A/N: Hi, everyone! So very sorry for the long wait, I have ideas but sadly no time. Yes, school has finally started once more, and I definitely failed at my goal to update every day over the summer. I mean, it wasn't even possible, unless I wanted to waste all of my summer... But you are happily saved from months of no updates, due to my new method! I am going to alternate between updating stories, and give myself a due date for each update. This SHOULD be up by Saturday, August 23 where I live... If it's not, my bad :( Of course, I won't always be able to accomplish this, due to the more important matter of school. If that's the case, I will simply extend the due dates and send my apologies.

Anyway, enough with my (evil) plans... Here is chapter 10!

I slowly opened the large library door and walked inside, inhaling the smell of parchment and ink. As I passed Madam Pince, I sent her a small smile as a way of saying "good morning". Apparently I looked to 'innocent', however, because all I received in return was a suspicious glare. I brushed it off and searched the tables for Talon and Sneaky, but they weren't there. Well, I WAS an hour early; Tawny hadn't even been awake when I left the dormitory. I decided to start looking, so I started off towards the many bookcases.

After several minutes, however, I was yet to find a single book. I went down multiple aisles, scanning the covers. I wasn't paying attention when I rounded the corner, and I nearly crashed into someone.

"Sorry!" I exclaimed, jumping back. I looked closer at the girl I had bumped into. She had fiery red hair, brown eyes, and freckles. She seemed to be in second year, and she gave me a small impression of a female version of Ron. Ginny.

"It's fine," she said, giving me a quick smile. I moved past her and she kept walking.

After a couple more aisles, however, I stopped. Where the heck were the Transfiguration books? Gosh, this library was huge!

"Can I help you find something?" Ginny's voice came from behind me. I turned around to see her looking at me.

"Yes, actually," I told her, breathing a sigh of relief. "If you don't mind... Do you know where I can find the Transfiguration books? On animagi, to be specific."

"Follow me," she said, and began walking down the row. As I hurried to keep up with her long strides, she asked, "Why so interested in animagi?"

I tried to keep my face straight as I lied. "Just curious. I just had McGonagall's class."

"Oh, yeah," she said, looking over her shoulder at me with a small smile. "I was curious too. It's a wonder how she does it."

"Yep."

Many aisles later, she pointed towards a shelf of books. "There."

I hurried towards the shelf, grabbed a book, and started flipping through it. "Thanks."

"My name's Ginny," she said after a few moments, surprising me.

I turned to look at her again. "I'm Breeze."

"Well, if you ever need any help... you know who to call." I could have sworn I saw a slight smirk on her face as she walked away... Or maybe it was just a smile. I turned back to the book, a slight frown on my face. Why was she being so nice to me?

A while later, I had a large stack of books on the subject. I picked them up awkwardly and turned the corner. I nearly ran into someone yet again.

"Breeze!" Talon said. "I thought you were still sleeping."

"Nope," I told her, adjusting my stack. "I've been here a while."

She picked a few books off of the top of the stack, and I smiled gratefully. "Well, it certainly looks like you've been here for quite some time. Come on, it looks like you've picked up enough books for now. Let's get started."

"...'You only get one chance to transform. If done wrong, the results may be permanent.'" Talon finished reading and looked up at us, her brows furrowed with worry and thought. "Are you guys sure you want to go through with this?"

"Yes," Tawny answered immediately, and Sneaky nodded.

"Just think about this for a minute, guys. We could change ourselves permanently, or even go through a permanent half-change."

"Hey, what doesn't kill you," I said defensively.

"Makes you stronger! Stand a little taller-" Tawny finished in song, but was quickly silenced by a smack on her arm from Sneaky.

"Shh, Madam Pince is watching!" Talon hissed, and, sure enough, I looked over to see the librarian staring at us menacingly. We all ducked our heads until she turned around.

"Well, I think we should at least take it slowly," Talon said. "Let's study for as long as we need to and not rush into it." We nodded at her words.

"So, Missy Ravenclaw, let's put your skills to the test. How long do you estimate?" I asked with a smirk.

"I dunno," she said, her face scrunched up a bit in thought, before saying slowly, "Maybe... a year?"

I suddenly felt a pang of foreboding, and the image of a bearded man popped up in my head for a fraction of a second, too short for me to see who it was. Oh no... talk about some deadly de-ja-vu... It was followed by the horrible image of a gray, shriveled up hand...

"Um, I'll see you at lunch," I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. I jumped up, grabbed my things, and practically ran out before anyone could say anything.

I fled to the girl's bathrooms and wrenched the door open. It was empty; I was alone.

My stuff fell to the floor with a clatter as I raced over, and leaned against the sink, hunched over with my eyes closed. My breath was ragged and I was fighting back tears. What was happening to me? Why was I suddenly so hysterical? I was acting as though I had just discovered someone's short life expectation or something! I turned the tap and cold water flowed out, soaking my hands and the tips of my hair. I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed and my eyes were dull. I dunked my head under the water and then took it out, water now dripping from parts of my sleeves. With shaking hands, I wrung my hair out and turned off the tap.

I stared into the mirror for a long time, until I was startled out of my thoughts when someone entered the bathroom. I jumped, startled, and looked closer at the person.

"Crissy," I said, surprised, and I hurried to gather my things off of the floor.

She titled her head a little, her following the progress of water dripping to the floor. "Breeze, are... are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." I suddenly noticed how tired and sad she looked. "What about you?"

"Me?" she asked, her expression unreadable. "What makes you think I'm anything but excellent?"

I glanced at her disbelievingly, only to be met by the same look. "I could ask you the same."

"Well, for one thing, you're dripping all over the floor. For another thing, I just saw Tawny, and she told me you ran off."

I felt myself blush, and I stammered, "Well, I just... needed a minute. But I'm better now, honest."

I tried to duck around her, but she went to block me. " Breeze. If you need anyone to talk to... Well, I'm in Hufflepuff for a reason."

"Ditto," I told her. She sent me a small, sad smile before stepping back to let me through. I could feel her eyes on my back until the door closed behind me.

A/N: Okay, I added in Ginny at the last moment; I didn't want to wait too long to introduce her. And the whole incident in the bathroom wasn't planned either, but it fits very well with my plans. I tried to make it not too clear, but not too vague, so just bear with me. All shall be explained in good time!

Please let me know what you think. Next on my update list is The Watching, so look for that! Should be up by Saturday, August 30, if not sooner. I finished this WAY faster than expected, so you never know :)

NOW, prepare for the author's ramble of a lifetime!

I started this story with full confidence that Breeze was going to be me. Now, I've seen my ideas blossom, and it amazes me how much of her own character she's become. We are very similar in some ways, but she has qualities that I could never possess. For one thing, I wouldn't do what she did in this chapter but it was necessary ;) I would say the same about Tawny, Talon, and Sneaky, but I expected them to be different from the real people anyway; their characters would only seem real if they wrote it with me. SO, I just wanted to say that you no longer have to associate Breeze with me, though her name is my nickname. That's all. Goodbye. :D

Breeze