Jillian ran through the wall at platform 9¾ and almost ran into the person in front of her. “Sorry,� she mumbled, but, of course, he didn’t seem to notice her. Jillian rolled her eyes at him and stepped around him before Kirsten could run her over.



As soon as she moved, Kirsten ran through the wall, barely missing her and the other person, and ran to her boyfriend Lucius. Jillian liked to think of him as the Locust because he was so disgusting, but she never said anything to Kirsten about that.



Jillian sighed, looked at the scarlet steam engine before her, and smiled. She really liked going to Hogwarts, but there were those times when she wished she could have gone before the rest of her family. At Hogwarts, she was practically invisible. It was amazing what she could do or listen to just because she was unnoticeable.



But with no friends except Moaning Myrtle in the girl’s bathroom, she had no one to gossip with. Their loss, she thought as she lugged her cart behind her. She made it to the train without any mishaps, but when she was about to board, the side of her suitcase split, and her new book, The History of Vampires, tumbled onto the sidewalk.



Jillian bit her lip to keep from screaming out her frustration and picked up the book just in time for someone to run past a mud puddle and splash water all over her brand new coat.



Jillian clenched her teeth to keep from saying some very bad words and got her wand out. “Milanse,� she said. The water was swept from her coat and floated in front of her. She looked at it mischievously and grinned as she sent it to the boy that had splashed it over her. It landed right on top of his head.



Jillian laughed and hurriedly got on the train. She examined the split in her suitcase and calculated the time it would take to sew it up. She wished her Aunt Ginger were here. She could have had it sewn up in less than ten seconds.



Wait, she thought suddenly, I’m a witch. I should be doing spells, not sewing it up manually. That would be a disgrace to my family.



“Reparo,� she whispered under her breath, and it was sewn nice and neat. A way better job than she could have ever done.



She noticed other people getting on the train and decided to keep moving. She moved to her usual spot at the very end of the train and sat down. She leaned back into the seat and sighed. Here goes another year at Hogwarts.



The door was suddenly opened and Jillian looked up curiously into the face of the Locust. “What do you want?� She asked rudely.



He didn’t seem to notice that she had spoken. “Kirsten says you have her money.�



Jillian rolled her eyes and pulled out the bag of Galleons, Knuts, and Sickles, and shoved them into his hands. He didn’t even thank her as he walked out of the room staring at the gold inside the bag.



If her family hadn’t been so rich - her father was second in command after the Minister of Magic - the Locust would have cleaned them out with his greedy ways. Jillian shook her head in disgust and looked out the window.



There was her mother, kissing Jane and Kirsten good-bye. Her older brother, Dean, was standing beside her, glancing at his watch. Jillian knew he needed to get back to work for his father.



They looked like a very happy family as Jillian’s mother wiped away a few tears when the girls boarded the train. Too bad she had to be the weird one.



Jillian pushed the thought away, took out The History of Vampires, and started reading. She barely noticed when the train started to move, she was so fascinated by the book. As the countryside rolled past her window, Jillian was off to the Black Forest. In fact, she wasn’t interrupted until the food cart came around at about 1:00. She bought some Chocolate Frogs and Pumpkins Pasties and returned to her book.



After she had eaten all the candies, Jillian put down her book and decided to take a nap.



The wind whipped past her as she urged her broomstick higher and higher. The clouds offered refuge from one of the Bludgers that had just flown past her. She searched around, looking, looking for the Snitch when a bolt of lightening suddenly slammed down on her. She was falling, falling. She had failed again. Was there nothing outside of books she could do right? Falling, falling, falling. The dark enveloped her as she hit the ground with a jerk.



Jillian groaned and pushed herself up off the ground. Why did she always fall whenever she dreamt about Quidditch? She kneeled next to the seat sleepily and yawned. She reached for her book and hugged it close to her, pushing the rest of the dream away.



After stretching and yawning in a very unladylike manner, she noticed a face looking through the compartment door at her and stopped mid-yawn. She stared at the boy, but he turned abruptly and walked down the hallway.



Jillian jumped up and opened the door, but when she looked down the way he went, there was no one there. It was eerily quiet on the train, and Jillian noticed that it was no longer moving.



Oh, no. She ran down the hallway and out the door to find no one there either. She cursed herself and started walking down the road that led to Hogwarts. She shivered and pulled her robes around her.



It could be wor - Jillian stopped herself before she could complete the thought, but it was too late. The sky rumbled, and it started to hail and rain at the same time. She stood there for a second, cursing everything, but she was soon running.



She shivered and pulled her robes around her tighter. She finally saw the castle and sighed in relief. She ran up the steps and banged on the front door. She waited for a few seconds, shivering, when Professor McGonagall opened the doors and gave Jillian a stern look.



“Miss Jillian, I see you are late. Come along. The feast is waiting.�



Jillian could only nod and follow the Professor through the corridor to the Great Hall. When she opened the door, every single person at the four tables was staring at her. For once, she didn’t like the attention, so she moved forward quietly and sat down in front of the feast. Soon, the talk started up, and everyone forgot about Jillian. Jillian only sighed and started eating.



I guess invisibility could be a good thing sometimes, she thought as she sipped her pumpkin juice.

Sunlight?

Noooooo, thought Jillian as she squinted her eyes open and glared at the window next to her bed. Do I really have to wake up?

Jillian sighed and groaned as she sat up. She stood up and, avoiding the mirror, pulled on a robe and started to brush through the tangled mess that her hair always liked to become whenever she slept.

None of the others who shared her dormitory were there, but that wasn’t a surprise. She had always prized her morning hours, and the others didn’t seem to want to change that. In fact, they hardly ever noticed her except in the mornings.

Jillian stretched her stiff muscles and walked out of the dormitory. When she reached the Great Hall, she slumped into a seat at the end of the table and pulled out her schedule. She groaned when the first thing she saw was Herbology. It was not her subject.

All the first years - still getting used to the idea of being witches and wizards - were staring in awe at the ceiling and bumping into everyone else including her. She almost charmed some of them to get them out of her way, but Jillian resisted.

She yawned quietly and wolfed down a piece of toast smothered in marmalade. She took a sip of milk and rushed upstairs to see if she could meet Myrtle before she had to go to class.

When she reached the girl’s bathroom, she banged open the door to the sound of a girl wailing. Myrtle screeched, “Who’s in this bathroom. Can’t you tell I’m busy?�

Jillian rolled her eyes and put her bag of books down. “Myrtle, how many times do I have to come in here for you to know it’s me.�

Myrtle came out of her stall and glared at Jillian with puffy red eyes. “I was just having a wonderful time reliving my death, and you came and d-disturbed m-me.� She started sobbing again and rushed back into her stall.

Jillian bit her lip and wondered - like she always did when Myrtle rushed off in one of her moods - if she should follow her and comfort her, but the first time she tried that, Myrtle had almost plunged her down the toilet. She did not want to repeat the experience.

Instead she called out, “I’ll come back after lunch. Just remember that you have a choice whether you want to be depressed or not.� Myrtle answered her with loud wails of despair. “I guess it’s the first one, then,� Jillian muttered as she stepped out of the bathroom and made her way toward the greenhouses.

Herbology passed as usual with Jillian getting bitten - today, by some strange two headed plant - at least six or seven times, and the teacher, Professor Sprout, being busy with the Hufflepuff students and not noticing her raised hand for help.

Then, it was Transfiguration. This was her favorite subject because she could actually do it. Well, this and Charms. She never raised her hand, though, and Jillian never knew why. It was as if someone had frozen her lips, and she couldn’t ever utter a word let alone the right answer when everyone was looking at her expectantly. She just followed instructions and tried to go at the same slow pace as the others.

Next, it was lunch, and Jillian tried to get to Myrtle’s bathroom, but it was flooded, so she didn’t bother. She went to Defense Against the Dark Arts and did almost as badly as she did in Herbology. It was a good thing she like to read about creatures like vampires and banshees, or she would have failed the class forever ago. Whenever she was faced with dark creatures - like the boggart last year - she was frozen, and the teacher always had to save her. She was never chosen to go first or even in the line to go against the creatures. She could do the spells; she just couldn’t do them with the creatures.

Next was History of Magic, which Jillian called her “nap period.� She read the things she learned from Professor Binns, and it was much more interesting than when he droned on about it.

Then, it was wonderful freedom and dinner in the Great Hall. After she had eaten, Jillian went to the library. It was her favorite place in the whole castle because it had two of her best friends in one: the books, and the librarian.

She slid into her usual chair at her usual table and sighed as she leaned back and breathed in the smell of books. She caught Madam Pince’s eye and smiled. Everyone else thought she was so stiff and austere, but Jillian thought she was interesting. She knew everything about books and history and spells, and she fascinated Jillian with her stories. They had become friends when Jillian had accidentally pushed over a bookcase when she reached to far to get an interesting looking book. Having detention in the library had started her relationship with Madam Pince, and ever since then, they had often stayed up late discussing topics from the Ministry of Magic to dragons.

Right now, Madam Pince was busy, so Jillian just looked around. There were a few people there which surprised her a little since rarely anyone ever came into the library on the first day back to Hogwarts.

One person caught her interest. He was holding a book in front of his face, but every once in a while he would look above the edge and glance around as if he was expecting someone. Jillian watched him and finally figured out why he seemed familiar to her. That boy on the train that she had seen when she woke up!

She narrowed her eyes and saw him shake his head and stand up. Jillian saw his robes and scarf. He was Slytherin, obviously. As a Gryffindor, she was a sworn enemy of Slytherin. She stared at him boldly and defiantly, and he noticed her stare. He raised an eyebrow scornfully and exited the library.

Jillian stuck out her tongue and pulled a book in front of her face. She would just ignore him from now on. He was obviously just like every other Slytherin, but she’d never seen him before. That was different. She was sure she knew every face in the castle because she could watch people, and they wouldn’t even know she was there. Very interesting.

Jillian shook her head and put the weird boy out of her head as Madam Pince walked over and greeted her. She made herself comfortable and started to ask questions. This was the chaos of life. Curiosity, magic, people. All of it.

Jillian hummed a small tune as she let herself into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. As soon as she heard the usual wails, she grinned and started singing a ridiculous made-up song as loud as she could.

As soon as the song stuttered to a stop – because Jillian couldn’t think of anymore words to go with it – Moaning Myrtle was floating before her with a scowl on her face and tears leaking out of her eyes.

“Jillian, if you’re going to be happy in my presence, why don’t you just leave?�

Jillian laughed at that, which made Moaning Myrtle huff loudly, and replies, “Because you’d miss me.�

Myrtle rolled her eyes and suddenly drooped. “You d-don’t know w-what it l-like to b-be d-d-d-d-d-dead!� She wailed as she rushed back into her stall.

Jillian sighed and decided that she would go after her just this once. She gulped and walked toward the stall and asked Myrtle in a sympathetic, kind voice, “What’s that matter, Myrtle.�

Moaning Myrtle obviously didn’t want to be talked to in a kind, sympathetic way because she suddenly reared up and yelled, “Don’t you pity me, you friendless bi-�

She was cut off by Jillian who threw a pipe at her, which went right through her head and landed with a thud against the wall. Instead of wailing and going down the toilet like she would have if someone else had done it, Myrtle attacked.

She grabbed a different pipe and chased after a laughing Jillian until Myrtle cornered Jillian in her stall. For the first time, Jillian saw Myrtle smile, but it wasn’t that kind of smile that you would ever want to see on a ghost.

“Myrtle, don’t you dare-�

Myrtle pushed her into the toilet.

Jillian came up sputtering, but she was pushed back. Jillian managed to get a breath and yelled, “Are you trying to kill me?!�

Myrtle giggled and said, “No, but I want to show you what it’s like. Koralis.�

The toilet suddenly widened, and Jillian wondered for only second how Myrtle could have done that. The next second she was going down the widened toilet screaming at the top of her lungs.

Jillian ended up in the lake. She couldn’t breath, so she struggled to the top until she burst out of the surface and gulped in some air. She breathed harshly as Myrtle floated up beside her.

“That was more fun than it usually is.�

Jillian – still breathing hard – coughed out, “Y-you brought me down a t-toilet?!�

Myrtle giggled, which surprised Jillian almost as much as going down the toilet, and replied, “You should see this lake. Come on.�

Jillian eyed her warily and asked, “I don’t have to go down anymore toilets or anything equally gross, right?�

Myrtle shook her head and ducked under the surface. Jillian bit her lip indecisively, then pulled out her wand and used it to make a bubble of air around her. She wasn’t supposed to know this one, but Professor Flitwick had let it slip. She had learned it from a book because she was curious. Now, it might useful.

She followed Myrtle down under the water and blinked her eyes to get used to the strange light under water. She swam up to Myrtle who gestured for her to follow.

Jillian nodded to show she understood and followed Myrtle. They swam for a while when Jillian felt something wrap around her ankle. She screamed and looked down. A strange creature was staring at her from some seaweed. She struggled to get her ankle away, but it only held on tighter. Jillian pulled out her wand and – wondering briefly if fire could be made underwater – shot a spell at it. It let go immediately, and Jillian swam up to avoid being caught again.

Myrtle was farther ahead, so Jillian struggled hard to catch up. When Myrtle finally stopped, Jillian was able to catch up.

Myrtle sighed and said, “Look at those mermaids.�

Jillian stared wide-eyed at the underwater city before her. Those were certainly mermaids and mermen. Jillian blinked when one of them suddenly came forward and said, “No one enters here. Leave.�

Jillian immediately backed away, knowing they were no match against him. Myrtle followed her, and they once again broke the surface.

The first thing Jillian said was, “You know, you didn’t have to stuff me down a toilet to show me that.�

Myrtle turned her back and muttered, “Never appreciative.�

She disappeared under the water, and Jillian started swimming toward shore. It was hard for her, and she was short on breath when she finally reached shore. She lay on the edge of the lake for a few minutes catching her breath.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she screamed at the sight of that Slytherin boy standing above her. She jumped up and glared at him. “What are you staring at?� she asked in her rudest, snottiest voice. It was actually effective if she ever used it.

The boy only sneered at her and turned. Jillian watched him until he was out of sight before she stared down at her wet robes. It was past dark, and she needed to get back to her dormitory to change before dinner. She sighed and ran up the hill toward Hogwarts.

When she reached the front doors, she had a sudden wish that she knew some secret passages into the castle. It would make getting in without anyone seeing her wet clothes a lot easier.

She took a deep breath and opened the doors carefully. She walked down the hall, and ran into the last person she wanted to see.

“Miss Jillian, may I ask why your clothes are all wet?�

Jillian looked away from Professor McGonagall and at her feet and answered, “I’m sorry Professor. I fell into the lake.�

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow and stared at the drenched student before her. She sighed and said. “You had better get to your dormitory and change before dinner, Miss Cole.�

Jillian nodded meekly and let out a relieved breath as soon as the Professor was out of earshot. She ran up the stairs to her common room and up to her dormitory. All the girls stared at her as she entered, but immediately looked away, not bothering to ask about her drenched state of dress. Jillian scowled at them, and she wanted to say something rude so she could get their attention, but she restrained herself with difficulty. She was dressed quickly and down to dinner before she could do anything she would regret.

Jillian looked around the corner cautiously and snuck to the door leading to the grounds. She dragged her broomstick behind her and stepped out into the bitterly cold, but somehow soothing, night.

Jillian took a deep breath and started toward the Quidditch fields at a crouched run. When she reached the fields, she made sure no one was still practicing or watching before she brought her Nimbus 2000 around and mounted it. She kicked off and let the sensations of flying take hold of her.

She had wanted to try out for the Quidditch team this year, but when she had reached the tryouts, she had turned beet red and ran out as quickly as possible. She didn’t want to fly in front of people. It made her nervous, and being nervous on a broomstick meant falling off.

Jillian practiced some dips and turns before just going in lazy turns around the field. She had done this last year, too, always at night. It was more peaceful here at night.

She watched the almost full moon in awe. It was always the best night to fly, the still gibbous moon casting the eerie shadows of the stands. It was like a very bright night light.

Jillian turned her broom toward the ground and saw someone staring up at her. She narrowed her eyes in their direction and swooped down. The person turned away and started off the fields in a run, and that made Jillian even more suspicious.

She dove toward them and landed on top of them with an oomph. Jillian brought her broom out from under her but stayed on the student’s back. She pulled back the hood that was hiding their face and glared into the face of that Slytherin.

She just scowled at him before he spoke for the first time that she had heard, “If you wouldn’t mind, my back is starting to ache. It is not accustomed to holding people on top of it.�

Jillian pulled out her wand as she stepped off carefully. She pointed it straight at him and said, “Why are you following me?�

He sneered that famous Slytherin sneer and replied, “What makes you think I’m following you?�

Jillian narrowed her eyes further and took a deep breath to calm herself. “I may not be the smartest person at Hogwarts, but neither am I the stupidest.�

He tucked his hands in his pockets and said nothing. Jillian rolled her eyes. “All right, let’s start with an easier question. Who are you?�

He didn’t answer.

“Why have I never seen you before?�

Again, he didn’t answer, and Jillian’s calm left her. “Petrificus Totalus!�

He went rigid and fell to the ground. Jillian walked up to him and turned him onto his back. “You know, I should just leave you out here for Madam Hooch to find.�

The Slytherin glared at her, but couldn’t do anything else. Jillian stood, sighed, and performed the counter spell. She walked away, wand still in hand as he stumbled to his feet.

She was almost out of the fields when she remembered her broom. She turned and saw the Slytherin holding it. She stomped back to him as he grinned nastily at her and tried to take it. He held it above his head as she made a jump for it.

“I didn’t do anything to you, so give me back my broom!�

He raised an eyebrow. “Nothing, hmm?�

Jillian pointed her wand at him again, but he was ready. “Expelliarmus!�

Jillian cursed herself for not remembering the simple spell as she flew backward and landed on the grass with a grunt. She shook her head and stared dazedly at the Slytherin as he walked toward her. She stood up quickly before he had the chance to tower over her too much. She wasn’t very tall, but neither was he.

She sized him up as he walked closer. He had dark brown hair and dark eyes. He was about half a foot taller than Jillian, and he had a wand and her broomstick. This was a bad situation.

Jillian stood her ground, though, and held her chin up. She didn’t feel as threatened by him as she should have been, and she didn’t know why.

As he came closer, Jillian asked him, “Who are you?�

He studied her for a second before saying, “You are smaller than I and unarmed, yet you still ask questions?�

Jillian suddenly felt a wave a tiredness descend on her. She yawned and blinked her eyes a few times before replying, “I’m curious.�

She saw a faint grin form on his mouth as he asked, “Do you know who Professor Kilicus is?�

Jillian blinked again and laughed tiredly. Everything was starting to go out of focus. “Of course I know who he is. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.�

He nodded and stepped closer. “Are you tired, yet?�

Jillian blinked at him in confusion before she finally understood. “You, you, your putting me to sleep!� She said through a yawn. She tried to keep her eyes open but failed. They started losing focus, and the last thing she could remember was his face staring at her as she slumped forward into his arms.




Jillian awoke face first on her bed. She groaned and wondered briefly why her head felt like it was cracking. She sat up and pulled back the curtains to her bed. The sun was high in the sky, and Jillian’s eyes widened as she raced to get dressed.

She stopped suddenly when she remembered it was Sunday. She didn’t have classes today. She sat back on her bed and yawned. I wonder why I’m so tired, she thought.

The night before seemed like a big huge blank, and Jillian didn’t know why. She couldn’t remember anything about it.

Jillian shook her head at the strange feeling and walked down to the common room. It was empty, and everyone was probably outside. Jillian shrugged and jumped out of the portrait hole and went down to breakfast.

“Hey, you!�

At the sound of her usual greeting, Jillian looked up at the Locust and grimaced. “What?�

He looked around and said, “Kirsten wants you to do my essay on vampires for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Here’s the parchment, and it needs to be 36 inches long.� He started to leave but turned back and added, “I need it done by Wednesday.�

Jillian gaped at the Locust as he exited the library and put her hand over her eyes. She really hated it when he did that. Of course, she didn’t have to do it, but that would only cause a duel with her sister, and that would not be a pretty sight - for her!

Jillian sighed and grabbed the parchment. At least she knew the whole history of vampires by heart or she would go shove this paper down the Locust’s throat and make him choke on it. Hopefully, that would cause death, but she doubted it.

“Are you actually going to do it?�

Jillian glanced up at the Slytherin and sighed. “What do you care?�

She felt his stare for a few seconds before she looked up with a glare and said, “Listen, if you want to stare at me, why don’t you find a nice little corner and sit there to do it. I’m busy.�

He only raised an eyebrow and continued staring. His dark eyes sparked a small memory in the back of her brain, but she couldn’t catch it. Jillian narrowed her eyes at him. “Who are you?�

He abruptly turned to walk away but turned suddenly and grabbed the parchment the Locust had given her. Jillian jumped up and snatched it back. They glared at each other in contempt when the boy suddenly pulled out his wand and muttered a spell. The parchment lit up, and Jillian dropped it. It landed on Jillian’s Hogwarts A History and started burning the cover.

Jillian gasped and swiped the burning paper onto the floor where it proceeded to burn a hole in the rug. Jillian stamped on it a few times to stop the fire, but that only seemed to make it bigger. She looked up at the Slytherin and, seeing he was laughing, pulled out her wand.

“Wingardium Leviosa!� The parchment, now turning into ashes, flew up and landed on the Slytherin’s head.

He yelled and started patting his head yelling, “Hot! Hot, hot, hot, hot!�

Jillian had to lean against the table, she was laughing so hard. When he finally got all the ashes and flames out of his hair, he had a few bald spots and a very red face. He clenched his teeth and was about to use his wand a second time when Madam Pince grabbed his ear. Jillian immediately stopped laughing and stared at the floor in shame. This was going to be bad.

It was worse than bad.

Jillian had to have detention for a whole week plus have fifteen points taken away from Gryffindor. The worst part was that she had to do detention with the Slytherin. It had to be the worst punishment she had ever had, even when she had knocked over those bookcases.

Some parts were slightly worth it, though. She had made the Slytherin have to go out and buy a potion used to grow hair back. She hoped it was very painful.

Everyone kept talking about it, too, and looking at her with strange expressions like they expected her to pull out a flaming piece of parchment and throw it at their heads. Some of the Gryffindors had congratulated her for “defeating the enemy.� It was the most attention she had ever gotten in all her four years put together. It was strange to have someone you didn’t know come up and say, “Good luck with that Slytherin in detention. Make sure you burn all his hair off this time.�

Yeah, the memory of the Slytherin hitting his head and yelling, “Hot!� would probably get her through the detention.




Jillian hugged her cloak closer against the chill of winter as she followed Professor McGonagall out to Hagrid’s hut. The Slytherin was following her as they fought against the bitter wind.

When they reached Hagrid’s hut, the Professor knocked on the door loudly and called, “Hagrid, I have the students.�

The door opened with a bang to show a large man at least twice as tall as Jillian and five times as wide. Jillian had never seen Hagrid up close, and was awed by the sheer size of him.

“A’right then! Come along.�

Jillian followed the giant man as he strode across the grounds. Professor McGonagall left them, but Jillian barely noticed. The Slytherin fell into step with Jillian and whispered, “Do you know why he’s leading us toward the Forest?�

Jillian, suddenly noticing where they were going, felt some surprise, excitement, and fear. She knew all the stories about the Dark Forest, but she had never even taken a single step inside.

She followed Hagrid anxiously, but as they reached the edge of the Forest, he steered toward the left and showed them to a stable that Jillian had never noticed before.

“This ‘ere is the stables that Dumbledore uses fer dangerous animals. Yer goin’ to ’elp me take care of ’em.�

Jillian’s eyes widened at the mention of dangerous animals. She hadn’t taken Care of Magical Creatures for a reason and that was because animals usually turned against her. It was a curse in the wizard world because every animal she met was usually dangerous.

The Slytherin said nothing as Hagrid opened the stable door, but Jillian gasped when she saw the beautiful creatures. There were only about four, but they were nothing Jillian had ever seen except for the occasional illustrations in her books.

She stepped inside and pointed to one. “Is that a Hippogriff? And that, that’s a sphinx. This…this is amazing. That’s a -�

“We don’t need an education right now. We already know what everything is,� the Slytherin drawled.

Jillian turned to give him a glare, but Hagrid stopped her by saying, “We’re goin’ t’ be feedin’ that one, there, in the back.�

Jillian looked toward the large cage in the back and asked hesitantly, “What is it?�

Hagrid grinned and answered, “It’s a dragon, o’ course.�

The Slytherin laughed and told Jillian, “You’re feeding it!�



(Author's Note) I'm sorry if I didn't get all of Hagrid's speech right, and I really was going to tell you 'the Slytherin's name' but the right moment didn't come up. Who he is will definitely come up in the next chapter, so be patient.

“You are incredibly ugly, you know that? Of course, you probably take that as a compliment.�

Jillian stroked the chin of the tiny dragon that she had been taking care of for the past three days. Since the dragon was so small, it could be kept at Hogwarts without danger.

Jillian studied the dragon - she had named it Seinte from the name of a famous dragon studier - and clucked at it. Seinte in turn clucked back and snuggled closer. Her scales were slightly uncomfortable, but Jillian loved it when they cuddled. It reminded her of all the pets she had wanted and never gotten.

She grinned at the thought of what her mother would say if Jillian told her she had a dragon. First, she would probably faint, then she would ask if it would hurt her carpets.

“I have never seen a dragon cuddle with anyone. It’s bloody strange.�

Jillian raised her eyes up to Peter’s - the Slytherin now had a name. About time. “Have you ever seen a dragon before this?�

He grinned and nodded. “My uncle had one once, but it nearly burned his house to cinders so he had to sell it. It was brilliant!�

Jillian grinned and turned back to Seinte. Peter and Jillian had settled on a sort of truce during their detentions, and it was working perfectly. Jillian would care for the dragon, and Peter would look after the cage. Since they rarely fought - unless you count the first time when Peter had shoved her into the cave and almost onto Seinte - detention wasn’t as horrible as she originally thought it would be.

She hummed a small tune as the dragon opened its mouth in a yawn. They only had to send it to sleep before they got out of detention, and Jillian was also getting tired. When Seinte was finally lulled to sleep, Jillian laid her gently on a fire-proof blanket and walked out of the cage. They couldn’t stay in the cage while Seinte slept because she snored in flames. It had been her bad luck to stay and almost get caught on fire the first night.

Peter locked the cage door and tip-toed - very exaggeratingly - out of the stables. Jillian followed with a chuckle. Peter was actually nice for a Slytherin, although, he could seem a little distant when he was thinking. He also had quite a temper, but so did Jillian, so she didn’t mind.

The walked along the edge of the Dark Forest in silence. Jillian peered through the branches curiously and sighed. She really had wanted to go into the Forest, but it was too dangerous for students.

Suddenly, Peter grabbed her arm and stared across the dark grounds. There was a shape moving swiftly toward them.

Peter grabbed Jillian’s hand and pulled her into the Forest.

“Wha-�

Peter put his hand over Jillian’s mouth to stopped her from making any noise as the hurried form got closer. Jillian could see that it walked on two legs and wondered why Peter was so worried. She struggled slightly, but he didn’t let go.

Instead he whispered, “Stay still. We need to move back into the Forest carefully. We don’t want to be seen!�

Jillian’s eyes widened at the thought of going into the Forest. She was just kidding when she thought about going into it. She really didn’t want to go any further. She started to struggle harder, but Peter grasped her upper arm and dragged her along with him as he moved back into the Forest.

They could still see through the trees and watch the form getting closer until it reached the trees. There was very loud breathing as it entered the trees and looked around. Jillian’s eyes widened when a form suddenly appeared beside the other one.

She would have gasped, but Peter’s hand was still making sure no sound escaped. Jillian watched as the two forms started having a quiet conversation. She only caught a few words as they whispered to each other.

“Dumbledore…not good…only sign…night…Dark Forest!�

“Wizards…destroying the…time is…Dumbledore…duty…life.�

It continued on like this as Peter dragged her a bit further back into the Forest until they couldn’t see or hear the two forms any more.

Jillian could hear her heart beating until she heard the distinct sound of someone walking toward them. Then, her heart stopped, literally.

Jillian could tell Peter was holding his breath as he moved back another step. There was a snap of a twig, and Jillian closed her eyes, knowing that they would be caught for sure.

Instead, the footsteps started moving away, and Jillian opened her eyes. Jillian and Peter stayed unmoving for a few minutes before Jillian suddenly elbowed Peter in the stomach.

He let her go with a grunt, and Jillian turned toward him. She whispered, “What just happened here?�

Still clutching his stomach, he only answered, “Don’t tell anyone about what happened. You can’t tell anyone, or there will be more danger than you know.�

Jillian stared at him searchingly and asked, “Do you know who they were?�

He shook his head and said, “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.�

She opened her mouth to ask another question, but only a small squeak of terror came out. Peter, noticing where she was looking, turned quickly and stood face-to-face with a very large spider. He gaped at it and stepped back. The spider breathed on them loudly before suddenly turning and running through the trees.

Jillian clutched her chest and said, “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!�

Peter nodded in agreement and grabbed her hand, tugging her out of the Forest. When they were safely out of the trees, Jillian suddenly asked, “So, you brought me in the Forest because?�

“It was for your protection.�

“Into the Forest? For protection? You’re mad!�

Peter rolled his eyes and started across the grounds. Jillian followed him and asked, “What are we supposed to do now?�

He shook his head and replied, “Nothing. That’s all we can do. Nothing.�

Jillian looked at him thoughtfully and walked to the castle with no further questions.

How can we do nothing. I know something bad happened, and I’m going to find out just what it was! She thought as she stamped into the castle. She yawned and decided to go to bed first and search for something when she was refreshed in the morning.


Author's Note: Well, I hope you enjoy the suspense! I finally gave you his name, although I need help with the last name. If you have any ideas, put it in your reviews, and I'll see if I can use it. Thank you, guys. I love all my readers!

Jillian groaned as the sun came up and started shining on her face through the curtains of her bed. She squinted her eyes open partially and wondered why. Why had she thought that trying to find out what happened in the Black Forest was a good idea. It was horrible!

She rubbed her head as she sat up and yawned loudly. The other girls were getting up, too, and they were all looking at her strangely. Jillian stopped in mid-yawn and narrowed her eyes. “What?� she asked finally.

One of the girls burst into giggles, quickly followed by the others. Jillian scowled. She really didn’t like being laughed at. She stood up indignantly and asked again, “What?�

One of the girls answered through her sputtering laughs, “Maybe -- you should -- look -- in the mirror!�

Jillian’s eyes widened in cartoonish horror, and she ran to the mirror. She gasped at the sight of her new face. New meaning she had an entirely different face. Instead of the brown eyes she usually had, they had turned red with small blue dots. She had red eyes! Evil! And instead of her usually dark brown hair, purple hair was shooting up from her head like Frankenstein's bride. There were also some bluish-green dots breaking out all over her skin like acne except worse, and her teeth had turned an amazing shade of maroon. Maroon! She hated that color!

Jillian gaped at herself, and gaped, and gaped some more. Finally, it registered that this was actually not a dream; this was a living nightmare!

She screamed.

Her shrieks attracted several people to come up and investigate, but this only served for her to scream more and pull a sheet over her head. This didn't exactly muffle her continuing shrieks, though.

Jillian was finally pulled out from under the sheet by the reassuring hands of Professor McGonagall.

Jillian stared at her, horror filling her eyes. Her mouth opened to asked the Professor a question, but instead of saying anything, Jillian fell away into a dead faint.

Professor McGonagall had quite a job of getting Jillian to the Hospital Wing and settling her in. By this time, the whole school had learned about a Gryffindor girl -- nobody actually knew her name because none of her sisters wanted to claim they were related to her -- was in the Hospital Wing because she was changing into some type of freakish monster.

Madam Pomfrey spent the entire day trying to understand what was happening to Jillian, and Jillian -- still in shock -- only sat there in a daze, her screaming done.

How could this happen, she thought. What could have made me get spots?!

These question kept going through Jillian’s head while people started visiting the Hospital Wing just to get a glimpse of her. Madam Pomfrey finally had to pull a curtain around Jillian because so many people had turned up to see her. Jillian didn't seem to notice all the people, although the school was turning her into some sort of celebrity.

When night had finally fallen, Madam Pomfrey had given up and all the other teachers came to study her. Jillian felt like some type of guinea pig as the Professors prodded her and asked her question about the night before.

Jillian told them about everything except the part about hiding in the Black Forest to see if she could get another glimpse of the persons she had see two nights before. That would have caused too many questions that was sure to get her into even more trouble than she was in now. When they finally gave up, Jillian fell into bed, grateful that Professor McGonagall had given her leave from detention. Now Peter would get a turn to feed the dragon.



Jillian was pulled from her deep sleep by someone shaking her shoulder. She moaned and turned over mumbling, “Leave me alone. I’ve had enough trauma today!�

When they kept shaking her shoulder, she turned and growled, “What!�

Peter was standing there, grinning at her like an idiot. Jillian gasped, pulled a sheet over her head, and whispered through it. “What in Merlin’s name brings you here. Get out! Now!�

Peter pulled the sheet away from Jillian’s face only to find that Jillian had covered herself with her hands. He sighed and said, “I wanted to know if you’re all right.�

“I’m fine, now go out,� she mumbled through her hands.

He smiled and countered, “Then why didn’t you go to detention?�

She opened a small gap between her fingers and used it to glare daggers at him. Her new red eyes certainly had an effect on Peter. His mouth dropped open in shock. “Fine, I’m not fine. Now go curse yourself and leave me alone!�

Peter shook his head in surprise and clucked his tongue teasingly. He took her hand away from her face and put a small vial there, whispering, “Drink it. I'm sure you'll be normal by morning.�

Then, he left.

Jillian sat up and studied the potion carefully. She pulled off the stopper to the vial and took a sip. It had no distinct taste, almost like water, so she drank the whole thing. It had a funny aftertaste like an extremely sour grapefruit, but was better than the time she accidentally swallowed some Polyjuice Potion and turned into Professor Snape. That had been bad.

She felt sleepy after drinking the potion and fell asleep almost instantly, thinking, At least I can't have any worse dreams than today's nightmare. Hopefully, that will be over tomorrow.



When Jillian awoke again, it was still dark. She was wondering what had awakened her when she heard hushed voices outside the door to the Hospital Wing. She sat up quietly and pulled back the curtain to take a peek. About three or four people were standing in the shadows just outside the slightly open door.

Peter must have left it open on accident, she thought as she strained to hear what they were saying. Again she could only catch a few words, so she got out of the bed bravely and tip-toed toward the door. When she was only a few feet away, she could hear the voices more clearly.

“You have to do it, Viktor. We can’t wait forever for you to make sure the coast is clear. Dumbledore will find out soon, and it needs to be done before he can act!�

She heard another voice whisper back furiously, “If you don’t want Dumbledore to know, then why did you want to meet in the school!?�

She leaned closer as they started an argument about meeting places when, suddenly, there was a loud creak. Jillian stood frozen in place as the voices stopped. The men were turning toward the door to the Hospital Wing, which Jillian had accidentally pushed forward slightly in her excitement to hear some of their plans.

The men were getting closer to the door when there was the sound of footsteps down the hall. Three of the men disappeared suddenly, leaving one man to stand before the Hospital Wing. Jillian peeked out of the doorway and watched a light coming down the hallway. She recognized Professor Snape as he walked toward the last shape still in the shadows. This was the first time, she was sure, that any student had ever felt so glad to see Professor Snape.

Snape stopped and looked at the last person before asking, “What brings you down these corridors so late at night, Professor Kilicus?�

Jillian barely stifled a gasp at the name of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She stepped back quitely as Professor Kilicus answered, "Nothing, Severus. I was just looking for my, um, wand. Yes, my wand."

"Maybe you should look in your rooms. I am sure it is no where near the Hospital Wing," Snape replied icily.

Professor Kilicus nodded, gave a nervous laugh and looked suspiciously from rigt to left. "Yes, I should be going then." He cleared his throat and turned to go down the hall.

Before he made it two steps, Snape stopped him by saying, "Oh, and, Viktor, maybe you should search your robes more closely. Your wand is in your back pocket."

Professor Kilicus froze and turned to look at Snape. Snape was staring at him intently as he stood there. Professor Kilicus cleared his throat and said, "Um, yes, I must have left it there and didn't notice it." He laughed nervously again and practically fled down the hallway.

Professor Snape stood outside the Hospital Wing for a couple seconds, staring at the place where Professor Kilicus had been standing. "Hmm." He murmured as he poked around the hallway where the Professor and his earlier companions had been talking. When he didn't seem to find anything, he left as quickly as he had come.

As she stumbled back into bed, Jillian heard a few shuffling steps as if someone else was walking away. She lay there, staring at the ceiling in shock. Professor Kilicus? How could he be --

Jillian stopped the thought as a faint memory came back to her. She was riding a broom, when, Peter started asking her about Professor Kilicus? She remembered that night! Ooh, she was going kill Peter tomorrow!


Author's Note: Hope you liked this chapter. The story can now begin. HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Sorry, this story took so long to post, but it kept getting rejected, and it takes a while to revise it.