Jack Frost, spirit of Winter, was confused. He had come to England to bring the usual winter's chill and had instead found a new fledgling spirit...a female one at that.

The girl had snow white hair and the most amazing emerald green eyes he had ever seen. She was also sad. So very sad and angry. Her very presence bolstered his own natural powers over Winter.

When he first found her, she was crying all alone in the forest next to what he thought was a grave of sorts. It belonged to an animal, that much he could tell, one aligned to winter.

Jack had held her gently, unsure if she would go through (she didn't and clung to him like a lifeline) and they had been together ever since.

Her name...was Jackie. Or it was a nickname.

When he ran into the Bunny, he learned something important about her. Because there was already a spirit of winter (I/E Jack) the girl couldn't take his place. So she had become the next best thing...a Koorime, or ice maiden. She was a companion to Jack's powers, though unlike him her nature was much darker compared to his fun and lighthearted one.

She also hated England with a passion. He quit bringing her with him to the country when he found out she was responsible for a terrible curse placed on the magical castle in Scotland, and the reason why there had been a rash of deaths among the more inbred magicals. Thankfully the curse spared anyone under the age of fourteen.

Jack had to wonder though...just what had magical England done to Jackie for her to place such a terrible curse on them and kill all those people, even without her direct influence?

Jackie was happy. And it was a feeling she would defend to her last breath. Being around Jack lifted her spirits in a way she couldn't describe, like she knew that she would never be alone ever again.

And she had been so very alone when he found her.

She couldn't remember why she was in that glen, though it had become a sacred place to her. Where everything had ended and began anew.

The one thing she could remember was that she hated England and all the inbred 'pure bloods' in it. Every time she saw a pure blood teaching their children to hate those who were new bloods, her powers rose to the surface. Jack had learned to avoid taking her to those areas unless he wanted her to do something she wouldn't regret.

Jack understood her, to a point. Where his loneliness was due to the fact no one believed (ergo couldn't see him), Jackie had spent most if not all of her human life in isolation, despite the fact people could see her. She had a need for human contact, yet she was denied even that basic human right.

It was the reason why she had become a spirit in the first place. At least what she could remember before she became a spirit.

So in exchange for helping Jack with his work, he took her with him all over the world to see new sights. It was a much more bearable existence for the both of them. They weren't so lonely anymore.

He watched with cold, cruel eyes. His little joke on the magicals had reaped unexpected benefits. And that fool boy killing her pet had been the tipping point...now he had plenty of room to work with in England, making them fear the dark again.

However there was a bit of a problem. The children now feared the winter's touch more than they feared the dark nature of his pawn.

Evergreen Potter had done too good a job when she finally snapped. Her ongoing revenge on Dumbledore and his people had only made them fear her curse more than his darkness.

Still, it did give him more room to maneuver. The girl's soul was so steeped in darkness that it would only take the slightest touch to push her to the edge and turn her into his own companion. The darker half of Frost's powers and his own control over darkness and fear... the mere idea of such a combination made his salivate.

Though having them both would definitely make destroying the Guardians infinitely easier.

Jack pouted when the kid he had just given a ride using his ice powers started talking about Tooth. He was the one who gave this kid a real story to remember later... why did Tooth get the credit for his fun?

"Sulking again Jack?" asked Jackie amused, floating on her icy broom. Unlike Jack she didn't have something to channel most of her powers through, so she had to make do. It was easier to fly if she made a broom, or if she really wanted to go fast, a pair of wings.

"I go through all that trouble to have fun, and who gets the credit? The Guardians," said Jack unhappily.

Jackie hugged him.

They had never figured out what their relationship was, as it was too fluid. He was more than a boyfriend to her...he was like a big brother, her partner, and her truest friend all rolled into one. Neither of them knew how to move their companionship to the next level, and both were too afraid to ruin things to try. That didn't mean that they couldn't hold hands though.

Jack sat on the roof's edge annoyed. It just wasn't fair! Why did the Guardians get all the credit for the stuff he did?

"Come on, I know a place that has those snow cone flavors you love so much," said Jackie.

Jack perked up at that.

Since Jackie was a koorime, she didn't exactly need belief to be seen, and she made a mean snow cone.

Icy treat in hand, Jack and Jackie watched the human he had played with describe the adventure to his little sister and mother. Jack's bad mood went away when he realized the kid did appreciate the ride, he just didn't know that it had been Jack's doing.

"Here comes the dream sand," said Jackie sadly.

Jack didn't know why Jackie always felt sad when she saw the golden sand. Though he had the feeling it had something to do with the owl that always showed up when she touched it.

The two of them walked along the power lines out of boredom when a shadow jumped across their path. Jackie recognized the magical signature of Bunny, the spirit of Easter, and what felt like the taste of North's portal magic.

Jackie was growling when she and Jack were captured by the yetis...Jack loved to try and break into North's workshop, but she could care less. Something about Christmas just left a sour taste in her mouth.

Hearing why they had brought Jack (apparently they just wanted him) her growl grew louder.

"That's why you abducted us? You want to make Jack a Guardian like you fools?" she snarled.

All this time they had outright ignored him, even shunned him and suddenly they needed his help? She wasn't buying it.

"Nobody asked you snow woman," said Bunny.

"Like I'm going to be afraid of the Easter Kangaroo," she shot back.

"That's bunny!" he growled.

"Your ability to stand upright says otherwise," she snarked coldly.

"Tooth! Fingers out of mouth," North said warningly.

Jackie glared at the Tooth Fairy. She had better not be making moves on Jack.

Feeling a light tug on her arm, she looked down and found Sandy looking at her with concern.

"What?" she said irritably.

Sandy made a picture above his head. She reeled back as if he had struck her openly.

It was a snow owl made of dream sand.

"Stay away from me," she hissed at him.

"Why did you bring both of us here anyway?"

"Man in Moon said you two are to be the next Guardians," said North.

"And the fact I could care less about children...?" she said with a drawl.

"Don't be like that Jackie. Even I know that while you hate magicals for some reason you've never gone after children," said Jack.

"Taint like magicals aren't born, they're created," said Jackie angrily. It was well known among the spirits that Jack's sole companion hated magicals, possibly for the same reason she had become a spirit in the first place.

"Speaking of magicals, why has your curse not broken?" asked North. It was a total hassle getting the presents to the children inside Hogwarts, and it worried him that they openly feared the touch of winter's chill now. Christmas was supposed to be celebrated, not openly feared.

Jackie's emerald green eyes glared at North.

"My curse on Hogwarts and the magicals will never disappear until they atone for their sins. I don't care if they fear me for a hundred years, my rage towards the filth that runs that horrible castle will never die down until my revenge is felt," she spat.

North was openly worried now. Why had Manny chosen someone so angry towards humans for a Guardian?

She felt like something terrible had happened. She raced to the Owlry where the feeling had come from. The sight that greeted her in the door made her heart stop.

Her beloved owl was dead. Cut down by a spell and left lying on the cold floor.

Her howl of anguish drew every teacher in the castle, and it took three professors to get her to let go of her only real friend in the world. It was Malfoy's smug look that told her everything she needed to know about who had done this horrible deed.

He had killed her owl, and he was enjoying her pain.

Something inside of her turned red hot, before it froze over. Her heart, which had been in pain since the death of her godfather, became as cold as winter's touch.

Ever since the death of her owl, she had become as cold as ice towards everyone. Her friends, who couldn't understand why she was so devastated at the loss of her pet, failed to realize that something was very wrong.

She had become more than a witch with an open grudge...she had started the transformation from human to ice woman. Once she finally snapped, the rest would take care of itself and she would no longer be considered alive, but a wraith who's only thought was of revenge against those who had wronged her.

Her emerald green eyes were as cold as the floor upon which she sat when she found her owl's broken body.