A/N – Hey guys! Here's the next chapter; I hope you enjoy it!

She ran. The landscape rushing past her; blood pumping in her veins; wind whipping through her hair. She hadn't felt this free in a log time, and it was a welcome relief. But, she also hadn't felt this much power coursing through her in a long time, and to be honest, she wasn't sure if she could control it all.

She didn't have a destination in mind, so when she arrived in the woods near the beach where Harry and she were nearly stranded, she was slightly surprised. She stopped, staring out at the horizon, watching the waves crashing at the shore.

She hadn't felt like this in a long, long time. The magic inside her was too much for her to contain, and she knew that the resulting eruption wouldn't be pretty.

She took a deep breath in, and exhaled shakily. Her eyes flashed emerald green. She extended her palms slowly, revelling in the way that her power seemed to ooze from her. She watched around her, as green flames sparked and exploded from her hands, lighting the surrounding trees on fire.

They burned brightly in a circle around her; huge, roaring green fires leaping towards the sky. She gazed on, beginning to feel as though she was simply spectating. She was losing control, fast. And, in the past, that hadn't gone so well.

He watched her, as her entire body shook.

"Harry," she called him, weakly. "I can't control this. You're gonna get hurt; you have to go!"

Her eyes flashed brightly, and she trembled, all of her energy and will focused on keeping the power trapped inside her. If it got out, it would hurt people; hurt Harry, and that was the last thing she wanted.

"I ain't going anywhere, love," he replied calmly, taking slow, cautious steps towards her. He extended his hands, reaching out to take hers in his. "I'm not leaving you to deal with this by yourself."

"You have to," she nearly whimpered. "I don't want to hurt you," she whispered, looking straight at him.

"You won't. I trust ya."

"That's no good if I don't trust myself," she muttered, a quick grin flitting over her face.

Harry reached forward, taking both of her hands. "It's gonna be fine," he said gently, staring into her eyes.

Mal scoffed, but clutched tightly to his hands. "Don't be a sap," she groaned.

Harry chuckled. Mal grimaced, her eyes turning a bright, shining emerald green, and staying like that. His face sobered instantly, and he watched her, concernedly.

"What can I do, love?" He asked softly.

"Nothing," she ground out in response. "You should leave, but you're too goddamn stubborn to."

Harry smirked. "Pot, meet kettle."

"Oh, shut up," she replied, but a small smile was present on her face.

"Nope."

"Harry, I don't know what's going to happen."

"Well, we'll find out together then, won't we?"

"You're crazy."

"Crazy about you," he answered, sticking his tongue out at her as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm scared," Mal said quickly, not meeting his eyes.

Harry sucked in a breath through his teeth. It was rare she admitted any kind of emotion. "You don't need to be. I'm here."

Mal nodded her head, still looking at the ground.

"Hey," he whispered, taking her chin in his hand and lifting her head up towards him. She met his eyes, gazing at him questioningly, waiting for him to speak again.

"I love you, Mal."

She stared at him, shocked. Suddenly, their entire surroundings shone with a bright green light. Huge explosions of green light seemed to fill the air, almost like fireworks. They lasted for a few moments, and then calmed down. As they faded from the sky, Mal's eyes slowly faded too, returning to their original colour.

"See?" Harry started, pulling the shaking girl into his chest. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Mal laughed anxiously, a feeing of pure relief flooding her chest. "I guess not."

She was quiet for a few moments, allowing Harry to hold her close to him.

"That wouldn't have turned out like that if you weren't here," Mal spoke.

"I know," Harry returned. "Guess I'd better stick around then, huh?"

"I guess so," Mal replied, a true smile on her face.

Harry slung his arms around her shoulders. "I'm sue everyone on the whole Isle saw that show you put on there, love. We'd better get you back to your castle," he finished, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, and beginning to lead her home.

Harry wasn't there this time. Her magic was reacting more destructively, to say the least. She couldn't stop the emerald flames from spreading, growing. They were circling her, like an eagle circling its prey. She knew everyone in Auradon would be able to see them, even though the sun was shining bright this morning.

Mal felt her legs begin to give out, and she sank to the ground gracefully, before she could fall. She felt more and more of her energy leave her, as though her entire soul was being dragged out of her and added to the fires. The heat of them was beginning to make her feel dizzy. Her head began to spin. The darkness was closing in on her; the only thing she could still see was her green circle of fire. It spread throughout the trees, enveloping them in its fiery blaze. Mal fell completely down, and lay there, looking up at the sky, as her green flames consumed it.

She took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Her emotions were running wild; and she knew that that was what was fuelling the fires. Her anger at Ben; her annoyance and being treated like a doll; her confusion about Harry, and her love for Harry; her guilt for causing her friends to worry about her. She inhaled again, trying desperately to slow her racing mind, trying to think of something to focus on that wouldn't further elicit an explosion of magic.

So, she thought of the sea. She remembered how when she was little, she would look out at the sea from her bedroom window. Although the water around the Isle was brown and murky, if she gazed out far enough, she could see the bright blue waters further beyond, that she dreamed of roaming someday.

She could feel her pulse calming, her temperature cooling. It was working.

Then, she thought of Evie. How her best friend was so close to her that they were practically sisters. And Carlos and Jay, her two adopted brothers. They were a made-up, dysfunctional family, that somehow seemed to work together. She thought of her new Auradonian friends, Doug, Lonnie, Jane. Each of them was so good to her and the other VK's. They didn't have to be. They could be scared of them, or ignore them; the two options that most of the other kids at their school chose from.

Then, she thought of Harry. Of how calm, and safe she felt when she was with him. How hard it was to be apart from him. How happy, and scared, and excited, and nervous she was when she found out he was coming back.

She came back to the present, her mind tuning back into the situation around her, instead of her daydreams. She sat up, just in time to watch the last green embers burn out into the soil. She glanced around. The whole area around her was completely scorched; and so was she. Her clothes were burnt and singed around the edges, her hands and face scattered with soot and ashes. The tips of her blonde hair were tinged black, and her pale nails were filthy with soil and dirt.

She sat for a moment, thinking.

"Things have already gone to hell," she said to herself. "Might as well make things worse!"

Mal stood up, slowly, and a tad shakily. Once she regained her balance, she held her hands out in front of her. She thought carefully about what she wanted to happen, and pictured it clearly. Then, she was surrounded by a green smoke, and when it faded, she was unrecognisable.

Her clothes had changed completely; lightly coloured cotton replaced with purple and black leather. Her makeup; neutral colours to bold eyeliner and shadow. Her nails; from short and pink to long and black. And, her hair. Her hair was the most drastic change of all. Her blonde hair, which touched her lower back, was gone. And, in its place: shoulder length, purple hair.

Mal laughed ecstatically, running her hands through her new hair, and tracing the detailing on her leather jacket. She grinned happily, and set off back towards the school/

She had made it to the corridor of her dorm without anyone seeing her. There weren't that many people to see her; nearly all outside, enjoying the last week off school. She approached the door, and paused just outside it, suddenly nervous.

She shook her head, enjoying the way her hair bounced on her shoulders. These were her friends; she didn't need to be nervous! She could hear voices through the door. It seemed as though everyone was gathered in her and Evie's room. She could hear all of them. She smirked silently, anticipating their reaction to her new look. She wondered briefly where Ben was, but pushed the thought out of her head, deciding to worry about it later, and enjoy her friends' reactions. She pushed open the door and stepped into the room.

Immediately, the room fell silent. Everyone gawked at her. She did a little twirl in the middle of the room; inviting them to comment. Doug, Jane, Carlos and Gil's mouths hung open in pure shock. Lonnie, Jay and Evie wore huge smiles on their faces, staring at her. Mal watched them all. After a few seconds, she was met with loud inputs.

"You look amazing!"

"Look at your hair!"

"How did you do that?"

"It's incredible!"

Mal laughed, thanking them. She turned her head to Harry, who was leaning against the wall, and hadn't spoken a word since she came in. She sauntered over to him, stopping right in front of him; hardly any space between them.

"Well?" She asked, grinning at him.

He ran his eyes up and down her. He opened his mouth to speak, and closed it again, seemingly at a loss for words.

"Go on," Mal prompted, nudging him.

He met her eyes. "You- You look-" He stopped, then smiled. A huge, delighted smile.

"You look like you again," he said. He ran his fingers through her hair. "Ma wee dragon," he murmured softly. "You're back."

Mal answered. "And I'm not going away again."

"Damn right, you're not," Harry agreed. "I wouldn't bloody let ya."

He pulled her into him, cradling her head in his hands. He placed his lips on hers, gently, and kissed her.

Gil whooped, and Carlos cheered.

Mal broke apart from Harry and laughed at the two boys. She took Harry's hand in hers and tugged him with her, going to sit on the floor amongst the rest of her friends. She turned to the Auradonians in the room, all of whom looked quite shocked.

She sat, leaning against Harry's chest, with his arms wrapped around her.

"Well," she started, speaking to them more so than the VKs. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do."

A/N – Hope you enjoyed! If you did, leave a review and let me know! :)