Meanwhile, in the Slytherin common room, Draco Malfoy was introducing Aurora to her new housemates. Or, he was trying to; at least. A couple of the Slytherins – Blaise Zambini and Millicent Bulstrode, for instance - seemed eager to accept the blonde girl, especially because she was the "Slytherin Prince's" cousin. On the other hand, Crabbe and Goyle were standing on the other side of the common room glaring at Draco and Aurora, looking like they really wanted to get into a fight. Draco clenched his jaw angrily. He was not used to such disrespect from two people who practically worshipped him in the past.

Pansy Parkinson, Draco's pug-faced date from the Yule Ball last year, was in a huddle with Andrew Nott and Morag McDougal. They were whispering and shooting venomous glances their way.

Draco frowned. He racked his mind as to why they were behaving this way. Then the answer hit him like a golf club (that's pretty painful). All their parents were Death Eaters!

Draco swore under his breath. Obviously, Lucius Malfoy had told all the other Death Eaters at a meeting that Aurora, Voldemort's former captive, had escaped. Lucius must have put two and two together: Draco disappeared the same night, so he must have taken off with her. It didn't take a genius to figure out that all the Slytherins whose parents were Death Eaters knew that Draco Malfoy had betrayed the Dark Lord, and that the girl they were now forced to spend time with was in fact a fugitive from Voldemort.

They were glaring daggers at Draco, but when they looked at Aurora their expressions seemed to soften a little, and mould into calculating, shrewd looks. They knew that she was powerful: otherwise He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named wouldn't be so eager to corrupt her for his use.

Draco groaned inwardly. This was going to be tough.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next day was Monday: first day of classes. Everyone got up early that day to eat a fast breakfast and get his or her timetable. McGonnagal came around to the Gryffindor table and handed out the daily schedules, pausing at Lindsey to talk to him briefly about whether he was up to standard or not. Harry took his with a nod and was just about to put it away when Hermione squealed from next to Ron.

"Oooh, look! We have Psyche first, guys! Isn't this great?" she asked with relish. Hermione had been dying to go to this class ever since they had first been informed of it at the Burrow. "With everything happening at the moment, I think it could be very informative," she continued happily.

Ron took his timetable from Professor McGonnagal with a muttered, "Thanks," and looked at his as well. His face took a skeptical appearance, then he slumped in his chair and moaned loudly, grimacing.

"Aw, but it's with the Slytherins. That won't be fun at all. And-" he looked at his sheet of parchment more closely, "-We have double potions afterwards!" infuriated, Ron started cursing under his breath at his bad luck. Hermione rolled her eyes and started to pacify him with a soothing voice.

Harry screwed up his face with displeasure and looked down at his own timetable as Lindsey rejoined the group. Then he smiled with relief.

"Hey, guys, guess who the Psyche teacher is?" he said increduously. The other three looked at him warily. Harry started to chuckle. "Well, it's not so bad. Professor Dumbledore himself is teaching it."

They all grinned and started to chuckle. The Slytherins couldn't get away with too much if the Headmaster was teaching the class.

Harry flicked his eyes towards the Slytherin table. No, he thought. Things weren't so bad at all. He suppressed a smile when he thought of a certain Slytherin who would be joining them there. A certain blue eyed blonde, as a matter of fact. By this, of course, Harry was thinking about that new girl. He had been thinking about her a lot last night as he tried to fall to sleep. She had captured his attention, and was not letting go.

Harry watched as Aurora gigged at something Malfoy had said and blushed. She had come across to Harry as very shy, like she was always afraid to do or say something wrong. He sighed dreamily and began to watch her.

Lindsey was having an in-depth discussion with Ron about Quidditch and the new spots open on the Gryffindor team when he looked over at Harry seeking an opinion on who would be the new captain. Lindsey stared at Harry expectantly for a moment, but when Harry showed no signs of even hearing him, Lindsey followed his line of vision to see what had him so engrossed. He looked around for a few seconds before seeing that pretty blonde bird he had been standing next to at the Sorting. What was her name…Aurora! That was it. He grinned slyly, and leaned over to nudge Harry.

"Hmm, very pretty, isn't she?" he said to Harry in a teasing, suggestive voice, wiggling his eyebrows. Harry was shocked. Was it that obvious he liked her?

Wait, what was he thinking? Aurora was a Malfoy, no matter how nice she seemed. She was still a Slytherin underneath all her charm and charisma and grace and subtle, yet stunning appearance and the way she moved and when she spoke and…

Oh, no. He was beginning to fall for her. "No," he thought fiercely. "I won't fall for her. I can't fall for her. Malfoy would skin me alive." Harry sighed and rolled his eyes at Lindsey, giving him a gentle punch on the arm. This was not good. Not good at all.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Half an hour later, the sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins were seated in their classroom, waiting for their first Psyche lesson. Once again, on one side of the room sat one house, while the other house sat on the opposite side; glaring vehemently. Except this year, unlike all the other classes the Gryffindors and Slytherins had together, no one dared hurl any insults. Professor Dumbledore was their teacher, and such behaviour would be unwise in front of the Headmaster. Hence, the glaring.

Ron and Hermione were sharing a desk (canoodling), while Harry had partnered up with Lindsey. Draco was seated next to Aurora, steadily ignoring the venomous looks his housemates sent their way. Everyone was living by the old adage: 'If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.' Not wanting to get into trouble, the two houses were deadly silent.

The tensions were building in the classroom when Professor Dumbledore swept into the room. He was wearing a sapphire blue robe with a dark green cloak and a mauve hat perched jauntily on his white head. He sat at the desk and surveyed them all with a pleased gaze. His eyes seemed to pause for a moment on Aurora, and then on Lindsey, then remained for a short while on Harry before returning to the whole class once again.

He stood to gain everyone's attention and spread his arms wide in a welcoming gesture. 'Welcome, everyone, to Psyche."

He started to pace, and launched into his introductory lecture.

"When you hear the word psyche, what springs to mind?" he stopped for a moment to let a few people giggle weakly at his pun.

"Indeed, the human psyche is indeed one of the most complicated magicks a witch or wizard can study. The true depths of the human psyche have yet to be discovered. However, we know at present that it is an important part of your soul. It is your mind and your deepest feelings; how you think and how you feel. Being psychic has a link to Divination – where those gifted individuals have the ability and mental powers to read people's minds and/or predict the future.

"There are a few special branches of the Psyche we will be studying. They include Telekinesis, or Psychokinesis, the movement of objects through means of will power; also the more familiar Telepathy, which is direct communication through people's minds."

He left the class stunned after this speech. All the students, even the Slytherins, were on the edge of their seats with a rapt expression. Hermione had a look of pure ecstasy written on her face, which made Ron smile goofily. He loved that expression on his girl.

Harry was looking at Dumbledore with an impressed grin on his face. So, he thought. There was much more to Rose's abilities than he thought.

At that, Dumbledore walked to the other side of the classroom and over to the desk. He sat upon the edge so that he could see the whole class.

"Now, to begin our term in Psyche I thought we could start by learning how a psychic is given his or her abilities. Please, everyone, take notes." He stopped for a minute or so before continuing, so that all the entranced students could scramble for their quills and parchment. He waited until the room fell silent again, and went on with his oration.

"You see, psychics are not born with their talents. No. In fact, everyone has the potential to be psychic. It is a part of the brain we have only to unlock to harness the power within. However, the only way on unlocking the constraints of our own minds is by force.

"By force, one generally means an experience that was emotionally and physically overwhelming."

In the back row, Draco Malfoy scowled deeply and swung around in his chair to examine Aurora closely. Lucius had put her under the Crucio spell for weeks on end! What if she had become psychic? Draco peered hard at her with worry.

Aurora, feeling her cousin watching her, turned around slightly to face him. She smiled, and whispered reassurance to him.

"No, it's okay. I don't think I have that." Draco sighed with relief.

Across the room, Hermione whipped away from Ron to look at Harry at the desk in front of her. What he went through was pretty harsh, what if he…?

Then, Hermione remembered about the dreams. Harry had prophetic dreams. But, then, they weren't his dreams at all, were they? They were only sent to him…

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "So, to kickstart our psychic experience this year, I thought it would be nice to have a true psychic come in and have a telepathic conversation with each of you."

He finished this and left all the students casting varying faces towards each other. Some looked excited; some looked scared. Some looked impressed, some looked unsure. A few students coming from muggle backgrounds looked skeptical, because they were familiar with psychics in the muggle world. Hermione, however, had a glazed expression as she was thinking hard.

Dumbledore walked quickly over to the door and put his hand on the doorknob. Twenty pairs of eyes followed his every move with interest. He leant heavily upon the wooden frame and regarded the class over his half-moon spectacles.

"Our guest is very shy. She comes to one sixth-year psyche class every year. This means, sadly, that Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw will not be able to see her; as she visited their classes last year. Please do not bombard her with questions, as she will not be able to answer many."

Harry whipped around and caught Lindsey's eyes. Likewise, they both turned in their chairs to glance quickly at Ron and Hermione before turning to face the door. The tension was building. Twenty students craned their necks to have a better look at the door where Dumbledore was about to open the door to reveal their guest speaker.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned the doorknob. A slim figure of medium height stood framed in the doorway. She stepped inside and smiled weakly. It was obvious that she was nervous to be in front of the sixth year class. She was shaking slightly, and had her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest.

Draco scowled. She unsettled him instantly. Something radiated from her, something naïve and undeniably innocent…but there was something else, too. Something dark and sinister, like she had seen it all.

She was wearing a white silk dress with a pale pink rope around her waist in clear medieval style. Her soft orange hair tumbled down to her waist and had very soft golden-blonde highlights. From behind him Draco heard Pansy whisper loudly, "Ugh. As if that's her natural hair colour," in a contemptuous, disgusted voice. Draco tried to hide a snicker. He really loved to watch jealousy between girls. It was very entertaining. Especially when they got down to mud wrestling or other forms of girls fighting.

The speaker had pale, alabaster skin that gleamed. Her expressive sea-green eyes darted around the room. Her eyes soared over to the Gryffindor side of the room and settled on Harry, Ron, Hermione and Lindsey. Lindsey sat back in his seat grinning like a madman.

Harry looked at her. She seemed familiar somehow. Then he heard a rushing noise.

Hi, Harry. How's it going? Came the voice of Rose. Harry looked up and saw the girl looking at him. Harry nearly choked when she winked at him. He tried to speak but couldn't!

Dumbledore cleared his voice loudly to attract attention. "Allow me to introduce Annabelle. You may all call her Annie," he said, and took her gently by the elbow, guiding her to the centre of the room. "She will probe your minds with the help of this crystal," he said, indicating to the class the rose quartz crystal she had in her clasped hands.

Harry watched closely. The crystal glowed.

Well, they can call me Annie. Professor Dumbledore doesn't want anyone to know who I really am, but since you already know… came the voice again.

YOU can call me Rose. Harry gaped. The girl was staring straight at him with a meaningful look. He was finally meeting Rose.

One by one, the class was subjected to a mind probe. Rose sat across from the student and held her crystal tightly, concentrating on the person closely. She then held a brief telepathic conversation with them before plunging into the depths of their psyche. When she did this Rose saw pictures and heard sounds just as the person was experiencing. She could access their emotions, intuition, and most of all their thoughts.

She revealed to the class what each person was feeling at that moment. Harry was feeling overwhelmed, Hermione was feeling happy and excited. Ron was just happy to be with Hermione, and was also a little bored. Pansy was feeling resentful and jealous (she blushed darkly when Rose announced this, and her squinty, pug-ish eyes darted to glare at Aurora), while Aurora herself was feeling insecure. When Rose announced this, Harry looked over to the blonde in concern, but let it go.

Then it was Draco's turn. He scowled even further and sat in front of her as she began.

Hi, Draco. How's life? Rose inititated their telepathic conversation. Draco rolled his eyes unimpressed. "Fabulous," he drawled in his mind. Rose, guessing that he wasn't going to cooperate, shrugged and proceeded to probe his mind.

There was a silence. And more silence. And just a little more silence on top of that. After a few minutes, some of the students looked to each other with furrowed brows. What was taking so long? This was already much longer than it took with any of the other students.

Rose had her eyes clamped shut, and screwed up her face with concentration. Still, nothing happened. With a small cry, she pulled out of his mind. She was thrust back to reality and looked up at Dumbledore.

"I can't get in," she said. "Locked door. Ummm…do you think I could go in manually?" she asked the old man in a timid voice.

Dumbledore only looked on and gave his consent with a nod.

Rose took a deep breath and faced Draco. "You're not letting me in," she said. "I'm going to try a different, stronger method of mind probing. I promise it won't hurt," she added hastily at the look on his face.

Draco glowered. "Fine," he answered gruffly.

Before he knew what was happening, Rose had touched her crystal and said a quick spell. The rose quartz crystal shot bolts of shocking pink electricity up to her elbows. In an instant, her arms shot up and in a blast of light, she thrust her fingers forcefully into his skull through his temples.

He gritted his teeth but did not cry out. The rest of the class started gasping and screaming around the pair, but Professor Dumbledore silenced them.

Rose flew through her hands into Draco's mind. She looked around. Everything was in toned of grey. She was lost in an endless limbo and just floated around for a few moments until she found what she was looking for: a white door. With a lock.

She drifted over to the door and handled the brass lock that was on the door. This was why she was not able to get inside his mind: he had blocked off anyone else's access to his emotions, thoughts and soul. She groaned in frustration. Then she saw a window on the top panel of the door. In it, she could see a faint image of that girl, Aurora, but nothing else.

Rose nodded to herself absently. It seemed she had discovered the one person that he allowed in. His cousin.

She took a breath and withdrew her energy from his mind. With a whoosh, she pulled her magical hands out of Draco's skull and back into her own body. She looked at him closely for a second before standing.

She gazed at Dumbledore intently and started to waver slightly from side to side.

She whispered, "Locked door. Can't get in," and put a hand to her forehead. She was really swaying now.

Across the room, Harry gasped and whispered furiously to his three friends, "Oh, no! she's used up too much energy!"

He was right. Next thing, Rose's eyes had rolled back into her head and she collapsed. Draco caught her just before she hit the ground.

A/N

does a loser-esque happy dance woohoo! My longest chappie yet!!!

C'mon, who's proud of me? J

sphinx_star - hey thanks loads with the pointers. hmm....

u r right about 2 of the ships, but NOT all. If I had your e-mail I could tell you all that 'top secret' stuff you asked about, kayz? You have my e-mail, just send me your address directly please if u want to know more.

Other ppls who responded – thanks you all loads!

Umm hey if you want imagery, the mind-probe is like Glory in season 5 Buffy – except Rose doesn't take away sanity.

Plz review, it makes me feel loved 3