Are You That Somebody?

Last time:

Draco and Alyniana set off hexes on the Golden Trio and Dumbledore is the only professor who knows what happened.

By the time second period rolled around, the Gryffindors in the N.E.W.T. Charms class were holding their breath, waiting for the time when the Trio would return to normal. All the Slytherins were chuckling whenever they looked at the Trio; they couldn't get enough of the new looks the three sported. McGonagall and Snape had had a hard time keeping their classes under control and on track in the previous period. Now Flitwick was having the same problem, astonished that three of his prize students hadn't recognized the charm yet. The time approached...and it passed. The Gryffindors were full of anger but Hermione now forced them to calm down because she was really worried about N.E.W.T.'s and she needed complete notes. They didn't listen. Alyniana let out a piercing whistle, getting the classes attention.

"Everyone needs to calm down and not disrupt class. The next person who causes an outburst in any class today, either talking or laughing, will lose 100 house points and have detention for a month," she said.

Stunned faces regarded her and some looked ready to protest.

"I can and will do it. It is within my power. Of course I am concerned about Hermione, Harry and Ronald like the rest of you, but try to remember we are seventh years and N.E.W.T. students as well. I expect better behaviour from all of you while Draco and I try to discover the culprit, although I am sure that the spell will wear off eventually," she said, "back to you Professor Flitwick."

"Thank you Miss Greenleaf," he said, "now, as I was saying class, you swish like so..."

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. A young witch, probably from first year, was standing there with a slip of paper in her hands. She walked in and gave the paper to Professor Flitwick. He read it quickly and then said, "Miss Greenleaf, Mr. Malfoy, Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you in his office."

The pair exchanged a quick glance, then grabbed their books and left.

In the halls, they walked silently, both pondering the reason for which Dumbledore would call them out of class. Alyniana almost walked into a statue of armour, completely lost in her own thoughts, but Draco managed to steer her in the right direction in time. They caught the staircase they needed just before it changed direction and walked to the gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office. The stone figure swung out and the wall split, as if it had been anticipating their arrival. Weird, thought Draco, we're probably in major trouble.

"Draco, Alyniana, a word please," Dumbledore's voice came down to the area where they stood frozen. "You're not in trouble, I assure you," he said.

The pair mounted the stairs and, after spending six years in Hogwarts, they didn't start as the wall that let them in snapped shut. The staircase was slowly growing up in a spiral and Draco was pacing up and down it as they waited for the top to come into view.

As they slowly entered Dumbledore's office, Fawkes flew over and landed on Draco's shoulder. As they passed a shelf on their way to the two (A/N: How convenient) chairs in front of the desk, the sorting hat woke up and stared at them. Then as it went back to mumbling to itself a silver ball with a swirl of blue inside its core rolled out, Fawkes dropped a feather, flew over to his cage and exploded and the class-end bell resounded through the school.

"Ah, I was correct in calling you here," Dumbledore said, dispelling the astonished silence.

What does the old cook mean by that? thought Draco, staring at the ruby red feather in his hands with perplexity.

"Draco, that feather is a rare gift. Only those destined for greatness and have a great heart can receive the last pure feather of a dying phoenix," he said as Draco stared at the feather in his hands.

The silver ball was calling to Alyniana in a strange way and she felt compelled to go and pick it up. It grew warm in her hands and the swirl of blue glowed then faded. It had marked her. She stared at it in a state of awe until Dumbledore spoke again.

"The Gem of Serenity, another powerful and rare item that is. Only one with an open mind can call on the true extent of the powers locked within. Keep it secret, keep it safe and always keep it with you Alyniana," Dumbledore explained as she came back to his desk.

"How would I do that Professor?" she asked tentatively.

"Do you like jewellery Alyniana?" She nodded and Dumbledore waved his wand. He drew a giant silver centaur pendant on a braided silver chain and the stone she was holding moved and settled into the eye of centaur. Then Dumbledore shrank the pendant to wearable size and to any one who looked at it, it was just a peculiar choice of eye colour. Draco had already followed Dumbledore's example and had placed his feather in a pendant of a wrapped-up snake made of dark gold.

"Now that that is settled, there is another reason I called you up here," Dumbledore remarked.

"If you mean for us to clean up our spell that's on the tables and floor in the Great Hall-" Alyniana guessed before Draco kicked her in the shin.

"I assure you, that matter has been resolved," he stated with a smile, "no, I wish to inquire if you two would enjoy an Independent Study course for the rest of the year."

Alyniana was stunned. Independent study...seems interesting.

"But Professor, it's only been a week of classes so far," Draco stated.

"That makes it all the better to get started. This way you haven't invested too much time in classes you already know all about," he chuckled, "I can give you a day to decide if you like."

"That would be appreciated, but what would we be doing Professor?" Alyniana spoke up, "does it have anything to do with our gifts?"

"That, Alyniana my dear, is a secret. It may or may not involve your gifts, but it is a very interesting and one time offer," Dumbledore hinted. "You will of course, you will have regular exams and you will be informed of possible N.E.W.T. subjects."

"We'll consider it Professor. Thank you for the offer," Draco said.

"You two have the rest of the day off to decide. But please, no more splatter bombs for the students. The house elves have enough to do," Dumbledore said and shooed them out of his office.

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Hermione was miserable. People were laughing at her misfortune or trying too hard to help out and all of her knowledge was useless for this. Her frustration mounted each time the concerned Gryffindors disturbed classes. What a day. I hope the pranksters get caught, she thought bitterly. I hope I get to hex those who are responsible real good. She stared blankly at her parchment, barely writing down Professor Flitwick's instructions on how to charm a raven to carry a group of humans. Her Slytherin partner was too busy guffawing to be of any help. She clued back in once Draco and Alyniana were gone and Flitwick was back on topic. Now a new train of thought took over her mind. What happened to the Head Boy and Girl? She watched the door, expecting them to come back, but they never did. And then the bell rang. Free period finally, Hermione thought with relief as she grabbed her books and scurried away to the library to find some counter curses.

Harry was taking his transformation in stride. At least I don't have Quidditch; he thought and pictured himself on a broom in his current state. He chuckled to himself and then grew silent as Ron glared at him from across the room. He pretended to look at Professor Flitwick, but his eyes wandered and rested on Hermione. She should were tighter robes more often. When did she become a girl? he thought and then blushed. It's only Hermione! Get a hold of yourself Harry, he told himself. He could still remember her rage at Malfoy and that cute Gryffindor being chosen as Heads. She had wanted it so much and had had to be escorted from the Great Hall during Dumbledore's speech. Even though nobody noticed it, he could tell her lovable anger was still irked by it. Harry, as a concerned friend (A/N: of course), had gone to Dumbledore and asked him why she hadn't been chosen. All Dumbledore had said was that Hermione had enough stress already and more would be coming soon. He was as cryptic as ever, thought Harry. Oh well, as long as my fiery vixen's stress isn't because of me. He blushed as he watched Hermione rush out of the room and he grabbed his books to quickly follow her.

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Draco was outside on the Quidditch pitch, flying around aimlessly. His mind was full of thoughts, all jumbled in a never-ending mess. He was still thinking about what his gift had to do with anything and why he had gotten it. He had known that he was destined for greatness but where did he get the great heart? Maybe he was referring to my friendship with Alyniana, Draco thought. Or maybe he thinks I have the power to change...Hmm it's very mysterious. That Dumbledore has a knack for confusing people. Then there was that independent study idea. Draco was amazed that he had been asked to participate, and wondering how Dumbledore knew that he had memorized all the subjects that were being taught this year during his free time. Then again, he knows everything. Then his thoughts turned to another person. Where does Alyniana fit into all of this? She could be a mudblood! And she was basically nobody until last week and now she's hanging around with Slytherins. And why is she a holder of a special gift as well? I'm the only special one in this school. He landed on the pitch and decided to find and question his partner in crime.

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Alyniana had finally un-shrunk all of her and Draco's splatter bombs that they were giving to Fred and George as thanks for taking the heat for them. She thanked them again, gave them each a hug and left the way she had come: through the passage way under their store. When they had opened their second shop in Hogsmeade, Fred and George made a secret passageway to Hogwarts from under it. When the pair had appeared in the Gryffindor common room one as Alyniana was enjoying a light read of Most Potent Potions, she startled them and vice-versa. In exchange for her not telling anyone, they allowed her to use it as often as she pleased. She had secretly thought that they had crushes on her, but after they started pulling pranks on her, the thought vanished.

Now Alyniana was once again in a stream of thought and she nearly crashed into the door of the passageway. Why the Stone of Serenity and why now? Couldn't my life have remained simple and normal? she thought angrily. Your life was never simple dear, a familiar voice replied. Thanks a lot mother, why did you even insist I know my destiny? Well, you did turn seventeen in August dear and as an adult you had a right to know. Besides, you already knew about all the other marvellous things that were going to happen to you years ago. Argh! You're not helping. Get out! Alyniana thought and reinforced her mental shield. She hated her mom's telepathic link with her. Her mind must have been in deep thought to have not remembered to be vigilant in protecting her thoughts.

Mothers, they always butt in, she thought as she silently made her way out of the Gryffindor common room. Her path took her all the way to the lake's edge near the Forbidden Forest. She sat under a large, old Willow and, after removing her 'sensible' shoes and annoying knee socks, dangled her feet in the clear and sparkling lake water. Feeling the power of sleep creeping up on her as she sat peacefully in the sun-kissed environment, she took off her robe, curled it into a ball and rested her head upon it. Having sense enough, she removed her feet from the lake and then, the small waves in the water lulled her to sleep.

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Draco had already searched their rooms and the Slytherin house. After many taunts of 'Lost your girlfriend Draco?' he had left the Slytherins to their own gross thoughts. Now he was searching Alyniana's room again. This time he had the idea to search under her bed and he noticed that the bombs were gone. She had not told him that she was delivering them today, but that meant that they were revealing the culprits tomorrow at breakfast. Remembering the secret passage in the Gryffindor common room she had told him about while they were making the spare bombs, he ran to his room and grabbed his invisibility cloak. Relishing the idea of actually going through his enemies house, he slipped through the portrait and over to the passageway. When he reached Fred and George, they told him that he had missed Alyniana by a couple of hours. Thanking them, he returned through the passageway letting out a stream of curses of muggle origin until he reached the sanctuary of his room. Where the hell is she? Draco thought, pouring much anger into the statement and holding his pendant. I want to speak to her right now!

A whoosh of air surrounded Draco and the shocked boy was picked up by the gust. It blew open his balcony door and whisked him outside. Slowly the breeze descended as it made its way towards the lake and the sleeping Alyniana. Being a magical breeze, it had a sense of humour, and instead of dropping Draco nobly on the ground beside his prey, it tossed him in the lake a few metres from shore, soaking the surprised Draco and splashing Alyniana.

Startled from her peaceful slumber, Alyniana's first reaction was to pull out her wand and freeze the scene before her. Then, not enjoying being wet, she spelled her clothes dry before observing the fruits of her labour. Draco was half in, half out of the water, his robes ballooning around him with an expression of shock gracing his elegant face. She had caught part of the magical breeze as well and it acted like a wolf trying to free it foot from a trap for the better part of a minute before dissolving and leaving a cylinder of ice in its former position. She chuckled and then ducked behind her tree before cancelling the spell.

Draco floundered among the ice flows in the cool water of the lake, glaring at Alyniana as he made his way to shore. Not very nice of her, he thought. As he squelched along the bottom of the lake, nearing her, he noticed that she was not in her Gryffindor uniform, but a blue baby tee and a knee-length dark denim skirt. When he was close enough, he slipped and stumbled up to the shore, a difficult task considering the weight of his wet clothing, almost getting stuck a few times. When he was safely near the tree and far from the lake edge, he used his wand to straighten up his muddy and dripping clothes.

"Hey Alyniana, can we talk?" he asked walking towards her.

"Is that why you decided to take a swim?" she questioned, keeping her wand in her hand.

"Ha ha, very funny. Whatever it was that brought me down here decided to make me have a swim," he replied.

"So what did you want to talk about if you needed to use magic to find me?" She raised an eyebrow, knowing he was up to something.

"About your past, of course. I've already decided about the Independent Study program."

"What's your reason now? Why is my past so important?"

"Well...it's because you keep yourself so walled up in impenetrable shields and seeing as we are going to be spending even more time alone with each other...You're almost like a stranger."

"My past is no one's business. Only Dumbledore knows pieces of it out of necessity and only he will ever know."

"At least state your lineage"

"Why, so you can go psycho on me again? Why don't you go back to Crabbe and Goyle?"

"Please Alyniana, Crabbe and Goyle do not offer very stimulating conversation for an intellectual like me." She snorted and he pushed her against the tree.

"Answer that one tiny question for me."

"Aww...you plead well... not!" She sighed. "My parents are both pureblood wizards."

"Now was that so hard?"

She nodded

"Cheer up girl. We'll go back to our dorm now."

"How do I know you won't try anything else?" she questioned, banishing her discarded clothing to her room.

"You have my word as a fellow pureblood wizard," he replied, only now noticing that she was barefoot.

"Your word..." She chuckled. "How do I know your word is any good?"

Draco sputtered, "You little devil."

"I know," she said, then took off at a sprint. "Catch me if you can!" she yelled back at him.

"Oh, is that a challenge?" Draco asked as he chased after her, closing the distance quickly.

Alyniana reached a wall of the castle and recognized it as the one below her balcony. Hoping the house elves hadn't closed her balcony doors she had opened earlier, she summoned her Firebolt 4. Not caring she was wearing a skirt, she mounted her broom and kicked off hard to lead the chase into the sky. She glanced behind her and noticed Draco was mounting his broom as well. She sped towards the Quidditch pitch where she hoped to out manoeuvre him and gain a larger lead. As it was, even though Draco was advanced, he lost her when she flew into the stands. He paused to search for her from up above the stadium, but Alyniana was better and she snuck away quickly, although Draco caught a fleeting glimpse of her escape.

Alyniana flew in her balcony doors, dropped her broom and grabbed her robe before exiting the room at full tilt and trying to put the robe on. She dashed towards the common room portals, and carefully slipped through the Ravenclaw one with 'Trioless'. She slowed her pace once in the Ravenclaw common room, not wanting to alarm the students. She nodded at the Ravenclaw prefects and then demurely exited the room. Once free, she punched her fist in the air in flared-up glee and then proceeded to the Great Hall. She was terribly hungry seeing as she had forgotten about lunch and hoped dinner would be something good.

Draco, having followed Alyniana to her room, now stood before the portraits, trying to decide which one she may have gone through. He had already blacklisted the Slytherin and Gryffindor portraits because that would be too obvious. Now he just had to decide between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but deciding that since blue was her favourite colour, Ravenclaw would be obvious as well, he went through the Hufflepuff one. The students lounging around in the common room were shocked as he entered, but since he exited without doing anything, they went back to what they were doing and didn't give him a second thought. The second he stepped out of the common room, the dinner bell rang and he narrowly avoided being trampled. She's good, but not that good. I'll catch her again he thought and headed down towards the Great Hall, also longing for some food.