a fairly high tolerance for pain but this had come so completely sudden that she found herself leaning on her talents as a liar. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, her head spinning slightly as she did so.

"I just realized how pointless this conversation is." Valentine scoffed, chin titled upwards lightly. "I'm finished here."

She shoved Crabbe and Goyle aside to walk past, the pain slowly but surely residing.

"Val!" Leah called after her.

"Do not follow me!" Valentine shouted back.

The sound of her own voice echoed in her head painfully.

What the hell was that?

"Alright." Snape was then storming towards her like a man possessed. "What did you do with it all?"

Really? Why? Why do you always have to make things worse!

"Excuse me?" Valentine bristled. She didn't appreciate his accusatory tone or the fact that he was souring her already bitter situation.

"Planning another little practical joke for Lockhart are you?" He pressed his lips into a firm line. "Well, I would appreciate it if you didn't steal from me to achieve that."

"What the hell are you on about?" Valentine groaned, pulling a hand back through her hair. "I gave you back everything I used last and haven't taken anything since."

"Do not lie to me!" He spat angrily.

"I'm not lying!" Valentine shot back.

"As if I could trust a single word out of your mouth!"

"Well, you're going to have to because I haven't touched a damn thing!" Valentine shoved past him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, get the hell out of my way before I kill you with my bare hands."

"Don't you walk away from me!"

"And don't you dare try to stop me!"

-----Pretending To Hate-----

By the time Charms was finished, what had initially been a light shower was now a rumbling and shattering storm. Student's hurried through any uncovered areas with haste. Weather like this was enough to soak one through in a matter of seconds. It was still early November and so not quite ready to snow but the other students had been wearing scarfs and gloves for a month now.

The rain didn't bother Valentine and neither did the cold. It clung to her curls and eyelashes but she was too preoccupied to take much notice.

"Val." Draco nudged her arm. "You coming?"

The others watched her expectantly. She was standing against the wall outside the class, waiting on familiar faces. This time she wouldn't miss them.

Valentine made a show of looking subtly irritated, bored and disgusted all with one grimace. She'd just seen Harry, Ron and Hermione leave the class in a hurry and couldn't waste time on explanations.

"I'll take that as a no then." Draco took a pointed step back.

Valentine turned on her heel and followed the stream of students including those three Gryffindor's.

After the incident when she'd lost them the first time, their strange behaviour hadn't ceased. Something was going on and she couldn't afford to wait any longer. She could only guess it would be somehow entangled with the Chamber of Secrets. Snape had already ridiculed her for jumping to conclusions without solid evidence but it wouldn't have been a surprise in the least. Harry was being pinned as a possible Heir of Slytherin just as she was. It seemed so utterly like him to do something to try and fix this, especially since a boy had been hurt.

She was again, careful with her pace and vigilant with her gaze. Ron was tall and his hair was easily spotted in the crowd. She was going to figure out what they were up to and if there was a need, she would stop them.

A loud burst of lightning lit the hall and a young girl squealed before laughing with her friends at the sound she had made. Valentine had never been afraid of lightning. She could recall when Draco and Leah had once been. It had been Draco first when they were very young, three or four. He used to cry during particularly wild storms and refuse to sleep alone. Leah, on the other hand, seemed to pay no mind to storms until, something around eight or nine, Valentine had told her story about a man who'd been struck by lightning and lay paralyzed in a ditch slowing filling with rainwater. Valentine had been thoroughly scolded for frightening her but Leah was nothing if not resilience and was fine once she was made to understand the one in a million odds of being actually struck by lightning. Valentine could have written an entire series of books about those years before Hogwarts. She could imagine Draco dying from the shame.

The crowd grew thicker as students rushed to find somewhere warmer and Valentine moved fast to keep the three in her sight. Having missed her chance before, she couldn't simply intervene. She needed to know what they were up to and it wasn't as though they would say if she asked.

She heard more laughter and then saw the Weasley twins scampered doggedly through the crowd wearing wide mischievous grins. Valentine curled her lip at them and silently wondered what poor soul had become a victim to one of their infamous pranks. She didn't have the luxury of pondering it for too long and pushed on.

The three Gryffindor's must have stopped at some point because now they were close enough that Valentine could hear Ron telling them about a prank the twins had pulled and his father that had somehow resulted in replacing his fingers with his toes and vice-versa. It was a horrifying image, even to Valentine.

She slowed her steps and moved without hast. They didn't seem to have a clue she was there watching, they typically never did. With her eyes on the three, she vaguely saw a person ahead of her and assumed that they would move. That was what everyone did. Or at least, what most did.

Lockhart seemed completely aghast that she hadn't moved for him, glaring down at her incredulously. After she had made him walk through the school looking like he'd fallen off the back of a parade float and hit every rock in the road thereafter, he had dropped his polished manners and attempts at being charismatic when dealing with her. He was cold, simpering and haughty. Valentine had more than a slight suspicion that this was the real, unfiltered Gilderoy Lockhart. The only thing that irritated her more than the actual person was Hermione's continued infatuation with him. She thought that someone so intelligent should have seen past all the smiles and fame to the gritty and disreputable cad beneath.

"Someone needs to watch where they're going." Said Lockhart testily.

"I was watching."

"Well, clearly not close enough."

"Clearly." Valentine gave a half bitter, half sarcastic smile.

She shifted to move around him. She was not about to stand there wasting time as she had done before.

"I believe you should apologize." Lockhart reached out a hand to stop her and she immediately jerked away.

She bumped into a boy behind her hard enough that he dropped his books and Lockhart clicked his tongue at her.

"It seems your head is elsewhere today."

Valentine's fingers twitched to pull out her wand and curse him right there in front of everyone. Maybe she would make him go bald this time. She ignored his jab at her. She knew he wanted to see her breech her probation and end up suspended or worse. She looked to where the Gryffindor's had been and saw them moving off in the distance.

No. This is not happening again. This isn't a difficult thing to do! Or at least it wouldn't be if this idiot would leave me the hell alone.

"Ugh." Valentine sneered at him. "You're not worth it."

"Excuse me!" Lockhart gasped.

Valentine turned away and started after the Gryffindor's. Students instantly made a path for her, pressing themselves closer to the walls.

"Come back here!" Shouted Lockhart.

Valentine was too busy trying to catch up to the three before they reached the upcoming corner.

"Somebody stop her!"

Nobody moved, just stared at Lockhart incredulously as he pointed after her.

Right. Like anyone is seriously that stupid.

Valentine saw the Gryffindor's straight ahead. She thought that she had finally got them. That she would be able to find out just what they were up to.

Then there was a loud bang and the hall quickly filled with thick purple smoke. Students screamed and panicked. Someone smacked into Valentine's shoulder and she almost tipped over. She heard an older student telling people to calm down but there was easily twenty in the hall and they all wanted out.

Give me a freaking BREAK!

Valentine typically enjoyed the Weasley twins pranks, but typically they weren't on her or getting in the way of her mission.

Someone fell into her side and then tumbled to the floor. Valentine growled lowly and yanked her wand out from her robes.

"Ventus Duo!"

A strong jet of wind shot out in front of her, cutting through the smoke. It left a wide path open and clear as the purple slowly begun to fade.

Several students rushed for the path she had created and she followed. Standing in the clear she peered into the thinning purple haze. She could make out the shapes of faces. None were what she was looking for.

"Bloody hell." She cursed under her breath.

She returned to the corner and hurried around. Students were milling about, watching in confusion as the purple smoke leaked its way into the other corridor. Neither Harry, Ron or Hermione were among them.