Day what of liking Kadric now? Day one million gazillion? Augh, it seems like that long, and I've only had three tutoring lessons.

It was Sunday, one of Chal's only relaxation days, where she could sit around inside the common room, watching the snow clouds gather in the sky. Winter was coming soon, and it was only the end of October. She had her chin resting in her palm, her elbow propped up on the arm of the small blue velvet chair near the window. From up in the tower, everything seemed so small, and the clouds seemed so close that Chal could just reach out and touch them. At least, it looked that way. The chair was so small Chal had to hug her legs close in so only her feet dangled off the edge. Little black people ran around the grounds, enjoying the last of the good weather. Chalondra sighed and watched her black hair float away from her face as her breath escaped. Might as well dwell on her feelings while she had the chance.

But before she could, she heard footsteps from behind her. She twisted her neck to see a young second year, wringing her hands nervously as she walked closer to Chal, her steps small and timid, eyes to the floor. Chal watched, interested, as the young girl finally made her way up to Chal, still not looking her in the eyes. Her throat made some sort of noise, and Chal realized she was trying to talk.

"Did you need something?" she asked politely, trying to help the girl. Why was she so scared anyway? It was just Chalondra, the Brain, not the Bully. Who could be scared of a nerd?

"Um – uh – you're supposed ta go ta the tapestry on the fourth floor corrida. A man asked me ta, and he said – he said if I didn't, he'd make sha I'd get beaten up by his 'friends.'" Her bottom lip trembled as she spoke, and Chal felt her blood run cold.

"Well don't worry; I'll make sure this person doesn't beat you up." The girl looked up nervously at Chal, who smiled down at her. "I'm not one of the people who would beat you up, I promise. I'm just as much in the dark as you are. What did he say?"

"He saw the blue on me cloak and asked if I knew a Chalondra. I said 'yes, doesn't everyone?' and he told me ta come and get you, and, well, you know the rest." She didn't seem as scared anymore, and Chal felt a bit better. At least she wasn't intimidating or anything.

"Well, I'm going to go find out who it is," she said, standing up and squaring her shoulders. The girl nodded.

"Okay." And then she ran off, shoes clattering against the stone steps that led to the girl's dormitory.

That was weird, Chal thought, slipping out of the common room and heading silently down the tower stairs. Who'd call for me without showing up themselves? And saying they'll get their friends to beat up an innocent kid? Why am I even going? They probably want to beat me up…

Hogwarts was nearly empty, except for a few students and staff milling about, or students just coming in with red cheeks, warming up, and then escaping outside. As Chal walked past the main doors to use the shortcut to the tapestry, she wondered why she hadn't gone outside with her friends. Probably because she had wanted to think.

So much for that.

In a few moments Chal climbed a number of stairs, tickled a few doors in all of the right places, and snuck through tapestries and behind statues to get to the tapestry. She knew plenty of the shortcuts, but she never used them unless she was late for class – which was rarely ever. Soon she saw the tapestry in sight, its gold trim shining in her eyes. In the center stood a large tree, vines twisting around its branches, and from the vines blossomed golden plants that almost looking in the shape of hearts. Chal stopped in front of it, admiring the stitching and the creative idea. Her thoughts were interrupted as a voice from behind the tapestry spoke.

"So you have arrived," spoke a deep voice, "Finally."

Chal cocked her head, trying to look past the tapestry. It was obvious there was a space behind it. The thin gauze material didn't hide much. She could even see a black figure, looking as though it were hidden in a cloak, just like the third year had said.

"Are you too chicken to show yourself?" Chal asked, stomach twisting uncomfortably. Who was this anyway?

"No. I'm…Cautious. Come inside."

"Is anyone else with you?" Chal asked.

The voice didn't answer at first. "Of course not," it said almost too quickly. Chal's first instinct was to run and tell a teacher, because, you know, that's just the kind of person she was. But something else was stronger than her caution, it was telling her to go inside and look…It was curiosity. Chal knew it was going to haunt her later, but she decided to blame it on Kadric's influencing as she looked both left and right, then lifted the side of the tapestry and slipped behind it.

She came face to face with a black, hooded person, their face in the shadows of the cloak. From the corner was a light from a small torch, and Chal could see there was a turn, probably leading to somewhere else. In the other corner a number of old dusty boxes were piled haphazardly. Chal didn't speak at first, too afraid this might be someone who hated her for being smart, and might want to finish her off. Plans of escape came flying into her mind, and she began to get nervous, wringing her hands and rocking back and forth on her feet. What if there was no way out?

"Nervous?" asked the black figure. Its voice was ominous and deep. Chal shook her head.

"Of course not," she replied quickly. The hooded thing only chuckled.

"You should be."

There was a silence after this statement. Now Chalondra really was afraid. What kind of school WAS Hogwarts, letting murderers and other equally dangerous people into the grounds?

"I'll be – uh – going now…"

"I don't think so."

The thing didn't even need to do anything. Chalondra immediately fell quiet, and even stopped her fidgeting. But she was still nervous, still scared. This thing seemed so evil, almost too evil. She had never actually SEEN anyone evil. She'd heard tales of You-Know-Who, but they were just that – tales.

"You're not You-Know-Who, are you?" Chal asked stupidly. The thing laughed. It was cold and high.

"I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"Who ARE you?" Chal finally asked, feeling something like frustration twinge underneath all of her fear. "If you're so great, why don't you show yourself?"

"I don't think you'd like what you'd see."

This statement chilled Chalondra a bit, but she barreled on. "Why did you even want to see ME? I'm not important, I'm not All-Powerful or anything! And I DON'T know all of the secret entrances to the school, so I can't help you bring in an army or anything –"

"Stop talking so much, it's aggravating." The voice boomed, its cloaked self suddenly seeming more sinister to Chal. She quieted, but all she really wanted to do was escape. Why didn't she? She could just dart out and run…But this man wanted something, and Chal was going to find out what.

"Well will you tell me already? It's chilly in here," Chal lied, rubbing her arms for emphasis. All the while her stomach was churning. She listened for noise in the hall, just so she could feel comforted she wasn't alone…but she didn't hear a thing. That made it worse. Her stomach started to shrivel at a rapid speed.

"Have you heard of the Slytherin Kadric Marsters?"

"No," Chal said immediately. She was bad at this lying thing. "I've never heard of him."

"Hmm…He's always talked about you."

Chal froze, but then remembered her lie and began to loosen up. "So? I'm sure news of my skills has gotten around or whatever. Nothing big," she said breezily, all the while cautious. Since when had this man talked to Kadric?

"Do not lie to me, Child. I don't care for it." Silence ensued this statement as the thing seemed to be thinking. Chal couldn't be sure.

"Well, I'll let you know that I'm always watching, if not myself at least someone close to me. Remember that."

"So you're saying you're my – stalker?"

"Stalker? No, no. I'm more the…Informee. You're the Informant."

"Informant?" Chal scoffed. "What do I have to tell you? How to do spells?"

"Oh, I'm quite capable of casting a few spells. A few spells I'm sure to keep under wraps. No, Ravenclaw, I've heard stories from the staff and such that you're being tutored by this Kadric."

Chalondra blushed under his gaze. "I don't need a tutor, I'm smart enough," she snapped, having no clue why she was trying to hide Kadric. Even…Protect him? Nah. That couldn't be it.

"I TOLD you not to lie," the thing hissed. "I have only one request of you – for now. Watch him. Listen to him. Make sure you know what he is doing most of the time. Learn his schedule. Learn anything you can about him."

Chal snorted. "And why would I do that? Why do you NEED to know about Kadric and his time table? This is so LAME –"

One thing Chalondra's mother had always taught her was to never get ahead of herself, a habit of hers. Sadly, those words of wisdom vanished as Chal continued to blabber on, but something silenced her; something cold and metallic at her throat.

It was a wand, pointed at her neck like a knife blade tip. Chal's eyes glanced down to see the arm of the thing still wrapped in the black cloak, not allowing her to see the hand. He was still invisible.

"You will do as I say," he hissed menacingly. "You will come when I send the messenger, or your friends will pay. I know enough about them to get back at you if you disobey. And remember, I have ears and eyes through this whole school. Say ONE WORD and your head will be mine," the thing whispered menacingly, though to Chal it was like a dull roar. This man was capable of killing her. Chalondra was in a life-or-death situation.

This was not good.

She didn't want to tell them ALL about Kadric, which was just creepy. And how was she supposed to learn about him anyway? Blunt questions got you nowhere. But a jab of the wand deeper into her throat made up her mind for her.

"All right," she croaked, coughing as the wand withdrew. She rubbed at neck. "All right," she repeated, though a bit more sadly. "I'll do whatever, just don't kill me."

Pearly white teeth flashed from the shadows. "Perfect," it said, its voice eerie. Chalondra watched sadly as the thing stuck its wand into a pocket. She had been beaten. Whatever this thing was, it had whittled her down to nothing. She had a feeling whatever was happening was big, and she had just agreed to do it.

"So you're NOT going to tell me who you are?" she asked again. The thing hissed, and Chal took that as a hint. With two large steps she was out of the tapestry room and running blindly down the hall, breathing heavy and rasped. She didn't look where she was going, only at the ground, which was now becoming blurry with tears. There were too many secret meetings for her, too many lies and betrayal. At least the other stuff was small, just simple tutoring. But THIS, THIS seemed like a situation where either Chalondra or Kadric could be in danger of death.

"Whoa!" a voice cried as Chalondra ran head on into a body. She bounced backwards and went sprawling onto the stone floor, scraping her palms on the stones in the process. She had her body weight rested on her palms, body twisted to the side, head lolling on her shoulder, but she didn't bother to get up. All she wanted to do was to lie down and never get up. She did just that, letting her elbows buckle and feeling her body thump lower onto the stone floor. She didn't even bother looking at who she had run into, only closed her eyes and hoped for sleep.

This was all too much. She was used to little things – school, boys, and friends. That was the end. But this thing was evil, dark, sinister…Surely connected to You-Know-Who. She wasn't THAT dumb. And it hadn't been Kadric playing a trick either…that voice was too deep, and too old to be a student. Not to mention the thing had been too tall. No, a student didn't know about their tutoring…Yet.

"What is wrong with you?" the voice of the person Chalondra had crashed into asked. It seemed to be above her, but she didn't respond. "I've said your name about TEN TIMES, and all you're doing is lying there like a vegetable!" Chalondra only breathed deeper, trying to think of happier things, happier times. She cursed that second year; she cursed, cursed, and cursed her.

It's not her fault, a voice chided deep within in her head. I know, another answered miserably.

"Look, I'm NOT carrying you to the hospital wing, Genius! I may be brave, strong, handsome, witty, smart, and so on, but I'm NOT a knight or anything! God, just get up and walk, it's not that hard."

The sarcasm in the voice was vaguely familiar, but Chalondra was already drifting off. Not into sleep, but into something else. Usually sleep was dark. Whatever she was seeing now was white, glaring and bright underneath her eyelids.

"Hello? Look, people are staring now. I'm just going to walk off, and that's that. Just because of You-Know-What doesn't mean I'm talking to you. People will think I'm going soft if I touch you."

Who was it that was interrupting her peace? The light started to fade, and Chalondra let out a groan. She didn't want to go back to reality, anything but that…

"Chalondra," the voice hissed, and she guessed that the person was squatting down now. The voice was almost in her ear, tickling the little hairs in it. She only moaned again. "That's it, I'm getting Madame Pomfry. You clearly lost your mind because you missed me so much. It happens."

She didn't respond to the sentence that was supposed to wake her up with a snap. The sentences weren't even making sense.

"That's it," the echoed voice repeated. "I'll wait till everyone leaves the corridor…One person, two…HEY! GET OUT OF HERE, IT'S PRIVATE!"

Footsteps hurriedly running away. Silence. A low sigh. Someone mumbling to themselves, their pacing feet clattering the stones around Chal's head. She grimaced as the light faded. No, she thought, come back. I want to rest.

"I'm never going to live it down. Thank goodness you're unconscious." The voice must have belonged to a person, because a moment later Chal felt herself being lifted up from the stone floor and being wrapped in someone else's strong arms as they trotted away from where Chal had been lying moments ago.

Finally, the light grew brighter, brighter, brighter…

And then Chal was engulfed in it, finally being able to rest.

………

"Could you have been any slower?"

"You asked me this yesterday too, Madame Pomfry, and I'll tell you again, it was embarrassing, carrying someone."

"Embarrassing or not, she could have died, gotten a concussion, or something equally serious. I'm surprised at you."

"Well, what did you expect of me? That I'd unleash my inner hero?"

"No smart remarks, Mister," snapped the orderly voice. The other one only mumbled something in response.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Speak your mind, Boy."

"I said sorry."

"I'm sure you did," the older, woman's voice replied sarcastically. The other made no response.

Chal moaned and rolled over, feeling the crinkly, almost papery doctor sheets over her. The pillow underneath her head was different too. She blinked, and everything was blurry. She lifted a heavy hand to wipe at her eyes, and she felt her lips and throat were dry. She tried to say something, but it came out as a cough.

A blurry figure, not becoming clearer, looked over at her. "Madame Pomfry, she's awake!"

"One patient at a time, Mister Marsters!" Came the reply.

Marsters? Chal thought groggily, trying to register what was happening. But the lights were so bright…Kadric Marsters?

"Kadric?" she finally managed.

"Aw, how sweet," came the sarcastic reply. "I was her first word. I better get the camera."

Chal growled. "Shush," she managed. She tried to sit up, but slipped down until she was on her back. "Water?" she asked, feeling stupid and like a useless child.

"On the bedside table."

Chal stayed silent. Was he stupid? She hadn't been able to sit up, let alone hold a glass of water to her lips.

"Why are you so quiet?" he asked.

Because I just woke up from a coma, Genius, she thought, but couldn't manage the comment. "Pour…It?" she asked, before coughing and hacking her lungs out. Kadric groaned in disgust.

"I'm not your maid, Ravenclaw! Drink it yourself."

Chal only grunted in response. Useless boys. "Why am I – I here?" she asked again, licking her lips so they weren't so dry. The reply was a sigh, and Chalondra looked over to see him sitting in a chair, a grimace on his handsome features. But there seemed to be dark circles under his eyes…

"Well, to start, you're in the hospital wing."

"Obviously," Chal managed to interrupt before coughing. Kadric frowned.

"And yesterday, you were in the hall, you were running for some unknown reason I tried to get out of you, but I couldn't because once you fell you acted like you were dying. You didn't reply to anything I said so finally I had to pick yo – get Madame Pomfry."

Chal was silent as the events she couldn't remember processed through her mind. "I was…Running?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

"Running…" she mumbled, trying to remember. And suddenly, it came racing back. The black figure, the wand, the job she had to do or be dead, all the lies, all the load…

But for some reason the thought wasn't AS exhausting as yesterday. She was still scared, yes, nervous, yes, but at least the few hours of sleep she had gotten came to use. "How long?" she asked again.

"Uh – two, three days?"

"Which one?"

"Three days, all right?" Kadric spat out. Chalondra grimaced.

"Long time. Wednesday?"

"Yea."

"Sorry," Chal coughed.

"What for?"

"Missed…Tutoring."

"Oh, I'm okay. Trust me, no need to worry," came the remark. Chal grimaced. Would he ever change?

"Move, move, I need to see my patient!" Madame Pomfry snapped at Kadric. He willingly stood up, sending the chair flying. Blushing, he bent down to set it right.

"I'll – er – be going now," he mumbled. And without one single sarcastic comment, he nearly flew out of the hospital wing.

"Crazy boy," Madame Pomfry mumbled, feeling Chal's forehead and getting all sorts of instruments out of the bedside table.

"Water?" Chal suddenly asked. Pomfry nodded.

"Of course, of course…" She grabbed the glass and tipped some of it down Chal's throat, soothing it. She continued on with her story. "Don't know what's gotten into kids these days, waiting around night and day for you to wake up, skipping classes to stand outside the door…"

Chalondra spluttered. "He was waiting around HERE, for ME?"

"Well, yes. But he wouldn't let anyone see him. Odd, really. He seemed really worried though, always pacing when you didn't answer. He seemed to be mulling over what happened. Do you remember what happened?"

Chalondra lied once more and shook her head.

"Well, you were seriously over exhausted. Humans can only stand so much pressure, and then they just snap. You snapped a long time ago, but the effects came to haunt you three days ago, and you had a nervous breakdown, or collapse. If it hadn't been for Mister Marsters, you could have fallen into a serious coma that lasted for a long, LONG while. Thankfully, you got here just in time and I managed to scrape you back with the living." Pomfry fluffed out her sheets.

"You'll be weak for the next week or so. And take it easy, NOTHING stressful. Oh, and your other friends keep coming in to see you, but they're really loud. Can you tell them to be quieter next time? Now get some rest, and don't let that Mister Marsters back in, he'll fail all of his classes if he keeps skipping."

Without letting Chalondra answer, Pomfry walked off briskly to the next patient. Chal stared at the ceiling, thinking everything over. Why had Kadric stayed? He didn't care, did he? Of course not. He nearly hated her. He probably just wanted to make sure she was okay so he didn't get blamed for whatever had happened to Chalondra. Of course, that was it.

But why? Asked the nagging voice at the back of her head. Why did he REALLY stay?

Chal ignored it and went onto the topic of the black figure. There was no use in dwelling on what had happened, another useful tip from her mother. Might as well look to the future. That thing would probably keep coming, and Chal would probably have to keep meeting it, but she'd be prepared. If Kadric really, you know, DIDN'T hate her, it shouldn't be too hard to find out things about him. Besides, Chal was a genius! She could figure this out.

Chalondra suddenly felt too tired to think anymore. Although she had been sleeping for three days, she was told to take it easy. Well, the first lesson for that is sleeping. Chal let out a lion's yawn and snuggled deep under the sheets, closing her eyes tight. Tomorrow she'd try to get out of the hospital wing. She needed to ask Kadric a few things…

The last thing Chal saw before drifting off to sleep was Kadric's face, its usual smirk in place underneath the curved nose and twinkling hazel eyes. If only he were nicer…If only he really cared.

A/N: That was the most messed up chapter ever. Just to let my two readers know, YOU WILL LEARN MORE LATER. Don't ask. It will come. Hoped you liked it! Not enough Chal and Kadric, I know, but they both need their break. Heehee.