And I've been Crawling in the Dark Looking for the Answer

Sierra let her backpack strap fall off of her shoulder. "This is insane. Ugh I'm so tired."

"Really? Then go to sleep."

Sierra looked at Mike. "But I can't 'cause I'm still hungry. I haven't eaten since lunch. And that was about four hours ago!" He glanced at her. "Okay so three. But still!" Sierra froze. "D'you hear something?"

"Hear what?" He let go of his backpack and stopped still to listen. "I don't hear anything besides the other people in the common room."

"No, no I hear a Werewolf. I don't think something's right here… Something's going on…"

Mike shook his head, "If you're trying to scare me it's not working."

"I'm not! Maybe I'm just being delusional and I really do need sleep." Sierra sighed and took off her cape. She then put on a T-shirt.

"You don't think anyone will be mad at you for putting that on, do you?"

She shrugged and slipped her cape back on. "Depends on if I let anyone see it."

"What does it say anyway?"

"'And your point is?'"

Mike laughed. "C'mon we'd better get down there to eat before it's all gone."

Sierra smiled as they left noticing how nice Mike had become over the past week. It was pretty much scary but she liked Mike and was happy that he recognized her existence and wasn't running away in fear. Halfway there Mike fell to the ground and screamed out in pain. Sierra kneeled down next to him and shook him a bit but nothing would stop his squirming.

"Dude, Mike, you okay?"

She looked at his face and realized a glazed look clouding his eyes. In the three minutes it took for Sierra to run to the Great Hall after leaving Mike there, she had already begun to cry. Sierra found Snape and Black talking together at the table so she ran to them first.

"Sevvy… Sirius… Mike… hallway… Pain!" Sierra grabbed her side and closed her eyes as she gasped for breath. "He just… fell to the ground! Glazed look… eyes… screaming pain!"

Severus and Sirius both jumped up and ran after Sierra to where Mike was. Sierra collapsed from running so fast when they got there so Severus picked Sierra up and took her to the Hall while Sirius ran Mike to the Hospital Wing. Sierra moaned and squirmed all the way there but Snape wouldn't put her down. Finally at the entrance he let her down and she sat on the floor.

"Tell me, did you see anything circling the both of you before it happened?"

"No… But the air… colder…" She started to shiver so Severus took her cape off of her before putting his around her. "Sorry about… shirt… Just trying… funny…"

He smiled. (A/N: Tell me, don't you even think that Severus would laugh at a shirt that said "And your point is…?" I do! :p) "Don't worry about the shirt. But what happened, I want the details."

He brewed up a cup of butterbeer and let her drink it so she could tell him. After a two-minute interrogation he helped Sierra into the hall and sat her down at the table. Severus glanced at Harry, who nodded in return. Harry helped Sierra eat some food when Sirius rushed in and pulled the Professors out the door. Dumbledore stayed at his seat believing that they were only having a brief meeting.

Sierra dreamt for about ten minutes before waking up. It just wasn't the same without Mike sleeping above her. No questions, no brief snores, no comments, and no shaking of the bed while he moved around.

"It's too quiet," she whispered.

She heard the werewolf howl again. It was too ironic so she got up and put on her cape. Sierra grabbed her wand and walked out of the room. No one was left in the common room so that made for a perfect slip out of the portrait.

"What are you doing up this late and going somewhere?"

Sierra almost screeched from the Fat Lady's words. "I… I can't sleep without Mike."

"Well you had better get back inside quickly!"

"I've gotta sore throat and I'm in pain," she lied. "Do you know any way I can help myself? I mean, there ain't no salt in my bathroom, even though there is hot water but I need salt. So I'm goin to the kitchens for some salt –I'll be right back. Please don't tell anyone?"

The Fat Lady sighed. "All right, all right. But hurry up, child."

"I will!" Sierra started to run until she bumped into something. "Wha- Who's there?" She felt around a bit but nothing caught her hand. Sierra rolled her eyes. "Peeves if it's you you'd better come out RIGHT NOW!"

"Aw it isn't a Firstie Wirsty! Oh wait, it's the girl that looks just like Lily!" Peeves appeared in front of her. "I'm sorry, Lily. Go ahead to wherever you're going!"

Sierra smiled. "My name is Sierra, Peeves. Don't call me Lily, please?"

"Yes ma'am, Sierra!"

"Would you like me to bring you anything from the kitchens?"

"Ooo! Some food to throw at the Firsties tomorrow?"

"Peeves," she scolded, "No throwin well good food at the Firsties. Do you understand?" When he looked bummed she sighed. "All right, I'll bring you some oranges. But, Peeves, you will NOT throw food or stop me anywhere ever again, do you understand?"

He nodded before flying off towards the bathrooms. "Myrtle is a turtle!" he sang on his way.

Sierra rolled her eyes before walking again. Yet just as she arrived at the Hospital wing Snape walked straight in front of her.

"I see you're roaming the hallways?"

"I'm in pain, my whole body hurts," she lied. "And I've gotta sore throat. I wanted to see if someone could help."

"Well Madame Pomfrey is quite asleep so she cannot help. Now get back to your tower before I take points off of Gryffindor!"

"But I… Please? I just wanna see Mike just once! I can't sleep without knowing he's okay!"

Snape shook his head and sternly glared at her. "Five points from Gryffindor," he growled.

Sierra stared at him, blinking. "Wha… But Sevvy…!"

"FIVE MORE POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!" he bellowed.

Sierra closed her eyes and looked away so he wouldn't see the tears glistening in her eyes. "Is he okay though, if I can't see him?"

"If you do not get-…"

Sierra turned around and ran all the way back to Gryffindor where she cried herself to sleep. As for Snape he stood watch by Mike's door all night in case she came back.

"I'm sorry but it is for your own good," he muttered as the sun came up.

Sierra sat at breakfast without touching her food or even looking at it. Harry knew she should eat because Gryffindor had a game the next day but she just seemed so upset. And even though the game was against Slytherin he had a feeling that they would have to call it off. When he had told Ron, Ron had a bout with Sierra and how she should stop being a moron and just eat.

"He's just Mike!"

"I don't care," she grumbled without feeling.

"Listen we've got a game tomorrow against Slytherin that will determine if we can continue in this tournament or not! Now EAT!" he yelled.

Sierra kept her eyes at the ground. She didn't talk during any of their classes that day and she never looked up from the ground. Draco didn't even bother with picking on her in fear she would attack him, she seemed so lifeless. Everyone feared that if they tried to talk to her that she'd either blow up in their face or go Jackie Chan on them or even put a curse on them without even knowing what she was doing.

She didn't sleep that night and didn't eat the next morning. That was when Harry decided it was a fatal choice to let Sierra play and asked Colin if he would play as Keeper so Harry could take over for Seeker. Ron had another bout with Sierra who was still dead-like and yet she stayed the same way.

"Mike," she finally whispered before they headed towards the field.

"Hey watch where you're going!" someone yelled as she bumped into him.

"S-sorry," she muttered. "Wait… Mike!"

He looked down at her. "What do you want? Can't you ever leave me alone?"

She blinked a few times. Sierra guessed that whatever had happened while he was there had drained the part of his memory that told him that he actually talked to her nicely. "Yeah, fine, I'll stop bothering you."

Sierra walked on past Mike without a glance at him. She pushed him out of her seat when he'd sat down next to Fred and ignored his remark.

"How can you stand it?" Hermione wondered as Sierra sat down after standing while the Gryffindor team got fouled.

"Stand what? Mike?" Hermione nodded. Sierra sighed deeply and sipped her frozen cappuccino smoothie. "Dunno. Somehow Mike just strikes me as interesting and mysterious, that's why I love him so much. Yet it's almost as if he doesn't want to realize that I do –like he's hiding something… or someone. But I know so he can't hide –that's why he hates me." Sierra booed with the others as Slytherin scored a goal. Harry stayed in the air looking for the snitch. "I really can't find a rhyme or reason for some things but Mike is like reading a book. You have the hill… There's the bottom –he's quiet and keeps to himself. That was Mike back in RV. Then it starts to steep… That's Mike when we first got the letters, came here, and when he was nice to me –the very end of the steep. Then you get the top of the hill. That's Mike now –after he came back from the Hospital wing and hates me again. As for coming down the hill-…" Sierra left off there as she saw Harry swoop down after the snitch.

"Where is it?"

"Can't tell?"

Hermione shook her head. "That's why I wasn't chosen to play as the Seeker."

Sierra laughed. When the snitch flew right in front of her she smiled. Harry pulled up at the last second to avoid them but for some reason the snitch stayed right where it was –in front of Sierra.

"You're very smart for a snitch and I can't tell why… How interesting."

The whole crowd silenced as it flew into Harry's hands. Everyone blinked for a few moments until the crowd went wild. Madame Hooch blew the whistle to signal the end of the game and Snape walked off with a bellow of fury.

"And that," Sierra grinned, "is what I love doing best."

Hermione shrugged while looking at Harry who stared blankly at Sierra.

"How did you do it?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Get the snitch to go straight to you and then to me?"

"I didn'."

Dumbledore appeared behind Sierra. "It's simply magic, Harry. Simply magic!"

Mike glared at Sierra who in return stuck her tongue out at him. "It's the same as it was before, Mike! You hate me and yet I still love you! You'll never change me. I change people, people don't change me."

She was completely right, as Harry soon noticed. They changed in mind, not in looks. They didn't think only of themselves as they had many years past, they also thought about others. So a few people had already thought of others but they never talked rudely about Hagrid often as much as they had in other times. She had even changed the twins as much as they talked about girls now. They said it was because they were growing up but he'd noticed that they'd been checking Sierra out sometimes.

Yet the biggest change was the day when Hagrid arrived to class with Winged Horses. There was but one Thestral and many Aethonans.

"'Fore you 'cide to ride one 'a these ya'll be'er 'member 'ow to look a Hippogriff… Ms. Rudy, what do ya think ya're doing?"

Sierra had wondered over to the Thestral and looked at it curiously. "It's beautiful!"

The Thestral did not move an inch, however it did blink at her in the same curiosity. Half of the class was backing away in fear. Even the Slytherins were amazed by this action. Thestrals were supposedly the rarest and most evil Winged Horse one could find.

Sierra stood up and looked straight into its eyes. The Thestral blinked at the same exact times as Sierra and stared at her with that intense curiosity.

"On'y one other…" Hagrid shook his head. "Go fin' your own Winged 'orses while I talk to Sirius. Sierra, ya watch the class, please?"

Sierra didn't take her sight from the horse but nodded in response. Not only did Sierra, the Thestral followed her every move.

"You're a girl, you cannot ride a Thestral," Draco plainly stated.

"Who says?"

It was the first time Sierra'd talked since she'd stated its beauty. And yet she didn't take her gaze away and the horse mouthed her every word.

"Every rule I have ever read."

"And you dare to annoy me with your childish antics?"

Abby laughed. "You never cease to amaze me, Lily."

Everyone glanced from Abby to Sierra, who still wasn't moving.

"He's here," Lily grinned. "You have decided to join us, Voldy?"

The kids gasped. Most of them –okay all– of them ran besides Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Mike. Draco disappeared the second she breathed that name. Sierra shook her head.

"Oh Lord. I'm getting a headache again." But she never tore her soft gaze from the Thestral who still mouthed her every word. "Do you have a name?"

The Thestral finally moved on its own by nodding. Then it did the impossible –it talked. "Dark Night."

"Dark Night! Whoa, love the name!"

"Why thank you."

"Just one question… How- I mean… why?"

"Why were you attracted to me the instant you saw me?"

Sierra nodded. "Why?"

"If the night were dark would your ring shine like the stars?" it asked.

Hagrid came back and told the six that they were wanted inside. But Sierra wouldn't go in until Hagrid promised that they'd still be working with the Winged Horses. They were only wanted for their next class –Snape's.

Sierra thought of that question all day. Yet she could never come up with the answer.

"It's a riddle," Hermione stated. "Like a question that a Sphinx would ask."

"But the ring –it's only sterling silver! How… how could it shine like the stars?"

"Maybe the reflection?" Harry tried to help.

Ron stayed over by the portrait while they talked to Sierra. He was indifferent from the others –Sierra was quite the opposite, being as different as different could be. Ron didn't like the kind of different Sierra was and didn't want to be any part of it.

"That's impossible," Sierra sighed. "The stars wouldn't be as bright when they're reflecting off of the ring. Maybe… maybe it means that the stars have something to do with I'm alive."

Hermione looked at Harry who in return shrugged.

"Who knows for sure?"

But Sierra was lost in her own thoughts while peering at Mike through her ring.

~No wonder he hates me, I'm such a weirdo.~

!You're not weird, you're different.!

~Yeah, I'm weird.~

Lily sighed and gave up. !Talk to him tonight. There's something in his eyes that I see.!

~All you want is another look at him to remember how James looked –to remember… Remember what?~ Sierra kept staring at Mike. To remember… Mike? To have his image implanted in her brain forever? ~Maybe that's it. Maybe I'm just trying to remember Mike the way he looks. It's possible I've been corrupted like all the other girls only to believe in love with a guy's looks.~

!No, no you haven't. It's just that you're scared. You love Mike for who he is and yet he hates you so you're scared.!

~Scared of what?~

!Scared of the fact that you think you only love Mike because of James and I. You think you're only attracted to him because I still love James.!

Sierra nodded. ~You know, you're right.~

!I know I am.!

Disclaimer is I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter and I don't own Abby or Mike. No one has to remind me of how stupid this story is but thanks to those who are actually reviewing :) Let me just let you know that I laugh at flames –really I do! I have fun reading them! Haha. Anyway I'm still going to keep writing this no matter what. I love writing it and maybe one day someone will actually enjoy reading this! Till then, PBNFH(S).