All disclaimers are in place. Refer to the Prologue section for details.

PART THREE: RESONANCE

Halo went to bed that night owning a very long detention, due to be served the following evening in the Dungeon. It was no specified which offense for which the detention was issued, but Halo had a feeling it was for the unprovoked assault on Miss Bulstrode and not the overturned suit of armor in the entrance hall. Luna had brought her a note from Oliver and then proceeded to peck at the unlocked door to her cage, finally getting it open and settling atop her perch for a nap.

Halo,

Thanks for whatever you said to Professor Dumbledore. I haven't had a single person bring up the incident in Potions yet, not even Harry and his friends, who seem to find out about everything. I guess you were too tired to watch Quidditch practice, since you left right after dinner. Did you hear about the possessed suit of armor earlier? Just tore itself apart. Brought almost everyone in the Great Hall out to see what was up. Probably just Peeves up to his random high jinks. Since we can't go outside without an escort, let's go for a walk around the castle tomorrow evening before supper. Professor Snape can't keep us from doing that. I had to use Luna for the note; I sent Val to my Mum for some project she's working on, so I won't have him for at least a week.

- Olli

Halo turned the parchment over, not because she was looking to save paper but because she was too lazy to find some of her own to write on. She rummaged in her pack and pulled out a purple pen.

She hated using quills.

Oliver,

I have detention tomorrow night in the Dungeon. A walk before dinner is fine with me. Bring a bludger, but don't ask me what for. And the suit of armor… that was me.

- Halo

"Luna, wake up, you need to take this to Olli's room." The blue owl ruffled herself and chittered resentfully. Not five minutes had passed before she returned from the short trip, carrying another note. The reply was scribbled on the same piece of parchment below Halo's impeccable manuscript.

I figured. And I am not bringing a bludger! See you tomorrow.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I am going to say this just once, before your detention begins." Snape swept down from his perch behind the massive walnut desk to stand just inches from Halo's face. Halo stood defiantly rooted to the spot. She didn't blink once. "First, from this moment forward you will not assault another student, physically or otherwise for any reason, except in the rare case to defend yourself. Second, you will immediately desist your destructive activity on the property of this institution." He slapped her hand away from the student desk where she was gashing the wood with her fingernails in utter fury over the situation. Her subsequent flashing glare of Touch Me Not didn't faze him. "And third, if you even think of going over my head and straight to the Headmaster, you've got another thing coming."

Halo could tell that he wanted to be there even less than she did. She was prepared to make this as difficult for him as it would surely be for her. "But…"

"Am I quite understood?" Snape hissed. Poison might as well have been dripping from his lips, furious as he was.

For the first time, Halo shuddered at Snape's wrath, but barely. His words stung. But she was still going to make things difficult, she simply had to find another way. "I understand." She had to force herself not to clench her teeth. It was important to make him believe that he hadn't upset her one bit.

Snape fished behind the desk and handed her a cauldron of soapy water. "You will clean every inch of this classroom, including everything in that sink…" he indicated to the piles of used cauldrons left over from the last class of the day, "… until it is spotless. And you will not use magic. When you are finished, which by my calculations will not be for several hours, we will have a long discussion of where your anti-social energies may be directed." He spun on his heel and with a trademark swish of his robes disappeared through his office door, no doubt for a nap.

Halo stood, petrified, in the middle of the classroom, for at least ten minutes without moving. In one hand her fist clenched around the handle of the soapy cauldron, in the other, a rag that had probably witnessed more of the classroom than Snape himself had ever seen. She was so tensely rigid that her pores could have oozed out venom, had she been made of sponge rather than flesh.

A sudden, piercing wall of sound passed through the dungeon and leveled the neat rows of bottles containing potions ingredients to cascade off their shelves and collect in piles of shards on the floor. Halo didn't know where it had come from, but it was a good thing she was where she was in the room, in the center and out of immediate danger from falling objects. She began to notice that the tension was rapidly leaving her body, and also that her lungs were running out of air.

The shrill toned ceased. It was another few seconds before she realized that the sound had come from her own voice. Her knees became weak.

Snape burst through the office door which scraped horrendously as it pushed aside the glass that had fallen behind it. His face was aghast with disbelief, moving his gaze from one pile of rubble to another pool of sizzling and foaming liquids.

Halo's vision blurred and her stomach gave a violent lurch. She stumbled sideways, braced herself against a desk and lowered herself to the floor. The last thing she saw before blacking out was Snape darting toward her. I'm sorry… please… don't hurt me… she thought.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Oh… my head," she muttered. Lamplight slowly filtered between the slits in her eyelids, making her temples throb even harder.

"Can I give her something now? Halo distantly heard Madam Pomfrey's voice but it was directed away from her. "I suppose." That was Snape, as sour as ever. Then there was a mild clank like two glass vials tapping into one another, and then… "Halo, drink this." A vial was being held out toward her, and a pair of arms was helping her to a sitting position. She tried hard to object, but the pain in her head kept her arms from working and her eyes from opening fully, and before she got around to making a vocal protest, the contents of the vial had been dumped unceremoniously down her throat.

It tasted like tar. Felt like glue on the way down. She gagged and sputtered and a hand went to cover her mouth. "Hold it down, girl." That was Snape again. Not quite as sour as before, but definitely not pleased in the slightest. The pounding in her head ceased rather quickly and she blinked in adjustment to the light. She pushed Snape's hand away from her, and he stood up abruptly, causing her to fall backward onto the bed. Apparently he had been the one holding her up. He studied her face with deliberation.

"You look fine to me. Let's go." Snape took a step backward giving her room to stand up. She stood, taking a moment to ensure her balance. She looked to Madam Pomfrey, and to her surprise saw the Headmaster standing beside the wizened healer. "Go on," he said to her, a kindness bordering on sympathy emanating from his sparkling blue eyes.

She was obviously hesitant, but followed the dark wizard out the door anyway. She stayed one step behind him, not because she felt inferior but because she frankly could not match his stride.

"Please tell me what happened."

"I will not discuss that with you in public," was his answer.

"What public, there's no one here!"

"The walls themselves have eyes and ears in this place. I will not discuss with you what most certainly would become rumor in the morning." His voice was low, but no longer abrasive. It wasn't by choice. He knew his anger would return after a good night's rest. But there was the matter of his classroom that needed to be dealt with before any discussion was warranted.

He didn't thrust a cauldron of soapy water in her hand this time. "Under the circumstance that I would not have classes to teach in the morning, I assure you that you would be in here through tomorrow cleaning up this mess, magic aside. However, I believe your Reparo charm needs exercising. This weekend you will accompany me to Hogsmeade for as many trips as it takes to re-stock every ingredient that was wasted on your little episode." He pulled out his wand.

Halo's jaw dropped. "Episode? Is that what that was?" Her tone dripped with sarcasm. "Well I guess that explains that… but it just leaves out one little detail… What in Merlin's name did I do?"

"I have neither the strength nor the patience to discuss it with you now. But rest assured I will be discussing it with you tomorrow when you return for detention in the evening." Snape swept to the corner where most of the glass had gathered and began spouting recovery charms about the piles.

Bewildered, Halo stood for a moment, debated pressing the issue, and decided against it. Her headache was returning and all she wanted was to go to bed and sleep for a week.

And Snape was too dizzy to argue. He thanked whatever powers that were for restraining Halo from any more rubbish she could kick up, and dismissed her off to her room some time around dawn with strict instructions to go straight there, no side trips.

Which she did, and found a note attached to her door.

Halo,

How did detention go? I waited around for a while sometime near midnight, (being a hall monitor does have its privileges!) to see if you were all right afterward, but I guess Snape must have kept you busy. I'll pick you up before breakfast so you can tell me all about it.

- Olli

"Ugh… before breakfast… that's what… in twenty minutes?" she said to herself. "Forget it." She flopped down on the bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow…

… and was awakened not ten minutes later by someone knocking and then rather insistent yelling at her door. She rolled out of bed and hit the stone floor with a dull thud. "I'm up!" she hollered, tying her dark, almost raven-colored hair back and stumbling to the door, which swung open at her touch. "What?"

Oliver Wood was there, of course, but also standing in her doorway was Marcus Flint. Two Quidditch captains, and both sporting relentlessly superior attitudes, each believing themselves to possessing a better reason to be at her door. Flint was the first to speak.

"Professor Snape wanted me to remind you that…" he counted on his fingers to make sure that, in his Neanderthal cranium, he had it right, "… should you miss any classes today you will be serving detention not only tonight but for the rest of the week as well." He smirked triumphantly. "You'd better not lose us any house points." He glared at his rival captain, spun on his heel and marched off toward the Great Hall for breakfast.

Oliver looked dazed. "Detention… again?" He let himself into Halo's room, and she closed the door behind him. "Halo, you look terrible. Tell me what happened." He settled in a chair across from her bed and folded his arms across his chest.

With a huge sigh, she began. "I'm not sure I should tell you until I know what I did… I know I did something. I haven't figured it out yet and the Grand Potions Master in all his infinitely bitter wisdom wouldn't tell me. He said he'd discuss it with me tonight." She stifled a yawn.

Oliver had to fight himself not to get up and lead her to a chair to prevent her from falling asleep standing up. "You never went to bed last night, did you?"

She shook her head miserably.

"Does this have anything to do with some alarm that went off? I heard one when I was on my way up to bed." He searched her expression, and saw something flash across her face, but she hid it almost immediately."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. Halo, I won't tell anyone. You know that." He watched her straighten her robes uncomfortably.

Halo bit her lip. "I don't think I should tell you what I know right now. Not until I find out myself."

He nodded. "Just let me know when you find out. And don't think it'll scare me away; if there's any possibility of that it would have happened a long time ago. But since there's nothing else to do and you don't want to miss any classes today, we should go up to breakfast." he pulled himself up from the chair and followed her out the door.