A/N: I know there are multiple plot elements, but I promise they'll all make sense soon enough. Happy reading :-)

As the moonlight streamed through the dormitory's windows, I sighed with anxiety. The time had come to sneak up to the Room of Requirement and brew our potion. I had never been particularly adept at sneaking. That was the entire point of the potion-to make us nearly undetectable. Quickly, I dressed and pulled my hair back.

Wand at the ready, I looked over at Lisa. She nodded at me and then, in that moment, we departed. Ever so quietly, we crept. Down the stairs, through the common room, and out of Ravenclaw tower. The door clicked closed behind us and I swallowed my fear. This had to be done. It was entirely necessary for us to uncover the plot. If there even is one...I thought with chagrin. Maybe I had convinced myself that there was more going on than was actually true.

No. That's wasn't true. There was something going on between Professor Snape and Quirrell. Of that much, I was absolutely certain. Neither of us uttered a word as we snuck up the stairs. Portraits snored in their frames, their rhythmic breathing echoing around the walls. I desperately clung to the hope that Peeves or Mrs. Norris wouldn't make an appearance.

Thankfully, that hope had seen me through. Something else entirely occurred, something that shook Lisa and I to the core. We were on the fifth floor, nearly to the top of the staircase that would put us on the seventh floor when I saw it. Shimmering before us was a tear. I had seen countless numbers of them throughout the castle and it had become rather common place for me to come across one. Not many opened of their own accord, however.

In that instant, a terrible ripping sound resounded. Lisa looked at me in fear and I swallowed hard. From the opening, a frightful picture could be seen. The room looked much like the staircase hall that we were standing in at that moment. The difference, however, was not in the room itself, but in the objects within it. Blood covered the stone floors; portraits lay broken, torn from the walls. A haunting voice sung from somewhere in the distance. My blood ran chill at the sound.

And then, it appeared. A great and terrible form, black as night, with eyes of electricity. The body seemed to be shaped from black crystals, the fingers more akin to talons. It growled at the two of us, then began to pursue us.

"What the hell is that?" Lisa whispered frantically.

My hope that I would never have to tell anyone about my abilities had been naive. Especially given the sheer amount of tears in the castle. Hogwarts was built on some kind of temporal vortex.

"Lisa," I murmured. "I'm going to close this and we're not to speak of it until later. Are we good?"

"Close it? You can't close that-" Her words were cut short as I extended my arms forward. I thought of wanting to close that rift in the time continuum; as I did, the ripping sound returned until finally the hole sealed shut just as the form reached out for us.

We stood, shaking and shivering. My breath heavy, I managed to choke out, "Come on. Let's brew this potion and get back to the tower."

"How did you-"

"We'll talk later. I promise. But we need to meet the boys in the room."

"But you stopped it! You closed it!" She whispered frantically behind me.

"I know."

"Who are you?"

I'd been trying to figure that out myself. "I'm not sure. Come on!"

At long last, we reached the room. "There you are! What took you so long?" Theodore inquired upon our arrival.

"You didn't hear it?" Lisa asked with disbelief.

"Hear what?" It was apparent that Theodore hadn't heard anything. I wasn't as sure about Kendrick. His brow was furrowed, a wrinkle cut into the skin between them.

"Peeves. He was causing trouble, as usual." I finished. "But we made it. Are you guys ready?"

Theodore and Lisa nodded but Kendrick was looking at me with such intensity, I couldn't help but shiver.

"What's with you mate?" Theodore cut into Kendrick's focus, his stare dispelling in the process.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"You were staring at Scarlett with a really strange look on your face."

"No, I wasn't."

"Yeah, you were." Lisa interrupted.

"Let's just brew this thing so that we can sneak into Quirrell's office on Christmas. Okay?" Heads bobbed in agreement and I sat down at one of the tables. As I began the process, I couldn't help but feel like my world was unravelling; that there was something very, very wrong with the universe. The problem was, I didn't know how to fix it.