Chapter Eleven

A/N – Just so you know, there is a talent show at my school in two weeks and practice and auditions start soon…I might try out so it may take me a while to update…on to the story…

Harry sat upon his bed, making sure that the room was empty before pulling out Mia's Replay from his dresser. He had promised Mia that he would watch it that night…and for some strange reason, he wanted to keep his promise. He moved into a cross-legged position, with the replay lying just in front of him. He took a moment to ask himself whether or not the Replay actually worked…but, you wouldn't know unless you tried.

So he pulled out his wand and tapped it once, repeating Mia's words, "Replay." He said. Suddenly a soft light blue glow rose from the stone, sparkles swirled into a ball eye level to Harry. The ball flattened out into a circular viewing screen the size of Harry's head. He saw Quidditch members flying everywhere. He tapped the stone and a large menu popped up, listing the numerous games that Mia had. Not knowing that much about the games, Harry picked the first one and let it play…completely mesmerized with what was happening before him…

Ron was storming up the stairs to the boys' dorm, masses of boys following behind him, ignoring the shouts of Hermione down below. No, it wasn't a fight or anything, McGonagall had caught them making out in one of the broom closets during their patrol. They now had a detention for three days, and Ron was in a foul mood. All the boys were egging him on, trying to get him to spill the details, but Ron ignored them.

"What was wrong with that woman!" he thought to himself, reaching the 7th boys room. "Just because she hasn't gotten any in ages doesn't mean she should take it out on…"

He entered and froze. Harry was sitting on his bed, very dazed, staring at some glowing, sparkly thing. Ron's gaze immediately dropped to the black stone that the glow was emitted from. Thinking the worst, that you-know-who had infiltrated the castle and was brainwashing Harry, Ron ran to the bed, some of the boys staring after him. He flung the stone off of it and across the room.

Harry shook himself from his stupor, noticing that the best part of the Match between the Kenmare Kestrels vs. the Falmouth Flacons. Mia was right, the Kenmare Kestrels were amazing. And many of the moves they did, and formations that they made could be easily used. He looked up at Ron's angry/worried face before looking down at where the Replay should have been. "Ron, what happened to Mia's replay?"

"Her what?" he asked, breathing heavy.

"Replay, I was watching a really interesting match between the Kenmare Kestrels and the Falmouth Flacons on one of her replays, and it cut off…" then something dawned on him. "What did you do?"

"Me?" Ron asked, "ME! I come in here and see you in some sort of trance staring at some glowing ball of sparkles and you ask me what I did!"

Harry looked around, catching a glimpse of the Black stone on the floor by Seamus' bed. He sighed annoyed at Ron before getting up to pick it up. "Honestly Ron, you're getting paranoid," he said before putting the replay down. He booted it back up, turning it to face the guys, showing them the match, "See…" he said. The guys crowded around him, Ron shook his head before silently creeping out of the room, returning to the common room.

Hermione was sitting at one of the desks, face still red from the hounding questions of the hormonal girls. But other than her, the common room was empty. A thought occurred to him, "Hey Hermione," he said, gaining her attention as he sat down next to her, "Have you ever heard of a Replay?"

"Actually Ron," she replied, "I was about to ask you, I couldn't find anything about it in the library and I thought maybe it was a new wizarding invention or something…"

"Well, it couldn't be, my dad would have told me about it…" he trailed off, leaving Hermione to prod about what was wrong. "It's just that…I found Harry watching a 'replay' from Mia…he was just staring at it, like he was in a trance or something…I don't know…something didn't feel right about it…"

"I know," Hermione added after a moment, "Nothing feels right about that girl…"

They sat there in silence for a moment longer, then Ron spoke, "…do you think, maybe, we should find out what this replay thing is?" He noticed the confused look that Hermione sent him, and continued, "Harry said that it was one of Mia's replays…so, do you think that we should…um…'borrow' one of her other ones and see for ourselves what's on them?"

Hermione bit her lip considering the possibilities…and new data she collected about Mia's personality…and slowly nodded her head.

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The next night would find two VERY angry teens cleaning out all the cauldrons in the potion's lab with rags. Ron and Hermione were stuck there when Professor McGonnagal had other business to attend to and told them that they would be serving detention with Snape instead.

They were almost done, they only had another ¼ of the cauldrons left to clean when Mia suddenly burst through the door trying to pull something from her side pack, talking very rapidly as if excusing herself, "I'm so sorry I'm late, Professor Snape, but I had to drop off a book at the library. I was wondering if we could cut the lesson short I think that my ba…" She finally looked up in time to stop her sentence. She looked at Ron and Hermione wearily before muttering a hello to them and heading to Snape's office.

Snape opened his door just as Mia reached for the knob, "Ah, Miss Matthews…late?"

Mia bowed her head for a moment before speaking, "I'm sorry sir, but I had an idea for a new experiment and I wanted to just check something out." She said stepping into his office. The last words that Ron and Hermione heard before she shut the door were, "Did you know that the Crucio spell…" They looked at one another…

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Inside Snape office, Mia had just finished listing the affects of the Unforgivable Curse when Snape asked where she was going with it. "Well, sir," she began, "you know that Neville's parents are in St. Mundo's because of it, and well…I want to help them. Now I know that it is a long shot. But I really believe that I may have a way to reverse the affects." Seeing his interesting look Mia pulled out two magnets from her side pack. "See, the curse or any curse for that matter can be seen like a magnet." She held one up. "If you put the same type of spell or potion up against it, it will repel." She pushed the two north sides close to prove her point. "You could use the Crucio curse to the same degree and cancel out the affects of it or…" She flipped the magnet allowing the North and South poles to attract, "…you could make a potion the complete opposite of the curse, a very powerful soothing/pepper-up/happy potion."

Snape sat back in his chair, contemplating this new theory, "Interesting…"

Mia smiled and continued, "Now, I don't really know how it would work, but I've already gotten Uncle Dumbledore to get permission for us to use the curse on a test subject to see the results. I just don't know how I'd do the rest…will you help."

Snape stared at her for a moment before leaning forward to shake her hand, as he always did when he was willing to help her in an experiment.

"Excellent…"

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Ron and Hermione had finished the Cauldrons a half hour ago, and were creeping towards Snape's door. They hadn't heard anything from the office for a while, and were slightly curious as to what they were up to. Ron pressed his ear to the door, jumping back almost as quickly.

Hermione asked what was wrong, to which Ron could only reply, "They were doing the Crucio Curse."

Hermione ran to the door, kneeling down to peer through the keyhole in time to see, Mia point her wand at what appeared to be a Hamster. Her back was to the door, but Hermione could clearly see the poor animal twitching horribly. She ran back to Ron, "Let's go!" She said, helping him up as they ran out, knowing that they couldn't tell Dumbledore or Harry, knowing that they wouldn't believe them…

The red light faded as Mia collapsed on the ground, sobbing at what she had had to do. Professor Snape moved the two hamsters away with a grim face, before sitting down next to the girl, comforting her.

Her sobs subsided after a while, but she was still very shaky. "PEEVES!" Snape called, waiting for the stupid little poltergeist to arrive.

"What's a Stinky Snapey need?" his incorporeal voice asked.

"Can you please escort Miss Matthews to the Gryffindor tower, our session is done for today."

"But of course," Peeves replied, becoming visible. He gently took one of Mia's hands with his own and led her from the room. Snape could hear him asking Mia if he could do anything to help her…when the words 'neon blue', 'shampoo', and 'Snape' were mentioned, the cold hearted potions master laughed.

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Mia and Peeves were half way to the Gryffindor tower when the Bloody Baron came flying down the hall. Peeves let out a yelp and hid behind Mia, who merely laughed at the situation. "Hello, Monsieur Beauchamp," Mia said curtsying to the French ghost.

"Bonjour Mia," He replied. Mia was one of the few living with whom the Bloody Baron ever spoke to. "Your granfazer wishes you to be in his office…somezing about zee egg."

Mia's eyes lit of at mention of her Basilisk egg. She curtsied once again, biding farewell to the Peeves and Beauchamp before running being a tapestry. One that hid a long tunnel behind it.

"Good thing I know all the passages," Mia thought, as she exited the tunnel. She turned to a statue at the end of the Hall, "Tiddly Winks," she said. The statue jumped to the side, allowing her to enter. She ran a few steps before coming to a large caved in area. She smiled, waving her hand before her, the image of a blocked passage shimmered out of existence. She continued, exiting right out side Dumbledore's Office. "Gummi Bear." She said, slightly out of breath, running up the spiral staircase.

She burst through the doors, just as she heard a crack. The egg, which was put off to the side of the room, had just started to break open.

Mia ran over to it, peering into the crack to see pale yellow eyes stare back up at her. "Hello…" she whispered.

"Hello," a timid voice whispered back.

"You can come out, it's safe." Mia said, stroking the sides of the egg. A small snakehead pushed its way out of the crack. It stared at Mia for a moment. She held out her hand, "I won't hurt you…"

The snake seemed to trust her as it slithered out of the egg and into her awaiting hand. Mia hugged the Basilisk close to her, petting it and cooing at it to calm it down.

"I see it has hatched." Professor Dumbledore said, from his position by Fawkes' perch. The phoenix stared at the snake for a moment before deciding that it was not the evil thing he fought many years ago. Mia nodded, "And what shall you name it?"

Mia thought for a moment, before smiling, "Salazar."

A/N – Next chapter will probably take place around Halloween. There will be a dance, what do you think Harry or Mia should go as?