Then he once again felt the heat from the stones of the castle warming the side of his face and his face relaxed in a smile. Whereas before they had seemed threatening and unpleasant, now it was like returning to a friendly hearth.

"My...things..." he said, wretchedly. "I forgot to check...where they would go...I do not know where my dormitory is."

His head snapped up suddenly and his gaze moved to fix on one of the student's cats that had come out for an evening prowl. It was hissing and spitting at him and he hissed straight back at it. This seemed to confuse the cat, which scurried off into the darkness to plan a new strategy. Piotr dropped his head again, but not before Sarah would have caught a glimpse of his hugely dilated pupils.

"I must take my potion," was all he said.

Sarah had noted his eyes but chose to say nothing. She nodded, "Your things will have been placed in Slytherin House. I know a shortcut that will save us considerable time."

She led him to an ivy-covered area in the wall. "I found this many months ago. Don't tell anyone though will you?"

She pressed a stone and a small door was revealed. A steep flight of steps lead downwards to a narrow dark and dank passageway. Sarah's footing was very sure. Quietly she led him through a labyrinth until they neared the entrance to the Slytherin common room.

"Just knock and I am sure you'll be granted admittance, Piotr. They know you belong here."

There was a touch of regret in her voice as she turned to leave.

"Thank you, Sarah," he said, his voice steadier now that he was within grasp of the potion. He turned his head in her direction. "I...don't get like this very often," he found himself confiding. "But when it happens, I can hardly control it. The potion helps some. But I wouldn't have got back without your help. Who knows..." He broke off, abruptly, feeling that he'd said too much.

"Thank you," he repeated, looking at her directly for a moment. He smiled at her - a genuine smile that contained warmth, rather than the usual sneer he treated people to. "I guess I'll see you around."

"It's cool Piotr" Sarah said. "I'll see you around."

She had returned to the labyrinth before his knock was answered. *Strange boy* she thought.

With that, he knocked and was admitted to the Slytherin common room, which he charged through, walking next to the wall until he found the door that led to the dormitories. His own room was not hard to find and he threw open the lid of his trunk and hauled out a vial of potion, which he drank back in one gulp.

He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. He'd taken too much potion, really, but he'd never gone so long without it. Its effects were almost instantaneous and he gladly felt the warmth return to his body, his vision gradually revert to its normal state, and he shuddered, trying to forget how he'd felt.

His father, he knew, had paid a lot of money to arrange a private, single room for him, but for the first time, he rather wished he was in one of the dormitories, where he could hear the other Slytherin boys laughing and whispering together. But the single room was more than just a luxury and well he knew it. It was a precautionary measure imposed by the faculty.

Nobody would ever trust him. And that was more painful than anything.

**********

She reached the open air again and headed back in the direction of the Quidditch field. It was getting quite late and she'd preferred that she Raphael, Nathaniel return by more conventional means to Ravenclaw House.

She hoped they hadn't got into too much trouble with the broomstick.

After Sarah had left Nathaniel looked at Raphael and the broomstick.

"Be my guest." he said simply. "Just don't break your neck, kid."

"You sure you don't want to go first?" said Raphael, distracted, looking in the direction that Sarah had disappeared towards, worry in his voice as he undid his bootlaces and abandoned then on the grass, thankful with the dew for thick socks. Then he seemed to make his mind up.

"Right... what did Sarah say? Just use it like a hobbyhorse... right..." Raphael faced the broom. Sarah's 'Nimbus'. It was sitting on the ground, looking at him - he could tell, it seemed to have eyes... it was calm, sane, clever... somehow very much a Ravenclaw broomstick. Looking at it closer, Raphael raised his hand from a metre or so away, not feeling foolish.

He could see a drop of a few feet down a bank onto the Quidditch field proper, a little away. Right. "Up, Buzz," was his first request of Sarah's broom - he'd already christened it Buzz, he couldn't help it - and it responded, rising a little into the air cautiously, bobbing back and forth, ready for any sudden movement from Raphael. A pair of eyes, icy blue, watched from the darkness cast by the seating as Raphael slowly turned, and asked Nathaniel in a quiet and slightly curious voice: "what's a hobby horse?"

Before the other could answer, Raphael had turned in a flash and threw himself towards the ledge, shouting to the broom as he did, a sudden movement. In the instant before it too moved, Raphael could have sworn that the broom was shaking it's head (what head?) in exasperation at him, as if it knew what was coming next. However, it did move, with a lightning slick cat-pounce so that as Raphael threw himself into the air, he was holding the broom with both hands around the handle area.

He zoomed into the darkness head first, not actually on the broomstick but more alongside it, the speed of takeoff and the angle meaning that he hadn't quite gained a seating in any normal fashion, or at all. He was, in fact, not on the broomstick at all. This only occurred to Raphael as he was about 10 meters up in the air, but not knowing, of course, that the normal position for a broomstick rider was on the broomstick, the vague worried feeling from 'Buzz' was entirely misunderstood.

Instead he wondered: was he going too high for it? So he decided that perhaps this spiralling upwards with very little contact of the broom wasn't the best manoeuvre. Instead he felt an order pass between him and Buzz (was that a sigh he could hear from the sensible and put-upon broom?): he was to go nose down, and Raphael was to hang on.

The dip itself was so severe that he was pulled down in the dive. Just before impact on the dewy grass of the pitch, Raphael actually put both his feet on the lower end of the broom, and with one hand still on the handle, manually pulled the thing out of the dive, assuming a rising wave-surfers stance as it shot across the grass, skimming the blades.

Raphael, both hands out to balance and his feet almost curled around the body of the broom, leant back on his left foot to cause Buzz to rise up. Once he'd gained enough altitude, halfway across the pitch and rapidly heading for the stadium seats, he leapt off the broom and for a single moment was simply falling down by the side of it, his cloak bellowing out behind him like a pair of black wings.

Then he caught the broom with both hands, sideways, and swung himself under and around, for a second in a hand stand on the turning and... accelerating rather quickly, as if it's accepted the inevitable... twisting and bucking broom, twisted around and caught Buzz between his knees.

Pulling himself close to it and shooting like an arrow across the stadium, and wishing that it was about a foot longer (if he could have he'd have lain flat down the broom, but it was slightly too short and his feet stuck up, slowing him down) he started spinning around like a bullet from a gun.

He didn't know why he and the broom decided to do this: all he could get in the moment from the shocked Buzz was that it probably increased airspeed. To Raphael the corkscrew motion was simply the coolest.

He was heading at full speed back towards Nathaniel now, not yet out of control, and so when the broom shot up the bank just in front of the other student, Raphael leapt off the broom, roly-polied a few times before gaining his feet and skidding another good even two meters in full dramatic style.

The broom shot towards the seating, did an odd skidding motion itself in the air, and flew almost serenely back to Nathaniel. Only once there did it stop, stand up brush down on the grass, waver for a moment drunkenly, and then seem to sigh. Over and done with.

Remembering it's duty, Buzz (hoping that the other student would know what respectable flying entailed) presented itself horizontally and at waist height in the air, only the slightest of wavers indicating that it was still dizzy and spinning. "Have a go, that was class," was Raphael's only comment on the matter before he too lost his balance and sat down heavily, a grin spread across his face just as Sarah got close.

Nathaniel took the broomstick rather gingerly, not seeing Sarah approaching, and simply looked at it for a long moment.

"Up." he said firmly, and the broomstick leapt to attention.

The kitten suddenly erupted from his pocket and streaked across the grass to climb a tree a safe distance away.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence." Nathaniel flung after it. An indignant mewl came back out of the darkness.

Nathaniel didn't try to surf the broomstick. He'd had a peek in the Quidditch book that Mahou had shown him earlier, and seen the right kind of sitting attitude that was usually used.

He was humming under his breath again, not realising. "Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again.."

He concentrated and the broomstick continued to defy gravity. "Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping.."

It moved forward a few inches very jerkily and Nathaniel nearly fell off before regaining his balance again.

"And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains..."

Slowly and rather jerkily, the broomstick circled the Quidditch field in a very ungainly manner. There was an inherent problem; the broomstick only supplied half the magic needed in the equation between broomstick and rider. And currently Nathaniel was supplying less magic than the average stray dog.

As a consequence the highest the broom ever got off the ground was five feet, and it arced up and down with distressing clumsiness.

Nathaniel made it back to the starting point, and saw Sarah and Raphael standing together, and fell off the broom five feet up.

"That," he said, lying on his back in the damp grass and looking up at the stars, "was an education."

Sarah had returned to see the last part of Raphael's flight as well as the whole of Nathaniel's.

"Well at least my broomstick is still in one piece - as well as you two." she grinned.

"We'd better wind it up for the night lads and get you settled into Ravenclaw. It's been a long day and Snape is bound to be on patrol soon looking to make his evening by deducting a few points from Ravenclaw."

Raphael's only comment to Nathaniel and his flying was one of perplexity: "was that how I was meant to do it?" he asked himself.

It was Sarah's comment that caused more fuss. "...deducting a few points from Ravenclaw." Raphael immediately launched himself into a friendly argument that hinged on him begging Sarah to fly a bit so he could see how, although he truly was as tired as the others and they all knew he was kidding. or at least he hoped they did....

"Go oooooon..." he begged, as they started back across the field, "just a few loop-de-loops.... go on! Maybe just in the air around here..." the only piece of sense to break through his stream of words was a thrown in "...points? what're they?..." but that was soon forgotten as they once again approached the castle.

It was still early enough that they could enter the castle as they had left. A number of students were milling about though most were heading to their Common Rooms.

Sarah led the boys up a series of staircases until they reached the entrance of Ravenclaw House's common room.

She wondered if Kat and Zidane and the others were already inside.

"OK - here goes nothing. Remember what I say and don't repeat it to anyone else. Kat or Isaac will tell us when it changes."

********

Some time passed and Piotr's eyes gradually prised themselves open. Gods, but that had been the most horrible thing he'd ever undergone. On the positive side, of course, he had to congratulate himself on his self-control. How easy would it have been to go against everything he personally believed in? He tried to put the image of Sarah, with her long, elegant neck out of his mind.

He discovered he was thirsty. Not blood thirsty - that had passed. But thirsty for a drink. Maybe he could slip back into the Great Hall and grab himself a glass of pumpkin juice.

Getting to his feet, he checked his appearance in the mirror, pushing his bed-mussed hair neatly back into place. He had a ridiculous vanity about his hair.

Having done so, he headed off towards the Great Hall, looking tired and pale.

* * *

Magnus nodded. "I guess you didn't," he said, his eyes following Arcadia as she left the hall. "Oh well. No point in hanging around here now is there?" He got up from the table and picked up his drink and took a quick swig. The pumpkin juice tasted a little sweeter than he remembered, but he hadn't had any of the English variety since last term.

As he was passing Oriana, he suddenly realised how rude he was being. His face softened and his eyes refocused. "Oh," he said to her, "Welcome back!". He gave her a soft peck on the cheek, and then rushed past her, drink still in hand, out of the hall...

...and straight into a slender, pale faced boy. The boy bounced off Magnus and landed in a rather uncomfortable looking heap on the floor at his feet.

Piotr remained on the floor for a moment, furious. Twice in one night? On his first day at the place?

Things were not exactly going well.

Narrowing his eyes at the other boy, Piotr got slowly to his feet. "Ever considered watching where you're going?" he asked in voice that was dangerously pleasant. "Or is that too much like an effort for you?" He brushed down his robes, which were already stained with grass from his fall on the Quidditch pitch and had now picked up dust from the corridor floor.

He didn't recognise the boy in front of him, but didn't particularly care.

"Hey. Sorry about that." Magnus said, recovering his composure, and quickly checking that he hadn't spilled pumpkin juice on his robes. He would have to brush his hair again, of course, but he couldn't really do that with the drink in his hands. He had been a little hurt at the cutting nature of the boy's comments - he guessed he was probably making his first encounter with the darker sex of Slytherin House - however, he wasn't one for making enemies (unless they were boyfriends of his conquests, but that's several different stories!)

"I guess I wasn't really watching where I was going. A little distracted." Slowly, his eyes were becoming accustomed to the change in lighting from the brightness of the great hall to the torchlight of the corridor. It was clear that the boy wasn't well, he looked shaken and very pale. Perhaps he had hurt himself when he fell, or maybe it was just shock? "Are you sure you're OK?" he asked.

"Yeah. Whatever." Piotr glowered again at the other boy.

"Of couse I'm OK," he snapped back. "Just leave me alone, alright? I haven't got the energy to stand here and discuss pleasantries with a clumsy fool like..." He broke off as a wave of dizziness swept over him and he leaned up against the wall, sweating a little.

"My apologies," he said, finally, his tone a little less aggressive. "I...have a migraine. I was going to the Great Hall to get a drink."

He looked very poorly indeed: his violet eyes were squinting in the dimly lit corridor as though the flickering light from the candles was hurting them, which, of course, it was.

"Here, have some of mine." Magnus offered Piotr his drink. "It's only pumpkin juice, but it's quite refreshing."

As Piotr took the glass from his outstretched hand, Magnus took his comb out and proceeded to straighten his hair. Of course, it wasn't really out of place, but vanity usually wins the day, especially in times of stress.

"I'm Magnus Prytz, by the way. I don't think we've met before. And yes, I'm from Sweden."

*And I have a feeling he won't forget me in a hurry* he thought to himself. A slight shiver ran down his spine for no apparent reason.

Piotr took a sip of the juice and grimaced. "It's very sweet, isn't it?" He wiped at his mouth with the back of his sleeve, which was a mistake: the blood of the unfortunate squirrel was still there and he tasted the faintly metallic tang of it in his mouth. Angrily, he took another sip and handed the quarter-full glass back to Magnus.

"Piotr Rachinov," he said, by way of introduction. "From St. Petersburg, Russia, latterly of Halesowen. West Midlands. Apparently Slytherin House, but who cares?" He nodded at the glass. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He sighed. He hadn't thought about Arcadia for almost two minutes. He should have known it couldn't last. His eyes moved away from Piotr and towards the route he thought Arcadia had taken. Of course it would pointless trying to follow her now, as she could be miles away. He sighed again.

"Well, it has been nice to meet you, Piotr," he said, "and once again I'm sorry for knocking you over." He couldn't, however, manage to produce his usual smile. His melancholy mood wouldn't allow that, not to mention the strange vibes he was getting.

He turned and walked away from Piotr, without saying another word. Wondering how he could best pass the time until breakfast. He guessed that would be the next time he would see her...

"You will be, my Swedish friend," murmured Piotr, watching Magnus leave, his violet eyes boring into the other boy's neck as he walked away. After a few seconds had passed, he continued his walk to the Great Hall.

******

Arcadia Smiled "My dear. I 'always' have things planed" She winked at Carina.

Then she saw Magnus run into Piotr. "Lets go.. quick"

Once they were in the corridor they continued to walk towards the Common Room

"We need to be careful. For some reason whenever anything goes wrong we Slytherin seem to get the blame! So we need to stick together. Watch out for that Niki though. She shouldn't even be with us!"

Pantalaimon was watching and saw Piotr take a drink. "Oh dear."

Carina gave a soft laugh. "Maybe, Arcadia, its because we are such likely suspects. What they don't seem to understand is that we deal out our....divine retribution shall we say, a little more subtlety. We, unlike some tactless Gryffindor, make big statements without big mess."

She looked over her shoulder at Arcadia's comment. "Oh dear what? Am I missing something?"

"Not here" Arcadia whispered to Carina. "I'll tell you later. Although I think it will be a good idea not to be late for breakfast tomorrow."

Carina frowned, but she didn't say anything. She would just have to prise out the information from Arcadia later.

The girl led her on a winding course down through the castle, down staircases and damp corridors. The further down she got, the more she felt the dread of Potions. Her father made his potions in the bottom of the Chateau, and they scared her.

They had good reason to.

Finally, they reached a blank stone wall and stopped. Carina looked expectantly at Arcadia, waiting for her to say the password.

Arcadia says the password <which sounds possibly like 'wart boy' but who can say for sure ;)> and leads them inside.

********

Marvo, who had been munching on some salad, not looking at all pleased with all the food on the tables decided he needed to get away.

"Well. if you'll excuse me people. I think I shall retire to the common room and bed. I have some... reading to do"

With that he stood and smiling good bye left the hall.

Peesey got up and was following Carina and Arcadia, but he seemed to have lost them just after getting out of the Hall, as there were lots of people now retiring to their common rooms.

Then, he saw Marvo coming up behind him. "Hello, oh great one!" he said as Marvo neared him.

"Greetings, oh insignificant one!" said Marvo with a slight smile. He did love goading Peesey.

*******

Niki was still hiding in the dark hallway, trying to talk to herself not in rhyming couplets, with a notable lack of success. In deference to readers who do not love horrible poetry, I shall omit her pitiful renderings. Suffice it to say that she was quite upset.

Morticia finally noticed her friend was gone. She somehow felt bad about it. Maybe Niki still was angry about the Nathan-discussion earlier... She decided to search for her.

She left the Hall and finally spotted Niki. "Hey," she said. "So here you are, I was starting to get worried."

"You needn't fear,
I am, indeed, here," Niki announced.

"But I must go to see the nurse--
I think my rhyming is a curse."

Tish stared at her. Then slowly a huge grin spread on her face.

"I think that is a good idea-r
I'll help you get away from here."

She giggled.

"Don't be angry, dearest friend,
I'm just giving you a hand
so that other may just think
we're both dancing on sanity's brink..."

She took Niki's hand and started to walk towards the Infirmary with her.

"You don't have to rhyme now, too, and," Niki paused in a fit of giggles,
"I can't think of anything...moo?"

"So come on, to the infirmary let's go,
so that we can get back to Slytherin house, and show,

The new girl, Carina, her lovely warm bed,
(though it was Katia's, and I'd not lie in it dead.)"