Fear coursed through my body, I had never used the Crucio curse, or any other dark magic before, how did I find it so easy to cast?

It was that man again, from the forest, and I couldn't tell anyone, they would think I'm a liar just like Snape did. What was I going to do?

'Miss Morris? Whatever is the matter?'

I was pulled from my thoughts, it was Professor McGonall, who had her hands on my shoulders, everyone was watching and I realised I had been pacing back and forth in the Entrance Hall.

'Come with me, we'll have a cup of tea.' said McGonagall, and she led me away from the curious on lookers and into her office, which was a small room with a large, welcoming fire.

McGonagall gestured to the seat in front of her desk, which I sat down upon, and she sat opposite me, where she poured two cups of fresh tea from a pot.

'Now,' she said, after we had both taken sips of our drink 'what is the matter, Miss Morris?'

My eyes dropped to my knees

'Does it have something to do with the gossip that has been spreading around as of late?'

My head shook

'Something else?'

'Yes, I told Professor Snape but he didn't believe me, said I wasn't getting enough sleep and seeing things!'

McGonagall looked slightly confused

'Told Professor Snape what, Miss Morris?'

'That I saw a man in the outskirts of the forest, but he disappeared after a quick glance!' I said quickly 'Then I saw him again in Hogsmeade! And he actually spoke to me, I had to-uh-I stunned him then escaped!'

McGonagall looked alarmed and astonished

'What did he look like?'

'Well, he had these old rags on that looked like azkaban prison clothes, and his hair was all dirty and matted and had a bushy beard.'

A silence took hold, one in which I felt uncomfortable in.

'You do believe me, don't you!?'

'It would do no harm in sending the Aurors out into the forest to take a look, but yes, I do believe you Miss Morris.'

Relief swam over me and I sagged in the seat.

'Perhaps a calming draught?' she conjured one up with her wand, and handed it over to me so I could drink it.

'Thank you, Professor.' I said, raising to my feet

'Of course, Miss Morris,' said McGonagall 'I will inform the Headmaster and we will send out a party, do not be afraid.'

My back turned

'Oh, Miss Morris...' I glanced back at McGonagall over my shoulders 'tell me...are the rumours true?'

I looked forward, my eyes closing

'They are only half true,' I replied 'Greyback did attack me, but I wasn't bitten or infected.'

I heard her sigh

'Very well, I am truly sorry for whatever happened.'

I walked off towards the exit, feeling calmer with the potion inside me.

'Mara.' It was Oscar, who was waiting outside the office 'Are you okay? What happened?'

I revealed to him what I had told McGonagall, and his face fell, anger soon replacing astonishment.

'I'm sorry that happened! If I was only there..'

'It's being dealt with, McGonagall said a party will be sent out into the forest.'

Fear crept up on Oscar's face, but he tried to cover it with the shake of his head.

'Thanks for the heads up.' Oscar sighed 'Uh, listen, Mara, I have something to ask you.'

'What is it?'

'Well, Slughorn is throwing a party at Christmas, in his office. I'm on duty see, but he wants me to blend in and not look intimidating in uniform as an Auror. So, I was wondering, if you'd like to accompany me?'

Surprise hit me

'You're asking me, oh, uh,' an awkward silence took hold 'I-well-well yes, I'd love to go.'

'Excellent.' beamed Oscar 'I wasn't sure if you would accept.' he said shiftily

It was true, still I was wary of the boy but, he didn't seem to want any harm done to me, nevertheless, I had to be cautious of his intentions...

Christmas was approaching fast, and snow swirled against the icy windows once more. Hagrid had already single-handedly delivered the usual twelve Christmas trees for the Great Hall, garlands of holly and tinsel had been twisted around the banisters of the stairs, and great bunches of mistletoe had been hung at intervals along the corridors, which caused blockages as groups of girls liked to converge underneath.

The girls in the dorm gave me scornful looks as I zipped the back of my silk, blue dress with my wand, I ignored them and made my way to the Entrance Hall, where Oscar was waiting in a black suit.

'There you are, you look great.' he beamed, causing my skin to turn hot

'Thank you. Shall we get going then?'

After a brief pause I struck up conversation 'So, hows the search going in the forest?'

'The Aurors haven't found anything worthy of note yet,' Oscar shrugged 'they're still looking, I'm sure the man you saw wouldn't be hanging around, waiting to be caught, mind.'

'Yeah...you're probably right.'

Music and chatter caught our attention as we neared Slughorn's office and we entered.

Whether it had been built that way, or because he had used magical trickery to make it so, Slughorn's office was much larger than the usual teacher's study. The ceiling and walls had been draped with emerald, crimson, and gold hangings, so that it looked as though they were all inside a vast tent. The room was crowded and stuffy and bathed in the red light cast by an ornate golden lamp dangling from the centre of the ceiling in which real fairies were fluttering, each a brilliant speck of light. Loud singing accompanied by what sounded like mandolins issued from a distant corner; a haze of pipe smoke hung over several elderly warlocks deep in conversation, and a number of house-elves were negotiating their way squeakily through the forest of knees, obscured by the heavy silver platters of food they were bearing, so that they looked like little roving tables.

'Professor Slughorn, I'm the Auror on duty tonight if you remember?'

'Oh, but of course,' Slughorn beamed 'and you bought a guest like I suggested, lovely! And I recognise Miss Morgan!.'

'Actually it's-'

'Make yourselves comfortable!' Slughorn interrupted before I could correct him 'mingle amongst the guests and do your Aurorly duties! Ah, Harry m'boy!' boomed the potions master, slipping past us and greeting Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood at the door.

'Well, shall we mingle?' and we made our way into the crowd, grabbing goblets of mead along the way. My eyes surveyed the area as I sipped my drink, and I noticed a group of gushing witches disperse from a couple of familiar faces.

'It's members of the Weird Sisters!' I said excitedly 'Let's go and say hello!'

'Mara, I don't think-' Oscar's voice trailed away as I zig zagged around people, leaving him behind in the crowd.

I was nervous but excited as I approached the two men, it was Merton Graves and Kirely Duke McCormak!

'Uh-h-hello,' I said 'I'm Mara, Mara Morris, I'm a big fan!'

'Well, always nice to meet a fan,' grinned Merton 'we've been meeting them all night.' he guffawed 'So are you a student here? You look it.'

'Yes, I'm in my sixth year, I'm sixteen.'

'You alone?' asked Merton

'No, my friend is around here somewhere,' I glanced over my shoulder, looking briefly at the crowd before returning my attention to the two men

'Just friends?'

'Yes, just friends.' I smiled

'So no boyfriend?' asked Merton, and my skin burned

'No, no boyfriend.'

'Surprised no one has snapped you up, you're quite pretty you know.'

'Oh, uh, thank you,' I could feel myself blushing, and I didn't really believe his words, certainly the alcohol in his hand had a part to play in how he saw me, and the make-up on my face hiding the heavy bags under my eyes, if he saw me on a normal day, I'm sure he wouldn't be saying the same thing.

Greyback thought you were pretty, you didn't have make-up on then.

My head shook slightly at the intrusive thought, which threatened to pull back images of that horrible night.

'You alright?' asked Merton, shooting his friend a disconcerted look

'Yes, um, I just realised I need to use the bathroom, excuse me.' and I hurried off, leaving the two men behind with confused looks on their faces.

My fingers clenched the sides of the sink, my eyes avoiding the mirror in front of me as I tried to pull myself together.

'Get a grip,' I muttered 'he isn't here, he can't hurt you, don't let him hurt you.'

I breathed shakily and rose to full height, turned and marched out of the bathroom.

Upon returning to the party, I noticed a familiar figure standing in the corridor.

'Mara,' it was Merton 'I just wanted to make sure you were alright, I hope I didn't say anything that upset you.'

'Oh, no, you didn't,' I replied 'I just really needed the bathroom.'

He looked relieved, we talked for what felt like a long while, we conversed about his role in the band, and his time at Hogwarts.

'So, I wanted to ask you something,' said Merton 'I thought, maybe, you'd like to continue talking.'

Surprise hit me

'I've got my address here,' he pulled a slip of parchment out from his pocket 'I bought it because, well, just in case of an instance like this.'

'You...you want to keep talking? Over owl? Why.'

'You seem really nice, and sweet,' said Merton 'of course, if you don't want to...'

'I-I would love to!' he handed over the slip of parchment and I smiled back at him

'Thank you!'

Merton beamed back

'Mara, there you are!' came Oscar's worried voice 'I was worried, you just disappeared on me.'

'I just went to the bathroom, that's all.'

'With-with him?'

'Of course not!' Oscar looked relieved

'Well, come back to the party.'

'Alright, bye, Merton.'

'Bye, Mara.' I smiled at him in passing, feeling happier than I have in a long while.