A/N: Since we left off on a lot of dialogue, I'm going to do some rambling. Also, I only recently realized that the asterisks I put between snippets don't show on FF, so I'll put in underscores instead and hope those work. I'll edit the earlier chapters to match once I'm done with the story, since I revise little things in the first chapters over time anyway. On a different note, I'm sorry if you didn't like my vampire cliche. But, it was rather necessary. Trust me, it's for the plot :*)

Btw, I use British and American slang interchangeably. I'm American (although my dad does live in London, and I'm moving in with him for my Senior year), so I try to spice it up a bit.

We leave off on Saturday, the 15th. Slughorn's party is Friday, the 28th. The Halloween Ball is Sunday, the 30th. There are no classes Monday, in celebration, and the Halloween feast is Monday night, officially Halloween.

Saturday

Aife went to the library right after "breakfast". She didn't eat much, only the sweetest things, like pancakes and honey. The pancakes weren't great but they would do. Aife was getting hungry again, and it was time to do some research. She had cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself and wandered into the section on vampires. Granted, she could say it was for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but this was the safer option.

Sirius had told her that vampires can disappear, but Aife had no clue how she'd do that. Unfortunately, the library did not have a "Guide to Vampirism for Beginners". They did, however, have "Creatures of the Night, a Summary of the Vampire", which Aife decided would have to do. She moved sections and de-disillusioned herself.

Aife found the 6th year Slytherin dorm to be empty. The torches cast a pleasant glow around the room, making the dungeon almost inviting. They had tiny round windows which peered into the lake, though some of the lower ones were obscured by algae.

She skimmed the book, and found that newborn vampires had to feed three times every two days, at the very least. This would gradually fade into once a week, after a few months. Older vampires could go a month or two without feeding, but it would render them nearly powerless. A famous Vampiress, Anormenotta of Venice, once lasted 4 months without feeding, the longest time on record. She had been around for half a millennium though.

Aife sat there, attempting to cope with the concept of immortality. Sure, many wizards lived to 100, rarely 200. But Aife would– no, could outlive them all. What would it be like, for them to grow old, and for her to stay 16 forever? Granted, she would age very slowly. It would take about 7 years for her to look 17. What about any boys she liked? They would probably be repulsed by her half-dead state. Sirius flashed through her mind, but she shut down those thoughts. Aife had hoped, at some point, to have a family. There was no chance of that now. Vampires were sterile.

On the brighter side, pun intended, Aife had found the spell she required to save her from the sun. It would coat her skin in a thin film, which would soak up the sunlight. It would feel heavy, and make her tired, but it was better than burning alive for sure.

Aife also now had a surplus of time, which was excellent for finishing homework. She no longer needed to sleep at night, so she watched all the other girls fall asleep and crept out of the dormitory. Aife wondered, that night, if Narcissa was pretending to sleep just like her.

Who else could have bit her? Aife doubted there were random vampires roaming around the Forbidden Forest. Those were just lies they told first years, to watch their faces pale in horror. And somehow she didn't think Slughorn was a vampire. She had seen him dive into mince pies too many times to believe that.

Moko flittered into the room, looking around her jewelry cabinet frantically. Aife decided that the dormitory was now unsafe, and headed to her secret tower. It was time for research.

The Slytherin girl spent a couple hours pouring over books on vampirism. She had yet to find how gillyweed affected vampires. It had been over a week since she'd last visited Yokslan.

Aife went down to the cavern to cast the Pyrogarius Charm, which would keep her safe from the sun. The first time she tested it out in real sunlight Aife burned. Perhaps not as badly as she would've without the charm, but badly nonetheless. It took her several more tries to avoid a burn, but she made quick progress. Pain was a good motivator.

Aife had little luck healing herself, and, once again, found herself immersed in Magicks of Olde and Ancient, volume two. There were five volumes in all, each getting progressively darker. She found a Dark Arts healing spell to use on her arm, which involved the sacrifice of a newt. Aife watched her wound close up as she took the tiny newt heart and rested it over the damaged area. She felt the familiar hunger, and wondered where Sirius was off to.

Then she remembered his words about blood replenishing potions, and immediately got to work on one. They usually took no more than hour. Aife made a mental reminder to stock up on me wolf fangs, mullein leaf, and fox skin, along with Dragon's Blood resin.

By the time Aife finished the potion she felt starving. Her eyes glowed a bright, dark orange, which looked dangerously close to red. At least I look the part, she thought dryly. Aife bottled the potion and scrawled a quick note to Sirius, folded it into a paper crane, and tapped it with her wand. Immediately, the crane fluttered and glided through the air to go find Sirius.

Sirius was talking with James on their way back from lunch about the chances of Puddlemere United in this year's World Cup. James said they were pretty good, but Sirius didn't think they stood a chance next to Bulgaria. They argued, which left Sirius almost nostalgic for these simple spats, but eventually exhausted the subject. The school had almost forgotten about the Chamber, as no one else was dying and very few students cared about John Sedgewick. There had been several vigils for him, and some frightened looking muggleborns and friends, but the rest of the school chose to pretend nothing was happening.

"So, are you taking anyone to Slughorn's Halloween Party?" James asked, running his fingers through his hair.

"Erm, yeah. Aife, actually."

"Oh," James looked slightly guilty, and rubbed the back of his head. "That's good. She wouldn't be able to go otherwise, right?"

"Yeah." Sirius could almost taste the tension. "Did you ask Lily?"

James nodded glumly.

"She turned you down?"

He nodded again.

"Well, I don't think Remus has a date, either. So you're not alone. And I'm sure you can still find someone to go with, you have a week."

"Yeah," James said tersely, and changed the subject. "What will you dress up as?"

"Good question. Maybe that guy from the Weird Sisters. Stubby Boardman, right? The fella everyone's saying looks like me."

"He really does. It wouldn't be much of a costume though, you'd just have to tear up your robes a bit. Maybe just let Mooney have a go at you in a few weeks."

Sirius gave James a look, but cracked a grin nonetheless.

A small paper bird landed on his shoulder. Sirius carefully unfolded it, revealing a note from Aife.

"Sirius Black. Would you like to have an early dinner together tonight? Five o'clock works for me, meet me in the same place as last time. Aife."

"Definitely a romantic, that one," James said, reading over Sirius's shoulder.

"Has anyone ever told you it's rude to nose into other people's budiness?"

Sirius went down to the room near the kitchens. Apprehension frazzled his nerves and he wondered why he was volunteering to get his blood sucked by a vampire. I'm helping a friend, he told himself firmly. Besides, it didn't feel half bad the first time. Sure, it pinched a bit at first, but after that it felt... wonderful? Was that the right word? Merlin, Sirius thought. He needed to get ahold of himself.

Aife was a vision. Sirius would've liked to pretend the hunger in her eyes was there for him, and not his blood. Why did his family have to ruin everything? They even turned the girl he liked into a blood-sucking fiend.

She greeted him, and Sirius made to step in but she blocked his way.

"Are you crazy? We can't do it here."

"It worked the last time," Sirius shrugged. "But I think you're right. Where, though?"

Aife hesitated, but seemed to make up her mind. "I have a place."

Sirius was bewildered when she led him up to the Gryffindor tower.

"My dorm?" he asked.

"No." Aife passed the portrait hole, and went to a nearby classroom. "You'll see."

She led him into an empty classroom, save a few desks and a larger than life statue of a cat. Aife muttered a spell to turn her wand into a knife and cut off a lock of her hair. She held out the strand to the cat statue, which sprang to life and pawed it from her hand.

"Your hair tastes different," said the cat, licking up the hair.

"Yes, well. I've undergone a lot of changes lately," Aife told the cat dryly.

"I see." The cat sprang aside, revealing a small passageway.

Sirius gaped. He'd always assumed that the marauders hasn't discovered all the passages, but to have one so close, and not know about, seemed ridiculous.

Aife led him to a small tower, with a spiral staircase leading both upwards and downwards. Sirius was intrigued.

"I put some wards to block out the damaging parts of the sun," Aife said, and lead him up to the top of the tower. It held a room with clouds at the very top of the turret, a bed, some sparse furnishings, and a painting. The painting, Sirius realized with a jolt, must have been a self portrait.

"Ah, I see you've brought a friend," said the painted Aife jauntily.

"Oh stuff it, you," the real Aife said. "Or I'll paint you over."

"No, you won't. I'm you, remember? I know an empty threat when I hear one."

They bickered, and Sirius chortled at the exchange. It was bizarre, but the two Aifes were so similar. They had both scrunched up their noses at one another. It must have been like looking into the mirror.

"Sorry," Aife said, conjuring a sheet and tossing it over the painting.

"Don't be. That's brilliant," Sirius told her. "I didn't know you painted."

"Been doing it since I was eleven." Aife's eyes flicked to his throat. Sirius shifted slightly. He had butterflies in his stomach.

"I can tell," Sirius smiled nervously. The expression was entirely incorrect on Sirius's face and Aife felt a pang of pity.

"You don't have to do this, you know? I appreciate you wanting to help, but it's–"

Sirius cut her off, "I'm not going back on my word."

"Ok. I did brew some blood replenishing potions." Aife gave him a soft smile and reached into her bag, putting the vials on the simplistic bedside cabinet.

"Thanks. Well, then. Shall we?" Sirius gestured to the bed, sitting down.

"I think it would be easier if you laid down," Aife told him, blushing furiously. "You'll probably feel lightheaded."

"Yeah, alright."

Aife felt a mixture of lust and hunger surge through her at the sight of Sirius on her bed, attempting to look casual. He lounged back on an elbow, looking at her expectantly.

She climbed up next to him. Realistically, it would be easiest to just climb on top of Sirius, the way they'd ended up last time, but Aife didn't think she'd be able to resist kissing him. Perhaps she was being foolish, drinking his blood yet being afraid to kiss him. However, if he kissed her and got bored, she'd be out of a friend and food, so Aife wasn't going to chance it.

Aife sucked on his neck, the purple-pink bruises bloomed across his pale skin. Her fangs descended and she felt the blood flow from him. It made her feel warm and content, feelings which quickly turned more sexual as Sirius let out a moan beneath her.

Aife tried to regulate the speed at which she drank his blood. It was difficult, since feeding relied on instinct. She accidentally stopped a couple times, but eventually managed a slow pace.

She curled around him, sucking slowly. Aife draped her leg around his torso, only to be poked by something hard. Blushing, she shifted her leg up. Sirius gasped. Aife was too comfortable to feel embarrassed.

"Fuck," he breathed as Aife released her fangs from his neck.

"I'm sorry," she said, licking his neck. "Did it hurt?"

"Not exactly," Sirius grinned.

Aife got up to grab the blood replenishing potion, Sirius tugged her back to him. Aife collapsed back on the bed with him, smiling softly.

"I've got to grab your potion."

"Eh, you didn't take too much this time. I don't feel as dizzy, besides, this is comfortable."

"That's because you're laying down," Aife pointed out, "You'd be dizzy if you got up and walked around."

"Good thing I have no intention of doing that, then."

"So," Miyo said, lounging across her bed, "when's our next bathroom meeting?"

"That's a damn good question," Aife replied, stretching. It was right after dinner, and pretending to eat had been a huge pain. Plus, she'd been distracted by Sirius. And the bump she'd felt press into her thigh. Was it just the blood-sucking making him horny. Aife hoped it wasn't, although it was known to increase lust in a human when a vampire bit them.

"Tonight?" Miyo asked.

"Why not? Just give me a bit, I'm incredibly comfortable right now." And Aife was. Blood made her feel happy and a bit lazy, especially a couple hours after she fed. At least, that's how it was so far.

"Ate a lot?"

"You could say that."

"I was being sarcastic, you hadn't eaten much at all." Miyo gave her a suspicious look. "You're not one of those anorexics are you? Because there's a pair in Hufflepuff and it's not pretty. They look like skeletons–"

Aife cut off her rambling, "No, I'm not anorexic, I just haven't been too hungry lately. Besides, I had a big lunch."

"Mm. Well, I don't think you can play quidditch if you get much thinner."

"Stop nagging, let's just go to damn bathroom. I haven't learned a useful new spell in ages."

"Someone's a grumpy bitch."

Aife shot her a look.

"Yeah, yeah, frown harder, let's just bring our brooms. We can play night quidditch after, test my hypothesis."

They put on warm sweaters and wooly tights under their robes and headed off. Not wanting to look to look conspicuous, the two girls shrunk down their brooms and put them in their school bags.

"You know, that can't be good for brooms," Aife said thoughtfully. "It could interfere with their magic or something."

Miyo shrugged, wrapping the broom carefully in fabric and slipping it in a pouch. "Works for me. This Nimbus works as good as Ewell's, and he treats his like it's a family heirloom. Won't even let Bulstrode ride it, and she's his girlfriend."

Miyo and Ewell were the only players, aside from Regulus, who were rich enough to have The Nimbus. It had come out the summer after their 4th year, and Miyo had gotten it within the month of its release. Aife still had no clue what her parents did. The Kamimoze clan was something akin to the Blacks or the Malfoys, except in Japan. Currently, according to Miyo, they were in the process of finding her a husband. Miyo might laugh about it in school, but Aife knew she was resigned to marry whomever they chose. Japanese purebloods were notorious for cruel and unusual punishments. Aife actually paid attention in Binns's class when he talked about the The Japanese Wizard Convention of 1542.

Aife and Miyo were greeted by a large puddle outside Myrtle's bathroom.

"That whiny bitch must've flooded it again," Miyo groaned. "One of these days, I'm going to find a Silencing Charm that works on ghosts."

"Actually, there's a way to make almost any spell work on ghosts. I found it in Magicks Olde and Ancient volume 4. I doubt you'd have the strength to cast it yet, though," Aife put in.

"I mastered a volume 5 spell just the other day, I'll have you know," Miyo said smugly.

"Really?" Aife said mildly. Volume five was exclusively very powerful and very dark magic. "What the hell did you do, split your soul?"

Miyo turned up her nose at the muggle slang and said, "No, I just put a powerful binding spell between myself and this necklace." She reached in her robe to pull out a locket with green emeralds. "Mother got it for me as a birthday present."

"What's the point? What if you lose it?"

"It gives me power. And it'll be very painful if I lose it, but I'd recover," Miyo replied, looking at the locket and flipping it over.

Aife stared at her. "You're kind of an idiot, but I can see why you'd do it."

"Mm. Do you plan on wading through this? I would like to hex Myrtle."

"It gets too deep over there," Aife pointed. "Nah, we'd probably be caught by the caretaker when he comes to clean it up."

Filch was a hateful little squib, every Slytherin knew it. The Filches were once a respected pureblood clan. They were related to the Gaunts, however distantly, and therefore Slytherin. But Argus Filch's grandfather, Corpeus, had married a muggle, and so had the caretaker's father. Aife had read up on all pureblood families, fascinated by the magical world. It's a pity most purebloods she knew well were terrible people. Of course, Sirius was an exception. But on the whole, Aife didn't buy into the pureblood mania. She could see how a pureblood might be more powerful than your average wizard, but the muggleborns were occasionally incredibly gifted.

Miyo deliberated for a minute, but apparently dry feet were more important than hexing Myrtle. "Fuck this, let's just go play quidditch."

Realistically, it wasn't so much a game of quidditch as it was the two girls dicking around on brooms for a hour. They did play a Seeker's Game, though. Miyo obviously won, but Aife didn't fair too bad. She had been close to catching the snitch when Miyo cut her off at the last moment.

They did loops and spun around on their brooms, partially for fun, partially for warmth in the October night.

"So, have you got a date for the Halloween Ball? It's only a couple weeks away, you know?" Miyo said as they spelled themselves dry. Miyo's hair stuck to her scalp with sweat, and she brushed away a stray lock. Hair was one thing they didn't dare charm dry.

Aife, curiously, did not sweat anymore. One of the perks of being dead.

"No, but I do have a date for Slughorn's party."

"Really?" Miyo was in full gossip mode. Aife sighed, knowing that the whole school would probably know. Why did she even bring it up in the first place? Aife felt as though she could kick herself. As it was, a few girls had come up to her and asked if she were dating Sirius Black. Aife had done her best to smile and say, "He's all yours."

"Yeah. Please don't tell people. Please."

"It's Sirius Black, isn't it!" Miyo said excitedly.

"Yes, it's Sirius. Please, Miyo."

"But what about Azriela? And Alice and Vasiliya?"

"You can tell them, I guess, but no one else, ok?"

"Of course," Miyo beamed.

They lowered their voices as they went back to the castle.

"So, you fancy Sirius Black? Are you a masochist?"

"I don't fancy him! We're going as friends."

"So you haven't done the dirty?" Miyo teased.

"No."

"Afraid of being tossed aside like a used rag?" Miyo whispered maliciously. There were distant footsteps near the gate.

Aife gave her a cold look and wrenched the door open.

"You have Volume 4 with you, right?" Miyo said, after she made sure the coast was clear. "Because I really do wanna hex Myrtle. I can make it permanent, too. Or near permanent, anyway. Should last at least the next couple years."

"Yeah, alright," Aife said, pulling the heavy book out of her bag. She tapped it to unshrink it a bit.

"Here you go. Don't do anything too stupid," Aife told her.

Miyo grinned. "Well, let's just say Myrtle's having a surprise tonight."

Aife sighed and went down to the dungeons. Large puddles seemed to fill the halls, which Aife attributed to either Peeves or a student's prank. It was a fair bet it was one of the Marauders. Well, not Pettigrew, since he hardly ever acted on his own.

Aife found the common room occupied by Snape, Mulciber, and Avery from 7th year. He excused himself from them, heading towards Aife.

He gestured for her to come outside the common room door with him.

Aife raised an eyebrow, but allowed him to lead her out.

Snape began to speak as soon as he shut the dungeon door. "Did Lily say anything?"

"Oh, right. That," Aife said uncomfortably. This was an odd situation she'd caught herself in. She hardly knew Lily or Snape. Well, Lily was sort of a friend, but still. "I think she's still upset. Perhaps talk to her and apologize?"

"I've tried," Snape hissed. His dark hair fell forward. Merlin, it really was greasy. "She won't talk to me."

"Mm. I don't know what else I can do, Snape. Sorry."

Snape looked frustrated, his lips were making a tight line to rival Professor McGonagall.

"Goodnight," Aife offered, stepping back into the common room.

Snape looked as though he wanted to say soothing, but apparently refrained. Aife thanked God for a dormitory full of sleeping girls, minus Miyo. Even Narcissa seemed to be asleep.

Sunday

Sirius yawned and stretched luxuriously. He lived for Sunday mornings. Remus was already dressed, reading some contemporary muggle book in bed. James looked peaceful and innocent while sleeping, qualities which he didn't possess awake. His usual expression was haughty yet cheerful. Sirius's was haughty and cool. Not quite cold, though, he wasn't part of the family enough for that. Perhaps it was his eyes that made him look that way, their ashy color was harsh and unusual. Grey eyes, grey without any hint of blue, were a traditional Black family trait. Narcissa, Sirius and Andromeda had been the only ones to inherit it this generation.

Sirius winced as he looked in the mirror. The bite marks were gone, unless you knew where to look for them, but the "hickeys" were still very noticeable. James had apparently woken up, because he strutted into the bathroom, chortling.

"That Slytherin really did a number on you, eh?" James said, getting ready for his morning shower.

Sirius winked, but said nothing.

"Ever the enigma, aren't you?"

Sirius didn't think he could pull off a second wink, so he went with a mischievous smile, excusing himself.

Sirius had a very nice dream. Which involved a certain vampire. But really, how hot was that? Many young wizards fantasized about vampire girls. He just wished he knew how to charm her. Clearly, she wasn't interested right now, and all the usual tricks didn't seem to be working. It didn't feel like all the other witches he'd been with. Or even any muggle girls, for that matter. He and Andromeda had once gone to a muggle club, when he was 14 and she was 18. To be fair, he'd looked old for his age. It was a very odd experience, and the main thing he'd learned was that muggle beer tasted like utter shite.

Remus and Peter were playing chess while Sirius dressed. He found a navy blue jumper to wear under his robes for added coziness. Scotland was already quite cold by mid-October, and the castle wasn't too chilly, but it did have the occasional cold draft.

Remus was reprimanding Peter about something or other as the four boys made their way down to breakfast. As soon as they sat down, they knew something was terribly wrong. Whispers carried up and down each table. James asked Uliana Kundst what was the matter.

"There's been another attack. From the Chamber," she said dramatically. "It was a girl, I think from Ravenclaw. I don't know a name."

It was a glum atmosphere during the rest of breakfast, and Sirius felt too uneasy to be really hungry. Of course, he had nothing to fear from the Heir, but he did, after all, have muggleborn friends. Would the school shut down if students kept dying? Perhaps he could ask Professor Onclois tomorrow.

"We have Hogsmeade today, though," James said, trying to cheer him up.

"I'm not even sure I want to go. Not exactly the right mood," Sirius replied, carefully cutting up an egg. Impeccable table manners had been ingrained in him from birth. Walburga had even tied his back to the chair a few times, until he'd learned to sit up straight while eating. Of course, he'd stopped eating like that after 2nd year, when James told him that he looked like a pompous ass.

"That's crazy. Besides, what about that girl? Aife? Weren't you gonna take her?" James said with an air of forced casualness. He had the same tone whenever Aife was brought up.

"She said she was going to Diagon Alley. Got special permission from Dumbledore, or something," Peter said, eager for a chance to pipe in.

"Really?" Sirius asked, frowning. "She never told me that. Besides, I saw her yesterday. Wouldn't she have gone on a Saturday?"

"Yeah, mate, we know you saw her yesterday," James snorted, gesturing to Sirius's neck.

Sirius gave him a sideways look, but said nothing. Their friendship, albeit rocky, had been renewed. And it was better, being friends with James again. James was a constant in Sirius's life that he had grown to rely on. Things just felt off without James around.

One of the Black family owls, Libra, swooped into the hall. Sirius groaned as she flew towards him. The bird was temperamental, much like her owners. Libra could be nice, though, with enough wine. Sort of like Aunt Druella.

Libra dropped the letter, gave Sirius the cold, haughty look owls and Blacks were famous for, and quickly took flight.

"Sirius. We hear you have a girlfriend in Slytherin. This is wonderful news. Assuming she is of pure blood, we would like to arrange to meet with her family. We are glad you have seen the error of your previous views. Perhaps you would like us to see if we can arrange for your immediate transfer to Slytherin house? Albus Dumbledore may be more receptive to our arguments if he understands the bloodline is at stake. Let us know as soon as possible, Sincerely yours, Orion Black."

Sirius glared at the back of Narcissa's head. He had no doubt it was she who snitched to his family. Or Regulus, on second thought. Although Regulus usually knew to stay out Sirius's affairs, because while Regulus knew some Dark Arts, they still didn't compete with the high level magic Sirius knew by sixth year.

If only his parents knew his girlfriend was a vampire. They might finally disown him and get it over with. His mother had a lot to say on the subject of half-breeds. Walburga, unlike Druella, did not become nice after a glass of wine. In fact, she was known to have longwinded conversations about stamping out muggles with the house elf, Kreacher, after a half bottle. Sirius had always left the room whenever his mother drank, though.

He had learned his lesson after his mother decided to educate him on family history. Sirius preferred not to know just how inbred he was. It was bad enough that Walburga and Orion were second cousins.

"Any news?" Remus asked mildly, tearing the crusts off his toast.

"Just the usual rubbish, really. Asked if I'd want them talk to Dumbledore about transferring houses," Sirius rolled his eyes. "You'd think they'd have stopped trying after the fifth time. I thought Walbura was going to hex Dumbledore's phoenix. It sent a nice flame at her after she said 'mudblood', though, the lovely creature."

Peter and Remus laughed, but James looked deep in thought.

"Speaking of Dumbledore, I have a prank idea. You know, to celebrate the renewed vitality of our friendship," James announced.

"Yeah? What's Dumbledore got to do with it?"

"Well, the Sorting Hat is in his office, yeah?"

"I see. I feel as though there should be something about a permanent sticking charm in this conversation."

"An excellent point, Prongs."

Sirius felt good to have earned back his nickname. James hadn't used it since the fight until today. "And Peeves," Sirius added.

"Tricky, but worthwhile." James turned to Remus. "Do you think you and Wormtail would be able to get ahold of Peeves somehow?"

"Possibly," Lupin replied, "It won't be easy though. We might have to bribe the Bloody Baron somehow." He looked doubtful.

"Moldy peanuts?" Sirius suggested.

"Not bad, but we'd probably need something a bit more enticing," Mooney replied. "We can pick something up in Hogsmeade today."

"Alright, let's head back then." James rose from the table and gestured for the other to do the same. Many heads turned to see Sirius Black and James Potter leaving the Great Hall together, on speaking terms once more.

Aife sat comfortably in the library. She had transfigured one the hard wooden library chairs into a plushy leather armchair. Aife lounged in it, reading a Dark Arts book disguised as Advanced Transfiguration. As if Aife hadn't already learned all the spells in Advanced Transfiguration. It was amazing how much free time one had when they didn't bother with close friends.

Which was only increased, now that Aife didn't sleep and often skipped meals. She had skipped breakfast that day, deciding to nip down to Honeydukes instead and buy some blood-lollies. She had went around 6 am, sneaking out of the castle, and coming back around 9. It was a long walk, but Aife had nearly endless energy, as long as she was well fed.

Aife had found that she preferred to not have friends in first year. Narcissa Malfoy had become her friend, but it turned out that she had done so just because she had wanted to publicly humiliate Aife. For being weird. Aife had never exactly understood what Narcissa's motivation was. Aife had never done anything mean to Narcissa, or snubbed her in any way. But she supposed weirdness was a good enough excuse to bully people for some. Aife had assumed Hogwarts would've been more accepting in this regard, but she had unfortunately been mistaken. Many wizards and witches treated her the same way the muggles had.

Aife heard movement, which was unusual for this corner of the library, to find Pomona Bletchley approaching her.

"Hey, Sullivan," she said, a bit nervously. Aife wondered how Bletchley knew her name. They had spoken maybe once, and that was for a quill.

"Hello, Bletchley."

"You're Sirius's girlfriend, right?" Bletchley blurted. She blushed intensely.

"No, we're just friends."

"Good friends?"

"I'd say so, yeah." Aife supposed it was safe to say someone was your good friend if they let you drink their blood.

"I was wondering if you could provide me with some details about Sirius?"

Aife narrowed her eyes. "What kind of details?"

"Oh, you know, just some physical descriptions, key personality traits, phrases he uses often. Nothing too invasive, you know," Pomona rambled.

"Why?" Aife asked, her suspicion rising.

"Well... I'm writing this story about Sirius and James, like–"

"Sorry, I can't help you," Aife said quickly, wishing she could use a banishing charm on Bletchley. What a pervert.

"But no one else will help me!"

"Yes, well, maybe you and your fan club should stop writing gay porn about Potter and Sirius. Or at least be less obvious about what you're doing," Aife said, standing up and shutting her book. Aife had a good 5 inches on Bletchley, and it felt good to look down on her.

"Yes, right, you're right," Pomona said in a rushed mumble, blushing heavily, and scurried away. Aife supposed she had gotten her facial expression of "Get away or I'll hex you" correct. It was a satisfying feeling.

Aife went back to her book. She had found an interesting potion. It took a week or so to brew, but it would allow the user to tell whether someone is lying or not for 12 hours. Some ingredients looked difficult, and it required three different types of blood, including a half litre from the user. It seemed to be an entertaining thing, if executed correctly. Perhaps it could be her and Miyo's next project.

Growing bored, Aife returned to her common room in hopes of finding Miyo. Neptune happily ran towards her from the 6th year dormitory.

"Hey, cuddly," Aife said, picking up the fluffy grey kitty and stroking behind her ears. "Do you know where I can find Miyo?"

Neptune meowed and padded back to the common room. Miyo was there, indeed, deep in conversation with Moko.

"Look, I don't care if mother and father wish for me to marry him, it's not their fucking choice."

"But sister, I'm sorry, but you couldn't do too much better than–" Moko cut herself off. "Oh. Hi Aife."

Miyo's head turned as well. "Aife, hey." Miyo turned back to Moko.

"We'll continue this later," Miyo told her twin.

"Alright, but you can't avoid it forever."

"I said we will discuss it later," Miyo said, putting an angry emphasis on the last word. Moko shrugged and picked up a book from her nightstand, flopping down on her bed to read.

Miyo came over to sit on Aife's bed, which was farthest from Moko's. They chatted about everyday things, waiting for Moko to leave. They made their sentences sound irrate and pointed, heavily implying they wished for the other twin to go.

Finally, Moko took the cue to leave. She threw them a dirty look and stormed out the door.

Just as Jane walked in.

Aife and Miyo groaned.

Jane raised her eyebrows at them, but said nothing, as usual. Jane was from one of the more decent Slytherin pureblood families. The Selwyns were known for a prowess in business, and had built up a small fortune.

Jane acted the part of an aristocrat only in manner. She was quiet, but not in a timid or icy way, it just seemed that she didn't like to talk. Jane often faded into the background. Aife felt bad, but she often forgot the girl was even there most of the time.

"Do you mind if we put a Silencing charm around the bed?" Miyo asked, starting to draw the curtains.

Jane shook her head 'no'.

Aife flicked her wand at the curtains lazily.

"Show-off," Miyo muttered at Aife's non-verbal spell. Aife's magic had been given a small boost when she died, it was excellent.

"Stop, you'll blow a hole in my ego," Aife said dryly.

"Ha-ha," Miyo replied sarcastically. "Anyway, Moko is riding me and it's really annoying."

Aife snorted.

"Oh, don't be a pervert. My parents are trying to find pureblood families to marry us into. "Before all the good ones are taken"." Miyo made a disgusted face.

"Shit. Well, you knew it was gonna happen eventually," Aife said, leaning back against the headboard and crossing her ankles.

"Yeah. It still blows, though," she said, studying her hands intently. Aife wasn't sure if she was imagining the tears in Miyo's eyes. They were very subtle.

It was weird to see her friend act... human. Miyo usually kept up a guard, and Aife had only seen her vulnerable a couple times. Although Aife had little doubt that, in general, Miyo wasn't a great person. In terms of moral compass, mainly, but there were other bitchy and unsavory qualities as well. But, despite all that, Aife actually liked Miyo. Miyo was her friend and probably her best friend, next to Sirius. Aife wasn't sure what her and Sirius even were. She certainly didn't want to snog her other friends.

"I know," Aife said, trying to make her tone sound gentle. She wasn't great with other people's emotional baggage. Especially if it was unrelatable. If she had been through the situation, or something similar, before, then she could usually sympathize, or at least offer advice.

Arranged marriage would blow, as Miyo put it, but Aife found it kind of hard to feel bad for her. Or show any emotions on the subject. Lately, the only person who made any strong emotion arise in her was Sirius. Arranged marriage seemed like a fair karmic price to pay for being a brat.

"I have something that might cheer you up," Aife said, reaching for the fake copy of Advanced Transfiguration.

Miyo gave her an odd look.

"It's not actually a transfiguration book. There's a potion inside that works like Veritaserum, but in reverse. You take it, and you're a lie detector. The potion will let you know whenever anyone lies for 12 hours."

"Dark Arts?" Miyo asked hopefully.

Aife grinned.

"Excellent. It's been too long."

They went over the ingredients, checking to see if they had what they needed. Perhaps they would indeed need to take a trip to Diagon Alley. Perhaps even Knockturn Alley.

Aife and Miyo had done it once before. They created a portkey, unauthorized, of course, and went to Diagon Alley. It was near the end of their fifth year, on a hot late-Spring day. They'd mainly just went shopping and eaten ice cream.

However, going to Knockturn would be a lot riskier. It was more of a last resort.

Their conversation died, and they just laid there, side by side, staring up at the ceiling. Aife made a couple clouds, like the ones in her tower, float up to the ceiling. Weather spells were often temperamental, and had to be done in a calm and relaxed mood, like the one Aife was currently in.

"So did you hear about that Ravenclaw girl," Miyo said casually.

"What Ravenclaw girl?" Aife asked. Aife liked to gossip with Miyo occasionally. There was a hedonistic appeal to it.

"She got petrified. They can't wake her up. They're pretty sure it's a Chamber attack, because she was a muggleborn."

"What?" Aife said sharply. "When did it happen? Do you know who it was?" This certainly wasn't what Aife expected from Miyo's tone.

"Last night, I think. Maybe early this morning," Miyo looked at her nails. "And no, I have no clue."

"But what if it was Alice?" Aife asked in stunned silence.

"I doubt it. Alice is too smart to get petrified," Miyo said. "Actually, on second thought..." Miyo smirked.

"What the fuck, that's not a joking matter. Alice is our friend," Aife said angrily.

"Calm down. I'm sure it wasn't her."

"Have you seen her today? Was she at breakfast?" Aife demanded.

"No, I don't know. I don't usually sit at the Ravenclaw table."

Aife shook her head incredulously. "I'm gonna go make sure Alice is alright."

"With heroics like that you should be in Gryffindor."

"Bugger off, Miyo."

A/N: Finally finished. Sorry this took a bit longer than usual. It'll probably start taking me longer to write chapters, as the story wears on, but I promise to finish this, no matter how long it takes! ^_^ Mainly because I already have a next gen fic (ft. an OC) planned out that'll be a sequel to this one. I guesstimate there will be another 30k words in this fic, btw. Like 6 more chapters-ish. We'll see.

Word count: 6,776

Please review, you guys don't know how happy reviews make me. I'm actually a total hermit.

Tell me who you think is the Heir of Slytherin :)