Chapter 22: Blood, Sweat, & Nightmares

"Wow, Riley! You look…" Spencer trailed off. I was the center of attention in the Common Room and I hated it. He did look pretty decent in his blue robes, though.

"Shut up, I don't look any different than usual." I told him, then softer I said, "It's not my night, say something about Celeste and Lauran, something nice mind you."

"Celeste, those robes make you look skinnier, and yours too Lauran. OW, WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR?" I had smacked Spencer up the backside of his head with a resolute crack.

"Not the right thing to say. Say it again and I'll smack you harder." I glared at him, my eye twitching; sometimes he could be so insensitive.

"Not that you're fat or anything." Spencer added quickly. Lauran actually seemed happy that he had noticed she looked skinnier. Celeste looked ecstatic.

"Thanks," Celeste said before turning to Colby, "Ready to go?"

"I've been ready since you said you'd go with me." Colby said turning crimson. He placed a corsage onto Celeste's wrist.

"Here Lauran," Dean slipped a corsage on her wrist too. "Let's go. I want to dance every song with you."

"Riley?" Spencer asked as we followed them along the passageway, "Do I have to say something sappy to you?"

Laughing I said, "It wouldn't hurt. But don't, the moment is ruined. Oh, shoot, follow me." I pulled him out the front doors and down the stairs around to where they had built a huge porch off of the Great Hall. We went up the stairs and into the Ball. It was too simple. Circling around we met Celeste, Lauran, Colby, and Dean as they came into the Ball. They said goodbye and hurried off to dance.

"Uh, Riley, can I tell you something?" Spencer asked grabbing my hand and pulling me back onto the porch.

"Sure, but then let's dance." I answered, wondering what he was going to tell me.

"I got asked to this Ball by a third year. I figured I should tell you that, even though I turned her down." He looked relieved to have told me.

"Spencer, I got asked by tons of guys. It's no big deal. I only wish the one I wanted to ask me had." I replied coolly.

"Who did you want to ask you? And, what, exactly, is your definition of 'tons'?" Spencer looked puzzled.

"Well, you know there are about ten or so first years. I was asked by at least twice that number of older guys than the number of first years here. And, as for who I wanted to ask me, turns out I came with him anyway," I smiled and grabbed his hand yanking him into the crowd of dancers. Lily stood among them, in blood red robes.

"You know, you're the only one who I wanted to come with too." Spencer told me quietly. We were out on the porch, alone, well not technically since we were together.

"Really," I was having trouble looking Spencer in the face, my insides were all jittery and I felt nervous.

"Yeah, you're my best friend and I love to spend time with you. It's more fun than just being with a bunch of guys." My stomach sank. I felt crushed.

"Oh, okay," was all I said back. I felt a tear run down my face. "Hey, Spencer, I don't feel too great. Let's go back to the Common Room, okay?" I wanted to get away from him, fast.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Spencer sounded concerned. I couldn't look at him.

"You could say that…" I trailed off. My insides were burning; I was going to burst if I didn't cry soon.

He took my chin and made me look at him. "You're crying. What's wrong? What did I do this time?" He wrapped his arms around me. I buried my face in his robes.

"Nothing, I'm the stupid one." I pulled away and started pacing, "I thought you wanted to come to the Ball with me because you liked me, not because I was you friend. I'm stupid, and I'm going upstairs."

"No, you're not going anywhere." He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. "I did come with you because I liked you, and not just as a friend either. Riley, I really like you." His fingers laced with mine and we stood at the edge of the porch looking out over the grounds.

He leaned in. I was going to kiss him in ten seconds, nine, eight, seven, six, five… I saw something over his shoulder, something big and black with blood red eyes.

"Spencer, get down!" I shoved him and he half dove half fell over on the ground. As for me, well if you're squeamish don't read what happened next. Just skip to Chapter 23 and read from there.

I was knocked full force backwards and off the porch. It's a good thing my robes were dark green. I landed bruised, but not broken at the bottom. Spencer hung over the railing and yelled to see if I was okay.

Before I could answer the thing made another swipe at me. This time it landed and its talons connected with my face. It made a few swipes and I felt the pain in the center of my forehead. Blood ran down my face and I passed out of consciousness, only to awake a second later to see Spencer standing over me.

"Get help, she's crazy!" I gasped before sliding out of consciousness indefinitely.

Chapter 23: The Scar

Welcome back squeamish people! I opened my eyes and sat for a minute just thinking about how much my head hurt. And, not to exaggerate or anything but it felt pretty bloody bad! Reaching up I felt a large bandage covering my head. I suddenly remembered what had happened and sat bolt upright.

It was pitch black in the hospital wing and I was completely alone. I really wanted to go back to my own bed in the dormitory. I was very tired even though I had just been out cold for God knows how long. I scanned the wing for any sign of other people, it seemed devoid of life. I lay back down and went to sleep.

"She's just fine. She woke up sometime last night and went back to sleep. I do need to wake her up, though, so I can change her bandages." Madam Samina told someone. I didn't feel like looking to see who. My head hurt about a billion times worse than last night. I forced myself to open my eyes and sit up. It was a slow process.

"Honey, you need to wake up." I cringed as I head the voice; my mother had come to Hogwarts.

"I'm up! And Bloody Hell does my head hurt!" I said venomously. "Why are you here?" I spat at my mother.

"I wanted to make sure you were fine. Then I'm taking both of my girls home for Christmas."

"I think not." I said, "I want to stay here, and I'm not going anywhere with Lily!"

"I think it would be best if you left while I change her bandages. She's not going anywhere before Christmas, I need her under my care. You go ahead and take your other daughter home; I think it would cause less stress for Miss Potter." Madam Samina informed Mum coolly.

"Okay, I can do that, but let me just say goodbye to Riley first, it won't take long." Mum hugged me and then left saying, "Merry Christmas."

"There, that solves you're problem doesn't it? You don't have to stay in the hospital wing for very long but I do want you to stay at school. Now, let's have a look at that wound." Madam Samina gently pulled off my bandages. "Hmm, it's still bleeding. You'll have to stay in the hospital wing at least one more night. You don't have a very healthy pallor to you. You've been bleeding freely for about nine hours; I think you need some blood replenished. That wound just keeps on bleeding. Here this'll do the trick." She stuffed a spoon with a vile tasting liquid into my mouth. I had no choice but to swallow it.

"What does it look like?" I asked her. "Will I have a scar?"

"Oh, yes. You'll never be rid of that scar, looks just like a lightening bolt. Exactly like your father's. Now hold that on your forehead, that's the ticket, I need some more gauze." She bustled off to go grab some.

"Riley, you're awake!" Celeste ran into the hospital wing with Lauran close behind her.

"Yeah, though it hurts a lot less if I'm sleeping." I joked laughing, "Hey, where's Spencer?"

"His parents wanted him home at the last second. He left on the train first thing this morning." Lauran said. She looked ready to burst; like she really wanted to tell me something. "Guess who kissed Dean last night? Oh, that would be me!"

"Congrats," I stiffened up at this mention of kissing; I had never gotten my kiss from Spencer. "What about Colby, did he kiss you?" I was very unenthusiastic but they didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, and then Spencer carried you in all covered in blood. Everyone got quiet and the teachers didn't ask any questions before whisking you away to the hospital wing." Celeste seemed eager to discuss this fact.

"You know what's weird?" Lauran asked, "You didn't have any blood on you, but it was all over Spencer, it even got on Celeste and I later, but there wasn't any on you."

"That's odd." I had said no more than five words since I found out that Spencer was gone. I wanted to talk to him and make sure that last night wasn't really a figment of my imagination and I hadn't hit my head falling down the stairs or something stupid like that.

"So what's your scar look like? Is it just a straight cut or what?" Celeste filled in the silence quickly.

I pulled the cloth off only to find I had stopped bleeding. Madam Samina came back over.

"Wow, that's amazing. You've stopped bleeding. I still need to wrap your head though." She wound the gauze around my head. "I suppose you can go if you want to. Nobody's here because they all went home for break. Come back after dinner and again in the morning and we'll change those bandages for you."

I stood up and walked out of the hospital wing with Celeste and Lauran. I went straight to the dormitory and went to sleep. I slept until three that afternoon. Hey, when a person has to sleep, a person has to sleep.

"About time you got up. Come on, let's go fly our brooms. I'm bored." Celeste complained as I came down the Dormitory stairs. She and Lauran were sitting with Colby and Dean in the Common Room.

"I can't fly very well," Dean admitted, "Never been much good with a broom, no matter what use you have for it. I'm Muggle born and didn't fly before coming to Hogwarts, I still prefer to keep my feet on the ground."

"Why? Flying is so much fun. You're missing out." I told him curtly, "Lauran will help you, it'll be fun."

"Yeah, I can help. We won't let you fall off your broom and break something." Lauran sounded happy.

"And if you completely suck I promise not to mock you for the rest of your schooling career," I promised solemnly.

"You can't be as bad as Riley's sister," Celeste didn't notice the look on my face as she said this. "No one is as bad as Lily is at flying."

"Okay, let's give it a go. May as well try…" Dean didn't look very convinced at all.

We went down to the Quidditch Pitch and flew until dinner. It turns out Dean was pretty bad, but not the worst I've ever seen. I really wished I could talk to Spencer, but whatever. Lauran and Celeste were arguing over something stupid and I was stuck eating by myself at dinner because I refused to take sides. They had made up by the end of dinner though; they couldn't stay mad at each other for very long.

The evening was uneventful except for the lovely experience of changing the dressings around my head. The stench was awful. I had never smelt anything that nasty before. Madam Samina said it was normal for odd cuts from strange creatures to smell bad. I asked her if it was possibly poisonous. She just laughed and didn't answer; which made me highly suspicious since my parents did that when bad things happened, like when Dad couldn't make Graduation. I went to bed earlier than I would have if Spencer had been there and just lay there. Did I mention I really needed to talk to him?

Chapter 24: Christmas

"Riley, wake up. Oy! presents!" Celeste jumped on my bed and I woke up about three feet in the air.

"Where are the presents? I can't see any." I got out of bed and peered down to the end of my bed. "Oh look, I've got one, two, three, four, woo-hoo four presents. I seem to be overflowing with presents. I'm going back to bed."

"No, open them. I think that one's from Mum, that one must be from your mum, and the other two are from Celeste and me." Lauran said, pointing. "You should really get a violin to play you a mournful tune. Maybe you could enchant it to play endlessly."

"Ha ha ha, I'm really laughing now. Fine, it's too light to go back to sleep anyways." I sat at the end of my bed and reached for the top package.

It was from Mum. She had sent me a chocolate egg. Whoopee, Mum really loved me, to send me one whole chocolate egg that cost, like, 5 Knuts. The next package looked a little more promising. It was from Alicia Weasley, Celeste and Lauran's mum. She had knitted me a sweater with a big letter 'R' on the front. It was colored red and white. It also held a huge box of cookies. Celeste had gotten me 'A Guide to Proper Broomstick Etiquette' by Louise Fluttery. Lauran got me some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, some broomstick accessories like a compass for long flights and a book of simple charms for attaching things to a broom. That was the extent of my Christmas presents.

"Thanks you two. What a great Christmas I'm having. Mum even thought to put in a napkin for my chocolate egg." My voice dripping with sarcasm I bit my egg in half. I just loved this Christmas, and New Year's would be even worse.

"Jeez Riley, cheer up or it's going to rain in here. You usually love Christmas." Celeste had barely even made a dent in her pile of presents. I really felt loved at the moment. "Wait, where are you going? Don't you still have presents?"

"No, I only got four. An egg from Mum, a sweater and cookies from my true mum, Beans and stuff from Lauran and that book from you. I'm done opening presents." I went over to the window and sat on the seat watching Celeste and Lauran open their presents.

"Wow, you must feel loved. Wait, you didn't mention a present from Spencer. Did you guys have a fight or something?" Lauran asked suspiciously.

"Maybe we did." I answered, "I don't really remember exactly what went on seeing as how my head was sliced open two seconds later. What the bloody Hell is that?"

An oddly shaped thing was flying towards the window. I backed up and opened the window. The thing flew in. It turned out to be two owls carrying what appeared to be a large package between them. I noticed that one was Zandra; the other owl was Spencer's owl, Dionysius. Don't ask where that name came from; it's a very long story. The owls landed on the bed and I hurried to untie the package from them. Zandra perched on my shoulder and Dionysius flew to the top of the window and perched there. I opened the bulky package and out fell a couple smaller, badly wrapped packages.

"This one's for you, Celeste. Here Lauran, this is yours. So this must be mine." I handed the packages to their proper owners and went back over to the window seat to open my package. Dionysius landed on the seat next to me hooting softly.

I ripped open the package and a note fell out. I picked it up off the floor and read:

Riley,

Sorry I couldn't stay but Mum wanted me home. I really would rather be at school. I hope you're fine. You'd better like your present seeing as how I picked it out especially for you.

Spencer

I looked to see what it was. It turned out to be two books. One was filled with various spells that you didn't learn until your 4th, 5th, or even 6th & 7th year at Hogwarts. The other was a journal. That's right; Spencer got me a JOURNAL, FOR CHRISTMAS! I opened it up and flipped through it, and a note fell out of the pages.

Riley,

This isn't just any journal. It has magic properties that allow you to make an entry in minutes. It can tell most of your thoughts and can elaborate on your story. You should write down what's going on because I feel that it will be very important to the world someday to find out where you came from and who you were, even at 11 years old. Only you can read it, unless someone has your permission so no one can pry where they don't belong.

Spencer

Okay, even though it's completely retarded to get a DIARY from your HUGE CRUSH, it was kind of sweet, in a strange and retarded way. I mean he thinks it would be beneficial to the world to know who I am and where I come form. While creepy, maybe he's right. Lily's and my showdowns could be considered very humorous to someone someday. Maybe it's not such a bad idea.

"Ooh, what did he get you?" Celeste demanded. I threw the spell-book to her.

"Wait, that's not all he got you. What's that?" Lauran had seen the journal. I tossed it to her with the note sticking out of the top. She read it and thumbed through the pages.

"That's pretty Bloody wicked!" Celeste exclaimed as she looked at my journal. "I want one. All he got me was a huge tub of chocolate frogs."

"I'm not going to USE it!" I said, rolling my eyes. "Why should I keep a journal? Nobody wants to read about me and my boring life!"

"I've always thought you would amount to something. And you have an interesting life! Let's see: You speak snake, your sister is mental, your dad is a bad wizard catcher, you and your mom have huge issues, you keep ending up in the hospital wing, you were attacked by a giant bird, you have a scar identical to your father's, and you are completely falling for your best friend. I think people would want to read about you!"

"What are you talking about! I am not falling for my best friend! Where'd you get that idea?" I spluttered.

"It was kind of obvious. You and Spencer very definitely like each other." Lauran told me calmly.

"Yeah right," Was all I could say, "I'm not exactly pretty, or smart, or even, well I am kind of funny. Wouldn't you agree?"

Celeste snorted with laughter, "You're so modest, Riley." She said sarcastically. "And you're not ugly either! Now stupid, I'm not quite sure." She trailed off.

"Hmm, fine! Toss me that journal and maybe I'll write in it, but I'm not promising anything, you understand?" I watched as they both nodded their heads. "Good, now that we've got that established, let's go eat. I'm starved!"

We headed off to the Great Hall and ate THE most delicious breakfast I'd ever eaten. I was ecstatic, Celeste said it was obvious Spencer liked me, but then she was wrong sometimes.