A/N: Ok, so I haven't updated in a while… but I have a whole lot of stuff going on right now and I'm trying to balance everything. But I wouldn't be updating today if it wasn't for a promise to batbones to update this weekend.

krillball6: Who ever said anything about things getting better?

So, here is the next chapter. Next will definitely be longer, and I believe that we're around ten to fifteen chapters away from the end…. I shall give you a small preview to the next chapter after you read this one….

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Jacqueline's return to the castle ended a feeling of uncertainty among the students. Her absence was so long and without explanation, that everyday everyone felt that something terrible could happen with things not as they always were. Professor Lupin had become a favorite, but still, he could not replace Jacqui's sarcasm and perfection in teaching. In the period of absence of their mother, Desmond and Adriennd were bombarded with questions towards the beginning. The subject seemed closed after the span of two weeks, but now, the siblings were once again pestered with questions as to the cause of their mother's come back.

You and I can already guess that the two didn't know the slightest detail of the events that had occurred, for how could Jacqueline explain her encounter with William, because he didn't capture her as Jacqueline Malfoy, but as Amaryllis Mireille. The young Malfoys proved useless to the gossipers of Hogwarts, but this made them more persistent in their want to figure out their mother's secret, which she very obviously was hiding from them.

However great their desire for this was, both Adriennd and Desmond had other things going on in their lives that took first priority.

During Jacqueline's leave, Adriennd found that her life became easier. She and Adrian seemed to be on the best of terms. He was friendly not just to her, but to all of Slytherin house. He made jokes and became very trustworthy to all the new friends he had made. In result, she was able to concentrate better on her schoolwork, Quidditch, but also her mother's leave. The girl, no matter how much she and Jacqueline didn't see eye to eye, Adriennd missed her and was very shaken at the state Jacqui was found after the time of her absence.

When her mother returned, it was as if something horrible had returned with her. Adrian went into a new madness that was worse than before. The first week he did nothing but expressed his dislike and destroyed everything in his sight, but the second week he calmed, but was still in procession of an evil spirit. He became threatening and started gathering all of his 'friends' closer around him. That left all of them with no choice against his blackmail that he had gathered during his week of peace.

Desmond, on the other hand, had gone into depression. It seemed to him that everything in his life was going wrong. His grades were sliding, his friends seemed to be abandoning him, and his relationships with Camilla and Diana seemed no better. On top of that, he was left without a mother who was gone without a trace. He was on the verge of giving up, but something was holding him back from abandoning everything. When Jacqueline returned, it was as if a switch turned on in him, and he was eager once again to replace everything as it was, but with every try, it was as if the hole he was in was growing deeper and deeper. The more he studied, the less he understood, and the worse his performance was.

Relationships with his friends were no better either, for Desmond tried to change himself and listen to what his friends had to say, but it angered him very much when in turn to his attention, he wasn't regarded and in most cases used as a doormat. He couldn't understand how that could be. Wasn't it how things were supposed to work? You are nice to someone and they do so in return. No, his trust was now shaken and he began to separate from his group of friends, for it seemed there could never be understanding between them. And they? What did they do? Glares issued and Desmond was treated as if he was in the wrong, but seriously, was he really? The only choice he now had was to steal away to his Slytherin acquaintances that seemed to lend an easy ear and ready advice. They didn't pester him with their own problems and didn't create scenes if any little dilemma occurred. No, the Slytherins weren't like that.

On the subject of Camilla and Diana, Desmond wasn't sure what options he had left in fixing the friendships he had with both of them and resolved to let things be and take their own course.

As I said before, a great change touched the school upon Jacqui's return and it was evident that trouble was in the air and something horrible was to happen soon… very soon.

A/N: Ok, so I know nothing exciting happened, but I really wanted to tie up all of my loose ends (well most of them) and proceed to my next big event…

Ok, next chapter….


Title: Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw

In this chapter, Jacqueline realizes how oblivious she had become over the years to the surrounding evil, and was it now too late for any kind of action? When it turns out that both female Malfoys were betrayed, their retaliation proves dire not only to the survival of the Malfoy family, but also to everyone else at the time when the Pendant Glows Again.

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