"A boggart?"

"I wasn't attacked by a boggart! It was a manticore! It didn't change when it got through with me!"

"But it makes sense, doesn't it? No one's ever seen the same thing."

"So it attacked again?"

"I wonder what Defense is going to be like now..."

Vega scowled, head lowered on the Slytherin table, as the Great Hall eagerly talked about the news that McGonagall had passed along. Once everyone had arrived for breakfast, she had stood to make her announcement. Defense classes were being changed, starting that day, to discuss how to handle boggarts effectively and to put everyone through training. To that end, another boggart, one kept sealed in a large chest, had been brought in overnight. It was currently in Professor Tadyggbo's class, being watched over by the Gryffindor prefects. When Tadyggbo wasn't around to personally keep watch on it, it was to be guarded.

Naturally, the news started a lot of noisy debating on whether the first two victims had actually been attacked by what they claimed. Vega was trying not to listen. Despite the fact that he didn't have to share the place he had slept, he had gotten almost no sleep that night. The sound of the students talking may as well have been someone using an airhorn next to his ear. From beside him, Viola was looking over, nervously.

"Maybe you should skip breakfast and go lay down." She suggested.

"McGonagall'd have my hide if I left by myself again." Vega muttered, not moving his head. "And I'm not being escorted to what are, effectively, my own personal quarters."

"Well, at least try to eat something, yeah?"

"I've never felt like eating less." Vega groused. "Not only can I not go anywhere on my own, I didn't get any sleep, everyone's being too bloody noisy, and we have to face a boggart in Tadyggbo's class. I'm not in a good mood."

Viola's eyes quickly shifted to and from her brother, who was sitting opposite her and Vega. "Maybe you can talk to McGonagall about it?"

Vega snorted. "Do you really think that'll fly after I was attacked? I wasn't able to do a thing about it."

"I still don't see what the big deal is." Hydrus said, paying little attention to any of the talk around him. "Everyone will have to show what they're afraid of. Everyone has at least one thing they're scared of that other people would find silly."

"Entirely not the same for me." Vega said.

"How so?"

Vega remained quiet at this, but Viola looked back to her brother and responded, "I have a pretty good idea what his boggart would turn into. It'd raise a lot of questions, Hydrus. It'd be better if he could skip it. The spell can't be that hard if first years like us can cast it."

"Regardless, I don't see any way for him to get out of this. Maybe he can convince Tadyggbo to let him take the test separately from everyone else." Hydrus said, shrugging.

"Hyde. What're you afraid of?" Asked Vega.

"Losing Viola." Hydrus answered, looking over. "Specifically, her being pulled under by the grindylow that nearly caused her to drown." He paused, glancing up thoughtfully. "...I'm not sure how something like that would manifest, though."

Blushing fiercely, Viola squeaked, "That's what you're scared of? Vega, if it's all the same to you, I'm gonna make Tadyggbo let my idiot brother take his test separately from everyone else, too! I don't want everyone seeing that, you jerk!"

"Seeing what, you drowning? I don't want to see it, either." Hydrus said, sounding rather put off by the prospect.

"No! Seeing me in a swimsuit!" Hissed Viola, still bright red.

Hydrus blinked at this for a moment. "Oh. Yes, I suppose it would have to manifest that way, wouldn't it? Hm..."

"Don't 'hm' at me, you idiot! Think of something else to be scared about!" Viola cried.

"You say that like it's easy. Go on then, what about you? Isn't your fear the same as me? Drowning?" Asked Hydrus.

"No! I'm fine with being in deep water, Hydrus, if you didn't notice! And I can't even get revenge because you haven't ever done anything stupid and embarrassing!" Viola griped, looking about as surly as Vega felt now. "And what I'm afraid of is none of your business. You'll see just like everyone else. You can wait."

"Well, that isn't very fair. I was open about what I was afraid of." Pointed out Hydrus.

"I don't see what you're complaining about." Vega muttered. "It's not like you're fat or ugly and you don't have any embarrassing marks on your body. Besides, you always wear one piece swimsuits."

"See? Potter doesn't have a problem with it." Hydrus said, grabbing for a slice of toast and some butter.

"Traitorous swine!" Viola cried, swatting Vega on the arm and eliciting a small smile from him. "I'm not very fond of either of you!"

"The world won't end by you not being fond of us." Vega said, finally pushing himself upright. "You've looked fine in all the swimsuits I've ever seen you in. I daresay there are worse things in the world than having people know what your legs look like."

"See? Potter thinks you look fine, too." Hydrus said, trying to bite back a smile now.

"You two are insufferable, has anyone ever told you that?" Viola asked, ducking her head to try and make her blush go away.

"Revenge on all the times you've embarrassed me." Vega stated. "Ugh... guess I should at least have a slice or two of toast. Pass the plate over, Hyde."

Hydrus did as he was asked. "On the bright side, if it really is a boggart, then we should be safe in small groups. Even if it went for one person, the others would be there to help out."

"What about the first victim? Over there harping on about it since McGonagall stopped talking, in fact. The manticore was the same for both of them." Vega said.

"Maybe they're both scared of manticores. Did her friend ever actually turn around?" Asked Hydrus.

"Can't remember." Vega said. "Well, whatever the case, I hope it's just a boggart. If they aren't bringing outside help in over this, it jolly well better be something that simple."

"If it turns out to be worse, I'm sure either the Aurors or one of our parents can come in to help out with the search." Hydrus said. "I'm not even really sure how one would begin searching for a boggart, though. If you're looking for something with no apparent base form, how do you find it?"

"I wonder how they reproduce. I mean, I guess they could have a solid form they're in when no one's around, but..." Vega trailed off, chewing a bit of toast and looking confused. "Maybe they split into two or something."

"Can we not talk about boggart reproductive systems at breakfast? I already feel ill." Viola mumbled, grabbing her fork again and stabbing a bit of egg.

Vega was about to argue, but a sudden clamor from the Ravenclaw table drew his attention away. Lapis Eskander was standing, looking murderous, and was glaring at a second year boy across from him. Through gritted teeth, he hissed something out, but Vega was unable to tell what, before turning and storming out of the Great Hall. Valerie and Samantha were quick to follow, also casting glares back at their House's table.

"...Wonder what that was about." Vega said.

"Perhaps the Ravenclaws were also discussing what scared them. Clearly, Eskander is in the same boat as you are, Potter." Hydrus replied. "Probably relating to whatever's had him looking so haggard."

"Gonna stop one of the girls and see what it is." Viola said. "I'm tired of not knowing."

"Don't butt in." Hydrus reprimanded. "It's none of our business."

"They're more or less our friends, aren't they? I wanna know what's got Lapis acting so strange." Viola argued. "Vega's with me, aren't you, Vega?"

"Leave me out of this." Vega said, pushing himself up from the table. "I wanna get away from this noise, though. You two want to escort me to the Pit? McGonagall'd have me in detention for a month if I went alone."

"It beats arguing." Hydrus said. "Though the chances of her chewing the lot of us out is pretty high too, don't you think?"

"She can't keep students from being alone all the time. People gotta hit the lav at some point, right?" Asked Vega. "What's she gonna do? Sit outside and wait?"

Viola snorted. "The last thing I'd want is something like that. You'd never be able to go."

"Can we not think about this?" Hydrus said, looking sour. "Come on, Potter. Different direction - like Quidditch."

"Fine, fine. Deprive me of all my fun." Vega said, scowling. "Though if Danielson asks us to train out in this weather, I'll stuff him in a closet and put Peeves on guard duty..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Point one - find an empty closet. Point two - see if Peeves is feeling charitable. Point three - I'm not tall enough to stuff anyone in anything, so I'll need to recruit assistance."

Vega muttered darkly under his breath as he sat on his broom, not paying attention to the sounds coming from below him. Danielson was on the ground, barking orders, but he was doing his damnedest to ignore that, as well. He knew how to catch the blasted Snitch. He didn't need an overly-eager captain yelling for him to 'look harder.' It was freezing out that day, with high winds chilling Vega to the bone. It didn't help that he needed to fly higher than the others.

"Half a mind to swing down, grab a Bludger bat, and chuck it at Danielson's pointy head..." He continued to himself, glaring down at the ground. Spinning around and rising a bit further in the hopes of drowning out the Slytherin captain in the winds, Vega closed his eyes. He didn't even want to think about chasing the Snitch in this kind of weather.

For its part, the Snitch didn't seem much for the weather, either, as it soon appeared on the end of Vega's broom, flapping its wings slowly. Snorting, Vega reached out and grabbed hold of it. "At least someone out here agrees with me. But we should probably at least make him think we're doing our jobs, right?"

The Snitch flapped its wings a little harder, struggling to break free of Vega's grasp. When he let go, it vanished. Smirking slightly, Vega leaned forward and started on a slow lap of the Pitch. It was an overcast day, so at the very least, he didn't have to worry about the sun getting in his eyes. He gazed upwards, eyes closing again as the winds whipped around him. He couldn't hear the others down below anymore, though every so often, the crack of a bat hitting a Bludger reminded him of their presence.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he wanted to break away from the Pitch and circle around the castle's towers a few times. He still felt tethered, flying directly over the Pitch and searching for the Snitch. With a sigh, he opened his eyes and gazed at Hogwarts. It seemed larger than ever, now that he knew the creature they were after was most likely a boggart. How did one hunt for something that could fit almost anywhere? The castle was enormous and the amount of hidden passages kept within seemed equally large. Vega wasn't entirely sure even the staff knew of all of them. When Hogwarts wanted to keep its secrets, no one would find them out.

Though it did make him wonder, not for the first time, how the creature had gotten in. Squinting his eyes, he stared at the grounds around the castle. Nothing from his vantage point indicated a break-in. To be fair, with no one knowing what a boggart looked like, it could've gotten in anywhere. If it could fly in its natural form, it could have easily gotten in via one of the numerous towers or windows. A chill ran down Vega's back that had nothing to do with the air as he thought of the hole in the Pit's ceiling. He wasn't sure how big an area the beholder had dug out, or how many branching paths split away from that space. For all he knew, the boggart could very well have been sitting up there.

Shuddering, he pushed the thought from his mind. He didn't want to think about it anymore. But the idea that something had indeed been watching him didn't sit well at all. He tried passing it off as just being his imagination, forcing his gaze on the skies around him, trying to pick up on the Snitch. But the golden ball was nowhere in sight, leaving him with his haunting thoughts. He tried to rationalize with himself. If it had been up there, why wouldn't it just come out and attack him? He had slept down there on his own numerous times already.

But this line of thought only made him shiver harder. The thought of something in the darkness watching him but not attacking was almost worse than if it had come out to strike. That meant it could've been sitting up there, staring down at him as he slept. He decided, when practice ended, that he would drag the twins down to the Pit to help him seal up the hole. If nothing else, he could ask McGonagall to inspect the stupid thing for him.

Sighing, he leaned back on his Lightwing, shaking his head slowly. Too many possibilities. It was like one giant puzzle that he didn't have a completed picture of for guidance. Somewhere down below, he could hear someone yelling again, but he still didn't care enough to listen. Though the fact that it had been awhile since the Snitch showed up to taunt him was odd.

It wasn't until the voice came from directly behind him that Vega gave a start, whirling around to see not Ian Danielson, but Lapis Eskander, who looked rather put-out.

"Losing your head in the clouds, Potter?" Lapis asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Bit cold for that, don't you think?"

Vega blinked, looking down at the ground. His team was nowhere in sight. He turned to look up at the castle, but he didn't see anyone walking up to it. Frowning, he asked, "How long have they been gone?"

"Awhile." Lapis stated. "I came out here to try and clear my head. Didn't know you guys had the Pitch reserved today. Crossed paths with them just before I got here. Your captain said I should try getting your attention, since he wasn't having any luck."

Scowling, Vega glared up at the school. "First he makes me come out here in the cold, then he can't be arsed to send anyone up here to inform me practice is over? Forget locking him in a closet, I'm gonna duct tape him to the ceiling..."

"You're going to what?" Lapis asked.

"...Nevermind. Thanks for coming up and telling me. At least someone around here still knows how to be polite..." Vega said, turning back towards the Ravenclaw.

Lapis shrugged. "Don't read too much into it. I just wanted some alone time in the air. Couldn't do that with you spacing out up here."

Vega tilted his head. "...How're you holding up? No offense, Eskander, but you've looked pretty out of it for awhile. Feel like getting it outta your system?"

"To you? Wouldn't be a good idea, Potter." Lapis replied, smirking faintly. "I'll be fine. I'll deal with Tadyggbo and his stupid anti-boggart lesson. Not thrilled at having the school know my secret, though."

"Same here." Vega said. "People already hate me. Have a feeling if this got out, it'd be even worse. Been trying to figure out a different way to handle boggarts than the one McGonagall mentioned, but I haven't turned anything up yet. Nothing I can cast, in any case..."

Lapis raised an eyebrow. "What could you have to be worried over, Potter?"

Grinning wanly, Vega looked over. "You'd be surprised. What about you? You seemed pretty ticked off when you left the Great Hall the other day."

"People getting too nosy." Lapis said. "My parents are missing at the moment, that's all."

"Missing?"

"Yeah. They handle dangerous things for the Ministry. They've been missing since before Christmas. I haven't heard anything from them or the Ministry itself." Lapis said.

"So that's what you're scared of?"

Grinning, Lapis shrugged. "It's what I'm worried about, but it's not what I'm scared of people finding out."

"That made a lot of sense, ya know that?" Vega said, his tone dry.

"Hey, unless you feel like being forthcoming with your secret, why should I feel obligated to tell you mine?" Lapis asked.

"Fair enough." Vega said. "Everyone needs at least a few secrets, I suppose. Well, if I figure out a method around the boggarts, want me to pass the info along?"

"I think I have an idea in my mind of what I'll do when it's my turn." Lapis said. "Doubt it would help you with whatever your secret is, though."

"How do you know?"

"Call it a hunch."

Vega gave the Ravenclaw a withering glare, which Lapis smirked at. "Well, whatever." He said, pulling back on his broom slightly. "I'm gonna go and warm up inside. Don't catch a cold up here. You're the only person who's probably going to give me a run for my money this year. Wouldn't do if you got sick."

"Don't worry about me, Potter. I can look out for myself." Lapis said.

Vega kept his eye on Lapis as he descended to the ground. After awhile, the Ravenclaw began flying in a slow circle overhead. Sighing, he hopped off his Lightwing and headed out of the Pitch, his broom propped over his right shoulder. As he walked, he weighed his own secret. If it came down to losing his parents or the school finding out his secret, what would be worse? His parents meant everything to him, especially after he learned that he didn't have any true family on his father's side. All of his father's friends from school acted like they were family when they came by, but he knew it wasn't the same. Losing all of that would be worse than the school finding out he liked Hydrus. That, people would get over. But he would never be able to get his parents back.

Turning as he got near the doors leading into Hogwarts, he turned and stared back at the Pitch. "What the hell could be worse than losing the people you love?"

Frowning, he watched the slowly-moving figure of the Ravenclaw for awhile before turning and heading inside.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Swearing, Vega jerked his Lightwing to one side, narrowly escaping a Bludger that was hit straight up into the air at him. He had been sitting idle and spinning, trying to find the Snitch. His job was being made incredibly difficult, however. Aside from the biting cold still being an issue, a veritable blizzard had rolled in that morning and had decided to linger. Vega could barely feel his fingers, let alone anything else. The goggles Danielson had passed out before the match had begun were the only thing keeping him able to see. Even then, he'd had to wipe the snow off them numerous times.

But it wasn't the cold or the lack of a Snitch that was bothering him most. It was that Lapis Eskander was decidedly off his game that day. Though the two had pushed practically side by side the first and only time the Snitch had made itself known, Vega had seen enough of the Ravenclaw's flying to know when something was wrong. A sudden yell from below made Vega look up. The Bludger was finally coming back down, and seemed intent on smashing into Vega's head to make up for its previous miss.

Flattening himself against his broom, Vega shot off toward the Hufflepuff stands, weaving in and out of the Chasers on both teams. Slytherin's Beaters met him and managed to get the Bludger off of him, but now he was going to have to scan the Pitch again to see if the Snitch had turned up at any point during his little chase. Kicking up higher into the air, and trying to ignore the howling winds, Vega gave himself a quick spin to view the area. Lapis was still flying at the far end, moving in a lazy circle.

Narrowing his eyes, Vega aimed towards his rival and crossed back to the other end of the Pitch. When he drew closer, he slid to a halt, calling out, "You sure you don't have a cold, Eskander?"

"I'm fine, Potter! Worry about yourself!" Lapis called back, eyes narrowing behind his own pair of goggles.

"If you aren't going to give me a good fight up here, then why am I even playing?" Vega called.

"What? We were neck and neck earlier! You gone snow blind already?"

"That was a fluke! You look like you aren't even trying to find the Snitch!"

"I have a lot on my mind, Potter!" Lapis snarled. "Now get the hell away from me and mind your own business before I pull my wand and make you move!"

Vega blinked. Raising his hands for a moment, he pulled away from Lapis and began another scan, though his eyes wouldn't focus themselves on anything. What on earth was the Ravenclaw acting so foul for? Was the stress of his parents' disappearance getting the better of him? Was it worrying about Tadyggbo's rapidly approaching class? Was it something else entirely? He had been pretty forthcoming about things when they had last been in the air together.

Yes, Lapis Eskander was definitely not in top form that day. And it was completely throwing Vega off of his own.

Biting back a string of swears, Vega pulled back on his Lightwing and shot farther up into the air. He needed to try and clear his mind, and the only way to do that was to detach himself from the sounds of the game. He ascended until the crack of the Beaters' bats could not longer be heard and the crowd was just a quiet buzz. Wiping his goggles again, Vega flattened himself against his broom and narrowed his eyes, slowly scanning the area below him.

Tiny players darting back and forth. Lapis still turning a slow circle. Movement from all points in the stands. The Quaffle being passed back and forth, intercepted, and flung towards a goal post. The Bludgers, being slammed towards the Chasers. The Keepers trying to keep from having icicles grow on them. A glint caught his eye near the Gryffindor stands, and he immediately went into a rapidly spiraling dive.

Vega cut through the middle of the Chasers and Beaters, jerking the broom up at the last minute to keep from plowing into the ground as he shot toward the Snitch. Lapis' grip on his broom tightened as he launched in the direction Vega was heading as well. To his credit, Lapis managed to catch up to Vega despite the Slytherin getting a sizable head start. Shoulder to shoulder, the two gave chase to the Snitch, which pulled almost straight up into the air.

Biting down on his lower lip, both Seekers pulled up as well, twisting around one another and trying to stay on their brooms as they reached out for the flittering golden ball. Vega pushed himself forward on his broom, cursing his shortness, as Lapis' fingers glanced off the Snitch. Stretching out as the Snitch twisted in the air, Vega's fingers snapped around the Snitch, and he immediately pulled back into another dive. When he got low enough to be properly seen, he raised his hand, the Snitch trying desperately to break free.

That was the end of that. A whistle was lost in the winds as Slytherin's section of the stands erupted into cheers and applause. Vega tilted his head back, staring up at Lapis, who was still a good ways up in the air. Gritting his teeth, Vega flung the Snitch aside and shot back up, stopping only when he leveled out with the Ravenclaw.

"Come to gloat?" Asked Lapis, venom in his voice.

"You should've had that. Why did you let it go." Vega asked.

"You think I missed on purpose? Are you an idiot, Potter? They're going to spend the rest of the day chewing me out! Why the hell would I purposely lose?" Lapis yelled.

"That's what I want to know! You don't miss!"

"Tell you what, Potter." Lapis began, ripping his goggles off so he could glare at Vega. "You lose your parents, you have a secret that might end up getting exposed to the school, and you try playing well!"

Before Vega could respond, Lapis had pushed the end of his broom forward, not bothering to drop down to the Pitch. Vega watched as he flew to the front doors of the school and hopped off there before he let himself fly back down. Though the cheers were still echoing from the stands and most of his team was trying to celebrate, Vega didn't much feel like it. Pushing past them, he made his way through the changing rooms and headed up toward the school. He heard Viola call his name, but he ignored her.

Something wasn't right about any of this, and Vega hated not knowing what it was. Resting his Lightwing over his shoulder, Vega broke into a sprint, getting to the front doors and pushing one open to slip into the castle, which felt wonderfully warm in comparison to the chill outside. Looking around, Vega couldn't see Lapis anywhere. Running over to the Great Hall, he looked inside but found no one there. Hissing out a swear under his breath, Vega turned and stormed off toward the Pit. He was cold, he was tired, he was confused, he was worried, and he wanted to close his eyes and not think about any of it for awhile.

The castle was relatively quiet with most of its residents still outside, and thankfully none of the resident spirits got in his way en route. Quickly setting his broom in one corner of the room, behind a chair, Vega headed for his bedroom, peeling off his Quidditch gear as he went. It was almost time for dinner, and classes were over with for the day. He didn't have to go anywhere and he jolly well wasn't planning to. After changing into his pajamas, Vega left the bedroom, went over and grabbed his father's grimoire, and flipped it back open to the section on boggarts.

Walking back to the couch, Vega curled up at one end, legs drawn up with the book resting open against them. He stared at the first part of the section for what felt like an hour, not taking in any of it. Just as he was blowing out a frustrated sigh, the door to the Pit opened and Viola poked her head in.

"Vega? Hey, you alright? You kinda left in a huff..." She said, stepping in and closing the door behind her.

"I'm fine." Vega lied, not meeting the girl's gaze. "Where's Hyde?"

"Great Hall, probably. Told him I'd come check on you. Didn't know if... y'know."

"What?"

"Didn't want him being here, just in case what was bothering you had something to do with him." Viola said, sitting down near Vega. "Come on, talk to me, Vega..."

"Nothing to talk about. At least not with him. Eskander's who I'm in a mood about." Vega stated.

"Him? What about him?" Asked Viola.

"He wasn't on his game. I know why - he told me his parents are missing. That's why he stayed here over the holidays - but something else was wrong. I dunno if it's Tadyggbo's class or something else, but he was really angry." Vega said.

"His parents are missing? Well, that'd certainly make me moody..." Viola said, frowning. "But what do you mean something else was wrong?"

"Wish I knew. Call it a hunch. Something's bugging him and it's not one of the two obvious things. I know he isn't likely to up and tell me, so there's no way I can find out. And it's going to drive me up the walls. Been staring at this book ever since I got in and I haven't read anything." Vega said, finally let the frustration creep into his voice.

"That the grimoire your dad gave you?"

"Yeah. Looking at what he has to say about boggarts." Vega said. Sighing, he closed the book, then his eyes. "I hate this."

"Which part? Not being able to help Eskander, or not being able to get out of Tadyggbo's forced boggart protection stuff?"

"Both." Vega said. "Eskander should've beaten me out there. He touched the Snitch before me. But he slipped or something, the Snitch twisted down and my way, and I got it. It was a complete fluke and I know it."

"Hey, a win's a win. Try not to worry about that. Look, I know it's gotta be frustrating for you... I don't think you're gonna be too happy with me after Tadyggbo's class... but you can't let it eat you up like this." Viola said.

Glancing over the top of the book, and his knees, Vega raised an eyebrow. "Why am I not going to be too happy with you?"

"You'll see." Viola said, looking rather put-out. "Let's just say that we've got a nice little triangle of paranoia here..."

"Oh god, don't tell me you're scared of something happening to me, are you?"

"Okay, I won't tell you." Viola said, smirking weakly.

Groaning, Vega moved his legs to the side to get a clear look at Viola. "So is the school gonna know what I look like in a swimsuit, too? That gonna be a thing now? Should I just picture Hyde in swim trunks and complete the trifecta?"

"Not quite. But it isn't what I'm scared of that I'm worried of you being angry at me over. It's how I thought to make it funny..." Viola said, chewing at her lower lip.

"I don't... I don't want to know. Just... yeah, don't tell me, Vivi." Vega said, letting his head thump back against the arm of the couch. "I'm too young to be feeling this old..."

"Well, look on the bright side. I've given you something else to think about. Try not to worry too much, okay? Everything'll work itself out in the end. It did for our parents when they had to deal with monsters in the school, right?"

"...Yeah, I guess." Vega said, sitting back up and swinging his legs over the edge of the couch. "I'm gonna stay down here the rest of the day, I think. I need some peace and quiet. Go on and head back, before Hyde decides to come and complicate things or somethin'..."

"You sure? I could keep you company..."

"Nah, I'll be alright. By morning, I'll try and steel myself for Tadyggbo's class." Vega said, sighing. "I'll work something out."

"...Well, alright. But if you need anything, lemme know, okay?" Viola said, reaching over and ruffling Vega's hair. For once, he didn't try to escape it. His hair was already mussed up from the game and from changing, so he didn't see much point in it.

"Okay." Vega agreed, smiling wanly. "Thanks for coming down, Vivi. I'll hopefully feel better by tomorrow."

"If you don't, I'll tell you the solution to my fear. That oughta get your mind off things." Viola said, getting to her feet and grinning down at Vega.

"Sometimes I am terrified of you, Vivi." Vega said, eyeballing his friend. "...Though if your answer works for your fear, I might try and ape it for mine."

Viola blinked at Vega for a moment before dissolving into giggles.

"What? What did I say?" Asked Vega, brow creased.

Leaning over to give Vega a quick hug (which he protested to), Viola just laughed and replied, "You'll see. You'll see! And you know what? Totally would love seeing my solution applied to my jerk of a brother!"

With that, she made her way out of the Pit, giggling the whole way and leaving one very confused Vega in her wake. Shaking his head, he set the grimoire aside and stared at the fire. "I think," he said to no one in particular, "that I will never be able to figure out how girls work."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Author's Notes: There's so much more to that last line than will be evident for so long. It's a mean little foreshadowing bit that will make no sense until one of the big reveal moments in book 3. Man...

Sorry it took so long! I do kinda have four projects going now. It's actually kinda helping me, as I AM writing more now. I'm just trying to alternate between them. The F-Series is going to get neglected the most, though. Two Potter fics at once is kinda rough, even for me. I did get some chapter planning done on it, though! Anyway, if you wanna know where I am in my stories, either check my profile on the regular or, for a more updated version of things, check my twitter. I post when I'm writing and when I'm planning to upload, edit, and add things here on FFN.

We are well over the halfway point now, finally, and things will begin gaining steam. It's a fairly clear shot between here and the end. I've had to merge a few chapters here and there, so it's not going to be an excessively LONG first book, but that's fine. I don't have as much to establish here, really. And it's really a pretty simple premise. It's kinda hard making boggarts too terribly interesting, you know. It's more about the characters than the monsters for book 1. Book 2, however, I'm really excited about, monster-of-the-year-wise. Got a really fun one planned for it. And poor Vega will be left utterly confused at the end of it. I do love tormenting him so.

See you next chapter, kids!