2nd Floor Corridor Near The Bathrooms.

Ambling along.

Lucille thinks I am mad, but I enjoy walking around Hogwarts when it's quiet like this. No one to bother me and I am left with about an hour of free-thinking time.

Of course there is the chance that I could be Ambushed By Marauding Slytherins out for a midnight stroll every time I turn a corner, but what Lucille forgets is that I am a Big Girl (bigger and taller than her!), and I can take care of myself. I know lots of spells. Lots and lots of spells. And I know it is weird, I know it does sound mad, but sometimes I feel Invincible just because I am walking out on my own in the middle of a spooky castle. It feels like I am Courting Danger. And I know other people may think liking that fact is something to be ashamed of, but I do not.

I have tried to control it and tamp it down, however, it seems my anger from an hour ago, inspired by Black and Mara Dice is winning out.

I dislike being angry.

I feel the warm blood running through my veins like mercury right now; quickly, quickly poisoning me and making me retarded, and this is not good. I do Stupid Things when I'm retarded and let emotion get away from me.

This is why I try to be—what the Muggles call it—"Very Zen About Everything."

Admittedly this past week, I haven't been Very Zen About Anything. But Anger certainly has its advantages when you are looking to feel Protected. Even if it is just from snogging couples, I like to know each time I Patrol that I can smack the shit silly out of someone with my wand if I feel so inclined. If I have learned anything as a Prefect, it is that you have got to be Tough. You have got to show Resilience and Spunk and Leadership if you do not want to be stomped all over by the people you are trying to discipline.

I remember going to Wizard Primary School (most Purebloods have tutors, I obviously did not) in South Wales when I was little. We had Prefects there too. I was one of them.

I remember taking Great Joy in Bossing The Other Girls Around and making sure that when we all left in a line to take a Loo Break, the girls I did not like had to keep their eyes focused straight ahead without blinking. I was a Firm Task-Master then and all the teachers loved me for it.

All the professors love me now so nothing has really Changed In That Department.

(Edit: Except for the fact that They Expect Even More Good Things Out Of Me)

Turning the same corner I have turned multiple times. For some reason, I keep on coming back to this section of The Hallway. I hear shuffling sounds nearby and they are making me Very Curious.

To my right, there is a Stone Gargoyle Staring At Me Creepily and I cannot seem to stop staring back. Rumor has it that this gargoyle is actually a standing representative for Headmaster Dumbledore's Office. Impatiens Bellicose, The Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, also has her Office on this floor. Tomorrow is my second NEWT class with DADA—we are going to be studying The Patronus Charm, which is Lovely.

Impatiens graduated from Hogwarts two years ago and is a Ravenclaw Alum.

She was fond of me in an Indifferent sort of way back then and I like her a bit, because in my First Year, she guided me to all of my classes. So far, Defense is enjoyable, but that may or may not change. The previous year we had a Dud Of A Professor if there ever was one; he disappeared three months ago supposedly on some errand for The Ministry and has not been heard from him since. I am not sure if I am happy about that.

"Oh! Oooh!"

"Mmfrgle."

Merlin, it is not my Imagination! I am Hearing Things and they are Not Just Going On In My Head, but Outside It as well.

I pushed open the door to a storage room, wondering why it was not spelled to repel me or at least locked. I can only assume that the couple in front of me had gotten lost in "Their Passion." A girl with familiar blonde hair broke away from the dark-haired boy she was with and turned around.

I gasped.

"What?" I said. "What, what? Camilla Marie Jones, what is this?!" I shook my finger at her, surprised and appalled. "You are in big trouble, missy!"

My best friend, caught In Flagrante Delicto.

And what is more, with Alexander Riktus!

I am so ashamed.

Ravenclaw 6th year Girls' Dorm Room

Gave Camilla a stern talking-to. She is pretending sleep right now, not wanting to Discuss with me anymore what I found her doing.

What a bad, bad girl!

Badder (I am aware "badder" is not a word) than even I can hope to be.

I blame Alexander Riktus of course. Before he came along, Camilla was shy and demure and never flouted the curfew. Now she is a Scarlet Woman, taking any scraps of love she can get.

I now have two Very Specific People I would like to kill.

Remus Lupin Better Watch Out if he does not want to become The Third.

Pacing around the room.

Lucille says I am overreacting, and has since thrown a pillow at me. I think it is time I go to bed.

The Great Hall.

"Well?" I said, having waited all morning to say just that. I had been the last one down to breakfast—the consequences of staying up late again—and was just squeezing onto The Bench now. I really only had about ten minutes to drink my tea and Stare The Truth Out Of Camilla before we all had to leave for class. Not as much time as I wanted for my endeavor, but I would make do.

Camilla looked at me guiltily. "I didn't mean to, Evie, I'm sorry."

"You didn't mean to? So he made you?" If this was true, Lucille and I would be having a Talk about what spells to use on Riktus.

"No!" said Camilla. "Please don't think Alex forced me! That's the last thing he did! I kissed him!"

"You were doing a lot more than just kissing when I came upon you two last night," I said. "His hands were up your skirt. There was definite foreplay going on."

Lucille chose that moment to butt in. "Foreplay?" she repeated. "What a word! How eloquent and grown up you sound this morning, Evelyn!"

"Shut up," I replied, good-naturedly. I turned back to Camilla. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Are you back together with him, then?"

"Evelyn!" Camilla looked shocked that I would even question such a thing. "What, do you think I just go around letting every boy's hand into my pants? Because, I can tell you that Alex is the first boy I have ever—!"

"Do not tell me anything more," I pleaded, covering my eyes, and Inhaling Oxygen Carefully. "It is too much! I am going to be sick if I hear another word."

"You wanted to know," Camilla told me.

"I retract everything!" I said.

"Ooh!" said Lucille. "Even your anger?"

"Except for that," I amended. "I am still angry."

Camilla pouted her overly pouty lips. She looked gorgeous. No wonder Alex Riktus was attracted. "Please?" she said. "You're still my best friend, aren't you? I didn't mean to make you angry with me. It's just…it's Alex!"

I nodded. She was getting it, finally. "Precisely."

"He's just so wonderful to me sometimes…"

I groaned. "Cammy, honestly! You really think that boy is wonderful? He cheated on you with Mara Dice. Mara Dice. You remember Mara, right? She lives in our dorm room? She's as fat as Hogwarts? Surely her memory hasn't escaped you. How it could, what with her being so large, I don't know."

Lucille and Tamara started laughing. "Oh, Merlin!" Lucille said. "Give it a rest, will you?"

I smiled. "What?"

"You know exactly what," accused Lucille. "Look at Cammy, you're making her cry."

"Am I making you cry, Camilla?" I asked, Not Very Concerned If I Was. I thought about it a second later, closely inspecting Cammy's face and the way she was blinking her eyes, and decided I was a bit concerned after all. But only a bit!

"No," she mumbled, now concentrating on fiddling with her fork. "No."

I scooched closer to her. "Are you sure?" I said. "Because I really don't mean to make you upset. Probably like you didn't mean to make me angry," I added. "I'm just so concerned. I know how much That Idiot hurt you last year, and I don't want that to happen again. I'll kill him before he hurts you again, I promise you."

"But he won't!" said Camilla. "You don't have to kill him! I wouldn't have gotten back together with him if I thought he would stray again!"

"And to Mara Dice of all people!" I said, shaking my head. "But don't worry about her. She won't do anything for fear that Lucille will strangle her. Isn't that right, Lucille?"

Lucille nodded.

Ick. In my opinion, boys who weren't Discerning with whom they slept with were Obvious Man-Whores, but for Camilla, I would shut up. "I'll leave it be," I promised. For now.

For now.

Outside The Great Hall.

To my horror, Sirius Black met me out in the hallway on my way to Defense. I had previously since set MFG on their way without me, because I still had some tea to finish up; I was regretting that decision now. Except for other stragglers, Black and I were basically alone. He looked Very Determined About Something, and everyone knows that A Determined Sirius Black is never a good thing.

I spoke up before he could say anything. "The tutoring session is still on for tonight. I hope you've read the material I gave you."

"No, 'hello'?" asked Black, without answering my question. "You're very rude."

"Hello," I said. "Did you read that material?"

"I did not." Black grinned at me like this was Something Funny. "To be honest with you…" he glanced at me wondering if he should continue.

"Yes?" I encouraged.

"To be honest with you," Black said, "I think my dog ate it! When I woke up this morning, the pages were all chewed up! Oh, what a loss!"

"I didn't know you had a dog," I said in confusion. Then I realized that dogs Weren't Even Allowed At Hogwarts, so Black had to be lying to me. "I don't believe you!"

"Such faith in your student!" replied Black. "It makes me tear up."

"Dogs aren't allowed at Hogwarts!" I said. "Only cats, rats, or toads. Nowhere on The List does it say you can bring a dog, Black."

"You can if you have special permission!" Black said. He laughed, because apparently this was funny as well.

"I don't believe you," I said again. "Show me the notes."

"The notes I chewed up?" Black asked, then said quickly, "I mean—."

I interrupted him. "You chewed up the notes?" I gave him an odd look. "How is that right? You just said your dog did the chewing. Get your story straight, Black."

Black, now looking composed, said, "I didn't mean that I chewed them up. How could I have chewed them up? No, I am telling you, my dog did it!"

"You're confusing me. Why are you talking to me again? There's no need." I stopped walking to do a Tempus Spell. I had two minutes. I could make it to class in two minutes. Speaking of Classes and Shooing People Away: "Don't you have a class to go to?" I wondered.

Black scoffed, flapping his hand like a Poofter. "Oh that! McGonagall will understand. She's making me learn from you anyway. I am allowed to be late if I'm talking to you."

I stared at him, and then started walking again. Black of course followed. "I don't think she will understand, Black. McGonagall doesn't strike me as a very understanding person. Maybe you should start walking to class. And, where are your friends, by the way?" I honestly wondered why Potter and Lupin and Pettigrew were not right next to Black at this moment, bugging the knickers off of me as well.

Maybe they had a Falling-Out? One can hope.

"They're okay. They're probably in class right now."

"Maybe you should be too?" I suggested.

Black shook his Big Head. "Apparently you don't know McGoogly-Pooh very well if you think she'll care that I'm late," Black said.

I paused. "Uh, apparently, you don't know McGonagall very well, if you think that she won't care that you're late." I Absolutely Refused to refer to McGonagall as "McGoogly-Pooh." "McGonagall always cares."

"But I do know her!" said Black.

"Very well?" I asked.

"Very well." Black winked at me, then immediately realized how stupid he looked, and frowned.

"Get to class!" I said. "I'll see you tonight."

"Do you not even care about the notes?" Black asked me, bewildered. "It looked like they took you a long time…"

Did he think I wasn't a witch? "They did take me a long time," I lied. In truth, I had actually used a spell to copy them down, but no way would I tell Black that! This was my secret.

Sirius Black and I were at The Defense Classroom now, so I entered through the open doorway. Black followed me all the way to my desk situated in the middle of the room between Lucille and Camilla. As I plopped my stuff down in the guise of Why Are You All Staring At Me Like That, You Obnoxious Bints?, Lucille and Camilla—along with the rest of the class—started snickering. I tried to ignore thirty people staring at me, but it was hard. Most likely they all knew I was just his tutor but the room was also filled with sixteen-year-olds who love a good torrid romance.

Turning to finish my Conversation with Black, I gave what can be classified as a Very Dirty Look. "I still don't believe anyone would let you keep a dog in this school," I said. "However, to be fair, I expect to see evidence of your failure to protect the notes tonight."

"You want proof?" Black said. "But why? They'll be all slobbery!"

"I just said why," I informed him.

"But they're all chewed up! I'll show the bits to you!"

"That's what I was asking you to do," I said in My Obvious Voice. "Now, I will see you tonight."

"You want me to leave?" Black asked obnoxiously. "You don't want me to stay? Because, I'll stay if you want me to. Just say the word, Raisin."

"Merlin, Black!" Lucille said, Finally Having Had Enough. The entire class, me along with, stared at Lucille in surprise. Lucille was short with me, sure, but never people she normally didn't talk to. "Evelyn asked you to leave! So leave!"

"What was that?" asked Black, his trademark sneer beginning to form on his face. He turned to Lucille. "You're that girl Moony's seeing, aren't you? Dawzy Something?"

Lucille blushed. "It's Sawyers," she corrected.

"Sawyers. Right." Black nodded. "I'll have to tell him you were being rude to me."

I recovered myself. "Black!"

"What?"

"We have a class!" I reminded.

"Tell me that you want me to leave," Black urged me.

"But I want you to stay!" I gasped, sounding a little bit Too Sarcastic for even me. "Where in Merlin's name did you get the idea that I wanted you to leave?"

"From you!" said Black, nonplussed.

At that moment nothing could have been more Climactic (or have Ended Our Spat Sooner) than the Professor walking in; which was what happened. "Mr. Black?" Professor Bellicose greeted with an obvious question in her voice. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"You're a bit young to be working here," Black observed rudely, All His Attention now directed at her. "How old are you? You look really familiar."

"My age is irrelevant, Mr. Black," the professor said. "Now please go to class. What do you have? I will even write you a note to get you there faster." Professor Bellicose picked up a quill from her desk and began doing just that. "Whom should I make it out to? Professor McGonagall? Slughorn?"

Lucille and I both groaned, knowing that A Note would only make Black want to Wander Around The Castle All The More. Black would follow us around all day in this case!

I prayed to Merlin that she knew how to word a message like this to McGonagall so Black would not get any freedom whatsoever, unless he wanted to get a detention. Which I guess just disturbs me more—Accumulating Detentions is like a contest to him.

Black spread his lips in a Rather Large Grin. "McGonagall, and thank you! This is most appreciated!"

"This is more for me than it is for you," said the professor.

"Raisin!" Black's voice forced me to look at him again. He blew me a kiss. "See you tonight, lovey."

"Okay," I said, with a mournful sigh. Once Black had Vacated The Premises, I felt an apology to our professor was in order. "I'm sorry, Professor Bellicose." I shrugged like What Could I Do, I'm Just A Pawn? "I am tutoring him, and Black's taken that to mean that he can Invade My Life now. I wish he wouldn't, but he is."

"It's alright, Miss Ransom. I am well aware of how trying all this can be." Professor Bellicose smiled. "I've Been There Before."

I hesitantly returned the grin. "Oh."

I had no idea then how much Trouble my words against Black would cause me in the coming weeks. But oh, the Trouble they would cause! I was not ready for it.