We did not end up walking to the party as I had assumed we would. Instead, Matt had led us to his car and ordered us all to get in. Somehow I ended up in the front seat. Not because I was new or because they were being polite, but because Sydney complained over having to sit next to a child, and when Kyle had offered to sit in the middle, she'd all but thrown a tantrum.

Since it was Matt's car, he joined me in the front. From Marie's glare, as she got into the backseat, I knew the ride would be unpleasant.

It was even worse as we left the neighborhood, the west part of town, the town, and soon enough I wasn't even sure which direction home was in. I wasn't sure how long we'd been in the car, or how long the ride would still be. I didn't dare ask either.

Matt leaned forward and turned on the stereo. As he did his hand slid over my bare knee. I flinched away, unused to any touch, especially ones so casual. When his eyes met mine, and I beheld his dark smile, I knew it wasn't as casual as it seemed.

The rest of the ride was filled with the sounds of Sydney and Kyle kissing, and the radio.

* * *

Matt pulled the car into a gravel driveway in a town I didn't know the name of. The house was massive, and the sounds of laughter and music thrummed through the air. I stayed in my seat even as the rest of the car evacuated. I watched through the windshield as Kyle followed Sydney into the house.

They hadn't bothered knocking and didn't shut the door behind themselves. Marie smacked me on the back of the head, pulling me out of my thoughts as she climbed out of the car.

"Get out, moron. And don't you dare embarrass me," she hissed.

I obeyed, if only because I had no better options.

I followed my sister and Matt into the house, not wanting to be left alone in an unfamiliar setting. I should have known better. My sister and the boy who had claimed her were gone between one blink and the next. I'd been left alone.

Part of me wanted to explore, to take advantage of the time I had to act like a normal teenager. But like the coward I am, I simply hugged the walls and tried to find one of the people I'd arrived with. It didn't take long to find my way outside, no one stopped me, no one questioned who I was or why I was here. Though a few did look at my outfit with various opinionated expressions.

In the back yard, there was a pool. I had to hand it to Marie, for lying with the truth. She had asked to go to the pool, but which pool she'd meant had been up for interpretation. My sister was perched on Matt's lap on the edge of the pool. His hands roamed all over her body, not seeming to care what parts he lingered on or who saw.

Marie caught my eye from across the pool and dared me to say something. To approach them. To embarrass her.

I turned away from the scene, more in hopes that Matt wouldn't notice me as well, and made my way to one of the many lounging chairs. It wasn't until I was seated with nothing to do, no one to talk to, and no idea how to act, that I began to really feel out of place.

The feeling lasted for only a few moments as a rusty colored tabby cat jumped  up onto the bottom of the lounger and looked at me. It blinked and made its way closer. I stretched out a hand tentatively, and the cat sniffed my fingers for a moment before deciding I wasn't too bad and pushed his head into my palm.

"Aww, you're so cute. Do you have a name?" I murmured, pulling the animal into my arms and scratching between his ears.

"Oh for fuck's sake, you little fucking shit head. You have to be kidding me," a male voice nearly growled as he stared me down.

I jumped, and the cat yawned in an overly exaggerated manner before stretching and settling into my arms. The guy who had just shouted at me had dark hair and dark eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed in what could have been either anger or irritation, most likely both.

As he drew nearer I sucked in a breath. The boy, who couldn't be older than me by much, was massive. He dressed in all black, which didn't help with my already shot nerves.

"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered, wondering what I'd done to offend this scary looking guy.

His steps faltered a bit and he gazed directly at me for the first time. When his eyes collided with my own, I realized that he hadn't been talking to me, or about me at all. His attention had been on the cat, and the cat alone. A sudden, irrational urge to protect the feline surged through me.

I pulled the fluffy body closer and lifted my chin slightly, a challenge.

The boy stopped fully now, sizing me up.

I wondered what he saw. Did the girl I'd changed into look like the type who would stand up to him? Did the girl I'd become look ridiculous? I didn't care. I was tired of people walking all over me, and it was bad enough that I allowed my parents, my family to do it. To allow a stranger would have been too much.

"You," he began, his growl of a voice no less scary even when profanities weren't pouring from it.

"I hope you weren't using such foul language to me," I cut him off, "and I hope even more that you weren't speaking to a helpless cat like that."

The cat in question purred, and the boy frowned deeply. I didn't pause to consider that the boy hadn't really done anything towards me. The stress of the situation, the nerves of being in such a normal, social setting, the noise... It all had me on edge. I was tired of people talking down to me, of treating me like a pet.

"You don't understand," he tried again, looking away from me, down to the cat.

His voice had changed a bit, going to less irritated and more tired. I decided he was worth listening to.

"Try me."

The whole situation was bizarre. I wondered if this was the type of embarrassment Marie had hoped I wouldn't cause her. The thought of embarrassing my sister, regardless of punishments it may lead to, sent a small thrill down my spine.

The boy opened his mouth, seemed to grow even more irritated, and addressed the cat.

"You're in such deep shit, you little.." the boy glanced up at me.

I was torn between fear that he was talking to a cat as if the creature could understand his threats, and anger that he was threatening the creature at all. The boy, seeming to have reached some sort of personal limit, abruptly turned away. He was lost in the crowd in an instant.

I stared after the place I'd last seen him, lost in thought. I'd stood up for something. Sure it had been for a cat, and it had been to a stranger. But... I'd done it.

That was something, right?

It meant that when the time came to stand up for myself, I was at least capable of it.

Seconds, minutes, or days later, the rusty cat jumped from my arms and ran off. I didn't miss the way it seemed to go into the exact spot that the darkly dressed boy had gone.

"Were you just speaking to North Taylor?"

A feminine voice asked as if she already knew the answer. I turned slightly, spotting the brown haired girl in the seat to my left. She had to have just sat down because I knew for a fact she hadn't been there moments before.

"I'm not sure. I didn't ask his name," I murmured.

The strong tone I'd used with the boy had faded away to my usual quiet, unassuming voice.

The girl rolled her eyes and leaned closer towards me. "It was definitely North, what did he want?"

"He..." I trailed off, not really knowing what he'd wanted. The conversation had been spotty if it could be called a conversation at all. "Do you know him?"

"Of course I don't know him. He goes to, like, a private school somewhere. Only comes around in the summers. I'm surprised he came to this party at all, actually. I'm Kim," she paused long enough to give me a once over. I could tell by her eyes that I didn't meet some sort of expectation. "Who are you?"

Several different names jumped onto my tongue, waiting for me to mess up.

"Sally."

Kim sat back in her lounge chair and closed her eyes, "well if you're not going to tan, and you can't give me any juicy gossip, get away from me."

Was she serious. "I was here first."

Her head snapped over and she glared at me.

I was about to open my mouth and apologize when someone laughed. The source of the laughter was a girl with long black hair that was woven into a braid. Her bright green eyes were set on Kim, an expression of a hunter who had found something to hunt and was unimpressed with it.

"Kim, why don't you go somewhere else. No one here wants to hear about Daddy's house, or Daddy's company, or what poor boy you've currently got your eyes on."

Kim, to her credit, walked away with as much swagger and dignity as she could possibly manage. Which meant she stood up, flipped her hair over her shoulder and left to join people she instantly bent heads with and spoke to while firing dirty looks our way.

The new girl plopped into the lounge chair and gave me a long look.

"This party sucks."

I nodded my head in agreement, unsure how to proceed. Had she saved me from dealing with Kim, or had I been graced with someone even more unpleasant. The question was answered in her next words.

"I came because I heard that there would be other wizards here," she sighed dramatically and draped an arm over her face, "Of course there's only you and those two Gryffindor dummies but hey, better than Kayli or Jade," she made a face of disgust.

My blood had turned to ice and boiled and the same time. I couldn't breathe, and yet, the air had never felt so refreshing. I was staring at the girl, who didn't seem to notice as she continued to talk.

"Though I don't think I've ever met you, which is strange. You have pretty unusual eyes, I think I would have remembered you. Do you go to one of the other schools?"

I coughed and forced myself to answer the one bit that I knew the answer to. "I'm Sally," I said, feeling like a broken record.

There were wizards at this party? Was this girl a witch?

"Violet," the girl said, her lips turning up into a predatory grin.

I stared at her, trying to find some sort of connection that we shared. Some mark I'd overlooked. But that didn't make sense, as any mark I'd been born with had been forgotten in the many transformations I'd undergone.

"How did you know?" I breathed.

She raised a single, perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Know what? That you're a witch? Well, you don't look like a muggle to me."

I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but she continued, sensing the question before it was spoken.

"Oh come on Sally, you were looking at Kim like you would jinx her if you could. Personally, I'd like to put that girl in a full body bind and shove her into a vanishing cabinet, but the headmistress would be pretty upset if she had to go to court with me again."

Before I could ask her a million questions, before I could ask who the other wizards were, or any of the other thousands of questions, there was a scream. The music was cut as people tried to figure out what was happening, but I saw from where I sat what the commotion was about.

A brawl had broken out near the pool. People had started to chant and holler out jeers. Violet stood up and took a step towards the fight, curiosity blazing in her eyes. She frowned when she noticed who it was that was engaged in the fight.

"Not again," she groaned as we both watched the boy in black, and my sister's boyfriend exchange powerful blows.