I do not own the Harry Potter books and/or movies or anything associated with them except for this story and others I have written and will write.

Ginger, magic,

Pies and tea

Look past these things

And you'll see

Beneath the fire

Beneath the rain

Lies a place

Where darkness reigns.

I have gotten my love for this story back by thinking of the actual plot line. It was hard, but I did it. Lol!

BEHINDAHEAVYDOOR

"Wait wait wait wait wait. We can't both try out to be seeker! One of us won't make it!"

"You mean there are more than one position?"

"Didn't I tell you that?"

"Yes."

There was a long pause and then Tom questioned, exasperated, "What?"

"I just wanted to make sure." Amaya smiled at her friend and let out a small laugh, "I think I'm going to try out for beater."

Tom and Amaya had been hanging around each other quite often as of late. They were barely ever seen apart, and had nearly all of their classes together. Some rumours had started to fly about the two of them being more then friends, but they seemed unreal. Girls jealous of Amaya had simply started to spread their hopes that Tom's friend had slipped him a love potion.

But some people believed them. After all, Tom didn't even really speak to anyone else. He seemed…happy. He was very different.

"A beater?" Tom said in his low, dark voice, "I can't picture that, but" – he brought the bludger out of its case – "let's see what you've got. I'll throw the ball your way and you whack it as hard as you can."

Amaya picked the bat off of the ground and waited patiently as her friend hesitated at throwing the ball. After all, it was quite possible that she might miss and she would be hit smack in the face with a bludger.

Tom seemed to decide after a while, and threw it lightly her way.

The witch wound up the shot and, in blinding speed, rammed the bat against the sphere, which flew over the lake in a blur and didn't stop until it hit a tree (and dented it) on the opposite shore.

There was a long silence.

"I have never seen a bludger going that fast in my entire life."

Amaya grinned, "I hit the right tree!"

"You were aiming for that? Merlin, nice shot, Lekruz!"

After nearly two hours of practise, the duo went in for classes. It was the first Friday of October, and Halloween was coming quickly. They wouldn't want to have detention on the day of the big 'event' (whatever that was, it seemed like it was going to be fun. The Prefects and Heads were getting quite giddy).

ANDPASTAPOISONMIST

Tom stretched his arms and rolled over on the couch. It was 3:00 in the morning, and he was currently brushing up on his dark arts, as he hadn't anything else to do and his fellow Slytherins (what loud sleepers) weren't allowing him to sleep. He had been ever so slightly grateful, though, when he had first glanced up at the clock. He hadn't had much of an opportunity to study his favourite type of magic anymore, as – even when he awoke at 5:00 – there were always at least five people in the common room. And the only possible place to test this dark magic (which he had been having frequent yearnings to do as of late) without being detected was the Chamber of Secrets, and Dumbledore had been watching him too closely over the past few years for that.

The dark Slytherin looked once again down to his book, skimming across the pages for a charm that would allow him to become invisible for a few hours. He so wished he had an invisibility cloak…he could sneak deep into the Forbidden Forest without any of the creatures bothering him. He might even be able to find a relatively safe cave to practise in…

"Oh…this looks like really advanced magic, Tom. Can you actually do this?"

Tom visibly jumped and stared down at the place where that voice had just come from. He was momentarily relieved to see the two familiar green eyes of Amaya staring back at him, but his attitude quickly changed when he saw her reading one of his books.

"Lekruz!" he gasped, closing the book with her hands, "You really shouldn't be reading those books! Here, you wouldn't like them…"

He slid Advanced Dark Arts for Rising Dark Lords out of his friend's hands and handed her a book on white magic.

"These spells are much more helpful for everyday use…"

But Amaya still looked interested in the book he was holding.

"What's wrong with the book you're reading?" she asked.

Tom hesitated for a moment, turning the bundle of paper over in his hands. He couldn't think of any excuses at the moment, and didn't think he should be telling her about the dark arts, never mind the fact that he was interested in them. It was one of those secrets he knew not to tell, and swore to himself that he never would…just like the Chamber of Secrets.

"Nothing's wrong with it." He said, "You just wouldn't like it."

"Oh yeah?" Amaya gave him a glaring look that made her look a little less innocent than normal, "Try me."

Something flip-flopped in Tom's stomach, and he matched her glare with an empty stare. For a while he had started to think of Amaya as slightly dim-witted and not just unaware, but maybe she could hide things too. He didn't know anything about her, after all, and he knew that she wasn't happy all of the time. That night near the beginning of the term…he still remembered it…

"Fine." He seethed, dropping the book into her hands, "If you really want to learn the gist of dark magic, I suggest you start on page 274."

He collected the rest of his books and walked away, wondering when he should plan his next meeting with his little group of followers, and how his pet basilisk was doing.

LIESADEADLYCHAMBER

Amaya watched Tom's retreating back, knowing full well that he was hiding something, and that she held the answers to her questions within her hands.

She wasn't even sure why she wanted to…understand why he was so secretive. She thought, for a moment, that it was rather rude of her, and that perhaps she should simply give the book back and apologize for nosing around in his business. That's what she should have done, given how much he'd done for her…

But she didn't.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she reminded herself that, unless there were charms cast on the book, Tom wouldn't have any idea of whether she read it or not.

Amaya unclasped the leather binding, and carefully flipped to page 274. She noticed, automatically, that the two pages in front of her were just a list of spells: what they did, and how to use them. She glanced at the first one, which said…

The Impervious Curse: This curse enables the caster to control their target to full lengths, if used effectively. The caster will be able to order the target to do absolutely anything, and is very useful for spying or good death cover-ups (suicide). This curse is, of course, one of the Unforgivable Curses, and a favourite among high-ranking dark wizards. To use this spell…

Amaya looked confused for a moment, and tried to hide a smile. There were bad wizards, too, not just bad people? Wizards killed, too? She averted her eyes back down to the paper…

The Cruciatus Curse: This curse inflicts a large amount of damage upon the target. Caution: If being used discreetly, cast silencing charm on victim first. Good for torturing, and acquiring information. This is another Unforgivable Curse, and is, again, favoured among high-ranking dark wizards…

Amaya shook her head and sighed, knowing that this truly was none of her business. Tom had every right to hide this from her. If she told anyone, he would obviously be sent of to this…Azkaban…and he must have not wanted that.

But death was not a bad thing, she found herself thinking. It made people sad, yes, but people who died could be going on to even better places than this wonderful world she was already in. They could be happy, and wouldn't everyone want that? Perhaps it was even a favour, to kill someone…

But she could understand why Tom didn't want to tell her.

Suddenly, she stopped thinking and looked around the room. Standing up, Amaya reminded herself not to think such things. She had heard of wizards who could read minds, and she wouldn't want her friend getting caught doing bad things…if they were even bad at all.

She couldn't help but feel a slight interest towards this dark magic, though. Tom seemed to like it, and she couldn't deny the fact that she thought she might want to learn a bit more of it. Later, she would assure Tom that she wouldn't tell anyone, and maybe ask to borrow a few more books. Surely, if she kept his secrets, he would keep hers?

WHEREIDOLOVETOGO

Sorry it was so short, really! But I don't even think many people are ready this anyway! Well, I still like writing it! Hope whoever's reading it enjoys! I write it just for you! Thank you for the review, ImpracticalMagic!