Medea's body still lay motionless on the floor, right where she fell down. She breathed fitfully and her chest rose and sank less and less. - Then it stopped. Her body was now really motionless, nothing moved anymore.

And then she coughed, shaking at her whole body. She sat up slowly, unknowingly were she was and realized just after a minute of rehabilitation that she was still in the tiny chamber. She also soon remembered what had happened before she fainted, and fear struck her again.

She got up as fast as possible, tripping when she stood because her legs wouldn't hold her weight. Still, she hurried to the door, trying to open it, but it didn't work. In an attempt to open the door, she fell and hit her head. For a second she was unbelievably afraid of passing out again, she pinched herself and muttered, again and again, Don't pass out; Don't pass out.

Suddenly actually realizing what she had tried not to understand before, she cried. She was trapped in this room, with the scary book and quill, not knowing when somebody will come the next time and what will happen if she would be found here. She tried to suppress the thought of what would happen if she was not found here.

Then, with a struck of prudence, she remembered what was embarrassing to have forgotten. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the door, hopefully muttering "Alohomora!"

When the door burst open, Medea let out a laugh of relief, she ran out of the room and down the corridor as fast as it was possible for her, just wanting to get away from the scene. After three staircases, her legs were trembling and occasionally gave way, but she did not let that stop her and kept running.

When she arrived at the Slytherin common room, she realized she must have lost a lot of time, guessing the new day had already come, but as it was a Saturday she at least wouldn't get in trouble for missing lessons.

With a quick murmuring of the password, she entered the room and saw Blaise sitting in a corner with his friends. She walked straight up to him, for the first time ignoring that nobody greeted her or was happy to see her. When she was just steps away from her friend, she called his name and sat down next to him, happy to have someone she could talk to.

"Not now Medea, can't you see we're talking?" he replied grumpily. His friends looked at her with the same expression on their faces, making clear she was unwelcome.

She nearly had another breakdown, her cheeks still stained with tears. She turned and left the common room, entering her dormitory and falling down on her bed crying. After a minute she chided herself for being so pessimistic and got up. She took her parchment and writing equipment and left for the library.

When she entered the quiet rooms, she was still unhappy, her cheeks red from the tears and her mind on nothing else but how Blaise didn't even notice she had been gone. He didn't see her tear-stained cheeks, not her hurt knee, nor was he happy to see her.

Medea had always told herself to like Blaise, as he did too, he had been so friendly to her. She started to wonder if she just had to meet his longings.

But she decided not to think about this since it would just make her less happy. Instead, she chose to write the essay for Snape, about The Properties of Moonstone and its Uses in Potion-Making, as she had a whole lot of homework to do until the following week.

Unfortunately, Medea had no idea what to write about this, starting with the fact that she barely knew what moonstone was. So now, she was sifting through the library to find some useful books. The thousands of shelves all contained a mind-boggling amount of information and Medea had no idea how and where to start. She also couldn't ask Madam Pince, the librarian, since she despised her, because Medea entered with a sandwich on her third day. She hadn't known the rules, but Madam Pince refused to accept that as an excuse.

Medea was wandering around aimlessly and once in a while pulled out a book, when she actually found one that could help her. She pulled it out of the shelf when a person next to her groaned. She turned to see what was going on.

"Great. How am I supposed to get that damn essay done? Snape just wants to torture us. I mean, I am friends with the brightest witch of our age, but no, Hermione refuses to help. How will you learn something, Ron? You won't pass the O.W.L.s Ron! blah, blah, blah...", a red-headed boy next to Medea soliloquized. He had his head placed in his palms and was obviously despairing of an essay for Snape, too.

"Hey! - Er, do you need an essay for Snape, too? ... About moonstone and its uses?", Medea asked. The boy's face seemed to brighten in the belief of another desperate student.

"Yeah! - But I've got no idea how to. I mean, why can't Snape just give us easy homework? - Or better, no homework at all!"

"I've found a book that should be helpful with that. ... We could do the essay together?", Medea looked at him expectantly. He nodded obliged and her smile widened. She had finally found some company.

The two of them sat down at a table in the far corner of the room and talked a lot. Medea found out that the boy was named Ron and one of the Weasleys the Slytherins talked about. He was friends with Harry Potter and had six siblings. Ron also mentioned Fred and George, but neither of them seemed to have talked about her. He intended to ask her back, but the conversation then ended quickly because Medea didn't want to talk about it. Ron seemed to remember the rumours going through the halls, of her being an orphan and shut his mouth. After that, they actually started to learn.

The book was really torture and half of the sentences were that complicated, Ron and Medea had to read them several times and out loud to understand them. After three hours of work, they completed an essay which Medea was really proud of.

"Snape's got to give us an E at least!", Ron exclaimed relieved.

"An E? Is that very good? He's given me that for the last five potions I made.", Medea wondered and looked at the red-headed boy in confusion, a look he replied.

"Well...you're either like Hermione, a total high flyer, or he's giving you extra credit because he likes you.", Ron stated and looked now slightly angry, "He's doing that all the time. Especially with Malfoy. But Harry and Neville, they always cop the lot!"

"Uh, Hermione is that girl you and Potter are always around right? The one with bushy hair who always aces everything?", Medea smiled and Ron returned her smile and nodded. When they left the library, he told her about how the three of them had become friends and that Hermione can be exhausting. But they also talked about how unfair teachers like Snape could be and quickly got exasperated with Umbridge. Ron told Medea about the horrible detention Harry had with her and that the scars now stopped fading and Medea liked her even less.

They were now on their way downstairs to the Great Hall for lunch when Harry Potter called for Ron. Medea wasn't sure if to come with, but Ron beckoned her over. Harry looked confused at first, but Ron introduced her and they went to the Great Hall together. Harry said that he had been in the Gryffindor Common room, doing the Astronomy homework (Harry and Ron committed that they were going to copy each other's work later). It was when Medea split up to leave for Slytherin table, that the boys stared at her as if she had done something wrong. She sat down next to Blaise who put his arm around her at once and pulled her close.

She kept looking at them when they sat down, but every time one of them met her gaze, they quickly turned to talk to their neighbour. She wondered what made them act like that, but couldn't find an explanation. Soon, a girl with bushy hair sat down next to them and Medea was sure this was Hermione. Blaise whispered something into her ear, but she didn't understand him.

All at once, a sharp pain shot through her head. It was as if a knife was put through it and Medea grasped her head, panting and her eyes widened. What was going on? Blaise and the others looked at her and she could do nothing but reply their confused looks. Luckily, the pain faded soon and she was distracted by three Gryffindors talking.

Harry and Ron spoke and then Hermione seemed to be angry about something. The boys were obviously her target because they both looked as if caught committing a crime. What Medea didn't know, was that they were talking about her. Hermione had noticed the boys staring at her once in a while and asked them what was going on. It turned out that the boys had just noticed Medea was a Slytherin.

Meanwhile, Medea had no idea of what was going on and concluded that Ron and Harry were actually pretty nice, even though her fellow Slytherins were differently minded. She didn't know Hermione but she hadn't done anything to her either and Ron obviously liked her.

***

Sorry for the cliffhanger last chapter... :)

But let's just be happy she got out well. What do you think happened? What is the thing with the book and the quill, and how do you think will the plot develop?

Also, I'd be very happy about a vote or comment, so if you liked the chapter, please think about it. :)

Every feedback is deeply appreciated.

xoxo