A/N If you haven't guessed it already, last chapter Penelope killed Vernon. She didn't kill Petunia, or Dudley, just Vernon with a spine from her tail. Just thought I'd give you a heads up.

December 2003

Penelope POV:

Penelope peered through the branches that concealed her, something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

She could feel it in her tail, her eyes peering through the darkened night. She saw nothing wrong.

But her eyes had been deceived before. She gazed out straining her senses as she waited for something to happen. She saw nothing but the gentle breeze passing through the branches. She heard nothing but the gentle flow of the snowmelt. She smelled nothing but the pine in the forest around her.

By all rights it should be a good night; the stars shined, clear in the night sky. The moon was full, she was comfortable in the leather jacket she had stolen long ago.

It was all perfect, except for the feeling of foreboding that ruined it all. She had been staying in the area for several days before the feeling hit her, something powerful had entered the area, and the forest knew it, and if the forest knew it, she knew it.

So Penelope started her way towards the being that was causing this distress, leaping from tree to tree her claws and agility allowing her to travel swiftly through the treetops. She traveled until she reached the source of her distress, a castle. Well, not really a castle, it was more of a school if she was being honest, she had never gone inside but it was now obvious that if she wanted to resolve this… itch in her tail, she would have to enter the castle.

The castle itself was rather ominous, built with black stones it stood out in the clearing that it resided in. As she walked closer to the castle doors she started weaving Mist around her tail, claws, and eyes, a trick she learned from some friendly empousa she had met.

She had all but entered the building when she realized something: it was almost midnight, and no one would be awake. She sighed and retreated towards the woods, she found a nice pine and fastened her claws around its trunk as a precaution, she didn't really like falling out of trees.

Penelope laid her head down and slept, passing the night away.

The next morning came swiftly, and Penelope rose to greet it, as she woke up she did some stretches to make herself nice and limber before she jumped down to the ground. After making sure that the Mist still hid her less human parts, she once again walked towards the castle door, opening it and entering the building.

"You there! Girl! What were you doing outside!" A woman immediately accosted Penelope, looking at her critically as she stepped towards her. "I don't remember seeing you in any of my classes!"

"But Ms… Ms…"

"Ms. Gottschalk." The woman provided.

Penelope looked her in the eyes and snapped her fingers, manipulating the mist as she said: "You gave me permission to go outside for my morning run! And I know I'm a quiet person, but I wish you wouldn't say things like that." Penelope said, starting to tear up as Ms. Gottschalk's eyes glazed over, only to sharpen back on Penelope as she began to cry.

"Oh, I'm so sorry… umm… sorry I've quite forgotten your name."

"Penelope!" Penelope wailed, "You always forget it!" She continued, really hamming it up as Ms. Gottschalk began to panic.

"I'm sorry Penelope, you just looked so different! It looks like you've spent the night in the woods for crying out loud! Here come with me, and we'll get you cleaned up." She said, guiding Penelope towards the dorms as she sniffled, trudging along with the older woman, a smile crawling across her face.

'It's all too easy.'

At least it was. As soon as Ms. Gottschalk guided her to the girls' dorms she fled, striding quickly down the hall and leaving Penelope alone in the quiet hallway. So Penelope did the only thing she could, started breaking into a room.

As soon as she began though, she… smelled something amazing, it was subtle but as soon as she caught the scent it was simply overwhelming, it was earthy, like the ground after the rain, (petrichor) but it gave her other vibes that she didn't recognize, Penelope started tracking the scent, wondering how something could smell so… mysterious. She eventually followed the scent to one of the doors in the girl's dorms.

She stood there for a moment, simply taking in the scent as she considered how she was going to enter.

She decided to do it the easy way, jamming one of her currently invisible claws into the lock and twisting it, the door opened smoothly, revealing a pair of beds, each attached to one side of the wall one was empty, and one was occupied by a ball of black hair. She stalked towards the occupied bed, the scent of the girl laying in it overwhelming her as she sat on one side of the bed. Grabbing a strand of the girl's hair she brought it to her nose, breathing in deeply she felt euphoric, before quickly dropping the girl's hair.

"What in the Hades am I doing?" She muttered quietly, confusion starting to take over as she brushed her hands through the girl's hair, even as distracted as she was she took care not to hurt her with her claws as she teased the girl's knots out. She glanced towards the other end of the room, determining the lack of any personal items meant that the girl was the sole occupant, meaning there was plenty of room for Penelope to move in.

'Wait, where did moving-in come up?' Penelope thought, 'And why does this girl smell so good?' She wondered, teasing her claws through the girl's hair. The girl stirred slightly, shifting a little in her place before stopping. Penelope let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in, finally calming down from her… episode. The girl still smelled like heaven, but she was able to shunt that aside for rational thought now.

Penelope stood quickly, not willing to be caught brushing the girl's hair as she woke up, she made her way to the bathroom and closed the door. She walked over to the sink and splashed her face with a little water, before taking a look at her reflection. She let the mist go and watched as her pupils turned to ovals, the green from her iris spreading across her sclera, creating a smooth gradient of greens, her tail appeared from behind her, popping into existence as she stretched.

Glancing back at the mirror she saw her tangled black hair, no matter what she did she was never able to un-nest her hair so she just let it grow as it wished, occasionally tying it into a braid if she had time. She saw the flakes of leaves and grass that littered her hair and clothes and decided she needed a shower.

She undressed quickly, stripping off her black leather jacket, then the green 'Save the Planet' shirt she wore beneath it. As she pulled it off her right arm she noticed her only major scar, a large snake bite she got from a basilisk that snuck up on her, she brushed a hand over it, feeling the slight ridge where it stood out from her pale skin before moving on.

Penelope stepped into the shower, appreciating the cold water that slowly turned warmer. She simply let the water wash over her before getting to work, scrubbing the filth from her body as she hummed a light tune. She moved on to her tail, which was oddly clean and started to sharpen her claws against one another, the one-inch protrusions didn't get any sharper, it was just a weird habit Penelope picked up somewhere. She stood there for a moment, before deciding to leave the shower she stood there for a moment, working up the resolve before she shut the water off and walked out, steam billowing out with her. She dried herself quickly and put her clothes back on, her tail passing through the illusive hole in her shirt, she decided to forgo the jacket and wrapped her long hair in a towel, before walking back into the room with the other girl, who still seemed to be asleep. She quickly reapplied the mist to herself and walked over to the girl's bedside.

She glanced at a clock that read 6:58 and decided that her new roommate should probably get up soon. She walked over to the girl quietly and shook her lightly, "Hey." She started softly, "You should probably get up."

"Go away mom," The girl mumbled, "I need more sleep."

Penelope giggled a little, before shaking the girl some more, "Get up sleepyhead, the sun is rising and you should be too."

"Nooooooo," The girl mumble-shouted.

"Yesssss," Penelope responded

There was silence for a moment, and Penelope feared that all her work was for naught, before suddenly the girl's head shot up, Penelope barely yanked her head back fast enough to avoid a collision. The girl's face was red as she met Penelope's eyes.

There was silence for a moment, the girl's embarrassed face glowing red as she processed her recent memories, before she got up and made a tactical retreat to the bathroom.

Penelope sat for a moment, slightly stunned by the girl's reaction before she started laughing softly, moving over to the other bed and laying back, listening as the other girl showered.

She waited for a moment, before putting her jacket back on and hugging herself slightly. She was still confused by the girl's scent but she decided that it was a question she could solve later.

Penelope waited on her new bed, her mind wandering from place to place, never really staying on one topic as she listened to the other girl getting ready for the day. As she heard her moving towards the bathroom door Penelope stood up to meet her.

The door opened, revealing the girl. She too wore a towel in her long black hair as she stood there, waiting for something to happen.

Penelope decided to make this easier for her.

"Hi! I'm Penelope and I'll be your new roommate!"

The girl stood there, stock-still for a few moments. Penelope started to worry a little, she stepped towards the girl, only for her to step back. Penelope followed that step with another, before wrapping the girl in a hug. The girl, if possible became even more rigid in Penelope's arms. Penelope started to worry, she hadn't interacted with many people in the past couple of months, but she was pretty sure that this 'hug' was a standard greeting. Reassured Penelope continued the hug, waiting for a response from the other girl before continuing. She waited. And waited. And waited as the other girl seemed paralyzed in her arms.

"Are you okay?" Penelope asked softly, panicking slightly as the girl failed to respond. Penelope then did the only thing she could, she picked the girl up, grabbing her legs and shoulders as she had seen others do many times she brought the now squirming girl to her new bed and set her down.

"Can you breathe?" Penelope asked, receiving a nod in response.

"Is your heart beating?" Penelope continued, receiving another, more startled nod.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Penelope asked, holding up three of her fingers.

"Three."

"Are you okay?" Penelope asked, repeating her question from earlier.

"No."

"Are you injured?"

"No."

"Are you in pain?"

"No."

"Can you move?"

"Yes?"

"Then why didn't you return my hug?" Penelope pouted.

"... What?"

"That's what it's called right? The Hug? A standard greeting between peers?"

"..."

"..."

"Sure…"

"Yes! I knew it!" Penelope cheered, her happiness apparent.

The girl smiled slightly at Penelope's happiness, and Penelope smiled right back. The two sat there for a moment before the other girl started to speak.

"So… Penelope right?"

"That's me!"

"And you said that you were my new roommate?"

"I did!"

"Okay." The girl said, "I'm Bianca, I guess I'll be your roommate from now on."

"It's nice to meet you Bianca!" Penelope said, glee in her voice as she successfully made her first friend.

"It's nice to meet you too… So when did you get here?"

"Last night."

"Why didn't I meet you last night then?"

"I got here pretty late."

"Then where did you sleep?"

"Outside?"

"Outside?!"

"Yeah, why?"

"Are you crazy?! It's winter, it's like negative twenty or something out there!"

"Come on Bianca it wasn't that cold, it was like, maybe negative five."

"That's still like freezing!"

"No, it was below freezing."

"Ugh!" Bianca cried, flopping down onto the bed.

"Bianca? Are you feeling okay?" Penelope asked, worry evident in her tone.

"Yes! I'm fine!" Bianca replied shortly.

"You don't sound fine," Penelope said softly.

"I'm fine Penny!" Bianca said, sitting back up.

"Penny?" 'Penny' questioned, her face scrunching up in confusion.

"You don't like it?" Bianca asked, disappointed.

"Nope," Penelope responded, before tackling Bianca in a hug. "I love it!"

*Cough* *Cough* "Good, I'm glad." Bianca responded, the wind knocked out of her by Penelope's sudden embrace.

"Now let's go! I want to see what this 'school' is like!" Penelope said excitedly, not having been to a school in around five years.

"Sure sure, let's go," Bianca said, not nearly as excited as Penelope.

They left the room and started walking down the hallway as Bianca guided Penelope to the cafeteria. As they walked through the ominous halls Penelope remembered the reason she came to the school in the first place.

"Hey, Bianca… has anything weird happened recently?" Penelope asked cautiously, keeping an eye on her surroundings as she walked with Bianca.

"Like what?" Bianca asked, a little startled by the seemingly random question.

"I don't know, like something that made you feel this deep sense of foreboding, a little anxiety and distress, and a heap of discomfort that poisoned your original sense of well-being with one of upcoming change?" Penelope asked seriously, a frown overtaking her looks as she considered the feeling that had hit her late last night.

"Yup." Bianca said, popping the 'p.'

"Really?! What?!"

"You," Bianca said, poking Penelope's arm, being surprised by its firmness.

"Oh." Penelope said dejectedly, "I'm sorry." She continued, pouting a bit at the thought of causing Bianca that level of distress.

Bianca would never admit it, but she thought that Penelope's pout was rather cute.

"It's okay," Bianca replied, "You were just a little bit… too excited for my tastes this morning."

"I just couldn't help it." Penelope claimed, "You just smelled so good!"

"Umm… Thanks?" Bianca said, unsure of how to reply.

They finally reached the cafeteria, a large open room that failed to shake off the darkened theme of the rest of the castle. It was clean enough and had plenty of inspirational posters hanging along the walls, their color standing out against the blackened stone the castle was built from.

The pair grabbed plates from one end and started piling food on from the buffet styled tables, the cafeteria staff giving them a small smile as they kept an eye on the food.

Penelope piled her plate with some of the edible looking fruits, staying away from the bananas because of their tough skin, and oranges because they were so sour. She then added some of the cooked meats they provided, adding a small pile of sausage and bacon to her colorful plate.

Bianca looked over at her new friend's plate and sighed, adding some vegetables to the pair of plates she had before her.

Penelope looked over to Bianca wide-eyed, "That's a lot of food Bianca, I'm honestly impressed." She said, eying Bianca's rather thin frame.

Bianca colored slightly, "It's for my brother, there's no way I could eat this much by myself." She said, adding some waffles to the plates in front of her.

"Oh, you have a brother?" Penelope asked, unsure of what to do with this information.

"Yeah…"

"That's… good?"

Bianca stood there for a moment before responding, "Yeah, I guess it is." She said, clearly uncertain.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Penelope asked, confusion coloring her face as she thought about it.

"He can just be a bit of a handful sometimes."

"Oh, okay."

Silence filled the air for a moment as they began to eat, Penelope attacking her pile viciously while Bianca took a more subdued approach.

That silence was soon broken by a slow dragging of feet from behind them, a newcomer shuffling forward before plopping down in a chair.

"Morning Bianca."

"Good morning Nico, how did you sleep?"

"Fine," Nico said, before finally noticing the newcomer, "Who's this?"

"My new roommate, Penelope," Bianca replied, gesturing towards Penelope as she spoke, before dragging a comb (which Penelope would swear came from thin air) through Nico's hair.

"Nice to meet you Nico," Penelope said, a smile growing on her face as she watched Bianca fuss over Nico's hair.

"Stop it sis! It's fine!" Nico said, clearly embarrassed.

"It is now," Bianca said, setting the comb down as she continued her meal, releasing an air of smugness.

"So… Nico is it?" Penelope asked, continuing at Nico's nod, "What are those cards you're holding?"

As soon as she asked the question Nico lit up, while Bianca glared at her a little.

"You don't know what Mythomagic is?!" He cried, raging about this great injustice. "It's the best card game in the world! The cards are all based on Greek myths, and every single one is awesome!" He dug around in his deck looking for a card, before pulling out the manticore, "The Manticore is awesome right?"

Penelope glanced at the card, a manticore looked back at her, roaring with ferocious might as she analyzed it.

"Yup," Penelope said smugly, "The Manticore is awesome."

"Penelope don't encourage him! Nico put those cards away! I told you to leave them in your room!" Bianca scolded, looking at both of them scathingly.

"But Bianca, we don't have class today! What are we going to do if we're bored and can't play Mythomagic?" Nico cried dramatically, despair entering his voice.

"No classes? Why not?" Penelope asked bewildered.

"... We're on winter break Penny, most people went back home already, including my roomma- well my former roommate Samantha." Bianca said, watching Penelope's confused expression calm down. "I am kind of curious about why your parents would send you here right now."

Penelope collected herself for a moment before responding, "I was just in the area, and it kind of worked out." She said vaguely, before suddenly turning as she noticed a person standing on the other side of the room. "Who's that?"

Bianca glanced towards where Penelope was looking, her eyes narrowing into a slight glare at the object of her attention, "That's Dr. Thorn, he's the vice-principal..."

Penelope squinted at this 'Dr. Thorn,' he was tall, taller than anyone around him as he practically towered over the middle school students, his heterochromatic eyes panning across the crowd before they met Penelope's, a chill went down her spine as their eyes met, the man's gaze sharpening slightly before moving on.

Penelope couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something… off about how Thorn looked. Like she was missing something, dismissing it she moved on, listening to the sibling's banter as she finished her breakfast.

"So Penelope," Bianca started, including her in the conversation, "What do you want to do today?"

Penelope assumed that practicing her spine-throwing wasn't an option, and thought for a moment about what 'normal' activities she knew… "Do you want to go out for a run?" She asked, grasping at straws.

The siblings looked at her, their black eyes telling her 'no' as she shrunk back slightly.

"I don't know then, what do you guys want to do?"

"Mythoma-"

"No!" Bianca cut Nico off quickly, "Mythomagic is not a three-player game, and even if it was I'm sure Penny wouldn't want to play it."

Nico looked over at Penelope who refused to meet his eyes.

"Fine then, what do you think we should do Bianca?" He asked, shuffling his cards a little more.

"... Let's just go to the library, there should be some board games and stuff there." Bianca said, sighing slightly at the two, who displayed little enthusiasm at the prospect of spending the day in the library.

"Hmm…" Penelope thought for a moment, before realizing the perfect activity, "Okay, I haven't played a 'board game' before."

Bianca and Nico looked at each other before Bianca shook her head slightly, "Let's just go."

The trio walked out, failing to notice Dr. Thorn's gaze following them out the cafeteria doors.