Sirius's words hung in the air like slowly deflating balloons. I couldn't tear my gaze away from his gray eyes – the exact same color of his brother's. The one I was supposed to impersonate.

"Are you out of your mind?" I said very quietly, feeling my pulse rocketing up dangerously. I could feel the blood rush to my face in automatic anger and indignation. My voice was too high and too not mine – I sounded just like Lily.

"Told you she'd take it bad." Remus sighed.

"Shut up." I snapped, jumping to my feet. "Why does it have to be me? Why can't it be one of you?"

"Quiet, Evans." James retorted. "I mean, Harkstone."

"What does it matter?" I complained. "You don't listen to me anyway. You'll hound me and whine until I finally give in and do what you want. Am I right?"
"She's got us nailed, mate." Sirius muttered.

"It has to be you because you're the only one smart enough to do it." James said seriously. "Sirius would set off whatever magical alarms they have."

"They've all but banned me from the place." Sirius added, winking proudly.

"And Remus… well… he's got his condition. It would also set off the alarms."

"They've got anti-werewolf charms." Sirius said. "Sorry Moony."

Remus shrugged.

"And Peter…" James gestured to the sleeping boy. "For obvious reasons…"

"Okay, I get it." I snapped. "So what excludes you, Potter?"

James steepled his hands importantly. "If it was up to me, I'd go as Regulus. But I have to stay back here and cover for you. Don't you think Folsom will be suspicious when you're absent from class? Don't you think he'll go looking for answers?"

"So?"

"So… I'll be absent from class. And I'll take a dose of Polyjuice Potion and go as you."

"You know what I think." I said slowly, piecing it together in my mind. "I think that you want me to go because you don't want to get your hands dirty."

There was a pause. James shrugged. "That's partly true."

Throwing my hands up in the air, I turned my back on him and stalked in front of the fire.

"So what do expect me to do if I run into trouble?" I said quickly, swallowing against the sudden dryness in my throat. "Is your family really as bad as you say they are, then I'm going to be going up against dark witches and wizards."

"That's nicer than what I'd call them." Sirius said, rubbing his cheek with one hand. "You won't be going alone. I'll be coming with you, as myself. We'll be able to handle it together."

"Remember why you're going to their house." James put in. "You want that file on Folsom. Got it? That's the whole point of the mission."
I snorted. "Mission? You make it sound so professional and respectable. Well, it's not, Potter. It's illegal and we could get into a lot of trouble. There are worse things than being expelled."

"I know." James said. "But it's foolproof. You'll be in and out and done before you know it. We've got a plan."
"Oh, joy." I paced, unable to make myself sit still. "Sirius, didn't you just say you couldn't get into your own house? Why was it again? Oh, right. Because your family banned you?"
Sirius looked extremely smug. "That's correct."

"So how do you expect to go along with me?"

Sirius grinned. "I'm glad you asked, Harkstone." He rose to his feet, gesturing to an empty chair between Remus and Peter.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

James was grinning now too.

Remus rose to his feet and stood next to me. I raised a brow at him.

"Just watch." He said grimly.

Sirius grabbed a handful of air and pulled – hard.

Frank Longbottom stood statue-still, frozen. His eyes were closed. He swayed slightly on his feet, and let out a nearly-silent snore.

My mouth dropped open. Remus touched one shoulder quickly. "Don't scream."

"I'm… I'm…" The words died in my mouth at his warning. I wanted to scream and shriek at the pure idiocy of what they'd done.

"We just jinxed him." James assured. "He's just asleep."

"If he's asleep then why is he standing up?" I said in a strangled voice, disgusted.

"We needed to show you proof. You never knew he was here, did you?"

Lost for words, I could only stare at them.

"I'll wear the Invisibility Cloak. And with that brain of yours, I was hoping you'd be smart enough to figure out a spell for me to levitate with."

"Leve pondus." I managed, shaking my head. Red hair flashed before my eyes – Lily's hair.

"What do we do if we get caught?" I said after a long pause, feeling the eyes of the boys on me. "What then?"
Sirius's face lost the excited gleam. "With luck, we'll get out of there alive."

I could only stare at him.

"The risk is what makes it fun." James added excitedly.

"Amber," Remus said quietly, bringing me back to reality, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"She does." James said rudely. "She made a Vow."
I pressed a hand to my pounding forehead. The potion would be wearing off soon. Twenty minutes tops. "I don't like this."

"Why not? Because you're a stickler for rules? Because you don't know how to have fun? Life's not about following the rules, Harkstone." James urged. "It's about breaking them."

I glared at him with as much contempt as I could muster. If he only knew.

"Sometimes," I said slowly, words dripping with malice, "rules are meant to protect."

The air crackled with tension. James stared at me, looking furious.

"We can't do this without her." Sirius reminded him. "She's the key to the plan."

"Don't make me sound like I'm someone important!" I exploded. "I'm nobody! I'm just a Ravenclaw. Don't… just don't."

"That's enough." Remus said sharply. I snapped my head towards his direction, feeling like he'd slapped me, but the feeling immediately ebbed when I saw that his gaze was focused on James and Sirius. "She doesn't want to do this. Don't force her."

"Moony, we talked about this." James argued. "We need her to get that file. To prove that Folsom is really the axe wound we know he is!"

"He might even be a 'she'…" Sirius mused. James rolled his eyes, uncharacteristically cross with his best friend.

"Look." James said quietly. "I think Folsom is exactly what Harkstone says he is. He's up to something shady. And we need proof to get him out of here."

"And then what?" I interjected. "What if Dumbledore still doesn't believe us?"

"If you get your hands on that file," Remus said, "then it'll be infallible proof that Folsom needs to go. He isn't fit for teaching."

"This isn't just a personal vendetta between you two." James continued. "I've got a pretty good instinct, and I trust it. Folsom's bad news, and we've got to get him out of Hogwarts."

And away. But a part of me cried out in warning. What if he wants revenge? He's already threatened you… what will happen if Dumbledore sets him loose? You'll be in serious trouble.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. "I agree to the terms… if, IF-" I said harshly, trying not to look at the slumbering form of Frank Longbottom, "we learn about defensive charms and spells together. We need to have more meetings."

"But we have Quidditch." James cut in.

"And… homework." Sirius added glumly.

"If Amber feels we need to be safe, then that's what we need to do." Remus said harshly. "What if Folsom decides to come after us? What then? We need to be prepared. And…"

"And if what?" James challenged. "Go on. Finish."

Remus waved him off. "It's nothing. Forget about the last part."

James shrugged. "Fine. We'll make time for more practice."

"At least twice a week." I said immediately.

"Once." James bartered.

"Twice. And if you say no again, I'm raising it to three."

James glowered at me from behind his glasses. "You're a real pain in the arse sometimes, Harkstone. Even for a girl."

"I'll take that as a compliment, coming from someone who can't even see without an extra set of eyes."

"Ouch." Sirius sniggered. Peter snored loudly, startling Frank awake. The four of us froze.

"What… where am I?" Frank said drowsily, rubbing his eyes.

"You're on your way back to bed." James said easily. "Are you feeling alright, Frank? You look tired."

Frank's eyes were drooping closed again. "I must have been… sleep walking… again…"

"That's right, mate." Sirius said encouragingly. "Go back to bed."

Nodding and yawning hugely, Frank turned his back and slowly shuffled away. I listened to his footsteps echo and disappear up a spiraling staircase into the shadows.

"That was close." I hissed. "Too close."

"We've had worse." James said. "Do we have a deal? You and Sirius will get that file? In exchange for extra defensive spells lessons?"

I hesitated, wondering when I would ever have this amount of power in my hands again over James Potter and Sirius Black. "One more condition."

"Here we go…" Sirius mumbled.

I gave him a dark look. "You two will leave Severus alone for the rest of the year."

James and Sirius looked appalled. "What?!" They exclaimed in unison.

"You heard me. No more bullying or picking on him, or the deal's off."

"Just until summer!" James snapped.

"Fine. But I'll let Lily deal with you herself if you do otherwise."

Sirius looked mutinous, but finally acquised with a nod of his head. "Fine… deal. But I don't like it."

I gave him a fake smile. "Welcome to my life."

Remus, however, looked pleased and impressed.

"You'd better get back to the nest, birdie," James tossed in snarkily. "You wouldn't want to get caught out of bed, would you?"

Folsom. Would he show up in the halls on the way back to the tower?

Remus must have noticed the panicky look on my face, because he offered to take me back. "I can escort you."

"No, it's okay." I said, half-truthful. "I'll be quicker alone."

"If you're sure." Remus said, looking concerned.

I forced a smile to put his fears at ease. "Really, I'm fine."

"Ooooooooh…" James and Sirius snickered.

"Very mature, boys." I said in disgust.

"God, she really does look and act like Evans." Sirius laughed.

Rolling my eyes, I stalked out of the common room and down the portrait hole. "Good night, boys."

There was a triplet of farewells. The Fat Lady creaked open. She was still snoring.

I stepped out onto the landing. The Fat Lady closed quietly behind me. The moment she closed, I felt a prickle of foreboding. The moving staircases were still in motion, but their typical groaning was subdued. The entire space was silent.

"It's just nighttime." I whispered to myself, drawing my ash wand and holding it with a shaky hand. I guessed I had ten minutes left on the Polyjuice Potion. I took the nearest flight of stairs and began the long, steep climb to the top of the castle, where the Ravenclaw Common Room was. By the eighth staircase, I was desperately wishing for an escalator.

At the tenth, however, I was wishing for James's Invisibility Cloak.

Hovering in midair on the tenth landing was Peeves. Humming merrily to himself, Peeves was busy filling water balloons with red powder from a black bucket.

I hung back, crouched low behind a granite bannister. Maybe if I created a commotion below, a distraction, I could get past him.

But Peeves looked too busy to be distracted by anything but his current task. And knowing Peeves, it was nothing good. He was too much like James and Sirius.

I watched as Peeves filled a third and fourth balloon with red powder. I pointed my wand at one and whispered, "Wingardium leveosa."

The white balloon slowly lifted into the air.

Peeves noticed after a moment. "Oh, my my!" He cackled. "Someone's out of bed!"

A thrill of horror raced down my spine. How did he know?!

"I can hear you whisper your incantations, little witch!" Peeves went on loudly. "Someone needs to learn nonverbal magic if they don't want me to teach them a lesson!"

Heart pounding, I decided to gamble. I leapt up from my hiding spot, revealing my identity and making Peeves pause in his cackling. "Peeves!" I whispered tightly. "Please! Just let me pass."

Peeve's translucent eyes were the size of tennis balls. "Ohoho! A Gryffindor out of bed so late? How unusual! I thought you'd be like those Slytherins, always sneaking out of bed… you just missed them a few minutes ago!"

I could feel the blood drain from my face. "There's a group of Slytherins out of bed?"

Peeves grinned devilishly. "I think you should join them."
Behind Peeves, I could see the final two staircases that would take me up the Ravenclaw tower. If only I could get past him. But there was no way without him making a ruckus. And if he did, I knew I wouldn't have time to get all the way up to the tower unnoticed or unreported.

Desperately wishing I had just stayed hidden and waited until he was gone, I wracked my brain for any bargaining chips that I had.

"You know," I said quickly, not sure where the words came from, "my sister is dead."

Peeves looked utterly flabbergasted, as if that was the last thing he expected to hear me say aloud. "You… your what?"

"My sister." I said, and it was easier to lie when I looked and sounded like someone else. "Maybe you know her ghost."

"Maybe." Peeves looked intrigued. "What's her name?"

"Parsnip Evans." I lied again. "She's eleven."

"Hmmm…" Peeves shrugged. "Haven't had the fortune of meeting her. But Moaning Myrtle… she's quite easy to provoke."

While I spoke to Peeves, I had slowly started to make my way up the stairs and past him. If I could just make it another half-flight of stairs, I could run to the tower and be inside before anyone caught me. And I would be Amber again.

"I haven't met her yet." I said, trying to appear greatly disappointed. "I'd like to ask if she knows my sister."

"What was her name again?" Peeves said, drawing closer.

"Uh… Peony Evans."

Peeves grinned suddenly. "You think old Peevsie doesn't know a liar when he sees one? Nice try, little girl, but you'll have to do better than that if you don't want to get caught!"

Peeves held out a long sewing needle. I stumbled backwards on a step. "What are you doing with that?" I said, my voice rising in panic.

Peeves smiled wider. "I hope you get my point, little girl! You'd better run and hide before they come for you!"

He jabbed the eye of the needle into the floating white balloon.

It exploded in a flash of red and white. The loudest lion's roar I'd ever heard in my life echoed and bounced between the walls and throughout the entire throat of the stairwell. Hundreds of feet of sound reverberating to the point of madness. I clamped my hands over my ears.

Peeves looked extremely pleased with himself. He vanished.

I yanked my hands off of my ears. The roaring was fading. But every painting was waking up, some muttering and others shouting. I couldn't let them see me like this. Lily would be in trouble. It wasn't a question of if I was in trouble anymore… but how much.

I ran for it.

I ducked my head as I pelted up the last two flights of stairs. I skidded hard to avoid the sticky step near the top of the last rise, palms slick with nervous sweat and the blood pounding in my ears. The paintings were loud, the countless voices blending into a babble of untangible noise. I hurtled down the stone corridors, my shoes slapping against the granite, echoing off the walls.

If Filch or Folsom were looking for me, I had minutes – if not seconds – to get to the Common Room.

There was a stitch in my side and tears stung my eyes, but I couldn't stop now. It was one matter if Filch caught me, but if it was Folsom… I was doomed.

And I only had a fifty-fifty chance of meeting Filch.

I pumped my legs harder. I rounded the last corner, the last leg to the Tower.

I'm going to make it. I'm going to get back before they notice I'm g-

I collided full-force into a warm mass. The impact sent me flying back, landing hard on my tailbone. I gasped, limbs stiffening. Eyes screwed up in pain, I tried to open them. Tears streamed from the edges of my vision, blurry and watery. A dark shape was hunched over, rubbing its head.

"What the hell?" The thing hissed, and my jaw dropped open.

"Severus?" I said in disbelief. "Severus Snape?"

The boy stiffened. He looked visibly distressed. "Lily?"

I stilled. The Polyjuice Potion hadn't worn off. Yet. I still looked and sounded like Lily Evans.

Clearing my throat, I tried to stand up, but my backside screamed in protest, so I winced instead and didn't move. "Yeah."

Severus looked appalled. "I'm so sorry, Lily! I didn't mean… I wasn't looking where I was going…"

I narrowed my eyes. A moment ago he'd sounded furious, ready for a fight, as if it had been my fault that we'd collided. Now, he sounded guilty as a dog who'd eaten homework. He almost sounded… scared.

"It's alright, Sev." I said, using Lily's nickname for the Slytherin boy. "What are you doing out here?"
Severus glanced around nervously. His pale skin was even whiter than normal now. "I… uh…" His thin black brows drew together. "What are you doing out?"

Blushing, I cleared my throat again. "I was going to visit Amber. She's supposed to help me with my homework."

"But you're the top student." Severus pointed out.

"That's true." I agreed, annoyed. "But she's the second-top student. And it's good to have feedback from each other."

Severus shrugged, accepting my feeble story. I stared at him, astounded. Did he really believe any word Lily said?

"Listen," Severus said quietly, "you need to get up and go back to the Common Room. Now."

It wasn't an order, but a thinly-veiled warning.

"Why?" I said warily. "What's going on, Sev?"

Severus tucked a lank of greasy hair behind an ear. His black eyes swiveled back and forth. "Someone gave Peeves some enchanted balloons. Filch will be here any moment."

"Maybe." I conceded. "But not if he runs to the other end of the castle. It's a big place."

"No, listen, Lily." Severus sounded really nervous now. He was wiping his hands on his robes, something I did when my own palms were soaked with sweat. "You have to get out of here. I'll go the other way and distract him so that you can get away."

I frowned. "But isn't the Slytherin Common Room at the complete opposite end of the school? In the dungeons? The lowest point of the castle? We're at the highest."

Severus swallowed hard. "I know that. I just don't want you to get caught."

I studied Severus closely. He wouldn't meet my eye and he kept biting his lower lip, probably unaware of what he was doing. For whatever reason, I – Lily – made him exceedingly nervous.

But why, if he trusted her? She seemed to be his only friend.

"Go. Now." Severus pleaded. "Before he gets here."

I tried standing again. Pain radiated like a furnace in my lower back, but I gritted my teeth and stumbled to my feet. I looked down the flights of stairs, all the way down to the Gryffindor Common Room, and knew that there was no way I could make it even halfway there. And who knew how much longer the Potion would last?

"What are you waiting for?" Severus urged. "Go!"

"I hurt my tailbone." I explained, one hand pressed on my back, the other on the wall for support. "I don't think I can make it. I'll just go the Ravenclaw's and wait for Amber's help. I'm sure she knows a healing spell."

"I don't know." Severus said quickly. "Just go. I hear someone coming."

Sure enough, I could hear the soft whisper of robes coming towards us from behind. I took a single step forward and gasped in pain.

"Lily!" Severus whispered, distressed.

"I'll be fine." I promised, squeezing my eyes shut, heart pounding. What if it was Folsom? What could I do?

"Lily…" Severus said, sounding panicked. "You need to leave. Now."

"Just give me a minute." I took another step, wondering if I could slip behind a pillar and hide. If I could wait until whoever the night guard was passed.

But before I could do that, four black shapes appeared around the corner. All boys. All wearing the green Slytherin badges on their lapels.

"Well, well." A voice drawled. "Isn't this interesting… Looks like Snape brought his girlfriend."

Logan Avery.

"Out on a late-night date." Edward Nott added.

"Not sure what he wants with a filthy little Mudblood." William Mulciber sneered viciously.

Though I was a half-blood, I felt my face flame and fists curl in anger. "What did you just call me?"

"Self-righteous Gryffindor." Said another voice, much younger. Too young. "Just like my brother."

I turned slowly to face the four Slytherin boys. The familiar steel-gray eyes bored into my mine, every feature of his face declaring haughty pride for his pureblood status.

"Regulus." I muttered. It struck me again how Virginia would be in his year. Maybe she could have even been his friend.

If she had lived.

"She's just on her way out." Severus said, his voice clearer, trying to sound brave. But Slytherins weren't known for that attribute.

"I think if she's already here," Avery said silkily, "she should stay."

"Who knows." Mulciber added wickedly. "She might actually have fun."

"Or prove to be the fun." Nott growled.

I felt a warning prickle on the back of my neck. Severus looked whiter than the snow that fell softly outside the windows.

"Leave me alone." I said quietly, hands shaking, trying to stay in control. I pulled my hand away from my injured backside, forcing myself to stand up straight.

The boys laughed.

"Was it you who set off our little trap?" Avery drawled. "I gave him that bucket of Pride Powder myself. Told him to sound the alarm if anyone tried to come up here."

"Very clever." I said sarcastically. "So now, half of the castle is awake. And it's just a matter of time before someone like Filch gets up here."

But my threat was met with silence. And then, to my utter disbelief, more laughter.

"He could throw you all in detention!" I flashed. "And I'm sure Slughorn and Folsom won't appreciate having not one but five students caught out of bed."

"What an idiot." Regulus snorted, making my temper spike even higher.

"You know, I always wondered how such a smart witch could be a Gryffindor and not a Ravenclaw." Mulciber said. "How do you think anyone can pinpoint the sound of those exploding balloons? We chose Pride Powder because it's loud enough that the echoes are impossible to locate where it started. Our trap made it so that the intruder would run off and be caught, while we'd remain safe to roam."

Cold fear was dampening the hot anger. "Who knew Slytherins had brains." I spat, trying to show them that I wasn't afraid of them. Trying to lie.

"And who knew Gryffindors had such horrible manners." Nott said darkly. "We'll have to fix that."

These boys were different than the Marauders. The Marauders, who only wanted to have fun while ignoring the rules, would never hurt someone to the point past recovery. This group, I knew, could make someone disappear, and not lose an hour of sleep over it.

I needed to be very, very careful.

"You look a little pale tonight, Snape." Avery observed. "Feeling alright?"

"He's a second year. He's past his bedtime." Mulciber said.

"He's only upset because he doesn't want us to see his little Mudblood girlfriend." Regulus said blandly.

"Enough!" Snape said hotly. "Leave her out of this. Lily, go back to the Common Room. Now!"

But I couldn't move. Not only was the pain in my backside making it nearly impossible to lift a leg, but now I could feel my skin crawling. The Polyjuice Potion was almost finished.

"She looks pale too." Nott said. "Maybe we should escort her to the infirmary. After we give her something to need fixing."

That did it.

"You're a disgusting pig." I spat. "All of you. Especially you, Regulus. You're eleven. Go back to bed. These pieces of crap aren't your friends. They're using you. Just like toilet paper."

"Watch your mouth!" Regulus barked, holding up his wand. "Or I'll challenge you to a duel. Girl or not."

"Let them." Nott said, sounding bored. "After he kicks her ass, we can throw her down the stairs and call for Folsom."

"Folsom?" I exclaimed. "What about Filch?"

Nott's eyes widened. I knew what he had just told me wasn't for my ears.

"Great." Avery sighed. "Now we'll have to kill her."

My blood chilled.

"No!" Snape shouted suddenly, pink spots of color appearing on his face. "Don't touch her. She's just talking, guys. She doesn't mean any of it."

"I'm sure." Mulciber said coolly, cracking his knuckles.

I knew I should have been afraid, but the metallic anger burning in me was so strong that I knew I only had moments before I would explode.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson, Evans," Mulciber said casually, approaching me. "And you'll never disrespect us again."

"No!" Snape said, lunging between us, just as Mulciber's thick fist passed through the air. It smashed into Severus's cheek with a sickening thud, and he crumpled to the ground in a heap, unconscious.

"Aw, crap." Mulciber swore vilely. "Little fool."

I stared at Severus, who had jumped in front of a vicious attack for me. No, for Lily.

What kind of friend did that?

Mulciber advanced, dark eyes glinting. "I hope you don't bruise too easily."

"I thought your mom told you never to hit girls." I retorted.

Mulciber grinned wickedly. "Do you always do what Mommy tells you?"

"No." I ducked as Mulciber swung, feeling my skin turning inside out, my hair changing color, "but maybe you should learn to listen to your parents."

There was a collective gasp of surprise as I jumped back, ignoring the pain in my back, pain making me want to bend over. I drew my wand out, ready for a fight.

"What the hell…?" Avery said, clearly thunderstruck.

"That's Harkstone!" Regulus snapped. "That Ravenclaw girl who runs with my brother's gang!"

"In the end," Mulciber growled, glowering at me, wand drawn, "she's just a girl."

"And she's outnumbered." Nott added calmly, drawing his own wand.

"Typical Slytherins." I spat. "You can never fight fair, can you?"

"Why fight fair when you can win?" Avery said smoothly. The four Slytherins approached me silently, completely ignoring the fallen Severus laying on the floor. Four wands, pointed at me. The intent to maim or injure was clear in their eyes.

I reached behind me slowly, feeling my sore lower back again. Maybe if I could press it hard enough, I could pass out from the pain before they could do anything to me. But even as I thought it, I knew it was fruitless. These boys were going to injure me further, conscious or not.

"I hope your parents have good medical insurance." Mulciber whispered.

"Stupid girl." Regulus spat.

The opal necklace twitched on my neck.

My fingers brushed a small, hard nub in my back pocket. I tried not to let the surprise register on my face. I wrapped my fingers around the small glass vial, heart pounding.

"I'm a girl," I said evenly, gripping my wand and the vial so hard that my hands trembled. "and you have no idea what I'm capable of."

I yanked my back hand forward and jammed the lip of the vial to my mouth and drained it.

The moment I moved, the boys each cast a spell:

"Expelliarmus!"

"Petrifius Totalus!"

"Impedimentia!"

"Crucio!"

I felt the force of one spell hit me directly in the left shoulder. I stumbled, but moved quickly behind a stone pillar a few feet away while the smoke cleared.

"Where the hell is she?!" Mulciber roared. "I'll kill that little troll!"

"She got hit." Avery snarled. "There's no way she dodged all four."

"Well, keep looking." Nott murmured. "She can't have gone far."

"When we find her, I'll try my hex on her one more time. Just to make sure she got the message." Regulus cursed savagely, far too viciously for an eleven-year-old.

"Mulciber, get Snape." Avery commanded. "Bring him back to the Common Room. We'll look for that wench."

Mulciber swore under his breath. I could hear him heave Severus over one shoulder and shuffle away. The others split up, their fast footsteps echoing down the hall and the stairs.

I waited until I was sure they were gone. Shaking hard, I tried moving my hand to my back, but it was slow. So sluggish.

I winced in pain. Avery's jinx had hit its target. Impendmentia had slowed me down like I was moving through molasses instead of air. But that didn't hurt as much as knowing who had yelled crucio.

I shuffled silently towards the Ravenclaw Tower. It was so close. Just a few feet more…

A door opened at the end of the hall. A shape, coming quickly. Tall and wearing red. I stopped, holding my breath.

Folsom.

He passed by quickly, like a thunderstorm, his eyes fixed straight ahead, completely missing the fact that he was just inches from slamming into me.

Over my shoulder, I watched him disappear down the stairs, in the same direction as the Slytherin boys.

My heart was still racing when I started moving again. Thank you God that I had that Invisibility Potion with me, I prayed silently as I made it to the foot of the Ravenclaw Tower. I glanced down the hallway and stared at the wooden door that Folsom had appeared through. What was beyond it? And what was the Slytherin Professor doing out so late in the night?

Swallowing, I slowly walked to the door, the curse still slowing me down. I paused at the door, my hand hovering over the handle. I pointed my wand at the lock, legs stiff from the pain in my back. "Alohamora."

The door creaked open.

Cold air blasted in silently. Snow fell in soft drifts, covering the stone balcony in white. Below, the Dark Forest sprawled out, dizzingly far.

It was just a small balcony… an observatory, if anything. Hardly any room for more than two people to stand comfortably. So what was Folsom doing out here on such a frigid night? And so late?

The cold stung my lungs with each breath. My eye caught a spot of dark color staining the white snow. I bent down slowly, exhaling to ease the pain in my back.

It was pink. Two spots of pink. Like drops of rain.

Blood.

And the bootprints that could only have come from Folsom.

Backing up, I slowly pushed the door shut, sealing off the winter air. Maybe he just had a nosebleed.

But I hadn't seen his nose run red when he swept by, unaware of my invisible body.

I started back towards the stairs, legs aching, head spinning with the events of the night. The boys were going home for the holiday. With luck, so would the other Slytherin boys and Folsom.

A chill ran down my spine. Two times a week wouldn't be enough for practicing defensive spells. No, it would need to be every day, if possible.

I inched my way up the stairs, the curse Avery had laid upon me gradually lifting. The Invisibility Potion wasn't enough to fool the Knocker on the door to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

"At night, they come out without being fetched. By day, they are lost without being stolen. What are they?"

"Stars." I said breathlessly, winded from the long climb.

"Quickly and excellently done." The Knocker said, and swung open to admit me.

I made it upstairs to the girl's dormitories. Already, some had gone home, collected by their parents early after the exams. Half of the beds were empty, mine included.

I washed my face as best as I could without being able to see it. The potion would linger for an hour, like the Polyjuice had. When I awoke, I would be visible.

I eased into my bed, laying on my side. Instant relief sapped at the pain in my back, but did not lessen the weight of horror inside my heart.

So much secrecy. So much hatred. What would those Slytherins do to me? I had to be very careful not to be caught alone until I was strong enough to take on at least four of them single-handedly. And I was only a second year.

I knew that the Slytherin gang couldn't rat on me without revealing themselves out of bed, too. But I also knew that they held grudges. And for whatever reason, they decided that I was a threat.

Why had they been out of bed in the first place? Why had they felt the need to attack or threaten me when I had discovered them? And what had Folsom been doing?

I tossed and turned, stretching the soreness in my back and wondering how much longer I could keep evading death. I had ended my sister's life. It was only natural that death would come find me, too.

But none of those things disturbed me more than the fact that one of the boys had tried to hex me with Crucio. And I knew who had done it.

I shut my eyes tightly, tears burning at the edges of my vision, a dull ache pounding between my ears. How was I going to tell Sirius that his eleven-year-old brother had cast an Unforgivable Curse?