Chapter 3:

The meeting with the interesting woman had lifted Senna's spirits enough that she decided to brave the library again. Taking a deep breath, the entered the library once more, careful not to make eye contact with anyone. It would only take a single nasty thought to revive her temper.

That's when she realized that she hadn't heard a single thought from Tonks, even when looking directly into those hazel eyes. This did was not very unusual however. From a young age she noticed there were a certain adults whose thoughts she would never hear. Later on, she made the connection that it was the thoughts of very skilled witches and wizards that were usually silent to her. It wasn't until she read about occlumency that she completely understood why she heard some thoughts, but not others. And the first connection she made had made sense to her, occlumency, the act of closing one's mind to intruders, took an enormous amount of practice, concentration, and skill.

This Tonks woman could not be a student then, she was far too skilled. But she couldn't be a teacher either. Senna couldn't imagine someone as young and rambunctious as Tonks being in charge of students. Who was she?

Cautiously weaving through the bookshelves, as to not be seen, she made her way to find the history selves. It would be a good place to start.

Her eyes landed on a worn leather-bound volume. It read Hogwarts: A History. Using a single finger, she pried the book from the shelves. This would be a good place to start.

A chapter on one of the four great founders, Salazar Slytherin, brooded in her mind. This man was one of the most brilliant wizards of all time. He valued particular traits in his students, which were traits that he himself possessed. Resourcefulness, cleverness, determination, ambition, cunningness, and blood purity. Senna felt a bit of connection with the Slytherin house at that moment. Those were values she had prized herself, all except for blood purity. Being an orphan at a muggle orphanage, she would never know her heritage. She was probably muggle born. And Salazar Slytherin did not like muggle-borns. He distrusted them, believing they were intruding on the secrets of the wizarding world.

There was one part of the chapter that sent her mind into overdrive. Salazar Slytherin was a Parseltongue, meaning he had the ability to talk to snakes. It was an innate ability that was inherited, not learned. And the most intriguing part, was that Senna could do this too. It was something that she'd always been able to do. She didn't know there was a name for it, let alone what it could mean. If this was in fact an inherited trait, one only passed down from the descendants of Salazar Slytherin, she may be able to discover her heritage after all.

This thought was both exciting and disconcerting. Salazar Slytherin was a British wizard. His history and descendants were rooted in Europe. Senna was from an entirely different continent. Maybe this commonality between her and Slytherin was merely a coincidence.

Emerged in tales of how Hogwarts came to be, she didn't realize how late it had gotten. A window from the far end of the library told her the sun has set. Not bothering to check the book out, she pushed it back into its place in the shelf, and hurried back to the Great Hall.

Senna had good memory, so it did not take her long to find her way back. She was relieved to see that students were still pouring into the Hall. Shuffling through the crowd of students, she found Hannah Abbot and sat dutifully next to her.

"How was the library?" Hannah asked.

"Grand." Senna told her. "A lot of books."

She laughed. "Yeah. It's a library."

Senna had to lean closer to Hannah to speak to her, the crowd was getting louder. "Have you seen a girl with really pink hair? Who is she?"

A look of recognition immediately flitted across her face. Senna heard her thoughts first.

'She must be talking about that Auror.'

"Ahh Tonks? Yeah she's an Auror, works for the Ministry of Magic." Hannah said.

'I wonder how that even happened, she so clumsy it's a miracle she passed the tests.' Hannah thought. Mental images from Hannah entered Senna's mind. They were memories of when Hannah had spotted the Auror Tonks. Walking into a giant vase near Hufflepuff common rooms, causing it to fall over and shatter. Tonks had hastily tried to repair it, but with it being an old magical item, it could not be fixed by magical means. Another image of Tonks walking into one of peeves' many traps when Hannah was on her way to class. Hannah did not having anything against Tonks, as she was a Hufflepuff alumni, but she felt that Tonks was not suitable to be an Auror.

Then she spoke again. "They have several Aurors stationed here at the school for the Triwizard Tournament, you know, dangerous times, with you-know-what going on."

Senna tilted her head, looking at Hannah quizzically. "With what going on?"

Hannah took a deep breath a looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was listening. "You don't know?" When Senna stared at her blankly, Hannah sighed and continued. "You-know-who's son. All the recent murders and disappearances. They think it's him, the Dark Prince, Prince Struan. They think he's trying to finish what his father started."

Senna blinked. She had heard of you-know-who. He didn't wreck as much havoc in the Americas as he did in the Europe, but a lot of terror and death had reached all around the world. She had not heard about Prince Struan though. The most recent news of you-know-who was that he was destroyed when he tried to kill an infant named Harry Potter thirteen years ago.

Hannah continued. "With all the people coming in and out of the school, especially when the tournament starts, they're going to need all the security they can get."

They could no longer talk. The applause was deafening. They both whipped around to see the students of Beauxbatons striding gracefully into the Great hall, led by their headmistress, Madam Maxine. Their blue silk robes flowed like water in behind them. They walked with a grace that made Hogwarts and Brownwell seem completely uncultured. Albus Dumbledore welcomed them warmly, and allowed Madam Maxine to sit on his other side.

The applause started again, and soon, the students of Durmstrang marched in, all wearing high fur coats and menacing scowls. First years seemed to sink lower in their seats in fright. Again, Dumbledore welcomed them and their headmaster, Karkaroff. He took a place next to Roberts.

They spread themselves among the Hogwarts students. Beauxbatons seem to fall mostly into the Ravenclaw table, while Durmstrang gravitated towards Slytherin. The moment where there were no more standing students, the empty tables erupted in food. Golden plates and goblets made their appearance, along with trays of food stacked many feet high. Chicken and beef skewers, stews and curries, breads, and everything you could imagine. An appreciative roar echoed through the Great Hall, and there was no time wasted before everyone dug in.

When dessert had come and gone, and the last traces of pudding were removed from every table, Dumbledore stood.

"I have the great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts, we are to have the honor of hosting the Triwizard Tournament. For those of you who do not know, the Triwizard Tournament is a friendly competition between selected schools of Magic. A willing champion will be selected to represent each school. On Halloween, we will have the Champion Selections. An impartial judge will decide which students, are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school along with a thousand galleons in prize money."

Senna's own excitement bubbled up from the pit of her stomach. She did not know what this tournament would hold, but it would surely be a test of skill, courage, and cleverness. And that sounded like fun. But it was also a chance to prove herself. A chance to make everyone who shunned her admire her instead. The idea of making everyone at Brownwell jealous of her talent, to make them regret treating her like she didn't exist when they realized she was going to be great, was very tempting. It would satisfy her deep urge for revenge.

Dumbledore paused, letting the roar of excitement pass.

"Eternal glory! That's what awaits the student who wins the Triwizard Tournament, but to do this, that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks. Eager though I know all of you will be, because of the danger involved, only students who are of age, seventeen years or older, will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration."

The excited uproar became an angry one. Students grumbled in distaste, but Dumbloedore merely smiled back at the mutinous faces, his eyes twinkling.

Senna's vision of holding the Triwizard cup, triumphing over the other students, was clouded for only a second. She was determined. She would find a way.

We were then dismissed to our common rooms. Hannah watched Senna, noting that she did not stand up right away as the other students had.

"Is something wrong?" She asked her.

"No." Senna reassured her. "I'm just waiting for the crowd to settle down. You go ahead."

She gave Senna one last worried look before hurrying after the other Hufflepuffs.

It was dread that held Senna back. She wished she could follow Hannah, who had been so nice to her, to the Huffflepuff common rooms. She knew she would not be judged there, would not have to meet fearful gazes. She dreaded having to return to her quarters with the other Brownwell students. She knew what to expect. She would be avoided like the plague.

Senna was not in the mood to deal with the prejudice of her peers. When the crowd died down, she walked into the corridors, and took a random turn. Checking over her shoulder to make sure no one was there, she whipped her wand around her head, casting the disillusionment charm upon herself. She then walked over to the nearest suit of armor and looked at herself. When she saw nothing in her reflection, she grinned at her success. She had been practicing the disillusionment charm a lot last term, and her hard work had paid off. This was a tricky charm indeed.

Happy with herself, Senna weaved carefully between the remaining students in the corridors, aiming to find the grand doors that would lead her outside. Once she found her way outside, she stared at two baskets that would serve as her quarters for the rest of the year. The blue balloon was deflated, sprawled on the ground so that it resembled water. She could not bring herself to enter. Not now, when she had an entire new world to explore.

So she turned around to wander the grounds. She strode confidently, knowing her charm was perfectly cast. Nobody would see her, not even the ghosts.

She froze when she saw a figure move in the darkness. It was probably a staff member doing a patrol of the grounds. She shouldn't get caught, but as a precaution she took a deep breath and focused on closing her mind. She had not been tutored in occlumency, and had no idea if her occulmency worked since she had no one to try it out on, but she read and practiced the basics. It required one to clear their mind, and focus on creating a protective shield around their mind.

She proceeded quietly. With a shield around her mind, as long as the patrolling member wasn't a skilled legilimens or had super-sonic hearing, she would was untraceable. She caught up to the figure she had first seen. It was a hunched old man carrying a torch. He grumbled as he walked, something about 'those damn kids'. She slipped passed him, and re-entered the castle, now heading to the library.

But what she saw next made her heart pound loudly in her chest. A flash of maroon had caught her eye. It was Tonks patrolling that corridor. Tonks whistled a cheerful tune as she strode carefree through the hallway. She swung her hips, dancing to the tune she sang.

She willed herself to relax, standing against the wall, allowing her approaching guest a lot of room to pass. It was just Tonks. Even if she was an Auror, she wasn't a very perceptive one, according to Hannah's thoughts. As she drew nearer and nearer, she couldn't help but stare, transfixed.

She emitted an aura of lightheartedness. The edge of her lip was turned up just a bit, etching a permanent smirk on her face. And there was more that transfixed her. The way she swung her hips emphasized her toned waist. The strip of skin left exposed between her belt and her top was a teaser. It made her wonder how the rest of her body looked. He gaze traveled upward, to the perfectly sculpted neckline, and the rise of her firm breasts. She wondered what it would feel like to hug her, to be held in her strong arms. Catching herself in mid-thought, Senna cursed at herself. What was she thinking?

Her cheeriness made Senna feel a tad bit angry. She was an Auror. How could she be so happy-go-lucky? She was a dark wizard catcher for heaven's sake. She should be dark and brooding, not cheery.

Senna held her breath as Tonks passed her. But Tonks took two steps and then paused. She stood there, her back facing Senna. Senna's heart pounded faster and harder. She desperately hoped that Tonks would not hear it. When Tonks stopped whistling, Senna felt a light sheen a sweat appear on top of her brow.

No, Tonks could not possibly know she was there. Her charm was perfect. And her shield around her mind should be sufficient enough for even an Auror not to detect her presence.

When Tonks began to walk forward again, Senna sighed in relief.

But Tonks spun around so fast, Senna did not have a chance to reach her own wand. Tonks hurtled a non-verbal spell at the exact spot where Senna stood with one quick flick of the wrist. And it did not miss.

Senna's arms went rigid and fell to her sides. She could not move, not even to steady herself. She fell onto her back with a thud. She knew at once that she was hit with petrificus totalus, the full body-bind curse.

"Gotcha!" Tonks beamed.

She skipped around to where Senna laid, and began to pat around. "So is it a cloak or a knack for the disillusionment charm you've got there?"

Finally she reached her, patting her frozen leg. "Ahhh Disillusionment charm! Nice. Who have I got here?" She asked, patting higher and higher to size up her invisible opponent.

Tonks' hand reached her stomach, slowly sliding higher. Her fingers slowly searched the fabric of her robes. Tonks was looking for her wand, to disarm her. Senna knew this, but she couldn't help but feel the heat Tonks' hand left in its wake. A burning sensation that made her throb with yearning. Senna cursed at herself. This was not the time to feel this sort of thing. "If you're a death eater, you're an awfully small one." Tonks commented.

Tonks' hand landed on Senna's left breast and squeezed. An unwelcome surge of pleasure surged through her center, and traveled farther still, until it reached beneath her naval. A moment passed where Tonks' hand froze, and a look of confusion crossed her face. "A female death eater?" She pondered, quickly tearing her hand away when she realized what she was holding. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Tonks leaned back on her knees and held out her wand, then tapped Senna chest with it, muttering a silent spell. As the warm trickle reverberated throughout her body, she knew she had become visible again.

Tonks' eyes widened in surprise, her hair turning a darker shade of pink to match the blush creeping into her face.

"Ah." She blinked. "I remember you." She shook her head, crossing her arms in disapproval. "Wandering the castle after sundown? No, not a very good start, is it? You know, breaking rules this early in the semester shines a bad light on your school."

Tonks pulled out her wand again, holding it close to Senna's face. "I'm supposed to report you, you know. To your headmaster." But she looked like she was debating with herself.

When the tip of her wand touched her temple, Senna thought she was going to be released the binding curse, but when the control of her body didn't come, she looked back at Tonks' face. And her expression sent a wave on anxiety and arousal over her. Her eyes had darkened with some unknown desire, literally. They were now a deep rich sepia, which bore into hers with frightening intensity. She couldn't read her expression very well. Tonks' face had gone hard. But the slight furrow in her brow told her she was deliberating something, something unrelated to the topic of reporting her. Something about this look made the fire burn in her lower abdomen, and it burned hotter than ever.

The wand that touched her temple, gently traveled down her cheekbone, traced her jawline, and then agonizingly made its way down her neck. She swore she could feel I tingle of electricity coming from the tip of her wand. And when it traced the sensitive skin of her collar bone, she would've arched her back, if she were able.

"What am I going to do with you?" Tonks said. Her smirk was no longer playful, but devilish. Her normally cheery voice was deeper and seductive, almost a purr in her ear. And it made every nerve in her body feel alive.

Stay tuned for chapter four… :)

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