As the semester winds down I'm finding it easier to find the time to write. Not to mention the overall lack of stress has me feeling a lot better health wise!

Writing Willow has also given me inspiration to write a second fan fiction, which I'm super excited about the first chapter should be coming out around the first of the year? I'm not quite sure yet.

But anyway, on with the chapter!

Happy Reading!

Green eyes met red. In the background was the voice of a woman, her yelled words becoming muddled as the two sets of eyes stared at each other. Pulling each other into their depths. The man with red eyes waved a hand and the woman was silenced forever with a jet of light not very different from the color of the eyes he was still staring at. Those green eyes darted to the woman who was lying motionless, dead, before coming back to the red eyed man. They widened as they took in the man's grey pallor and lack of nose, his skin looking vaguely snakelike. The girl who owned those hypnotic green gasped in fear and tried to take a step back.

This was no man.

The man seemed to sense her fear, and he grabbed her with long spindly fingers. He gripped her arms tightly, but never for a moment did it actually hurt. The act was almost too much for the green eyed girl. She realized that he had just… killed someone right in front of her without batting an eye, and yet here he was, being gentle with her.

He should've killed her too.

"Don't be afraid. You're a Slytherin, you're better than that." His face was impassive but his voice had a softness to it. Confused, the girl made no move when he stepped closer.

"Who are you?" green eyes stared at him accusingly. She was startled at the sound of her voice. This wasn't the voice that she remembered having. No, it sounded… older. Tired.

He smiled and rubbed his face, as if performing some sort of parlor trick. Grey skin sloughed away and left behind was a pale complexion paired with handsome features and a head full of dark hair. The only similarity between the man standing in front of her and the one before were the red eyes. The girl smiled and he ran his hand, which had changed to match his face as well, through her hair. It was predatory in nature a sign of ownership, yet gentle. A juxtaposition in its own right. His hand left her hair and came to rest lightly on her cheek. Her heart pounded at the feel of his touch, and a warm feeling settled in her soul. That warm feeling shone through her eyes and made the beautiful red eyed man smile down at her in a way that she wasn't familiar with, but his eyes reflected the same feeling that she felt.

Eyes were windows sometimes.

"Tom, what are you doing here?" she breathed, recognizing him instantly, though she wasn't sure from where. His gaze pierced through her soul as he spoke.

"I am the Dark Lord, your king, and I'm here to tell you that you will be my queen." Tom turned, disappearing as soon as he spoke the words.

The girl finally got a good look at the room now that she didn't have the distraction of Tom. There were two cribs one with a little girl and the other was occupied with a little boy. She walked up to the crib that held the little girl and peered in. The child looked back curiously.

When green eyes met green eyes, the scene changed and she was in the little girl's crib looking up at an old man with eyes of blue steel. He pointed his wand at her and green light flashed towards her eyes and she fell.

Willow woke up with a gasp, her bright green eyes flying open. Sitting up sharply she looked around frantically, ignoring the annoyed hiss from Sandor as he fell from his usual spot on her chest to the bed. As her eyes adjust to the darkness she saw that Daphne was, thankfully, still fast asleep, and there was no old man, grey monster, or Tom. The last one she was kind of disappointed about.

She should've been reassured, but her heart was racing, going into full panic mode. Breathing techniques were no use, because no matter what she did, her heart wouldn't calm down. She replayed the dream over and over, the panic threatening to reach up and strangle her, before giving up and dragging herself to the bathroom.

Tom. Who was he? His eyes sparked a familiarity within her, but she couldn't place it. And calling himself the Dark Lord, his talk of kings and queens. She sighed, brushing her teeth an\d splashing ice cold water on her face in an attempt to shock herself out of the state that she was in and looked in the mirror.

The girl that stared back looked half dead and very frightened. She resigned herself to the fact that her day wouldn't get any better. She knew what today was. Halloween. Just the thought of it sent dread pulsing through her. Willow's hands gripped the sides of the sinks as she felt the dread take her hostage. She watched her reflection with wide-eyed horror as she felt her magic reacting to her dread. Her fear added fuel to her magic as it turned her eyes a blinding silver. Breaths were harder to come by for Willow as she took in her new eye color. Pure panic joined the mix of unsettling emotions and finally her magic escaped, lashing out like a whip toward the mirror, shattering the glass. She was finally able to move and dove out of the way of the rain of glass. She groaned, looking at the mirror shards on the floor.

Getting seven years of bad luck was a great way to start the day.

Willow hauled herself up off the floor and finished getting ready for the day. She grabbed her bag, kissed Sandor goodbye and headed out the door with a smile on her face to hide the turmoil inside. It wasn't until she was out of the dorms that she realized it was still too early to be out of bed, let alone in the hallways. She needed a place that she knew would be open the is early. After a moment of deliberation she decided to go to the library and do some reading. Willow had just started on the path when a hand pulled her into an alcove. She opened her mouth to scream when someone whispered about a professor rounding a corner. Sure enough, a couple seconds later came Professor Sinistra, her wand raised high. Once she passed she turned back to the figure, though she couldn't see them in the darkness of the alcove.

"Who are you?" Willow questioned in a voice slightly louder than a whisper, thanking whatever higher power there was that her voice sounded steady. A second voice cast Lumos softly and a light washed over them. The light revealed a pair of redheaded boys. Twins, she realized.

"We are Weasley-"

"and Weasley!" Both of them held out their hands for her to shake, smiles on their faces.

"Willow Potter," she said, shaking their hands, her posture relaxed ever so slightly. She knew them by reputation, everyone knew them by reputation, and she had a gut feeling that they wouldn't do anything. They looked at each other, at her, and then at each other again.

"So you're Harry's sister! It's nice to make your acquaintance. What's a pretty little snake like you doing here?" one of them asked jokingly.

She chuckled only mildly annoyed at being labelled as Harry's sister, "I could ask you the same question boys."

"You see Willow, we're making mischief. Isn't that right George?" Said Fred, or at least she assumed it was.

"That's right Fred." Her interest was peaked.

"What kind of mischief are we talking about here?" The Slytherins would always talk about the Twins' latest pranks at breakfast, though Willow had never seen the twins in the flesh before now. Their pranks though, were awe-inspiring, even if it was against members of their own house, not that she could really blame the boys, her housemates more than likely deserved it. They were not the nicest of people, and Willow included herself in that as well.

Fred looked at George and grinned "That is a surprise, unless-"

"You would like in on it." George finished. She grinned at them back, maybe this would be the distraction that she needed. It wasn't everyday that she was getting pulled into alcoves.

"I think you know that I would." Her eyes were alight with mischief as she looked at the Weasley twins.

"Alright then, meet us here tomorrow night right before curfew." George whispered to her, ruffling her hair.

She winked at them conspiratorially in response and left the alcove in better spirits than when she entered it, and forgot entirely the reason for her foul mood.

Well mostly.

Her trip to the library, which was postponed until her break before dinner, was a bust, she couldn't find any information about the Dark Lord or about Tom. She knew it wasn't just a dream, she had seen those red eyes before. She knew that they were connected. She walked back to the Slytherin common room in defeat, hoping to at least catch her friends as they walked to dinner.

She entered the common room hoping to find her friends, but instead she found Marcus Flint and his entourage. Willow was halfway through turning around and trying to head to the Great Hall when Flint noticed her and called her name. She winced inwardly, not wanting another one of his crazy rants, and turned to face him. Her grip on the strap of her bag tightened when she realized that his little group of fifth and sixth year Slytherins were right behind him. Flint turned to look at what she was staring at made a sound of realization when he realized that it was them.

"For your protection." He told her. She blinked owlishly in response. "The Quidditch season can get pretty nasty on and off the pitch, so it's best if you and your friends go in groups."

She looked at the other Slytherins with a closer eye, now that she realized that she wasn't in immediate danger, and noticed that they were part of the older group that listened whenever she read to Sandor. Ever since that first night, it became a pattern that for at least an hour she read in Parseltongue in the common area while everyone gathered around to listen. The news of her skill hadn't gotten to the other houses thankfully, but it was a popular topic for the older Slytherins, specifically the pure blooded ones. In fact, Willow suspected that the older Slytherins were the reason the news of her gift hadn't reached anyone outside of Slytherin yet.

Occasionally she would hear a whispered "Dark Lord" or "Heir of Slytherin". Though what was more interesting was the almost hypnotic way that everyone sat and listened to her each night. She knew that they couldn't understand her, only Sandor could, but it never stopped then from listening. She'd never seen or experienced anything like that and made a note to ask Professor Quirrell about it later.

That train of thought made Willow pause. The Professor Quirrell that taught here wasn't the man that she met at Diagon Alley. That man was sure of himself and knowledgeable. This man, he couldn't even say the word 'defense' without sounding frightened. She sighed, it disappointed her, but there was nothing she could do. It just meant that she would just have to do research on her own.

A voice brought Willow out of her musings and she looked up to see that Flint and the others were waiting for her to join them. She hurried to catch up and they left the common room for the Great Hall. It was a very curious sight to see them walking in a formation to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. Willow was in the middle of the group with an older Slytherin on either side of her and in front and behind. They looked tense, but they also had an indifferent sort of air about them. It was odd. She noticed that students in other houses were giving them strange looks, but she just stood straighter and fixed them with a cold stare until they turned away.

They got to the Great Hall and all thoughts of the strange behavior left her mind. She had never seen anything so beautifully decorated before. It astounded her that they were able to do this. Live bats were flying around floated Jack-o-lanterns. And the swirling orange ribbons danced across the sky. It was chaotic. It was beautiful.

"I love magic," She whispered to herself. It drew a curious look from Flint, but she ignored it and made her way to her side of the Slytherin table. Daphne, Zabini and Theodore were already seated and looked relieved when they saw her. As soon as she sat down her 'security detail' left to sit with their friends and she sighed in relief. The food appeared as Theodore began throwing questions at her.

"What was that whole entrance about? And why were all of those other Slytherins surrounding you?" Zabini, and Daphne, who were on either side of her, leaned in closer, curious. She took a sip of her pumpkin juice before giving an answer. She leaned away as a bat swooped down, its wings barely missing her face. Willow gave the bat a small piece of fruit as she thought about what to say, watching as it flew away satisfied.

"I'm not sure," She said slowly, bringing her attention back to her friends, "Flint introduced me to some of the older Slytherins, they talked about Quidditch and that was about it. But it's weird, they kept looking at me." She lowered her voice, to thwart any potential eavesdroppers.

"Flint has talked to me a few times, but other than the nightly reading, I've never interacted with the other Slytherins. The timing is too coincidental. You guys know what today is." They nodded, every Slytherin knew what today was. If fact, everyone in the school knew what today was, it had been published everywhere. In newspapers, textbooks, memoirs, you name it.

"It's all very weird. I feel like… Something's going to happen," she told them. A pug faced girl, Pansy Parkinson, scoffed.

"And how would you know that? Did your dead mommy tell you? Are you a seer as well as an orphan?" She cackled loudly and Willow raised an eyebrow. Pansy's laughter died down when she realized that no one was actually laughing with her.

"You're not going to make any friends if the first thing you're going to do is insult the parents of an orphan," Willow said, she felt anger course through her and she fought to keep it controlled, "However, I don't think even your reflection would be able to look at you long enough to be friends with you." She watched Pansy's face redden as Willow smirked behind her goblet. She knew she would feel bad about it later, but for now, she would revel in the look of Pansy's face.

Willow went to take another bite of her food when the air in the hall shifted. She glanced around to see if anyone noticed, but they were all still talking, oblivious. A light breeze seemed to travel stealthily across the Great Hall and seemed to whisper danger into Willow's ear. Straightening up she set down her fork and looked around. Everyone seemed unconcerned but there was something here, something bad, she could feel it. Muttering something to Zabini about going to the library, Willow stood up and made her way out of the Great Hall, following whatever she was feeling. She was getting really annoyed by how many times her meals were interrupted.

The torches flickered as she walked through the halls, and the portraits were staring at her oddly, but only one dared to break the eerie silence that had settled in the halls of Hogwarts, asking her if she was lost. Willow shook her head, thanked him for trying to help, and went on her way, her unease growing with each step she took. She was just about to round a corner when she ran into a mass of person and swishing robes. Willow let out a yelp as she fell backwards and landed on the stone floor. Scowling she looked up to see that the person that she ran into was Professor Quirrell. His robes, normally an ashen color, though he was known to show up in blue or green, were black and didn't quite seem to fit his normal frightened demeanor. He reached out a hand towards her and she took it, embarrassed.

"I apologize professor, I wasn't watching where I was going." She looked around, the feeling she felt at the feast still hadn't gone away, she looked around, trying to find the direction of the feeling.

"It's q-quite alright, W-w-willow. Wh-where are you g-g-going?"

"I'm going to the library," that was not quite a lie, she was going to the library… after she found whatever was causing this feeling that she had.

Willow watched as his irises got that reddish hue and he raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"I'd believe that…if you weren't headed the wrong way. Where are you really going?" She swallowed hard, curious and scared, this wasn't Professor Quirrell. In fact, his voice wasn't even the same, and yet, she had heard it somewhere before. His voice was smoother, lower than normal, and had a depth to it that came from somewhere unknown to her. It was clear that wasn't Professor Quirrell's voice, but it wasn't fully this stranger's voice either, though she vastly preferred this voice over Quirrell's and she didn't know why.

"Where'd your stutter go?" She deflected the question.

"You know where it went, Willow."

"Well then who are you?" She looked around, that feeling was getting worse, but it wasn't coming from Quirrell or whoever this was. Her attention was brought back when he smiled and answered her question.

"All in due time, Darling. I am surprised you managed to figure it out though, what gave it away?"

Willow smiled back, relaxing a small amount since he obviously wasn't the threat. "Well, there are the eyes, the lack of stutter, the change of posture, your personality changes, your voice sounds completely different just to name a few." The spark in his eyes grew brighter. Willow realized then that this was the man that she met in Diagon Alley.

"Well aren't you perceptive. You've impressed me."

"Congratulations to me I guess," Willow said wryly, "Though, that does even remotely tell me who you are.." She folded her arms. He laughed loudly and she blinked at him in surprise.

"I'll answer your question to an extent, but I'll let you know that I don't accept being talked to like that from anyone. Not even from you." His voice deepened and took on a dangerous tone. His red eyes flashed as he looked at her, and widened imperceptibly when fear made her eyes flash silver in return.

Willow took a deep breath in an attempt to steady her voice before she answered him. She opened her mouth to respond when she was cut off by a loud, booming noise. Startled, she glanced around before looking at this man.

He was beaming at her.

"Such wonderful music, isn't it? Now if you'll excuse me, Professor Quirrell has an announcement to make. Come see me after class and we'll talk more. Good-bye Willow." He turned, as if to leave. Panicked, she called out.

"Wait! If you're not Quirrell who are you?" He looked back and smiled at her, giving her chills to her bone.

"Call me Marvolo, Darling. Also, be a dear and actually go to the library. I heard there was a troll in the dungeons." He winked and continued on his way. She stared after him in shock, trying to process the conversation that she had just had. Her mind jumped from trolls, to Marvolo, to the fact that Professor Quirrell had two souls, or maybe minds. Her brain settled on the troll and she decided to heed Marvolo's warning and actually head to the library. Especially now that she had more research to do. Willow turned on her heel and started walking, ignoring the booms and crashes of the troll. She tried to ignore the feeling that had fully come about and gripped her. Willow knew the feeling was caused by the troll and she didn't want to seek it out. She reasoned with herself that levitating feather at a troll is not enough to go try to take a look at it.

She got as far as the girls bathroom when she saw it. The troll. A huge, towering mass of green. The ugly brother of the Hulk. It was going into the bathroom when it seemed to notice that something was near it.

That something was Willow.

It lifted hits head and sniffed the air. Willow took a deep breath and tried to stay as still as possible. She had read that predators could smell fear on their prey and, with a nose that big, he was bound to prove that old wives' tale true. She gulped and, while keeping eye contact with the troll, tried to inch her way past it.

It roared.

She froze and felt her heart leap into her throat. It roared again and came closer. She cringed back as flashbacks of Dursleys came rushing at her. When Uncle Vernon got angry he was like a feral animal. He would rush and scream at her, throwing her into things and leaving behind bruises and broken bones in his he went on those rampages against her, no one could calm him down. Which, Willow decided, was exactly what she was going to try to do with this troll.

"Nice troll," She said hesitantly. She smiled wanly, choosing to re-evaluate her plan to go to the library, when she realized that it would mean having to cross paths with the troll, and instead inched her way in the direction of the Slytherin dorms.

"Good troll, you don't want to eat me, I'm too small," she continued, her eyes flashed silver as she kept speaking softly. It paused its movements, unsure of what to do. She proceeded to slowly make her exit, and thankfully it didn't seem to notice.

"There we go, now I'm just going to go and you stay there until I'm gone." She continued to speak and pray that it would continue to stay there, calm, until she got far enough away. Once she got around the corner that was behind her and out of sight of the troll she ran. Blood pounded through her ears. The troll roared, but it didn't seem to be coming after her. She kept running, and passed the Great Hall.

Halfway there.

Out of the corner of my eye she saw Harry and Ron running towards the direction of the troll. She wished she could stop and warn them but blind panic had consumed her. Tears were streaming down her face. She kept running. She passed startled ghosts and surprised portraits., not even bothering to stop and try to explain.

Once she reached the Slytherin dungeon she finally paused to breathe. She had been lucky that no one had seen her run like a madwoman through the castle. Willow ducked into an alcove near the dungeon to make sure that she appeared some-what close to presentable before going entering the dorms. She wiped the tears off of her face, smoothed down her hair and took a deep breath to try to steady her voice. She stepped out of the alcove prayed that no one would be in the common room.

"Titianoba." The snakes coiled around the door slid apart and revealed the calming green lights of the common room.

Willow put on a thin mask of calm and held her head high as she walked in, just in case anyone was in there. She was glad that she did. As soon as she stepped through the doorway everyone looked up at her. Deciding to play it casual she sat down on the couch between Theodore and Zabini and leaned into the couch cushions, letting them practically swallow her in their comfort. She looked around at the stares she was getting.

"Hey." She said to the room.

Chaos ensued.