Yes, I am alive and no, I haven't ran off to anywhere (and certainly not with Draco/Harry/Ron/Wyatt/Cole and/or resurrected!Valdis).

Ernie: Cinammon. You. Are. Incorrigible.

: Looking shamefaced : Yes, I'm afraid I am Ernie. I can't believe it's been so long since my last update! I don't know how I could've have possibly done this to my readers!

I've had to fight the demons of writer's block, technical difficulties, overzealous professors, and my own laziness, throughout that time. It's been a looooong uphill road, but I've made it!

Ernie: We've. Made. It.

Yes, of course, Ernie. We've made it.

It's just a total shame how, thanks to a new policy of the powers that be, we can't even thank all those faithful readers that have stayed with us, urging us on. How about you just list them all, and que sera, sera?

Ernie: We'd. Like. To. Thank. Mcgirl. CharmingStar. CT Malone. Asian Orchid. Charmed148. Winter Blaze. Silver Mayflower. Brilliance of the Moon. Sveta89. Jackalope hunter. Charmedsisters. Frisbee400. Virginia. Charmedchick11. Harrypotterfan4eva. Colofree. Ori1. bob-the-bear. AK. Charmed Dawn. Sympatheticassassin. Mixer. Charmedsisters. Powerof3or4. And. Coquetry.

Believe it or not, while I err... worked on this chapter, your wonderful reviews made many of my days! Not that there was any reason to worry of course. I do intend to finish this story if it kills me! It's just taking longer than I thought it would... L

Frisbee400 you are truly the queen of amusing reviews, thus I dedicate this chapter to you. I just wish it was a better chapter to dedicate.

And as always...

Ernie: We'd. like. To. Thank. Nightcrawler. Our. Ever. Faithful. Beta.

..oo00oo..

Chapter 25: Turning on the Heat

He looked exactly as he had looked the last time she had seen him, right down to the gleaming Head Boy budge on his old-fashioned robes.

"What are you doing here, Riddle?"

"Now, now, Princess," he scolded with a condescending smirk, "where have your manners gone?"

Talia's eyes glinted angrily in the dim light, but her countenance betrayed no other change.

"I'm not in the mood for games."

The handsome head boy feigned a disappointed look.

"That's a shame." His eyes travelled lazily down her frame. "And I was so looking forward to playing with you," he leered.

Talia moved with predatory grace towards the young man before her.

"What exactly is the point of these little visits, Riddle?"

Riddle just stood there, smirking, letting her circle him and examine him with narrowed eyes, from all angles.

"You and I are alike in so many ways, Talia. Now that you've joined my world, I feel like I should get to know you better," he drawled.

Talia raised an eyebrow at his wording.

"Your world?"

"Don't play dumb, Talia. It doesn't suit you," the young man scolded, though his voice rang with indulgent amusement.

"Last I heard, there's a war going on, Riddle. What makes you so sure you'll win?"

Riddle's lips twisted in a menacing grin.

"It's a matter of timing, really. Dumbledore's too old, and Harry Potter too young," he said flippantly.

"Harry and I are the same age," she reminded him.

"Are you?" he enquired shrewdly. "He is a child compared to you and you know it. He's been sheltered all his life by Dumbledore and his cronies, even if he doesn't realise it. He does not stand a chance against me and he knows it."

Riddle made his way to stand directly behind Talia. She did not turn to face him, just stood there, stiff, tense, yet to his delight, listening.

"You've killed," he whispered in her ear, the words rolling seductively from his tongue, sending shivers up and down her spine and making the little hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. "You've felt the ecstasy of taking a life," his warm breath wickedly teased. "You've tasted the exquisite pleasure of men's pain and seen the life leave their eyes. You've felt your fingers slick with their blood. You've walked down the Dark path…

"And you were magnificent."

"That was the old me," her voice rang forcefully in a harsh whisper down the darkened corridor.

He chuckled and walked to face her.

"Don't be naïve, Talia. People don't change."

"I have," she insisted.

"Have you?" he enquired with a raised eyebrow. Slowly, deliberately, he glided closer to her, once again invading her personal space. "Once a killer, always a killer." He smiled kindly at the brunette before him, "You don't belong within these walls any more than I did, Talia. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner we can explore several other options." His hand reached out to tug lightly at a lock of hair that had fallen in her face.

Talia's eyes narrowed.

"Such as?"

"Join me, Talia," he cupped her cheek with his palm, his eyes burning into hers. "I would make you Queen! Together, the two of us will destroy the world and rebuild it as we see fit! We will be gods! A new world order will rise from the ashes, and you and I will rule over it forever!" he finished off triumphantly. His voice echoed, and the very walls seemed to tremble with his words.

Talia looked at him incredulously.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said, breaking the silence that succeeded his words. "What happened to originality?"

Tom Riddle blinked disbelievingly. Talia scrunched up her face in a gleeful smile.

"Come with me, Talia," she mocked in a deep voice, "let's be evil and rule the world!" She grinned at his obvious discomfort. "Who talks like that, anyway!"

Tom Riddle scowled.

"We could be gods! Come on! Who writes this stuff!"

"You'll be sorry you mocked me," Tom Riddle growled, his face white with rage.

"Will I really?" she counteracted with an arrogant smile. Quick as lightning, her features changed again and she was dead serious. "Let's make sure we understand each other, Riddle. If I can help it, I don't want any part in your little wizarding war, but if my involvement can't be helped, I've already chosen my side. My place is next to my cousin and aunts, and they fight for the Light. Promise me what you will; I will not side against them. Not for power, not for glory, not even for immortality!"

With every final word she took a step closer to him. It was she that was invading his personal space now. Fire burned in the depths of her eyes. He was a good head taller than her and she had to look up at him as she hoarsely declared her intentions and alliances. She paused to examine the damage her words had done. And that's when she noticed.

Gone was the glee from Riddle's eyes, but so was the anger. Talia noted that he had managed to pull himself together in an admirably short amount of time. His eyes were cold now; emotionless portals to nothingness. He hadn't backed away from her, not for a single moment throughout her tirade, and now he took the one necessary step to bring them even closer. Their lips were barely millimetres apart.

"I'll see you change your mind, little phoenix," he said, before finally closing the distance between them with a punishing kiss. His tongue plundered her mouth and his teeth scraped roughly against her lips. His large left hand buried itself in her hair, tugging viciously at the silky strands, while the fingers of his other hand left painful bruises on her hip.

It didn't last long, but it seemed to Talia that it had lasted an eternity. When she finally opened her eyes, he was gone.

Rage burned inside of her. And the hallowed corridors of Hogwarts echoed with the scream of an angry phoenix.

..oo00oo..

After a particularly gruelling Charms lesson, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Talia walked the empty corridors of Hogwarts.

"I love free periods!" exclaimed Ron. "I don't know how we got through school without them when we were younger."

"Lessons weren't quite as hard when we were younger, Ron," said Hermione, stretching. "We really need the occasional break between classes now."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that, Hermione," said Harry, "but I agree. That last Charms lesson was lethal!"

"What are you complaining about, Harry? You did really well."

"So did you Talia, but that's not the point. I concentrated so hard, I've given myself a bloody headache!"

Talia had to concede that Harry looked exhausted. And no wonder! What with all the extra training with the Order, on top of his schoolwork and quidditch practise, she was happy to see him still standing!

"I know just the thing for your headache, Harry," offered Ron with a grin. "How does a game of chess in the common room sound?"

"Sounds good, Ron," Harry grinned back.

"How's that supposed to help his headache?" Talia asked Hermione.

Hermione shrugged.

"Race you?" asked Ron.

Harry's grin stretched. "Go!"

"Hey!" called Ron after him, running to catch up.

Hermione rolled her eyes and Talia chuckled.

"Hey Mione, wanna pay the house elves a visit? I missed lunch today to do my potions homework and I'm starving!

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly Talia, you're just as bad as the boys sometimes. You can't just leave things off 'til the last minute!"

"Oh, Mione," Talia groaned. "I hand everything in on time, don't I? And none of the Professors have any problem with it! Now, do you want to come with me or not?"

Hermione hid a smile and shook her head.

"I want to go over my transfiguration notes from today's lesson. We're working on partial human transfiguration and none of us managed to get it quite right yet," the curly-haired witch admitted.

"Ok, I'll catch you guys back at the common room," Talia said before turning to head towards the Hogwarts' kitchen.

..oo00oo..

"Princess Talia."

The hoarse voice echoed and bounced of the thick stone walls of the Hogwarts' corridor. Talia froze.

She would know that voice anywhere. And it didn't belong in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry.

"Uncle Xander?"

A man in a black cloak shimmered before her. He threw his hood back to reveal silver hair, chiselled features and icy blue eyes. The man knelt in front of Talia.

"My lady," he greeted her respectfully.

Talia smiled. The old demon was incredibly old-fashioned and tended to cling to the old ways. It had been nearly a year since she had seen him and the last time she had seen him, she had been spying on him.

"How many times must I tell you, Uncle Xander? You don't need to kneel before me."

Xander stood up.

"Circumstances may have changed, my lady, but you will always be the Princess of the Underworld."

Talia rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Circumstances may have changed, but you haven't changed at all, have you, old friend? It's good to see you."

Lord Xander, member of the Evil Council, one of the most powerful demons of the Underworld, smiled back.

"I'm not complaining, but what are you doing here, Uncle Xander?"

His smile faltered.

"I'm afraid I bring bad news, Princess."

Talia turned downcast at his words.

"I guessed. Why else would my father send you?" she said, a little bitterly.

"He loves you, child, you know that."

Talia sighed.

"Yes, Uncle Xander. I know that."

They both stayed silent for a while, thinking back to what once was, when the three of them had led the Underworld with an iron fist.

"So what's this bad news you've mentioned?" she suddenly asked with false cheer.

"What do you know of a dark wizard called Voldemort, Princess?" Xander grew terribly serious.

"I've heard of him." she said carefully.

Talia loved Xander and her father with all her heart, but she was clever enough to realise exactly what it meant to fight on different sides of the War between Good and Evil. The last thing she wanted was to betray her friends to their enemy.

Xander noticed her reluctance to tell him exactly what she had heard about Voldemort. He approved and couldn't help but feel a little proud. After all, he had helped both raise her, and train her, into the young woman she now was.

"Lord Voldemort was a favourite of the old Source. He...disappeared for a while and has only now recently resurfaced. He is arrogant, but he is powerful."

Talia nodded. She knew as much and more.

"He has asked your father for your hand in marriage."

Talia's left eyebrow flew up in surprise. That, she didn't know.

"And what did Father say?"

"That the Phoenix makes her own decisions."

Talia nodded stiffly. The marriage proposal had caught her off guard.

"Is that all?" she asked curtly. She needed to be alone right now. To consider this new piece of information on her own, before doing something she might later regret.

Xander shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, Princess. Lord Voldemort has always..." his eyes wondered to take in their surroundings, "taken a great interest in this school."

"So I understand," Talia said regally, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Xander sighed tiredly.

"Entering the wizarding world was not the good idea it at first seemed, my lady. Lord Voldemort knows where you are. He's determined to make you his bride. And he's not going to take no for an answer."

Xander's words echoed in Talia's ears. Her eyes blazed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she hissed.

"Princess..."

Talia looked at him through narrowed eyes. None of this was Xander's fault, she knew that, but it wasn't fair damn it!

"I'm never going to see the end of this, am I?" she said, her voice a harsh whisper in the dimness of the corridor.

"I left the Underworld so that I didn't have to be the Phoenix anymore! I thought being a Wiccan witch in the mortal world would be enough, but it couldn't possibly be that easy for me, could it?" she snarled. Talia started pacing furiously as her voice rose in volume. "It doesn't take a genius to work out that by simply being with them, I was putting my family and friends in constant danger!"

"How many demons are waiting out there, wanting to make a name for themselves by killing me, Uncle Xander? Did you know that before I left San Francisco, we were averaging two to three demon attacks a week at the manor!"

"Talia..."

"Two to three attacks a week, Uncle Xander!

"When I saw my Hogwarts letter..." she let out a mirthless laugh, "I can't believe I was naïve enough to think that the wizarding world could be the answer to everything!

"I thought...well, at least here everyone knows about magic, right? And I wouldn't be expected to kill! And wizards hardly ever have contact with demons and Wiccans!" A bitter smile shaped her lips. "Boy was I wrong!

"A powerful weapon...that's all I'm ever going to be to anyone, isn't it? First the Source, then Perdicus, the Elders, and now Dumbledore and Voldemort!

"I'm tired of fighting, Uncle Xander! Is that too much to ask...to be left alone!"

Talia stood panting after her tirade, her eyes losing for a while their fiery spark. She closed them in defeat, in a futile effort to shut out the world outside.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry, Princess," the demon said softly, patiently waiting for her to get her feelings under control.

When Talia finally opened her eyes, gone was any trace of the young girl that had met him minutes ago. Her expression, her whole stance, was stony. Her eyes were so cold and unemotional, they were positively glacial, but beneath her frosty exterior, Xander felt the raging inferno of the Phoenix's rage and he, a demon that was centuries-old, who had seen some of the most horrific acts in history, who had even been responsible for some of those acts, had to resist the urge to shudder. This was no longer the Talia Turner her schoolmates and teachers knew. This wasn't even the Talia the Charmed Ones knew. This was the Talia he had grown to know and sometimes even fear, in the depths of the Underworld. This was the murderous face the Phoenix's victims saw with their dying breath. She was battle ready.

"Thank you, Xander," she said coldly, "and thank my father too for the warning. I'll deal with this problem from now on."

The aging demon knelt once again in front of her. She did not tell him to get up this time. She was Talia, Princess of All Evil, and he, was but her loyal servant.

"My lady..." he said, taking her little hand in his own and placing a reverent kiss on it.

"You are excused, Lord Xander," she said, distractedly.

And with that he shimmered out, leaving a coldly furious Talia behind.

She stood perfectly still for a few minutes. The air seemed to crackle around her as she battled to contain her rage. Eventually, she took a deep breath, and all but ran towards the Gryffindor dormitories.

..oo00oo..

"Talia?" called Hermione.

But the furious brunette that had just violently barged into the Gryffindor common room ignored her and stomped her way towards the staircase that led to the girls' dormitories.

Ron, Harry and Hermione exchanged concerned looks as they watched their friend march up the stairs.

"What's gotten into her?" asked Ron.

Harry shrugged, but his eyes were glued to the door that Talia had just disappeared behind.

"Maybe you should go check up on her, Hermione," he suggested.

Hermione nodded and headed up the stairs.

..oo00oo..

"Tal?" Hermione said apprehensively, knocking on the door. It was her room too of course, but she was trying to be considerate.

Hermione's mouth dropped and her eyes widened in surprise.

Talia's school uniform was scattered everywhere and her friend was just zipping up a pair of tight leather trousers. All she wore on top was a black strapless bra.

"What are you doing out of uniform, Talia? School isn't finished for the day yet."

"I've had enough of this place!" Talia snarled wild-eyed and wild-haired. "I'm getting the hell out!"

Hermione shrunk back in fear and Talia noticed. Immediately, she forced herself to stop her frantic activities.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," she said quietly, tersely, not looking at her friend. "I didn't mean to yell at you. It's not you I'm angry with," she said in an ever so slightly kinder tone, and moved to her trunk obviously looking for something in it. "I just need to get away for a while, to clear my head, you know?"

Talia held up a black halter top in triumph and proceeded to slip it over her head. Hermione looked more concerned for her friend than ever.

"What happened, Talia?"

The other girl adjusted her halter top and shook her head.

"I wish I could tell you Hermione, and one day, who knows, maybe I will, but I'm just not ready yet."

Her movements were tight and jerky.

"Will you at least tell me where you're going? Or when you'll be back?"

Talia paused the manic brushing of her hair to give this some thought.

Had this been almost anyone else but Hermione, in her present mood she would have rudely ignored them and probably cursed them for good measure. But Hermione had always been kind to her and Talia didn't want to lose the girl's friendship. She suspected Hermione wouldn't take kindly to being cursed, and she would probably fail to understand that Talia never meant anything she said or did when she was angry, like Wyatt and the rest of Talia's family had learnt to do.

"Not sure. I'll probably be back by tomorrow though."

She took a deep breath.

"Look, Hermione, I hate to be rude, but if you want us to remain friends, and believe me, I do, there's a few things you need to understand about me.

"Now, I don't know if you've noticed," she said, her voice suddenly dripping with sarcasm, "but I'm pretty upset right now. I need to get out of Hogwarts before I do or say something that I won't be the only one to regret. Now, please," she leaned in to snatch a leather jacket that hang in her side of the cupboard they shared, "don't stand in my way."

..oo00oo..

Harry and Ron looked up from the new game of wizarding chess they had just set up. Their mouths hung wide open at Talia's appearance. Her...choice of apparel was highly unusual in the wizarding world and very out of place except in places like Knockturn Alley.

"Talia?"

"Merlin!" breathed out Ron.

His eyes first took in Talia's high-heeled boots. They rose to gaze longingly at her slender, leather-clad legs, her body's elegant lines quite obvious through the ultra-tight trousers. They brushed over the flat, exposed mid-drift, and paused rather obviously at Talia's cleavage.

"Where are you going, Talia?" he heard Harry ask next to him.

He finally lifted his eyes to her face. Ron's ears, and entire person for that matter, were bright crimson. Behind Talia, Hermione was scowling at him.

Talia tried to hold back a groan at Harry's question. Was everyone going to ask her the same thing?

"What does it look like?" she answered more coldly than she intended to. "I'm going out."

"But we have Potions in half an hour!" managed Ron.

Talia shrugged and continued walking towards the Gryffindor common room's exit.

"You're planning on skipping class," stated Harry, placing himself between Talia and the portrait. Their eyes locked and they glared at each other.

Hermione and Ron exchanged anxious looks. They'd never seen Talia like this before. Who knew what she would do?

"Harry..." started Ron, but Talia and Harry ignored him.

Talia's eyes blazed.

"Yes," she hissed, "I'm planning on skipping school. Now, let me through, Harry," she growled.

"For all we know, Voldemort's after you," he said, not knowing how accurate his words were. "Let me come with you."

"Harry!" exclaimed Hermione.

Ron held her back. Something was happening between Harry and Talia, something he didn't quite understand, but something that he felt was important and shouldn't be interrupted.

Talia looked at Harry appraisingly. After a while, she nodded.

"Okay, Harry. I'm in a teaching mood..." she drawled.

What she had just said sounded condescending as hell, but Harry got the feeling that she hadn't said it to be condescending.

The Talia he was seeing now, was not the same Talia he had befriended at platform 9 ¾. She wasn't the same girl he had seen every day for the past month, the girl he shared classes, jokes and meals with. She seemed older somehow, more powerful and more in control of everything around her. Little did Harry know that he was meeting Talia, the Princess of All Evil, for the first time.

"You can't go to where we're going dressed like this," she told him looking him up and down, and obviously finding him lacking.

She tugged at his Gryffindor tie, took it off, and threw it on the couch.

"Allow me," she said taking her wand out, aiming at him.

Seeing this, Ron pulled out his own wand. Hermione placed a hand on his sleeve. Their eyes met. She shook her head. Ron had been right the first time. Whatever was going on was between Harry and Talia... They shouldn't interfere.

"Transvespis," Talia said.

Harry found himself dressed in a torn pair of jeans, a black t-shirt and a long leather cloak.

"Let's go, Harry," Talia said as she pushed past him and held the portrait open for him.

Harry turned to look at his two friends who were in turn looking at him and Talia with a mixture of surprise, confusion and, Harry was amused to see, in Ron's case, barely concealed admiration.

"I guess we'll see you later," said Harry.

"Take care, you two," said Hermione, wringing her hands anxiously.

Harry nodded briefly and walked past Talia to exit the Gryffindor common room.

"Wait, Talia," Hermione said just before Talia disappeared too. "What do we tell Snape?"

Talia smiled strangely at her.

"Tell him...I got a message from my father and I had to leave. Tell him I took Harry with me because it's about time someone let him know what's going on. Tell him that we'll both be back tomorrow and not to worry. I've got everything under control."

And with that, Harry and Talia disappeared from Ron and Hermione's view.

"I hope they know what they're doing," said Hermione before burying her head in Ron chest.

Ron's arms rose of their own accord to hold her there.

"Me too. Or I swear Talia's going to regret ever taking Harry with her!"

It was quite some time until they realised the intimate position they were in and drew back awkwardly.

..oo00oo..

"Any idea where we're going?" asked Harry, trying to keep up with Talia, who was practically running down the corridors.

"Somewhere we can get a drink. I need one right now."

"Talia? Harry?" called Ginny.

Wyatt stood next to her. They had just finished their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Lupin when they saw their strangely dressed friends.

Wyatt took one look at his cousin's face and knew better than to ask what happened. She would tell him later when she was ready. On seeing Wyatt, Talia stopped and Harry bumped into her.

The two cousins shared a look. Wyatt was the first to look away.

"Where are you going Tal?"

"Out," she answered, "Harry insisted on coming. We'll be back tomorrow."

"Anything I should worry about?"

"Yes. But it can wait." Her eyes flickered to Harry who now stood at her side. "It's time Harry and I had a heart-to-heart."

Ginny watched wide-eyed as Wyatt nodded seriously. He and Talia had talked about this before.

"But..." Ginny started. Something was going on here, and she had no idea what.

"Come on, Ginny," said Wyatt steering the younger girl in a different direction. "We've got Herbology next and you promised to go over my essay before class."

Ginny allowed herself to be taken away, but her head was still turned in their direction when she was pulled around the corner.

Talia remained standing where she was, looking after the younger pair. Harry started to fidget.

"Err...Talia? Wherever it is that we're going...any idea on how we're going to get there?"

Talia's brown eyes focused on him at last.

"Harry, you wanted to come with me and I accepted because there are some things that I honestly think you should know. Since no one else is willing to tell you, I've decided to take on the task."

"Things about Voldemort?" he chanced.

She smiled and it looked oddly feral.

"About Voldemort, about me, and about Wyatt. I'm going to trust you with a lot of secrets Harry, things that I'm going to ask you to keep to yourself. You can't even tell Ron and Hermione, understand?"

Harry hesitated, but eventually nodded.

"Okay, lesson number one for the evening. Have you ever heard of Wiccan witches?"

Harry shook his head.

"Wiccans, like normal witches and wizards, have magic abilities, but whereas in the wizarding world people need wands to channel their magic, Wiccans don't. It's hard to explain the differences between them, but Wiccan magic is a lot rawer than the kind of magic we learn here. It's both more and less limiting than wizarding magic. As well as being able to cast spells and brew potions, it manifests itself in Wiccan witches, in the form of gifts, or powers, that a witch has.

"Wyatt and I are Wiccan witches. The first at Hogwarts in quite some time. One of my powers is called flaming and it's a bit like apparating, but a lot more impressive-looking. Hogwarts may be guarded against apparition, but it's not guarded against flaming. I can take us wherever we want."

Harry seemed suitably impressed.

"Give me your hand, Harry."

Harry did as she asked and Talia flamed them out.