All sense aside.
Left out in the cold,
sight of your routine getting old.
Blame some indifference inside,
taken on shapes not to selective.
Just what you find.
Where you find it.

October 21st Friday 2PM
Lovegood Mansion

The spell headed straight toward me, breaking through my shield easily and striking me directly in the chest. I fell to the ground with a loud thud, my body motionless except for my eyes which rolled around slowly until I caught sight of Draco walking towards me. He shook his head in disappointment as he removed the spell and helped me up off the floor.

"You're not even trying," Draco growled as I brushed the dirt off the back of my jeans.

"I'm doing the best I can," I snapped in return. He rolled his eyes before moving to stand back in his original position a few feet away. Our wands were drawn once again and directed at one another.

"Protego!" I yelled as loudly as I possibly could and a faint yellow glow encircled me.

"Expelliarmus," Draco drawled and I watched in silent horror as the light crashed through my shield and my body was thrown backwards while my wand flew toward Draco. He caught it easily and I sighed in frustration. For two weeks things had gone on this way with my physical training not going much better.

Even Khalida, who had been so patient with me at first, was beginning to pull her hair out in irritation. I had always thought I was in pretty good shape. Sure I didn't exercise much or always eat the best but I was never overweight or sickly. After two weeks of training with Khalida I could still barely stay on my feet for more than ten seconds.

The friendly vampire pushed me, pulled me and knocked me down every time I regained my footing. She tried everything to get me to do better. We did push-ups, sit-ups, running, weights, but nothing seemed to do the trick. Two weeks and I couldn't do ten pull-ups without collapsing to the ground in exhaustion on my eleventh try.

Magical training was a joke. It basically consisted of Draco firing spells at me for three or four hours a day until my ass was so black and blue I couldn't even sit straight. My shields never held, my stunning spells barely fazed him and everything else I threw at him caused him to merely shake it off in annoyance. So once again I found myself on the floor, struggling to get up as Draco began to rant and rage about how I wasn't working hard enough.

"I'm getting sick of you wasting my time," he called out as my arms gave out and I dropped back down onto the soft, red carpet.

The room Luna had given us to practice in was located in the basement near the dungeons but it was as finely decorated as the rest of the rooms. And, like the rest of the rooms, everything was black and red. Black walls and red carpeting surrounded me as the most sinister looking chandelier hung above my head. The thing was gigantic and it was shaped to look exactly like a tarantula with a snake coiled around its gigantic body. I shuddered every time I glanced up at the thing.

"Then I won't waste it any longer," I sneered. I tried once more to lift myself from the ground only to fall back down a moment later.

"I can't believe the daughter of the legendary Harry Potter can't even cast a simple shielding spell," Draco jeered and threw me my wand down to me as I glared up at him.

"Just because my father was some sort of super wizard doesn't mean that I automatically am," I stated fiercely as I threw the wand in my hand across the room toward the doorway to my right. "Maybe I'm not a witch, maybe it was all a fluke and I'm just a squib."

"No way," Draco replied, "You can do some magic but for some reason your spells just aren't powerful enough to do anything."

"I'm a complete and utter failure," I sobbed as I threw up my hands in defeat.

"No you're not," Luna called out from the doorway. She slowly walked across the room and picked up my discarded wand. After studying it closely she handed it back to me. "It's this wand," she explained simply as she motioned toward the long, thin piece of wood in my hand, "That's not your wand and you won't be able to use it properly."

"But I used it before," I growled as I held my father's wand in my right hand, "I used it at Hogwarts and a few other times before that. Why would it just stop working?"

"Because it is your father's wand and he's beginning to wake up," she stated in a bored tone, "His magic is calling out to it and it knows that you are not its true owner."

"But it's the only wand I have," I whined pitifully, "What do I do now?" I glanced at Draco and he gave a sad shrug in response while Luna began to grin.

"Call your wand Jenny," she stated sternly as she regarded me with hollow eyes, "If you call to it then it will do whatever is necessary to get to you."

"But what if it's locked up somewhere?" I asked incredulously, "Or what if it's in another country or something, it could take forever to get to me."

"Not forever," she said, shaking her head, "A few days perhaps but certainly not forever."

"What do you think Draco?" I asked nervously.

"It can't hurt," Draco replied absentmindedly, "If it comes, then it comes and you'll have your wand. If not, then I suppose we'll have to go looking for it."

"So how in the hell do I do this?"

"Just yell out 'Accio Wand' and it will come," Luna stated listlessly.

"That's it?" I asked in disbelief, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Call to it and we will see if I am in fact kidding you," she added in an ominous tone before gliding out of the room.

"That woman gives me the creeps," Draco stated softly while a noticeable shiver ran down his back.

"You and me both," I replied.

"Are you going to try it?" Draco asked curiously and I shrugged.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," I said despairingly as I rose up from the carpet. I blew a few strands of black hair out of the way as I shifted nervously.

"Accio wand!" I yelled loudly. Draco and I waited for a few minutes and I sighed resignedly when nothing seemed to happen.

"She said it may take awhile," Draco offered, "Maybe even a few days."

"So what do we do until then?" I asked and Draco gave me a sly grin.

"I could always tell Khalida that you have some extra time," he replied with a smirk and I backed away from him quickly.

"I don't think so," I said in a low tone, "Anymore time around her and she'll end up killing me."

"We could keep practicing," Draco stated as his smirk grew wider.

"O no, no, no," I stammered as I gently rubbed my backside. "I don't think my butt can take anymore punishment."

"There is one spell that I'd like to try on you," Draco stated hesitantly and I raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Don't worry, it won't hurt or anything. Just go back and stand where you were. You don't even need to have your wand out." I gave him a confused look before moving to stand in the spot where the last spell he had thrown hit me.

I shifted nervously from one foot to the other as he moved to take his place a few feet in front of me. His usually cool expression had been replaced with one that appeared slightly uncertain and hesitant, which made me even more anxious.

"Let's get this show on the road!" I called out, my voice cracking a bit in the process. His expressionless mask returned and he waved his wand in my direction.

"Serpensortia!" he called out loudly.

At first I didn't notice that anything had even happened. There was no familiar glowing light from a curse or hex. I began to ask Draco what exactly he had meant to do but was interrupted by my own surprise as a small, black cobra began to make its way towards me.

"What the hell!" I exclaimed loudly as I slowly backed away from it.

I was confused as to why Draco would suddenly sic a snake on me and at first I thought it had been some kind of accident. Then I looked up at him and comprehension dawned on me.

"Come on Jenny, you can do it," he whispered under his breath, his voice so quiet I could barely make out what he was saying.

That's when I understood that it was a trick. Draco was attempting to force me to speak Parseltongue. I seethed with anger, all of the fear instantly gone. I slowly walked toward the snake and just as it opened its hood I stomped down with one foot and crushed it into the carpeting.

"How dare you," I hissed menacingly as I rounded on Draco. He backed away from me, holding both hands out in front of him.

"Now Jenny, don't do anything rash," he pleaded as his back connected with the wall behind him. "I just wanted to show you that you are a witch and you're not a squib. Parseltongue is a very unique ability and you shouldn't be ashamed of it." My eyes narrowed slightly as I studied the guilty expression on his face.

"He told you didn't he?" I asked in a threatening tone.

"I don't know who…"

"O yes you do," I spat angrily, "Dumbledore told you about Lucas didn't he." Draco shook his head wildly; blonde hair falling into his eyes but it was too late. I already knew the truth.

"He had no right!" I exclaimed loudly.

"It's not a big…"

"I DON'T SPEAK TO SNAKES!" I yelled loudly and before I even realized what I was doing one clenched fist was flying through the air on a collision course with Draco's pale, white cheek.

At the last moment Draco ducked away from me and my knuckles went crashing into the black wall behind him. The cement wall crumbled from the force and Draco and I stood gaping at the small indention. I pulled my fist away and it appeared to be completely fine. I poked at it tentatively with my other hand and there was no pain.

"Okay," I said slowly, "that was a little strange." Draco's eyes remained fixed on the broken cement as he merely nodded in reply.

"Are you okay?!" Khalida exclaimed as she ran into the room. She paused for a moment, taking in the scene that greeted her. In an instant she was at my side checking my hand for injury.

"What were you two doing in here? You are supposed to be practicing spells not using the wall as a punching bag," she reprimanded sternly as she finished checking the bones in my hand.

Once she was sure that neither of us were injured she turned her attention to the wall. She slowly ran her hands over the cement while throwing suspicious glances my way. When she turned around she appeared to be even more peeved.

"You can punch a hole in a cement wall but you can't lift a five pound weight without complaining," she asked, raising one eyebrow, "Something tells me you've been holding back on me."

"Of course not," I replied hesitantly. "I don't know how I did that," I said, motioning toward the abused wall, "It just sort of happened."

"She got really pissed at me, that's what happened," Draco offered and then moved to hide behind Khalida as I glared at him angrily.

"This is bad," Khalida mumbled to herself.

"I don't see what's so bad about it," Draco replied, "All we have to do is get Jenny really pissed off and she should be able to take care of herself."

"And what if that," Khalida spat as she motioned toward the hole, "would have been your head?" Draco gulped audibly and backed away from me as I stared at the wall with barely contained horror.

"I'm a monster," I whispered softly.

"You're not a monster Jenny," Khalida said softly as she moved to embrace me. I backed away from her and our eyes locked, bright red and blood red.

"Look at me," I ground out, "Look what I've done," I motioned toward the wall. "This is my power, don't you understand that?"

"No, I don't understand…" Khalida began.

"It's simple," I interrupted quickly; "It's not effective for me to train with you and Draco because I don't want to hurt you."

"When Draco tried to trick me," I continued in a low tone, "I got really angry and I think…I think…"

"What?" Draco asked in confusion.

"I think I wanted to hurt you," I shouted and the ground shook beneath us.

"Wow," Draco replied in an awed tone as he glanced around the room. Khalida took a step closer to me and I began to back toward the door.

"Don't go Jenny," Khalida said softly, "We're not mad at you. We know you didn't mean it."

"She's right Jenny," Draco added, "I don't think you would ever really hurt me." I shook my head furiously as I continued to back away.

"Stay away from me," I hissed, "Just stay away from me."

Khalida and Draco called out after me as I turned and ran out of the room. I rushed blindly down the halls of Luna's mansion for what seemed to be hours but in actuality were mere minutes. Finally I stopped and groaned in frustration. I'd gotten myself completely lost.

As I wandered through the dungeons I suddenly felt as if I was being watched. I began to walk faster and faster but the eyes seemed to follow my every move. I made my way through a few more hallways before coming to a stop at a dead end and collapsing from sheer exhaustion. I sat on the floor and fought to catch my breath. The hallway behind me was completely dark and I squinted as I attempted to see if I'd been followed.

A few minutes later I sat in silence, pondering what I should do. I didn't want to have to go back down that hallway but I didn't think that anyone would be able to hear me if I began to shout. I still had my father's wand and I tried to recall the charm that would magnify my voice but for some reason the only spell I could think of was that stupid Serpensortia spell that Draco used on me.

I growled in frustration as I pushed myself up off the floor and began to make my way down the darkened corridor. I took a few steps and then stopped. For a second I was sure I'd heard a woman's voice. I took a few more steps into the void and stopped once more. The voice seemed to be coming from behind me, but I knew there was nothing there but a dead end. The hair on the back of my neck began to rise and I held the wand in my hand tightly. I glanced behind me quickly and then took a few more steps down the hall.

There was something behind me, back where I'd just been. I wasn't sure what it was because I was afraid to turn around but I caught a flash of white out of the corner of my eye when I had glanced back. I shut my eyes, counted to five and began to walk again. At the end of the corridor the woman's voice seemed to get louder, as if she was calling out to me.

I rushed around the corner and then stopped so that my back was up against the wall. As slowly and discreetly as possible I peered around the edge of the hall. I stifled the gasp that attempted to escape me and leaned over for a closer look.

At the end of the hall was a door. There was nothing special about the door. It was small, appeared to be wooden and it curved at the top. One of the things that did stand out was the lack of a door handle. Another was the fact that the door was pure white. Compared to the rest of the mansion it positively glowed. The last strange thing about the white door made me shudder when I thought about it.

The door hadn't been there a moment ago. I knew that for a fact. I had just been down at the end of the hall and I had leaned against the wall where the door now stood. Before I could think anymore about it the door slowly opened and the woman's voice became louder. I could make it out as Luna's voice but it didn't sound as if she was really talking to me and her tone was slightly ethereal.

"My friend, did you not call out to me? Why did I wake up?
Did you not touch me? Why am I so disturbed?
Did a god pass by? Why are my muscles trembling?
Enkidu, my friend, I have had a dream--
and the dream I had was deeply disturbing
in the mountain gorges...
the mountain fell down on us

Her voice seemed to draw me down the corridor toward her. There was a slight mist hanging around legs as she appeared in the doorway. Her eyes were now completely white while her long blonde hair had turned black and instead of being pulled in a neat braid it flowed wildly around her, almost like a cloak. I said nothing as I moved closer to her, the eerie sound of her words flowing around me.

My friend, did you not call out to me? Why did I wake up?
Did you not touch me? Why am I so disturbed?
Did a god pass by? Why are my muscles trembling?
Enkidu, my friend, I have had a dream,
besides my first dream, a second.
And the dream I had--so striking, so...,so disturbing…
I was grappling with a wild bull of the wilderness,
with his bellow he split the ground, a cloud of dust...to
the sky.
I sank to my knees in front of him.

I stopped in front of her and she reached out to hold my chin in her hands. I was completely lost as I stared into her empty eyes. Her voice quieted to barely a whisper.

"My friend, did you not call out to me? Why did I wake up?
Did you not touch me? Why am I so disturbed?
Did a god pass by? Why are my muscles trembling?
Enkidu, my friend, I have had a third dream,
and the dream I had was deeply disturbing.
The heavens roared and the earth rumbled;
then it became deathly still, and darkness loomed.
A bolt of lightning cracked and a fire broke out,
and where it kept thickening, there rained death.
Then the white-hot name dimmed, and the fire went out,
and everything that had been falling around turned to ash.

Luna released me and held out a hand. Without hesitation I took it and she led me through the doorway. The white door shut behind us and the sound broke me from my reverie.

"What…?"

"Shhhh," Luna said softly as she waved a hand in front of her. A circle of candles came to life and the room was bathed in light.

It was a large, circular room with white walls and a light gray stone floor. In the middle of the room sat two fluffy, black pillows with a short square table sitting between them. On the table, resting over a small, square black piece of fabric was a beautiful crystal ball.

"There was a fourth dream," Luna stated as she pushed me down to sit on one of the pillows. She sat down on the other cushion and I gave her a questioning look.

"What happened in the fourth dream?" I asked curiously. Luna's eyes seemed to pierce right into my soul as she gazed at me over the crystal ball.

"No one knows," she replied, "The lines are missing and so no one will ever know what happened in the fourth dream." I was slightly saddened by that and the corners of Luna's mouth twitched slightly as she took in my expression.

"There are many dreams that we may study," Luna whispered as she directed her gaze into the depths of the clear crystal ball. "Perhaps we shall find your dreams."

"And do what?" I asked bitterly, "Will my dreams show us the future?"

"Of course not," Luna replied as she shook her head slowly, "Dreams don't show the future, they are the future."

"Dreams become reality when we make them so," she explained, "From the moment the dream takes root in your thoughts it changes your destiny forever."

"But…"

"There is no going back," Luna stated calmly, "There is only the future."

"Then show me the future," I hissed angrily and Luna suddenly grinned.

"As you wish," she replied, a tinge of cruelty in her voice, "but I must warn you once again." Her white eyes regarded me coldly and I felt a shiver run up my spine. "I see everything."