The next day, all anyone could talk about was the suit of armour and friendliness pranks. Because it had disproportionately affected the Ravenclaws, no one thought that it had anything to do with the Slytherin-Gryffindor feud. On top of that, several students had come forth, saying that they remembered Peeves throwing some sort of object while blowing raspberries and then laughing maniacally.

The two pranks had been amusing enough that they had, in fact, alleviated a great deal of inter-house tension. The Gryffindors, Slytherins, and Hufflepuffs couldn't help looking at the Ravenclaws and giggling at their absurd behaviour. And just as the blonde Luna Lovegood had predicted, most of the Ravenclaws were too intent on the intellectual challenge of understanding why their behaviour had changed so drastically to be upset about what had happened. Besides, they were able to objectively step away from the situation and admit that on top of being fun, it had felt good. The sensation of friendliness and affection was undeniably heartening.

If anything, the two pranks had added to the sense of Christmas spirit at Hogwarts. It reminded the students that there was no need to be so cold to one another, and that there was something to be said for having an open heart. The students that had been most strongly affected by the vapour bombs had let down their walls, and there was a renewed sense of optimism that things were going to get better.

Even the professors had softened, and those with a sense of humour, like Flitwick, seemed to find it as hilarious as the students, though it had disproportionately affected his House. McGonagall simply sighed and accepted that children would be children, while Dumbledore's eyes seemed to twinkle more merrily than ever. But Filch (who the trio failed to prank in the end), was more ill-tempered than before, disgusted by the unruly actions of the students.

To the trio's relief, it appeared the prank had actually worked, and for the most part, the Slytherin-Gryffindor feud had ended. There were, of course, a few stragglers who hated their rival House enough to want to continue the conflict, but the majority were already looking ahead to the Christmas break, eager to see their families, and excited about not having to worry about school work for a couple of weeks.

But just because the feud was over, it didn't mean that the students could simply relax. In many of their classes, they had to study for tests, or finish up major projects, but at least, without the feud to worry about, they could actually focus on school work again. It meant that the trio (or at least Callidus) were busy enough that there wasn't much time to think about other matters.

So, when the second incident of Orange Madness occurred at Hogwarts a few days later, most of the school was caught off guard. Unlike the first incident, which had occurred in a highly trafficked area of the school, the second case of the disease happened on one of the upper floors. And also unlike the first incident, most of the students did not hear about it until after the fact.

"The professors are trying to keep it quiet," Parkinson claimed at supper that evening to the other second year Slytherins who were leaning in closer to listen, their food largely forgotten.

The Slytherins peered over at the Head Table, and it did appear is if their teachers were wearing grimmer expressions than usual.

"How despicable!" Greengrass uttered with a mix of disgust and disdain. "How low will Dumbledore stoop to to protect his precious mud -" she glanced over and noticed the trio giving her menacing glares, "- muggleborns?"

"My mum has been sending me letters suggesting that it might be better for me to stay home rather than return to Hogwarts after the break," Davis murmured.

"I'm not scared of a stupid disease! I'd fight anyone who tried to attack me!" Bulstrode bravely declared.

"Are you sure someone is infected with the Orange Madness? What if - what if it was just a hex gone wrong?" Harry asked Parkinson. "Or something else?"

Parkinson scoffed. "I trust my sources. Have I ever led you astray?"

"Well - I do recall one occasion when you claimed that fourth year Hufflepuff ran off and eloped with a fifth year Slytherin," Callidus pointed out. "And if my memory serves me well, it turned out that they both just came down with dragon pox at the same time."

"Oh shush, Cal!" Parkinson irritably replied. "It's not my fault that their own close friends decided to spread that rumour. I can't control what other people say! Besides, they were outed as secretly dating, so I was half right. The point is, that I'm quite certain about this."

"Well, out with it, Pansy!" Draco demanded. "What exactly did you hear?"

A small smirk pulled at the corner of Parkinson's lips, and it was clear that she relished the attention. But as she began to regale the second years, her expression became more serious. "Well, apparently the person who was infected was a Gryffindor. One of the sixth years - I didn't recognize or remember the name. Some muggleborn-or-other, you know."

"A muggleborn! I'm not surprised," Greengrass declared.

"The first person infected wasn't a muggleborn," Callidus reminded her. "Or are you suggesting your divination abilities are so remarkable that you know something before it happens? Should we be letting you tell the facts, Greengrass? Assuming you ever have any."

Greengrass glowered at him, unable to come up with an answer.

"Anyway," Parkinson continued, pulling the Slytherin's attention back to herself, "the person who was infected attacked two people. Two! I think they were both Gryffindors as well - third years? Or was it fourth. Nevermind, that isn't important."

The Slytherins surreptitiously glanced towards the Gryffindor table, and while the Gryffindors did seem subdued, it was difficult to determine if it was because they were upset about the new rumours or for other reasons.

Parkinson leaned forward. "They say that the two Gryffindors that got attacked were horribly mauled. As if someone threw them in a pit with a vicious cockatrice!"

Nott snorted, and lowered the book he was currently reading. "Unlikely. A human's blunt fingernails and teeth couldn't do the sort of slashing damage that a cockatrice is capable of."

Parkinson brushed him off. "Oh, shush, Theo. You're ruining my story! What I'm trying to say is that the infected person seriously hurt those two Gryffindors. And while I ordinarily couldn't care less what becomes of Gryffindors, it's still terrible for this to happen at Hogwarts. They're all in the infirmary now, but the matron isn't letting anyone in to see them."

"How terrible!" Greengrass remarked, though it was evident to anyone who knew her that she didn't actually care about the well being of the Gryffindors. "Do you think they might have been disfigured?"

Parkinson shrugged. "Maybe."

"Hrmph. Well. I believe we now have more reason than ever why associating with mud - muggleborns is a bad idea," Greengrass opined. "Frankly, if Gryffindors are willing to take that risk, then maybe they deserved what happened."

Harry shook his head. "That's twisted, Daphne. Do you really believe that? They may be Gryffindors, but they're still people."

When it was clear that none of the other second years were willing to take Greengrass's stance, she became defensive. "I care about Slytherins. I care about us. Why would I care about a bunch of people I barely talk to?"

"We do have to look out for ourselves," Draco conceded. "Dumbledore doesn't look out for us. Who else is going to?"

"Exactly!" Greengrass agreed, triumphantly.

Harry shook his head. "You can care about other people while looking out for Slytherins."

"Yeah? Well, what if it happened to one of us?" Draco argued. "If someone with Orange Madness ever attacked you or Callidus, I'd never forgive that person. I'd Avada Kedavra them in a heartbeat, disease or not." His grey eyes were firm with conviction.

Harry's expression became uncertain. "I - hm - I don't know what I'd do if someone attacked either of you. I'd never want it to happen."

"At least we have ways we can protect ourselves," Callidus reminded them, thinking of the spells they were learning in ARMED as well as their vapour bombs.

Harry nodded. "Yeah." He bit down on his lower lip before looking at Callidus. "What do you think you'd do? If someone attacked us."

Callidus hummed and knit his brows, glancing towards Draco and then back at Harry. "From everything I've read about the disease, once people reach the aggressive phase, it happens quickly and brutally. I might not Avada Kedavra them like Draco would. It isn't practical to use a spell none of us have tried before. But I'd take them down. Fast. Whatever I hit them with, I'd want to make sure they don't get back up again." Callidus knew he'd never let anyone hurt his friends/brothers if he could help it.

Draco nodded in approval. "I can agree to that."

The Slytherins continued to speculate about the new case of the disease, but it wasn't until the following day that the rumour was confirmed. By then, the whole school was already abuzz with the story, and when the professors broke the bad news, it only confirmed what the students knew. Nonetheless, hearing the confirmation of their fears was like being tainted with a dense miasma that spelled doom. The humour and light mood that had been created by the pranks was gone, with most students keeping their heads down, and counting the days until they could leave the tense atmosphere at Hogwarts and return to their families.

In this regard, Callidus was no different. Of course, in his case, he genuinely wanted to do well in his classes, but with all that had happened, he found himself just wanting to be a regular student again. However, Harry had taken a different perspective.

"I can't stand this!" Harry vehemently declared, as the trio were seated around one of the fireplaces in the common room. It was an unusual occurrence, since they happened to have the space all to themselves.

"Just when things were starting to get better around here, this had to happen," Harry continued. "We need to think up a new prank."

Draco furrowed his brows. "With the way you're talking, Harry, it doesn't sound like you have a fun prank in mind. It sounds more like you just want to help people."

Harry's expression turned stubborn. "You thought the friendliness bombs were useless when you first heard the idea. But when we actually carried out the prank, you thought it was funny. I saw you laughing at those Ravenclaws in the library."

"I didn't think the friendly bombs would be useless," Draco argued.

"It must be interesting, living in a reality where you never have to confront your own mistakes," Callidus murmured sardonically. "How does one go about being completely delusional?"

"Oh, shut up," Draco answered crossly. "Fine. You two were right about the friendliness bombs." He turned back to Harry. "Are you saying you have some sort of prank in mind?"

Harry shrugged. "Not really. Not yet. But I'll think of something. Hogwarts is my home. I hate what it's becoming, with the Orange Madness and all that."

Callidus thinned his lips, his expression contemplative. Harry's words had struck a chord. Hogwarts was also his home - after all, the rest of his family was dead and gone, and so too were the other remnants of his past. Hogwarts and his friends were all he had. But while Callidus could bury himself with school work and potions research, Harry couldn't do the same. And perhaps Harry was right; if Hogwarts was their home, shouldn't they try to make it better? However, for Callidus, making people feel better wasn't enough. Part of what was driving his newest potions research was a sliver of hope that he could shed light on the problem of the Orange Madness. He had no illusions that he would be the one to discover the cure where the researchers at St. Mungo's had failed. But he hoped he could do something.

That night, Callidus went to bed with his mind like a merry-go-round of swirling thoughts. Sleep did not come easily, and as he stared up at the canopy of his bed, he wondered what the future would bring.

Callidus was on his way to the library. It had felt like ages since he had spent time with the Gryffindor girls, and he was looking forward to meeting up with them and hearing their unique perspectives on what was going on. Though his friendship with the Gryffindors didn't feel the same as the close bond with Harry and Draco, he still felt close to them in a different way. He turned a corner, and suddenly, there was a strange and familiar feeling in his mind, like it was being pulled and stretched, and manipulated by some outside force. Moments later, a familiar girl appeared from around the bend. It was the fifth year Slytherin girl, wearing a cruel smile on her lizard-like face.

The feeling in his mind, and the expression on the girl's face caused Callidus's memories to slam into him, with merciless force. He felt like he had taken a hard blow, and the air had been knocked out of his lungs, as he remembered not only the last time this had happened to him, but the horrible pain of it as well. He knew then, that he was dreaming.

Frantically, he tried to pull his consciousness away, to be anywhere so long as he could get away from the predatory smile of that fifth year. But her magic was too strong, and he was like a fox hopelessly ensnared in the vicious teeth of a steel trap. He wasn't sure if he could get away without ripping his own mind apart.

The girl smirked. "You remember? How interesting. It suggests that you have a naturally strong mind. But -" she chuckled, "not strong enough."

"What do you want?" Callidus growled. "I haven't had anything to do with Gryffindors. And the feud is over."

The girl hummed. "My friends should be here any moment." She paused, and just as she claimed, the three boys appeared one after the other.

"Fiiinally!" the eager boy exclaimed. "Why couldn't we have done this sooner?"

The girl rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Seriously, Alphie. I've told you. I've been busy with that huge project that Flitwick gave us, and it takes a lot of energy to do this kind of magic. I can't just do this sort of thing day in and day out. But if you're so keen on being able to dream walk, then I know of an interesting ritual that would let me siphon off your magic. Though the effects might be - erm - permanently damaging. For you."

The mousey-haired boy elbowed the one named Alphie. "Just leave off, yeah? We're lucky that she even lets us join in on this. Most people never have an opportunity to experience this kind of mind-magic."

"Drefen gets it," the girl told Alphie. "Why can't you? Anyway, we're wasting time."

"I'm not going to forget it this time," Callidus swore. "I am going to remember. And you will regret doing this to me."

The dark-skinned boy arched his eyebrows. "Rather arrogant, isn't he. Especially considering his position."

The girl smirked. "Our little traitor here claims that he has nothing to do with Gryffindors. He claims the feud is over."

The mousey-haired boy, Drefen, narrowed his eyes. "Our feud with the Gryffindors is never truly over. A true Slytherin would know that."

"The fact of the matter is, you will forget," the girl affirmed. "You're weak. And you know what? I almost don't even care whether or not you associate with Gryffindors. Because Drefen is right. You're not a true Slytherin. But -" she paused, "- it's not all bad. Well, for us. Not for you. I've always wanted to have more opportunities to practice my family magic. And here you are, landing right into our laps. Besides, I want to blow off a little steam after all those bloody exams."

"Yesss," Alphie eagerly hissed. "Let's make him suffer!"

The dark-skinned boy rolled his eyes at Alphie. "I'm glad this is just a dream. Your lack of restraint is embarrassing."

"Oh, shut up!" Alphie snapped back. "It feels good, all right? And I like feeling good. You gonna get on my case for wanting to feel good?"

"Boys," the girl growled. "Keep in mind that my strength has it's limits. Let's do what we came here to do, yes?"

The three fifth year boys nodded in agreement, pulling out their wands and a pointing them at Callidus.

Callidus jutted forth his jaw. He didn't want to show weakness. But on some level, he knew that he couldn't fight the girl's magic. At least not yet. Though it was sickening and horrible to remember what had happened last time, it also meant that he remembered what had helped. He might not be able to stop the dream magic. But he could calm and empty his mind, and take the worst edge off the pain. By the time the first torturous spell hit Callidus, he was ready. And though the pain was still like nothing that Callidus had ever felt, he knew that he could handle it.