Hey Allison. Very nice work. I keep wanting to comment on things but there is so much, I better not. I found myself holding my breath just like I did in the book. I couldn't believe Hermione cheated like she did in the book. But, I'm thinking MAYBE... she was going to say something to Abby about Mundungus, and it was exactly when Cormac needed to block the Quaffle, and in her excitement she said Confundus instead of Mundungus.
I was wondering something though, all kidding aside; Would Abby have seen Ron loosing if Hermione hadn't changed the future just then? I mean, does she see the future the way it turns out? Or is what she sees the future as it could be? I don't know if I'm making sense as to what I'm asking, so if I'm not then never mind. My mind is far away today. My husbands Grandma died this afternoon, and I'm not thinking clearly. But I do know that I loved your chapter. I'll be watching for your next.

Thanks again for your compliments Connie As for your question: Abby's ability to see the future is very spazmadic and happens without her having much to say about it. And as with all things, when she does see the future she's seeing something that may happen. The future is always subject to change.

Ron's good mood about beating Cormac carried him through the rest of the day, dinner, and into the common room that evening. Cormac was too busy sulking to really notice Ron's enjoyment, complaining mostly to his friends about his confusion as to what happened on the pitch today. When I caught tidbits of this frustation I couldn't stop myself from looking at Hermione who was keeping her lips tightly sealed. I was still in a state of shock that Hermione had so blatantly cheated by helping Ron out, but really, there was nothing I could do about it now.

Besides, all I seemed to be able to think about at the moment was how much I was dreading Defense Against the Dark Arts the next day with Professor Snape, and how if I didn't get a good night sleep I was going to be royally screwed.

Harry had his arm wrapped around me, my head lying on his shoulder while he flipped through his potions book. Hermione had been pretty adamant that Harry turn the book in, but Harry refused, saying she was merely jealous that he was doing better than her in a class. While I chose not to get involved in the strife, I knew that Harry was posing a very valuable point.

Without even meaning to I drifted to sleep against Harry's shoulder, finding my mind blank until I came into the clear vision of a hallway that definitely looked like it belonged to Hogwarts. I was walking with a purpose, keeping my eyes and ears alert in case I happened to run into a professor. It was after hours after all, and I was supposed to be sleeping in my bed. But honestly, where I was going was going to be much better than sleeping.

Once I got to the end of the hallway I realized where I was going in this dream. I walked into the bathroom, making sure the door was completely shut behind me before I started walking towards the stalls. I could hear his thoughts in the room, even though I couldn't see him yet. He was waiting for me to figure out which stall he was hiding in. Without even a second's thought I pushed open the door to one of the stalls, finding a boy sitting there.

He looked up at me with a look of satisfaction, before standing up and placing his hands on either side of my face. The touch made my heart rate speed up.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming," the boy said, looking at me curiously.

"A stupid little Gryffindor was refusing to go to sleep, but after my influence I was able to successfully solve that problem." The laugh that came out of my mouth concerned me....it was so malicious.

"You are my girl," said the boy, leaning forward to place his lips on mine. The surge of the feeling went through my body so strongly that I thought I might faint. This boy had power and a lot of it.

"Yes I am Tom," I said back after I had released my lips. "Now, what is it that you have to show me?" I asked.

"Something that I think you'll find to be quite amazing."

Taking my hand Tom led me over to one of the small sinks. I stared at it, uncertain as to what this had to do with anything, but keeping my lips shut. Tom stared at the faucet intently before he started to speak in a language I didn't understand. Luckily though I could read his mind which was still streaming in English.

He pulled me back a step as the sinks began to shift, moving and rearranging themselves until there was a clear opening to a circular hole that you could jump down into. I turned to look at him, my eyes wide.

"Is that really?" I asked him, not believing that he found it.

"That it is, and no one else knows where it is except for you and me."

I turned to smile at him, the thoughts of endless possibilities streaming through my head so quickly it left me feeling almost giddy.

"I told you it would be worth your while."

I was about to respond when I caught the thoughts of someone through the door. Tom noticed the change in my face and squeezed my hand harder.

"What is it?" he thought in my direction.

I turned to look at him square on. "We've got company."

Hey Allison. My heart just breaks for Abby! How awful that must be for her. And I s'pose she'll wake up before we find out who it is.

Great chapter Allison. I'll be watching for your next.

Thanks Connie, and congrats on winning a Goblin Award

Tom looked at me with angry and annoyed eyes. I could tell he was mad that someone had so blatantly crashed our party.

"Close it quickly, and I'll go handle the girl," I said to him, giving his hand a swift rub before heading towards the door.

Tom began to speak in parseltongue again, the sinks clanking back together until the passage way was completely gone. I opened the door to the bathroom to find exactly who I thought it was standing there.

The girl in front of me had dark brown hair that was neatly parted into two even pig tails. Her glasses made her eyes seem much bigger than they were and her pajamas made her seem like she had the fashion sense of an eighty year old woman. She stared at me with terror and shock, the look of someone who didn't think they would actually be caught.

"Well hello Mrytle," I said with a little smile. It scared me to feel the maliciousness behind the gesture.

"H-e-e-llo," Mrytle said back, her eyes widening even more than I thought was even possible.

"What are you doing out this late at night?" I asked, keeping the same tone I had before.

"I was just curious as to what you were doing out of bed so late," she said, looking at me with a little bit of confidence growing.

"Huh," I said, biting my lower lip. "And why exactly would you be concerned about that?"

"Because if you were to get caught you would cost us house points," Mrytle said, saying it as if that was obvious.

"Uh-huh. And did it ever occur to you that you could be caught sneaking out by yourself, which would also cost us house points?"

Mrtyle shook her head slightly. "That wouldn't happen."

"And how do you know that Mrytle? Are you psychic?"

Mrtyle shook her head again.

"Well, for the record I forgot something in here earlier, something that's very important to me and I didn't want to leave it just sitting here alone all night where someone could get a hold of it. Now, why don't you run off and go back to bed?"

Mrtyle looked like she was about to protest but thought against it. At the look on my face she turned and started running the other direction. As the sounds of her pounding footsteps died in the distance I felt Tom's hand come onto my shoulder.

"Very nicely done my love."

"What can I say. I've learned from the best."

As Tom's lips were about to bend in and make contact with mine I felt myself jerk awake. Obviously in my sleep or in the act of waking up I had made a loud noise because suddenly everyone's eyes in the common room were on me. Harry turned his body so that he was facing me.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, concern etched across his face.

I was so unsettled by the scene I had just witnessed that I couldn't do anything other than wrap my arm around his shoulders and lie my head on his chest. He held on to me, rocking slightly in the hopes that it would help me. I was glad that everyone had gone back to what they were doing, except for Ron and Hermione whose thoughts of curiosity were ringing through my head.

"We need to go and see Dumbledore," I mumbled into Harry's chest.

"Arlright, let's go," Harry said, releasing me but only for a moment before he took a hold of my hand.

"We'll be back," Harry said, giving Ron and Hermione a look so they would know we were going to see Dumbledore.

"Alright," Hermione said with an understanding nod. "We'll wait up."

I waited until I was out in the hallway with Harry and was sure that we were alone before I told him what I saw. He stopped me in the hallway right before Dumbledore's office and looked at me.

"So what you're telling me is Tom and your mom were a couple?"

I gave him a grave nod. "I just don't understand what she would see in him. This whole time I thought she only became a death eater because he was forcing her to through dark magic, but maybe I'm wrong. I mean, she genuinely feels love and lust for him Harry."

"Well, maybe she used to, but doesn't anymore. That was a long time ago, and maybe Dumbledore will have an explanation."

I let out a sigh of frustration. "Well, we now know officially why Tom chose to send the basilisk after Mrytle. Everyone thought it was because she was muggle born, but that's not the case."

"Poor Mrytle. Guess even when she was alive she was too involved in people's business," Harry said with a small frown.

"How could my mother love someone so evil?" I asked Harry, not understanding how my mother could feel such attraction to someone who was so malicious and cruel.

"Maybe it wasn't so much Tom the person so much as the power Tom has," Harry said. He was reaching and we both knew it, but I appreciated the effort.

"Don't worry Abby, we'll figure this out."

And with that last positive gesture we headed to the all too familiar statue that would take us to Dumbledore.

WOW I'm caught up!

Love it!

Can I marry Harry? He is sooo sweet! Although I think Abby would hurt me if i did...

PAMS!!!!

New Reader here! I've been going through it in one shot and when I got to this bit and saw there was nothing else to read yet I felt dismayed... You're a great writer!

PAMS!

Harry is rather sweet isn't he? And it's not in Abby's nature to be so violent....although when it comes to her man she is quite protective

Aww thank you so much!! I'm planning to get an update up either tonight or tomorrow. I'm getting ready to head back to college so things are a little busy for me, but don't worry, I'll update soon

Harry and I approached the statue, giving some of the old passwords we knew Dumbledore sometimes used before we found the right one. I took hold of Harry's hand as the statue moved, revealing the spiral staircase that had come to be the pathway to peace and comfort. Well...at least that was how I had come to view Dumbledore and his office. It seemed to be the only place at Hogwarts that I felt completely safe no matter what.

Luckily for us Dumbledore was in his office, sitting at his desk if my mind was tracking the position of his thoughts correctly. Harry knocked on the door, pushing it open at the sound of the permission to enter. I had been right and Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, his spectacles slightly lower on his nose, the spot that they usually were when he was reading something. He seemed surprised to see us, but not unhappy about it.

"Hello Harry, Abby. What can I help the two of you with this evening?" As I stepped up to get closer to Dumbledore I realized how worn down and ragged he looked. Even his thoughts were going through his head in a slower, more dragged out fashion than they usually were.

"Abby had another dream about a memory of her mom's," Harry said, taking a seat as I sat in the other.

Dumbledore pushed his glasses back on his nose and looked at the two of us. "And what was this memory?" he asked.

I explained to him what I had explained to Harry, and by the time I was done the tiredness I had sensed in Dumbledore earlier was completely gone. He looked at me, then at Harry, then back at me before speaking again.

"I had assumed that your mother and Tom were good friends from their correspondences with one another, but I had never assumed that there was a form of love there."

"You think Voldemort loved Abby's mom? Is Voldemort even capable of feeling love?" Harry asked, expressing the perplexity that I had been feeling about the situation myself.

"It is hard to know whether Voldemort loved your mother for who she was or if he loved your mother for her power. We can assume that the Voldemort of today wants her for the latter reason."

I rubbed my temples slightly with my index fingers before looking at Dumbledore again. "Did my mother help Tom hurt all those people with the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets?" I asked.

Dumbledore looked at me for a couple of moments before responding. "I do not know. You see, I did my best to keep your mother away from Tom, but unfortunately at the time I was merely a professor, and the Headmaster during that time did not seem to see the threat in Tom that I had been coming to suspect."

I gave a little nod of the head, not feeling any more reassured about the situation. From where I was standing it looked like my mother knew exactly what she was doing and that was what was making that growing pit in the bottom of my stomach not go away.

"Professor, what exactly do you know about Tom Riddle? I mean, we know the things that he's done while he's been Voldemort, but you were there when he was our age and just learning magic. Was he always this evil?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore gave Harry a little grin. "I am actually very glad that you asked me that question Harry. For you see I have a suspicion of something about Tom, but I need to get more information before I can be absolutely certain, and we must be absolutely certain of what I suspect if we are to act efficiently."

Harry and I glanced at one another briefly before looking back at Dumbledore. I could pick from Dumbledore's mind that he was thinking Tom had a weapon, a weapon other than my mom that he was planning to use against us.

"So, what information do you need to know?" Harry asked.

"We need to know what you have asked me. You see I think the best way that we can understand Tom is by understanding where he comes from and who he is. I have a memory that I'd like to show you, but now is not the time. I want your minds to be clear and crisp when you see it, and not the tired ones that I am sure they are right now."

"A memory?" I asked. "Whose?"

"Mine. It's the day that I went to the orphanage that Tom was living in to tell him that he was a wizard. You see, I think if we can break down the man we can find the information that we need to confirm or disprove my suspicions."

Harry, Dumbledore, and I were silent for a couple of moments, none of us looking at each other but each of us deep in thought.

"Professor Dumbledore?" I asked.

"Yes Abby?"

"Does Professor Slughorn have information that you need?"

Dumbledore's eyes got the familiar twinkle in them that they did when Harry or I did something that he was proud of.

"Yes, he does."

"And I'm guessing that we're going to figure out more about Voldemort by looking through memories you have of him."

"Yes, but not just my memories. Also the memories of other people that have interacted with him throughout his years."

"And all of these will confirm your suspicions?" Harry asked, not skeptically but not sure how this would work. "If you already have them, don't you know if your suspicions are true?"

Instantly the confusion cleared in my head as I read Professor Dumbledore's thoughts, and put it all together. "Professor Slughorn's memory, the one he's given you about Tom...there's something wrong with it...isn't there?"

Dumbledore gave a little nod. "And what is the memory exactly?"

Dumbledore put up his hand to stop me. "All in good time. Allow me to show you a few other memories first before you go about speculating and such. In the mean time I ask that the both of you stay in Professor Slughorn's good graces. It is of the utmost important that that bond is not severed."

Harry and I gave Dumbledore a little nod of understanding.

"In the mean time Abby I must ask that you start writing down these memories. I know you don't have much control over when they come, but I do ask that when you feel them coming, you don't stop them. I believe if we can look at the collections of memories I have with those of the ones you're seeing of Tom and your mother, that we may know enough about Voldemort to hurt him."

"Knowledge is power," Harry muttered, not intending for anyone to hear, but arising a smile out of Dumbledore nonetheless.

"I can do that," I said to Dumbledore with another little nod.

"Abby...I don't know what you may find out about your mother, but I can sense that some of the things may change your perspective on her. All I can ask is that you remember that the mother you had from the time you were born up until recently is a mother that loved you and would do anything to protect you."

"With all due respect Professor Dumbledore I would prefer to not think of her as that woman anymore."

"And why is that?" Dumbledore asked, his lips furrowing downwards slightly.

"Because it will be much easier to kill a woman that I no longer love than one I can still see as my mother."

Aw!

YAY A new chapter!

I still wanna marry Harry!

PAMS

~Abby~

Hey guys! My apologies for the lack of an update. I have been getting into the grove of my classes at College and rping my new hogwarts charrie, but I am planning on getting an update up this week

Hey Allison, I read this after you posted it and couldn't comment because I couldn't think of anything once I read; That is sooooooooooo sad. Poor, poor Abby! Anyway, I came back and read it again hoping to comment and I still feel so badly for Abby, I can't think. I shall try though. Loved that sentence. This question of Harry's is very thought provoking. Surely Tom Riddle's eye's were turned by at least a pretty face, that maybe he had a feeling of love for, or maybe a desire of love. But, never knowing or expeariancing love while he was growing up, I don't see how he would recognize love if it hit him over the head.

Great post Allison. I love it when a story makes me think. I'll be watching for your next chapter.

Thanks for the comments Connie, and I'm glad you're enjoying it

The following day I woke up not wanting to move from my bed. The vision of the night before had been haunting my dreams, replaying over and over in my head like the devil had gotten control over the remote to my brain. Play, rewind. Play, rewind. Unfortunately for me our first class of the day with Defense Against the Dark Arts, and professor Snape was not the man to be sympathetic to things like these, so I rolled out of the bed, showered, and slipped into my robes.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione were all down in the common room, chatting with one another while Harry glanced over his new Potions book. At the rate he was going I felt like the book had become his girlfriend instead of me. He looked up at the sound of me feet, smiling slightly as he closed the book.

"I didn't think it could get any worse than having Potions with Snape, but clearly, I was wrong," Ron said in an annoyed voice, throwing his bag over his shoulder as we headed out the portrait.

"He is a very good teacher though," said Hermione with a slight frown. Given the amount of heckling that Hermione received from Snape on a pretty much consistent basis I was surprised to hear those words come out of her mouth. Clearly she was a better person than I was because I had no sympathy for the man.

However perhaps a part of that had more to do with just the surface of our relationship. Of course he was mean and enjoyed nothing more than trying to punish Harry and the rest of us, but for me the hatred went deeper. The man was determined to get a glance into my brain, and whenever I was in a close proximity to him, he went at it. It was like having a pesky fly flying around your head that you were not quite quick enough to catch. Perhaps it annoyed me that the man was so interested in my gift, but perhaps what annoyed me more was that the man looked at me as if I held the key to something. As if if he could get one look inside, he would finally see the answer that he had been searching for for all of his life. Even though I knew he would never succeed, it didn't stop me from feeling slightly uneasy about the man.

By the time we made it DADA most of the classroom was full. The four of us took a seat at the back of the room, figuring the farther away we were from him the better off we were at not receiving his snide comments. Everyone was mumbling to one another, including Ron, Hermione, and Harry, but honestly I was too tired to contribute to the conversation. Even when professor Snape slammed the door, his cloak brushing my arm as he walked by, I didn't even lift my head from my hand. This was going to be a very, very long day indeed.

"Get out your books and turn to chapter two," Snape said, flicking his wand so that the words would start to write on the board. "If you are in my class it is because you have received an Outstanding on your O.W.L.s in Defense Against the Dark Arts. If this is not the case then you can pack up your things and go."

The room was silent as everyone looked at Snape. He waited, making sure there weren't any people that needed to leave before he flipped open his own book.

"As you know it is important as a matter of self defense to learn not only useful spells that can protect you, but also different ways of casting them. One of these ways is nonverbally, which for obvious reasons is highly useful in a dueling situation."

Snape peered out at all of us, making sure that we were paying attention to his words. "Being able to cast nonverbally prevents your opponent from knowing what you are going to do, and automatically puts them into a level of surprise that can be incredibly advantageous. It gives you an element of stealth that all of you should want."

Snape was quiet for a moment, watching all of us as we scribbled notes onto our pieces of parchment. "Today we will be practicing nonverbal casting, and for a sample student I would like to use Abby Carson. Abby, would you join me at the front of the room."

I looked up, letting out a small sigh. Of course...pick the telepath. Pushing back my chair I headed to the front of the room my wand at my side. If I didn't hit him with a spell, I would be laughed at, but if I did I would get detention....

Yeah...today was going to be a long day.

"Now, I want you all to keep in mind that nonverbal spells are not something that is just magically going to happen because you have magic in you. It takes a lot of concentration and clear intent in order for this to happen successfully. Now...I am going to cast a nonverbal spell at Miss Carson...nothing too harmful...and Miss Carson will attempt to block it nonverbally."

I could sense that everyone in the classroom had straightened up, most of them not believing that Professor Snape was actually going to cast a spell against a student. Of course I knew that Snape was doing this because he was sure that I would be able to read what spell he was going to do, and that I could defend himself. But I had never tried nonverbal casting before, so really, the students and me had a right to be concerned. What if it didn't work? Would I have to dive?

Professor Snape turned and pointed his wand at me. "Three....two...one!"

I saw the word rectusempra go across Professor Snape's mind right before he finished the word one. With an instinctive reaction I lifted my wand up in defense, but what I had not been expecting to happen was that in my attempt to read the spell that Snape was going to cast, I had confused my wand into thinking that that was the spell that I wanted to cast.

Much to my horror red sparks similar to Professor Snape's ejected from my wand, collapsing into Snape's stream of his spell. Upon the forceful contact of the two spells colliding Professor Snape and I went spiraling backwards, me crashing into the desk that Draco Malfoy just so happened to be sitting on while Professor Snape went spiraling into a set of thankfully empty potions jars.

What had I just done?

Hey Allison, great writing! My goodness you're such a talent. I always admired Hermione for her capability of putting aside her likes or dislikes in a teacher for the sake of her learning. Loved that bit.

I love how you set up this bit; with this sentence; Indeed I think deserved it though. I just hope he isn't too hard on her.

Great chapter Allison. I'll be watching for your next.

I agree with Connie!!

Oh no...Abby...good luck kiddo..and Snape, is I hadn't read the seventh book I would tell you to go to some very nasty place.

Thanks for the comments guys! Sorry I haven't posted...tennis and college have been kind of busy for me this month.

The class had fallen completely silent but the swarm of their thoughts rushing at my head were anything but. The loudest one I heard was Snape, who with as much rage as was humanly possibly had shoved himself out of the pile of broken potions bottles, and was walking towards me. I instinctively took a couple of steps back, but there wasn't really anywhere to go.

"I will be seeing you in detention immediately after class," Professor Snape said, the hatred seething through his words.

I stared at him, frightened but at the same time annoyed. Why was he hounding me like this? He knew what I could do, and while neither of us realized that was going to happen, it wasn't like I had been intentionally trying to do it. As much as I despised Snape I certainly hadn't wanted to hurt him like that.

"Take your seat Miss Carson," he snapped. Without giving any form of acknowledgement I headed back to my seat, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all watching me as I did so. Snape gave a furious flick of his wand, a motion which repaired the jars and returned them to their appropriate shelves, while everyone else in the class watched him. I noticed that Draco Malfoy was looking at me, a rather curious expression on his face that I was having a hard time reading.

"Due to Miss Carson wanting to prove her worth you have a three parchment essay to write about why concentration and intent are the most important things to remember when casting nonverbal spells."

The class made a collective grown, some of the Slytherins turning to glare at me as Professor Snape wrote the assignment on the board. The rest of the class consisted of Professor Snape lecturing us, me clearly having set the mood that there would be no more actual practicing of magic allowed for today at least. I copied down his words on my scroll of parchment, the class even being timid to answer questions asked directly to them. By the end of the two hours I was ready to be relieved of the thoughts and looks being pointed in my direction.

"Miss Carson come into my office."

The rest of the class had been getting their things when I bent down and picked up my own. I followed Snape into his crammed little office before he closed the door behind me and took a seat at his desk.

"May I ask what exactly it is that you thought you were doing in class today?"

"It was an accident...I didn't mean to," I said, looking him directly in the eye.

"Please...explain," Snape said, drawing out the words in the way that he usually did when he was annoyed.

"I caught through your thoughts the spell you were going to cast, and by accident my wand thought that was the spell that I wanted to cast," I said with a small shrug of the shoulders.

Snape straightened up in his chair slightly. "So you drew the spell from my thoughts, and by doing so it caused your wand to cast the spell?" Snape didn't seem to believe me, but it was the truth.

"Yes," I said with a little nod.

"Well...if that is true than I would like to explore the skill a bit. I'll of course check with the Headmaster to make sure, but don't be surprised if you get an owl from me soon. You are dismissed."

I stared at him for a couple of moments.

"Yes?" he said, clearly annoyed that I hadn't left yet.

"Don't I have detention now?" Not that I wanted it, but I figured I would get in just as much trouble if I just left without mentioning it, and he remembered in a couple of minutes.

"No detention...I simply have an impression to hold Miss Carson."

Professor Snape went back to focusing his attention on the piece of parchment, pulling out a quill and beginning to write. With that I turned around and walked out of the class room. For my sake I hoped whatever Snape was writing seemed like a horrible idea to Professor Dumbledore.

YAY! Another chapter!

Hehe, I loved this: It's great!

Though I am curious as to what Snape is going to ask of Dumbledore and what was that look Malfoy gave her?

PAMS!

~Abby~

Hey Allison, great chapter. I'm thinking Snape did the right thing in not making her take her detention, but I also think; Snape,has his own agenda. He is bound and determined to find out all about Abby's powers.
Great chapter Allison, I'll be watching for your next chapter.

Thanks for the comments Snape is a bit of a bugger isn't he?

I slowly walked out of the classroom, my mind so deep in thought that I hardly realized that Draco Malfoy had been waiting for me. I pummeled right into him, stumbling backwards from the unexpected impact. Normally I would have snapped, just on the given fact that it was Draco Malfoy, the man that had no problems making things for my boyfriend and for me that matter difficult, but something about his look made me hold my tongue.

Draco did not look good...at all. The skin underneath his eyes was sunken, giving him the look of someone that was incredibly stressed and probably hadn't slept in at least a couple of days. Instead of the usual snide look of loathing that he gave me and my friends, he looked sullen, like he was too tired to pick a fight with anyone or anything. From my extra little sense I could feel a kind of desperation to his thoughts, a kind of pleading that I might be able to provide him an answer to something. But an answer to what even I was having troubles extracting. His thoughts and emotions were so scatter brained that I was having a hard time making a clear connection between any of them.

"Um...sorry," I mumbled, trying to break the awkward silence.

"No...it's my fault. I shouldn't have just stepped out like that when you weren't looking."

Even Draco's words came out as if they were an enormous strain on just about every aspect of his body, but perhaps what surprised me even more was that he was apologizing: to me.

"Well...have a nice day," I said after another long moment of awkward silence before I moved to step around him. Faster than I thought was physically possible for someone looking so ragged Draco was in front of me, blocking me from continuing on my way. I was startled by the action and it showed on my face.

"Please...don't go. I need to talk to you about something," Draco said, grabbing hold of my arm as he said so. The gesture sent such an enormous flood of emotion and feeling through me that I let out a little cry of pain. Certainly what had happened before wasn't happening again? My mother had already made the bond with Voldemort: it was done. Why was I still feeling so sensitive to such strong emotions?

Draco seemed surprised that the simple grabbing of my arm had caused such a reaction from me, but I could tell that doing me harm was definitely not something that he wanted to do. I could sense, especially since he hadn't let go of my arm that he was seriously needing my help. I was about to ask him what when Professor Snape came out of the potions classroom. Instantly Draco let go of my arm and took several rather large steps backwards so that it looked like he was on his way up the steps to the main floor when Professor Snape had come out.

"Might I ask exactly what is going on here?" Professor Snape asked in his usual drawl, but I could tell that he was incredibly curious as to why someone who detested me so much had just been so close, let alone had actually touched me. Some thought that Snape wasn't observant of mundane matters of who liked whom, but trust me, the man paid more attention than most people gave him credit for.

"Nothing important," I said with a little shrug. "Quidditch stuff." It was a complete and utter bold-faced lie since for one I did not play on the Quidditch team and for two there was no way that two opponents of the opposite team would be talking Quidditch when their first match against each other was just a couple of days away. Snape furrowed his eyebrows at me.

"Quidditch stuff? Well...seeing as I am the Head of the Slytherin House, therefore making me the mentor if you will of its Quidditch team perhaps you could enlighten me as to what you felt was so important to say to Mr. Malfoy only days away from our first match against your house?"

I was stuck...clearly I had needed to think about my answer a bit more than I had, but usually with Snape too long of a pause was an instant sign that whatever had just been happening before he arrived was definitely important. I already had the man snooping in my abilities...the last thing I needed was him snooping in on this; whatever this was that is.

"Don't worry Professor Snape. It's nothing major or anything that causes any need for alarm. Now, if you don't mind I have studying to attend to."

Before I gave Snape a chance to reply I was bounding up the steps, moving around Draco. I had wished with all my heart that there was some way that I could send a signal to Draco that that wasn't me turning down whatever he wanted to say to me, but there was simply no way of getting that done with Snape standing so close. Not to mention, Draco and I didn't know each other well at all so a subtle hint probably wouldn't have meant anything to him anyway.

I had made it up the steps and into the Gryffindor common room in record time, probably because a part of me was worried that Snape might chase me out of the dungeons and all the way to the seventh floor, which was completely unrealistic, but nevertheless with the way events were turning out these days I wasn't putting anything past anyone. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were surprised to find me so out of breath when I collapsed on the sofa next to Harry. Ron had raised his eyebrows, a cracker with cheese on it just inches from his mouth.

"Well...you look like you've been running. Did the conversation with Snape really go that badly?" Harry asked, closing the potions book in his lap.

I suddenly realized that I wasn't sure whether or not I should tell the three of them about Draco. After all there had to have been a good reason why Draco felt that he could approach me alone without me hexing him into next week. Not to mention I knew Harry's feelings about Draco, and I knew that Harry would decline to help him just on the principle that Draco was a Death Eater. A part of me understood Harry's thoughts and the history of our experiences with Draco confirmed that caution was definitely a necessity, but Harry hadn't been there, and he hadn't seen and felt the things that were going through Draco. He was concerned, scared, and desperate; three things that I had never thought Draco to be in his life ever. He always had the upper hand, no matter what the situation, and if he didn't his daddy would buy it for him. While I was going to be a cautious a part of me felt like I owed it to the boy to listen to him. After all approaching someone that has been your enemy for the last five years needing help is certainly not an easy feat.

"Yeah...apparently he wants to explore my talents more," I said with an eye roll. "Honestly I couldn't get out of there fast enough!"

"Explore your talents?" Hermione said cautiously, pursing her lips as she did so. "That sounds...ominous. Why is he so invested in your talents?"

"I have no idea, but it has always frustrated him that he can't get inside my head. Maybe he thinks by exploring my gifts he'll be able to find a way inside my brain."

Harry had gotten an annoyed expression on his face. "Well what did you tell him when he said this to you?"

"Nothing...I didn't really see what I could say. He is going to ask Dumbledore's permission first, so we can only hope that he'll shoot the whole idea down."

"I am sure he will," said Hermione with an assertive nod. "Dumbledore won't like the idea of Snape poking around in your head; I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, let's hope you're right."

I was relieved that the situation had gone as smoothly as it had, and that none of them were prying about what had taken me so long. I sat staring at the fire, and the embers that floated up towards the chimney. What had Draco wanted to ask me? What could I possibly be able to due that would get rid of the desperation and confusion that he was feeling? After a lot of contemplation to myself while the four of us worked on our various own tasks it finally occurred to me why I wasn't as opposed to talking to Draco as I probably would have been last year. If Draco was a Death Eater like I firmly believed he was then maybe he would know what was going on with my mom. If I helped him with his problem then in return I could ask what is going on with my mother, and maybe figure out what Voldemort has in store for her.

New reader and first post! Awesome!
YOu have done a GREAT job with this story!
I am really liking it so far. Just wondering, I may have accidentally skipped this part, but who is Ginny with? Just wondering. And how far do you think you're going with this?
You don't have to answer my questions if you don't want to.
-Rachel

Thanks Rachel! I feel so touched by how much you're enjoying Abby Sa 13+ too

I wasn't sure why I was suddenly so in tune with what Ron was feeling, but what I did know was that I had gone from a pretty much completely dead to sleep to being wide awake. I rolled over on to my side and looked at the clock which was flashing 5:30 a.m. in my face. Oh you have got to be kidding me. Closing my eyes I reached out with my mind to figure out if Ron was merely awake in the boy's dormitory or if he had indeed gone down into the common room like I had suspected. Sadly, I was correct. Letting out a little sigh I flung my sheets back before I hopped out of bed and pulled my robe on rather slowly.

I quietly tip toed across the floor, trying to avoid the wooden floorboards that squeaked before I opened the door and slipped outside. Since the fire had gone out in the common room it was rather chilly on the stone steps that I was descending. Just as I had suspected, there was Ron sitting on the sofa, looking at the empty fire place while his knee went up and down from the nervous tapping of his foot. He hadn't even noticed me coming down the steps until I plopped down on the couch next to him.

"Hey Abby," Ron said looking slightly surprised. "What are you doing up at this hour?" he asked with a nervous little chuckle.

I shot him a look. "Oh, right, sorry about that." I had told them after my visit to the hospital wing and the bond between my mom and Voldemort that my telepathy and sense of people's emotions was even stronger than it used to be. Sometimes I didn't mind since it gave me a fair warning as to who was in a bad mood and who I should be avoiding, but other times I hated that I was in a constant state of t.m.i. with just about everybody; particularly new couples and stressed out students.

"So...you want to talk about it?" I offered while stifling a yawn.

"What's there to talk about? I'm just incredibly nervous," Ron said, letting out a little sigh. He was still tapping his foot frantically. I flung my arm out and put it on Ron's knee to get him to stop. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"You know it's alright to be nervous right?" I said with a gentle smile.

"It is?" said Ron, his voice cracking at the end from the surprise of that statement.

"Yeah it means that you care. People who aren't really concerned about how they do or whether or not their team wins. Those are the people that don't get nervous, and you don't want to be one of those people do you?" I asked.

"No, of course not. I want us to win! I would just hate to think that we might lose because of me."

I shifted slightly so that I was looking at him more. "Listen Ron all you can do is your hardest to make sure that that Quaffle does not go through that hoop. That is honestly all that your teammates can ask of you. If you try your absolutely hardest to protect those hoops than you are going to make your teammates and your housemates proud," I said with an encouraging nod of the head.

"I know..."Ron mumbled feebly. "But the pressure of knowing that I could be the reason why we lose is awful. I mean other than their seeker catching the snitch first, I am the only way the other team can gain points."

I looked at Ron, biting my lower lip. "Well you knew that when you tried out for the position Ron, but you aren't alone. You've got teammates who are going to do their best to make sure that the other team doesn't get a good opportunity to throw an amazing shot at you."

Ron nodded feebly. I could tell that my words were helping a little bit, but I could tell that really no matter what I said Ron was going to be a nervous wreck. Giving his knee a little squeeze I stood up. "Try to get some more sleep Ron. You'll need to be rested if you want to play your best."

He gave a little nod but he made no move to get up from the couch. With a little sigh I pulled out my wand and pointed it at the fire place. "Incendio," I mumbled, the spell igniting the embers and casting a warm light across the whole room. Without another word I shoved my wand back into my robe pocket and headed back upstairs to try and get some more sleep. Needless to say it was not all that restful or deep since Ron had stayed down in the common room the rest of the morning until suddenly the nerves I had been feeling were gone. Rolling over in my bed I looked at the clock to see that it was 8 in the morning. He must have headed down for breakfast.

I got showered and dressed slowly before heading down to the common room to do some reading before Harry and Hermione got up. When they came down, Harry dressed in his Quidditch attire, we headed to the Great Hall where we figured Ron was.

"How is Ron doing?" Harry asked. "When I got up this morning he was gone already, and he is never up this early."

"He was up since 5:30 this morning," I said with a little sigh. "His nerves were so strong that they pretty much brought me out of a dead sleep."

Harry and Hermione both gave me an empathetic look. "If Ron can't get his nerves under control this is going to be a rough game," Harry said, lowering his voice slightly since they had now entered the Great Hall.

"Maybe some words from the captain would go a long way," I offered, giving Harry a little nudge with my elbow.

Harry and Hermione sat down before me while I shot a glance over at the Slytherin table. Draco was sitting there, sandwiched between Crabbe and Goyle, and right across from Pansy Parkinson. From the fact that we made eye contact as soon as I looked over I gathered that Draco had been watching me since we had gotten in. It was times like these that I wished I could transfer thoughts to someone else as easily as I could read their own thoughts out of their heads. I gave him a sad little smile before sliding in next to Harry.

Ron was holding a goblet of orange juice, his hand shaking so violently that the whole goblet was shaking. If the glass had been full the motion probably would have caused the contents to be spilling out all over the place. Hermione put her hand on Ron's wrist, and the gesture seemed to allow his hand to stop shaking.

"You've got to pull yourself together Ron," Harry said, taking a bite of a piece of bacon. "You're going to do brilliantly."

"Easy for those who have natural Quidditch abilities to say."

"Oh shush Ron," snapped Hermione briskly. "You have natural Quidditch abilities too."

While Hermione and Ron were looking at one another, both with stubborn expressions on their faces, Harry pulled something out of his pocket, keeping nothing but the top concealed. I looked at it curiously as Harry stuck his hand out, tilted it over Ron's goblet quickly, then pulled it back and shoved it into his pocket. The gesture had caught Hermione's attention.

"What was that?" she snapped at Harry.

"What?" Harry said, faking ignorance.

"What you just put into Ron's drink."

"Oh, nothing," Harry said with a shrug of the shoulder.

"That looked like the liquid luck that Professor Slughorn gave you," Hermione frantically whispered at Harry. "You know that is cheating."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said, keeping his face completely blank.

Hermione looked back at Ron. "You're not going to drink it, are you Ron?" Hermione asked.

Ron picked up the goblet and chugged the whole thing down. "Alright Harry...let's go!"

Great job!!! And I thoroughly enjoyed Abby Sa 13+!!
It was really good!! (both this post and Abby)
I can't wait to read more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Rachel

Hey Allison, great work. I wonder what might have happened if Abby and Draco would have been able to talk. It was this part of the story that I felt sorry for Draco. I still didn't like him, but I did feel sorry for him.

Speaking of feeling sorry for someone, Ron is pitiful.He sure does need more confidence in himself. Harry plans on helping him though,And it's sad that his plan will only work if Hermione sees it and makes a fuss about it. I'm sure harry didn't think it would turn out the way it does though. So much for good intentions. I'm anxious to read the next chapter Allison, I'll be watching for it.

Hi everyone! First off thank you both for the lovely comments. It makes me feel like I'm not just writing for myself when you guys post such nice things about my updates

Second: sorry for not updating but we had our last tennis event of the season this past weekend and it's midterm week so I have been busy studying and such. I am hoping to get an update up by Friday, or this weekend at the latest, but don't worry, an update will be coming soon!

Ron was up and out of the bench and heading towards the door before Harry, Hermione, or I had a chance to respond. Down the ways a little were Dean and Ginny who had raised their eyebrows slightly at Ron's sudden and dramatic exit.

"Well go after him Harry!" Hermione snapped as Harry just sat there looking somewhat bemused. At Hermione's sharp tone Harry was up and out of his own seat almost as quickly as Ron had gotten out of his. I shot him a good luck look before returning my attention to my goblet orange juice in front of me. I could feel Hermione's eyes were glaring at me but I didn't look at her. Honestly while the whole thing with Ron had been interesting I was more concerned about Draco whose feelings I could sense from all the way over here, and whose thoughts were constantly streaming of ways that he and I could talk.

And then it hit me. At the game would be the perfect time to do it. After all everyone would be so distracted with the game that no one would notice that the two of them weren't there at the same time right?

"Honestly Abby, are you listening to a word that I've just said?" Hermione snapped.

I fixed my focus back to her. "I'm not really sure that there's much that we can do about it now," I said with a little shrug. "We might as well just go to the game and cheer on our house."

With that I stood up and started to head towards the exit of the great hall with the increasing herd of people that were also heading to the pitch. Hermione had gotten up and was following along behind me. I could tell that I had confused her by not being more upset about the whole situation than I was, but really it was because I knew for a fact that Harry hadn't actually poured anything in, and two this was my moment to send a signal to Draco to meet me under the bleachers at the game. Besides, letting Hermione be someone indignant about the whole matter made it seem more like Harry had actually done it.

I could now see Draco out of the corner of my eye, him too walking slightly ahead of Crabbe and Goyle that were waddling along behind him, struggling to keep up with his pace. I had been reading over the summer a book about phoenixes and the ability of mind communication. Theoretically speaking since phoenix animagi could read the thoughts of the people around them, they could naturally send their thoughts to someone as well. However this process was incredibly different, and being able to break through the protective shield of the person's mind was not easy by any means. I knew my powers had gotten so much stronger recently that I figured if there was ever a time for me to be able to do it, it was now.

Of course there was the chance that by mistake I would end up sending the thought to someone else or that I would not be able to send it at all. But Draco was getting closer, and if I didn't act quickly I was going to miss my opportunity.

With as much thought as I could muster I struggled to send my thought to Draco.

Meet me under the bleachers in five minutes.

After I was sure that I had sent the thought out I looked at Draco who had a look of utter confusion all across his face. Yes...it had definitely worked. Hermione was now walking along next to me, with Ginny and Dean close by. I kept my face neutral, even though inside I was so excited that I had managed to send the thought successfully. Of course there was no way to know whether or not Draco would show up, but from what I could tell he was going to. Whatever he wanted to talk to me about was important and he was going to take advantage of this opportunity.

As we got closer to the pitch I stopped. "Oh darn!" I mumbled, letting out a little sigh.

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

"I forgot my scarf back at the table. I completely forgot I had taken it off. You guys go ahead and save me a seat. I'll catch up with you."

Hermione, Dean, and Ginny gave a little nod of the head, none of them questioning the excuse that she gave them. I headed back towards the castle, making sure that they were out of earshot before I rounded back around and stealthily snuck under the bleachers. Draco was already there, free of his goonies, and was half hiding behind one of the wooden posts. I headed over quietly, checking to make sure that no one was around before I looked him in the eyes. Luckily the people above us provided some background noise with the sound of their feet shuffling along the bleachers and the chatter of the pre-game excitement.

"How did you do that?" Draco asked, a scared tone coming through his words.

"It's something phoenix animagi can do. I wasn't sure if it would work or not...luckily it did."

"Yeah...luckily," Draco said after a moment, shooting a couple of looks around.

"You don't have to worry...we're alone," I said with an encouraging nod. "So tell me...what is it that you need my help with?"

Draco was silent for a couple of moments before stepping forward to close the already miniscule amount of space before us. Leaning forward Draco bent down slightly to whisper something in my ear.

"It has to do with your mother and what the Dark Lord has planned for us all."

Ooooohhh! Great job!
I loved it. I cannot wait to find out what Draco wants to tell her about. It makes me wonder if he is actually against Voldie in this story. Great job!
-Rachel