Willow snapped awake in the middle of the night. Her watch read 1:23a.m. Something had woken her up. She nearly jumped out of her skin as her eyes adjusted to the dark and she made out a figure standing over her.
"Harry! What the hell are you- !"
"Shh, keep your voice down!" Harry hissed. Willow realized his eyes were frantic and swirling with an unreadable emotion. "Ron and I just got back from Hagrid's. We've got loads to tell you!"
Deciding it must be important to wake her up at this hour, Willow tiptoed out of the room and noiselessly shut the door behind her. Harry lead her to the common room, where Ron was pacing, every once in a while muttering something to himself and running a hand through his hair. Ron accidentally bumped into a couch when they arrived.
"Bloody he- oh, good you found her!" Ron sat down on the couch and rubbed his foot. "You're the second smartest person we know. We figured you might know something about all this."
"I wouldn't agree with the 'smart' part, but I can try," Willow said. "Don't tell Sally I said that! What happened?"
Harry explained what they had seen at Hagrid's hut, including Lucius's snide remarks about the situation Muggleborns were in. The predicament meant nothing to him, of course. Willow did her best to suppress her rage. Harry told her about the spider thing, which piqued her interest, then Dumbledore's parting words, which she found even more peculiar than his usually odd statements.
"Well, the spider thing could be a lead. You should definitely follow up on it," Willow suggested. "About what Dumbledore said, though…do you have any idea what that means? Maybe something he told you recently?"
"No, the last time I talked to him, I saw his pet phoenix burst into flame and not die. Have you ever met a phoenix? They literally burn to ash then become little chicks again- !"
"Harry, I agree, Fawkes is amazing- I've been dying to meet him myself- but that's not furthering our case," Willow said lamentingly. She tapped her finger to her chin. "Spiders…trails of spiders…I've heard of something from my uncles about a man following a trail of spiders and never being seen again, but that doesn't help us. Maybe you should look it up in the library?"
"Yeah, and end up petrified like Hermione for it?" Ron snorted. "No thanks."
"You're terrified of spiders, aren't you?" Willow said flatly.
Ron's ears went pink. "What- no, only a little- " Ron was suddenly defensive. "If you didn't know, Fred and George turned my stuffed animal into a bloody spider once, that's all. I can…tolerate them."
"Good, because I have no idea where this might lead you. There might be lots of spiders, a few, or none. It all depends what happens when you follow them into the forest."
Ron shuddered. "I really hope I don't have to see any big ones..."
Harry's eyes suddenly widened. "Can you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Willow asked, straining her ears. Her senses finally woke up and she heard it loud and clear, too. The sound was far away, but so loud and mournful that it audibly bounced off the castle walls. Willow gasped. "Oh my God, that's Fang! I forgot about him! He's all alone in Hagrid's hut now!"
"Oh, yeah, Hagrid said he needed someone to feed Fang while he was gone," Ron remembered.
"Guys, if anyone asks where I'm at, make up something plausible that won't get me in trouble!"
"Uh...sure?" Harry said.
Willow sprinted out of the common room and transformed into a black cat. There were a lot of staff pacing around, worriedly casting their eyes around for intruders or dark magic. They weren't, however, looking for a simple cat. Willow easily padded past them in plain sight and didn't so much as earn a glance in her direction. She still tried to keep to the shadows. Professor McGonagall knew about her bad habits. If she came along, she was done for.
Willow reached the courtyard without a problem. She bounded through the tall, dewy grass to Hagrid's hut. Fang's howling got louder and louder as she neared. He scratched at the door and whined every minute or so, then returned to howling. Willow reached the front door and transformed back into herself. She threw a glance over her shoulder, then quietly slipped inside. Fang instantly ceased his lamenting and panted happily, jumping all over Willow and licking her to death, whining in appreciation. She gave him lots of hugs and belly rubs.
"I know, I know, it's real scary without Hagrid, isn't it?" Willow crooned. Fang whined and laid on her feet, allowing her to scratch his ears. "The big bad forest isn't going to get you, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you, big guy."
Fang stood up and wandered over to his food bowl, which only yielded crumbs. Willow found his pile of meat scraps in a makeshift cupboard and threw them into the bowl, much to Fang's delight. He gobbled them up and begged for a little more. Willow replenished his water afterwards. When she picked up the bowl, though, she revealed something hidden underneath. She picked it up and found herself holding a damp, messy paper. Willow unraveled it and set it on the table.
Willow,
The Ministry's probably gonna sack me any day now. I need ya to take care 'o me vegetables and Daisy. I've hidden her a ways into the Forest. She's straight down the path. You know how ter take care of her and Fang.
Hagrid
Willow set down the note and called Fang over to her. She buried her face in the scruff of his neck. Hagrid was really gone. How would Hogwarts be the same? Sure, she could take care of whatever beast Daisy was, but Hagrid always did it better. Fang whined softly. Willow stroked his head, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"Yeah, I know, buddy, Hogwarts is going downhill quick."
Fang's tail thumped on the floor, then went still. He licked her ear. Willow sighed and wiped off the drool, giving Fang another tight hug. Eventually, she dried her eyes and reread the note, trying to convince herself that everything would sort itself out soon if she kept blundering forward. Completely blind...in the dark about pretty much everything...unable to reach out or be left alone at the same time...
Willow shook her head. This wasn't the time to be depressed. There was work to do, creatures to take care of, gamekeeper duties to attend to. Willow found a checklist with a single muddy paw print on it in the corner of Hagrid's hut. She noted all the tasks on the back of her hand, hoping to find time for them later, then remembered the creature Hagrid asked her to take care of. Daisy must be a real secret for Hagrid not to have even accidentally mentioned her before. Straight down the path...so much for knowing what I'm getting into, Willow thought. Fastening her robes tightly around her and keeping her hand on her wand, Willow snuck out of Hagrid's hut with Fang and sprinted into the cover of the Forbidden Forest.
The path wasn't familiar for long. Soon, it thinned and was no longer covered in bits of worn gravel. Fang walked slowly behind Willow with his tail in between his legs. He was afraid of his own shadow, so she didn't take it as a sign of any danger. The path grew more overgrown and narrow as she got deeper and deeper into the forest. Fang tried to turn around and run several times, but reluctantly came when Willow whistled for him to come back. The stars were beginning to dim and the sky was graying in the east. Fang panted as the path took a sharp left turn and became almost untraceable up the base of a mountain. Leave it to Hagrid to send me up a windy, difficult mountain path, Willow thought to herself, shaking her head good-naturedly. She climbed up the mountainside with ease. Fang simply parked his butt near a shrub where the path stayed flat. He barked once after Willow, but gave up and laid down instead, tongue lolling out to the side. Hagrid wouldn't have any complaints about Fang not being exercised, at least.
Willow continued up the mountainside. The grass was soaking her socks with early morning dew, and the clouds were lower that morning, creating a thick fog around her. Willow's senses jumped into action to supply her with readings on her surroundings. The temperature was dropping slightly, but the altitude wasn't very high. A creature snorted nearby. Sending out a few sound waves, she figured that she was reaching a plateau on the side of the mountain, and the creature must be just ahead. Willow climbed up the last few steep meters and found herself on a level piece of mountainside. If the fog would have hurried up and cleared off, she probably would have had a beautiful view. Willow sighed. Her luck really was terrible. She was about to turn and continue down the path when an earth-shattering bellow sounded behind her and something slammed into her back. Willow frantically turned over and held up her hands to defend herself only to be pinned down by a heavy leg.
"Hey, what- !"
Willow's air was cut off. Fang barked and growled far below, the sound echoing off the mountainside, but he wouldn't be able to reach her in time. Willow tried to remove the heavy leg. The creature only huffed and pressed down harder. She called up her powers for a last-ditch effort, and with the hardest, most intense concentration she'd ever managed, Willow transformed into a hawk and launched herself away, taking flight and scouting out her opponent. She misjudged how tired she was from nearly three hours of sleep and trekking through the Forest, though, and ended up falling back onto the plateau as herself again. Willow shot to her feet. She could see better through the fog now. She tried to listen, but the adrenaline coursing through her body was scrambling her brain. For better or worse, she didn't have to listen long, because the creature burst through the fog and skidded to a stop less than ten meters away from her, grunting and snuffling in agitation. Willow pulled out her hand defensively.
"Whoa, hey, what did I ever do to- ?" She paused mid sentence, recognizing the creature. "What the- Hagrid!"
Hagrid had somehow managed to befriend, of all creatures, a graphorn. This one wasn't anything like the one at the London Zoo, however. It was young, strong, and bull-headed. Its grey scales were fortified and unbroken. The spines along its back and armored tail looked like they could skewer her easily, and its sharp beak and horns appeared to serve a similar purpose. Its black eyes glittered defensively. Willow wondered if this was how most people felt around all magical creatures. Swallowing her fear, she put away her wand and spread her hands.
"Look, I'm not going to hurt you, you're not going to hurt me, okay?" she said. "Let's just calm down. I'm a friend of Hagrid's. Friend."
At "Hagrid," the creature blinked and let down its guard for a millisecond. It didn't seem to understand "friend," but at least she was getting somewhere.
"Yeah, that's right, Hagrid," Willow repeated. She thought back to the note Hagrid had left. "Your name is Daisy, right? Daisy girl?"
The graphorn took a step towards her, though it relaxed a few of its leg muscles. Its eyes appeared less guarded. Willow took a deep breath and held up her hands. "I don't have anything, see? My wand is away. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."
The graphorn shuffled closer, sniffing the air. It sneezed, sending a wave of reeking breath towards her, but otherwise didn't attack her. Willow stayed where she was and allowed the graphorn to get nearer. Daisy's eyes suddenly lit up. She took a few lumbering bounds towards Willow, and before Willow could do anything, she was snuffling around in her robe pocket, munching on something that caused her to smack her lips. Daisy snorted excitedly when she found another something in her other pocket. Willow laughed when she finally figured out what it was.
"Oh, so you're the one that eats so many of those treacle tarts Hagrid makes," she concluded. "I was wondering where that giant batch went, if not in Hagrid's stomach. Thanks for not eating me instead."
Daisy ignored her comments, simply finishing the treacle tarts in a contented silence. When there were no more left, she made a sort of whining noise and glanced at Willow, almost pleadingly. Willow turned her pockets inside-out to show her there weren't any more.
"Sorry, Daisy, I don't have any more treats." She noticed a small stain towards the rear of the graphorn's back. "Hey, what's this? Don't tell me you got into trouble."
Daisy groaned and laid out on the stone, though still making sure to keep her rear out of range. Willow rolled her eyes. Of course she was trying to be difficult. Graphorns were almost more stubborn than she was. Willow transformed into a smaller version of Daisy, padding up to the bigger graphorn to investigate the stain. Daisy growled but didn't act aggressive like before. Willow peered closely at the red smear and discovered a little wound, obviously inflicted by sharp horns. It wasn't anything serious, but any cut could turn deadly if infected, she reminded herself. Steeling herself for confrontation, Willow shape-shifted back to a human and put her hands on the graphorn's hide before she could even blink.
Daisy immediately tried to whack her with her tail. Willow ducked and kept her now glowing hands attached to the side of the graphorn. Daisy bucked and kicked out at her and ran in circles, but to no avail, as Willow ended up on her back, legs firmly glued to either flank. Her magic was working quickly. The cut closed up, dirt drained away, and a scab began to form. Daisy still whined and grunted and even rolled over at one point. Willow finally was satisfied with her work and jumped off right before she could be smashed beneath a massive amount of armored hide.
Daisy shot to her feet and paused, as if realizing for the first time that her back didn't hurt anymore. She whipped her head around to see, apparently startled, and like a dog chasing its tail, ran around and around in circles in an attempt to touch the scrape with her nose. She never got it, of course. Willow giggled from afar while Daisy fell over from dizziness.
"Are you confuzzled, girl? What happened? Did I make your back feel better?"
Daisy looked at her from her upside-down position. Willow guffawed at the sight of her crazy eyes, wild with the confusion of what was going on around her. They were almost playful, in an odd, backwards sort of way. Slowly walking up to her, Willow tapped Daisy on the beak, enticing her to flip over and tense her muscles. She looked very dog-like, her now warm eyes filling with a lofty happiness, armored tail moving slightly back and forth, muscles tensed to pounce and play-fight. An idea popped into Willow's head. She broke a branch off a scraggly tree nearby and waved it in front of Daisy.
"Do you like the stick? You want the stick?" Daisy followed the branch's every movement, eyes locked on the target. "Yeah? You want the stick? Go get it!"
Willow threw the stick across the plateau. Daisy sprinted after it, so intent upon the stick that she hardly bothered to stop herself from tripping and skidding on large pebbles. Willow laughed as she went tumbling head-over-heels a few feet away from the stick. The graphorn jumped to her feet and clumsily grabbed the stick in her beak, then lumbered back to Willow. She asked for her to drop it, but Daisy wouldn't budge. Willow guessed she wanted to play tug of war. She sorely underestimated Daisy's strength, unfortunately, and five seconds later, Willow slammed into the mountainside, shoulder nearly out of socket. Daisy patiently waited while Willow stumbled back towards her.
"You...are a very...strong girl," she slurred. Willow rubbed shoulder and rolled it backwards. "Thanks for not breaking every bone in my body. Wood would throw a fit."
Daisy made a sound in between crooning and growling, spitting out the stick at Willow's feet. Of course she dropped it now, after Willow knocked a few screws loose on the mountain. She picked up the stick and threw it as far as she could. Daisy brought it back, but this time she didn't beg for tug-of-war. Willow lost track of how many times she threw the stick for Daisy. She finally stopped when the graphorn was panting hard and rolled onto her back, refusing to move another step. Daisy vaguely kicked her back legs and groaned.
"Yeah, I know, you should take a nice nap for me now," Willow said. She glanced at the blazing east sky. "I better get going. If I'm not back in the common room by the time everyone goes to breakfast, someone's bound to kill me, probably Sally or Fred. Or both."
Willow made to leave, but Daisy let out a sorrowful, low note. She froze and slowly turned around. Daisy was gazing at her pleadingly, still rolled over on her side. Willow wondered if she was absolutely mental. She shook her head. There was no doubt at this point- she was already mental by approaching a graphorn, let alone playing with one. Willow ran back to Daisy and started rubbing all over her belly. The graphorn purred and groaned in delight, her back leg kicking like a happy dog's. Willow discovered that the underbelly skin of a graphorn is much less tough than the skin covering the rest of its body. It was more sensitive to touch. She figured out Daisy's best tickle spots, earning her an ear-splitting screech of delight from the graphorn. Willow wondered how the scene would look to someone out of context. Probably along the lines of a crazy dream gone wrong, she decided. Daisy finally had enough and stood back up, shaking herself. Willow laughed as the graphorn licked her cheek with a rough tongue. It almost tickled, like Daisy was getting back at her.
"Alright, okay, I know- ahh! Daisy!" Willow squealed. "That's enough! Ahh, no! No, no, no! Don't torture me like this! I am not supposed to have tickle spots! Ahh, Daisy!"
The graphorn finally stopped, leaving Willow's cheeks soaking wet. She didn't really care. There was always a way to wash it off. Willow stood up and adjusted her robes, brushing off the dust. Daisy seemed to sense she was leaving and sat down, ears dropping, acting as if she was pouting. Willow patted her head.
"It's okay, Daisy, I'll be back, I promise."
The graphorn snorted, then curled up into a ball, closing her eyes. Willow waited until she heard snoring to leave. Tiptoeing down the steep path- and tumbling down several feet, being the klutz she was- she returned to ground level, where Fang was anxiously awaiting her. He barked and whined and wriggled with delight. Willow calmed him down with lots of pets, then turned back towards Hogwarts, walking at a brisk pace back the way she came. The sky was getting to be a bright shade of blue by this time. Willow bit her lip. She was definitely going to be late to breakfast...unless she flew. Fang wasn't going to like it, though.
He'll be fine, doofus.
Willow sighed. Cebba, I'm not going to upset my favourite dog, not when Hagrid just went to Azkaban a few hours ago.
Seriously? You're thinking more about the dog than how your friends will react?
Willow shrugged. Animals are more sensitive than humans, right? Fred can back off.
Yeah, and how did that work last time? Or the time before that? Or the time before that? Willow could almost see the smug look on Cebba's face. She wondered if she possessed the ability to physically slap a ghost. You can't do that, dimwit.
Hey, you're not supposed to read my mind, remember? We talked about this!
And I chose to ignore it. I'm in your head all day, every day. What do you expect?
Willow rolled her eyes. When you've actually got something useful to say, come back. Until then, please stop insulting me.
Okay- you're going to change the course of history in a few short years. That's my useful tidbit of doom for the day. It was a pleasure bickering with you, Willow.
Willow sighed. Leave it to Cebba to drop heavy information on her like it was nothing, then disappear. She wasn't going to worry about world-altering abilities for the moment, though. Willow enjoyed her alone time in the early morning air of the Forbidden Forest. Whatever happened in a few years was going to happen whether she prepared every second for it or not. She'd figure it out when the time came. For now, she was happy to mess around with her friends and occasionally hang out with wildlife with her powers.
Willow returned Fang to Hagrid's hut. He initially cried and pawed at the door, tugging on Willow's heartstrings, then finally went and laid down for a nap. She hoped he didn't do that every time she left, because she wouldn't last long. Willow transformed into a cat again and bounded through the tall grass. She made her way through the courtyard and a couple corridors, then made sure no one was around and reappeared as herself. She trotted to the Great Hall in record time to find the last few stragglers trickling in under the watchful eyes of at least six teachers. Willow inconspicuously made her way to the Gryffindor table, where a few people made a not-so-stealthy disturbance.
"Where on Earth have you been?" Sally exclaimed. "We've been worried sick!"
"I asked at least ten boys if they'd seen you!" Mia fumed. "Do you know how hard that was?"
"Ten bo- why would you ask...?" Willow shook her head. "Never mind. I'm sorry, I had some business to take of now that Hagrid- now that he was...taken away."
"Hagrid's gone?" Parvati gasped. "Why would the Ministry do that? He wasn't doing anything wrong!"
"Ask the petty arseholes in the Wizengamot," Willow muttered.
Lavender crossed her arms. "Well, I think that's awfully suspicious! What has Hagrid done that would require the Ministry to step in? Nothing! I say we start a petition to get him back!"
"It won't do any good, Lavender," Willow said tightly. "They're not letting him out of Azkaban until the culprit is caught."
"Not Azkaban?" Fay whispered. "They guard that place with dementors! Do you know what they do? They force you to relive your worst memories over and over again, and if a prisoner tries to escape, they suck out their soul!"
Mia paled. "They...suck out your soul? There aren't any...around here...are there?"
"No, and there won't be any time soon." Lavender banged her fist on the table, rattling the silverware. "I say we catch the culprit! If the Ministry is waiting for someone, we'll bring the idiot to them!"
"Lavender, how are we expecting to figure out who it is when Dumbledore couldn't even do it?" Fay said.
"I- I don't know, but we've got to do something!"
Willow's stomach had dropped out. She suddenly felt very lightheaded and dizzy. Gripping the table with white knuckles, Willow tried very hard not to be violently sick. Azkaban forced people to relive their worst memories over and over again. Hagrid was stuck there. Hagrid. He was becoming mentally scared with each passing second, unable to escape it or relieve the pain, and it was all because of some old men with self-proclaimed power and negative agendas. Hagrid, the sweetest, kindest, most overprotective person on the planet. And he wasn't the only one that had been wrongly put in Azkaban- the Smith twins' mother had done the same thing to some poor soul. Willow didn't even know the damage that could be inflicted. If she would have known...no wonder that man was still in intensive rehab at St. Mungo's.
Willow couldn't even look at food anymore without feeling queasy. She excused herself to the bathroom, which was mercifully empty. She turned on the sink and splashed her face with water. Willow gazed into the mirror, wondering what kind of witch was staring back. What person was she that she had accepted her total failure to protect her friends and family as part of life? What kind of person was she becoming? One that gave up on all of her life goals? One that abandoned all of her endeavors when they failed? One that...allowed one of the only adults that cared about her- without being obliged to by blood ties- to be sent to a prison that tortured you from the inside out? A lump worked its way into Willow's throat. She shook her head and rubbed her temples, trying very hard not to cry. Willow drew in uneven and choked-up breaths. She sat on the windowsill, holding her head in her hands.
You're not a failure, you're not a failure, you're not a failure, she repeated over and over. You're not a failure. You can't be so hard on yourself about everything. You're not a failure, you're not a failure.
But no matter how many times she told herself those few simple lines, Willow could not convince herself of it.
The house exchange snuck up on everyone without warning, and before she knew it, Willow was back in the Slytherin common room, dealing with increasingly suspicious glances and muttering. Every Slytherin (except for Cypress, of course) was paranoid about other houses trying something. Willow felt like she was the only one that understood their frustration. If only she could break through those stupid stereotypes, this wouldn't be happening, but as it was, she didn't have much time to plan out a grand scheme to prove everyone wrong. Willow was having enough problems dealing with a moody Draco. Harry had warned her about his souring mood lately, but nothing could have prepared her for the amount of absolute angst that hit her like a brick wall.
"Damn you, Goyle, that's the sixth time today you've asked that question!" Draco snapped one late morning. "Merlin's beard, how stupid are you? And Crabbe, do you have to be that dumbfounded about everything I say?"
"Malfoy, I really don't know much, it's all very interesting when I learn something new- "
"You want something interesting to learn? You don't have a brain!"
"Whoa, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Sally noted, sidling up next to Willow, who was watching the show from two couches away. "How much do you want to bet he'll hex them? Two sickles? Five?"
"I'd bet you, but it's already happened," Willow said, pointing to where Crabbe was squealing and trying to put out a fire on his robes. "He's downright ridiculous now. Should I...talk to him?"
"If you do, make sure you wear fireproof clothing," Sally snickered. "Oh, wow, he's throwing things now. Jesus, he's got a good aim. Are you sure he shouldn't be playing Chaser?"
Willow rolled her eyes. "Angelina would kick his arse before he could blink." A potion bottle smashed inches from Crabbe's face. "Alright, I better conduct damage control. Cover me, I'm going in! Tell my father I died bravely, would you?"
Sally laughed. "I will."
Willow marched up to Draco and cast the full-body bind curse on him. His entire body froze mid-throw, eyes turning wild with fury and confusion. Willow simply plucked the potion bottle out of his hand and levitated the rest to the opposite side of the room. She then performed the counter-curse and waited patiently while Draco fell on his face, groaned in pain, and slowly rose to his feet. He glared at her, but didn't charge or attempt to attack her.
"What do you want, Wisp? I don't have all day."
"Jeez, Blonde needs some anger management therapy," Willow said. "What kind of potion were you throwing? It looked pretty cool, but not deadly enough."
"What- I didn't intend to harm anyone!"
"Yeah, because chucking mysterious vials of magical liquid at your two closest friends several times in a row totally doesn't sound like a premeditated attack," Willow drawled sarcastically. "What's your deal here lately? You're even moodier than Paige at seven in the morning, and that's saying something."
"Why should I tell you? You're the one that can't control herself."
"Oh, so now you're attacking me because you can't come up with a good enough lie, are you?" Willow crossed her arms. "Give it up, Draco. No one wants to hear your ranting and raving about Goyle breathing wrong."
"When- I did not say that!"
"You did too, at exactly 7:23 pm yesterday evening. It was dumbest, funniest thing I'd heard all week."
Draco crossed his arms as well. "Oh yeah? Prove it."
"I could, but it would be even more embarrassing than the Lockhart prank." Willow let her arms down. "Come on, Draco, seriously, I can tell something's wrong. If you need a reason, then it's because I'm the only person that actually gives a damn. You going to pass that up?"
Draco looked like he was about to give an angry retort, then paused, glaring at her instead. "No, but I'm not saying a word," he said through gritted teeth.
"Okay, I guess I'll just read your mind then."
Draco's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "No- I'll tell you everything- You wouldn't dare- How long have you- ?"
Willow guffawed, keeling over because of the force of her laughter. "Oh my God, your face! You should have seen it! I would have thought you'd just seen the ghost of your past or something! Oh, that was priceless!"
Draco punched her in the shoulder, though not nearly as hard as he could have. "Hey! Why would you do that to me?"
"I'm sorry, I can't resist having the upper hand every once in a while. How the turn tables!"
"Don't you mean 'how the tables turn'?"
"Nah, it goes along with the expression." Willow wiped her eyes. "Okay, in all seriousness, I will figure out what's going on with you, one way or another, so you might as well spill now."
Draco jabbed a finger at her. "Fine, but you can't tell anyone, or I'm tying you to a tree in the Forbidden Forest and leaving you there."
"I'll probably survive, but whatever, I'll take it to my grave, cross my heart and swear to die, blah blah blah."
"This is serious, Wisp!" Draco hissed. He glanced around, making sure no one was within earshot. His expression became suddenly dark. "My dad is doing something terrible, but I have no idea what it is. He's in on this Chamber of Secrets thing. I don't know how, so don't pepper me with questions like you always do, but just know that he's behind it. Originally, he was only getting rid of Dumbledore- good riddance, I say- but now, he isn't stopping. I can't do anything about it, and now they might close the school. Does he care at all about my future?"
"So...you don't care about Dumbledore, the staff, or the students, but you care about your education. Weird." Willow shook her head. "We'll work on that. For now, do you have anything I can go off of?"
"What? I'm not helping you stop my dad, Wisp."
"Draco, someone could die- "
"But no one has, have they?" he pointed out. "It's perfectly safe here. The school's only closing- "
"Because literally every non-pureblooded witch and wizard is at risk!" Willow retorted. "You may not realize it, but just because a Muggleborn hasn't died doesn't mean one won't the next time. And who's to say this monster won't begin to target purebloods when there aren't any more Muggleborns and halfbloods left?"
Draco's eyes flashed. "You don't think it would actually do that, would it?"
"One thing's for sure, and it's that the monster has to be stopped or killed before someone dies. If one of my friends crosses paths with it...I couldn't live with myself. I'm either defeating it or going to die trying. So, you have five seconds to give me anything you might know before I tear this school brick by brick until I get to the Chamber. What's it going to be?"
"Merlin's beard, you bloody Gryffindors drive me mad!" Draco whined. "Alright, fine, you win, I'll tell you! My dad hid something within a girl's schoolbag this year. I don't know who or what, but it's what's causing all of this. Make of that what you will."
Willow tapped her chin. What kind of clue was a school item? It could be anything! A book, a quill, some ink...what harm did all those pose to the school, and how in the heck could they cause the Chamber to open? Willow paced back and forth while Draco sat down and examined an apple. She gave up after a few minutes and flopped on the couch next to him. He shoved her to the end of the couch so he could stretch out as far as he wanted.
"Personal space, Wisp," he said, taking a bite of the apple.
"I'm pretty sure I'm the one that calls the shots in that arena, but I don't care right now. I've got nothing on that lead. Maybe something will pop up over the next few days?"
"I wouldn't count on it."
"Your pessimism is encouraging. Such a heartfelt ideal."
"Save your sarcasm for someone who cares," Draco shot back.
Willow rolled her eyes. "'It's better to have loved and lost than to never have lived at all,' Draco. Sure, optimism is a piece of work, but just because I'm wrong some of the time doesn't mean it doesn't feel even better when I'm right."
"I'd rather be either pleasantly surprised or right all the time, thanks."
"Spoken like a true Slytherin."
"Bloody Gryffindor."
"Backstabbing Slytherin."
"Stupid Gryffindor."
"Sly Slytherin."
"Dumb Gryffindor."
"Sulking Slyth- You're basically saying the same word every time, aren't you?"
Draco smirked. "They all describe you perfectly, do they not?"
Willow gently kicked him. "At least I know I have a better vocabulary than you."
"At least I know I'm never wrong."
Willow was about to make a huge comeback when someone lifted her clear off the couch. She yelped but didn't fight back when she recognized who had caught her. Of course Paige would make that kind of entrance. Draco narrowed his eyes at the older girl, and Paige glowered back. Willow sighed exasperatedly and turned Paige's head away.
"I'll see you later, Draco. Don't kill Crabbe and Goyle while I'm gone, will you?"
"Yeah, no promises."
Willow shook her head and allowed Paige to carry her past the entrance boulder. She was set on her feet before Sally, Sue, Cypress, and Oliver. Sue's eyebrows shot up.
"When we asked you to go get her, we didn't think you'd literally pick her up and carry her over here, but whatever works."
Paige shrugged. "She couldn't resist that way, could she?"
"No, and it saves time. I like that idea," Sally said. "Maybe I should use that tactic on Sam..."
"...Or maybe not?" Oliver suggested. "That's technically kidnapping against someone's will?"
"Not if they don't press charges. Just make sure what you're taking them to do is worth their time," Cypress said. "Trust me, this is worth all the time in the world. Ernie's gossip group meets around this time, and I need the details on everyone."
"Oh, so that's where we're going," Willow said.
"Paige! You didn't tell her we were going to the Hufflepuff common room?" Sue asked.
Paige shrugged. "Willow goes anywhere as long as she doesn't have somewhere to be. It's part of being adventurous."
Willow nodded. "She knows me well, Sue. Let's go, shall we?"
They all headed off towards the Hufflepuff common room. Before they left, Paige tried to set off a dungbomb and throw it back into the Slytherin common room, but Willow stopped her before the damage could be done. The exchange students made their way to the Hufflepuff common room. Oliver knocked with a fancy pattern, mercifully did not mess up and get them sprayed with vinegar, and held the door open for them. They found Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbot, and a few other Hufflepuff second years gathered in the corner of the room, discussing something in hushed whispers. Oliver stood by and patiently waited, but Cypress spared them by dramatically clearing his throat. When the group turned around exasperatedly, he spread his hands in an innocent gesture, saying "What? Would you rather me let my melodious voice fall into ruin?" Ernie rolled his eyes, but jumped at the sight of Willow.
"Oh! Willow! How- er- nice to see you- uh- here!" he exclaimed much too awkwardly.
Willow smirked. "Talking about me behind my back, were you?" At the Hufflepuffs' horrified stares, Willow quickly added, "Don't worry, I don't think less of you. I'd talk about me behind my back too, with all the stupid stuff I do. What's the latest gossip on me?"
"Oh, just some unproven rumors," Hannah said. "Some people are getting it in their heads that you're Harry's second-in-command and you petrified Hermione and Penelope. I don't believe it, but Ernie had questions."
"What? No, I don't have anythi- " Ernie began.
"Come on, you know you want to," Paige interrupted, raising her eyebrows. "She's an intriguing kind of mysterious, don't you think? Don't you want to know what she's up to?"
"Paige, don't start yet another rumor!" Sally rebuked.
"Nah, I can handle anything Hogwarts decides to throw at me," Willow said. She sat down and propped herself up on her elbows, facing Ernie. "So, you going to ask?"
Paige winked at Sally as if to say, "I told you so!" Ernie glanced from Willow to Hannah to Paige, slightly grimaced, as if holding something in, then nearly exploded with questions.
"Is it true that you can do advanced magic? Are you really second to Hermione in our year? Did you create a secret room in the Gryffindor common room? Do you go into the Forbidden Forest every night?"
Oliver shuffled from foot to foot. "Um…Ernie…that's a lot of weird questions…"
Ernie's face reddened. "Oh, um…sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"No, you're fine!" Willow insisted. "I appreciate the concern, Oliver- great job speaking up, by the way, you're getting exponentially braver- but I'm up for all the questions." Oliver's face brightened in a mixture of pride and embarrassment. Willow paused for a moment to gather her responses. "Sort of, I'm pretty sure Draco would kill me if I did better than him, God no, and not every night, just pretty much once a week."
Ernie's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Every week?"
"What do you mean by 'sort of' being able to do advanced magic?" Hannah questioned.
Willow choked on her own air. Oops. She'd walked right into that one. "Oh- uh, about that- "
"She's good enough to be moved up a year in all of her classes except for Potions," Paige interrupted, winking at Willow and smirking. "So technically, yes, she is able to do some advanced magic, especially those spells her grandma taught her- sorry, Abuela- she's just too modest to say so."
The Hufflepuffs' jaws dropped to the floor. "No way!"
Willow mouthed THANK YOU to Paige. The Hufflepuffs chattered among themselves for a second, then Ernie suddenly gasped and loudly said, "Did you know that Jessica can also do advanced magic, but it's dark magic?"
"Jessica Higgins? God, I've been trying to ask her about it since I heard about her last term!" Cypress said.
"I heard she cursed a fifth year girl in Ravenclaw to have a nosebleed that lasted an entire month!" Hannah added.
Before they knew it, the Hufflepuffs had sucked them into a giant group gossip session. Willow stayed silent and simply listened, trying to remind herself that it was all talk, but some things were far too blatant to ignore, like a seventh year couple that had allegedly gotten married in secret already. Oliver surprisingly added some observations of his own after a while. Cypress was always right behind him with confirming evidence, and the conversations almost became theirs to guide. Willow found herself smiling so much that the muscles around her mouth hurt. It was awesome to see how much more confident Oliver had become, especially when Cypress was by his side to support him. The duo were nearly unstoppable when together. Oliver made sure Cypress didn't destroy the Potions classroom, and Cypress made sure Oliver didn't avoid every social confrontation possible. It was almost meant to be, in Willow's opinion.
The clock ticked by, and sooner than they anticipated, lunch came around. Willow and the other exchange students said their goodbyes and made their way to the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. Draco was being loudmouthed again, per usual, so Willow scooted as far down the bench as she possible could, her friends following suit. Sally and Cypress glared daggers at Draco as he made increasingly bold statements about the Muggleborn and Dumbledore situation. Willow fancied herself punching him straight in the mouth.
"I know what you're thinking, but for once, I'm going to suggest you don't do it," Paige whispered.
Willow sighed. "He does deserve it, though. He's being a whiny little bi- "
"Still, remember what McGonagall told you earlier this year? The house exchange depends on the cooperation and mutual respect between students." Paige grimaced. "It pains me to say this, but for once, I suggest you save your anger for some one-on-one time with him."
"But he's being a douche now!" Willow whined. She crossed her arms and slouched. "You're right, though. I'll restrain myself."
"Good. I can't wait to see the bruise you give him."
Willow smirked. "Don't worry, I'll make you proud."
"What was it Ernie was talking about earlier, that secret room? I've heard some rumors about a loud screeching sound coming from the walls in the common room."
Willow's heart skipped a beat. "Well- uh, you see- that's a difficult thing to explain. It might be better if I showed you what it was. Meet me in the Gryffindor common room after everyone else has gone to bed."
"You can count on it," Paige said, winking.
Willow found Paige waiting in the common room long after everyone had gone to bed. The fourth year flashed a rare full smile.
"For a second there I thought you'd chickened out. I'm glad I wasn't disappointed."
"Have you ever known me to chicken out? Wait, don't answer that, it's rhetorical!" Paige rolled her eyes while Willow placed her hand on the wall. The door materialized and unlocked, to Paige's mild amazement. "Come on, you're going to love Griffin, and V might make your day."
Willow and Paige slipped inside the dark room, then Willow flicked the switch, and they passed through the wall without trouble. All four creatures perked up at the sight of them. Paige's jaw nearly hit the floor. Willow smirked as the older girl tried to hide her awe, secretly over the moon about impressing her. Why was that? She didn't get time to wonder, as Griffin bounded up to them and instantly sniffed Paige all over, suddenly becoming very interested in her robe pockets.
"Whoa, he is pretty friendly, isn't he?" she remarked. Paige gently patted Griffin on the head, which he took surprisingly well. "I think he's even more beautiful than you described."
"Words could never do him justice. Isn't that right, handsome?" Willow cooed. Griffin looked up and flapped his wings, cocking his head in curiosity. Willow rubbed his chest. Griffin purred and shivered, falling onto his side in a state of bliss. "Is that your favourite word? Huh? Yes, you're a good boy, aren't you? Who gets all the bacon? You do, yeah!"
Paige laughed as Griffin's leg instinctively twitched like a dog's. Willow's chest got that fluttery feeling again. What was that? Griffin slapped her with his wings to get her attention once again, and Willow happily rubbed his belly.
"So are we going to give him a flying lesson, or what?" Paige asked.
Griffin shot to his feet at "flying," throwing Willow onto the floor. She sneezed as a few feathers flew under her nose. Paige helped her to her feet while Griffin paced around excitedly, making gurgling and purring sounds. Willow whistled for Felicity. A blur of blue and white landed on her shoulder, to the amusement of Fidget. V and Patch appeared from the undergrowth as well. Willow suppressed a giggle as V wrapped himself around her forearm, tickling as he did so. Patch being Patch, he stubbornly climbed onto Griffin's back and wedged himself in between the baby griffin's wings. Paige snorted at Willow's appearance.
"Merlin, you look like some nature spirit that just stepped out of the woods," she said.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Nah, it's almost as exotic as your Spanish voice," Paige said, smirking. "I like it."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Alright, let's go before you convince me to start cussing in Spanish. Filch is on the other side of the castle at this time of night. Griffin, quiet time!"
The girls silently made their way out of the castle and into the Forbidden Forest, where the night was alive with all sorts of creatures. Willow struggled to stop her powers from reaching out at all the sounds flooding her senses. There were herds of centaurs galloping in the distance, a deep-bellowing creature near a stream, and a group of unicorns danced down the nearest mountainside. Paige didn't seem to be afraid of the Forest. Willow wondered how terrified she would be without her powers. She was normally scared of the dark, something that went all the way back to- No, we're not dredging up sad memories right now. Wait until tomorrow to be depressed.
Griffin excitedly bounced around a familiar clearing. Willow inhaled a refreshing breath of clean air. The wiggentrees all around them glowed even more silvery-white in the moonlight, casting beautiful, almost translucent shadows of themselves onto their roots. Felicity gently landed in the nearest tree, picking off some bugs from the branches. V and Patch immediately burrowed beneath the bed of roots in search of some midnight snacks. Fidget was already asleep in Willow's robe pocket. Paige threw a stay branch to Griffin, who played fetch with it. Willow watched them for a while before interrupting.
"Okay, you ready for a flight, Griffin?" she asked. Griffin squeaked in delight, running in a few tight circles as he did so. "I thought you might like that. Come this way, Paige."
Willow led Paige and Griffin to the edge of the clearing, where a perfect climbing tree swayed gently in the night breeze. She climbed straight to the top, the other two following close behind, wincing every time Griffin broke a branch. Willow stood up as best she could with zero balance. Griffin followed her every movement.
"You ready, buddy?" Griffin squawked and flapped his wings. "I thought so." Willow carefully placed Fidget in Paige's robe pocket. "Keep this little guy safe, will you? He's awful tired today."
Fidget made a dramatic sighing noise and cuddled up against Paige. She gave Willow a thumbs-up. "We're all set here, I think."
Willow turned back to Griffin. "Get ready, boy! We're off in three...two...one...go!"
Willow transformed into a griffin and pushed off from the tree, the wind catching in her wings just enough to let her glide to the ground. Griffin did his best, but halfway down he brought in his wings too far and veered sideways, tumbling to the ground. Willow changed back and helped him back onto his feet. Griffin flapped his wings agitatedly.
"Yeah, yeah, I know it's frustrating, but you're getting there!" she encouraged. "Last time you could barely glide at all! Now look at you, making it halfway!"
Willow and Griffin climbed back to the top of the tree and took off three more times, improving Griffin's technique with each attempt. He made it three quarters of the way to the ground by the third try. Griffin was disgruntled about falling out of the sky so many times, but Willow gave him lots of pats and extra petting to try and communicate how well he was doing. To everyone's surprise, Griffin started trying to fly on his own after they climbed up the tree again, leaving Willow at the top of the tree. She didn't object. In fact, she'd been hoping he would start trying on his own sometime soon. Paige pretended to shove her out of the tree when she arrived at the top once again. Willow yelped and fell a few branches down. She blew a stray hair out of her face, looking up at Paige, who was smirking.
"Oops, sorry, didn't see you there," Paige teased mockingly.
"Oh, sorry, didn't realized gravity effected you." Willow commanded the tree to drop Paige, and she gasped as she fell a few branches below her. "Aw, did the tree hurt you? Do you need me to fix the boo-boo?"
"Shut up," Paige chortled. "You're going to hurt Fidget, by the way."
"Man, using an innocent creature as leverage! She keeps getting dirtier and dirtier!"
"Says the one that has unfair powers and uses them on a daily basis."
"Okay, I'm not going to lie, I tried not to use them during Herbology, but it's so hard not to! I mean, Professor Sprout could always use an extra hand, and the Outstanding in her class makes my Potions mark look better."
"Yeah, yeah, save it for the judge."
Willow and Paige pulled themselves back up to the top of the tree as Griffin fell head-first into the ground again. The clouds had finally cleared for once, revealing an array of stars unlike anything they'd ever seen. Constellations posed like ancient warriors in the sky. Bright stars laid out a sort of map, begging to be followed. There wasn't a single patch of dark blue left unlit. Willow could only remember one other time she saw the stars like that. Her face fell a little, but she kept thinking of happier things to try and fix it. How could she be sad when she had an opportunity to enjoy such a beautiful moment?
"Hey, grumpy butt, quit frowning," Paige said. "I should be enough to make you smile."
"That's the most self-centered thing I've heard you say all day," Willow chuckled.
"Hey, sometimes the truth hurts, and sometimes, it helps," Paige pointed out, spreading her hands in a gesture of innocence. "In all seriousness, though, what's making you sad? Do I need to punch someone in the face?"
"No, it's just- family crap."
"Ah. Relatable. I'm assuming you don't want to talk about it, so I have no other choice than to make you happy, don't I?" Paige pointed to a few constellations. "That one's Cowboy Ranchero, that one's Princess Airhead, and that one's Greek Dude That Slayed Some Monster That I Can't Remember the Name Of. Did I pass my Astronomy exam?"
"Absolutely not, but I like your way better," Willow laughed. "It makes it much more interesting."
"I don't think you can get any more interesting than making up your own names for random star shapes while a baby griffin crash-lands behind you every five seconds."
"Are you forgetting something?" Willow questioned, eyebrows raised.
Paige pretended to pause in thought. "Hmm, well, I'm pretty sure there's nothing else interesting about this moment. Glowing trees? Meh. Illegal pets? Nothing new. Crazy, world-altering powers inside a mentally unstable second year? Happens every generation."
Willow lightly punched her in the arm. "You're terrible."
"At Astronomy? Well spotted."
"No, you- Merlin, you're determined to outwit me, aren't you?"
Paige smirked. "Maybe, maybe not. I'm still deciding whether or not your abilities are up to par."
"Okay, now you're asking for it!"
Willow made the tree branches tickle Paige. She instantly melted into a giggling mess, begging Willow to stop because her sides hurt from laughing so hard. It turned out that Paige was especially ticklish. Willow finally relented, but not before she'd had a good laugh herself. Paige instantly wrapped Willow in a playful headlock, tasing her sides with her free hand. Willow squealed and begged for mercy, which she only got after she promised to stay up the whole night with Paige, something that she knew wasn't likely. They sat and stared at the stars for several moments after that, letting their heartbeats settle. Willow remained in Paige's arms without realizing it. She noticed after a minute how striking Paige's eyes were in the light of the moon. They seemed to glow with an almost holy silver-white. Her entire face was highlighted by the soft moonbeams hitting her chocolate skin tone. Willow wondered why that fluttery feeling was back in her chest as she caught herself staring. What did that mean? Was there something wrong with her?
"Hey, a shooting star!" Paige exclaimed, pointing at a beam of white light arching perfectly across the sky.
"Oh my God, it's like every cheesy movie ever," Willow giggled. "That's how they end almost every night scene."
"Still, that's pretty special to see it in real life," Paige said, eyes sparkling. Seriously, what was with that fluttering in Willow's chest? "We should make a wish. You go first."
"Hmm...I wish for my powers to cooperate."
"Mine's a secret."
"What? Not fair!"
"Hey, all's fair in love and war! And don't you dare over-analyze that statement! I'm not smart enough for a comeback!"
"Aw, you're smarter than me, just in a million different ways!" Willow said. "Don't put yourself down! That's my job, and Sally's ready to kill me for it. You're far too amazing to be mean to yourself."
A pinkish tint coloured Paige's cheeks, though only for a moment. "I guess I can try to be nice- to myself, that is."
Willow rolled her eyes. "You should be nice to everyone, but it's a start. You've got to love yourself before you can love other people."
"I don't know about that..." Paige murmured. Willow wondered what she meant, but as it didn't seem like Paige meant for her to hear that, she kept her mouth shut before she could say something awkward.
The two let a comfortable silence fall over them. Paige's eyes were so captivating in that moment, so full of life and light. Willow had never seen dark brown eyes reflecting her own so perfectly. And that fluttery feeling was back again! What was that? Willow forgot all about it in milliseconds as Paige's wavy hair drifted in a gust of wind. She'd always wanted her hair to be as perfectly wavy as Paige's, but it looked better on the older girl, she decided. She was wild and free, but soft and tame when she chose to be. They both were, when it came down to it. Willow was just a little more willing to let her guard down. Paige was dropping her defenses for once. Whether it was the purely happy aura, her glowing copper skin, or the beautiful laughter still remaining in Willow's ears, she knew that Paige was opening up. The best part was, neither of them seemed to care. It was nice to be carefree together.
"You look good in moonlight. I think you should figure out a way to glow like that more often," Paige said.
"You're an angel in it compared to me," Willow said.
"You know what? I'm not going to contest that one." Paige smirked as Willow rolled her eyes. All of a sudden, the fourth year's eyes brightened ever further. "Hey, I have an idea. What if we each got a magical tattoo? You've been saying you wanted a tiny one eventually. I could get the moon, you would get the sun. That would be really cool."
"How haven't I thought of that before? I love it! You're a night owl, I'm a morning person. You love moonlight, I love sunlight. It's perfect opposites."
"I know a tattoo artist in London. She's pretty much the nicest person on Earth. She started begging me to get a tattoo years ago. She'll be super excited to finally give me one, especially one that corresponds with another person. Lynn is a Muggle, but we'd have the ability to enchant the tattoos to move afterwards."
"Did I ever tell you that you've got the best ideas?" Willow said.
"No, but you could start right now."
Willow rolled her eyes. "You're very conceited, you know that?"
"I always get away with it, don't I?" Paige countered.
Willow smirked playfully. "Yeah, well, one of these times, it's going to come back to bite you. I've got a prank planned out and everything."
"Don't tell me Fred and George have put you up to that."
"No, they're just supporting it. Fred made the difference very clear," Willow giggled. "It will only be embarrassing until the end of time."
"Only," Paige said. She tried not to laugh as Willow suddenly yawned. "Aw, is little Willow tired? Is it past your bedtime? Can you not handle an all-nighter?"
"No, that's your job, mine is to make your morning miserable," Willow sleepily murmured.
"I'm looking forward to it. Counting on it, actually. Sleep well."
Willow felt sleep pull her under a blanket of warmth, wondering why Paige's eyes glowed with so much conflict swimming in between the moonlight as she drifted off.
During Potions the next day, Willow followed through on her promise to Paige and gave Draco a beautifully timed kick to the shin for sucking up to Snape. It was one of her best hits yet, she thought. Draco tried to retaliate, but noticed Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Gryffindor boys prepared to jump on him at the slightest movement and thought better of it. Willow one, Draco zero, she thought gleefully. Of course, it was all tied up when Draco purposely spilled an unfinished bit of their potion onto Willow's hand and burned away a few layers of her skin. She held back a scream and glared daggers at Draco for the rest of the class, periodically wiping the blood on his arm to get back at him. It seemed to do the trick. He packed up his stuff faster than normal, anyway.
Herbology was easy as ever. It was mainly because Willow couldn't be bothered to do any real work and used her powers to prune the Shrivelfigs in seconds, but she did actually try it on her own once and succeeded anyway. She wasn't about to put more effort into the task than was demanded from it. Neville and Oliver tried really hard not to give into letting Willow do their work, but after easily dumping three loads of dead stalks each onto the compost pile, they sat back and ended up falling asleep while Willow lazily pruned the Shrivelfigs with a flick of her hand. Professor Sprout was busy enough with helping other students that she didn't notice. Willow made herself useful by making sure Oliver and Neville didn't fall off their stools while sleeping.
The hour mercifully ended and they were escorted to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Lockhart swept into the room frighteningly happy and jubilant. Willow dug her nails into her palms to stop herself from slapping that fake smile right off his fake face. Was he really stupid enough to believe the danger had passed? The monster was still lurking! Hagrid definitely wasn't the culprit, no matter what the Ministry thought. He was simply incapable of hurting students. He baked Harry a homemade 11th birthday cake, for Merlin's sake! Lockhart rambled on and on, though, digging himself into an increasingly deep pit of dislike. Willow wanted so badly to brush off the comments he made about knowing all along Hagrid was the one attacking students, but something about his know-it-all tone got to her. Draco gave her a dirty look.
"You're going to get yourself expelled," he hissed.
"I don't really care at this point, Draco, I really don't," Willow growled. "No one's allowed to talk that way about someone as innocent as Hagrid, especially not this fake git."
Lockhart let out a hearty laugh across the classroom. "Oh, Lavender, don't you understand? Hagrid's been plotting the demise of this school since he was very young…Yes, I've had my suspicions, but I can't act legally on a hunch, now…"
Willow's knuckles were white, she was clenching them so hard. "That self-righteous git! He's acting like the hero when he didn't do anything!"
"Go ahead, hit somebody else for no reason today, will you?" Draco mumbled.
Willow slammed her fist on the desk. "You know what, Draco? I will!"
Draco's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What? No, Willow, don't do- !"
It was too late. Willow brushed off his attempts to stop her and stood up suddenly, drawing the attention of the entire class. She walked up to the front of the classroom. Lockhart turned to her with a false smile and unrealistically white teeth.
"Was there something more you wanted to know? I know some about Hagrid's capture- "
"What were you saying about him earlier?" Willow said, trying not to let her voice shake with rage. "Something about 'knowing all along'?"
"Oh, yes, I suspected him from the moment the attacks began! I confronted him about it once, you see, and he nearly attacked me! All I wanted was a simple conversation! Ah, this is why you can't trust the innocent wizards in this world! It's merely a facade to hide the darkness beneath."
"You know, I'd say the same thing about you, but-" Willow wound up and punched Lockhart hard on the cheekbone. She shook out her fist as he yelped and fell backwards. "Your ugly inside is now on the surface, too."
The class erupted into chaos. Girls were screaming, some guys were cheering, and Harry and Ron were laughing in their seats. Lockhart's cheekbone was already purpling as fast as Willow's fist. Lavender appeared to be on the verge of crying, as did Mia and Fay. Draco furiously glared at Willow. She ignored his burning gaze. Lockhart stood up, thoroughly disgruntled, but hid his anger with a grin.
"Well, that was certainly- a show of strength," he chuckled. "I've taken much worse, though!" He shot Willow a fearful and enraged look, but quickly covered it up for the rest of the class. "Someone must have slipped a potion into your pumpkin juice this morning! Do you need me to send you to Madam Pomfrey? She'll find the antidote in no time!"
"No, but I'd love to send you there," Willow muttered through gritted teeth.
"What was that?"
Willow shot a spell at Lockhart. He was blasted backwards by the force of it, crashing into the wall and sinking to the floor. "Does that answer your question, you smarmy git?"
If the disorganization before hadn't been enough, real pandemonium ensued after that. The majority of the students ran out of the classroom screaming for McGonagall. Students trampled each other to get out. A few Gryffindor Sisters remained in their seats in a shocked silence, then sprinted after the other students. Harry and Ron shot to their feet, however, and raced for Willow, trying to grab her. She evaded their attempts, however, and fired more spells at Lockhart, adrenaline clouding her mind. All she wanted was to see Lockhart as physically hurt as she was mentally. He couldn't keep his mouth shut. Lockhart was a fake and a git and a leech to society! She couldn't stand him any longer! Lockhart fled to his office, nearly tripping on the stairs, then locked the door behind him. Willow screamed and ran after him.
"Fight back, you coward! Run right into your office like the pansy you are!"
"Willow!" Harry shouted. "Stop it! Your powers- they're going to hurt someone!"
"What?" Willow glanced down to see that sizzling footprints traced her steps from across the room. Ron yelped when he accidentally stepped on one. A desk collapsed in a burning heap. Willow's heart stopped. "Did I…did I do that?"
Ron nodded slowly, eyes wide. "Yeah, but…how? I thought you could only do natural magic?"
"She can do anything relating to magical creatures. I'm guessing this was from a dragon's arsenal of weapons," Harry concluded. He tried to touch Willow, but recoiled quickly. "Your skin is boiling hot, too. It's your Dark magic, isn't it?"
Willow looked down at her hands, heartbeat escalating to an unsafe level. They were glowing a bright red, like hot coals from a fire, emanating with a menacing sort of heat. Willow's chest rose and fell at a faster rate than normal. She frantically looked at Harry and Ron in turn, noticing the burns forming on their hands. Hyperventilating now, she saw the blasts in the wall where she had fired off spells. She could have done serious damage! She hurt her friends! Willow backed away from Harry, jumping when she bumped up against the railing.
"Stay back," Willow warned, her voice cracking. "Please, I don't want to hurt you. I've already burnt you enough."
"No, Willow, it's fine," Harry said soothingly. "You just have to calm down. That will make it stop, I'm sure of it."
"But- no, I can't- this isn't- " Willow frustratedly stomped her foot. "I'm never going to get these under control! They pop up when I least expect, then take advantage of my negative emotions! When am I going to fix it?"
"Willow, you have to start by settling down- "
"Harry, how can I settle down when I did- when I did- " Willow exasperatedly gestured to the room- "all of this!" She ran a hand through her hair, nearly burning herself in the process. "I can't keep myself under control, I'm getting more emotional by the second…how am I supposed to keep these Dark powers from getting out?"
"I don't know, but if you don't want to start by serving a serious detention sentence, we might want to- er- leave?" Ron suggested.
"Yeah, we better go before McGonagall catches us," Harry agreed. "The last thing we need is her finding us at the scene of the crime again."
Willow swallowed hard, trying her best to draw in deep breaths. "She won't be here for another minute. Guys, I feel terrible," she said, glancing at each of their burns. "You could have been hurt pretty bad."
Harry shrugged. "It's not nearly as bad as regrowing bones in my arm."
Willow sighed. "Still, I really messed up. I'm trying to get better with these powers, honestly, it's just…Cebba was right. The Dark powers are fighting like hell to be predominant. Can you guys- can you kick me or shout at me or something whenever I get angry? I feel like that's the root cause of all of this. If I calm down early enough or leave the situation, maybe I'll be okay."
"I'll take that over being burnt any day," Ron said.
"Ron!" Harry shouted.
"No, he's right, I understand what he's saying. I would rather stop the damage before it happens, too," Willow said. She heard pounding footsteps growing too close for comfort. "Guys, we've got t-minus three minutes until McGonagall arrives at the most. Do you want me to heal you real quick?"
"Does that mean I get super-powered hands?" Ron asked.
Willow rolled her eyes. "No, Ron, just untoasted ones. Come here real fast, all of you." Hands glowing with a soft yellow gleam instead of livid red, she drew the majority of the heat out of the pair's arms and hands. Ron watched in a stunned silence. "There, now I feel a little better about you guys. Now run, quick, before McGonagall catches you guys!"
"What about you?" Harry questioned.
"I'll figure something out! Just go, she's almost in the corridor!"
Harry and Ron sprinted out the door. Willow waited to make sure they safely got out, then simply walked up to the bottom of Lockhart's stairs to his office, sat down, and waited. Her heart physically hurt. Willow felt devoid of emotion, like she had already shouted everything out. Professor McGonagall burst into the classroom a minute later, flabbergasted at all the damage. She caught sight of Willow and stared at her defeated position. Willow slowly looked up.
"Professor…I'm…I'm so sorry," she choked out.
McGonagall's fiery eyes were unreadable.