Prosapia Aenigmatis - The Family Riddle

Chapter 14

Aislinn yawned and poked her sausage and hash browns. She hadn't actually taken a bite of anything yet and didn't really plan to. It took all the energy she had not to collapse into a snoring heap right there on the table. If Marianne hadn't physically drug her out of the dorm, she would not have thought twice about going back to bed and sleeping the day through.

Aislinn glanced around at her bleary-eyed housemates and wondered which ones were lucky enough to get to sleep by 3 a.m. Nathanial looked as if he hadn't slept at all. Aislinn was sure that she wouldn't have slept either, if she had been him.

Slytherin's happiest couple had their first official fight the night before. Well, if you could really call it a fight, it seemed rather one sided in Aislinn's view. Apparently Nathanial had agreed to help Alyssa Davies with her Runes homework. Marianne got word of this and to say that she wasn't pleased would be the understatement of the year. She had backed the poor boy into a corner in the common room and let him have it.

Marianne's tirade caused such an uproar, that finally at around 2:30 a.m., Professor Snape burst into the common room and threatened Marianne with expulsion if she didn't shut her "ridiculously loud mouth at once". Aislinn wanted to kiss Snape on the mouth at that point. Marianne reluctantly backed off and Nathanial ran into his dorm at breakneck speed, clearly wanting to get away before a fresh wave of jealous rage overtook his girlfriend.

Aislinn had taken Marianne back to their dorm, hoping to get a few hours sleep. That, of course, didn't happen. Marianne sat on her bed, looked at the smiling face of her boyfriend in the picture next to her and promptly burst into tears. Aislinn tried to comfort her friend, but only succeeded in falling asleep listening to Marianne's gut wrenching sobs, while still sitting upright on the bed.

After about an hour of sleep, Marianne woke Aislinn with a start as she banged the door open and ran out of the room. Aislinn pulled herself out of the bed and went into the common room. She found Marianne and Nathanial snogging shamelessly on the couch in front of the fire, and came to the obvious conclusion that the two had made up.

It was now 8:30 a.m. and Aislinn felt like the victim of a Dementor's kiss. She'd barely had time to shower and dress before Marianne drug her down to breakfast; her hair was still rather damp.

Aislinn looked around the Great Hall trying to find something interesting to focus on. The Slytherin table was usually the most interesting, but this morning they all looked as if they would fall face first into their breakfast. Aislinn looked at the Ravenclaw table, which was right next to her own.

Terry Boot was surrounded by a group of giggling third years. Aislinn tried to listen to what they were saying, but as soon as she heard the words "texture of silk," she tuned them out. Quinn was talking to Alyssa Davies and her brother Roger. Cho Chang was sitting next to them. Aislinn had watched them for a minute and thought that it wasn't fair that her house rarely claimed the title of being home to the Head Boy or Girl. Aislinn then briefly glanced at the Hufflepuff table, figuring she would find nothing exciting there. She was right.

Aislinn let her eyes rest on the last table in the Hall; Gryffindor. She was distracted from her exhaustion when a seemingly unattended to Howler blew up in Longbottom's face. The entire Slytherin table was pulled out of their weary stupor, and everyone in the Great Hall began to laugh.

Aislinn heard a voice speaking and it took her a moment to realize that it was directed at her.

"Come on Aislinn, we are going to be late for Figg's class," Marianne said as she began trying to pull Aislinn to her feet.

Marianne, Aislinn, and Nathanial ran through the corridors, hoping they wouldn't be late. Aislinn followed her friends into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and noticed that there were no desks to sit in. The students were all lined up against the wall, and Professor Figg was standing in the center of the room holding...a potato? Aislinn had always thought Professor Figg was a few knuts short of a sickle, but now she was certain; this woman was mad.

Aislinn walked over to where Quinn and Alyssa were standing. She always sat near Quinn in this class. They usually occupied their time talking about Figg's insanity. "What is going on, and what's with the potato?" Aislinn whispered to Quinn, keeping her eyes on Figg the entire time.

Quinn shrugged, "Not sure. Ginny told me that we would be having a guest for this class. I just hope that old Figg hasn't gone completely batty and tells us that a potato is the guest."

Aislinn snickered. "I wouldn't be surprised." Professor Figg was a good Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but the woman was a raving lunatic. Several times during each class, Professor Figg would yell things out when the students fell silent to do their work. The yelling ranged from the names of hexes to what she ate for breakfast that morning, and usually ended with a fierce scolding of someone named Mr. Paws. The first time she had yelled out, half the class fell out of their seats in surprise. It had taken them nearly a year to become accustomed to her insanity; they now ignored her.

When all the students had arrived, Professor Figg looked around excitedly.

"Good morning, class! I am pleased to announce that we have a visitor today who has agreed to help me demonstrate hexes," Professor Figg bellowed to the class, shaking the potato furiously.

Aislinn noticed several students looking at the potato and then back at Figg like she was off her rocker.

"I would like to introduce you to an old friend of mine," Figg paused and everyone looked at the potato. "You may recognize him, although he will not likely know any of you. I was told about what happened last year. Terrible ordeal indeed," Professor Figg said solemnly and then began to stare at the potato. She stared at it for at least 3 minutes in silence. Aislinn glanced at Quinn with a raised eyebrow. Quinn shrugged. The rest of the students began to murmur and she shook her head. "Anyhow, please welcome Mr. Alastor Moody to the class."

Everyone watched in silence as the door to Figg's office opened slowly. The man Aislinn had known as Professor Moody stepped out. Aislinn thought how strange it must be for him to have all these students know him, yet he not know any of them.

He limped to the center of the class, stopping to say a rough hello to Quinn. Aislinn gave her friend a questioning look, but Quinn shook her head. Moody stood next to Professor Figg and began studying each student. He had the roll sheet in his hand and when his eyes met Aislinn's, he glanced down at the paper and immediately back at Aislinn.

Aislinn began to get nervous as both of his eyes bore into her own. He stared intently at her for a moment before moving down the row. Being an ex-auror, Aislinn was sure that Moody knew all about her father, but she didn't know if he knew any more about her family than that.

"Today we will be learning a charm that can be placed on any object, which will protect from most minor hexes and jinxes. I am going to need two students to do this activity. Let's have one from each house." Professor Figg took the roll sheet from Moody and blindly pointed her wand at the list. "From Ravenclaw we will use Ms. Davies. From Slyther..."

"I will do it, Professor Figg," a small voice interrupted.

"Wonderful Ms. Flint, now the two of you will come to the center of the class and withdraw your wands," Figg said as she set down her wand and roll sheet, and grabbed the potato.

Marianne had a vengeful gleam in her eye, and Aislinn had a nagging feeling that things were about to get ugly.

"Right, now the charm we will be using is called the Munimentum Charm. What it does is cast a protective shield on the object, and therefore on the person carrying it. You cannot put this charm directly on the person though. It is only useful on inanimate objects." Figg pointed to the potato in her hand and continued. "I have placed the charm on this potato. Ms. Davies will hold the potato as Ms. Flint attempts to hex her. Now remember Ms. Flint, cast a hex or jinx only. The charm does not protect against curses," Figg said as she gave Alyssa the potato.

Marianne and Alyssa eyed one another sharply. A cold, malicious grin began to spread over Marianne's face as she gripped her wand.

"You know, she reminds me of Snape sometimes," Quinn whispered.

Aislinn laughed. "She is just jealous of Alyssa."

"Whenever you are ready Ms. Flint," Moody said gruffly.

Marianne pointed her wand at Alyssa. "Furnunculus " she said, and a blue light shot from the end of her wand and flew straight at Alyssa. Instead of hitting the girl however, the light paused in front of her and then slowly went into the potato.

The students all began talking excitedly, everyone anxious to try the charm out on their own potato. Marianne was scowling at Alyssa who had a triumphant grin on her face. Aislinn knew the Marianne was hoping the potato wouldn't work.

"Everyone come to the front of the class and get a potato to charm," Professor Figg told them all in a jovial tone. She looked very pleased that the students were so excited about the project.

After everyone had collected a potato and returned to their places she spoke again. "Now, I want you all to point your wand at your potato, like so, and repeat after me. Momentio," said Figg, and she began walking around the room to oversee the students work.

"Momentio," Aislinn said, pointing her wand at the potato. It glowed a bright green for a moment before resuming its former color. Aislinn saw Quinn's potato glow a faint blue and then return to normal.

"Pair up and test your charm," Moody said roughly.

Aislinn and Quinn looked at each other, nodded and set off in search of a clear spot in order to practice.

"You first," Quinn said holding the potato in front of her.

Aislinn gave Quinn the most mischievous grin she could muster and raised her wand. She then noticed that Moody was staring at her. Aislinn began to mutter the incantation and Moody rushed forward, causing Aislinn to pause in the middle of the hex.

"Macnair, isn't it?" Moody grumbled, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Er...yes, sir," Aislinn replied hesitantly. She began praying in her mind that Moody wouldn't say anything about her family.

He studied her closely. "I will be your partner, Macnair." He then turned to Quinn and barked, "Finnigan, you will work with Professor Figg."

Quinn looked as if she were about to protest, but thought better of it and stalked off to Figg's desk. Aislinn was utterly confused. Surely Moody didn't think that she was going to curse her best friend?

*****

Quinn walked nervously over to Professor Figg. She felt much more confident than Aislinn seemed to be however. Her friend was staring wide-eyed at Professor Moody with a frozen look in her eyes.

"Well Finnigan, get over here!" Figg barked suddenly, pointing to the spot in front of her. Quinn jumped forward quickly and turned to face her professor. "I'll hex you first." Quinn gulped but nodded and assumed a waiting stance. She held the charmed potato securely in front of her. Professor Figg got a maniacal gleam in her eye and took out her wand.

A moment later Quinn was nearly blown over as the force of 3 curses hit her almost at once. They had no effect on Quinn but she could feel the energy hitting the potato. Quinn looked up at Professor Figg in amazement. She had never seen anyone cast spells so quickly. Quinn was about to voice her amazement when Professor Figg cried out in anger.

"What are you doing?!" Professor Figg rushed over to the corner of the classroom where a Slytherin boy sat calmly eating a potato, which he had apparently cooked with his wand. Professor Figg grabbed the steaming potato from his hand. "Don't you understand, Quigley? This potato could save your life one day. You must treat the potatoes with the utmost respect." Quinn watched wide-eyed as Professor Figg continued to rant about the superior quality of the potato. She had always doubted the professor's sanity but this was just beyond strange. This behavior was downright frightening.

Quinn wouldn't have been surprised if Professor Figg created a potato shrine at the front of the class and forced them all to bow down before it upon entering or exiting the room.

"Alright Finnigan, your turn." Quinn snapped back to reality and looked up to see Professor Figg standing in front of her, potato outstretched. She felt an onslaught of nerves as she always did with this class. Quinn was brilliant in classes like Charms, Transfiguration, and Arithmancy, where all the professors were normal, reasonable witches and wizards. In a class like Defense Against the Dark Arts, or Potions, where her professor was terrifying at best, Quinn fell apart. She tried to concentrate on casting her hex but Quinn could only truly concentrate on the manic look in Professor Figg's eyes.

"Locomotor Mortis!" Quinn said clearly, pointing her wand at Professor Figg. She jumped back as Professor Figg went rigid from the waist down and fell backwards. Quinn stood in shock as her Professor lay on the floor, her face turning red with anger. Alyssa Davies jumped forward to perform the counter-curse as Quinn stood helplessly. She started to feel embarrassed and turned a tinge of pink.

"Finnigan!" Professor Figg bellowed as she got to her feet. "I would think that in four years you would learn the difference between a hex and a curse. Or perhaps you were too busy gossiping with your little friends to hear me say that this charm only works for hexes." Figg narrowed her eyes. "Unless of course, you wanted me to fall." Quinn turned bright red now as Professor Figg's voice grew louder and louder. As usual, the more nervous Quinn was, the worse she did. This was the very reason she failed so miserably in potions.

Quinn realized far too late that she had in fact performed a curse, the Leg-Locker Curse. It had been the first thing to pop into her mind. She sighed and looked up sheepishly at her angry professor.

"Finnigan, I want you to write me an essay on the differences between hexes and curses, 2 rolls of parchment, due next Monday. Maybe after that you will be able to distinguish between the two without so much difficulty," Professor Figg barked. Quinn hated the tone Professor Figg was using, but she honestly didn't mind the assignment. If she had accidentally sent Snape to the ground the punishment would likely have been death rather than an essay.

Still, Quinn certainly wasn't used to being picked on in her classes or, indeed getting anything incorrect. Her face was burning with embarrassment for the rest of the class and she bit her lip with anxiety.

***

"Got that potato ready, Macnair?" he asked her. Moody has his eyes narrowed and he spoke with a snarl. Aislinn was becoming very nervous.

Aislinn held up her potato and Moody nodded. He took his wand out of his robe pocket and pointed it at her. Aislinn could feel every eye in the room on her as she braced herself for something terrible. A wild gleam lit up Moody's natural eye as he muttered an incantation Aislinn had never heard before. A blast of red light shot out of this wand and hit Aislinn so hard that she was knocked against the wall. Aislinn heard several gasps and half expected to find herself in pieces, but when she opened her eyes she discovered that she had suffered no injury. Her potato had seemingly absorbed the hex.

Moody limped over to her and grabbed her arm, helping her up. "As I expected," he grumbled in a low voice.

"Sir?" Aislinn tried to speak, but it merely sounded like a gasp for air. She had hit the wall rather hard, and the breath had been knocked out of her.

"It seems that you have a protective charm placed on you, Miss Macnair. It was likely placed on you at birth, by a...relative," Moody growled that last word and Aislinn understood what he meant. Aislinn watched as his magical eye glanced at her necklace and then down to her ring, as his normal eye was fixed on her face.

"That potato would not have blocked the curse I used," he said quietly so that only Aislinn would hear him.

A curse... Moody had cursed her! "Sir, how did you know, I mean, what if you had been wrong?" Aislinn asked with a hint of panic in her voice. For all she knew, he could have killed her.

"It was a risk I was willing to take. Besides, I know your family. They would have placed the charm on you immediately after you were born." He paused in thought before he continued. "If I'm not mistaken, I think your father bears a charm quite similar to the one you carry; only his is much stronger. You would have gotten the same one I reckon, if you had been a boy."

Aislinn was amazed. She had never heard anything about a protective charm before. "Sir, how do you know so much about my family?"

Moody surveyed her momentarily before answering. "I know more than most people would think," Moody said curtly and turned around, calling for Quinn to reclaim her place as Aislinn's partner.

They practiced with the potato for the rest of the period. Aislinn had asked Quinn repeatedly to hex her without the potato, but Quinn flat refused and wouldn't continue with the practice unless Aislinn held her potato straight out in front of her. By the end of the period, Aislinn had given up on trying to get Quinn to test her. Aislinn had to find someone else to do it, she was terribly curious as to how much she was protected from. She began thinking of who she could ask to help her and almost groaned out loud when she realized that there was only one other person in the school who knew about her family. Even though it had been a month since the Valentine's Day ball, they still weren't on the best of terms after what had happened. Aislinn left the class and sighed as she took off in search of Draco Malfoy.

Aislinn looked for him all day in vain. Her last class of the day had been Herbology, to which she had been nearly twenty minutes late after leading a fruitless mission of following Crabbe and Goyle. She had followed them for almost ten minutes before she realized that they were heading down to the kitchens to nick food.

***

Quinn entered Professor McGonagall's classroom a few minutes early as usual. Her Animagus lessons were always exceedingly difficult so she liked to take a few quiet minutes to prepare herself.

The lessons had been more and more challenging over the last month or two. Not only was Quinn busier with her other classes and her friends, but the lessons themselves were so physically demanding. Professor McGonagall had told Quinn that she was close to taking physical form now, so the training had increased in length and difficulty.

The hardest part was learning to contort her bone structure. Quinn was a small person with a small frame. Trying to change shape and structure of her form was even more difficult for someone like Quinn. When she had succeeded in adapting her skeleton, excruciating pain was her reward. Professor McGonagall said this would lessen with each attempt, and once she mastered the transfiguration, it shouldn't hurt at all.

Quinn readily looked forward to the day when her training would be over. She often wondered if she had taken on too much in this endeavor. All the times she had felt like quitting, Quinn's stubborn pride had gotten the better of her.

"Miss Finnigan," barked Professor McGonagall as she came into the classroom. "Today you will attempt to take your form." Quinn's eyes widened. She hadn't expected this until later in the year. She nodded and stood up, too afraid to speak.

"The first attempt is always the most dangerous because you haven't a clear picture of what form you are taking," Professor McGonagall explained with a grim face. "Up to this point, I have been here to tell you how to transfigure yourself. From now on I am here merely in case of an emergency. I cannot help you complete your final transfiguration. The rest of the training is up to you Miss Finnigan." Quinn felt a tremor of panic run through her. She concentrated on pushing it away; she had to stay calm.

"Stand here," Professor McGonagall pointed to the middle of the room and Quinn obliged. "Stand quietly and concentrate on a form. Don't forget to breathe." Professor McGonagall took a seat at her desk and began to grade tests.

Quinn stood in the middle of the room, quite unclear about what she should be doing. She wondered briefly how long she would have to stand there. She took a deep breath and pushed away all her pessimistic thoughts.

Quinn pictured herself in her mind's eye and concentrated on manipulating that form in her mind. The minutes stretched on in silence. Finally Quinn felt a corresponding manipulation in her physical form. She felt herself shrinking, her bones and organs getting smaller and smaller. Quinn tried to picture her new form in her mind, but all she saw was a fuzzy blob. It became harder and harder to see as Quinn tried to hold herself in her manipulated form.

Quinn felt her body release and pop back into itself. She fell to the floor in both pain and exhaustion. Quinn felt sharp stabbing pains and dull aches, her muscles spasmed and every nerve twitched. A few tears found their way from Quinn's tightly closed eyes. Quinn panted for breath and every muscle groaned in reproach. Professor McGonagall approached with her wand in her hand.

"Indolentio," she muttered. The simple pain relief charm washed over Quinn like a cool breeze. Her breathing began to return to normal and Quinn hastily stood up. Embarrassed, she wiped the two tears from her cheeks and turned to face Professor McGonagall.

"I think Miss Finnigan, that you may turn out to be a bird." Quinn blinked. A bird? She had never thought of that. As long as she wasn't a flobberworm, Quinn would be happy. "One or two more sessions should do it," Professor McGonagall continued. "Then I'll take you down to register at the Ministry." Quinn wondered briefly what the registration would be like. She had only been to the ministry once before, to visit Mr. Macnair when she and Aislinn were young.

Quinn said goodbye to her professor and exited the classroom to head for dinner. Her stomach rumbled angrily. Quinn couldn't wait to tell Aislinn about her training session. She hated not being able to talk about it with anyone else. Fred in particular seemed very curious about where Quinn spent her Tuesday afternoons. Quite a few times he had nearly tricked her into revealing the secret.

Quinn blushed as she thought of Fred. She continued her trek to the Great Hall lost in thought. The previous night they had spent hours together in the library, talking and joking.

Fred had told Quinn all of his plans for after Hogwarts. He and George were making massive amounts of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in their spare time. Fred was coming up with new products while George was negotiating contracts with stores to sell the treats. Quinn was, once again, amazed at how serious and ambitious the twins could be when they wanted. She smiled at Fred as she walked into dinner and blushed as she took her seat.

***

Aislinn was all but dragging her book bag as she entered the common room and slumped down onto the couch in front of the fire, closing her eyes and sighing heavily.

"Rough day?" a drawling voice said from the chair next to her. Aislinn's eyes abruptly flew open and looked over at Draco. He was sprawled in one of the black leather armchairs next to the couch, staring absently into the fire.

"No thanks to you." Aislinn scowled. She was too tired to play nice.

"The absence of my presence darkened your day, did it? How very touching." Draco smirked.

"Yes actually, I looked for you after every class," Aislinn said as she leaned her head back against the couch once more.

"Oh? And may I ask why you were hunting me so diligently?" He cocked his left eyebrow as he leaned back further into the chair.

"I need a favor, Malfoy" Aislinn said, leaning in a bit closer so only he could hear her. "I want you to curse me."

Draco sat up, stared at her blankly for a moment, and then he looked at her as if she were completely mad. "You want me to what?"

"Curse me! You have to do it!" Aislinn whispered frantically.

Draco continued to stare. He seemed to be studying her, trying to figure out what would make her go so completely insane. "I get it. You're still mad about the ball." Draco scowled, "You want me to curse you so that you can go tell your father...No way Macnair. I'm not stupid!"

"Merlin, you're paranoid, aren't you Malfoy? That thought never even crossed my mind. I just need you to curse me, no strings attached. Moody told me today that I have some kind of protective charm on me. I just want to see how far it will protect me. I am not asking you to use the Unforgivables on me, just use a simple curse. You know hundreds of them, I know you do."

"A protective charm," Draco said thoughtfully as he stared at the fire. "All right, I'll do it. But, I want to make one thing clear. If anything goes wrong, my name stays out of it. Got that Macnair? If you get hurt, you're on your own." Draco gave her a warning look and Aislinn nodded.

"Fair enough," Aislinn said. "Now, where can we do this?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about that. Just meet me down here at one. We'll do it then," he said quietly.

"One? Isn't that a little late?" Aislinn asked. She had never been out of the dungeons past eleven before, except for detention.

"Yeah, well Goyle will be awake until at least midnight. He lays in bed every night, panting Marianne's name while doing things I certainly don't want to know about." Draco grimaced as he said this.

"Uh, I really didn't need to know that," Aislinn croaked and an image suddenly formed in her mind that made her shudder. "I'm going to bed now. I'll be back in here at one."

Draco said nothing as she got up and walked to her dorm. It was still rather early, but Aislinn wanted to get at least a few hours sleep before she put the information Moody gave her to the test. She got comfortable in her bed and she began to giggle silently at the thought of what Quinn would say if she knew what Aislinn were about to do. Quinn would furrow her brow and tell her that she was crazy to even think of letting Draco anywhere near her with his wand; she would say that he was evil and sadistic. This was all true of course, but Aislinn had to know. Aislinn set an alarm charm to wake her at 12:45 and closed her eyes.

***

Quinn spent most of dinner waiting to talk with Aislinn but her friend was completely distracted. Quinn tried to catch her friend's attention but she headed off to the Slytherin dorms with a determined look in her eyes. Quinn sighed and headed up to the library where she could start her essay for Professor Figg.

Quinn spotted Ginny in the far corner of the library and walked over to her. Ginny turned to her with a bit of worry on her face and Quinn immediately panicked. Such was her instinct ever since Christmas. Whenever one of the Weasleys were even remotely upset, Quinn feared the worst.

"What's wrong?" she asked sharply, biting her lip with nerves. Ginny blinked with surprise.

"Nothing really; Neville was a bit upset because he got a Howler this morning," Ginny said, with slight concern on her face. She leaned closer to Quinn and began to tell the story. "I guess Seamus found some divinity equipment of his mothers," Quinn started to hear her Aunt Brenna mentioned but tried not to react too obviously. Ginny had obviously temporarily forgotten their connection. "He brought it to school after Christmas. Well he, Dean and Neville decided to try it out. It was an amulet, I think it may have originally been part of a Dark Arts ritual, but none of them knew it at the time." Quinn gulped. The idea of her family having Dark Arts paraphernalia was upsetting. "They finally figured out how to work it a few nights ago. You have to recite a divination chant and hold the amulet tightly, and it shows you a glimpse of your future." Ginny looked around to make certain no one would overhear their discussion.

"I wasn't really supposed to tell anyone but quite a few people found out because of the Howler anyway. Seamus went first. He didn't understand his at all, but Neville said he'd never seen Seamus look so scared. All he claimed to see was the ruins of a building and someone in all black standing over him-" Ginny paused as Madam Pince stalked by.

"Dean was next. He took the amulet and held it like he was supposed to, but instead of turning purple as it should have, the amulet glowed green and Dean passed out. Neville said he went all rigid and sort of started shaking." Ginny sighed heavily. "They had to call in Madam Pomfrey to take him to the hospital wing and that's where they found out what the amulet really was. It is an artifact that comes from the time period when the plot to rid the Wizarding World of Muggleborns began, around a thousand years ago or so. I didn't hear the whole story but apparently not only is it illegal to own, if a Muggle or Squib held it, it would kill them. Dean is Muggleborn so he got a lot of pain from holding it, but he's going to be ok according to Madam Pomfrey." Quinn felt both confused and frightened at this news. Not only were her aunt and cousin in trouble for owning Dark Magic artifacts, but these artifacts specifically reflected her families prejudices. She tried not to look concerned as Ginny studied her for a reaction.

"Did they get in a lot of trouble?" Quinn managed to choke out this question, attempting to sound casual. Ginny didn't seem to notice her strange reaction.

"Not really. They got detention, and the amulet was confiscated. The Finnigan's house might have to be searched...by my dad actually," Ginny said with slight embarrassment. "Normally he just handles the improper use of Muggle artifacts, but he's been taking a stronger role in protecting Muggles from devices like that amulet. Things are sort of strained between Ron and Seamus actually. Neville's gran was furious that he would ever be associated with that sort of thing. His parents were Aurors you know, so they were never associated with any Dark Arts," Ginny explained. Quinn sat back, lost in thought. Ginny continued talking, switching topics to their strange Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. Quinn let her talk; occasionally nodding to pretend she was listening. Really all she could think about was her strange family situation, and how she was truly starting to regret it.

***

The alarm sounded just as Aislinn had fallen asleep. She groaned and stopped the alarm. Her dorm-mates were all thankfully heavy sleepers and none of them stirred at the noise. Aislinn had slept in her clothes so that she wouldn't have to take the time to get dressed. She sat up slowly, ran a brush through her hair and walked out of the dorm quietly and into the common room.

Aislinn found Draco slumped in one of the black leather chairs snoring softly. Never had Aislinn wished for Colin Creevey's presence more than she did now. She stood there watching him sleep for a minute. He looked so sweet and innocent as he slept, with his hair falling into his face. Too bad Aislinn knew the truth about what he really was. Aislinn poked him lightly in the shoulder, but he didn't budge. She poked him harder, and still nothing. Finally Aislinn balled her fist and punched him as hard as she could in the arm.

Draco's hand flew up to cover the spot that had been hit and quickly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times while looking around the room, and then up at Aislinn who was standing next to him.

"Is it one already?" he asked in a groggy voice. Aislinn nodded. Draco rubbed his eyes and raked his fingers through his disheveled hair. Aislinn thought about how adorable he looked and wanted to slap herself. Draco looked into the fire briefly and then stood up.

"Let's go," Draco said in a voice that was still hoarse from sleep. Aislinn found it incredibly sexy in spite of herself.

Aislinn followed him out of the common room and the two walked silently through the castle. They went up several flights of stairs before coming to a halt at the end of a corridor. Aislinn stared at the blank wall in front of her. She heard Draco mutter something and the wall opened up in the same manner as the entrance to the Slytherin dorms.

They walked in together and Aislinn was shocked. The room was enormous and completely empty. "What is this place for?" Aislinn asked as she stared up at the ceiling, which was a good twenty feet high.

"Not sure, but I know that there is a silencing charm on it." Draco smirked as he shut and locked the door.

"I'm not even going to ask how you know this," Aislinn said in a disgusted tone and sighed. "I'm ready when you are."

Draco then did something Aislinn had never seen him do before. He bit his lip. This might not have been a big deal had it been anyone else, but it surprised Aislinn. Draco seemed nervous, and that was not something a person saw everyday.

Draco glanced at Aislinn and his trademark smirk came back at once. He grabbed her arm and led her across the room. He placed her up against the wall and told her to stand there, in case the curse made her fall back. He walked a good distance away and stopped. Aislinn became nervous as he pointed his wand at her.

"Let's start small," Draco said. "Stupefy."

A green light came out of his wand and hit Aislinn in the stomach, but nothing happened. Aislinn shook her head and Draco narrowed his eyes.

"Interesting. All right, let's try a jinx this time," Draco said and muttered the incantation for the jelly legs jinx. Aislinn felt it hit her again, but still nothing happened.

Aislinn shrugged and Draco crossed his arms and brought one finger up to his lips. He stood there thinking for a moment and then raised his wand and said a few words Aislinn didn't know. The light came out and again, nothing. Draco looked stunned.

"That should have dropped you on the spot. Hmm...I wonder." Draco pointed his wand at her again. He spoke a few words and suddenly the room went dark. Aislinn looked around and then began screaming as she felt thousands of needles puncturing her skin. She sank to the ground and felt herself going in and out of consciousness as the pain increased. Aislinn heard a distant voice and suddenly the room was bright again and the pain was gone. Draco was kneeling next to her and Aislinn grabbed his arm to steady herself.

"What did you do to me?" she asked in between breaths.

"I did what you asked me to do," he said as he sat down next to her. "It seems to me that the protection you have on you is only from physical curses, not mental ones. The curse I used was a rather weak one, so I don't think you are safe from any form of mental torture."

Aislinn leaned back against the wall and drew her knees up to her chest. "Moody said that my fathers charm was more powerful than mine. I wonder if he can block mental curses." Aislinn was thinking aloud and was startled by Draco's reply.

"Your father can block just about anything. My father tested him one day at the Manor, and he was able to block everything but the Cruciatus. Of course, my father didn't try Avada Kedavra. One doesn't usually test a friend's power by trying to kill them," Draco said with a slight laugh.

"Your father used the Unforgiveables on mine?" Aislinn asked him in disbelief. Didn't he know they were illegal? Aislinn almost laughed out loud at how naive she could still be at times, as if Lucius Malfoy ever cared about the law.

"Well, yeah," Draco said. He looked at her as if people everywhere used them on friends everyday and she was the only one who didn't know this. "He resisted the Imperious completely. Shall we see if you can do the same?" Draco's face broke out in an evil grin. Aislinn didn't think having Draco Malfoy put her under the imperious curse in a locked room in the middle of the night was the greatest idea.

"Er...I'd rather not. Besides, if I couldn't resist it and someone came in, you could go to Azkaban for life." Aislinn thought about that and wondered if it would be such a terrible thing after all.

"Miss me, would you? Can't bear the thought of living without seeing my gorgeous face everyday?" Draco said with a wink and gave her a seductive grin.

Aislinn laughed before she could stop herself. "Come on," she said as she pushed down on Draco's leg to help her stand. "Let's go to bed." Aislinn walked to the doorway and then stopped, she still felt a little weak from the curse. She noticed that Draco was still sitting down against the wall and was grinning.

"Yours or mine?" he asked, still grinning.

"What? Draco, I didn't mean that! Merlin..." Aislinn sighed and started to walk out the door. Draco still hadn't moved. Aislinn turned around and snapped, "Are you coming?"

Draco grinned even bigger. "Not yet, but I think we could fix that." He raised an eyebrow and winked again.

"Ugh...what is wrong with you? I'm going to bed!" Aislinn stated and quickly left the room.

Aislinn walked quickly and quietly through the halls and heaved a sigh of relief as she came to the common room entrance. Aislinn was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to collapse on her bed and sleep for a week, but those thoughts were brought to a crashing halt as she walked into the common room.

Professor Snape was standing in the middle of the empty common room and he looked absolutely enraged. His arms were folded tightly across his chest and his lip was curling dangerously.

"Where is Malfoy?" Snape barked causing Aislinn to jump.

"I - I don't know sir," Aislinn said quietly. It was the truth; she had no clue where Draco was right now.

"Well, then we shall just wait for him," he said curtly.

After about ten minutes of silence, Draco came sauntering into the common room.

"Bugger!" Draco said as his eyes fell onto his head of house.

"Indeed, Mr. Malfoy. Now I don't know what you two were doing out of your dorms at two o'clock in the morning, nor do I wish to hear the...details. I will not take points from Slytherin; however, I do expect to see you both in detention tomorrow evening." Snape's eyes glinted maliciously and Aislinn nodded. Draco, on the other hand, began to protest.

"But sir, you have never given me detention before, and we both know I have done worse things than this," Draco said.

"Mr. Malfoy, unless you want me to owl your father and tell him what you have been doing, and who you have been doing it with, I suggest you shut your mouth and be in my classroom at eight o clock tomorrow." Snape looked as if he were trying to keep himself from throttling the boy.

Draco glanced at Aislinn and then back at Snape. "Yes sir," he muttered and walked swiftly to his dorm.

"Sir, we weren't doing what you think, we were just..." Aislinn tried to explain but he cut her off.

"What you were doing is your business, Miss Macnair. However, I suggest you watch yourself around Malfoy. He is more like his father than he cares to admit," Snape said in a low voice and with a swish of his robes, he was gone.

Aislinn walked down the stairs to her dorm and fell into bed. She glanced at her ring before taking it off and setting it on the table next to her. She didn't agree with what Snape had just told her. Draco might be an arrogant prick, but he wasn't like his father. She rolled over and closed her eyes, letting her exhaustion take over.