The BrianCrystal Chronicles

by cathykcool

Sequel to Heir of Voldemort. *Chapter 28 up* Havoc has been bestowed upon your favorite clan of insane(in every sort of way) bunch of older and younger Hogwarts Members. Losing someone is hard, but will Cate live through this ordeal?

29. The Spirit Realm

(MWAHHAHA! My turn! Good chapter! **Dances around the room excitedly. **)

Chapter 30: The Spirit Realm

The Pugnare was not a happy place to be. Even the press didn't go to bother Cate any longer, as they were greeted with a handful of curses from Sirius Black, and none of his curses were pleasant. Reporters that dared come to the door were known to come back with body parts mixed around in different places.

Cate had lost nearly all of her sanity, or what was left of it. All anyone could do was watch her these days; if they got close to her she started shaking violently and screamed strange names at the top of her lungs.

At this particular moment, Cate was sitting on the couch she always sat on, facing the love seat. The expression on her face was so blank it was terrifying. She was horribly pale now, and her eyes seemed to have gone black instead of deep brown. But that wasn't the worst of it; she was talking to people that were not there.

"Bellum dear." She said, in a monotone voice that never changed even slightly. All that moved on her face was her mouth, which was barely open to utter words. "Have some more tea." Cate threw a rock that had been sitting on the coffee table at the loveseat with all her might. "Good. I know you don't like Herbal Tea, but you must drink it."

Sirius was standing in the doorframe, looking about as bad as he had when he escaped from Azkaban. His face was thin, and his eyes were empty. His hair was a mess, and his robes were wrinkled. He sighed, watching his oldest child with empathy.

"It's okay, grandpa." Said a quiet little voice behind him. Paige brushed past him, and turned sharply to face him. "Dad would want us to try and be happy without him. Mom will be okay, after time." Paige said this as if she didn't believe it, but was trying desperately to. Her brown eyes were full of hope. "Don't be sad, Grandpa Padfoot."

Sirius looked down at Paige. She gave a weak smile, and he swallowed her up in a huge hug. His eyes filled with tears, and Paige sighed. "You're the bravest little girl I know." He said. "Everything here is a mess, but you're trying to keep going. Your father was murdered; your mother is insane. You take care of your baby brother most of the day, and you aren't supposed to even talk to your best friend. How many 9 year old girls can say that?"

"I don't know any that would want to say they do all that." Paige said, flinching, as Cate seemed to come to the awful reality that Bellum was still dead, screaming deafeningly. "I wish everything could just be mended! No matter how much I try, I can't fix it!"

"But you try." Sirius said dismally. "You're keeping everyone going. Any other girl your age, or even anyone of any age, would collapse and cry forever. They'd give up. You have an enormous amount of bravery in your, Paige."

"No I don't." Paige said, starting to cry now. "I cry myself to sleep every night! I have to make sure I don't end up like mum! I don't want to be fussed over, or anything. I just want my daddy back. I'm a lonely little girl that cries every night wishing she had a daddy."

Sirius hugged his granddaughter tighter. Paige tried so hard to be happy, but when everyone else was miserable, she couldn't do it. Paige was only nine years old, and had been through more grief than most people had been their whole lives. It wasn't fair for her, or anyone else around.

He patted Paige on the back lightly, and pulled away. He was now going to find a way to make things better. He wasn't going to do it for himself; he was going to do it for his family. He heard Paige slump to the floor as he rushed suddenly up the stairs towards the Library of the Pugnare residence.

***

Cate was a royal mess. She was staring at herself in the mirror, and wondering who she used to be. Her face had gone thin, and her skin didn't glow any longer. Her eyes were dark, and there were large bags under them. Her hair hadn't been brushed or washed in a long time, and had gotten quite greasy.

She was wearing one of Bellum's old sweatshirts, which had been far too big for him. Her belly was quite large, but still smaller than the usual pregnant woman's stomach. The doctor had assured everyone that the baby was still alive, but she had no extra lives to spare now. She was going to be a person with a normal amount of lives.

Cate looked at the dresser, at a picture behind a broken glass and mahogany frame. There was a very pretty woman, and a handsome man in it. The woman was wearing a long white wedding gown, and was kissing the man, who was in a sleek black tuxedo.

Had this been her? Was that. Bellum? Cate gasped, suddenly remembering who she was, and that her husband was dead. Tears streamed down her face, which was already tear streaked. She was suddenly frightfully cold, and began to shake violently. She made her way to the large bed, and collapsed on it on, going into another horrid dream.

*** Felicity tapped her quill on her desk. History of Magic was so boring! It was time for a little mind game she liked to play in this class. Blick was nodding off beside her, having a daydream. Felicity grinned. It was time to do some mind reading.

Blick's daydream was quite revolting, in her opinion. It involved her in very little clothes, sitting on his lap and kissing him, as things that twelve-year-old boys should not be thinking about happened.

Felicity made a face, and scribbled a note on a piece of parchment, pretending to be taking notes. She passed it to Blick, and grinned at his expression as he read it. YOU. ME. MIDNIGHT. STATUE OF CHRIS THE CURIOUS.

Blick nodded furiously at her, barely able to contain his excitement. He was already fidgeting. Malicia looked as she always did, frightfully evil and ready to kill something. Felicity found it very hard to read her thoughts, but she was able to manage something about the Potters all being killed violently.

The other people in her class were thinking quite dull thoughts. Some were thinking about Quidditch, and a few of the boys were thinking somewhat a Blick had been, but without the explicitness.

When she came to Ariana Malfoy, Felicity decided she was done with this game. She didn't care to know what Ariana was thinking about, nor did she want to know. She expected something about a vivid fantasy about Ariana killing Cate, but stopped at that, not wanting to guess any more.

Just as she was about to read Blick's mind again, the bell rang, and she sprang out of her seat, chucking random belongings in her bag, and taking off at full speed, not caring who she knocked over when she sped down the hall.

***

(A/N: I'd like to add that this creepy part was thought up after having listened to my dad's music too much. The song "Sounds of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel was the name of the song that inspired this bit.)

Cate was sure she was dreaming now, but there was scarcely a way for her to tell reality from a dream in her state. Cate was trying to figure out just if it was real or not, by fingering the long white dress she wore softly.

She did not recognize the place she was standing; the streets were made of cobblestone and there were old brick buildings crumbling to the left and right. Cate's stomach was as flat as it had been before she was pregnant. The white dress she wore was long, and the sleeves of it were sheer and silky.

Cate looked much better than she had in a long time. Her hair fanned out behind her as she walked down the silent cobblestone street, looking around in wonder. Nothing made a noise, not even Cate's heeled shoes as she walked down the streets.

For what seemed like hours Cate trekked through the endless streets, until something made her gasp, and come to a sharp stop, gasping for breath. Before her there was a drop, and on the ground there were at least ten thousand people staring up at her. They all seemed to be talking without speaking, as each one looked to the other without making a noise. There was no one Cate could pick out in the crowd, yet they all seemed so familiar.

Cate looked around, to see why all the people had gathered. She seemed to have caught onto the talking without speaking thing, as she was terrified when a young woman smiled at her. There was communication without words, and everyone understood the others perfectly.

The young woman had long wavy light brown hair that graced her mid back. Her eyes were a sparkling hazel green, and her skin was smooth and clear, bringing out all her pretty features. This girl was familiar too, and Cate had an even harder time placing her.

Unlike the crowd that wore white from head to foot, the woman was a pale green dress that brought her eyes out nicely. The weak smile had vanished from her fair face, as she looked over Cate's shoulder. Another surprise hit Cate like a brick falling on her head after a drop from the top of Big Ben.

There was a pile of bodies that Cate had somehow failed to notice before, but these bodies she could place. Her jaw dropped in horror, as thirteen cold lifeless faces stared back at her. These people were obviously all Potters. Meagan's body was propped up against Harry's in the heap, with a look of horror and shock on her face. There was a knife sticking out from her chest.

Cate turned around to scream curses at the young woman, but when she tried to speak, no sound came out. A livid look crossed the woman's face, and Cate suddenly felt pain beyond pain. It was like her soul was being ripped from her chest and shoved down her throat.

All life was starting to leave her, and at this moment, Cate could not have made a noise if she screamed at the top of her lungs. The world suddenly seemed horizontal, and it took Cate a few seconds to realize she was falling at a rate slower than usual.

Then something happened, that sent the silent crowd into silent hysterics, and the young woman screamed, making a shrill noise, putting her hands over her ears. When Cate hit the ground, she had made a noise. There was a thump, which had seemed ear bleeding in the silence, and it was followed by another thump.

Cate felt her head hit the ground, and blood trickled out of her mouth. She was barely able to open her eyes to see who ha landed with a thump next to her. Through heavy eyes, Bellum looked over at her, trying to say something, but falling victim to the silence. Cate couldn't move; she couldn't reach out and touch her husband. There were several more thumps, which Cate assumed were her children. Cate couldn't see now, but she was sure who they were. Thump. Ethan. Thump. Felicity. Thump. Paige. Thump. Jack.

But there was no thump for Faye. There had been young Potter children, and surely Faye had been born? There was something wrong with this. Cate was using the last of her life to piece together what was happening, when the terrifying young woman was leaning over her.

"Goodbye, it was good living with you." She said, without talking. It was that eerie silence again.

Cate couldn't hold on to her life any longer. Everything started to spin, and she felt no more pain...

***

Cate screamed, and sat upright in her bed, panting. There was an old woman with hazel green eyes watching her. The Dream Witch had decided to bother Cate one last time before she left this world in peace. Cate stared at her, and ignored the beads of sweat dripping down her forehead.

"Was that real?" She asked softly. "Did that ever happen?"

The Dream Witch pondered this for a moment. "It has not happened." She said. "Not yet. But it will if you raise your child in the ways of evil. The baby inside you is special, and she will need special attention. This dream was a warning, to scare you. This could be the future of the world. Teach your daughter control."

Cate was baffled beyond all reason. Things were not clicking right in her brain. The Dream Witch seemed to understand, as she waved her hand slowly, and Cate felt sleep coming on again. Her eyes closed, and when she woke up the next morning Cate could not tell which had been the dream, and which had been the reality, if either had been real at all.

***

Sirius had ventured to the one place he never went, where nearly no Blacks had gone before: The Library. But he hadn't decided to simply brush up on his reading, or simply to prove to the world that he could read at all. He was there for a reason.

Sirius stood in thought for a while, before he marched hopefully to a bookshelf that was at least three times his height. He searched the shelf, which seemed to take an eternity. Eventually, after he had gotten to books with peeling lettering that was barely decipherable, he gave a triumphant grin, and slid down the ladder he had climbed to get to the book.

With a loud thump, and a rising cloud of dust, Sirius had to squint to make out the words on the index of the book. The words were set in an old style font, and were quite hard to read, never mind the fact that they were peeling.

He must have found what he was looking for, because he became so deeply involved in his reading that he did not notice Jack wreaking havoc on old Padfoot the dog at his feet. Sirius usually sympathized with dogs, having been one for brief periods of time himself.

Sirius flexed his fingers, and finally looked up from his reading. His features were all more troubled before, and he put his face in his hands, and rubbed his temples. He seemed to be having a mental debate with himself, and there was no telling which half was winning.

There were typically two halves to Sirius's conscience. There was the half that loved his family and friends unconditionally, and would sacrifice anything for their happiness. This side to Sirius was loving, kind, happy, and mischievous. This was the side of Sirius that most people knew, but it was, however, his weakest side.

The other side was jealous, angry, spiteful, and self-absorbed. It cared very little for family and friends, and only for the good of him. It was much stronger than the good side, but was usually cheated out of getting its way. This side was fairer; if someone hated Sirius, this was the side that hated that person back. A good example of this was Snape.

The sides often debated over issues for hours, and it had been that way lately more than usual. Cate was doing nothing for him! She had sat on the couch, and rejected all signs of love that he had thrown at her! He was her father; shouldn't she love him back? Cate was being selfish! Why did she deserve to be happy again?

But the good side had a debate in mind too. Sirius loved Cate. She was his oldest child, and the thought of her and Lizzie had kept him alive. She had, in a way, saved his life, so to speak.

But she blamed him for her suffering! It wasn't his fault! Or was it? Could he have prevented the death of the Potters and Lizzie? Yes, was the answer to that question. But fate was not to be messed with. What had happened had happened. If James and Lily had not died, Harry would not have fallen in love with Meagan, and their children would not be here today. Cate would never have met Bellum, and there would be no little Pugnare children.

But Cate wasn't the only one suffering. Paige was trying, and it was draining the life out of her. She was already more of a parent to little Jack than Cate was, and she was the only one that tried to be happy. It was bravery that most people would not understand, except perhaps Meagan. She had always tried to lighten everyone's load, for as long as he could remember.

This load would be taken off Paige, and she could possibly be a normal child again, as far as normal went in the family. Jack would have real parents again, and perhaps Felicity would be less evil. Ethan would have someone to turn to for advice, and the baby Faye would grow up with good parents.

But what about himself? What good was any of this to Sirius? He had other family members, that were happy, and family members that loved him back. Would he be better off without Cate? Should he return to her what she gave to him? She deserved it, anyone would agree!

But no, he couldn't ever do that. If Cate stayed like this the rest of her life, which would not be very long at this rate, Sirius would have nothing to live for. The entire Black and Pugnare families would be depressed even more, which was the last thing he wanted. Sirius would rather die than see his family and friends live forever in grief.

Besides, they wouldn't miss him. No one seemed to pay attention to him anyway, with the exception of Lizzie. But she was only one person; one person that meant the world to him. She understood him, so would she understand what was happening inside his head right now?

Even if she didn't, there was no way to stop Sirius from his plan. It was all for the better of the family. or the world.

***

Everything was starting to settle in on Paige. What Sirius had said to her brought her to the harsh reality. What if her mother stayed like this forever? Paige knew that no matter how hard she tried; she could not pretend to be happy for the rest of her life. She could not watch Jack, and soon Faye grow up with no mother.

Paige suddenly felt like she was fifty, not nine. Her grandfather was right! What sort of nine-year-old girl bears this sort of responsibility? Paige couldn't think of any. At this rate, she would end up like Ethan.

Ethan also pretended to be happy, but deep inside, he ached more than Paige did. He had yelled at his father before he died and was feeling guilty. But Ethan, unlike Paige, was away from it all. He was off in school with other things to take his mind off the harsh family life that plagued the Pugnares.

'Nita!' Paige cried finally, tears flowing out of her eyes. 'I can't take it anymore!' There was no reply. Had something happened to Nita now? Was some other unseen force trying to destroy her false happiness? Without Nita, she couldn't even pretend to be happy.

'Nita!' she tried again. There was still no reply. Getting nervous, Paige closed her eyes and appeared at the Potter mansion in a closet. Just her luck, to land in a closet of all places. She had to reappear outside, and what she saw was nearly unbelievable. The main hall of the Potter house was nearly in ruins.

"Take cover!" Shouted someone from behind an overturned sofa. A helmet was tossed in Paige's direction, and a hand beckoned her over to behind the sofa. Slightly taken aback, Paige jogged over to behind to the sofa, where she was pulled down by James Potter, who looked just as shocked to see her as she was to see him.

"Ah. um. I... Er." Paige stuttered, not managing to think up an excuse for her being at the potter house. She was a Pugnare; they were supposed to hate each other. James, however, shrugged.

"I've expected it." He said. There was a loud banging and they both jumped. "I know what's going on with my grandchildren, even if their mother does not. Don't worry, err."

"Paige. My name is Paige." Paige said quickly, gasping as a statue flew over the sofa and shattered a few yards away. James nodding, pretending he knew her name was Paige all along. He reminded her very much of her own grandfather. "So, uh, well."

"The twins got their powers." James informed her. He handed her a shield. "The world may end very soon, Penny. On three, we have to make a break for it. They've got Nita held captive someplace on one of the upper floors. Meagan is playing Quidditch, and Harry is at Hogwarts. The triplets are sleeping, but not for long I'd imagine."

Paige nodded, ignoring the fact that James had called her Penny. "So what exactly are the twins' powers?" She asked a little skeptically. James made a screwed up face, as if he were trying to think but was failing miserably.

"Well, no one is quite sure." He said, scratching his graying hair. "We know for sure that they can run at an unnatural rate. What else, only God knows. Do you have any funny powers yet, Priscilla?"

"Uh. not really." Paige said. She knew she had some powers, but she didn't know what they were, or how to use them. It was a scary thought to have power that was not yet unleashed. As if Paige needed anything else to deal with, now she had to think about magic.

"Well, we bolt for it on three." James said, raising his shield. "One. Two... THREE!"

Hell had been unleashed, as bits of unknown material were flung at Paige and James as they made a mad dash for the staircase. Paige heard cackling that she recognized only too well. The twins were going to show no mercy with the goop that was now being flung at them.

"I'm down!" James shouted, stepping on something and being rooted to the spot. "Go one without me! Go, Penelope!" And half an instant later, all of James froze on the spot, with an open mouth, Paige bounded up the stairs two at a time.

"Alright Jo and Jess!" Paige shouted, when she reached a quiet area of the hallway at the end of the staircase. "Show yourselves!"

That was a bad request. Two identical grins were smirking right in front of Paige, who quickly ducked something unknown flying at her head. This was a very unfair fight. There were two twins, and one Paige. The twins were also a year older, and were not under a considerable amount of stress at the moment.

The twins turned to each other and smirked, pointing a finger at Paige. Paige, refusing to fall victim to the Potter twins, merely screamed at the top of her lungs. That scream unleashed all her troubles, and then something happened.

Each twin was frozen on the spot, with a grin plastered on her face, arm poised to throw a glass bead, which contained a spell. Jess's bead had already left her hand, and was suspended in the air. Paige didn't dare move, but after a few moments, she realized she was the only thing that could move.

"Oh no," said Paige, her face going very pale. "I didn't, did I? Has time stopped?" To see if she really did, Paige looked at her watch. The hands were not moving. They were frozen the way everything else was.

"Nita!" Paige said, experimenting with a snap of her fingers. Nita appeared in front of her, upside down and in quite a state of distress. Paige looked surprised when Nita righted herself to glare at Paige.

"Well, you could have at least gotten me here right side up!" She said, fixing her glasses, which were cracked. "How did you do it, anyway? You've stopped time, you know." Nita gave Jo and Jess each a good kick in the shins before turning to Paige again. "They had me tied up, and I was being tickled to the point of laughing so hard I couldn't breathe."

"I- I don't know." Paige said. "It just kind of. happened. Suddenly everything stopped."

"Hmm." Nita said thoughtfully. "You haven't learned anything about your powers, have you?" Paige shook her head. "Maybe you should, I'll bet you could take the twins single-handedly if you learned a thing about them."

"Well, I'm taking them without knowing a thing about my powers." Paige said, wondering how on earth she could learn about her powers. "Maybe I should try and unfreeze time."

"Go for it." Nita shrugged. "Don't blame me if the twins get you." Nita immediately ran for cover behind a suit of armor. Paige snapped her fingers twice, as if she had known how to do this all along, and the twins' glass beads and been released, hitting the wall and turning it pink with green stripes. They wheeled around to see where Paige had gone.

Paige was frozen again, not wanting to be pink with green stripes for several weeks going. Nita jumped out from her suit of armor, making no noise, but madly signaling for her to do something.

From then on, something inside Paige took over. Another surge of angry emotions was released, and the twins gasped in horror, at what had become of Paige. In Paige's place there stood a griffin, poised for attack. Both Jo and Jess dropped their beads, turning the floor puke green and electric blue.

Nita fainted. Paige gave a mighty, and the twins shrieked for her to stop. "What's the matter with you?" Jo shrilled.

"We were only playing!" Jess added.

"Don't hurt us!" They both said in unison. It didn't take much effort for Paige to return to her human form, which was quite a bit smaller than both Jo and Jess. "Really, were you taking us seriously?" Jo asked, taking a few deep breaths.

"I've never been that scared in my life." Jess commented. "Haven't you ever played a game before?"

'Well, she is a Pugnare. I doubt they play games there. They just learn to terminate good people.' Jo told Jess telepathically. It struck her a little late that Paige could also read minds.

"Fine." Paige said. "Wake up your sister, and never breathe a word of this to your mother. No one was hurt. You tell anyone I was here; then you'll pay consequences. I don't want a war; it's the last thing I want. Just don't tell your mother."

Jo and Jess nodded. They would never tell their mother. Meagan would have their heads for being outwitted by a nine-year-old daughter of Cate's. It was a matter of pride. They were going to pretend that this had never happened. Paige smiled, and disappeared.

That should put a stopper to that problem, Paige thought, sulking to her bed once again. At least for a few hours.

***

Meagan sat alone with Angelina, who was sleeping soundly in her arms. Angelina would never hear a word she said, or be able to do magic like the rest of the Potters. She would never have the joy of picking out a first wand, or hearing praise for doing a spell correctly.

Meagan sighed. For a bleak moment she wished there had just been a mix up at the hospital, and that she had a baby with magic and hearing. Then she caught herself thinking those thoughts, and let tears flow down her cheeks.

No, she didn't wish that. She just wished Angelina had magic. It wasn't Angelina's fault, and she had done nothing to deserve being deaf and a squib. There was nothing Meagan could do about it, either. All the power she had, and nothing could help her daughter.

"Is something the matter?" Harry asked, putting his hand on Meagan's shoulder, and taking a seat on the arm of the easy chair. "You're crying."

Meagan smiled at her husband. He was so caring, and she was glad he was there now. "I just want Angelina to be happy when she's older." Meagan said. "She doesn't have powers to enjoy like all our other children. She can't hear our voices, or hear our praise."

Harry kissed Meagan's forehead softly. "I know she'll be happy, no matter what." Harry said. "You're the best mother in the world. I'll help you make sure that Angelina is just as happy as Amy and Abigail. We'll send her to the best non-magical school there is in the world. She'll have loads of friends, and we'll still love her like our other children. It's impossible to love one of them more than the other, anyway."

Meagan smiled. "Yes, you're right, of course." She said. "I just don't want her to end up neglected and jealous of her siblings. It isn't fair to her. In this world of magic she's being left out."

"But we love her." Harry said. He leaned in and kissed Meagan softly on her lips. "I love you, too. And love is the greatest kind of magic there is. No magic is stronger than love. That is real magic."

Meagan smiled, and kissed Harry back. Angelina stirred in her arms. The happy couple watched her; they couldn't love their children more. "I feel sorry for Cate." Harry said softly. "She lost the person she loved most. Now she's miserable. Even though she hates us both, I can't help but pity her."

Meagan sighed. No matter where she was, there was always talk of Cate, and how miserable she is. "It isn't like no one loves her though. Sirius and Lizzie love her more than anything, and they keep trying to reach her, but they can't. She's so wrapped up in her own grief that she can't see anyone else's."

Harry fell silent. Sirius had been a great godfather to him in the past, and lately he had not seen Sirius at all he was so wrapped up in trying to comfort Cate. "And Cate's children. They've got a baby, and a girl about the same age as Nita. Think of how those kids must feel, being neglected all day long."

Meagan nodded, and smiled down at Angelina. The other babies were sleeping soundly in their cradles. "I never realized just how important Bellum was before. He was the Scotch Tape holding the wrapping paper on the box of life for that family.

Sometimes I feel as if Cate were my daughter, too. Padfoot and Lizzie were among my best friends. I watched you and Cate grow up, Harry. She never really knew what love was until she met Bellum. Now she pretends no one loves her, and she pretends she loves no one."

"I never imagined I'd say it." Harry said. "But I miss that evil scheming Cate that hated your guts. That was better than the Cate that makes everyone miserable because she is."

"And see, Harry." Meagan smiled. "Love really was magic stronger than anything we've ever known. Cate and Bellum proved that right, and the absence of love is what is taking the Black family down."

Meagan and Harry leaned against each other, forgetting about Cate for the moment, and thinking of how wonderful their own lives were. There was nothing they would change; everything was already perfect.

***

"Duck and cover!" shouted Crystal, throwing what looked like a stolen Quaffle from the Quidditch field at Brian. Several bystanders ducked and covered, wondering what The Modern Day Marauders were up to now.

"Learn to throw better!" Brian shouted, making a mad dive for the Quaffle, leaping over an armchair, landing on his feet with a spin. He grinned, and nodded at a few girls who were watching him. He bounded up on the armchair, and chucked the Quaffle at Crystal.

Crystal grinned, as she caught the Quaffle easily. "Learn to throw better, Brian Black?" She asked, taking aim at Brian's head. It was a very nice hit, hitting Brian smack on the nose, and knocking him off the chair. His arms flailed, and he hit the ground with a thunk. Crystal did a victory dance, and took a bow. "How's that for a throw?"

Fred and George were snickering at Brian behind Crystal, and Brain sat up, looking a little dizzy. As soon as he came to full consciousness he glared at Crystal, and chucked the ball at her. Crystal ducked it, and Fred took a swing at it with a bat he nicked from practice. The ball shot back towards Brian's head.

This time Brian was a little quicker. He wasn't knocked over, at least. But his nose was bruised. Crystal laughed, as Brian realized everyone was laughing at his nose, which he supposed was broken. "Why, are you tuning into your older brother?" ("Hey!" Bryce commented).

There was no Snitch in Common Room Quidditch. No one dared nick the Snitch. There was a certain presence it had, that made them afraid of taking it from its box. The Bludgers were not taken out, for reasons that were most obvious, but Fred and George swung away at the Quaffle with their bats.

"Professor Alert!" A person in the mass shouted. Crystal's head turned to the flashing light that the Modern Day Marauders had installed above the exit of the common room. It detected an adult coming from the point they reached the corridor the common room was concealed in.

Immediately, everyone dove for a book. Neil had a great pile next to him. He had been the only one actually reading. Brian was stuck with a very outdated copy of Witch Weekly, which had a picture of several family members on the front, who were all smiling at him.

Professor McGonagall came through the portrait hole, smiling at her 'well behaved' students. She took a second look to Brian, who had a girl's magazine, turned upside down. "What did you do to your nose, Mr. Black?"

"Uh." Brian blushed scarlet. "Don't you like it? I tried to make it, you know, straight, and it turned black and blue." Crystal snickered silently, as McGonagall shrugged, buying Brian's rather pathetic excuse. "Back to your reading, Gryffindors. Might I add that final exams begin in roughly three and a half months."

Only Neil seemed to care about this, for he was the only one who continued reading when McGonagall left. Everyone else went back to what they had been before. Neil shook his head at Rachel, who was yelling at the top of her lungs at the players of Common Room Quidditch.

This was just not going to work for him. It was too noisy here in this Common Room. Why did the Gryffindors have to be so noisy? Couldn't they just be quiet like the Hufflepuffs?

Neil closed his book, sighed, and stood up. No one even noticed he was alive, except for perhaps Rachel, and the MDMs when they were making fun of him. Perhaps Felicity, when they were alone, otherwise she just treated him like she treated everyone else, like scum.

Well, at least he had himself. Neil was a person that did not mind being alone. Being the only male child in the Potter house, he was quite used to being by himself. What he needed was a nice walk under the Invisibility Cloak. Not that he needed it, as no one seemed to notice him anyway.

A quick trip to his dormitory, and he set off through the portrait, off to see what adventures Hogwarts would hold that night. Probably, nothing, as usual, but Neil had a feeling. This feeling strongly reminded him of when he was being chased by the dark thing in his dream.

The halls were empty. Neil strolled along, sorting things out in his mind. There were numerous things that went through Neil's mind. But his thoughts were interrupted by two voices, male and female. Neil stopped to listen and watch.

"I still make you nervous, Blick." Felicity sighed, stepping closer to Blick, who was torn between being content and afraid. "What is it about me that scares you?"

Blick shifted uncomfortably, as Felicity pressed her body against his. "Well, you're just. really pretty. And. well, you're clever, and powerful. and. well, you could do so much, and."

Felicity leaned forward and kissed him. Blick stopped rambling on immediately. Neil stumbled backwards, a little shocked. He hadn't quite expected people just a year older than he was to be kissing. It somehow just didn't seem right, the way they were kissing. It reminded Neil strongly of Cate and the late Bellum Pugnare.

Felicity pulled away from Blick and let him stumble backwards a bit. Neil didn't think Blick looked afraid the slightest bit now. He looked as if his wildest dreams had come true, which they practically had.

Neil wondered what it was like to be in Blick's shoes at the moment. He felt it was obvious that Felicity wasn't kissing him because she liked him; she was doing it to take advantage of him, and make him know that she controlled his fears. She could make him afraid of her, and the next moment he would feel exactly opposite of that.

Blick seemed to know quite well that Felicity didn't like him in 'that' way either. He just let her walk over him, because he liked it. Neil wondered if he would like it. He didn't have time to decide, when he was quite startled by a cat rubbing against his legs.

In fact, Neil was so taken by surprise that he gasped, and toppled over backwards with a thud. Both Felicity and Blick turned their heads his direction. Of course they didn't see anything, but became suspicious. Both stepped away from each other, and looked around for the cause of the noise. But that didn't matter; Neil had already taken off down the corridor.

***

Paige sat on her bed, hugging her knees. In the past 24 hours she had turned into a wide assortment of creatures and things. Paige also found that she had no control over this, either. She just kept changing, without her own consent. It made her angry, and when she was angry, she turned into nasty things.

Paige hugged her knees tighter, trying not to change, when Nita appeared, backing off slightly. After a moment of silence, Paige looked up at Nita, whose eyes were a fearful white. Nita looked quite scared.

"You're really scary, you know that?" Nita asked, smiling and taking a seat next to Paige on the bed. "Really, I thought you were going to eat the twins, or something. Though I wouldn't miss them, mum would be really angry if my siblings were suddenly gone."

Paige shuffled around. "It isn't a joke, Nita." She said softly. Nita gave up the false smile. "I can't control it! I've turned into just about everything now. There's nothing I can do to stop myself. This power just keeps taking me! I didn't mean to scare you, or even the twins. I just."

Paige broke into tears, and started to sob hysterically. Nita patted her on the back sympathetically. "I just feel alone! I don't think I have a family anymore! I'm practically Jack's mother, my dad is dead, my mum is insane, and my grandpa is depressed, my sister is evil; my brother is having relationship troubles. And to top it all off, I can't just ask you to come over any old time and have fun. I'm not supposed to be friends with you, and you're my best friend!"

Nita fell silent. Paige sobbed harder, and Nita withdrew her hand quickly in shock, as Paige melted into Felicity. Paige, in the form of Felicity, gave an angry yell, and flopped over on the bed in fury.

"I don't want to be Felicity!" Paige sobbed, as Nita stared. After a moment, Felicity's form melted back into Paige's. "You see what I mean?" Paige asked, with a great sigh. Nita looked thoughtful for a flash.

"I think it's because you're under stress." She said finally. "You're angry, so you turned into Felicity, who is full of rage. You're just a little out of whack right now. Calm down, Paige. That's why you're changing, because your emotions are running wild."

"But how can I?" Paige sighed, sitting up once again. "I was trying to be happy; I really was. But everyone and everything around me is miserable. I can't handle it. I'm not strong enough."

Nita shook her head. "Yes, Paige, you are!" She exclaimed. "Just get a little sleep, you'll feel better after that. It always helps me, if I sleep my problems off. They don't go away, but you're more fit to try and solve them."

"I guess you're right." Paige trailed off. Nita smiled, and fixed her glasses. "Nita."

"Yes?" Nita asked, standing up to disappear back to the Potter house.

"Thanks."

Nita didn't need to ask what she was being thanked for. She gave Paige a big hug and said with a smile, "What are friends for?" With that, she was gone, and Paige drifted off within minutes.

***

This was it. There was no turning back now, not even for a million Galleons. Nothing could change anything, so he was going to have to do it himself. Even if it meant the end of his life, it was for the better. No one would miss him much.

Sirius stood before a large book, and held a bit of a dried scarlet powder between his thumb and pointer finger on his right hand. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and released his fingers, furiously muttering strange words.

There was an immediate spinning sensation, and Sirius felt suddenly sick. He toppled to the floor in a crumpled heap, with the world spinning around him, wondering if he was going about this in the right way. Had he done something wrong? Would he die like this, and leave everyone to be more miserable than they already were?

His stomach lurched, and the world as he knew it disappeared. What faced him now was a completely blank nothingness, filled with, well, nothing. Slowly, the lurching in his stomach faded away, and Sirius looked to see something in the nothingness. There was a silver gate, a window that held thousands and thousands of books behind it, and a woman.

The woman had white hair, and wore a long white dress, yet she looked as young as he did. Her skin was pale yet glowing, and her pastel blue eyes stared at him in wonder. Her long dress swished as she walked towards Sirius, who picked himself off the ground.

"Tell, me, stranger, what doth bring you here to me?" Her voice was light and airy, almost hypnotizing. "Have ye a name? I am entitled Aes, warden of the Lost Souls. What hath thee done to venture forth into The Spirit Realm?"

Sirius shuffled nervously. "I am Sirius Black." Sirius tried to stand a little taller, but felt that it had been fruitless, as Aes was quite a bit taller than he was no matter what. "I wish to retrieve a soul."

Aes frowned at him. "Tis' forbidden; ye cannot bring forth a soul. They are forever doomed by the gods to live eternally behind the gates and meet their doom. Noble Sirius, though your intentions are good, ye cannot bring back a soul."

Sirius sighed. "Lady, please. My son-in-law was put into a Book of Souls against his will, and the world is chaos without him. Do you know which soul is Bellum Pugnare? He's very important."

"Important or not, I cannot free him. It is not possible devoid of a pure sacrifice. Someone must give existence in exchange for the life of Bellum Pugnare. Love must be strong, tis' a pure sacrifice, free of hatred."

"Take me for him." Sirius whispered. "I don't care about myself. I want my children and grandchildren to be happy. The world will fall into ruins without Bellum; a Seer foresaw it. I don't care if I never see anyone again, as long as I know they're happy. It's all I want. Take me."

"Be sure, dear friend." Aes said, her pale eyes going even paler. "You will keep me company forever. I will free Bellum Pugnare, on account that you never walk the earth again." She held out a pale hand for Sirius to shake.

The gates opened, and a very out of breath Bellum flew out, as if he had been kicked. He landed barely on his feet, and looked to Sirius. His jaw dropped. Aes ignored him. "When you shake thy hand, ye fate is this. Choose well thy fate, Sirius Black."

Sirius looked at Bellum, who was looking around into nothingness, and grabbed Aes's soft hand. The world began to spin again, and he heard himself scream, and Bellum give a yell of shock. Aes laughed softly, and Sirius wondered what would really happen. But there was nothing he could do now. He was forever Aes's companion in The Spirit Realm.

***

Cate had just come from a deep sleep brought forth from a strong sleeping draught. She rubbed her tired eyes, and rolled around in the covers of her bed. Lately she had taken only to waking on for what was necessary for survival; she slept the rest of the time.

Cate was not sure why she was awake at the moment; the sleeping potion should have lasted a few more hours. Had she heard something? Yes, that had been it. There were voices from one of the lower floors.

But that could not have been everything. Deep inside, Cate had a feeling. It was faint, yet it was steady and true. Something was happening, and Cate knew it. Was it good or bad? Should she let the other capable people in the house handle it?

Either way, Cate could hardly move. But that feeling was driving her insane. The sleepy feeling was coming over her again, willing her to fall back asleep. She would have given in to it too, had it not been for the knock at her bedroom door.

"Go away," she tried to say, for she didn't want to be pestered by Sirius again. But the words didn't come out right; perhaps it was that feeling taking her over again. It was so easy for Cate to lose to her feelings. It had been a long while since she had beaten them.

"Cate?" Asked a low melodious male voice. Cate gasped, and sat up as quickly as she could. She rolled out of the bed, and her feet hit the floor with a great thump. The door opened, and Cate stood trembling on the spot, in one of Bellum's old hooded sweatshirts. The strings had been chewed on, and the ends were frayed.

As the door slowly opened, Cate just about fell to her knees in weakness, as she faced someone she thought she would never see again, not in a million years. Robed in pure white, Bellum looked at her with pity, his deep brown eyes reflecting her poignant appearance.

Cate couldn't breathe. Words were caught in her throat, chocking her. Then with a sputter, she coughed, and started to sob like she had never sobbed before. Bellum rushed forward, gathering his wife in his arms, pulling her close to his chest.

Bellum's hands ran through Cate's greasy hair, and he stroked her tear stained cheek. "It's okay, Cate." He said softly. Cate sobbed harder, her hands holding tighter to his body. "Don't cry! I'm here, love. I love you."

Cate looked up at him, and managed to support her own weight as she stood herself up, looking at Bellum's neck closely. There was an ugly scar, which was his souvenir of death. Her fingers traced across it, and after a few long moments, she raised her face to Bellum's and kissed him.

Immediately, she felt his hands travel up her side, and her waist, near to her chest. and a sensation filled her whole body, and she shivered. Bellum tipped her chin up, and hugged her. Cate saw her own ragged reflection in his eyes, and directed the words out of her mouth with difficulty.

"I'm." She trailed. "I'm a mess. I'm sorry! I've ruined everything here!" In shame she buried her head in his chest and began to sob again. Her muffled words were barely audible to Bellum, who had good hearing. "I couldn't hold on without you! I couldn't do it! Faye lost a life, again. Now she only has the normal amount of lives that a person has. It's my fault, Bellum."

Bellum pulled her off his chest, and stood her up. "Cate, it's all over now. I'm here. I'll take care of you all." For a moment, there was a silence, wherein Cate stopped sobbing. Bellum pulled her up and kissed her with every fiber of him wanting to be close to her. Cate reacted late, her hands coming up to his face.

"You. you're real!" She exclaimed, all of the color rushing back to her face. The Cate that had sulked for months slowly melted into a Cate that was glowing softly, her deep brown eyes sparkling with love for her husband. Her hair was neat, and looked washed again. The dark circles under her eyes vanished, and she looked as she always had before. "You aren't a dream!"

Bellum smiled at her, and kissed her tenderly. "Yeah, in the flesh." He breathed, stroking her cheek. Cate went weak at the knees, and pulled Bellum down to the floor with her, rolling on top of him in addition to kissing him.

"Wait." Bellum said to her, licking his lips. "You should thank someone for my existence, Cate; someone who loves you just as much as I do. He made a sacrifice, but was relieved of it, thankfully."

Cate looked up, and turned her eyes to the doorframe, where Sirius was standing in the shadow. He hadn't looked so happy in a long time. Bellum got up from the ground, wiped his lips, and pulled Cate up.

Cate let tears flow freely down her face as she made her way slowly to the doorway. There was a very awkward moment, wherein Cate and Sirius tried to avoid each other's gazes. Bellum gave Cate a gentle nudge, and she wrapped her arms around her father uttering words that she had never said before.

"I love you daddy!" She cried, burying herself in his arms. Sirius gave a sniffle, and wrapped his arms around his oldest daughter. This was what he had missed all his life. It was also what Cate had been missing as well. She felt another kind of love for the first time since she was three. Love for her parents.

"I love you too, Catie." Sirius choked. Bellum stood nearby, smiling upon them. He didn't quite understand how Sirius had managed to get back, when Aes had intended to keep him forever. It was something that he himself would never learn.

"I'm sorry, daddy." Cate cried, pulling away. "I'm sorry I was cold."

Sirius pulled away from Cate, and she dropped back to Bellum, who put an arm around her. "It doesn't matter." Sirius said. "All that matters is your happiness."

He smiled at the pair, and shut the door, leaving them alone with each other. Cate sighed, and leaned against Bellum, feeling happy for the first time in months. Deep inside her, she could feel the baby kicking, probably for joy.

"Have you seen the kids yet, Bellum?" Cate asked softly, kissing Bellum and lacing her fingers through his. Bellum kissed her quickly, and smiled.

"I saw them first. Ethan and Lissy were called home from school, all on my account." He smiled. "I had to see them first; I knew I'd spend the rest of the time with you. Nut you missed quite a sight! Our sixteen year old son was howling so hard he was nearly attracting werewolves!"

Cate smiled. Bellum returned her smile with a grin, and unlaced one of his hands from Cate's and placed it on her belly. He could feel the baby kicking. "I suppose she's been waiting for her daddy to come back before she entered the world as we know it." Bellum said. "Weren't you due on the tenth of March?"

Cate nodded. That was a week ago. It was March the seventeenth in a few hours. The clock had yet to strike midnight, then it would be a new day. A completely new day for the Pugnares.

Bellum could see that Cate was tired, and he knew the reason why when he picked her up off her feet and carried her to the large bed, setting her down. A glance to the small end tables showed him Sleep Potions and a dagger that seemed to be stained with blood. He sighed, and crawled over Cate to his side of the bed, which had been vacant for an elongated period of time.

"Cate, have you been taking sleeping draughts?" he sighed, knowing the obvious answer. Cate nodded, and laid her head on his chest. "You can sleep now, Cate. I'll be here when you wake up in the morning. You need real sleep, darling. Believe me, sleep from potions does you no good whatsoever."

Cate smiled up at Bellum and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He followed suit and drew her closer to him. Cate felt sleep tugging on her mind, and Bellum looked a little pale. At last, when she was sure of Bellum's hand running though her hair, she gave into sleep, and was out like a light in an instant.

***

Felicity couldn't help but smile. Her father was alive again! She needed desperately to tell someone; this was something she couldn't keep to herself. Blick and Malicia were not people to console upon family matters. Definitely not Ariana. But she didn't have any more friends, did she?

After a few moments of blank thoughts running through her mind, Felicity crossed her fingers and appeared on the Gazebo in the Sky. Her eyes wandered around quickly, and she gave a depressed sigh, as she saw nothing.

"Hello, Felicity," said Neil from behind her. Felicity jumped, and wheeled around to face him, with a big grin plastered on her face. Truthfully, Neil was scared; he had never seen Felicity happy before. She appeared delighted to see him, for some reason.

"Oh, Neil!" She cried, leaping forward and hugging him. Now Neil was scared. "Don't look so shocked! I'm not just happy to see you, stupid!"

Now, Neil thought, this sounded more like the Felicity he had always known. What had he been thinking? "Then why are you here? I'm the only one that ever comes here. You want to tell me something, no?"

Felicity smiled. He had read her mind without actually reading it, if sense were made out of that. "My father is alive again!" She squealed, like a little girl, not in the vein of the usual Felicity. Neil was quite amazed. How had this been managed? Bellum was not an heir. He only had one life.

"That's great!" Neil said, not daring break Felicity's cheerful mood with questions. "I'm sure your mother is delighted! Now you can all be happy." He smiled. It wasn't a lie; he actually was happy. A weird feeling filled his chest, as he looked at Felicity dancing about in a un-Felicity- like way.

"I got called from the common room earlier in the day, and I figured my mother had finally croaked. Then when I saw Snape looking as he usually did, bored and rather angry, I figured maybe mum had had her baby or something, since Snape seems to hate the fact that there are more little people related to Sirius Black in the world."

Neil laughed. "He seems to hate the fact there are so any Potters here, too. Or anyone remotely related to anyone that has ever been sorted into Gryffindor." He pursed his lips, looking around for something to sit on, besides the ground. Felicity obliged the both of them with a stone bench, with dragons carved into the marble stone."

"I don't believe the right wing, third floor balcony will miss that bench so much. I don't think any of us even go to that part of the house; it's haunted." Felicity said, with a shrug, taking a seat beside Neil on the bench. They both sighed, and had no idea what to say after that.

Feeling rather brave, Neil cleared his throat, and said timidly, "Uh, I saw you with Blick last night. I toppled over backwards and took off in a sprint." To Neil's eternal relief, Felicity laughed.

"Sorry you had to see that." She said, blushing a little. "It's just kind of funny that I'm the only thing that scares him. And I don't really scare him, he's just a little nervous. No one would ever think it, but Blick is actually quite shy. Malicia on the other hand, is not the slightest bit shy. But everyone knows that."

Neil shuffled. He felt rather nervous around Felicity, too. She was a year older than he was, she was pretty, lethally intelligent, and already on the dark side. But he had no problem talking to her, or sitting by her. She seemed like a nice person once she was away from society.

It was amazing how different people were when you were alone with them. Neil doubted anyone had ever seen this side of Felicity. It gave him a proud feeling; he could be trusted, and people were themselves around him. Perhaps that was a power in its own right.

"You've probably thought I'm just cold and heartless." Felicity said softly. Neil shook his head, but Felicity held a hand up to stop him from talking. "But I really do love my father. Sure, at times I say I hate my mother, but you know, I love her too. It's hard to hate yourself, but I hate myself sometimes too." Felicity paused to heave a heavy sigh. "I never let anyone know, but I feel bad sometimes when I do things that are.. Morally wrong. It's the weirdest feeling in the world; I'm not supposed to have a conscience!"

"Yes you are." Neil sighed. "Even you have misgivings, and it's supposed to be that way." He paused a moment to collect his words and look at the starry sky. The night was so vivid and clear from the gazebo, and it was as if he could reach his arm out and grab a star at that very moment. "Trust your heart, Felicity. It'll get you farther than your head will."

Felicity smiled at him. "You're a good person, Neil." She whispered. "Don't ever change. Stay good forever." She kissed him on the cheek, and Neil felt his face burn scarlet. "Thanks for listening to me babble about everything that's good or bad in my life. Your friends are lucky to have you."

Felicity waved, and Neil sat blubbering by himself as she disappeared. He could feel already that Felicity wasn't going to listen to her heart right away. She was going to learn the hard way, and then when she used her heart, he felt somehow that she would get it broken. But there was really nothing he could do about this feeling. At least that's what he thought. Little did he know that the same thing would happen to him, in the very same way.

***

Cate woke up the next morning, sweating profusely, and breathing heavily. Her breathing then slowed down, as she realized she was wrapped in someone's arms: Bellum's. It hadn't been a dream at all! Oh, he was real, oh happy day! Her hands grabbed his robes tightly, and she hugged him.

Bellum stirred, and gave a satisfied smile. "Mornin', Cate." He said, stretching his arms in the air, and then bringing them back around Cate. "Did you sleep well? I know I certainly did. I haven't slept in mmm. I dunno how long, really. But just having you back in my arms was comfort enough."

Cate shivered. Just because Bellum was there didn't mean that bad dreams had to stop. As usual, glimpses of those that had been murdered years before haunted her. The most common dreams were always those of Tiira and her family. Cate looked up at Bellum, her eyes filled with a new wonder. Bellum didn't know Cate knew who his parents were.

Cate smiled at him, and kissed him gently. With a sigh, Bellum ran his fingers through his hair. Cate was in heaven. It had been so long since she had felt his touch against her body! "Well." Bellum said. "It's nearly noon. Our children are going to wonder if we're alive. But you're going to have a baby soon. Just stay in bed, Catie! I'll cook you up breakfast."

"No!" Cate gasped. Her eyes widened and she hugged Bellum tighter. "Don't leave me!" She was still not completely sane, Bellum gathered from this. He was going to have to gradually work back her sanity, even if it took years.

"Okay, then we can sit in the kitchen and I'll make you breakfast there." He said with a smile. "Sound like a deal, Catie baby?" Cate nodded, and they both dressed quickly. Bellum gave his white robes a look of disgust; neither he nor Cate ever wore robes. It was Cate who had doused this wizarding tradition. Not many witches or wizards these days wore robes; they weren't as fashionable.

"Paaaaaaaigie!" Bellum called on his stroll down the hall with Cate clinging to him. He rapped on Paige's door loudly. "Breakfast, darling!" Not even thirty seconds later, Paige threw open the door, still in her pajamas, and hugged her father tightly. Jack toddled out after her, and babbled all the words he knew.

The four Pugnares traversed down the many winding staircases that led to the main floor. Bellum held Jack, while Cate had a firm hold on the back on his shirt. Paige was telling some sort of story at length, when the kitchen rolled closer. Bellum smiled. He liked to cook.

"Scrambled eggs and pancakes will be today's specialty." Bellum said, licking his lips and going through the cupboards in the spacious kitchen. Jack clapped, and gave a giggle from where he sat on the floor with a sheet of paper and crayons.

From that moment, everything was cheerful. Cate realized that things were like they had always been. Life was okay now! Cate was so wrapped up in the happy moment that she didn't even notice Paige sneak off with a plate of pancakes. Bellum hummed old Frank Sinatra songs as he feasted on his delicious dish of food.

"Ah, did you take pleasure in the régal de pancakes?" Bellum said with a flawless French accent, while leaning back on his kitchen chair, nearly falling over. He carelessly tossed a fork in the air and caught it quickly. Cate giggled.

"I never did understand how you're so coordinated, yet so bad at Quidditch." She said, scooping Jack off the floor. "Something about being even two feet off the floor shock you that much?"

Bellum chuckled. "Yes, there is. I never quite understood how you could fly so easily in the air, yet had to have gone through endless hours of dancing with me to actually become good at it." Bellum crossed his arms, trying to be completely serious. It was an odd manner of his; he could never be serious at breakfast.

Cate couldn't bite back a smile. Not for long, at least. There was a sudden sharp pain all around her middle. She let go of Jack, who slid off her lap and grabbed a fistful of crayons from the floor. Gasping sharply, trying to fight the pain, Cate grabbed Bellum's hand.

There was a loud distinct crunching of bones, and Bellum screamed. Soon Cate was joining him in screaming, yelling that she was in labor. Paige slid into the kitchen by means of her socks, and scooped up Jack. A smile broke out across her face, as she watched her father trying to hex away the pain in his wrist, as Cate tried to stand up.

"The baby's coming!" Cate shouted needlessly. "Paige, get your grandfather. He'll know what to do. Meet us at the hospital with him!" With a painful moan, Cate grabbed hold of Bellum's shoulders, and the pair disappeared without a sound. The baby was coming.

*** For what seemed the millionth time in the past year, Paige found herself in a hospital waiting room. She held Jack, as usual, and Felicity and Ethan were wandering around the lobby, wreaking havoc in their own individual ways. Paige heaved a sigh, and set Jack down to toddle off looking for some sort of toys to play with.

But the Pugnare children were not was exciting at the present moment. Cate was having a baby, Bellum was in his usual nervous wreck when Cate was in labor, and the doctor was a case of his own. Old Doctor Kost had reacted quite as most people would seeing Bellum Pugnare alive and kicking. He had fainted, while muttering things about the dead being alive again.

It took some time for the nurses to revive him, and when he was awake, he looked at Bellum in wonder, and said, "I thought you were dead? The dead can't come back to life; you aren't an heir."

Bellum shuffled. "Long story. I'll explain later." He said shortly. "Right now, my wife is in labor and my wrist has been broken in two different spots." Cate gave a loud shriek of pain to verify that she was indeed having her baby. Doctor Kost, seeing a medical emergency, quickly snapped out of his trance.

Bellum (whose hand was still in pain) reached out for Cate's hand. "Breathe, Catie." He whispered in her ear. "It'll all be over soon, and we'll have another baby! Another beautiful little girl! Ah-ah-ah-OUCH!"

Soon was probably not a good word to describe the pain and agony everyone in the delivery room went through. After 8 hours of screaming, wailing, crying, crunching, crashing, shattering, and all other chaos, Cate finally began to bawl as she finally heard the high pitched wailing of a baby!

Bellum, mangled hand and all, kissed Cate's sweat covered forehead, and hugged her. The nurse leapt at this opportunity to mend his hand. Cate would have looked as if she had been to Hell and back if not for the soft glow her skin gave off. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as Doctor Kost presented her with a beautiful baby girl.

The whole room went quiet, as Cate smiled when the Faye opened her tiny eyes, revealing them to be brilliant hazel green. Faye herself seemed to be giving off a light aura as well. She was a beautiful baby, with her hazel eyes and small tuft of medium brown hair.

The whole room looked from Cate to Bellum, trying to figure out who Faye looked like. Both Cate and Bellum were dark haired and dark eyed. Cate smiled to herself, and solved the mystery to everyone but Bellum, who was staring.

"She looks like your mother." Cate said to Bellum delicately, smiling an ear-to-ear smile at him. "Isn't she a beautiful baby?" Bellum smiled a small smile. He touched Cate's cheek, and held out a finger for the tiny baby to curl her hand around.

"The most beautiful baby ever." He whispered in Cate's ear, kissing her cheek gently. The whole room murmured, "Aww." before Doctor Kost shooed them all out, leaving Cate and Bellum alone. This was an instant cue for passionate kissing, which of course Bellum and Cate filled out marvelously. "Beautiful like her mother."

"Like your mother." Cate corrected. Bellum kissed her neck and stroked her cheek before he could think of words to respond with. His parents had always been people he had kept secret. It was his own personal thing, his past. It was one of the few things he never told Cate about.

"How do you know about my mother?" He asked, shifting in his chair. Cate sighed. She hadn't wanted to ruin the cheerful moment with talk of murders.

"The dreams I had..." She said. "All I had to do was piece together the clues they left. Your mother and father were Tiira and Venire Pugnare. Tiira's parents were Mors and Sommeil Vox, who was more commonly known as the Dream Witch. Your parents were great people."

Bellum smiled. At that moment he wished that he had told Cate everything there was to know about his family. Everyone he had been related to, and what each person had been like. There were secrets that Cate still did not know; Bellum could tell by a quick sweep of her mind. He made a promise to himself to tell Cate all he knew later, even if it was the one thing he kept personal.

Doctor Kost poked his head in the room. "Nurse Blanche will be taking your new little one." He smiled. "Just the usual tests, she'll be back soon." Cate and Bellum both knew about the extensive tests that were run on Pugnare and black babies. The tests were to check for mental capabilities, so they could prevent a baby from turning into Cate. But there were other tests that tested the powers that each child had. "Uh. Mr. Pugnare?" Doctor Kost asked, scratching his gray hair. "May I see you in private?"

"Whatever you have to say, I'm sure you can say in front of Cate." Bellum said firmly as the timid Nurse Blanche carefully took Faye away from Cate. Doctor Kost shuffled around in the doorframe. "Cate will be needing her sleep, if she's to be ready for parenting again." He said with a glance to Cate.

Cate sighed. "Bellum, darling, talk to the doctor." She paused to shoot Doctor Kost a piercing glare. "Be nice to the doctor, Bellum." Cate beckoned Bellum closer, and kissed him lustrously, and ran her fingers through his hair before Doctor Kost dragged Bellum out of the room.

Cate would have drifted off into a peaceful slumber if not for the soft female voice that hauled her back to where she was. "Wonderful man he turned out to be, correct am I not?"

Turning her tired and weary head, Cate found strength enough to gasp as she faced a pretty woman with wavy light brown hair and bright hazel green eyes. The woman was smiling brightly at Cate. She was standing straight near a table filled with medical utensils that Cate could only imagine what they were used for.

Cate was quite speechless. Was she hallucinating? She was aware that she was not fully mentally capable of coping with the world yet. Were her dreams now haunting her while she was awake too? Wasn't sleep enough?

"I'm real." Tiira said with a small smile. "As is Venire, who is visiting Bellum at this precise moment. Gryffindor sent us back to Earth, for reasons I cannot let be known. Besides, now you can really see who your daughter looks like."

Cate gave Tiira a bemused look. "I remember you vividly, from dreams." Cate said after a few moments of thinking. "Faye looks like you. Does that mean she'll have powers like you as well?"

Tiira pursed her lips and took a seat where Bellum had been earlier: the chair next to Cate's hospital bed. "One can never tell what powers another has by simply looking. The doctors will try and tell you that they've got an idea, but they never do know for sure. They can't see the true extent of anyone's powers."

Cate sighed, as Tiira placed a tender hand on her arm, and looked at her. "Sometimes, even the person with the powers doesn't know." In an instant, Cate knew who Tiira was talking about. Bellum. He didn't know what his powers all were. Sure, he had very faint ideas, which is why he refrained from using them. "Bellum is a coercer."

Cate looked at Tiira with a face that showed mixed emotions. She knew quite well what a coercer was, and it was a very powerful attribute for one to have. A coercer could not only read minds, but control them as well. In truth, Cate had always known. Bellum liked to pretend he had always been normal; he liked not having any freak powers.

Tiira sighed heavily, and laid her head on Cate's arm. "He's my little boy." she trailed off. "I never got to have the joy of raising him. All I could do was watch! My father believed he had gotten to him, but oh, it was painful to watch him endear those awful people day after day. That girl that followed him."

"Dolere." Cate said, with a hard hint of scorn in her voice. "Dolere Viruent."

"Then you came along!" Tiira continued, rolling her head to the side, to look at Cate. Her hazel eyes were filed with wonder. "There was something about you, I suppose. You were evil, oh, just like the rest of them, but what did he find deep inside your heart? He saw your beauty, your grace, your."

"Good side." Cate finished. "It was strange, yet so alluring and attracting. He's amazing, every whim of his personality. He had a way of getting into my heart. No one had ever done that before."

The door opened, and Bellum shot into the room, closing the door tightly behind him. He gave a cry of fright as he saw his mother sitting on a chair beside his wife. Still leaned against the door, he flew forward when it was flung open, and a man that looked nearly identical to him step into the room, quietly closing the door.

"Cate?" Bellum cried, dusting himself as he got off the floor. "Have I gone insane?" He looked from Tiira to Venire, who were both grinning. He looked to Cate, to verify his sanity. "I was having a nice old conversation with the Doc, and then uh."

"Your parents are here, darling." Cate smiled. Bellum let out a sigh of relief, quite happy to learn that he wasn't the only one who was insane. To add even more to the little hospital room, Nurse Blanche scuttled in with Faye, seeing Bellum standing in the middle of the room, looking at an empty chair. Cate was watching some empty space near the window. Quite afraid of both Cate and Bellum, she handed Bellum the baby (she more afraid of Cate than she was of Bellum) and scuttled right back out.

"So they can't see you?" Bellum asked. Tiira and Venire nodded. For yet another interruption, the door opened once again, and all of Cate's family poured in, along with Ethan, Felicity, Paige, and Jack. They were all chattering happily, but that stopped when they caught sight of Tiira and Venire.

Lizzie had a vague recollection of Tiira from the past. Sirius, however, hadn't the slightest idea who either of them was. After a good look at Venire and Bellum, he used his intellect to determine that the both of them had to be related, in some way, to Bellum. Venire's dark eyes were roaming around the room, looking at all the children who were staring at him.

"I'm Tiira Pugnare." Tiira said to all of those who did not know. Ethan, Paige, and Felicity only stared even harder. "And my husband Venire," she said, as Venire smiled, and gave a nod to everyone. "And you all know our son. Bellum."

With this statement, everyone gasped. The Pugnare children had known nothing about their grandparents until this moment, and they had believed Tiira and venire were dead (which they were supposed to be). A very awkward silence filled the room, and everyone shuffled in their spots, not daring to speak.

It was Bellum who broke the silence, with a rather weak statement of, "Uh. Come see the baby everyone!" looking to her sides and seeing only the stone- cold Felicity and confused Ethan, Paige stepped forward, and Bellum smiled rather nervously. "Faye," he said. "Her name is Faye."

Paige smiled, as Bellum knelt down so she could see Faye. The tiny baby's hazel eyes looked up at her, and Paige could have sworn Faye smiled at her. "She doesn't look like the rest of us, does she?" She asked, rather rhetorically. "But she looks like err. Grandma."

Venire couldn't help but grin, making him look like his son more than ever. "Paige." He said; the French accent he had was actually quite audible to the English crowd. Paige smiled up at her newfound grandfather as she was handed Faye. Bellum stood up and smiled at the room, who were a little more relaxed now.

"You lived by us for a while." Lizzie said to Tiira. Tiira nodded, and Lizzie winced. "Awful times, they were. I wish I could have gotten to know my neighbors."

Brynn, Bryce, and Ethan were examining the medical tools by now. "Scalpel!" Brynn grinned. "Bryce needs a brain transplant. Or, I should say, Bryce needs a brain!" Ethan grinned, as Bryce made an angry face. "You shouldn't laugh, Eath!" Brynn added. "You haven't got a brain either!"

"Ethan!" Cate said commandingly. "Stop fooling around and hold your baby sister. That's why you're here in the first place." Ethan gave a dejected sigh, and gathered around Felicity, who looked uncomfortable about holding a baby.

"Ugh," she said. "Children." Quite suddenly, Faye started to bawl, and the room went into silence and then broke out into the substantial, "Aww!" and rushed forward to comfort the crying baby.

Sirius was trying to hold a conversation with Venire, but there was a slight language barrier between the two. Sirius didn't know any French, and Venire didn't speak excellent English. "Eh?" Sirius kept saying when Venire kept falling back to his native language.

With inaudible English, and Sirius not understanding French, Venire then tried Italian, but it was fruitless. Sirius only understood English, and Venire had trouble speaking it. With a shady glance around the room to make sure no one was watching, Venire's form slowly turned into Bellum's.

It wasn't a great change, but he shrunk a few inches, his nose changed, his skin became smoother, and he looked much kinder. Sirius stared. Venire acted as if this occurrence was completely normal, as if he changed into his son every day. He broke into a smile, and said in perfect English, "Now that's better. Makes things easier."

It wasn't long before Bellum noticed a replica of himself talking to his father-in-law. Tiira, who was talking to Lizzie and Cate, hissed something at him in French, and he shot back a quick comment in the same language. Bellum decided to add his word in, as his father was a duplicate copy of himself.

Venire grumbled, and his form melted back into his own. "Hm, is my nose that crooked?" Bellum asked aloud, and Tiira ruffled his hair. Even after traumatizing experiences, mothers would be mothers. And Tiira hadn't seen her son in a great many years. This caused her to suddenly hug the poor befuddled Bellum.

The door opened once more, and heads turned to see who would interrupt this time. Doctor Kost, staring at the noisy family. He took no notice of Tiira and Venire. "Out, everyone!" He said hotly. It had been a looooooong day. "Except the proud parents."

The Blacks and Pugnares scuttled out, save Tiira and Venire, who the doctor could not see. He turned to Cate and Bellum. Bellum was sitting on the foot of the bed with his hand on Cate's leg. Cate was holding Faye, wondering what the doctor was going to tell her now. Tiira and Venire stood behind the doctor, listening intently.

"Now." He sighed, ruffling his gray hair with his wrinkled hand. He was the best doctor in the world, but Cate had always puzzled him, along with her family. "Some time ago, I released the information that your daughter had no extra lives, as the rest of the heirs do, because she had already died twice."

He paused to look at Cate, who squirmed uncomfortably. "But." He continued, "Faye has seven lives." Cate stared, Bellum's eyes widened, and Tiira and Venire went white. "Originally nine, but she has died twice, and she's only a few hours old. To be specific, she died before she was born."

Doctor Kost shuffled in his shiny black shoes, looking at them, as the light bounced off and made them shine even brighter. "We don't know why, or even know if it's true or not. We haven't had any clue to what sort of powers she will have, but we do all agree that she will be mentally stable."

Cate and Bellum both nodded, not knowing what else to do. Doctor Kost kept on telling them things they really hadn't expected to hear. "We can tell she's very magically strong."

The aging doctor seemed to have nothing more to say than, "Get some sleep, both of you. I can tell you need it. I'll take little Faye." He smiled, opening his arms, in a kindly grandfatherly way. "She's a very special baby." As Cate and Bellum kissed their newborn child once before sending her off with the Doctor Kost, he nodded to two vials on a stand. "Drink those, there's one for each of you. I shall see you both in the morning."

Tiira and Venire nodded, as the doctor left. "He's right. Tiira said, speaking for Venire as well. "You need a little sleep, as you're new parents again!" She levitated the small vials towards them, and smiled. "We'll visit the rest of the family."

Cate and Bellum nodded their farewells, and turned towards their vials. Each was filled with a magenta liquid that smelled of pears. "Bottoms up, Catie!" Bellum said, downing his vial. Cate quickly followed suit, and they both instantly felt sleep coming onto them. With a pleasant taste of cherry resting on their tongues, they drifted off silently.

***

It was a few days before anyone left the hospital at all. To the entire staff's relief, Brynn, Bryce, Ethan, Felicity, and Brian had gone back to school. An assortment of odd pranks had been played on them all, and one particular nurse was more than happy to see Brynn, Bryce, and Ethan gone.

Paige and Bridgett had been reduced to sitting in chairs in Cate and Bellum's room, while everyone else chatted about life in general. Sirius and Bellum told their stories, "From there and Back" as they called it. Tiira and Venire also told their story, in length, but had not thought of a creative name for it.

Eventually, everyone reduced to napping for the rest of the hospital stay. Often, Tiira and venire wandered off for unknown reasons, but everyone left them to their business, afraid to get involved with their affairs on earth at the present. There really wasn't much of Faye, who was the reason they were all there anyhow. Cate and Bellum were jittery, and both jumped whenever touched by someone from the "Outside World."

At long last, Doctor Kost, who had become a feared visitor in the spacious hospital room, announced that Cate and Bellum could take their baby home. There was a buzz around the hospital, when someone leaked out who was shut up in the largest room the building held. There were plenty of men hanging around in the lobby, hoping for a glimpse of Cate, while women sat around, hoping to hear she had died, or had at least turned into a normal person.

Sirius peaked around the hallway first, motioning for the caravan of people behind him that it was safe to follow; no bystander that seemed dangerous, just a few old people in wheelchairs. Bellum and Cate were especially trying to keep a low profile. No one had plotted out yet how Bellum would return to society. Tiira and Venire had no trouble, of course, as they were invisible to the normal magical person's eye.

But then it happened, as everyone had predicted it would. From one of the wheelchairs, sprang a young teenage boy, wrapped in various bandages of the sort, shouting like mad. "I've found them everybody!" He screamed at the top of his teenage lungs. "She's had her baby!"

Bellum gasped, and pulled Cate (who was carrying Faye) to the side, and they ducked out into an empty (as far as hospital rooms go) room, which wasn't occupied by anyone. Paige followed closely at their heels. There was a patter of feet all the way down the hall, as the Blacks took off with teenager (and some full-grown adult) trailers at their heels.

"Is it safe?" Paige whispered to Bellum, tugging on his pants. Bellum stuck his tongue slightly out of his mouth, as if concentrating; looked to his left, to his right, and nodded, waving a hand for his accomplices to follow.

Whatever instincts sticking his tongue out provided were not correct. Halfway around a corner, he skidded into a pregnant woman in for her monthly checkup. "Terribly sorry," he said, stopping to make sure she wasn't going to go into labor or anything. That was a mistake.

"Oh, Lord!" The woman cried. "You. you can't be!" She sputtered, starting to breathe heavily. "You're supposed to be dead! And you're supposed to be crazy!" She said, nodding towards Cate.

"Uhh." Bellum said, he had to think quickly. Sometimes fame really had its downside. "You are hallucinating! Yes, I'm not real, and neither are these three. You see no baby, no woman, and no girl! And no me! Hee!"

With a slight squeal, Bellum nodded to the poor woman and sent her on her way, grabbing the nearest means of hiding, which happened to be a cart full of robes for doctors and nurses. Pleased with his sudden find, the Pugnares crept down the hall, eventually arriving at the parking lot, where the Blacks were hiding behind a dumpster.

"Safe!" Paige squealed, dancing around. It felt so good to be out in the fresh, clean, spring air! She could dance, and shout and not have a care in the world. Sirius, Lizzie, and Bridgett waddled out from behind their fort, and took time to smell the air. FLASH!

That was another mistake. There was a flash, followed by several more flashes, and then the flashing was so great, it was blinding. If anyone had actually seen what they were taking pictures of, they would have noticed a horrified Bellum (who was supposed to be dead), Cate with her jaw dropped holding a tiny baby, Paige in mid-jump, Bridgett tripping over her father's feet, and Sirius and Lizzie clinging onto each other ready to fall after Sirius wobbled when Bridgett tripped over him.

Possibly the most comical picture ever taken involving Cate, this picture was on the front page of the newspaper the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that. Well, you get my point. Magazines ran this picture on the covers, and the whole story (which, of course, was made-up) was published somewhere between the many advertisements.

Tiira and Venire appeared in front of Cate, both laughing. Cate was looking around madly, quite unready for all the cameras. She had forgotten, in her confused din of a life, that she was the most famous person in the wizarding world, along with Meagan Potter.

Tiira snapped her fingers quickly, and the horrible flashing was gone. Eight people and a baby were in the living room of the Pugnare Estate. Tiira shook her head. "You people are some of the most brilliant magicians, and you can't deal with fame you should be used to by now?"

There was mumble, as all capable of doing magic looked at their feet, shuffling madly. Tiira had done something about Venire's awful English by this point, and he spoke just as well as the others, "Just joking."

Bellum looked more eager to discuss a problem, than to listen to his father try to be funny. "Now they know I'm out here in this screwed up magical world. How are we going to explain that I really am Bellum Pugnare, and that I really was dead? Sirius can verify. Everyone knows what Cate was going through," he said, quickly adding, "No offense, Cate."

"Oh, worry about it later!" Lizzie smiled. "You have a new baby now." She smiled. At the mention of baby, everyone gasped. "JACK!" Suddenly, the toddler's lack of presence became obvious.

"Didn't I tell you to grab Jack before we left, dad?" Cate asked angrily. Sirius mumbled something that sound like I thought Lizzie was getting him. There was a sudden panic about the room.

"Daddy!" Came a very small voice amidst the commotion. Silence filled the room, everyone turned abruptly to face a nearly two-year-old baby boy with tufts of dark brown hair smiling at them, with his chocolate brown eyes sparkling. He was holding a candy bar in his hand, and some chocolate was already smeared on his face.

Venire grinned from his smug spot near Tiira in the corner. "Oh, you aren't funny." She whispered, elbowing him. "You could have told them that Jack got transported here with the rest of us."

Bellum scooped up his son, and carried him over to Cate, who held Faye. "See your sister again? " he whispered. Jack threw his arms in the air excitedly. "Isn't she a pretty baby?" Jack giggled excitedly.

"Baby, baby, baaaaaaby!" He screeched. Jack had never seen a baby before; he had always been the baby. His babying would not come to an end though, now that Faye was the baby. He still had grandparents to spoil him rotten. And they obliged quite well to that.

Settling in was a hectic event. Both sets of grandparents cradled Faye while Cate and Bellum set everything they wanted up. Cate was still too paranoid for a nursery. "It's too far away from our bedroom!" She mused aloud, after Bellum had dragged baby furniture to the room a few doors down from theirs.

"She'll sleep in our room for a good long time!" Cate proclaimed. "We can put the basinet there, next to our bed. On my side, mind you," she added to Bellum. "So you don't knock it over when you roll out of bed each morning."

Tiira and venire proved to be helpful houseguests. Paige didn't have to mind Jack, and could visit Nita quite freely now. Tiira smiled at her, for making friends in her own way, not falling under the Potter/Pugnare Hate Clan. Tiira herself had broken away from the bad, and did what she felt was right.

"You've got more courage than we all know." Tiira said softly to her granddaughter, before letting her go off to play with her friends. "Someday, you'll show us all just how brave you are."

Paige merely nodded; she didn't want to be brave, or anything. She just wanted to be a normal, magical girl who could choose for herself who her friends could or could not be. Life was just so complicated! Why couldn't Cate and Meagan be friends? Why could they at least remotely like each other? Well, life went on, no matter what.

***

Meagan gave a sighed, and stretched. The day had been perfect so far. Everything seemed so right, so great. Each tiny baby was asleep in her cradle, peacefully slumbering without a care in the world. There was no love like a love for your child, there was no doubt about that.

A peaceful spinning sensation took over in Meagan's head, spreading throughout her body. Meagan could tell what was coming now. She jumped to the bed and landed softly on the pillows; her spirit left her body at that very moment, traveling to that familiar, black, starlit place she so often visited.

"Hello, Meagan," greeted Godric Gryffindor with a smile. His eyes were not as alight as they usually were. In fact, he looked rather troubled. Meagan threw her arms around him in a great embrace; then pulled away, to wait for his explanation of the situation she had been called for. This time.

But, as usual, Gryffindor was going to through long explanations, and teach Meagan a few lessons before she was to hear the relative point of this summoning. Gryffindor smiled at her this time, instead of a morbid from. Perhaps this was going to be a happy event?

"Meagan, my young heir." He said. A thoughtful looked crossed his face, and he looked at Meagan as if he were seeing her in a new light. "You could have very well been the heir for any of the Four Founders." He said. Meagan smiled, knowing that her eyes were changing to a content sea blue color. "You have cunning, and use it in the right ways. You are very wise, and seem only to get wiser over the years. Loyalty and hard work is something you value. You're sweet and innocent, when you wish."

Meagan smiled at him. He was like a father or grandfather that she never really had in her teenage and adult years of life. His scarlet robes reminded Meagan of Cate, though, so she focused on the face that resembled hers so greatly.

"But most of all, you have bravery." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're willing to sacrifice anything for people that are friends and family, and do not even show concern for you at all."

"Like Cate?" Meagan asked softly. "She's like my own troubled child. I want to do things for her, but I can't! She won't love anyone except Bellum." There was a flash in Meagan's mind, involving how Cate could possibly be related to Gryffindor. All she did was sulk all day long, feeling sorry for herself, without the courage to love anyone else. How could she be an heir to the Gryffindor throne?

Gryffindor seemed to know what Meagan was thinking, judging by his next question. "Meagan, could you be kind enough to define the meaning of the word bravery?" As Meagan thought, Gryffindor studied her face, which was contorted, looking for the right words to use.

"The willingness to sacrifice yourself for the good of others, good or bad." She said slowly. "Courage to do something that involves a personal sacrifice." Gryffindor's eyes told her that he wanted an example of this definition, so Meagan obliged. "Turning to fight the most evil wizard ever known, willing to die for he safety of someone you don't even hold close to your heart. If I were to die for Snape, say."

Gryffindor pursed his lips, holding back a smiled. "How do you think Cate would define bravery?" He asked. Meagan went thoughtful once again. This was a little tougher; as no one could ever tell what Cate was truly thinking, mind reader or no mind reader. Cate didn't seem to value anything at the moment, except perhaps her memories.

"Courage in the face of danger." Cate said, trying to say something nice aloud. After all, Cate was a direct descendant of Gryffindor. The thought of Cate's definition of bravery long ago wandered into Meagan's mind. Cate had said bravery was blind stupidity. There were other ways to get things done, without charging into a fight and needlessly sacrificing yourself.

"Can you name one way Cate is brave?" Gryffindor asked in contrast to this. This left Meagan confused. "This is a bit of an unfair question," admitted Gryffindor solemnly. "You and Cate are but two different people, and therefore think in different ways. For you, bravery is a sacrifice of your body or soul; to Cate bravery is just staying alive day by day. She wanted so desperately to end her life. Bellum chose his last words carefully, and those words were what kept Cate alive."

Meagan knew what he had said; she had chatted more than a few times with the ghost of Bellum at the party thrown to announce the birth of the triplets. It was so strange how no one had given much of a notice to Bellum before; he had always shoved himself to the side, away from the fame.

"He's back, Meagan." Gryffindor. Meagan gasped. "A sacrifice from Sirius. He wanted his family to be happy. The effects had hit Cate hard, and things were settling down on Paige, their daughter that is of the same age as Juanita. She'd been taking care of her brother, along with a number of other stressful situations that were hard enough without a miserable father.

"Sirius gave himself up for the return of Bellum. The keeper to The Spirit Realm is a woman called Aes, and she longed for someone to keep her company. Sirius traded his life for Bellum's life."

Meagan's jaw dropped. Life without Sirius? Was he gone? She would never see him again? Gryffindor smiled at her obvious degree of shock. "I pulled strings to bring him back. I fear this will be the end over my control of these life situations. There are two mortal people back from the dead that should never walk the earth again due to their personal sacrifice, or fate. I'm sorry I can't help you much anymore. Bringing Sirius and letting Bellum go is about the extent of my power from here."

That did not worry Meagan too much. But Gryffindor's next statement did. "Since I have little influence now, you shall have a great majority of influence on the lives of the Pugnares. You must keep a very close watch over Bellum, who is the most important person on the earth right now, whether you know it or not."

Bellum? Meagan thought. He never seemed that clever, or powerful. She had never seen him do anything magically impressive. He had the sense knocked out of him (literally) and pushed off to the side when everything else happened. The only thing she could was the first time she had ever met him. When he wasn't yet married to Cate. He had frozen her in her own body with some little invention, and scared her quite well. And he was an agent, for the American Ministry. But she knew so little about his past.

"You'll have to con all his powers out of him," said Gryffindor. "He's got more than you and all your family members combined, but he doesn't know he has that many. I don't even have a clue to what most of them are. I can tell you that he is a very dangerous person in his own right, and he doesn't want anyone to know what powers he has. There is one power he uses just about every day, as it is the only one he can control. Bellum is a coercer; he can read and control your thoughts. Why have you never noticed what he does before? Because he controls your mind into thinking he is a simpleminded man with nothing special about him. You have to fight these thoughts to get through his power."

Meagan nodded. "I'll try to keep him safe from whatever harm comes his way, and his family too. They'll be having their baby soon, then?"

"They already have," Gryffindor smiled. "A beautiful baby girl called Faye. You'll find out on your own what this child is. You'll find out what she is capable of." He suddenly broke into laughter at Meagan's serious face. "Did I ever tell you why you and Marykate were created?"

Meagan shook her head, and blew a few dark brown strands out of her face. "Lizzie was the only remainder of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and I foresaw a dark future for her. Before she was born, I foresaw her future. Her parents were to die a terrible death, and she was going to die with them. Not wanting to take chances, I created you and Marykate. You were to be a perfect pillar of bravery, strength, courage, and wisdom. Mark my word, you have not disappointed me. You altered the vision I had."

Gryffindor was about to go into a similar speech he had given to Cate quite some time ago. "Without you, there never would have been Cate. James and Lily never would have lived to have Harry; Remus Lupin would have been buried in his werewolf troubles, and would have done away with his life at the age of thirteen. Bellum, not having Cate, would have been discovered, and killed off. Sirius would have been killed long before the Potters, not by Voldemort, but by James himself, believing his best friend was trying to sell him over, whilst it was Peter who sold you all over. Peter Pettigrew would eventually overtake Lord Voldemort, and reign for years as the supreme dark wizard."

"Dark and gloomy without me, isn't it?" Meagan asked with a tone of humor. Gryffindor grinned. "Never take your being an heir for granted. Without you, the world will fall. Bellum does not have an idea how to use his powers, and you are going to have to get around Cate to counsel him. You will have help, only for a short time. When you return to your body, help will arrive soon. Take care of the world, Meagan. Think of it as babysitting. Babysitting the whole world with taking care of but a few people."

Meagan sensed a goodbye coming on, so she threw her arms around her creator once more, and nodded. "I will." She said softly but firmly. "Don't worry. The world is safe in my two hands. Or my four paws, whatever."

The dizzy swirling sensation engulfed Meagan's body again; there was no fighting it. With what felt like a fall, she was back in her body, on her bed, and one of the triplets was crying. Help will arrive soon, she thought. I wonder what he meant by that! That was when she heard the doorbell ring.

***

Appearing downstairs, with one baby in her arms, Meagan opened the door, only to be confronted by a complete stranger. On any other occasion she would have taken the pretty green eyed woman for a reporter, and would have shooed her off. But Gryffindor had warned her.

"Come in," Meagan said, rocking the gurgling baby. The woman looked around, and pushed a wavy piece of light brown hair from her face. She smiled at Meagan and Abigail, the triplet Meagan hand in arm. "I don't mean to be rude, but can you tell me who you are?" She asked, leading the woman to the living room and gesturing for her to take a seat on the couch.

"You know me, however very, very distantly." The woman said with a smiled. "Rack your brain, Meagan." She said. Meagan bit her lip and concentrated; she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. There was something vaguely familiar about this person, now that she thought about it.

There was something about the way her eyes sparkled, and the way she grinned. Her nose looked very familiar, along with the general shape of her face. She looked like a very nice person, perhaps a saintly figure. But there was something foreboding about her as well. Her kind face hid great evil that had once lurked.

"Think about what happened when you were fifteen." The woman said softly. A lot of things had happened to Meagan when she was fifteen; it was going to take some time for her to find this woman's face in the crowd of people.

Perhaps it was school? This woman had a strong English accent, so it was unlikely she was foreign. Or was she?

*

Meagan had only gone one place out from school when she was fifteen, and that was her family trip to Paris in the summer before she started school. All Meagan could recall was a massacre on the streets that she could never prove, but suspected it involved magic.

A teenage girl had crashed into her on a dark night Meagan ventured out alone to investigate. "Who're you?" The girl had asked, looking around with terror. "You can't stay here, it isn't good! The evil will take over!"

Meagan recalled staring for a moment, before replying, "Meagan Delmore." The girl pulled her off to an alley, and kept looking around, as if she were the most paranoid person alive. "Who're you?"

"Tiira Vox." The girl had gasped, and there was a flash, that made the alley as bright as daylight, revealing wavy light brown hair and hazel green eyes.

*

"Tiira Vox." Meagan said. It was amazing how a person could force their mind to remember such little things from so long ago. Smiling contentedly, Meagan rocked Abigail and looked at Tiira, who was also smiling.

"Close." She said. "Vox was my maiden name. I was the daughter of Mors Vox, whom you know by means of chasing Cate through a rather hard period of her life. But my surname now, perhaps, would be too hard to guess. I believe you are more than accommodated with the name Pugnare?"

Meagan hadn't an idea of what to say to this, but with her experience earlier with Gryffindor, she had learned to let people keep on talking, so she didn't have to ask what she wanted to know. Tiira, like Gryffindor, obliged greatly.

"The massacre you saw in Paris was the result of my parents, Mors and Sommeil. My mother, Sommeil, is also known as The Dream Witch, though you have lived a sheltered life in Britain and the States, and have not heard of her, I expect. But she's had a great effect on you. Do you have dreams of the future, that you never wanted to ever know?"

Meagan nodded. "Cate has dreams of the past, dreams of me." Tiira said. "She's cursed you both, I'll explain in a few short moments." Tiira shook her head, and quickly went on to her explanation. "My parents killed the Pugnares, save one poor man named Venire. Venire was good, and he wanted to be bad. He wished his family would die, and then they did.

"I was the opposite. I was born into a bad family, wishing I were good. One fine day, I had enough of everyone in the ruddy castle we called home, enough of Vir Virulent, the father of Dolere, and enough of my parents. I ran away, and can you guess who saved me from dying of exhaustion?"

"Venire Pugnare." Meagan said. She was hearing the story of how Bellum had come about. It was rather humorous, if she thought about it. Tiira did not really remind Meagan much of Bellum, but there was still Venire to account for.

"Indeed so." Tiira said. "He found me, without knowing who I was, and then I think you can guess the rest of the story. We fell in love, were married, and we had Bellum. Of course my father heard of this, and we fled to the safe haven of many people. The United States. We were safe there for a few years. Bellum was growing up nicely, Venire was learning English, and we were going to have another baby. It was going to be a girl.

"A peaceful evening, we were having dinner, when I had a premonition, a vision. I saw our deaths. Mors Vox was going to eliminate us, and take Bellum. So I took Bellum, and we tried to escape. Venire was killed, thought he finished a few members of the crew that was to finish us off. They got me, but by the time I died, no one was left, except little Bellum. There was a time stop somewhere in between; time stopping is one of the many things he is capable of."

Meagan made a mental note not to underestimate any of the Pugnares in the future, in case they had any of Bellum's many powers, which were currently unknown. "You must find out the majority of his powers, and teach him to control them. Heaven knows that he may use them if he knows them all. He doesn't know how to use them; they know how to use him, though. Be very careful, or his powers may deal with you. And watch out for Cate."

"Babysitting is always fun," said Meagan with a grin. "Even if it is watching over grown men and their families." Tiira gave a hearty laugh. Meagan smiled; Tiira seemed like a nice person. It always seemed as if the nice people of the world met the same dark fate that they had not asked for.

Tiira would have replied, but there was a great crash from the kitchen, and a dark haired man strolled out trying to act innocent, looking around nervously. He caught sight of Tiira, and shrunk back against the wall. A wiry grin appeared on his face, as he saw Meagan, though, as if he were saved.

"Venire." Tiira said slowly. "What was that?"

"Nothing much." Venire said, putting his hands in his pockets, trying still to look innocent, but failing. He smiled like a mischievous schoolboy at Tiira and Meagan, before the footsteps of the terrible Twins thundered down the stairs.

"Come back here, mister!" Jo yelled.

"We didn't even get a shot at YOU!" Jess added. Venire scratched his head, and flew towards the couch. With a mighty leap, he bounded from the couch to the loveseat, and the twins bounded after him.

"It isn't fair!" Jo yelled again. "You keep changing shapes! That's breaking the rules!"

Meagan and Tiira stared, deciding to let the three duke this fight out by themselves. Venire gave a grin, which made him look a lot more like Bellum than Meagan had noticed at first. In an instant, a rain cloud appeared above each twin's head, and began to rain.

"You're gonna pay for this!" Jess screeched, trying to escape her cloud, but failing. The clouds followed them whenever they moved, and when they had a naughty thought, they were rewarded with a zap from a lightning bolt.

"Remind him to teach me that trick." Meagan told Tiira with a grin. Tiira nodded fairly. The twins were shouting at the top of their lungs, as Venire, a grown man, grinned like a child. "So now I see where Bellum gets it all."

"Of course you do." Tiira said quickly. "You didn't think for an instant that he got his weirdness from me, did you?" Meagan shook her head. "Good." Tiira said. "Perhaps it is time for that man to stop bouncing on your couch cushions, and go back to his own grandchildren to wreak havoc. It was nice to meet you again, Meagan."

"Have a pleasant stay on earth!" Meagan called, as Tiira lunged for Venire, and the pair disappeared. Meagan rounded on the twins, whose rain clouds were starting to fade. "Now, see, you two rascals. That just proves that there are people out there who are more than a match for you. Stop pestering everyone, or I'll have him called back again, and then I'll have him conjure a thunderstorm!"

***

"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore!" Came a strong tenor voice echoing off the many hallways in the Pugnare mansion. The sound of the song lingered in the air before Cate tore around the corner, laughing and giggling as if she were twelve.

"When the world seems to shine, like you've had too much wine, that's amore!" Cate let out a shrill giggle, and skidded around another corner, thus skidding into Bellum, who swallowed her up in a gargantuan hug. Cate sighed contentedly, and rested her head on his chest.

"If I could sing, I would." Cate said, not daring to even attempt song, for she was an awful singer. Bellum took her hand, and spun her around in a few circles. Nearby lingered a bassinet suspended in mid air, floating about where Cate and Bellum moved. Sleeping peacefully, little Faye had not even the slightest idea she was moving around the house.

"I'm in the mood for love," Bellum sang, starting a new song. Cate smiled, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and tilted her head to the side to watch him serenade her from inches away. "Simply because you're near me!"

Cate was quite familiar with the old songs Bellum often sang when he was in the mood, as he sang them quite often. The men that sang these songs had been dead long ago; way before Cate had even known Bellum, and the songs were older than even her parents. Sometimes Cate wondered just what Bellum did in the spare time he had.

At the present moment, Cate found herself being tipped backwards in an elegant ballroom style, only to be kissed by Bellum. Not to be outdone, fate responded with a customary knock at the door. Bellum up righted Cate, and kissed her quickly, before skidding off, in the middle of a song.

"Let's fall in love," Bellum was belting out at the top of his lungs, as he threw the door open, expecting to find a reporter of some sort. Hand poised to reach for the door knocker, Meagan Potter was staring at him with a gaping mouth.

"Uh." She said, taken aback. "Let's not."

Bellum was rather puzzled as well. "Are you here to see Cate, or something?" He asked. Meagan shook her head furiously. "Well, then." Bellum scratched his head, and Meagan was sharply reminded of Venire. She wondered briefly if Bellum could handle the twins.

Her thoughts were only brief, because there was an interruption that went by the name of Cate. She gave Meagan a livid glare, and flexed her fingers. In a semi-panicked state, Bellum rushed over to her, and grabbed her at the waist. To Meagan's eternal surprise, Cate collapsed in his arms, and Bellum gave a grunt, as he hoisted her so he could carry her.

"Do you do that often?" Meagan asked, letting herself into the mansion, and closing the door behind her. Bellum gave her a puzzled look. He was pretending to be innocent, pretending not to know anything. This time, unlike the other times, Meagan could see through it. "Stop pretending I'm speaking some sort of foreign language. I know that you know perfectly well what I mean."

Bellum heaved a sigh, and tried to shift Cate's weight. "Why don't we have a seat?" He asked, shifting once again. Meagan followed him into the sitting room, which was full of white furniture. As fast as he could go, Bellum ran to the sofa, and plopped over, resting Cate's head on his lap.

Meagan settled in on the comfortable chair, and faced Bellum, who was not looking at her. She sighed. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought it would be to get him to fork over information on himself, and his family for that matter. Bellum was absently watching Cate's chest move up and down, for proof she was alive, or something along those lines.

"So what brings you here?" Bellum asked finally, looking up at Meagan. For an instant, Meagan thought she caught a hint of agitation. But he went back to pretending to be confused. His eyes were watching something beyond her. With one quick glance, Meagan sighted the bassinet, and smiled.

"Nothing in particular." She said innocently, getting up from her seat to look at Faye. The baby was awake, and looking up at her in wonder. "Can I hold her?" Meagan asked, wheeling around to Bellum again, who was currently running his hands through Cate's soft hair. He shrugged, to show his approval.

"I know you want to know about my incredibly interesting past, and my powers, and all that nonsense." He said irritably. "If it's any consolation to you, I don't even know what they are, and I never use them anyhow. So you don't need to know." He finished, with a distinct hmph noise.

Meagan scooped up Faye, and sat back in her chair. Bellum wore a wiry grin on his face, as he tried to fight back a laugh. "And even if I used them, I couldn't use them now." He mused aloud. Meagan pondered this. It made no sense. "Why don't you try to zap me, or something? Read my mind. Try it."

Meagan cocked a brow at him. She decided to go for the mind reading option, since she would have to move to zap him. He looked her straight in the eye, with that smile getting ever wryer by the instant. Meagan tried to look into his head, but found it impossible.

"What did you do to me?" She cried, fixing Bellum with a rather terrifying glare.

"I did nothing at all." He replied, smile getting even wider. "Why don't you have a look at Faye, just for a second." Meagan looked at the baby in her arms once again; she saw the tufts of brown hair, and purple eyes. PURPLE EYES?!

Meagan stared up at Bellum, who shrugged. "You see, I discovered recently that one of Faye's powers must be to take the powers of everyone around her. That is why I am telling you everything right now I know about this, instead of pretending to be stupid."

Meagan nodded. "Will my powers return, then?" She asked, quite hopefully. Bellum nodded, and explained at length about how there was a certain distance in which Faye took in power. There were complications that neither Bellum nor Meagan fully understood, but there were years ahead to unlock the baby's secret powers.

"Well, I've been assigned babysitting duty over all of you. That includes Cate as well, but she's not supposed to know." Meagan said finally. "It would be quite helpful if you shared any sort of information about you or your family members." Meagan said this fairly, but she fixed Bellum with a meaningful glare that said quite plainly or else.

Bellum heaved a sigh, and leaned back on the couch. He ran his fingers through his own dark hair, causing it to stick up in various places. His eyebrows narrowed in a way that hinted at concentration, as if he were trying to decide for himself what he was capable of.

"As I said, I never use my powers," he repeated. Meagan glared. "But if it suits you, I do use one occasionally. I'm a coercer. I can control your thoughts and read your mind. Not at the moment, don't worry; Faye's got my powers now. Hmm. I can control the weather. and stop time. That's all you're getting out of me at the moment."

He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms in a final sort of way. Meagan would settle for this information about Bellum; he seemed more stubborn than he looked. Bellum then remembered that he was not the only member of his family, and started to explain about the other Pugnares.

"Ethan." He started. "Well, he doesn't really use his powers much. Everyone can read minds, and Ethan is a bit of a coercer, but not very strong. He doesn't know it, so don't go telling him what he can do, or we'll all suddenly notice that Ethan is the most popular person at Hogwarts.

"Felicity, what a trouble. She has her mother's powers. Nothing much from my side of the family that I can see, yet. Isn't that a comforting thought? She'll go mad one day and then poof! She'll get my powers. Yes, yes, I'm rambling.

"You won't have much trouble with Paige. She's a perfect child. If you were ever over here when I err-- wasn't, you might have noticed how she handled everything. Paige can shift shapes. She can also put a stopper in time. Give her a while to learn to perfect these on her own, and you won't believe what she will be capable of."

Bellum paused to scratch his head. Meagan really didn't know what to make out of all this. As far as she knew, Bellum had never talked this much in his entire life. She had certainly not said more than about twenty sentences to him, save the time he was amnesiac.

"Now Jack and Faye are their own separate little people. Jack can shift shapes, and he already has control of this power. I'll bet he's roaming the house someplace as old Padfoot the dog. Faye, as far as I know, just takes in everyone's power. And that's all. Oh, and I'm very dangerous around broomsticks."

Meagan stared. This was going to be very interesting. Actually, take very times about ten thousand, and that would be how interesting this situation would be. She grinned to herself as Bellum sat with his brow furrowed in thought. Cate wouldn't have a clue what was going on. She might as well have a little fun.

"And don't go near the master bedroom on the third floor after ten o'clock p.m." He added. "If you're watching us, you probably won't want to watch that room." Meagan decided not to ask. It was best not to.

There was a period of silence, as neither knew what to say. Bellum stroked Cate's cheek, and Meagan could tell he was waiting for her to leave so he could wake his wife up again. But Meagan had no intention of leaving. He hadn't cut to his point right away, so having nothing else to do, Meagan decided to stay and chat for a while.

"Are you and Cate going to the Hogwarts reunion?" She asked. The reunion loomed closer and closer; the Potters had it marked on a calendar. Meagan was already planning what to wear, and the songs she would sing, because she had been asked to provide entertainment.

"Um, I think so." Bellum said. He scratched his head. Technically, he wasn't really a graduate of Hogwarts, and neither was Cate. But Dumbledore had given both of them diplomas saying that that had attended school there. It was true that Cate did, but only for a short while. This made Bellum laugh; he had never taken a class there, or in a real school at all, but they gave him a diploma. "Cate's got some dresses lined up, so I suppose that means she's trying to choose her attire."

Meagan nodded. This would be interesting; she had forgotten Cate wasn't depressive anymore, and would probably put on a show for the crowds. Great, just what Cate needed, Meagan thought. More attention.

"Well, I must be going." Meagan said, standing up and placing Faye back in her bassinet. Bellum nodded. "And, I must add that you aren't half bad at singing, either. Add that to your list of talents."

Before Bellum could give up an embarrassed protest, Meagan smiled, and disappeared, leaving Bellum to be befuddled. That was certainly one of the most interesting things that had happened lately. He now had that estranged feeling of being watched. But not just by Meagan, either.

***

It was a beautiful day in the basement. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the crowd was roaring. In the basement. Bellum Pugnare grinned to himself, and looked at the broomstick at his feet. The crowd roared, and Bellum was inspired to stick his hand out and say, "Up!"

Nothing happened. Bellum groaned to himself, and reached down and grabbed the broom. He took a bow, and the crowd roared even more. Now a problem faced him. How was he to stay on the broom? He mounted it shakily, and it took off with such a force, that Bellum was clinging on upside down, his arms clinging, and his legs twisted around the end of it.

He could feel his arms slipping, and his legs were shaking. Was he going to die again? Was he going to fall off his broomstick because he couldn't fly? What a noble end for someone like him to meet. He closed his eyes, and whispered something to himself. Was this the end?

Nope, instead of falling from the indoor/outdoor basement/Quidditch fiend complex in the mansion, Bellum was on the ground, looking up at a fuming Meagan. Her eyes were red with fury, and so was her face. With her hands on her hips, looking down at him on the ground, she was very threatening indeed.

"What are you going at?" She screamed at him. "It hasn't been an hour, and you decide to pretend you know how to fly?" She screamed further. Bellum stared at her, as if it were no big deal.

There was a silence, and Bellum broke it with the wrong choice of words. "I've been thinking." He started.

"I didn't know you were capable," snapped Meagan.

"Well, I was just going to tell you that I forgot to mention Faye has nine lives." He said, picking himself nobly off the ground, and sticking his nose in the air. "Actually, she has seven, but she's already used two of them."

Meagan blinked. People made no sense to her sometimes, making her glad she was not a psychiatrist or some other sort of person that dealt with. people. "Well that's very nice to know." Meagan said, still a little irritated that Bellum was so careless. "Be more careful in the future, or the world will be turned upside down. And stay away from sharp objects."

***

For the first time in centuries, Hogwarts was not full of students. The Great Hall was not bustling with students chatting gleefully before they moseyed on off to class. Every which way there were full-grown adults, some younger, and some looking ready to fall over dead.

The Hall looked more splendid than ever, with its marble flooring shining, and the decorations were furnished with splendid banners of the four houses. The usual teachers, who looked more ancient than the walls, occupied the teacher's table as they always did, with the exception of Harry Potter, who was currently not there.

Dressed in sharp evening gowns, the ladies all clung to men dressed in fine suits, while sipping glasses of champagne, while chatting to their friends that had been separated for years, or even decades. The hall buzzed with pleasant excitement, as old Professor Dumbledore smiled down upon them all.

Then the buzz suddenly stopped. Down the red carpet, the path cleared, and Meagan and Harry Potter looked at the crowd in a kindly sort of way. Meagan was dressed in a sleek and stylish peach colored gown, lined with lace. Harry was in a suit, and his hair was smoothed down as far as it would go.

The pair smiled at the staring people, and waved to a few they knew, as they proceeded down the carpet like the stars they were. A few women cast jealous looks to their husbands, who were watching Meagan. Harry potter got the usual stares, and tried to make nothing of it.

Behind them, Marykate and Ron Weasley tried to keep a low profile. But Ron couldn't resist grinning at the fact people were watching him walk in. Marykate took a bow, as someone gave a hoot. Her sea green dress glimmered in the light, and Meagan threw her a look that told her how nice it was to see her again.

There was now a thick tension in the hall. Would there be another important couple arriving. The newspapers had all been read, and sold out, with a picture of the bewildered Pugnare family gracing the covers of every magazine and newspaper for the past three weeks. Were Cate and Bellum going to show?

It was a while before the doors burst open, and a sight that had been so familiar but a year ago was now the first time Cate had stepped out in months. The result was instant silence. Even Dumbledore had fallen silent, with his glass of pumpkin juice half-raised to his mouth.

Cate was clinging to Bellum's arm, in a red dress that clung to every subtle curve of her bodacious body. The silken red fabric was off her shoulders, creating a low neckline, which was emphasized by ruffled with black and red velvet. A slit made its way up Cate's leg, revealing shoes that lace to her knee. Her hair was done up in twists and braids, and curled into a ringlet ponytail. Cate's red lips were grinning, and her skin was glowing. All the men stared, but this time their counterparts did not nudge them.

The female populace was busy watching Bellum, who was dressed in the typical Bellum-styled suit, with a silken red tie. His tuxedo jacket was bothering him obviously, as he was fidgeting with it. Apart from his usual attire, he wore a hat, which was tipped to one side to match his mischievous grin.

One way or another, the crowd was too fascinated with their appearances to care whether or not Bellum was back from the dead. After what seemed an eternity, Cate and Bellum promenaded down the carpet, and took their seats at a table near the front, near what was a stage assembled for entertainment.

It was a moment before the crowd fell into a quiet buzz, all turning to watch Cate and Bellum. Cate sipped at a glass of red whine, which Bellum opted for the white; all while carrying on some sort of public conversation that no one listened to.

"Ahem." Dumbledore stood up with what seemed great difficulty, tapping on a glass of pumpkin juice for attention. "If you will all be so kind as to take your seats, then I shall begin the welcoming speech."

More quietly than expected, the graduated crowd of Hogwarts found seats in the massive hall, and stared intently at Albus Dumbledore, who smiled at all his pupils. "Welcome to the all-school reunion. I'm sure you're all more than pleased to be acquainted with your old school chums, and even your rivals. This is an evening to reminisce. With that, all I have to say is oddment, nitwit, blubber, tweak! Let the feast begin!"

With that short speech, the feast began. Food appeared before each guest, and it was exceptionally pleasing, as they all got the dish their taste buds had been waiting for. It was the best dinner any of them had feasted on in a long time. Many people had come from foreign places, where they now made their homes.

Meagan and Marykate were getting on very well, as Harry and Ron were both red in the face with excitement to see each other. It had been so long since they had conversed amongst themselves. It had been practically since. school.

"Let's make a pact," said Meagan to Marykate. "That we never go that long again without seeing each other." Both of them giggled, as Ron had spilled food down the front of his suit.

"These people are insane," Cate was saying to Bellum. Bellum nodded furiously. A woman in a black dress had been eyeing him up since they arrived. "I don't trust the half of them," added Cate as she pushed a stray piece of hair from her face. Two men fainted at the table next to them.

Draco Malfoy was present, alone in a corner with a blonde pregnant woman. She seemed to be years younger than he was, and was pregnant with his son. No one missed Dolere, not ever her own family. During their marriage, Draco and Dolere had liaisons with other individuals countless times.

For some time now, Draco had kept this woman, who was called Regina, as a mistress. Dolere had known, and not cared very much, for she had broken the bond of their marriage numerous times within the month. Dolere, Ariana, and Debra had all been waiting for Dolere to make a fatal mistake with Cate.

Regina was nine months pregnant, and wore a diamond engagement ring on her finger. Draco had met her long after he was married to Dolere, so the two had needed to devise a plan to get Dolere out of the picture. The immediate thought was of Cate, whom Dolere hated with a vivid passion, and Bellum, who Draco could tell Dolere had feelings for.

So day-by-day, Draco stressed how Dolere should have been with Bellum, leaving him alone to be with Regina. Dolere's fragile mind had been infiltrated with even more hatred for Cate, and eventually, she devised her own plan.

This gave Draco much more time with Regina. Dolere was now out of the picture, and eventually met her end, as Draco and Regina had planned. Draco was particularly proud of this plot, as Cate had ended up miserable for about half a year. He too had a bit of a hate towards Cate and Bellum, for they left him out in the dust with Dolere.

Ariana was Draco and Dolere's daughter, but there was talk of Debra being another man's child. Neither Draco nor Dolere wanted to prove if she was or not, so Draco accepted her as his own, if she was or not. But now Regina was going to have a son. Finally someone to carry on the Malfoy name, Draco thought. Dolere never was a use.

Draco's thoughts were interrupted, as Regina grabbed his hand tightly, giving a moan about something Draco didn't understand. Quite soon, he could feel his bones beginning to crunch. Regina was in labor. Giving a dejected sigh, Draco Malfoy disappeared, very disappointed that he would not get a change to poke fun at Harry Potter.

Meagan had been asked to sing for the entertainment portion of the evening. Her duet partner had bailed out, with a sudden flash of the flu. She was alone on the stage, to sing without a male harmony to counteract her voice.

Who could she use as a replacement? Not Harry, that was for certain; he wasn't a very talented singer in the least. Ron? No, he was worse than Harry. As Meagan scanned the crowd, hoping to find some famous male singer, her line of view became focused on Cate and Bellum. They were waiting for music to start playing, and Cate was glaring bloody murder at Meagan, trying to force her to start singing.

Meagan grinned, and looked straight at Bellum, who shrank back behind Cate, which wasn't the smartest idea, because Cate wasn't a very big person. Meagan leaped off the stage, and cantered forward to where he was.

"No!" He said, before Meagan could ask him anything at all. "I'm not going to sing." Cate glared at Meagan to enforce her opinion on the matter. "Besides, what would I sing?"

Meagan grinned, and managed to hook Bellum's arm. He gave a cry, and tried to pull away. Oh, make yourself useful you stupid lump. I can't baby-sit you if it hurts my eyes to watch you and Cate on the dance floor, all over each other! Meagan said to Bellum in her mind.

Bellum heaved a sigh, and grabbed Cate. He looked into her eyes after a double-barreled glare aimed at Meagan, and said to Cate, "I'm going to be on stage. Stay here and watch." Cate nodded blankly. I hope you're happy. You owe me for this one.

Not bothering to use his feet, Bellum appeared on the stage, apparently not happy at all about this, as Meagan walked up the stairs to join him. He crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air like a ten-year-old boy.

"Since Johnny Magik was unable to be there tonight, I've stolen this from the crowd." Meagan said, her voice magically magnified slightly. "No need for introductions, you all know who he is, and he's being a big baby at the moment."

"I am not!" Bellum interjected, forgetting his feigned silence. He went back to sulking behind Meagan as he mumbled something about Frank Sinatra. Meagan shook her head, and started her line of songs she sang alone.

"Now you've gotta sing a slow song with me." Meagan hissed. Bellum made a face. "Oh, bear with it, you baby. From this moment is the song, and don't tell me you don't know the words. I know you do."

Bellum groaned, but sang along with Meagan, who was actually surprised that he gave it some effort, and managed to sound better than most professional singers. When the song was over, ending in a perfect harmony, even Bellum was grinning.

"Not too bad, is it?" Meagan asked Bellum, who nodded, taking a bow for the crowd. "It's rather addicting." Meagan herself took a bow as well, listening to the roaring applause.

Bellum and Meagan's singing turned out to be more popular than Johnny Magick's was. There were already a few crazed Bellum fans awaiting his exit from the stage. Meagan was quite astounded that Cate was married to someone entertaining as entertaining as Bellum. Though he seemed a bit dim, he really was quite brilliant.

As the evening rolled on, Bellum got to enjoy his attention more than Meagan enjoyed singing, which she thought would never have been possible. "Do you know Luck Be a Lady?" He asked eagerly. Meagan shook her head. "You do now!"

And Meagan found that she did. She shot Bellum a quick glare for adding the song to her mind, and sang on, quite glad that this song had a nice alto melody that was easy for her to sing. Bellum sang along well with the tenor counterpart, enjoying himself more than ever.

Eventually, Meagan left Bellum to sing songs of his own on stage. The crowd had never heard very old songs by Frank Sinatra, so they figured he had invented them all on his own. This caused an uproar with most of the single female guests.

Cate was still in a daze. To end his stage career, Bellum pulled Cate up with him for one last number by himself. Still rather dazed, Cate watched his every move, as he tipped his hat, and jumped off the stage, pulling her with him.

Somewhere in the mid-jump reality hit Cate, and she landed on her feet. Bellum pulled her close to him, and they swayed to the tune of the music the band was playing. Cate looked suddenly confused, but just sighed, and leaned her head against her husband's chest.

"Ah, I love you Catie." Bellum whispered, patting the top of her head. Cate lifted her head slightly and kissed his neck. The two sighed. "How much longer are we going to stick around here?" Bellum asked out of curiosity.

"Mmmm. Ten minutes." Cate said. "Unless you want to stay longer." Bellum shook his head vigorously. "Say, what do you think they did with all the students?"

A thoughtful look crossed Bellum's face. "I haven't the slightest idea, Cate darling." He replied. Cate sighed, and leaned her head against him. Really, what had become of all the students Hogwarts held?

***

"I don't bloody believe it!" Bryce Black said hotly, slamming his fist against the backside of the common room entrance. He thought he heard the fat lady give a groan outside. "Locked inside our common rooms!"

The whole room gave a groan. Everyone knew that there was a reunion and all the adults of the past were going to show up. Brynn, Bryce, Mac, Ethan, Crystal, Fred, George, and Brain had all looked forward to wreaking havoc upon them all. But to their displeasure, the teachers had already thought up this plan for students of their character.

"This is so not fair!" Crystal said, adding her opinion. "What if I just wanted to see my parents?" The whole room laughed. No one wanted to see their parents; they came to school to escape them.

"Maybe they forgot to seal the windows!" Brynn exclaimed with excitement, rushing to the nearest window. "We could make a surprise entrance that way!" She said again, as she tugged the window. There was no use; it was stuck. Even Austin Wood couldn't open it.

"I think I'll go crazy!" Neil sighed. Rachel was bouncing off the walls, yelling at the portraits hanging on them. "Rachel has had too much sugar. again!" Rachel took a bounding leap and toppled Neil over in his chair. A few books went flying, and no one bothered to pick them up.

Brian, Crystal, Fred, and George had already developed a bad case of cabin fever. They were attacking one another with brute force, otherwise known as fist fighting. Crystal and Brian were in a full-out brawl on the floor, screaming that one was weirder than the other-or something.

"Now see here, kiddies!" Ethan said loudly, grabbing one of the hidden beater clubs, and jumping atop one of the couches. "See how Common Room Quidditch is really played. Remember that hitting a civilian is worth ten points, knocking them out is fifty, hitting Bryce is worth sixty, and knocking Bryce out is one hundred. But if anyone gets Brynn, she's worth two fifty, and if she's knocked out we'll just flat out say you win!"

Brynn threw the Quaffle in the air, and Bryce took a leap, swinging hard at Ethan, who ducked, causing the ball to hit Neil, who was picking up his books. "Ten points to Pugnare, for the duck, and five to Bryce Black for the swing. Ooh.. Looks like Potter won't be getting up for a while. Ah, he's knocked out, so it seems that fifty points go to Ethan for the duck, and forty to Bryce!" Commented Austin Wood, who wasn't allowed to play with the four menaces to Gryffindor.

By the time Neil had picked himself up, Brynn had started her magic. Being the best beater in Hogwarts (she considered herself better than her brother Bryce, who was better than everyone but Brynn) she was the true person to watch out for in this game. She used the couches as trampolines, and could execute a few spins before she landed on the ground to look at the damage she caused. Students were ducked under chairs, tables, and other students to get away from her wrath.

The game wasn't over until one of the four players was knocked out. This game it was the unfortunate Bryce who met that terrible fate. He turned around to see what Brynn was pointing at when the Quaffle nailed him in the perfect spot on the back of his head.

"Brynn, I don't think it's fair that you always knock out poor Bryce." Ethan said, scratching his head and looking down at his uncle. "Just because he's vulnerable." Ethan didn't have a chance to finish what he was saying, as he fell to the floor, and the Quaffle bounced off the back of his head.

Brynn looked puzzled. She hadn't taken out Bryce and Ethan, and it certainly hadn't been Mac, who was standing next to her looking just as befuddled. Then she heard Crystal saying loudly, "Neil, now just think of how they're going to get you now! At least it was only Bryce and Ethan. they're mindless."

Neil grinned to himself, holding his bat tightly. It served the two of them right for being part of his being unconscious. Brynn and Mac had to smile, and they snickered at Ethan and Bryce forever as a First Year knocked them out cold.

As about half the bystanders were out already, the rest of the Gryffindors made off to their dormitories for sleep-or whatever else. Neil, however, feeling rebellious this particular day, decided to go off to the place he knew there would be peace.

"Hello, Neil." Felicity said dully. "Your common room sealed shut too?" Neil nodded. Felicity was sitting on the bench she had conjured some time ago, looking off into the endless array of stars.

"I suppose your parents are out there in the school someplace, causing awe in the crowd." Neil said, plopping down next to Felicity on the bench. "I know mine sure are." He sighed.

"Of course mine are," replied Felicity with a taste of malice. "Would Cate and Bellum Pugnare ever give up an opportunity to show themselves off? Would my mother give up a chance to manifest her body? No, no, no. They're both arrogant to extremes."

Neil shrugged. He knew Cate was rather arrogant, but Bellum had always seemed rather humble. But Felicity lived with the two, during summers, anyway. Her opinion had to be more accurate than his was.

"Well, my parents are like that too." Neil confessed. "They don't think they are, but they really do hold high opinions of themselves."

Felicity sighed. "You're so humble, though." She said. "Sometimes I feel just as arrogant as my mother is. Neil, you're lucky you're a good person. I have to fight myself so I don't turn out into something like my mother. I really do wish I could be a good person."

"You can be." Neil said. He wasn't quite sure it would ever be possible for felicity to be a truly good person, but. "You're always nice to me here. I can talk to you about anything, and you'll listen. The way I listen to you."

"But this isn't dong something out of the good of my blackened heart." Felicity said. "You do something in return. The nicest thing I've ever done would be not killing Brian when he stole the voodoo doll I made of him."

Neil scratched his head. "Well, you can always, uh, work on it." He nodded. "Do something nice tomorrow, then. Then talk to me, and we'll do it everyday until you're good."

Felicity laughed. Like Neil, she never believed she would be a good person. It went against how she had been for twelve and a half years. "You'll be seeing me forever then." She said with a smile. "I'll give it a try. You sure are a charitable person."

"No other way to be," said Neil. He had been raised to do good, even to the evilest of all people, save perhaps Voldemort and other murderers. But being kind to a Pugnare was something he had never been taught to do. This was something he had learned from his own heart.

"Well, it's about 4 a.m." Felicity said. "I'm going to go to sleep now. I'll see you tomorrow at about midnight."

Neil waved, as Felicity disappeared with a flicker. He still saw the outline of her body against the stars until he blinked. Alone again, he thought. I'm always alone.

***

Through the open window of Cate and Bellum's stately bedroom, the moonlight lit the whole room, to add to the glow of the candles that burned, giving off a sweet smell of romance. The gentle breeze played with the sheer red lace curtains, as the stars twinkled in the velvet night sky.

The door slowly creaked open, and another glow was added to the room. Cate smiled at Bellum, and watched as his skin lit up where she touched him. The glow Cate was giving off could have very well been enough to light the room, so the candles dimmed, and the moon glowed less to make the lighting perfect; not too dim, and not too bright.

Cate loosened the red necktie Bellum wore, and he gave a sigh, and then put his arms around her. Cate tugged the tie off, and looped it around the back of his neck, then pulled him close and kissed him. The kiss lasted for what seemed an eternity, and then the two pulled away ever so slightly; Cate's eyes were sparkling gold more than they were brown.

"Where's Faye?" Cate asked, ruining the ever-romantic moment. Bellum sighed, and pulled Cate to the bed, and they landed on the soft mattress, sinking in slightly. "Where's our baby?"

"Relax, Cate!" Bellum said, pulling Cate close to him, and letting her roll on top of him. "Remember my parents have her. We have this night to ourselves." He smiled, and pressed his lips on Cate's neck. "Stop being so tense. everything is alright now."

"But I can't!" Cate objected, rolling off Bellum, and untying one of her shoes that laced up her leg. "I'm afraid." She said, kicking the shoe off, and followed with the other shoe. After her shoes were off, she rolled back over on Bellum, who grunted.

"Nothing's gonna get us anymore." Bellum said soothingly. Cate sighed. "I won't die again." He said, knowing that Meagan would go to great ends to prevent his death. He had seen the disaster that had formed in his absence, and was in no hurry to die again.

"What was it like to be dead?" Cate whispered. She sounded scared of her own question. Cate could faintly remember what death was like from her own experiences as a child. It was cold, and lonely, and horrible.

Bellum considered. He didn't remember much about his death; it had all seemed so fast. "I suppose you could say I didn't have a proper afterlife." He said finally. "When I died, the Founders took me in for counseling, and I weighed the ghost issue in my mind for quite some time.

"Then I was here, and you know that part of the story." he continued. "When I err- perished once more, you could say, then I went to some place they referred to as The Spirit Realm. It was full of discontent souls, and guarded by some awful woman called Aes. She took pleasure in tormenting us with visions of what was happening in the world."

Cate nodded sympathetically. "But the worst part," Bellum continued. "Was that you weren't there. I could live anywhere as long as you were there. Even in the darkest forest in the world."

Cate smiled. She ruffled his messy brown hair, and kissed him. "Bellum where's Faye?" She asked again. Bellum shot her a glare. "Okay, okay. I was only kidding." Cate said, ruffling his hair more, and rolling off him, to avoid being pulled into a tight hug.

"You think you're getting away that easily, do you now?" Bellum said, righting himself, and chasing after Cate, who had sprang off the bed, and was across the room at the moment. "You might be quicker with a broom, but I can beat you on my feet!"

There was a short struggle, wherein Cate dodged her husband, and slipped out of his arms twice. But even though the bedroom was huge, there was only a limited amount of space. Cate found she was trapped in a corner as Bellum advanced on her. When he caught her, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her tenderly.

"God damn it, I missed you." Cate whispered, finally giving in, succumbing to a kiss. "Don't ever leave me again."

***

Godric Gryffindor found himself in a bit of a predicament. Facing him was a tall man wearing white robes, with a white beard to match. His face was ageless, but seemed to Godric that he was thousands of years old. But it didn't matter how old his face was, it mattered that the expression it wore was angry.

"Godric," said the tall man in a loud booming voice. "Explain your actions." He said, placing his hands on his hips, and looking down at the notably famous Godric Gryffindor as if he were a child.

Gryffindor bowed his head. "These are my heirs! My descendants!" He said quietly. "I can let Cate suffer, and leave Meagan to try and deal with all the evil." He looked up at the man before him, hoping for sympathy. The man showed none.

"Bellum Pugnare was a mortal man." The man boomed. "Tiira and Venire Pugnare were mortals. Sirius Black should have remained in the Spirit Realm, as he was mortal as well. You, Godric Gryffindor have no right to play with Fate. Have you any idea how the future is changed?"

Godric Gryffindor hung his proud head. Behind him, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin bowed their heads as well. "And the three of your support him! You've disgraced me as your creator. You were supposed to watch over the world. Not what has left the world.

For showing carelessness in your job, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin are hereby sentenced to one hundred years, granted with leave for emergencies, in the Spirit Realm."

Hufflepuff screamed, as the endless array of stars and dark began swirling together. Slytherin groaned from motion sickness, and Gryffindor fell to his feet. Ravenclaw remained standing as a new surrounding blurred into view. But she choked up tears, as she saw the pathetic faded souls floating towards them, wanting their life.

This was now life.

***

Meagan woke with a start, and sat up, breathing heavily. "They're gone." She breathed. Harry gave a moan from beside her, and looked at her. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin are gone."

Harry looked at her again, puzzled. What did she mean? The Founders had been dead four centuries now. Then the notion of Meagan's starlit places where she returned and talked of Gryffindor struck him like a brick falling from the Eiffel Tower. They were no longer there to influence what the heirs did.

"Now I have to take responsibility." Meagan said, hopping out of bed and dressing herself magically. "I have to see Gryffindor."

***

"She was so good for us!" Tiira crooned, handing Faye to Cate, as they all sat with Paige, Jack, Bellum, and Venire in the sitting room. "She never cried once in the middle of the night!"

Cate and Bellum smiled. "Isn't it odd?" Bellum said. "Most babies cry at the most inconvenient times one could possibly imagine, but Faye cries right when we can handle it, or not at all. We've got to be the luckiest parents alive."

Bellum flashed a proud smile, and Cate handed Faye to him. Her hazel green eyes looked up at him as he explained to Paige and Jack, "She has nine lives, and she'll soak up all your powers." He said.

Paige cocked an eyebrow. "Like a cat?" She asked.

"Hmm." Bellum mused. "Little Faye isn't very catlike. more like a kitten." He said. "But she's used two lives, just before she was born. So she's like a seven-lived kitten." He smiled, at his own clever comparison.

Jack bounced on the couch, holding onto Bellum's arm. He looked at the baby that was so unfamiliar to him and squealed, "Kitten! Kitten! Kitten! Kitty!" Cate grabbed Jack in mid-bounced, and ruffled his hair, which was in need of a trim now. "Kitty!"

Bellum chuckled. "Kitty, eh?" She mused again to himself. "It's kind of sticking."

"Kitty," Paige said. "That's cute! Are we going to call Faye Kitty now?" She asked, looking to Cate for her confirmation. Cate shrugged. "Kitty!" Paige squealed, overly excited at a new nickname for her baby sister.

Jack was still shouting Kitty! When Meagan left her crystal ball, which she was using to keep watch of just about everyone. Preparation was key now. She was going to have to keep track of a whole lot of people, and their powers.

***

Harry Potter gave a forlorn sigh as the Second Year Gryffindors chattered without stop. He had tried everything; yelling, shooting sparks out of his wand, and threatening to dock them all in their grades.

Having problems already, Harry did what he felt was needed for the students to calm down. With a great sparking, and smoke clearing, one of the closet doors opened, and Professor Snape walked through. The class fell silent in an instant.

"Professor Snape," Harry said with Malice. "Is here to teach you a lesson today on the dark arts." Harry finished, as Snape grinned. He wanted to say how much he hated Snape, right in front of the old grease ball.

"Yes." Snape said, swishing towards the class in his masses of black robes. Crystal, Brian, Fred, and George had been unlucky enough to get a seat in the front. Snape grinned; most satisfied as Brian shrank back when he drew near.

"You all know, I'm sure, who is a good wizard or witch, and who is bad." He said, looking at the pupils he considered ignorant, and figured they didn't know. "But your youth deprives you of knowing what happens." He added, knowing that these were Gryffindors; they were good children, perhaps a little rule breaking, but not evil.

"Professor Snape is going to give you a first hand look at what the criminal world is like." Harry added. Crystal groaned.

"But Professor Snape is as old as the dinosaurs!" Crystal said, not having the slightest idea that her mother was just as old as Snape. She pretended Snape was not standing in front of her, docking points from Gryffindor as she spoke.

"So for that we have." Harry snapped his fingers, and the closet door opened once more. Stumbling out in a heap were Cate and Bellum Pugnare, quite bust looking at the moment. "Err. Cate and Bellum?"

Cate dropped her arms from around Bellum's neck and stared at the class of second years. "What the hell is happening here?" She said, forgetting that they were in a school, graced with the presence of students.

Bellum shifted guiltily. "Well, uh, I volunteered to help with a particular lesson in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class." He said. The class, Snape, and Harry stared. "Oh will you all quit gaping at us like we aren't human?"

Cate sighed. "Inside looks at what happens in uh-the inner circle of a dark lord." Bellum explained. Cate crossed her arms and nodded to show that she agreed to stick around, at least for a while.

The students were still staring, save perhaps Crystal and Brian, who were rolling their eyes as Fred and George watched Cate with an open mouth. They were rewarded with an elbow from Crystal and Brian.

"Well..." Bellum said, smiling at Harry and clapping his hands together. "No need for an introduction, I'm sure. You all know who we are-"

"Yes, yes, Pugnare; cut the small talk." Snape hissed, quite annoyed. He had his arms crossed like Cate had, and was piercing a glare at her. He never had liked Cate. and Cate certainly hadn't taken a fancy to him.

"I was an agent, and I got the best inside look you could imagine." He smiled at the class. Snape glared, as he clapped Cate on the back and added, "Catie here got the same look as I did!"

The class looked relatively uninterested when Snape interrupted him to start his own little talk. Bellum stood behind him, and made bored faces, and to everyone's eternal surprise, Cate even joined in. Even Crystal had to snicker, at the ever-serious Cate making faces.

After Snape hissed his lectures on the dark lore, he turned to Bellum, who had just finished making an interesting face. Bellum nodded at Snape, as if he had been paying attention the whole time, while Harry had a good laugh.

Cate stepped up, and Brian waved enthusiastically at him. "Hello, sisssssster!" He said happily. Cate rolled her eyes and gave a mock-salute to Brian. "That's my sister, everyone!" Brian added, to those who did not know. "Yup, see." He stopped when Crystal punched him in the arm, and sank to nursing his bruise.

"For the next week, you can expect to learn the tactics of the dark way. and my husband," she added, pointedly glaring at a few boys who were staring. "Will be teaching you how and why people turn to the dark side."

Harry smiled, and clapped his hands together. He had originally wanted Meagan to come and give a talk, but she was busy, taking care of babies, and as he recently learned, the world. "This should be fun!" He said. The class merely stared.

***

Inside her dormitory, Felicity was alone, and she had her trunk open, displaying the many voodoo dolls she had created. She took a pin, and gave the one that looked like Crystal Potter a sharp poke in the thigh, before burrowing deeper into her trunk.

On her bed, there was a cauldron, which help a bubbling red concoction. An old book was open on the bed near to it, open to a page, which read, "Perfection Spells and more." Felicity pulled out a small vial from her trunk, and gave a triumphant look. She dipped it in the cauldron, and looked at the red liquid, before downing it all. *

"Felicity!" Called a random person in the crowd of people huddled near Felicity. "Will you teach me how to be so kind? Can you teach me to be good at Quidditch? Oh, teach me to be so smart and wise!"

Felicity grinned, and said, "I promise I will, and you all know I never break promises!" She smiled, and everyone gushed. Professor McGonagall, who was also standing in the crowd smiled with pride upon Felicity.

"Felicity, can you teach the class with me tomorrow?" She asked. "You've always been so good at advanced Transfiguration. The Seventh Years are dying to learn from the best! Snape wants you to help with a potions lesson tomorrow, as well."

"Of course!" Felicity smiled, flashing her perfect white teeth. A number of people gasped, and went into explanations of how they wanted to be like Felicity. "After I give the Quidditch lesson, and help Hagrid tend the animals!"

For Felicity, this was the beginning of perfection. Everyone loved her, and loved to love her happily. Only Neil had a slight feeling lurking that something was terribly wrong. This feeling began when he ran into the monster that came from the dungeons. Know one else, though, had the slightest notion of this, and were all living in agony.

Neil sighed, after he escaped with nothing more than a bruise. The world suddenly seemed so terribly wrong. What was the matter? Oh well, Neil thought. Maybe Felicity could help..

(A/N; DONE! Mwahahhaa! Okay, I'll note. Don't end Felicity's spell. Play with it, though and remember only Neil suspects something. I wanna see what you do with it. I'd also like to add that Faye's nine lives thing was inspired by the Chrestomanci thing, as was her nickname. Well, be QUICK about your chapter! I'll get you if you take five months again! Make the class project thing with Cate, Bellum, Harry, and Snape funny.

Toodles,

Cathy)