Willow slowly woke up to blinding light. Her eyelashes filtered the insensitive sunlight as she opened her eyes. The room gradually came into focus, though every time she blinked, it sparkled and blurred slightly. Willow rubbed her eyes until they finally adjusted to the darker room she'd woken up in. Bright sunbeams filtered through her window where she'd been laying on her couch all night. Willow yawned, then groggily stood up. Had she actually slept through the majority of the night?

No, she remembered, she hadn't. She'd had the same nightmare she'd been having for weeks, and it kept her up well past midnight. Willow sighed. Was it too much to ask to get a full night's sleep anymore?

Shaking off her disappointment, Willow threw on a pair of soccer shorts and her favourite jersey, then picked a few raspberries off the bush in the corner of the Power House. She peered outside, estimating that it was about half past six in the morning. Today was as good as any day to go for a run and play some soccer. Hastily throwing her hair in a ponytail, Willow found her running shoes, tied them tight, and jogged out the door.

The Forbidden Forest had become very homey around the area where the Power House had popped up. A trail had been carved out already from the amount of times Willow used the same route to get to the castle for her classes. She used that trail this morning, following it all the way to the main path behind Hagrid's house, the one she preferred for her morning runs. Willow jogged along, her breath becoming mist in the cool air. Fallen leaves pleasingly cracked and crunched under her feet. The birds twittered in the trees, a few magical creatures squeaked as they played deeper within the forest, and the gurgle of a nearby stream carried away Willow's stress. The scent of wild onions and tree sap washed over her senses. Willow would have described the sensation as her soul being cleansed. If only her heart could do the same thing.

Willow ended her run deep within the forest, but simply transformed into a falcon, flew back over the trees, and landed in the middle of the field beside the castle. For once, she didn't trip and fall on her face. She was getting much better at sticking her landings. Willow untied her shoes, peeled off her socks, and found the soccer ball she'd hidden in the tall grass. She quickly grew a pair of trees strung together with a strong tufts of grass as her goal, then went about her usual soccer routine. Willow got thousands of touches on the ball. She did skill moves, did speed drills, weaved in and out of patches of grass, and shot so many goals that her legs ached. Mornings were always the best for soccer. Everyone else was in the castle, sleeping away, but she got to have her alone time with the only company she preferred: her soccer ball. Willow was able to forget about her heartache for a little while. Soccer picked up her worries and threw them aside, for however short a time. She wished it could completely solve them for her, but she knew in her heart that her situation could only be solved by her own actions.

Checking her watch, Willow realized it was already eight in the morning. There were bound to be teachers about if she didn't pack up soon. Willow kicked her soccer ball back into the tall grass, retracted the plants she'd grown, put her shoes and socks back on, and flew to her Power House. She changed out her shoes, making sure to leave her running shoes outside where they wouldn't stink up the house. Willow decided that putting her robes back on would be better than detention and begrudgingly threw them over her T-shirt. Grabbing her wand and textbooks, she took the trail she'd made to Hagrid's house, then veered off to go to the paddock where the hippogriffs were kept. Willow wasn't surprised to find Hagrid there.

"Hey, Hagrid!" Willow called.

Hagrid turned around and grinned, but a somber expression still remained on his face. "Hello, Willow. I'm jus' visitin' Beaky again, 'at's all."

Willow bowed to Buckbeak, who bowed in response. She stroked the feathers along the back of his neck. "Beaky's a good boy, aren't you, Buckbeak?"

Buckbeak flapped his wings in approval. Hagrid half-smiled.

"He's the best I got, Beaky is," Hagrid said. "I reckon they're after him now, school gov'ners and such."

Willow sighed. "Well, they're not getting Beaky. I'd like to see them try to come near him. Lucius Malfoy can use that silver tongue of his to trick everyone into going against Buckbeak, he can get a council's approval to remove him and all that other official rubbish, but the one thing he can't do is actually move against Buckbeak. Beaky defends himself well, don't you, good boy?"

Although Buckbeak seemed to agree with that, Hagrid shook his head. "They'll do whatever they gotta do ter get rid o' him when they make up their minds."

"Well, until then, Beaky doesn't have to worry about a thing, and neither do we. We've got time." Willow tapped her foot. "Hagrid, do you think we'll be doing something other than Flobberworms soon?"

Hagrid heaved a sigh. "I don' know, I'm waitin' fer the gov'ners to approve summat."

Willow shrugged. At least she'd tried to get him to do something different. "Well, I've got to get to class. I'll see you tomorrow, Hagrid."

Hagrid waved goodbye. Willow ran through the tall grass and made it to the Entrance Hall in record time. She grabbed a piece of toast and an apple from the Great Hall, then ate it on her way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. She walked into class with five minutes to spare, a new record for that month. Her stomach flipped when her Gryffindor Sisters waved at her, patting a seat next to them. She pretended she hadn't seen them and simply found and empty seat in the back corner of the class. Willow felt like a coward for not even looking at them afterwards to see their disappointed reactions. She deserved whatever hate they were about to throw at her now. Unfortunately, an unwelcome distraction directed her attention elsewhere.

"How could Dumbledore hire such a slob? I can't believe the state this school's heading towards, hiring people like him," a familiar blonde sneered.

Willow seethed quietly as Draco continued to very loudly cast his opinion about the room. Even though the prophecy could still affect him, her possibly being friends with him and all, Draco was the one person she didn't actively avoid. His safety was not her concern anymore since she didn't consider him a friend at the moment. Willow promised herself, though, that the moment he showed signs of illness or otherwise, she'd cut him out of her day even more than she naturally did. A wake up call would be necessary for him, but she wouldn't let him die. Throwing Draco at death wouldn't make him think any differently; it would just make him dead, and Willow didn't know if she could forgive herself for an act like that.

"Are you sure those are even robes? He couldn't even have gotten them from Madam Malkin's with the amount of rips in them."

Willow squeezed her fists so tight that she almost broke her quill. Crabbe and Goyle grunted in what she guessed was supposed to be the dumbest laugh she'd ever heard. Draco smirked and soaked up the attention, casting around to see if any other Slytherins had paid any attention to him. Some lost souls were giggling to themselves. Willow forced herself to look away. She ended up sitting on her hands to prevent herself from clamping them around Draco's head.

"...probably not even qualified to be a teacher. I bet he's the first bum they picked up on the street that knew a single thing about certain magical creatures."

"Okay, that's it," Willow snapped, getting up so fast that her chair crashed backwards. She whipped out her wand and strode towards Draco as multiple students looked on. He yelped and sunk into his seat to avoid her outstretched wand, but she pushed forward until the tip of the rowan wood was pressed against Draco's throat.

"What were you saying about Professor Lupin, again?" Willow asked patronizingly.

"All good things, obviously," Draco spat.

Willow rolled her eyes. "And I thought I was bad about using sarcasm. Seriously, what's your problem with Lupin? Do you not care that he's the only decent one of the professors we've had so far?"

"Decent? How can you call that homeless lunatic decent?"

Willow pressed her wand even harder into Draco's windpipe. "Do you still stand by that statement?"

Draco's eyes flashed silver. "Like a statue."

Willow now applied even more pressure so that Draco gasped in pain. "Are you absolutely certain about that?"

Draco winced. "Ow, ow, ow, okay, jeez, Wisp, I take it back, I take it back!" he cried. Willow retracted her wand, allowing Draco to take a few gasping breaths. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"The heart of the person that's trying to save your soul," she muttered, just loud enough for Draco to hear.

Draco opened his mouth and was about to argue, but at that exact moment, Lupin appeared at the top of the stairs from his office to begin class. Willow sat down and ignored the icy glare burning into the side of her head.

Lupin swiftly began the lesson by unveiling a glass enclosure on the window side of the room. Multiple students gasped at the sight of the creature on the other side of the window. Semi-camouflaged by the reedy, muddy pond environment was a scaly monkey-like creature with a sort of bowl on its head. Willow had never seen anything like it. Lupin invited the class to gather closer.

"Does anyone recognize this particular creature?" he asked.

Hermione's hand shot up, so Lupin called on her. "It's a kappa, Professor. They're water demons from Japan."

"Very good, Hermione. Five points to Gryffindor." Hermione glowed with pride as Lupin pressed on. "Kappas are given a quadruple-X rating by the Ministry of Magic for a good reason. They feed on human blood. Kappas are known for inhabiting shallow ponds, where they will strangle unwary Muggles and wizards alike that pass through."

A good number of students stepped back, now casting wary glances at the kappa. Willow, however, stepped closer, peering curiously at the magical creature. Its beady eyes flicked from student to student, but it didn't appear threatening- yet.

"Thankfully, there are two known ways to defeat kappas," Professor Lupin calmingly continued. "The source of a kappa's strength comes from the depression on the top of their head. Do you see that water inside it? If you can trick the kappa into bowing, the water will spill out, and the kappa would be left too weak to cause harm to you. The other method to defeating a kappa is rather silly, however. To humor the creature, you can carve your name into a cucumber and toss it at the kappa."

A ripple of laughter washed over the classroom, brightening the mood. Lupin smiled at the group.

"Today is only the first day of many that you'll have a chance to challenge the kappa. If you're not confident to take them on today, or want to see someone else go first, there will be multiple other occasions in which you can face it. We do, however, need someone to go today. Are there any volunteers?"

At first, the class took a single step backwards, pulling Willow with them. Then, to everyone's surprise, a single, trembling hand rose above their heads, and Neville shyly stepped out from behind Dean Thomas.

"I-I'll do it," he stuttered.

Lupin beamed at him. "Well done, Neville, well done! Come stand over here, if you would, please."

Neville walked to a spot next to the enclosure where a rather large door was locked shut. Professor Lupin unlocked it with a wave of his wand, but still kept his hand on the handle.

"So, Neville, which method do you prefer?" Lupin asked.

"The cucumber, please, Professor," Neville said, which drew a few nervous chuckles from the students behind him. Lupin grinned at him.

"One cucumber, coming right up." After handing Neville a cucumber, Professor Lupin peacefully pulled out his wand. "There's a fairly simple gouging spell used to carve your name into objects. Simply wave your wand- like this- and say, 'Defodio,' then focus on moving your wand as if you were writing your name. Now, you try it."

Neville's hand almost imperceptibly shook as he raised his wand, whispered, "Defodio," and watched in amazement as his wand magically carved out pieces of the cucumber wherever he moved it. After crudely gouging "Neville Longbottom" into the vegetable, he expectantly looked to Professor Lupin. Lupin simply opened the door to the glass enclosure.

"Alright, wait for the kappa to come to you, then toss him the cucumber," he instructed.

Neville took a deep breath, then gradually slipped his wand back into his pocket. The kappa perked up at the click of the door opening. Moving on all fours, the creature crept towards Neville, peering suspiciously at him. Neville seemed to struggle sitting still, his hand twitching towards his pocket every few seconds. The kappa slowed to a halt when he was a mere five feet away from Neville. Sniffing the air, the scaly creature licked its lips, staring at Neville's wrist. His hand trembling slightly, Neville gently tossed the cucumber at the kappa. The kappa stiffened when the vegetable landed in front of him. The class watched with bated breath as the creature picked up the cucumber, scrutinized the lettering, and finally grumbled to himself, crawling off towards his pond with his prize in hand. Neville smiled in relief as Professor Lupin shut the door and the class burst into applause.

"Well done, Neville!" he praised. "Ten points to Gryffindor for an outstanding performance."

Neville blushed scarlet. He quickly retreated to where Sam, Dean, and Seamus were standing, waiting to clap him on the back. Ron and Harry managed to push their way through the crowd to congratulate him too. When the excitement finally simmered down to a few joyful whispers, Lupin addressed the class once more.

"Is there anyone else that would like to have a go?" he inquired.

Willow immediately raised her hand, simultaneously pushing down Draco's arm. "I'll do it," she said, glaring at him.

Lupin shuttled her to the door where Neville had been moment earlier. "Which way would you prefer?"

"I'll do the other one, the bowing thingy," Willow replied, earning her a snort of disapproval from Draco and company. She simply pretended she hadn't heard it and rolled up her sleeves.

"Wand at the ready, Willow, just in case he decides to make this difficult," Lupin reminded her. Willow pulled out her wand. "On my three, I'll open the door to let you inside. One...two...three!"

Lupin unlatched the door, and Willow quietly stepped inside. The kappa immediately rose out of the pond and faced her. Willow took in her opponent. His claws and teeth were rather sharp, and his scales looked like an off-colour suit of armor. She wouldn't get anywhere in a fight. It didn't look like she had a choice, though, as the kappa wasn't looking for any amount of talking. The kappa advanced and growled at her with each passing second. Willow set her feet and kept her wand aimed directly at the creature's chest. She already had a defensive spell prepared if there was to be a fight. If all else failed, she knew that Professor Lupin would never let anything happen to her, either. She really hoped she could trick the creature into bowing and get out of there as fast as possible.

The kappa showed his teeth and brandished his claws. Willow swallowed hard to keep the fear from entering her expression. When he fully stood up to make himself look bigger, however, Willow gasped, and not with terror.

The kappa was skinny as skinny could be. His eyes appeared more rabid for food rather than bloodshed. The muscles were beginning to disappear on the creature, almost before Willow's very eyes. She shut her eyes tight to squeeze out the memories of Lisa's decimated body. Now was not a great time to have a panic attack; she was being watched by half of the third year! Thankfully, Willow's attention was diverted by the swipe of a lethal set of claws, scratching out anything she was thinking about before. She quickly ducked and rolled out of the way.

"Hey- whoa! That is not nice!" Willow yelped. "You didn't even let me get a word in!"

The kappa snarled and lashed out once more, this time catching Willow on the underside of her forearm. She gripped it with her hand to stop the bleeding. Preparing herself to attack, Willow faced up the creature once again. But the kappa froze, staring at Willow's arm. She saw a hunger burning in his eyes that one only ever saw in the irises of a starving soul. It suddenly dawned on Willow what she could do.

"Hey, I'll make you a deal if you stop being a bully," she offered. "You get to have some of my blood, but you stop when I tell you to stop, okay?"

The kappa ignored her, only staring at Willow's forearm. She sighed.

"I must truly be going insane," she muttered.

Willow slowly peeled her hand off her sticky skin and allowed the wound to bleed freely. Gently inching towards the kappa, she allowed the creature to slowly come closer, then went rigid as the kappa dove for her arm without warning. The class screamed outside. Lupin went to open the door, but she held out a hand to stop him.

"Wait!" she cried. "It...it doesn't even hurt that bad."

Everyone watched with wide eyes as Willow allowed the hungry kappa to drink the blood from her veins. She had to admit, it felt weird, and the way the kappa's eyes were wild with the glee of finally tasting blood was slightly concerning, but it barely felt like a prick. Willow smiled as the kappa's complexion brightened. When he was finally looking a more natural shade of brighter brownish-crimson, she gently tipped the kappa's head forward, spilling the majority of the water there. The kappa visibly lost all strength, but didn't stop eating.

"Alright, you've had enough," she said, pulling her arm away. To her surprise, the kappa didn't resist, simply sitting down and staring at her. Willow shrugged and walked back outside, locking the door behind her. The entire class of third years stared at her with shocked expressions. Lupin, however, was grinning from ear to ear.

"I'd say we've discovered a third way to defeat kappas, haven't we?" he said. "If you're so inclined towards magical creatures as Miss Guerrero is, you may find a way to make any creature harmless. Well done."

Hesitant applause followed this pronouncement. Lupin called for more volunteers, and although it took a while, the class eventually stopped staring at Willow as if she were some mentally insane alien and continued enjoying the lesson. She tried multiple times to sneak out of class while her Gryffindor Sisters took turns chucking poorly aimed cucumbers at the now subdued kappa. Hermione, of course, wouldn't let her. Willow had to wait until Draco had finished his dramatic show of tricking the kappa into spilling the water from his head before the bell mercifully rang. She practically sprinted away from the stares and wide-eyed wonder of her classmates. Unfortunately, she didn't make it far, as she ran into a holdup.

"Ah, there she is!"

"We've been looking for you over the past few weeks!"

"Haven't had much luck, but glad you finally showed!"

"It gets awful gloomy when you miss a few operations, doesn't it?"

Willow's heart stabbed itself with an incredibly sharp knife. "Hey, guys! Um...sorry...I- uh...I haven't been- around...much? You know, adjusting to new classes, all that stuff?"

Fred rolled his eyes. "Sure, Willow Guerrero's always needed months to adjust to being back at the place she calls her second home."

Willow winced. "Well, third year threw some curveballs at me."

George put his arm around her. "Yes, we know, we've been there. Somehow, I don't recall us moving into the Forbidden Forest, avoiding friends, or suddenly finding ourselves caught up in as much homework as you claim you have."

Willow very unconvincingly smiled. "What are you talking about? I haven't moved into the Forbidden Forest. It's forbidden, duh. And I'm not avoiding my friends, I just have that much homework!"

Fred spluttered and stopped without warning. "It's forbidden? Since when has that been an excuse for you not to do something, ever? You run off to the Forest all the time!"

Willow sighed. "Am I that bad at lying?"

"YES!" the twins chorused exasperatedly.

Willow tried to shrug off George's arm, but he held her firmly, not allowing her to leave. "Can I at least go to lunch, guys? I promise I'll see you at quidditch tonight."

"You see us at quidditch every night, and you still disappear directly afterwards, and no one knows where you go- except for us, of course," George said. "That still doesn't change the fact that you don't show up for our plans anymore."

"I- I can't," Willow said. "I've- got lots to do. Griffin's becoming a full-blown adult, you know, so he's a piece of work, and now these powers are driving me crazy- oh, and don't forget the ridiculous amount of catching up I've got to do on Divination, I haven't been going to class since the first day- so, yeah, I think I've got a valid number of excuses."

"Does that really excuse you, though?" Fred said. "Blimey, Willow, you used to skip Potions to do these operations, and we all know how horrible Snape is. What's gotten into you?"

"I don't know, Fred, maybe you should figure it out yourself, being the smart person you are," Willow snapped. "You seem to know exactly what I should and shouldn't be doing, so go on, tell me a little more about what I'm doing wrong with my life!"

"Hey, we're the ones trying to help you out here!" Fred retorted. "There's no need to get snippy with us!"

"Oh, so now that I'm angry, and you don't want to deal with me, it's all my fault!" Willow shouted.

"No, it's just- Willow, you're not yourself at all!" George said.

"I wonder why, George? Since you think you can figure everything out about me, why don't you explain to me exactly why I've been protecting you guys? Tell me, George!"

"Protecting? What do you mean, protecting?" Fred questioned, suddenly serious.

"I- it's nothing," Willow lied, turning to walk away.

"No, Willow, it's not nothing, obviously," George said. "Tell us what's going on, or you're getting thrown into our next prank whether you like it or not."

"I told you, it's nothing!"

Fred moved to block her progress. "Willow, what's going on?"

"NOTHING!" she yelled, shoving him to the side. "If I really thought you guys were in trouble, I'd tell you, but- " Willow swallowed hard. "You don't deserve to be like this."

"Like what?"

"LIKE ME!" Willow screamed, whipping around to face them. "Living life second by agonizing second, actively avoiding everyone that was holding you together before, just for the sake of letting them live in peace. No one deserves to live like this. I- I'm not okay, and there's nothing I can do about it now. Just- forget about me, and please, for the love of God, have some fun without me so I might at least smile once a week."

Fred and George stood in a stunned silence as Willow walked away. She did her best to cool her face, breathing deeply to control her emotions. She would never live down bursting into tears in the middle of the Great Hall. After grabbing a roast beef sandwich, Willow left the mass of merry students and opted for the currently abandoned courtyard. She climbed up her usual tree and ate her food in solitude, reflecting on her outburst. She wished she hadn't done that. Now the twins would pester her and prank her and tease her to no end until they managed to make her open up or be happy. She needed to be more careful of her encounters with her friends. If she couldn't manage to make them stay away, then she would have to resort to drastic measures to keep them away.

"Hey, Pouty Face! What the heck are you doing, eating lunch in a tree? You do know we're not monkeys, right?"

Willow was frightened so much that she nearly fell off her perch. She barely managed to hang onto the tree branch with her legs, swinging helplessly upside down as a familiar face sauntered towards her, struggling to hold in a bout of giggles.

"Wow, your hair really is long," Paige said, pretending to measure Willow's hair with an imaginary ruler. "Hm, I better chop a few inches off, or you're going to be drowning in it. Let's see...eight inches good?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "No, Paige, I can manage whatever length of hair I choose."

"Sure, because just putting a brush through it every day is definitely managing long hair."

"You do the same thing!"

Paige smirked. "That's different." She ignored Willow's disbelieving scoff. "What are you doing out here, anyway? The twins weren't speaking to Lee at lunch, which is weird, considering they always have something to say to him, so I take it you did something stupid again?"

"What- no, I didn't, actually, unless you count what happened during Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Yeah, you're always doing something stupid, so get on with it," Paige said, flicking Willow's hair into her face. "Come on. I'm not going to leave you alone until you own up to yourself."

"That's completely unfair."

"Owning up to yourself is unfair? I'm pretty sure it's more unfair to the people around you."

"Ouch."

Paige shrugged. "You know unfiltered honesty is my policy."

"I know, it's just- ugh, that hits a sore spot," Willow admitted. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled at the twins, so can you tell them that? I don't think they'd like to see me at this particular moment."

Paige peered at her. "Are you trying to trick me into leaving you alone?"

"No."

"That was way too fast of a response. Yep, you're hiding something," Paige concluded, poking Willow in the stomach. "Where have you been going? I heard that you haven't actually stayed overnight in the Gryffindor common room since the beginning of the year. Seriously, if you've got a secret hideout, that's cruel to hide it from me, because I've got some pretty cool stuff that I could do if I had a proper hiding place."

"Like what?"

Paige smirked. "Do you want the original answer, or the dirty one that just popped into my head?"

"What- oh, Paige, no!" Willow groaned. "Please, I'm innocent still, I probably won't even understand what you say."

"I have plenty of time to explain it."

"God no, just forget about it," Willow pleaded. She pretended to check her watch. "Look, I've got to go get some Divination work done before Professor Trelawney kills me. Am I off the hook?"

"No, because from the last thing I've heard, you're two weeks ahead in Divination, using the textbook properly and all that overachiever crap. Are you going to tell me what's going on, or do I have to force it out of you?"

"Where are you hearing all this stuff about me?" Willow said.

"Multiple sources. Anyway, it looks like you're not going to simply hand over information, so I guess I've got to resort to drastic measures...Which pictures of you in those dresses turned out the best, by the way?"

"What- no! Paige, don't you dare! I'll give you what you want!" Willow promised very quickly. Paige raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'll tell you what's going on, but if you tell anyone else, you're dead."

Paige smiled. "Ooh, a secret! I love tormenting people with these. Go on, please, I beg you," she said dramatically.

Willow sighed. "I hate you sometimes. Well, there's been this really big, and I mean huge bombshell about my powers that Cebba decided to drop on me. I don't know how to deal with it all that well, so I've been...uh...avoiding- pretty much all of humanity. Until I figure it out, everyone related to me, whether by blood or friendship, is in mortal danger. So...yeah. It's kind of a mess."

Paige snorted. "And you expect me to be afraid of mortal danger?"

"Not normally, but this time, yes," Willow said. "It's unavoidable. If I don't figure this thing out, then everyone I know and love is going to die, and there's no way I can prevent it once it takes effect."

Paige nodded. "Sounds like a typical day in the life of Willow Guerrero. You'll figure this one out."

Willow blinked at her. "That's...it? No advice? No words of wisdom? Just...'you'll figure this one out'?"

"Yep."

Willow slide her hands down her face. "This is going to be a very long day."

After a rather dark, muddy, and exhausting quidditch practice later that week, Willow was almost half-smiling by the time she finished showering the dirt and grass off of her legs back in Gryffindor Tower. She was in such a good mood for once that she even gave Griffin extra-long belly rubs. Of course, as all good things do, Willow's happy evening abruptly ended at the sight of Professor McGonagall standing in the middle of the Gryffindor common room- staring right at her.

"Miss Guerrero, my office, please," she said briskly.

Willow's stomach flipped. She hurried after her Head of House through the portrait hole, down several corridors, and finally into her office. Professor McGonagall sat down at her desk and motioned for Willow to do the same.

"It has been brought to my attention by Professor Trelawney that you have been of low attendance in Divination lately," she began. "According to her, you haven't attended a single class since the first day, and it's nearly Halloween, I may remind you. That's two months. If you do not wish to take Divination any longer, that is a matter we can discuss after the Holidays, but for now, I do not wish to keep you in line by means of detention and house points."

"Professor- I've been keeping up- been doing the work on my own- " Willow stammered.

"That does not excuse you from physically attending the class, Miss Guerrero."

"But Professor, I really have been doing well, I'm able to keep up without attending the class- "

"This is not up for discussion. You will attend Divination, like it or not, or there will be consequences!" Professor McGonagall thundered.

Willow opened her mouth to protest, then frustratedly shut it, slumping back in her seat. "Yes, Professor. I- I'm sorry that I haven't been going. I promise, I have a good reason, it's just..." She sighed. "Nevermind."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "If there is a valid reason, you will be excused from class, Miss Guerrero, but it must be a very good reason."

Willow struggled to come up with a convincing lie. "I...I struggle to focus in her classroom, Professor. It gave me a severe migraine the first time I stepped into her tower, and I don't think any amount of pain medicine can prevent it. I can't focus with my head pounding."

"Well, you aren't the first one to come to me with complaints of the perfume she brews," McGonagall sighed, apparently struggling to keep a neutral expression. "That does not, however, excuse you from class. Madam Pomfrey has numerous remedies for migraines and other pains. I suggest asking her about accommodations. Until you come to me with a better reason for skipping, you will be required to show up to Divination as scheduled. There will be detention for each future infraction. Have a good evening, Miss Guerrero."

Her good mood completely evaporated, Willow curtly nodded and left McGonagall's office. She slowly made her way back to Gryffindor Tower, feeling like Griffin might be able to fix her mood, but forgetting all about a very important group of people that happened to haunt the Gryffindor common room every evening. Willow crawled through the portrait hole only to be literally smacked in the face by a Sister. She gasped and toppled into an armchair, the brush harmlessly bouncing onto the floor. Willow raised a hand to her throbbing cheekbone.

"What the hell was that for?" she groaned.

"HOW DARE YOU! I THOUGHT YOU WERE ONE OF US!" Lavender shrieked.

"I am one of you! You just won't see reason!" Hermione retorted.

Willow furrowed her eyebrows. "What's going on?"

"YOU! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Mia shouted.

Grasping her by the arm, Mia yanked Willow into the middle of the common room, where essentially all of the Gryffindor Sisters were pitted against Hermione. Willow was dropped directly in front of Hermione's table of sprawling textbooks and homework assignments. Both sides were glaring daggers at each other, on their feet with wands poised against each other.

"Willow, Hermione's been ridiculously insensitive lately, and we're putting an end to it!" Fay decreed. "She was completely and utterly rude to Lavender about the news of Blinky's death. She didn't even care that Lavender was grieving!"

"Wait, Blinky died? Your baby rabbit?" Willow asked. Lavender teared up in response. "I'm sorry. That sucks."

"Oh, so now you care!" Sally said, turning the heads of multiple Sisters. "You pretty much leave us for weeks, letting us fend for ourselves, not taking a single second to think about how we're doing, but now that someone's hurt, you suddenly show up to offer some pity? Not cool, Willow!"

"Hey, hey, that is not what this is!" Willow said.

"Really? You never even came back to ask if Lisa was okay, Willow! We thought you'd gone off and- and- " Sally swallowed, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter anymore. You've made it clear that you don't care about anyone except yourself."

"What- no, that's not- " Willow's struggled to form a coherent sentence. "I care about you guys more than my well-being!"

"Tell that to the person you almost let die because you couldn't be bothered to pay attention!" Sally shouted.

Willow clenched her fists. "You're really going to take it that far?"

"Hey, excuse me, we were in the middle of something more important than your little squabble!" Parvati said. "Willow, should we kick Hermione out of the Sisterhood?"

"What- no! Just because she's a little insensitive doesn't mean she deserves to be left stranded!"

Fay and Mia gasped. "But- she insults Professor Trelawney constantly! Trelawney is the only reason we've got an Exceeds Expectations this year! How can you stand to let her mock such a goddess?"

Willow spluttered. "A goddess? You're going as far as to call her a goddess?"

That was the wrong thing to say. Willow's Gryffindor Sisters instantly turned on her. Lavender and Parvati began explaining in very loud and demanding voices exactly how Professor Trelawney was a goddess that changed their lives. Mia and Fay insulted her left and right about how she was never following through on her promise to help set them all up with dates, how they were suffering academically because she wasn't there to help, and how she was hurting them very deeply. Worst of all was Sally, facing her down with an icy gleam in her eyes.

"You think that we didn't notice your disappearance?" Sally said. "We've been trying to reach out to you for weeks, but all you do is push us away! Mandy's been worried sick between you and Lisa, and now Sue is struggling to hold herself together. Cypress and Oliver haven't visited us in weeks. We're a mess because of you, Willow, an absolute wreck! It's all your fault! You left us to our own devices! How are we supposed to help each other if we're constantly splitting apart because of you?"

"What- you haven't still hung out with each other?" Willow said. "Why?"

"Why do you think, Willow? You were the one that brought us together! Without you, everything goes to crap!" Sally yelled. "Why can't you just suck it up and be a good friend for once?"

"I am! You wouldn't understand!"

"Oh, I understand perfectly! You couldn't help your selfishness, so the moment Lisa went downhill, you ran away to make it easier on you! I'm here to tell you, Willow, it may have made you feel a whole lot better, but all it did for the rest of us was make us suffer!"

"I- I didn't know! I'm sorry!"

"No you're not! You were ready to let Lisa die, and you know it!"

A rage like Willow had never felt before suddenly spilled over. The pressing voices of Mia and Fay's insults, Lavender and Parvati's superior tones, and Sally's reckless accusations all piled up into an uncontrollable monster within Willow. Electricity crackled through her veins. A faint honey-coloured glow ran up and down her arms. Her powers reacted before she could stop them. The floor cracked open, and from the small amount of soil underneath it, a thorny vine bush grew. Her roommates screamed as the spiky plants wrapped themselves around them, lifting them off the floor and preventing them from being able to use their limbs. Hermione stood up so fast that her table flipped over.

"Willow, stop! You're hurting them!" she shrieked.

Willow gasped when she realized that tiny dots of red were spreading all over her friends from where the thorns were jabbing into their exposed skin. She immediately began to reverse the effects of her powers. Crying out with the effort it took, Willow managed to return the thorn bush back into the soil until there was nothing left but a massive crack in the floor. She fell onto her back and coughed, her hands still glowing, the electricity buzzing in an almost angry way. Willow managed to sit up and look at her friends.

"You...you hurt us," Parvati said, examining the cuts on her arms. "You promised you'd never do that."

Willow stared in horror at the thin lines of red now streaming across each one of her Sisters. Glancing around in a panic, she noticed that other Gryffindor students had been watching the entire time. Willow looked at her hands again, which were still glowing, and squeezed her fingernails into her palms until they hurt. She'd injured her friends. It wasn't even on purpose. What kind of monster was she?

"You promised never to hurt us," Mia said. "How could you go back on that?"

Willow stood up super fast. She whirled around and around in a panic, agonizingly aware of an increasing number of people that had been watching her obvious presentation of her powers. She was going to be discovered! Her heart beat unnaturally fast as she desperately cast around for an escape route.

"You know what, Willow?" Sally whispered, making Willow's heart jump. "You've broken one too many promises. I'm done. You're not my friend anymore. I'll see you hopefully never."

That did Willow in. Her heart shattered, her mind broke, and her body no longer listened to her. Willow's legs seemingly carried her out of the Gryffindor common room of her own accord. She ran farther, and farther, and farther, until she was out on the Hogwarts grounds, then on the Forbidden Forest path, then onto the Power House doorstep, and finally collapsed onto her couch, breathing harder than she ever had before. Willow tried to catch her breath, but nothing worked, and she was suddenly plunged into darkness, falling, falling, falling, until she had nothing left to hold onto, and she was prisoner to the dark depths of the life that had given her no choice.

Willow gasped awake to something cold pouring over her face. She coughed and rolled over, sending some water into her right ear. Willow groaned and laid back down, rubbing her eyes to clear them. Her brain felt awfully foggy and dysfunctional.

"Scree!"

Willow jumped to her feet. "Merlin's beard, Griffin, don't scare me like that!"

Griffin flapped his wings and pranced around, every once in a while nudging her with his beak as if he were making sure she was moving. Willow glanced around the room she was in and recognized it as the secret room off the Gryffindor common room. Wait...hadn't she run all the way to the Power House last night? How did she get here?

As if in answer, Phoebe swung down onto Griffin's back, chattering at her, pointing towards the window, and waving her arms in the general direction of the Forbidden Forest. Willow sighed and ran her hands down her face.

"You guys literally rescued me from the Power House?"

Phoebe nodded, happily hanging from Griffin's back from her feet. She picked up a bucket as they went past it and she dumped the rest of its contents on Willow. Griffin and Phoebe seemed to laugh as Willow shivered from the cold temperature of the water.

"Hey! That was completely unnecessary!" she scolded.

Phoebe only chattered to herself. Willow gave up trying to talk sense into her creatures and cast her now soaking-wet robe aside, opting to throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt she always kept in the secret room. She was most likely going to get in trouble for wearing them to breakfast, but that didn't matter at the moment. Willow checked her watch and jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"What- I've been out for 22 hours?" she squeaked. "Jesus, it's nearly dinner! Oh my God, and it's Halloween, I've missed the Hogsmeade trip! Professor McGonagall's going to kill me! Uh- thanks, guys, but I'll have to give you extra treats later, I've got to go!"

Willow dashed out the door and into the common room, which, unsurprisingly, was deserted. Nearly everyone from the third year and up would have gone on the first Hogsmeade visit of the year, and everyone else would be heading down to the feast. Judging by the time, the students should be arriving back from the trip, and the feast would be starting any minute. Willow ran through the portrait hole and was about to turn the corner when something stopped her. Her head spun and buzzed with light electrical signals. Willow placed a hand to her temple, thinking it was a headache, but it became something a little more important than that. It was the faintest of faint warning signs. Something bad was about to happen. Willow spun around, trying to see an intruder, but all she saw was a kitten running in the opposite direction she was heading. What were her powers trying to tell her?

Suddenly, an unmistakable scream shot through the quiet corridor, tearing at Willow's eardrums. She struggled to block out her senses and stay on her feet. Was that...the Fat Lady? Willow started towards the woman's portrait, transforming herself into a cat just in case there was trouble. Her heart leapt into her mouth as she approached. The Fat Lady's screams traveled farther and farther away until she apparently found another corridor full of paintings to run through. Willow prepared to pounce around the corner. If there was to be a fight, she knew exactly which spell she was going to use to disarm her opponent. She didn't know what she was up against. Tensing up her muscles, Willow shifted on her hindquarters, size up the distance, and launched herself towards the portrait hole.

Without warning, a sizable black dog crashed into her midair, and the two of them tumbled onto the stone floor. Willow ended up transforming back into herself, holding her head. Then, to her great surprise, the dog grew taller, the fur disappeared, and a bedraggled man appeared in front of her. Willow's eyes widened farther than humanely possible. For a moment, the pair stood there in the corridor, staring at each other in shock. Willow finally got a grip on herself and grabbed her wand before the man could attack.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The man's body seized up, and he fell backwards onto the castle floor, completely disarmed. Willow found a knife in his hand and kicked it away, sending it clattering harmlessly down the corridor. She kept her wand aimed at the man as she examined the Fat Lady's portrait. Slashes and gauges littered the canvas, some of it already crumbling to the floor. Willow slowly turned back to the man, her voice refusing to work, her hands trembling. She cast around for a broom closet, then quickly drug him inside one.

"Lumos," she whispered, a small glow lighting up the man's face. Butterflies chaotically invaded her stomach. Willow managed to move the man's body into a sitting position. He stared at her almost pleadingly.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here," she said.

"I'm...innocent," the man rasped.

"No you're not. I know who you are. You killed thirteen people with a single curse. You've been in Azkaban for twelve years. You're Sirius Black, mass murderer, and the biggest fugitive in the Wizarding World for the past few months."

"I'm...not...denying it," Sirius said. "But...I didn't kill...those people."

"Sure, and Voldemort is waiting for you with a bouquet of flowers," Willow said. Sirius winced at his name. "Why would his name bother you? I'd think it would give you something to look forward to."

"I never worked for that murderous bastard!" Sirius hissed.

Willow clenched her fists. "Then why did you kill all those people? Why did you laugh when the authorities came to get you?"

"Because they had the wrong man, and I lost everything in a single night! I didn't kill a single person! It wasn't me that did all those things! James and Lily...they were supposed to be safe, but they- they were betrayed."

"By you!"

"Not me! They were betrayed by my friend, Peter Pettigrew!"

Willow blinked. "Isn't he...dead?"

"No," Sirius said. "He's alive, and he's the reason the Potters are dead."

Willow stared at Sirius for a long time. Her senses were screaming, they were receiving so many emotions from Sirius. There was grief, intermittent rage, sorrow, pain, and...the tiniest bit of hope. Willow didn't even need to use her powers to sense his overpowering emotions. She could see them clearly in Sirius's eyes.

"Can you prove it?" Willow asked.

"I- I can't," Sirius admitted. "Not yet. But you have to believe me. Lily and James died because of Peter, and I have to avenge their deaths. I can't prove that Peter did it if they hand me over to the dementors."

Willow shuddered at the mention of the dementors. "Obviously, but why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't, because you have no reason to."

Willow looked at Sirius in disbelief. His gaunt face, his torn, greasy clothes, and his straggly hair all but understated the man underneath it all. She didn't know why, but something told Willow that Sirius was telling the truth. He didn't look like a man that was running from his mistakes; he looked like a man running towards the only hope he had left in his life. Willow swallowed hard. Allowing Sirius Black to leave without telling anyone was very, very illegal, and if she was caught...well, she wasn't going to leave prison until she was well beyond her seventh year. But deep down, Willow had a feeling this was the right thing to do.

"Are you going to hand me over now?" Sirius whispered, appearing defeated by Willow's delayed response.

"No." Sirius stared at her in disbelief. "I almost lost a friend because I couldn't pay enough attention to her to know that something was seriously wrong. I'm sure you know that all too well. We all make grave mistakes at least once in our lives, but we don't deserve to die because of it. I believe you should have the chance to redeem yourself, Sirius, so I'm going to let you go. I can assure you, though, that if you cross me, take this for granted in any way, I will not hesitate to turn you in."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Sirius said excitedly.

"Okay, I'm going to perform the counter-curse, and when I say the coast is clear, you need to take your animagus form and run as fast as you can, got it?"

"Got it."

Willow released the body-bind curse, whispered, "Nox," then cracked open the broom closet door just enough for a cat to fit through. She shape-shifted into an unassuming black cat and peeked outside. Not a soul was nearby. It appeared that the feast was still going on. Willow flicked her tail to signal Sirius, and within second, a shaggy black dog stood in his place. They bounded down the corridors together until they reached the Entrance Hall. Willow paused, her stomach rumbling at the smell of the delicious food. She shook her head to focus and crept past the open doors of the Great Hall out onto the grounds. Sirius followed her through the tall grass, staying low to remain hidden. Willow led him into the Forbidden Forest, onto the path, and all the way to the Power House. She transformed into herself once more and motioned for Sirius to enter.

"This is my hideout of sorts," Willow explained as Sirius, now himself, walked inside. "If you ever need a quick place to hide, you can stay here. I'm here pretty much every night for now. There's some decent defense mechanisms I've set up just in case, but I haven't needed them so far. You'll be safe here."

"Thank you," Sirius said. He peered at her in an odd way, almost nostalgically. "Are you an unregistered animagus too?"

Willow shrugged. "Of sorts."

Sirius smiled wistfully. "Well, have fun with it. You'd be surprised the amount of things you can do right under Flich's nose."

All of a sudden, blaring alarms went off in the castle. Sirius winced.

"That...would be my doing. Sorry about that. I never meant to hurt the Fat Lady, I was just trying to get into the common room, where I thought Peter was." At the confused expression on Willow's face, he added, "I'll tell you after I've figured this all out. You should get back to the castle before they miss you."

"You're right." Willow turned to go, but remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot, I picked this up for you," she said, handing Sirius the knife he'd been holding earlier. "Don't you dare use that for anything but defensive purposes."

"Only defensive purposes," Sirius promised. He smiled at her. "Thank you, Willow. Your kindness is unlike most people."

Willow grinned. "I'm not most people."

Transforming into a falcon, Willow took off towards Gryffindor Tower, where she thankfully found a window to drop in. Throngs of students were just passing by. Willow nearly had a heart attack when one of them looked at her, but they passed her off as a lost falcon. She flew around the corner and, making sure the coast was clear, she shape-shifted back into herself. It came in the nick of time, as Professor McGonagall rounded the corner the moment she was standing on two legs again.

"Miss Guerrero! There you are, we were wondering if you'd been left behind," she said. "Run along to the Great Hall, now, I must patrol the corridors."

Willow's heart rate spiked as Professor McGonagall walked away. That was too close. She'd almost gotten caught using her powers and being up to no good. Willow thanked her lucky stars that she wasn't getting expelled tonight. Jogging down the corridor to catch up with the herd of Gryffindors, she found Harry, Ron, and Hermione towards the back.

"Guys! Are you okay?" she panted.

"Willow! Where were you? We couldn't find you at the feast, and we thought Sirius Black might have gotten you!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I'm fine, it's okay, I was just- not feeling so well today, that's all," Willow said. "I might have a bit of a cold."

"As long as you're okay, that's all that matters," Hermione said.

"Wait, were you in the common room when Sirius Black attacked? Did you see him?" Ron asked excitedly. "Was he the same as the Daily Prophet is saying he is? Does he really have a mad gleam in his eyes?"

Willow swallowed her guilt. "No, I didn't see him, and thank goodness, because I wouldn't have lived to say what his eyes look like."

"True," Ron said, slightly disappointed.

They reached the Great Hall, where hundreds of students were packing into the spacious room. Worried faces cast around for their friends, relief spreading over their expressions when they found them alive and well. Some first years were crying. Willow bit her lip to stop the guilt from showing on her face. Every mention of Sirius Black's name put her further on edge. Dumbledore broke up the tension a bit by providing them pillows and sleeping bags, but the electrified whispers never ceased.

"Do you reckon he was after me?" Harry asked.

"We're lucky it was Halloween; you would be good as dead if he found you in that common room," Ron said. "First he betrays your parents, then he kills his friend, and now he's after you...I wonder why he does it?"

Willow felt like her stomach was stabbing itself.