[/u]


**Hermione & Rachel’s POV**

“Rachel, we have to go or you’ll be late for the train.” Hermione yelled up the stairs to her daughter.
Rachel smiled it was just like her mother to want to leave two full hours to get to a place that was only fifteen minutes away. So she headed down the stairs with her trunk behind her, thumping down each stair.
“Are you sure you want to go this early mum?” Rachel said looking up and pushing her bushy hair out of her face.
“Yes dear. Did you check to make sure you got everything? Where’s Sagira?” Hermione asked looking for her daughter’s cat.
“Mom, she’s already in the car because you put her in there when I was getting my trunk. Remember? I swear you’re getting ancient to forget stuff like that.”
“Excuse you, young lady, but I am only 30. I just can’t seem to keep up with you though. Now scoot ”She said taking and putting Rachel’s trunk in the car.
“Mum, why didn’t dad come see me before I headed off to school?” She asked buckling her seat belt. Hermione sighed she knew Rachel was going to ask her about Ned.
“He couldn’t come sweetie. He’s with Teresa in Aruba.” She said backing out the drive.
“Oh.” Rachel said before looking longingly out the window.

**Draco & Lucas’ POV**

“Come on Luc. We don’t have all day.” Draco said dragging Luc’s trunk to a trolley then wheeling it around in the crowd.
“Dad, I don’t see why I have to have you with me. I know where I’m going.”
“Luc, today is your first day of course I’m coming with you. Its not like I’m going to embarrass you.”
“Dad That’s what you said every day before taking me to muggle school. Now, I’m going somewhere cool. You can’t make me look bad. Especially not in front of girls ” Luc said knowing his dad was going to do it yet again.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. All I did was tell you to behave. If you didn’t get into trouble all the time I wouldn’t have to.”
“No, dad, you shouted it out in front of everyone. Then all those women would rush over and bat their eyes at you.” Luc said showing him what they did.
“Lucas Malfoy All those women were doing was giving me tips on how I could raise you.” Draco said almost running over someone ahead of them.
“Dad, they have the hots for you. That’s why you never have to cook. They bring stuff by every day and you take it.”
“They are just being nice. Now, tell me where we are supposed to go since you know where you are.” Draco said sarcastically then ran into another trolley that had a trunk in it.
“Mom ” Rachel screamed in Hermione’s direction. “Someone tried to destroy my stuff ” Then she glared at both Malfoys.
Draco was speechless standing in front of him was a mini-Hermione. She looked exactly like Hermione at that age. The only difference was her eyes were green instead of chocolate brown. She looked just like his only love....something whispered in the back of his mind.
He was jerked out of his shock when Luc yelled, “Dad I told you I knew you were going to embarrass me today ”Draco blushed at Luc’s accusation.
Luc turned to the girl. “I’m sorry my dad wasn’t watching where he was going.” Just as Rachel was about to respond Hermione hurried over.
“Rachel what’s go—“ Hermione started saying out of breath then stopped as she saw Draco for the first time in twelve years.


B[/u]

It was their last year at Hogwarts and suddenly Hermione realized that she wouldn’t be going back to the castle in the horseless (and yet actually horseful) carriages again. She wouldn’t take the train to Hogwarts, either, and she definitely wouldn’t have to tell Ron to do his homework for another year after that one was over. Everything was ending so quickly, but she knew that there were other things that should have been on her mind. For instance, Hermione, Harry and Ron had to figure out a way to defeat Voldemort. She couldn’t quite understand how one could just put it in a sentence like that. Defeat Voldemort. In two words she could say it like a command to herself, but it was too simple through words. It was like the words mocked the situation. Defeating Voldemort wasn’t as simple as saying the two words themselves. It was complicated and they had to do it right this time. Of course, Harry was the only one who could actually do it. Hermione didn’t expect that she could do anything except help Harry with the Horcruxes before he finally faced his arch-enemy. Even though it sounded not quite as important, though, she knew that her part in the plan was important. She had a lot of responsibility, looking through as many books as she could for something, anything, that could tell them about the Horcruxes.

On top of that all, she also had to go to Hogwarts for a last year. Harry finally agreed to go with them, or at least for the beginning of the year. Now that Hermione was at Hogwarts, though, she didn’t want him to be there. She found that he could be very distracting.

On their first day of classes, Harry and herself bumped into each other during Herbology. Hermione nearly dropped her pot, but thankfully she didn’t. But she found herself blushing. Blushing! Over Harry? It didn’t make any sense, but she found herself getting nervous around him all week due to things that she never thought would make her nervous before. Well, nothing ever made her nervous in front of Harry before, but now things were starting to make her embarrassed just by being around him. Hermione found herself getting lost in his dark, messy hair…his deep, emerald eyes… No, Hermione. Stay on task. Hermione couldn’t let herself get this distracted, even in her classes. She was always focused and always took great notes, but now she found herself trailing in History of Magic just in time for herself to realize it and get back on topic.

What’s wrong with me? she asked herself. No. This can’t happen. It just can’t… Despite Hermione’s sudden realization of her feelings for Harry, she didn’t realize that it was already too late.

One night, in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione, Ron and Harry were all sitting by the fire like they usually did. They didn’t discuss if anyone had found some research involving You-Know-Who’s You-Know-Whats. It wasn’t the proper place to do it with so many people crowded there and they were all very tired after their first week of classes. Later, perhaps, they would discuss what they had found out (if they found out anything), but for now they enjoyed just relaxing with each other by the fire.

“Well, I’m off to bed,” Ron said, standing up and stretching his legs. “See ya, mate,” he said, looking at Harry. “Good night, Hermione.” Ron smiled at her and then turned to go upstairs. Hermione smiled back, but it wasn’t the same smile that he gave her. There was something different in his eyes when he looked at Hermione. Unfortunately, Hermione didn’t have the same twinkle in her eyes when she looked at him. He was her best friend and she cared about him deeply, but right now she found that her mind was always somewhere else…

Hermione looked over at Harry and found that she never really saw him the way she did now. His eyes, they were so green! Why didn’t she notice that before? Hermione knew that they were green, but not that green. There was an innocence to them that she never saw before, yet there was also experience behind his eyes. He clearly had a tougher life than most of the people at Hogwarts and suddenly Hermione had the urge to hold him tight and to never let him go. Why did they have to defeat Voldemort anyway? Couldn’t someone else like Moody do it? Alastor was much more experienced in fighting than Harry, Hermione or Ron. What chance did they really have against him?

“Hermione? Are you okay?” Hermione found herself getting pulled from her thoughts by the very person she was thinking about. Harry sat there, smiling at her. Oh, how she loved that smile. He rarely smiled now and suddenly Hermione found herself craving his smile even more than she craved his safety. He was so great when he was happy, even if it was only for a moment.

“Erm, yeah… I’m fine,” Hermione lied. If she had told him the truth… Well, that just couldn’t happen. Harry couldn’t know how she felt about him. Hermione could barely explain it to herself at the moment. Where did the sudden feelings come from? They were never there before. Why did Hermione suddenly have such a big attraction to Harry, one of her best friends? It was sure odd, but Hermione knew she couldn’t control her feelings. Well, she could try, but she knew that they were stronger than her. After all, love was a very deep magic. But this isn’t love! she thought to herself. No, it’s just… a very strong… feeling of… something, Hermione concluded. She couldn’t even explain what it was to herself!

“I think I’ll go to bed too, Harry. Good night.” Hermione stood up without looking at Harry. She couldn’t bear to look at him while feeling the things she felt. If she looked at him, may be he would figure it out. May be he would see the look in her eye when she looked at him: the same look that Ron had given Hermione earlier that night.

C[/u]


"Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?"


He stands there, a part of him knowing that this is the beginning of the end for him, squeezing down the traitorous thoughts that cause his heart to quicken.

He plays the fool; just another mask to add on top of another mask...

...Childhood friend of Lily, Headmaster of Hogwarts, killer-of-Dumbledore, evil Death Eater, Order Spy...

What was one more to add to the mix?

"My lord?"

These days he barely remembers who he is, with all the parts he plays.

Is he Severus Snape?

No, Severus Snape is long since dead; he had died when that filthy word had passed his lips... mudblood... the day when he had realized that he had lost the very thing that he held most dear.

What is he now then? ... Merely a shell; hatred and bitter and empty and forgotten as always.

He had been lonely when he was younger, had longed for power, had mistakenly believed that she would want someone who reveled in the Dark Arts...

And in the end, didn't it always came back to her, hollowed thoughts he doesn't want to think about here submerging beneath his many walls of deceit.

He watches as his "lord" raises the Elder Wand, holding it delicately and achingly possessive. He has the fierce desire to snatch it from his hands and snap it, to finally end this.

He is growing tired of it all.

He also hates the way those red eyes gleam in the dim lighting of the room, hates the way his pallid serpentine face twists and transfigures itself into something grotesque and disfigured.

"Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?"

But he doesn't want to think about it, so he doesn't.

In this hellhole so close to him, his mind drifts to her... as it always does. But he does not like waiting, so an answer must be given...

"My - my Lord?" He makes sure the words are blank, after all, right now he is playing the fool, his mind divided between this conversation and flashes of emerald and auburn, dancing eyes and soft lockes of hair, "I do not understand. You - you have performed extraordinary magic with that wand."

He no longer cares. He knows something is wrong now, maybe he's always known.

"No, I have performed my usual magic. I am extraordinary, but this wand... no. It has not revealed the wonders it has promised. I feel no difference between this wand and the one I procured from Ollivander all those years ago."

Controlled fury... only a first year Hufflepuff wouldn't be able to recognize it (dunderheads, the lot of them. oh how he hates children), so it was needless to say he does, in fact, see it.

He licks his dry, thin lips and says nothing.

Sparkling green eyes and wide smiles are filling his vision, memories of long ago... He isn't sure he's here anymore.

Severus Snape doesn't truly exist, had never really existed except near those pretty, pretty green eyes.

Eyes that were the only ones that had ever really seen him.

Those eyes were gone now...

"I have thought long and hard, Severus. ...Do you know why I have called you back from the battle?"

And on and on it goes from there, the fool speaking now, mask firmly in place as he deflects, evades, and stutters his way through the interrogation his ''lord'' had deemed it necessary to put upon him.

He takes it in stride because that is all he has ever done; he knows nothing else.

And when the time comes that the Dark Lord's intentions concerning him are revealed, he feels nothing because he has always suspected it would end this way.

He is to die at the hands of this deranged Halfblood with grandiose views of ruling and blood purity.

He feels as empty as usual, because he isn't Severus Snape... He's never had the chance, and quite frankly, he isn't sure he even wants to be Severus Snape anymore.

What is the point if he has no flower to share himself with?

"The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine."

He protests merely for appearances' sake now, still so very tired, "My Lord!" the words come out feeble, though it could be easily deduced as shock.

"It cannot be any other way. I must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last."

Potter.

The snake's voice rings throughout his shields, and for a second, he forgets his weariness... because it's always about Potter.

Potter. Potter. Potter.

He hates Potter for stealing her away. Hates her son even more for killing her.

Potter. Potter. Potter.

Always Potter.

Never Severus.

He watches, his focus almost entirely on the man he had once so proudly doted upon as he flicks the Elder Wand...

Nothing happens for a moment, and he cannot fathom why he feels relief for a split second, but he does.

However, a second more, and he realizes just what his ''lord'' had set out to do because the snake's cage is encasing his head and shoulders completely, and sharp fangs are piercing his neck.

He's dimly aware that he's screaming from the pain, his knees are collapsing and he's falling backwards onto the floor...

He's never felt such pain, such fire spreading from his shoulder making it's downward path to his legs, and he's twitching and crying and screaming like never before. He cannot even think of her the pain is so great, and that is probably what causes his screams to louden, because he's always been able to think of her. Even under Cruciatus.

That is what hurts the most.

He does not miss his ''lord's'' parting words either, strangely... cold and unremorseful as the night... "I regret it."

The cage is removed from his head and shoulders, and the fangs recede, the snake disappearing with his old ''Master"...

And though he is still in pain, he rolls to the side and presses a long thin finger to the marks, his deep red blood oozing out onto the floor.

He does not know why, but a part of him feels relief now even though the fire is still there. Maybe it's because he can finally think of her again... He can remember clearly the first day he saw her...

And this makes him a delirious kind of happy, because she's his world... She's always been his world, even as he lays here, an odd giddiness bursting deep within his chest. Perhaps soon, he'll get to see her face once more.

...This time not in a dream.

He does not know how long he lays there, pressing his fingers to his wound (why he's doing that, not even he knows... something inside is telling him he cannot go yet), but one minute his eyes are losing focus and the next he's seeing Potter.

Oddly enough, he does not feel the familiar hatred just yet, he hasn't the strength to, looking up into those big green eyes.. because all of a sudden, he knows what he has to do; he has to make him understand.

His Vow would let him do nothing less, as knowing would inform Potter of just what he had to do to finally end everything.

There was no time to hate anymore.

"Take... it... Take... it..."

A conjured flask from the Granger girl, memories of her, of Albus, of himself, of Potter and Black, of all of them pouring out of him. His motivation. His Vow. His sins and faults. All of it, leaking out... His weaknesses. His love. His darkness. ...His light? Does he have such a thing?

His grasp tightens, black eyes looking at the silvery strands that are being herded into the bottle by Granger, filling it to the very brim with the very memories that define him.

When it's over, his grip slackens, and he knows it's almost time. Tiredness and emptiness are roaring inside him, battling for possesion, and he still hasn't worked up the nerve to look into Potter's... her... pity filled eyes. It's the only thing he needs to see before he dies... one last glimpse.

He's scared though, that he's going to see only Potter, as he always has.

The Potter who stole her from him in the first place...

And Potter the son, who killed her...

They were, are, both the same, and he knows he is going to die hating them.

He will always hate them, he is sure, because there is no difference between the two of them.

Lazy, arrogant, spoiled rotten to the core...

And they both took her away from him.

It is unjustified, irrational, cold, and cruel... but it feels so very right.

He has never said he is a good person, and maybe he knows on some level that this is an awful way to go, hating her son... But he cannot bring himself to care; he is so close to seeing her... moments away...

"Look... at... me..." he whispers, the urge unbearable now, and is surprised to find the boy complying.

Emerald eyes meet black...

And Severus Snape lives once more...

Even as he dies.

Lily...


D[/u]


One.

SHAY

“Oi! Pipsqueak!”

Shay West, still tossing and turning in bed, didn't answer.

“Hey! Mom says get up, as in now.”

The bedroom door was flung open by an irate girl in her older teens, long brown hair in a morning bedhead frizz. As the door opened, Shay's eyes snapped open and she snapped up, breathing as if she had just run a long distance.

“Dude, you're sweating like a pig.” A laugh. “What, another nightmare? Does baby still need someone to tuck her in bed?”

“Shut up Vanessa.” Shay threw her pillow at her, and Vanessa flipped her off. “God, is this what all seniors are like?” She exaggerated her shudder in an attempt to look comical. “I mean, not only are you a jerk, you've got giant bags under your eyes. I'm fifteen, so that means I only have a couple more years with a positive IQ.”

Vanessa's only response was to roll her eyes and saunter away while her younger sister Shay smirked.

But as soon as she was gone, the smirk became a grimace. It had been another nightmare that made her pant and sweat. In it, she was watching five girls with odd color-coordinated outfits and fairy wings running from an invisible enemy. Well, they were flying. In the dream, she had to run along with them. But in the end, no matter what she tried to do, they all froze in place...one by one.

The redhead was always the last to go down. And at the end of the nightmare she always handed her a glowing pink jewel. Then she opened her mouth to say something, and froze, just like the others. And then everything went dark and she usually woke up, or just drifted away in nothingness.

All in all, not pleasant. Maybe it was immature, but these dreams were creepily real. Especially when the really scary part came in: she'd seen those girls before.

Well, okay, not seen as in seen and met in person. But about a week after they'd started, she'd come across a photo of a group of girls that had gone missing from her school five or six years ago. The article had been short, just a 'still no sign' type of thing that meant they were giving up. No trace of them had ever been found, it was just like they'd vanished off the face of the earth.

Freaky and impossible, right? She'd been having those stupid nightmares all summer. Today was the first day of school and it still hadn't gotten better.

Maybe there was some way for her to just crawl back under the covers...

An hour later, she was walking up to the front gate of Sheffield Institute with a sigh. Yes, that was her school's name. Stupid, wasn't it? Whoever thought that calling a school an 'institute' was clearly on something, it just brought up a lot of stupid mental ward jokes.

“Shay! Shay! Wait up!”

She turned, smiling as she saw Olivia Daniels running towards her, looking blonde as ever. They had been best friends since the diaper years, even though they weren't all that much alike as time went on. Olivia was perpetually happy on a hyper level, and wore what Shay considered to be an unhealthy amount of green. It did match her eyes, but still.

Today wasn't too bad though, just a light green short sleeved sweater. Her jean skirt was blue, and her short boots were white. “Someone's opted to not blind the school today, I see.”

“You're one to talk,” Olivia laughed, grabbing her in a one-armed hug. “Black dress, belt, and legwarmers? Okay, there are stripes, but still. Black shoes even. Should I be saying trick or treat? I didn't realize the first day of school was that gloomy.”

Shay snorted and shoved Olivia lightly. “Oh you know, it's all so depressing. Trapped in stuffy classroms being lectured about things no one cares about instead of tanning at the beach.”

“Please, you're tan enough,” Olivia snorted. “And luckily it looks natural on you.”

“Since I was born with it, perhaps?”

“Details.” Olivia could be seriously blonde sometimes. “Point is, it doesn't look like you tried to spray it on last night, which is good. But if you're going some weird kind of tan-happy emo on me...”

They were still laughing when they entered the hallway, and almost ran into a redhead going the other way.

“Whoa, sorry there.” The girl grinned slightly and moved back. “Not trying to run people over or anything.” She walked off as soon as the doorway was cleared.

“New student?”

“Gotta be,” she nodded. “After all, you know everyone, miss Green Olive. I swear you're some sort of bat or something...”

A voice came from behind them, “If she were a bat, she'd be blind and use sonar to locate objects in her surroundings. It has nothing to do with hearing.”

“Hello Evelyn.” Evlyn Sato, Sheffield's local science geek. She got along better with Olivia, really. “Well, I guess some people don't go through summer geek-brain drain.”

Evelyn shrugged, and Olivia hugged her happily. “It's so good to see you again! How was surf camp? Oh, tell me later, there's the bell. Bye!”

“Later.”

Classes seemed to pass by in a blur, just the typical start-of-the-year junk about getting to know the students and handing out the yearly lesson plans. It didn't require much of her attention. But she couldn't shake her gradually rising feeling of anticipation. What, exactly, she was anticipating, she wasn't sure. But she felt sure that something was going to happen soon. Something exciting.

“Guess what, guess what, guess what!” Olivia practically tackling her as she walked through the school gate wasn't quite what she had in mind by exciting things happening soon.

“Someone hit your repeat button?” Shay grinned slightly at her.

Olivia sighed slightly, then disappeared from her range of vision as she jumped back, then reappeared dragging a dark-haired girl along with her. “This is Sarah Beth! Another new student. I mean, how weird is that, I counted three. Who moves to Heatherfield-”

“And then sends their kids to a school with 'Institute' in the name?” Sarah Beth had softly finished the sentence for her while shrugging. “Nice to meet you, I'm Sarah Beth.”

Shay smiled at her. “I'm Shay.”

“She's from Oklahoma, isn't that cool? It's like...so not here.” Olivia's energy button seemed to have been pressed, she was practically bouncing where she stood. “A talked a bunch of people into meeting up with us at this really cool Chinese place. Let's go!”

As far as exciting went, eating Chinese food and listening to Evelyn give boring lectures on science and the difference between Chinese and Japanese as soon as some idiot tried to call her Chinese just didn't cut it. Eager as Olivia looked, she needed to find some excitement.

Biting her lip, she shrugged and said, “Can't, sorry. I've got tennis.”

Olivia sighed dramatically. “Okay. I'll call you later. C'mon Sarah.”

“It's Sarah Beth. Both names.” With a friendly wave, Sarah Beth followed the hyperactive Olivia down the street. Hm. She did have a bit of a 'Southern-ish' accent, now that she was listening for it. She didn't even know her last name.

Olivia had run back down the street to where she stood by the gate, a gleeful smile on her face as she whispered in her ear. “And just so you know, tennis practice is on Thursday. Since this is Monday, I expect to know what you're really blowing me off for. Toodles!”

Sigh. As expected as that was, it didn't make it any less annoying. How was she supposed to explain that she was avoiding this back-to-school pig out in part because Evelyn could be prickly, and in part because a strange nightmare was making her think that something exciting and new was going to happen. Olivia liked to talk a little too much, and she tended to babble without thinking. Eventually someone who found out would probably put her in a real institute.

Shay walked slowly down a side street, pausing if any window displays of the little shops looked interesting. Nothing caught her eye for more than a few seconds, until she came to a bookstore on a corner lot. She barely ever came this way, but the fact that she hadn't discovered this place before was pretty impressive.

After all, it was kind of hard to miss. The inside looked like it had been hit by some kind of hurricane and no one had bothered to clean up. “Ye Olde Bookstore,” she said softly, looking up at the lettering over the door. “It looks kind of deserted.”

Her curiosity had kept her rooted in place, but now she moved to the door. She wasn't here to steal books or anything, but she just...wanted to get inside. Reason apparently wasn't back from summer vacation yet.

To her surprise, the door opened as soon as she tried the handle. This was kind of creepy, unlocked and looking like a mess, but it didn't look like it had been vandalized. It just looked like all of the books had been thrown around, like there had been a fight. As she stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind hr, she noted the clear layer of dust on the floor.

“Okay then.” Shay took a deep breath, willing herself not to be freaked out. Charging into things without thinking them through was a personal specialty, but once she'd already gotten into trouble she tended to freak out.

She stepped gingerly over books – and bookshelves - scattered across the floor, making her way to the register. It popped open as she moved her hand towards it, and she froze. “O-okay then. Okay. Totally not freaked, I just want to look around an abandoned bookstore for no particular reason. Nothing...odd about that.”

When she was able to convince herself to move close enough to peer into the drawer, there was a surprise there for her: it was full. Clearly this place hadn't been trashed because of some sort of robbery, all of the money and books were still present, it was just a mess. Maybe a fight had broken out in here? But why leave it like this then?

It was a dusty mess.

Ugh, why was she even here? She should just get out before someone spotted her and called the police on a thief, open register and all. This was more weird than exciting, it was stupid to have thought 'exciting' things were going to happen anyway.

Shay turned to leave, pushing the register shut. As she was opening her purse, there was a flash of light above her head, and something heavy hit her in the nose.

“What the hell?” She rubbed her nose and glanced around to see what had suddenly smacked her. The books were as dusty and stationary as ever, but there was something new in the room. “Hello, strange glowing necklace,” she murmured, picking it up and looking curiously at it.

It was a pink crystal necklace. One that looked exactly like the one from her nightmares that the redhead tried to hand off at the end. But this was probably just some kind of cheap jewelery you got from a gift bag at a party or something. Except that the chain and decorative-looking bits were most definitely real metal, and there was some sort of design etched in. And the round gem in the center, when she tapped it with her fingernail, didn't seem like plastic at all.

At the tap, the glowing intensified and the gem rose into the air, hovering above her hand. “Whoa!”

That was most definitely not normal. Shay wasn't really an expert on normal, obviously, but this was weird enough for her to be on the 'normal' side of the line divider.

A small piece of paper dropped into her hand after another flash of light filled the dusty old shop. It was crumpled up, but it had a kind of...glow to it as she smoothed it out between her hands. The crystal necklace continued to float, glowing brightly enough to read the elegant script on the paper quietly out loud.

“Hello Shay West.” Shay paused, staring blankly at the paper. Okay, going from weird to creeped out by the fact that whoever wrote this knows my name. “You have been chosen as the new keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar. The infinite dimensions, which the Guardians have long protected, are being overcome by darkness.” Darkness. Yeah. That's original. What, the universe fighting some sort of shadow-thing, or is it just someone that wears a lot of black trying to rule everyone?

What? The universe? Okay, she was losing it if she was even thinking about this. But she couldn't stop herself from reading on. “As the new leader, you must locate the other Guardians before you confront the princess. There's no time, they're probably already after you now that you have the Heart. Always be watchful, always be wary, and don't trust anyone. Good luck.”

This wasn't cool, this really wasn't cool. So, evil was apparently after her. But none of this was real, since clearly, this was impossible, and not the excitement she'd been looking for. She could just go home and find out that this was a new nightmare or something. Right?

Maybe there was more on the paper, some other clue as to what was going on. She turned it over, checking to see if it went on. There were only two words on the back, and they didn't exactly clear anything up. “Guardians unite?”

The necklace dropped back into her hand and began to spin wildly. Shay almost screamed as lights burst out of it, orange, green, blue, white, purple, gray...and a bright pink one that flew into her chest. “Whoa! What's-” She stopped as the rest of the lights vanished, and the pink light reappeared. Her body was glowing, and now the little ball of pink light was spinning around her, creating a cocoon of light.

She barely knew what was going on, but she couldn't do anything, just gasp as she felt her body surge with energy. There was something growing on her back! But this was all impossible, this was-

It was over. The lights were gone, the weird necklace was hanging around her neck like any innocent piece of jewelery, and the dust was settling back down around her. Something felt different though. There was something on her back, and she couldn't exactly see what without finding some sort of mirror around here.

“Hang on, my hair!” Shay gasped as the silky brown hair moved across her shoulder. “I know I didn't put it in a ponytail, and it's been straightened.” Talking to oneself might be a sign of insanity, but with all of the other signs, she wasn't going to fuss.

The window would have to do, and it didn't look like anyone was out on the street from what she could see. Trembling, she stepped across the dusty floor to stand right in front of the glass. “What the...”

She looked as if she'd aged several years in the last few seconds, and it wasn't just her newly-straightened hair that had changed. The age difference had come with one of the color-coordinated outfits in the style of the faerie-girls in her nightmares. She couldn't see any striped tights, but her legs were entirely covered by loose purple pants. Like the faerie-girls, her top was green (they all had one half of the outfit purple and one green) but it was layered over a purple top.

It all felt unnatural, too smooth to be clothing. And the icing on the cake appeared when she turned in front of the glass and discovered what was on her back: wings. Small wings that were separated rather like insects'. Maybe some sort of weird butterfly? They were pretty, tinted green and all, but they were too small to possibly do anything.

Shay wondered if she could move them, since they seemed to be attached. If she could feel them there, and they were connected, she should be able to - “Ah! I'm fl-ouch!” As soon as she had tried, the wings had responded and she'd risen into the air, colliding with a bookshelf in her shock. “Okay then. Ladies and gentlemen, we're definitely not in Kansas anymore,” she whispered, moving back to the ground to stare at her reflection. [/center]