The next morning came, and before breakfast was even over, the entire school knew that Harry Potter and his first-year friends had irreversibly lost the lead for Gryffindor. Willow's heart stung when she walked by the hourglass that announced the house points. As much as she hated it, she couldn't help but feel that another fifty points should have been lost because of her actions, maybe more.

Harry and Hermione were nowhere to be found at breakfast. Willow numbly stared at her plate, ignoring Ron's questions of where Neville was. She couldn't feel anything but hatred. Hatred for herself. Hatred for her actions. Hatred for her inability to express her powers freely. Why did it have to be so hard?

When Willow's friends tried to speak to her, she barely heard them. She was deaf to everything but the roaring tide in her head, telling her she was a failure, a coward, an inexplicably awful person. Mandy finally had enough of it and slapped Willow hard on the shoulder.

"Hey!" she cried.

"Willow, snap out of it," Mandy commanded, worry etched into her face. "Don't go there."

"Go where?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about," Mandy said, lowering her voice.

Willow shook her head, not understanding. "I don't, actually."

"Willow, I know what path you're going down. Get off it. Now. Nothing good comes of it. If you've been through what I think you've been through, then you know what I'm talking about, and I can empathize. I've been there too. Get off. Please, before it's too late."

"You don't know anything about me!" Willow hissed, standing up.

"You're right, I hardly know anything about you! All of us do! We would know a thing or two if you'd just talk to us, maybe give us a few fun facts now and then, even a funny story would help. Plus, I can help you. I know what's happening now."

"Mandy, stop, please," Willow begged. "I- I can't."

"Why not?"

"Just- go away. I need space."

"Willow-"

"Get away from me!" Willow snapped, drawing the attention of Lisa, Oliver, and Sue.

Mandy stared at her, worried beyond belief and stunned from the sudden outburst. Willow didn't give her a chance to say anything else before sprinting out of the Great Hall, not caring if anyone saw, not caring if her friends chased after her. She couldn't face them. Anger and frustration simmered and was brought to a boil by the negative thoughts stewing in the pot of her mind. Willow wrestled with her mind to keep the lid from blowing off.

There was only one destination in her mind. The one place where she could be alone and almost no one would dare to find her: the grove of wiggenwood trees. Willow made straight for it, snapping branches, trampling undergrowth, scattering flocks of birds. She arrived in the grove, touching a tree the moment she got there.

The same vision was before her eyes. There was her mother, wand at the ready, a spell held back by her trembling lips until they were forced to part. An explosion of green ricocheted off the walls, ringing in Willow's ears. With as much mental strength as she could muster, Willow yanked herself out of the vision, standing in the clearing, the noises still bouncing around in her ears. Unable to contain herself any longer, Willow let out a scream.

The nearly unicorns whinnied and fled. Thestrals that were dancing in the treetops soared in the other direction. Magical and Muggle creatures alike scattered in fear. Willow's lungs wanted to give out, but she kept screaming, releasing everything- the demons invading her mind, her guilt, her disappointment, her longing, her anger. It was the tormented voice of a young girl held captive by nothing and everything, everything and nothing. No matter how long she screamed, Willow knew she would never get it all out, that she would always be trapped. At last, Willow sank to her knees, ceasing the torture to her vocal chords. She bowed her head, panting hard.

I will never be free. I'm always going to be restrained by the chains of my past, the chains of my power. The very thing that allows me to be myself, to be happy without a care in the world, is going to be the bars of the cell I am locked in. I will never be free.

Willow's body drooped with exhaustion. How much longer could she go on like this, bottling everything up, trying to release it, but not being able to shove everything out the skinny bottleneck at once? Deep down, Willow had the horrible feeling that it would be forever.

Eventually, the unicorns returned to the clearing, the thestrals dared to fly nearer, and the small creatures returned to the undergrowth. Willow still sat there, overcome with everything she would never be able to explain.

I'm pretty messed up, aren't I?

It's not your fault, the voice lady soothed.

If you're here to tease me again, get out of my head, Willow said angrily.

For once, I'm not. I'm here to tell you that there is hope on the horizon. There will come a day when you can, actually must, reveal yourself and everything about you to the wizarding world. You can freely talk about this someday. Those days are near. I know they must not feel near enough, and it's difficult to keep all this inside of you, but they're coming. Hold onto hope. Remember how much you have to lean on, to hold onto. Keep that inside you, too, and drive out that darkness that's plaguing you. You're an amazing young witch. Don't you dare let something this ridiculous take over.

Willow cracked a small smile. I wouldn't call it ridiculous, but I'll try. That's all I ever do is try.

Then keep trying. Your effort always pays off at some point. Trust me, I'd know. I'm looking through your eyes a lot.

Hey, thanks for this. It's nice to see this side of you.

Soak it up while it lasts. I don't like being touchy-feely, just like you. I'll be back to my regular insulting, rude self in a few minutes.

I will. Bye for now.

Take care of yourself, Willow. Remember...

The woman's voice faded from her head. Willow realized she had closed her eyes, opening them to find several unicorns dotting the clearing. Her breathing was back to normal. She had settled herself down enough that she could store her emotions away for later- with the voice lady's help, of course. Maybe if she returned to the castle, she could apologize to Mandy, possibly handle her friends yelling at her.

Willow ran back to the castle, unobtrusive as ever, not drawing attention to herself. She always found it surprising that no teacher ever caught her runs to the Forbidden Forest. But that was beside the point, simply sheer dumb luck. Willow had a mission to complete. She caught Mandy and the others heading towards the Ravenclaw Tower.

"Mandy, wait!" Willow shouted.

The red-haired girl turned around, her eyes widening. "Where have you been? We were worried sick! I thought that something bad had happened to you, something really bad-"

"Wait, you're not made at me?" Willow interrupted, confused.

"Of course not! You have a right to have emotions, you know."

"Oh...well, I'm still sorry about snapping at you. That was wrong of me."

"Willow, you don't have to apologize for every little mistake you make," Sue said. "We're your friends. We understand that you're going through a rough time. We're all in the same boat. Add studying for end-of-term exams, and you must be stressed beyond belief."

You have no idea, Willow thought privately.

"Come on, you need to relax," Mandy said. "You're coming with us."

"You too, Oliver," Lisa added, seeing Oliver uncomfortably try to sneak off.

"Oliver, I swear to God, if you try to spend one more day alone, I will paralyze you and drag you wherever I go. You know I don't make empty threats about your well being," Willow said.

"Yes, ma'am!" Oliver said, putting his hands up in defeat.

The five wove in and out of students, then made it to Ravenclaw Tower. Numerous students were pouring in to read, study, or simply hang out with their friends. They didn't even need to answer a riddle this time. Willow was slightly disappointed, but she didn't want to get stuck out in the corridor if there was a randomly difficult riddle.

The common room was much cozier and friendly when there were a lot of students in it. Although it appeared similar to a library, the noise level indicated otherwise. Most of the students would animate what they were reading, make fun of what they were studying, or excitedly announce a discovery to their peers. It was perfect: not exceedingly loud, not disturbingly quiet. Willow almost found herself envying the Ravenclaws.

"Let's go up to our room again," Mandy suggested.

Willow once again marveled at the beautiful spiraling stairs that appeared behind the magical bookshelf. She wondered how such perfection could be hidden by such an ordinary object. They made it to the top of the stairs, where the girls' dorm stood with even more decorations than last time.

"I take it Padma brought some decor?" Willow guessed.

"She did, and lots more inside," Lisa said.

Sue opened the door, ushering the rest of them in. Padma really did bring quite a few gifts from Christmas. The entire room, which had already been full of odds and ends, was now covered in Ravenclaw-themed items that spruced it up even more. Willow liked the clutter; it was more artistic than sloppy, as was usual among Ravenclaws, she had noticed.

"Oliver, sit down before I make you," Mandy ordered.

The boy immediately complied, finding a chair and plopping down in it. Willow sat on the floor by his feet. Mandy, Lisa, and Sue flopped on their beds.

"Are you seriously going to sleep?" Willow joked.

"No," Sue said, her voice muffled from her pillow.

"Liar," Oliver teased.

"But I'm so tired…" Lisa mumbled. "I didn't sleep well last night…"

"You think you didn't sleep well last night?" Mandy asked, sitting up. "I'll tell you who didn't sleep well last night, and that was Willow and her friends. I can imagine that they're still hiding in their dorms, avoiding everyone, trying to sleep. Am I right, Willow?"

"For the most part, yeah. But you're right, I'm exhausted."

"Why would you be exhausted? You didn't help them, did you?" Sue inquired.

"Well...not exactly," Willow said, carefully choosing her words.

"Willow, tell the truth," Lisa said.

"Fine. I kind of helped them. I'm not doing to tell you what they did, though, because no one's allowed to know that. I was only their lookout, making sure they didn't get into trouble. I'm mad this morning because I didn't exactly keep to my word. Filch came, and I panicked, so instead of me getting into trouble, Harry and Hermione did, and Neville tried to stop them, so he got in trouble, too."

"That sounds like a huge mess," Oliver commented. "How does that always happen to you? You always seem to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Believe me, I've been asking myself the same question since I decided to challenge that troll to a duel."

"You'd think you would have learned your lesson by now," Mandy chortled. "Of course you, of all people, wouldn't, and you still get into everything."

"It's kind of funny, actually, being a close friend with a person like you," Sue said. "I get the first updates on most everything going on."

"The only information you're not getting from me is the stuff that Lee does. I think he runs an underground black market, but it's nothing dangerous."

"That, and you seem to have a confidentiality code with Harry and his friends when it comes to your adventures," Lisa observed.

"Yeah...we don't want certain things getting around the school."

"Makes sense, actually," Oliver said. "I mean, look what happens when you get caught only one time. You go down in flames almost instantaneously, and the one who's punishing you is your Head of House, for Merlin's sake."

"Oliver, that's too big of a word," Mandy complained. "English, please."

"I thought you were a Ravenclaw?" Oliver joked.

"Okay, I may be smart in music and a few other things, but I never said academics were my forte," Mandy said. "The smart ones are the other two."

"Lisa's truly smart," Sue said. "The only thing I've got that's close to that is that I speak a few languages. Other than that, it's all martial arts and less important things."

Lisa blushed. "You guys make me sound way better than I am."

"That's because you're, great, Lisa," Oliver said.

"Thank you, Oliver!" Mandy agreed.

"Lisa, whoever said blondes are dumb is the stupidest person in the world," Willow said. "You prove that idiot wrong every day."

"Thank you guys, but stop it! My cheeks will be red for the rest of the day!"

"I say we keep complimenting you, then," Mandy said mischievously.

"Aw, leave her alone," Sue relented. "We've done enough damage."

"Speaking of damage, do your friends have detention soon?" Oliver asked.

"Oh, yeah, for certain. As soon as I find out where and when, I'm going with them. I deserve it as much as they do."

"What!" her friends shouted in unison.

"You can't!"

"Why would you do that to yourself?"

"You could get in trouble, or get them into more trouble!"

"Guys, trust me, I'm not going to get into trouble. They'll never see me," Willow promised. "Still, you've gotten very lucky so far, Willow," Sue reminded her. "You need to be careful. It's a terrible idea. You don't want to push your luck more than you already have."

"Yeah, if you got injured, or killed, I don't know what we'd do," Mandy said.

"Please don't go," Oliver whimpered.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing you can do to change my mind," Willow sighed. "I've already resolved to do it. Plus, it's my fault that they've even got detention. I should be the one to serve it, not them. And since when is detention that dangerous?"

"Willow, it was their choice to break the rules in the first place!" Lisa exclaimed.

"And it was my choice to help them," Willow countered.

"Fine," Mandy said. "If we can't change your mind, at least promise us something."

"Be careful. Don't make things worse than they have to be," Sue said.

"I promise."

Oliver sighed heavily, his green eyes staring into Willow's. "You are the most stubborn person I've ever met, you know that?"

Willow could only beam.

"No, Ron, that's not even a plant we've studied this year."

"I give up, then. This exam is going to kill me."

Willow face palmed. "Ron, seriously, I don't think an exam could do anything more than give you a paper cut. It won't shut down your brain."

"You and your Muggle science nonsense is going to explode my brain before the exam does."

"You're hopeless."

"That's exactly it. I have no hope at all that I will pass these exams. So far, I can't remember anything we've done this year."

"Well, you're better than Willow, because she couldn't even remember a promise she made in less than an hour," Hermione said, appearing behind Ron.

"I thought that joke was old!" Willow complained.

"Nope, and you're never going to live it down," Hermione said, playfully crossing her arms and smiling.

There was only about a week left before exams. Hermione and Harry ended up forgiving Willow for her actions a few days after they had lost the points for Gryffindor, and that same day they explained the whole fiasco to Neville, who brightened up right away. The five of them had grown closer than ever since becoming the most hated witches and wizards at Hogwarts. With everyone refusing to talk to them, they confided in one another, even studied together late at night when they wouldn't be distracted by other students' glares. Willow and Ron got off easy, of coarse, as few people knew their roles, but they were still of high suspicion and scrutinized just as much as the other three. Harry had it the worst. He had been so crestfallen about the whole thing that even Willow couldn't persuade him to not attempt to resign from the quidditch team. Gryffindor had dodged a bullet when Wood blew up and forced Harry to stay on the team. Willow didn't sleep much that night, wondering what would have happened if Harry had succeeded in resigning. The results wouldn't have been pretty.

"Come on, Ron, this is the spell you used on the troll!" Hermione said exasperatedly a while later. They had moved onto charms. "You got me all upset because of the way you said the spell! How could you forget something like that?"

"I didn't want to remember that, exactly," Ron grumbled.

"Willow, I see what you meant by he's unteachable," Hermione remarked, turning to her friend. "If he doesn't pay attention in class, he won't ever learn it. We can't teach him everything."

"All I asked for is the incantation, not a full lecture on the bloody thing!" Ron retorted.

"Here, watch me, Ron," Willow commanded, a mischievous idea popping into her head. Pointing her wand at his chair, she said, "Winguardium Leviosa!"

Ron yelped and toppled out of his chair as Willow directed it across the room. Hermione burst out laughing, snorting while she helped Ron to his feet. Willow set the chair on top of a book case.

"Your turn, Ron."

The boy's ears were pink with embarrassment. "I hate you, you know."

"Oh, I was hoping you would, because maybe that would give you the extra boost to perform the spell correctly and get the chair back for me," Willow said, pointing at where the chair was now balancing on top of the biography section. Sighing, Ron angrily pointed his wand at the chair and commanded, "Winguardium Leviosa!"

At first, the chair gently floated towards them, but Ron let his emotions get the best of him and his wand reacted, throwing the chair at them. Willow and Hermione dove out of the way as it splintered into a million wood chips. Ron's eyes went wide, and he stood there, frozen, as Madam Prince shushed them from her circular desk. Willow and Hermione slowly crawled back towards him.

"Well, as you've proven your ability to levitate objects, let's move onto a wandless subject, shall we?" Willow suggested.

"Agreed," Ron said hoarsely, finding a new chair to sit down in.

Hermione and Willow worked together to cram Ron's brain full of information about Astronomy. They counted the moons of Saturn, went into detail about the composition of Mars's soil, and identified the Roman deities each planet was named after. Willow fingered her empty pockets, wishing she had her map with her. That would have helped enormously.

Suddenly, she felt something drop into her pocket. She recoiled her hands, feeling something metal and freezing to the touch, then grabbed it and quickly put it on her lap. Willow's eyes very nearly popped out of her sockets.

Her map had appeared in her pockets.

How had it done that? Willow simply stared at the cold piece of metal that was so clearly her map. Had it known that she wanted it, or were her pockets magic? Did the map have some kind of spell on it that sensed the owner's need or want of it? Whatever it was, Willow wanted to know, because not knowing about things had recently led to unwanted surprises, like her power-up that she went through in the winter.

"Am I right? Willow? Hello, Earth to Willow," Ron said, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Oh, sorry, just found my- coin."

Willow blinked. She had tried to say map, but something deep down told her not to tell, that it was a secret. It had changed her words as she spoke them allowed. Totally not creepy that a random map had drawn her attention in a normal shop in Diagon Alley, then turned out to be much more than a map.

"Okay, well, if you'd help me out here, I'm trying to convince Hermione that I'm right and she's wrong," Ron continued. "Mars is not the Roman god of fire, is he?"

"Preposterous!" Hermione exclaimed. "There is no Roman god of fire! I never said anything about one!"

"Actually, Mars is the Roman god of war, not fire, and the closest thing to the Roman god of fire is Pluto, as far as I know, but he's mainly the god of the Underworld and jewels."

"Great. We're both right," Ron mumbled.

At that moment, Harry burst through the doors, heading straight for them. They looked up, instantly abandoning their petty argument.

"Guys, Snape's done it!"

"Done what?" they chorused.

"Gotten Quirrel to crack! I just heard him, passing by one of the classrooms! He was begging someone to leave him alone, pleading with him, I think, but I'm almost certain it was Snape, and he convinced Quirrel to tell him the secret to getting the Stone. Quirrel left in a hurry, anyway, and he was trembling like mad."

Willow stood up quickly. "I'll be right back. I have to use the restroom. Let me know what you discuss when I get back."

Leaving the library, Willow headed in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, knowing Harry had been heading back to the common room before he came running. Of course she had no intention of going to restroom. She only wanted to know what Quirrel was up to. By the way Harry had said it, Quirrel had been doing the same thing she witnessed with George a few months ago. Maybe it wasn't Snape he was talking to; there had been no one the last time she had seen him.

Willow rounded a corner, then another, and was almost at a run, thinking she might miss her chance, when she nearly ran into Professor Quirrel. She careened into the wall to avoid him, her heart hammering against her ribs in shock.

"Professor, so sorry!" Willow exclaimed.

"W-Willow!" Quirrel stuttered. "G-going in a r-rush to your c-common r-room, are you?"

She noted that he was very pale, looking as if he were about to faint. Willow didn't want to stick around if he did."Yes, Professor, sorry about that. I'll be going now."

"H-have a g-good evening."

Willow pretended to speed-walk away. She turned in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, but stopped the moment she was out of sight. After checking that no one was around, she morphed into a tabby cat and reappeared in the hallway. Professor Quirrel was already disappearing down the next corridor. Willow silently ran after him, her soft paws making no noise on the stone floors. Quirrel's cloak flickered in the corner of her eye. She bounded after him. He ran down a spiral staircase at a high pace, as if he were late for something, then made for his office. Willow tried to squeeze through the small opening in his doorway, but ultimately skidded to a halt before she could be smashed. Quirrel slammed and locked his door. Willow contented herself to listen through the crack under the door.

"M-master, why again? Have you not already drank enough blood?"

"You fool! I am still weak." It was the same hissing voice as last time.

"B-but t-the c-curse-"

"I already have the curse! If I drink more, I will still be cursed. I will only grow in power."

"My d-duty is to s-serve you, my Lord."

"Then go back tomorrow, or you will never be free again!"

The silence that followed was only occasionally broken by Quirrel's sobs.

Willow slept uneasily that night, waking up several times with the same thoughts bouncing around in her brain. She knew one thing for sure. There was a shift in her thinking, one so clear she almost felt it within her. She believed Quirrel was up to no good, not Snape, and whatever he was doing, it was bad, very, very, bad.

When Harry, Hermione, and Neville got their detention slips the next morning, Willow immediately abandoned her breakfast to talk to Draco. He was already storming into the Entrance Hall.

"Draco, where are you going?" Willow called after him.

"Wisp?"

Draco froze, turning slowly to meet her gaze. Fear flickered across them.

"Cut it out. I'm not here to punish you, although I should have. You're already going to have detention tonight."

Draco sighed. "Sorry I've been ignoring you. I thought you would kill me."

"That's a reasonable motivator to stay away from me. It was warranted, by the way," Willow added. "You're still an arsehole for constantly betraying me and going behind me back. It's beyond frustrating. You're lucky I'm a forgiving person."

"Very lucky," Draco agreed.

"And did I hear you right? You apologized for something without being prompted or forced?" Willow asked, raising her eyebrows and nodding. "I've taught you well. Maybe I'm finally making some progress with you."

"You wish."

"A-n-d we're back to normal."

"Why are you here, Wisp?" Draco questioned. "Are you just going to stand there and taunt me all day, or did you come here for something actually productive?"

"Woah, he's being analytical too. I'm definitely rubbing off on you."

"I'm serious, Wisp."

"I know, Blonde, and for once I'm not being my typical brooding, serious self. Let me have my moment. I wanted to talk to you because I wanted to let you know I've got detention, too."

For a moment, something Willow couldn't read surfaced in Draco's eyes, but he hid it too quickly. "You too? What, did you participate in the dragon trick, too?"

"Yes, but no one knows, so don't tell."

"Wait- how do you have detention, then?"

"I'm giving it to myself," Willow replied. "I should be getting detention as much as the other three are. The only difference is I didn't get caught like they did."

"You are too sneaky for your own good, you know that?" Draco said.

"I do know that, which is why I'm punishing myself. No one will see me. I'm just going to make myself do whatever you guys are set to do."

"I'll try not to give you away, but no promises."

"You better not! I don't want to get you into more trouble."

"What are they going to do? Take more points away from Gryffindor? That sounds like a nice prospect."

"Draco!"

"Alright, alright, I'll be on my best behavior, which isn't saying much, by the way."

"Believe me, I know."

"So I'll maybe see you tonight, then?"

"I'll be seeing you for sure, Blonde," Willow promised. "Seeing you from the shadows, of course."

Draco rolled his eyes. "See you, Wisp. Thanks for making sure I didn't destroy something."

"You're welcome. Bye, Blonde."

Willow went back into the Great Hall in unusually high spirits. Maybe their punishment wouldn't be so bad, like sweeping the dungeon corridors or writing lines for teachers. She could handle most anything.

"Oh no, she's smiling, that's not a good sign," Lee whispered to George.

"God forbid she's happy every once in a while," Fred said, rolling his eyes.

"You guys and your sarcasm," Paige mumbled.

"I've heard that you and Ron somehow didn't get detention while the other three did," George said. "How did you manage that?"

"By being my usual shadowy self."

"Right, because you're such a dark person," Lee drawled.

"Looks like we'll have to finish our surprise a lot sooner to get her in trouble, won't we, George?" Fred said.

"Probably."

"So this does have something to do with your pranking," Willow observed.

"That's the only generous clue we'll give you, so count yourself lucky."

"Finish it soon! I'm dying to find out what it is!" Willow complained. "You're working on it every day after school!"

"We are. So what?"

"So it's probably something big! I'm just excited, that's all!"

"You'll be even more excited when we reveal it," Lee said, smirking.

"Stop testing my patience!"

"It will be done soon enough. You'll see."

Willow couldn't stop thinking about the surprise the rest of the day. Even during Potions, where she had Malfoy as a distraction, it was hanging in the back of her mind. What could they be working on that took so long with all three of them working on it? She hoped she was right in guessing that it was something big for all four of them, maybe a big step forward in their pranking. That would be a great surprise.

The evening finally came, and with it detention. Harry, Hermione, and Neville headed out to meet Filch. Willow followed them just like she had during Operation Norbert, only this time, when Filch appeared, she didn't run away, instead keeping the proper distance between her and the group. Malfoy was already with Filch. They trekked out of the castle, towards Hagrid's hut. Willow wondered why they'd be serving their detention there, but it was no matter. A detention with Hagrid was hardly a punishment.

On the way, Willow's ultra-sensitive ears picked up bits and pieces of Flich's conversation with the group. She wanted to slap the lurking smile off his face. What kind of person took pleasure in remembering the old torture of students to keep them in line? Willow shuddered, wondering if she had found the one person in the world she could not bring herself to tolerate. Filch stopped the group outside Hagrid's hut. A cloud scuttled over the moon, casting them into temporary darkness, then passed, leaving the moon to turn the long spring grass silver again. Hagrid opened the door and appeared on his front step, Fang beside him. He had a huge crossbow in one of his arms.

Willow flitted from shadow to shadow, getting closer to the hut. They had gotten out of earshot. By the time she could hear them again, Hagrid lead them towards the forest. Filch ran back to the castle. Willow held her breath as he passed her, wondering if she was hidden enough, but Filch paid her no mind. He disappeared into the castle and locked the gate behind him, cackling to himself. Willow wished she could spit in that awful man's face.

Realizing that she was behind again, Willow caught up to the group, getting back into hearing range. They were at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid was briefing them about something, it seemed, and Draco seemed downright petrified. It suddenly hit her that they were going into the Forest. But why?

She got her answer when a strong wind made the trees sway, allowing a few moonbeams to shine on a worn path. For a split second, it illuminated something, a small trail of silvery liquid that zigzagged across the trail. Willow's powers immediately identified it for her, but it wouldn't have been necessary. She could easily have guessed what it was.

Unicorn blood.

There was a lot of it. The poor creature must have been injured and spent the last hour of its life in severe pain, bleeding out, dying a slow, painful death. Willow couldn't even imagine it. She remembered the unicorns in the Wiggenwood Grove, how peaceful they made her feel. Why would something kill a creature so innocent and pure?

Apparently, Hagrid was determined to find answers. He sent Neville, Draco, and Fang in one direction while Harry and Hermione stuck with him. Willow was torn; which group should she follow? The answer came quickly, though: Draco wouldn't be able to contain himself alone with Neville, and Fang wasn't the best guard dog. He begged for Willow's scraps, for Merlin's sake. She wasn't about to let the two boys get eaten by a rogue magical creature- or pester each other to death.

Fang unsurprisingly led the way. The path twisted and turned, steadily darkening as they got deeper into the Forest. Willow kept a good distance behind them, taking care not to make too much noise, just in case they noticed and got even more scared. The wind picked up and shook the branches, raining down leaves on them. Every tree seemed to leer at them. For the first time since she had entered it, the Forbidden Forest was scaring Willow. She never liked to tell anybody, but she was deathly afraid of the dark. It was something most children her age had outgrown. Not her. She was always terrified that something would happen to her or someone she knew while she was unable to see it coming. The thought of an attacker materializing from nowhere, inflicting pain seemingly with nothing...

Willow shivered, trying to remove the thoughts from her head. The Forbidden Forest was playing tricks on her mind. There were no eyes on the trees, except for the eyes of the owls trying to catch a midnight snack. She was fine- right?

Draco was starting to resort to his only method of coping with fear, which was taunting and teasing the closest person. He was poking Neville, who was already fed up with the bully.

"Draco, come on, you're not scaring anyone with your poking and prodding."

"What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything," Draco lied.

"I can hear the laughter in your voice. You're trying to scare me."

"And I can hear the panic in yours. You're trying not to be scared."

"Draco, stop it, please. You're just as scared as I am."

"No I'm not."

"Stop lying! I'm sick and tired of you bullying me and lying to my friends. All you do is cause trouble. Don't you ever want to be happy, Malfoy? You do nothing but storm around the castle with those two idiots you call your friends, especially not that you're ignoring Willow, which is really unfair, by the way, you're really mean to her sometimes-"

"Shut up, Neville," Draco interrupted. "For your information, Willow talked to me earlier today."

"But she talked to you, Draco. It took her big heart to forgive you- again, mind you- and still be there for you. I don't know how you can't see that. She's literally the best person on Earth. I've never met another girl that's better than her. Everyone insists upon holding grudges and getting upset over little things these days. Willow doesn't. Why can't you at least return the favor by being a decent friend to her?"

Willow's heart fluttered. Did Neville really just say all those things about her? Was he standing up to Draco for her? Could this really be happening?

"Looks like you fancy her, don't you, Neville?" Draco said.

"What? No, I- "

"You wouldn't be defending her like this if you didn't. I know that you're never this brave."

"Hey! Why do you have to be so rude all the time?"

"You aren't denying it."

"And quit changing the subject!"

"I could say the same to you."

Neville shut his mouth before he could say anything stupid. He stomped off further up the trial, leaving Draco sauntering behind him. Willow continued to follow them in disbelief. Was there- was there a chance that Neville fancied her?

No, don't let yourself get caught up in that! Willow scolded herself. This is where it all goes downhill. This is the start of it all. You get too excited, trying to analyze every word he says, every action he takes to fit your fantasy of him fancying you. Don't go down that path!

"Draco? Where did you go?"

Willow glanced up from where she was hiding in the undergrowth. Neville had stopped in the middle of the path, Fang sitting at his side. Draco was nowhere to be found. Panic seized Willow's heart. Had something snatched Draco while she wasn't looking? Was he hurt? Was he being dragged deeper into the Forest as she stood there?

Of course not. A few seconds later, Draco jumped out of the undergrowth, spooking Neville. He screamed and instinctively shot red sparks up in the air, thinking that some rabid creature was getting him. The moment Draco started laughing, Neville lowered his wand, beyond words.

"You- you little- how- I hate you!" Neville shouted.

"You should have seen your face!" Draco chortled. "I could have sworn you thought I was a werewolf!"

"There's no way you could have seen my face, you idiot!" Neville fumed. "It's too dark!"

"You thought I was a werewolf! I knew you scared easily!"

A spine-chilling howl sounded nearby. Draco froze, his laughter and Neville's anger vanishing into fear. Willow stretched out her senses, trying to pinpoint any nearby large creatures. There was nothing too close. At least, that's what her senses told her. She could be wrong. The two boys clutched each other with white knuckles, trembling in fear.

All of a sudden, Hagrid exploded into the clearing. "Where's the danger? What's harmin' ya?"

"Hagrid! Thank Merlin!" Neville exclaimed, detaching himself from Draco and hugging Hagrid. "Draco scared me, so I sent up the sparks. We're really okay. I think we heard a werewolf howling, though."

"Malfoy, ya great buffoon!" Hagrid bellowed. "What if you were really in trouble? That's it, I can't trust ya with Neville. We're switchin' groups. Come with me, you two."

Not wanting to be left alone, Willow followed Hagrid, where they regrouped with Harry and Hermione. Hagrid sent Harry back out with Fang and Malfoy, and Willow again followed them, distrusting Malfoy. He was too big on self-preservation to help Harry if he was in trouble. That, and she still thought Fang would be no help in the event of an attack.

The group returned to the trail of unicorn blood. It was beginning to thicken, along with the trees around them. Willow was constantly swatting branches out of her eyes. It was like the Forbidden Forest was trying to constrict and shield her at the same time. She felt like her lungs were receiving pressure from all sides, that the very air she was breathing was trying to suffocate her, but that could have been the fact that she was nervous in the dark and forgot to breathe. Willow thought more that the Forest was trying to shield her eyes from something, that this part of the Forest hid something too dark for innocent children's eyes to see. She liked to think positively about the Forest.

Willow couldn't stand it after a time and started secretly helping out the boys, gentling brushing her hands to the side to make the plants mirror her movements. The going got much easier for the three and they started moving faster, almost too fast for Willow to keep up. She had almost lost sight of them when they stopped in a clearing, staring at something on the ground. Willow managed to get close enough and climbed a tree to get a better view. When she laid eyes upon the clearing, she clapped her hand over her mouth, gasping a shuddering breath.

Now she understood why the Forbidden Forest was trying to turn her away from here. The dead unicorn was a horrid sight. Its pure white body was riddled with slash marks, its silver-blue blood dried over the wounds. Its legs were frozen in a kicking position, as if the pain had overcome the creature and it was trying to fight, bucking death away. But it had failed. Its pure white mane was stiff and spattered with blood. The unicorn's final battle was displayed on its face, its mouth open in a neigh of defeat. Willow couldn't stop the tear that rolled down her cheek. How could someone do this? Who could be so heartless, such an absolute sociopath, as to commit this act of murder?

The answer was hovering on the edge of the clearing. It was a dark figure dressed in a billowing cloak. The moon peeped through the treetops, casting a few beams on it as if they were stage lights presenting the antagonist of a musical. But this was no musical. This was real life. The cloaked figure slowly drifted down beside the unicorn, seemingly floating above the ground, then bent down, and to Willow's horror, began drinking the unicorn's blood.

Malfoy screamed and bolted. Harry stood, rooted to the spot. The hooded figure glanced up, seeing Harry, and advanced towards him, raising a menacing arm beneath its robes.

Suddenly, a centaur jumped into the clearing, raising onto its hind legs and kicking at the robed figure. It fled, zooming beneath Willow's tree and back along the path. Her heart seized in panic when she saw it heading straight for Draco.

No! I will not allow cowardice to take me this time! Willow screamed at herself. Screw revealing your powers! Save Draco!

The adrenaline rush fueled Willow, allowing her to transform into a small dragon with no problem. She roared and flapped her wings, diving after Draco. The cloaked figure was gaining quickly on Draco. It was flying inches off the ground, chasing the blonde boy, who was sprinting as fast as he could, but was no match for the speed of flight. Willow willed her wings to carry her faster.

Almost there! Willow thought.

The cloaked figure reached out with its hidden hand. A part of the robe dropped away to reveal and outstretched hand pointing a wand at Draco. The boy cast a glance over his shoulder, screaming in terror. Willow's mind went into panic. She wouldn't make it in time.

The figure began reciting an incantation. She was too far away. There was only one thing she could do.

With an enormous bellow of rage and fear, Willow flapped her wings one last time and dropped onto Draco, enveloping him with her body. The figure finished the incantation just as Willow wrapped herself completely around Draco.

There was a jet of bright light- Willow was rolling- Draco was screaming- the figure was cursing in rage- pain exploded into Willow's back- an explosion shook the ground- there was a giant crack- a tree fell- Willow stopped rolling- the figure yelled in frustration and disappeared- Willow opened her eyes.

She sat there for a moment, breathing heavily, then the shock wore off. Unbelievable pain exploded into Willow's back. It was so unbearable and great that Willow was unable to hold onto her dragon form. She returned to her human form and tried not to scream, but failed. It hurt so bad. The spell must have been a damaging one. It felt like someone had taken a large knife and slashed her back.

Draco fell from her grasp, eyes wide with shock. Willow somehow knew that he would go into real shock if he didn't focus. She snapped her fingers, crying out at the pain it caused her back.

"Draco, please, look at me," Willow said shakily. "It's me, Willow."

"W-Willow?" Draco stammered. He stood up on wobbly legs. "What are you- ?"

He paused, gasping at the sight of her. "Oh my God, Willow, what happened to your back?"

"I don't know," Willow said. "When that figure attacked, he cast a spell, and I tackled you, and-"

A wave of pain coursed through her back, causing her to scream again. Sticky, warm blood seeped into her robes. Willow could feel it begin to gush. Whatever that figure had done to her, she was hurt, and bad. She couldn't afford to lose much blood very fast.

"You're bleeding. Like, really bad," Draco said, a note of panic in his voice. "What do I do? I don't know what to do! I've never dealt with these kinds of situations before."

"Draco, come here," Willow commanded, biting her tongue at the pain moving her arm cost.

He obeyed, crouching down beside her. Willow reached out and touched Draco's temple, checking him for any injuries. There was a fairly good sized cut on his cheek, and it was bleeding pretty profusely. She looked into Draco's eyes.

"Look, don't say anything. I'm going to explain later."

"What-"

Draco lost the ability to produce sound. He stared, hardly containing himself, as Willow touched his cut. Familiar warmth coursed through her fingers, and golden light lit up Willow's hand. It spread into Draco's cheek, removing the blood, repairing the damage, sealing the cut. His small injury was now a scab. Not fully healed, but close enough. Draco took a step back from Willow.

"What did you just do?"

"I can heal people. Now, please-"

A more intense wave of pain coursed through Willow, seizing her limbs. Her limbs spasmed in the same rhythm as her wound. Willow shouted, barely able to keep herself under control. The waves of pain also brought on more blood and less consciousness. She was running out of time to tell Draco how to help.

"Draco, listen to me," Willow gasped. "There's lots of cobwebs around here. I need you to get some for me. Fast. And lost of them. I'll bleed out without them."

"Okay, okay, cobwebs, cobwebs..." Draco muttered to himself, staggering through the forest. He slowly found webs here and there, gathering them without commenting on how disgusting they were for a change. Then again, the situation was rather dire.

Willow laid there, curled up in a ball, her back bleeding heavily. She knew that her robes were soaked in blood. But she had the feeling that she would be okay. Once Draco got her all the necessary cobwebs, she wouldn't bleed out. She would live. For some reason, Willow knew that she wasn't nearly as close to dying as she was with the troll attack. Maybe that was another one of her senses coming to life.

Draco finally returned with the cobwebs. Willow swallowed, knowing the next part would be a little difficult.

"Okay, this is going to be-" Willow coughed, blood flecking her mouth. She wiped it away before Draco could see. "- awkward. For you, at least. I'm going to take off my robes. Don't panic, I've got a t-shirt and shorts on."

Draco helped peel the sticky robes off Willow's back. She gritted her teeth and grunted, the pain nearly blinding her. But she made it. Draco prepared the cobwebs in his hand.

"What now?"

"Pull up my shirt. You'll have to put the cobwebs directly on the wound."

Draco did as she said, careful to not pull her shirt up anywhere but her back. She was surprised by his respect for her body, but again, she revisited the circumstances. Willow yelled in pain while Draco patched up her wound. It was beyond any pain she had ever imagined was possible to feel, as if two people were taking the sides of her cut and yanking them apart. She had a few unwilling tears roll down her cheeks by time it was over. Draco put her shirt back over her wound, but left the bloody robe on the ground.

Willow shivered in the chilly night air. The cold felt good on her wound, but the shivering offset that with more pain. It was then Draco did something Willow never thought he would do. The Slytherin boy undid his own robe, and draped it around Willow. He had a black long-sleeve shirt and pants on underneath.

"T-thanks," Willow said, her teeth chattering.

"Don't expect me to be that nice ever again."

"I-I won't."

The two sat there for a little while, the relentless wind chilling them to the bone. Unfortunately, they couldn't move, for fear of hurting Willow's back even more. So they sat there, alone, enduring the elements and listening to the nocturnal forest life.

"Willow," Draco started after a while. "You saved my life, I think. Thanks for that. But how did you do it? I think you've been hiding something from me, and now you need to explain it. That healing magic is creeping me out."

The corner of Willow's mouth twitched, but that might have been a pain reflex. "Good."

"No, really, explain this, please."

Willow sighed. "Alright, fine. I wasn't planning on telling anyone that didn't know already, but since you've seen me, now you have the right to know." Willow paused. "I've got extra powers that don't require a wand. They're really complicated and confusing, but I think they're limited to life-forms only. I can shape-shift and manipulate plants. Then there's that healing thing. I can't heal anything all the way, but I can heal enough to make sure the subject won't die from their wounds right away. They're really weak right now. I'm getting better, though, and controlling them is hard, especially the extra senses. I can hear and see better than the normal human being. Same with smell."

Draco was silent for a long while, then finally said, "Why?"

"I don't know. My dad sent a letter saying that I shouldn't tell anyone about it, that it's kind of dangerous. I think we're all learning about them. They only showed up right before school started."

"Honestly, I think that's kind of cool. So...you changed into an animal to save me?"

"Yes. I shape-shifted into a dragon to shield you from whatever spell that thing was about to cast. Oh, that's another thing I've discovered: my injuries carry over from shape to shape, and the same goes with my health."

"That's pretty amazing."

"I thought so, too, until I realized how dangerous it was."

"What- ?"

"Willow, Malfoy! Where are ya?" Hagrid shouted, his lantern bobbing through the trees.

"Over here!" Malfoy called. He glanced at Willow. "You have a lot more explaining to do once you're healed. I'll make sure I keep my mouth shut, at least this once. I'd rather not have my cool friend die when I could need saving later."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Always the self-preservation."

Hagrid reached them. "Are you two alright?"

Willow threw her robe on before anyone could see the bloodstains "Yep. Did you find the unicorn?"

"Yes, but not that mysterious killer Harry told me about," Hagrid sighed. "Let's get ya back up ter the castle. The less time ya spend in this forest, the better."

Malfoy shot her a look that said, Why didn't you tell him? Willow wanted to shout, He doesn't know! Thankfully, her expression must have told him that, because he averted his eyes and stayed silent.

The blood on her cloak was not enough to alert the others. It was mainly in her shirt, which was hidden underneath, and since her robes were black, the little blood that was left wasn't visible. Willow hoped she could hide her injury from everyone. She didn't want them to take her to Madam Pomfrey and risk telling her about her powers, too. One more person already knew. That was enough, especially with it being Malfoy.

When they got back to the common room, Harry was still trembling from his encounter with the cloaked figure. Willow was glad hers was all a blur. Her back was hurting more by the minute, but she was good at hiding it. Harry recounted his story to Hermione and Ron. Willow barely listened. She only picked up a few of their points before going to take a shower.

The cobwebs had not yet dried into her back, thank Merlin. Willow had enough pain pulling them off and washing them down the drain. She bit her tongue so hard to keep from screaming while washing out her wound that it almost started bleeding, too.

Something was tickling the bad of her mind while she tried to sleep that night. There was something familiar about the cloaked figure, as if she had seen it before. Drifting off to sleep, Willow was met with a dream she had had several months before. It was the man dressed in similar robes going into the caves. A few flashes of purple caught Willow's eye.

Suddenly, Willow sat bolt upright, waking up, ignoring the pain. That's what was bothering her. The figure in the Forbidden Forest- she had caught a glimpse of him under the cloak. There was a flash of purple.

All the puzzle pieces connected. It all suddenly made sense. Why Quirrel's lips were moving along with Snape's at the quidditch match. Why the troll was let in at Halloween. Why Quirrel was scared of everything. Why Quirrel seemingly talked with no one in empty classrooms.

He doesn't want the Stone for himself, he wants it for Voldemort! Harry had said.

Harry was right. He didn't want the Stone for himself. But it wasn't Snape that wanted the Stone.

It was Quirrel.

And he was going to get it for Voldemort.

Who coexisted on the back of his head.

Underneath that purple turban.