So, I wrote this entire thing a while ago, but was stumped with what to add to it. I figured I might as well just post this now, if only to get the reviews back in and give myself a bit of motivation to get back into the swing of writing this. It's pretty much a 'Part 2' to the previous chapter, but was long enough to deserve its own spot, so to speak.

This was originally going to be longer and involve other characters, but honestly, I just wanted to get this out there quickly, so, enjo.

11th March, 2009

The Great Hall, Ground Floor

Faith's rubber-soled black oxfords were shined so high that they reflected the warm rays of sunlight that breathed through the windows and into the Great Hall. Her thick, inky hair was tied up into a ponytail, swinging from side to side as she strode between the tables, down towards the end where she found the boy with dark hair neatly combed back – he was leaning back on the table, talking to the silver-haired Slytherin in the year above.

"Hey, Jamie…" Faith began, taking her winter cloak and looping it through the strap of her beige rucksack.

"Baby Galloway?" Jamie asked with a bemused smile as he turned away from Genevieve Dankworth and settled his sharp azure eyes on her.

"Better-known as 'Faith'," she said, readjusting the strap of her rucksack. As she did so, a couple of books began to spill out, and she brought the bag to her chest with both arms to keep them from cascading upon the floor.

"Better-known as 'the Book-Hoarder'," Jamie commented, cocking his head to the side as he read the title of one of her Quidditch books. "One-Hundred-and-Eleven Famous Quidditch Manouveres in the 19th Cent- I hope this isn't a post-loss thing."

"It's never too late to climb the table," Faith replied, closing her bag and setting it down on the bench beside him with a heavy thud.

"You're over three hundred points behind."

"I'm not panicking," she shrugged.

Jamie scoffed, "That's a hundred and fifty points behind third place-"

"Yes, well, I didn't come here to talk about that," Faith said tersely, glancing up and down the Great Hall.

"I figured," Jamie said, turning back to Genevieve.

"I wanted to ask you about…" Faith trailed off and swallowed. She hadn't spoken to Jamie alone before. She always thought him to be the more patient and studious of his gang of Gryffindors, but he was just as impetuous as the rest of them. Maybe that's why they were a gang. And maybe, when one looked at the others, like Cormac, it wasn't a surprise Jamie was the most studious. The others definitely weren't any competition…

Jamie glanced left and right before stage-whispering, "Dorian?" He grinned. "C'mon, Faith, you can say his-"

Genevieve gave a groan and stood up and walked away. Jamie held out a hand after her, spluttering before hanging his head.

"Do you know where he is?" Faith asked.

"Why?"

"We're doing a homework thing."

"Oh, yeah, I bet you are…" Jamie scoffed.

Faith rolled her eyes, "We're just friends, Jamie. Not that it's any of your business…"

"It becomes my business when the 'friends' start to hang around with us all the time."

"How many… friends have there been?" Faith frowned.

Jamie shook his head and waved a hand. "Don't worry, you're hardly the first girl to swoon every time he fixes his hair…"

"I'm just worried," Faith explained. "Is he okay?"

"He's about as well as you think," Jamie shrugged. "Nothing puts a pep in your step like getting booted from his home."

"What're you talking about?"

Jamie paused, rubbing his chin as his blue eyes remained fixed on her. "He's not told you?"

"His mum kicked him out?"

"No, of course not," Jamie said incredulously. He glanced around and then motioned for her to come closer. She placed her bag on the floor and sat down next to him. "The Ministry took their flat. Part of investigating all the claims."

"So, he's homeless?"

"What- no, he's not homeless." Jamie shook his head. "Look, I really shouldn't be talking about his business behind his back-"

"Okay, I'll talk to him about it then."

"Yeah, I… wouldn't do that…" He shook his head. "He just needs a bit of time to deal with it."

"So, how's going to do that if he doesn't talk about it?"

"The quidditch final, hexing Roman Toeman, making fifth-year Hufflepuffs swoon…" Jamie started counting on his fingers.

"Look, I…" Faith let out a huff and rubbed her forehead. "Can you just tell him I'm asking about him? Or, I could use his help with homework?"

He made a small, amused smile. "You are a very good friend, aren't you?"

"I'm trying to be."

Library, Training Grounds Tower, First Floor

It was past six o'clock in the evening, and the library was closing. Faith rolled up her scrolls of parchment and stowed them in her bag, making a mental note to finish her essays that night, so she'd have a full draft to re-work the next day. The library was always full in March, but not like in April, when coursework was due for O.W.L and N.E.W.T students.

Faith was pulling her white sleeves back down to her wrists and pulling her black-and-yellow robe back on as she approached the doors when she recognized the platinum-haired boy emerge from one of the aisles.

"Oh, wait up, Dorian…" Faith jogged up to him as she called, getting the attention of the other pupils that were also leaving the library. Dorian looked somewhat abashed by their looks – it was a strange thing for Faith to see.

"Jamie said you might be here," Dorian stated, tugging at the strap of his bag.

"He did?" Faith asked.

"Also said you were looking for me?"

"Yeah, I was just… worried, I guess…" Faith began before scratching her forehead. "I don't know, I know you can-"

"I'm glad you were looking for me," Dorian said, his voice warming and reassuring.

Faith frowned – half-frowned, to be more precise; she found her lip curling slightly, if only out of wonder. "Glad?"

"Yeah, that means I can stop lugging this around…" He reached into his bag and produced a weighty and leather-bound purple tome, regal and ancient. On the front, the title was emblazoned: The Beater's Bible.

"Ooh, Rufus Scrimgeour…" Faith grinned as she took the book from him.

"Yeah, you owe me for it – this was like the first edition of the first edition – it even has some of his extra notes scribbled in."

Faith opened up the book and found writing like chicken-scratches, littering the thick parchment pages. "Rule one – take out the Seeker," Faith read aloud.

"Or Agetha Selwyn," Dorian remarked, "or… anyone else on that team."

Faith grinned slightly – it was good to see part of that Dorian was still there. She didn't particularly think it was a good side of him, but… well, he had to be doing sort of okay. "Oh, hey, congrats. On the win, I mean."

"Commiserations," Dorian replied, turning with her as they left the library.

"Sorry about… y'know…" She trailed off, unsure of what to say exactly. Dorian just shrugged in response. "Have you spoken to her, yet?"

"Who?" Dorian asked, biting his lip and looking completely clueless.

Faith wasn't falling for it. "You should, you know."

"I know nothing of the sort."

Faith's grey eyes flickered up to his for a second before she looked back down the corridor they traversed, dawdling a fair bit behind the other students. Dorian didn't seem too eager to leave their quiet conversation, and neither did Faith. "So, I heard you're… leaving London for the holidays?"

"You mean, we're living with Uncle George now?" Dorian raised an eyebrow. He wandered over to one of the windows and, slinging his bag to the ground by its strap, sat down on the windowsill. "I can't believe I have to live with Gregoria…" He groaned, grimacing as he said her name.

"Who's Gregoria?"

"Uncle George's daughter- my cousin."

Faith sat down beside Dorian, gently placing her bag on the floor. "At least it's a nice place," she pointed out, "I mean, it's bigger than what most people have."

"Yeah, well…" Dorian shrugged, "that's true. Bigger than my room in London is. Was…" He rubbed his chin. "At least I kept the stuff from my bedroom. Well… apart from the actual… room and the bed."

Faith's dark eyebrows pulled down flat and forward. "Well, I mean, you could always visit ours and…"

"What, share yours?"

She let out a loud laugh. "No…"

"Well, I'm not sharing with Seth…"

Faith sighed and put a hand on his elbow, stopping him mid-step and looking up at him. "Sorry," she said earnestly.

Dorian shrugged. "Not your fault."

"It's just stuff, right? You can always get more…" Faith tried to meet his eyes, but Dorian simply bit his lip and nodded, looking straight down at his feet. But he was quiet – very quiet. "So… your mum hasn't… said anything to you?"

"No, she sent an owl," Dorian replied, "she reminded me to send Pip a birthday card next week, so… I guess we're not talking about it."

"Y'know, if you ever want to talk about it, we can-"

"Hey, do you want to do something?" Dorian asked, suddenly. "Like, go flying somewhere?"
"Flying where?" Faith asked, slightly befuddled.

"Iceland?"

"Iceland?"

"I'm sick of people."

"I'm pretty sure there's people in Iceland…"

"Yeah, but no-one knows me in Iceland."

"I thought you said you loved the spotlight."

He rolled his eyes and stood up, scuffing the heels of his brogues against the stone slabs. Carrying his bag by the handle and pocketing his free hand, Dorian turned around to face her. "You coming?"

"Do you want me to?"
"Do you want to?"

Faith crossed one arm over the other and raised an eyebrow expectantly, her flint-grey eyes fixed on him.

"We could be at this all night…" Dorian groaned.

"Maybe." Faith nodded. "Unless we agree that you want me to come."
"And you want to, as well."

Faith's lips spread into a smile as she stood up, grabbing her own bag and walking closer to Dorian. "Okay, then."

Dorian and Faith spiralled around the towers of the castle before pulling into dives beneath the stone bridges, skimming across the surface of the Black Lake. Even when both of the Giant Squid's tentacles breached the water, almost knocking Faith's broom.

The two gently glided towards the Forbidden Forest, their wand-tips illuminating before they descended. Faith set her broomstick down and began looking around the trees. "I thought we were heading to Iceland?"

Dorian slightly chuckled. "Don't tempt me…"

"Like I said, if you ever need to talk-"

"I don't need to."

"But if you want to-"

"I won't," Dorian insisted.

"You should at least talk to your mum."

"Yeah, she's not exactly the-" Dorian began, his lips already half-smiling. Something cut him off – something loud. A deep rumbling from within the dark forest. He and Faith turned around, wands at the ready, as they stared into the darkness beyond their wand-light.

"What was that?" Faith asked.

"No idea…" Dorian murmured as he took a step forwards, twigs crunching beneath his shoes.

"Dorian!" Faith hissed.

"What?"

"We should go."

"What do you think it was?" Dorian asked.

"I don't know – the forest is full of creatures – Centuars, Spiders-"

"Doesn't sound like a spider…" He murmured. He took another step and the noise sounded again: a bellowing screech that made the two students clutch their ears. There were loud thuds and trees cracked apart. There was a heavy scurrying, and the two saw a six-foot spider approach. A flurry of heavy, hairy legs, multiple eyes reflected in the light…

Faith turned to run and Dorian fell backwards. She looped an arm around his as the spider approached his feet. Her wand rose to aim at the spider.

"Stu-"

There was a snap and a crunch, and the body of the spider disappeared, replaced by a large and dark scaled snout, with the thick, hairy legs crumpled around it, still twitching. The snout moved open and closed, crunching the spider again and again. Faith helped Dorian to his feet, and the two looked up to see the legs of the spider clatter to the floor. The snout lowered and the students were met with the head of a creature. Dark black scales, like onyx in the light, rough and scarred. It smelt of blood and smoke and, strangely enough, of rot. The creature lowered its head and sniffed the two with its reptilian snout.

"What's that?" Faith asked slowly.

It turned to face them, the pupil of its purple eye narrowing. Faith grabbed Dorian's arm and began to pull him back.

The creature let out a long breath and parted its jaw, showing parts of spider, bone and meat lodged between its teeth. It let out another loud screech at the two, causing them to cover their ears once again. Then, from deep within its throat, a light emerged. Firelight.

"Protego- Protego!" Dorian yelled, holding up his wand. No shield charm came. He glanced down at his wand, then back up to the dragon, face full of panic.

"Protego Maxima," Faith said, casting her wand around the two of them. A jet of fire flowed around them, igniting the ground and the trees with an inferno. The shield subsided and Faith looked up to see the creature rear and beat its leathery bat-like wings.

"Confringo!" Dorian shouted, pointing his wand at the creature once again. The fire of his curse illuminated the size of the creature. Forty feet, at least. The curse simply bounced off the scales.

"Protego Maxima!" Dorian shouted this time, holding in wand in front of Faith and himself. The water-like shield began to ripple beneath another barrage of flames. Faith could feel the heat growing as the shield became smaller and smaller…

"Protego Maxima," Faith said, holding up her wand as well. The shield held as the flames ceased. The creature spun around and slammed the arrowhead-tip of its tail into the shield, knocking the two of them back by a couple of yards. "Accio broomsticks," Faith shouted. She looked back to see the creature advancing, opening its jaws again.

"Tumeo Oculo," Dorian shouted, swirling his wand and delivering a jab. A streak of red jettisoned from his wand and up into the purple of the creature. It howled and swung about its tail, knocking down several trees.

Faith clambered onto her broom and shot off into the sky, with Dorian a second behind her. The two looked back beneath the stirrups of their brooms and saw more flames engulf the forest. More howls were heard until there was a sudden silence, and all the flames were extinguished at once.

Well, that's it for this chapter! The next one will likely be a tad shorter since I've not really got much of a plan.

Anyway, if you've made it this far, welcome back! I'm going to set my mind to finishing this story as soon as. Please leave a review and let me know if you're still reading!

R.