A/N: FINALLY! First, I'd like to apologize for how freakin' long that took. As you all know, I have a dino laptop; which means it likes to shut down on me a lot. Long story short, my laptop died, got my sisters old one (still a dinosaur -_-) and just switched the hard-drives. Then there was an issue with connecting to the Internet. So I couldn't publish anything when I was finished a chapter. And I literally just realized that I could transfer the files to a flashdrive and upload them on my mom's computer. JUSTICE! Well anyways, here's what you all've been waiting for! Enjoy. R&R!

It was just another day at the shop; except this time it was a bit quieter, and I was a lot more tired. Maybe because I didn't sleep at all last night. The coffee didn't help, I was still exhausted. I was running the cash register today. All I did was stare into the dull shine of the wooden counter. I started to zone out; I blocked out all of the talk and the movement around me. I could feel my eyelids getting heavier and heavier, until I finally started to close my eyes.

"Aaralyn," George called out to me, making my eyes shoot back open.

"Huh?" I murmured.

"I asked you if you could refill the shelves in the back corner," he frowned as he looked at me. "But maybe you shouldn't. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied.

"Are you sure?" George asked. "Maybe you should go lie down for a bit. You look really out of it."

"I'm fine, George," I lightly smiled. "I'll go refill the shelves."

I walked into the storage room before he could argue any more. If there was anything I didn't want to do now, it would be sleeping. I didn't want to return to the nightmare world that visited my mind every night. Well, it used to. Now I just don't sleep. I was afraid of sleep. It used to be such a pleasure; something that I would look forward to every day. But now it's what I dread most. Now every night, I would drink a cup of coffee and just sit by my window. I would watch the sun set and then rise again, and I would dare not close my eyes.

I walked into the storage room and the first thing I saw was blood. It was everywhere; on the table, the floor, dripping from the shelves. I was about to scream, but by the time I opened my mouth, it disappeared. I blinked really hard and frowned as I looked at the blood-free room. I shrugged, climbed up the ladder, and grabbed the products that I needed to restock.

As I walked out of the storage room, the whole shop turned black and white. I stopped moving and looked around me in confusion. This whole day was too familiar to me. And then the black and white was gone. I suddenly felt light-headed, and started to stagger when I walked.

"Whoa, Aaralyn," George quickly grabbed me to keep me steady. "You need to take a break."

"George, I'm fine -"

"No, you're not." He then took what was in my hands. "Now go upstairs."

I sighed and then started to walk towards the stairs. But everything started to slow down in front of me. I felt like I was walking for hours instead of the few short seconds it usually was. The corners of my eyes continuously blurred in and out, in and out. The slightest twinge of pain pierced the left side of my head. I cringed a bit, but ignored it. I finally reached the stairs. When I walked up the third step, they turned into bloody, black and white stairs.

And then everything went black.

Rosaline's POV

The snow was beautiful, and sadly, very cold. Today was the day of a Hogsmeade trip, and promised Hermione I'd meet her and the boys at Three Broomsticks. I slipped on my thick, gray wool sweater and then pulled on my coat. I left the dorm and slipped on my gloves as I walked out of the common room. After quickly saying goodbye to Bas, I slipped through the door. I followed a small group of people to Hogsmeade. The snow fell gently from the sky, landing on the ground and my hair. I blinked away the flakes that landed on my eyelashes. I happily sighed, watched the clouds of my breath float away into the sky.

Hogsmeade looked amazing during the winter. It reminded me of the joyous Christmas cards that I saw in the stores. Snow piled up on the roofs of the buildings. Hogwarts students moved from store to store, talking and laughing on the way. The dorky, romantic couples (you know, the ones that Aaralyn would puke at the sight of) walked together, hand-in-hand, to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.

I finally made it to the Three Broomsticks. I quickly stepped in, making sure none of the cold air slipped in. I shivered when I felt the sudden change of temperature. I squinted a bit, trying to look through the smoke that clouded the atmosphere. Hermione saw me waved me over. I smiled and sat down next to her.

"Hey," I said as I sat down.

"I ordered a butterbeer for you," Hermione said.

"Thanks," I said as I peeled off my coat.

I noticed Ron was peering over Hermione's shoulder and glaring.

"Oh, bloody hell," he muttered and then shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Everyone looked around and saw Ginny and Dean Thomas snuggled up in a back table, holding hands and smiling. I smirked a little.

"Silly git," Ron growled.

"For goodness sake, Ron," Hermione sighed, "they're only holding hands."

We looked back around. They weren't just holding hands; they had started making out.

"And making out," I added.

"I'd like to leave," Ron said.

"What?" Hermione asked and then laughed. "You can't be serious."

"That happens to be my sister," Ron said.

"So?" Hermione asked. "What if she looked at me and saw you snogging me? Would you expect her to get up and leave?"

A brief awkward silence filled in on the conversation. Harry then looked up and waved at someone behind me.

"Harry, my boy!" a voice drunkenly chuckled.

Harry stood up as Slughorn staggered over to our table.

"Professor, how wonderful it is to see you," Harry smiled.

"And you," Slughorn slurred, "and you."

"So what brings you here?" Harry asked.

"Oh, the Three Broomsticks and I go way back," Slughorn smiled. "Further than I care to admit. I can remember when it was One Broomstick!"

He laughed at his own joke and then accidentally spilled his drink on the table, making Hermione jump back.

"All hands on deck, Granger," he then chuckled. He turned back to Harry. "Listen, my boy. In the old days, I used to throw together the occasional supper party and select a student or two. Would you be game?"
"I'd consider it an honor, sir," Harry said.

"You'd be welcome, too, Granger," Slughorn smiled.

"I'd be delighted, sir," Hermione replied.

"Splendid!" he said. "Look for my owl!" He turned to Ron and frowned a bit. "Good to see you, Wollemby."

He was either really drunk or just didn't care who Ron was. Well, either way, I laughed at it, while Ron shot me a quick glare. Slughorn then staggered away happily.

"He's really weird," I said once he was gone.

"Shall we call it a day and go back to school, then?" Harry asked.

"Sure," I said. I then took one last sip of my butterbeer and put my coat back on.

We walked back out, slowly following Katie Bell and her friend back to Hogwarts. I spent the whole walk back listening to the sound of my boots walking in the snow. It wasn't until later when I heard Katie and her friend's voices getting louder. They looked like they were having an argument about something Katie was holding.

"It has nothing to do with you, Leanne!" she shouted. Leanne then made a grab for the package; Katie tugged back and the package fell to the ground.

Immediately, Katie rose into the air. Her arms were outstretched, hair whipping around her by the strong wind. Her eyes were closed and her face was empty of expression. And then her eyes shot open, and she let out an agonizing scream. Her face was filled with pain. Leanna then started to scream. She jumped up and grabbed for Katie's ankle, trying to tug her back down. Hermione and Ron then jumped in and grabbed her other leg. Harry and I then ran over and helped pull her down. Once she was finally on the ground, she started to thrash around while she continued to scream.

"I'll go get help!" Harry said and then ran towards the school.

We all we trying to hold her down as she continued to scream. We tried quieting her, but nothing worked. It wasn't long until Harry came running back with Hagrid right behind him.

"Get back!" Hagrid bellowed. "Lemme see her!"

"Something's happened to her!" Leanne sobbed. "I don't know what -"

Hagrid scooped Katie into his giant arms and ran back to the castle. Within seconds, Katie's screams died away. Hermione rushed over to Leanne's side.

"It's Leanne, isn't it?" she asked.

Leanne nodded.

"Did it just happen all of a sudden, or -?"

"It was when that package tore," Leanna sobbed, pointing at the brown-paper package on the ground. Like Leanne said, it had torn, revealing a greenish glitter. Ron reached down to grab it when Harry immediately pulled him back.

"Don't touch it!" Harry yelled. He then crouched down and looked closer at the package. It was necklace.

"I've seen that before," Harry said. "It was on the display in Borgin and Burkes ages ago. The label said it was cursed. Katie must have touched it." He looked over at Leanne. "How did Katie get a hold of this?"

"Well that's why we were arguing. She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it, said it was a surprise for someone at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it...Oh no, oh no! I bet she was Imperiused and I didn't realize!" And then she started to cry again.

"She didn't say who had given it to her, Leanne?" Hermione asked.

"No...she wouldn't tell me...and I said she was being stupid and not take it up to school, but she just wouldn't listen and...and then I tried to grab it from her...and - and -"

She interrupted herself with another cry.

"We better take her back to the school," I said. I wrapped my arm around Leanne and guided her back to Hogwarts.

"This is all my fault," she sniffled.

"No, it's not," I said sympathetically.

"Yes, it is!" she cried. "If I didn't grab the package then she would be fine right now! Now she's hurt. You don't think she's gonna die, do you?"

She looked up at me with glossy, red eyes, snowflakes and tears streaming down her red cheeks.

"No," I said. "Katie's a strong girl. She'll make it through. And she's got you as a friend to take care of her."

She weakly smiled at me and then threw her arms around me.

"Thank you," she said.

"Um...you're welcome," I said, trying not to sound awkward.

We then continued our walk back to Hogwarts in silence, with the occasional sound of Leanne sniffling and the faded voice of Harry, Ron, and Hermione behind us.

Aaralyn's POV

Darkness swarms in front of my eyes; the darkness that I have feared for so long now. I can feel my heartbeat quicken as I realize what's about to happen, another nightmare. I didn't want to go through this again. It was too much for me. Too much pain, too much fear and suffering. My mind started to scream at my body to run away, for my eyes to open, for me to wake up. Luckily, my eyes started to twitch and slowly opened up to the world surrounding me.

"She's waking up," a warm, familiar voice said.

A thick blur was painted over my eyes like a fog. Once it started to clear away I saw that I was in my bed, with George sitting by my side with a worried look in his eyes. Fred was sitting in a chair by the wall next to my bed, watching me carefully.

"How're you feeling?" Fred asked.

"Confused," I frowned. "What happened?"

"You were going upstairs to go to bed when passed out," he explained. "You were almost halfway up the stairs, and you hit your head pretty bad. We had a doctor come by to check on you and he said you're fine. You're being put to bed rest though."

I felt my stomach drop as he said that. Bed rest? Are they kidding me?

"And to make sure that you go to sleep," George added, "The doctor gave us some medicine to give every night."

So this is how I'm going die; by torturing myself with nightmares. That's fan-damn-tastic.

"Well, I better get back to the shop," Fred said. "Don't fall down any stairs while I'm gone."

I lightly smiled, silently thanking him for trying to make a joke, even though it wasn't working for me. Fred shut the door behind him, leaving me and George in an awkward silence.

"You've got to stop doing this," George said abruptly.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Lying," he said. "Every day you keep saying that you're fine and you don't need help with anything, but I know you do. I know you well enough to know when you're troubled. So tell me right now, what's wrong?"

I bit my lip anxiously while staring down at my slightly shaking hands. What was I supposed to tell him? What if he thinks it's stupid? What if he takes it too far and puts me in an institute? Would he do that to me? This would be too much of a burden to him and Fred. I don't want to put him under that kind of pressure. But I also don't want to have to lie to him. Too many emotions started to swim around in my head. I became so overloaded I felt like exploding, but instead I felt tears brim at the corners of my eyes. No! I could not cry now! Not now, Aaralyn!

It was too late to yell at myself, tears were already pouring down my face. Now it was too obvious I was hiding something from him. I aggressively wiped away my tears.

Stop crying. Crying is for the weak. You're not weak, Aaralyn. Stop crying!

I still didn't say anything. I continued to looked down at my pale hands that figited awkwardly. I could tell that George was starting to give up on me.

"I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you," he sighed, as he got up from the bed.

The moment he shut the door behind him, a sudden relief washed over; but the guilt instantly crashed along with it. Why didn't I tell him? I instantly felt so stupid for bottling this up. 16-year-olds don't hide the fact their having fucked up nightmares every night; they hide their drug use, and secret relationships. But then again, this wasn't the muggle world. Most 16-year-old wizards, while they do have secret relationships, they probably hide the fact that they are Death Eaters; hopefully they aren't doing that.

I needed something to take my mind off this...ridiculous drama. I looked around the room, out the window, up at the ceiling, and then towards my nightstand, where the dusty box filled with my father's things stood. I raised my hand and with a flick of my wrist, the box lifted itself up and graciously floated towards my lap. I lifted the top off of the box and pulled out the old journal. I opened to a random page and started to read.

Tonight is going to be the best night of my life, because tonight I'm meeting Annabeth by the old fountain in the nearby muggle town; the town where I first saw her. But tonight isn't like any other secret meeting I have with Annabeth, where my heart races with passion and adrenaline and I steal kisses from her soft lips and watch the sunrise with her. No, tonight is special because I'm going to ask her to marry me.

I gasped a little, and then smiled. I felt like I was reading a classic romance novel or one of those sappy soap operas converted into a book. I usually didn't like that lovey-dovey shit, but this was different; it was my parents. I turned a couple of pages over.

It's been three months since Annabeth and have been married; three beautiful, joyous months. I honestly believe I've never been happier in my entire life. But I still have to keep everything a secret. My own brother doesn't even know I'm married. I wouldn't see how he would know since he hasn't talked to my family in almost 5 years. I feel like he would understand if I told him about Annabeth. He out of all people in my family would accept it. If my mother found out I was married to a muggle, she'd disown me! She'd probably kill me, too. If the Dark Lord knew I was married to a muggle, he'd definitley kill me; and then feed my corpse to his snake.

I turned another few pages.

Annabeth is pregnant. And I'm scared out of my wits. I could never be a father! I'd be the worst father in the entire world! Annabeth keeps telling me I'll do fine though, and that she's scared, too. But she doesn't look scared, though. She's not pacing around the house, muttering to herself, almost driving herself bloody mad! Merlin's beard! Someone help me!

"Dad was a serious drama queen," I mumbled. I flipped a few pages over.

I'm starting to question whether or not I should have been a Death Eater. It's all not starting to feel right to me. I only joined because of my parents. They're loyal followers of the Dark Lord, and they already have one disappointment in the family. But maybe Sirius isn't the disappointment; maybe it's me. I'm the one with a secret muggle wife. Sirius actually stood up for what he believed in. He didn't let anyone push him around. I can't believe it's taken me this long to realize that I truly respect my brother.

I sighed and then closed the journal. I tucked it back into the box and let the box float back over to it's place on my nightstand. I felt my eyes grow heavy from being so sleep-deprived. I yawned and slid further under the covers, shutting my eyes and peacefully drifting off. I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping for no nightmares this time.

Rosaline's POV

Bas and I sat across from each other at the library. Bas was working on his History of Magic essay, while I was reading my new book. Every now and then Bas would huff in frustration as his quill scratched against the parchment. He rubbed his eyes and then squinted at what he wrote; I don't know whether it was because he couldn't see or because he was glaring at the paper with anger. Finally Bas groaned and put down his quill.

"I can't take it anymore," he said. "History of Magic is the worst class ever. How am I supposed to learn anything when the professor is so boring? And not to mention he's always super depressing! Seriously, isn't there some anti-depressant potion Madame Pomfrey could put him on?"

I laughed lightly at him and shook my head. "I'm guessing there isn't. We could always smuggle in some Lexapro."

"True-ness," Bas sang. "Man, I really wish muggle objects worked at Hogwarts. I could be playing Angry Birds right now, or be listening to Deadmau5."

"You like dubstep?" I scrunched my nose.

"Not in general," Bas shrugged. "Only Deadmau5. Dubstep is one of the dumbest inventions ever made. It's just a bunch of techno and then all of a sudden, lawnmower sounds! Lawnmower sounds!"

I laughed again and nodded in agreement.

"I'm more of a rock fan," I said. "My favorite bands are MCR and Muse."

"I like most music," Bas said. "I like Mumford & Sons, Bob Marley, and Gym Class Heroes."

"That's an interesting variety," I chuckled.

"I think it's better than that wizard band that everyone here is obsessed with," he said. "What are they called? Twisted Sisters?"

I laughed even harder when I heard him say that.

"Bas, the Twisted Sisters is a muggle band," I giggled. "You're talking about the Weird Sisters."

"Shut up," he muttered in embarrassment.

I closed my book and slipped it back into my bag. I slung the strap over my shoulder and stood up from the table.

"See you at common room," I said.

"Bye," Bas sighed.

I walked out of the library. I didn't know exactly what I was going to do. Maybe I'd write to Aaralyn. But then again, she hasn't been writing back. I don't know why, though. Maybe she was too busy with work, her insane boyfriend and his identical twin. It was too bad that they banned their products from Hogwarts. I was looking forward to seeing some amateur pranksters pull some tricks on Filch.

I started to turn at a corner, when I crashed into someone's chest. As I was about to fall, someone grabbed me, saving me from possibly hurting myself; and also looking like a complete fool. I looked up at the person, ready to thank them and apologize. A pair of familiar, cold, silver eyes looked down at me. I had unfortunately run into Draco Malfoy.

He let me go, letting me stand on my own. We stared at each other in a brief awkward silence. I started to question whether I should apologize or just walk away; and let's just say, I was enjoying the idea of walking away.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Wow," I widened my eyes. "Second time you've apologized to me. This must be a new record for you."

"Sod off," he rolled his eyes.

"So are you actually sorry?" I asked. "Or you just trying to get something out of me, like the manipulator you are?"

"You know what, forget it," Malfoy said. "I don't care."

He started to walk away, obviously annoyed, but that started to make me feel guilty about all of the bitch comments I've made towards; no matter how much he really deserved them.

"Hey, Malfoy, wait."

He turned around, irritated. His face screamed with the question "what the bloody hell do you want now?"

"You shouldn't be the one apologizing," I sighed. "I should. I'm sorry for what I said. You're obviously not in the closet."

He frowned towards me.

"Why?" he asked.

"Why what?" I asked back.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because, as much as you deserved it, it's not true and it's against my morals to not say sorry," I shrugged. "Well that was it. You can go now."

This time I walked away. But as I was turning the corner, I heard a set of footsteps race behind me. Malfoy suddenly popped up beside me. I raised my eyebrow at him, implying the question of what he was doing.

"Uh...I'm going this way, too," he answered. I only nodded in response.

After a long moment of just the sound of our footsteps echoing in the halls, Malfoy finally spoke.

"So, since it's obvious that you're not from here," he said, "where are you from?"

"America," I said.

"How long have you had blue hair?"

"A while."

"Were you at Hogwarts for your first year?"

"Yeah," I lied. "You just didn't notice me because my hair wasn't blue."

I hated having to keep up with this fake life.

"Why are you in Ravenclaw?" Malfoy asked suddenly. "It's not like you aren't smart; you're probably the second smartest next to Granger. It's just that you would fit in to Slytherin. You're really cunning and you know how to insult someone. Not like White could, but you're still pretty good."

"While I feel slightly offended by being called second best compared to two of my friends," I said, "I guess I'll take the odd complement. I don't know why I'm in Ravenclaw, though. I guess I'm more brains than I am cunning."

"I'd disagree honestly," Malfoy shrugged.

"Next question," I said, getting used to this game of 'Getting to Know Rosaline,' which made Malfoy smirk.

"I heard you've moved in with the Weasleys," he said. "Is that true?"

"Yeah."

"That's it? Just a simple 'yeah?' You aren't going to explain?"

"You asked if it was true, not why I'm staying with them."

"Well why are you?"

"It's hard to explain," I frowned.

"How so?"

"Well the general reason is that housing arrangements for me had run into some...issues last year," I tried putting it as vaguely as possible.

"You don't live with your dad anymore then?"

"No," I said quickly. I silently prayed that he wouldn't want me to explain. But luckily we had reached the Ravenclaw common room.

"I'll see you later, Malfoy," I said.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I should hang out with you more often."