A/N: You know the drill.

Lunch was over by the time I made it downstairs. I managed to catch Lisa's eye as she was exiting the Great Hall. "Where have you been?" She hissed.

"There's something I need to tell you. Now." We inspected our surroundings before sneaking into the broom closet off the main hall.

"Scarlett, where were you? Why did you miss lunch?"

I quickly explained about the package and the note, making sure to leave out the fact that I was half alien and could manipulate the fabric of the universe. Somehow, I didn't think that would go over well.

"And you have no idea who this person is or what they want from you?"

"No idea."

Lisa's brows furrowed in concern but didn't say a word. After a long pause, she finally spoke. "We're going to be late to class. Come on, we'll think of something before tonight. I'm sure of it."

Neither Lisa or I really paid attention the rest of the afternoon. I had entirely forgotten about the birthday party until I overheard a Slytherin talking about it. At this point, I could care less. I was too afraid of what was in store for me that night. As much as I wanted to avoid it, I was also curious. I wasn't the only one who could manipulate things, that I had learned.

By the time dinner had arrived, my stomach had turned to stone. Thousands of live bats flew around the Great Hall and candle filled pumpkins floated in the air. The scene was awe inspiring and nearly made me forget about my impending doom that night. Nearly. The feast had just begun when a rather frenzied Professor Quirrell ran into the hall. You could have heard a pin drop as all of us watched him climb to Dumbledore's chair. "Troll-in the dungeons-thought you ought to know." It was then that he slumped to the ground, apparently fainting in terror.

The student body was in a panic, pushing and shoving and shouting. Dumbledore had to fire purple firecrackers to calm everyone down, so loud was the uproar. "Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

"Isn't the Slytherin dorm in the dungeons?" I asked with confusion as Lisa and I followed Penelope Clearwater out of the hall

I couldn't help but notice the bemused grin on her face. "I guess they're about to become troll dinner."

"You're really creepy sometimes, you know that?"

We began to climb the stairs when we noticed Ron Weasley and Harry Potter duck out of line, following after the Hufflepuffs. "What do you think they're doing?" I asked with confusion.

"I don't know. And to be honest, I don't care. Can we please go to our dormitory?"

"I'll catch up with you." Sure, I was postponing the inevitable. Still, I was curious as to what they were doing. With a troll on the loose, it didn't make sense for students to be going anywhere besides their common rooms.

"No, you won't. Wait for me." Lisa and I followed their lead, ducking out of our own line and chasing after them. They were headed towards the girls' bathroom and we had nearly caught up to them when footsteps made us stop in our tracks.

"Is that...?"

"What's he doing at a time like this?"

Professor Snape crossed the corridor, making his way to third floor. Lisa and I exchanged glances, debating who to follow. Lisa spoke first, "Hermione Granger was in the bathroom earlier. They're probably going to warn her about the troll."

It seemed that the two of us were of one mind, because at that moment we made the decision to tail Snape. Quietly, we followed him through the corridor, hiding behind a suit of armor.

Surprisingly, we noticed Professor Quirrell come around the corner at the other end, looking rather taken aback at Snape's presence. "S-Se-Severus! S-surprise s-seeing y-you here."

"Don't play dumb with me, Quirrell. I know why you're here."

"I d-don't know w-what you m-mean, S-Severus." Quirrell was fiddling nervously with his turban. That was odd.

"A troll loose in the castle is a good diversion. Especially since you're the one who warned us all. Who would suspect you?"

"I'm s-sorry, S-Severus, but I r-really d-don't know-"

"I know what you seek. Be advised that though the others may trust you, I am not so blind."

At that moment, Professor McGonagall came bustling into the corridor. "The troll has been found near the girls' bathroom!" Snape glared at Quirrell and the three instructors left without saying another word.

"What do you think that was all about?" I asked Lisa as we made our way to Ravenclaw Tower.

"I knew I didn't trust Quirrell for a reason." She muttered.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's just a feeling I've had since the start of term."

"Professor Snape seems to think Quirrell let the troll in."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Lisa stated darkly.

"But he's such a bumbling idiot!"

"Exactly. It's a perfect disguise." As we reached the door to the common room, Lisa looked at me seriously. "You probably think it's crazy, but I get a fairly good read on people."

"So, Quirrell is more evil than Snape to you?"

"Snape's not evil. He might be mean but he's not evil. It's Quirrell I'm worried about. Come on, we've got to think of a way to keep you safe tonight."

We entered Ravenclaw common room to see that dinner had been brought up. "Oy! Where have you two been?" Michael Corner, a boy in our year piped.

"Bathroom." I replied quickly.

"Girls..." He shoved a piece of kidney pie into his face, leaving Lisa and I to sneak up to our dormitory. Everyone else was, thankfully, lost in their dinner, theorizing about how the troll could have gotten in.

"Right, I've been thinking about your predicament," She said as soon as we were in our room. "And I think I have the solution."

"Great. What is it?"

She sighed and picked up a book from her desk. "We both know you need to find out who these people are and what they want from you. I'm going to put a sleeping charm on you again tonight, but with one exception. There's a failsafe you can perform, just incase anything bad happens. I'm going to stay up tonight and watch you. If anything bad happens in your dream, you'll be expressing it in your sleep. Once that happens, I'll perform the failsafe and you get out alive."

"Alright. Are you ready?" Lisa nodded and I began getting ready for bed, still nervous about what I was about to do.

We waited until the other girls were asleep before we acted. "Are you all set?" Lisa asked me, concern in her voice.

"Let's just get this over with." I buried myself under the covers and waited, my heart hammering heavily.

"Somnus securus!" She whispered forcefully, a purple fog emerging from the tip of her wand. Immediately, I was cast into a dream world. My surroundings were not favorable. I was standing at the edge of an active volcano, red magma boiling below me.

"We've been expecting you." A shrill voice stated behind me.

I closed my eyes, nails digging into my palms. Crap! Crappity, crap crap! Right. Just relax. It's the only way.

Standing before me was the most frightening creature I had ever seen. Its head and body was that of a lion, with a goat's head sticking up from its back, and a serpent for a tail. A chimera! This is really, really not good. Homer's "the Illiad" echoed in my mind, "a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire".

I steeled myself, gritting my teeth as I spoke. "Who are you and what do you want?"

The creature laughed, a wild, ravenous sound. My blood ran chill at the sound. "Who we are is not important. What we want is a different matter entirely."

"And that would be..."

"The man you see in your dreams, would you like to meet him?"

The question caught me off guard. "How-how do you know about my dreams?"

"My dear child, we know all about you. Your parents, their deaths, what you awoke in the dark..."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't woken anything." I watched as the serpent reared its head, fangs dripping venom.

"Oh, but you have. And that's what we want. You took something belongs to us and we want it back."

"I really haven't."

"Enough!" The lion breathed fire and I covered my face instinctively. "Give it back and we will let you live! Thrive, even!"

"Lisa," I murmured, hoping desperately that my sleeping body was having convulsions or something. "Anytime you want to wake me up would be great!"

The lion opened its maw to breathe fire again and I braced myself for the worst. "Scarlett! Are you okay? What happened?" Lisa's eyes were wide with fear, her blonde hair sticking out in every direction.

"What happened to you?" I choked. My pajamas were soaked with sweat, my heart racing.

"You wouldn't wake. I was really worried!"

"Well," I gasped, throwing the covers off. "You got to me just in time."

"So, what happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but it's not good." I told her of the chimera and the accusations it brought. "I definitely haven't woken anything up. I would have remembered that."

We sat in silence for a moment, thinking of everything that had happened. "Are you sure you didn't do anything in a dream? Maybe when your parents died?"

I shook my head. "I wasn't even born when my dad died. And I remember all my dreams after my mom died. I wasn't anywhere dark and I didn't wake anything up."

"I think you need to be very, very careful about what you dream."

"I can't control what I dream!"

"Actually, you can. I think you need to read this." She handed me the book she had used earlier. "It's all about sleep magic."

"Thanks." I slumped back into my sheets.

"Scarlett?" Lisa asked from the edge of my bed.

"Hmm?"

"How did your parents die?"

I swallowed hard. "Er, my dad died in a war. And my mom died fighting off a group of rogue wizards in our trailer park." The thought still brought tears to my eyes.

"I didn't know America was such a dangerous place for us."

"The wizarding government isn't anything like the national government. It's very harsh, very despotic. There's absolutely no free-speech and they rule with an iron fist. There's a lot of revolt and unrest in the wizarding community. I think that's why Mom wanted me here."

She nodded before turning to return to her own bed. "You know, we're friends," Lisa began. "And if you ever want to come visit, you'd be more than welcome. I know my parents would love to have you."

I smiled in reply. "Thanks, Lisa. I might do that." She grinned and I watched her clamber into her bed. Sighing, I gazed out the window, eyeing the night sky. "Night, Dad." I whispered before covering myself with the blankets again. Mom was right about having friends.