all about it."

"But —!"

"I said, to forget it," she snapped, placing on her combat boots, "the less you know, the better. Or did you forget the whole, three-headed-dog incident? Didn't think so."

"Look, Neville, don't worry, I'll go after Harry and Hermione," she swallowed as she got her bathrobe on and turned to follow the girl, who only had her robes over her pajamas, "she's worried about Cat . . ."

This last was a whispered before she ran after her friend. The boy could only swallow and nod, still scared, but something told him that the pale girl was indeed, worried sick. Outside, he heard them mutter something, but didn't pursue further.

The girls ran around, Jade's boots not making much sound. It would seem that she had two pairs, one she kept close during the night and had the soles of them soft and firm, great for night adventures, while the others had steel points, perfect for making herself known. She clearly knew about stealth and Tori could only wonder how she had acquired the ability. They followed the map, where it read that Cat was with Draco. What they saw though, was Professor McGonagall pulling on Draco's ear, but it turned out to be Cat; some how, he discovered that it was the Ravenclaw using her metamorphing abilities. Perhaps it had something to do with her leading him back to "her" office and not Snape's, as she was saying. Whatever it was, he pinched the girl and made a run for it. Jade tackled him to the ground, where they began struggling for power and control.

"Jade!" Both girls gasped, trying to keep their own volume down.

"What's the matter Malfoy?" Jade asked as he got turned on his back. "Did you forget your two boyfriends?"

"Shut up, West!" This was punctuated as he got the upper hand since they were near McGonagall's office. "Unlike you, I can handle my own battles!"

"Mr. Malfoy! Miss West!" The witch had been, obviously, woken with all the ruckus; she then turned to the whimpering redhead and the Latina, who was ahead of the girl in a protective stance. "Of course, if Miss West is here, so is Miss Victoria Vega and Miss Valentine . . ."

"Professor McGonagall!" The pale boy cried, clearly scared, despite having searched for this outcome; why didn't he think about going to Snape was intriguing his cousin. "I wanted to warn you, Potter and Granger are sneaking a dragon —"

"Enough, Mr. Malfoy," she replied, then sighed as she gazed at the girls and the determined gaze of the two strong-headed girls said it all.

"But —!"

"No buts Mr. Malfoy," she snapped back, clearly not in the mood, "afterwards, it's detention, for the four of you!"

"Butts," Cat whispered, then had to place her hands over her mouth to hold in the hysteric laughter she was trying to hide. It was moot, but she lived in her own world.

"Professor, I think you might want to add two more," Mr. Filch said with a wicked smile, "I found them coming down the astronomy tower . . ."

Behind him, Harry and Hermione appeared, and they looked shocked at the present group. McGonagall began ranting something about feeding the Slytherin some cock-and-bull story, getting the Ravenclaw involved when she heard and how the green Gryffindor had to, of course, learn of it and go after the redhead. The lie, in her opinion, had gone too far, managing to get not four but six students out of bed, and afterwards, the guilt trip began. Hermione should have more sense, Harry should care about Gryffindor by then and how she expected better from Tori . . . Jade smirked when the woman shook her head, but she received the worst of it: she was as smart as the Muggle-born, as stubborn as the Latina and obviously as foolish as the Boy Who Lived . . . Jade ended looking smug.

"Nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous —" that caught the redhead's attention, and as to deviate the attention, the witch scowled briefly and continued, "and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

Harry inhaled, ready to begin a protest of some sort, but a pale hand was slapped very hard over his mouth, muffling any word. This shocked the others, who simply stared, all but the common "enemy" in the room, who ended snickering. McGonagall just stood there, eyes narrowed at the pair who seemed to be fighting between themselves. The girl breathed into his neck and he finally froze.

"We understand Professor," Jade began as Cat hid behind Tori again; the pale girl was having enough trouble with the bespectacled boy, "it won't happens again."

"Wait, you can't be serious!" Draco began, scowl forming. "They had a dragon —!"

"That'll be twenty from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy," she began, tone deadly but he wasn't having it.

"What?!" His outrage evident and his cousin slowly released the hero. "You can't be serious —!"

"Thirty points," the tone was promising, and the boy paled further, "we can keep on going . . ."

He finally stopped and began looking at the ground. "Mr. Filch, please escort Mr. Malfoy back to his house."

The man made a face, and muttering his agreement, he left, pale boy in tow. For her part, the stern woman guided the other stray five back to their dorms. After leaving a sniffling redhead by the Ravenclaw dorms, on the opposite side of Gryffindor, they went back, most looking about miserably. Still, Harry and Hermione gave Jade resented looks, while Tori gave her puzzled ones. Standing before the portrait, each student filed inside, and last was, of course, Jade.

"Miss West," the Professor called, and the pale pureblood approached, "thank you, though I thought you didn't care about House points or the Cup . . ."

"I don't," the dark reply was honest enough, "that doesn't mean I want a miserable bunch with me, I'm miserable enough for us all."

The woman looked at her with surprise, but nodded in understanding. That said, the girl went through the hole; she wasn't surprised to see they had eavesdropped on her conversation. Staring at them, she turned to the girls dorm without a word and soon, the girls followed.

"Jade!" Harry called and she turned; as though losing his courage, he was silent for a few, tense seconds. "Um, thanks . . ."

"Yeah," she replied with a roll of eyes, "whatever."

With that, they went to bed, exhausted. Harry realized that, even though Jade had taken more than hundred of points from them at that point, she had made sure that they didn't lose more. It was calming, to know that she wasn't an infiltrated Slytherin, as everyone tended to call her. She was a genuine Gryffindor, she just wasn't too open about it, or perhaps was learning. He found Neville waiting for him, and he just gave him a thumbs up; the night had gone better than expected. The other boy smiled at that, and finally went to bed. Harry did the same. Really, McGonagall could have made it worse, taking fifty each, making it a grand total of two hundred for Gryffindor. He then realized that his Head of House hadn't taken points off the redhead.

The next morning though, showed that Cat had lost 10 points and that they, with their stunt, had gotten from being close to defeating Slytherin, to last place. All it took was for Hermione to play her card in class and they would lead. Of course, it didn't help that Jade had already lost them so many, but everyone else was angry. And everyone knew it was Harry's fault, him and his cousin who seemed to have something with the infiltrated Slytherin . . .

"Ok, who else has a chizzing problem with Potter?!" Jade demanded, obviously getting sick of it all; the boy in question blushed, realizing just what Hermione had meant. Everyone turned to scowl at the pale girl, who snorted, still glad for the attention. "Well then, why do you? Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, you just want someone else to defeat the uppity snakes; why don't you do it yourselves?! And fellow Gryffindors, who was your hero? So what if he's to blame for the fifty point fiasco? You cannot condem him for actions you don't know! Is he the kind to simply go about losing points?!"

"Why do you care?" Lavender sneered.

"I don't, I just feel sick that the nobility which my house is known for, seems to be fake," she deadpanned before the other girl could say something about her liking the boy; she was afraid she would kill her, "make up your minds! You cannot love him while he prevails and hate him the next! It makes you all hypocrits."

Cries from those in her house made her sick. They were meant to be brave, not stupid. Although it could be argued that those two terms were interchangeable.

"There's no difference between those two," Tori remarked, helping her friend, "brave, noble, stupid, in the end it's all just taking risks, the label depends on the purpose of it."

Everyone just stared, and heard a teacher that they hadn't even seen arrive, which made them all jump. Jade laughed.

"Of course," Professor McGonagall began with a soft sigh, "the Vega girls had to acquired their mother's brains.

"Miss West, if you'd please, follow me," McGonagall said then frowned at everyone else, "well, what are you all waiting for? Go on, of to class!"

"Where are we off too?" The girl asked, just for her arm to be pulled lightly, "Vega? Beck?"

Tori was the one holding her arm while Beck was right behind and frowning at the Latina.

"I wonder how is it that the two of them want to follow you," the teacher remarked dryly, then without a spare glance and a tone that said she knew what was to come, said, "only one please, two would be too much."

"Jade —" Beck was interrupted when Trina took hold of his arm and pulled. "Wait, she hasn't chosen yet!"

But the pale girl was already leaving, dragging the young Latina by the wrist. They moved behind their Head of House, and once they reached the office, they were ushered inside. Those bright and penetrating eyes seized them.

"Miss West, I need you to know that any more displays like those and you'll see the Headmaster, an honor that not even the Weasley twins have managed yet."

The girl grimaced. "I can't make promises."

The conversation kept up, with McGonagall appreciating the honesty her student was displaying, but getting angry at the lack of understanding. It was only after the tanned girl took the goth's hand that Jade finally relented. With a sigh, she agreed to try to keep a low profile.

"Minerva," and soon, none other than the Headmaster had come through the door to find an irked Professor facing one of the most stubborn child to enter the school. "Ah, Jade, Tori, fancy meeting you here! Interested in a Black Jack or perhaps a Fruit Salad?"

"Jade has some of those," Tori replied, a tad puzzled, "as well as some Drumsticks and Dip Dab."

"What seems to be the problem?" The man inquired of the only female available for talking.

"Jade has lost us plenty of points," she began, blushing, "Professor McGonagall wants her to stop."

"Ah, you haven't reach a compromise yet?" He inquired, and those two finally lost visual contact; the pale girl was incredulous but the teacher simply sighed, as if knowing it would happen.

"Yes, we just did," the teacher then pointed outside, "you're both free to go."

"Minerva, about the Sto —" They managed to hear just that before closing it entirely.

"Cat, what are you doing here?" Tori asked, seeing as said redhead suddenly appeared; she was supposed to be in Charms, or was it Defense Against the Dark Arts?

"Yesterday, Professor McGonagall said that 'nothing gives us the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous'," she recited, word for word. "I think the teachers know that someone is trying to get to it . . ."

"And the Headmaster went to talk to McGonagall —"

"Professor, McG —"

"— about the stone," she turned to her companion, "right Jade?"

"Right . . ." The pale girl replied with a roll of pristine orbs. "This means that, with enough proof, we can get —"

The teacher and Headmaster opened the doors, craning brows to the silence that greeted them.

"— their help." Jade finished smoothly, just as Cat made herself scarce.

"Girls, why are you still here?"

"Ah, I'm glad you're still here!" Dumbledore placed a hand on a pale shoulder. "I've heard that you banter with Filius during some classes and he takes joy in them, but alas, not everyone is like him."

She smiled fondly at the memory, "yeah, he actually gave me five points for 'witty comeback' and then laughed."

"Five! Well, we must have some banters as well then," the girls were shocked by the seriousness of his tone. "But you must not make it obvious, it takes the fun out of it.

"Now, please," he requested with a low tone, "go back to class. Try to not get into much trouble."

"I'll try," she replied with a sigh.

"That's all I ask," he said severely, then motioned for the woman behind him to follow him. "After you, Minerva."

"Bye Professors!" They called loudly before running off.

They made their way to the library, to go back to reading and studying. They found the table thanks to Ron's moans, and were glad to see Cat already there. Aparently, the Ravenclaw's charm class was given for individual studies. So it was another day spent in the library, studying. Ron was now groaning, Cat was coloring and Hermione was giving a mini-lesson on astrology.

"Just in time!" Trina approached the girls and took her sister. "The name of Jupiter's moons."

"Galilean moons?" The youngest Vega inquired, "Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto."

"The other fifty nine are too small for Muggle telescopes," Jade added, chewing on some Fruit Salad and sitting down, "although I'm amazed that the names are the same."

"Correct!" Hermione and Trina apprised, and the Muggle-born began passing a list around while the half-blood continued. "Here is the list of all sixty three moons, the first ones are the Galilean moons."

"Muggles call them that because of Galileo Galilei," Hermione began on some history, "a famous Italian astronomer, discovered them."

"He is very well known in his time by the Wizarding World," Cat added offhandedly, "he's mentioned in A Brief History of Time."

And so, their makeshift lesson continued. Harry did comment to the girls that he believed Quirrell had finally broken, but how they couldn't meddle anymore. He didn't want more points deduction and they didn't have enough proof. Tori bit her lower lip and agreed; she said her cousin had enough trouble with Snape for the Professor to state that they just wanted to get him sacked and besides —

"— we don't all agree," she motioned to the pale girl besides her who was yawning as she read over the list, "I don't think our Headmaster could ever think we made it up but our uncertainty is bound to make things harder . . ."

They had forgotten though, about detention. McGonagall, of course, hadn't. The next morning they all received an owl indicating that it would take place that night at eleven. They had to meet Filch in the entrance hall. The joy of it, and with one of the most charming fellows they had the pleasure of meeting.