Note: Another precaution, I'm not affiliated with Evanescence. Sorry for the use of so many band references, but I feel that it keeps the Muggle essence in the story. Also, new character alert! Character: Avery Woods. He is a 15 year old African-American boy who is very kind. He is quite the comedian as well. Anyway, enjoy! R&R =]

Chapter 19

9:39 a.m., Muggle Studies Classroom, Hogwarts(Monday)

"Now, out of curiosity, why exactly did none of you tell Vixen about this werewolf situation?" Draco asked turning toward the three Gryffindor students.

"To keep her safe," Harry angrily responded. Draco scoffed and smirked.

"Safe, Potter? How exactly would Vixen be safe by not knowing about a werewolf being on school grounds?" he asked. Harry narrowed his eyes at him.

"Ignorance is bliss," Harry replied. Vixen looked to Draco for his response.

"So you're telling me, if she were to take an evening stroll alone and a werewolf jumped out of the bushes at her, she would be safe?" Draco countered. Harry groaned.

"Okay, you've made your point, Malfoy. Maybe we should have told her so she would be prepared," he told him. Hermione bit her lower lip.

"Maybe you should have? Maybe? Vixen is a muggle with no magical powers. The three of you have dealt with a werewolf before and it was rather difficult if I do recall. Not to mention you three can use magic. I hardly doubt that she would have been prepared even with a proper heads up," Draco continued to point out. Ron sighed out of exhaustion from listening to the boys bicker.

"Well that doesn't matter because the three of us can use magic. We were prepared to protect her during our weeks observing her," Harry smugly added. Draco placed a finger to his right temple.

"I see. So, why wouldn't you inform me of this werewolf? By not telling me you put Vixen in danger the last week of observations," Draco said matter of factly. Harry crossed his arms.

"Like you would even try and protect her if a werewolf did show up during your week!" Harry yelled. Draco sat silently with a smirk on his face.

"Harry," Hermione whispered.

"No, Hermione. So what if he threw her a party? I swear lately you have been acting like Draco Malfoy isn't such a bad guy," Harry angrily spit at her. Ron leaned forward and gripped Harry's shoulder.

"Hey, calm down mate. Hermione doesn't deserve to be talked to that way," Ron pointed out calmly. Vixen raised an eyebrow when Hermione smiled at him.

"Everything alright over here?" Burbage asked stopping next to the table. Vixen nodded.

"Yes ma'am. We are just discussing how muggles argue with one another. Harry was trying it out," she lied.

"Ah, I see. Well done, Potter," Burbage said before walking away. Vixen sighed and the four Hogwarts students looked at her.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how to properly lie," Ron said.

8:12 p.m., Gryffindor Table, Dinning Hall, Hogwarts(Monday)

"I can't believe how Harry snapped at you today," Vixen said to Hermione who had her nose in a book. She looked up and sighed.

"Harry just has a grudge toward Draco," she told Vixen. Vixen gripped a blueberry between her fingers.

"But there was no need for his outburst," she pointed out. Hermione shrugged.

"However, it was very flattering the way that Ron protected you," she said calmly. Hermione bit her bottom lip.

"He was just telling Harry to calm down is all," she said trying to get the subject to be dropped.

"If you say so. But if I were you, I would be totally flattered," Vixen said winking. Hermione started to blush.

"I can't believe this!" Harry groaned as he and Ron approached the table.

"What now?" Vixen asked tiredly as the two boys sat down. Ron placed his head onto the table.

"Our Quidditch match against Hufflepuff next week got changed!" Harry angrily told her.

"Changed?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, changed. Now we are playing Slytherin for some reason," Harry said placing his head onto his hand. Vixen looked across the room at the Slytherin table.

Rather than catching Draco's eyes, she caught Jacob's. She hesitated briefly before looking away from him. Why was he sitting in Draco's exact spot tonight? More importantly, where was Draco? She stopped her thoughts and threw the small blueberry into her mouth.

"Were the two of you at the meeting about that just now? Vixen and I couldn't find either of you so we just came to dinner on our own," Hermione explained. Harry simply nodded.

Vixen stared at Harry for a few moments. He was breathing rather quickly and his forehead had started to sweat to the point where she could easily see it. She jumped when Harry let out a pained sigh and grabbed his forehead. Ron gripped his arm and Hermione leaned across the table.

"Harry, what is it?" Hermione worriedly asked. Vixen remained silent, her eyes not leaving Harry.

"It's...it's him...it's him...," Harry kept saying. Finally he sat up and took a deep breath.

"Who was it?" Ron whispered. Harry looked at him seriously.

"Voldemort," he replied. Hermione gasped and leaned back.

"Should we be worried?" Vixen asked looking around at the three. They all looked at her sadly.

"You should be," Ron said, lowering his eyes.

Vixen sat quietly while her three friends stared at the table in front of them. Hermione was nervously fidgeting and Ron was blinking faster than average. Vixen scanned the room once more for Draco only to find that he was still not present.

"We need to tell Draco," she said. The three Gryffindor students looked to her.

"Vixen, Draco is affiliated with Voldemort. We aren't positive how, but we know that he is. By you going to him it is just putting you closer to danger," Harry explained. Vixen groaned.

"From what you have all told me, I don't believe that if Voldemort knew muggles were here he would hesitate to infiltrate the school. That hasn't happened yet, so maybe he doesn't know," Vixen shot back. Harry groaned now.

"If you want to go find him, I'll take you right now," Ron said looking at her. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ron, are you kidding me?" Harry said in disbelief.

"No. Sorry mate, but you don't get to call the shots with Vixen this week. If you want to go, let's go," Ron said standing up. Harry shook his head angrily.

"You're making a huge mistake," Harry said as Vixen stood up. Vixen shrugged.

"Maybe I am, and maybe I'm not. But we'll never know until something happens," she said walking to Ron's side and following him out of the room. Harry looked to Hermione who simply shrugged.

8:30 p.m., Hallway, Hogwarts(Monday)

Ron and Vixen walked through numerous corridors of the large castle searching for Draco. They checked empty classrooms and even asked a few students if they had heard from him, but nobody had seen him. Vixen felt herself growing nervous. Ron stopped outside of the boys restroom on the second floor.

"I'll go look in here. Stay put," Ron told her before walking into the restroom. Vixen sighed and leaned against the brick wall.

"Where are you...," she whispered to herself.

"Talking to yourself?" someone asked walking up to her. Vixen smiled to herself when she turned to see Draco.

"Where in the hell have you been!" she yelled at him. He scoffed at her.

Vixen scanned him from head to toe. He looked different to her tonight. His eyes had dark circles beneath them as if he hadn't slept in a week. His hair was slightly messy with strands overlapping one another in a strange manner. His skin even seemed to have a slight gray tint to it.

"Did Potter tell you about the Quidditch game?" he asked smirking at her. Vixen nodded slowly.

"Looks like we'll be playing against one another," he added. Vixen furrowed her brows.

"Are you alright, Draco?" she asked tilting her head slightly.

"I'm fabulous, Vixen Jade. How are you?" he asked while sniffing lightly.

"Vixen Jade?" she asked.

"What? Not a fan of your middle name?" he asked her. Vixen placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure that you're okay? You don't seem like yourself," she pointed out. He placed a cold hand on top of hers.

"I'm fine, really. Just a little under the weather I think. Nothing to worry about. By the way I think your middle name is lovely," he told her quickly. Vixen sighed.

"I see you've found him," Ron said emerging from the bathroom. Draco's face dropped and he lowered his head sending a shadow over his eyes.

"Weasley," Draco said, greeting him. Ron raised an eyebrow at him.

"Um...hi," he replied warily. Vixen released his shoulder and took a step back toward Ron.

"Best be off then. See you two another day," Draco said quickly leaving the two alone in the hall. As he walked away he choked back tears and the urge to scream.

"That was strange," Ron said. Vixen nodded.

"I think there is something wrong with him," she confessed. Ron sighed.

"I don't think you should go off alone with him until he starts to act like himself again," he told her. Vixen looked at him quietly.

"I understand you're his friend. I really do. But sometimes people need time to find themselves. I'm not a fan of Draco Malfoy, but I think he is struggling with his inner demons right now," Ron told her. Vixen nodded in understanding.

8:36 p.m., Hallway, Hogwarts(Monday)

Draco continued to walk through the castle alone. He made sure to stay clear from other students and professors. He finally stopped in a dark hallway and slammed his back against the wall. He grabbed his hair with both hands and slid down the wall. He continued to fight back tears although his throat was burning. He couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened.

Flashback…

Draco was getting ready to go to the dining hall for dinner when Crabbe and Goyle had burst into the bedroom. Draco raised an eyebrow at the two boys whose faces were flushed.

"What?" Draco asked them, annoyed.

"The Lord. Draco, he needs us," Goyle spit out between heavy breaths. Draco froze.

"Then we need to go," Draco told them walking out of the room.

The boys made their way to the Room of Requirement being sure that nobody was watching them. Once into the secret room they traveled through the vanishing cabinet until they ended up in the shop where the adult Deatheaters were waiting. Draco took his place next to his father nervously.

"How has Jade been?" Lucius asked his son. Draco tensed up.

"Fine. She's adjusting well," he lied. Lucius nodded.

"We will have to have her and her parents over for dinner soon," he told him. Draco nodded.

"Why are we here father?" Draco whispered. Lucius shrugged slightly.

The room fell silent when a dark cloud of smoke entered the room. In the middle of the room Voldemort appeared from the cloud, his snake like face cold. He walked around the room slowly, inspecting everyone present. He stopped in front of Draco who was doing everything he could to not make eye contact with him.

"Ah. Young Draco. It's good to see you have found your way here tonight," he said coldly to Draco. He nodded.

"My Lord," he replied calmly. Voldemort smiled at him, revealing his awkwardly shaped teeth.

"My Lord, why have you called us here?" Lucius asked. Voldemort's smile faded.

"A good question Lucius. One that I am ready to answer. All of you have been called here to show me your loyalty. Being present tonight is a good start. Something has felt odd to me lately," Voldemort told the group before him. Draco clenched his fist to try and cease his slight shaking.

"I can connect with Harry very easily. But lately, his thoughts are not the same. I've been haunted by the face of a young girl," he continued. Draco felt his heart lurch in his chest.

He looked across the room at Crabbe and Goyle who were staring back at him. Draco also noticed Pansy Parkinson. He had never seen her at any Deatheater meetings before, which had made him more tense.

"She is quite a beautiful young girl. Apparently she has some sort of hold on Harry which is why I have seen her. But the question I have now is for the children present. Who is this new young woman?" he asked, stopping in the middle of the room.

"What does she look like, my Lord?" Pansy asked. He turned to her.

"This girl is tanned. Her smile is straight and white. Just like her eyes and her hair," he explained. Pansy looked to Draco.

"I'm familiar with her, my Lord," she told him, breaking her eye contact with Draco.

"Her name, my dear," Voldemort told her. Pansy opened her mouth and Draco spoke.

"Jade Charm," he blurted out. Voldemort now turned to him. Lucius looked toward his son slightly.

"You know her then?" Voldemort asked walking over to Draco. The others in the room watched him intently.

"Y-yes, my Lord. She is new to Hogwarts. I noticed her power as soon as she arrived. I even took it upon myself to gain her trust," Draco lied. Voldemort turned his head slightly.

"Why is that, my boy?" he asked Draco.

"I had to see if she was a threat to us," Draco continued to lie.

"And your conclusion?" Voldemort asked. Pansy spoke now.

"She is. Draco has devised a plan to take her out himself here in a few weeks," she told the group. Lucius was staring at his son now.

"Is that so? Well, by all means, see to it that your plan is carried out," Voldemort told them. Draco nodded and shot Pansy a hurt look.

End Flashback

"What am I supposed to do now?" Draco whispered to himself in the darkness.

9:16 a.m., Herbology Classroom, Hogwarts(Tuesday)

"This is a strange class," Vixen whispered to Ron. He nodded slowly.

"Mhm," he mumbled back to her with his eyes falling closed. Vixen smiled and nudged him awake.

"When did the two of you get in last night?" Harry asked looking to the two. Vixen shrugged.

"Not too late really," Vixen told him. Ron was now asleep again.

Vixen sat quietly as Professor Sprout began talking about different herbs. She placed her head on her hand and looked around the room. She perked up when she caught the attention of a boy sitting a few rows across from her. He leaned his head back and mouthed "kill me" to Vixen. The two smiled at one another.

She returned her gaze to the table top. She felt her smile slowly fade as she started to think about Draco. She couldn't stop picturing him from the previous night. She didn't really believe his "I'm sick" story either, but she probably shouldn't push to find out the truth. She sighed lightly. She then raised her hand.

"Oh...um, yes?" Sprout said taken off guard.

"May I go to the restroom, please?" Vixen asked. Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why I think that would be alright. No need for you to listen to me babble anyway," Sprout replied smiling at her. Vixen nodded and left the room.

Vixen walked slowly through the hallway, her eyes glued on the floor beneath her. She wanted her mind to clear but it just wasn't happening. She stopped when she caught the reflection of someone sitting across from the bathroom. She looked up to see Draco, sitting alone, staring her down. His eyes were nearly black underneath making him look deathly.

Vixen remained still for a moment. The two locked eyes in the quiet hallway. She sighed heavily, wanting to speak to him terribly. But all she could repeat in her mind were Ron's words, "I think Draco is fighting some inner demons right now." She wondered to herself if he wanted to talk to her as badly as she wanted to talk to him. With one more sigh, she left him in the hallway and entered the bathroom.

Vixen walked over to the first sink in the bathroom and turned on the cold water. She ran it over her small hands before rubbing it onto her face. She exhaled and shut the water off. She looked in the mirror and jumped when she saw a girl staring at her. She turned around quickly and faced the other girl.

She quickly realized that this girl was a ghost by seeing her transparency. In a strange way, the girl reminded her of Harry. She had large round glasses and black hair that was tied into pigtails. After standing and looking at one another for a few minutes, she spoke.

"Well there you are," she said in her whiney voice. Vixen looked around the room quickly.

"Um...I'm sorry?" she said.

"I've been waiting forever to finally get a look at you!" the ghost complained. Vixen smiled awkwardly.

"You know me?" she asked sounding surprised.

"Of course I do. You're the one he keeps on telling me about," she said floating around Vixen.

"He?" Vixen asked turning in circles trying to follow her.

"Why, Draco of course! You're the muggle girl he's in looooove with," she said dragging out the "o" in love. Vixen stopped turning.

"Draco talks to you? About me?" she asked. The girl moaned.

"He tells me about everything that you do and say. He finds you fascinating. Can't say that I agree, though," the ghost girl said turning her head to the side. Vixen raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" Vixen finally asked. The girl smiled.

"Myrtle. The kids here call me Moaning Myrtle now though," she said sniffling. Vixen felt sorry for her.

"Have you talked to Draco recently, Myrtle?" she asked her. She shook her head from side to side.

"He hasn't come to talk to me in a few days. A poor boy, that one is. He has so much on his plate. Not that you don't know that," she said. Vixen really didn't know that.

"Thanks Myrtle," she said walking away from her.

Vixen knew she needed to make some sort of contact with Draco. He may have not been in his right mind, but she had to help him. She slid her slim iPod out of her jeans pocket and flipped through her music. She was relieved to see that Draco was still sitting in the same spot. She watched his eyes look up into hers but they quickly fell to the floor.

Vixen made her way over to him until she was standing in front of him. He looked at her questioningly. Vixen handed him her ear buds and pointed to her ears. Draco got the message and placed them into his ears. Vixen then pressed play and music flooded into his ears. He was startled at first, but found the music calming. Vixen placed the iPod into his hand and walked away. Draco looked at the screen and read it in his head.

"Taking Over Me by Evanescence," he read silently. He smirked as he started listening to the lyrics. He then leaned his head against the stone wall and closed his eyes.

9:47 a.m., Outside of Herbology Classroom, Hogwarts(Tuesday)

Vixen had finally found her way back to Herbology later than she had planned. She stood outside of the room as students flooded into the hallway. She looked through them until she caught sight of Ron and Harry. She pushed her way through the crowd until she grabbed a hold of Ron's sleeve.

"Where were you?" Ron asked her. Vixen smiled sympathetically at him.

"I got bored, so I left. But then I got lost," she explained. Harry smiled at her.

"Lucky," Ron said as the three made their way through the hallway. Vixen stopped when she heard someone yelling.

"Hey! Hey, you! Girl! Muggle girl!" someone yelled from behind her. Vixen turned to see the boy from class.

"It's Vixen, actually," she said harshly when he reached her. He smiled at her.

"My bad. I forgot I guess. Hi," the boy said happily to her. Ron and Harry exchanged awkward glances.

"Hi?" Vixen said confused. She examined the boy in front of her.

He was a few inches shorter than herself, with a very round head. He had dark skin and a big white smile. Overall, he seemed nice. Vixen suddenly remembered him as one of the muggles in Hogwarts for the experiment.

"My name is Avery Woods," he said sticking his hand up. Vixen became ecstatic.

"I'm so happy to meet you!" she screamed, clapping her hands together. She then grabbed him and hugged him tight.

"Well, you're pretty friendly," he said when she released him. The two laughed briefly.

"Sorry, it's just really nice to be finally meeting you. I want to meet more muggles, but I don't think I'll get the chance," she said sadly. He nodded in understanding.

"Where are you staying right now?" Avery asked her.

"I'm in Gryffindor currently. What about you?" she asked genuinely interested in his response.

"I'm in Ravenclaw. This place is awesome, right?" he said happily. Vixen nodded and smiled.

"Well would you look at that, another couple in the making for that trash," Pansy said walking past the group with Goyle. Goyle laughed.

"What did you just say?" Vixen angrily said turning toward Pansy. The two stopped and turned toward Vixen.

"Aren't you supposed to try and stop her?" Harry whispered to Ron.

"Probably," Ron replied shrugging. The boys remained still and watched the scene unfold.

"I'm sure you heard me, muggle," Pansy shot back. Goyle crossed his arms over his chest.

"She has a name," Avery added. Pansy scrunched her nose up at him.

"As if I care," she said. Goyle snickered at the comment.

"Shut up Goyle," Vixen said scrunching her face up at him. He stopped and stared at her.

"Don't you tell him what to do!" Pansy yelled. More students stopped to watch them now.

"Oh please, Pansy. Goyle is what we muggles call an extra. Does the boy have a brain at all? I mean, every time I see him he always seems to be there for "moral support" rather than the fight. C'mon man. Being a lackey is alright and all, but with looks like yours you should be modeling," Vixen said sarcastically. Avery and the crowd laughed at the comment.

"As if you have room to talk! You're expendable here, Vixen. Did you hear? Apparently there is a werewolf loose and everyone is betting that you're the one it takes down. Frankly, I hope it does," Pansy said crossing her arms. The crowd looked to Vixen for a response.

"I'm not afraid," she replied calmly.

"Aw, that wasn't very convincing. You afraid of the big bad wolf, Charm?" Pansy taunted.

"Leave her alone, Pansy," Jacob said emerging from the crowd. Pansy shot him a disgusted look.

"Where did you come from?" Vixen asked watching him walk to her side.

"Astronomy Tower," he replied shrugging. Vixen raised an eyebrow at him.

In the midst of the commotion, Draco walked by the crowd, ear buds still in place, music still playing. He stopped and looked at the swarm of students for a moment. He then shrugged and continued to his class.

"Pansy, Goyle, don't you think you should go to class?" Jacob said raising an eyebrow at them.

"You're not afraid of the big bad wolf, are you Jake?" Pansy taunted. Goyle smirked.

"I'd like to see something that has a worse bite than I do. Now go," he said nodding his head upward. The Slytherin students reluctantly left the hall and the crowd started to vanish.

"Nice one, dude!" Avery said putting his hand in the air. Jacob smiled and high-fived him.

"You guys still high-five?" Vixen asked.

"Ugh, yeah. You don't?" Avery joked. Vixen smiled and turned toward Ron and Harry.

"We better get going," Ron said. She nodded.

"It was nice meeting you!" Vixen said waving goodbye to Avery before she left with the two Gryffindor students.

"You really aren't worried about that wolf?" Avery asked Jacob.

"Nah. I honestly don't think anyone else should be either," he confessed.