Thanks for the reviews, kankananime123, Weasleytwinslover87, and SuperNovaWriter! I really appreciate it.

So, I've been getting quite a few author/story alerts lately, and I just wanted to say THANKS!

Help a sister out and review? Eh?

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!

CHAPTER 12

The first few weeks of school were busy, from finding our way around the school to understanding what we were learning. Eventually, we got into the rhythm of things. Lily and I would meet Severus in the library whenever the three of us had a free period to do work and talk about our days.

"Flying?" Audrey asked, looking at their schedule. She was horrified.

I don't do broomsticks. It's not impossible for me to use one, but it's just so useless. I could fly on a rock, or I could fly with the wind. Why use a household item to fly anyway? I never understood wizards…

"Oh, it's not bad." Severus said. "It's a little scary just getting on the broom but-"

"It's not that, Sev." Audrey replied, her eyes wide.

"Then what is it?" He asked, his eyes boring into her. Lily was just as curious.

"Are you afraid of heights?" She asked.

Audrey shook her head.

"I used to fly all the time." Audrey said a sad longing look on her face, lying on the spot. "But I had this really bad accident when I was young and every time since then getting on a broom makes me incredibly dizzy."

Thankfully, Lily was easily convinced and she turned sympathetic. Severus seemed to be just the same at first.

Within five minutes of them dropping the subject about Audrey's "broomstick vertigo" an owl swooped into the library and dropped a letter on their table.

It was a small piece of parchment addressed to Audrey.

Miss Dalio,

Please meet me in Professor McGonagall's office in ten minutes.

- Albus Dumbledore.

Audrey turned the parchment around and showed her companions.

"Did you do anything?" Lily asked, concerned. Audrey shook her head.

"Maybe it's something else?" Severus suggested, trying to be calm. "Perhaps you've won an award?"

Audrey snorted. "For what? Being an average first year?"

"No." said a voice from behind them in the library. "For being so damn attractive."

One of my best lines, really.

Sirius Black, along with James, Peter and Remus were sitting at a table a few feet away from them. Audrey noticed Severus sneer, Lily looked a tad less annoyed. James had been friendlier to her in class, except of course when they had had class with the Slytherins and when Lily was around Severus. Though really, in those circumstances James was rude to Severus, Lily was just incredibly angered about it, as was Audrey.

Audrey rose from her chair, figuring she'd go to Professor McGonagall's office early. She didn't feel like dealing with Sirius more then she already had to, and she had to a lot. They had every class together.

"Where are you going, Dalio?" James called.

"I've got somewhere else to be." said Audrey, looking over her shoulder.

Sirius sighed, slamming his book.

"Now I don't want to study anymore, mate."

"Who said you were actually studying?" snorted Remus, who was looking through his Transfiguration book.

"I was studying!" Sirius whined.

"Yeah, studying her." James elbowed him.

"And you weren't studying Evans over there?" Sirius retorted.

"Oh no, I wasn't studying Evans, my friend. I am studying Evans. Learn your tenses." James lightly smacked him upside the head with a book. Sirius shook his head grinning.

Audrey had set off down the corridor and headed downstairs to her head of house's office. Really, it was the only office she knew the location to.

She knocked on the door when she arrived.

"Enter." called a familiar stern voice that belonged to Minerva McGonagall.

Audrey opened the door to find Albus Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and someone else sitting in three arm chairs. She couldn't see the third person; all she saw was a large black lump that she assumed was their hair. It had to be a woman with her hair in a large bun.

"Ah, Miss Dalio! I'm so delighted that you could join us. Please sit." Albus said pleasantly. He looked different to Audrey with his wizard robes on, the first time she met him he was cleverly disguised as a muggle.

Audrey nearly jumped when she was on her way to the open armchair as she noticed who the third person was.

Well…she wasn't technically a person.

Hisoka Emi.

Audrey looked from Dumbledore, to Hisoka, to Professor McGonagall.

"I see you're a little confused." Albus chuckled. "I figured it'd be a good idea to get some stuff out of the way. Hisoka will be coming weekly for your lessons, that gets one thing out of the way…"

"Sir? If you don't mind me asking, what am I supposed to do about flying lessons?" Audrey asked.

"That is the second thing to be addressed." replied Albus. "I've informed Madam Hooch of your situation and you have been excused from flying. Though I am not sure what you will tell your classmates."

"Oh, I've taken care of that already." Audrey said, going into an act. She put a hand on her forehead. "I suffered a horrible broom accident as a child, and whenever I mount a broom or try to fly one I become incredibly dizzy."

Hisoka's eyes danced in the firelight, she was thinking about something. Albus chuckled.

"I am glad you have your story down, the third and last thing is lessons." He said.

"But, I already take lessons…" Audrey replied, genuinely confused. Hisoka was still calculating something.

"Extra lessons." Albus said, lowering his half moon spectacles. "Your father wants you to be trained in regards to your abilities."

He had to word it so eloquently at the time, because I knew so little of my family history. I was always, always, told that I would know when I was older.
Everything was in shadows, everything was secret…

"Who is teaching me?" Audrey asked.

"I will be first, during the school year. Your Uncle Ivan wants to over the summer."

In my childish mind at the time, the thought of learning from my Uncle Ivan was frightening. I loved him, but I knew he was a powerful wizard. He was not someone easy to defeat, ever.

Audrey nodded, brushing her great uncle out of her mind for the moment.

"I will owl you when to come for these lessons; they will most likely be at nightfall." Albus said, giving her a knowing look.

"And I will owl you with details of your cello lessons." Hisoka said, looking at the girl.

Audrey nodded, thanking the three and leaving quickly. She checked the library and noticed that Severus and Lily were gone, and set on foot again, Lily was probably in the common room.

When she arrived in the Gryffindor Common Room she didn't find anyone. No Lily, no Marlene, No Ashley. Audrey bit her lip, and decided to take the first stair case to their dormitory…no one was there.

Classes were over; they had two hours until dinner. Where could they be?

Audrey left the common room, setting off in a run.

Bam!

She slammed into someone and fell backwards.

"Audrey!"

"Marlene!" Audrey panted. "So sorry!"

"Oh, it's alright." Marlene replied, helping Audrey off the ground. She noticed that she was in her dance clothes.

"Did we have dance tonight?" Audrey asked, Marlene shook her head.

"No, we have it tomorrow night. I just went in to practice a bit after I finished my work. I didn't know where anyone was." Marlene replied.

We had auditioned our first week of term to be a part of the dance department, and had just recently gotten the results. The department was small as it is, yet incredibly selective. Marlene and I were two of the only four girls in the house to make it in. Though not many auditioned to begin with…

"I went in the common room to look for Lily but I couldn't find her, and I couldn't find those obnoxious guys either." Audrey said, giving Marlene a knowing look.

"You were hanging around with those fools?" Marlene snorted.

"No." Audrey snapped quickly. "They were hanging around us, of course!" Audrey threw her hands in the air, frustrated. "Severus, Lils, and I were having a lovely conversation and finishing up that ridiculous potions essay Slughorn assigned when those fools came blundering in and started chatting up a storm. And d'you know what Madame Pince did?"

"What?" Marlene asked.

"Nothing." The two said together. Audrey had known Marlene for only a short period of time but they seemed to get each other quite well.

They heard laughter around the corner and a familiar shriek.

"JAMES! STOP IT!"

Marlene and Audrey exchanged glances and then sprinted towards the noise.

When you look back on it, it was innocent really…

James, Sirius, and Peter (Remus had chosen not to participate in that day's shenanigans and was also yelling at James) were playing keep away with Lily's rucksack.

"What're the gits doing now, Remus?" Marlene asked, sitting next to him on a statue.

"The usual immaturity." Remus replied nonchalantly.

Out of the four, Marlene, Lily, and I agreed that we liked Remus the best. We were often with him studying in the common room when his dumber companions were absent…or off somewhere else being stupid.

…Or off somewhere else being geniuses.

Lily looked helpless and Marlene got incredibly angry.

"HEY YOU GITS, STOP IT!" She yelled, but they just took one look at her, laughed, then ignored her.

"Oh trust me, Marlene. I've tried." Remus said exasperated.

I, however, had an idea…

Audrey figured she would just use her powers, however, she had to be incredibly discreet and she knew just how to do so.

Both of her hands were at her side, making her look as if she wasn't doing anything. She curled all of her fingers inward on one of her hands, a loose fist. At the same time, a huge gust of wind came rushing through the corridor and knocked Sirius, Peter, and James to the ground. Lily rushed between them and grabbed her bag, her face almost as red as her hair.

"Where did that wind come from?" James exclaimed, stunned.

Marlene, Remus, and Audrey shrugged. Lily mumbled something under her breath, flicked her wand and there were three loud smacking noises.

Red handprints appeared on all three boys' cheeks.

"Ow!" Sirius said, rubbing his cheek. "Merlin, Evans. We were just playing around. Why do you always have to be so serious?"

"BECAUSE YOU NEVER ARE, SIRIUS BLACK." Lily shrieked, Marlene had to hold her back.

I might have laughed at that if Lily wasn't so furious.

After a few moments of struggling, Audrey and Marlene had finally gotten Lily to turn away and walk with them back to the common room.