Halllo! I am here, with power. This entire chapter is dedicated to Rockabilly, one of my bestest ever friends for being such a great mate and cheering me up and making me feel I can live through the rest of my secondary school life after all. And all without singing, "Always, look on the bright side of life, be doop, bee doop, bee doop bee doop!" Love ya Katie!

Chapter... something or other.

Crying... sobs echoing through her mind...

"Kay..."

Kay was running. Her feet pounded on the ground again and again, yet her body was moving agonisingly slow, like wading through treacle. She was panting with effort, sweat running down her face, but she could hear them catching up and in a final desperate action she started crawling, hands coming out, one-after-the -other...

"Kay! KAY!" She was being shaken roughly, something gripping her shoulders and throwing her body around...

With a scream Kay sat up and wrenched open her eyes, hands waving wildly before her. "Stop it, go away!" her throaty voice rasped, as Chime's familiar black hair swam into vision. Dark eyes gazed anxiously into her own, and she recognised the grip on her shoulder as a hand gently shaking her. Where was she?!

"Scorch," breathed Chime, glancing over her shoulder, "Will you wake up!"

Kay blinked at her for a moment, breath coming in short, uneven gasps. Raising her eyes over Chime's shoulder, she thought she heard giggles from behind her, though the scarlet curtain, half drawn hid them from view. Angrily, she pushed Chime away and stood up, muttering, "I'm ok, Chime. Bad dream, s'all." Then she ripped back the material.

Last night, Kay had been so tired she'd barely been able to take in a thing about her dorm. Now in the new light of day she thought it looked bigger, and spacious. The deep gold walls were bare, though it had two huge windows revealing dramatic views of mountains surrounding them, contrasting sharply against the ice blue sky. There were five four poster beds, some rumpled like hers or smoothly made, like the ones behind the two girls who were standing in front of her.

The pair of them giggled more as Kay faced them, cheeks still flushed from her fevered sleep and in her grey nightshirt that came down to her knees. One of them had short blond hair cut into a layered bob, and the other was taller, with immaculate brown hair pulled back into a bun. Both had identical smirks plastered to their faces, that increased rapidly as Kay took a step towards them.

"Is there something funny?" Kay asked softly, narrowing her eyes and giving them a very cold stare. The brown haired one looked wary and stepped back, but the other stepped forwards, leering at her.

"Uhh, whats your problem then? Got out the wrong side of bed?" she promptly cracked up at her own joke, her friend joining in.

Kay looked at them. Then she turned and glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall, and deducted that she really didn't have the time to decapitate them right now. Without a second glance at anyone she crossed to a door on the other side of the room, pulled it open then slammed it closed. She tugged her nightshirt moodily over her head, turning on one of the showers as she went, for she was in a communial bathroom. As the stinging spray of water shot onto her head, she growled to herself.

Things were not going too well.

oo

"What are their names?"

"Who?"

"Them, of course!" Kay waved her piece of toast irritably over at the catty girls, who had laughed at her that morning, and in doing so scattered crumbs everywhere. The boy oppasite gave her a scandalised look.

"Do you mind? That went all over my bacon!"

"Not really," Kay said, glaring over at the girls. Giving a small 'humph!' the boy rose, taking his plate with him to go and sit somewhere else, throwing a most offended look over his shoulder, which was completely wasted on Kay as she didn't even see it.

"Yet another person you've offended!" snapped Chime, tugging one of Kay's soft brown ringlets, "And stop looking at them for heavens sake, they'll see!"

"Exactly," Kay replied, then tossed her head violently, "Get off Chime!"

"Merlin, why are you so touchy about everything! And I don't know what their names are. Why don't you try asking them?!"

Kay opened her mouth to give a stinging retort, then out the corner of her eye she noticed Chime was really looking quite down, stabbing viciously at her bacon. Abrupty closing her mouth, she unglued her gaze from the girls and turned to face her.

"Sorry," she said, a little gruffly, "They just get to me, people like that. I didn't mean to have a go at you."

Chime glanced suspiciously round at her, seemingly a little shell shocked by the fact Kay was actually apologising, then gave a little chuckle.

"No prob," she said airily, as though they were discussing the weather, then looked up at the enchanted ceiling. "Mum said she would be writing to me, I wonder how- aragh!"

Kay looked round, then ducked as a huge barn owl swept right over her head. Slightly the hairs on the top of her head lifted in the aftermath of its huge wings, then owls were all around them, wings flapping excitedly in her face, knocking over goblets with resounding clangs and upsetting plates of bacon. Chime made a wild grab for her plate and hastily hid it under the table as a brown owl made a greedy dash for it. "Piss off you!" she shouted, as the owl gave her a reproachful look and turned away. Kay couldn't help but grin.

From somewhere to her right, she heard an excited squawk. A horribly familiar squawk. Turning her head, full of dread she groaned as she spotted what seemed to be an over large pile of dust with wings and talons, fighting frantically with another owl for someones egg whites.

"Oh, God no," she murmured, closing her eyes and trying to block out the hyperactive owls screechings, "Please don't let him see me. Please don't let him see me. Please..." from somewhere far off she heard a cry of "Get off me, you stupid owl! My word, whoever owns you?" and she moaned again. Stupid, stupid Ron!

"You could of used a post owl," she whispered, keeping her eyes firmly clamped together, "You could of borrowed someone elses owl. You could of waited a week or something! But no-" here she snapped open her eyes in horror, "You just had to use Chicken. Thanks a bunch, Ron. Cheers."

The next thing she knew she was hit by a hurricane of feathers and claws. "Ouch!" she screamed, batting it away fiercely, "Go away, you dumb owl, get away!" The whirlwind was seemingly unaffected by her insults, and instead perched proudly atop her head, staring round with triumphant eyes. In an instant Kay swept it off. Someone laughed loudly, and her cheeks burned. Chime stifled a snigger.

"That your owl Scorch?"

"No!" Kay glared at her, fumbling with the parchment tied round the birds scaly leg, "This is my idiotic step fathers pet!" she spat the last word viciously, stabbing moodily at Chickens fluffy chest. He hooted angrily, and flapped his wings right in her face. With Kay tugging at the letter and with the owl trying to take off, it ended up with the paper being ripped right down the middle, finally freeing him, and leaving Kay with half the letter.

"Stupid bird!" Kay shouted after him, remains of the letter scrunched in her fist. Briefly she glanced at it, then smoothed it out. She sighed. "Oh well, good excuse not to write back I guess. Hey, look, you've got something." For an orderly, prim looking owl had just landed on Chime's shoulder, looking in distaste at Chickens retreating back as though he were as disgraced as Kay was. Quietly, he stuck out his leg, and at the same time throwing a look at Kay which to her mind said, "Good job some owls know how to behave."

"Shut it you," Kay thought back, "I might not have a well behaved owl, but I happen to have a snake, and she'll eat you as a feathery little snack if you don't watch it." Great, now she was talking with owls. She was mad. But so shoot her, the world was mad.

Chime was reading her smooth, untorn letter with a falling face. Lock by lock, her hair slipped forwards to block her expression, until finally all Kay was looking at was a curtain of hair. Curiously she stared at the back of the letter. What was in it that was so bad to make Chime look like that? Hesitantly, she tapped Chime on the shoulder.

"Er- whats that then?"

Jumping slightly, Chime looked up. "Oh, nothing!" she said, stuffing it into her pocket, "Just- um- news from my dad. Nothing special. So, er, what have we got first?"

Kay stared at her. She was acting quite jumpy, pale face even whiter than usual but deciding to go along with it she said, "Transfiguration I think. Looking forward to it?"

0000oooo0000oooo

Oh, what a wonderful ending I know! Review, pleeeease no-ones reading this! Oh, apart from Rockabilly, who is wonderfully nice to me by leaving a fun packed review for my enjoyment, but it would be nice to have a review from someone I DON'T know... ah well. See ya!