A/N: Can't you understand?! It's not mine. I haven't stolen anything. I'm crediting the true genius! And I am so going to laugh if I don't really have to put these things at the start of every single chapter. On With the Show!

Chapter 12: Deep Down

Alana splashed some water on her face to banish the sick feeling that still lingered from her episode...or whatever it was. She had never felt anything so odd before. It was sickening and empowering all at the same time, like some sort of energy had shot through her body, giving her all of the power in the world for a split second before whisking it all away and leaving her as a pile of bones. What was even stranger about it was what kind of energy it was, the raw, untamed, and wild magic of another Taestai. More than she'd ever felt before, it had been like she had inherited all the power of another like her and her body couldn't handle it. It had burnt her soul, caused her to taste the temptation of necromancy because she knew she had the power to bind the dead, and probably the living, to her will and make them do as she says.

But she shook the thoughts from her mind. It wasn't the first time necromancy had beckoned her to its darkness. As a child, the most powerful of Death's messengers called for her as she first stepped foot into the river unsupervised. She had made it close enough to the shadows to touch them if she just reached out. Luckily, she realized what was going on and ran away just in time. Her family had felt what was going on and tried their best to get to her. She found them half way back to the entry point, worried sick and determined to make sure she was untainted by evil.

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on the bathroom's oak door and Hermione's voice cut through the wood.

"Alana? Are you alright in there?" Straightening herself up and determined to look as if nothing was wrong, Alana swung the door open and plastered on a bright and wide smile.

"I'm great." She lied "Just a little tired. But no difference right?" she laughed lightly and smiled again, hoping they would buy her story. Hermione did, cause she smiled too and nodded, but Ron came close to scowling and stayed very close behind Alana, as if to make sure she didn't faint again.

"So what do you want to do now?" Hermione asked "Anything in particular? Book store, Robe shop, anything?"

"Hermione. I doubt she wants to do all the educational stuff yet." Ron interrupted. "Give her some time to get used to this place. Its not like she ever been here before."

"Yeah I was kind of hoping to get familiar with the joke shop before I start helping other people." Alana said. "It would be much help if I didn't know where anything was." Hermione only shrugged and walked down another of the remarkably long rows.

"So what's the real story?" Ron whispered from behind her. "I know you were lying back there. What really happened?"

Alana spun around quickly and stared straight up into Ron's eyes.

"Nothing else is going on. I nearly fainted alright?" She continued studying Ron, looked at his soul and all his potential gifts, a specialty of hers, something her sister-cousin Aislinn said she shouldn't be able to do at all, even if she were of age and Awakened. She could unravel so much about a persoon just by peering through their eyes.

"You have some very special abilities Ron." She said, not breaking eye contact. "Some are already coming out, as you just showed me. You're right, I'm not telling you everything, but that's only because I don't know what's going on with it or even what it is. When I find out, I'll be sure to tell you first, since you'll know anyways. Until then, don't worry, and try pulling out your potential. You'd be amazed at how powerful you really are." She broke her eye contact with him and started exploring the shop once again. Ron, however, stood there looking after her, wondering what on earth she was talking about.