Rory was on her feet before Marcus took another breath, after she heard the scream come from the village. She turned around in circles wildly, trying to find the shadow of Hogsmede in the fading light. Marcus got up and with a flick of his wand the picnic was cleared. With a muttering of words Rory could not hear, the basket popped out of sight. She let sleeping dogs lie and decided that she would ask him about it later.

KYLEE! Rory mind-shouted frantically as she began to sprint down the rocky slope. Her chest was heaving after a summer of no training but thanks to four years of Quidditch she was is in decent shape. Her fear froze her heart making her muscle and breathing control skew off course. She tripped in the quickly descending darkness and sliced open her forearm on a rock. She didn't stop to examine it but could feel the shot of pain. She covered it with her hand and shivered as she felt her own warm blood on her hands. Chinese Fireball Red, the words were a reaction, all reds seemed to match the red of her hair and nails. She cursed several times under her breath but continued to run.

Rory, I'm in 'Gladrag's' where are you? Kylee answered

Running, really fast towards the village, even in her mind the words were terse and tired sounding.

Avoid the center of town, there's a werewolf about. Meet us at the Hog's Head. Use the rooftops, Kylee said disjointedly as if she struggled with something.

What are you doing? Rory asked suspiciously, almost grinning.

Later, Rory, now run, Kylee broke their connection with this comment. Rory pumped her legs harder. It hadn't even occurred to her that she might have left Marcus behind, but he was right their with her, panting as hard as she was. They stumbled into the back of the village, creeping around buildings to avoid this werewolf Kylee had spoken of. Rory had never seen a werewolf, and she had seen a lot more than her fair share of oddities in her life. Kylee however had, and Rory was the only one who knew. One of Kylee's cousins was bitten by one and he transformed every full moon. It was just her luck that she was visiting her family when he changed. Rory didn't often talk to her about it, because it had obviously upset her. The fact that Professor Lupin was one himself didn't help their relationship one bit.

She and Marcus reached the side of the Hog's Head. Rory let one side of her face turn around the corner.

"WHOA!" Rory whispered with shock. The full moon was still a full week away and they were already transforming? Rory shook her head and tried to think clearer. "Lycanthrope" popped into her mind from Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. She looked again and studied the wolf. It was standing on its hind legs, because of how hairy it was it looked less human than the werewolves she had seen in her textbooks. She felt her gash ooze blood and a small drop splashed onto the stones. Dammit, she thought. The wolf looked up and turned slightly in her direction. Its eyes were aqua, humanity was evident in them. This Wolf had changed willingly from its human form. Where had she seen those eyes before? Before Rory got to ponder this thought more, Marcus grabbed her hand and pulled her back away from the corner.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? It can smell your blood; we have to get out of here," there was fear in his eyes, fear like Rory had never seen on him before. Marcus was hiding something, but she decided it could wait as well. She looked around frantically and found a rickety ladder cleverly camouflaged into the side of the pub. Rory grinned, Thanks Kylee, she thought, but not to her friend. She jumped onto it and ascended it two rungs at a time. Marcus followed quickly Rory stood up when she reached the top but Marcus pulled her down. The Werewolf came around the corner as soon as Rory and Marcus ducked under the lip of the roof. Rory let out a shaky sigh of relief. They crawled to the center of the building. Rory dropped her mental shields a little and thrust power into the stone, trying to find Kylee.

Kylee?

We're here. We're okay don't worry, the trap door is on the far left side towards the back.

Thanks. Rory looked behind her and sure enough a wooden panel had slid loose of its hinges. Rory leapt in, rolling on the floor of the Kitchen of the pub. Marcus gracefully landed, his feet firmly planted on the floor. Rory scowled at his display of grace. She dusted herself off.

Kylee and O'Malley had their faces pressed against the window of the pub trying to get a good look. Marcus whispered for them to get down and they both obeyed wordlessly. Rory went over to her friends and sat down near Kylee. They gave each other sideways looks and grinned. Rory's eyes drifted to a thick black parcel near Kylee's feet. It had the 'Gladrag's' logo stamped on it in gold lettering.

"What, pray, is this?" she picked it up, Kylee snatched it away.

"Later, we have much more pressing matters to deal with, namely the lycanthrope who is standing outside waiting for us. Well you, really, 'Miss I had to run and fall and cut myself and had to spill blood right outside," Kylee took Rory's right arm from her lap and turned it over. Rory had not gotten a good look at the cut. It was deep, but it had stopped bleeding. Kylee smirked at Rory's puzzled look and turned over her right arm, a scar the exact shape and size of Rory's shone pink there.

"What the..." Rory eyes widened.

"I felt the pain, but this was all that showed up," Kylee explained, "Being connected like this has its disadvantages too, I suppose," Kylee said and scratched at it. Rory sighed and touched her own cut.

After being so rudely interrupted Kylee and O'Malley traded looks for a moment before she let go to quickly change. She struggled out of the dress and struggled even more when Rory decided to talk to her as she was trying desperately to tug the zipper all the way down. She felt immensely happy it was some warmth started in her chest and spread throughout her entire body like some crazed vine. She smiled and took the dress out. She hung it on the rack and stood there for a few seconds looking at it longingly.

"There is no way on this earth you are leaving this store with out this dress," O'Malley said to her.

"Yeah...there definitely is, the dress is definitely 50 Galleons...(240 US dollars)" she said and waved the price tag in his face.

O'Malley grabbed the dress from her hands and disappeared to the front of the store. Kylee stood with her hands still in the air as if she was holding the dress. He turned the corner, smiled at her and held-out the neatly wrapped package. Kylee's face was covered in hot tears of pure and absolute joy. One twice in her life at Kylee cried like this, the best part about this time? There was someone there to wipe her tears away.

"So what do we do about this little furry problem?" O'Malley asked as all four of them were watching the wolf pace back and forth across the place where Rory and Marcus had stood, obviously trying to follow her scent. Kylee and Rory shrugged.

"Why are we here, anyway?" Marcus wanted to know, looking up from his hands. The other three exchanged looks.

"It's deep into Hogsmede away from the castle and away from the main part of the village, it seemed like the best place to lure the wolf," Kylee said absently. Three heads shot in her direction.

"What in the bloody hell are you talking about?" Rory said turning to face her friend.

Kylee suddenly stopped moving, her face frozen and those piercing blue eyes widely stared straight ahead. Rory screamed and O'Malley searched the room with panic. Something rustled the air in the far corner. He seemed to pull a dagger out of the air and flung it in the direction of the corner. There was a grunt of pain and then someone hit the floor. Marcus looked into Kylee's eyes, and nodded.

"She's fine. Just stunned, which is odd, because you usually go limp when stunned not stiff," Marcus replied and muttered the counter-curse "Enervate!" Kylee blinked and rubbed the back of her head.

"Why are you guys staring at me like that? Rory were you crying before?" Rory coughed raggedly and roughly wiped her eyes with her sleeve. The boys hadn't noticed. Damn girls.

"You were stunned for a minute or two," O'Malley replied without looking at her. Another knife had materialized and he went over the pool of blood that was slowly forming in the far corner. He groped around until he felt something solid, he pulled and off came an invisibility cloak.

Aaron Young lay very much conscious on the floor. He coughed and clutched his thigh. O'Malley was a good shot, throw, in this case. The dagger blade was completely imbedded in the skin. The ebony hilt was all that was visible. O'Malley got this disgusted look on his face. The anger coming from him sent Kylee and Rory gasping for air, his psychic wave like a tsunami of claustrophobic heat. Both girls hurried to put up their mental shields, Kylee grabbed Rory's hand. Kylee needed help to put up all of her shields, Rory had been at the psychic thing much longer than she herself had. Plus Rory's mother was a telepath, it was in the genes. Rory tightened her grip on her friend's hand as they both struggled to keep O'Malley's anger out of their minds.

Marcus prowled like a cat to the both of them. He looked over Aaron and spat on him. Aaron's pain forgotten, he plunged forward and attempted to take Marcus out at the knees. Marcus, in some freak reflex, jumped back and avoided the long sword Aaron had swung at him. Aaron gasped with pain and sent the sword flying towards the girls. Kylee released Rory's hand and caught the handle before it sliced through the window. She looked over at her ex-boyfriend and grinned.

"Don't think I learned nothing from you," she spun around and cut the air a few times with the sword, "Don't you think either that I never found out that you stole my sword," she smudged the gold on the hilt and tapped her wand with it. Her name in large letters blossomed from place she had touched. She held it up to her eyes and examined the blade. "Glad to see you kept in such excellent condition for me. Bet you didn't think that I would be the one to use it against you," in a flurry of anger hate, and passion Kylee lunged toward the defenseless Aaron. Rory held her arms calmly, more powerful than she looked, Rory had always been. Needless to say, Kylee held a rather large and over-powering grudge. "Let me go," her words were strangled with fury.

"No"

"Now, Rory,"

"No." Rory said and sent a psychic wave to her friend. Kylee relaxed, but her anger was trying to take over. Rory would not let that happen.

"Get out of my head!" Kylee was almost hoarse with rage, "You know trying to control someone like that is against all Wizard laws!"

"No, you are not yourself. I'm not sure what you are but this is not Kylee. Kylee come back," Rory said, her eyes closed trying to concentrate. She thrust a thread of her psychic power to Kylee who went suddenly limp in her arms. Marcus and O'Malley looked at her with astonishment.

"What did you do to her?" O'Malley was still angry.

"She'll be fine," Rory's voice was emotionless, better to be unfeeling than tainted by emotions at times like these.

That was all the assurance O'Malley needed. He grabbed the handle of his dagger and pulled it from Aaron Young's leg with one sharp motion. Aaron's scream was probably heard from miles away. Tears were streaming from his eyes as he clutched his thigh. O'Malley picked up Aaron's cloak and wiped the blood away from his knife. He then ripped the cloak down the middle. The material evaporated before it hit the floor. Aaron's wide eyes were filled with terror.

"I sure as hell hope that hurt," O'Malley's words were like ice.

"You are all monsters, you Slytherins," he spat the name like a curse word.

Marcus lifted him by the scruff of his uniform collar to look him in the eyes. They flashed yellow as they had for Sean when Rory had been attacked. Rory pointed her wand at Aaron and muttered a spell. His cut scarred over and the color returned to his face. Rory lifted herself out of the both she had laid Kylee in and walked over to him. She paced around him, looking him up and down.

"You have been warned. The four of us are a force not to be messed with. You tell anyone, we will take great," she spat the word with such a distasteful tone, her pin straight hair would have curled any other time, "care to make sure you never tell again," Rory said and bit her bottom lip, her signature grin spreading across her lips. Marcus released him and he fell to the floor. Aaron was gone before any one of them could take another breath. Marcus draped and arm about Rory shoulders afterwards. A tear of sorrow for Kylee trickled down to her mouth she wiped it away.

Wake up Sleeping Beauty.

Kylee stirred and sat up. Her head was throbbing and she looked around to Rory who was standing next to Marcus. Kylee tried to scowl but it was as if the muscles in her mouth would only half-smile.

Thank you.

No need, I save you from yourself too often.

I know, don't stop doing that.

Don't plan on it. Rory smiled and walked to embrace Kylee.

"What now?" O'Malley asked his daggers disappeared again. Kylee felt almost uneasy about them, but he had taken action when no one else knew what to do.

"The blood will draw the werewolf back here, if the sound didn't. I say we go back up to the roof and jump the rooftops," Marcus said, looking through the windows trying to find the aqua-eyed beast.

"Agreed" Kylee said and picked up her sword. She felt its weight again and sliced the air a few times.

"Let's go then," Rory walked ahead of them to the kitchen.

"What are we going to do about this," O'Malley pointed to the pool of blood that was beginning to darken.

"Scourgify!" Rory said and the blood seemingly evaporated.

"Guess we do that. Good job for paying attention in Potions," Kylee said nonchalantly, "You saved us a whole lot of explaining," Rory bowed low and laughed.

"What I forgot to mention was the person with a lot of explaining will be Young, since all of it materialized on his head," she laughed darkly. They stopped abruptly to look at her.

"Rory that was pure and unadulterated evil," O'Malley said in a serious manner.

Rory stopped. It had been, hadn't it? She kicked herself for not thinking about the consequences. Damn conscious, she told herself as they ascended the ladder. She and Kylee would have a long discussion about life once they got back to the safety of their own beds. For the time being, Rory was feeling evil, and nothing was going to change that, much to her distaste.

When the four reached the edge of the village, Professor Lupin was pacing back and forth on the street between Hogsmede and the school. Since his days of the Order of the Phoenix, he was older, and greyer. His robes were still as torn and patched up; plus, his hair and goatee were both veined with grey hair. He had stopped when he heard them and looked around to the rooftops until he found the four, traipsing carefully over the rooftops. He waited until they were within the reach of a normal speaking voice.

"You four alright?" he asked them hoarsely, as they climbed the hill the meet him. The dark circles that never disappeared from under his eyes were bolder today. He yawned widely and shrugged at them.

"We're fine. Is the werewolf still in the village?" Kylee asked him. Lupin nodded gravely.

"Most everyone I've seen had the same idea you four had," Lupin gestured towards the rooftops, "Those of you who paid attention in History of Magic around the middle of your second year, would remember the chapter on the formation of Hogsmede. A rooftop system of travel was established just in case of a situation such as this. It has only been used a few times," Lupin scratched his chin, absently, "I imagine you thought of this Ms. Connors," he said looking at Kylee.

"Yes, sir, I did"

"I figured; though any of you would have remembered. Just like Mr. Crane remembered how to revive the stunned," the four were silent with astonishment. Lupin chuckled at Rory's wide-eyed look, "I will have two eyes on Mr. Young from now on. It may have been harsher that I would have liked, but the way it was handled, was" he paused as if searching for the right words. Kylee saw O'Malley hold each one of his wrists for a moment. She knew where he kept his knives now, "Efficient. But you know, Ms. Payne was right when she said that your four are 'A force' when you're together. The next time Aaron comes after you, he will make sure it will be impossible for the four of you to join forces. But I think you are ahead of him on this plan, am I right Ms. Payne?" Lupin was serious, his tone scaring Rory a little, frightening the evil straight out of her system.

"Y-yes sir, I suppose," Rory stopped. Lupin paused, but when she didn't move to finish her sentence, he continued.

"Go back to the castle. Speak of what happened in the Hog's Head no more; you never know who might be listening..."