A/N: Hello everyone! Just another warning, there is some domestic abuse in this chapter, all in the italics, feel free to skip over if you don't want to read that. There is also some language in here. It seems I've kind of fell into a rhythm of posting every couple of days, so I will try to keep that constant unless something happens. I'm actually in the process of writing chapter 6, so updating every few days or so shouldn't be a problem. Let me know how you feel about this in the reviews!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything Harry Potter in here. I'm just happily sitting in the sandbox and letting my imagination run wild!

Chapter 3: Trick or Treat

The first week of classes was spent with Auntie Minnie. It was amazing watching that woman glide around the room, conducting her class like it was an orchestra. I wonder how long it took for her to teach like this. She was stern when she needed to be, but was also kind and gentle. I noticed that she was awarding and removing points from certain houses. What does that mean? The students would rejoice when she awarded points, but would slump in their chairs if she took away points. I have to remember to ask her about it later. Every day we would have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. I was finally able to catch up with her on what has happened in the past few years, minus all the bad stuff.

We were walking through the corridors on one of her breaks when black robes suddenly appeared from around the corner and were flowing towards us.

"Minerva, a word," Professor Snape demanded, quickly glancing at me before eyeing my godmother. She sighed as she gave me an apologetic look.

"I'll be fine, I'll sit right here," I said, pointing to the ledge on my left. I turned to sit as they started walking away. Obviously it is something that is for her ears only.

I leaned back against the pillar, letting the sun hit my skin. Thank goodness I wore my trousers today and ballet flats. A slight breeze flew by, and I wrapped my blazer tighter around me in an effort to keep warm. I turned my head, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two in their conversation. They both looked very serious. Professor Snape kept glancing over my way with a very concerned expression on his face. At one point, I could see Auntie Minnie gasp, her hand covering her mouth. Must be pretty bad. I turned back to look at the students walking by. I still need to figure out my classes. Auntie Minnie's hand on my shoulder shook me out of my thoughts.

"Ready, dear?" I nodded, hopping off of the ledge.

"Is everything okay?" I hope it wasn't about me.

"For the moment, yes." She paused to think.

"The Halloween Feast is approaching. Do you have anything to wear?"

"Um, I have clothes. Is it like a costume party?" She laughed at my answer. At least the air seems lighter now.

"No, not exactly. But it is a school event, you don't necessarily have to wear your teaching attire. You are allowed to dress up a bit if you like." I thought about what I had in my wardrobe. I'm pretty sure I had something decent enough to wear for Halloween. I nodded, letting her know that I should be okay on Halloween attire. It was just about time for her next class, so we started making our way back to her classroom.

"I really don't feel comfortable doing this, Lucas."

"Aw, is little Mia afraid I will hurt her?" His finger traced my bare shoulder down towards my chest. Goosebumps invaded my skin.

"No. I know you wouldn't hurt me, but I just don't think this is up my alley..."

"You love me, don't you?"

"Of course I do." I looked up at his piercing eyes. His hand flew right into my cheek, leaving it red and stinging.

"Then be a good girl, and do as I say." Tears rolled down my cheeks as he wiped them away with his thumbs.

"Oh, honey, don't cry. There's no need for that here." He gave me a soft kiss before blindfolding me.

He took off my top, then my pants. I could feel him running his hands all over my body. I shivered at his touch, aroused, yet terrified at what he would do to me tonight.

"It's okay baby. I know it's so new to you, but you will learn to like it." He gave me a swift slap to my bottom. I hissed at the pain, biting my bottom lip. He caressed my body, and I could feel myself melting at his touch. What was he doing to me?

The night went on just like that. Pleasure. Pain. Pleasure. Pain.

But he always remembered to take care of me. He loved me.

My eyes popped open. Another bad dream. I looked around to make sure it really was a dream, and sure enough, I was still at Hogwarts, in my bedroom. I walked out to the sitting room with my guitar and sat on the couch as the fireplace sprung to life. Strumming familiar melodies, I closed my eyes to push my dark thoughts away. I stared at the fire, the flames dancing to the sound of the wood popping.

"You're better than this," I said to no one.

I choked back tears as I tried to steady my rapid beating heart. I looked at the clock on top of the fireplace mantle. It was barely three in the morning. I can't stay in this room right now. I went back to my bedroom to put on some sweatpants before walking out into the hallway.

After climbing up two sets of stairs I made it to the ground floor of the castle and walked towards the Entrance of the school. There was a large clearing with the pathway that lead to the large gates. The clearing was bordered by small ledges and some benches. I sat on one of the ledges and leaned up against a pillar. Looking up, I saw an eternity of stars. This is definitely something you can't see while in the city. It was so serene. I could feel my body return to normal, but my hands were jittery.

"Ms. Taylor." Here we go again. I looked up to see Professor Snape. Apparently we have a knack for bumping into each other early in the morning.

"Hello, Professor. Sorry, couldn't sleep again," I said, rather sheepishly.

"That is quite alright, considering your…circumstances." What did he mean by that? I looked at him, curious.

"What are you doing up so early in the morning?"

"I brew potions for Madame Pompfrey to use in the hospital wing. Unfortunately, the batch I was working on was ready a mere half hour ago. I was on my way back to my quarters."

"Oh. Well, I hope you get some sleep then." I turned to look at my guitar. I could feel him staring at me again. It was getting a bit uncomfortable.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to sit here with you." What?! Is this guy insane? I, for one, have learned to function with little to no sleep. Professor Snape, on the other hand, might need some beauty rest or else he will be extra sassy.

"Um, sure I guess. I'm not exactly a great person to be around, though." I could feel myself staring to blush for whatever reason.

"I would like to ask you about that music you were playing when I found you in the garden. I've never heard something like that before. Can you play it for me?"

I looked at him in awe. He wants me to play for him? I can't be that good. But his question seemed genuine. He did seem interested. I smiled at him as I readied my guitar.

I started playing the song and, as always, my anxiety started to disappear. I could slowly feel a warmth coming over my body. It felt like someone was pouring happiness over me, and it was covering every inch of my body. As I closed my eyes, instead of seeing black, I saw white. Instead of seeing Lucas, I saw me. A happy me.

"Wait for me to come home," I finished, looking at him. I felt like a different person. I didn't feel as burdened as I did before. This was an odd feeling. I've done this many times, but I've never felt this relieved before.

And it happened with someone. With Professor Snape, of all people. I've heard of his reputation around here, so it's surprising that he would have this effect on me. My mind was racing, trying to understand what just happened, and I could tell he was doing the same.

Before, when I would play this song, it always felt like I was just taking some of the edge off. It relieved me just enough to get me through to the next day. It would always come back though, sometimes worse than the day before. The days when Lucas would use me were the worst. I felt like I barely held onto life by a finger on those days.

But this time… it was different. The deeper I got into the song, the lighter I felt. My visions of black turned to grey, then to white. The sight of Lucas faded away as my face came into focus. I was smiling, genuinely smiling. I looked healthy and happy. The way I wanted to be.

"What was that?" I asked, thinking he would know the answer. He stared at me, studying my face. What was he looking for? I looked straight into his eyes, trying to find an answer. All of a sudden, I felt locked into his gaze. Staring into his black eyes, I suddenly felt panic, and tried to tear away. Suddenly the panic went away, and I felt safe.

"Forgive me, there are matters I need to attend to," Professor Snape said slowly. I gave him a small smile.

"It's okay. I'll probably be here for a little bit." He started to stand as I caught his arm. I could feel him stiffen at my touch.

"Hey. Thanks for listening." He nodded as I let go, and left without another word. I sighed as I looked up towards the stars again, and played another song.

A knock came to my door before I could hear the door creak open.

"Mia, dear, are you ready? It is nearly time for us to be at the Feast," Auntie Minnie asked, peeking through the door.

"Almost done, Auntie!" I hurried to put on my lipstick and grabbed a cardigan. Seeing as it was the Halloween Feast, I decided to go for something on the darker side.

I wore my black three-quarter sleeve top, a forest green skirt that hovered just above my knees, and black ankle boots. I opted for my silver bangles and my serpent necklace that I've had since middle school. My parents always liked to make sure that I knew my heritage. Being part Chinese, my mother gave me it as a gift, since I was born apparently during the year of the snake. This seemed Halloween enough. I took one last look at myself before swinging my cardigan over my shoulders and walking out.

"Well, well, Mia. You clean up pretty well," Auntie Minnie teased me. I laughed, wrapping my cardigan around me.

"Thanks, it's probably because I actually showered today," I said, throwing her joke back at her. She linked arms with me as we walked down the corridor towards the stairs.

As we walked through the huge doors into the Great Hall, I was amazed at the transformation. There were candles floating above all of the tables, and the room was decorated with pumpkins and leaves. Each table was full of food, piping hot like it just came out of the oven.

"Wow, Auntie, this is… how did you guys do all of this?" I asked, looking at the amazing view in front of me.

"The wonders of magic, dear." I looked at her with sad eyes.

"A part of me wishes I could do some of this stuff. It would have saved me a lot of work!" Auntie Minnie laughed as we sat at with the rest of the faculty.

"You would be surprised at what you are capable of, Mia. Witch or not, you are an extraordinary person." I pondered that for a moment. Extraordinary? She's asking for brownie points.

I felt a draft behind me, and I turned to see Professor Snape coming through the side door. He was, as usual, in all black, but his billowing robes were absent tonight. Instead, he had what looked like a fitted coat, buttons running down the center. His off white sleeves subtly showed and draped around his wrists. His trousers were also fitted, and he topped it off with his trademark boots. I never realized how lean he was. He was always swimming in those robes. It took me a moment to realize I was staring before I turned back around and focused on my plate.

"Good evening, Severus, glad you could join us," Professor Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling in the candlelight. The Professor grunted in return.

"I'm only here because I have to be," he replied in his flat tone, looking at the students. He seemed pretty tense. Is there something going on? I need to start paying more attention.

The night went on with no issues. Everyone was happy and eating. I somehow was able to keep up a conversation with both Auntie Minnie and Professor Snape. After that little snippet with Professor Dumbledore, he seemed to have calmed down. I never really had the chance to get to know him, but now seemed better than ever.

"What subjects do you teach?" I asked him, picking at my dinner roll.

"I am the Potions Master. Unfortunately, potions is a subject all students must take, so I have the daunting task of having all these students in my classroom at some point during their education." He sighed, shaking his head.

"Potions? I think I can relate to that." I picked at my dinner roll again. "When I was at USC, one of my majors was in Chemistry. Auntie told me a bit about how potions works while we had one of our talks here." I looked at him, curious.

"If you're okay with it, I'd love to come and sit in one of your classes. It'd be interesting to see if Potions and Chemistry are alike in any way." He stopped to think for a minute. I shied away for a second, wondering if I shouldn't have asked him at all. I looked back just in time to see a small hint of a smile on his face.

"I suppose a visitation could be arranged," he said, pushing his food around his plate. I sighed in relief. I looked back at my food, hoping my chewing would mask the smile that was invading my face.

Two plates later, I felt like I was going to burst at the seams.

"I need to start working out. I'm going to gain so much weight if I keep eating like this," I said, not really talking to anyone in particular. I could hear Auntie Minnie chuckling and Professor Snape audibly choking on something. I patted his back to try and help him dislodge the food.

"Are you all right?" I asked, handing him his pumpkin juice.

"I'm…fine..." he said in between coughs. He took a long swig of his pumpkin juice before being able to calm down. I looked over at Auntie Minnie, who was oddly still chuckling away.

Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall flew open, and one of the professors came running down the center aisle.

"Troll! In the dungeon!" he screamed, almost tripping on himself.

"Troll! In the dungeon!" he screamed again, stopping in front of the faculty table. His face was pale.

"…I thought you should know," he managed to mumble before fainting onto the stone floor.

TROLL?! I stood, feeling the familiar tingling of my anxiety coursing through my veins. Chaos ensued, and it took Professor Dumbledore's amplified voice to calm everyone down just enough for him to give instructions. All students were instructed to return to their houses, while the faculty accompanied the Headmaster to take care of this problem. Seeing as I will be anything but useful to the team, I opted to just return to my room for the night.

"Do be careful, dear, I'll come see you once we are safe," Auntie Minnie said, holding my hands in assurance. I followed the students out of the Great Hall as the faculty came around to devise a plan to get the troll out of here.

Most of the students sounded scared. Their reactions ranged from thinking this was the end of the world to what the troll looked like, to if the troll could be controlled like a pet. I don't think I would want a troll for a pet.

As I passed a pair of bathrooms, I could faintly hear the sound of a girl crying. Was she hiding? Did she know what was going on? I stopped to listen, and figured she didn't know what was going on. I opened the door and heard her sobbing in one of the stalls.

"Excuse me? All students are being asked to return to their houses. There is an issue that needs to be taken care of," I said, my voice echoing. Suddenly, the sobs stopped, and it was quiet.

"Are you okay? I am here to help you. You don't have to be afraid of me." I walked towards the one stall that had its door closed.

"Please, it's not safe for you to be here. What is your name?" I asked, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"He..Hermione Granger."

"Hello Hermione. This is Ms. Taylor. I promise I am here to help-"

My voice was cut off by the sound of loud footsteps. Those were not your normal human footsteps. Those were troll footsteps.

I tried to steady my breath, trying to keep my anxiety to a minimum for Hermione's sake. I slowly tip toed to an open stall, careful to not let the troll see me. I crawled under the stall divider and huddled with Hermione.

"Professor!" She said, clinging onto my cardigan.

"We will be okay, don't worry," I said, both to her and myself. Suddenly, we heard the troll destroying the wooden stalls. We both fell onto the floor and I instinctively threw myself on top of the girl, shielding her from the shrapnel. Unfortunately, we didn't get low enough in time, and I could feel whatever tool he was using come in contact with my back. I yelled out in pain, still shielding Hermione from the troll.

I got a glance of the troll. He was huge, almost as tall as the bathroom, an ugly green color with a head that was so disproportionate to the rest of his body. He had a large piece of wood that was the shape of a baseball bat and was sparsely covered with nails. As I saw the nails, I could start to feel the blood dripping from my back. I realized he was about to swing again, so I threw my body on top of Hermione again.

"MIA!" I heard, but my mind couldn't register who it was.

The troll swung, the nails grazing my back again. My teeth gritted as my back burned from the contact.

I'll get through this. The troll wasn't going to win. I won't let it. That second blow did something to me.

For years, Lucas used and abused me, and all I did was fall to the floor and try to hide, but he always found me. The way that Hermione was reminded me of who I used to be. I felt this need to protect her, and I got so angry with the troll for putting her in such a position. I suddenly felt this tingling feeling inside of my chest, which resonated throughout my whole body. I looked at the troll, then realized Auntie Minnie and Professor Snape were behind it, wands out and ready to attack.

"Fuck off, Troll!" I yelled, and then a blast seemed to have emanated from my body. It threw me and Hermione back, and it knocked the troll unconscious, right at their feet.

Everything was fuzzy. I rolled to my side, trying to feel for the girl.

"Hermione," I whispered, hoping she could hear me. I found her small, dainty hand and held on.

"It's okay, I'm here," I said, not quite sure if she could hear me. I needed to protect her. No one should ever feel like that.

I was falling in and out of consciousness, but I was aware enough to tell that there was a crowd of people around us. At one point I could hear Auntie Minnie, then Professor Snape, then Professor Dumbledore. I couldn't make out what they were talking about. I could feel Hermione's hand slipping away, and I started to panic.

No! They're taking her away! Lucas is taking her away!

"No!" I tried to yell, but my voice was so hoarse that I don't think she heard me. The familiar tingling of anxiety came back.

"No!" I tried to yell again as someone scooped me into their arms. I tried to push them off of me.

"Hermione!" Tears were streaming down my face.

"Calm down, Mia. You're fine. Hermione's fine," the silky voice whispered in my ear.

"She's in trouble, like I was." I grabbed onto the black coat, and looked into black eyes. I sobbed, trying to come back down to earth. I could feel the arms hold me tighter.

"Not anymore. You saved her," the voice said to me. I looked up, and all I saw was a pale face and black hair.

"I did? Is she going to be okay?" I could feel my breath start to steady.

"Yes, and you will be too," he said with finality. I sighed, and then smiled in victory.

"You lost this time, Lucas," I said before everything went black.