"Is that the best you got?", Draco said and easily blocked Mioha's hex. He whirled around his wand, casting a curse with it and at the same time sending another jinx at Mioha using his free left hand.
Wandless magic was becoming his favorite, it seemed.

Mioha jumped back and let her silver whips flick forward. Light exploded in midair when they connected with Draco's curses.
She jumped to the side and whirled around, letting the whips whoosh around her.

Draco had to jump up before they could wrap around his feet, and did a flip backwards. Landing securely on his feet, he used a corner of his black training shirt to wipe his sweaty face, revealing the abs lining his stomach.

Show off, Mioha thought and attacked Draco with her whips again.

Professor Snape had warned her not to get too comfortable relying on her whips, otherwise she would become too predictable for enemies.
However, he did not object to Mioha training with the whips regularly. She had to perfect her fighting style with them, after all.

And even he couldn't deny that it was getting extremely difficult to defeat Mioha in a duel, especially when she used her energy whips.
Her power was growing. And so was her control.

After training, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione took one route through the Labyrinth that would lead them to the Gryffindor tower, while Mioha and Draco took a different route to get to the Slytherin den.

"How exactly do you conjure those whips?", asked Draco as they walked side by side.
"I've tried it before on my own, but it is very energy-consuming in my opinion."

Mioha shrugged.
"It's not hard for me, but I guess that's just because you're still used to your wand", she said. "Maybe in...a few years-"

"Years?", Draco frowned. "Hallelujah."

Mioha rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, but that's how long I guess it would take you to master whips without a wand. Have you tried to do it with your wand?"

"Yes", said Draco sourly. "It didn't work either."

"Maybe there's a book on how to do it", Mioha suggested. "I've seen Professor Dumbledore do it, so there has to be a way to learn it."

"I have not tried looking for a book yet", said Draco sarcastically.

Mioha furrowed her eyebrows at his tone, but chose not to reply.

They turned left and ascended a wide spiral staircase.

"So...you still want to get some flying tips?", Mioha asked cautiously.

"If you have the time", Draco replied curtly.

"Okay. Uhm...how about Sunday? On Saturday we were planning to do a Canisclan session."

Draco's face hardened, but to Mioha's relief, he didn't say anything. But it was still obvious what he thought of the Canisclan meetings.
"Sunday would be great", he said with a stony face.

Mioha threw him a look.
"You said that as if you're going to a funeral."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

Somehow, the relaxed mood from earlier had disappeared. They covered the rest of the way in silence, then separated before their common room.

—————————————————

The muggle's screams echoed in the hall as he writhed on the black floor, his face contorted with pain.
Draco kept his hand steady and continued to point his wand at the muggle. His own face was as blank as a mirror, his grey eyes sparkling like hard diamonds.

"No-", choked the muggle, gasping for air as the pain intensified, "please..."
He had no more strength in him to scream. The muggle's limbs kept twitching as the Cruciatus Curse burned through him, sucking out his life with every passing second.

"Thank you, Draco", said a high-pitched voice softly.

Draco instantly lowered his wand, giving the whimpering muggle a last hateful look before he returned to his place between his godfather and Lucius.

"Well, you have certainly proved you have inherited Lucius' ruthlessness", said Voldemort, looking quite pleased as he sat on his throne. He gently stroked the scaly side of Nagini's slim body and the snake slithered around his bony shoulders, her tongue tasting the air.
"But do you posses his cunningness as well?"

Draco inclined his head, yet kept his eyes fixed on Voldemort's face.
"I would be honored to be allowed to say that I have, my Lord", he said impassively. He knew exactly where this conversation was heading.

"Then do tell me, why is Albus Dumbledore still alive?"
There was a threatening tone in the Dark Lord's voice. The air turned visibly colder and several Death Eaters shivered excitedly.

They wanted blood.

Nagini opened her fangs and hissed, venom glistening at her fangs.

Draco could feel blood-red eyes burning into his own, yet he forced himself not to look away.

"I have a plan, my Lord", he said, glimpsing Bellatrix' satisfied face out of the corner of his eyes.
"I am only waiting for the right moment. As we have seen, rash decisions will only result in Dumbledore getting more cautious. Patience is needed."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward in his throne. Nagini slithered up the backrest of the black throne and into the open jaws of the silver snake statue behind it. Her thick body slowly disappeared into the shadows, like a tongue being pulled inside.

"Careful, young Malfoy", hissed the Dark Lord. "Arrogance is never rewarded well."

Draco inclined his head and lowered his eyes, knowing when to show obedience.
His heart was beating slowly, not a single trace of nervousness left in him. He had, after all, mastered Occlumency. And there were rumors stating the Dark Lord could even smell your fear.

"Yet I have given you until the end of the year."

Voldemort leaned back, his eyes flashing. Draco couldn't tell whether the dark wizard was amused or annoyed, so he kept his head lowered.

"I expect a report next week."

Draco did not allow himself to exhale in relief at the thought of finally leaving the Dark Lord's residency.
"Yes, my Lord."

Lord Voldemort's gaze glided over his followers, his red eyes seeming to see everything. The air seemed to get even colder, if that were even possible, the white breaths of the Death Eaters appearing as mists at their exhale.
Pettigrew was standing beside the throne, looking warily at the unconscious and bleeding muggle as if he disliked the thought of having to clean the mess up after Nagini was finished.

"Dismissed."

Gowns rustled as the black mass of Death Eaters bowed silently, then turned and exited the dark Serpens Hall. That was its name, which it had gotten from the large silver snake statue that rose behind the Dark Lord's throne into the air. It's opened jaws revealed a tunnel leading into the silver statue, down which Nagini slithered every time the meetings ended. But where the snake was going no one knew.

The muggle laid on the ground, limbs twisted and blood trickling out of his mouth.
If he were lucky, he wouldn't be awake when Nagini returned to feed.

Professor Snape led Draco through one of the many corridors, shooting him a cold glance as he passed him.

But Draco understood.

Not until they were both back at Hogwarts could they let their guard down.

Footsteps echoed on the wet floor, accompanied by the sound of water dripping from the ceiling.
The Dark Lord's residence was built on an island, surrounded by miles of water. The castle itself was part of the island's mountain, which resulted in the rooms and corridors being cold, dark and wet.

Draco felt like he could no longer breathe in the stale air. Now that he was leaving the castle, he felt like the moment he disappeared from here could not arrive too soon. His stomach churned and it took all of his discipline to keep his breathing quiet and his pace slow.

They crossed more dripping wet corridors, pools of water having formed on the ground. Draco stepped once into a deeper puddle and gritted his teeth when he felt something slimy touch his leg.

Then finally, finally, did Draco step out into the night.

It was cold. And it was dark. The wind whipped into his face, tiny droplets of water drizzling up from the cliff beneath him.

He breathed in deeply.

Professor Snape silently held out his right arm. Draco accepted it.
Then, with a whirl of their robes, they disapparated.

Until they reappeared in the Forbidden Forest, Draco had been able to pull himself together. But once he felt the ground beneath his feet, he let go of his godfather and stumbled aside. Not a second later, Draco fell to his knees, ripped off his Death Eater mask and heaved up his latest meal, the screams of the muggle still ringing in his ears.

He despised himself in that moment.

—————————————————-

The next Canisclan meetings came and went.
Progress was still slow, but at least people started improving. Several times, Mioha had to reassure them that if something didn't work, they just had to be patient.

Ginny managed to produce fire coming out of her hands and had set herself the goal of shaping it so that it matched her patronus.

Zacharias Smith, to everyone's surprise, was the first to succeed in trying to form a water whip.
He used it to slap people on their behind, yelling "Constant vigilance!", although nobody thought it was funny.

Luna was getting good at using the air she exhaled to blow others away.
Thank Merlin she didn't have bad breath.

Mioha continued to meet with Draco to practice the element of water with him, as well as to show him how to fly her way.

But...things were not the same as before. Draco was changing. It didn't happen abruptly, instead it was a slow yet still noticeable process.
More often, the atmosphere between them would tense up because Draco would suddenly turn cold and snap at her.
She tried asking what was wrong, but he just closed up more and more. His eyes grew colder, and became more empty.
And Mioha was afraid of that. Draco seemed to be changing back to the Draco Malfoy he had been three years ago.
And she didn't know how to stop this transformation.

Mioha knew she couldn't pressure him into telling her what was wrong, so she stopped asking. That led to their private training meetings growing consistently quieter, until they barely exchanged a few words at all.
And in those moments, Mioha would wish that the kiss had never happened. She wanted their friendship back the way it had been before.

But then her heart would flutter at that memory when they'd stood beneath the mistletoe, when Draco had held her tightly, reminding her that she certainly would repeat that night if she could.

But the one thing she was 100 % sure about, was the fact that Draco was suffering from being a Death Eater.
And Mioha would be damned if she didn't find a way to help her friend.

Gandalf had told Mioha she could continue to fly to St. Mungo's, but she'd need a trained Auror of the Order to accompany her. And since it would be difficult to sneak more than two people into a now heavily guarded building, Draco didn't escort her to the hospital anymore.

But that was probably for the best.
They needed some space.

————————————————-

The snow melted around the school as February arrived, to be replaced by cold, dreary wetness.
Harry wasn't successful with getting the memory from Professor Slughorn, and he couldn't figure out a way to get the old wizard to open up to him again.
Neither Mioha, Hermione, Ron nor Ginny had any idea how to do this. The best solution they'd come up with was to search the library for more information on Horcruxes.

Not the school's library, of course, but the library of the Labyrinth.
Its size was much, much, much greater than the normal one the students were usually permitted to use.

Hermione almost fainted at the sight of an entire hall being filled with rows and rows of bookshelves, from the red polished floor up to the ceiling.

"Oh Merlin", she breathed, laying her head back to stare at the high shelves. "How come we've never been here before?"

"Because many of these books handle topics which are gruesome and will make your hair stand on end", replied Gandalf, wearing sparkling red robes that matched the flood. "However, we need more young bright and sharp minds that are able to see connections where we old ones only see dusty pages."
His eyes twinkled at them.
"Do not forget that you have a bed in your dorm, Hermione."

Hermione, having stood there gaping with her mouth open, blushed.

Mioha giggled. Hermione had probably already made plans to spend the night here.

Searching the vast library was a little difficult because one couldn't read the titles from the books at the top of the shelves.
Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny
had to levitate books down, then back up if they were the wrong ones.
Mioha had it easier. She just flew up to the top.

————————————————-

Purplish-grey clouds hung low over the castle and a constant fall of chilly rain made the lawns slippery and muddy. The upshot of this was that the sixth-years' first Apparition lesson, which was scheduled for a Saturday morning so that no normal lessons would be missed, took place in the Great Hall instead of on the grounds.

Mioha had not intended to sign up because of the cost, but a week before the first lesson, she got a little pouch from Professor McGonagall containing 12 Galleons.
She felt extremely grateful for the support she was getting, she would definitely make sure to pay everything back once she had the money.

When Mioha arrived in the Hall, she found that the tables had disappeared. Rain lashed against the high windows and the enchanted ceiling swirled darkly above them as they assembled in front of Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick and Sprout-the Heads of House-and a small wizard whom Mioha took to be the Apparition Instructor from the Ministry. He was oddly colourless, with transparent eyelashes, wispy hair and an insubstantial air, as though a single gust of wind might blow him away.
Mioha wondered whether constant disappearances and reappearances had somehow diminished his substance, or whether this frail build was ideal for anyone wishing to vanish.

"Good morning," said the Ministry wizard, when all the students had arrived and the Heads of House had called for quiet. "My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry-Apparition Instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition test in this time-"

"Parkinson, be quiet and pay attention!" barked Professor McGonagall.

Everybody looked round. Pansy had flushed a dull pink; she looked furious as she stepped away from Draco, with whom she appeared to have been having a whispered argument.
Mioha glanced quickly at Professor Snape, who also looked annoyed.

"-by which time, many of you may be ready to take your test," Mr. Twycross continued, as though there had been no interruption.
"As you may know, it is usually impossible to apparate or disapparate within Hogwarts. The Headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practise. May I emphasise that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try.
I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."

There was a great scrambling and jostling as people separated, banged into each other, and ordered others out of their space. The Heads of House moved among the students, marshalling them into position and breaking up arguments.

Mioha positioned herself between Hermione and Levinia, seeing Draco's back a few rows ahead of her.

She sighed sadly.

"Thank you," said Mr. Twycross. "Now then..."

He waved his wand. Old-fashioned wooden hoops instantly appeared on the floor in front of every student.

"The important things to remember when apparating are the three Ds!" said Mr. Twycross. "Destination, Determination, Deliberation!
Step one: fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination. In this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."

Everybody looked around furtively, to check that everyone else was staring into their hoop, then hastily did as they were told. Mioha gazed at the circular patch of dusty floor enclosed by her hoop and tried hard to think of nothing else. This proved a little difficult since there was nothing interesting to see.

"Step two," said Mr. Twycross, "focus your determination to occupy the visualised space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body!"

Mioha glanced around surreptitiously. A little way to her left, Ernie Macmillan was contemplating his hoop so hard that his face had turned pink; it looked as though he was straining to lay a Quaffle-sized egg. Mioha bit back a laugh and hastily returned her gaze to her own hoop.

"Step three," called Mr. Twycross, "and only when I give the command ... turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation. On my command, now ... one-"

Mioha glanced around again; lots of people were looking positively alarmed at being asked to apparate so quickly.

"-two-"

She tried to fix her thoughts on her hoop again; she had already forgotten what the three Ds stood for.

"-THREE!"

Mioha spun on the spot, lost her balance and nearly fell over. She was not the only one. The whole Hall was suddenly full of staggering people; Daphne was flat on her back; Ernie Macmillan, on the other hand, had done a kind of pirouetting leap into his hoop and looked momentarily thrilled, until he caught sight of Dean Thomas roaring with laughter at him.

"Never mind, never mind," said Mr. Twycross dryly, who did not seem to have expected anything better. "Adjust your hoops, please, and back to your original positions ..."

The second attempt was no better than the first. The third was just as bad. Not until the fourth did anything exciting happen. There was a horrible screech of pain and everybody looked around, terrified, to see Susan Bones of Hufflepuff wobbling in her hoop with her left leg still standing five feet away where she had started.

The Heads of House converged on her; there was a great bang and a puff of purple smoke, which cleared to reveal Susan sobbing, reunited with her leg but looking horrified.

"Splinching, or the separation of random body parts," said Wilkie Twycross dispassionately, "occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined."

Mioha gaped at him.
He made it sound like losing body parts was about as interesting as picking your nose.

She shot Susan a sympathetic look, feeling bad for the girl who kept sobbing in shock. Professor Sprout was trying to calm her down, but when that didn't work, she led the distraught Hufflepuff out of the Great Hall.

"You must concentrate continually upon your destination, and move, without haste, but with deliberation ... watch."
Mr. Twycross stepped forwards, turned gracefully on the spot with his arms outstretched and vanished in a swirl of robes, reappearing at the back of the Hall. "Remember the three Ds", he said, "and try again ... one-two-three-"

But an hour later, Susan's Splinching was still the most interesting thing that had happened. Mr. Twycross did not seem discouraged. Fastening his cloak at his neck, he merely said, "Until next Saturday, everybody, and do not forget: Destination. Determination. Deliberation."

"How did you do?" asked Hermione, hurrying towards Mioha. "I think I felt something the last time I tried-a kind of tingling in my feet."

"I didn't feel anything," mumbled Mioha, glancing at Draco. "But I don't care about that now-"

"What do you mean, you don't care ... don't you want to learn to Apparate?" said Hermione incredulously.

"I'm not fussed, really. I prefer flying," said Mioha calmly. "But you're right, I should know how to apparate."

————————————————-

"How, by Merlin's balls, am I supposed to feel the wind?", yelled Draco annoyed as he leaned forward on his broom, bracing himself against the harsh storm Mioha had conjured in the Magnus Antrum.
"I can't even see it!"

"You don't have to look at your body parts to know where they are", Mioha retorted, raising her voice as she elegantly flew past Draco.
"You need to know which currents go in what direction. That way you can choose the one that will help you get to your destination as fast as possible."

Draco growled and clenched his broom tighter when a gust of wind almost threw him off his Nimbus 2001.

This is pointless, he thought grimly, jealousy washing over him as he watched Mioha gliding effortlessly through the air.
He had enough to deal with Pansy and Lucius pressuring him, he didn't need to waste his time trying to 'feel the wind'.

He leaned forward and steered his broom towards the ground.

Mioha followed confused and let the storm evaporate away. It got suddenly very quiet, the silence only disturbed by her wingbeats as she landed beside Draco.

"Are you alright?", she asked puzzled.

"Yes, Mioha, I am perfectly fine", said Draco sarcastically and headed for the large double doors, shrinking his broom and stuffing it into his pocket.

He heard wings rushing through the air and a second later, Mioha landed before him.
"Is something wrong?"
She looked completely confused and folded her wings on her back.
"You've been so...weird lately."

"I am fine", he snapped at her, attempting to brush past her.

Mioha took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Don't you want to tell me what's going on?", she said with a forced calm tone. "What's the matter?"

Draco's face turned cold.
"What's the matter with me? I'll tell you what the problem is", he hissed. He leaned forward until his nose was almost touching hers, his grey eyes boring into green ones.
"I've got Lucius and Pansy breathing down my neck, waiting for a mistake to happen. I've got the Dark Lord rummaging through my head every time I go to those blasted meetings. I see people getting tortured every time I go there, and people getting murdered. And I've got you, trying to help me with every single damn problem I have, so let me tell you this: I don't need your help."

Draco felt like he'd reached a breaking point, and now the pressure and anger he'd felt the past weeks were flowing out of him. And he couldn't stop it.
"You act like everyone has a good side, and that everyone can change, but you're wrong. Not everything is good in this world, so don't act like you can fix everything."

Mioha had a hurt expression on her face.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to act like that-"

"Yes, you weren't trying to."
Draco laughed sarcastically.
"But that's all you do, isn't it? Acting like there are no problems in the world, that there aren't people dying, that there isn't any evil. Wake up, Mioha! This isn't a perfect fairytale where the good fairy godmother saves the day!"
He glared at her, his chest heaving, the straightened up and brushed past her.

He'd almost reached the doors, when Mioha's voice reached his ears.

"I am not pretending."

Draco turned around, looking at her icily.

"I am not pretending that there is no evil", said Mioha quietly, her voice trembling with suppressed anger. Her eyes were fixed on him, changing their color to a bright silver. "I know perfectly well that there are people hurting out there, that every day there are deaths of innocent people that didn't deserve it. But let me tell you this."
Silver energy crackled around her wings, brimming with her fury.
"I am trying to do my part in keeping as many humans and creatures safe as possible. I know there is evil in this world, but I try to give others a second chance because I know there is good as well."

Mioha took a step towards him.

Her voice got louder as she continued to speak.
"I know what you have to go through is hard, and I can't imagine what it must be like.
You think I am always around trying to fix things, but that is because I'm trying to help you! And I do that because I care about you Draco! So why won't you just let me?"

Mioha shot him an exasperated look, her silver eyes returning to their normal color. When Draco remained silent, she shook her head sadly. She spread her wings and whooshed past him out the doors, the strong gust of wind throwing Draco off his feet.

Then she was gone, as fast as lightning.

Draco sat up, barely acknowledging his sore back.
The rest of his fury faded and was replaced by self-hatred, an emotion that filled him from top to bottom like poison. A poison which would torture him until he lost his mind.

"Argh!", Draco yelled, slamming his fist into the ground.

Why couldn't he just accept her help? Of course Mioha had her limit, she couldn't put up with every one of his tempers!

Draco raised his throbbing hand and watched the skin turn red.

————————————————
February moved towards March with no change in the weather except that it became windy as well as wet. To general indignation, a sign went up on all common-room noticeboards that the next trip into Hogsmeade had been cancelled.
Ron was furious.

"It was on my birthday!", he said on their way to Potions.
"I was looking forward to that!"

"Not a big surprise, though, is it?" said Mioha. "Not after what happened to Katie Bell."

Katie had been able to return to classes, and had joined Canisclan (the earth group) as well, but she still looked extremely pale.

Further disappearances had been reported in the Daily Prophet, including several relatives of students at Hogwarts.

"But now all I've got to look forward to is stupid Apparition!" said Ron grumpily. "Big birthday treat ..."

Three lessons on, Apparition was proving as difficult as ever, though a few more people had managed to splinch themselves. Frustration was running high and there was a certain amount of ill-feeling towards Wilkie Twycross and his three Ds, which had inspired a number of nicknames for him, the politest of which were Dog-breath and Dung-head.

Mioha hadn't spoken to Draco since their argument, and she barely saw him except in classes and during their training with the professors. But she didn't meet with him in private anymore.
She had offered her help as much as she could, but if Draco didn't ask her directly to train with him again, then she wouldn't offer it anymore.
She was tired of being the good girl helping others, and getting hatred back instead.

What was the point anyway?

Maybe Draco had been right.
She was just a naive girl who kept seeing the light and blinded herself to the reality.

—————————————————

"Happy birthday, Ron," said Mioha on the first of March. Ron, Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Mioha had met in the Room of Requirement so Ron could open his presents with all of them.
She handed him a small pouch.
"This is for you."

"Thanks!", said Ron enthusiastically and laid Harry's gift aside. He opened the pouch and looked inside, then his face got confused.
"What's this?"

"Some dried mint leaves, black rose petals, mugwort roots and blackberry thorns", replied Mioha, forcing a smile on her face. She wasn't going be glum today, not on Ron's birthday. "Together with a charm I added, this will ward off some nasty jinxes. It looks simple, but it's very effective. You can keep it in your pocket."

"Seriously? Thanks!", said Ron and stuffed the pouch into his robes. Then he opened a present from his parents.
"Very good haul this year!" he announced, holding up a heavy gold watch with odd symbols around the edge and tiny moving stars instead of hands. "See what Mum and Dad got me? Blimey, I think I'll come of age next year too ..."

Hermione passed Ron her present, beaming at him.
It turned out to be a book on apparating, which Ron seemed to actually appreciate. He gave Hermione a little kiss on the chick, to which Hermione responded with a blush.

Ginny smirked and traded a knowing look with Mioha.

At last, Ron found an unlabeled present that was left and opened it.
"Want one guys?" said Ron with a grin, holding out a box of Chocolate Cauldrons which had been inside the wrapping paper.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Don't you want to have breakfast first?", asked Mioha.

"Nope," said Ron, stuffing a second Cauldron into his mouth. "I'm gonna enjoy these before those Apparition lessons. It might make it easier, I suppose ..."

Ron looked thoughtfully at the box of Chocolate Cauldrons, then shrugged and helped himself to a third.

Mioha and Hermione vanished the rest of Ron's presents, letting them reappear in the Gryffindor's trunk in the Gryffindor tower so they could go directly to the Great Hall.

"Ready?", Harry said to Ron and got up.

Mioha was halfway to the door when she realised that Ron had not moved, but was still sitting on his armchair, staring out of the rain-washed window with a strangely unfocused look on his face.

"Ron? Breakfast", said Hermione slowly.

"I'm not hungry."

Mioha stared at him perplexed.
"You're always hungry."

"-Well, all right, I'll come down with you," sighed Ron, "but I don't want to eat."

Ginny scrutinised him suspiciously.
"You've just eaten half a box of Chocolate Cauldrons, haven't you?"

"It's not that," Ron sighed again. "You ... you wouldn't understand."

Everyone looked puzzled.
"Fair enough", said Harry as he turned to open the door.

"Guys!" said Ron suddenly.

"What?", snapped Ginny.

"I can't stand it!"

Mioh raised an eyebrow.
"You can't stand what?", she asked, now starting to feel definitely alarmed. Ron was rather pale and looked as though he was about to be sick.

"I can't stop thinking about her!" said Ron hoarsely.

Mioha gaped at him. Then she turned to Hermione, who had started to smile brightly.

"Why does that stop you from having breakfast?" Harry asked with a smirk, watching Hermione turn pink.

"I don't think she knows I exist," said Ron with a desperate gesture.

Wait, what?

"She definitely knows you exist," said Ginny, bewildered, and stared at Ron. "She's right here."

Ron blinked.
"Who are you talking about?"

"Who are you talking about?" said Mioha slowly, with an increasing sense that all reason had dropped out of the conversation.

"Romilda Vane," said Ron softly, and his whole face seemed to illuminate as he said it, as though hit by a ray of purest sunlight.

Everyone stared at Ron in silence. Then Hermione whirled around angrily and stormed out the room. 

"Hermione-", started Mioha.

The door slammed.

Harry traded a look with Ginny and Mioha, then said to Ron slowly: "This is a joke, right? You're joking."

"I think ...I think I love her," said Ron in a strangled voice.

"Okay," said Mioha suspiciously, walking up to Ron to get a better look at the glazed eyes and the pallid complexion, "okay ... say that again with a straight face."

"I love her," repeated Ron breathlessly. "Have you seen her hair, it's all black and shiny and silky ... and her eyes? Her big dark eyes? And her-"

"This is really funny and everything," said Harry impatiently, "but joke's over, all right? Drop it."

Mioha's nose twitched when a weird smell hit her nose. A smell she recognized from class. She turned her head.
It was coming from the box with the Chocolate Cauldrons.

Oh no.

"Ron", she said alarmed. "Where did you get those Chocolate Cauldrons? There's a love potion in them!"

Ginny's eyes went wide.

"What potion? They were a birthday present", Ron beamed. "Got it from my room before I came here, the box was on the floor. I offered you one, Mia, didn't I? You want one?"

"It was just laying on the floor?", asked Harry with a pale face.

"Yeah."

Harry groaned.
"They weren't for you, Ron! They were mine, I chucked them out of my trunk when I was looking for something. They're the Chocolate Cauldrons Romilda gave me before Christmas and Mia's right, they're all spiked with love potion!"

Mioha smacked her forehead.
And Ron just had half of the box.

But only one word of this seemed to have registered with Ron.

"Romilda?" he repeated. "Did you say Romilda? Harry-do you know her? Can you introduce me?"

Ginny gagged in disgust, staring at Ron whose face now looked tremendously hopeful.

"I can introduce you, Ron", said Mioha, thinking fast. "She's with- Professor Slughorn right now. Has detention."
She looked at Harry and Ginny, wriggling her eyebrows.
"Let's get Ron to Romilda, okay?"

"I'll go with you", said Harry, getting the hint. "Ginny-"

"I'll check for Hermione", said the redhead, shooting Ron an annoyed look. "Watch out for my brother so that he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Maybe I could ask if I can have detention with Romilda?", asked Ron eagerly and jumped up from his armchair. "Let's go!"

"Great idea," sighed Mioha.
She and Harry grabbed Ron by his arms and pulled him out the door.

Mioha had been slightly worried that Professor Slughorn might be at breakfast, but he answered his office door at the first knock, wearing a green velvet dressing-gown and matching nightcap and looking rather bleary-eyed.

"Harry," he mumbled. "Miss Lince. This is very early for a call ... I generally sleep late on a Saturday ..."

"Professor, I'm really sorry to disturb you," said Harry quietly, while Ron stood on tiptoe, attempting to see past Professor Slughorn into his room. Mioha kept a firm grip on him.
"But my friend Ron's swallowed a love potion by mistake. You couldn't make him an antidote, could you? I'd take him to Madam Pomfrey, but we're not supposed to have anything from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and, you know ... awkward questions ..."

"I'd have thought you could have whipped him up a remedy, Harry, an expert potioneer like you?" asked Professor Slughorn.

Mioha snorted.

"Er," said Harry, shooting Mioha a glare,"well, I've never mixed an antidote for a love potion, sir, and by the time I get it right Ron might've done something serious-"

Helpfully, Ron chose this moment to moan: "I can't see her. Harry-is he hiding her?"

"Was this potion within date?" asked Professor Slughorn, now eyeing Ron with professional interest. "They can strengthen, you know, the longer they're kept."

"That would explain a lot", panted Mioha, now positively wrestling with Ron to keep him from knocking Professor Slughorn over. "Harry, help-"

Harry reached over to grab Ron by his other arm.
"It's his birthday, Professor," he added imploringly.

Mioha cursed inwardly when Ron stepped on her foot.

"Oh, all right, come in, then, come in," said Professor Slughorn, relenting."I've got the necessary things here in my bag, it's not a difficult antidote ..."

Ron burst through the door into Professor Slughorn's overheated, crowded study, tripped over a tasselled footstool, regained his balance by seizing Mioha around the neck and muttered: "She didn't see that, did she?"

"She's not here yet," choked Mioha, watching Professor Slughorn opening his potion kit and adding a few pinches of this and that to a small crystal bottle.
She unwrapped Ron's hands from her neck and rubbed it slowly.
Her head wasn't a Quaffle, for Merlin's sake.

"That's good," said Ron fervently. "How do I look?"

"Very handsome," said Professor Slughorn smoothly, handing Ron a glass of clear liquid. "Now drink that up, it's a tonic for the nerves, keep you calm when she arrives, you know."

Mioha had to grin and traded a look with Harry, whose relief was written all over his face.

"Brilliant", said Ron eagerly, and he gulped the antidote down noisily.

Mioha, Harry and Professor Slughorn watched him. For a moment, Ron beamed at them. Then, very slowly, his grin sagged and vanished, to be replaced by an expression of utmost horror.

"Back to normal, then?" said Harry, grinning.
Professor Slughorn chuckled.

"Thanks a lot, Professor", said Harry.

"Don't mention it, m'boy, don't mention it," said Professor Slughorn, as Ron collapsed into a nearby armchair, looking devastated.

"Thank you, sir", Mioha thanked him.

"Not at all. Now... Pick-me-up, that's what he needs", Professor Slughorn continued, now bustling over to a table loaded with drinks. "I've got Butterbeer, I've got wine, I've got one last bottle of this oak-matured mead ... hmm ... meant to give that to Dumbledore for Christmas ... ah well ..."
He shrugged.
"...He can't miss what he's never had! Why don't we open it now and celebrate Mr. Weasley's birthday? Nothing like a fine spirit to chase away the pangs of disappointed love ..."

He chortled again and Harry joined in.

Mioha grimaced at the thought of drinking alcohol. The smell was very strong and made her feel sick, yet she didn't want to be rude after Professor Slughorn had just helped her friend.

"There you are, then," said Professor Slughorn, handing Mioha, Harry and Ron a glass of mead each, before raising his own. "Well, a very happy birthday, Ralph-"

"- Ron-", whispered Harry.

Mioha sniffed at her glass.
Maybe if she took one sip, she could say afterwards she didn't like it? At least she would have tried it.
She held the glass up, barely listening to Professor Slughorn's speech.

Oh well, she thought as the sharp smell hit her nose. I'll just hold my breath.
And she raised the glass to her lips and took a small mouthful of the mead.

She instantly started coughing at the burning sensation in her throat.

Professor Slughorn stopped puzzled.
"Are you alright?"

"Yes- I'm...fine", Mioha choked, rubbing her throat. "It's...very spicy-"

"Spicy? Oh, this is not supposed to be spicy."
Professor Slughorn looked at his glass with an unsatisfied expression.
"Most have gone bad, I suppose."

"Jess?", asked Harry when Mioha couldn't stop coughing. "What's the matter?"

Ron looked up.
"Maybe she's not used to it", he suggested glumly, his ears still red from embarrassment. He stared at his glass filled with mead, not seeming in the mood to drink it.

Mioha felt her throat constrict and started to sweat.
"It's- very hot- here", she gasped and rubbed her throat. "Do you have some water, sir?"

Mioha started swaying as black dots danced in front of her eyes.

Why was her throat burning so badly?

Her lungs ached for fresh air, but Mioha couldn't breathe.

"Jess!", she heard Harry's distorted voice as she fell to the floor.

She needed...air...

Then a black blanket of nothingness covered her senses and it got silent.

————————————————-

"You what?", hissed Draco furiously.

"I poisoned one of Slughorn's meads", said Pansy with a wolfish smile. "He wanted to give one to Dumbledore, I overheard him."

Draco whipped out his wand and pressed it against Pansy's neck, lowering his head to look into her eyes.
"And you don't think Dumbledore will check it before drinking it?", he growled icily.

"Well, at least I'm doing something", said Pansy shrilly, trying to push his wand away. "You-"

"I have a plan", Draco interrupted her, fighting the urge to strangle Pansy. His grey eyes bored into hers.
"Do not interfere again, or I will see to it that you will be removed from this mission. You are my assistant and nothing more."
He whirled around and slid his wand into his sleeve, exiting the empty classroom.

Draco was furious.

Poison in a school could end dangerously. People never acted 100 % the way one predicted. Slughorn could easily give this mead to someone else, killing an unsuspecting person who would be a victim of Pansy's stupidity.

He descended a staircase, heading for Dumbledore's office.

He needed to tell Dumbledore about the poison immediately. He needed to-

A hand grabbed his elbow.

Draco whirled around, getting out his wand in one fluent motion and readying himself to send a curse at Pansy.

Hermione stood before him, breathing raggedly as if she'd run a marathon.

Draco froze, and lowered his wand.

"Draco-", she panted, bending over and swallowing hard. "It's- it's Mioha. She's been poisoned."

All color drained from Draco's face.