A/N: More PWP (Plot? What plot?). Trust me, this is necessary. It has nothing to do whatsoever with the rest of the plot, but it introduces the characters and their attributes. Plus it was fun to write. The actual plot will start, oh, chapter 10, 11, although I swore to myself that I would reveal who Morgana truly is (you'll understand once you finish reading) by chapter 4, and it actually doesn't come clear until chapter 7. Of course, you probably have some hint of it by now. There were at least fifteen clues in chapter 1 alone. But enough rambling. I have a tendency to do that. On with the show!!!
Chapter 4: The Worst That Could Happen
Morgana seethed.

As if it wasn't bad enough that she had rolls and rolls of homework. As if it wasn't bad enough that she had to put up with Stormy and company for an hour and a half on what was supposed to be her day off. Of course it wasn't bad enough.

No, there had to be Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs there too. Any Hufflepuff was bound to be silly. And that Hermione Granger was way too full of herself.

Morgana pressed herself deeper into one of the short, fat wicker chairs in the Ravenclaw common room. She moodily flicked her wand at her quill and ink, quickly grabbed a roll of parchment, and caught the quill and ink as they sped toward her.

Might as well get started on her essays, she thought with a sigh.

Morgana was so peeved, however, that she blotted her homework six times on the first sentence.

* ~ *

In the Slytherin common room, Stormy seethed for almost exactly the same reasons. Except she blotted her homework seven times.

* ~ *

Okay... there she is.

Uric crept forward, slowly, silently, his eyes fixed on Morgana. Her eyes were fixed on her book.

Well, this is a library, he chided himself.

Another few steps... steady... stop! Perfect.

He meant the cough to be unobtrusive, a mere whisper of sound, to alert her of his presence without need to turn around. But when Uric cleared his throat, the noise came out like a hard, loud gunshot, shattering the library's quiet.

Morgana whirled around, fully ready to face an attacker. Her wand appeared out of nowhere with its business end pointing outwards.

But she visibly relaxed and lowered her wand when her wary gaze connected only with an uncomfortable friend. "Uric!" she exclaimed, both surprised and relieved. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," he replied sheepishly and, he felt, inadequately. "I didn't mean to. I just wanted to get your attention," he added.

"Well, what did you want to get my attention about?" The smooth veils of courtesy in her voice didn't quite conceal her impatience to get back to her reading.

"Uh..." Uric fumbled with his fingers, hoping he could somehow fill the sudden blankness of his mind. What did he want to talk about again? Come on, I have to remember something!

Morgana didn't tap her foot or hum, but Uric got the general impression.

"Um..."

That's it! The study hall!

"I heard about the meeting you were invited to." An innocuous beginning.

"Oh?" Morgana wanted to know where this conversation was headed.

Stall! This isn't going right!

"And I was wondering how you got in."

Her face remained expressionless. "That? It's a specialty kind of thing. I got in on Arithmancy."

Say something! Anything, Uric!

"Well, you know that's not my area of expertise." No! That's not what you want to tell her!

"True." She paused for a moment. "I can bring one person with me. I'm not sure who yet, though." Her eyes met his, questioning. "You don't want to come, do you?"

What could he do with that piercing gaze directed at him? "No," he lied, his heart sinking at his cowardice.

"Oh. I'll bring Circe, then." He could see her wondering why he'd bothered her as she turned back to her book. Nice job, Uric. Great way to ask if you can go with her. He left in self-disgust.

* ~ *

Circe ducked behind a table.

She had known this would happen. It really didn't take that long for an innocent academic gathering to come to this. Why hadn't she said anything?

Because she never said anything.

Circe sighed.

However, no one heard it, because of the terrific duel going on.

Stormy and Morgana circled in the middle of the library. All obstructions, such as chairs and bookcases, had long since burned away, so they paced in a large clear area. No one wanted to, or indeed could, get in the way, even to break up the fight.

Both yelled curses, charms, and, between bolts of magical lightning, insults.

It must have been very hard for the two to see each other, however, because of the smoke that hung around. It was in every color you could imagine, having been produced by various spells.

"Dead rat!" shouted Stormy.

"Smashed spider!" countered Morgana.

She had hit a nerve. Just as Stormy was gathering for the spell that might have ended the fight, Cassiopeia interrupted.

She had been suffering from recurring migraines, ever since she'd hit the Bludger with her head.

"WILL YOU TWO BE QUIET? I HAVE A HEADACHE!!!!" Cassiopeia screamed, her voice approaching an indeterminate number of decibels, but clearly far too loud.

All motion stopped. Even the smoke thought better of it and slunk away.

Everyone blinked and stared.

"thank you," Cassiopeia whispered.

She flicked her wand. A bottle of aspirin appeared. Cassiopeia tipped half the bottle down her throat.

"Ah, that's better."

Motion resumed.

Madam Pince, the normally stern librarian, ran over to the scorched bookcases. She alternately yelled, scolded, and sobbed uncontrollably.

"My books! My precious books! ..... Professor Dumbledore will hear about this, to be certain ... Maybe he'll give you what you deserve for ruining school property.... Oh, my books!.... "

Circe, Uric, a now-revived Cassiopeia, and a girl Morgana had never seen before dashed to restrain the two nemeses, who were now looking daggers at one another. They had both lost their wands during Cassiopeia's performance and were now looking as if they were going to fistfight.

At that moment the headmaster burst in, Professors McGonagall and Snape at his sides.

Dumbledore said nothing when Madam Pince wailed about, "Hundreds of Galleons worth of damage.... Valuable books destroyed.... "

He said nothing when several very shaken Hufflepuffs emerged from behind the librarian's desk. They had been expecting a quietly social study hall. What they got, well...

Dumbledore said nothing, and turned around and walked out the door. No one knew why he left. He just did.

As soon as he was gone, Morgana and Stormy loosed themselves from the restraint of their friends and began their fight anew, this time without magic.

A girl leaped atop a table, yelled, "FREE FOR AAAAALLLLL!!!!!! and ran screaming into the fray. She joined the mass of flying fists with such a vengeance it was hard to tell whose side she was on.

By the time the teachers broke up the fight, Morgana had a black eye, Stormy had a busted lip, and the girl who joined in had to be forcibly held back by both McGonagall and Snape.

She looked as if she had been hypnotized by the glory of the fight, as was evidenced by the fact that she was mumbling, "Kill.... kill..... must kill... "

Stormy snapped her fingers in the girl's face.

"Kiri: the fight's over now. I wish it weren't, but it is. You can calm down now."

"It's over?" asked Kiri, her voice disappointed. "Aw, man.

"It's okay, Professors, you can let me go now," she told McGonagall and Snape. They looked at her skeptically but let her go.

"Hey!!"

Kiri spotted Morgana and made her way over. Morgana found herself being pulled aside. She heard Kiri ask in a low, excited whisper, "It's you, isn't it?"

Morgana was just about to answer that she had no idea what Kiri was talking about when Dumbledore burst in.

He said three words, in a tone so menacing they didn't dare disobey.

"Stormy. Morgana. Come."

* ~ *

"We'd better get out of here. Filch is punishing everyone he runs into," said Cassiopeia in undertones.

"Yes," agreed Circe uncertainly. She was still slightly uncomfortable around Cassiopeia. It was partly due to the fact that their best friends were at war. But Circe had been on the receiving end of Cassiopeia's "brilliant" shot. She had a feeling that it had less to do with Morgana and Stormy and more to do with one too many Bludgers.

Cassiopeia seemed to have read her mind. The Slytherin Beater adopted a pompous accent and told Circe matter-of-factly, "For the love of Quidditch, M'dear, all else fades into the background."

"Oh," replied Circe, still unsure, but this time about Cassiopeia's sanity.

"C'mon," called Kiri, who now appeared as normal as it was possible for her to be. "Let's go study in the Great Hall." She glanced around, then added, "There doesn't seem to be much left of the library."

* ~ *

Throughout the long walk to Dumbledore's office, the little party was silent.

Morgana and Stormy were using their imaginations to think up what kind of punishment Dumbledore would deal them; none of their ideas were good.

Dumbledore himself was too angry to speak.

* ~ *

When they finally reached the Headmaster's office, Morgana glanced around quickly.

She had been looking forward to seeing the strange instruments on the desk, the wizard pictures of previous headmasters on the walls.

But more than anything else, Morgana had been looking forward to seeing Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes.

The phoenix was the ultimate of all birds. A phoenix to any other bird was like the Arctic to a snow globe, like an adult lioness to a newborn kitten, like the Dragonqueen to a baby lizard. Like the Grim to a miniature poodle puppy.

Morgana longed to see its beauty for herself. She didn't have much time, however.

Because at that moment, the tide burst.