Willow's stomach grumbled. It had been at least twenty-four hours since her last meal, possibly even more. Willow checked her watch and realized only two minutes had passed since Dumbledore left. She groaned and fell back onto the stone floor, throwing her pillow on her face. Her guilt was eating away at her so much that it must be eating into her internal time clock, too. Willow shut down her senses to spare herself from the buzz about Sirius Black still raging through the Great Hall. Why was everyone being so nosy about it? Couldn't they just leave her alone and talk about how cool it was that all four houses were sleeping in the same room?

No, they couldn't, she reminded herself, because this was way too exciting of a turn of events to ignore, and she was selfish for wanting people to shut up for her sake. Willow sighed and stuffed her pillow under her head, staring at the stars in the ceiling. It reminded her of the times she would sleep outside when she was younger. Her entire family would roast marshmallows, have some s'mores, chase fireflies in the backyard, then drag their sleeping bags outside onto the lawn to stare at the stars. Willow traced the constellation of Orion the Hunter with her finger, just as she used to do four short years ago. She remembered the cool night breeze through her hair, the prickle of the grass on her back, the pine wood aroma, his laughter next to her...Her heart became heavy and sat like a lead weight on her chest. She realized her face was growing hot and blinked hard to drive out the threat of tears. Willow tried to shove the memories away, but she kept seeing them in her mind's eye, torturing her with laughter and smiles from her past. Stubbornly refusing to give into her dumb emotions, she seized her sleeping bag and pillow and dragged them into an empty corner.

Percy called out for everyone to go to sleep, but Willow had no intention of following his orders. She couldn't stay in this now stuffy room full of mutterings that plucked at her heartstrings any longer. Making sure no one was looking, Willow transformed into a black cat, padded up to the massive doors leading into the rest of the castle, and slipped out into the Entrance Hall. She bounded up the stairs with no idea where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get out of there. Willow ran farther and farther, ascending countless staircases, until she bounced off a wall blocking her way. She automatically lost her form and transformed back into herself, holding her head where a new bruise was bound to be blossoming.

"Ouch...idiot..." she groaned.

"Oh, come on, I didn't even do anything this time!" a voice complained.

Willow nearly jumped out of her skin. "Fred, George! Merlin's beard, you scared me! What are you doing here?"

"More importantly, how did you get here?" Fred asked. "There's an entire trapdoor and ladder that you have to use to get up here. How did you bypass that?"

Willow glanced around, realizing she had wandered right into the twins' pranking hideout. "Um...I honestly don't know. Wasn't even paying attention to where I was going. Anyway, how did you get past Head Bigshot?"

George rolled his eyes. "Percy didn't even see us sneak out. For all he knows, we're asleep in the Great Hall. How did you get out?"

"Powers, duh," Willow said.

"Ah! That makes sense. I'm sure you've had loads of time to practice them lately, seeing as you don't spend any time in the castle anymore."

Willow flinched. "Guys...I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. You didn't deserve that. I shouldn't unload on you guys like that. Friends don't burden friends with dumb problems."

"I wouldn't call them 'dumb problems' after the way you exploded, but apology accepted," Fred said.

"One thing, though," George said. "How fast do you dry off?"

"What?"

"Eh, you can fly, you'll be fine."

Without warning, George pulled something out of his sleeve and threw it on Willow. Water exploded from the tiny pod, and she was even thrown back a bit by the force. Willow, along with a waterfall, cascaded out the window and down the side of the tower. She quickly transformed into a hummingbird and fluttered her wings as fast as she could, thankfully drying off within a few minutes. Fred and George were still laughing when she landed on the windowsill.

"You have to admit, you deserved that," George chuckled.

Willow shape-shifted back into herself. "Yeah, I probably did. What's that called? Is it new?"

Fred grinned. "This is our newest invention, the Puddle Pod. As you found out first hand, it's quite powerful, and there's a large amount of water in it. We're planning to dump this on Marcus Flint when he walks out of the Slytherin locker rooms. It can have more interesting uses, too, but we're starting small as we keep testing it."

"That's awesome, guys!" Willow exclaimed. "You should add another element to it, though! What if you charmed it so that the person couldn't dry off for several hours?"

Fred and George looked at each other, eyebrows raised. "That's brilliantly evil. Let's do it."

For the next couple hours, the twins and Willow worked on the Puddle Pods, trying countless combinations of charms and curses and jinxes until they got it almost perfect. Willow remained their test subject. By the sixteenth test, she could feel the hummingbird wings taking their toll. George finally yawned, too.

"I suggest we nod off. That okay with you, Freddy?"

"As long as we continue first thing in the morning, I'm perfectly fine with it. Good night, then."

Fred retreated to the back of the tower room and laid down, falling asleep almost immediately. George and Willow, however, sat by the window for a little longer, staring in silence at the night sky. It was even more beautiful than it appeared in the Great Hall. Whether that was because of the different atmosphere, or the darker sky, she didn't know. Willow's emerald eyes reflected the stars, shining like her soul was on the surface. She didn't realize that George was staring at her the whole time. He drank in her appearance, wishing he could string the bright stars into her hair. Willow almost forgot George was even there, however, until she saw him flick his wand out of the corner of her eye.

"There, now everyone knows how bright you are," he said, smiling at Willow's appearance.

Willow gazed into a puddle of water left over from testing the Puddle Pods. She stared, enraptured, at her reflection, astounded by how beautiful the decorations in her hair were. Star-like orbs of light hung in her hair, reminding her of the night lights strung above backyard gazebos. Her face shone angelically in their presence. Though her skin tone lightened ever so slightly, her dark features remained, and Willow's eyes were the brightest of all. She couldn't get over how green they were.

"A thank you would be nice after you're done staring at yourself, you little narcissist," George teased, shifting Willow's attention.

"Oh, sorry! Thanks, George, it's awesome," Willow said sincerely. "How long would this stay?"

"A few hours, give or take."

"Might as well make the most of it."

George chuckled softly. "You go ahead. I'm exhausted. And as punishment for being rude, you're now my pillow."

"What? No way!"

"Yep. You have no choice."

Willow sighed and allowed George to lay down, placing his head on her lap. She settled in against one of the walls and found herself nodding off a bit, then caught sight of George's face. He had fully fallen asleep already. In the light of the moon, his face was almost angelic, glowing softly from the gentle rays. His slight freckles were brought out just so to the point where they made him a little...cute. Playful. Like he was smiling from the inside out. Willow smiled to herself. She missed being in the company of this prankster and his twin. Willow missed being care-free, skipping class to cause some trouble, causing laughter and grinning at mean peoples' expense. She wished the prophecy would just disappear, because sitting there, George asleep next to her, she realized she couldn't live without his laughter in her life.

Willow woke up to a quiet clicking sound. She slowly opened her eyes to find Fred pointing a camera directly at her, snapping photo after photo, a mischievous grin on his face. He'd stolen her camera- again.

"George is going to be pissed, you know," Willow warned, yawning and stretching her arms.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be worth the hours of revenge. He's never going to live this one down," Fred whispered. "Pretend you're asleep again, will you?"

Willow rolled her eyes, but complied. It was a good five minutes before George finally stirred. Willow couldn't help but giggle when she heard him roar at Fred that he was going to kill him. Fred dropped the camera and darted out of the tower, George close behind. Willow broke out into fits of laughter as George caught up to Fred and tackled him to the ground, a wrestling match ensuing between the twins, in which Fred ultimately won. George promised revenge.

"Yeah, sure, anything you do won't even come close to helping you outlive this one," Fred said.

"Where is that camera? Don't you dare print those photos all over the school, Freddy!"

"Thanks for the idea!"

"Fred!"

Willow calmly descended the ladder, camera safely tucked away in her robe pocket. She crept past the fighting twins and disappeared down the nearest corridor. The last day or two had been both a nightmare and a heaven. She'd hurt her friends, but also spent quality time with the twins. She'd helped Sirius Black escape, but now she had someone to talk to that wasn't a friend or family member. Willow hoped that an actual breakfast might clear her head. She made for the Great Hall, finding it bustling with the entire student body, the teachers just beginning to restore the tables to their proper places. Willow tensed up at how crowded the room was. She hadn't spent a lot of time in large groups in weeks.

"Willow, come with me," a voice whispered.

She turned around to find Harry standing behind her, eyes locked on someone in the crowd. Willow noticed that Percy Weasley was sauntering among the students, casually glancing in every direction, appearing as though he were searching for someone. She instinctively stepped in front of Harry to obscure him from view.

"Where to?" she whispered.

"The Owlery, I haven't seen Hedwig in ages."

Willow nodded and followed Harry out of the Great Hall, back across the castle, and up far too many flights of stairs. They finally reached the top of the spiraling staircase that dumped them into the Owlery. Hedwig and Iris immediately swooped down from the rafters to greet them. Willow held out her arm, and Iris skillfully landed on it, being careful not to dig her claws into her arm. Iris nuzzled her face against Willow's cheek, hooting softly.

"Sorry for making you miss breakfast. Percy's been following my every step since I woke up this morning," Harry explained.

"It's seriously okay, I understand," Willow said. "Have you gotten any letters lately? For some reason, my family's been strangely quiet, but I guess that's a good thing, considering they only send letters to reassure me that everything's fine back at home after a mishap."

Harry shook his head. "Nope. Apparently, I'm now at the level of disappointment to my aunt and uncle that they won't even speak to me. I've been hoping they would get there for a while."

Willow laughed. "That's awesome."

Harry sighed, sadness creeping back into his aura. "I have a feeling this Sirius Black character is going to mess up my day. They're already guarding me like a sacred treasure from some ancient kingdom. Do you think they'll catch him soon?"

Willow was punched in the gut. "I...I don't know. I hope they do, for your sake."

"Thanks." Harry gave Hedwig a treat. "That was really cool, what you did with the kappa the other day. Don't get me wrong, it was slightly morbid, a little terrifying, in the least, and possibly insane, but it was still really cool. How did you get so good with magical creatures? Do you spend a lot of time with them? I can't think of anything else you'd be doing when you disappear."

Willow shrugged, though she internally winced from the reference to her absence from the castle. "I do have a gang of magical creatures under my care. There's six of them, now: Phoebe, Griffin, V, Felicity, Patch, and Fidget; well, seven, technically, if you include Achelous."

At the mention of his name, Fidget popped his head out of Willow's robe pocket. He climbed on top of her head, hanging off her bangs, blowing raspberries just for the fun of it. Harry smiled and moved closer to the bowtruckle, waving Hedwig away as he did.

"I guess taking care of all those guys pays off," he said, admiring the way Fidget was humming to himself.

"Yeah, they're pretty cute, which means they get spoiled all the time. Fidget gets a front-row seat on all my adventures, Griffin and Phoebe are always adjusting the rules, Felicity is always giving me the puppy eyes, so he gets new and softer nests all the time, and the rest are basically the ones commanding me, their personalities are so strong. You can learn a lot about a creature by simply spending time with them."

"I can see that," Harry chuckled as Fidget attempted to swing himself onto Harry's hand via Willow's hair. "You're going to be a great Magizoologist one day, Willow, I know it."

Willow blushed. "Thanks. I'm hoping so."

Fidget yawned and climbed back into her pocket, giving up on his adventure. Willow tucked him in carefully so he wouldn't fall out. Then, she scaled one of the wooden beams, hoisted herself up a vertical one, and clambered over a few planks until she was in the center of the Owlery, a good fifteen feet off the ground. Harry watched her with raised eyebrows.

"Do you always like high places?"

"Yeah, they help me avoid some situations, and almost no one bothers to look up, so I'm usually alone."

"That's nice, if you like that sort of thing."

Iris gracefully landed on Willow's head, sitting comfortably on her hair. Willow beamed. "I do like this sort of thing. You would be surprised how many incredible things you see when you're up high."

"Eventually, you do have to get your head out of the clouds, though, and climb back down," Harry said, looking pointedly at her.

"Ouch. Was that a shot at my disappearances?"

"Of course! You can't avoid anyone forever, especially when it's stubborn Gryffindors. Please, for the love of God, talk to Lavender and the rest of that lot before they drive me crazy. It's like they worship Trelawney."

"Oh my God, you have no idea. They hit me with their insanity the other day," Willow said, a twinge of pain wrenching her heart as she remembered the other events of that evening. "But as bullheaded and stubborn as they are about Divination, they're ten times that in kindness. They fiercely defend one another- despite it being unnecessary and their fault half the time- and I love them even more for it. Don't get me wrong, they're the most overbearing, annoying, absolutely rash girls I know, but they cared about me more than any other friend I'd had in my life from the moment they met me. I'll never forget that."

"I...can understand that," Harry said. "The Gryffindor boys in our year seem to have done the same thing to me."

"It must be a Gryffindor thing. We take people and accept them into this wonderfully crazy family, supporting each other in any way we have to, never taking no for an answer. It's everything I'd always wanted from a friend."

"Me too." Harry checked his watch and sighed. "It's nearly time for class. I will see you at quidditch tonight, right?"

Willow laughed. "Yes, Harry, I'm not skipping out on quidditch, of all things. I think Wood said something about pitting us against each other for a Snitch drill tonight. I wouldn't miss that for the world."

"You're on. See you later, Willow."

Harry left the Owlery, leaving Willow alone with the hoard of owls flying and sleeping around her. She had realized something earlier when she was talking: she missed her Gryffindor Sisters. Like, really missed them, to the point where it physically hurt. She missed her out-of-house friends. She missed the Weasley twins, Paige, and Lee. She missed everyone. But she had to keep her distance. She'd already seemed to finish her friendship with Sally, so it wasn't long before her out-of-house friends heard about the incident and parted ways with her, too. The thought of Oliver, though, sitting in the Slytherin common room with Cypress, crying his eyes out because he thought she was turning into a horrible person...it was too much to bear. Willow didn't know how much longer she could survive hurting her friends like this, because as much as it hurt them, it was hurting her so much more.

The rainy season of Hogwarts was ushered in with dire consequences. Howling wind whipped against the windows so fiercely that some professors had taken to using the amplifying charm when lecturing to be heard over the din. The dark clouds raced across the sky like a swarm of air force planes, dropping bombshells of fat, heavy, pounding raindrops that never seemed to end. Willow was nearly blown over at quidditch practice within a few days of the steadily-worsening weather. She was yanked off her broom midair multiple times throughout practice, and although she always managed to hang on, Fred and George were furious with Wood for letting her continue. Willow persisted until she couldn't fly into the wind anymore, then finally allowed Fred and George to fly her back to the locker rooms.

"Bloody hell, what's with this change in whether?" Fred grumbled. "Couldn't it wait until after our match?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say it's somehow Slytherin's doing," George said. "I'd bet you anything they tried to figure out a curse for making the weather horrible- you know, since they weren't planning on playing us in the first place."

"What? We're not playing Slytherin?" Willow gasped. "But we've practiced everything expecting Slytherin! Who are we playing now?"

"Hufflepuff, and Wood's going mad over it."

"Well...at least they won't try to knock us off our brooms," Willow said. She brushed the water off herself and stepped inside the locker rooms. "Thanks, guys. I'll see you in the common room."

"You better not ditch us again!" Fred said over his shoulder as he and George pelted away.

Willow rolled her eyes. She'd broken a few promises that weren't even promises over the past handful of weeks, of course, but she wasn't even planning on what she said because she had to stay away for her friends' own good. Willow undressed, threw her t-shirt and shorts back on, as she wasn't planning to stay in the castle all night, naturally, and stored her broom in her locker before walking into the castle. She didn't even make it two corridors before she ran into a familiar face.

"Hey, Wisp. I'm assuming you got the news?" Draco sneered.

Willow's blood boiled. "You disgusting, pitiful swine! How dare you use your fake injury as an excuse? You know exactly why you did it, so don't lie to me! I always knew that Slytherins like you couldn't get rain on their precious quidditch robes!"

Draco scoffed. "I don't mind a little rain."

"Oh, really? Then why did you cancel on us like that? And don't give me that crap that your arm is still injured. I know for a fact that it healed up weeks ago. Madam Pomfrey is a formidable healer."

"Of course you'd know that."

"Is that supposed to insult me? That doesn't hurt at all, actually. I'm glad to have done something courageous and selfless in my life, even if it ended in me going to the hospital wing, unlike you, you selfish little git!"

"I am not selfish!" Draco protested. "I'm just not stupid enough to confuse selflessness with suicide!"

"Oh, please, spare me the heartache of watching you go on and on about your perfect intentions," Willow said sarcastically, walking around Draco. "I don't plan on seeing it through your eyes; all I'd see is darkness."

"If you're implying that I'm blind, you should look again."

"And that right there is why I'm not going to, Draco!" Willow exclaimed, whipping around. "All I do is chase my tail around and around, thinking you're going to get better, but you don't! It always ends in a landslide for me! You have these ups and downs of your moral conscience, but in the end, you never change! And the worst part is, you don't even see that! How am I supposed to help someone that won't help themselves?"

Draco glared at her. "You're wrong."

"I might be wrong, but you couldn't be farther from being right. Why do you think we're not friends anymore, Draco? Why do you think I don't go out of my way to talk to you?"

Draco burned a hole through his shoes with his eyes. Willow took a deep breath.

"Look, if you want to turn it around, I'm fine with that, because I'll still be waiting. But if you're going to continue terrorizing Muggleborns, sneering your prejudiced views across the Great Hall, and being an overall bully, I'm letting you go. Do you want to be my friend or not, Draco? I really want to know, because I can't keep living like this."

"I- I do want to be your friend, Wisp," Draco muttered.

"Then why don't you change?" Willow whispered.

"Because I can't," Draco said, his grey eyes burning into Willow's, speaking a thousand words.

Willow stared right back at him. She read the emotions blazing within his stormy irises: loathing, pain, regret, sadness...and fear. Willow wondered, was a result of her, or something else? She would never know, though, because if Draco couldn't change, then he couldn't be her friend anymore. Willow closed her eyes, wishing she could stop caring about him. She turned away and made to leave when his voice quietly called after her.

"Willow...if you aren't my friend anymore, then why do you still wear that Slytherin pin that I gave you?" he breathed.

Willow turned back to look him in the eye. "Because I can't give up on anyone."

Draco stood there in silence as she walked away. Willow wordlessly marched back to Gryffindor Tower, her heart swirling in a mist of confusing memories and feelings that she couldn't sort through. Her head swam with rational and desperate thoughts alike, intermixing and fusing together until they set off a bomb. A fresh wave of emotions hurled through Willow's body from head to toe. She could literally feel the pain of her strained friendship. Why was saving Draco so important to her? What about him was causing her to care so much? All he'd done was hurt and push her down left and right, and every time she staggered to her feet, she'd be shoved flat on her face again. So why was she letting him do it? Willow glanced down at her Slytherin pin. Was there really that much hope that he'd change?

Willow was in such a state that she ran headlong into Sir Cadogan's painting. The stout little knight gave a cry and unhorsed himself from his fat grey pony. Willow jumped backwards, apologizing profusely.

"Who are ye that charges Sir Cadogan so earnestly? Does ye wish for a fight?" he cried.

"No, Sir, sorry, just want to get into the common room- " Willow began.

"Cadogan, shut it already! Mangy cur, and don't make me say it again!"

Sir Cadogan unwillingly swung his painting open, glaring at the newcomer the whole time. Willow gave a start when she recognized her as Paige. The older girl winked at her and crawled through the portrait hole, Willow following her in a daze. Paige begrudgingly sat near the Weasley twins, as everywhere else in the common room was full, and Willow found a spot next to her. The twins' hair were still sopping wet from quidditch practice.

"There you are! We thought you'd sneaked off again," Fred said.

"Earning your honestly back, I see."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut it, I don't lie that much!"

"Unless you count stretching the truth, in which case, you lie a ton," Paige said. She waved at Fred. "Hey Fred."

"What, I don't get a hello?" George protested.

Paige shot him a look. "We're not there yet."

Fred and Willow exchanged expressions. She thought that Paige and George would grow up already and get over their dumb squabble, but it seemed to be stuck right where it left off. Was her presence hindering their relationship, or was it helping it, she wondered?

"Well...George and I were planning to pull something off on the Slytherin common room soon, so do you want to be in it, Willow?" Fred said, not diffusing the awkward tension in the least.

"Uh...sure, just let me check my schedule," Willow replied.

George stood up. "I'm going to do homework. I'll see you later, Freddy."

George marched up the boys' dormitory stairs. Fred sighed and followed him, managing to catch up to his twin at their landing. George still slammed the door after they disappeared inside the fifth year dormitory. Paige rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Willow.

"So, what have you been up to, other than being mysterious?" she asked.

"Apparently ruining friendships."

Paige scoffed. "You think this is your fault? No, no, you might be the cause- not that that's any fault of your own- but this is all between George and I. He's being a big baby, and he needs to get over himself."

Willow shrugged. "Everyone has moments like that."

"Yeah, but this time, he's way out of line. There's no need for him to act like an idiot."

"True..."

"Hey, don't blame yourself," Paige said, drawing Willow onto her lap. "I know you. Whenever you find a problem, you fix it, and when you can't fix it, then it's not your problem to fix. This is one of those that you can't fix yourself. George has to find it within him to stop being such a butt and get a move on, because I miss pranking as a team."

"Yeah, me too," Willow sighed.

"It'll get better. People are just weird. Especially people like you."

"Hey!"

Paige smirked. "You had to see that coming."

"It didn't mean you had to say it!"

"But didn't it?" Paige questioned. She smiled when Willow rolled her eyes. "You're the most adorable weirdo I know. Don't ever stop being weird. And please don't ever stop speaking Spanish. It's so hot."

Willow hid her blush by pretending to be offended. "That's not hot, it's just another language."

"It's hot."

"I'm not going to change your mind, am I?"

"Nope."

Willow grinned. "And a stubborn will to never let anyone make you think differently is also hot." She checked her watch. "Oh, would you look at the time! I've got to go catch up on Divination- again. See you later, Paige!"

"Wait- did you just- you little- !" Paige called after her, slightly flustered.

Willow giggled to herself as the muffled curse word came through Sir Cadogan's portrait. She skipped happily away through the corridors, ignoring Sir Cadogan's challenges for her to duel. Transforming into a falcon, she flew out the nearest window when the coast was clear, heading straight for the Forbidden Forest. The Power House was still invisible to the untrained eye; Willow, however, knew how to look for the tiniest glow between the trees, and landed right on the doorstep.

"Willow? Please tell me that's you," a voice whispered.

"If I was a dementor, or an auror, for that matter, would I respond?" Willow said.

Sirius chuckled. "Always a smart response with you. I do believe sass is a requirement to get into Gryffindor anymore. How was quidditch?"

"Not great," Willow sighed, throwing her textbooks onto the table. "The wind's getting to a point where I can't fly in it anymore. I'm too light, unfortunately. I should probably start putting on some more muscle…anyway, Slytherin pulled a mean trick on us. They decided not to play at the last second because of the weather- you know, since they're crap even on sunny days- and they're blaming it on Draco's 'injury' when they know full well he healed up weeks ago. Now we're facing Hufflepuff with no preparation for their style of play. Wood's likely to tear his hair out."

"I'm not surprised. Slytherins do anything to give themselves the advantage in any situation; I see where they're coming from, but that doesn't make it right."

Willow glanced at Sirius. "You sympathize with them?"

He nodded. "My entire family was Slytherin- except for me. Regulus, my brother…he was a handful, always pulled towards dark magic, but I still saw the good in him. Not all Slytherins are bad."

Willow was dumbstruck. "My entire mum's side of the family was Slytherin, too, and I seem to be the only one that understands them!"

Sirius's face darkened. "Did she cast you out, too, then?"

Willow scoffed. "I would have left of my own accord before I let her get to that point. No, she did something horrible and lost her place in my family long before I went to Hogwarts. My dad's side is proud to have a Gryffindor in the family."

"Good for you. Don't let anybody throw you out because of their own personal problems."

"I won't."

Sirius stared out the window, his threadbare clothing rustling in the evening wind. "I'm thinking about going to the match tomorrow. I've always wanted to see Harry play quidditch."

"What? You'll get caught! The dementors- they'll find you!"

Sirius grinned. "They've tried and failed to see through my animagus form. They won't even see me this time. I appreciate the concern, though."

Willow looked at him. "As long as you're sure…"

"I'm certain."

Willow sat on her couch, then yawned. "I think I'm going to go to sleep…big match tomorrow, not that I'm going to get in it…I'll talk to you in the morning, Sirius."

"Good night, Willow."

As she drifted off to sleep, the last thing she saw was Sirius staring at the full moon, a melancholic expression on his face. She vaguely wondered what he was thinking about, but she was too tired, and soon was fast asleep.

It was still pitch black outside when Willow woke up the next morning. She yawned and stretched, assuming that the weather was still turning day to night, but when she checked her watch, she realized it was only half past three. Willow furrowed her brow. What had woken her up? It couldn't have been a nightmare. For once, she hadn't woken up in a cold sweat, instead dreaming about...was that Paige, the Weasley twins, Draco, or a combination? She couldn't remember.

A loud thump! made Willow jump nearly a foot in the air. She shot to her feet, senses scrambling for a grip on the situation. There was something moving outside, something big. Willow glanced around to see if it was Sirius playing a trick on her, but to her dismay, he was curled up in the corner of the room, still in the form of a great black dog. Had someone found her? Willow concentrated, placing her foot firmly on the floor and pulsing. The waves that retreated back to her certainly didn't paint the picture of a human. It was more of a large creature that she didn't recognize. What was that thing?

Cr-eak! The hair rose on the back of Willow's neck as the door began to crack open. Every instinct told her to run, that she was about to get into a fight, but Sirius was weak and would never make it. She took up a defensive position in front of his sleeping form, transforming herself into an amateur welsh green dragon, which took up the majority of the remaining space in the Power House. Willow brandished her claws, preparing for a sudden attack. A low growl sounded from directly on the other side of the door. Her heart hammered against her chest. Despite her now protective form, she still had a horrible, roiling sensation in her gut that made her fear the worst. The door inched open, centimeter by centimeter, until it fully revealed the intruder. Willow wanted to scream.

A fully-formed werewolf was framed by the moonlight in the doorway. He was as tall as the Power House itself when on his hind legs. Willow noticed the sharp teeth between his jaws and the muscles rippling within his legs. Her heart and lungs froze over as if an icy breeze had ripped through her. She was no match for an adult werewolf like this one. What if it decided to attack? If she got bit, there was no going back; she'd be stuck as a werewolf forever!

The werewolf, however, did not seem interested in attacking. Its eyes stared directly into Willow's, then traveled down her powerfully equipped defenses. He wanted no part of that. Willow was startled to see bright hazel irises shining in the moon beams when he moved further into the room. Werewolves didn't normally retain their eye colour when they transformed...did they? She could have sworn learning that they were thoroughly black as the dead of night. Was this even a werewolf, then?

Without warning, Sirius stepped in front of her, arms outstretched to keep Willow behind him. He stared down the beast with an almost impenetrable sadness.

"Did you take your potion tonight?" he whispered.

To Willow's enormous astonishment, the werewolf nodded in reply. Sirius's stance never wavered, however, and he took special care to retain eye contact with the werewolf.

"Go, then, before someone spots you. There's a wonderful clearing about a kilometer south that you'd be safe in."

The werewolf stared at Sirius, hesitating for a single moment. Was that...melancholy in his eyes? Before Willow could get a good reading, though, the werewolf simply walked outside, then bounded away into the forest, apparently heading for the clearing Sirius had told him about. Willow transformed back into herself when the werewolf was gone, panting lightly.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"A werewolf, obviously. Has your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor taught you nothing?" Sirius replied smartly.

Willow exasperatedly rolled her eyes. "No, Professor Lupin has done an outstanding job so far. I know what a werewolf is! What I meant was, what the heck was that? You know, talking to the werewolf? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Sirius appeared stunned at first, then shook himself. "That werewolf had taken the Wolfsbane Potion. Did you notice how he had human eyes?" Willow nodded apprehensively. "He was in his werewolf form, but he still had his human mind. No werewolf in their right mind would hurt someone on a full moon. Werewolves don't need any more stigma around them."

"But- it seemed like you knew that person. Who was it?" Willow asked.

Sirius's expression clouded. "I think it was someone I've known for a very long time, since Hogwarts. It was my best friend."

"Your best friend was a werewolf? That's...kind of awesome, actually."

Sirius shot Willow a look. "He didn't have the Wolfsbane Potion back in school. So, every full moon, he would be forced to become an aggressive, murderous beast beyond his control, and every morning he'd have to suffer the consequences: getting sick, missing classes, and worst of all, finding out whether he hurt anyone."

"Oh...not awesome."

"Him being a werewolf was the reason I became an animagus, you know," Sirius admitted, staring over his shoulder at the full moon. "A couple friends and I were most likely the youngest unregistered animagi in the country, if not the continent. We were bloody fools, trying to do something so complicated on our own, and risking our lives to boot, but it was worth it. We were able to make sure he never hurt himself or anyone else the rest of our Hogwarts years."

"That's incredible." Willow bit her lip. "I really hope my friends don't get any bright ideas..."

Sirius let out a laugh, something she rarely heard from him. It reminded her of the feeling she got after trying honey for the first time. "Don't worry, you're not in as dire of a predicament as he was. You can take care of yourself fairly well."

"That's slightly comforting." Willow checked her watch. "So...if there aren't any more werewolf friends of yours that plan to stop by, I'm going to go back to sleep. Big match tom- today, actually."

"Rest up, Willow. I'll stay up to make sure he stays deep within the forest."

Willow laid back down on the couch, listening to the pounding of the rain on the roof. The patter reminded her of home. Her mansion had several glass skylights that, when it rained, would create a distinctive tapping sound. Willow's heart ached to be back at home, listening to her uncles arguing, watching her grandparents bake a cake, reading with her father in the library, hanging out with Oliver in the greenhouse with all her magical creatures...

Oliver! She hadn't seen him in weeks! Sally said something about him and Cypress never leaving each other's sides anymore, always hanging out in the Slytherin or Hufflepuff common room, asking whether any of her out-of-house friends had seen Willow or not every day. Her heart tore itself in half. Oliver was her brother! Avoiding him was like kicking him out of the family! She couldn't imagine the pain she'd put him through, being all alone. Had Abuela sent him some letters? She usually did that, right? Willow felt herself panicking as she imagined Oliver, curled up next to Cypress, asking him if he was really a Guerrero, if he'd ever be. She tried to get a hold of herself, but couldn't. The images flooded in from all sides. She was trapped.

Stop, calm down, STOP! Willow shouted at herself. Feeling sorry for yourself won't get you anywhere! Oliver is part of the family whether the universe accepts it or not. He's going to be okay when he realizes why you've been staying away. He'll understand one day; they all will, hopefully.

Willow took a few deep breaths. It was okay. She was alone, but that meant everyone was okay. And Sirius- he was safe, because he wasn't truly a friend yet, right? Yeah, he still wasn't opening up to her. Sure, he'd told her about his werewolf friend, but that couldn't have been too much, everyone had a few childhood memories that they like to share to everyone- aside from the illegal animagus part, of course. He only told that to her because she knew about his animagus form already. Sirius wasn't telling her his mission, exactly what happened to land him in Azkaban, and what the hell was going on in general. That meant he wasn't a true friend yet. She could stay around him. Yes, she could stay around one person, so she wasn't alone entirely.

Willow relaxed and closed her eyes. She hated hurting her friends more than she hated the prophecy, and that was saying a lot, because the dang thing was ringing in her ears and terrifying her all over again every five seconds. But it would be okay. It would all be okay. Everything she was doing was so that her friends wouldn't get hurt. She was saving their lives in exchange for a little blip in her happiness. Well...if she was being honest, it was a tear in her heart, but it was worth it to save those who had kept it beating all this time. Willow sighed and let herself drift off to sleep. She hoped to at least dream about them...

But she did not dream about them. In fact, for the first time in what felt like forever, she didn't dream at all. Willow blinked awake what felt like seconds later to a slightly lighter grey sky. She groaned when she saw that it was time to head into the castle for a bit of breakfast before the match. Willow hated herself for not wanting to play- some people would give their left leg to play on the Gryffindor quidditch team- but considering the fierce wind and ferocious rain pelting down outside her window, she figured she wouldn't even be able to fly, being as light as she was. She cursed her soccer frame for being so lean. After saying goodbye to Sirius, and thoroughly warning him about the danger of going to the match, she transformed herself into a dog and ran towards the castle. She shook herself off the best she could in the Entrance Hall, but still was sopping wet by the time she shape-shifted back into herself.

"Willow? Is that you?" Wood asked, appearing from the top of the marble staircase. "Why are you soaked? Did you seriously go outside already? Not that it matters...we'll be out in this deluge in an hour anyway...just be ready for anything, because in this weather, someone might get struck by lightning, and you'll have to go in."

"Oh! Uh...I'll stay on my toes," Willow said uncertainly, the prospect of navigating her Nimbus Two Thousand and One through this wind making her stomach churn.

"You better eat some breakfast. Got to be at our strongest...if that's even enough..."

Willow followed the uncharacteristically somber and quiet Wood into the Great Hall. The rest of the team was already there. Willow wanted so badly to sit next to Harry and the Weasley twins, but reminded herself that it was for the best to stay away. She ate her toast and eggs in a numb silence, a good three feet away from Alicia. Willow knew that Harry and the twins were shooting her pleading looks. It hurt when they grew frustrated and ignored her presence, but she had to stay away. She'd been letting her guard down and undoing weeks of disconnection each moment she spent with her friends. Paige and the twins had especially seen her a lot lately, which was concerning. She couldn't seem to stay away, no matter how many times the dumb prophecy rang in her ears, and it was hurting her beyond belief. Willow's chest tightened at how happy she'd been when she (sort of) made up with the trio. It made both parties happy to be with each other, but how betrayed would they be when they found out they were dying because of her? She had to be more careful.

At long last, Wood announced it was time for the match. Willow proceeded to the Gryffindor locker room along with the rest of the team. She managed to keep to the back of the group, where no one was bound to talk to her. Harry took matters into his own hands, however, and cornered her the moment she entered the locker room.

"What the heck? Why won't you talk to me?" he asked.

"I- I'm just tired, that's all," Willow lied, rather startled by the sudden outburst.

"You've been ignoring everyone lately! Neville is starting to get worried, and Sam's out of his mind! Look, I know I'm not observant, and I should have noticed it before, but you seemed fine when we were talking in the Owlery! What's happened?"

"I've had- some- personal issues."

"But...you know you can talk to any one of us, right?" Harry questioned. "I mean, I might give terrible advice, but Oliver always seems to know what to say. He's been super worried too, by the way. He always stops by the Gryffindor common room to hang out with Neville and I now- I think Cypress is pushing him to be more outgoing- but he still asks if we've seen you, like, every day."

Willow winced. "Can we talk about this later?"

Harry folded his arms. "Only if you promise to actually talk."

"Fine. I will. Now come on, we've got a massive storm to weather- oh, yeah, and a team to beat in the middle of it."

Ten minutes later, after a failed pep talk by a lock-jawed Wood, the Gryffindor team took to the field, warming up as best they could in the bone-chilling, driving rain. Despite the weather, fans from every house filed into the stands, pulling hoods down as far as they could to shield themselves from the pouring rain. A few umbrellas were flying around in the whipping wind already. Willow's gut broiled at the sight of Malfoy and his dumb body guards in the Slytherin section, laughing at the Gryffindor team from beneath a very large umbrella. She shook her head, promising herself that she wouldn't kill anyone today, and continued to warm up. A strong gust of wind stung her face with icy raindrops and nearly unseated her from her Nimbus. She carefully climbed back on amidst concerned gasps and flew towards the bench, where the rest of the team was gathering for a last-minute chat. Within a few minutes, the game had begun, and Willow watched, heart racing, as her teammates were swallowed up by the rain.

She had to enhance her vision with her powers to actually locate her teammates. Harry was long gone, high above the stadium, searching fruitlessly in the downpour for the Snitch. Alicia, Katie, and Angelina were having a heyday with the Hufflepuff defense, passing it around the players in quick succession and pelting their poor keeper with numerous shots. Fred and George high-fived each other for smacking the bludgers far away from the stadium in unison. Wood, though mostly inactive, was white in the face, veins popping out with the amount of tension wracking his muscles. Why was he so concerned? Hufflepuff wasn't a pushover, of course, but they weren't dirty like the Slytherin team. No one was going to get hurt unless something out of the ordinary happened.

Only a little while passed before Gryffindor was up fifty points. After Wood called a time-out, Hermione darted down from the stands and fixed Harry's glasses so they wouldn't get covered in water droplets. God, she missed picking that smart-alec's brain. Willow continued to watch the game in nervous anticipation. Lightning flashed, thunder boomed, and the smell of mud increased as the field flooded. With each lightning strike, Willow could see a little more of the stands. Her friends were all gathered in one spot in the stands, huddled together under a roped-down umbrella. Willow's heart throbbed at the sight of Lisa, still thinner than usual, curled up next to Mandy and shivering. She wished she could run straight up there and give her a hug. She would have given anything to run right into her friends' arms, cry into their shoulders, spill everything that had been on her mind for the last several weeks, tell them she was sorry for so many things. But she couldn't. Willow wrenched her eyes away from them, forcing her mind to focus on the game, her heart still heavy from the sight of her friends.

Alicia accidentally slammed into one of the Hufflepuff players, knocking him off his broom. She quickly dove down, saving him from plummeting fifty feet, and threw him back on his broom. The quaffle that had been in her hand darted towards the ground. Angelina was right there, however, and expertly scooped it up. She executed a perfect one-eighty and shot towards the goal. Katie went shoulder to shoulder with a Hufflepuff chaser, successfully keeping them from getting to Angelina. Angelina approached the goal, raised her arm, and threw the quaffle, drawing some excited squeals from the crowd. The Hufflepuff keeper materialized out of thin air, it appeared, and dove, making an incredible save. Cheers from all stands went up, even the Gryffindors. Willow herself clapped. It was a great match-up so far. Hopefully Harry would make it to the Snitch soon so they could win and get out of the rain.

All of a sudden, the cheering abruptly stopped. The lightning ceased. The thunder paused mid-boom. Even the wind quieted itself to an inaudible decibel. Willow tapped her ears, thinking her senses had shut down on her. When she glanced into the stands, though, students were looking at each other in confusion, wondering what happened. Willow snapped her fingers and realized she could still hear their click. Her stomach began to bottom out. Something bad was happening. She could feel it in the atmosphere. The air temperature sharply declined, her breaths became mist, and she immediately began to shiver. An icy claw of fear dragged its way down her spine. Something horrible was definitely happening.

Without warning, electrical signals bounced around in her head. They hurt beyond the usual danger signs. Willow almost recognized their frequency, but was too preoccupied by her now pounding head to explore it. She noticed her cheerful mood had evaporated almost as fast as it had come. The puddles on the ground froze over, and icicles formed around her hair where it was previously dripping with moisture. What was going on? Willow looked to the crowd once more to see how they were reacting to find them entirely rigid, eyes locked in horror on something just out of her sight line. Ignoring the rules, Willow hopped on her broom and pushed off, floating several feet towards the center of the field. When she saw what they were staring at, she clapped a hand to her mouth to muffle a scream.

A black cloak of what seemed like death was floating towards them, every so slowly. It was the dementors. There were at least a hundred of them. Their dark cloaks swayed behind them, menacingly calm. Clouds darkened even further above them. Decaying hands reached out from under their cloaks to grasp upwards. Their hidden faces were all staring at something. Willow followed their gaze with her own eyes. Her heart leapt into her throat, and horror drove a deep, sharp pain into her very bone marrow. The dementors had fixed their target on a single person, obliviously floating a hundred or so feet above them: Harry.

Willow shook her head and forced herself to move. If they got to Harry, they would overwhelm him, and not even Dumbledore would be able to save him then. Willow shot off in the direction of the dementors, aiming for the very center of their gathering.

"Hey, losers, remember me? There's someone with plenty of happy memories coming right at you!"

The dementors barely turned to face her before Willow blasted directly into them, shoving some of them several feet away. When she'd cleared the other side of the mass, Willow went back in, knocking more dementors aside. They finally got aggravated enough by her third run to chase after her. Willow's insides burned with an icy terror, but she pushed it aside, tipping her broom upwards and aiming for the sky. She waited until a great enough group was close, then darted straight up into the sky. Willow glanced behind her several times only to recoil in horror. Dementors were fast when they wanted to be. She pushed her broom to go faster, faster, faster, until she was completely above the storm clouds. The unwary dementors followed her into the bright sunlight. When it hit them, they hissed and screamed in agony. It was the most hideous noise Willow had ever heard in her life. She covered her ears, trying to block it out. It was worse than even nails on a chalkboard, grating on her eardrums. When the last of the dementors were caught in the sunlight, Willow took the opportunity to dive back down towards the pitch, hoping nothing bad had happened to Harry while she was gone.

She was extremely disappointed. The moment she got within a few hundred meters of the quidditch field, the dementors had surrounded Harry from underneath him. He was trapped. Students screamed, some first years cried, and teachers were gathering together, desperately trying to come up with something to save Harry. Willow's heart drummed in her ears, pounding against her ribcage. Without warning, Harry passed out, and with a sickening sensation in her gut, Willow watched as he slid sideways off his broom.

Willow tried her best to shut out the shrieking. She pointed her broom straight down and darted after Harry. Three hundred meters...two hundred fifty...she was closing in fast, but Harry was falling even faster! Two hundred meters...one hundred fifty...Willow pushed her broom to go faster than it ever had before. One hundred meters...fifty meters...Harry was completely limp, falling through the hoard of dementors, some getting knocked out of the way. She was getting so close...but Harry was closer to the ground! Twenty five meters...fifteen...ten...heart in her throat, Willow reached out, grasping hopelessly for Harry, but he was too far, he was going to hit the ground any moment...

Suddenly, Harry's body halted midair, five meters from the ground, and slowly lowered itself, harmlessly sinking into the mud. Willow landed hard on the ground only a second after him, cradling Harry's body.

"Please don't be dead...please don't be dead, dear God...I couldn't live with myself..." she said, trying to find a pulse.

Warning bells went off in her head again. Willow managed to find a pulse on Harry at that exact moment, so she didn't know what on Earth her powers were trying to tell her now. Glancing around, her head increased in pain when she was looking at the stands. Willow rubbed her temple to try and remove the pain. The fans were fine. Why would her powers be trying to warn her about them? Then, when she finally brought the stands into focus, it became very clear to her why the fans were in trouble.

A group of dementors had broken off from the rest and were terrorizing a very familiar section of the stands. Willow clapped a hand to her mouth in horror. Her out-of-house friends, including the Smith twins, were being cornered by the dementors. They were backing up slowly, step by step, but they only had one left before they would have to jump off the stands entirely. Willow's heart raced out of control. She instinctively dropped Harry, mounted her broom, and soared into the sky, aiming directly for the dementors. When she arrived at the scene, however, the dementors were ready for her this time.

Willow watched in horror as the dementors danced out of the way in the nick of time to avoid her fly-by. She tried again, and failed again. The third time, she still missed, only managing to tick off the dementors even more. They closed in on her friends, forcing them onto the very last step. Willow swallowed her fear. She had no choice. She knew exactly what she had to do now. Landing her broom on the stands, Willow sprinted towards her friends, throwing herself in front of them, extending her arms protectively to keep them behind her.

"You have no business here. Leave!" she growled, though her voice was swallowed up by the wind.

The dementors refused to comply. They pressed on ever so slowly, tortuously closing in on them, freezing them from the inside bit by bit. Willow could feel them invading her mind, drawing out the last bit of happy memories until she was empty. Lisa trembled behind her.

"Willow, are we going to die?" she whimpered, shivering aggressively.

"No. No one's going to die as long as I'm here," Willow said, her voice hoarse.

Oliver and Cypress gathered closer together. Mandy held onto Lisa and Sue with a firm grip on either side of her. Sally and Sam hugged each other tight, refusing to let go. The dementors still closed in, getting closer and closer to permanent damage.

"I said leave!" Willow demanded.

But the dementors did not comply. They only grew increasingly too close for comfort. Within seconds, Oliver collapsed. Then, Mandy fell into Sue. Sally and Sam fainted next, limply falling onto a bench. Cypress, Lisa, and Sue were the only ones left standing. They refused to back down, only shuffling closer to one another, drawing their passed-out friends into the center of their little huddle. Willow stood in the front of all of them, hand outstretched, wishing she'd brought her wand with her. She could feel the dementors invading her mind as they towered over her, intimidating as ever. Willow fell to one knee when the voices crackled through her head.

Father, I can't do this!

You're a disgrace to this family! You have to earn back your place!

I- I can't!

The voices that weren't anything like her own ripped through her very soul, charging it with lightning-force energy that split her heart into pieces, tearing through the fibers of her being. Willow gasped, trying to keep herself in the present, but the past was chewing away at her soul. She yelled as she was forced back into the memory.

I'll do it for you, then!

Father- !

No! Fawley, you can't do this!

Willow felt tears streak down her face. It was too painful. She could see him laying there, helpless. Him, the one she hadn't seen in forever. Why didn't she save him? Why was she such a coward? Why couldn't she have stopped her mum?

Do it now!

Av...Avada...Ke-Kedavra...

GRACE, NO!

Willow forced herself back into the present, screaming in pain. She rolled over on the bench, coughing, wheezing, trying to get rid of the pain, but it manifested itself the more she tried. Everything she could have done...everything that could have been different...everything that she didn't do...

It was all her fault.