Oliver left early the next morning. By the time Willow woke up, he was already gone, having left a note. Fred and George pestered her to no end about falling asleep on the couch the whole day. She couldn't tell whether it was because they truly were joking around or if it was a cover-up for their worry. She hoped it was the latter.

Willow had definitely remembered McGonagall's command to join her in her office from the night before. She even received a slip of paper to remind her. But Willow Guerrero did not oblige. She was not going to open up to anyone about this. The last time she tried, even with her dad...it didn't go too well. She was determined to keep this inside of her. Thankfully, Professor McGonagall didn't pursue her, but she did notice the closer eye she kept on her.

Harry and Ron were loudly complaining about Hermione's constant presence in the library. Hermione had never been out of the common room as much as this before. Colin Creevy was even more interested in Harry as the days passed, and he kept pestering Ginny about him. Willow gave into both of their pleas for more information about Harry before long. She could face Harry if he found out.

Willow realized after breakfast one morning that she'd completely forgotten about a History of Magic assignment due later that day. She wrote about it between classes (and when Professor Lockhart wasn't looking), but still had a good amount to go by lunch. Willow decided she would survive skipping lunch just this once and went to the library to finish. She got down to business and was making good progress until a certain headache walked in.

"Skipping lunch again, are you?" he sneered.

"I don't think my health is going to suddenly plummet from skipping a single meal. My grades are more important than lunch."

"You need to resort your priorities."

Willow sighed and turned to Draco. "I've got them sorted out perfectly fine, thanks. They don't need rearranging. At least they're morally right, unlike yours, Blonde."

Draco ignored her comment and eyed her assignment. "Are you finished yet?"

"No, I was almost done before you walked in."

"Am I really that distracting to you, Wisp?"

Willow shoved him into the nearest chair. "Take a seat and watch me get an Outstanding, pendejo."

Draco waited patiently for her to finish the last paragraph. When she finally put down her quill, Draco got out his own composition, comparing it to Willow's. He seemed impressed for a while, the frowned.

"Do you always insist on doing this to me?" he asked. "Yours is the exact same length is mine. Figures."

"Hey, look at it from an optimistic standpoint," Willow said. "It means I'm catching up to you, and we're both smart."

"Since when are you an optimist?"

"Since you became an arsehole."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Funny, Wisp, really."

The bell rang. Willow and Draco picked up their stuff and headed to History of Magic. Professor Binns materialized through the wall, as usual, and began a lecture even Willow had to admit was boring. She tried to soak up as much information as possible, but ended up writing notes to keep herself awake. Writing notes was frustrating. She never needed to wrote notes. It was much easier to keep the information fresh in her head than on paper, where she always fell behind because she wrote so slow. The frustration didn't do enough to keep her awake, though. Draco had to throw a quill at her to get her to wake up.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"I had to wake you up at some point. You missed an important part of the lesson."

"Ugh, of course," Willow groaned. "What was it?"

"The history of the Chamber of Secrets."

Willow sat bolt upright, startling another few students awake. "The Chamber of- What? The Chamber of Secrets has nothing to do with what we're learning right now! Why was he discussing the Chamber of Secrets?"

Draco shrugged, putting his feet up on the chair in front of him. "Hermione brought it up. She must have been dying to know. All of the Slytherins have checked out Hogwarts: A History for the week. That wasn't my doing!" he added quickly at Willow's death glared, then smirked. "It would have been pretty funny though. The Mud- " he reworded his sentence upon received yet another withering gaze- "The bloody Gryffindor can remember everything but the Chamber of Secrets. Fitting, really, considering she's a muggleborn. If I were her, I would have skipped over that particular chapter."

Willow quizzically glanced at Draco. "What's the Chamber of Secrets? I know it was what the bloody writing in the wall was all about, but that's pretty much it."

Draco launched into an explanation of the secret chamber Salazar Slytherin had built hundreds of years ago when the school was first founded. Willow listened intently, drawn in by the interesting story. When Draco explained that its purpose was to purge the school of muggleborns, though, panic invaded her mind.

"You mean to tell me that something is out to kill all the muggleborns? And it's loose in the castle?"

"Yeah, probably."

Willow slammed her fist on Draco's desk. "Don't say that so nonchalantly! You know this is a big deal!"

Draco held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, just don't kill me, aright? Jeez, I speak with the wrong tone of voice and you're ready to murder me...Joking, only joking!" he said at the sight of Willow threatening him with her fist. "So...that's pretty much everything. And I'm not answering any questions."

"You answer other peoples' questions after your heroic childhood stories," Willow teased.

Draco rolled his eyes. "That's different, Wisp. It's- " His eyes flashed when he happened to look down. Draco suddenly grabbed her hand. Willow's heart skipped a beat. She tried to pull her hand back, but it wouldn't budge. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's this?"

"Nothing, I swear, it's nothing- " Willow ripped her hand out of Draco's grasp. "It's nothing."

"You said that twice. There's no way it's nothing."

Willow rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous sometimes, you know?"

"I'm just reminding you how overbearing you are on a daily basis," Draco said, smirking.

"Oh, shut it," Willow said. She inconspicuously drew her hand out of sight. Of course, Draco noticed, and he pulled out his wand, whispering an incantation. The scars from Griffin reappeared in bright pink splotches. Willow sighed.

"Fine, you caught me. I should have known that disillusionment spell wouldn't fool you...I might have done something incredibly stupid last night."

Draco groaned. "Of course you did."

"I may or may not have brought a handful of magical creatures into the Gryffindor common room," Willow said, wincing. "Bad idea. Terrible idea. I'm not sure I was truly thinking at all, actually." She held out her hand. "This was from Griffin. He's only a baby, mind you, so I'm sure he'll learn how to be gentle soon. It's a question of how long he'll behave in order to stay undercover now.

"Griffin as in...an actual griffin?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah, I'm an idiot. Griffin was traveling with a jarvey, a knarl, and a jobberknoll. They were in the Forbidden Forest, all alone and hurt. I don't know what attacked them, but it did quite a number on Griffin. He was much closer to death than I thought last night. The knarl doesn't really like me, but I named him Patches anyway, the jarvey is hyper and won't shut up- his name is V- and the jobberknoll is pretty sweet. I named him Felicity."

Draco whacked her with a book. "You named them? How long are you planning on keeping them around? This has to be the dumbest mistake you've made so far. Does any Gryffindor have the ability to think through consequences before they act?"

"No, not really," Willow admitted. "And I'm planning to release them as soon as they're better, I promise."

"I would bet all the galleons in the world that you won't," Draco retorted.

Willow rolled her eyes. "We'll see about that, smartarse. I care more about their safety and well-being than my own attachment issues with random magical creatures."

"You're still going to keep them forever."

The bell rang. Draco stood up, shooting her a look, then left, having said everything he needed to say. Willow could practically hear his doubtful, sneering voice as he walked away. She shook her head. As long as he didn't interfere with her creatures' rehabilitation, he could pester her as much as he felt was necessary. Willow dropped off her books in the common room, then headed to dinner, feeling a little better than she had the past few days.

"Willow, hey, Willow!" Colin called, running up beside her. "How are you today?"

"Good, thanks," she replied. "How did Potions go this afternoon? I heard you and Ginny talking about it earlier."

"Snape never likes the potions Ginny and I brew," Colin said, his usual peppy spirit dwindling a little. "He always looks over our shoulders and either says we're doing it wrong or takes points from Gryffindor. I don't know why he'd hate Ginny, she's done nothing wrong to him, being as perfect as she is and all- " Colin paused to take a breath. "She's been acting funny lately, don't you think? She keeps saying she hasn't been feeling the best. Do you think she's sick again?"

"No, she's probably just sad about Mrs. Norris," Willow said, though Colin did probe her memory. What had Ginny been trying to tell her before the Halloween Feast? "She must be having a rough time in classes. I've heard they're killing you guys this year."

"Oh, yeah, they're cramming a lot of information in at once this week. It's almost crazy, really, how much depth there is to this magic. I thought it was just a wave of your wand and ta-da! Whatever you wanted to happen would happen. I've gone about this magic stuff all wrong! There's a lot to remember, but I don't mind anymore. It's cool."

They reached the Great Hall. Colin spotted Ginny and dragged Willow over to her side of the table. He began his usual non-stop mealtime chatter about nothing in particular, hopping from topic to topic constantly. Ginny didn't seem to hear him. Willow sensed a lot of dark thoughts clouding her mind. She really wished she could intervene, but to do so, especially in front of Colin, would provoke her into clamming up again. She decided to bide her time and wait for a better opportunity.

"Willow!" Mia gasped, appearing behind her. "We have an emergency! Your assistance is mandatory!"

"What's wrong? Is everyone okay?" Willow asked.

"No!" Lavender wailed, appearing beside Mia, Sally beside her. "Fay is not happy and she won't tell us why!"

Willow cast an apologetic glance at Colin and Ginny before she was dragged out of the Great Hall. Lavender, Sally, and Mia took her to the nearest girls' bathroom, where Parvati was pacing outside. She ran up to the girls.

"Fay has been in there for five minutes now!" Parvati explained. "She needs serious help!"

"I'll fix this," Willow said, marching straight into the bathroom.

It was a pitiful sight. Fay was sitting on a heater next to the stained glass windows in the corner of the bathroom. She had smudged the little bit of makeup she had on all over her eyes, making her seem like even more of a mess. Fay glanced up from her hysterical sobbing when she heard Willow come in.

"What...happened?" Willow asked.

"He hates me! All of his friends hate me, too!" Fay cried.

"Um...which boy is this again?"

"You know which one!" Fay blubbered, more tears spilling down her face. Willow most definitely did not know which one this was, but she kept quiet. "There he was, standing so perfectly in the corridor, the sunlight hitting his hair just perfect...I had to tell him how I've felt. I can't keep it in that long." Fay face contorted into anger. "But I should have never been interested in him! He's a liar! I told him that I liked him, being perfectly honest with him, and he made this awful disgusted face- and- and- he told me I was ugly!" Fay kicked the wall. "He's right! Look at me! I'm a complete mess!" Fay hiccuped with the intensity of her emotions. "I'll never be good enough to have a boyfriend!"

"What- he insulted your beauty?" Willow yelped. She clenched her fists. "Wait here, Fay. I'll be right back."

She walked out of the bathroom. Ignoring her Sisters' multitude of questions, she asked where this boy was. They pointed him out immediately, glaring daggers in his direction. It took a few tries for Willow to find him, but when she finally found him, she grabbed him by the ear, dragged him from the Great Hall, and didn't let go until he was right in front of the girls' bathroom.

"Hey, what the hell, girl?" the boy said.

"Fay!" Willow called. "Come here a moment!"

Fay appeared in the doorframe, her face still a mess of makeup and saltwater. She gasped and started crying even more at the sight of the boy. Willow caught her before she could flee.

"Is this the imbecile?" she asked. Fay nodded, whimpering. Willow glanced at the baffled boy, then whispered, "He had this coming," to Fay. She furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What- "

"Hey, douchebag," Willow said, approaching the boy. "You'd better hope this teaches you to mess with a girl ever again."

Willow wound up and kicked the boy straight in the place where the sun doesn't shine. He fell to his knees in pain, eyes wide with shock, mouth open but no sound coming out. Fay giggled while he writhed on the ground. Willow walked over to her and put an arm around her.

"That is what we think of boys who mess with our images," she said. "Don't you ever let any boy, no matter how much you like him, trample on you heart. If he calls you ugly, his soul is ugly. If he calls you worthless, his brain is full of dung. You're perfect and he's not. Don't let him bring you down just because he's jealous of you."

Fay smiled. "Thanks, Willow." She frowned at the boy. "Can I kick him for good measure?"

"Be my guest."

The Gryffindor Sisters cheered as Fay kicked the boy as hard as she could in the same place Willow did. They stood there and held each other excitedly until the boy finally got up and tripped down the hallway to get away from them. Lavender, Mia, and Parvati sent some fun jinxes after him. The whole Great Hall went up in laughter when he fell on his face. The Gryffindor Sisters sat down at the Gryffindor table in a laughing heap. The only thing that could have made the moment better was having Hermione with them.

Hermione eventually did appear that night, but she declined their invitation to hang out. She was busy whispering with Harry and Ron about something in the corner of the common room. Sally decided to start a beauty contest in their dorm, and before Willow could object, she was thrown into the fray. Mia and Lavender took turns applying makeup to and dressing up Sally, Parvati, Willow, and Fay, then did it to themselves. Hermione was forced at that point to become their judge. She was so flustered she didn't even know where to begin.

"Well- um- I don't really do this kind of thing that often, you see- er- well, Parvati is absolutely stunning, with her eye shadow and all, Lavender's hair is perfectly curled- er- Sally's features are brought out very well by the blush- "

"Oh, just say it already!" Fay giggled. "You can't decide! We're all too pretty!"

"Your turn to be beautified, Hermione!" Mia chirped in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, I don't usually get involved with makeup- I'm much too out of touch with it, I'm afraid- " Hermione stammered.

"Don't worry, you're going to be a marvel!" Lavender cut in. "We'll make sure of it!" She raised her eyebrows in a flirtatious way. "You can show a picture of yourself to Lockhart afterwards...!"

Hermione's cheeks went red. "Well- I guess there's no harm in it, really- "

"Excellent! Lavender, if you would help me with this stunning girl?"

Willow, Parvati, Fay, and Sally all watched on as Hermione was transformed into a goddess. Her curly hair was tamed into flowing waves that were much smoother than usual, her eyes were brought out with a touch of eye shadow and mascara, and a little bit of blush applied to her cheeks enhanced her cute disposition. With the right set of robes, Hermione was picture perfect. Willow took individual photos of everyone, including herself to send to her father, and several group photos, from serious to funny poses. It was a perfect way to take her mind off of things. Fay stood up on her bed and cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"If I had a bottle of champagne, this would make more sense, but since I don't, I'm just going to pretend I do," Fay said. "To every boy who thinks we aren't pretty enough, smart enough, or good enough- go to hell!"

"Hear, hear!" the Sisters chorused back.

There was a knock at the door. Willow opened it to find Harry and Ron standing there.

"Hey, have you seen- " Ron's ears turned pink when he saw all the girls dressed up. "Oh, sorry, we'll come back later- "

"No, no, you're fine," Willow insisted. "Hermione's in here. We kind of stole her and turned her into a goddess."

"I see that," Harry said, then turned red. "Not in that way, you know what I mean- "

Willow laughed. "Harry, you're the last person I thought would struggle speaking to girls, but here we are. I need to teach you a thing or two before you make a mess of yourself." She opened the door a little wider. "You should really see Hermione while you can, she's absolutely gorgeous, even more now than she was before."

Hermione's face went as red as the boys' when she saw them. "I'm not that pretty."

"Oh, come off it," Lavender said. "You're not allowed to put yourself down in your divine form! Have you seen yourself in the mirror yet? I know you looked, but have you really soaked in all your beauty?"

"There's not much to soak in..." Hermione trailed off.

"That's it!" Fay announced, clapping her hands together and standing up. "We're showing you off to the entire common room! If we can't make you love yourself, then maybe other people can!" Fay grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her off the bed. "Let's go!"

"Wait a moment, I'm not sure this is really necessary- "

"It's totally necessary!" Parvati insisted. "Come on, Mia, Lavender, Sally, get your butts in gear! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Hermione was ushered out of the room, giving into her roommates' demands. Ron was swept away in the crowd. He looked back at Harry, but Harry only teasingly threw heart signs in his direction. Naturally, Ron mouthed, "You'll pay for this!" and disappeared from sight. The Gryffindor Sisters kept shushing each other and promising Ron that he was in for a show. They all raised an eyebrow at Willow on their way out, whispering, "Go get that Weasley!" as they ran past. She shook her head, glancing at the ceiling.

"Are they ever going to give up on that?"

"Is that a rhetorical question, or am I supposed to answer?" Harry asked.

"You are such a sassy mierdita, did you know that?" Willow sighed. "Come on, I need to hide somewhere quiet before they catch me and attempt to murder me in front of the twins."

Harry followed her down the stairs and past the bubbling crowd of lively Gryffindors hanging out in the common room. She lead him out of Gryffindor Tower and across the castle until they were at the Owlery. Harry called Hedwig immediately, and Iris found her way to Willow through the beams above. They stood there in silence for a while, enjoying the company of each other and their owls, the sounds of the distant Forbidden Forest a pleasant ambiance. Willow finally spoke when the moon shined through the windows.

"I noticed you left pretty fast after class today," she said. "What happened? Did someone say something?"

Harry bit his lip. "Did you hear anything about the Chamber of Secrets? Mainly about the Heir of Slytherin? I couldn't tell whether you were paying attention or not..."

"Yeah, I think so."

"Well...Ron, Hermione, and I were talking, and we don't know who it is, obviously, but there was something I never told them. I might have told you about it at some point." He swallowed. "Do you remember me telling you anything about the Sorting Hat attempting to place me in Slytherin?"

"That rings a bell," Willow said. "What about it?"

"It just...makes me wonder...What if I'm the Heir of Slytherin? It worries me that there's rumors going around about me being the Heir. I don't think it's true, but what if it is? I don't want to be causing all these attacks. Hermione could get killed!"

"Harry, you're not the Heir of Slytherin," Willow said. "There's no way you could have caused something this serious without knowing it. Hearing something in the walls? That's nothing. It's bad, of course, but I can hear it too, and I'm not the Heir of Slytherin, right? Look," she said, taking Harry's arm. "I could have been placed in Slytherin, too. My mum's entire family has been Slytherin for as far back as they can remember. The Sorting Hat started in with that 'You could be great' crap with me, too. I chose to be Gryffindor. I'd rather win a fight face-to-face than come up with some clever way to get back at someone later. Cunning and ambition aren't my thing, Harry, and they aren't your thing, either. Winning something the right way, following all the rules of the fight, and still beating your opponent- that sounds much more appealing to you than winning at all costs, does it not?" Harry nodded. "See, you're a Gryffindor, through and through, just like me! Quit worrying about this Heir of Slytherin business. It'll get into your head for no reason. Let it go. Be the bloody Gryffindor you are and just run straight on past those idiots who think you're the Heir. You don't need anyone to back you up. You know who you are, and that's all that matters."

Harry smiled. "Did you know you give really good advice, Willow?"

She shrugged, though the smile still lingered on her face. "I've been told that before. So what's your plan to figure this thing out?"

"Well, so far, Hermione is thinking that we can use this Polyjuice Potion thing to transform ourselves into a couple of Slytherins, infiltrate their common room, and figure out whether Draco is the Heir of Slytherin."

Willow raised her eyebrows. "You think it's him? I'm not surprised."

Harry furrowed his brow. "You're not mad that we're accusing him? Even though you're...friends with him?"

"No, not really," Willow sighed. "He's half git, half okay. I wouldn't put it past him if he was the Heir to be doing all of these things. The amount of damage his parents have done on him with this pureblood mania is astounding."

"He's still buying into it on his own..." Harry trailed off quietly, his expression darkening. Willow pretended she didn't hear him.

"So you're staying for the Holidays, then?"

"Yeah, are you?"

Willow paused for a moment. "Well...I was really hoping to see my father, and my grandparents and uncles are possibly coming in, so...I think I'm going home for once. I can stay if you need me."

"No, no, it's fine, we don't want to get you in trouble," Harry said. "Anyway, I hope I never have to spend the Holidays with the Dursleys again."

"I don't blame you. They're awful. Speaking of them, what did- "

Willow was cut off by the sound of pounding feet on the stairs. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan appeared at the top of the stairs, laughing so hard they were nearly crying. They didn't even settle down at the sight of Harry and Willow.

"Hi, guys!" Dean chuckled. "You- You'd never believe- what Seamus did- "

"Percy's never been more furious- Wood loved it- You have to come and see it!" Seamus said in between fits.

Willow raised her eyebrows at Harry. He made a gesture, as if to say, "Might as well," and rose to his feet. They followed the two boys back to Gryffindor Tower. Dean and Seamus kept erupting into laughing fits, teasing each other and making fun of Percy's reaction. Willow caught a whiff of something burning down the corridor from the Fat Lady's portrait. Seamus had definitely done something. If it was related to pyrotechnics, Seamus was the person to go to. They entered the common room to discover half of the wall charred. The fireplace was roaring like a dragon and spitting out flames the size of a small car every so often. Percy Weasley and Oliver Wood were bickering in the corner.

"You made him do it, Wood, I know you did!" Percy yelled.

"Percy, please, I woodn't make him do that," Wood joked. "Get it? Wood?"

"Oh, please, this is not the time for your horrible puns!" Percy growled. He pointed an accusatory finger at Wood's chest. "You did this! Seamus couldn't possibly have performed that spell if you hadn't told him about it?"

Wood spread his arms in a gesture of innocence. "There's no way you can prove I did it, is there?"

"Don't mock me, Wood, I could give you detention for this! You're lucky I'm not taking away house points!"

"Oh, no, not house points!" Wood mocked, pretending to cower in Percy's livid presence. "Don't take away points from your own house, Percy, it will just upset me!"

"Wood! I'm not afraid to give you detention!"

"Liven up, Percy," Wood said, putting an arm around him. "Look around! Everyone's happy for the interruption in their boring, repetitive lives. What's a little fire going to harm? You could easily put it out."

"Fine! I will," Percy said. He raised his wand. "Aguamenti!"

A jet of water doused the flame. It flickered, then went out. The common room collectively groaned. Then, just as everyone turned away, the fire sprung up again, shooting flames at Percy's back. He yelped and quickly doused the flames. Wood burst into wild fits of laughter, slapping his knee and falling into the nearest couch. The rest of the common room followed suit. Percy Weasley had never looked more livid.

"Fine! See what I care when you burn down Gryffindor Tower in you sleep!" he shouted, storming off to his dormitory and slamming the door shut. The fire continued to char the walls and liven up the common room. Most of the students returned to their studying or hanging out with friends. Dean and Seamus high-fived one another.

"Yes! That was your best one yet!" Dean cheered.

"You can thank Wood for that one! It's complicated, but worth it!" Seamus said.

"You're really good at magical fires! You should start your own pyrotechnic line of products when you graduate. You'd make loads of galleons off of that!"

Seamus was suddenly modest. "Well, I'm not sure I'm that good, but thanks, Dean."

Both boys' cheeks were bright red. Willow wondered for a second if they were going to hug each other, but Dean awkwardly cleared his throat, shuffling his feet.

"Well- um- I should be- heading off to study, then," he said.

"Me too," Seamus agreed. There was another pause, then both boys hurriedly said, "Bye," and went their separate ways. Willow glanced back at Harry, who appeared just as confused as she was.

"I don't know what that's all about," he said, shrugging. "Oh well. Let them figure it out. In the mean time- " Harry pulled a textbook out of his bag- "Can you please tell me what the heck is going on in Transfiguration right now?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "Harry, am I ever going to get you to pay attention?"

"You can try, but I don't suggest it," Harry chuckled.

Willow opened her Transfiguration textbook. "Come on, blockhead, let's get through this before I acquaint your face with the textbook."

Over the next few days, Hermione confided in Willow about their plan to brew Polyjuice Potion, and Griffin the baby Griffin continued to recover very well. He was eating meat much faster than Willow could steal it, though, and the house elves had begun setting up protective measures against her thievery. She'd gotten whacked in the face by a spatula, narrowly avoided a pair of scissors, and ambushed by magical frosting. It was worth it if it meant Griffin was on the mend.

After the next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, Willow gave Hermione, Harry, and Ron an encouraging thumbs up before she left the class. She'd been inserted into their plans for brewing the Polyjuice Potion. Instead of actually drinking it when the time came, she was to steal the ingredients for it. Hermione fretted for nearly half an hour about her powers defecting and using dark magic, but Willow finally convinced her that she had them under control enough that it wasn't going to happen. She must have still been worried about her, judging by the concerned look she got from Hermione, even though she was stealing the ingredients the next day, but Willow only smiled and mouthed "I'll be fine!" and left.

The next day, the corridors were crowded, especially for a Saturday morning. Several professors were milling about, casting their watchful eyes about the students. Even more than a week after the attack, the staff were still worried about the Chamber of Secrets. Willow bit her lip. Hopefully the odds would tip in her favor and Snape would be out of his office for a while. He wasn't likely to spare her a detention- or three.

When she arrived at Snape's private stores, Willow's heart rate spiked. It was eerily silent. Her powers threatened to surface again, but she refused. She had grown much better at controlling them since their enormous break Halloween night. Soon, however, they would be unruly again, and she'd have to practice more. Willow shook her head. She was getting unfocused already! There wasn't any time to dilly-dally. This was possibly of life-changing importance. Willow rolled up her sleeves and drew her wand.

"Alohamora!"

The door didn't budge. Of course Snape would put some fancy spell on his private stores. Willow put her wand away and glanced at her pocket, where Fidget was peering up at her.

"Hang on, alright?"

Fidget nodded, curling into a little ball and latching onto her robes with his tiny claws. Willow backed up a few paces, got a running start, and slammed her legs into the door as hard as she could. It snapped off its hinges with an agonizingly loud creaking, popping sound and fell to the floor. Willow cringed and listened. No running footsteps, no shouting, no nothing. She hoped her luck would continue to hold. Entering the small room, she found everything on the list Hermione had given her, then hightailed it out of there.

Willow ran straight to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Unsurprisingly, it was abandoned, aside from Myrtle herself, who was sitting next to a large, round, intricately designed window. It obviously hadn't been cleaned in forever, being translucent instead of transparent at that point. Willow carefully placed the ingredients next to the cauldron Hermione had left for her. Myrtle finally quit moaning right as she was leaving.

"Who are you?" she asked, apparently agitated.

Willow stopped in her tracks. She turned around, walking back into view. Myrtle was eyeing her suspiciously from her perch next to the window. "I'm Willow Guerrero. You're Myrtle, right?"

"I suppose you're working for those boys and that girl that come in here and interrupt my misery, aren't you?" she said. "Have you come to make my life even worse, too?"

"Is your life even that bad, Myrtle?" Willow questioned. "I mean, you chose to come back as a ghost. You don't even have to haunt this bathroom. Why are you here?"

Myrtle gaped at her, then suddenly flew at her, angrier than a swarm of bees. "Why am I here? Why am I here? Those students made my life miserable! I had to come back and make sure they regretted it!"

"But...you're still miserable..." Willow pointed out.

"I know!" Myrtle wailed, throwing herself into a toilet and splashing water all over the floor. Willow stepped back just in time to avoid the second wave as Myrtle flew out. "Now I'm stuck here forever!"

"That's kind of your own fault, you know," Willow said.

Myrtle wailed and flew through her. It felt like icy water had been splashed all over her, and a shiver went down her spine. Myrtle glared at her from above the sinks.

"Well, if you want to wallow in self pity, I'll leave you to it, then," Willow said, brushing off her robes and turning to leave. "All I can say is that, from experience, it gets you absolutely nowhere. You don't have to be an optimist to be motivated."

Myrtle simply kept grumbling and moaning under her breath. Willow shook her head. It would take years of a different way of thinking to fix Myrtle. She didn't have time for miserable ghosts. Willow headed back to the common room, which was buzzing with activity. Fred, George, Lee, and Paige were experimenting with Filibuster Fireworks, Wood and Percy were having a debate about quidditch (in which Wood was destroying Percy), Neville, Dean, and Seamus were practicing the newest Charms spell, and a group of older students were struggling to decipher an Ancient Runes text. Willow unobtrusively made her way to the side of the room. She placed her hand on the wall, waited for the door to materialize, and slipped inside. She unlocked the wall and passed through it. Griffin snapped awake in a nearby clearing and clumsily got to his feet. He excitedly sprinted at Willow and bowled her over.

"Whoa, Griffin, hey there, buddy!" she laughed.

"Scree!"

Griffin backed up, as Willow had taught him, and allowed her to get up, then jumped up to put his front paws on her shoulders. She let him brush his beak on her face. Griffin nipped her ear, though gentler than usual. He didn't even draw blood. Willow put him down, and he scampered over to a patch of bushes, where V and Felicity were play-fighting. Patch was nibbling on wild daises (as usual). Felicity spotted Willow and silently chirped, flying onto her shoulder and looking for bugs in her hair. V padded up to Willow and sat down, mumbling something over and over. She didn't want to know what it was. V had a bad habit of using foul language. If he didn't listen to her and clean up his act soon, she would have to put a silencing charm on him to spare her ears. Patch ignored her, being the little butt he was. Griffin once again ran to her, this time skidding to a stop before he could trample her. He sniffed her robe pocket for Fidget. The bowtruckle peaked out, but nothing more. Griffin cocked his head and stared at him.

"Griffin, you be nice to Fidget," Willow said. "How are your wounds healing up, little guy?"

With Griffin's attention momentarily fixed on Fidget, Willow examined his hindquarters, finding that the scratches were now no more than scabs. They looked strong and unbroken. Soon, if Griffin was careful enough, they would turn into light scars. Willow grinned. Maybe there was a chance for him yet.

"Whoa, what is that thing?" a voice said.

Griffin squawked and flapped his wings in fear, rearing up on his hind legs. A chorus of yelling went up near the wall. V backed up behind Willow and started cussing nonstop. She flicked her foot at him to make him quiet. Of course, it only made him mutter instead of shout. Felicity's feathers puffed up on her shoulder and tickled her ear. Fidget unsheathed his claws. Patch pretended the world didn't exist and kept eating daisies.

"Whoa, Griffin, calm yourself!" Willow said, stepping in front of him and raising her arms. Griffin kept squeaking anxiously, but calmed down enough to stand on all fours. Willow shushed him and stroked his beak until he was only breathing heavily. Scared whispers echoed off the wall behind her. Willow whipped around angrily only to find Dean, Seamus, and Neville pressed against the wall in fear.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"What are you doing here?" Seamus retorted.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Seamus? I'm trying to help a few creatures!"

"Um...why is there a forest in the middle of the Gryffindor common room?" Dean asked. "You didn't create this whole thing, did you?"

"Yeah, I created it, being an all-powerful second year with supreme background knowledge," Willow said sarcastically. "Of course I didn't create it! I just- kind of- stumbled across it. These creatures needed attention, so I brought them in here."

"But...why?" Neville inquired shyly. "They seem fine."

"Well, they weren't fine a week or so ago," Willow said, stroking Griffin's neck. "This little guy here? He had some severe claw wounds on his back. The jarvey and the knarl were a little beat up- not that Patch lets me near him, anyway- and Felicity here was malnourished. I don't know how this place just popped up in the middle of our common room, but it did, and I'm going to take advantage of it. They needed my help."

Neville stepped a little closer. Griffin stared at him with wonder in his eyes. He took a few hesitant steps towards Neville, which made the boy freeze in his tracks. Willow walked Griffin closer to Neville.

"It's okay, he's not going to hurt you," she promised. "Come on, Neville, Griffin just wants to meet you. He's super friendly, actually."

Neville tiptoed towards Griffin. Dean and Seamus still cowered in the corner, watching with wide eyes. Griffin took the last few steps toward Neville and sniffed him all over.

"What do I do now?" Neville asked, stock still.

"Pet him, if you want," Willow said. She took his arm. "You have to be very gentle and slow, and don't touch his face. He was pretty sensitive about that with me at first."

Willow let go of him, and Neville delicately stroked Griffin's neck. The baby griffin purred. Neville smiled and pet him a little more, much to Griffin's liking. He finally backed away after a little while.

"I see why you love them now," Neville said. "He's incredible."

Griffin swelled with pride. He flapped his wings and pretended to roar, digging at the air with his front two paws. Neville laughed. Willow offered for Dean and Seamus to pet him, but they hung back.

"No thanks," Dean said quickly. "I can see him fine from here."

"I don't want to scare him," Seamus said.

Willow shrugged. "If you insist..." She guided Griffin back to the nest she had made for him. Felicity, V, and even Patch cuddled up with him, falling asleep fast. They must have had a busy day. Willow returned to the three boys. She lead them back through the wall, this time locking it behind her. She stopped them before they could exit back into the common room.

"You can't tell anybody about this, okay?" Willow told them. "This has to be kept as much of a secret as my powers are. I don't know what kind of trouble I'd get into with the school, but legally, I have no idea what would happen to my creatures. I'll personally drop you from the highest tree in the Forbidden Forest if you tell anyone, and trust me, there's some pretty tall trees. Got it?"

Dean and Seamus nodded vigorously. Neville simply said, "I wouldn't tell anyway."

Willow smiled. "Good. I hope to see you at the quidditch match."

The morning was unfortunately cloudy, ominous, and muggy. What a perfect day for a quidditch match, Willow thought as she headed to the locker rooms. She was still an alternate, as no one was out for the match, but she was still going to warm up with the team and cheer them on.

Harry had appeared very nervous and anxious all of breakfast. Now, as he sat and listened to Wood's pregame speech, he tapped his foot, his eyes darting all around the room. There was a lot of pressure on him to win this game for Gryffindor. Willow wished she could say something to make him feel better, but it was no good. She knew from past experience that nothing, not even the most soothing song, could calm Harry Potter's raging mind when he was nervous. Maybe Cypress would make a potion for anxiety in the future.

While they were warming up, her fellow teammates became increasingly worried as they watched the Slytherin team zoom around twice or three times as fast as them. Their fancy broomsticks would give them the advantage for scoring goals, and it would definitely make it easier for Draco to out-fly Harry in the seeker position. But she had worked with Harry for weeks on her new broomstick. He had come up with at least five different ways to outmaneuver Draco. When it came down to it, Willow was confident Harry would beat Draco out of hard work and skill.

"Hey, Willow!"

She turned around to see her entire friend group holding up a Gryffindor banner, even Oliver, Cypress, and her Ravenclaw friends. Though Cypress got some dirty looks from the Gryffindors surrounding him, he appeared relentlessly positive and happy.

"Tell Harry we said good luck!" Ron, Hermione, and Dean said.

"Tell Katie and Angelina and Alicia that we love them!" the Gryffindor Sisters begged.

"I will guys, don't worry," Willow laughed. "Thanks for supporting us! Try to stay dry!"

Wood called the team in. Willow wished Harry luck- he smiled at the mention of Ron and Hermione and Dean- and the team was up in the air. Gryffindor and Slytherin stared each other down, their glares piercing enough to slash through armour. Madam Hooch blew the whistle, and the game was on.

As expected, the Slytherins were killing the Gryffindors from the very start. They scored three goals in the space of a minute. Wood finally saved one, yelled at the girls to change strategies, and they started to hold off the Slytherins. It was a long and exhausting fight, though. The Slytherins scored another goal within a few minutes. Willow frustratedly sat on the bench. If only one of the chasers had agreed to use her Nimbus Two Thousand and One, they could at least have a chance to score a goal, but they had been stubborn- just like she would have been if she was in their place, now that she thought about it- and refused. Alicia had said it best: "It's better to beat them fair and square as the lesser one. You get more satisfaction out of that."

Suddenly, Willow was distracted by Harry's flying. High above the stadium, Harry was seemingly making a fool of himself, darting this way and that, swirling and twirling, diving and darting. Willow called up her powers and enhanced her eyesight. There was a little black dot riding his tail. It was a bludger, but this one wasn't acting right. Willow realized all the fancy maneuvers were a result of the bludger's continued attacks on Harry. The twins tried to beat it away, but to no success. A short timeout was called. There was a small argument between the players, and when play finally resumed, Harry was flying without Fred and George.

"Wood, I swear to God, if Harry gets hurt, you're going to lose your bodily functions," Willow growled under her breath.

Harry continued his fancy flying, employing moves that he and Willow had worked on, but for a completely different purpose. She watched with bated breath while he narrowly avoided the bludger. He almost looked like a dancer in the sky. Unfortunately, this wasn't a performance she wished to watch. Harry was in serious danger because of someone's idiocy. The rain that started in the meantime wasn't a good omen, either.

Suddenly, Harry paused in midair, staring at Draco. Willow spotted the snitch above his head. The Slytherin section was screaming at Draco, but he didn't pay any attention to them. He was busy laughing at Harry. Willow let out a scream when the bludger slammed into Harry's arm while he wasn't paying attention. He nearly fell off his broom. She gripped her own broom with white knuckles, ready to take off in an instant if necessary. Thankfully, Harry righted himself and sped off, directly at Malfoy. He darted out of the way as Harry claimed the snitch- and victory. The stands went up in a roaring cheer.

Harry, however, slid sideways and careened into the muddy pit below him.

"No!" Willow screamed.

Harry slowly stirred, his arm awkwardly angled underneath him. Willow sprinted to his side while some of the teachers began to run onto the field. He said something to himself and promptly passed out. Willow hoped no one would notice her and slowly moved her hands above his body, assessing for any other injuries. She sighed in relief when she found it was just his arm.

That relief disappeared when Professor Lockhart kneeled at Harry's side.

"You! Don't touch him!" Willow growled.

"Ah, Willow! If it isn't one of my best students," Lockhart said, flashing that annoying smile of his. "I always knew you would make a good quidditch player. It's a shame you're an alternate."

"Quit lying through your perfectly fake teeth and back away," she said.

"I know just the spell to help him," Lockhart continued. He ignored Willow's fuming presence and moved Harry's arm closer to him. "I hope your newest assignment is going well! There's some rumors about your talent with the pen."

"I've heard of your talent for fictional stories as well, Professor," she muttered just loud enough for him to hear. Lockhart didn't react outwardly, but she could sense brooding anger and suspicion beneath the surface. Willow quickly ran off before Lockhart could do any of his "perfect spells" on her. The twins struggled to reign in the bludger that had been attacking Harry.

"Do you need some help with that?" Willow asked.

"No, it's all under control!" Fred cried, temporarily losing his grip on the rogue bludger. He managed to get both hands back on it. "Only a few bruises, that's all! Feisty little bugger- "

The bludger suddenly gave an enormous pull and freed itself from both the twins' grips. Willow heard George cry out in pain. She hardly had time to react. The bludger was headed towards Harry still, and she was directly in its path. Instead of avoiding her, it smashed into her stomach, knocking her off of her feet. Willow made a mad grab and somehow miraculously managed to hang onto it. Fred sprinted to her with the quidditch ball box. She wrestled the bludger into the box, Fred clicked the lock into place, and it was finally done. The bludger fought to get free, but Fred slammed the box shut.

"How's that for your first quidditch match, Willow?" Fred panted.

"Interesting, no doubt, but I'd say it's better than watching from the stands," Willow replied.

Fred let out a hearty laugh. "I daresay you have an addiction to danger. We're never going to stop worrying about you, are we?"

"Nope," George wheezed painfully, appearing beside his twin, rubbing his shoulder. He wore a goofy grin despite the obvious pain he was in. "I think she's destined to give us insomnia."

Willow touched George's shoulder. He winced. "You popped that out of place. I've done that before."

"Oh well. Madam Pomfrey will fix it," George said. He glanced at the rattling box. "That bludger was bloody crazy. I've never seen the likes of it. The bloke that enchanted it must have been really thick to think it would be entertaining. Let's see how he likes it when a mad bludger's after him!"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to get back at him for you," Fred promised. "We've got plenty of new fireworks we can light him up with. Might make for a spectacle."

"Hey, George, hold still a second," Willow said, moving behind him.

"What are- "

George was abruptly cut off. Willow firmly gripped his arm and popped his shoulder back into its socket. George cried out in pain, holding his shoulder, then whipped around at her.

"Merlin's beard Willow, at least give me a warning!" he spluttered.

"It usually works better when you aren't expecting it and tensing up your muscles and all. Sorry, I had to do that before Lockhart could offer his services to anyone else. Look what he's done to Harry!"

Ron and Hermione were shooing Colin away and trying to get Harry upright. His arm was rubbery and shapeless. Lockhart had apparently cast the spell completely wrong. It appeared as though Harry had no bones left in his arm. George shuddered and moved his shoulder around, testing it out a bit. Fred clapped him on the back.

"Hey, at least you have bones left in your arm, George," he said.

"Oh, shut it," George said, whacking his twin with his bad arm. He raised his eyebrows. "Huh. It doesn't even hurt anymore. I guess that means I'm allowed to light some fireworks for the celebration tonight?"

"You better let me in on this!" Willow said.

Fred grinned broadly. "Since when have we left you out of anything?"

"Don't you dare make me start an argument with you!"

George laughed and put an arm around Willow. "Come on, let's get to the common room before Lee starts without us!"

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" the crowd chanted.

Fred and George stood on the table, Lee and Paige directly below them. They clinked their spiked butterbeers- courtesy of Lee and Paige- together. The crowd cheered as they drank bottoms up. Willow lost track of how many butterbeers it had been for the two, but somehow they still remained only slightly tipsy. She had refused to drink any alcohol (unlike her roommates). The last butterbeer had tasted a little different, though, and Lee had personally delivered it to her. Willow had a strong feeling that he had secretly spiked it, what with her strange inclination to join the twins on top of the table and weird sense of security in the crowd. She was a total lightweight.

"Don't give me that look," Lee said when he walked over. "It's for your own good. Lighten up!"

"Lee, you know I don't like to drink alcohol!" Willow said. "I usually embarrass myself!"

"It's not embarrassment if everyone else is doing the same thing! Come on, get out here with us! You shouldn't be sulking in a corner after a win like that!" Lee grabbed her hand and forced her to her feet. "Loosen up! Have some fun!"

Willow rolled her eyes. "Fine, but if I get a hangover tomorrow, or anything goes wrong, anything at all, you're paying for it!"

"Yeah, yeah, you can thank me later when you get ten percent from your charms notes sales. They are through the roof this week. How do you manage to take such good notes?"

"I'll answer that when you decide to tell me how you manage to find them every time I hide them!" Willow playfully retorted.

"Alright, alright, I'll keep an eye on you," Lee promised. "Now get out there!"

Willow joined the twins on the table, who were dancing to a fun, upbeat tune. Soon, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie had joined them, then Wood, and Paige snuck onto the table in Harry's place. The common room cheered and praised them for their win today. Fred and George teased Paige for joining them, but she came up with a surprisingly witty remark. They danced away. The night wore on, and Willow, naturally, was exhausted by midnight. Surprisingly, when she retired to the couch, Fred, George, and Paige joined her. They all appeared rather tired as well.

"What's gotten into you guys? Don't you love nights?" Willow asked.

"Eh, I didn't drink enough butterbeer. The sugar boost does most of the work," Paige said.

"George isn't tired, he just- " Fred began.

" -wanted to take a break for a little bit," George finished, shooting a look at Fred. "Don't you think I didn't know where you were going. Don't you have Angelina to worry about, Freddy?"

"No, she's already gone off to bed."

"And you know that because of how close you're paying attention to her," Paige teased.

"Oh, shut it, you!"

"The truth hurts, doesn't it, Freddy?" George joked. Fred threw a pillow in his face. "Alright, I'll leave you alone. You're so sensitive, Freddy!" Ignoring Fred's appalled face, George asked, "Anyway, how was this party? Suitable for a Gryffindor victory?"

"Definitely," Willow replied. "I'm pretty sure Lee spiked my butterbeer on purpose."

"So that's why you were so abnormally willing to party," Fred said. "A little liquid motivation?"

"It never hurts," George said.

The twins, Paige, and eventually Lee chatted about random school drama and classes for at least an hour. There was so much going on when it came to the older Gryffindors and love triangles. Apparently, Lee had heard there was a single boy that had dated every girl in his year, including Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins. Willow could have sworn that all four of the fourth years were casting looks at certain people within the room, an unusual sparkle in their eyes, especially George and Paige, but it was probably the butterbeer messing with her head. She eventually checked the time and found it was nearly quarter after one. Willow yawned.

"Merlin's beard, wrestling bludgers is exhausting. I'm heading off to bed. Thanks for the party, guys."

"Goodnight, Willow," Paige said, hugging her.

"We'll make sure to give you real butterbeer more often!" the twins promised.

Willow smirked and went off to bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, for some reason still feeling Paige's hug.