A/N: Hello, my lovely readers! I'm so sorry I had to kill of Grace… It wasn't me being malicious or that I woke up in the morning and thought "Hmm… I need to kill off a character. It's just one of those days." No! It wasn't anything like that… Trust me.

Now, to answer your wonderful reviews. :D

Gimarkley2013: I'm so sorry! Were you attached to the character in anyway? Trust me, I didn't mean for one of my characters to have a name like one of my readers. Nobody's name is Claudia right?

MissHaleyBlack: I enjoy your reviews immensely! Thanks so much for saying those kind words! I love hearing feedback like that.

MixandMingle: Haha! Your review made me laugh. Sorry… Haha it did. Okay. Phew. Don't know how to answer that one…

So…

ONTO CHAPTER 20

(AND WELCOME NEW READERS!)

Chapter 20

Lily's POV

In the distance, we heard an ear-piercing scream. A scream that held sadness for a loved one, not a scream that was in immediate danger. The Quidditch game came to a standstill.

"What was that?" asked Claudia standing next to me. A chill crept under my skin. I wrapped my arms around myself. I shook my head.

"I don't know," I answered slowly. Everything was silent as we listened for something else. After a little while, I watched as Sirius whispered something into Dumbledore's ear. Dumbledore quickly got up and followed Sirius out.

"Something's wrong," I whispered. Then everyone started whispering. I looked to where Sirius and Fayre was sitting, in hopes to find Fayre, but… Fayre was gone.

I fought my way through the crowd and ran after the direction that Sirius lead Dumbledore. I heard Professor Mcgonagall announcing for everyone to be calm and that there was going to be a slight delay in the game, behind me. I finally caught up to where Dumbledore and Sirius were. Fayre was in a heap in the snow, crying hysterically. Sirius, himself, looked like he was going to cry. Dumbledore looked shocked and was walking back towards the game, getting a doctor or something. When he moved, I saw the figure. She was pale; her copper curls sprawled around her head. Her copper eyes lay unmoving, staring at the snow falling on her. In the middle of her chest, protruded a wooden stick. A wand, I immediately thought. Who would waste a wand to kill someone?

Fayre moved some snow off of the girl's face, and that's when I realized who it was.

Grace.

I ran toward the figure and knelt down beside Fayre, warm tears falling on my cold face.

"L-Lily. She's-she's-she's-" she stammered, hyperventilating.

"I know, Fayre. She's dead," I said softly, wiping my face. Fayre put her head into my shoulder and sobbed. I sobbed with her.

Grace, our friend, was dead.

Grace, who was so obsessed with Sirius, was gone, just like that.

I looked up at Sirius and saw his own grey eyes tearing up as he bent down to brush a curl off of her forehead, and then he leaned down and kissed her forehead. I mentally laughed, remembering how she would've freaked out so much if Sirius had even touched her, let alone kissed her in an endearing way. Fayre was too busy not looking at her to notice. Sirius looked up at me, tears in his grey eyes. He quickly wiped away a stray tear that left the safety of his eyes.

"I'm-I'm going to miss her and her craziness," he said hoarsely. Fayre looked up when he spoke and wiped at her face. She sort of laughed.

"All you're going to miss is her obsessing over you," she said, staring at the dead girl warmly. Sirius smiled. Just last night she was obsessing about a pencil he had given her.

"But, there was much more to her than that..."

He conjured up a rose and slipped it into her cold hands. He wrapped her hands over her chest and brushed his hands over her eyes so her copper eyes would not be seen by anyone else. The light was gone from those eyes anyway, whoever still wanted to see them were crazy.

That's when Dumbledore came back, and whisked Grace's body away. Some professors were with him, but so were Claudia, Ariana, James, Remus, and Peter. They were the ones closest to her. James came to my side almost immediately, and although he was uncomfortable with the fact that I was crying, he looked sad and somber as he watched them take away Grace's body.

"Why?" he whispered as he watched. I wondered the same thing. The same question echoed in everyone's minds.

Why?

Fayre's POV

"We are sorry to postpone the Quidditch game, but as you will know, it was for a good cause," started Dumbledore. They had cancelled the rest of the game against Slytherin. It had been postponed back a couple of weeks. Where Slytherin can start out fresh (because Gryffindor was beating them).

"But a terrible thing has happened to us this afternoon," he continued. Why? Why Grace?

"Grace McKinnon, has passed away this afternoon," said Dumbledore. There was a lot of whisperings around. Why? Who? Why Grace?

"Her family has taken her body back to her hometown so we will not have a burial ceremony."

Why? Who would do this?

Why Grace?

"But we will have a remembrance ceremony now. Anyone who wishes to come up and say something, may. I will go first."

WHY? WHO WOULD DO THIS?

"Miss McKinnon was a very loved witch, with lots of friends. She was very bright student who would light up a room with her very smile. She will be missed."

I watched as Claudia came toward the podium.

Carley did it. Why didn't I stop it? I knew it was going to happen. Why didn't I stop it?

"Grace McKinnon was my dorm mate. And had been since first year. I remember a lot of good times with her. Including the time when she first laid eyes on the mysterious Sirius Black. I remember her swearing it was true love," tears welled up in her eyes as she smiled along with the rest of the school, who laughed. She said some other kind words, but I wasn't really listening.

Was this really happening? Was Grace really dead? Did Carley kill her? Why?

Ariana came up to the podium.

"I remember the first time I met her. It was on the train, to Hogwarts. She was really excited, practically bouncing in her seat. She kept talking about how her mother made her wear this hideous skirt. It was actually really pretty and I remember saying so. She talked about everything to me. From how there was dirt on her new shoes to about what her family was up to. She was very open. And, honestly, I didn't like her at first. But after she became my dorm mate, she sort of grew on me. And she was always still that girl who bounced in her seat on her way to Hogwarts. Up to the very moment that she was… was…" Ariana made a choking sound. Lily was behind her and patted her back.

"Murdered," finished Ariana. Dumbledore was very good in trying to keep that from the students. And when Ariana uttered this word, the students went into hurried whispered conversations after gasped responses.

She was murdered. By Carley. And I let her kill Grace. It was my fault. I knew it was going to happen.

Why? Why? WHY?

Lily stepped up to the podium.

"Grace McKinnon was someone you could rely on. You would think her flighty and untrustworthy, and honestly I thought the same, when I first met her. But she was always so easy to open up to and to be honest to, I suppose because she was honest towards you. I know many people who had confided in her. I was one of those people. She knew things before I even knew myself. She knew that there was something wrong at home, before I had even told her. She knew, a couple of years ago, that my father had died before I had told her. And she knew when I had started liking James Potter, before I had admitted it to myself," Lily blushed as people laughed at that, "And, I loved her. I loved her like she was my little sister. She was all of our little sisters. I'm… I'm going to miss her terribly… She was very loved…"

So very loved.

So, why?

Why would anyone kill her?

Why did it have to be her?

Sirius stepped to the podium. He scratched the back of his head.

"I didn't know Grace very well, but she was often brought up in conversation. I know, from her friends, that she was fun to be around and that she was outgoing. But, for me, I guess, I knew the shy side of her. The side where when she would see me she would immediately run away to the other side of the castle," the students laughed, "But she was really nice. And I wish I knew her better."

Why? Why? Why was it Grace? Why did she have to die? Why would Carley kill her? Why? Why? WHY?

Then suddenly, it was my turn. I stepped up to the podium and looked out into the sea of people. The question still echoed around in my head. My hair was fading from orange and red back to pale blonde. I felt vulnerable. Empty.

It was my fault.

"It was my fault," I whispered my thought out loud. Everyone started to whisper as they stared at me. I stared back at them with my violet eyes.

"It was my fault," I repeated louder. They all silenced themselves.

"I saw it coming… I did… I had a dream… No, a nightmare," I began. Sirius pulled on my arm whispering, "C'mon Fayre. C'mon let's go." I shook my head and kept going.

"Carley killed her. Carley murdered her. But why? Why? Why was it Grace? Wasn't it me she wanted? Why?" I felt something in my head. I rubbed the back of my neck. My mouth wouldn't say the things I wanted to say next. My mouth just opened and closed, like a fish's.

"Fayre!" I heard Sirius' and Lily's voices yell in unison as the world went black.

Sirius' POV

"Why was it Grace? Wasn't it me she wanted? Why?" asked Fayre, her eyes desperately wanting the answer. She rubbed the back of her neck. Her mouth opened and closed, words not coming out. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"Fayre!" Lily and I yelled at the same time as she collapsed to the ground. Then, she floated up in the air, her feet pointed to the ground, but five or six inches off of it. Her head rolled back. Then it rolled forward, her violet eyes glassy. The student body was silent in fear or awe, nobody knew.

"...Why…in…deed…" her voice said slowly and slurry.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Lily.

"Imperious curse," she whispered back.

"Tick…tock…goes the clock," said Fayre in a creepy childlike voice. Her head rolled to her shoulder like a rag doll.

"Ever think about that?" she asked, smiling a bit. Dumbledore was the only one moving.

"Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock," she said, saying her words faster and faster, "Tick tock. Ticktock. Ticktock. Ticktockticktockticktock!" Then the silent room was filled with her maniac laughter.

"And when the clock strikes midnight," she said lifting her head lazily and pointing towards the nearest clock. The hands on the clock moved quicker until it was exactly twelve. The clock started to chime, twelve times, "it's the end of your life. Figuratively of course." Fayre smiled darkly at us all.

Dumbledore came behind her, as if to grab her, but he was pointing his wand at her. But, whoever was controlling Fayre was faster.

"Go away old man," she said pulling out a knife from her shoe and throwing it at him. Because Fayre was more like a rag doll than a human, it missed his chest and sunk deep into his shoulder. He dropped his wand. Fayre turned back to us, her pale blonde hair flying around her head as if she was in water.

"Tick tock goes the clock. Until we're all dead. Like Gracey!" then she laughed maniacally again. Then she bent backwards, in the air and kept going until a crack was echoed. Fayre's body gave an involuntary cry of pain.

Then, Fayre collapsed on the ground, in very unnatural positions.

My blood ran cold.

A/N: A bit creepy here at the end.

I have some more reviews to attend to and answer so, here we go.

Iceage266: DON'T TELL THEM WHO I LIKE! THAT'S POSITIVELY MEDIEVAL! Just because I'm trying to HELP YOUR relationship. Sheesh! :P And thanks for saying Chapter 18 was cute. It was cute. Wasn't it? :D

I'm sorry I told you! I had to tell you that Grace dies!

She was a very comical character. I mean, who doesn't laugh at someone who is SO obsessed with someone. Or not obsessed. "Dedicated" as she once put it.

I CAN'T HELP BUT LAUGH! IT WAS A LAUGHING MATTER! I'm not going to become a psychotic killer oh ye-who-has-little-faith.

So, all those reviews were from a friend of mine. No need to read any of 'em. Or the answers I'm giving her. XD

And I'm sorry for those of you I might've mislead by making it really cute in the beginning and now it's really quite dark… That wasn't my intention… Really it wasn't! But, I need a plotline. I mean, not everything was all flowers and rainbows during this time. Voldemort IS alive ya know.

REVIEW BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME…?

REVIEW BECAUSE THAT WAS AN AWFUL REASON TO REVIEW ABOUT!

XOXOXOXO,

Innocently Beautiful

P.S.

Don't forget to check out some of my original writings at and search darkzjewel. You won't be disappointed and there are a lot more lighthearted writings. But also dark ones…