Outstanding powers

Another Vision:

The first weeks of November passed, bringing with them chilling temperatures, daily rainstorms, Quidditch victories for Gryffindor, even more homework and a detention for Ron and Isabella. They had played a prank on the Slytherins one evening at dinner, and Professor Snape had given them detention in the dungeons. Ron and Isabella waited for him to arrive on a Friday night.

The students were eating and chatting normally when a huge explosion was heard at the Slytherin table. The plates of food had blown up and had covered all the Slytherin students with large amounts of stew, vegetables, soup, mashed potatoes, anything you could imagine would be served at dinner. A few first-years Slytherins grabbed the food that they were covered with and hurled them at the Ravenclaw table. Some seventh-years Ravenclaws seized their chance and threw some food from their table (mostly sushi) at the Hufflepuffs and the Gryffindors, who retaliated, and soon, almost all the students were throwing food at each other. Draco Malfoy had stood away from all the mess, and Hermione was cowering under the table.

"C'mon Mione! Join the fun!" Ginny said.

Hermione snorted from under the table. Isabella, Harry and Ginny looked at each other briefly then nodded.

"C'mon, dessert is served, Eeny Meeny Mione Moe," Ginny added.

They all knew Hermione hated that nickname. She came out from under the table, looking furious. Harry graciously handed her a cream pie that she accepted, and threw it as hard as she could at Ginny's head. Ginny ducked just in time and the pie hit Ron square in the face. Isabella and Harry laughed at the look on Ron's face but their laughter ceased when they got hit by chocolate pudding in the face, courtesy of Ron and Ginny, who roared with laughter. Isabella turned around to get some food from the table when her eyes met Malfoy's steel gaze. He looked so sure that he wouldn't get hit by food. She smirked as an idea passed through her head. Harry looked amusedly at her. He had seen this glint before, but in another set of eyes, her father's eyes, when he was close to pulling off some joke. Isabella's head suddenly dropped on her chest and her breathing stopped. Harry knew she was astral projecting. She appeared behind Malfoy, and orbed a pie in her hand. She hesitated for a second then smashed the pie on the back of Malfoy's head. He bellowed in anger and turned around to see a glimpse of black eyes disappear in a pink light. At the Gryffindor table, Isabella breathed again and looked at Harry who was clutching his sides in laughter. She then looked at Malfoy who had a look of intense hatred on his face. Isabella raised her hands in mock terror then burst out in hysteric laughter as a plateful of pasta hit Malfoy in the face.

"Enough dreaming, Black!" Isabella was snapped out of her memories by Snape's sharp tone.

He was standing in front of her and in the doorway was a triumphant-looking Malfoy.

"You two will be cleaning the classroom without using any spells. Here are some things you might find useful. Mister Malfoy will make sure you fulfill your task. Now, get to work!"

Isabella muttered something under her breath as Snape exited the room, robes whipping around him like wings. Malfoy stepped into the room. He eyed Ron with disdain and his eyes rested on Isabella. She rolled her eyes and grabbed a mop. Ron was looking completely confused. Isabella told him to do the floor while she did the walls and ceiling. After about an hour of work, Ron was done. Isabella told him to go to the common room while she finished. She had been using a ladder to scrub the dirt off the walls. Ron wasn't too eager to leave her alone in a dungeon with Draco Malfoy. He pointed this fact out to her. She walked to him and whispered in his ear.

"I have my powers, I can flare out of here if anything goes bad. Since Snape's put so many protecting spells around his class so nobody can enter it at night, I won't be able to orb."

Ron smiled at her and walked out of the room. Isabella let out a sigh. The ceiling was going to be much harder because she would be forced to move the ladder every few minutes. "Too bad I can't use magic. It would...wait a second! Snape said no spells, he didn't say no magic!" Isabella thought. Her mood lightened as she put the ladder aside. Malfoy raised his head from the book he was reading.

"You haven't finished your job yet, Black," he drawled.

Isabella smiled sourly at him and rolled her eyes. Controlling the mop with her magic and moving it with her hand movements, Isabella cleaned the ceiling in a flash. Malfoy glared at her.

"You're free to go," he said, pointing at the door.

Isabella headed towards it when her foot slipped on a sponge Ron had forgotten on the floor and she fell backwards. With a yelp of shock, she closed her eyes, waiting for her head to hit the floor, but the impact never came. Instead, she felt two strong arms surrounding her waist and pulling her back up. She whipped around quickly and looked at Malfoy oddly. He was looking at his hands as though asking why they had to betray him. He looked back up at Isabella. When she realized she was staring, she blushed crimson.

"Thanks, I guess," she said.

She turned around and walked out of the classroom. The next day passed rather quickly. When Isabella was in her bed, the feeling of Malfoy's arms around her waist came back to her. "He has pretty strong arms, probably thanks to Quidditch. Why did he help me? I mean I thought he would be glad if I snapped my neck or something. I don't want to explore the inner workings of Draco Malfoy's mind, it's far too scary for my liking." She rolled her eyes and turned around in her bed. The next day passed uneventfully, and Isabella found herself quickly in her bed, waiting for sleep to come. When it finally came, she had a vision.

It was Potion class. Isabella was partners with Hermione. They were brewing an dark-blue colored potion while Snape walked around the students, making nasty comments for the Gryffindors. Well, nastier than the ones he gave the Slytherins of course.

"Not three spoons of salamander blood, Miss Parkinson. Be more careful next time. Longbottom, please make the contents of your cauldron vanish, I don't even need to look at your potion to know that it is wrongly made. I am disappointed in you Slytherins, I would've expected more from you in Potions"!

When he got to Hermione and Isabella, he glanced at their potion and looked like he had swallowed an entire cauldron of lemon juice.

"Fifteen points to Gryffindor", he said reluctantly.

Hermione and Isabella tried not to smile but it was hard not to, when Harry and Ron were doing a short victory dance behind Snape's back. They sat down immediately when he turned his back to Hermione and Isabella and looked at them.

"Those of you who have not succeeded in making the Humbald potion will have a five-foot tall essay for next time. And thirty points from Gryffindor Miss Black, for doing it for Potter when he will be at his Quidditch practice," Snape said, turning to Isabella and smirking at her.

Isabella opened her mouth to protest but Snape cut her off by taking twenty points from Gryffindor for complaining. Isabella sat down and slammed her book on her desk, which caused Snape to take ten points from Gryffindor for acting too much like her good-for-nothing father. Isabella stood up, shaking with anger. Snape's eyes laughed at her, almost daring her to do something. Isabella felt her clenched fist getting hotter and hotter by the second. She raised it to her eye level and opened it. The whole class gasped. Hovering inches over Isabella's palm was an electric-blue orb, composed of what seemed to be blue flames and electricity. Isabella paled, her eyes rolled back and she fainted. Fortunately, someone cast a spell to prevent her from hitting the floor too hard. The blue orb hovered over Isabella's chest for a while before flying into her body.

Isabella woke up, panting. A intense burning feeling built up in her chest, only to be replaced by an empty one. It was still three a.m, but she had to tell Dumbledore about her vision. She ran out of the Gryffindor Tower, barefoot. When she got to Dumbledore's office, she realized she didn't know the password.

"I could always take a guess at Muggle sweets, but I don't have enough time, and I can't orb in there," she whispered to herself.

She jumped when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity, Black."

It was Malfoy. Isabella glared at him, she didn't have time for him, she had to warn the Headmaster. She felt Malfoy's eyes looking over her from head to toe and she blushed. She was wearing a yellow tank top with white p.j pants. Her hair was slightly ruffled and her cheeks were flushed. She crossed her arms on her chest. That seemed to snap Malfoy out of his trance.

"What are you doing outside the Slytherin dungeons anyway?" Isabella asked nervously.

"I happen to be a prefect, and I'm allowed to be out after hours," was Malfoy's reply.

"Yeah, I know that, but even prefects have a curfew, Hermione told me," Isabella said defiantly, all worries forgotten for an instant. If she had a chance to get Malfoy a detention, she would take it.

"My business is none of your concern, Black. I am supposed to ask you what you're doing out of bed, after curfew, barefoot and without anything to protect yourself from a pneumonia?"

All Isabella's worries came back to her: The dream, the burning feeling in her chest, followed by this emptiness engulfed her mind all at once and she wavered slightly. Malfoy instinctively grabbed her shoulders to steady her. Isabella brought her hand to her forehead as tears welled up in her eyes. She was afraid, and frustrated with all those new powers. She was suddenly aware of how close she was standing to her enemy. She looked up into Malfoy's eyes and she saw a glint of concern that quickly disappeared. He let go of her shoulders and turned to the gargoyle.

"Gummy bears," he said.

The gargoyles revealed the spiral staircase that lead to Dumbledore's office. Malfoy grabbed Isabella's arm and climbed the stairs, pulling her with him. She didn't fight him, she was too tired. When they got to the office door, they heard the Headmaster telling them to come in. They did and Isabella had to suppress a giggle, despite the seriousness of her situation, at the sight of Dumbledore. He was wearing white pajamas and a white robe, and fuzzy pink slippers. The Headmaster smiled and wiggled his toes. He told the two students to sit down.

"What brings you here at this hour of the night?" Dumbledore asked in a more serious tone.

"I had a dream, Professor," Isabella said, "I had a vision that I was going to receive a power that would actually hurt me."

Dumbledore sat straighter in his chair, and so did Malfoy.

"Do you have any time indications, Isabella?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes sir, I do. We were brewing the Humbald potion with Professor Snape."

Dumbledore looked relieved.

"That will be in the last term, after the Easter Holidays. We will have time to prepare you for this power."

He stood up and walked to a closet. He took a pensieve out of it and placed it on the table in front of Isabella. She nodded and orbed her wand into her hand. She placed the tip of it on her temple and closed her eyes, focusing only on her dream. When she lifted the wand from her temple, what appeared to be silver hairs were glued to it. She placed the sliver wisps in the pensieve and smiled at Dumbledore. He nodded and stood up, telling the two students they could go back to bed. As Malfoy and Isabella walked out the door, Dumbledore asked Isabella to give Malfoy a "ride home". Isabella nodded reluctantly and followed Malfoy down the stairs. In the corridor, Malfoy looked at Isabella once more. The flush had somewhat disappeared from her cheeks and her hair was tidier, she had fixed it with a simple spell on her way down the stairs. She looked at him too. He was wearing black trousers and a green cashmere sweater that only let the tips of his long slender fingers show.

"Let's just get this over with, Black," Malfoy snapped.

Isabella looked into his eyes and sighed. She wasn't going to like this at all.

"The Slytherin dungeons are very highly guarded by spells, so I can't orb you in there, I'm gonna have to flare. And since I haven't done it with another person yet, I'm gonna need you to hold on to me as much as you can."

Malfoy looked reluctant to have any physical contact with Isabella, but stepped closer to her and put his arm around her waist. She did the same and looked into his eyes again. They were gray, with shadows of blue, brown and green. Amazing.

"Hold on, she whispered, this is gonna be hot, not to mention painful."

She closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards. When she opened her eyes again, they were red. Malfoy gasped when Isabella looked at him. She smirked and flames started to sprout under their feet. Surprisingly, the flames didn't burn them, just made them feel quite hot. As she flames shot up to engulf them, Malfoy heard Isabella laugh. He wanted to ask her why she was laughing when he felt his body being pulled upwards, then pulled back down to the floor. When the flames disappeared, he was in the Slytherin common room. Malfoy looked at Isabella. Her eyes were still a bit red and a smirk was plastered on her face. Realizing he was still holding her, he started and jumped away. He nodded at her, not able to say a decent "thanks". Isabella nodded back and her eyes turned red again as she flared out.

Back in her bed, Isabella kept remembering how good Malfoy's arm felt around her waist, how he smelt of spicy expensive cologne with a zest of lemon, and how beautiful his eyes looked.