A/N: Still don't own the rights. Fair warning, this one is a two-parter. Enjoy :-)

Halloween at Hogwarts was, without a doubt, the most interesting in my life. I awoke that morning to the smell of pumpkin baking. Perhaps one of the most unusual things about this particular Halloween was that I had been invited to Kendrick's birthday party in the dungeons. I certainly wasn't expecting Draco Malfoy to invite me the night before. Nonetheless, I agreed to attend. A nagging feeling remained in the back of mind throughout the day, though I couldn't figure out why.

I shrugged it off and descended the stairs from Ravenclaw tower with Lisa. It had been weeks since the day I finally told her about my strange dreams. Her initial reaction was one of surprise followed by deep worry that maybe it wasn't just a nightmare. She rattled something off about projections as calls for help and that we should look into it further, something to which I wasn't overly keen on. We hadn't spoken of it since, but I got the distinct impression she didn't approve of me putting the research off.

"So you got invited to Creepy Boy's birthday?" Lisa stated confusedly as we made our way to breakfast.

I rolled my eyes. For some reason, Lisa found Kendrick to be highly unsettling. "Yes. It's supposed to be in the dungeons after the feast tonight. They got special permission from Professor Snape or something. I guess he's become quite popular." That last part was a bit surprising to me. Kendrick certainly didn't seem to socialize very much. The main person I saw him talking to was Theodore Knott; even then, they mostly sat in silence and watched the other students.

"You're not going are you?" Her voice was laden with disapproval.

"I was planning on it."

Lisa made a face before continuing, "I really don't think you should be associating with Slytherins. Everyone knows they're trouble."

"They can't be all bad, surely." She looked at me pointedly and I sighed. "Kendrick was really nice."

"That one time he talked to you."

I slathered my toast with jelly and pursed my lips. I appreciated Lisa's friendship but sometimes her overprotectiveness was annoying. She had been putting a sleeping charm on me each night before bed to make sure I slept the whole time. It was a sweet gesture, but for some reason she felt the need to mother me.

"You wouldn't understand, but I would really like to be friends with him. He's the only person here who understands physics."

"I still don't think it's a good idea, Scarlett. They have a reputation and associating with one..."

"Will garner me the same?"

"Definitely. Besides, he didn't invite you himself, did he? Clearly, he doesn't want to be friends."

"Who doesn't want to be friends?" Kendrick chirped.

"Speak of the devil..." Lisa muttered under her breath.

"Nobody. What's up?" I asked nonchalantly.

"I know we haven't exactly spoken in a while..." He trailed off and I quirked a brow. That was the understatement of the century. "But it's my birthday today and I was wondering if you wanted to come to my party tonight? It's in the dungeons-"

"After the feast." I finished.

"Yeah. So do you want to come?" His right hand twitched. If not for that give away, I would never have thought him nervous. That boy had an excellent poker face.

"I already told Malfoy I'd be there."

"Oh. He didn't say anything. Well, er, great! See you there!" He spun around and quickly walked off before stopping mid step. "Er, you can come too, um?" He was looking at Lisa.

"Lisa." She replied blandly.

"Lisa. Any friend of Scarlett is cool to come." He waved and returned to his frenzied pace.

"Any friend of Scarlett is cool to come? What was that?" Lisa asked with disbelief.

"I don't know. Maybe he realized I wouldn't fit in with a bunch of snakes?"

"I think Creepy Boy has a wittle-crushy-wushy on you."

I glowered at Lisa but she laughed any way. "Shut up. We're going to be late."

We arrived to double potions on time, much to my relief. Professor Snape was partial to Slytherins and Slytherins alone, so if anyone else was late, there was hell to pay. The moment we had descended the stairs into the dungeons, my hairs stood on end. A chill ran down my spine and that nagging became an uncomfortable constricting in my gut. What is going on?

I looked around but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I tried to shake it off and focus on my classwork but it was incredibly difficult. Normally, I was rather adept at potions, but the dread I was feeling caused me to flub our cough potion. Snape was none too pleased and I couldn't apologize enough.

"What is wrong with you today?" Lisa hissed as I cleaned up the overflow from the cauldron.

"I don't know. Is this place not giving you the creeps?"

"No more so than usual." She eyed me nervously. "You're really pale, Scarlett. Maybe you should go to the Hospital Wing."

"I'm fine. Just a really bad stomachache." I gritted my teeth and we finished our potion. No one was happier than I was when Snape dismissed class but I still wanted to investigate. This entire sensation was far too random an occurrence for me to put it off. I was a scientist and I was determined to figure out what was going on. I hung around until everyone else had left the room, telling to Lisa to go on to lunch without me. It took her several minutes but she finally agreed.

Once she was gone, I snatched my wand from my robes and cautiously crept around the empty corridor. Something was amiss and I was determined to find out what it was. I heard Professor Snape leave his classroom and knew that I was truly alone in the dungeons at that moment. I dove behind a suit of armor and watched as he whisked by.

One glance at the dark, dead end room off the corridor and I knew where I needed to be. I'll be the first to admit that I've never been particularly fantastic at charms. To be honest, any kind of showy magic always failed me. I learned that the first day of charms class. A small bit of study into wand lore and I discovered my wand, made from acacia wood, certainly wouldn't help with that. Generally speaking, wand makers avoided making such, yet I had still ended up with one. Further research revealed more subtle magic would yield better results for me.

So as I approached the dreaded room, I cast a shield charm around myself, just in case. Technically speaking, it was far above my level, but I had made it my mission in the past month to try to learn more subtle magic so I could at least function. If I were to be entirely truthful, I preferred it that way. I was rather fond of keeping tricks up my sleeve. Lisa was really into muggle astrology and said it was because I was on the Cancer/Leo cusp and that it was my Cancer influence showing through. I thought that was total crap and knew it was just part of my nature.

I endured possibly the stillest silence I had ever experienced before noticing it: the glowing tear glimmered in the torch light. Holding my breath, I reached my hand forward to open it. What I wasn't expecting was for someone else to open it for me.

A mysterious, male figure was dressed in Victorian attire. I couldn't see his face, though it was evident it was night wherever (and whenever) he was. He approached the tear, opened it just wide enough to place something upon the ground, looked right at me, and the corner of a grin caught my eye before he closed the tear behind him. I exhaled sharply and fiddled my fingers a moment before I mustered the courage to inspect the package.

A medium-sized, rectangular parcel sat on the stone floor. It was wrapped in solid brown paper and tied with string. Elegant calligraphy scrawled across the top.

Ms. S. Flannigan

Dungeons, Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Halloween

OPEN WHEN ALONE!

Nervously, I tucked the package into my robes, the uneasy feeling rising to an all time high. I opted to skip lunch altogether and raced back to Ravenclaw tower. As soon as I made it inside, I skipped up the steps to the dormitory and locked the door behind me. After having a done a quick search to verify that I was alone, I dropped the parcel onto my desk and looked at it for a moment. I may have loved Sherlock Holmes, but I was no master of deduction. Try as I might, I couldn't decipher anything about the person who had given it to me or addressed it to me.

Slowly, I let the air from my lungs. If I die here, if this is a bomb or something, at least no one will get hurt. Maybe some people will show up to my funeral...I shook the thoughts from my mind and cautiously unwrapped the box. What I found wasn't a bomb, but it certainly confused me. An old, antique clock ticked forebodingly. It was walnut, with shiny brass pieces. The face had a scene of the night sky at the top while the spiked hands remained menacingly still. I opened the small door at the base of the clock to reveal a note, written in that same elegant script.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. All work and no play makes Scarlett a dull girl. Expect a visitor in your sleep tonight to liven things up for you. Sweet dreams...

Hastily, I dropped the note and stared at the clock. Who was trying to frighten me? And what did they want? I stashed the clock and the note in the top drawer of my desk and locked it before catching up with Lisa in the Great Hall. One thing was for certain, I was not eagerly anticipating my visitor that night.