A few weeks had passed without anything too exciting happening. Layla was getting to know the castle and grounds quite well, and had become a favorite of the librarian, Madame Pince. Skye and her had become fast friends, but Ren remained rather distant.

One day in the middle of November, Layla sensed an odd excitement in the Great Hall when they went down for breakfast. For a moment, she was confused; until she remembered that the first Quidditch match of the year, Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff, was scheduled for later that morning. It had been all that Ren had talked about for the past week. Though her sister was a huge fan of the sport- her favorite team being one of the few French teams in existence, the Quiberon Quafflepunchers- Layla had never really cared for Quidditch. Nevertheless, she allowed herself to be talked into going to watch the game.

"I sure hope Ravenclaw wins. Slytherin is usually a very tough team, and it's rare that Ravenclaw wins," Skye said as they walked towards the pitch.

"Looks like a nice day, though," Ren said awkwardly.

Despite the fact that it was autumn in England, it was warm, with puffy clouds decorating the sky and blocking out most of the sun's rays.

Joining in with the crowd that had been ahead of them, the twins followed Skye up a crooked staircase. Layla was afraid that the stairs would crumble and collapse, but they made it safely to the top. Looking around, a sea of blue and bronze greeted her eyes, offset by about one-fourth of the student body decked out in green and silver. She resisted the urge to cover her ears and block out the noise of the crowd, but then a deafening silence swept across the pitch as two small groups of people came out from the locker rooms. The captains shook hands in the center of the center of the field, and the balls were released. A moment later, the players mounted their broomsticks and kicked off from the ground, and the game had begun.

The two Seekers soared up above the other players and instantly began to circle, watching like hawks for the glint of gold that was the Snitch. The Keepers both flew to their goal hoops, but it didn't do Ravenclaw any good; a few seconds after the game had begun, one of the Slytherin Chasers scored. Ravenclaw managed to score a few times before the Slytherins began to dominate the game again. Layla watched the game, feeling rather bored. Suddenly, she noticed a Bludger about to hurtle past the tower that they were sitting at the top of. She stepped back, then realized that Ren hadn't seen it and pulled her back, a little more forcefully than she had intended to in her haste. Ren fell back into the person behind her as the Bludger whistled past them.

Layla turned around to help her sister up, opening her mouth to apologize, but froze. The girl who had caught her sister was still holding her, and it was the girl that Ren had kept staring at since they had arrived at Hogwarts.

"You okay?" the girl- Layla thought her name was Audrey, but wasn't sure- asked.

"I… yeah… caught off guard," Ren stammered, almost as if she was in a trance. Audrey let go of her and turned her attention back to the game, but Ren seemed dazed as she did the same.

Five minutes later, Layla was ready to scream from boredom and suffocate from lack of air. She wasn't sure if it was the altitude or the amount of people around her, but she didn't care; she needed to walk around.

"Look out for Ren for me, will you?" she asked Skye. "I need to go for a walk."

"Okay," Skye said, turning back to the game.

Pushing her way through the crowd, she managed to make her way down to the bottom of the stairs, where it was considerably less crowded. She had only taken a few steps towards away from the staircase when someone ran into her.

"Ah, I'm sorry," the guy said, holding out his hand to help her up from where she had fallen.

Though she normally would have ignored the offered hand in her usual display of coldness and independence, Layla felt that she should let him help her, so she did. A second later, she was on her feet, though rather close to the guy she had bumped into. Her mouth dropped a fraction of an inch as she looked into his dark brown eyes; their depth was astonishing, she felt herself getting lost in them, and quickly averted her eyes, now looking at his overall appearance. Short hair that was almost black held the smallest amount of gel, and his skin was a slight tan, that reminded her somewhat of Professor Daniels. Realizing that she was staring, Layla bit her lip as her face flushed slightly from embarrassment.

"Désolée… je suis tellement stupide…" she muttered, unknowingly reverting to French.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. And you shouldn't call yourself stupid, because I doubt that you are," he said with a grin. "I'm James, by the way. James Karn. Comment tu t'appelles?"

"Je m'appelle Layla Sorge. Tu parles français?" she replied, her face lighting up.

"Un peu. Je préfère l'espagnol. Tu le parles?"

"Un peu," she said with a small smile. "I wondered where you got your accent. You speak English without much of one, but when you speak French, you have such a strong Spanish accent."

"Yeah, I need to work on that… so, what did I miss of the match? I was in the library, didn't realize how late it had gotten."

"You haven't missed much. It was 150-30, Slytherin winning, when I left."

"Damn," James said. "My house never wins Quidditch games, it's rather pathetic."

"Your team might catch the- oh, what is it called- the little golden ball."

"The Snitch?" he asked, stifling a laugh. "I doubt it, the Slytherin Seeker is really good, and our good one graduated last year."

"Sorry, I don't know anything about Quidditch," Layla said, blushing slightly again. "My sister tried to explain it to me a million times, it just never sinks in. I can't even ride a broom properly."

"I'll teach you some time, if you want," James volunteered. "I'm sorry, but I have to go, though… I promised my friend I'd meet him here, and the game could end at any second."

"Oh, right, sorry. I'll see you around sometime?"

"Bien sûr," he said with a smile, before he turned and walked towards a different set of stairs. Layla watched him until he disappeared in the crowd, and shivered. It felt as if her entire body was tingling on the inside, and at the same time, it felt as if there were chains holding down her heart, which so desperately wanted to leap with joy, but couldn't because of the iron weight. She was floating on air, and both loved and hated the feeling. Thoroughly confused, she headed back up to where Skye and Ren were absorbed in the game, and resumed her seat between them.

Two minutes later, the score was still 170-30, Slytherin in the lead, just as it had been when she had first returned to the stands. Almost every student in attendance seemed to gasp at the same time, as the two Seekers both hurtled towards the ground. The blue blur, signaling the Ravenclaw Seeker, was in the lead until one of the Slytherin Beaters aimed a Bludger at him. He swerved to avoid getting hit, giving the green blur behind him just enough time to fly past and grab the Snitch. Just like that, the game was over, and Slytherin had won, 320-30.

"Ren, are you sure you're okay? You seem a little out of it," Layla asked her sister as they walked back towards the castle.

"I'm fine," Ren said, as if in a trance.

"You sure as hell don't look fine. Look at how pale you look, the color is drained right out of you," Layla said. Ren's hands were shaking slightly, and though her sister was naturally very pale, she seemed almost translucent.

"Thanks, Mom," Ren snapped at her, and Layla winced.

"She is right, you know. You do look rather pale," a voice said from behind her. Layla turned and glared at Audrey, who had been walking a little ways behind them, and- as Layla thought angrily- eavesdropping. Ren raised an eyebrow and slowed down a little, allowing Audrey to catch up. "It's Ren, right?"

Ren nodded, and turned back to her sister. "I really am fine, Layla; just a little tired is all."

"If you say so," Layla said rather bitterly.

"It really isn't that big of a deal if you want to visit Madame Pomfrey. She'll just give you a quick potion and you'll be on your way," Skye said, breaking the silence she had maintained since leaving the Quidditch Pitch.

"How many times must I say it? I'm fine," Ren said angrily, storming up to the castle alone. Layla blinked quickly, trying to hold back the tears she could feel ready to spill from her eyes. She knew that her sister wasn't telling her something, and she was so used to always talking about everything that she felt left out and a little hurt now that her sister was keeping secrets from her.

"Would you hate me if I asked to be alone for a little while? I need to think," Layla asked softly.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. And don't worry too much about Ren; I'm sure she just needs to think alone for a bit, too, before she'll come around and open up," Skye reassured her.

"Thank you," Layla said, before sprinting back towards the lake. Since arriving in England, she hadn't gotten a chance to run; this was a great release for her. When she reached the lake, she slowed her pace and began to jog around the entire body of water, her mind racing faster than her legs. She thought about her sister's reactions to Audrey, and the strange feelings James caused to appear in her. Once she had reached the area where she had first began to circle the lake, she collapsed on a large, flat rock underneath a tree, and kicked her bare feet gently in the water.

Her mind wandered back to the boyfriend she had in France. They had been in love; or at least, she thought they had been. Jeff and Layla had been dating for three years when she found out that he had been sleeping with an old friend of hers. It had been especially painful because he had constantly told her that he loved her in the sweetest ways possible, and she was finally ready to have sex with him. He had been trying to convince her for the past year of their relationship, and the only thing that kept her from instantly saying 'yes' was her morals. After he had cheated on her, she really began to look at everything in a new light. Jeff had never kept a single promise he had made to her, and he lied to her often. Layla wondered whether he had only said he loved her because he wanted to sleep with her, or if he had actually meant it. About a week after they had messily broken up, he had tried to convince her to take him back, claiming that he loved her and had made a mistake. And then there was the blood…

Layla shook her head, trying to rid herself of the memories, though she knew that the last encounter that she had ever had with Jeff, two days before she left for England, would haunt her forever. Tears slid slowly down her cheeks, falling onto her pale arm.

At the same time, she felt guilty, because she hadn't told her sister anything about what had happened with Jeff yet, and she was getting upset because Ren wasn't telling her about what Layla suspected to be a crush. She also felt bad because she wondered if maybe she was just jealous of Audrey, and the thought of having to share her sister with someone else. Of course, Ren could be feeling the same way about Skye, which could explain why she didn't like her very much. Layla shook her head, now confused.

Glancing around, Layla realized that the sky was beginning to get darker, and nobody was around. Suddenly having the urge to swim, she stripped down to her black sports bra and underwear, and dove gracefully into the dark water. She treaded water for a little while, before her heightened senses heard footsteps coming towards her from the castle. Layla sat on a small rock in the water beside the rock that her clothes were on; if she got up to put her robes on, her pale skin would be like a beacon in the night, attracting attention to her almost naked body.

A tall figure sat on the rock beside her clothes, and kicked his bare feet in the water much like she had about thirty minutes ago. For a moment, there was silence, until the person said, "Est-ce que tu nages souvent la nuit?"

"Hello to you, too," Layla said, sighing with relief when she heard the familiar language spoken with a Spanish accent.

"You didn't answer my question," James pointed out.

"No, I don't do this often… I needed to think."

"Anything I can help you with? You sound distressed."

"I guess I probably am. But unless you can change the past, and emotions, I don't think you can help me right now. Thank you for offering, though," Layla said.

"Anytime. So, can I convince you to come with me back inside, or at least get out of the water and dry off? I don't want you to get sick," James said, his dark eyes showing his concern.

Layla smiled shyly at him. "Yeah, I guess you're right… not a good idea to swim at night in autumn, is it?"

James made a noise of agreement as Layla pulled herself out of the lake, water streaming off of her smooth skin. His jaw dropped slightly as he realized what she was wearing, and tried not to stare as she picked up her clothes. The moonlight illuminated her pale skin, sharply contrasted with her small black undergarments and long raven hair.

"I guess it wouldn't make much sense to put dry clothes over wet ones…" Layla muttered, sighing as she realized what she'd have to do. "Turn around, Mr. Karn, if you'd be so kind."

Confused, James obeyed; it wasn't until he heard wet cloth hit the rock a few feet behind him that he realized what was going on. A few seconds later, Layla sat beside him, fully dressed, with the exception of her bra and underwear which she held in her hands. James looked shocked, with the knowledge that the girl beside him had been naked, and so close to him, only a few minutes before.

"It'll probably be time for dinner soon, if it isn't already," James said after a small, comfortable silence.

"Yeah… we should probably head back to the castle," Layla said dreamily, tearing her gaze away from the moon reflected in the water.

The two walked back to the school together, arguing playfully about whether French or Spanish was the better language. They parted in the Entrance Hall; James went into the Great Hall to find his friends and get food, and Layla headed up to Gryffindor Tower to shower and change.

After getting cleaned up and dressing in a tank top and sweatpants, which she planned on using as pajamas, she went down to the Common Room. Skye was glad to see her, as she was getting worried about her. Layla found out that Ren had gone straight to the dormitories after the Quidditch match, and got Skye to agree to wait until she had checked on her sister before going down to dinner.

Suddenly rather angry again and cursing mood swings, Layla entered the shared bedroom and slammed the door behind her. She stormed over to her sister's bed, but relaxed a bit as she pulled the curtains open.

"Thought you might want something to eat; I'm going to get some dinner," she said to Ren, noticing sadly that her twin had been crying.

"Okay. I guess I'll come, too," Ren said lifelessly.

"I'll wait for you in the Common Room," she said softly, leaving the room.

The Common Room was strangely empty, since almost everyone had already left for dinner, so Layla sat in front of the fire, memorized by the flames. A few minutes later, Ren came down and the three left for the Great Hall. An awkward silence settled between them as they walked, and Layla wished almost longingly to be with James, where at least if there were any silences, they were comfortable.

When they reached the Great Hall, Layla instantly searched for James, and smiled to herself when she saw him talking with a group of guys at the Ravenclaw table. He looked happy, and for some reason, that made Layla feel wonderful. Ren's eyes searched for Audrey, who was sitting in the middle of the Gryffindor table with a few other girls. The three sat near the end of the table, and both Skye and Layla watch Ren as she served herself some chicken; her eyes had wandered back towards Audrey.

"You know, Ren, Audrey seemed kind of concerned with you after the match," Skye said, breaking the silence that had still remained between them.

"Who?" Ren asked, and Layla found it very amusing that Ren didn't even know the name of the girl she had been staring at for weeks.

"The one who caught you," Skye answered, and Ren immediately choked on the piece of chicken she had been in the process of eating.

"Oh… yeah…" Ren said, still coughing slightly.

"Ren, is there something you want to tell me?" Layla asked sharply as her sister's eyes glanced down the Gryffindor Table again. She felt rather hypocritical, not telling her sister about Jeff or James, yet still prying into her sister's life, but she couldn't help it.

"I… er… I guess not…" Ren said guiltily, as if there was something she wanted to tell her sister but couldn't. Layla sighed, but didn't try to get her sister to open up.

After dinner, which was another silent affair in which Layla tried very hard not to look over at the Ravenclaw table- she only did twice, and was very proud of herself for that- the three girls headed back up to Gryffindor Tower. Ren instantly went up to the dormitories, while Skye and Layla sat at a table in the corner of the room and began their Potions essay. Just after Layla had finished- Skye was putting the finishing touches on hers- Ren came back downstairs and joined them.

"Hey," she said, sitting on the floor beside them. Her voice sounded as if she was trying to force herself to sound more cheerful than she really was.

Layla nodded stiffly at her twin, and Skye waved, an awkward smile on her face.

"Hi. It's Ren, right?" Audrey's voice suddenly appeared from beside Layla. She felt the familiar and uncomfortable protectiveness of her older sister flare up inside her again, but bit her tongue to prevent from speaking. Her canine grazed the side of her tongue accidentally, leaving a small cut. The spell keeping her eyes blue faded a bit, showing a little more of their natural red as she tasted the coppery blood.

"Yeah…" Ren said, looking somewhat confused.

"Audrey," she responded to the silent question.

The next few hours were tense, nobody talking much. When the twins finally retired up to bed, alone since Skye remained behind a little while longer, Layla took the chance to have a talk with her sister.

"What's with you?" Layla asked, sounding harsher than she had intended.

"What do you mean?"

"You know very well what. You've been really weird," Layla said, looking for her pajamas in her trunk.

"I don't know," Ren said, sitting frozen on her bed, a shoe in her hand.

"You have to know; you can't not know what's on your mind." Layla immediately wished she hadn't said that, as she knew that such a thing was possible, having experienced it herself.

"Well, I do know, but…"

"You've always been able to tell me whatever it is before. Why not now?" Layla felt like a hypocrite again, and fell silent.

"I told you! I don't know! I don't know why I'm feeling like I do, and if I could, I can't describe how I feel."

Layla met her sister's eyes, realizing that maybe her sister was more like her than she had thought. "I guess I didn't know it was so… difficult."

Ren didn't reply, merely finished changing and crawled into bed. She sighed, and mumbled, "Bonne nuit."

"Bonne nuit, ma soeur…" Layla whispered, curling herself into a ball. She relaxed against her pillow, and wondered if the dream that she had been having since arriving at Hogwarts, where she fell into nothingness, would come again. Maybe this time, it would go on longer, and would show her what happened next. She had a feeling that it was a sign of some sort. Her eyes slowly grew heavy, and the dream began.