That Christmas Eve, I dreamt of strange things. I was lost in a deep underground labyrinth. It was wet and stank of sewage and decay. The only light came from the tip of my wand. It shook with my terror, bouncing the blue-white light off of the damp, circular bricked walls. I could feel the top of the tunnel, brushing the crown of my hair, and I shuddered as claustrophobia began to set in. A fat black rat scurried by my feet, squealing.

I burst into a huge, cave-like room. A horrible, gigantic stone face of a man who resembled Zeus gaped its awful mouth wide. An enormous snake, the size and width of a redwood, slithered out of the open jaws, splashing quietly in the black water pooled before me. A small pale child with dark hair stood at the edge of the water, on the other side of the room. He couldn't have been more than Naomi's age.

The huge snake blinked its hot golden eyes and flicked out a massive forked tongue. It was scenting the air. Gooseflesh raced across my skin as it slowly swung its head towards me. I threw a terrified glance to the little boy standing alone. The snake made a low hiss and began to weave itself towards him.

Fear for the child overwhelmed me. Abandoning my own safety, I pelted towards him, wand raised. But what curses or spells did I know that could combat a beast so large?

None, I thought in despair, just as the snake reached the boy. It drew itself up, nearly topping the height of the room, swaying gently as it stared down at the boy, who was just seconds away from being killed.

"Run!" I screamed desperately. "Get away from that monster!"

But the child, who face remained stone-still, slowly turned to face me. He was unusually handsome. His dark eyes stared into mine, and I felt a chill of dread sweep over me. That sensation I had felt when the coyote had nearly attacked me at the end of summer came back full-force, sending a cold shock up the ladder of my spine. My legs twitched as I felt the overwhelming desire to run for my life.

Somewhere deep inside, I knew that the snake wasn't the monster. This child was.

The snake roared. I stared into its eyes, horrified, and a moment later the dream changed. I stood at the foot of a headstone, the dirt freshly turned over but covered in white lilies. On the marker were two names. I squinted, trying to read them, but the dream was changing again. Too quickly. I thought I made out two P's at the beginning of the surnames, but I felt as if I was being tossed into the ocean waves, tumbling head over feet, ears flooded by seawater and eyesight seeing only silver bubbles.

I kicked my legs, trying to swim to the surface, but the sky was backwards. The sun boiled on the water above me like a runny egg. I turned the correct way and propelled for the surface. I could feel the mermaids clawing for a hold on my feet, to drag me down to the depths. I pointed my wand down and thought with all my might, Expelliarmus!

The force of the spell sent me exploding out of the water. I was bobbing in the middle of the lake; Hogwarts was behind me, burning in flames. People were screaming. The sun turned to the moon and there was a chilling howl. On the edge of the lake was a dark shape, red eyes piercing the darkness of night. It jumped into the water and plowed towards me. As it came into view alarmingly fast, I realized it was a gray wolf. A humanoid wolf. Its mouth was open in a wide snarl. It was close enough to scratch me. I recoiled from the hit, cheek stinging. I dove under the water and prayed it couldn't follow me into the abyss.

"Amber."

Virginia's voice called out to me in the gloomy water. I opened my eyes wider, trying to breathe air, but only inhaling lungfuls of icy lakewater. I gasped and spluttered, clutching at my throat. I was dying. I was going to drown in this cursed lake full of monsters, after all.

Virginia floated before me, a pendant hanging from her neck. It was on a simple gold chain, the jewel green and iridescent. Virginia pulled it free from her neck, her sun-colored hair billowing out around her in a white cloud, and fastened the necklace over me instead. She slowly disappeared until I was alone again. But this time, I could breathe. I could breathe under the water. Because of Virginia, I was going to live.

"Amber."

I closed my eyes and opened them again. Virginia frowned down at me, standing before my bed. I blinked several times, trying to decipher if this was reality, or just another dream.

"You were crying out in your sleep." Virginia said, concerned. "You woke me."

"Sorry." I mumbled, rubbing a hand against my throbbing temple. "Bad dream."

Virginia glanced outside. "It's morning. You should come downstairs. Take your mind off of what happened."

I tried to convince myself that what I had dreamt of was just the illusions conjured by my overactive subconscious. But something about it felt like a warning. Foreboding gripped my bones until I couldn't breathe. That child had looked at me with more evil than any of the other monsters in my dream. Combined. Who was he? And why did I dream of him, if I'd never seen him before in my life?

I pushed myself into a sitting position. I groaned as the blood rushed in my ears, threatening to make me go under again. Virginia's brows pulled together.

"You sure you're alright?"

I nodded stiffly, wishing I could dislodge the horrific nightmare, but it clung like cigarette smoke. Virginia rose delicately and handed me my sweater. "I'll meet you downstairs."

I watched her go. I hadn't realized that the right side of my face stung. I touched the apple of my cheek carefully, feeling bone beneath the soft flesh. It was wet.

Had I been crying?

When I pulled my hand away, it was red. I was bleeding.

I hurried to the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror. I looked horrible, like I'd nearly drowned. On my cheek was a small red line, welling blood.

It was in the exact place the gray wolf had struck me in my dream.

Shaking, feeling cold and sick, I bent and splashed water on my face from the faucet. I brushed my teeth and opened the medicine cabinet. Inside were rows after rows of little orange bottles. Each was labeled for one Harkstone, Virginia. I scanned them quickly and pulled one out, examining it silently in the light of morning.

"Lavender and passionflower extract" it read. "Take by mouth once daily to combat stress brought on by illness."

Did mental illness count?

I shook out two hard green pills and swallowed them. I put the bottle back carefully, just as I'd found it, and plodded downstairs. I was already feeling lighter when I rested on the worn sofa, staring at the twinkling Christmas tree. Three neat stacks of presents, each stack red, blue, and green, sat underneath the spiked branches of the Douglas fir. I could hear Mum and Dad in the kitchen, talking in quiet voices to each other, too low to decipher. The pounding in my head slowed and eased; the pills worked very quickly.

Naomi tore down the stairs, nearly falling, and skittered to a halt by the tree. "Presents!" She squealed. "Virginia! Ginny! Virginiaaaa! Come on!"

"I'm coming, you imp." Virginia muttered as she came softly into view. She smiled reassuringly at me. I tried to smile back, but even the medicine couldn't shake the cold sense of dread that the nightmare had given me. I pulled the old afghan over my legs, trying to chase off the chill, but the cold didn't come from the temperature of the house. It was from deep inside.

Shivering, I stared into the crackling flames in the hearth. I didn't notice Mum and Dad come into the room until they eased down on either side of me. The sofa creaked and sighed in protest.

"Virginia, yours is the blue stack." Mum announced, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of coffee. "Naomi, yours is green. Amber, yours are red."

My sisters had noticeably larger stacks of gifts.

Naomi handed our parents their stockings, which were full of chocolate frogs and Bernie's Botts Beans. Naomi was busily tearing through her presents, absolutely delighted. She could have opened a package of dirty socks and she would have worn them for the rest of her life. Christmas was Naomi's favorite day of the year. By far.

Virginia slowly unwrapped her presents, smiling serenely as she calmly removed the festive paper and revealed yet another gift.

"Amber!" Naomi whined. "Why aren't you opening yours?"

Mum was looking curiously at me. Dad looked like he could hardly stay awake. I felt the same way. My eyelids felt heavy, as if I hadn't spent the night dreaming, but instead stayed up running a marathon through an endless haunted house.

"I'm tired." I said honestly, hiding my horror as best I could. I just wanted this to be over so I could leave and bury my face into the nearest textbook I could find. Care of Magical Creatures would be a good choice. I could peruse the pages and try to identify the giant snake that had slithered its way through my subconscious.

Naomi took it upon herself to hand me each of my four gifts, after she had demolished her ten. The first was a yellow woolen sweater emblazoned with a large black H in the center. I looked at my parents curiously.

"Your grandmother made it." Mum said, speaking of her own mother. "She thought you would be sorted into Hufflepuff."

I felt heat climb into my cheeks. "Oh." I didn't know what to say.

"It also stands for Harkstone." Dad added, fully awake now, staring at my mother with warning in his gaze.

Mum pursed her lips and took a long sip of her coffee.

Naomi, oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation, kept her cycle of gifts coming, however short the cycle was. The next gift was from Naomi herself, who looked radiant with pride, as I pulled out a tiny framed finger-painted picture of an orange butterfly. It fluttered gently from one purple flower to a blue one.

"It's beautiful, Naomi." I said honestly, in awe. She was barely six years old, but Naomi already demonstrated as much talent as some of the classmates I shared in my Art Club. I let her hug me tightly before she handed me the next gift. It was a beautiful pink-and-red, flowered messenger bag with a large strap. It was large enough to fit all of my textbooks and my homework. I hugged my parents; they had been the ones to gift it.

"Here's mine." Virginia said quietly, handing me a simple, thin brown box with a tiny blue ribbon-tie in the middle. I lifted the lid, gasping in quiet surprise.

"Virginia." Mum said softly.

It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. A simple gold chain, in a perfect V-shape, with a tiny cluster of sparking opals set inside of a matching gold leaf-shaped border. I lifted it up carefully from the white cotton and stared at it. I looked at my sister, my heart pounding in my throat.

It was the exact same necklace from my dream.

"How did you get that?" Mum asked very quietly. "You couldn't have afforded that in your wildest dreams."

"Lena." Dad warned. "Enough."

Mum's face turned pink. "Did you have something to do with this, Walter?"

"We'll discuss this later." Dad said stiffly, his green eyes hard.

"What's wrong?" Naomi asked innocently, her eyes, Dad's eyes, huge and fearful. "Is something wrong with my painting?"

The atmosphere changed instantly. "Absolutely not." I promised, planting a swift kiss on my youngest sister's forehead. "It's beautiful. I love it."

Naomi let out a gusty sigh. "Good. I spent all week on it!"

"Put on the necklace." Virginia said quietly while Mum and Dad praised Naomi for her artistic skills.

Holding her gaze for a moment, I worked the small clasp and draped the opal necklace around my neck. It was light and reflected the fire in small golden winks.

"Why did you give me opals?" I asked her when the rest of our family moved into the kitchen to make waffles.

Virginia smiled gently at me. "You know why."

Troubled, I searched her face. "My birth stone is peridot. Yours is opal, not mine."

Virginia reached over and took my hand into hers. So small and cold. And so uncharacteristic of her. Shy, timid, sheltered Virginia. I could never remember her ever be the first to make a move with anything. She would never suggest a place to eat. She would never speak first. She never had the bravery or gall.

Her actions concerned me. The cold fear inside of me gnawed.

"I want you to have it." Virginia said. "In memory of me. To think of me every time you see it."

"You sound like you're dying." I choked out, not realizing my eyes had filled with tears.

Virginia laughed softly. "But I'm not. I'm the most healthy I've been in a long, long time." She stared out of the window, watching a blue jay eat his fill at our hanging feeder. "It's just made me realize that life is short. And we need to do things that we would otherwise put off. Besides, what if the sky falls on our heads? We'd all be dying then." She squeezed my hand strongly, surprising me again. "I want to live every day like it's my last. You should follow the same idea."

I stared at her, absolved of my fear that something was wrong with her. Tears of relief and joy fell instead. Laughing, I wiped them away with the back of my sleeves. "I'm such a gimp," I chortled, sniffling as the tears subsided. "I thought you were giving me a last memento."

Virginia hugged me quickly. "I'll always be here, Amber." She pulled back and stared at me with those endless sky-blue eyes. Someday, a man would fall hard for her, and I bet it would be because he looked straight into her gaze. With a jolt of excitement, I realized I could be there at Hogwarts with her if she ever found love. She would be around.

For the first time, I felt hope for my sister's future.

"Waffles are ready!" Naomi yelled.

"Breakfast." Virginia said vaguely, as if she was mentally somewhere else, far away. "I'm not that hungry."

"I'm not either." I said, my stomach still in knots from the nightmares. But after the gifted necklace, the reassurance from my sister, and the pills, peace quelled my spinning head and chased away most of the chill. Now, all I wanted to do was sleep.

"Eat something." Virginia said, as if she could read my mind. "Then you can sleep."

I rose to eat breakfast with my family. Virginia picked at her waffle, hardly eating, but Mum didn't scold her for it. She never did with Virginia. But she chided Naomi for spilling a few drops of maple syrup and criticized me for letting my long hair down and free while I ate. "You'll get the hairs in our food." She complained, while Dad squeezed her hand, silencing her.

I climbed slowly back into bed. Soren nudged me, a letter clamped in his beak. "Later," I said, yawning hugely. I tumbled into a deep, dark abyss of dreamless sleep a moment later.

The rest of the visit went quietly and uneventfully. Even Mum was nicer and criticized me only once more when she told me to clean my room, which was already spotless. If Mum couldn't correct someone, she would lose her head.

The day after New Year's was my last at home for winter break. Unlike other students, I had been away from home for over a month. I had grown accustomed to being in Bellinghall. The thought of spending the next five and a half months over seventy miles away brought a lump to my throat and an uncomfortable coil in the pit of my stomach.

I collected my possessions that I would bring back to Hogwarts and opened a window wide. "See you at school tomorrow." I told Soren, who glided smoothly out on his white wings. I shut the window against the frigid yawn of arctic air. Shivering, I pulled on boots and a thick jacket. I hadn't brought any of my school clothes home. I hadn't realized how long I'd be gone.

It was hard to believe I'd been gone for almost five weeks.

Professor Flitwick had sent me notice yesterday that so far, all of my assignments were completely fully and my grades had not suffered from my absence one bit; in fact, they were higher than when I had come back to Bellinghall. "We highly anticipate your return, Miss Harkstone." He had said, before signing his name.

I gave my bedroom one last survey before I left. Everything was in neat order. This summer, I hoped to come back to it in the same condition I'd left it.

Virginia was pulling on her jacket and winding her scarf around her neck when I came downstairs, suitcase in tow. Mum and Dad were nowhere to be seen.

"Naomi needed to go to the local healer," Virginia explained as my jaw fell open in surprise.

"Is she alright?" I asked, worried for my youngest sister.

Virginia laughed. "She's fine. She tried feeding one of the pregnant mares and Penny bit her finger so hard her nail cracked. Dad's going to give her a good tranquilizer later after they come home."

"So they won't be sending me off on the train?"

Virginia shook her head. "Just me. We'll ride Cartiano into town."

Cartiano was the big brown and white appaloosa stallion that was the father of Penny's unborn foal. I arched a brow. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Virginia nodded. "I'm healthier than I've been in years. I haven't forgotten my favorite sport." Since she could crawl Virginia was riding horseback. Mum hadn't allowed her to once her mystery illness had sapped her strength, reducing her to indoor activities only when she was eight.

Shrugging, I followed Virginia outside in the nippy January air. Virginia saddled up the horse while I fed him a carrot. "You sure about this?"

Virginia chuckled. "Honestly, Amber, where's your sense of adventure? You're supposed to be a Hatstall. I thought you'd have more bravery in you from Gryffindor."

I couldn't argue with that logic. Virginia slipped Cartiano's bit into his mouth and clambered aboard his back. "Leve pondus." I said, pointing my wand at my heavy suitcase, which instantly lightened. I lifted it easily onto the horse's back while Virginia coaxed him into an easy trot. She was a complete natural at caring for animals.

"Why didn't you just hex that suitcase so you didn't have to carry it all the way from your room?" My sister asked as we clodded down the snow-covered dirt road.

"I want to work on my muscles." I thought of Black and Potter, probably on their way back to Hogwarts at this very moment. "I'll need it if I ever have to beat some sense into those goons."

"You should really think of a better name for those scoundrels." said Virginia. "Something more… astute."

"Like what?" I laughed, relaxed by the gentle movement of the beast.

"Like… corsair. Pirate. Pillager."

"Marauder?"

Virginia made a noise of contentment. "Yes. That's the one. The Marauders."

Cartiano brought us into town and to the train station. No other students awaited with me. I was the sole Hogwarts student from Bellinghall.

Until next year, when Virginia would join me. And Naomi too, eventually.

"I hope her finger gets better soon." I muttered, thinking of the poor girl, probably in splits because she was missing our sendoff.

"She'll get over it." Virginia promised. "And she'll see you in a few months."

I dismounted a little clumsily, unused to the height. Virginia came down much easier. She hugged me just as the locomotive chugged into the platform.

"Be sure to write." I told her as I prepared to leave. "Don't be a stranger."

Virginia searched my face. She was so much healthier than I had ever seen her. But she looked as if she wanted to say something. Something very important. But she wouldn't. Or couldn't.

I frowned, concerned. "It's going to be alright, Virginia."

She studied the snowy ground for a long moment. "You know… they're saying that the Dark Lord is coming into power. That he wants to conquer the Ministry of Magic and exterminate everyone who isn't a pureblood."

"He's a fool." I said darkly. "There isn't a witch or wizard alive who's pureblooded. He's just a maniac. Don't worry too much, Virginia. The Aurors will have him under control."

Virginia grabbed my wrist suddenly, her blue eyes so intense that my heart broke into a gallop. Something was wrong. Definitely wrong.

"Listen to me." Virginia said quietly, her voice low so that only I could hear it. "Things are going to change. I know it. Be careful. Don't go looking for trouble. Please. Naomi needs you."

"Virginia." I said, pulling my arm away, disturbed.

"Promise me." Virginia insisted, her voice deadly serious. Her gaze locked on mine, refusing to let go.

"Alright, alright. I promise." I thought of the late-night escapades and ditching classes to walk the grounds alone. I thought of the mermaids and the murderous willow tree.

Virginia relaxed a little. But her sky-blue eyes remained intense, like a hurricane. "I love you, Amber. Please. Please be careful."

I hugged her once more. The train gave a warning whistle. "Last call for passengers!" The conductor shouted. Cartiano snorted and stamped his hoof.

"I have to go." I threw a glance at the train and looked back at Virginia. "I love you too."

Virginia smiled, seeming more like herself. "See you this summer."

I nodded and hurried to catch the train. I made my way inside just before the locomotive gave a piercing whistle and rolled forward. I sat down and stared out of the window at Virginia, who sat on Cartiano's back, staring up at the train. A squall of snow swept through the platform, making her look like a ghost.

The Dark Lord is coming into power… How would she even know about something that serious? She was hardly ten years old. The way she had spoken of it sent gooseflesh across my skin. It was difficult to fathom that such evil could exist in the first place. Our government had checks and balances for a reason. They would be able to defend us.

Wouldn't they?

The train rolled along the snowy tracks. It wasn't the Hogwarts Express; that one was busy collecting students from King's Cross Station and bringing them to the castle. This particular train was a commuter train for witches and wizards, one that would take me straight to Hogsmeade Station.

He wants to exterminate everyone who isn't a pureblood…

I shut my eyes, trying to banish my sister's words of warning. She couldn't know anything of the sort. Even the papers like the Daily Prophet claimed that though the Dark Lord, or as they called him, He Who Must Not Be Named, was indeed a powerful wizard, he could in no way take over the Ministry or commit genocide. It was nothing but exaggerated propaganda by attention-seeking writers.

Right?

As the train rolled on deeper into the Scottish Highlands, the snow fell harder and turned the countryside into a white-out. I closed my eyes and thought of Hogwarts. A chill crept into the empty compartment. I longed for a warm blanket. I almost cast the spell Incendio, but knew if I lost control of the flames, I would be toast. Literally.

My mind mulled over what Virginia had said, repeating it and dissecting it and analyzing. There was something that nagged at the back of my mind, persisting and unrelenting until I finally let out my breath and accepted the fact.

Virginia wasn't just worrying. She was warning me. Somehow, she knew something bad was coming. Something that involved this Dark Lord.

Somehow, Virginia had seen the future.