Disclaimer: I don't own anything save for my own ideas.

Bloody Kitsune: So this chapter was a fun one to write, I honestly have no idea where the last bit came from, but I liked it enough to keep it. I think one of my muses *Cough*Night Terrors*Cough* were either high or drunk off their ass. Not sure which.

Review:

TheMarphasChappers: True enough, but we are talking about English Magicals after all. I wanted to get a laugh when I wrote that part.

Jostanos: It's okay. I sometimes forget that I put Hermione in Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw since the girl really does belong among the ravens rather than the pride of lions. Yes, yes they are, but they wouldn't be them if they weren't baka's. Yup! What can I say? I like dangling a nice juicy fish in front of a group of hungry tigers if it means getting some decent reviews though it doesn't seem to be working too well sometimes *Looks at the fish* Maybe I should use a diffrent one. Maybe a Magikarp? No that would only get attention from pokemon trainers or the League...Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter. Puns are okay every once in awhile, but *Points to Night Terror's who's holding Candy Pop's hammer with a grin on his face* You might want to keep it to everyone once in awhile unless they're a decent one.

The Count Down to Christmas and Poor Vivian

Dumbledore leaned back against his chair with a heavy sigh. The fears that he held about Calla Potter being a Horcrux for Tom had been confirmed by her Parselmouth ability. The fact that it was influencing her to use it rather than ignore the ability left a bad taste in his mouth. He couldn't do anything at the moment especially if Tom were able to access the connection. While he doubted Tom knew about it if the murder attempts last year meant anything, it would only be a matter of time before he discovered it. But what should he do? He had been counting on Lily's protection to keep the soul piece from bleeding into Calla, but it seems to have failed. Not enough to allow Tom to kill her, but enough to allow it to influence her. He looked at Fawkes, "What should I do old friend? I do not wish to harm Calla or let her die. No one deserves to die especially when they're just a child, but she's a horcrux for Tom which means she must die in order for him to meet his end. What do I do?"

Fawkes just gave a mournful trill and Dumbledore sighed. Times like this, he wished that things hadn't ended as they had with Gellert. Perhaps his old lover would have had some knowledge of what to do in this situation. If it weren't for the creature in the chamber on the loose, he would have made the trip over Christmas break, but he couldn't risk it. Not right now, he had students to watch over especially the youngest Weasley. The dark object she had carried into the school left him quick puzzled as it had to be linked to the chamber, but he didn't understand how. The attempts to take it from her via house elf had failed as something protected it. Perhaps with the limited number of children staying in the school during holidays, he could take it from her himself. While James' cloak would have been a great asset for this, it wouldn't be the first time he'd had to do something like this without such an object.

"So how are we going to get that diary?" Vivian asked as they got ready to go to bed.

"How good are you at pick-pocketing?" Calla pulled out her night clothes.

"Pretty good," Vivian glanced at Calla, "What about you?"

Calla shook her head, "I can't pick-pocket to save my life. Climbing like a monkey and disappearing into a crowd, I'm damn good, but pick-pocketing? I suck."

Vivian looked at her in surprise, "Seriously?"

Calla nodded as she walked towards the bathroom, "Hoodie and Masky were very frustrated about it. There is just something about it that makes pick-pocketing impossible, we've never been able to figure out why. I can trick a man that knows about us into following me to his death, but pick-pocket? No, I can't."

"That actually kind of makes me feel better," Vivian commented causing Calla to look at her curiously, "I mean you're really good at tones of stuff and know a lot which makes it hard to see you as anything other than perfect. Hearing that you can't do something like pick-pocket, it makes you feel more...human? Mortal? Something like that,"

"We all have stuff we're good and bad at," Calla reached the bathroom, "I'm not good at taking pictures or painting. Don't even try to ask me to knit something, I always end up with a mass of yarn,"

"So what all aren't you good at?" Vivian asked as Calla closed the bathroom door.

Calla got ready for bed and left the bathroom as she began to list the things she wasn't good at, "I can't sing, play the piano, juggle, play the harmonica, tap-dance, make sea-food properly, or read Hieroglyphs," She paused for a moment, "Oh, and I can't shoot a gun worth a damn."

"When did you learn how to fire a gun?" Vivian headed towards the bathroom.

"Hoodie tried to teach me with Papa's blessing. I can't aim with anything other than a knife or my magic," Calla shuddered lightly, "I ended up shooting Jeff in the ass the last time Hoodie tried to teach me how. I still don't know how I did it cause Jeff was on the other side of the mansion by the shed,"

Vivian snorted at that, "How the hell can your aim with weapons other than knives be that fucking bad?"

Calla shrugged as she picked up Shukaku and grabbed a grooming brush, "Not too sure, it was kind of funny though."

Vivian snickered as she entered the bathroom, "Yeah. So I guess I'll steal the diary?"

"I'll distract her," Calla replied as Shukaku squirmed a bit.

"Sounds like a plan," Vivian grinned brightly as she shut the bathroom door.

Calla walked up to Ginny Weasley as the ginger haired first year was leaving her Charms class. It was as she drew closer to the girl that she felt it. An energy signature that made her feel sick to her stomach and the feeling of her scar aching. It was almost as strong as last year when facing Quirrell, but weaker too. It was almost like listening to a radio station with bad feed back. Pushing down her feelings as she wondered where the hell it was coming from, she said, "Ginny?"

"Y-yes?" Ginny squeaked out looking at Calla in shock.

Calla didn't blame Ginny she hadn't willingly approached the younger girl before. She had a disdain for fangirls and fanboys though mostly the former what with how stupid a majority were. Jeff's fangirls were the worst of the bunch, "I just wanted to check on you and make sure you're doing well," she felt Vivian begin to approach, "Since you're looking fairly pale, I was worried you weren't doing well,"

Ginny shook her head, "I-i'm fine. Just tried."

"You sure?" Calla offered the ginger haired girl a look of concern, "Fred, George, and Ron would be miserable if you got sick,"

"I'm fine," Ginny assured Calla, "Just a bit tired is all, I'm not used to using my magic so much,"

"We're almost to the end of the semester which means you should be used to it by now," Calla's look of concern increased as Ginny cringed, "Maybe you should go to the hospital wing? You might be sick or something,"

Vivian wandered past and Calla felt the out of place energy signature follow the other girl. Ginny shook her head, "I'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Calla gifted the ginger haired girl with a dubious look, "I suppose that I can't really force you since we're not friends or family. Just please keep your brothers and parents in mind, they'd be devastated if anything happened to you,"

The bell tolled and Ginny offered her a quick nod, "I know."

"I got to get to my next class," Calla said and began to turn away, "Just consider what I've said,"

With that Calla rushed off to go to where Vivian was standing around the corner.

Candy Pop looked from the diary that Vivian was hold to Calla who was shooting looks normally reserved for Mr. Widemouth at it. He frowned at her, "Calla, why are you looking at a cheap looking diary like it personally offended you?"

"Because it's radiating the same energy as Dark Lord Dipshit," Calla said not taking her eyes off the thing.

"What?!" Vivian dropped the diary onto the table, "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"We were in class or surrounded by people. I didn't want to cause anyone to panic," Candy Pop couldn't remember seeing Calla so agitated even when around Mr. Widemouth.

Candy Pop spoke before Vivian or Calla could say anything else, "That's enough. Vivian, Calla was right to do what she did, but she should have said it before now. Calla, you did the right thing, but next time, try to say something."

Calla nodded with a frown, "What are we going to do with that?"

"I'm going to take it to Slender and come back," Candy Pop answered only for Calla to shake her head.

"If this is a soul piece or something, it might latch onto your energy if used on or around it," Calla tore her eyes away from it, "Just shove it somewhere until we go home in a week, we can't take any chances especially if we're going to use it to figure out a way to get the piece in my scar out,"

Night Terrors nodded in approval, "She's right. We can't take any chances especially since this is our best bet right now. Just tell Jay and Slender about it, they'll understand wanting to be cautious."

'I suppose that would be for the best,' Candy Pop would need to hide it carefully and keep it away from Calla though he doubted she'd touch it, "Alright. Thank you two for getting it, I take it you didn't have any trouble?"

"None," Vivian smiled a bit smugly while shooting the diary wary looks, "We make a pretty good team,"

"Mhmm," Calla hummed while glaring at the diary.

Candy Pop grabbed the diary and placed it onto his bookshelf before telling the two, "Let's head down to dinner."

"Calla," Calla looked up from her book and smiled at seeing Draco.

"Hey, Draco," Calla greeted him as she marked her page, "Excited to go home?"

Draco nodded with a pleased smile, "I am. Mother promised that I would get to stay up later on Yule to participate in some of the adult rituals. You?"

Calla nodded as she set down her book, "Yeah. I can't wait to see Papa and everyone again. Uncle Owl is going to be joining us which is exciting."

Calla couldn't wait to see what happened when they added Jareth to the mix. Draco sat down across from her, "I'm happy for you. Anyway, Mother wanted me to invite you, your father, and the Cranes to the usual New Years holiday celebration we throw. She said it was about time you started to make connections with the other purebloods what with being heir to two houses," Draco pulled a letter out and handed it over to Calla, "Give that to your father, it has details that he needs to know if you'll be coming and a request to contact Mother if you're coming."

Calla took the letter which was in one of the really expensive envelopes and placed it into her bag, "Of course, I'll give it to him once we get home. It'll be an interesting experience."

"It's usually a bit boring for those under seventeen, but I have a feeling it'll be a lot more fun with you there," Draco said making Calla laugh a bit.

"Probably," Calla zipped up her bag, "Anything I should know? Like is it a masquerade or something?"

"No, Mother usually schedules for those to happen on Samhain as it's more fitting," Draco answered as she sat up fully, "It's a ball though, so make sure you wear something fitting for it if you can come,"

Calla thought about her dresses, "I might have something that works, but I'll have to check. If not, I can always make a new one or have one made."

It would give Calla an excuse to get more of the magical fabrics to play around with since she hadn't managed to convince her father or Candy Cane to get them.

Calla packed up her trunk while making sure that she wasn't leaving anything behind with Vivian doing the same. While they weren't leaving until tomorrow, they didn't want to accidentally leave anything behind. She looked up as the door opened to admit Jane, "Hey, Jane. What's up?"

"I wanted to check on Splendor's brat and you two," Jane smirked a bit, "You seem to be driving those two girls batty,"

"They deserve it," Calla hadn't gone easy on either of them once the supplies LJ sent her arrived.

Neither of them looked well at all and both were heading home as well, it wouldn't help since Night Terrors had promised to keep on the nightmares. If they thought they'd be getting a reprieve by being away from her, they'd be in for a rather unwelcome surprise. Perhaps when they got back, she'd stop for a little while to give them a taste of dear sweet normality then take it away again. As they hadn't given Luna a proper and sincere apology yet, she wasn't going to be stopping especially since the blonde was more than a little amused by her efforts.

"You," Jane pointed at her, "Spend far too much time with LJ,"

"He is one of my best-friend's," Calla pointed out as she moved towards her wardrobe and began moving things into her trunk while making sure to leave her favorite outfit out for tomorrow.

"Kinda funny how close you two are now compared to when you first met," Jane commented as she took a seat at Calla's desk.

Vivian looked up from her stuff in surprise, "Wait, what? Spill."

"LJ hated me when we first met. It wasn't until he saw one of my nightmares that he started to see me as more than an annoying human that he couldn't kill," Calla smiled a bit as she thought about it, "It wasn't until a few months after I arrived at the mansion that he truly began to accept me as a friend. Jeff pissed me off though I can't remember how or why. I ended up pranking the ever loving shit out of him. I managed to hide from him long enough for LJ to get back from one of his jobs when he managed to catch me. Jeff was going to beat me black and blue if not slit my throat. LJ wasn't going to let that happen since Papa would kick his ass if he did. LJ was curious about what happened, asked Jeff, got the answer, and started seeing me as a friend," She looked at Vivian, "That's around the time that LJ began to become as protective of me as Papa, Poppy, and Cane,"

"Not to mention, anyone that pranks Jeff gets on LJ's good side since he loves annoying your daddy," Jane said as she began picking her nails with a knife, "Even if I'd only been at the mansion for about six months before the brat arrived, I'd figured that out,"

"That's really cool," Vivian said earning a curious look, "How you managed to bond with Laughing Jack. It's probably really hard to do,"

"Yeah, but its worth it since you have a pretty much unkillable immortal on your side," Jane commented earning a shocked look from Vivian.

"He can't die?" Vivian looked a bit white.

Calla shook her head as she corrected, "He can be killed, but it's almost as hard as it would be to kill someone like Slender, Papa, Poppy, or Cane. Even if you have every Creep on your side, you'd be hard pressed to actually kill him. It involves making the whole world completely forget his story, killing him in the dream realm, and destroying his box in a way it can't reform plus other things that I'm not too sure on," Calla shrugged lightly as she folded her clothes and put them into the trunk, "Considering the fact LJ is pretty much a god in the dream realm, no one outside of Poppy, Cane, or someone on Slender's level could kill him. Vitally injure him and make it so he has to reform in the mortal plains which can take years, possible if very bad for your health. You'd be better off trying to seal him away somewhere and hope that no one ever finds a way to unseal him."

"Basically it's like destroying the Lament Configuration," Jane added making Vivian pale further, "Not possible by mortal means. The physical body can be destroyed, but it will always reform,"

"That exists? The Hellraiser movies actually happened?" Vivian's voice was a bit high.

"Yes, but the Lament Configuration, the main one, is currently sealed up tight in the subbasement," Jane waved off her concern.

"Vivian, don't worry about it. Even if some idiot managed to get one and open it up, the demons wouldn't come after us. We're half Pasta after all," Pastas were after all considered demons in some way or form though they were removed from the hierarchy of Hell.

It wasn't something Calla was going to mention to Vivian until asked though. It was a bit of a mind fuck and that was just listening to the explanation. Explaining it? A whole lot worse and something to be left up to one of the adult i.e Jane. Vivian opened her mouth before closing it and shaking her head, "You know what? I've had enough of discussions like this. How about we talk about something else?"

Poor Vivian, she could handle a lot, but some stuff just wasn't meant for someone that still had a majority of her sanity. Or a somewhat working moral compass, Pasta's and their halflings were fucked up. Calla? She could handle a hell of a lot thanks to being raised how she was, but even she had trouble believing half the shit she came across.