Desiree needed to get some studying done! The problem was that she was bored with the library and the Hufflepuff common room, so she decided that studying outside would be a nice change of pace. Hopefully the weather would cooperate today!

She skipped through the entrance hall, her nose already buried in a battered copy of Hogwarts, a History, searching as she often did for any mention of her parents’ time as professors. For one fleeting moment, it occurred to her that she probably looked like her favorite Disney princess walking around with her nose in a book like this. But unlike Belle, she forgot to look where she was going and bumped into the door. Ow!

She took an automatic step back, rubbing her nose where it hit. Nobody saw that, right? She glanced around but didn’t see anyone. Not to self: leave reading while walking to the Disney characters, she thought, closing her book and stuffing it into her bag.

Textbooks? Check. Notebooks? Double check. Snacks? Triple check.

Bring it on OWLS!!!

After negotiating with the house elves, she was able to pack a few snacks into her bag so she could have a study picnic at the Lake. As much as she loved the library, she needed a quiet place to go study and it wasn’t raining so she felt like the outside grounds was the perfect location. “May as well enjoy the weather before it gets too cold,” she muttered to herself as she skipped up the final steps and into the Entrance Hall.

She slowed her pace when she noticed someone that she knew from classes. She wasn’t in her house but she was in Jasper and Daniel’s house. Desiree was her name, right? She remembered a few of her thoughtful answers from several lessons. “Hi!” she greeted with a wave before remembering she probably had too many snacks in her bag. “Desiree! I have extra snacks that I packed for studying. Do you want some?”

Adam was taking another study break. Which was really just code for lunch time. He must be going through a growth spurt because the seventh year was literally hungry ALL. THE. TIME. But being hungry gave him a good excuse to take many NEWT study breaks to grab snacks, so it was off to the Great Hall with him!

"Hey guys!" Adam said with a grin as he passed Lisa and Desiree. He was in a very good mood today. He was pretty sure there was pot roast for dinner tonight. YUUUUM.

Bored bored booOOOOREDDDD.

But not for much loooongerrrrr. Hehehehe.

With his favourite new find tucked under one arm - a book! reading being a most noble pursuit and all - Peeves had gone zooming through the school looking for some ickle studentsies to have some fun with. He didn't have to go far before he reached the Entrance Hall (perfect for a humble display) and some students who fit the bill.

Mostly because they just happened to be there.

"Presents!" Peeves sang as he flew around their heads. "Your most generous Peeves has presents for all!" And, opening the book, he flipped through the pages before flourishing it at one (Desiree), and another (Lisa), and a third (Adam), cackling gleefully the entire time. "Most wonderful gifts." SnickerSNORT.

There wasn’t any other reason that Jude was heading through the Entrance Hall other than the fact that he was heading outside to take a little walk with Ned. Speaking of the cat… the fur baby was curled up in Jude’s arms because it had decided it wanted to be lazy. It was either that or something was wrong with Ned. Maybe the playdate with Padme had tired the little creature out… he hoped.

“Did I hear someone say snacks?’’ the Hufflepuff asked, as he came up to the group comprising of Desiree, Lisa and Adam. At the same time Ned perked up, the cat’s head turning this way and that as though trying to figure out where the snacks might be. “I think Ned’s hungry too. Anyway, hi, guys! Anyone heading -” The word ‘outside’ faded from his vocabulary because PEEVES.

Ned hissed when the Poltergeist appeared and continued doing so as Peeves showed off his ‘gifts’. MERLIN. So much for Jude trying to avoid the troublemaker! “HISSSSSSSSSS!!” Ned’s claws dug into the Hufflepuff’s shoulders while Jude winced horribly and tried to hold him from launching at Peeves.

What a glorious day. Serena received an owl from her healer, detailing her arm was 100% and could resume quidditch practice. Thanks to magic she didn't have to wait like muggles do. Her energy had been reinvigorated and she was ready to tackle practice with all she had.

But first, nourishment.

On her way to the Great Hall, Serena paused when she heard the annoying voice of PEEVES. Who let him out and WHY? She sighed, catching sight of him. "I wonder what the Bloody Baron is up to," she announced. Serena wasn't afraid of her house ghost. If Peeves caused any unwanted trouble she wouldn't hesitate to contact the Baron.

Lisa saw Adam walk past her and she paused for a moment to turn towards him. She had to follow up with him after their last interaction at Honeydukes. She was going to tease him about it but stopped when she heard Jude call out about snacks. “Hi J-”

And then Peeves struck. “Presents?” she looked up skeptically at the poltergeist to unfortunately “receive” said gift.

She felt weird like… was she going to be ill? She felt slightly dizzy at first but perhaps that was driven by the racing mind. Lisa dropped to her knees. She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself closer. She closed her eyes and tried her hardest to ignore the weird feeling growling within. The tingles began in her chest. Tingles? Were they tingles? What was THIS? She wasn’t sure. Panic set in. She didn’t know what was happening. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in to calm her racing heart and the tingling- no- bubbling feeling. It was almost as if she had air caught in her throat.

She exhaled. Everything felt normal when she exhaled which was bizarre given the strange bubbling feeling. Lisa opened her eyes and they widened. Bubbles.

BUBBLES?



“WHAT?” she exclaimed before covering her mouth in panic. She waited a moment before opening her mouth again. More bubbles escaped. She gasped, covering her mouth. At least, it didn’t hurt to have the bubbles escape her mouth. It felt slightly ticklish and unusual but it wasn’t awful…. She’d just have to find a way to solve it all before y’know the… What if this was permanent?

“Peeves! WONDERFUL present?” asked Lisa with her voice muffled behind her hands and bubbles escaping from her mouth as she asked him that question. She didn’t perceive this as a present! This was more like a nuisance. She turned to look at her peers in the Entrance Hall to see how they were. Lisa opened her mouth and the bubbles soared out. Then she heard Serena’s voice challenging the Poltergeist with the Baron. Her cheeks were flushed red. Oh, how she wished she had an invisibility cloak.

Desiree had barely enough time to close her bag before a familiar voice caused her head to jerk up. “Hi, Lisa!” she replied with a friendly smile, a smile that grew even bigger at the mention of snacks. “Ooh, yes please! I brought some too. Want to share?.” She unzipped her schoolbag and pulled out a bag of madeleine cookies. “We could have a study party!”


No sooner had she uttered the words that Adam appeared. “Hi!” she greeted. “Care to join our study party?” Though realistically speaking, it was probably going to be more of a snacking party! Oh, Jude was here too - and Ned! Hi, cute kitty! She was going to invite them to the study/snacking party too, but before she could speak, Peeves happened.

UGH! Why did he have to ruin EVERYTHING?!? Don’t think she’d forgotten or forgiven the swamp water balloons at the feast! Well, she wasn’t going to let him win this time! Remembering a spell that her dad said scared Peeves, she drew her wand, “Skur-” she began, but before she could finish the word, she was shrinking. Or was everyone else growing?

Suddenly she was on the ground, along with her bag and wand, and everyone else towered over her. She looked down and saw she now had fur. And her hands had turned into paws! Asdfjkl!!! Nope, nope, nope! She DID NOT want to be an animal! Even if she did, she would’ve asked Professor Carton about animagus training, not… whatever this madness was! What did you do to me?! Change me back right now!!! She yelled, but her words came out as angry wombat noises.

She was too busy screeching to notice Serena’s arrival or Lisa’s bubbles, though she retained just enough presence of mind to lay down over her wand in her new and unwanted wombat form.

With the chaos all around him, the biggest being a VERY antagonised Ned, poor Jude had all his attention focused on his beloved furbaby and hadn’t noticed nor heard Serena’s arrival. “Ned Anders!! Shh!! It’s okay! The bad Poltergeist won’t hurt you.” Jude won’t let him, as a matter of fact. Got that, Peeves?! Ned raked Jude across the neck with a murder mitten but the Hufflepuff barely noticed. He continued his efforts to make Ned calm. Balancing the cat in one arm, he fished into his pocket to retrieve a few treats. “Here, Ned! Treats for you.’’ Cue him waving them under Ned’s nose. Treats had always been Ned’s kryptonite. ALWAYS. The seafood flavoured treats took the furbaby’s attention and Jude was able to have him somewhat settled back into his arms.

Only then was the sixth year able to put his attention back to the others. Um… Lisa?! Jude’s first concern was naturally her! Not only because they were close but because she was on her knees and expelling BUBBLES of all things? And Desiree?! Surely that wombat was NOT his Housemate?!

What was going on?!

Not even the stinging in his neck could distract him from what his eyes were seeing!

Keighley was a very organized person. Everything had a place and was kept in its place that way she was always able to locate whatever it was she was looking for when she needed it. So whenever something wasn't where it was supposed to be, the blonde tended to go into full panic mode. Which had been happening for the better part of the last few hours at least. She had looked everywhere. All over her bed, even remaking the entire bed just in case. Under the bed. On, under and in all the drawers of her bedside table. In her trunk. In her bag with all of her other things. All around her dorm. In the bathroom. In the common room. It wasn't anywhere. Where her two-way mirror had gone, she just didn't know.

Now she was on a mission to not only find the mirror but her siblings to see if maybe they had the mirror or could help her find it. Not finding Jude in the common room, Keigh thought maybe he would be outside on such a nice day and headed that way first, maybe she would run into a few of her cousins too. And there he was up ahead! "Hey Jude," she began in her singsong voice as usual, "have you se-" the rest of what she had been about to saying dying on her lips as her eyes took in everything else around her.

What was going on?!

Was that... a... a- wombat?! As cute as the wombat was, why was there one in the great hall?!

And uhhhh... was Lisa alright? Why was she on knees on the floor?

Glancing around really quickly trying to get a better idea of what may be going on, Keigh took sight of Peeves. Oh, dear Merlin. Not him again... Did whatever happened here have to do with him?

Keighley looked at her brother. "What's happened?" she whispered softly, hoping that he could explain something to her.

OhohoHO! The little kitty cat down there was FELINE touchy today. FUR sure. Take a PAWS for thought. HEHEHE.

Hissing back delightedly at the little furball, Peeves swooooooped by and brandished his most favourite book at the student holding it (Jude). A gift for you!

And- gasp! Threats? From that most snakey house directly to poor old Peevesie who was only trying to share in the fun. The rudeness! The Ssssslytherin (Serena) got a dose of Peeves' afflic-... uh... gifts too. As he swooped over her, Peeves all but shook the book over her head, as though shaking its invisible magic over her head. "I wonder, I wonder. But I don't see him now - do you?" He grinned his troublesome little poltergeist grin.


A grin which turned to even more cackling at the plight of a certain bubbly student. "I'm so glad you agree! WONDERFUL! ... Oops! Watch out for the..." Peeves tilted upside down again and regarded the wombat below (above) him. "... teddy rat." From up here it just looked like a ball of fur, but he was sticking with that.

The chaos here was beautiful to behold, and Peeves would have loved to behold it even longer, but the sssssnake's comment about the Bloody Baron had served to remind him that His Bloodiness could appear at any moment, or anyone else who might spoil his fun. With that in mind, he swooped for the staircase in order to make his exit, bowtie spinning as he went.

And, because he just couldn't resist, he brandished the book at the newest arrival to the scene (Keighley) as he went, before cackling along on his way.

Yes! Ned was touchy, no thanks to you, Peeves! Jude was rather annoyed at the Poltergeist, finding his gimmicks to be tiresome and annoying. Ned give Peeves one last almighty HIIIIIISSSSS when the troublemaker swooped in but settled back into Jude’s arms, the treats doing the job of placating him, though his eyes were slits following Peeves.

Jude, on the other hand, jerked back too slowly when the book was brandished at him. WHAT IN THE WORLD?! What was with Peeves and that book?! Blinking in bewilderment, Jude watched Peeves soar off before turning to his sister who had arrived and who also had been a victim of Peeves’ book brandishing.

“I don’t know,’’ the sixth year replied, very much distressed. “We’ll worry about that later.” At that moment, about two dozen pretty black and white butterflies glided into the Castle. They swirled around the youngest Anders’ siblings then spread out, on their own accord, towards the others gathered there. “Who’s playing ‘Follow the Butterflies?’” Jude asked absently. He barely gave the butterflies - Citrus Swallowtails, for anyone who knew their butterflies - a second glance. “We’d better get Lisa and Desiree to the Hospital Wing, Keigh. You want to grab Desiree? When you do, I’ll send Ned on his way because I don’t want him chasing her in… er…in her wombat form.”

And were Adam and Serena alright?

Human or wombat, Desiree was LIVID!

Wonderful gifts? Was Peeves completely out of his mind?!?! Well, obviously he was, but she meant even more than usual. All that cackling was the last straw. She wanted to wipe that stupid grin off his face, but there wasn’t much she could do in this form. She lunged as Peeves turned upside-down, trying to bite him, but he was too high. Darn! She blinked, looking at the cat in Jude’s arms. Would the kitty help her attack the crazy floating man? Please?

Wait… Teddy rat? What was that? She glanced confusedly at the other students. WHAT did he turn me into?! She asked, but her voice came out as wombat sounds. As she overheard Jude, panic set in. A wombat? He turned her into a WOMBAT?!?! Don’t just stand there! Somebody tell Headmaster Kazmi! Tell Professor Holden! Tell my dad! Tell literally anybody who can change me back! Cue more frantic wombat noises.

The chatter stopped as the butterflies appeared, Ohh, pretty! She sniffed, playfully pawing at one that came near her. She was so distracted by the pretty butterflies that she missed the part about grabbing her. Better catch the teddy rat while you still can!

Lisa glared at Peeves gleeful response. Well she glared until she processed the words rat.

A what a what rat? Teddy rat? What teddy rat??

Then she saw it. So much for all thought on keeping her hands covered over her mouth. She let out a bubble-filled shriek before recovering her hands once she saw said bubbles. Lisa did manage to run over to Jude (as if hiding behind him was going to solve her problems). As she reached Jude, she did hear him mention Desiree’s wombat form!

Oh, she had ran away from Desiree?? Now she felt bad. “Sorry,” she mumbled behind her hands to Desiree.

Lisa did cast her eyes over at Serena and Adam. Instead of talking, she reached for Jude’s arm and squeezed it gently before pointing over to the two of them. Should they bring them too?

Everything began to unfold rather quickly after Peeves gave out...gifts? What gifts? Serena was confused. She glanced around and saw no physical evidence of gifts. He must be out of his mind. Well, he was but more-so now.

Then a scary thing happened; Lisa collapsed. Serena's mind was instantly wiped clean and began racing. Her legs slowly drifted her towards the fallen Ravenclaw. "Peeves! You leave her--" alone, she was going to say but then...bubbles came out of Lisa's mouth? Serena froze.

What...was...going...on?

Serena took a few more steps and then--Desiree...turned into a..wombat???? Jude was going on about BUTTERFLIES??? There were actual butterflies swarming in!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She didn't like this. Not one bit. Was this a prank?

Serena took in a deep breath, and as she did, her form disappeared and reappeared without her knowledge. "Are you okay?" she directed at Lisa. Serena was breaking all the restrictions that had been placed on her during the summer, but at this moment she was tossing them out the window.

There was also Desiree the wombat. Where was she? "Desiree," Serena called, extending a hand, but as she did that her hand DISAPPEARED! A yelp escaped her, the suddenness of her limb disappearing taking her by surprise. She fell back onto her bum. "Where did my hand go?!"

Unbeknownst to the Slytherin, her entire body had disappeared before reappearing again. What did PEEVES DO????

Keighley didn't even have time to react as Peeves was already leaving now and before she could even blink some sort of book was brandished at her. What in the name of Merlin was that about?! All she had been able to do was lean backwards a few inches in surprise and blink a couple of times. She felt no different however and she appeared to look perfectly fine unlike the sudden outbreak of a mess that was happening here.

He didn't know. Jude didn't know. Well that really didn't make her feel any better about her missing mirror but that didn't even matter right now. There was much more serious matters at hand it seemed. Keigh wasn't about to question anything else, sorry super pretty butterflies that she REALLY wanted to watch right now but didn't have the time to. "Grab Desiree, why would I-.." Yet again the words died on her lips when she realized that the adorable wombat was in fact one of her fellow peers! Desiree to be exact. "Umm.. ye-yeah, sure I can get her..."

Oh, dear! Keighley took off after Desiree and the butterflies, completely unaware that in the wake of her footfalls were little orange flowers left behind in the cracks of the flooring. Trying to get herself in from of Wombat/Desiree, Keighley scooped down to TRY lift her up into her arms carefully. "Sorry... please don't be mad at me.. or um.. bite me.." Hopefully she would be able to get a hold of her. "We'll get you to the Healer and this will all get straightened out."

What was going on behind her with the others what completely unnoticed. Sorry but she had a wombat/Hufflepuff to help!

Wombat!Desiree’s head jerked up at the sound of Lisa’s scream. She stared at her, blinking confusedly. Did she cause that? Was her new form really so ugly that it scared Lisa? Now she knew how the Beast felt! If she was in her normal form, she would be crying her eyes out now! But since wombats couldn’t cry, she had to settle for sad teddy rat noises.

Suddenly overcome with an animalistic urge to hide, she burrowed into the nearest place she could find, her schoolbag. Books and papers scattered everywhere as she pawed through its contents to make room, and she snuggled against the doll inside the bag, the one she carried everywhere (looks something like this but with blue eyes & scars on half its face). She looked up as Serena called her name, cautiously sniffing at the older girl’s extended hand. Before she could move, the hand disappeared. Did she scare Serena too? Was that why her hand disappeared? Cue more sad teddy rat noises.

At least Keighley didn’t seem scared of her. Wombat!Desiree was too glad for that to be mad or try to bite when she was picked up, though she did try to wriggle out of the other girl’s arms to get back to her prince doll. She wasn’t going anywhere unless the doll came too! No! Don’t just leave him here! She exclaimed in frantic wombat squeals, reaching out her front paws to try to get the doll.

One second, Adam had been daydreaming about food. The next...well, chaos.

Adam's eyes opened in shock as Lisa started spouting out bubbles, and then...what was happening to Desiree?! "DESIREE! You're turning into a ferret!" he exclaimed, as if that wasn't apparent without him saying anything and obviously having no clue what a wombat was.

Looking around in panic, he closed his eyes tight and then...

*WHISTLE*

It sounded like a tea kettle was going off, and anyone who looked at Adam Luck would see literal steam coming out of his ears. Like a cartoon. He looked like a train engine, red in color and everything (mostly from embarrassment) before he quickly slapped his hands over his ears.

Except then that HURT because OWWW STEAMMMM! He quickly dropped his hands and looked around in panic as the room started to get rather humid from the continued accumulation of steam around him.

"What's going on?!"

Wombat/Desiree was fast! In order to get the best grip on her she had to first get the scared little creature out from where she had been hidden. Inside a backpack. Which meant Keigh did the only thing she could do, got right down on the flower where she was to make things easier on them both. The last thing she wanted to do was drop Wombat/Desiree!

"It's alright, I know you're afraid but we'll get you to the Healer. Does anyone know who's bag this is?" Keigh asked, holding Wombat/Desiree on her lap while trying her best to gather the scattered papers she could reach and put them back into the bag. All that wiggling about didn't make the task easy but she did her best. Wait.. "Is this your bag? Is there something in here you want?" It didn't at all seem strange to her to be speaking to a creature because she did it all of the time with Kanga her cat and tons of other creatures, plus this wasn't only a 'creature' it was Desiree. She opened the bag so that the contents could be seen, unsure if Wombat/Desiree could get what she may have wanted, if anything at all. Chances were the girl was beyond frightened and Keigh didn't blame her!

"Okay, I'm getting up now.. don't jump.." Keighley very slowly rose to her feet then, slinging the bag over her shoulder so she could cradle Wombat/Desiree in her arms. A sudden loud whistling had her trying to cover the little wombats ears as she winced at the sound herself. What in the name of Merlin?!

Turning around her eyes went wide as she saw the steam coming out of Adam's ears. And where was Serena's hand?! Things were getting stranger by the minute! She looked at her big brother trying to keep herself calm. "Jude? Should we head to the Healer now?"

The sooner the better, yes?!

At least those butterflies served another purpose other than looking pretty: they helped to distract Desiree. Jude thought this teddy-rat looked rather adorable, given the circumstances. There was Lisa for him to look out for right now. Feeling the squeeze on his arm, he followed her indication. Serena and Adam. “Yes, we’d better get them too. They might not have been spared.” It was a miracle he and Keigh had been.

HANG ON JUST A MINUTE!!!

One second ago, the Hufflepuff had seen an ENTIRE Serena but now??? Where did she go?? “Serena?!” No, he wasn’t panicking; there was just urgency in his voice. Urgency because he just wanted to get everyone safely to the Hospital Wing then inform the respective Heads of Houses of these strange happenings. And this sixth year was determined to do just that with the help of Keighley. He still held Ned in his arms, the cat now seemingly lulled into quietness by the treats and the departure of Peeves. He just needed to make sure that his sister had a hold of Desiree who had seemingly taken refuge in her bookbag.

And Adam… Jude winced at the whistle, peering over to the Gryffindor who looked as though he had just consumed a MAJOR dose of the Pepperup Potion! Keighley’s question brought the Hufflepuff back to his initial plan at hand. “I need everyone to head for the Hospital Wing. Please. I’ll let Hernandez, Carton and Holden know about this after.” Mancini would be told then, when the group got to the Wing.

Jude set Ned down. The cat immediately slunk out of the Hall, heading for the outdoors. “Er… Serena? Can you let us know you’re with us?” he called as he headed for the third floor.

Lisa had looked up to hear Serena asking her if she were okay. It had been the first time the two spoke since last year. It felt both strange and yet reassuring. An odd combination of emotions. Some of which she had pushed deep within herself or at least worked to let them go over the summer. “I’m…” More bubbles escaped her mouth as she began to speak. “I don’t know.” Her bottom lip wobbled in both confusion and this need to start bawling when she saw Serena.

The next few moments of chaos that occurred around her left her speechless. A wombat was running around manic, Adam was blowing off steam (literally like a tea kettle), flowers were appearing from Keighley, and then Serena… Serena was fading.

“Seri!” she called out, watching in horror as Serena’s hand started to fade. And then she couldn’t see her. “SERENA!” She didn’t care about the bubbles escaping her mouth as she gasped. “No, no, no… ” She had just witnessed the very nightmare that she had never wanted to see.

A tug from Jude brought her back to where they needed to go. Right. The Hospital Wing.

Wombat!Desiree glared at Adam, chattering disapprovingly. Really? You think I haven’t noticed? The chattering didn’t last long, though. She had more important things to worry about… like making sure her favorite doll didn’t get left behind for Peeves or who knows what else to find!

She kept wiggling, fighting to get out of Keighley’s arms and back to her bag. Blink, blink. Wait, did Keighley understand her? For the first time since her transformation, her mood brightened. Her beady little wombat eyes lit up, and she nodded, chattering excitedly. Yes, it’s my bag! Don’t leave it! She looked inside the bag, reaching her little paws out for the doll inside, but she couldn’t hold it. Stupid wombat hands!

She couldn’t hold her doll, but she could still cuddle it. She nuzzled against it with her wombat nose, her eyes darting from the doll to Keighley. Did she understand? She wanted the doll! Wombat!Desiree calmed down as soon as she saw Keighley take the bag. She settled comfortably into the other girl’s arms, making contented wombat noises. Not even the loud steam whistling rattled her. Can we go to the healer now? I don’t want to be a teddy rat anymore!

Keighley couldn't help but look to each and everyone of them. Lisa holding onto Jude, had bubbles coming from her mouth every time she spoke. Jude. JUDE! He, he seemed okay? Thank Merlin for that. Serena, ermm.. she couldn't tell where the girl was at the moment but she knew she was here? Adam had steam coming from his ears and sounded like the loudest train she had ever heard. And then there was Desiree. The most adorable wombat she had ever seen (sorry but it's true!), she would totally keep her if she wasn't a person turned wombat. No, she wasn't insane, she just simply liked creatures is all.

Speaking of which, Wombat/Desiree's chattering really picked up a ton when she opened the bag. There was a doll of sorts inside? Kinda cute looking and was that what she was trying to get at? Keigh didn't have a clue but it was worth a true. Pulling the doll out she tucked it under Wombat/Desiree's paws and supported it with her arm. She didn't speak creature but she understand the need for a comfort item. She smiled gently at her. "Everything's going to be okay. Don't worry."

"Lead the way, Jude." The fourth year followed right behind her brother. It was time to get everyone to the Healers. Unknown to her, as she brushed up against a wall, beautiful white flowers grew up through a small crack in the foundation.

Serena quickly stood up, examining her hands, arms and legs as she reappeared. What. Was. Going. ON????

She heard comments about heading to the healers, which was a great idea considering ALL that was going on. Had someone caught Desiree? Serena called for her again despite her state. Where was she? Lisa calling her name caught Serena off guard. It was bad that her voice still had an effect on her, wasn't it? What kind of effect, Serena had no idea and will most likely ignore it as this was not the time to focus on feelings.

"I-I'm here," she replied to Jude's question, unsure. Her form kept appearing and disappearing. She was there. She was not. She was there. She was not.

As if things could only get weirder, Adam's BRAIN WAS BOILING!!! Why was there steam coming out of his ears?!?! He seemed to be in pain!

Summer training had not prepared her for this kind of chaos. Keeping cool was no longer a thing in existence. She was LITERALLY losing herself. That was scary. Serena did what felt the safest at that moment. She closed the distance between Lisa and her, taking the Ravenclaw's hand in hers. "Please don't let go," she murmured, heart racing as she disappeared again.