Title: Shrouded in Darkness

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Summary: When Dante's nightmare comes to life, he discovers things about himself, and his past.

Chapter Four: The Change

After breakfast I had Transfiguration with the other fifth year Gryffindors as well as the Ravenclaws. I followed Ethel and Serena out of the Great Hall and into the classroom, right to the back where I sat between them. Professor McGonagall called for quiet.

"This year, we will be reviewing and preparing for your O.W.L.s. For some of you, remembering the previous material shall be a bit difficult." At this point, she looked directly at a boy in the front who blushed furiously. A few people giggled. "For others," she continued. "mastering the new material shall prove challenging. We will begin with something new, transfiguring one animal into a different one."

She removed a white cloth from atop a cage on her desk; inside twenty mice scuttled around.

"Mr. Gandillion, could you please come to the front to demonstrate this?"

I left my seat and walked to McGonagall's desk. I could feel eyes on my back, these people didn't know who I was, or if I was any good at magic.

"I hear you are a magid, Mt. Gandillion." Her voice was barely audible.

I removed one of the mice from the cage and placed it on the desk's surface where it remained still and calm. "Change the mouse to a cat." I thought. "Make it grow, add black fur, change the ears, eyes, nose, and it will no longer be a rodent."

I placed my hand over the mouse and kept repeating that one thought to myself. There was a small white glow that began to surround the mouse and it changed almost instantly into a black cat with sleek fur and yellow eyes.

"Excellent, Mr. Gandillion, you may take your seat." As I turned and walked back to my chair, a boy in the front row raised his hand.

"Miss," He said in an Irish accent. "how did he do that without a wand?"

"He is a magid, Mr. Finnigan." McGonagall said dryly.

"What's a magic?" He asked. Hermione raised her hand, which was accompanied by a few groans.

"A magid is a witch or wizard who is able to cast spells and do other forms of magic without a wand, the gift is very unusual—"

"Thank you, Ms, Granger." McGonagall cut her off. Hermione looked hurt.

I thought I saw Ethel and Serena glance at each other with a peculiar expression on their faces, but when I got to them, they were talking about some Ravenclaw boy that Serena was dating.

After Transfiguration, I had Potions. I had heard that the teacher, Professor Snape, was a real asshole. He was already in the classroom when my classmates and I entered.

"Pair off." He said in his greasy voice.

"I've got my partner!" Before I could turn around, Lilith had linked arms with me and pulled me over to a desk in the back.

Snape's face was chalk-white, his eyes livid. He looked afraid to say something, but his reputation for being a hard-ass won out in the end.

"Lilith," He said quietly, approaching our desk. "I hardly think it wise for a Slytherin to pair off with a Gryffindor."

"Is that a problem for you, Sevvy?" I wondered what that name held over Snape because his next statement was barely a stutter. "Go away now." Lilith said, and without a second glance, Snape was at his desk, silently fuming and deducting points from anyone who laughed, even the Slytherins.

"I see you've been eyeing Hermione." She spoke as if she had watched me the entire time at breakfast.

"I have not." It was only partly a lie.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because I know she fancies you." I quickly changed the subject.

"Why are you talking to me? I thought that Slytherins hated Gryffindors."

"Well, we usually do, but there are exceptions, Ethel, Serena, and now you." I didn't respond, but for the next hour Lilith told me a lot of things about the students of Hogwarts, mostly secrets that I would never want anyone to know about me.

When the bell rang and our potion was safely sitting on Snape's desk, Lilith leaned close to me and whispered. "There's a party in the dungeons tonight. Ask Ethel to show you where it is."
For a second, I thought about going, but I just couldn't. I looked around for Hermione, but she was already gone.

The rest of my first day was kind of a blur. Arlette reappeared during Defense Against the Dark Arts. She had been in the Hospital Wing, recovering from the incident at breakfast. That night, I lay on my bed slowly going crazy from boredom. The other fifth year boys had gone to sleep around ten, all except for Harry, who wasn't around much anyway.

I couldn't sleep. I had always been a night person, and just when I was going to grab a broom and fly out of the window, it hit me. The party. How perfect, loud, lots of people, most likely some form of alcohol. I decided to go and see just how fun these classmates of mine were.

Twenty minutes later, I reached the dungeons, wearing faded jeans, a black T-shirt and white sneakers. The only problem with parties at magical schools were that they were soundproofed with spells. Luckily for me, Harry was walking along the hall at the bottom of the stairs. I knew he'd be going, since he was Lilith's boyfriend. I didn't, however, feel like asking him for directions.

I walked along the hall slowly and casually in the same direction as the boy. He stopped, and so did I. There was nothing special about the wall, but Harry placed his hand on it and it faded away. Starting from the center where his hand was, the wall simply faded into nothingness as an invisible wave of magic washed over it.

As soon as he passed through, the solid stone reappeared. When I walked up to the wall, I could see nothing that set it apart from every other bare stretch of stone. However, the instant my had touched the cold stone, it vanished, and I stood there for a moment, stunned. I would ask the others about this later, though. The music pouring from the opening was intoxicating, and I drank in the wonders of it all.

A huge room was filled with people, all wearing muggle clothes. Most were dancing provocatively, and a lot of them were practically naked. The ones wearing clothes had very tight outfits on, very skin revealing. I definitely out of place.

The music was loud and fast, the way I liked it. I saw Ethel dancing with a tall boy with silver-blond hair and expensive looking clothes, Lilith with Harry in the corner, and Serena making out with a guy, who I assumed was the Ravenclaw she was dating, but I didn't know her well enough to guess.

I pushed my way to the bar where the bartender, who looked no more than seventeen, handed me a frosted glass bottle. I just took it without asking. Before I could take two steps, I bumped into someone.

"Sorry," She said, looking up. It was Hermione. "Oh, it's you. Having fun at your first party in our lovely castle?"

"I am." My stomach clenched for some reason, I didn't usually fall for people this easily, but with Hermione it was different. She leaned her elbows on the bar and turned her head to look at me. Her hair fell into her eyes, those gorgeous brown eyes that I could stare into all night.

"What?" She asked, smiling.

"You're very beautiful." My voice was a whisper, but she must have heard me, because she blushed.

"Do you want to dance?" She asked me, and, without waiting for an answer, pulled me onto the dance floor.

For the next few hours, I danced with Hermione, had many more drinks, and had a really good time. Around three everyone left, some too drunk to stand up, others wanting some privacy for...other things.

Ethel, Hermione, and I stumbled our way back to Gryffindor Tower. Ethel climbed through the portrait hole with as much grace as she could muster while being drunk off her ass. I went through next, so that I could help Hermione from the other side, but in her state, she tripped and fell. I tried to catch her, but we both ended up on the floor laughing. Before I realized what I was doing, I kissed her.

"I've been waiting for you to do that." She whispered in my ear before she leaned down and kissed me. Her lips were soft and opened slightly, and I felt like I could lie there all night with her.

"We have classes in the morning." There was her do-gooder attitude again, I sighed, but moved to get up anyway.

"I'll see you in the morning," The look on her face made me smile, but then she turned and walked up the stairs to her dorm, this time leaving me stunned.

When I sunk into my bed, I couldn't help but think of how great things were. I had been at the school for just one day, and I already had a group of friends, and Hermione, who was more than just a friend.

I didn't have a nightmare that night, a first in three years.