"Willow! Willow! Wake up! Come on, wake up!"
Willow yelped as she tumbled onto the floor. "I'm awake! What happened? Are you in trouble? Did Malfoy do something stupid again?"
"Shhh!" Ginny put a finger to her lips. "Don't wake up your roommates!"
Willow glanced at the sleeping girls around the room. Fay was mumbling in her sleep, Lavender was face-down on her pillow, Mia was drooling from the corner of her mouth, Parvati and Sally were snoring loudly, and Hermione was peacefully smiling, deep in a dream. Pointing to the door, Ginny tiptoed out of the dorm. Willow nodded and quickly threw on a t-shirt and shorts. She had discovered that the professors didn't mind how they dressed on the weekends, so long as it was appropriate. Willow didn't care for the long wizarding robes; it made her feel a little too powerful, aside from how hot they were (she overheated easily).
Ginny was bouncing up and down on her toes when Willow found her in the common room.
"Where are we going?" Willow whispered, glancing at her watch. It was getting close to seven. "And since when are you early riser? I know you like mornings, Ginny, but I've never known you to get up this early."
"I saw Harry heading out with his quidditch gear!" she quietly squealed. "I think they're going to have an early practice this morning, and I'd love to see Harry in action! Colin might be up, too, because I think I saw him following Harry, and- I'm just so excited!."
Willow smiled. "Harry's going to kill me for saying this, but I'm liking the Harry Potter Fan Club so far. I'll take you to the quidditch pitch, then, if you so desire."
"Yes, please! Ooh, and can you show me your broom?" Ginny asked, rambling on and on. "George said you got one as a gift over the summer! Is it a Nimbus 2000? Ooh, maybe a 2001! That would be so cool! I'm dying to see it! Did you get to fly over the summer? Are you even better than last year? George said you're a fine flyer, that's for sure-"
Willow's cheeks reddened. "I'll grab it real quick. You go ahead, I'll meet you in the corridor."
She raced to her dorm, grabbed her broomstick, splashed her face with water, and found Ginny waiting for her outside the portrait hole. She didn't know why compliments made her so embarrassed. Most of the time, it wasn't that bad, but for some reason this round of praise was driving her crazy. What was wrong with her? She needed a good fly to get this out of her system.
"Wow!" Ginny gasped when she reappeared. "Let me see that! Wait, nevermind, I'd rather see you demonstrate! I can hardly wait to see you fly on it! Let's go, let's go!"
Willow laughed, her voice echoing through the corridors as Ginny sprinted towards the quidditch pitch. She really had to pull on her sleeves to steer her in the right direction. They burst into a courtyard, then raced each other to the pitch. Ginny was much faster than her over a short distance, but Willow was sure she could beat her any day in a mile-long competition.
"I win!" Ginny proclaimed proudly, stopping in front of the stands.
"Sure, you win for now, but wait until the rematch!"
Ascending to the top of the Gryffindor quidditch stands, they found Colin waiting for them. He was bouncing on his toes with boundless energy. After rambling for a good while about how cool he thought quidditch sounded, he settled down and they stared out at the pitch, admiring how peaceful it looked without anyone on it. Ginny became entranced before long. Only the occasional snap of Colin's camera broke the soft silence. Then, acting on an idea without even pausing to think, Willow gripped her broom tight in her hand, backed up several paces, sprinted right in between where Colin and Ginny where leaning on the railing and jumped.
"Willow, what are you doing?" Ginny frantically called.
"Ahh! You're going to die!" Colin shouted.
Willow merely relaxed herself into the free-fall, looking up at the warm-coloured morning sky and enjoying the wind sifting through her hair. Then, when she sensed herself approaching the ground, she swiftly turned herself onto her broom and zoomed across the quidditch pitch, grazing the grass with her fingertips. A small chorus of cheering went up from the far side of the pitch where Colin and Ginny stood. Willow grinned from ear to ear and yanked herself into a vertical straight-shot up into the sky. When her broom stopped gaining momentum, she let herself dip upside-down and fall towards the earth for a little while, then regained control and flew on a steady decline towards Colin and Ginny. The unmistakable flash of Colin's camera clicked as she went by. Willow shot through a goalpost, zoomed around the pitch one more time, and screeched to a halt directly above the stands where Ginny and Colin were screaming their fool heads off. She waved to them, pretending that she was a professional quidditch player and they were her dedicated fans.
"Pose for me, pose for me!" Colin begged. "I can't miss this photo op!"
Willow giddily complied, placing herself in a ranges of poses, from serious to cute to ridiculous. Ginny kept shouting out suggestions, pretending to be her director. Willow didn't know how long she sat on that broom, completely in a euphoria with her two friends, forgetting about the rest of the world for a while. She had discovered the pair had that charismatic ability. Anytime she was around them, Willow tended to leave the weight on her shoulders behind, throw all her problems away, and have a good time. They were naturally optimistic. She loved that about them.
"Ooh, look, they're coming out of the locker room!" Ginny squeaked. "Look, Colin, look!"
"I see them!" Colin yelped, fumbling with his camera as he turned around to photograph the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. "Wow, they're so cool! They almost look like a professional quidditch team in their robes! I can't wait to see them in action!"
Colin continued to ramble on to Ginny about the quidditch team, but Willow had to tune him out. Her senses were going nuts. She couldn't figure out what it was at first; she could hear loud, arrogant talking far in the distance, and her stomach was filling with butterflies. Then, she recognized it as a warning of danger. Willow had practiced identifying the different ways her sixth sense gave her advanced information over the summer. She honed in on the sound, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Willow found herself facing towards the locker rooms. She furrowed her brow, but only for a moment, because the next thing she knew, the Slytherin Quidditch Team was marching towards them across the pitch. Willow had a strong desire to fly straight into Marcus Flint. Most of the time, she loved her powers, but sometimes, she wished they wouldn't warn her about situations that she couldn't stop. Broom in hand, Willow hurried down the spiraling steps and onto the pitch just as the Gryffindor team spotted the Slytherins. They argued immediately. Willow started to march towards them when a small hand grabbed her arm.
"Don't," Ginny warned, eyeing the giant Slytherins across the pitch. "Fred warned me about getting in the middle of this. It gets nasty enough as it is when the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams meet; other people only get mixed up in the trouble." The redhead's expression morphed to exasperation. "Great, now my idiot brother is marching straight into the trap, and dragging Hermione with him."
Willow glanced beyond the teams to where Ron and Hermione were running toward them from the castle. Flint turned to look at them, wrinkling his nose in disgust. The second-years unfortunately made the mistake of asking what was going on, then getting into the heated argument. Flint couldn't stop smirking at the full-on raging Oliver Wood. Willow noticed Draco amid the Slytherin team, proudly holding his Nimbus Two Thousand and One. In fact, the entire Slytherin team was displaying their fancy broomsticks. Willow's blood boiled. Malfoy had bought his way onto the team, and just when she thought he'd changed for the better...
Then, Willow heard the worst part of the whole exchange. That one word that would destroy her trust with the boy for a very long time.
"...Mudblood!"
Hermione's face went slack in shock and embarrassment. Fred and George roared like a wild herd of buffaloes and attempted to attack Malfoy, who was cowering behind a concerned Flint. The captain tried his best to fight the two of them off, but it wasn't until his two beaters backed him up that Fred and George could be kept at bay. Alicia Spinnet had given a thunderous, appalled, absolutely disgusted cry and threw herself onto one of the Slytherin chasers. The shocked boy went down under her weight, and they tumbled across the pitch, scratching and fighting each other like wild animals. Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson started a fist fight with the other two chasers, and Harry stood in the middle of it all, looking very confused. Willow and Ginny gaped at the scene from afar. They had no idea what to feel; their feet were frozen to the ground. Suddenly, a jet of green light burst from Ron's wand, and he flew backwards. Willow's previously paralyzed limbs decided to work again as she sprinted onto the field. Ginny was hot on her heels. They crouched down by Ron just as he burped up a round of disgusting, slimy slugs.
"Ew!" Ginny cried, springing away. "Merlin's beard, Ron, what were you thinking?"
The Slytherin team was completely engulfed in laughter. Alicia Spinnet shoved the chaser off of her and ran to Ron's side, along with the rest of the Gryffindor team. Katie and Angelina sported some nice bruises on their faces. The Gryffindors surrounded Ron, concerned about his safety, but not sure whether they wanted to help the poor boy, either, for fear of getting slugs and slime all over their quidditch robes. Harry and Hermione at last braved it and helped Ron to his feet. They had to shoo Colin away, who had decided to come down from the stands and was begging for a picture of Ron, then made their way to Hagrid's hut. Colin seemed disappointed, but found Ginny in the back of the crowd and kept himself entertained.
No one moved for several moments after they were gone. The silence was deafening. Not even the sounds of the Forbidden Forest could have pierced it. At last, Malfoy snorted.
"Serves him right, the blood traitor. He shouldn't be friends with a Mudblood in the first place."
Willow didn't know what came over her. Something had finally snapped. She was at her last straw with Draco. He had given her false hope too many times. Adrenaline flowed through her veins and gave her extra strength. She marched right up to the smirking boy, grabbed him by the front of his robes, lifted him off the ground, and slammed him back down. An uproar went up between the teams, but Willow couldn't have cared less. This was something everyone needed to hear.
"You idiot!" she shrieked with all the power she could summon into her voice. "You're the blood traitor! We may be pureblood, halfblood, mudblood, or something in between, but who gives a damn! We're all witches and wizards, we're all part of the same wizarding world, we all go to the same school! It doesn't matter about our lineage! If you turn against your fellow kind because of pureblood mania, then you are the traitor! You're turning against your fellow wizards that have magical blood flowing their veins! What do you call that, Draco, huh? What do you call that?! I don't care if you call me a blood traitor, because I know the truth! If you want to call me a blood traitor, then fine! I'm a blood traitor! I'd rather be a traitor against something wrong than be the kind of douchebag you are!"
Everyone around Willow went silent. She breathed like an angry bull, face blotchy red, staring straight into the petrified gray eyes of Draco Malfoy. He tried to say something incoherent, then bailed. The slimy douche jumped on his broom and raced away. Willow had been expecting the coward to do that. She was right behind him, and with her Nimbus 2001, she was keeping pace with Malfoy no problem. He glanced back at her several times, realized she was gaining on him, and made a break for the castle. Willow cut him off. He turned around, then tried again. She blocked all his possible paths. Malfoy made one last desperate move towards the Entrance Hall, but Willow came so close to knocking him off his broom that he aborted the mission and flew back towards the quidditch pitch. He kept turning around to shout something at her. She couldn't understand what he was saying, but she could detect the tremor in his voice.
Willow slowly closed the distance between her and Malfoy. He started trying fancy maneuvers meant to throw her off, but they didn't faze her. Despite the adrenaline screwing with her brain, Willow was still able to mentally keep up with the fast flyer. She was within five meters of him now. If he would keep repeating the same pattern, she would catch him. Four meters...three meters...All Willow could see in her mind's eye was throwing Malfoy off his broom, and the satisfaction it would bring her. Two meters...one and a half meters...Every episode of Draco turning on her replayed in her heart, ripping it to shreds piece by piece, destroying her trust in the boy bit by bit, making her wonder if she should put her full trust in anyone at all. One meter...if she reached out, she could grab Malfoy and throw him off. She was so close...
Suddenly, Willow found herself plummeting towards the ground. She was no long in control of her broomstick. Instead, two red-headed beaters flew on either side of her, forcefully guiding her to the ground. Willow fought them the whole way down, her anger dying to be released, the need to inflict damage overwhelming.
"Stop it! Let me go! I have to get him!" she growled.
"He's not worth it, Willow," George said, his voice almost a whisper. "Don't get yourself expelled over him."
"I don't care anymore!" Willow screamed, fighting wildly against the twins as they restrained her on the ground. "He deserves it! Malfoy's a low-life, slimy, prick! I can't take it anymore! He's hurt too many people! He deserves to take a fall off his pedestal! He deserves to know pain!"
"Willow, for God's sake, stop it!" Fred shouted, struggling to keep his hold on her.
"Malfoy's getting away!" Willow screeched, spotting the blonde boy dashing into the Slytherin locker room. She was seeing red. "Let me after him! Let me after him!"
"Willow, stop!" George ordered.
But she had broken free from his arms and was sprinting across the quidditch pitch to where her broom laid on the ground. Her mind was in such a state that her senses didn't even warn her about the obvious shadow streaking toward her, then tackling her to the ground. Willow gasped and painfully thudded into the grass. The older girl shifted her weight over top of her. She was pinned to the ground. Willow writhed and ripped at the grass in her attempts to get away.
"Enough!" Paige yelled. "This isn't you! I know you're better than this! As much as anyone hurts you, you still want to forgive them! Always! You never want to hurt anyone, never in a million years! Especially not in retaliation!" Paige stood up and wrapped her in a full-body hug, though it was more of a forceful restraint. The strong girl's arms held fast against the raging second year. "This isn't the Willow I know! Don't let this come over you! You're better than your anger!" She whispered in her ear. "Let it go."
Willow felt her body go limp as all the anger drained out of it. The adrenaline melted away, and her motives dissipated. As her brain cleared, she realized what she had tried to do. She was about to possibly murder Draco. Knocking him off his broom at that height could have killed him! And it was all in the name of revenge. What kind of monster was she? What had she become?
"I'm..." Willow's lip trembled as she choked on the lump in her throat. "Paige...I'm so- I'm so- "
There was nothing to hold back the tears that poured from her eyes. The emotions had spilled over the floodgates, and they crumbled away. Malfoy had hurt her so much more than she knew over the past year. As much as she wanted to continue fighting through their rocky friendship, it was taking its toll on her. She didn't want to give up on this boy who had so much potential to become an amazing person, but if it had too much personal cost, if it made her give up too much, she might be forced to end their friendship once and for all. Willow wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up.
Paige held her close and let her cry. She didn't care that the whole quidditch field was watching them; there were plenty of other things on her mind at the moment. Tears dripped off Willow's nose and cheeks onto the torn-up mess of the quidditch pitch. Fred and George looked on nearby, unsure of what to do and shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. They struggled in dealing with heavy situations. The other quidditch players were staring in horror at this mess of a Gryffindor. It must have kicked Willow's emotional containment system into gear, because she found herself wiping the salt water off of her face moments later. Paige released her iron grip and let Willow stagger away.
"I'm sorry, Paige," she whimpered. "You shouldn't have to see me like this. I shouldn't be acting this way."
"Hey, somebody's got to make sure you don't kill that prat." Paige cracked a smile. "This was a long time in coming. I could have told you the moment you started hanging around with him that this was going to happen."
"Still, I- " Willow's eyes nearly popped out her her head. "Paige, you're- you're bleeding- I don't- what- "
Paige glanced down at and stared. Blood was seeping out of long, semi-deep cuts all along her arms. Willow looked at her own hands and yelped. Scarlet stains spread all over them, freshly painting her skin with the sickening shade. Willow covered her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting all over the pitch. Paige wiped her arms off on her robes, shrugging it off and walking towards her, but Willow backed away instinctively, holding up a hand in warning.
"No, don't get any closer to me," she said. "I've hurt you. What if I do it again?"
Paige made a weird face. "Why would you hurt me again? You were doing something stupid, and I got in the way. It's my fault I'm bleeding."
"No, its not!" Willow exclaimed. "I did that! Look at my hands, there's proof! I'm a monster!" Her hands trembled as violently as her voice. "You shouldn't be anywhere near me right now. I don't want to keep hurting you."
"Quit being a crybaby. You've hurt me just this once, and it doesn't even hurt that bad, look- "
"Please, don't cover for me," Willow said softly, her heart hammering against her ribcage. "I need to spend some time alone. My head feels like it's about to split open. Just- don't come looking for me."
Paige was about to say something when Willow grabbed her broom and took off. She peeked back, just once, and saw Paige sadly staring after her, the pain in her eyes evident even from hundreds of meters away. An overwhelming sense of guilt punched Willow in the gut. Paige was only trying to help her...but it wasn't safe to stay anywhere near her in this state. She needed some help, and maybe a few answers. Willow ran directly to the Gryffindor Tower, snuck past her roommates, and disappeared into her dormitory, locking the door behind her. She leaned back against it and closer her eyes, sinking to the floor. Draco wasn't the only thing causing her trouble. Her powers were getting out of hand, and with them came stronger defenses, some of which she had accidentally used on Paige. She discovered to fought more like a wild animal than anything when it came to self-defense. And when she was in total berserker mode, there was nothing stopping her from getting to her target, even if that meant accidentally hurting her friends along the way.
Cebba, where are you? I need you right now, Willow said.
I've been right here, all along.
Willow gasped as the familiar quick pulling sensation sent shivers down her spine, then jumped to her feet. Cebba was spiritually standing in front of her. In the middle of her dormitory.
"Cebba! What are you- this is the middle of Hogwarts!"
"Technically, this is on one of the edges of Hogwarts, actually, but you're safe here. Did you not lock the door? I could have sworn you did. And keep your voice down, you idiot! People are going to hear your big mouth before they hear my soft voice."
Willow bit her tongue to keep from retorting. "Alright, Smart Alec. Can you answer something for me?"
"Of course, as long as it's within reason."
"This should be within reason," Willow remarked to herself. She cleared her throat. "Why are my powers this out of control? Shouldn't a little bit of practice be enough to contain them? They're messing with everything! Before, I never would have attacked someone like that. They're making me moody, dark, and extremely sarcastic, though I think I'm getting that from you. I can't have them destroying my friendships! Why are they dragging me down like this? I thought they were good!"
Cebba held her angsty gaze for the longest time, deep in thought. Finally, she replied, "I think you can hear this much. There are two things that it is of utmost importance to keep in mind concerning your powers. First, the more people know about them, the greater they become in scope and strength. Your decision to tell your friends was quite the catch twenty-two, I'm afraid. Because they now know and fully believe in your capabilities, they spiked. It's going to be extremely difficult to keep them in check if you keep telling people. Second, your powers...aren't exactly all good, Willow. The thing is- " Cebba paused, appearing to mentally be rewording what she was about to say. "Your powers are meant for a great purpose, and for you, that means the greater good. But for some, it could be evil. Unfortunately, your powers will sway one way or the other depending on your mood if you don't practice concentrating them on the good that you want to come of them. They don't prefer dark or light; they only respond to you, and if that means using dark magic as a defense method or something similar, they will do it of their own accord. You're going to have to be careful, Willow. In the future, you're going to hit some tough obstacles along the path to your ultimate destiny. One of them is learning how to reign in your powers. They will make you question the very purpose of your existence, strip away everything you thought you knew, and cause you to wonder whether using dark methods for good is a lost cause or not. Stay true to yourself, Willow, and everything will go as smoothly as you want. But you have to stay true to yourself, truer than you've ever been. Don't let anyone sway you. You're going to trip and fall a few times. Pick yourself up and keep pursuing that goal. You're the most stubborn and bull-headed kid I've ever met; I think you'll be just fine if you keep doing your thing instead of everyone else's. Keep picking up the pieces, Willow. The puzzle will be complete sooner than you realize."
Willow stared at Cebba's ghostly form in shock. Cebba merely smiled warmly at her, a truth hidden deep within her eyes. As much as the woman berated her, she was thankful to have her as a guide during these difficult times. Cebba really did care about her. If anything, she was more of a mother to her than her real one was; then again, that wasn't hard to accomplish, but it didn't matter. Willow was so, so thankful. She touched her mum's locket, the cold metal reminding her of her mum's heart. There was no way she was going to let herself down like her mother had. She held the locket tight until it was warm. Willow knew who she was- a strong, independent, stubborn girl hell-bent on doing good in the world, even if it killed her. Hope rose within her chest as she stared determinedly at Cebba.
"Thank you," she whispered. "That's exactly the kind of pep talk I need right now."
"I know. Do you always forget that I'm in your head?" Cebba teased.
"Oh, shut up," Willow chuckled. She felt much more relaxed now. "I think my roommates are going to invade soon. You should probably go back...into me. God, that sounds weird. Should I just say, 'return to me' instead, or something along the lines of that? I hate it when I do that- "
"For Merlin's sake, just order me to return to your head," Cebba laughed. "I'll be ready to talk whenever. Bye, for now."
Willow braced herself against the wall as the sensation of being doused with cold water ran over her again. She would never get used to that feeling. Willow yawned, realizing how tired she was from the whole ordeal of the morning, and on top of summoning Cebba to boot. She flopped in bed, sleepier than she had ever been before. Pulling the Slytherin pin out of her pocket, Willow drifted off to sleep, trying to hold onto all the good, untainted memories of Draco that she had left.
It was only an hour later that Willow awoke to a sharp rapping on the door. She groggily got to her feet and opened it, revealing an extremely concerned group of girls.
"Where have you been?"
"We've been looking all over the castle for you!"
"I didn't know where you'd gone!"
"You scared us to death!"
Willow blinked slowly, the dark events of the morning replaying in her mind. She guiltily glanced at her Gryffindor Sisters in turn.
"Sorry, I was super tired, and I kind of fell asleep," Willow apologized. "Did I lock you out for long?"
"No, we just got here, but don't scare us like that!" Sally scolded. "You know I hate locked doors, especially when someone I know is behind them! Even Sam is better than you about that!"
"What happened to you this morning? Was it something really bad? Did Neville reject you?" Mia asked.
Willow shook her head solemnly. "No, I've recently figured out I just like Neville as a friend. Something much worse happened."
Lavender gasped. "Oh my God, what could possibly be that bad? Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?"
"No, I hurt- I accidentally hurt someone."
All of the girls were so surprised by Willow's response that they didn't even accuse her of lying about Neville. They ushered themselves through the door and locked it behind them, much to Sally's lament, and forced Willow to sit down on the beds with them.
"Okay, start from the beginning," Fay said gently. "Hermione told us something pretty bad happened."
Willow's eyes grew misty again as she thought back to the morning. "No, please don't make me. It's…kind of complicated. I don't want to cry in front of you all."
"That bad?" Parvati said. Willow nodded. "Well, you don't have to be the strong one every second of every day. We're quite the handful to take care of like you do. Besides, you're entitled to expressing your emotions, you big dummy. We're here for you just like you're here for us."
Willow sniffled, trying really hard to swallow the lump in her throat. "Aw, guys, you're going to make me cry."
"Good! You need to get something out of you," Lavender said. "It's been an inhumanely long time since you've even shown emotion!"
Willow's resolve hardened enough to keep her feelings at bay, but just barely. The warm, caring eyes of her Sisters were almost too much. Since when had she done something amazing enough to deserve these amazing family-like friends? She wasn't about to share what happened this morning with them, that was for sure. It would totally ruin the moment. Maybe she could tell them another time.
"I shouldn't say what went down this morning," Willow said, shaking her head to disperse the thoughts. "It's bad enough that the Gryffindor and Slytherin quidditch teams saw that. I can't have you guys knowing how bad it was, as much as you care about me. It would hurt you more than me."
"Fine, I'll tell them then," Hermione declared.
"What? No!" Willow cried, horror chilling her to her very bone marrow. "Hermione, that's the darkest thing I've done in my life. No one should have that image of me! And who told you what happened? Didn't you go off with Ron?"
"Yes, I did, but Fred told me everything. He's worried about you." Hermione fiercely looked her in the eyes. "Willow, I've had enough of you hiding your true feelings for our sake! It's time to start confiding in people instead of hiding from us! We can handle anything you do, and I mean it. Why the heck do you think we were put in Gryffindor? We're made of bloody steel! Our skin is thick! Nothing hurts us on the outside, but on the inside, some things do, and right now you need to let it out, whether it's by your words or mine! The only choice you have right now is to speak or let me do it for you!"
Willow stared open-mouthed at Hermione. She determinedly met her eyes, silently declaring that nothing was going to change her mind. The rest of the Gryffindor Sisters raised their eyebrows in shock. This was a brand-new side of Hermione, one they had never seen before. Willow decided very quickly that she liked it.
"Fine. You tell them, not me. It'll probably make more sense coming from you, anyway."
Hermione proceeded to jump right into the story, recounting everything that Fred had told her. Willow was tempted to excuse herself to the bathroom several times, but mentally slapped herself across the face and told herself to deal with it. The memory was in her, of course, so she'd have to either tough it out or break down every day for the next week. She had the mental strength to break through a brick wall; all she had to do was use it. Willow kept her expression neutral, only occasionally broken by a wince accompanying a rough part of the story. By the end, every one of her Sisters had instinctively moved closer to her. Parvati wiped a tear off her cheek while Lavender sniffled quietly.
"Willow..." Fay croaked, reaching out a hand. She took it gently in hers. "I'm so sorry all these terrible things are happening to you. First you almost die facing a troll, then Quirrel attacks you- twice, from what I've heard- and now this."
Willow weakly smiled. "It's okay. I was born to face these things so you guys don't have to. I'm a big believer in 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger', literally. The more I go through, the easier it becomes to face dark, scary things for you guys. I like to be there for my family in times of need, from the smallest, pettiest problem to an all-out war. One day, you won't have to be sad for me. It's my job to take on these things. I just wish- I just wish I didn't have to hurt so many people along the way."
Mia swallowed hard. "That's life, Willow. I, for one, end up hurting someone every day. That doesn't mean we can't make up and move on with our lives. We have to take everything that happens in stride. Eventually, we figure it out. You will, too."
Willow leaned over and hugged Mia, burying her face in the thicker girl's shoulder. Mia returned the embrace and squeezed tight. The rest of the Gryffindor Sisters followed suit, and soon every girl in the room was holding onto some part of Willow. A single tear traced its way over her freckles and dripped onto the floor.
"What did I do to deserve you guys?" she said, her voice muffled.
"You chose your path and refuse to let anything divert you from it," Hermione answered, her eyes clearly watery. "I don't think you should be asking what you did to deserve us, but what we did to deserve a foundation like you holding us together."
"I couldn't have put it any better," Sally whispered.
The Sisters were silent a moment. Then, someone broke the silence.
"That's because none of us are smart enough to say something like that."
"Oh, shut up, Fay, you're ruining the moment," Lavender said. "Actually, the moment is ruined already. Great job, Fay! It's actually getting a little warm in here, though. I'm out!"
Lavender collapsed on her bed. Fay ran and jumped on her, throwing a pillow on her friend. Then, Mia joined the fray, then Sally, then Parvati, and finally Hermione until the dorm had erupted into a war zone of feathers and pillowcases. The Head Girl had to come in and briefly yell at them to stop, but the moment she left, they burst out laughing. They did a horrendously poor job of stuffing the feathers back into their pillowcases. Whether it was on purpose or her friends were that awful at it, Willow couldn't tell. It didn't matter. She had never been cheered up so willingly in her life. The Gryffindor Sisters were her family, and she had meant what she said. Right before lunch began, a buzz vibrated Willow's eardrums. She glanced at her nightstand, where her name tag was working its way towards the floor. She caught it just before it fell off as Fred's face appeared in it. With promises to save her a seat in the Great Hall, the Gryffindor Sisters giggled and skipped their way out of the dorm, shutting the door behind them.
"Fred! Aren't you on your way to the Great Hall?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, but I just wanted to check in on you," he said. "How are you feeling? No one's seen you since you disappeared this morning."
"I'm fine," Willow lied, though she wasn't sure it was a complete lie anymore. "I just came back to Gryffindor Tower to take a nap. No big deal. Sorry for scaring you like that. It was...kind of out of a horror movie."
"What's a horror movie?"
"Oh, something Paige should definitely introduce you to," Willow said. Her stomach dropped as she uttered the name. Fred must have read her falling expression.
"Don't worry, Paige is fine," he assured. "Madam Pomfrey fixed her up in less than a minute. I'm not entirely sure if she bought our story of a weird creature jumping out of the Forbidden Forest, but she didn't ask any further questions. Paige has been out on the quidditch pitch since we left the Hospital Wing. I'm not sure whether you should visit her or not. She's in one of those possibly scary, possibly friendly, possibly murderous moods again."
"Let's hope she's up for a visit, because I owe her an apology."
"Hey, Willow! If it isn't my favorite second year!" Lee butted in, appearing to steal Fred's name tag. "I heard you had a rough morning! That doesn't mean you're not going to pull through on that Charms essay this weekend, are you? I've got a few customers counting on it."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Have I ever not come through for you, Lee?"
"Now that I come to think of it, nope. I'll see you later!"
Fred wrestled the name tag out of Lee's hands, and his face reappeared. "Sorry about that. We're about to enter the Great Hall, so I'm going to have to cut you off. Good luck with Paige. I'll know what happened if you don't come back."
The corner of Willow's mouth twitched. "Thanks for arranging my funeral. I prefer willow wood for my casket, by the way. But I digress. I'll see you later!"
Fred's appalled face disappeared with a tap of her wand before he could say anything more. Willow placed the name tag back into her pocket and set out to find Paige. Fighting her way through the lunch crowd, she made her way to the courtyard, then the open field, and finally onto the path that lead to the quidditch pitch. She nearly slapped herself when her powers went into overdrive in reaction to her elevated heartbeat. They detected a single life form sitting in the Gryffindor bleachers, a few birds flying above her, the thestrals that were wandering close to the edge of the forest, the high-pitched squealing of excited first years in the Great Hall, and so many other things that her senses temporarily overloaded. Willow's breath caught in her throat. She focused on Paige in the distance, all alone, her wand dangling limply from her arm as she leaned over the railing. Everything else faded into the background. Gritting her teeth, Willow determinedly took control of her powers. They were not going to get in the way anymore. She was fighting for good, and hurting people was not an option on the way to the greater good. Paige was a close friend, and to Willow, that was as good as family. Family was always worth fighting for. Cebba said that her powers would only get more powerful. And if that caused trouble? Who cares! She was going to fight the pull to darkness every step of the way, every second of every day, until they obeyed her commands for good, and good only. Willow swallowed her pride, pushed everything else away, and made her way towards Paige, the lonely figure in the distance.
The steps were rather creaky and gave up her presence sooner than she would have liked. Paige still had her back to her when she got up there, however, and as clueless as the girl could be sometimes, she was definitely aware of Willow. She could sense it with her powers (which she begrudgingly shoved away again). Paige continued to stare nostalgically at the pitch, the swaying, brittle grass in the distance, the rustling leaves of the Forbidden Forest, anything but Willow. Then, at last, Paige stood up straight.
"You know, after I lost my nanny, I thought there would be no one else special in my life," she began. "Everything was dark, dreary, depressing, you get the idea. But then Fred and George came into my life. They brightened up my entire world, then brought Lee along as well, and I thought it couldn't get any better when you appeared on the horizon. But you're a right handful, you know that?"
Paige turned to face Willow, her eyes filled with an indescribable pain that was mixed with countless other emotions. Their brown irises swirled with bright patches of sparkling life and dull areas of depressed melancholy. Willow bit her lip, hardly able to hold the fourth year's gaze.
"You could have stayed, you know. I wouldn't have cared if you stood there in that field with me and waited for days on end for Madam Pomfrey to come. Those Slytherins didn't matter. They were stupid, ignorant onlookers that deserved to be thrown into the wall. I didn't do that, if you were wondering. But you ran away. The one thing I never thought you'd do on me, but you did. Willow, you're a strong, independent girl plagued by something beyond your control. I know you didn't mean to hurt me. Nothing you can say or do would make me believe otherwise. But you still ran away, completely afraid. You're Willow Guerrero, for God's sake! You're not afraid of anything! Why would you suddenly fear my rejection and run from it?"
Willow stared at her shoes. "Paige...I wasn't afraid of your rejection. I was- I was afraid of myself. I've never hurt anyone with my powers before, only protected people with them. To injure someone to that severity- I just- I couldn't- " Willow's eyes raked over her palms, regret and guilt coursing through her. "These hands are meant to do good in this world. I can hardly bring myself to face to possibility that they might not. I'm- I'm sorry, Paige- "
"Don't apologize," Paige interrupted, suddenly sure of herself. "You have no one to blame but the person that cursed you with these powers." She kneeled down in front of Willow, taking her hands in her own. "You have one of the most secure, blunt, over-protective personalities I've ever dealt with, but I'm grateful for it. For once, someone that understands pain and sorrow but decides to fight against it for other's sake has befriended me. There's not too many people that can say that about themselves, Willow."
Willow's cheeks blazed red. "Aw, Paige-"
"Shut it," Paige ordered. She stood up, hands still intertwined with Willow's. "You don't have to be afraid of yourself. I know that these powers of yours, however out of control and nasty they get, are controllable. You know how I know that? Because you're strong, Willow, stronger than anyone I've met, and it's because of your big heart. You hate to see anyone in this world without the love they deserve. Don't deny it, I can see it in your eyes. Use that love. It's the best weapon you've got against the darkness." Paige enveloped Willow in a hug and whispered in her ear, "You have a right to be afraid. Just don't let it push you away from those you love."
With that, Paige took off on her broomstick, landing by the Gryffindor locker rooms and disappearing inside. Willow stood in shock for a long time, Paige's voice echoing in her head, until the bell reminded her that it was lunchtime. Her whole way back to the Great Hall, one thing was imprinted upon her memory for the rest of time itself.
You have a right to be afraid. Just don't let it push you away from those you love.
Willow showed up at the Great Hall nearly half an hour late. She had spent the entire time staring out at the quidditch pitch, thinking over what Paige had said. Sentences jumped out at her, expressions were burned into her memory, and her roller coaster of emotions were documented, filed, and stored away for later memory. Willow couldn't figure out why she was so affected by Paige's speech- she'd gone through much worse after the troll incident, for God's sake- but this time, she was left speechless, unable to process her feelings, thoughts, anything. She was still very disoriented when she managed to trip down only a single flight of steps on the stands and make her way to the Great Hall. Ginny was standing in the Entrance Hall, worriedly playing with her fingers, when Willow showed up. The red-head's face lit up and the frown lines melted away from her forehead.
"There you are!" Ginny exclaimed, throwing her arms around Willow and hanging on her like a monkey. "I was so worried! Fred told me that you went to talk to Paige, and that if you didn't come back, you were dead! I know not to believe him, honest, but sometimes I don't know whether I shouldn't take him seriously! Don't disappear on my like that!"
"I'll try not to, but no promises," Willow chuckled, setting down the precious first year. "What's for lunch today?"
"Oh, Shepard's pie, nothing much."
"Are you kidding? That's one of my favorites! Hurry, we have to get in there before all the food's gone!"
Willow found her roommates and took a seat with them, quickly digging into the delectable main course before moving onto the rolls. She decided that participating in her Sisters' conversation about Lockhart would be torture, so she averted her eyes and ears, trying to find a few people in particular. Paige was distracting herself further along the Gryffindor table by reading, Colin was attempting to get Harry's attention, and Ginny was doing her best not to stare at the Boy Who Lived. On the far side of the Great Hall, Draco was sulking while Blaise Zabini tried to cheer him up, eventually giving up and chatting with Millicent instead. Willow pretended her heart didn't sink at the sight. Her spirits automatically rose when her eyes found the Hufflepuff table, where Oliver was trying to hide his cherry-coloured cheeks while Ernie was obviously telling his housemates all about the adorable boy. Oliver was attempting to speak every now and then, however, so Willow wouldn't berate him later for attempting to conceal his face. At the Ravenclaw table, Mandy was having a deeply philosophical conversation with Sue and Lisa about the colour brown. Very intriguing. She would have listened in more had Harry not waved a hand in front of her face.
"Earth to Willow, anyone in there?"
She shook herself and made eye contact with Harry. "Sorry, food coma's already kicking in."
"You must be related to Ron. He's in a food coma after every meal. I don't think he ever stops eating; it drives Hermione insane." Harry gestured to a very sleepy, grumpy, dazed Ron, who was completely zoning at that point. "Honestly, how can someone stuff that much food into their stomach? Anyway, how are you?"
"Good," Willow replied.
Harry eyed her suspiciously. "No, how are you really doing?"
Willow sighed, motioning for Harry to follow her outside. He hopped up from his seat and the two made their way to the courtyard. It was deserted for once. Willow jumped up onto a gap in the wall, Harry following suit. She inhaled a deep breath of fresh air.
"I'm quite to opposite of good, actually. I'm assuming you've heard about the incident this morning. Yeah, that was...not my best moment. I really need to get myself under control, and soon. Cebba visited me this morning, and what she told me was kind of frightening. I don't like all these awful possibilities for how I could end up. I wish I could shout out to the world who I am and what I can be, but even then I'd be hurting myself. Cebba hasn't even told me everything yet. It sounds like there's much worse to come. I'm just so- so frustrated!"
Willow leaned against the side of the wall. Harry looked her over, and her powers annoyingly picked up some strong emotions drifting towards her. He eventually sat back and faced her. "You've obviously learned something big, and you don't have to feel pressured to share it, but that would be nice. I can't help but feel that you're going to do great things, Willow, and when the time comes, you'll make all the right decisions. I'm no stranger with frustration. I mean, I practically caused Mr. Weasley to lose his job, and I have no way of apologizing to his face. But to be perfectly honest, I have no idea how to relate to you without making zero sense. My situation can't compare to yours."
"Trust me, it can. Don't ask me how I know that. My powers don't come with a user guide, unfortunately."
"That's unfortunate."
"That's why I said unfortunately, tonto."
"Hold on, what does that mean? I don't speak Spanish."
"There's no way you're getting me to translate that," Willow giggled.
"Hey! You better not have called me a bloody arsehole!" Harry threatened. "That's taking advantage of me!"
"No, I'm capitalizing on you ignorance."
"There's no difference!"
"Says who? The one that doesn't speak Spanish? Soy más intelligente que tú!"
"I have absolutely no clue what that means, but I think I could take a pretty good guess! You're so mean to me!" Harry dramatically pretended to fall off the wall. "How could you turn on me like this? What did I ever do to deserve this torment?"
"Exist."
"Whoa, hold on, that took a dark turn."
"Willow! Come on, we've got some plans to discuss!" Lavender chirped, appearing from the Great Hall. Lunch had just ended, and students were pouring out. "You've got some very important roles to play! I think you'll like them!"
Willow glanced apologetically at Harry. "Sorry. I'll catch up with you later."
"That's no problem. I'll see you later, Willow."
Willow was dragged into the very center of a tight circle of giggling, chattering girls. The Gryffindor Sisters moved as a single unit, trying not to trip each other up the stairs, shushing each other all the way to Gryffindor Tower. Once they finally arrived in their dormitory, they spread out and all started blabbering at once about at least five different schemes to get each other together with the boys they liked. Willow groaned to herself, but on the inside she was over the moon excited. There was no better way to spend a Saturday than with her Sisters.
"...and Willow's going to do this, then take him to the Entrance Hall, where I'll be standing just so against the wall- OOOH! WILLOW'S GOING TO SEDUCE HIM FIRST! Then, after he figures out it's fake, I'll..."
Willow grimaced. Well, there was almost no better way.