Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other characters, places represented in the books.

A/N: Another chapter. And more cutting so don't say you weren't warned. As for the whole Ron under a spell thing, I never posted a prologue. Basically Rhiann made a friend in her first year and then said friend turned their group against her, so she left the group and now her old friends are jealous of her going out with Ron and being friends with Ginny, Harry and Hermione. That's the summary of what happened before this story started. In case you were confused about that. If you weren't then keep on reading! Oh, and this took a while to post because school started for me (ew) and I haven't had much time to write. And Tay is 16 in this story, so that's why she can drive. Enjoy!

Chapter 10 – Realization

The night was cool and calm and the full moon brightened the dark sky. Tay stepped on a few leaves, crunching them as she walked with Rhiann around her neighborhood. The wind blew making Rhiann cross her arms over her black jacket. She had only two days left before returning to Hogwarts and Tay decided taking a walk would help them talk and explain things.

"…and that's why I did it." Tay finished her explanation. Rhiann nodded, not totally relating to her cousin's story, but knew where she was coming from. Tay's grades had dropped from straight B's to straight D's. It really took a toll on her mental health, making her believe she wasn't smart. Her parents had also been fighting then. Mostly about nothing but sometimes her parents would argue about her grades, making her feel unwanted. She also hated lying and trying to hide her scars. She tried to stop but just kept up the old habit. It had been on the first night Rhiann arrived in California that Tay cut again. She was having trouble with one of her best friends.

It was a while before Rhiann spoke. Her reason for doing it was far from Tay's. She had done it out of hurt and anger towards Ron. "Uh…well, my reason kind of sucks. It's stupid. I was just so mad and hurt and I didn't know any other way to deal with it. Ron was my first boyfriend. I liked him so much, it hurt sometimes. I thought we were going to last longer than this. But I was wrong, and that's what hurt the most. So I lashed out on myself, blaming myself, hating myself. Looking back, I realize it was the stupidest decision I've ever made. I also hated hiding the scars. I used to get disgusted looking at them, but now, they don't effect me so much. They represent my past and I can live with that."

Now it was Tay's turn to nod. They walked a little more, still in silence. They turned a corner and came up to Tay's house. The house was still dark as Tay unlocked the front door. Rhiann walked in after Tay and switched on some lights. She walked into the kitchen to grab some water when the phone rang. Tay grabbed it answering in a smooth voice. Rhiann could only hear one side of the conversation.

"Oh, okay. Yeah we'll be ready. In ten minutes? Um…yeah we can do that. Okay, love you too. Bye." Tay hung up and turned to Rhiann.

"Mom's on her way. Dad will be home in about five minutes and were going out to dinner. So, we have to get dressed now." Tay ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Rhiann ran after her.

"Okay, so where are we going?" she asked, walking into her room and opening her closet, looking for something to wear.

"I don't know. She didn't tell me. Just dress semi-casual." Tay called down the hall. Rhiann surveyed her clothes. Everything she brought was casual but she had a few formal shirts. "What are you wearing?" Rhiann called back. Tay stood in front of Rhiann's door dressed in dark jeans, black open-toed pumps with slightly chunky heels and a long sleeved black shirt.

"Okay, you look amazing. Now help me find something!" Rhiann stated, still shuffling threw her clothes. It only took a few more minutes before Rhiann was dressed in faded jeans, black kitten heels, a dark blue shirt, and black button up jacket.

"Now you look more amazing than me!" Tay had a playful scowl on her face.

"Get over it" Rhiann smiled and Tay laughed. They heard the garage door open and they headed downstairs, heels clacking against the hard, wooden floor.

"Girls, I want no heels on upstairs! You'll ruin the floor" Tay's dad had just walked in the house as Rhiann and Tay stepped off the last step and onto the ground.

"Okay dad. Are we going now," Tay asked, looking around the living room "and where's mom?"

"Right here, I just had switch my purse. The one I brought to work was too big and clashed with my dress," Tay's mom was closing her little black clutch and was heading out the door "are we ready to go?"

"Yes, I'm starving" Rhiann said, stepping out into the garage and opening the car door before sliding in. Tay got in after her.

"You didn't have any lunch, Rhiann?" Tay's dad asked

"Oh, we must have forgotten." Tay said.

"What did you girls do while we were gone?"

Rhiann and Tay shared a glance before Rhiann answered.

"We did a lot of catching up"

"So exactly is going to work again?" Harry had to take long strides to keep up with Hermione's speed walking.

The two were walking from the library back to Gryffindor tower. It had been two days since Hermione found the spell used on Ron. Now they were heading back to where they left Ron doing his homework. All they needed to do was ask him some questions and Hermione would be able to track down who did it and why.

"All we have to do is ask Ron a few questions and conclude that he was under the spell. Then we have to find out who did it, also by asking Ron and then we can find the person and understand why they did it."

Harry was still slightly confused. "But how will we track them down? We were France. We can't go back to France and look everywhere for this girl."

"I've already assumed it was someone who attends Hogwarts. She just looked so familiar…" Hermione squinted trying to study the mental picture of the girls face. Long blond hair, thin perfectly arched eyebrows, and a small button nose. Where have I seen her before?

It didn't take long for them to reach the common room. And Ron was sitting in the exact same position they had left him. He was also still staring at his blank potions essay that was due tomorrow.

Hermione walked up to where Ron sat, plopping down in the red comfy chair across from him while Harry sat on the couch. No one was in the common room as it was about dinner time. It wasn't a surprise Ron wasn't at dinner; he hardly ate anything at all claiming he had too much homework to do or that he simply wasn't hungry. Especially since the week was coming to an end and Rhiann was still missing.

"Ron, I want to ask you…" she glanced at Harry, who was watching Hermione talk to Ron "a few questions."

Ron looked up from his paper. His hair was a mess and he had looked as if he hadn't slept for days. "Hermione, I'm kind of busy at the moment. Just look at my essay, it's hardly finished and Snape wants two thousand words." Ron eye's returned to his essay, staring at the paper wishing some words would magically appear.

"What if I told you…that you may be able to," Hermione chose her words carefully "get Rhiann back?"

Ron looked up instantly. Hermione had to suppress the smile that was beginning to form. She knew mentioning Rhiann would get his attention.

"I'm listening" Ron waited for Hermione to answer.

"Well, you see I found a spell. The one who casts it can control a person to a certain extent," Hermione paused, looking again over at Harry "and Harry and I want to ask you some questions to see if you were possibly under the spell."

Ron didn't say anything for a while. The silence was broken when he firmly nodded.

"So, Ron, do you remember where you were before Hermione and Ginny found you" Harry questioned.

Ron thought for a second before responding with "Yeah, I was in the lobby of the hotel, exhausted after mum had taken me shopping with her. We must have gone all over France!" Ron felt his feet ache from just thinking about it. "And then I remember someone sitting next to me. It was that girl. She tried to talk to me but I wasn't really listening and then she said she had to go somewhere, so she took off."

"It was starting to get late so I got up and headed towards the elevators. I stood there for a little while waiting and when the doors finally opened I saw the girl again. She said something really fast and then everything went black." Ron answered.

"Just as I thought, Ron was under the spell. It's only a simple word and usually the one under it blacks out only to wake up when the spell is lifted, not remembering what happened in between. Ron, you saw her eyes though. Were they normal or a different color" Hermione asked

"At first they were blue and then, when I saw her in the elevator, they were purple."

Hermione thought for a moment, putting everything together in her head. She now knew the girl had blue eyes and also long blond hair. Yet, she still couldn't remember where she had seen the girl before. Then it hit her, the necklace.

"Ron, was she wearing any sort of jewelry? Like a bracelet or necklace?" Hermione was impatient waiting for his answer.

"Uhh…I think so," Ron closed his eyes, his expression easy to read; deep in thought "oh yeah, she did have something on. It was a necklace with a heart on it."

"Was the heart blue? And hanging sideways?" Hermione was really eager now.

"Yeah, it was. I actually didn't really like it, kind of too big for m—" Ron was cut off when Hermione came to her conclusion.

"I know who she is, a girl in my transfiguration class. I saw her with the necklace and completed on it. I remember now, her blue eyes, her long blond hair, and that necklace she wore everyday."

"So, who is she" Harry asked

"Heather Brookwood."

Rhiann stepped out of Tay's car and into the still morning air. It was early, too early, on Sunday and Rhiann was leaving California. The airport wasn't very crowed and for that Rhiann was thankful. Tay parked and helped Rhiann carry her trunk to the entrance.

Rhiann registered her trunk and straightened her messenger bag on her shoulder. Tay was allowed to pass through security with her and they waited for an hour for Rhiann's flight to London to arrive. Tay told her to write and she would see her over the summer since Tay and her parents were going to stay in London for a while with Rhiann and her parents. Rhiann's flight was boarding after a few more minutes of talking and Tay hugged her cousin goodbye.

"I'm going to miss you" Tay said

"Me too, but I promise to write. And it's only 6 months." Rhiann replied

"I know," Tay sighed "oh and if Ron gives you any trouble I'll be there in a second to kick his ass!" Tay took a fighting stance to prove her point. Rhiann believed Tay actually would fly out and beat him up. Rhiann laughed

They said another goodbye and Rhiann boarded leaving sunny California behind. Back to reality.

Rhiann was exhausted as she dragged her trunk up to her room in the Hufflepuff tower (A/N: Is it a tower?) taking her time as she was still tired from jet lag. Everyone was at dinner at the time she arrived, leaving the common room empty. Well, almost empty. Rhiann stopped and looked at the person sitting in one of the comfy chairs, a book hiding their face. But Rhiann knew who it was even before he put the book down and smiled at her. Rhiann dropped her trunk and bag and ran to him, feeling happy just seeing him. He also stood up and they were hugging in seconds.

"Super stealth has returned. You know, you really are very sneaky, the entire school was wondering where you were." Greg told her as she just laughed into his chest.

She lifted her head and studied him. It seemed like forever since she had seen him and she couldn't remember him being this tall.

"So I was the center of all the gossip" she inquired

"Oh yes, you were a star. Too bad youre back now, they will have to find something else to talk about." He smirked down at her.

She stepped away from him and picked her trunk back up, talking over her shoulder as she inclined the stairs leading to the girls dormitories. "I'll be right back"

She threw her bag on her bed and set her trunk at the foot of her bed frame before descending the stairs and jumping into a chair next to Greg.

"So, miss Rhiann," Greg grinned "where exactly have you been?"

"Hmmm," Rhiann thought for a moment, deciding whether or not to tell Greg "I think I'll let you wonder for a little longer." Rhiann smiled at him in triumph.

Greg wasn't prepared for that and Rhiann knew it. "What? Oh come on, it's been bugging me this entire week!"

Rhiann laughed. "Well, you've waited this long, you can wait some more."

Greg's smile reappeared. "Fine, I now I'll get it out of you eventually, so moving on," he cleared his throat before continuing in a formal voice "how was your trip Miss Rhiann?"

Rhiann smirked before also answering in a formal voice "I had a very nice time, thank you for your concern Mr. Gregory"

"It is my pleasure Miss Rhiann" Greg managed to say before cracking up. Rhiann also begin laughing. It had been a while since they talked like this. They used to do this when they were bored and it usually ended in un-controllable laugher, like right now.

Greg finally stopped laughing, taking a few deep breaths before turning to Rhiann. "Are you hungry" he asked.

Rhiann took more deep breaths before replying. "No, but I am really tired." The time difference and jet lag were not a good combination. Rhiann stood up from her chair and proceeded to the stairs. She turned to look at Greg before climbing the stairs.

"Goodnight Greg," she smiled at him "I'll see you tomorrow. You can come with me to get my schedule that is if you want to."

"Of course I'll come. Goodnight Miss Rhiann."

Rhiann grinned before prancing up the stairs. Greg sighed to himself. If only you knew.

A/N: Okay, THIS has to be the longest chapter I've written. Yay! Rhiann is back and it looks like someone may have a crush on her. More drama in the next chapter, but I don't know how long it will take to update so bear with me. Reviews make me very happy!