Trysten settled into her seat, thankful for the invisible barrier that was hiding her. She slumped in her chair, finally allowing the day to catch up with her. Dja's coming, she remembered happily. Her sunny mood was soon dispelled by the next words spoken. And so is Father. She shivered despite herself, cursing that her father still had this effect on her. How in the bloody hell does that scoundrel know where I am? Grandfather Sheltson wouldn't tell him. Sure, he doesn't like me, but neither does he like Father! She realized she was getting worked up and took a deep breath. Whatever he's planning, we must figure it out… I couldn't bear to live with that despicable, malicious, bad-mannered, arrogant, horrid— Trysten took another breath, willing these thoughts from her mind. Dja's coming, and he'll make it all better, she told herself with child-like certainty. Her eyes fell upon the table before her. Until then, I've class work to do.

She reached a trembling hand out to the powder, taking a small handful. She wondered absently what kind of powder it was while she brought her hand back towards her body. Preparing to cast the powder, she paused. "Who shall I see for?" she wondered briefly. Her eyes flickered to the raven-haired boy sitting near the entrance. His jade eyes were focused on his two friends, not the task at hand. The Ravenclaw in her mentally scolded him, but the rest of her mind was occupied. Should I see Harry's memories again? I doubt anything new will come up, but…Perhaps if I try to sort through them? Rush to the forefront? And it's not like I haven't seen them before…

Trysten lazily wrote Harry's name with the soft gray powder, drawing a breath to whisper the incantation. She stopped, however, when a thought crossed her mind. If there are any more…nightmarish qualities to these memories…Will I cry out again? She made a mental vow to keep quiet, whispering, "Incendi lumo spectra." The powder before her swirled to life, bursting into a silent flame. Her injured hand twitched in reminder, but she ignored it and focused on the images forming before her.

All was dark. Apprehension filled the air. There was a flash of green light, then a woman's scream, finally cut to nothing.

She crouched on a white, tiled floor, scrubbing.

Concentrating, Trysten tried to skip the memories she had already seen, setting her mind on the man who fell, the most vivid image in her memory. She skidded past a dark room, the Hogwarts Express, and a snake. The words 'Kill the spare,' echoed in her mind as the memory settled.

She stood in a dim room. She looked up to see Sirius laughing. She felt dread well in the pit of her stomach right before Sirius was hit by a spell, squarely in the chest. His look of surprise quickly turned to one of horror as he began to stumble backward through a cloth…

The scene flashed to a house full of copper haired youths. Trysten recognized Harry's good friend and a fifth year girl she had run into occasionally. There was a set of twins, who were talking in turn, which made Trysten's head spin, though Harry seemed to understand well enough…

She stood in a dungeon corridor, narrowed eyes on Draco Malfoy. Hate welled in her, and she—Harry—snapped what must have been a witty retort. They got into dueling position. A set of brown locks got in the way of her clear shot to Draco, but she fired anyway, completely unconcerned as to whether or not it would hit the girl. A few seconds later the girl crumpled and curses filled her—Harry's—mind. The bushy haired girl beside her tugged at Trysten's sleeve, and they headed off. Her head turned back toward whence they came, and Trysten's eyes alighted on—

Trysten was thrust back into reality with a gasp. That was me, she realized with a shudder. I never want to see that again, she decided. Trying to calm herself, she looked around the room. Her eyes settled on Draco and hate began to course through her veins. She glared for a few moments before she realized what she was doing. She shook her head, quite vigorously, and looked back to Draco. She felt guilty, but none of the previous dislike had carried over. She grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from her bag, writing quickly, but legibly.

'Subject: Harry Potter

No problems conjuring flame, perfect clarity in memories. First memories viewed, then skipped ahead to a selected memory, a few smudges of memory between. I kept losing the separation between the subject and myself while in the memories. After completion, the subject's will, feelings, attitude remained within me, seeming as though nothing was amiss. Shall proceed with caution. (?)'

She finished the reflection, putting it aside so she could give it to Firenze at a later time. Casting a quick tempus, she realized she still had a bit of time left before the class period (double today) would end. Scouring the room with her eyes, they settled, once again, on Draco Malfoy. Her heart felt a bit light as she watched him, though a bit of the guilt from before still held fast. She remembered the reason she had been looking around in the first place and lightly bit her lower lip. Should I? She wondered. Would he mind? I know I would…But I didn't care about Harry's wishes, did I? Why should I care about Draco's? She rolled her eyes at her own ignorance. Because you respect him. Because you… care. She shifted in her seat, taking a bit of the powder in her hands once more. He wouldn't mind, would he? She wrote out his first name, admiring the script for a moment, before she realized what she was doing. Of course he would mind, you twit! She dragged a fast hand across the letters, smearing them so they were just barely legible.

As she was about to take another swipe at it, she heard a soft tapping at the window several feet behind her. She ignored it, having never gotten mail, but heard it again, more insistent this time. She turned toward the window, pausing in shock when she saw her hawk, and dear friend, Horus. Her eyes flickered to the class, who hadn't seemed to notice yet. She put a finger up to her lips, her focus again on the hawk, and silently got up from her chair. She tiptoed over to the window, quickening her pace as she saw the hawk become impatient. She worked the latch quietly, swinging the window open without disturbing the concentrating students. She allowed the hawk to hop upon her arm, not wanting the noise of his wings to disturb the others. She crept back to her work station, and thus her invisibility, sitting down without moving her eyes from her dear friend. She passed a finger over his head, smiling when he leaned into the touch.

"What is it, Horus? Why did you find me?" The hawk stared at her a moment, as if she should know the reason. She waited a moment before raising her eyebrows in question. The bird seemed to roll his eyes before leaning toward her chest, his sharp beak tugging at something in her robes. She looked down to find Djawara's letter had been pulled from its hiding place. "What about Dja?" she whispered, not wanting the other students to overhear. The hawk simply looked at Trysten, before flapping over to peck at the quill she had lain on the table. Finding nowhere else suitable to land, the bird returned to Trysten's arm, ignoring the girl's cringe and hushes.

"I need to write him," she realized, feeling abnormally stupid. She lifted the other arm, gesturing toward it with her head. "I need that arm to write," she informed Horus, smirking when the hawk hopped haughtily to Trysten's other arm. She grabbed what she needed and held her quill, poised and ready, above the parchment. In Arabic, she reminded herself, feeling horrible that she had trouble remembering how to write it.

'Masa elkhir!' she began. 'Dja, I can hardly believe I have heard from you again! I had nearly lost hope! Not in you, just in the prayers that word would come soon. How are you, brother of my heart?' The words came easier now, a fact Trysten was quite glad for. 'Your news worries me, but there is time to fret later. For now we must rejoice! You are very welcome here, Djawara (I have not yet spoken to the Headmaster, but I am sure he will agree). I hope you come very, very soon, as I cannot wait to see you once more. I cannot believe you would have changed so much that I could not recognize you. Your spirit is still the same, I pray, even if your looks have come to resemble that awful whale-woman from the markets. I must send this off right away, so I can see you even sooner. Feel free to write back, Dja! I await your arrival in happy anxiety!

Masalam,

Trysten

P.S. Yes, 'Harry-sodding-Potter' is here. But don't get your hopes up. He isn't as kind as one would think.'

Trysten folded the letter and tucked it in a pocket, making a note to go to the Owlery after class. She gazed into the eyes of her feathered friend. "And I need to find something to feed you as well… No eating the animals in the castle, alright? Almost all of them are someone's pet," she explained, finding a sense of peace deep within herself as she stared into the amber eyes of the hawk.

(A/N: Okay, I'm a horrible person, I admit it. After missing five months and promising to try for weekly, I update in a month? Bloody hell, that's inaccurate. HOPEFULLY the summer will agree with me and let me write a chapter a week, if not more so. But that might not start until after the seventeenth of June, as I've a show that weekend and a sizable amount of work to do before then. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and PLEASE! Review! It encourages me to write, as I know someone's reading it! I didn't get any for the last chapter—how sad is that? It's probably due to my erratic posting, but still… please? I'll…. do a trick or something… puppy dog eyes)