Outstanding powers

The Halloween Kiss:

Halloween was a Monday this year, and everyone was excited because classes ended early to give the students time to put the finishing touches to their costumes, and the next day was a day off. Isabella was in Potions Class when Snape called her up to his desk. She groaned inwardly, asking the heavens why he needed to talk to her.

"Black, I need one of your hairs to put in your Potion," he said without looking at her. Isabella rolled her eyes ("I saw that," said Snape) and plucked one of her hairs out. She handed it to Snape who placed it in a vial containing a crystal blue liquid. The liquid fizzed and turned transparent pink.

"You may go back to your seat, Black."

Isabella smiled sourly at him and turned around just to see a vial of silver liquid flying straight at her. She tried to freeze it but blew it up instead (she had problems with her powers because of her new one. After all, she hadn't gotten any classes to try and control it yet) and the liquid splashed her entire body, burning her skin wherever it had touched it. Isabella yelped in pain as the burning intensified. Snape, who had seen the entire thing, yelled at her to go to the Hospital Wing immediately. She gave another yelp of pain and orbed out, praying that she'd do it right.

"Do you think she'll be okay Harry?" Ron asked worriedly.

Harry shook his head.

"I don't know, Ron."

Just then, the bell rang.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up with you later."

"Are you sure, Hermione?"

"Yes Ron, now go get yourselves ready for the ball. Dumbledore said a snack would be served in the common rooms today. GO!"

Harry and Ron rushed to the common room. Ginny asked them where Isabella was. They told her the whole story. "I do hope she's all right, she promised me a dance tonight," Colin said.

Ginny hit him playfully on the arm. Her cold had subsided and she was feeling great. She had finally worked out her problems with Dean, and they were friends now. On the other hand, Dean was at ease when Ron was around, and he admired Ginny for her forgiveness and her strength.

At four o'clock, Hermione came into the common room, with a weird look on her face. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Colin, Seamus, Dean and Neville rushed at her and asked her how Isabella was doing. Instead of answering them, she asked Ginny for a word in private. A collective moan came from the boys, but Hermione gave them her best McGonagall look and they shut up. Moments later, Ginny and Hermione climbed up to their respective dormitories and came back down with their costumes (on which a charm had been put so they looked like gray rags) in their arms and exited the common room after telling the boys that Isabella was okay, but they needed to help her with some stuff for her costume. They also warned the boys to prepare themselves for a big surprise.

The ball was going to start officially at eight o'clock, so the boys went down to the Entrance Hall to wait for their dates. Harry was dressed as Godric Gryffindor, with the hazel wig, the brown contact lenses, the red-and-gold robes and the gold lion pendant, he looked pulled out of Hogwarts: a History. Ron was dressed as the Chudley Canons keeper, Derrick Terck. Both of them were chatting around when Hermione and Ginny ran over to them, a weird smile on their faces. The sight of them left the boys breathless. Hermione was wearing a deep purple dress that dated from the sixteenth century. It revealed the white dress she wore underneath it, and most of her neck. A long, opal pendant that suited the dress followed the plunging neckline of the dress. Ginny was dressed as a pirate. Black trousers, white shirt, long black jacket, knee-high pirate boots, and a belt where she had slipped two empty old guns, a dagger and her wand. To complete the outfit, she had placed a large pirate hat on her head, and had a blood-red bandana under it. Her red locks fell loosely onto her shoulders.

"Wow, you girls look...fantastic," Harry finally managed to say. Both girls beamed at them.

"Isabella says not to worry about her, she's fine and she'll join us in a few moments." Ginny answered Harry's unasked question. Harry offered her his arm and she took it with a smile. She was his date for the evening. Ron and Hermione followed them into the Great Hall.

"Oh...my...God," was all they managed to say. The Great Hall looked splendid. A stage was set at the place where the teacher's table was usually set, the house tables had been pushed so they took less space, and were covered in food. The rest of the room, they guessed, was for dancing. The walls were covered in black drapes and bats flew around along with some hovering pumpkins. Couples were already dancing. Ron and Harry went to get drinks, leaving Hermione and Ginny to look at the other students.

"Wow, Blaise Zabini looks good!"

"You mean better than he usually does? I prefer him as the tall, dark and handsome Slytherin, not the blond elf."

"Yeah. Gross! Look at Pansy Parkinson! What the hell is she wearing?"

"I think you mean: Is she wearing anything?"

Pansy Parkinson was wearing a bra that looked made out of golden coins, a gold, belt-like miniskirt and strappy gold sandals, and boys were gawking at her or whistling wherever she went. She was walking proudly around the Great Hall, dancing occasionally with some guys. Suddenly, Hermione poked Ginny hard in the ribs and pointed at the door. A tall young man had stepped in, wearing black pants, a black jumper with sleeves that were so long they almost reached his fingertips and a black cloak around his shoulders. A black velvet mask hid the top of his face except his eyes, but Hermione and Ginny recognized him immediately, thanks to the familiar trademark smirk. Draco Malfoy. The whole Great Hall was silent as he walked in. Then the music resumed (a band formed by students was playing. They were called "The Haunters").

"One word only. Wow!" Hermione breathed. Ginny smiled at her.

"Don't forget you're dating my brother, girl!" she joked.

Hermione blushed and looked away from the handsome boy. Harry and Ron returned with the drinks. They had just asked the girls for a dance when the Great Hall fell silent again. A girl was standing in the doorway. Her skin was pale, her silver blond hair was elegantly cut and barely reached her shoulders, and her gray eyes were shining with something, but nobody could quite put their finger on it. She was wearing her Hogwarts uniform, but it looked like she had grown taller too fast for her clothes. Her skirt reached the middle of her thighs, showing off long slender legs, her white Hogwarts school shirt had obviously been transfigured to a bigger size; the long sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and the top unbuttoned to show a slender neck. She wasn't wearing any tie and her cloak didn't have a house emblem on it so it was impossible to determine in which house she was. And to complete the outfit were big hiking boots that made her assemble appear thrown on. Students couldn't help but notice how strangely she looked like the female version of Draco Malfoy. As if she was reading their thoughts, the girl put on a smirk remarkably identical to the Slytherin's Prince's smirk and she walked across the room to join Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. The students started to talk animatedly to each other. When she got to the middle of the room, a girl's cruel voice drawled out from behind her.

« My, my, my, what have we here?"

Isabella turned around to glare at Pansy Parkinson. She eyed Pansy's outfit with disgust as the Slytherin circled her, clucking her tongue.

"Shouldn't you ask your parents for decent clothes?" Pansy asked as she looked over Isabella's appearance.

"Shouldn't your parents buy you more clothes? But then again, I suppose whores like you don't need the clothes to get the job done," Isabella replied sharply.

Pansy looked fit to kill. Everybody knew that she was just jealous of Isabella's beauty. "That girl is too gorgeous for her own good," Draco thought. Isabella smirked and turned around. When she heard Pansy's voice, she froze.

"You should know, Weaselette."

Isabella sighed and turned around. Suddenly, she was behind Pansy. She twisted her arm and said in an extremely audible whisper:

"Ginny's little toe is worth millions of you, you troll!"

Pansy whimpered in pain as Isabella's grip tightened.

"I am not her, I am Isabella Black, and I look like this thanks to you."

She let go of her rival and walked to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. When she got at their level, all the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws burst out in applause. Harry and Ron looked at their friend with awe.

"Isabella, you look like Malfoy!" Ron said. "Seems like the Malfoy looks give you a hell of an attitude!"

Isabella smiled at him, white teeth gleaming.

"I owe it all to Pansy. She's the one who threw Malfoy's Ditto Potion at me and that made me the female version of him. On the downside, the uniform are the only clothes I am able to wear until the effects of the potion fade, and since Malfoy is a lot taller than me, I grew too big for my clothes. So I had to borrow clothes from the lost and found. Unfortunately, the skirts were all huge except this one, and all the shirts were small. The potion will wear off in about twenty hours." At that moment, Colin, Isabella's date, came to her and asked her to dance. She accepted and the six of them danced, switching partners until Dumbledore climbed on stage.

"Happy Halloween to all of you! Now, as you all know, the sixth years ("and one fifth year!" yelled Seamus), and one fifth year, thank you Mr. Finnigan, have been working on a love potion and Halloween is the perfect time to test it. Now, the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff boys will invite their partners to dance. Then it will be the Ravenclaw and Slytherin boys. I trust you all have your rings. And now, Dance!"

The lights went low and the music slowed. Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville went to find their partners. Isabella poked Hermione in the arm.

"What rings?" she asked. Hermione slapped herself on the forehead and gave Isabella a lapis-lazuli ring from one of her pockets.

"Flitwick gave us those. He said they were made to find your partner no matter what his costume is. The boys wear them around their necks and the girls on their finger." she explained.

Isabella took the ring and put it around her right ring finger. Hermione looked back on the dance floor and frowned. Pansy was dancing around Ron, who looked positively furious.

"Why that little..." Hermione began but stopped as Ron's eyes turned glassy and he bent down. His lips came in contact with Pansy's lips and rested there for about three seconds. He pulled away quickly and touched his lips absently. He headed towards Hermione with a guilty expression painted on his face. Ginny and Isabella backed away carefully. Soon enough, Hermione's voice sounded loudly in the Hall, but not loud enough to cover Rose Perabo's, a sixth year Hufflepuff, yells. Her boyfriend, Sam Greene had kissed Susan Bones a little too passionately. Isabella and Ginny rolled their eyes and looked at Harry. He looked furious, and Pacifica Adams was talking to him with a murderous look. Isabella narrowed her eyes and took one step forward, but Ginny put a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from committing a crime. Just then, Harry kissed his partner's lips. He pulled away as quick as he could and said something to Pacifica with a threatening look. When he got to Ginny and Isabella, his eyes were darkened by anger. Isabella was about to ask him what had happened when her ring turned warm against her finger and she was tugged forward. Panicked, she turned her head to look at Harry. "Don't worry, it's normal!" He yelled at her with a weak smile. She nodded. Suddenly, her ring stopped pulling her and she looked in front of her. Draco Malfoy was waiting, and his smirk had disappeared. He examined Isabella's appearance from head to toe. He shook his head and extended his arm.

"Shall we?" he asked mockingly.

Isabella rolled her eyes and took his hand. They started waltzing and having a staring contest at the same time.

"Where did you learn how to dance like this, Black?" Malfoy finally asked.

He didn't break eye contact though.

"We had dance classes at Herford," Isabella answered. "Answer me this, Malfoy. Why are you dressed like the masked avenger?"

"I am not dressed as the masked avenger, I just like Black. The color. Not you, not your father," he said.

Isabella narrowed her eyes dangerously. Malfoy smirked.

"Answer me this, Black, why are you so desperate to look like me? Are you trying to get my attention?"

"Trust me Malfoy, this wasn't my choice of a costume, unless I wanted to scare someone to death. Your little girlfriend-and by your, I mean all Slytherin boys-threw your Ditto potion on me," Isabella answered dryly.

Malfoy snorted and twirled her around. He dipped her low. She had one hand around his neck and the other hung at her side.

"Tango?" Isabella asked, raising an eyebrow.

She straightened herself and they got back to their waltz position. Malfoy started to say something, but his eyes glazed. Isabella sucked in her breath. Malfoy slowly bent down, inching his head closer to hers. She stood still until he kissed her. His lips were soft, warm, and rested on hers a mere three seconds before he pulled away. He nodded and walked away. Isabella rolled her eyes (she did that a lot) and walked the opposite direction. She heard Hermione's voice again.

"You didn't take the Potion? Goyle, you are such an idiot!" Isabella laughed silently and walked back to Harry.

His mood had changed and he was joking around with Ginny and Ron. When Hermione joined them, she looked fit to kill.

"Students, please, may I have your attention?" the headmaster asked. "Very good. Now, I can see that most of you have got your Potions right. Miss Granger, you have passed Potions, even though Mister Goyle forgot to drink his potion. Now, back to the party!"

There were cheers of applause from the students. Hermione sighed with relief.

"I passed Potions, I didn't kiss Gregory Goyle, I am at the Halloween feast with my friends, (her stomach growled audibly) and I am hungry. Let's eat!"

They all laughed at this and headed for the food table. When Harry and Isabella finished eating, they told the others they were going to dance. The Haunters had stopped playing, and now Muggle songs were playing, and "Please remember" by Leanne Rimes was on. Isabella put her hands around Harry's neck, while Harry's hands were on her hips.

"So, do you want to go to Black Manor for Christmas with me?" Isabella asked. Harry smiled.

"Of course! I would never miss the chance to see you and your dad reunited!" Isabella's eyes twinkled.

"Who would want to watch a freak show? Only Potter would do that, because he feels he's in his natural element," Malfoy's voice drawled.

Harry and Isabella let go of each other and glared at Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. Harry clenched his fists and Malfoy raised his right one, as though to punch, but Isabella was quicker. She raised her hand, and Pansy Parkinson flew off the floor and hovered ten feet high, screaming in terror.

"You try anything stupid Malfoy, and Pansy here takes the hit," she threatened.

Malfoy threw Pansy an amused glance.

"Do you think I even care about her?" he asked.

Isabella groaned inwardly. Could this guy care about anything? She lowered her arm quickly. Pansy fell towards the floor but stopped a foot away and fell gently on her feet.

"Black, you are a pathetic excuse for a girl who needs a potion to get the tiniest bit of attention from anyone! I bet that little thing on the stairs Saturday was just a desperate cry for attention. You are so lame I am ruining my eyes just by looking at you. Hide behind your fat headed Potter, the disgrace to wizards Weasels, the air-polluting Mudblood Granger and all you pure-hearted Gryffindors. You guys are the downside of the school. And your father is so ashamed of you he turns into a dog so that people can't see that you are related," he said hatefully.

Harry looked at Isabella to make sure she wouldn't do anything stupid because he wanted to cause Malfoy as much pain as he could before she got to him. Isabella had a furious look on her face, but it was quickly replaced by one of intense pain. She let out an earsplitting scream. Flames started to appear at her feet. Harry thought Malfoy had something to do with it, but when he looked at his enemy, he saw that the Slytherin was as surprised as he was. The flames were growing higher and higher and Isabella was screaming in pain, head tilted back. Students stood aside for the Headmaster to walk. He rushed to Isabella's side as the flames engulfed her completely. Several girls yelled in fear. The flames roared and Isabella suddenly disappeared from inside them for a few seconds and then reappeared. The flames diminished gradually to nothing, and Isabella collapsed to the floor, whimpering in pain. Tears were streaming freely on her cheeks and her shoulders were shaking with violent sobs. The Headmaster crouched at her side and spoke a few words to her. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny rushed to her side. Dumbledore got up.

"Jason, please carry her to the Hospital Wing. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, go with her. You too, Draco."

Jason McGregor walked to Isabella's side and scooped her up. Isabella put her arms around Jason's neck and cuddled up to him, still crying. When they got to the Hospital Wing, Jason put Isabella in a bed and he and the Gryffindors sat at her side. Malfoy stayed as far from them as possible. When the Headmaster came into the Infirmary, followed by Remus Lupin, Isabella had stopped sobbing, but tears still poured down her cheeks. The students stepped back as Lupin sat next to Isabella and held her hand. She sat up and flung her arms around his neck. Lupin patted her head reassuringly.

"Remus, she needs blood, now. This power is too important to wait," Dumbledore said.

Lupin let go of Isabella and nodded. They both looked around the room.

"I can give her blood Professor," Harry said.

Lupin shook his head.

"You wouldn't be able to bear the pain, Harry. Isabella is an extremely powerful Vampire and she could really hurt you. Hermione and Ginny are out of question. Ron, no, you couldn't. Perhaps Jason might be good, what do you think, Headmaster?"

"I think Mister Malfoy could be excellent. He was trained to bear physical pain, and it was because of him that Isabella flared."

Draco looked confused.

"Isa...Black is a Vampire?"

"Yes, she is, and she is in trouble because of you. Now, sit on her bed and face the consequences of your actions, ferret-boy!" Ron said rather loudly.

Malfoy glared at him but sat on the bed after the Headmaster asked him to do what Ron said. Lupin took Isabella's hand.

"Izzy, you need blood, and since you are too weak to hunt, you are going to take human blood for once. Now c'mon, sit up," he pulled Isabella back into a sitting position. She looked in Malfoy's eyes and saw something that resembled fear, but it disappeared quickly. Isabella put her hands on Malfoy's shoulders. He instinctively tilted his head to the side to give her access to his neck. She put two fingers under her upper lip and pressed on her gum. Her fangs sprouted with the usual jolt of pain. When her lips touched Malfoy's neck, he was surprised to feel that they were dry and burning hot. When Isabella bit him, he gasped in pain. He soon began to feel drowsy as Isabella drank his blood. When she pulled away after a short moment, Malfoy would've fallen off the bed if Lupin hadn't held him. The professor started to help him towards another bed when Isabella's arm held him back.

"Wait, humans need something to survive, or else they will go crazy," she said, alarm clear in her voice.

Lupin sat Malfoy down on Isabella's bed. Isabella extended her arm. "Athame!" a jewel-encrusted dagger appeared in her hand. She ran her other hand on her throat. When she found the vein she was looking for, she took the dagger and raised it to her throat.

"What are you doing Is?" Harry asked worriedly, holding her hand.

"Saving a life, Harry. Now let go of me!"

She shook Harry's hand off and made a tiny cut in her vein. She took a vial from the bedside table and placed it on the cut until a few drops had fallen inside it. She put the vial on Malfoy's lips and ordered him to drink. Unbelievably, he obeyed and drank the blood. His eyes focused again and his senses came back to normal. He stood up quickly and looked at Isabella with disgust.

"You mustn't tell anyone about what you found out Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore said. Malfoy nodded quickly and exited the Infirmary. Dumbledore left shortly afterwards.

"So, what exactly is your power?" Jason asked. Isabella's eyes darkened.

"It's not a very good one. It's the evil version of orbing. It's called flaring. Instead of disappearing in specks of blue light, which I quite frankly find angelical, I disappear in flames. It's much more powerful than orbing, and simple spells can't block me. I don't know how I got it though," she said. Jason patted her back.

"I can assure you that you are not evil," he said. Isabella smiled at him. They talked about different reasons why Isabella had this power, but came to no convincing result. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny went back to the Gryffindor Tower at well past midnight, and Jason stayed with Isabella a little longer. After promising she didn't need him to stay with her, Isabella convinced him to go to the Hufflepuff common room and to bed. When he left, she sighed deeply. She was spending more time in the Hospital Wing that she'd ever wanted to, and she was having new powers too quickly. "Well at least I can freak the hell out of those Slytherins now." She fell asleep with a smile on her face.