Chapter 121: Cassandra Serenity

You know, Ron's birthday is coming" Cassandra said to the group as they climbed the stairs between classes.

Cassandra blew heavily up at the loose strands of hair falling out of her neatly kept french twist. The small curls of hair refused to stay in place, however, and sprung back down to face her face. The air was warmer than it had been in months with a bright sun shining down on the earth to wake it up from its long winters sleep.

"Really?" Alondra replied while struggling with her rather heavy looking satchel.

The small group of Gryffindor's and its only Slytherin member had been walking to and from classes for a month now. After the fights of January it had only been thought wise to keep to groups rather than face what could happen alone. Cassandra remembered all to well how she had been trapped alone with three people, two of which were twice her size.

"So," Daniel added roughly as he struggled with his own heavy bag, "we haven't celebrated anyone's birthday this year."

Shaking her head, as if everyone should understand already, Cassandra explained. "But that's the point isn't it." A tone of exasperation could be heard in her voice as she spoke to the group. "We haven't done anything for anyone this year and we could all really use a break from studying. A party would be a wonderful way to relax."

As if better timing could have been invented the Weasley twins, who were always looking for a good time, came strolling up to the group. George and Fred Weasley were two people Cassandra could always count on to help lighten the spirits of their fellow Gryffindor's. They had the uncanny ability to make people smile even if they were crying.

"Cass" George and Fred said in unison. A mischievous smile held on both their faces as they approached.

Ever since they had walked in on Malfoy about to do untold things to Cassandra, the twins had made a point of checking up on her between classes. No matter how often Cass told them she was ok, they would still make sure they "ran" into her at least once during the day. To Cass's fortune, their "run in" couldn't have happen at a better time.

"George, Fred," Cassandra said with a bright smile. "Funny seeing you here" she giggled while both of the twins laughed as well. "I was just telling the group that we could really do with some fun, maybe a birthday party?"

The twins' faces both lit up like Christmas trees. "Well our birthday isn't until April," Fred said with a grin.

"But we'd be more than willing to have it early" George finished while grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Rolling her eyes at the twins Cassandra laughed lightly. "No, not you two" she said while trying to hold back more laughter as the twins faces fell in sorrow. "Ron's birthday is coming up."

Before she could finish, however, the twins were in even higher spirits. "Want to throw ickle Ronniekins a party?" Fred replied in a baby voice.

"Sweet ickle Ronniekins gets SO much attention" George pouted as he lightly elbowed Cass's side.

The group was in a fit of laughter over how the twins acted. Alondra had let her satchel fall to the ground as she covered her mouth to keep from laughing. Daniel and Magenta, however, were far from polite about it and had fun laughing out loud at the twins' antics. Ray, still new to the group, had only started to get used to the twins, but was still turning her back not to be seen laughing along with the rest of them.

"Oh shut it" Cassandra said with a fit of her own giggles as she elbowed George back. "We need some fun."

"Alright then" Fred answered, straighten his posture to look almost serious for a moment. "We'll pull together a little something for fun."

"More fun than you've ever seen" George whispered while giving Cassandra a small wink.

It was Hermione, Ron, and Harry rushing passed that broke up the group's fun. The three first year Gryffindor's had been nearly inseparable since Hermione's return from holiday. Which had really saddened Cass, she had been secretly hoping for a moment to speak with Harry alone. She still hadn't told him about their parents or how she had heard about his father and mother all of her life.

"Aren't they in a hurry" Magenta commented as she lifted her satchel up off the cold stone floor.

"We should be too or we're going to be late for class," Ray said while starting her ascent on the stairs to the next floor and their next joint class.

"Don't worry about anything," Fred said while turning to head to class himself.

"We'll plan a great party for that brother of ours" George laughed as he ran to catch up with his twin.

Cass turned away from the twins, noticing that as George ran away his ears were a soft shade of pink. A familiar flutter came from Cassandra stomach as she turned back towards the stairs and her friends. I wonder if I should be scared about what those two will come up with she thought as she followed the rest of the group up to the third floor for their Charms class.

The flutter in Cassandra's stomach only seemed to grow each time she saw the twins. They were being very secretive about what they were going to do for Ron's birthday and no matter how Cass asked to help she was always told no. The mischievous smiles that the twins had worn all week were also another sign that Cassandra should be afraid of what she had started.

As the week of anticipation went on the weather began to warm even more. Now the first signs of spring were beginning to appear. The winter's snow had slowly faded and all that was left was spares patches of white in shaded areas. With the winter's edge departing and springs glow making itself known, Cassandra had taken to wearing her casual dresses again.

"When is Ron's birthday anyways?" Magenta asked as a small group of first year Gryffindor's sat in the common room doing their homework.

Alondra, Daniel, Magenta, Erin, Cassandra and a relatively quiet Holly were all working on their latest Potions essay in the common room. The room around them was amazingly quiet as fifth years studied for their O.W.Ls and seventh years for their N.E.W.Ts. It was one more day until Ron's birthday and still no one had any idea of what the twins had planned for a birthday party.

"Tomorrow" Cassandra replied as she absentmindedly played with the quill in her hand. Lifting its plumage up to her face and letting it softly tickle her nose as she thought to herself.

As if out of no where, six folded paper birds flew down to the groups table, a separate folded paper bird landing in front of each of them. Looking around the common room Cassandra couldn't see who had sent the messages. No one seemed to be doing anything out of the ordinary at the moment.

Looking to each of the other members of her group for answers, Cassandra saw that they were all as confused as she was. Picking up the folded piece of paper Cassandra carefully unfolded it and began to read.


We, the mischief makers of Gryffindor, would like to invite you to a special birthday celebration being held tomorrow at the Quidditch pitch in honour of our beloved little brother, Ronniekins. There will be food and fun for all, as well as a few other treats.

Please come to the Quidditch pitch tomorrow at 3pm to join in the festive fun.

The Weasley Twins

"Well it looks like they've got something planned" Daniel said after he had finished reading his note.

Everyone seemed to agree, though Cassandra was still a bit wiry of just what the twins might have come up with. They were wonderful at cheering people up, but what sort of prank did they have in store for their little brother was the question Cassandra couldn't help ask.

Her answer didn't seem to take long in coming to as Cassandra made her way towards the Quidditch pitch with a group of her friends. Walking down the small path from the castle to the Quidditch pitch, Cassandra listened to Magenta, Daniel, Alondra, Holly, Ray, and Erin discuss what the twins might have planned. They had all heard of the twins infamous pranks, though never had guessed which ones were actually the twins doing.

"I think what happen at Valentine's Day had to be the twins" Daniel said with a laugh. "I still can't stop laughing over Malfoy and his trail of heart and kisses."

Everyone laughed along as they remembered the scene.

"What about Christmas morning?" Magenta added in with a distinct curiosity to her voice. "The twins had a hand in that too."

Though she hadn't mean too, Cassandra's eyes drifted over to Daniel to share in a knowing glance. They were the only two, besides the twins, to really know what had happen that morning. It was a secret that Cassandra hoped would never really get out. When ever she thought about it her stomach would start to act funny and it was far better that the fewer people who knew about it the better.

"I missed that" Alondra pouted. "I wish I could have seen it."

"Me too" Holly said in a quiet voice.

Erin agreed as well in her own quiet voice.

"I can't imagine what it's like to have the twins in your house" Ray said with a soft smile. "I bet it's chaos all the time up there."

The group of Gryffindor's had to laugh again. It was chaos at times, but a good chaos or that was how Cassandra saw it. She enjoyed having the twins around to play pranks and keep the mood light. She also enjoyed being asked to go along with them on their happy adventures.

As the group of first years finally reached the Quidditch pitch Cassandra could hear the sound of music and fireworks. It was as they entered the pitch that they saw what the twins really had planned. The inside of the Quidditch pitch was decorated with large maroon streamers and bows. A fury of fireworks going off low overhead, Cassandra assumed so that those outside of the pitch couldn't see them.

Besides the fireworks, streamers, and bows there was also an enormous birthday cake, also frosted in maroon, with large letter R's all around it. The twins had also enchanted a broom to hover just a few feet off the ground and made it bucked and kicked with all its might. As a smaller Ravenclaw boy, Cassandra could only assume he was a first year like her, got thrown from the broom she noticed that the ground under the broom had had cushioning charms put on it as well.

Hanging from one of the walls of the pitch, a picture of Ron as a little baby flashed. Ron must have been no older than 2 year olds and he was drinking colored ink from a well. As it flashed, Cassandra realized that it had writing too, moving from the picture to the words "Ron's first disagreeable meal". A giggle slipped out as she continued to watch the flashing banner. Ron really did like to eat, and she wondered if that really was the only thing that didn't settle well in his stomach.

It was the low voice of George Weasley which brought Cassandra out of her reverie. "Hello there" George said as he came to stand beside her.

"Hi," Cassandra replied weakly as she turned to face him, her stomach turning in a pleasant way. "Um… Nice party," she giggled as she watched Ron take another sip of green ink.

George looked at her for a moment before laughing. "Ok to do something good for the git" he laughed again.

Looking around the pitch Cassandra noticed how many students had actually found out about the party. There were several Hufflepuffs, a hand full of Ravenclaws, and what Cass assumed was every Gryffindor except for Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Of course to keep the party a secret Cass could only think that all three were not told or wouldn't be until the last moment.

She let that slip her mind for the moment, however, as she watched her friends enjoying in the festive fun. Magenta and Daniel were trying out the bucking broom. A homage to Harry's wild ride at the previous Quidditch game. Ray was laughing at the two of them, though staying very far away from the broom herself. Alondra was sipping some punch as she talked with Cedric, Oliver, and Erin. Holly was walking along the outskirts of the pitch with a boy that Cassandra didn't know.

Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time. This was just what Cassandra had hoped for last week, to see her friends smiling and carefree. There had been so much stress with school and all of the fights that had happened lately. To have this time to be happy and free was beyond words for her.

Leaning in slightly to George, Cassandra felt grateful that he and Fred had done this. They had really done something special for her, without even knowing it. As Cass leaned in towards George, she felt him stiffen before allowing her presence to calm him somewhat.

"Thank you" she whispered in a breathy tone as she blinked away tears.

"Any time" George replied in a hushed tone as well.

The tender moment which had been building between the two of them was shattered as Fred came laughing into the pitch. Ron, held floating in air above him screaming in a muted voice. Harry and Hermione were right behind the two of them, concern evident on their faces.

"Put him down this instant" Hermione demanded in a furious tone.

"Alright" Fred laughed as he let Ron drop from ten feet in the air.

Hermione screeched as Ron plummeted to the ground, landing softly on the cushioned ground near the bucking broom. Her stare was venomous as she glared at Fred. Hands on her hips in a very domineering way, Fred only continued to laugh. Harry was checking on Ron, hiding a smile so that Hermione couldn't see.

When Ron looked around his eyes grew wider than Cassandra had ever seen them before. They looked like two large sauce plates with round pieces of chocolate in the center of them. He was now gawking in such a way that it looked like a cross between shock and joy. The corners of his mouth pulled up into a smile as the rest of it remained held open in a large 'O' shape.

Resting his eyes on his brother, Ron couldn't seem to speak and could only manage to mouth the words "for me?"

Fred didn't reply and only began to laugh harder. This must have told Ron something because he was now laughing and smiling brighter than if he had been named Quidditch champion. Harry was laughing along with him now; a smile pushing away the haunted look at had been in Harry's eyes recently. Hermione, however, was still far from laughing.

George moved away to slap Ron on the back in a brotherly way. His absences made Cassandra feel as if something inside was now missing that had been there only moments before. Still she couldn't put a name to this feeling or what it meant.

Time passed as everyone enjoyed themselves more and more. Cassandra wondered among the crowd for a time, laughing and joking with her friends, before finding a place above them all to watch the activities. It was nice to watch them all having so much fun.

Fred and George had transfigured a chair into a thrown and were having Ron sit in it. To Ron's misfortune, however, the chair has also been magiced to make some of the most obscene and foul noises. It had also had a sticky charm put on it as well which made it nearly impossible for Ron to move from it at the moment. The twins were laughing, as were many of the other guests, while Hermione was standing around looking appalled at the two of them.

Coming out of the stairs, which lead up to the stadium seats above the pitch, Cassandra noticed that she wasn't alone. Sitting in the first row of the stands was a small figure with a mop of black hair. Harry Potter sat alone, watching the world below him, his emerald green eyes playing over the scene with wonder. Hearing the noise of Cassandra's footsteps he turned his head to see who was there.

"I'm sorry," Cassandra said quietly as he stared at her. "I didn't mean to intrude."

Harry turned his attention back to the crowd below. "You're not."

Taking this as an invitation Cassandra tentatively stepped forward and found a seat near Harry where she could watch the people below. The two sat in silence for a while. Both watching their friends play and laugh below them, neither of them feeling as though they were part of that world at all.

"You've been pretty busy lately" Cassandra said softly, her eyes never leaving the people below.

"School and stuff, you know" Harry replied back with some hesitation.

A knot was beginning to form in Cassandra's stomach as she tried to work up the courage to bring up their families. She had been putting it off for months now and it wasn't getting any easier with each passing week. Still it wasn't any easy thing to broach.

"I know," was the only answer she could think of, "been in the library and hanging out with Hermione and Ron. Research?"

"How did you know?" Harry asked in surprise, his gaze shifting to the red head at his side.

Cassandra left out a soft giggle. "Why else would you be in the library?"

"Oh, yeah" her dark hair friend mumbled to himself quietly.

"Is it something important?" Curiosity was beginning to get the better of her.

"No it's nothing," Harry mumbled again.

"Ok," Cassandra lightly bit down on her lower lip as she tried to work up her courage, "I could help you with it if you wanted."

"You would?" Harry asked in surprise, his emerald green eyes catching light from the field below.

"Of course" she replied simply.

Turning his eyes back down to the people below Harry nodded his head once. "Ok then, that would help, thanks."

Inside Cassandra felt her heart become warm. He had actually agreed to allow her to help him, Ron, and Hermione. Perhaps she would see if the rest of her friends could help as well. If it was really something important they would want to help out as well. A silence settled over the two Gryffindor's as they both let their gaze shift over the happy people below. Time passed as Cassandra continued to fight with her will power over talking to Harry about what she had really meant to bring up.

"Harry," Cassandra quietly broke the silence which had lingered in the air for so long, "here."

Digging into her robes Cassandra pulled out a small photograph which she had been keeping there for two months. The photograph looked old and well worn. The black and white figures in the photo smiled and waved to Harry as Cassandra handed him the photo. Four figures stood against a light grey background, two men and two women. Both women with long, light colored hair. Exactly what color of hair was hard to tell as that there was no colour in the photograph, but Cassandra knew both of the women were red heads. To each of their sides stood a man, one with short light colored hair and the other with messy black hair. The man with messy black hair wrapped his arm around one of the women's waist and kissed her check lightly.

Harry stared at the photograph for a moment bewildered. "What's this for?" he asked confused.

Looking directly into his eyes Cassandra called on all the courage she possessed. "Those are your parents Harry" she barely managed to say before her voice fell.

The expression on Harry's face moved from confusion to disbelief. His green eyes scanned the photo again and again, taking in the image as if it would fade away at any moment. Cassandra felt her heart beat heavy in her chest as she watched Harry. His eyes were starting to glisten before he wiped at them with the sleeve of his shirt.

"My parents?" he asked in a quivering and unsure voice.

Pointing at the photograph Cassandra indicated the couple to the left. It was the couple which had kissed and waved at Harry earlier. Next Cassandra pointed to the other couple which was smiling up as well. The light haired man nervously held hands with the light haired woman, both looking bashful and shy.

"Those are my parents," Cassandra forced herself to say, though the act of it was worse than fighting twenty trolls.

The two stared at the moving photograph for a long time, a quiet and emotional air surrounding them. It was hard to breath for Cassandra as each time she watched her father smile she felt her heart break that he would never really smile at her like that. Night was coming and the sky had begun to darken. Still neither Gryffindor moved from their spot. They were mesmerized by the two couples who both looked so much in love.

Harry was the one to break the silence this time, his voice still thick with emotion as he spoke. "They knew each other?"

Pushing back the tears which threatened to over take her Cassandra nodded. "They were best friends, your mum and mine." Taking in a long and deep breath Cassandra continued. "Our dads were good friends too."

"I," Harry seemed to stumble for words, "I didn't know."

"It's ok," Cass said in a soft voice. "I didn't think you did. I just," again her voice seemed to leave her for a moment, "I just wanted to give this to you. So you could know them."

"Thank you" Harry whispered into the chilling dusk air.

Words were completely gone now and Cassandra could only nod in response to Harry. The tragic look in his eyes was more powerful than even seeing a photograph of her father again. Harry had suffered so much and hadn't even been able to know his parents at all. Cassandra might not have ever met her father, but she had known him. She had heard his stories again and again from her grandmum all her life. Stories of her mother and her father, their years at Hogwarts and the friends they had made. Harry had none of these.

Still looking down at the photograph Harry spoke so quietly that Cassandra couldn't hear him at first.

"What Harry?" she asked with a caring and emotional voice.

Lifting his piercing green eyes up to met hers; Cassandra felt her heart stop in her chest. "Can you tell me about them?" he asked in such a little voice that tears almost sprang from her eyes.

Nodding her head again to give her time to regain her voice Cassandra agreed. "Yes, of course Harry" she whispered weakly to him.

Alone in the stands of the Quidditch pitch two children talked about parents long since gone, but never forgotten. The festival of fun below them dieing down and fading away as night moved over them. Still neither child moved nor stirred, they were lost in memories of long ago times before they had even been born. A photograph looking up at both of them, showing them love which was only for them.

Chapter 122: Daniel Smith

It wasn't all that often that Daniel had a whole afternoon to himself. He was a good student, but he did have to work at it. When he was not in class or the library, he was usually with his group of friends. However, today, Magenta had a five-foot report due the next day, one that she hadn't even started reading for, and the other girls were gathered around the fire talking about Cedric. Discussion of the male gender, or anything romance-related, was not Daniel's cup of tea. So, he had looked for Harry and Ron, but they were off with Hermione on some quest or other. He had also tried to hook up with Matt Ford, but he was nowhere to be seen, probably hanging out in Ravenclaw. With Ray being the uncommon exception, students did tend to hang out mostly with members of their own houses. However, many students had someone in another house whom they considered a friend. Some people even had friends in all four, despite the vague sense of "us vs. everyone else" that was prevalent among Slytherin's.

Well, anyway, here he was. Ron's birthday bash was over with, so no urgent project or latest escapade to distract him. Nothing to do but lie on his bed in Gryffindor Tower and wait for dinner, followed by choir practice, and maybe an evening in the common room, talking about something that he found interesting as well as the others. And as he thought, he happened to see the calendar that Dean had posted on his wall. He called it a football calendar, though of course this was Britain and football was actually soccer. But the pictures weren't what drew his attention, the new date was. It was the third of March. It had now been just over six months since his final night at Morning Sun. In one way, it seemed like forever, and in another, it seemed like it had just happened. Strangely, many of the milestones in his life (the good ones and the bad) seemed to be like that.

Like any prison, Morning Sun ran by an endless series of routines. Bedtime was no different. The younger boys, eleven and younger, retired at nine in the evening. The older ones were allowed to stay up one hour later. Between nine and ten, however, very few of those young ones actually slept. The weaker ones, resigned to their fate, could only wait helplessly until they were spilled out on the floor, where the older boys would make them lie, and the attendants would yell at them to lie still, no matter how uncomfortable they were. The fighters chose to play possum, hoping that the older kid who chose them would assume they were asleep. It rarely worked; the older ones knew who fought and who submitted, and they approached the former with great care.

Daniel was lucky and unlucky both. The one who chose him was one of the bigger ones, but he was new to the home. He saw only a small youngster and assumed an easy mark: he grabbed Daniel by the back of his pajama top and started to pull him out. A split second later, he was sailing backward as Daniel twisted around and kicked him in the face. It was a dead-on hit, but it hit nothing vital. Reddening with rage, the older boy grabbed him again and dragged him out. Daniel held on for a moment, then pushed off and piled on the older boy with the relentless ferocity of a buzz saw, punching and chopping and gouging at vital spots and biting him wherever he could. Fresh blood splashed the stained T-shirt he wore.

Many new ones, attacked with such viciousness, quickly tore themselves away and moved on to easier adversaries. Most of these were the ones committed here due to drugs, or problems with running away. But the violent ones were another story. This one knew the business of fighting, and he recovered from his surprise very quickly. And when he did, his fists tore into the smaller boy like lava burning through tissue paper. Dazed and hurt, Daniel fell from him, and a savage kick came at his head. Only his lightning reflexes saved him from severe injury: he got an arm in the way, deflecting the kick but fracturing the bone. Even then, he continued to fight, kicking from the floor and striking his foe in the knee. Snarling, the older boy lunged, but an attendant dragged him roughly away.

The latter glared at Daniel, but said nothing. More than once, he had admonished the smaller boy to just accept that his place was the floor and quit fighting. He had not done this because he cared about him, of course. Rather, he was worried that too many severe injuries would get the home investigated. And since Daniel fought hard and dirty and didn't give up easily, injuries were frequent in fights involving him. If the home was ever properly investigated, it would be revealed that the staff had known it were overcrowded and hadn't done anything about it. All staff members would be fired. The state would then transfer its extra boys to another home, causing it to be overcrowded instead. The only permanent solution was to actually build or refurbish a new boys' home; and that was too expensive.

In any case, Daniel had not been impressed by this suggestion. His response, at various times, had been to completely ignore the person making it, glare at him, spit in his face, or kick him in the shins.

Sighing, the attendant sat both youngsters down and gave them icepacks and rags. Daniel's foe had a split lip, a bloody nose, and six or seven deep and bloody bite-marks: California weather or no, he would be wearing long sleeves tomorrow. Daniel was bleeding less, but his face would be at least six different colors by morning, and his right forearm was swelling, indicating a broken bone or a sprain. While the two battlers were being treated, two smaller boys crawled into the bunk they had been fighting over. Neither combatant would be allowed to sleep there, of course. Since they had actually been caught fighting over something, neither could be allowed to have it.

One of the attendants looked at Daniel's arm, then swore. "We got ourselves a problem here. I think his arm's broken."

"Great. If it is, we'll have to take him to the ER." Each emergency room visit pushed the home a little closer to oblivion. "Stupid little..."

"Nah, he's not bad. We'll wait 'til tomorrow, then take him to the clinic. He might just have a sprain."

"What about me?" demanded the other injured party. "Little bastard bit me in seven places."

"Come a little closer and I'll make it eight, you barf bag," Daniel said.

"Yeah, you try it," said the other. "I'll rip your head off and sh..."

"Shut up, both of you!" snapped the guard, hand on his tazer. "Smith, your life would be a lot easier if you'd just sleep on the floor."

"Why don't you try it, buttface?" Daniel sneered. "Come a little closer and you can catch some Z's on the floor right now."

The guard drew his weapon and levelled it at the boy. It was against regulations for him to unholster the device unless he was actually under attack, but he had long since realized that the pestilent little punks in his charge responded only to force or threats of force. "Shut up, you little brat."

Daniel shut up. He had been jolted once before, upon refusing to release a Danny's Death lock on a boy who had tried to bully him. 75,000 volts of electricity was not a forgettable experience.

"I suggest you holster that weapon at once," said a voice from the side, one with just a hint of a British accent.

Everyone turned, beholding a man in a nondescript brown three-piece suit, passable as an ordinary government worker except for the fact that his hair, an extremely icky colour of brown, was about twelve inches longer than was currently fashionable.

"Who are you?" the guard wanted to know.

"My name is Grey," said the newcomer. "Jonathan Grey. I'm looking for a boy named Daniel Smith." He nodded at Daniel. "Ah. And there he is right there. Very convenient. I have a message for him."

"A little late for delivering messages, isn't it?"

"I had a lot of stops tonight." The man handed Daniel what appeared to be an old scroll of parchment. "There you go, son. Good night." With that, he left the room.

The attendant snatched the parchment from Daniel's hand and unrolled it, then laughed. "What the... there's no writing on this." He threw the paper at Daniel. "You got some weird friends, kid."

"I didn't know that guy," Daniel protested. He eyed the parchment. There was writing on it, he quickly realized. Writing in emerald-green ink, quite vivid. Confused, he read it.

Dear Mr. Smith:

Because you are the only magical child in the room, only you can read this letter. If you wish to leave here and attend Hogwarts School, be in the shower room at 1:00 AM tonight. Bring anything you wish to take with you.

Sorry to give you only two hours to decide, but you have to catch an early portkey.

J. G.

Daniel looked around in amazement. The shower room at one in the morning. Easily doable, but if he took his stuff in there and no one was there to meet him, it would be humiliating to say the least. But if he was here the next day, the punk he had just fought with would probably rip off his head in retaliation.

The punk in question ripped away the note. "Gimme that, you little prick," he snapped. "What the. . . it's blank!"

"I told you," the attendant said.

"So why was this little snotrag so interested in it?"

"Who you callin' snotrag, cheese-brain?" Daniel responded with his usual exquisite diplomatic skill.

"Shut up, both of you," the guard said, hand on his tazer again.

Once their respective bleeding had stopped, the two boys were dispatched to respective spots on the floor. Daniel lay awake and watched the clock, using his old military-style duffel bag as a pillow. 12:30 came. Then 12:50. 12:55... 12:57...

With two minutes left to go, he rose to his feet and walked toward the boys' bathroom, carrying his bag with him. Immediately, the attendant's voice rang out. "Smith! Lay down."

"Yeah, sure," Daniel said. "After I crap on the floor."

A gusty sigh, as though Daniel wanted something unreasonable. "All right, but I want you back real quick." Daniel continued toward the can, then heard, "Hey! What's with the bag?"

"Don't want no one messing with my stuff," Daniel said, quickening his pace. In the bathroom, he looked around. No one there, of course. One minute to go, though, assuming the clock in there was right. Maybe he was already too late. He entered the shower room. No stalls here, of course. Privacy was limited; you got used to it after awhile. Forty seconds.

The door opened and the attendant entered. "What are you doing, Smith? I said no bags in h. . . what's going on? Why are you in here?" The shower room was at one end of the chamber, the toilets at the other.

"I'll tell you, but it's a secret," Daniel said, lowering his voice. Obligingly, the man lowered his head, and Daniel struck, chomping his ear like a bear trap.

His adversary screamed, then pulled away and ran from the room, both hands clutched over his ear, which was gushing blood. "Joe! Joe, get in here! Daniel's out of control!"

Daniel spat blood, then swore. He could get down on his knees and surrender and he'd still get tazered. He looked around for something he could bash Joe the security guard with. Approaching footsteps indicated that the time of pain was just moments away.

A voice cracked behind him. "Coloportus!" A lance of white light flared past him and struck the door. Seconds later, there was a thump as Joe crashed into it, and a cry of pain as he bounced off. The door had no lock, and nothing was blocking it, but nevertheless, it didn't even budge a micron.

"What the... ?" Daniel stared at the door.

"Daniel!" Hearing the shout, Daniel turned, and his jaw dropped. The room was artificially lit, with no windows or skylights. And yet, tonight, there was a hole in the wall, about the size of a small window, and the face of Jonathan Gray was visible in it, even though it was a good fourteen feet above ground level. "If you're coming, get over here!"

Daniel grabbed his bag. "Gladly. What'd you do to that door?"

"Bag first," the man said. Daniel thrust it through the hole. "Hagrid, here's his bag," he continued. "OK, boy. Now you. Headfirst, I don't want your smelly feet in my face."

Tucking his wounded arm against his chest and crawling one-handed, Daniel crawled through the hole, and felt two strong hands grasping him under the arms. "Owww... my arm."

"All right. Hagrid, I'm passing him down. Be careful, his arm's hurt."

Daniel was lowered onto what felt like a platform, then he looked down and realized that it was actually a hand, a gargantuan one. He peered downward, and beheld the largest man he had ever seen. He was at least nine feet tall, probably more, and wide enough to tip the scales at least half a ton. His hair and beard were wild and shaggy and black as the night. In total contrast to the neat dress of the man on his shoulders, he was wearing a huge pair of jams and a muscle shirt the size of a bedspread, and a pair of flip-flops the size of snowboards. "Uh... hello."

"This is Hagrid," Grey said, from his perch on the giant man's shoulders. "He'll be accompanying you to Hogwarts."

Daniel looked down at the ground, twelve feet below. "You won't?"

"No. I attended Hogwarts, but I work somewhere else. Mr. Hagrid, here, is employed there." He opted not to explain why the school he taught at could not take the boy: he would be introduced to the blood-discrimination problem soon enough.

"Yup," said Hagrid as he carefully lowered him to the ground. "Rubeus Hagrid, keepers of key and grounds. Nice to meet you, boy."

"Uh, thanks." Daniel offered his left hand, his right being injured. Hagrid shook it. His grip was surprisingly gentle for a man his size. "Are you a giant?"

"Not exactly," Hagrid said. "They're usually about twenty feet tall."

Grey pointed what looked like a short teacher's pointer at the window Daniel had emerged through, and it instantly ceased to exist. "We need to go," he said. "They'll be searching the area soon. I'm afraid I've left them a bit of a mystery."

Daniel realized that he had just escaped from a windowless room with one door, and no other exits save its drains. "They'll think I flushed myself down the crapper."

"They'll be confused, that's for sure," Grey said, easily clambering down Hagrid's back. "Daniel, our truck's over there. But first, let's see your arm." Daniel offered it. "By the way, my name isn't really Jonathan Gray, it's just an alias I use because it sounds forgettable. Ulysses Grayson, at your service. Hold still, I'm no healer, but I think I can manage this." He tapped Daniel's arm with what looked like a stick. "Translucentia," he said.

Instantly, Daniel's arm went from opaque to translucent. He could see muscle, nerves, blood vessels. And bone, too. It looked more or less intact, though. "Whoa... you really... you really are..."

"A wizard, yes. And so are you." Grayson tapped the arm again, and it faded to opacity. "A hairline fracture, nothing worse. The nurse at Hogwarts could heal it in about ten seconds, if she was here."

"T-ten seconds?" Daniel had broken several bones, and had been in a cast for months each time.

"Right, but she's not here, and I'm not all that great at healing spells, so we'll have to do it the slow way." Grayson waved his wand, and a glowing green cast appeared on the arm. "That'll hold you for awhile."

"How long?" Daniel queried as the three of them walked along. He could hear shouting from above: Joe and the attendants were in the bathroom, and had just realized that their quarry was not. They soon reached a large pickup truck, one of the big models with the Magnum V-8 and enough payload to accommodate a hippopotamus. Hagrid climbed up into the back. The vehicle creaked and groaned as he settled himself in it.

"Well, that cast is conjured, so it won't last long," Grayson said idly. "But once we're out of the zone, potions will work again."

"How long do they take?" Daniel asked as he climbed into the cab.

"One hour to clear up the bruises," Grayson said. "Arm'll be healed in three or four."

"I can live with that," Daniel said. "Tell me more about Hogwarts."

"It's the finest school for wizards in the world," Hagrid said cheerily, through the rear window. "I had lots o' fun there. Still do, in fact."

"What do we learn there?"

"This an' that. Charms, Potions, Herbology. And transfiguration, of course."

"Who's teaching Defence this year?" Grayson queried, putting the truck in gear.

"Quirrell's back," Hagrid said. "Dumbledore'd have preferred you, of course."

"Of course," Grayson said, a tiny trace of smugness in his voice.

"What about clothes?" Daniel wanted to know. "I don't have any warm-weather stuff."

"You have to buy robes and uniforms," Hagrid explained. "But Dumbledore said to tell you not to worry about that. He's the headmaster, by the way. Great man, Dumbledore."

"Indeed he is," Grayson agreed. "Albus Dumbledore is considered by most to be the most powerful wizard in the world."

"Cool," Daniel said.

Grayson noticed that he was shivering. "Here, kid," he said, and waved his wand. A thick quilt flared into existence.

"Wow," Daniel said. "Can I learn how to do that?"

"Not right away," Hagrid said. "Before you can zap stuff up, you got to learn how to transfigure. You know, turn summat into summat. Then it's vanishing, which is turning summat into nothing. And then you learn conjuring."

"Which is turning nothing into something," Grayson said. "At least for awhile; that blanket will vanish in a few hours. But untransfiguring is the hardest part. Restoring something, or someone, to its original form after someone else transfigs it."

"When do we learn that?" Daniel queried.

"Most wizards never do, it's a highly specialized skill. As for conjuring, you'll start in on that in about five years."

Daniel snuggled down under the blanket. Even though he was in a car with strangers, headed for a country he had never even visited and a school he had never even heard of, he felt strangely safe. "What's the food like over there?"

"It's the greatest," Hagrid said. "And a good thing, too. You need to put some meat on those bones."

"And there's enough beds for everyone, right?"

Grayson and Hagrid exchanged glances, realizing just how nasty an environment their charge had just escaped. "Yeah, kid," the former said. "No more fighting over a place to sleep."

"Good," Daniel said. He had had enough of that cold tile floor to last ten lifetimes.

"Speaking of sleeping, why don't you?" Grayson said. "Tomorrow'll be a short day for you, what with the time change, but I think a couple hours would do you some good."

"OK."

"We'll wake you when we hit the portkey station, and get you that healing potion," Grayson added. "I don't deliver my precious cargo damaged."

"Think I'll get some shut-eye as well," Hagrid said, tucking a gargantuan overcoat around himself. "G'night, you two."

Six months and many amazing surprises later, Daniel rubbed his arm, remembering. Some things hadn't changed since then: he still broke the occasional bone. But he had a home now. He was learning amazing things, and discovering a world he had never imagined to exist. The future lay ahead, and he could actually bring himself to believe that it might be a bright one.

Chapter 123: Alondra Bracho

'Harmony is covered in beautiful
colours once more. Spring is here!
It's almost your birthday, Allie! We
all miss you! Sometimes, I have to
wonder, do you miss us at all?'
From Jason Bracho to his sister
Alondra Bracho. Written while
in Harmony Park and watching a
garden of white roses.

The first days of Spring were by far Alondra's favourite time of the year. The radiant sunshine would kiss down on every living thing, the winds danced, the birds sang, and happiness was really in the air.

New to her this year, though, was the fact that she wasn't back in her beloved hometown of Harmony, Maine. No longer was she in the company of her dear family, or the comfort of her room, or in the gardens of her lively home. No longer could she run out and dance among the newly blossomed flower buds. No longer did she look forward to long afternoons of fun and games with Sebastian. No longer was she giddy with anticipation for the arrival of her beloved Spring.

Since arriving back at Hogwarts, Alondra simply didn't feel the energy she had sworn to feel on that dreary night of November. She was still bubbly and giggly, but at times very quiet and reserved, pensive, and dazed. She didn't mean to be, though. Her powers were getting ahead of her. She was unable to focus on blocking thoughts from her mind, and random mumblings and secrets always found themselves in her mind eventually. Adding to that was the strange notion of the weather and how it would always, coincidentally, agree with her moods. Like how the first days of Spring had been cloudy and grey, like her emotions.

Alondra sat quietly by herself on a cloudy Saturday morning staring out the common room window. She wore a comfortable sweat outfit, the colour of the richest ivory. Her knees up to her chin and her arms wrapped around her legs. Her long dark mane held up in a messy bun by a muggle pen. Soft caramel eyes stared absently beyond the window, a sad and exhausted look on her delicate features.

The Gryffindor Common Room was silent, except for the slight crackle of flames from the fireplace. All of Alondra's fellow Gryffindor's were outside, enjoying the mild and pleasant weather. All of them used to the dreary weather of the U.K. unlike her.

Alondra sighed softly to herself as she noticed her friends, Magenta, Cassandra, Daniel, and Ray all out in the fields, mindlessly sitting or standing and talking animatedly. Each of them with a smile, and in casual spring clothing, looking carefree and happy. Alondra bit the inside of her cheek and frowned. Cassandra had insisted for her to join them, Magenta and Daniel too. But she had declined, again. Finally they had given up and taken off rather annoyed with her. But Alondra knew they would forgive her, they knew something was wrong, but they didn't pry and Alondra thanked them for it.

"Who in the world is this Tom person? Why does his voice in my mind have this power over me? Why does he call me, Mariana? What did my grandmother have to do with him? And why am I letting this bother me so much!" Alondra exclaimed as she buried her face in her knees and scowled loudly.

'Mariana?' a deep and strong voice called in her ear.

Alondra gasped and abruptly looked up and about her. "Oh no, not again!" She whimpered softly, the main reason she hated being alone was because he would always find her then. She blinked her eyes shut and when she opened them her eyes glowed dark with scarlet ring about her pupil.

'Mariana, it's been so long.' the same voice said, as a distinct and familiar figure, now to Alondra, appeared before her. He was tall, lean, and darkishly handsome.

"Tom...you scared me. I thought you had ran away again and left me all alone." Alondra said in a voice unlike her own. She rose to her feet and stared at the tall and dark figure with apparent comfort.

'My apologies for scaring you, butterfly. And you must remember I will never leave you alone again. Please, sing for me, Mariana. I long to hear your beautiful voice again,' the man cooed as he stepped closer to Alondra's dazed frame.

Alondra then frowned and hugged herself. "Tom, please just go away and leave me alone. Every time you're near me, I get so confused! I love Antonio, please just leave! This is wrong!" Alondra asked pleadingly as Tom ran a lone finger across her jaw.

'Mariana...you know you don't mean any of that. I make everything so clear for you. You're never confused when you're with me. And you don't love that damn mudblood! You love me!' Tom said in a low tone which made Alondra shiver and step away from him.

"All right, all right. I'm sorry," Alondra apologized softly. Tom smirked and nodded steadily.

'Sing,' He demanded levelly.

"Dancing bears, Painted wings, Things I almost remember, and a song someone sings, once upon a December. Someone holds me safe and warm. Horses prance through a silver storm. Figures dancing gracefully across my memory..." Alondra sang gleefully, her voice rich and addicting, as she danced about the room and felt Tom take her hands and twirl her gracefully.

"Far away, long ago, Glowing dim as an ember, Things my heart, Used to know, Once upon a December. Someone holds me safe and warm. Horses prance through a silver storm. Figures dancing gracefully. Across my memory...Far away, long ago, Glowing dim as an ember, Things my heart, Used to know, Things it yearns to remember...And a song someone sings, once upon a December..." Alondra concluded softly as Tom stepped closer to her and smiled. Raising one of her hands to his lips he placed a cold kiss on it.

'Beautiful, thank you,' He said quietly, his dark eyes flashing. Alondra swallowed hard and felt herself smile.

"Anything for you," Alondra told him softly and a genuine grin crossed his dark and handsome features.

"Allie? Are you in here?" Katie Bell's voiced suddenly interrupted their little interlude.

Alondra tilted her head to one side confused and Tom scowled looking over her head and then back into her eyes.

'Til we meet again, Mariana,' He vowed and kissed her hand once more before fading away.

"Good-bye, Tom," Alondra whispered as she stared blankly ahead of her.

"Allie! Haven't you heard me calling out to you, silly?" Katie laughed as she placed a hand on Alondra's shoulder and spun her around.

Alondra blinked her eyes shut and then opened them slowly as she faced a concerned Katie.

"Allie, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost," Katie commented and Alondra blinked rapidly.

"A g-ghost? Me? N-no! Of course not! Unless, you count Nearly Headless Nick," Alondra pretended to joke and Katie smiled brightly.

"Well, good. So, why aren't you outside with the rest of us?" Katie asked folding her arms over her chest expectantly. Alondra bit her lip.

"Well, I, um-"

"Cassandra told me that she and Magenta and Daniel have asked you countless times the past 2 weeks, but you're never up to it,"

Alondra frowned and shrugged. "Well, it's true. I'm just not-not feeling like myself lately, is all."

"We're all here if you need to talk. Even Cedric Diggory has asked about you insistently,"

"Really!"

"Yea. So, I decided that I would skip on my outing today and spend my day up here, sulking with you."

Alondra felt a laugh escape her and she shook her head. Katie giggled and pulled her up the stairs and into the girl's dormitories. She reached for Alondra's brush, hair clips, and mirror.

"Katie, what are you-"

"Doing? Well, I'm gonna do you hair, which by the way looks too messy, and then having a girl to girl chat with you,"

Alondra quirked a delicate brow as Katie sat her down on one of the beds and went to untie Alondra's messy bun.

"So, um, Cedric asked about me?" Alondra asked softly as Katie ran the brush through her locks gently.

"Uh huh. Quite taken with you I believe," Katie giggled. Alondra flinched. Hadn't Cassandra mentioned something about love at first sight? She shook her head. There was no way. Cedric was a good 3 years older than her and quite popular with the girls.

"Stop it! So, anyway, changing topics before I strangle you! Tell me Katie, do you fancy anyone here at school? Because I don't mean to pry or anything, but I could've sworn you and Oliver-"

"What!"

Alondra stifled a laugh. "Well, I saw the look you two gave each other when you fell onto his lap on the train ride to Hogwarts in September," Alondra supplied innocently. Katie wrinkled her nose, as she recalled the incident.

"Well, you would have been beat red too if you had fallen into a friend's, boy, lap!" Katie argued as she parted Alondra's hair and began to create a french braid. "Say, Cedric Diggory's?"

Alondra immediately felt her face flush and she avoided Katie's eyes. Katie smiled proudly. "See! Though, personally, I wouldn't mind falling into Cedric's lap. He's an all right lad. Easy on the eyes, but so arrogant sometimes!"

"That's not true! Cedric is not arrogant at all!" Alondra argued heartedly. Katie smirked.

"Ok, ok. Sorry, Mrs. Cedric Diggory!"

Alondra flinched and gasped. "Kaitlyn Bell! Take that back!"

"Why? It's not a bad thing! Fine. If you don't want the title I'll take it," Katie joked as she continued her work on Alondra's hair. Alondra remained quiet. Not sure how to answer.

Something intrigued her though. Katie obviously liked Cedric as a person. Maybe even something more. Alondra bit the inside of her cheek pondering on how she felt about that.

"Allie? Don't be mad, we'll talk of something else! You asked about Oliver right?"

Alondra nodded. "Yea,"

"Well, I did fancy him for a while. I mean the boy is attractive and has always been kind to me. Except during Quidditch, but you know that Oliver is hardly human when playing Quidditch," Katie teased and Alondra laughed merrily.

"Well, I love my big bro, but I can't argue there," Alondra responded with a smile.

"Yea, well, I don't like him that way anymore. Besides, I think he fancies someone right now. So, anymore questions for me?" Katie asked as ran the brush through Alondra's remaining hair to be braided.

"Nope. Any questions you have for me?" Alondra asked sweetly. Katie grinned.

"No questions, but just some advice. Because, it seems to me you are obviously upset about something. So, let me tell you something that my mum has always told me when I'm feeling sad. 'Things happen in life, that you can't stop, but it isn't a reason to shut out the world.'" Katie pronounced as she almost finished her job on Alondra's hair.

She pondered Katie's words. For some reason, that saying struck her directly. Suddenly, Alondra suddenly felt herself stiffen and a distinct voice yelled, 'It's over! We'll never be friends again!' A loud gasp escaped her and Katie froze to look at her worriedly.

"Allie, what? Are you ok?" She asked as she rounded on the younger girl and held her shoulders.

Alondra blinked rapidly and shuddered as a heartbroken scream struck at her. 'NO! I have loved you!'

"Allie? Allie!" Katie called worriedly as she shook Alondra's shoulders.

Alondra screamed painfully and buried her face in her hands trembling rapidly. 'You're mine, no one will take you away from me!'

"Alondra! Alondra, what is it? Speak to me!" Katie demanded as she shook Alondra's shoulders more frantically.


Chapter 124: Cassandra Serenity

A warm breeze blew across the grounds of Hogwarts, stirring the long grass near the lakes back edge. Waves of green rippled like the ocean before the small group of students. The sun was high overhead on this early-April day, casting a glow of yellow over the world. Calm and tranquil was the lakes surface, with the occasional break caused by the giant squid.

Sitting with her eyes close, Cassandra took in the moment. The still of the world and the peace it brought with it. Her dreams had been growing ever more disturbing each night. The nightmares held in them scared her beyond reason, but they were only dreams, weren't they? How could dreams hurt you?

No matter how many times she told herself that very thought she still could not shake the feeling that these dreams were real. Perhaps it was the way she awoke from them, gasping for air and struggling to free herself from their grip. Was this what made them real? Or was it something else, something more that gave them power.

Pushing the thoughts from her head, Cassandra opened her eyes slowly. Letting them flutter open gentle to get used to the blinding sun's rays. Her friends were all around her. Enjoying in the spring day much the way she was. They had all gathered outside to spend a day in the warm April sun.

It had been ages since they were able to sit on the ground and feel the warmth coming out of it. For this reason they had all left the common rooms confining walls to seek comfort in the open space of outside. It seems that they were not the only students to feel this way as that droves of students had been making their way out of the castle and down to the lakes shores.

"Cass," Alondra said quietly, "are you ok?"

Alondra's voice pulled Cassandra out of her reverie, the world coming into sharper focus all around her. "What?" she asked still slightly unsure of what was happening around her.

"You look out of it is all" Alondra continued, her eyes filled with concern for her friend.

"I'm fine" Cassandra reassured her gentle.

If she was really fine or not, Cassandra wouldn't tell her friends. There just some things that she still wasn't sure about sharing. Her nightmares were one of those things. How could she expect them to understand if she didn't understand herself?

The look of worry in Alondra's eyes didn't diminish as she turned around to listen to what Magenta was saying. Magenta had been sharing stories about what it was like to grow up both in the muggle world and the magical one. She was the only member of the group which had lived in both worlds for a long time. Both Holly and Cassandra were pure blood wizards and so had never lived with muggles before. Daniel, Ray, and Alondra were all raised as muggles until coming to Hogwarts so they still hadn't seen the entire magical world around them. Magenta was the only one who could understand both worlds still.

"Well, I don't know," Magenta said as she looked at Daniel, "I guess I like both worlds a lot. Hard to pick one over the other. How about we talk about something else though?"

"How about boys?" Alondra giggled as she watched Daniel roll his eyes. "Just teasing Daniel, I wouldn't do that to you. Not yet anyways."

The whole group seemed to laugh as Daniel gave them a dismissing look. Being the only boy in a group full of girls wasn't always easy on him, especially when teasing was involved. To his credit though, Daniel was always good about dealing with the girls. He had also been making friends with some other boys from different houses. Cassandra remembered seeing him with a Ravenclaw boy who she thought was named Matthew.

"I can't believe the year is almost over" Ray said absentmindedly, her eyes watching the lakes surface ripple from where the squid had just made an appearance.

The mood seemed to sombre at that thought. It was hard to believe they had already been at Hogwarts for nearly 8 months. With only two more months before they would all have to say goodbye for the summer.

"It really has flown by hasn't it?" Alondra agreed her voice quieter then it had been a moment ago.

Cassandra watched her friends, their expressions giving away that each of them would miss Hogwarts if even for a summer holiday. "Don't worry, we'll be back here soon enough." she said, trying to bring everyone's spirits back up. "Besides, it's not like we can't visit of the summer or send letters."

"Yeah, it will be alright" Magenta finally managed, nodding her head in affirmation of her statement.

The grass was still high around them, billowing in the breeze like sails of a ship caught in the wind. It was so lovely here, the lake in front of them, the forest behind them, camouflaged from the world. No one could see their little group unless they were looking for them. A calm and safe feeling radiated from Cassandra. It was the first time she had felt truly safe in a long time. No fear of the nightmares which awaited her that night, no doubts about feelings or emotions. It was peace.

The peace, however, was short lived as Ray began to scream at the top of her lungs. Alondra quickly followed suit, her own screams trill and piercing. Cassandra couldn't see what was causing the two girls to react in such away until she saw, out of the corner of her eye, movement.

A long, green, snake had slithered its way out of the forest and was making for the waters edge. Its body mostly hidden in the tall green grass around them, it was hard to see at first. Looking at it closer Cassandra realized it was a common, though sometimes dangerous, snake. She had seen many of them in the forest near where she grew up.

Ray and Alondra, however, did not seem to have the same reaction to the snake as Cassandra did. Both were screaming and crying, looks of abject horror on their faces. Ray scrambled away from the slithering creature, jumping onto Daniel back for safety. That did not prove as useful as she might have hoped. Daniel was a strong boy, but he was still the smallest of the group at only 4'5" and 64 pounds. Both Daniel and Ray toppled to the ground, one on top of the other.

Alondra was still where she had been, unable to move from freight Cassandra assumed. Screaming and kicking at the ground to try and move herself away from the beast. Her movements were sharp and careless, she wasn't thinking only reacting. This might have been a good thing in other situations, but Alondra's actions where alarming the peaceful snake.

Raising back its head as if to strike the snake hissed at Alondra. No one seemed to be able to do anything to stop Alondra from being hurt. Daniel was still on the ground with Ray on top of him, both of them looking scared and confused. Magenta had slowly backed away from the snake, her fear evident, but not hysterical. Holly had moved farther away as well.

Before the creature could strike, Cassandra calmly turned towards Alondra and the snake. "Please don't strike" she said, her voice sounding nothing like her own, but more like the hiss of a snake.

The snake held back, its head turning towards Cassandra. Again Cassandra spoke to it, her voice only coming out in hisses. Magenta had cautiously been moving towards Alondra as Cassandra kept the snake at bay. Wrapping her arms around the terrified girl Magenta pulled her to safety.

For a moment Cassandra continued to talk to the snake. Hissing at one and other, but both understanding what the other was saying. With a nod of its head the snake lowered back down the ground and slithered into the tall green grass, disappearing from sight quickly.

When Cassandra turned back to her friends they were all aghast at what had just happen. It was only Holly who seemed to have words for what was going on.

"You're a Parselmouth!" she exclaimed with shock.

"I know" Cassandra replied innocently.

This was an ability she had possessed since she was a small child. Speaking to snakes was another one of her gifts; at least that is what her grandmum had always called them. It was a rare gift in the magical world, but one the Cassandra enjoyed more than anything. Unlike her visions this gift had allowed her to make friends in the forest near her home.

"What's a Parselmouth?" Daniel asked as he withdrew himself from Ray.

Still looking astonished Holly faltered for a moment. After regaining her composure she turned to Daniel. "It's a person who can talk to snakes, like Cass just did. It's a very rare gift and not many people have it."

Cassandra couldn't help, but blush slightly. Her friends were all looking at her with new eyes, seeing her as something other than just the abnormal girl she was. Now they saw her as someone with a special gift.

"Go Cass" Magenta laughed, causing the whole group to laugh along with her.

The blush in Cassandra's checks on increased with the praise. She was sure she looked like a Weasley now, red hair and a blushing red face.

Alondra was still visibly shaken by her experience with the snake, as was Ray. This was not the time for praise or adoration, the two girls needed to be looked after. With that in mind Cassandra waved off any questions that the group had and asked for help in taking Ray and Alondra back up to the castle.

Grateful for the reprieve in the questions about her abilities, Cassandra walked with Alondra and Holly to the castle. The trembling girl holding on tightly to Cass's arm as they walked. Ray was being helped behind them by Magenta and Daniel, her face still baring the terror she had felt when the snake had been present.

At least one secret is out now Cassandra thought as they moved passed the castle gates and into the comfort of home. How many more do I have to share?

Chapter 125: Alondra Bracho

'How can you even consider the thought of not missing
you or Mama and Papa or Little Ethan? Jason, you have
no idea how hard it is for me to be away from all of you.
I have amazing friends and I love them dearly, but I do know,
however, that if it weren't for them, I would've lost my mind
here already. The Wizarding World is so different from our
Muggle one. I've been here how many months and I still gasp or
stare at a floating candle or a House ghost or a moving portrait.
Believe it or not, I'm constantly waking up at night and half-hoping
I'll awake in the comfort of my bed and the familiarity of Bracho
Towers.'
From Alondra Bracho to her brother Jason Bracho. Written by
firelight in Gryffindor Tower after a good cry.

Brilliant sunlight cascaded through the curtains around Alondra's four poster bed. Slowly blinking her eyes open, she smiled. A fluffy ball of feathers was poking at her cheek, tickling her.

"Artemis!" Alondra sighed as she took the small, snowy white owl softly and petted it tenderly. "Had to be the first to greet me today, huh? You little sneak," Alondra smiled as she sat up and set Artemis down gently.

The little owl hooted proudly as she flapped her wings to proudly show Alondra 4 beautifully wrapped boxes.

"Presents!" Alondra exclaimed happily and then clamped a hand over her lips. She reached under her pillow for her wrist watch and then read the time. "6 AM!" Alondra giggled. "I've never woken up so early,"

The little owl hooted loudly and Alondra smiled, putting a finger to her lips to keep Artemis from waking up the entire dormitory. She stroked Artemis fur again and then reached for the first present. She carefully tore away the wrapping and then read the card.

Dearest Sis,
I was at the Harmony Historical Library and came across this book. Mrs. Russell asked about you and I told her you were away at boarding school. Silly lie, I know, but what was I supposed to say? My sister is a witch in training? Well, she told me to send you her warm regards and that she misses seeing you in the back of the library hidden between mountains of fairy tale books. She also recalled a very special book that she noticed you adored and guess what she did? She gave it to me! Just like that! She said that the girl on the cover looked so much like you, that it had to belong to you. I hope you like it! I have to say, the girl does look remarkably like you and the guy looks like...Sebastian. Scary, huh? Anyway, have a wonderful 12th birthday angel girl! Remember how much your family loves you and how much we miss you everyday! Be a good girl, though I know you always are, and we'll see you soon! Mama and papa have mentioned going to Spain this summer! Doesn't that sound great? Eternal hugs and kisses from your older brother who loves and misses you everyday,

JASON MICHAEL BRACHO

Alondra smiled softly and hugged the card happily she then went to remove the bubble paper around the big and heavy book. It looked ancient! Fat and filled with timeless classic fairy tales, she remembered. It was bound in gold colored leather. A beautiful golden-haired maiden, with caramel eyes, and long and beautiful ivory gown stood smiling mysteriously to herself with her hands over her heart. In the background a handsome young man clad in ebony black armour, with ruddily brown hair, and piercing grey eyes clutched a long silver sword at his side. While he looked longingly and tenderly at the Maiden not too far from him.

Alondra stared at the photograph mesmerized and frozen in place. She then slowly and hesitantly reached out to trace the Maiden's outline and a warm feeling rushed over her. She then looked to the young man and felt dizzy. She breathed in deep and placed it aside slowly.

"What a strange feeling...Sebastian and I? How?- Ugh, forget about it, Allie. Jason's the jokester, he was probably just messing around," Alondra mumbled and went to open her next gift.

"A dress! What a beautiful, dress!" Alondra exclaimed happily as she spread the dress over herself giddily. She then noticed a card and went to read it.

To our beloved and only daughter,
Feliz Cumpleaños, mija! You're turning 12, only a year away from being a full pledged teenager. You're so grown up! Our little angel, words cannot describe how incredibly proud we are of you. You are the jewel of our eyes, don't ever change the sweet, lovely, and kind girl that you are. We miss you so much, mija! Promise us though, that you will laugh and have a grand time today! We are there in spirit, angelito. Little Ethan sends big hugs and wet kisses for you, he misses you everyday. We can't wait for the summer to get here so we can see you and hold you and love you. We are planning a trip to Spain! Does that sound wonderful to you, angel? We love you, we love you, te queremos tanto! We hope you like your gift, and wear it today. You'll look beautiful in it, like always. Happy 12th birthday, angel. XOXOXOXOXO!

Mama and Papa

Alondra wiped a stray tear from her eyes and hugged the dress happily, she then ran a hand over the matching slippers and beamed. The dress was the softest of ivories, with flowy short sleeves, and flowed down to knee length. She giggled and then went to reach for the 3rd box. Unwrapping it carefully, a card and a smaller velvet box fell out.

My beautiful someday-to-be little sister,
Happy Birthday, sweetie! How are you? From your last letter, I can tell very homesick. But don't be, baby girl! You've got wonderful friends with you and all of us here at home with you in spirit! So, I want no more mopey letters about wanting to come home, ok? Use that energy to wow your professor's with homework and exams! You are such a blessing in my life, Allie. I always wanted siblings and in you and Little Ethan I found them! But in you, I have the little sister that I always wanted to share things with, give advice to and SPOIL! So, that's what I'm going to do right now. Now, it's a small gift, but with a big message. It's a small memento of my faith in yours and Sebastian's fated friendship. Bonds like the one you two share can't be easily broken, remember that. I love you, little sis! Hugs and Kisses!

FRANCESCA RUBI BASSETT

Alondra giggled and rolled her eyes. As she reached to open the small box. "A bracelet! What a pretty bracelet! A locket, to put pictures in?" Alondra mumbled and then gasped as she opened the small heart shaped locket to find a picture of her on one side and a picture of Sebastian on the other. And engraved on it's face were the words, 'Once Upon a Dream,'.

"Frannie, you little sneak-" Alondra said, but then found herself smiling brilliantly and then slipped the bracelet around her delicate wrist. Her wrists now contained, the bangles that were Cedric's Christmas gift, Katie's pearl friendship bracelet and now Francesca's birthday gift. Each with a special meaning to Alondra.

Happily she reached for her last gift and went to unwrap it.

Happy birthday, dear!
We hope you have a wonderful day, filled with a lot of laughs, fun, and adventures. We miss you and hope to see you soon! Give Sebastian a big hug for us when you see him. Enjoy your gift, we thought of you when we saw it. Take care, angel.

Diana and Alexander Stirling.

Alondra smiled and found the gift to be an exotic embroidered diary. She opened it and found it's pages to be tinted a soft peach and tulips adorning the edges of the paper.

Clapping happily Alondra spread her dress over the edge of her bed and placed her slippers on the floor by it. And put her fairy tale book and diary away in her trunk. Beaming she rushed into the shower and returning a little while later in her bathrobe she slipped on her birthday dress and slippers. The dress fit her like a dream and made her feel a little less homesick.

As she brushed and finished towelling off her hair, she reached for her wand and cast an enchantment on her mane to spiral in bouncy curls down her back. She bobbed her bangs and applied a clear layer of gloss on her pink lips. And spinning about her bed dreamily she quietly made her way out of the dormitories feeling dressy and pretty.

As she glided down the Gryffindor Tower steps, she heard a distinct thought.

'I wonder if she remembers,'

"Sebastian?" Alondra breathed hesitantly as she stepped out into the sunny dawn and noticed a familiar figure pacing about the water fountain.

Alondra reached for her charm bracelet instinctively. Shaking her head later, she was about to run off un-noticed, but Sebastian spotted her.

"Alondra!"

Alondra bit the inside of her cheek and spun around hesitantly. Sebastian walked over to her and his features held a neutral look to them. He even managed a small smile.

"Happy Birthday!" He said and hastily thrust a small box into her hands.

Alondra nearly lost her balance at the impact. She held the box softly in her hands and looked down at it smiling shyly.

"T-thank you, Sebastian," Alondra breathed. Sebastian nodded.

"Well, open it!" He told her a little too insistently. His grey eyes suddenly dancing and his features smiling proudly. Nodding, Alondra began to unwrap the gift, but then stopped.

'I hope she remembers,' Alondra recalled him saying and it all came back to her. She gasped. "Oh no!" she exclaimed.

POOF!

Sebastian laughed loudly, bending over slightly from laughing so hard.

Alondra slowly opened her eyes and then looked down to her extended arms, which now held nothing, but handfuls of glitter. She held back a laugh, recalling their birthday prank tradition, and then a sob at Sebastian's recalling the actual thought.

"Sebastian Stirling!" Alondra scowled and went to throw one of her handfuls of glitter at him.

Sebastian laughed louder, but then quickly wrestled her grip away. Alondra squealed, as a laugh escaped her and then the glitter sprinkled all about them.

"Bloody Hell!" Sebastian exclaimed, but a grin tugged at his mouth.

Alondra giggled as she dusted off the glitter from her arms, and dress. Sebastian chuckled as he shook off the glitter from his own attire and self. Alondra then reached to dust off the glitter from her hair, but Sebastian stopped her.

"Don't!"

"Why not?" Alondra asked as she couldn't help but smile, and held her hands in a pause. "I probably look ridiculous, thanks bunches for that,"

"But you don't-" Sebastian replied hesitantly. Alondra furrowed her brows confused. "It's, er, spread about nicely on your curls. It looks very nice on you, besides shouldn't you look flashy on your birthday?"

Alondra folded her arms over her chest and smiled slyly. She then began to twirl and pose. "Do you really think so?" She asked playfully between poses.

Sebastian grinned and nodded, and with his hands he pretended to hold a camera and snap pictures at Alondra. "Marvellous, Alondra, the camera loves you!" He joked, following her steps and poses.

Alondra laughed and curtsied. "Thank you, Mr. Photographer," She replied and then did a final spin bent forward slightly and blew a kiss at the camera in Sebastian's hands. Sebastian grinned and shook his head. Alondra gave him a dazzling smile.

"Well, thank you for the present, Sebastian, really." Alondra teased and folded her hands over her chest, pouting playfully. "A box full of glitter... wow!"

Sebastian smirked. "You're a spoiled brat, Alondra."

Alondra looked playfully appalled. "How dare you, Sebastian Stirling? I'll let you know that I may be spoiled, but am no brat!"

Sebastian chuckled lightly and rolled his eyes while Alondra grinned and looked snobby with her dainty nose held high. He then reached down to pick up a small green ball. He handed it to Alondra.

"What is it?" She asked curiously. Sebastian shrugged coolly.

"You'll see,"

Alondra held the ball in her hand thoughtfully and before their eyes the ball began to spin and create a pink light. Alondra's eyes grew wide and Sebastian furrowed his brows.

Suddenly a beautiful, white and soft peach, Orchid blossomed in Alondra's palm. She gasped in awe and Sebastian nodded proudly.

"Nice huh?"

"Oh, Sebastian, it's gorgeous!" Alondra exclaimed happily and then Sebastian took the flower from her hand and smelled it.

"I enchanted it to smell just like you, of lavender and jasmine,"

Alondra took the flower once more and smelled it herself. Closing her eyes blissfully, she smiled. She then placed it behind her ear daintily.

Sebastian grinned and then playfully tugged at a curl. "I know this might make you more of a brat, but you look very pretty,"

Alondra felt her face flush and looked down at her hands. Sebastian simply watched her, her new pretty dress made her look very angelic and like a little doll. Her dark curled mane with a hint of glitter spread about, gave a sort of hallow glow around her head. And the flower tugged snuggly behind her ear, gave the perfect finishing touch of loveliness. Sebastian blinked and a warm feeling rushed over him. He then cleared his throat and stepped back.

"Thanks for this, Seb. I'm touched-"

"You're welcome, Alondra. But I really should go, someone might see us and get back to my father."

Alondra frowned and nodded; she then lifted her eyes to look at him and gave him a dazzling smile. She then stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. Sebastian flinched from the shock, but then wrapped his arms around her lightly.

"Happy birthday, Persephone,"

"Time am I restless or a fool
How can you pretend to be so cruel
Maybe it's me baby
Maybe it's true baby
Maybe it's everything we're dreaming of
We waited long enough
It's gonna be more than just enough
It's gonna be love
Oh it's gonna be love,"
Alondra sang happily as she twirled into the Great Hall with a dazzling smile on her face. She came to an abrupt halt when she noticed the Gryffindor table empty, The Hufflepuff table unusually vacant and the Ravenclaw table missing a few students as well. Only the Slytherin table was full and boisterous.

Alondra quirked a dark brow and went to take a seat at the empty table. When she suddenly felt large hands cover her eyes from behind. She gasped.

"Hey, kiddo!" Oliver's Scottish brogue laughed in her ear. Alondra shook her head as Oliver dropped his hands from her eyes and sat down next to her. Alondra giggled and shoved him playfully.

"Ollie, don't scare me that way!" Alondra protested as she folded her arms over her chest. Oliver grinned innocently.

"Sorry, Allie. But listen, I came to get you! We got an emergency up in the common room-"

"Emergency!" Alondra screeched and got to her feet immediately. "But-but I was just there a few minutes ago. Oh, I wondered where everyone was, but I never expected an emergency!"

Oliver struggled to keep a straight face. He wrapped an arm around Alondra's shoulders and guided her away. Oliver turned his head over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Sebastian looking to him with a small smile on his face and nodded at him. Oliver winked and whisked a babbling Alondra quickly to Gryffindor Tower.

"Ollie, what happened exactly? What kind of emergency is there?" Alondra questioned worriedly. Oliver avoided her questions and simply kept walking. Alondra rolled her eyes and tugged on his arm. "Oliver!"

Oliver stood in front of the Fat Lady portrait and said the password, as he turned to Alondra and motioned for her to come closer. Alondra hesitantly did so and folded her arms over her chest once more.

"Well, what is it?"

"I'm going to need for you to close your eyes," Oliver requested sweetly. His chocolate brown eyes twinkling. Alondra bit the inside of her cheek and tilted her head to one side dubiously.

"Why?"

"Would you just do it! Please?" Oliver asked as he poked her nose playfully. Alondra sighed heavily and nodded as she closed her eyes. Oliver waved his hand in front of her eyes and satisfied she couldn't see, took her hands and guided her inside.

"Ollie! What kind of emergency is this! I-OW!" Alondra squealed as she tripped over herself. Oliver bit back a laugh and simply continued guiding her until she felt him stop and step away from her.

Alondra bit her lip and waved her hands in front of her frantically. "Oliver? Oliver! Oh, this is silly! I'm opening my eyes!" Alondra breathed as she slowly blinked her eyes open.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Alondra!"

Alondra let out a loud gasp as she took in the scene before her. All of her fellow Gryffindor's stood there with brilliant smiles on their faces. And the missing Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's were there grinning at her too.

"A-a party for me?" Alondra breathed softly.

"Do you know anyone else named Alondra?" Magenta piped up with a grin.

Alondra giggled and shook her head. Just then, Cedric whisked by through a crowd of students and reached Alondra first. He smiled handsomely to her and embraced her.

"Happy Birthday, Allie!" He said into her hair and Alondra felt her heart beat loudly in her chest and echo in her ears. Giving Cedric a sweet smile, she was approached by her close friends, Magenta, Cassandra, Daniel, and Ray.

"Ray! Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you're here!" Alondra beamed happily, as she embraced her Slytherin red-haired friend. Ray smiled and patted her back gently.

Alondra turned to embrace Magenta, Cassandra, and Daniel in a group hug. "Oh, you guys are the sweetest!"

"Well, Happy Birthday!" Cassandra said with a smile as she struggled to breathe a little at Alondra's firm hug.

"Why?" Magenta asked as she tried to detach herself from Alondra's grasp. Alondra gasped and let her friends go with a blush on her cheeks.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to strangle you guys. I'm just so overjoyed!"

"It's fine, Allie. We're slowly growing used to it," Daniel replied as he rubbed the back of his neck. Alondra, Cassandra, Magenta, and Ray laughed.

"So, Maggie, you said why. Why what?" Alondra asked curiously.

"Why didn't you tell us when your birthday was, Allie? If it weren't for Oliver, we wouldn't have known!" Magenta protested.

"Oh, that. I'm sorry. Really, I mean we've had so much going on, it completely slipped my mind to tell you," Alondra admitted shyly.

"Well, we hope you like what we hastily put together for you," Ray piped up sweetly. Alondra smiled brilliantly to them and then looked about her at the bright and happy, pink and ivory decorations. At the center of the room a large sign with floating fuchsia letters read, 'Happy 12th Alondra!'.

Enchanted balloons floated around the Common room and hung from the ceiling. Pretty flowers were trimmed around the fireplace and couches. Alondra beamed beyond thrilled. "Oh, I'm just in love with the decorations!"

A small table, by the large Tower window, stood with a few nicely wrapped presents and a small birthday cake with pink icing. Alondra caught a glimpse of a muggle boom box close by and catchy tunes echoing throughout the room.

"Well, judging from your expression, you're proud of our work!" Katie remarked as she embraced Alondra happily.

"Ya think?" Alondra joked and beamed. "I'm so touched! I just can't say thank you enough,"

Oliver and Cedric walked over to her and grinned. "Well, we know how homesick you've been, even if you try and deny it," Oliver told her as he handed her a cup of punch.

Alondra bit her lip and simply smiled. Cedric chuckled. "This is your home too, Allie. And even if your family is far away you have us,"

Cassandra and Ray giggled as Magenta smirked and nodded. "Right as usual, Cedric!"

Oliver and Daniel rolled their eyes as Katie linked her arm through Cedric's. "Ok, so now that we all agree, how about we start having some fun! Come on Cedric, let's dance!"

Cedric grinned and nodded as he led Katie away to dance. Oliver took off in the direction where Erin and Holly were seated talking animatedly by the fire. Cassandra tugged on Ray and they headed over to where the Weasley twins stood playing with the boom box and Magenta and Daniel went over to where Matthew, Harry, Hermione and Ron sat laughing comfortingly.

Alondra took a sip of her punch and smiled through the rim of her glass. She was eventually approached by everyone in the Common Room and given special birthday wishes. Including hints as to what her gifts might contain. The dazzling smile on her face could not disappear. Her entire body beamed with cheer and joy.

Throughout the time, she danced, she ate delicious cake, took a peak at her gifts, gave a small speech (after much nagging from Fred and George, and could not stop thanking everyone for making her day so warm and special. Part of her secretly wished her parents and brothers would miraculously appear, but the laughs and jokes of her classmates and friends made up for it eventually.

As Alondra stood by the window, looking to the setting sun, a few hours later she sighed dreamily. The cool breeze that danced through there trees and flowers as well as the occasional blue bird or butterfly, called out to her to join them outside. She turned her head and noticed her friends still eating and dancing. She knew Fred and George wouldn't stop the music and jokes until it was time for bed.

Slowly, making sure no one would miss her, she exited out the portrait hole.

"Where are you off to, dearie? The party's not over yet," The Fat Lady commented with a smile. Alondra nodded.

"Oh, I'm aware, ma'am. I just want a bit of air is all. I feel a little light-headed from so much joy! Excuse me," Alondra replied and daintily made her way

Alondra was beyond happy, beyond thrilled, beyond grateful, and beyond giggly. As she walked about her favourite Oak tree, she noticed the sunset kissing the horizon. Her birthday was almost gone. But it had left wonderful memories. Her friends had thrown her a the best surprise birthday party. It had been so much fun! She would forever be grateful for their kind gesture.

Now she had stepped out from the laughter, music, and fun for some alone time to ponder on just how lucky she was. She had a family that loved her, missed her. And friends who cared and made her feel home.

"Home," Alondra breathed calmly, maybe Cedric had been right and Hogwarts was her home after all.

'Mariana, Happy birthday!'

Alondra gasped and put her hands over her ears. "No, no, not today!" She begged as she began to tremble and then stood up straight and opened her eyes steadily. They glowed dark brown with their scarlet ring about them. She spun around and was greeted by Tom Riddle walking up to her.

"Thank you, Tom. I was wondering if I'd see you today," Alondra mentioned and folded her arms over her chest coolly.

Tom smirked and brought a cold hand to caress her cheek. "I had to see you today, it's your birthday after all. Though I'll admit, I almost didn't make it,"

"Why? Is something wrong?" Alondra asked worriedly as she reached to take one of his hands in her own.

Tom smiled lightly. "With me no, but I was upset by recent events earlier today."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Tom." Alondra replied confused. Tom's lips thinned out in a straight line and he squeezed Alondra's hand rather harshly. She whimpered and went to pull her hand back, but he held her hand firmly.

"Tom, you're hurting me," Alondra said softly. As tears invaded her dark eyes. Tom breathed heavily and pulled her closer to him.

"You think you didn't hurt me earlier when you were secretly meeting with, that damn mudblood, Bracho!" Tom hissed angrily. Alondra gasped.

"You saw us?" She asked fearfully.

"I'm probably not the only one who you two. How could you, Mariana? I thought you loved me," Tom told her.

Alondra bit her lip and avoided his eyes. "O-of course I do, but Antonio-"

"Antonio, is a weakling! And I've told you to stay away from him!" Tom hissed angrily as his grip intensified on her arm now. Alondra whimpered painfully as a few tears fell from her eyes and she nodded rapidly.

Tom smirked and then let his grip loosen around her arm. "Good girl, Mariana. Now, I came here to give you something." Tom said then and reached into his robes and pulled out a pink tulip.

Alondra's eyes widened and a smile pulled at her lips. "For me?" She asked softly as Tom smiled and placed a quick kiss on the petals and handed it to her.

She took the flower thankfully and smiled brilliantly as she inhaled its sweet scent. "Thank you,"

"You're my girl, Mariana, remember that." Tom declared steadily and looked at her intensely. Alondra looked up to him and bit her lip mindlessly.

"Tom-"

"I have to go, Mariana. Someone is coming." Tom told her and looked about him suspiciously. Alondra tilted her head to one side but then nodded. She then hugged the tulip and stood on her tip toes to place a warm kiss on his cold cheek.

"Thank you, again." She said sweetly.

Tom smiled and ran a lone finger across her jaw appreciatively. "Farewell, Mariana. And don't forget, I'm always watching you, stay away from Antonio Bracho!" Tom warned and then faded away.

Alondra breathed in deep and then closed her eyes as she squeezed the tulip in her hands, but suddenly something sharp pierced her hand painfully.

"Ouch!" Alondra cried and dropped the tulip suddenly. She blinked her eyes open, and they were a soft caramel once more.

"Allie!" A voice called out to her and she gasped as she spun around, but then smiled softly.

"Cedric!" She replied and Cedric Diggory ran up to her, looking worried.

"Are you alright? I noticed you suddenly snuck away from your party and now I heard you scream," Cedric mentioned. Alondra nodded slowly and reached up to pull a strand of her hair behind her ear when she winced.

"Allie, what's this?" Cedric exclaimed and took her hand in his tenderly while he inspected the slash on the palm of her hand.

Alondra stared confused at the slash, not knowing how she got it. But then she remembered, Tom, the tulip...

"How did this happen?" Cedric demanded concerned as he reached into his robes and pulled out a white handkerchief, applying it with pressure on Alondra's oozing hand.

"I-I don't know...I think it was the tulip," Alondra replied honestly and then bit her lip worriedly.

Cedric looked to her hesitantly and then Alondra reached down and produced the flower for Cedric to look at.

"I've never seen a tulip with thorns. Who gave you this, Allie?" Cedric inquired, looking at her expectantly.

Alondra looked at the flower and then back to Cedric. And felt her heart beat rapidly as she noticed Cedric's gaze scream out to her full of care and protection. "I-I found it,"

"You found it? Are you sure?"

Alondra knew Cedric didn't believe her, but she couldn't tell him the truth yet. So she nodded firmly. "Yes,"

Cedric sighed and threw the tulip aside and held Alondra's hand in his own, inspecting to see the oozing blood starting to clog.

"Thanks, Ced," Alondra piped up and Cedric smiled tenderly at her. He then took her hand and placed a warm, soft, kiss on it. Alondra felt a chill down her spine and her cheeks flushed.

Cedric grinned mischievously and the poked her nose playfully. "Be a little more careful next time with these enchanted flowers. They're a lot different from the muggle ones,"

Alondra nodded and held her hand to her. "I will, I promise."

"Good. So, it's getting dark and I'm sure you're party will end soon, so maybe we should head back," Cedric said thoughtfully and Alondra smiled.

"You're right. Walk with me?" Alondra asked softly. Cedric looked to her and smiled handsomely.

"I'd love to," He replied and Alondra giggled as she slipped her small delicate hand into Cedric's warm larger one and they walked back to Gryffindor Tower together.

Where they had stood, moments before, only a pink tulip lay with a single thorn draped in rich red blood. A large pale hand picked it up and held it closely. A malicious grin adorned the cold, yet handsome face.

"More competition for you heart I see, Mariana. No matter, I'll just have to dispose of him as well," Tom said steadily and his cold laugh echoed about him.

Away from him and up the stairs of Gryffindor Tower, Alondra and Cedric were telling jokes and holding hands all through out.

"So, how do I say happy birthday in spanish?" Cedric asked curiously.

Alondra giggled merrily. "It's 'Feliz cumpleaños'," She told him slowly.

"Well, then, 'Feliz Cumpleaños, Allie'." Cedric pronounced as he laughed at himself.

"Gracias, Ced," Alondra replied and squeezed his hand softly. As a soft breeze flew around them and a soft voice called out to Alondra,

"Reveal to him your fears, despite the consequences. Let Fate step in, Alondra. Blessed be,"

"Grandmama," Alondra murmured suddenly. Cedric turned to face her.

"You ok, Allie?" He asked once more.

Alondra looked up at Cedric, his hazel-grey eyes full of genuine care and concern, his handsome features illuminated by the hazy cast of the setting sun. Her heart began it's familiar loud pounding whenever Cedric was around her and shivers ran through her. A sudden spark sprung forth from their linked hands and they gasped in unison, but never letting go.

"So mode it be," Alondra found herself saying.

"Beg pardon?" Cedric asked confused.

Alondra smiled and reached up to place a soft kiss on his cheek. "I said, Happy Birthday to me!"

Cedric grinned. "Yea, Happy 12th Birthday to you, Allie,"

Chapter 126: Sebastian Stirling

"Your move," Draco sighed as he sat back against the comfort of the emerald green couch. The Slytherin Dungeons were relatively silent and empty, save for Sebastian and Draco who sat in front of the roaring fire enjoying a game of Wizard's Chess.

Sebastian yawned and moved his knight over three squares to the right and one square up. "Remind me again, why are we playing this boring game?"

"It's either this or having to deal with all those Ravenclaws in the library," Draco replied lazily as he took one of Sebastian's pawns. "Your move again."

Sebastian scowled. "You're cheating! That was an illegal move!"

Draco let out a yawn of his own and shook his head at his friend. "Maybe if you were actually paying attention, you'd see that move was perfectly fair and obvious for me to make."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Fine. Have it your way, Malfoy," He agreed reluctantly, but grinned when he managed to capture one of Draco's own pawns.

"Oh, it's a Tie!" a familiar high pitched and nasally voice exclaimed from close by. Sebastian and Draco turned to see Pansy Parkinson standing with her hands on her hips, looking to them with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Pansy," Sebastian greeted her with a wink and a smile. Pansy giggled happily and a faint blush came to her cheeks. Sebastian turned to look at Draco with a smug grin on his face. Draco pretended to gag at Sebastian's obnoxious behaviour towards their female house mate.

"What do you want Pansy?" Draco asked with exasperation in his voice.

Pansy looked to Draco with a pouty lower lip. "I didn't mean to intrude, Draco. I simply got bored with the gossip up in the dorms with the girls and decided to come down here and see what you two were up to," she replied as her gaze shifted back to Sebastian.

"Well, I'm sorry you weren't having any fun up there. Maybe you'd enjoy yourself more down here? I'd much rather play Chess with you, Pansy," Sebastian told her as he motioned for her to sit next to him. "Draco likes to cheat," He added with an innocent smile at Draco's annoyed expression.

Draco rolled his eyes at both Sebastian and his companion. "You're still not done losing to me, Stirling. Maybe you should concern yourself with that before other things."

Sebastian exhaled heavily. "Pardon? Who's losing to whom?"

Pansy bit her lip as she looked between the two boys. "Maybe Draco's right, Sebastian. You two finish your game, I'm sorry for interrupting again,"

"You don't have to leave, Pansy. Draco's just being a prat," Sebastian assured her through gritted teeth.

Pansy shook her head and smiled sweetly at the brown haired boy. "It's fine, Sebastian, really. Tell you what, when you finish this game come look for me at the library. We can play then,"

Sebastian shrugged and grinned. "Fine. We don't have to play chess afterward; we can play something else,"

Pansy giggled loudly once more and waved her index finger at Sebastian playfully. "You are such a flirt, Sebastian," She told him and then looked to Draco who looked bored with topic at hand. "I'll see you later then. Bye Draco,"

Sebastian waved and watched as she hurried out of the common room with her dark pony tail bouncing after her.

"And what was that all about, Stirling?" Draco questioned, though not really caring about the answer. "Going after Pansy now?"

Sebastian laughed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest. "Hey, if you're so concerned about what I do with Pansy, why didn't you stop me or put your two cents in? Or maybe you haven't noticed the opposite sex yet?"

Draco rolled his eyes again and smirked. "Oh I've noticed the opposite sex, but I prefer my women attractive. That's also why I didn't say anything when she was here."

Sebastian smirked. "So you obviously need to get your eyes checked or have Harry Potter loan you his glasses. Pansy is attractive! Not to mention the only suitable girl in Hogwarts for any of us. Or have you forgotten that detail? Slytherin's go with Slytherin's, those are the rules. I'm sure your daddy dearest has reminded you more than once,"

"My father might find her suitable, but he wouldn't have to snog her. " Draco laughed. "I prefer someone a bit more pleasing to the eye myself." Draco looked his friend up and down before continuing. "I can see you would settle for anything though."

"Watch your mouth, Malfoy! I don't settle for just anything, I follow orders. Something I'm sure you never do and besides, if I didn't follow orders...well, let's not get into that," Sebastian retorted curtly.

Draco raised an eyebrow in interest. "Oh do go on. If you didn't follow orders you would what? Run off and find your little mudblood?"

Sebastian narrowed his eyes angrily. "Well you know you hit a nerve whenever you bad mouth Alondra, Draco. What's new about that? Frankly, that argument is getting old." Sebastian shrugged coolly and went to play with a chess piece between his fingers, pondering his next words. "But I got a new argument for you. I'm dying to know, about this one. Would I hit a nerve if I were to talk about your little princess?" He countered with a proud and scheming grin as he slammed his queen down on the board casually.

Draco stared bewildered for a moment before he could regain his composure. Looking down the chessboard he saw that Sebastian was making a play for his king. "I have no idea what you're on about." he responded quickly and quietly. His eyes didn't look back up from the board.

"Ha! I think you know very well, what I'm on about. You know 'De Nile' isn't just a river in Egypt. Speak up, Drake. It seems to me, you're afraid of revealing this mystery girl's identity. Don't tell me she's...Merlin forbid! A mudblood!" Sebastian piped up with an expression of mock shock.

Draco flared in anger, his grey eyes piercing into Sebastian like daggers. He sprang from his chair and loomed over Sebastian with frightening terror. "How dare you! I would never be attracted to a mudblood!"

Sebastian yawned lazily. He rose to his feet and coolly smoothed out his robes. He looked down at the shorter boy and folded his arms over his chest with an innocent smile. "Oh, Draco, Draco, Draco. You forget I'm not one of your cronies. You don't intimidate me in the least. But it seems to me that I have struck a nerve. So enlighten me, why the anonymity with this girl, oh forgive me-'Princess'. Don't tell me she's a Hufflepuff!" He laughed loudly as he distinctly wiped an invisible tear from his eye.

With a hateful glare Draco raised his chin to look into Sebastian's eyes. "You know nothing about me, Stirling. You most certainly don't know anything about my love life. I warn you now, you're treading on dangerous ground. I would watch my step if I were you."

Sebastian chuckled and patted Draco's shoulder. "You should know that your threats mean nothing to me, Drake. I can tread wherever I please, oh and the step has been watched. You certainly have no trouble prancing in on my affairs. I just think it's time I return the favour. Whether you like it or not,"

Sebastian sighed dramatically and went to sit back down on the couch. "Check mate!" He announced arrogantly as he looked up to a glaring Draco. "Oh, don't take it so hard, Draco. If you wanted me off your back, you'd give me hint as to who she is! Oh, but wait, there's a problem isn't there? She must not fancy you at all. Probably doesn't even know you exist," He wondered aloud to taunt his friend.

He mocked a stab to the heart. "How tragic! You're disappointing me. You're a Slytherin, man! Wooing her, whoever she might be, should be easy. Unless you're not man enough," He laughed.

Draco regained his composure and calmed his demeanour before settling his eyes back on Sebastian. "I am a Slytherin" he said smugly as he smirked and a flash of something passed over his eyes. "And I'm more than man enough to get any girl I want. As to this princess, I think you've been hearing things Stirling, really should have that looked at." With that Draco settled down in his chair once again facing Sebastian. "Even if I did have a mystery girl," he began to remark off handily, "she would be far better than Pansy Parkinson, I can tell you that for sure."

Sebastian smiled and shrugged. "I think not. By your paranoid reactions I think she's probably no better than Millicent Bullstrode. If she were better than Pansy, wouldn't you want to show her off?"

Looking over at Sebastian with cool eyes Draco laughed. "I never said there was a girl, just that if there was one she would better than Pansy Parkinson. Again, your hearing seems to be failing you."

Sebastian rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Fine, keep playing the denial game with me, Drake. I really don't mind at all, I'll figure it out eventually. I just hope you prove me wrong," He reached for his wand and enchanted the pieces to line up neatly for a new game. "Another round? Or can I go and play with Pansy with no further interrogations of...jealousy?" He joked with a chuckle.

Shaking his head Draco rolled his eyes. "Please, run off and be with your Pansy. I have better things to do with my time than talk to half deaf prats."

Sebastian winked. "I'll let that one pass. I have to deal with a half blind prat as well. I feel your pain. Tell you what, if I see Harry Potter while on my outing I'll snatch his glasses away and hand them oh so graciously to you my dear friend. Aren't I a true mate?" Sebastian added as he rose to his feet and with a mock bow disappeared out of the common room.

Looking to the fire Draco cursed himself for getting so upset at Sebastian's jabs. "He doesn't know anything about me. Why did I let him get to me so badly?" Resting back into the chair more deeply he continued to yell at himself. Finally finishing with his self-verbal abuse he sighed. "At least he didn't get me to talk about her. I would like to have shown him a thing or two about beauty." He laughed harshly. "He thinks Pansy can stand up to her? But I wolln't give him the satisfaction of knowing about her, she's mine. My little princess, and I wolln't share her with anyone." Taking in a long deep breath, Draco blew it out slowly. "I'm half way there, she likes the present I got her. If she likes that she'll like me."

Sebastian stifled a loud holler. "This kid just doesn't get it! Did he really think I'd just up and leave without casually hiding in the shadows to hear any of his last comments? I mean that's how I found out about this in the first place. Rookies!" He shook his head and clapped his hands together menacingly.

"Present, huh? Thanks for the heads up, Drake. Like the muggle detectives always say, 'Touch Down!'" Sebastian cheered to himself as he finally exited out the portrait hole, with a proud stride, to his destination.

Chapter 127: Cassandra Serenity

Cassandra sat in the library along with a few of her friends studying. Finals would soon be coming and though she wanted to do well she really wasn't in the mood to study right now. Today was a beautiful day and no matter how many times she had opened her History of Magic book she couldn't bring herself to read it. Alondra, Magenta, Daniel, Holly and Neville were all with her in the library appearing to be in much the same state she was in. How could someone be expected to study when it was such a nice day outside? Shutting her book once again Cassandra heaved a heavy sigh and dropped her head down into her folded arms.

"I just can't do it," she mumbled from under her folded arms.

Slamming a book closed Daniel agreed. "Where's got to be something better to do today."

"I think anything would be better than this" Magenta added in while closing her book as well.

Neville had been up getting a new book when he came back to the table panting a bit hard. Cassandra looked up from her arms and gave him a soft smile. Neville was a good guy who, though shy, was a great friend. However, right now he looked pale and Cassandra wondered what had happen. The rest of the table looked up at him with the same worry that was evident on Cassandra's face.

"What's wrong Neville?" she asked in a very concerned tone.

He could only shake his head at first, as if that was a way of communicating what he was thinking. After a few ragged breaths he seemed to calm down a bit, but he was still rather pale.

"Malfoy" he said with a trembling voice. The entire table seemed to stiffen at the name. "He says that Harry's got a dragon, a real dragon," if it was possible Neville's face paled even more. "He said that Harry's going to try and give it away to someone and he was going to make sure that Harry got in trouble for it."

There was a soft murmur from the table as they all thought about what Neville had told them. How on earth could Harry have gotten a dragon? The only dragons in England were wild, as most dragons all over the world were. Draco had to be putting someone on.

"But he can't have a dragon" Cassandra said after a moment and all eyes fell on her. "All the dragons in England are wild."

Looking around Cassandra realized that most of her friends had no idea what she was talking about. All of them were from America, expect for Neville, Holly, and herself. Perhaps they had more dragons over there then they did here in England she really wasn't sure.

"If you don't have too many dragons here then Malfoy is setting us up" Magenta said "or setting Harry up."

Alondra looked pensive for a moment before speaking. "Well what should we do?"

"We should warn Harry that Malfoy's planning something" Daniel looked over to Neville with a determined face. "Did Malfreak say anything else?"

Neville seemed to be thinking for a moment or two before he finally looked up to meet Daniel's eyes. Cassandra could tell that he was apprehensive about going up against Malfoy. Why shouldn't he be? Malfoy did everything in his power to intimidate Neville and push him around. Cassandra wouldn't be surprised if Neville was terrified of Malfoy.

"H-he said" Neville took a long calming breath before beginning again. "He said that Harry was going to be up in the astronomy tower tonight at midnight to get rid of the dragon."

"I guess we should go up there tonight and make sure Malfoy doesn't get Harry into any trouble then" Alondra said in a firm voice.

The group all nodded their heads in agreement. They would wait till tonight and go to check on Harry to make sure he didn't get in trouble. Even Neville had a determination in his eyes that Cassandra hadn't seen before. Perhaps there was more to Neville than she had once thought.

The day seemed to drag on, only making it more difficult to concentrate as they waited for night to fall. But finally it did fall and the group of six gathered in the common room before leaving for the tower. Looking around Cassandra could see many different looks on each of their faces.

Alondra was as pretty as ever with her hair pulled back away from her face. Wearing a mocha colored shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. Cassandra marvelled at how she always looked so pretty even with little sleep.

Magenta was looking beautiful as well. She had on a black tee shirt and black jeans. Her wand stuck carelessly out of her back pocket while she chatted with Alondra in an animated conversation.

Holly had always been a quiet person, at least around most people she was. Cassandra could still remember the first time they had really spoken. It had taken nearly most of the year before Holly had warmed up to some of her fellow Gryffindor's, but when she did Cassandra had found that she was a sweet girl.

Neville was looking a bit scared and she tried to give him a reassuring smile. He gave a small smile in return, but the look of dread on his face didn't seem to dissipate at all. He was sitting in one of the large armchairs by the fire, his hands holding in on themselves as he nervously looked around.

It was Daniel who surprised Cassandra the most. He was looking as he always did with his dark hair pulled back in a pony tail. Wearing black slacks and one of the darker colored shirts her grandmum had sent him for Christmas. It was the look on his face, however, that was out of place. He looked concerned.

Cassandra remembered that he had been in a lot of trouble earlier in the year when he had gone into the third floor corridor. Professor McGonagall had given him detention for some time and it was only the rescue of Ray that had put a stop to his early morning wood cutting sessions. She could only guess that he was a little afraid of getting into more trouble. Who wouldn't be really?

Walking over to where Daniel was Cassandra gave him a soft smile. He looked like he could use one right now. It seemed to help, but only a little. "You don't have to go you know?" she said in a soft tone so that the others couldn't over hear her.

Daniel's expression changed almost instantly. He went from looking a bit apprehensive to being completely shocked. "What?" he started before shaking his head slightly. "I'm going" he finished in a firm tone.

"I know you don't want to get into more trouble with McGonagall" Cassandra tried again. "You don't need to go with us."

A look in his eyes told her that she would be hard pressed to get him to stay behind.

"Um…" Cassandra tried to chose her words very carefully right now. "Then be our look out." The sharpness in Daniel's eyes seemed too soft a bit at that idea so Cassandra continued. "You could keep an eye out for us from a bit farther away. That way we could know if someone was coming."

Daniel really seemed to like this idea as he visibly relaxed. It wasn't until he did so that Cassandra noticed he had been holding his shouldered taut and his back too straight. Now he looked normal and more at ease.

"Alright" he finally said after some reflection. "You guys need someone to watch out for you anyways."

"And if we get caught you can get back here" she added in an even softer tone.

Daniel didn't say a word, but only lightly nodded his head. Cassandra was grateful that he would listen to her about something like this. She knew it was hard for him to admit when he was in trouble.

"Shouldn't we be going?" Alondra asked as she joined Daniel and Cassandra. Magenta, Holly, and Neville were right behind her.

"Yeah" Cassandra agreed with a nod of her head. For a moment Cassandra thought about casting the Disillusionment Charm on everyone so they could move through the castle a bit freer, but then she decided she really didn't want everyone knowing about her abilities just yet. "Daniel is going to be our look out" she said instead as they all moved out of the portal.

As the group came out of the portal Cassandra was surprised to see that Ray was running up to them. Her face was flush and she was gasping for air. Once she reached the portal she had to lay a hand on the wall and steady herself. Breathing heavily as she gulped down the warm late spring air. When she had finally gotten enough air into her lungs she looked up at the small group of Gryffindor's a panicked expression on her face.

"What's the matter?" Magenta demanded at once.

"Malfoy…" she said through her ragged breaths. "He's going to get Harry."

The group relaxed as whole with a sigh. "We know," Alondra said while smiling at her friend, "Neville over heard Malfoy earlier. We're going up there now to make sure he's ok."

A look of relief washed over Ray as she gave the group a soft smile for the first time. "Oh I'm so glad to hear that."

"Want to come with us?" Cassandra asked to their new friend.

"Yeah," Ray replied, "I'd like that."

The group of Gryffindor's, as well as their Slytherin friend, began their journey up to the astronomy tower. Daniel stayed behind on the lower floor as the rest of the group made their up to the final floor to the astronomy tower. Everyone was keeping their eyes open for Draco or Harry, but as of yet they hadn't seen anyone. The walk up was easy enough and they still hadn't seen anyone when they reached the tower. Deciding that they might find Harry better if they split up Magenta and Ray went down to where Daniel was waiting, to see if he had seen anything yet. Alondra and a some what frightened Neville went to the right while Holly and Cassandra went to the left.

It was very dark by now, with the half moon already at its apex, when Cassandra heard a soft noise. Someone was coming towards them. The footsteps sounded off the stone very quietly, but only grew in volume as they grew closer. There was nowhere to run or hide that she could see. They were going to be caught and that was that.

Trying to slink into the shadows, and wishing she hadn't been so selfish about her magic, Cassandra watched as Filch, Harry and Hermione came into view. The wicked glow in Filch's eyes told her that she, along with the rest of them, was in more trouble than she could imagine.

"Well, well, well" Filch droned, "More little students out of bed."

The pleasure he was taking in this was far too much Cassandra decided. He would probably take pleasure in his own mother getting in trouble she thought as she, Harry, Hermione, and Holly where lead down to Professor McGonagall's office on the first floor.

Once they reached the office they were told to sit and wait for the Professor. A twisting knot formed in Cassandra's stomach as she waited for the inevitable. The only good thing had been that none of her other friends had been caught as well. That thought, however, was dashed as soon as she saw Professor McGonagall return with Neville and Alondra by her side.

If Filch's face had been covered in a wicked glow then Professor McGonagall's was covered in mask of fury. Cassandra couldn't remember a time she had seen the Professor looking so mad and secretly she wished she never would again. Her stare was piercing and cut through Cassandra with much unneeded force.

"I would never have believed it from any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."

The knot which had formed in Cassandra's stomach was now like a dead weight pulling her down. The sharp words from the Professor were harsh and though she knew that she deserved them for breaking the rules, Cassandra couldn't help, but think it was done for the right reasons.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him as well as some of his fellow Slytherin's. I suppose you think it's funny that some of your fellow Gryffindor's here heard the story and believe it, too?"

For moment Cassandra wondered if that is all it had been. Was it really just a prank to get Malfoy in trouble? Had Harry really set them up? The look on Harry's face told her that it couldn't be. He was looking at all of them with such apologetic eyes that Cassandra couldn't believe that he had done this on purpose.

"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Nine students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Granger, and you, Miss Bracho, I thought both of you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter and Miss Serenity, I thought Gryffindor meant more to both of you than this. All six of you will be receive detention – yes, both of you too," Professor McGonagall had looked at Neville and Holly. "Nothing gives any of you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous – and thirty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

Cassandra heaved a heavy sigh once again. That would make them lose the house lead for sure.

"Thirty" Harry gasped.

"Thirty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.

The words settled over Cassandra like a thick blanket, muffling out the rest of the world. That was one hundred and eighty points total they had lost for Gryffindor. The shame of it made Cassandra want to cry. How could they have done something so wrong, but it had felt like the right thing to do? Listening to the pleas of her fellow students Cassandra could only look down at her folded hands which lay in her lap. Gryffindor would never make up the points they had lost. They were never going to be able to take back the lead from Slytherin. All hope was lost.

"Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."

With heavy hearts the six Gryffindor's climbed the steps back to the seventh floor. Each of them knowing that tomorrow would be a hard day to face. Seeing the Gryffindor house glass with so few points would hurt without measure.

Chapter 128: Rachael Jones & Magenta Coldren

Ray ran, she ran like her life depended on it towards the Gryffindor common room. Every step she took she was grateful for all of the early morning running she had been doing. As she neared the common room portrait she noticed that a group of Gryffindor's were coming through it.

Coming to a stop in front of the group Ray noticed that it was her friends. She rested one hand on the wall and tried to get her breath back. Running up stairs wasn't in her normal training exercise.

"Malfoy…" she said through her ragged breaths. "He's going to get Harry."

Ray noticed the group seemed to relax as whole with a sigh. "We know," Alondra said while smiling at her friend, "Neville over heard Malfoy earlier. We're going up there now to make sure he's ok."

Ray felt a look of relief washed over herself and she gave the group a soft smile for the first time. "Oh I'm so glad to hear that."

"Want to come with us?" Cassandra asked to their new friend.

"Yeah," Ray replied, "I'd like that."

Sometime later, they broke up into groups. Ray was pared with Magenta who looked to be as apprehensive as Ray was herself.

"How about we look between here and the Slytherin common room," said Magenta, Ray answered in a silent nod. The two girls walked in silence sticking to the shadows keeping one eye out for Malfoy and one eye out for teachers and Flitch.

"My Aunt Viv is going to kill me if were caught," said Magenta suddenly, as if just realising the dangers of sneaking around the school.

"Do you want to head back then?" asked Ray

"No, no, lets keep going, but be extra careful," Magenta added.

A few minutes later, they head something that made them stop in their tracks. It was the sound of Filtch's cat, with the quiet echoing footsteps of Filtch following. Both girls froze, if they were found, they would be in deep trouble, both by their head of houses, and would end up in some nasty form of detention with Filtch.

A few minutes later they heard the sounds of a group of people being caught and they knew then that it was their friends. Breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn't them, the two girls realised that they both still had to get back to their appropriate dorm rooms.

"Do we split up now, or do you want me to walk you back," asked Ray.

"How about we head to the great hall and split up from there?" answered Magenta.

The girls slowly headed towards the great hall, making extra sure that they were being as silent as possible. Just as they reached the hall Ray pushed Magenta up against the wall in a dark corner.

"Shhh, someone is coming," she said, it was too late within seconds Professor Snape rounded on the two girls.

"Miss Jones, Miss Cauldron… I had heard that there were first year students out of bed tonight, I didn't however expect to see one of my own students out of bed," he said poignantly, Ray looked away feeling ashamed.

"Follow me," he said, turning on the balls of his feel, his robes flying.

The two girls followed in silence, heads hanging in resignation to their current situation. Soon enough they arrived at Professor Snape's office, Ray knew then and their that this want going to be a nice visit.

"Sit," he commanded, "tell me, why would two first year students be up and about the castle well after curfew? Why were they separated from their friends?"

"I'm sorry Sir, Malfoy was going to get them into trouble, I had to warn them," said Ray quickly.

"Did it not occur to you to come to me, and let me know?" he asked, "I know all about why Mr Malfoy was out of bed tonight, he and the rest of the Gryffindor's," he spat the word, "have already been punished. Tell me, why shouldn't I subject you both to the same fate as them?"

Ray hung her head, she knew any punishment that Severus dolled out was well deserved, so she decided to be honest with him.

"You shouldn't Sir, we deserve anything that you decide for us." Severus understood what Ray had meant, he understood that she knew she was in the wrong, and would accept any punishment that he gave her.

Magenta however was having a completely different reaction, her jaw was open, hardly believing what Ray had just said, who knew the type of punishment that Snape would give them now, she almost wished that she had been caught with the other group.

"Professor, this is a TOTAL injustice. I mean, listen, I GET that we're not in the States or anything, but, come on, it's the 20th century! We weren't doing anything but being out of bed! That's not a major discretion, so, on the grounds that we haven't really..." Magenta was interrupted.

"Miss Coldren, you will take whatever punishment I give you and be grateful you are not with your little Gryffindor friends."

"But..."

"You will both have detention, on the 11th, you will report to Crucheck in the kitchens after dinner," said Professor Snape to the girl, "You will be assisting the House Elves clean up after dinner." Both girls nodded the heads in resignation of their fate.

"Miss Jones, you are close enough to the common room you can see yourself back, Miss Cauldron, I will see you back to the Gryffindor common room."

'Its amazing what a difference three days can make' Severus though as he watched Ray sleep. It was becoming habit for him now. Minerva had approached him a few days ago, about his odd relationship with the small girl. She hadn't been worried that something untoward was going on, more out of concern for the girl not experiencing life as a normal Hogwarts student.

"Severus, I'm just worried that you are protecting her from things that she needs to experience. If you heal every scratch she gets then how will she learn to stand on her own two feet," the Gryffindor Head of House commented.

"Minerva, when you have a student that is shunned, bullied, beaten up by the whole house, then you can tell me what and what not to do with my students. Ray will learn to stand on her own two feet. Although I would like her to come to me with any injuries she sustains she does not, in our tutoring sessions I approach her about it," said Severus adamantly.

"I am just trying to look out for the student body Severus, it is not healthy for you to become as attached as you are," answered Minerva, "I don't want to see you hurt, Ray reminds me of another Red head I remember."

"I can look after myself Minerva," he answered, "but I thank you for your concern."

He hadn't thought of her in years, the more he looked at Ray the more he could see similarities, but he knew that she wasn't the reason he was looking out for Ray, there was something more there, he just couldn't place it.

Ray jumped up from the Gryffindor where she had been having dinner and ran blindly through halls heading towards the dungeons tears streaming down her face, the letter she had received clutched in a vice like grip in her hand.

Reaching the Slytherin Common Room portrait she shouted the password and continued through the common room and into her dorm room, flinging herself face down onto her bed she cried, refusing to believe the harsh words her father had told her.

She cried not hearing the door open, not hearing the footsteps coming towards her, not knowing anything until she felt the tentative touch of a hand on her back. Jumping at the touch she swiped the backs of her hands across her eyes, wiping the tears away and sat up.

A gentle finger reached up and tilted her chin up, finally putting a face to the gently ministrations, she saw it was Severus. Once again she flung herself forward and hugged the man, crying even harder now than before, someone did care, someone did accept her.

"What's the matter Ray?" asked Severus gently, rubbing the girls back in hopefully a soothing manor, it had been over twenty years since he had had to comfort a crying girl.

"…" Ray hysterically gulped in air, she couldn't speak she was past talking, she just cried even harder.

"What ever it is Ray we will fix it, I promise," he said, standing up and cradling the crying girl in his arms. He wondered how he was going to get back through the now crowded common room.

Shaking his head at himself, he cast a disillusionment charm on himself and Ray and carefully walking back through the common room trying not to draw attention to himself.

After arriving at his quarters, he removed the disillusionment charm and carefully lowered the two of them onto the lounge suite.

"Ray?" he asked gently, "Can you tell me what's wrong now? What made you so upset?"

"Dad," was her empty answer, Severus shivered at the tone.

"What about him?" he prompted.

"I… I can't…" she mumbled handing Severus the letter that was now rather crinkled.

Rachael Jones,

I have received a letter from your headmaster today. I would like for you to remind your school that I am no longer the one to contact in these matters. I have washed my hands of you and will not be disturbed by these matters any longer. You are not my concern and they would do best to send a letter to someone who cares.

As to your actions, I find my disappointment for you even greater than before. You are no daughter of mine. Feel lucky that your doddering old grandmother will have you because I am sure no one else would.

I do not wish to be bothered by any more matters concerned with you. Make sure that I am not.

Henry.

Severus looked at the letter in his hand again. Why did Albus have to send her father of all people a letter in regards to the fight, as her father pointed out it should have gone to her grandmother, she was after all the girls school guardian.

It had taken him well over an hour to calm the upset girl; the last time he had seen someone so upset by a letter it was when he was in school.

Getting up from his chair he walked over to the sleeping girl, leaning over he kissed her on the forehead, and whispered to her that he was going to see Dumbledore.

"Don't leave me," she whimpered, still half asleep.

"I need to speak to him, I will be back shortly," he answered, picking the sleeping girl up and carrying her to his bed, laying her down and kissing her forehead again murmuring a command to 'sleep' before leaving his quarters.

"Albus how could you," Severus said sitting down opposite the headmaster, the normal pleasantries had been exchanged and before the headmaster could get carried away, Severus steered the conversation in the direction he wanted it to go in.

"What ever are you talking about Severus," Albus answered, eyes twinkling madly. He had never know Severus to get emotionally attached to one of his students, but the small red haired Slytherin seemed to slip under his defences.

"You now exactly what I mean, don't think I'm not fooled by your act," Severus answered frustrated, Albus was one of the only people that his sneers and tone of voice wouldn't work on. "Why did you send the letter to Miss Jones father, not her guardian, why?"

"Her father is her legal guardian Severus, he had a right to know," answered Albus.

"He is not Albus, he has rejected her, Ray's grandmother is now her school and legal guardian," answered Severus, not releasing that he had used her first name.

"I realise that Severus, but as her father, he has a right to know what happens with his daughter, not every little thing, but the big things he does," answered Albus, his smile fading when Severus shoved a letter under his nose and demanded that he read it.

After reading the letter and re reading it, Albus handed the letter back to Severus. "I'm sorry Severus, I didn't realise it was this bad,"

"Do you know what this kind of letter can do to a child Albus, this isn't the first one she has received, each letter kills something inside of you, with each one, it breaks a little more, and then when there is nothing good left, look what happens, something dark and evil comes and fills its place, I wont let that happen to Ray!" Severus stated, getting up and storming out of the room.

Severus stalked back to his quarters; removing house points from everyone he met along the way. Several students also received detention for no reason at all, other than being in his way, his only focus was on getting back to Ray and making sure she didn't end up following his footsteps.

Reaching his quarters, he walked to one of his bookshelfs and removed a dark arts potion book, waving his wand over it; he removed the protection charms and opened the book, removing a few sheets of parchment. Quickly scanning the parchment, he made sure he had the correct ones, and then headed into his bedroom to check on the sleeping girl in his bed.

"I'm back Ray," he said gently sitting down on the bed, gently waking the girl.

"Sev?" Ray asked in barley a whisper.

"Ray I want you to listen to me," Severus said. "I'm sure you want to forget that anything happened today, I'm sure you don't want to remember your fathers harsh words, but you need to, the more you understand that you have done nothing wrong, nothing to deserve the treatment, the happier your life will be," he said handing the parchment he had retrieved to Ray.

"What's this Severus?" she asked.

"These are some letters from my father when I was in school, you need to know that your not alone, and you need to know the consequences of listening to your fathers words, I will not let you end up like me," he said.

Ray looked down at the parchment, and started reading…

Severus,

I have recently been informed of an incident at your school in which you were made the target of a prank. I am truly disgraced that my son could be gotten the better of by a group of Gryffindor's. Not only by Gryffindor's, but by one of the Potters. I can see any faith I might have had in you has been misplaced. You had better make up for this blemish you have put on the family name of Snape.

Do not expect to find a home waiting for you once you have gotten done with your studies this year. Once you have graduated this year you will no longer be my responsibility. That means that you will not find any assistance from me what so ever.

Adrianus Snape

Severus,

Your mother tells me that you are proud of your last scores in Potions, however, I have learned from your head of house that you were not the highest score in the class. You still have not given pride to the name Snape, even after two years at Hogwarts. Can I expect nothing from you, but disappointment?

Because of your inability to gain status either academically or with Quidditch I will be hiring a tutor for you over your summer holiday. I do not want to hear about visiting any of the people you have called your friends. They are beneath a Snape and I will not allow you to socialize with them. Instead you will send your holiday with Professor Shadowbend. She will drill into you some of the finer points of spell work that seemed to have escaped you while away at school.

Do not disappoint me again.

Adrianus Snape

Severus,

How dare you sully the name of Snape by being seen with that filthy mudblood! You will be severally punished for this act of sabotage to the respected name of Snape. There will be nothing to save you this time, your mother is no longer around to protect you from your own stupidity!

Mark my words, you will pay for this misstep.

Adrianus Snape

By the time Ray had finished reading the letters, she had tears streaming down her face again, how could anyone treat her Severus like that, she had read about many of the events that the letters related to in his journal that he had given her, but to hear his fathers reactions.

"I'm soo sorry Sev," she sobbed pulling him into a hug, "thank you for sharing them with me, I don't feel so alone anymore," she said.

"Remember Ray, I am here whenever you want or need me, for any reason," replied Severus, rubbing the girls back. "Anytime,"

The week following the incident, things did not go well. Harry bore most of the brunt of the point loss, but the others had just as bad of a time with it. No one would even look at Cassandra, or Alondra. Oliver and the rest of the team had made their opinions quite clear. Magenta was entirely ignored, Daniel was often shoved a bit during practice, and no one would call Harry by name. Ray had retreated to walking with the Gryffindor's between all classes, in case there was any hostility towards her from other Slytherin's, no one wanted a repeat of the January incident.

One morning, as she sat at the Gryffindor table, a small, red envelope came to Magenta. She felt her skin go icy.

"Magenta, that's a howler!" Daniel piped form beside her.

"She knows that already, you dope!" said Ron. Magenta tremblingly picked up the envelope, it was quivering now.

"Just open it, Magenta." Said Neville. "It'll be worse if you don't."

Slowly, Magenta began to open it, but the thing had its own ideas. It flew from Magenta's grasp and became the scariest looking mouth she had ever seen. From it, her aunt's voice spewed the following.

"MAGENTA LILLITH BELLONA COLDREN, WHAT IN THE GODDESSES WERE YOU THINKING! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN EXPELLED! I HOPE THEY GAVE YOU A GOOD SENTENCE, MISSY, BUT EVEN SO, IT WILL BE NOTHING TO WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN I SEE YOU NEXT. I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE FIGHT YOU WERE IN AS WELL, MAGENTA, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED, FROM WHAT I HEARD YOU WERE! IF YOU DO SOMETHING THIS STUPID AGAIN, YOU CAN BE ASSURED, YOU WILL NOT BE RETURNING TO HOGWARTS NEXT YEAR!"

Finally, it was over. The envelope ripped itself to shreds. Magenta sat, dumbfounded, until it was time for the first class of the day.

Chapter 129: Daniel Smith

The sky was grey and malevolent as three young Gryffindor's made their way past the Quidditch Pitch, where they had been playing hide and seek in the stands. They did not normally spend their leisure time so far from the school, but things had been difficult for the two girls present. Due to their transgression, Gryffindor was out of the running for the house cup, and Slytherin was poised to take it again. As a result, they were in disgrace with their housemates. Magenta had even received a Howler, not entirely unlike the one that had gone off in Daniel's face the previous year.

Daniel himself had taken some static because he stood by the offenders in question, though not a lot. His friends had agreed not to reveal that he had been along on the illicit mission, as another thirty-point subtraction would send Gryffindor into the single digits. However, it was not his style to turn against his friends, especially since he had been involved in the same scheme. He had only escaped trouble himself by a twist of fate: he had been on lookout duty some distance away, and Filch had approached his comrades from a different direction, allowing him to escape undetected.

It had been a fun way to spend a couple hours, frolicking about the stands with no one glaring at them. However, dinner would be served soon, and Daniel (like most of his sex) tended to plan his life around his stomach. He could not comprehend the idea of skipping breakfast, and if he missed lunch, he made up for it at dinner. And he rarely let a night go by without resorting to his stash of chocolate frogs and other confections.

As they stepped out, all three of them were suddenly lashed by wind. The pitch was surrounded by forty-foot stands and sixty-foot towers, which provided a natural windbreak. But it was a good 35 miles per hour, probably gusting to 60. The trees in the distance were waving madly, back and forth, trunks creaking and twigs breaking away.

"Whoa," Daniel said, his hair whipping around his head in a brown cloud. "When did this start?"

"They were predicting a storm tonight," Alondra responded. "I guess it showed up early." Wizarding methods of weather prediction were somewhat more accurate than muggle methods, but it remained an inexact science.

"I felt a raindrop," Magenta said.

"Me too," Alondra replied. "No, two. And there's another one."

"I think we should head for the castle," Magenta said. "Like, now."

"Yeah. Which way is it?" Daniel queried. The Hogwarts grounds were over a mile across, and they were a good ways from the building.

"That way," Alondra said, pointing. Sure enough, the huge structure was visible, lights aglow in many of its windows. "Ouch! It's getting rainier!"

"No, really?" Daniel said. A dozen raindrops had just slammed into him like a barrage of machine gun bullets.

"Let's go!" Magenta ran straight toward the castle as the clouds overhead opened up, and bucketfuls of water came down on them.

In clear weather, Daniel could do a seven-minute mile if he wasn't running into a high wind, and Magenta wasn't all that much slower. Alondra was not quite as athletic, though, so the other two had to slow down to match pace with her. "Just run on ahead, you two. I'm fine," she said. Both her friends ignored her, and she realized there was no point in exhorting them further. The three of them charged toward the castle, but the ground was already turning muddy, and Alondra took a misstep. "Aaaargh!" she bellowed as her ankle twisted and she fell into the muddy patch.

Daniel swore as he skidded to a stop, kicking up a plume of mud. "Allie, you OK?"

"My... my ankle. I twisted it," Alondra reported. "Ouch!" she added as she joggled the hurt joint.

"Can you walk on it?" Magenta wanted to know.

Alondra tried, but would have collapsed had Magenta not caught her. "No. Ow ow ow. I think it's broken."

"How far to the castle?" Daniel queried.

"Too far," Magenta said. Together, they could have carried their friend through calm weather. But a good few hundred yards, through gale-force wind and a torrential rainstorm, lugging a 110-pound body, was beyond their ability.

"Look!" Alondra said. Thirty yards distant was Hagrid's gargantuan hut. The windows were dark, but it was shelter.

"Excellent," Daniel said. He wasn't as tight with Hagrid as Harry and Ron were, but he had joined them for a visit or two. Hagrid liked him because he could actually share a meal with him: Dan was one of the few people they knew who could stomach a stoat sandwich. "Let's go."

It took them a good couple of minutes to get Alondra there, and by then they were all drenched to the skin. The good side of it was that Alondra had been cleansed of most of the mud on her. Daniel frantically beat on the door. "Hagrid!" Silence answered back. He beat harder. "HAGRID!"

"He may not be home," Alondra said. Adrip with muddy water and shivering uncontrollably, she looked very pathetic.

Magenta swore. "Well, we can't sit out here." She pulled her wand and jabbed it at the lock. "Alohamora!"

The door to the hut opened, and the three sodden preteens entered trepidaciously. "Hagrid?" Daniel yelled again. No response, but the flames suddenly erupted to life in the oil lamps, filling the cabin with a flickering yellow light.

"He must not be here," Alondra sat down in a chair. "Blast it, I'm soaked."

"We're all soaked," Daniel said. "Are there any clothes here?"

"Nothing that would fit," Alondra said heavily. "How tall is Hagrid? Nine feet? Ten?"

All the same, they looked around. Sure enough, the clothes in the closet were designed to fit a man who out massed the largest of them ten to one. However, thankfully, Hagrid's head was not all that much larger than a normal man's. They soon found out that his pullover shirts could be worn, as long at they buttoned up the collars all the way and rolled the sleeves way up. They retired to separate rooms to dry off as best they could and change.

"Well," Magenta said as they eyed their uniforms and underthings, which were dripping on the hearth. "Now we just need something to dry them off, I expect."

"That's a good look for you," Alondra commented, indicating the luridly pink and white striped shirt Magenta had on, which fell to her ankles. The pink almost matched the vivid stripes in her hair.

"You're pretty snappy yourself," Magenta replied.

Alondra eyed her shirt, which was fire engine red and covered with white polka dots. "You think so, huh?" She limped over to the fireplace. Magenta had checked her ankle while they were changing. It was badly twisted, but it was probably just a mild sprain, even without magical aid she would recover in a few days. A fire was laid, but no matches were visible: undoubtedly, Hagrid typically did the job with his repaired wand. "Anyone know a spell for making fire?"

"No, they're not taught until second year, or is it third?" Daniel said. "Something like that, anyway. But I think I have an idea." He walked over to the fireplace. His shirt was a blue and yellow checked one, and he was so short that it dragged on the floor. He looked like a walking chessboard. "Might take a little while, though."

"What are you going to do?" Alondra queried.

Daniel waved his wand. "Lumos solaria," he said, and a lance of concentrated sunlight filled the fireplace.

"We need fire, not sunlight," protested Magenta.

"Hush," ordered Alondra. "Look." Indeed, the spell was having the desired effect. The tinder smoked, then blackened, and finally flared alight, and quickly spread to the kindling. Daniel waited until it was decisively ablaze, then added a couple of logs.

"There," Daniel said. "Now we can get our things dry. Except for our shoes, which'll be soggy for a month."

"Nice job," Alondra said, hugging him tightly. Daniel blushed. Since both of them were completely naked under their borrowed apparel (that much was obvious by what they had hanging by the fire), he was more aware than ever that she was a girl. Even more than most boys his age, he was quite modest where the opposite sex was concerned, because he had spent a couple years in an all-male environment. He was suddenly very glad that Hagrid's shirt was as long on him as it was.

"Perfectly smashing," Magenta said, in imitation of her British friends.

Daniel's stomach rumbled. He looked out the window. The downpour had strengthened, and the wind was still making the trees in the distance sway like hula dancers. "I don't think we're going to make dinner."

"We'll live," Magenta said. "You can just pig out at breakfast tomorrow. Even more than you normally do, I mean."

Alondra indicated the kitchen area. "Look there." A loaf of bread, half a ham, and some other food items were there.

"Hagrid won't mind, will he?" Magenta queried.

"With the amount he eats, he probably won't notice," Daniel said. "Long as we clean up after ourselves, that is."

To that end, they made themselves four (two for Daniel) huge ham and cheese sandwiches and also delved into a tin of Hagrid's homemade treacle fudge, which stuck their mouths a few times but wasn't bad otherwise. Halfway through their repast, the trio were feeling much better. However, their throats were dry. Hagrid had a teapot, but they couldn't find any tea, and Daniel didn't like the stuff anyway. After a brief search, Daniel found a jug with an apple on it. "This might be something."

"Apple cider, maybe." Magenta said. "Here, I found a few small mugs." Hagrid regularly entertained students and normal-sized faculty, so he had dishes that they could use.

Daniel poured each of them half a mug, then took an experimental sip. His eyes bugged out of his head and he made a wheezy sound.

"What's wrong? Too sweet?" Alondra took a sip. "Aghhh!"

"What? Is it spoiled?" Magenta eyed her dubiously.

"No," Daniel said. Anti-spoiling spells were also taught in second year. Hagrid probably did his own in secret. "No, it's not apple cider."

"Well, it was," Alondra wheezed. "It's fermented." Apple cider, aged properly, eventually turned into apple wine.

Magenta sipped hers. "Wow."

"It packs a wallop, doesn't it?" Daniel took another drink.

The second half of their meal was more fun than the first. By the time they were finished, the fire had done much of its work: their uniforms were still damp (and their shoes soaked), but at least their underthings were dry enough to put on. But it was dark outside, and the wind was still howling.

"Think we should head back?" Magenta said. "Your ankle's better, I think."

"She's still limping," Daniel said. "Besides, who knows what time it is? They lock the castle up at night."

"Agreed," Alondra said, then giggled. Of the three of them, she had liked the drink most. Daniel had had less, but his lighter weight ensured that he was equally affected. Only Magenta was mostly sober.

"Besides, Professor Mac would flip if she caught us all pickled like this," Daniel said with a laugh of his own. "Last thing I need's to be back on her black list."

"We're probably gonna be there anyway," Alondra said. She staggered, tried to keep her balance by grabbing Daniel, and only succeeded in dragging him down on top of her.

"She'll understand," Magenta assured them as she pulled them to their feet. "She wouldn't want us out in that crap." She indicated the wet, windy darkness outside. To punctuate her point, a tree fell over, somewhere in the forest.

The three headed into the bedroom, which was toasty warm from the fire, and helped each other onto the bed, which was as tall as Alondra. They sat side by side by the fire and thought about how cool it would be if they had marshmallows and chocolate bars and graham crackers. And maybe some hot apple cider, the non-alcoholic kind.

At length, Daniel piped up. "It's too bad Cass and Ray aren't here."

"Well, I don't know where Ray was today, I never saw her," Magenta said. "But Cass was off with the twins."

Alondra looked at her slightly cross-eyed. "The Patils?"

Magenta rolled her eyes. "No, you dope. The Weasleys. You know? Fred and George?"

Alondra was about to return the insult, but Daniel interrupted by dissolving into giggles. He quickly regained control, but it wasn't the first sign of guilt at the mention of Cassandra and the Weasley twins. "What? What is it about Cass and the Weasleys?"

"Nothing whatsoever," Daniel said, trying to look innocent.

"That's bull," Magenta said. "Dan, you're a lousy liar even when you're sober. Now what's the big secret with you and Cass?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Alondra asked Magenta.

"Well, I'm thinking we should tickle him," Magenta responded cheerfully.

"You wouldn't dare," Daniel said.

They dared, all right. Alondra grabbed Daniel's feet and tickled them. Magenta sat on him and went to work on his ribs. Daniel responded by tickling them. But they had more tickle fingers. "Tell us!" Alondra shouted, giggling.

"I can't tell you," Daniel giggled back.

"Sure you can," Alondra said, redoubling her efforts.

"N-no," Daniel howled. Tears of laughter were pouring down his face. "P-p-promised Cass."

"Aha! So there is a secret about her and the twins!" Magenta said gleefully. "Better give it to us!"

"No way!"

"I know," Magenta said, with a wicked grin. "Back of the neck."

"Yeah, go for it," Daniel said defiantly. "I'm not even ticklish there."

"You're a lousy liar," Alondra said, and she proceeded to pile on Daniel. "OK! I got him! Now tickle him! Give it to him good!"

"Awwwwk!" Daniel squawked. "No! Not the neck! Not the..."

"Yes! The neck!" Magenta said, and she proceeded to tickle him there.

Daniel could hold on no longer. "All right! I'll talk! George! Her and George were sleeping together!"

Alondra gasped. "WHAT!"

Daniel realized how what he had said could be inferred. "No! Not THAT kind of sleeping together." He sighed. "Christmas Eve, right? She and the twins decorated the place. They got tired, and she fell asleep all cuddled up with George. I discovered them." He glared at them. "Cass made me promise to keep it quiet."

"Oh," Magenta said. "I'm sorry. I guess we got a bit carried away."

"Damn right you did," Daniel said. "You see that over there?"

Magenta looked, and Daniel struck, wrapping his legs around her and sticking a tickle finger right in the back of her neck. "Ai-yi-yi-yi-yiiii!" she shrilled. "Alondra! Get him off me."

But Alondra was already tickling Magenta's feet. And that pretty much kicked off a wholesale tickle feast, with everyone tickling everyone, and it pretty much ended when all three of them were in a giggling and exhausted heap in the middle of the badly mussed bed. By then, the oil lamps were out and the fire was flickering embers. Daniel added one more log, a nice green one that would be consumed slowly, keeping them warm through the night.

"What do we do next?" Daniel wanted to know.

"Well, if we were Muggles, we'd tell ghost stories," Alondra said. "Of course, we've already got a castle full of ghosts, so what's the point?"

"We can still tell them," Magenta said. "I mean, why should the Muggles have all the fun?"

So they told ghost stories, and then Alondra told a sappy romantic one, which Daniel (who found anything romance-related to be dull) punctuated with occasional rude remarks, which led to jokes, some of them naughty. Daniel also recited a delightfully appalling Shel Silverstein poem, something about eating a baby. After that it was silly songs, then riddles, then knock-knock jokes, then would-you-rather (essentially, giving the person as horrible a choice as possible, like "would you rather freeze to death or burn to death"). Wisely, they used the water barrel to quench their thirst; drinking Hagrid's special apple cider by accident was one thing, doing it on purpose was another.

Finally, Alondra almost unnoticed layback in the bed and fell asleep. Magenta decided that she was tired as well, and curled up in the bed next to her. Daniel looked at the two of them sleeping together and remembered the incident with George and Cassandra. He hopped off of the bed and padded over to the armchair next to it, then covered himself with the enormous blanket he found there. He watched the fire and smiled as the night's odd and wonderful memories replayed in his head, until his eyes finally slipped shut as well.

When Hagrid returned from his day trip to Diagon Alley, and a subsequent evening at the Leaky Cauldron, he noticed that the lamps did not ignite when he arrived, like they were supposed to. They were empty, he quickly realized. This was quite suspicious, as was the cabin's unusual warmth. Since Hogwarts had over a hundred house-elves, it was not difficult for one or two of them to visit his hut each day. They did not keep the place as immaculate as the castle proper (Hagrid liked a bit of clutter), but they filled the lamps daily and laid him a fire (but did not light it), and took stuff to the laundry as necessary.

As he was considering this, Fang entered the cabin. The titanic boarhound had taken shelter in the Forbidden Forest during the storm. He shook himself, and then began growling. Clearly, whoever the uninvited visitor was, they were still present. Hagrid took the crossbow from an overhead rack. Its draw weight was about 500 pounds, but he cocked it easily, then led the way to his still-firelit sleeping quarters, then stopped, gawking at what he saw.

Two first-year girls, their robes still hanging next to the fire, were snuggled up in his bed. The third robe, and the boy clothes that went with it, quickly revealed the presence of Daniel, curled up in his armchair, with his borrowed shirt covering him like a checkered circus tent. Hagrid looked down at the three, thinking how cute and vulnerable they looked. However, he needed a place to sleep as well. Quietly, he went to the foot of the bed and turned down the spread there. Then, as gently as he could, he scooped up Daniel's sleeping form and carried him over, then tucked the covers over him. The youngster never woke up. Hagrid sighed and arranged his huge form in the armchair as well. In minutes, he was snoring as well.

Some hours later, when morning sunlight and the sweet smell of a rain-washed dawn had filled the old cabin, Hagrid was awakened by a flare of green in the fireplace. Dumbledore's ancient but kind face appeared in the flames. "Hagrid?"

Sleepily, Hagrid opened his eyes. "Yes, sir?"

"I'm sorry to awaken you so early, but we have a problem. Three first-years are missing from the castle."

"Are they now?" the half-giant queried. "Which ones?"

"Miss Bracho, Miss Coldren, and Daniel Smith," Dumbledore replied, using Daniel's first name because two others at Hogwarts shared his surname. "Miss Granger noticed them missing at dinner, and she wisely alerted Minerva when they were also gone this morning. We're worried that they might have gotten lost in the storm yesterday; it did hit us rather suddenly. How soon could you begin a search of the grounds?"

Hagrid looked over at the bed, where his three small guests slept on. "Well, sir," he said. "I don't think a search will be necessary."

Dumbledore looked over, and saw Magenta's wild hair (the rest of her was under the covers). "Ah. You have all three of them?" At Hagrid's nod, he smiled. "Good. I'm sure Minerva will be quite relieved."

"I'll bring 'em around as soon as they're up and dressed," Hagrid said. "They're not in trouble, are they?"

"Goodness, no," Dumbledore said. "They were right to take shelter with you. If you'll excuse me, I'll go spread the news that they're safe."

"Very good, sir," Hagrid said, and Dumbledore's face vanished. Hagrid turned to the trio. All were still in dreamland. He smiled, sat back in his armchair, and joined them.

Chapter 130: Cassandra Serenity

There was something about the lazy feel of this early May day that made Cassandra wish she didn't have to go down to the dark and dismal dungeons for her doubles Potions class. Though Snape had been much less hateful at the gymnastics meet in January his normal gloomy disposition had returned that night upon arriving back at Hogwarts. Since that time he had been watching all four Gryffindor first years with renewed malice. Perhaps trying to decide if their intentions towards Ray were merely for spite or not. Even their open show of friendship at having her eat with them didn't seem to be enough to appease his suspicions of them.

Pushing all thoughts of Professor Snape from her mind, Cassandra ideally twirled a stand of scarlet red hair around her index finger. The sun felt good on her face as she lay in the grass of the open courtyard. Lunch was still in session, but she hadn't felt like eating much. This had earned her a look of bewilderment from Daniel and a "she's mental" from Ron. Still she had only grabbed a small apple and headed out to lie in the sun. It had been weeks since the sun had been out so brightly and she couldn't see the point in wasting it.

Watching the clouds begin to drift by overhead she could start to see shapes and figures in their wispy forms. There was one that looked like a mermaid from the lake and another that reminded Cassandra of Rosie her house elf. Yet another reminded her of horse and then a knight. The two clouds moved closer and closer together until it began to look like the knight was riding the stallion.

With a jolt Cassandra sat upright, her blue eyes glazing over slightly. Images of her restless night's sleep came flooding back into her mind all at once. A knight on a stallion, no it wasn't a knight. Ron, he was riding on the back of a bucking stallion. The image was sharp and crisp in her mind, much clearer than any of her visions had ever been before. Yes, he was riding on the back of a stallion, not much older than he was now. A castle tower behind him, but not as if seen from the distance. Struggling to make sense of the vision Cassandra lightly began to chew on her bottom lip.

Before she could fully understand the meaning behind the vision her mind began to think about the other things she had seen last night. Two cool grey eyes staring at her surrounded by darkness, the look in them both powerful and disarming. She could hear laboured breathing around her and feel the strength of a tree or wall behind her. There was cool air around her and she knew that she was outside, but where she wasn't sure. Then it had shifted; a blazing fire surrounded her on all side. Harry lay on the floor unmoving and still, a pile of ash in front of him at his feet. A sense of dread filled her as she looked down at him. From his hand a red stone lay fingertips away, as if it had fallen from his grip before he had succumbed to whatever had gotten him. Yet again the vision changed, this time she saw Alondra. Her body draped over another girls with short chin length hair. She could hear screams behind her and the sound of a fight. It was night and the air was scented with the smell of rusted metal.

Each vision that passed through her mind was clear and focused. More like a memory than a vision or dream. Cassandra could feel the cool air on her skin and hear the sounds of a battle in her ears. Even now as she merely remembered the visions they over took her senses. A shiver ran down her spine causing her to visibly shake. Tingling spread through out her body as the visions began to run fast through her head.

She was in the lake, its waters cold and high around her waist. Crying rivers of tears and shaking violently, her heart felt heavy and pained. Someone was holding onto her arm tightly, but she wouldn't turn around to face them. There were cries and screams coming from the Quidditch pitch not far away. Shifting again. Snow was falling as she raced out of the dungeons. Her scarlet red hair whipped around her as she continued to run at full speed. Someone was chasing after her, their speed matched her own. Fasters still and then a misstep, she was sliding on ice and crashing into a drift of snow. Laughter filled her ears, sweet and jovial. Shifting. Hermione was sitting next to her in heavy scented room. A strange and airy voice began to talk, but she wasn't listening. Instead she was staring forward, her eyes looking deeply into a glassy surface. There were images moving inside of it, she was trying to make them focus when the surface was gone. A loud thud shook her from the images she had been trying to focus in on.

So intent on the visions which were filling her mind Cassandra didn't realize that she had begun to breathe faster and faster. Air was hard to keep in her lungs and the world was beginning to spin slightly. The visions were clear and encompassing, taking her over fully as she relived them. Feeling the cold, the water, the pain, and the wonder it was all so different than the visions before. Perhaps her powers were growing yet again.

"Cass?" a soft voice called through the haze that ensnared her mind.

"Is she alright?" another voice said with concern.

"I don't know" yet another replied.

"She looks flushed," the first voice said softly, "and she's not focusing."

"Should I get Madame Pomfrey?" the third voice asked quickly.

Slowly the voice began to make sense, they were her friends. They were talking to her, about her, but why? Blinking her eyes repeatedly Cassandra saw the green of the grass come back into view. The sun was still bright over head and its rays were blinding to her. Lifting a hand to shelter her eyes protectively she heard someone sigh with relief.

"You had us worried there Cass" Magenta said, a tone of concern still evident in her voice.

"Are you ok?" Alondra quickly asked, her hand gently placed on Cassandra's shoulder.

The world had come back into focus again, green grass and blue skies. Daniel, Magenta, Ray and Alondra were all crowded around her as she sat on the grass in the open court yard. How much time had passed Cassandra wasn't sure, but lunch had to at least be over.

"I'm fine," she replied softly, lowering her hand to look at each of them in turn. "Really."

None of the four seemed to believe her answer and with good reason. Cassandra wasn't really sure if she was alright. The visions from the night before had been so real to her. They made her skin tingle and her heart feel each emotion they brought with them. There was something new and different about her visions. No longer were they cloaked in shadows or dismembered apparitions, now they were solid and precise. If all of her visions would feel like this from now on she didn't know how she would handle them.

"Are we late for class?" Cassandra asked, hoping to not have to share her experiences just yet.

"Yeah, we're going to be if we don't hurry" Daniel conceded with some reservation.

"Better hurry then" she added while picking up her satchel and beginning her journey to the dungeons below.

With the rest of the group hurrying to keep up with her, Cassandra felt relieved that they wouldn't be able to question her any more once they were inside of the class room. Much to her chagrin, however, Magenta had jogged ahead to keep her stride.

"You still look flushed," she commented as she gave her friend an appraising glance. "A bit out of sorts as well, are you sure you're ok?"

Biting down on the inside of her cheek Cassandra wished they would just drop the subject. "I'm fine, really. Just too much sun I guess." she replied with a small, but hopefully convincing, smile.

Potions class was much as Cassandra had expected it to be. Professor Snape was looming over each Gryffindor student, his razor sharp eyes catching any mistake with profound accuracy. He spent a good portion of his class terrorizing Harry and Neville Longbottom, his two favourite victims. But still he had time to make a snide comment about the way Alondra cut her toad stool, Daniel added the wrong amount of spider's legs, Magenta heated her cauldron and how she had not looked a head at the beginning of class.

Cassandra had to admit that even for a Potions class her mind was not really in it. She had ideally added each ingredient, stirred it just the right amount of times, and remembered to turn down the heat half way through. Still it was all done with her mind being some where else. Magenta, her partner in Potions, had continually asked her if she wanted to see Madame Pomfrey after class. Her face remained flush with colour and her eyes were, as Magenta put it 'really out of it'. But the idea of seeing Pomfrey was not at all appealing. With her constant questions about why, how, and what happen, Cassandra knew she would feel out of place again.

The total amount of points lost for the class was relatively low for the Potions class with only fifteen points being taken from Harry, Daniel, and Neville. Happy to be free of the dank dungeons Cassandra gathered up her textbook, notes, and ingredients before waving her wand and cleaning up her cauldron. Alondra, Daniel, and Magenta were all waiting for her as she stood in line to turn in her vile of potion for the day. The bright blue liquid contained tightly in an unbreakable vile.

"Bit flushed today, Serenity?" a low drawling voice asked from behind her. "Snogging a few to many boys between classes?"

Turning around to face Draco Malfoy, Cassandra decided to choose her words carefully, not wanting to lose even more house points than she had already. "What business is it of yours if I am, Malfoy?" The sharpness of her tongue had even startled her.

For the first time Cassandra noticed Malfoy's two cold grey eyes as they stared at her. They were removed and distant, but a glimmer shone in them burred deep inside. His usually smirk was in place, but the corners of it were softer than normal. For a moment his gaze shifted down to her neck and then back up to met her gaze.

"None of my business at all" he said in a superior tone before brushing past her to place his vile on the table with the others. As he moved past her their hands gently brushed causing Cassandra to nearly jump at the contact. Once he had placed his vile on the table he moved past her once again, this time whispering almost inaudible. "Get better."

The sound of his voice was far different than she had ever heard it and the words so soft she was sure she had heard wrong. Yes, that was it, she had heard wrong all together. He had mumbled some new curse or slur at her under his breath. After placing the vile of her potion on the table and picking up her things Cassandra joined her friends waiting outside.

"What did Malfreak want?" Daniel questioned while keeping his eye on the Slytherin in question.

For a moment she thought about telling them what she had thought he said, but that idea was quickly dismissed. If they thought she was hearing things they would insist on her going to see Madame Pomfrey at once. Besides, she was sure she had heard wrong. Malfoy was never caring nor would he show concern for a Gryffindor.

"Same old," Cassandra replied instead, "teasing and taunting."

With that said the small group of friends ascended the steps out of the gloomy dungeons and into the bright sunlight. The warmth of its ray brushing away the last traces of the visions she had relived only hours ago. Still a nagging question remained inside of her, what had Malfoy really said to her in passing?