Okay, I'm so sorry it took a while to post this one, but I needed to straighten up a few things in the chapter, which are detailed in the comments after the chapter.

About this bit, it does extend a little about Ewan and his life in school, if only shortly. Also, Lily joins Christine in the squad of Awesome Babies. For the rest, well, it goes as the title says...

Pains of the Heart

"Mr Lightbrown should be quite alright, Mr Malcolm," said Professor McGonagall, looking at him, with just a little bit of sternness left in the eye.

"That's good news," said Ewan, apparently unsure of what else to say.

On the other side of the room, Ian was looking at him, worried. The student he had found was unharmed, except for one thing. He had no idea of what had happened to him, which wasn't helping Ewan's case at all. He had been caught standing over a student who had just been attacked, there was no other word for it. No matter how much of the benefit of the doubt Ewan Malcolm could get in Hogwarts, he had to prove his intentions and he had to be crossed off the list of the suspects. Professor Dumbledore had to resort to extreme measures to settle once for all the truth in Ewan's story. So here they were, in Professor McGonagall's office, along with Professor Snape. Ewan had just drunk the glass of water he had been given by the teachers. Ian knew what was in it, but Ewan didn't.

"You really mean it?" asked Professor Snape.

"I mean what?" asked Ewan, sounding a little puzzled.

"That you're glad your class mate is alright," précised Snape.

"Well, of course, I mean it," said Ewan.

"So you have no quarrel whatsoever with Mr Lightbrown?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"No," said Ewan, earnestly.

"So you had no reason to attack him," said Ian.

"No!" protested Ewan. "Come on, Ian, what are you suggesting?"

"Your brother isn't suggesting anything, Mr Malcolm," cut McGonagall. "He's just doing as he is told. Now, I will ask you this one more time. Did you attack Mr Lightbrown?"

"No I didn't," said Ewan. "I just found him. More exactly I nearly killed myself tripping over the guy!"

Ian raised his eyebrows, surprised by this sentence. Snape had a nasty smile.

"That sometimes happens," he said. "A side effect of the potion."

"Potion?" asked Ewan.

"You've been given a diluted dose of Veritaserum, Mr Malcolm, to clear you from any charge," explained McGonagall. "Your brother was asked to be here to ensure that the potion wasn't used on you in an abusive manner."

"Then, why did he ask questions?" asked Ewan, angrily.

"Because, with a will strong enough, you can always resist a diluted dose of Veritaserum," said Snape. "But you can't lie to your own kin."

"You can go, now," said McGonagall to Ewan.

"And be careful not to speak too much, for you will be quite honest for the next hours," said Snape silkily.

Ian gave himself the luxury to glare at the teacher, while walking his brother out of the room. When they reached the corridor, Ewan turned to his brother, looking furious.

"Why did you let them do this to me?" he snapped.

"That was the only way to yank you out of trouble quickly," said Ian. "I had to accept it. There was no witness to clear you. You were the only one who could do it. That's not so terrible, Ewan!"

"Yeah, right!" said Ewan, still fuming. "And now, I can only speak the truth for the rest of the day. Do you imagine how bad this will be?"

Ian tried to figure out what it meant, and realised how many little lies you can say through a whole day to be nice to everyone. He winced.

"Sorry about this," he said. "Let's hope you come out of this alive, then."

"Oh, that's very funny, Ian, really," groaned Ewan, frowning.

Ian couldn't stand it anymore. He burst into laughing.

"Maybe that will teach you to watch your feet," he chuckled.

"How was I supposed to watch my feet? What was he doing here, anyway?" protested Ewan.

"No idea," said Ian. "But I'll find out."

"Need a hand?" asked Ewan.

"I don't think so," said Ian. "You'd better stay clear of the whole thing. And you should try and stay clear from trouble, today."

"Easy for you to say," said Ewan, gloomily.

"Hello, Ewan," said a voice behind them.

A young girl, wearing the Gryffindor robes, stood behind them. Ian could notice the blushing both his brother and the girl were sharing, now. He did his best to hide his smile.

"Will you introduce me, Ewan?" he asked.

"This is Rachel Somersby," said Ewan. "Rachel, this is my older brother, Ian."

Rachel and Ian nodded to each other. The girl was still blushing.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked. "I heard that McGonagall was questioning you about this attack."

"Of course, he'll be fine," said Ian, smiling. "They had to take his word for that, but he'll be out of trouble, now."

"What do you mean, they had to take his word?" asked Rachel, puzzled.

"Well, that's simple," said Ian, trying to ignore his brother stepping on his toes. "He had to take a truth potion, and swear he had nothing to do with this attack. Since Professor McGonagall is fair enough, that was his ticket out of the mess."

Ewan threw his brother a venomous look. Rachel seemed to give it a long thought. Then she had some mysterious smile.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you're okay," she said. "Oh, just one question," she asked, as if having a passing thought. "Not that I care, anyway, but how do I look, today?"

"Well, you look as you do every day," said Ewan, managing to elude the full truth, with a painful wince.

"Which means?" insisted Rachel, sparkling in her eyes.

If Ian had been impressed by Ewan's dodging the issue, he was amused by her persistence. Ewan would have to do better than that to outsmart this girl. Well, she was really pretty, so he guessed Ewan was at least lucky enough.

"Well… you're beautiful," said Ewan, almost against his will.

Rachel's face lit up, and she smiled to him. She kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks, Malcolm," she said. "You can be sure I'll keep this one against you."

She walked away, but she seemed to have second thoughts. She turned again to Ian and Ewan, who had a muffled moan.

"When you say 'beautiful', you mean 'more beautiful than Susan'?" she asked.

Ian caught himself before laughing. He remembered that Sven had told him that her twin was quite successful among boys of the school, even if she didn't care too much about it. So she had to be a serious rival for a girl like Rachel.

"Well… yes, I think you are," said Ewan.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed again, before to run away, her face flushed by joy and excitement.

Ian looked down at Ewan and met his eyes.

"Don't you even think of saying a word," Ewan said darkly. "I don't want any question."

"What possibly could I ask?" said Ian innocently. "The situation spoke for itself."

"That's not fair," said Ewan. "She will tell everyone about this."

"I wouldn't be so sure about this," said Ian. "A confession like this is bound to be buried in someplace safe and secret… let's say… in her diary!"

"Shut up!" exclaimed Ewan.

"Imagine that: being in the diary of someone at eleven," Ian went on, smiling ever wider. "What will it be when you will both start to grow up? I'm sure Mum would be fascinated to hear that you already got yourself a girlfriend."

"Rachel is not my girlfriend," said Ewan, a little too loud, and with something in the tone that indicated that he regretted it. "Damn it!"

He started to gather attention. Ian's grin was now triumphant.

"Alright, but do you like her?" he asked.

"Yes!" Ewan let out before he could stop himself.

Then he winced at that. Ian was looking at him, with an amused grin across his face.

"You're an evil little creep! Now, you'll blackmail me with this! I just know it!"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Ewan," said Ian. "Rachel's a pretty girl."

"Go ahead, Ian, if you want to lose an eye," said Ewan, pulling out his wand.

"Don't get violent, little brother, it doesn't suit you," said Ian, with a feint haughtiness. "It's not my fault if girls like you that much. I think you got that from Mum. She was the heartbreaker, back in school."

"Are you even listening to me?" said Ewan, on a desperate tone.

"Yes," said Ian. "And you're speaking nonsense, so I make fun of you."

"I speak nonsense?" said Ewan, offended.

"When you try to hide that you like some girl in school," said Ian.

It was Ewan's turn to smile viciously.

"Oh, look who's talking," he said. "Am I the one who pretends he's not in love with his best friend?"

"We already discussed this," said Ian, impatiently.

"Yeah, and the bet is still on, regarding the Ball, Big Bro," said Ewan, who had his smile back.

Ian chuckled, to hide his discomfort. Trouble was that he had no idea who he would go to the Ball with, if not with Kieran. The prospect seemed boring if she wasn't in the picture…

Whoa, he told himself. Where did THAT come from?

He finally let Ewan go to the Gryffindor Tower and he headed back to the Nest.

When he entered the common room, he was greeted by the excited giggles of Diana Jones-Stickley. She, along with Gina, where now sitting next to Kieran and were chatting excitedly with her. Kieran didn't seem that excited. But she had a happy smile across her face that looked wonderful to Ian.

"What's up?" asked Ian, joining them, and taking a seat in front of Gina.

"Kieran has got a date," said Gina.

"This is not a date," countered Kieran on a very patient tone.

"A date?" asked Ian, puzzled, with a strange feeling beginning to rise in his stomach.

"Terry asked her to the Ball," said Diana.

"Oh," said Ian, hiding the feeling of the ton of lead that had suddenly appeared in his belly. "And?"

"I had no reason to turn him down," said Kieran. "I told him I would get there with him."

"Oh," said Ian.

Terry. Suddenly the name sounded curiously awful. It was filthy little name for a filthy little person. How did he dare invite Kieran for the Ball…?

Ian, who had managed to hide this wave of anger from the others suddenly snapped out of it. What was he thinking of? Why was he reacting this way?

Maybe he did react this way because, in spite of what he had told Ewan, he had expected to get to his first Ball with Kieran. And Terry had just got in the way. But neither Terry nor Kieran had done anything wrong, because Ian had never mentioned it to either of them. Right now, he was just being selfish.

But the fact remained: he was feeling jealous, and the thought that followed just terrified him too much for him to even formulate it.

"So how's your brother doing?" asked Kieran, with concern in her eyes.

"Well, he's been cleared," said Ian. "But if you want to hear his true opinion of you, you should go and ask him today, because the answer should be interesting."

He then explained to the three girls that Ewan had been forced to take a truth potion. Gina and Kieran, who knew Ewan quite well laughed at the thought of the rest of the day. But Diana was a little shocked by the use of the Veritaserum.

"Well, since it was used to clear him," said Ian. "I don't think it's that bad."

Ian got back on his feet.

"I'm out for a walk on the grounds," he said. "Anyone wants to join?"

"It's freezing cold, Ian," said Kieran.

"You're too delicate," said Ian, smiling.

But as he was walking out of the secret passage out of the Nest, his cloak on his shoulders, Ian realised he was glad that nobody had followed him. He would be able to get rid of his frustration on the trip. And it was better for anyone not to be around him.

The Staff meeting was held in a dark mood. The attack was still recent. Most students weren't aware of the seriousness of the affair. They thought that someone from one House had just gotten the best over a Gryffindor, and had been clever enough not to get caught.

But the teachers knew better. This was concerning business and they had all gotten lucky that the damage on Ichabod Lightbrown wasn't more severe. Except for the few missing hours, his memory was working quite well, but memory charms were dangerous. Should one student be playing around with it … Alexander shuddered at the thought.

"So, what have do we know, so far?" asked Dumbledore. "What kind of attack could this be?"

"Random attacks on the students… Could it be related to the Chamber of Secrets, somehow?" suggested Professor Sinistra, clearly showing the thought disturbed her.

"I doubt it," said Alexander. "Mr Lightbrown is a pureblood, so that would have kept him safe from any attack linked to Slytherin's Legacy."

"Besides, everything has been cleared from the place, right?" said Hagrid.

"Well, not absolutely everything," said Dumbledore. "I asked Harry to check the Chamber, so we can push this thesis away. He should be back in minutes."

Just as if to prove his words, Harry entered the Staff room, and took a seat in front of Alexander. He looked very dark and serious, which was enough to be concerned in Alexander's opinion.

"Nothing to do with the Chamber," said Harry. "I checked it twice."

"Excuse me, but how can you know it hasn't been opened again?" asked Snape.

There was no acrimony in his voice, for once. He was merely curious. Harry must have felt it, because he didn't sound defensive in his answer.

"Professor Armstrong has placed a magical seal on the sink that closes the entry of the Chamber, and we worked together to upgrade it, before he left. Only he and I can get in," he said. "The seal is absolutely intact. Besides, there's nothing left in the Chamber except the Skeleton of the Basilisk. Or what remains of it, since the body parts of the big guy had been snatched by all the researchers of the Ministry for study. The fangs, the venom… anything dangerous has been cleared. So we can be sure that the Chamber is out, this time."

"How's the boy?" asked Professor Flitwick.

"He'll be fine," said Madam Pomfrey. "The Memory Charm had left no trace whatsoever, but I'm afraid it's permanent. There is no way we can recover the memory and learn what he could have seen."

"Could this be a Potion, instead of a Memory Charm?" asked Alexander.

"Are you trying to formulate an accusation?" asked Snape, coldly.

"You're getting paranoid, Severus," said Alexander, smiling. "I'm just asking if this could have been anything else than a Memory Charm. It's a difficult thing to master. Only advanced students or full grown wizards could learn something like that. A Potion, as difficult it would be to brew, could be done by anyone, even a decided student. So I'm trying to reduce the list of suspects."

"No, it's a Charm," said Madam Pomfrey. "There's no trace in the organism of anything suspicious."

"So we must stand ready to any kind of possibility," said Snape. "And we must a keep an eye on the students. I would recommend cancelling any further excursion outside of the school's vicinity. It would be tricky to oversee."

"As painful it may be for me to admit it, Severus is right," said Harry. "On the grounds, we can monitor what the students are doing. Hogsmeade can be watched as accurately as the grounds, with the help of the Order, without worrying the parents. We can't justify the fact we cancel all the week ends. But any other place…"

"I concur with the two of you," said Dumbledore. "I have already arranged for the Order to send some of its members to watch over the students, when they get to Hogsmeade. I can contact Remus and ask for a double security contingent."

Alexander could tell that the elder wizard was not pleased with this situation. If there was anything that would be a cause of worry, it was the safety of his students.

People often thought that Dumbledore could be oblivious, or reckless, when it came to teaching magic to young boys and girls. The record of the school when it came to security wasn't the brightest, if one was honest. People also focused on the example of Harry Potter's years in Hogwarts, where each year had seen a catastrophe that threatened the entire student body, if not the entire world. But it would have been unfair to blame it all on Dumbledore, like so many had tried. The fact was that Magic was dangerous, so a little risk was to be expected once you handed wands to teenagers. But, with the glorious exception of Harry's time as a student, and, it seemed, as a teacher, the school had been spared by exterior threats. During the times of the first war with Voldemort, Hogwarts was the safest place in all England. During the crisis of the Seal of Chaos, the only place that remained unaffected by the dangerous effects of the Seal was Hogwarts ,due to preventive measures set up by Dumbledore after Harry was ambushed in the corridors. So no one could accuse Dumbledore not to care about his students' safety.

But he also was a realist. And to shut the entire school from the world, after an attack which was more than likely to have come from within was not a wise course of action. If a student was attacking and wiping his fellow classmates' memories, to lock up the school wouldn't solve the issue. And if someone had sneaked into the school, they needed to determine how and why.

Their reflections were interrupted by the arrival of an owl inside the office. It swooped in and landed neatly on the Headmaster's desk, holding out his talon, to which a small parchment roll was tied. Dumbledore undid it and thanked the owl with a nod. The bird hooted and flew off, as Dumbledore was unrolling the message.

"Aha," he said, with a twinkling in the eye. "Our dear friend has answered, Minerva. She will join us in two days."

"Excellent news," commented Minerva, with the ghost of a smile hovering on her lips.

"I feel I'm missing out on something," said Alexander.

"We have found someone who may help us with Miss Carteret's possible visions of the Future," said Dumbledore. "A friend of mine that agreed to return to Hogwarts."

"Not to sound impudent, Sir," said Harry, "but, these days, 'friend of yours' sounds ominous."

"Would it reassure you if I told you she is a friend of mine as well, Harry?" asked Minerva, in an uncharacteristic mirth.

"Well, I don't know," said Harry, with a cheeky grin. "The teacher in me says 'huzzah!' but the Marauder in me wants to run for cover."

"He can be insufferable, sometimes," muttered Minerva, though she could not disguise her amusement. "Why couldn't you remind me of your mother, instead of your father, Harry?" she added.

Harry only smiled back.

"The worst in that is that Ian is starting to remind me of him," said Alexander, pretending to share his mentor's educational woes.

Ian was wandering in the grounds, trying to free himself from the uneasiness he felt.

Kieran had accepted to go to the Ball with Terry. That was, in itself, a harmless sentence. But in Ian's mind, it was just ringing in a very strange way. And it wasn't really good. Ian just didn't like this sound at all. And he couldn't push himself to find out why it was feeling so weird.

Maybe he hadn't expected his plans to be shot down. He hadn't asked anything, but he was clearly considering asking Kieran, even if that did cost him a galleon to his brother. That would have been worth it. But now he couldn't. Terry had gotten there first, and there was nothing Ian could do about it.

I guess I could punch him, he thought, before to shake his head. That was nonsense, pure nonsense. But, still, he was angry.

Of course, the fact Terry was taking Kieran to the Ball didn't mean anything more. Ian had probably nothing to worry about. Not that he worried about anything, did he?

This was way too confusing and Ian didn't like being confused. He had no idea how he felt right now, except that it wasn't really the greatest feeling of his life.

So here he was, walking by the lakeshore, lost in his thoughts, in the grey winter day. Suddenly, he saw that he wasn't alone outside. A familiar silhouette was standing by the lake. Ian could tell by the way he was standing that this wasn't a really good day for Kenneth, either. Curious about that, he walked closer, trying to figure out what he could say.

But the look on Kenneth's face was so sad and closed that Ian hesitated a second before to talk.

"Kenneth?" he asked discreetly.

It seemed an eternity before Kenneth turned his eyes to Ian and gave him a sad smile. Ian felt encouraged by that. Maybe Kenneth needed to talk more than he needed to brood over his disappointment. Ian stayed silent at his friend's side a long moment, waiting for him to talk.

"What's up?" he finally asked.

"It's my birthday," said Kenneth, pretty gloomily.

"Oh, I didn't know about that," said Ian earnestly.

"Well, nobody does," said Kenneth. "I usually prefer it this way."

"And you don't like your birthday because…?" asked Ian, puzzled.

"My Mother died on my birthday," said Kenneth.

Ian had to admit he got sucker punched by this one. This felt like a shocking spell right through his head. He couldn't believe what he had heard just then. The whole notion was so awful that suddenly his worries seemed futile in comparison. A huge wave of sympathy swept over him.

"I usually try to forget it," said Kenneth, still gazing at the lake. "But today, I just can't."

"Why not?" asked Ian.

"Well, it's my sixteenth birthday," said Kenneth. "I'm the first wizard of my family to be a Wandmaster this young. So my father had to send me this."

He held out a piece of parchment. Ian took it carefully and began to read it.

Kenneth,

I know you don't like this day. Merlin knows I can both cherish it for being your birthday and hate it at the same time for being the day I lost her.

But I had to send this gift to you. This is our family's tradition. I'm sure you will recognize it and know of its meaning. Know that our family has decided unanimously to give this to you, for what you have done, last year. The last one to wear it was your Great Grandfather, Percival.

Carry it proudly, Kenneth, and remember it is a matter of pride, not grief.

I'm sure your mother would have been extremely proud of you, my son. I love you and I hope you won't have too much of a bad day.

Dad

Ian raised his eyes to Kenneth.

"Wow, that's some birthday card," he said, with a wince.

"I know, right?" said Kenneth, with another sad smile.

"So what did you get?" asked Ian.

Kenneth extended his arm and showed him a long wand sheath, made of black leather and engraved with golden motives. It was elegant and shiny, but only if you looked closely at it. Otherwise, it was nearly invisible in the folds of his sleeve.

Not really sure what to say, Ian looked for a long time at the wand sheath.

"That's… nice," he finally said.

"It's the sheath of Branwyn," said Kenneth. "I don't know if I can explain it clearly. Branwyn was one of our family's heroes. She has been honoured in our tradition for centuries. A Wandmaster has three things he calls his own and values: his Honour, his Wand and his wand sheath. Each Lionheart has a sheath, made for him, unless he is deemed worthy to wear the Sheath of Branwyn. When a member of a clan is given the sheath, he can either live up to its meaning and be a hero or sully it. If he dishonours it, the sheath is stripped from him. If he is judged worthy, then the next one to wear it will be chosen by him, or by the Clan, if he passes away. My Great Grandfather was given the sheath of Branwyn by his father. He died before Grindelwald and the bastard stole the sheath. Dumbledore reclaimed it and gave it back to Gahenis, my Grandfather. However, tradition forbade him to wear it. I'm the first the Clan deems worthy of Percival's deeds. If she had lived, my Mum would have gotten it."

"So, it's old?" asked Ian.

"Yeah, it came from the fourteenth century," said Kenneth. "It has been kept in Lionheart Hall, whenever it wasn't worn."

"Oh," said Ian.

He stayed silent for a minute, and then he asked, almost without thinking.

"So your Mum would have gotten it? I thought she wasn't of the Clan?"

Then he realised he had stuck his foot right in his mouth and probably hit Kenneth right in the wound.

"I mean, if you feel like talking about it," he said.

"I usually don't," said Kenneth.

"I can understand that," said Ian.

"Mum was a Muggleborn," Kenneth went on, however.

Maybe he really needed to talk, after all.

"She and my Dad met in Hogwarts," he said. "They soon learned to know each other, since they were in the same House. But until seventh year, they had no idea that they had something else in common. Dad was hopeful his gift would soon appear. But Mum wasn't expecting it. However, when she manifested, Dad knew exactly what she was going through. He called to his family and Uncle Elan came along to teach Mum about the gift, making her an effective member of Clan Lionheart."

"I'm not sure I understand that," said Ian.

Kenneth smiled. Ian could almost hear him think 'trust a Ravenclaw to focus on the knowledge'.

"Mum was a Root, the first one in her bloodline to have the Gift," he explained. "When a Root manifests, the first Clan they encounter must take them in and teach them the code. So my Clan taught Mum. At first, she believed Dad only wanted to date her because of her power but when Elan taught her our code and tradition, she realised that Dad didn't care much about the Gift. It was common place for him. So she realised that he was interested in her and no one else. After that, they were together. When Dad manifested, she joked that he took his sweet time."

"That's a nice story," said Ian. "How was your Mum?"

"Beautiful," said Kenneth. "She had long black hair. And she had green eyes. A little like Professor Potter's," he added with a smile. "And she was sweet to me like no one else. I didn't care if she gave me presents or anything as long as she smiled to me every day."

Ian was moved to tears by the sound of Kenneth's voice. He had the feeling that the young boy wasn't opening his heart that often.

"The day she died… I was with my family, waiting for Mum and Dad to get back from a secret mission. She had told me she had a very special gift for my birthday, before she had left in the morning. And in the evening, Dad came back, alone. He looked completely destroyed. I refused to believe him, when he told me that something terrible had happened. I refused. She couldn't have died. Not on my birthday. She hadn't given me my present… the kind of stupid things you think when you're seven."

"When was it?"

"The end of the Second War," said Kenneth. "It was days before the Slytherin Rebellion and the Fall of Voldemort."

"I remember these days," said Ian. "I was with my parents and, every day, we heard about people dying or going missing."

"And you never believed that it would happen to you, did you?" said Kenneth.

Ian shook his head.

"We all feared it, but until it really happens, it's not completely real," he said.

"I never saw my Mother again," said Kenneth. "They didn't find anything left of her, expect her wand. It's kept in the Vault of our Clan, in Lionheart Hall, in a silvery box."

"That has to be hard," said Ian.

"I never saw her dead," said Kenneth. "I don't know, maybe it made it harder for me, but I never talked about this with anyone except in my family. They know I don't like to speak about it. Maybe this pain was my own, was the only thing I got left from her."

"That's not true," said Ian. "You have your memories. You have all these smiles she has given you."

Kenneth seemed to think a lot about this. Then his face lit up a little. He smiled to Ian.

"You're right," he said. "I have that. How come you thought about it and I didn't?"

"I'm a Ravenclaw," said Ian, with a wink. "I'm from the smart bunch. Plus, your pain probably blinded you to this simple truth," he added. "Wow, that sounds pretty pompous, coming from me, doesn't it?"

Kenneth had a sad chuckle. He nodded.

"Maybe I was right after all," he said.

"About what?"

"When you came around, I first wanted to ask you to leave me alone. Then I thought maybe it was time to talk after all these years. Seems I was right. Thanks, Ian."

"No problem," said Ian. "I'm glad I helped you."

It was maybe the truest thing he had ever said. The idea that he had really helped Kenneth in his grief was something he could finally feel good about, in a pretty terrible day.

"You don't mind if I drop the subject, now?" asked Kenneth, crumpling up the parchment.

"Not at all," said Ian, smiling. "I wanted to ask you about your work with Kieran, anyway."

"It's going good," said Kenneth. "Soon, I'll be able to face Donahue again."

"Too bad I'll miss it," said Ian.

"Oh, but you'll hear about it, trust me," said Kenneth.

Ian could tell there was still sadness in his voice. It's not like it could vanish in the blink of an eye. But, as it had been good for him to talk, now it was better for him to think about something else.

"Just one last question," asked Ian. "Did you ever think of talking about this with your friends of Gryffindor? I mean, you and Kalindra are really close."

"Yeah," said Kenneth. "Maybe today, I'll talk with her. I thought about it. But again, I thought I had to keep it for myself."

"Just my opinion, but that's not a good idea," said Ian.

"Not really," said Kenneth. "But we don't always take the right decisions, do we?"

"Or sometimes, we take them too late," said Ian, a little touch of dark in his voice.

"Meaning what?" asked Kenneth, on a curious tone.

"No, something about the Ball," said Ian. "A missed opportunity."

Kenneth winced, and then smiled. Ian then realised that he was speaking with him about the Ball, after Kenneth had confided in him for his grief over the death of his mother. He rolled his eyes.

"Not feeling that bad about the Ball, now, huh?" said Kenneth, as if he was reading his mind.

"Yes," admitted Ian, realising that his own problems were quite insignificant regarding to some others.

"I realised that about some of my problems, too," said Kenneth, smiling more frankly, this time.

"So you're going to that Ball?" asked Ian.

"Can you imagine that a girl actually asked me out?" said Kenneth.

"Yes, I can," said Ian. "I wonder why you doubted that. Hope you'll have a good time."

"Will I see you there?" asked Kenneth.

"I don't know yet," said Ian. "I'm not quite sure."

"It's only a Ball," said Kenneth.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Ian.

They both headed back to the Castle. Soon, Kenneth's face was closed again. But the sadness in his eyes wasn't so deep anymore. Ian hid it, but he felt quite good about this chat, now.

Your day isn't a complete waste after all, Malcolm, he told himself.

When they got back in the Castle, Ian saw that Donahue and his friends were talking with Julie, Kalindra and Jennifer. Donahue was clearly more interested in Julie than in the other two. And the other two were clearly more interested in the stone floor than in Donahue, thought Ian with a smile. What sequence of events had brought Kalindra to be roped into a conversation with Donahue, Ian could only wonder, especially since her relationship with Julie was tense at best, these days.

Kenneth showed no reaction at all on what he was seeing. He had still his face closed. He walked away without a word.

"Hey, Lionheart," said Donahue, in the distance. "Why the long face? Did somebody die or did you fail again in Defence?"

Kenneth only tensed slightly before to stalk off, without a glance to Donahue, which seemed to disappoint the Prefect. Ian suddenly felt furious. Talk about something futile… Donahue's attitude was just the exact right sort of inappropriate, in the situation.

He couldn't stop himself before to blurt out in anger.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, for once in your life, Donahue, can't you just shut up!" he shouted.

Donahue turned to him, but Ian's eyes flashed in anger, and it seemed to remind Donahue that even if he was only a fourth year, Ian could still hand out his ass to him, in a much more spectacular and humiliating fashion that anything that Kenneth could dish out. The Slytherin Prefect just glared back, looked at Kenneth who was walking away, without a word. Then he turned his back and dragged his Slytherin friends and Julie after him "to see something in the courtyard."

"Git," said Ian between his teeth.

"Couldn't agree more, Master Malcolm," said Kalindra, who had joined him.

She was smiling. Jennifer was now out of sight.

"Senseless idiot," Ian went on. "He always has to hit right in the wound, huh?"

"Do you know anything about the wound?" asked Kalindra. "I mean, Kenneth has been this way for the whole day, and I don't know why."

"I'm not sure I'm the one who should tell you that," said Ian, earnestly hesitating. "But I guess you're close enough to Kenneth to be cautious with that. Today, it's his birthday."

Kalindra had a wince, proving to Ian that she could understand.

"Damn, I forgot," she said. "He usually insists on forgetting it, too…"

"Today, he had no way to escape it, apparently," said Ian. "Since he's been recognized as a Wandmaster, there was a tradition that forced him to receive a gift. He's not too thrilled about the whole thing."

"How do you know about it?" asked Kalindra.

"He told me," said Ian. "It seems he decided he needed to talk about it."

"Wow," whispered Kalindra again.

"Seriously, that was out of line," said Julie, as she walked beside Robert.

"Excuse me?" said Robert. "Oh, you mean, Lionheart? Why would you care, really?"

"I don't," lied Julie. "I do care about the way my boyfriend acts. When he makes a fool of himself, I feel I need to point it out to him."

The truth was that she had seen the look on Kenneth's face and it did seem serious. She may have hurt his feelings quite seriously herself, it didn't mean she had to add to the pile, now. The least she could do would be to try and spare him any more pain, no matter if he never heard about it.

"Julie, I would like a word with you, please," called a voice behind them, as they were on their way to the courtyard.

Julie turned to see Professor Dumbledore, who was catching up with them, in the corridor.

Puzzled, Julie stopped walking after a short nod toward Robert, who carried on, leaving her alone with Dumbledore. She faced the Headmaster, who was smiling reassuringly.

"In light of the visions you seem to experience, the staff has come to a decision," said Dumbledore. "You know we have a Divination teacher, in the school."

"Yes, Sir," said Julie. "Two of them, actually."

"Indeed," said Dumbledore. "And yet, we feel that your visions, given the sensitive nature of their object, need a more personal touch."

"Personal, Sir?" said Julie.

She could already picture it. Remedial Divination with Trelawney, or even Firenze, held no appeal to her, at all.

"I've gotten in touch with a personal student of mine who was teaching Divination here before Professor Trelawney joined our staff," Dumbledore went on. "She kindly agreed to return and help you with that gift of yours."

"You brought in a teacher just for me?" said Julie, appalled at the trouble Dumbledore had gone through.

"Oh, yes," said Dumbledore. "I have two reasons for that. First, true Sight is rare enough and requires an approach at teaching I'm afraid Sybill cannot offer you, because of her schedule, mainly. So, Professor Wroxton will join us next week and will set up your lessons with her. We'll make sure it doesn't disrupt your other activities."

"Oh, don't worry about that," said Julie, with a smile. "I know where my priorities are. You really think my visions can be controlled?"

"It will be up to Professor Wroxton to determine it," said Dumbledore. "I will get her in touch with you, as soon as she will have settled in the castle. You may go, Julie."

"Thank you, Sir," said Julie, before to remember. "Oh, Sir?"

Dumbledore, who had started to walk away, turned back to her.

"You mentioned two reasons," she said.

"I did, didn't I?" he said. "How thoughtful of you to notice! The second reason I recruited her is because she accepted to come back for free," he said on a conspiratorial tone.

The twinkle in his eyes made Julie chuckle.

"Good evening, Sir," said Julie.

"Good evening, Julie," replied the Old Wizard.

Kenneth was sitting next to the fire, silent, in a deserted common room. Most students were in the Library, or out in the grounds, since the end of afternoon was softer and sunnier than the beginning.

He hadn't reacted to Donahue's teasing. But all that it did was to reopen the wound. Yes, indeed, somebody had died…

Someday, I'll punch his words back in his throat, he told himself. But on my terms, not his.

Some movement in the portrait hole got his attention, and Kalindra walked slowly toward him, seeming to hesitate.

"I… erm… I just talked with Ian," she said.

She sat in front of him.

"Sorry," she said softly. "I forgot about today."

And her sympathy was so strong in her eyes that Kenneth couldn't be mad at Ian to have mentioned the date to her. He had a sad smile.

"That was kind of the point, right? I did tell you I didn't want to celebrate," he said.

"Right," said Kalindra. "Didn't think tradition would step in, though. So what did you get?"

Kenneth held out his forearm and Kalindra's eyes widened. Since he had been revealed as a Wandmaster, Kalindra had been the one he had confided in the most about his family's tradition. So she had to know what it was.

"Is that… Wow, the Sheath of Branwyn, seriously?" she said.

Kenneth nodded.

"That's… amazing," said Kalindra. "And that's… sad, at the same time."

"Yeah, something like that," agreed Kenneth.

Kalindra seemed to hesitate.

"So… you want to talk about it?" she asked, almost timidly.

Kenneth sighed and after a long moment, he nodded.

"I'm here for that," said Kalindra, smiling.

And Kenneth began the conversation. When it ended, a long time after that, they both had cried, and Kenneth was now feeling clearly better.

Alexander went back to his apartment after a long investigation of the place of the attack. Unfortunately, his reading Skill wasn't enough to reveal anything on the attacker. He was lost in his thoughts when he reached his apartment door, which was guarded by Waldo. Well, guarded was maybe a quick word, as the little creature was lying on the floor, his eyes shut, and snoring, which made little puffs of smoke get out of his nose.

Alexander shook his head. Waldo was a lazy pet, and he found this endearing about him. But the next thing he saw pushed away any magnanimous thought regarding the dragonet. On the turn of the corridor, emerging slowly from the shadows, a baby was floating its way to Alexander's door, giggling. Alexander couldn't believe that Waldo had let her float out of the apartment and going back home on her own. What kind of warder was he?

"Waldo, what are you doing?" he exploded. "You're supposed to look after her."

Suddenly awake, the dragonet raised surprised eyes to his master, and answered by a puzzled groan, which was clearly expressing his thought.

What is he talking about? I've done nothing wrong. He must be losing it.

Alexander eyes then widened when he saw that the floating form wasn't Christine! He reached the baby, in the door frame and found that Lily Weasley was now laughing as if she was clearly enjoying herself. To avoid any accident, Alexander made the door swing open, before Lily would float right into it and hit her nice little red head. But he decided to let her float her way, as he really wanted to see where she was heading.

And no mistake, the little girl floated through the door and entered Alexander's apartment. From her cradle, Christine seemed to know who was coming to visit, and she greeted her with a giggle. Lily flew across the room and landed in Christine's cradle with a triumphant laugh.

Alexander rushed to see if the babies were alright. When he bent over the edge of the cradle. The two girls were now playing a game were they tried to grab each other's hands, with a huge concert of "adah" and "gedah", on both sides. They were laughing like mad, now. Alexander could help a little smile to come across his face.

"What are we going to do with you, girls, honestly?" he said.

His daughter and her best friend were ignoring him superbly.

"SHE DID WHAT?" exclaimed Ron.

Hermione had made her appearance in Alexander's apartment, completely beside herself, led by her wand, looking terrified at the thought of a lost Lily. She had been reassured to know that she was in Alexander's place. But her calm disappeared as soon as she learnt that it was Lily, this time, who had flown across the whole Castle.

In the meantime, Ron had got back from work early, and had found his wife with his two friends, since Harry had joined them. And now it was his turn to be thunderstruck by the news of his daughter's new feat.

"There's nothing to worry about," said Alexander. "I guess it was a matter of time."

"What do you mean?" asked Ron.

"Well, I think Christine gave the example to her, so it was sure that sooner or later, she would follow it. After all, she has the potential for it. The fact that she had glowed in response of Christine's first flight was a clear sign."

"You mean my baby is a chaotician?" said Hermione, astonished at the idea.

"I see no other way to explain," said Alexander.

"But how is it possible?" asked Harry.

"I can see more explanations than you can think of," said Alexander. "The two that are the most likely to be true are so: First, Hermione and Ron are both powerful wizards, Hermione much more than her husband," he added with a dirty look to Ron, who made a face at him, though he smiled, too.

"That's not true!" protested Hermione, shocked.

"Yes it is," said Ron, still grinning. "It's just that I'm braver. Or thicker, pick one."

Hermione threw him a withering look and then hugged him, smiling.

"Thus the combination of your bloods may create the proper… alchemy to give birth to a chaotician," said Alexander.

"Or?" said Hermione.

"Or your exposition to the destruction of the Seal of Chaos, since you were right near the phenomenon, has simply affected the both of you and it has been passed on to Lily. I don't think there's any danger for her health. I have never been sick from my gifts and Madam Pomfrey, the Healers of St Mungo's and the Muggle doctors you consulted all certified that Lily was in perfect health. It's just that … She's a witch… who will not need to use her wand as often as others."

"Oh, Merlin," said Hermione, her voice weakening.

"What's wrong?" asked Harry, sounding worried for his friend.

"Well, I already had a hard time to handle her with only her cries and tantrums. Now that she starts to fly around the place, I'm sure to break down," moaned Hermione.

"Don't worry about that," said Alexander. "I'm sure we can deal with her as well as we deal with Christine. We only need a common Nursery, don't we?"

"A common Nursery?" repeated Ron.

"Well that would save them the trouble of flying across the place, if they have their favourite play pal in the same room," said Alexander, winking.

"You take all of this so casually," said Hermione in awe. "How do you do that?"

"Well, that's quite easy," said Alexander. "I lived through it myself, so I guess I know I have nothing to worry about. Soon, they will know that they must be careful. And we will all be just fine."

"And I thought I was the optimistic one," said Harry.

"You're rubbing off me," said Alexander, shrugging.

On the late evening, the Gryffindor Common Room was usually crowded, so the girls were used to get up in their dorm room to chat and sometimes do their homework. This time, it was about chatting.

Julie was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the excited chatter of Kalindra and Mandy. Marion was only half-involved in the conversation, plunged in one of her novels, while Jennifer was actually getting some homework done, while piping in from time to time.

Julie was trying to sort out her feelings. The fact Professor Dumbledore had felt the need to call a special instructor to deal with her visions was both exciting and worrying. It was exciting in the sense that Julie felt she may get some control over the visions. But it worried her because it added even more significance to what she was seeing. Again, the dread of seeing Kenneth dying in her arms washed over her, and her heart felt once more conflicted.

Part of her still resolved to keep Kenneth away, for his safety. This was the only way she could see to save his life. But the same feelings that pushed her to protect him also wanted to rush to him, to beg for his forgiveness, tell him everything and at last embrace the love she felt for him, should he be kind enough to forgive her, which she doubted very much, at this point.

To have seen Kenneth so down today had been hard, and, no matter how much she liked Robert, his attitude had been odious, right then. Doubts were dancing in her mind. Was she so certain about her decisions? Was it the right path?

If she was honest with herself, Julie knew that the main reason she was still dating Robert was to protect Kenneth's life. But, at the same time, she couldn't deny the attraction she felt for the Slytherin prefect. He was handsome, he was charming, and she enjoyed both his company and his attentions. She got to spend very nice moments with him. Thanks to him, she truly hoped that she would be able to get over the pain of letting Kenneth go. But she still dreaded the coming Yule Ball.

"I just can't wait for the Ball," said Kalindra, shattering her train of thought. "I've got a new gown. If Rob doesn't get nuts with this one, I'm not a witch anymore. It will be perfect."

"Well, speak for yourself," said Mandy, gloomily. "I haven't got a date, yet."

"How is that even possible?" asked Julie, bewildered, turning to Mandy, and rolling on her belly.

"Maybe I scare people away," said Mandy. "But nobody ever asked me for this Ball, since I pushed that boring Ravenclaw back into his tower."

"Oh, give it time," said Kalindra. "I'm sure our little monk of a housemate will see the light soon enough."

"Huh? What?" sputtered Mandy. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, Mandy," laughed Marion. "We all caught the looks you're sending Thierry. You should ask him, you know. I don't think he's that clear on the whole "boy asks girl out for the ball" traditional way of things. He's been very secluded.

"You think?" asked Mandy, seriously. "I mean… I was kinda hoping he would ask, so…"

"Save yourself the trouble," said Kalindra. "You should go for it. If you want a motivation, you can tell yourself you're running out of options."

"Yeah, I guess so," said Mandy. "I mean, even Fields is going with Alwena. What's up with that, anyway?"

"Not much," said Jennifer. "Anthony said Alwena asked him but that it doesn't mean anything serious. They're going as friends."

"Right," said Mandy. "I thought, than I could still ask Kenneth as a friend, since he's never getting any partner, but even he isn't available anymore."

The sentence seemed to echo in Julie's mind. Was it for real? It did nag at her for a moment, before she finally gathered the courage to question it, more than half an hour later.

"Mandy? What did you mean when you said that Kenneth isn't available for the ball anymore?" she asked.

"Didn't you hear?" said Mandy. "Gillian Crawley did what everyone thought was impossible and asked Kenneth for the Ball."

"He said yes?" asked Marion. "I thought he didn't want to go."

"Well, it seems Gillian made him change his mind," said Mandy, with a shrug.

The whole discussion had sent a chill down Julie's spine. Gillian? Kenneth was going to the ball with Gillian? That simple fact in itself seemed rather harmless. In fact, it should have relieved her. And yet, it suddenly felt like a stab through her heart. He… Kenneth was moving on. This was it. She had truly lost him, this time.

Sure, she knew she had wanted it. It had been her choice. She could find comfort in all the reasons why she couldn't be with him. She called on to every detail of the vision she had. With everything at stake, it was for the best. It still hurt like nothing before. It felt like she couldn't breathe anymore.

She managed to put on a brave face in front of her friends, carrying on her conversation with Mandy and Marion without showing a sign of her pain, until it was time to turn in for the night.

Once she had closed the curtains of her bed, she buried herself under the sheets and buried her face inside her pillow, and finally let it out… biting into the pillow, she allowed herself to cry.

It was her choice, right. But it was still the worst she had ever felt in her life.

Silently, as silently as she could, so that no one would hear, so that this pain would be ignored by all, Julie cried until she knew no more.

Okay, done!

Now, about the changes... There has been some feedback on the story about Julie's character, and I realised I may have been a little too heavy on my change of storyline, when it comes to her character, making her come across as a negative character. While she has a her flaws, she still is one protagonist and I don't need people to hate her (please please please, she'll try to make things right, I swear!).

Thing is, in the first draft of the story, Julie was still undecided between Donahue and Kenneth, at this point of the story, not dating either and basically doubting all over the place. Her dreams weren't supposed to have any significance until the sequel. but I found, as I reread this story for rework, that it felt boring, and drawn out. I mean, she's a teenager, why in hell would she spend a whole year and a half torn between two guys? So, I chose to speed up the storyline about her vision having an impact on her life, and more exactly, I chose to have those mess with her personal life. Since I had chosen to have her date Donahue, in the previous book, I felt this would be a good 'bump' in her relationship with Kenneth. As it is, it seems it have made Julie look like an evil bitch (sorry, language!) in the eyes of some people. That was not my goal at all.

So, I tweaked a few things in this chapter, in order for Julie to regain a little sympathy. You can let me know if it worked, at least a little, byt reviewing (oh didn't you see me going there?).

Next: Julie comes clear with someone, gets a few hints about Divination, and we're introduced to yet another 'friend of Dumbledore'. We should be alright, though. She's also a friend of Minerva. :)

See ya, guys!