Chapter 1: Pleats for Stripes
Chapter 2: The Defiant
Chapter 3: Hogwarts
Chapter 4: A Pyrate's Life
Chapter 5: Of Ships and Scars
Chapter 6: Athens
Chapter 7: The Morning After
Chapter 8: A Hogsmeade Adventure
Chapter 9: Halloween Meets Its Fate
Chapter 10: Reflections
Chapter 11: Bloody Broomsticks
Chapter 12: Requests and Inquiries
Chapter 13: Crestfallen
Chapter 14: A Rose By Any Other Name
Chapter 15: A Wizard's Duel
Chapter 16: The Storm
Chapter 17: The Map Unfolded
Chapter 18: The Hunt
Chapter 19: Clouded Waters
Chapter 20: The Incinerator
Chapter 21: Awakenings

"Awe, Da… Th' sleeve ain't even puffy. I don't really need these long clothes, do I?" the young girl complained, standing on a stool as she looked at herself in the mirror of the shop.

A booming voice came over her shoulder, "Now don't give me no lip, Eliza. It be right and proper that ye finish yer schoolin' here now that yer ma's gone, may she rest in peace."

"May she rest in peace," she replied.

"Squawk!" said the scrubby looking lime colored parrot, perched on the mirror.

"And ye best be dressed right for it."

Eliza Smythe, the only daughter of the famous pyrate, Captain Nathaniel Smythe, The Soothsaying Hooligan, and Lady Ezmerelda, of the renown wizarding family Ethereal, of the Ethereal Islands, may she rest in peace, stood in Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions sulking. She was a fairly tall and curvy sixteen-year old. She had deep olive skin, a gift from her mother. It was darkly tanned from spending sun up to sun down running about on her father's ship, The Defiant. Her ears were weighed down with several large gold hoops, many of which matched those that were collected on her wrists. This brings us to another strange characteristic of Eliza. She did not have a left hand. She had in fact, a hook. It was a brightly polished and sharpened curl of silver steel. She used it to prod the pointy black wizard hat that sat awkwardly on her long tangled mess of blonde locks. Eliza shifted uneasily in her new school uniform, as her father looked her over. Her usual clothing, or rather, assorted rags, were heaped on the floor.

"Na, thar be a good girl! Look as pretty as yer mother did the day I met her, may she rest in peace."

"May she rest in peace."

"Squawk!"

It felt like a strong breeze would blow the wizard hat off. What good was headgear that would blow off at a slight gust? And there wasn't a feather anywhere on it! She didn't like the grey vest and skirt. The vest wasn't tight enough and the skirt wasn't short enough. She examined the folded pleats and mused on the fact she had never owned such attire. All of her favorite things were striped and colorful and she dreaded having to be constantly in these monotone frocks. Even the socks were atrocious and plain! And who would wear these little black Mary Jane's on a regular basis? They were quite impractical and the buckles so small. The thing that Eliza hated the most was the tightness of the sleeves of the white button up dress shirt under the whole lot. They were straight and narrow and covered her shoulders.

"Da, can't we just do somethin' 'bout th' sleeves? No one would see…? They'll be under the robes all the time. They be so restricting…I can't even lift my arms." She flashed her dad an innocent look with her big green eyes, eyes she had inherited from him.

"Awe now lass, don't give me that look. Oh, arrrright."

He took out his wand and zapped her arms. The shirtsleeves grew out like sails and neatly bound themselves into five-inch long lacy cuffs. Eliza smiled hugely, jumped from the stool and hugged her father.

"Oh thar now, it weren't nothin', just to make ye feel a lil more a' home… Oh arrrigh' that's enough now…" He was tearing up a bit. "Let's get ye a nice black robe then. Arr! Aha! Ha!"

Eliza released her father from the embrace and jumped back on to the stool to be fitted for a robe. She honestly didn't see the need for all this fuss. Her lessons on the ship hadn't been this elaborate. Her mother had simply passed on her spell books and taught her basic magic a few hours each day. The crew had been kind enough to show her tricks here and there, and let her practice on them. She hadn't had to get all dressed up for it. However, it seemed to make her father happy, and that was good enough reason to play along. Captain Smythe dug into his pockets and dropped a handful of gold Galleons onto the counter.

"There ye go, Madam Malkin. We'll take ten of each! Ahr! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Squaaahhrr! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Shut up Scalawag!" Eliza scolded the bird.

Madam Malkin set to work to get the rest of the order ready, wrapped it all in a nice bundle and handed it over to the rough looking wizard. Captain Smythe was not dressed in traditional robes. This upset Madam Malkin slightly. She wanted to suggest he buy a few things for himself while he was here, and look like a proper wizard.

Captain Smythe tied half his messy blonde hair back with a bit of string and topped it with a huge, black tri-cornered hat, rimmed with gold. His ears were both pierced with thick gold rings. He was wearing a long coat that was made of a thick green material. The coat was covered in a myriad of buttons, sashes, belts, patches, holes and bloodstains. Under it was the usual poofy and lacy pirate shirt, hastily tucked into black britches that ended at the knees. Conveniently, his boots began at the knees; they were thick black leather with large uneven cuffs. Shiny gold buckles jingled on the top of his foot. His clothing, however, was not the most menacing of his appearance. That would be the large cutlass stuffed into his belt. It should also be mentioned that there was a dagger in his boot, a flintlock pistol tied to his side and a large wizard's wand in a holster across his chest. He was armed to the teeth. Teeth that were now smiling at Madam Malkin as he accepted the bundle of Hogwarts school uniforms.

He walked to the door and handed the bundle off to the young seaman who was waiting outside.

"Here kid. Na, what else do ye need? Books…books…aye. That looks like the place." Captain Smythe strode off in the direction of Flourish and Blotts. Eliza followed close behind, with her parrot hanging tightly to her shoulder. Trailing both was the skinny little seaman who served as ship's boy, weighed down with several packages.

Inside the shop, her father brought the list up to the counter and began bargaining with the manager.

"…Na, it says here three Knuts for 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six'. I'll give ye two…"

Meanwhile, Eliza wandered about looking at various titles. The only other place she had seen this many books was her grandfather's library on the Ethereal Island. The books were all unfamiliar; she had only ever read her mother's collection. Her fingers danced along the spines looking for something exciting.

The day had been both exciting and dreadful at the same time. Eliza, a young pyrate, loved to spend her plunder whenever the ship was at port so she had no real qualms about shopping at Diagon Alley, a place in England she had never been before. However, she usually wasted money on food, drink and shiny jewelry or rare knickknacks, not on boring clothing and school supplies. They had been to Gringott's bank and traded in the stacks of miscellaneous coins and treasure for the regular currency of the British wizarding world. After that the old pyrate led his daughter to the Apothecary to buy her a standard potion kit that would do for her schooling and store the potion things she already had, then to Scribbulus Everchanging Inks for all sorts of school supplies like parchment and quills. Eliza convinced her father to stop at the Leaky Cauldron for a bite to eat and a few drinks. A glass of good rum was something that she approved her monies to be spent on. Captain Smythe was in full agreement and they had a jovial lunch. However, after the plates and glasses had been cleared the Captain had been stern about going to get her uniforms and the rest of her supplies. In each shop they had gathered and packaged things she had never bothered to use or thought of needing and it only served to remind her of leaving the safety of her ship for a school she knew nothing of.

Eliza slid a book off of the shelf and began to peruse through the pages. Over the top of it she spied near the door, a pale, slight boy was verbally accosting another stern faced youth with messy black hair. Both looked about her age. She tossed the book aside and moved closer to watch. There was nothing like a good brawl, but to Eliza's disappointment some bushy haired brunette came in and dragged the dark haired one away. The pale pointy thing snarled and sauntered out of the shop.

"Anything else my wee one?"

"Na, Da."

Captain Smythe paid for the stack of schoolbooks and had them wrapped up. He tossed the package at the seaman, who ran forward to catch them before they hit the floor. The force of the impact and the weight of the books caused him to tumble backwards to the ground.

"Oi, what ye doin' down thar, man? Up! We got places to be!" Captain Smythe stepped over the struggling pyrate and took Eliza's hook.

"C'mon then, back to the ship to get ye packed."

Chapter 2
The Defiant

Swaying slightly, the huge vessel hovered at least twenty-five feet above Diagon Alley. Anchors five feet across of solid steel lay on the cobblestones on either side of the street. Large chains kept the fighting ship from drifting away into the sky. Supplies were being levitated from the street past the dark wood keel by several of the crew. It was two hundred and fifty feet long from bow to stern, truly immense for enchanted tall ships. The sides of the ship were painted a dark green, trimmed with a deep brown stain. The distance from the keel to the main deck was at least fifty feet, and it was tall enough to have several floors of cabins and holds. Along both sides of the top of the hold were fifteen large square holes, harmless looking enough but what the patrons of Diagon Alley didn't see were the fifteen cannons that lurked just beyond, and likewise on the other side. Above the large dark rudder were great stained glass windows that curved along towards the main deck rails. Along the front hull was a beautifully carved seawitch with her arms outstretched holding the bowsprit as if it were a giant wand. The bowsprit itself was so long it held four black triangle sails, called jibs, fluttering in the wind. The ship had three thick masts with six black and white striped square sails on each reaching into the sky.

From the main topmast waved a symbol clear to all. The Jolly Roger bearing the sign of Captain Smythe flashed brilliantly in the English sun. Centered in a sea of black was a laughing skull. A bright red pentagram covered the left eye. Below the quivering chin of the skull were a wizard's wand and a sword, crossed. This was home to two hundred seawizards. This was home to Eliza Smythe. This was The Defiant.

A crowd had gathered below, in the ship's shadow. It was mostly students visiting Diagon Alley with their family to buy supplies for the up-coming school year. All were pointing and talking excitedly as the crew loaded the goods. Captain Smythe's mere aura parted the crowd as he approached with his daughter and over-wrought lackey.

Eliza's face broke into a huge grin. She ran awkwardly, due to her under developed land legs and her new horrible shoes, towards the supply line. Before the seawizard knew what he was doing, he had levitated the girl up towards the main deck like a sack of fresh fruit, which he had previously been sending up to the ship. She spun in the air and laughed boisterously. A large brute with a bedazzled eye patch caught her in his arms.

"Izza! Ye scoundrel!! Look a'chu in yer new school clothes. Har, har, har!" He set her down gently on the planks of the deck. She leaned over the rail and waved to her father. At this, the pyrate let out a strong laugh and slapped the young seaman on the back, causing him to fumble desperately with the heavy load. The boy looked like he was close to tears as Captain Smythe shook him back and forth in merriment.

Scalawag flew up and circled the ship once before landing on Eliza's shoulder. He nibbled affectionately on her earring with his black hooked beak.

"AA-Ahoy! AA-Ahoy," the green bird said.

"Ahoy thar, Scalawag." She dug out a small leather pouch of treats for the little thing. At the sight of the treats, Scalawag danced back and forth on his little claws and whistled. "Here ye go, my pet." She ruffled his feathers and handed him a treat as she walked toward the forecastle deck.

The fore stay sail and jibs strained against the breeze, dying to drag the ship off into the clouds. The gentle sway of the ship in the air soothed her body and calmed her soul. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. It was hard to imagine that tomorrow she would be leaving The Defiant. That she wouldn't see it, or its crew, or her father for probably two whole years. Oh, she had spent long vacations at her grandfather's on the Ethereal Islands, but she had always returned to her home on the open air, always returned to her schooling and training on its creaking planks and skyward masts. School had been the gentle voice reading from ancient text. School had been the voice of her mother, may she rest in peace. She sighed at the reflection.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the yell of her father. He was calling down to the crowd below.

"Hagrid! Ye old devil! Harrr! C'mon aboard! I owe ye a drink!"

A large man, huge really, landed with a thud on the deck next to Captain Smythe.

"Nathaniel, yeh old seadog. Good to see yeh!"

The men shook hands with powerful grips. Hagrid dwarfed even her father, who was considered sizable to the average man. They walked into the captain's quarters. Booming laughter rang out through the door. Eliza had seen many odd characters walk through her father's door, many of which even walked out under their own power, but she had seen none the likes of Hagrid. His head was covered in unruly dark hair; she doubted he ever got cold. His body was cloaked in this huge furry coat, which perhaps could use a little wash. He was not the usual sort her father had business with. Then again, Captain Smythe knew odd folks in every port. She wandered briefly how they knew each other.

She climbed into her own cabin, which was beside her father's in the stern of the ship, under the quarterdeck. Scalawag flew off of her shoulder and onto his tall wooden perch. Her new school things had been set on her small bed. She dragged her chest out from the corner of the room. It was a large chest, quite ornate really. It had been a gift for her twelfth birthday from her parents. It had once held an extensive amount of treasure that belonged to the infamous Dark Derek, the Savage Sage. It opened with a long screech. Eliza thought that it had a good note. Inside, it was plush and lined in velvet. She began packing her things; setting books, clothes, jewelry and some treasure inside. She paused as she began to clean off the contents of her desk. A picture of her mother and father, on the deck of The Defiant, smiled and laughed. Her mother's hair blew in the wind, her long white, linen robes flapped against her body.

Her parents' marriage had been based on the whole captive and captor thing. Captain Smythe boarded the ship Ezmerelda Ethereal had booked passage on in a whim to see the world. To Nathaniel, it was love at first sight. He knew she was the only one for him, which is why he took her prisoner. She resisted, which was, of course, the thing to do. But as he bound her wrists behind her, she looked into his emerald eyes and found the world she was looking for.

They courted in the usual pyrate/prisoner manner. He would untie her for short periods of time, allowing her to take her meals with him in his cabin, where he could keep a close eye on her. He showed her his collection of weapons and various rare objects found or stolen. She would talk casually of life on Ethereal Island. Gradually the periods of time she spent out of the brig became longer and longer, until she was totally free to move about the ship. Ezmerelda soon moved into the cabin Eliza was now sitting in.

One sleepless night, Captain Smythe stood on the quarterdeck, lamenting on his feelings for the beautiful island captive, when she gracefully climbed the stairs to join him. She was also unable to sleep.

They exchanged greetings and nervously looked at one another, trying to find the words to express their thoughts. At that moment, a shooting star passed close overhead, flaring promisingly over the pair. Before either knew what happened they were locked in an embrace from which neither would be the same. They pulled into the nearest port the next day and were married. The Smythes' love had been deep and passionate, and only increased at the birth of Eliza, their only child.

Eliza's wall shook with the laughter of her father and the stranger; both sounded as if they were hitting a bit of Rouge Red Rum. She smiled and set the photo in her chest carefully and resumed packing her old trusty quills and ink from her desk. She was at last satisfied that she had everything she needed. She closed and locked the chest. She lay on her bed and her thoughts drifted again to leaving and imagining what school would be like. The whole idea was foreign to her. School, in a building, on land nonetheless! The faces of many of the students she saw during the day flashed through her mind. They all seemed happy enough, she wondered…

"ELIZA! C'MER! I WANT YE TO MEET SOMEONE!" Her father pounded on the wall, as often he did to get her attention. She jumped up and ran outside and through the door next to hers.

"This be Hagrid, luv." His cheeks smiled pink.

"'Ello, Eliza. Oh now, I think the last time I saw yeh, yeh were only three!"

Eliza shook his giant hand and smiled broadly.

"Ahoy Hagrid!"

"Hagrid be th' gamekeeper an' Care o' Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts," Captain Smythe said, albeit a little drunkenly.

"That's righ', I'll be one of yer teachers Eliza. And yer pa wants me to keep an eye on yeh." At this statement, Hagrid tapped below his right eye with one thick finger teasingly. "Tomorrow when yeh get off the train, just follow along with me'n th' firs' years."

"Sounds like a plan to me, Hagrid!"

"Well, I bes' be going now. Good ta see yeh Nathaniel, have a safe journey. See yeh tomorrow, Eliza."

"Bye Hagrid," Eliza shook his hand again and stalked off to the main deck.

Her father walked Hagrid to the edge of the rail and shook hands. He slapped the man on the arm a few times and said something in a hushed tone. Both smiled and they parted. Captain Smythe went back into his cabin singing to himself and Hagrid left the ship by jumping over the rail.

The young pyrate turned and found herself face to face with a younger member of the crew, Jacque the Blade. He was leaning against the base of the main mast, carving a small chunk of wood with a small sharp knife. He barely glanced up when Eliza approached him. She didn't speak, she only crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited for him to say something. He continued to focus on his carving.

"Leavin' tomorrow, T. Izza?"

"Aye, Jacque."

They were silent again except for the sound of blade against wood.

"Oo ye yi," he said quietly.

Eliza knew from spending years with the Cajun he was expressing his sadness at her departure.

"Now, don't pout beb," Eliza said with a small smile. He hated being teased by the girl.

"Me? Making a bahbin?" He threw his right hand up as if to brush her comment off. The knife flashed in the low sun.

"Are ye comin' to see me off?"

"Mias, alohrs pas! Got to be on watch. Skeleton crew and all."

"Aye." Eliza understood. This was their good-bye. Her friend and companion since she was about ten years old, the tall thin Louisiana born seawizard pushed off of the mast and started to walk away.

"Take care, T. Izza."

"Aye, beb." He was already out of earshot and Eliza suspected he would not seek her out to talk to her again before she left. She felt slighted but knew he just upset. She had expected their parting to be bitter.

Eliza climbed up on to the shrouds, which were huge rope nets that extended from the main deck rail to the main boom. It swept out over the open air. Eliza laid face down on the netting, her chin and forehead resting on thick pieces of rope. She silently watched the activity on the street below. Tonight she would mourn her leaving the only home she knew. Tomorrow, though, she would relish in the new adventure.

Chapter 3
Hogwarts

"Arrright my sweet, this be where I leave yeh. Ye have enough gold?" Captain Smythe looked down at his only daughter, dressed in her new uniform, a black robe folded over her hook.

"Yeah Da, I be fine."

Captain Smythe loaded her chest and Scalawag's cage into the trunk of the taxi that waited outside of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Now, ye know how t' get t' th' platform and all?" he went on.

"Aye Da! I BE fine! I have everythin'. Don't fret." She knew he was just upset at having to send her away.

"Well then. Oh, c'mer lass. Yer ol' pa is going to miss ye somthin' terrible. Haven't been out of my sight mor'n a few months time…Arrrh." He picked the girl up and held her, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'll miss ye too Da. Ye best write me when ye can. Be careful, and good luck. I hope ye kill the rotten bastard!" She spat the last sentence, with pure anger.

"Oh, I will Eliza, rest assured. Just like yer mother, cursin' and well-wishin' at th' same time," he sniffled slightly, "May she rest in peace."

"May she rest in peace."

"Squawk!"

"I luv ye girl."

"I luv ye too Da."

Captain Smythe set her down and took a step back. Behind him were some grungy crewmembers, looking sheepish, holding their hats, looking at their boots, and in some cases, their bare feet.

"Bye, Izza."

"Good…luck, Izza."

"Aye, give'em hell Miss,"

The others mumbled goodbyes. Pyrates were never very exceptional at goodbyes, unless it was at the end of a cutlass.

"Bye ye scurvy lot!"

Eliza smiled and winked as she climbed into the vehicle. She sat centered in the back seat. It was a curious contraption. Her father said it was the usual mode of transportation for Muggles. It felt like a cushy rowboat with a thick, hard canopy. It was quite a bit smaller than any of the cabins on The Defiant. There was a bit of a wall between her and the driver; who currently looked quite scared and mumbled to himself that no one was ever going to believe him. Captain Smythe leaned over to the window.

"Take her t' Kings Cross station, and make sure she gets inside safe. If I find out that ye mistreated her in anyway I, and my men, will hunt ye down and keel haul yeh. Am I clear?"

The driver gulped and nodded. Captain Smythe fumbled with the Muggle money he had taken out of Gringotts and dropped at least a hundred pounds into the hands of the cabby.

"That should be enough, I reckon."

The driver gulped again and nodded slowly, still not comprehending the entire situation.

"Bye luv. Be a good girl. Study hard."

She waved her hook, biting her lip. He nodded and stepped back from the car. The ragged bunch of seawizards watched her peer back through the rear window as the car sped away.

Kings Cross was a bit of a nightmare. The cabby had gotten her a trolley and put all her luggage on it, groaning at the weight of her chest. Scalawag swore to himself angrily. He had never been in a cage in his whole life. He was quite displeased with the idea of it. Eliza pushed the trolley through the crowds of people. The place was incredibly busy. Men, women and children were scurrying about trying to get to trains before they started to leave. Bags were being dragged, tossed and carted everywhere. It was like a mad house, worse than any port. Eliza had never been anywhere like it. True, The Defiant was somewhat close quarters for the two hundred men and women who crewed on it, but she had never felt stifled with the open air and the lapping ocean below. Here was a different story. Eliza felt as though she were drowning.

She looked at her ticket. Platform nine and three quarters. Muggle travel was such a weird thing, first that automobile sputtering loudly and jerking uneasily. The small enclosure almost made her sick. She had to open both windows just to breathe properly.

Now, these strange train things. They were like long silver serpents sliding across these little trails set on long skinny docks that lay across the land, certainly not powered by wind. Eliza didn't approve.

Before she realized it, she was standing between platforms nine and ten and looking at the barrier. Her father had instructed her that she was to walk directly though, since it was only an illusion to keep out muggles.

"Well, I guess this be it," she said to Scalawag, who ignored her out of spite.

She held her breath and pushed her trolley through the solid metal wall. Before her eyes was the astounding sight of the Hogwarts express, shining bright scarlet and billowing steam. Students were climbing into the train and saying goodbye to various size and shape wizards and witches. It reminded Eliza vaguely of the port at Ethereal Island. People always sobbing and going on, while their relatives waved little scarves from the rails of huge ships.

She loaded her luggage into the bottom of a compartment. She ruffled Scalawag's feathers and gave him a treat. This seemed to distract him from the fact she was setting him in the luggage compartment. She slung her leather satchel over her shoulder and draped her robe over her hook-arm. She looked to the clock and saw it was ten until eleven. She had just a few minutes before the train would leave. Enough time for a smoke. She pulled a hand-rolled black cigarette from a small gold case and put it to her lips. She lit a match on the bottom of her shoe. The cigarette flared and sweet smelling clove and tobacco smoke filled her senses.

Eliza had gained many bad habits from her association with the crew of The Defiant. Although her father had, at first, tried to stop her, he quickly realized that she'd never develop a good throaty pirate voice without first tearing up her vocal cords a bit. So, he taught her to roll her own cigarettes and how to pick a good cigar. She even developed a taste for quality rum. The whistle started to blow signaling the train would be leaving. Eliza stamped out her smoke and jogged over to the door. She hopped aboard at the very end of the train, standing momentary on the steps as the train left Kings Cross.

The English countryside passed by with increasing speed. Eliza had never seen this part of England before. Her ventures had only led her to various ports and surrounding seas. The rolling green hills looked like emerald waves, frozen in a constant storm. She breathed in deeply, missing the taste of salt in her senses.

After a few minutes she turned and began looking for a seat. Most of the compartments were full of noisy kids excitedly catching up with one another. She found one empty close to the back of the train. She slipped in and set her bag down. Immediately she emptied its contents onto the seat next to her. It took her only a moment to rip the Mary Jane's and the plain gray socks from her legs. Eliza would have no more of this stark uniform; it was time she fixed it to her liking. From the pile on the seat next to her she grabbed a pair of purple and black stripped stockings and pulled them on. They reached to the upper part of her thighs, where she anchored them with the claps from her garter belt.

Next, she pulled on her most favorite boots. They were dark black leather and came up to her knees. She took a moment to wipe off the gold buckles and straighten the large cuffs. Having solved her footwear problem, Eliza felt much better. But there was still the matter of where to put her wand. She scoured through the pile and found her best belt. It was well-polished, black, leather, and four inches thick. The buckle matched those of her boots. It was stunning.

She stood and slid the belt around her slender waist, loose enough that it slid diagonally down to her hips. Perfect. She found her wand. Her wand, she thought, really it was her mother's. She did not have a wand of her own until her mother died, may she rest in peace, as it wasn't customary on Ethereal to receive one's wand until the age of sixteen. It was a slender piece of white driftwood, seven and three sixteenths inches long. At the end it made a perfect curl. Inside were an ounce of twenty-four karat gold and a small sapphire from the last treasure of the lost continent of Atlantis. It had been a gift from her grandfather to her mother of age. Eliza now held it lovingly, remembering her mother, may she rest in peace. She slid the wand easily into the belt along her left side, making it easy to draw.

Her hair was a mess, she knew. It always was. She had never been sure exactly how long it was since it had a tendency to curl wildly around her head. Her bandana was on top of her pile of miscellaneous junk. It was white and red striped. Eliza tied it over the top of her head so that the stripes were diagonal and the small, black skull and cross bones on its front showed centered above her eyes.

The last thing to do was to adjust her uniform slightly. Her father had fixed the sleeves, but Eliza still was unhappy with the fitting of the vest and the skirt. She drew out her wand and tapped the vest, murmuring a tightening charm. The vest sucked into her body, outlining her curves perfectly. It wasn't her corset, but it would do. She tapped the skirt and shortened it by a few inches. Approving of her outfit, she draped the black colored robe loosely onto her body. She was ready.

She put her things back into her satchel and packed away the Mary Jane's and the knee high socks. She slung the bag back over her shoulder and walked out into the hallway. Eliza didn't have very many friends her own age, one to be precise, and only a handful that were even considered young, as she lived a very isolated life on a floating, enchanted pyrate ship. She was however, quite charming, like her father, and she didn't doubt that she'd be able to gain a few new companions on the journey to school.

She chose a compartment at random and threw open the door.

"Ahoy, there! Eliza Smythe, daughter of Captain Nathaniel Smythe, the Soothsayin' Hooligan and pyrate on th' ship Defiant. I be lookin' for a few good mates. If ye decline my offer o' friendship, I'll cut yer throat!" Eliza smiled broadly as the sun glinted off of her shiny hook.

***

Eliza stood lethargic in the center of the Great Hall. Some scurvy looking hat was singing about lions, snakes, badgers and eagles, oh my. There had formed an empty circle around her since the train ride into Hogsmeade. It was not just her wild aura that parted crowds much the same way as her father's, but she seemed to have made some sort of wrong impression on the train. Eliza had forgotten how delicate most landlubbers were, wizard and Muggle alike. Honestly, if she had meant any of the death threats she would have handed out pieces of paper with black spots on them like business cards. Really, they cried far too easily.

Various first years were being dragged up front and made to wear the singing hat. It was yelling out house names and sending them off to one of the four long tables to either side. She noted the various cheering from the tables as children joined them. There were actually quite a few new students who were older. Many of the smaller schools abroad were sending them off to the larger schools on the main lands where they would be safer, something about dark wizards roving about starting wars and whatnot. She realized that her name was being called.

"Smythe? Please come forward," the witch who had greeted them at the entrance of the castle said curtly.

Eliza stalked up to the front with an air of confidence, all eyes on her. Many faces had curious expressions. Many were ready to burst into tears again. She sat on the stool and allowed the sorting hat, as they called it, to be placed on her tangled mane.

"My, you are an odd one aren't you? Slytherin would feel like home…there are many there that could be called…cutthroat. But you're not bad…no…but… not good either. Very brave, you don't seem to have much to fear…there is a thread of ruthlessness in you, I can see that very plain…"

"Get on with it, hat."

"A bit testy aren't we? But it's obvious that your strongest points are your wit and your curious mind, cunning as it may be…RAVENCLAW!"

There was mixed reaction from the Ravenclaw table. Most cheered and clapped, but several exchanged worried glances. Well, she did have a hook.

Eliza sat down at the Ravenclaw table, winked and smiled at her new housemates. She turned to watch the rest of the sorting, feeling perhaps that she was being rude letting her attention wander before. The rest of the first years and transfer students were sorted and they took their places at the various tables. The tall old man with a pointy hat stood up and spoke. Eliza guessed that this was the Headmaster her father had told her about. He sounded quite nice; his tone was very serious and spoke with wisdom.

He raised his hands and said at last, "Let the feast begin!"

At this, the tables were instantly filled with the most glorious looking meal Eliza had seen. Dinners at her grandfather's had been very formal and large indeed, but none compared to this. Cheers rang out amongst the house tables. All of the students began heaping their plates with the delicious looking items. Eliza joined in; she realized that she was quite hungry.

After a few moments of hurried eating, conversations began. At first, many of the Ravenclaws were timid to talk to Eliza, probably because she was stabbing things with her hook. Then out of the blue, Lisa Turpin, another sixth year turned to Eliza and spoke.

"I didn't know pirates still existed. I thought it was all just, you know, legendary," Lisa said with intrigue.

"Well, muggle pirates aren't very common any more, but wizard pyrates," she said as though she could pronounce the spelling difference, "that's a different story. There be fleets of 'em. Ye ever hear of Peter Pan and Captain Hook?" Eliza ventured.

"Yeah, but that's just a kids' story isn't it?" a boy named Stephen Cornfoot blurted out.

"Th' hell it be! I've met Hook before, yeh know. Peter Pan be a wizard, he just figured it all out quite early. Born to some Muggles somewhere in England, he decided to take off, see what th' world was like. Met up with a faerie and found his way to Neverland. Time runs sort of funny there…not too far from the Ethereal Islands, only about a week's voyage."

"Get out! That's amazing!" Stephen's jaw hung open.

"Hook's a strange one though, can't figure out why he sticks around that place, chasing after the lost boys. He's a bit funny about clocks too. Nice hook though, beautifully handcrafted. Don't get hooks like that anymore…" She eyed hers indifferently. The rest of the group eyed it with new enthusiasm.

The rest of the meal passed pleasantly. Eliza was caught up in many conversations at once. She was answering questions about the Ethereal Islands, and life on The Defiant, and asking questions of the other students. Their lives have been so different from her own. Some were even brought up in Muggle homes. She discussed with them the lack of merits of the automobile.

At the end of the feast the plates magically disappeared and some older students began calling out orders. Some fellow claimed he was perfect and wanted all the Ravenclaws to follow him. Eliza thought that was a little smug, he was handsome and all, but to say your perfect? That's a bit much. The rest of the house didn't seem to mind and got up noisily and followed. The journey from the Great Hall to the Ravenclaw common room awestruck Eliza. All of the paintings were moving and talking, greeting the new students. She had never seen so many in one place. Staircases were shifting at random, stranding several first years at various places. The décor was so medieval it was fantastic. At last the perfect fellow stopped at a statue of a knight, who greeted him warmly.

"The password is Featherlite." The boy said loudly so that all could hear.

At this, the Knight stepped aside to reveal a comfortable, calm blue room. The fireplaces were as large as Eliza's cabin and blazed with roaring fires. The girls were sent up the staircase on the left, while the boys were all sent to the right. Eliza had never lived with so many other girls. There were witches on the ship, of course, and the cooks and all, a few pyrates, but not many. This would be quite an experience. She was ushered into a sixth year girl's dormitory where her things were already waiting.

Scalawag was flipping out, cursing at her and throwing insults. She undid his cage and he darted out like a lime comet. After circling around the ceiling of the room several times he finally landed on her shoulder.

"Are ye finished?"

"Aye!" he whistled.

"Want a treat?"

"Aye! Squawk!" He danced on his feet again, with excitement.

Eliza dug out the leather sack from her side satchel and gave the cooing bird a treat. The other girls were coming in now and they welcomed her. Most of them had been here for the past five years and knew each other. Mandy Brocklehurst, Lisa Turpin, Padma Patil and Sally-Anne Perks all shook hands with her and showed her around the dormitory. Eliza wanted to unpack, but she felt exhausted and knew there would be time tomorrow. She changed into her nightshirt and slid into the thick covers of the four-poster bed that was easily double the size of her own small bedding on the ship. She drew the curtains and laid her head down. Tomorrow would add to her new experiences, but for now drifting off to her dreams and memories would keep her content.

Chapter 4
A Pyrate's Life

Eliza woke abruptly, screaming, "I'll cut yer liver out!"

"Calm down Eliza! It's just me, Lisa." The short blonde said, slightly shocked. She had been shaking Eliza gently to wake her up for breakfast.

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Where's th' grub?"

Lisa laughed and took her clothes with her to the bathroom. Eliza followed, still trying to get her bearings. She had been dreaming of a sea voyage and was slightly alarmed when she woke to find herself at Hogwarts. The dorm room still was very unfamiliar. She showered quickly and dressed in the same manner as the day before. Her purple and black striped tights caused a bit of a commotion with the other girls.

"I don't think you can wear those, can you?" Mandy said as she slipped her vest on.

"Why not? No holes in 'em," Eliza said, not understanding the intention of Mandy's question, as she put her belt on.

Padma was in the dormitory arguing with Scalawag when Eliza came out of the bathroom.

"Well! You have a foul mouth don't you! Honestly, if you weren't a bird I'd slap you!"

"Arrh! Slap ye! Ahoy, Izza! Arrh! Squawk!"

"Ahoy, Scalawag. Sleep well?" The parrot whistled and flew to perch on her shoulder. "Sorry, Padma, Scalawag has no manners. Do ye, yeh louse?"

Scalawag whistled.

Padma gathered her bag and waited for Eliza to do the same so they could walk down to the Great Hall for breakfast. The large room was slowly filling with sleepy students. Eliza sat across from Padma and Stewart Ackerly, a quiet third year. She tore a chunk of bread and ate quietly, still mostly asleep. She tried to recall all of the things her mother had told her about her own schooling when she was young, her mother's memory gave her a vague notion of what to expect of this place.

The first day of classes passed without much trouble. She had gone to Herbology with the Slytherins, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Gryffindor and History of Magic with Hufflepuff. Madam Sprout reminded her of her grandmother and only reprimanded her slightly for telling Millicent Bulstrode that she was going to carve her eyes out with a spoon. Well, she was insulting her favorite bandana, after all. The Defense professor was some refined witch by the name of Emmeline Vance, quite keen on sigils. Eliza was surprised to find the professor of History of Magic was, in fact, a ghost. A boring old daft as well. Eliza spent the time polishing her hook. The Hufflepuffs looked uneasy.

She was just finishing her dinner and speaking to Orla Quirke on the finer points of swashbuckling when Cho Chang, a seventh year sat down next to her.

"Hello Eliza, I'm Cho. I'm Head Girl and I was so busy yesterday that I didn't get a chance to meet you." The girl held out her hand to shake.

Eliza liked her instantly. Her smile was trustworthy and her voice was songbirds. Eliza took her hand and shook it aggressively.

"Ahoy, Cho. No idea what the hell ye be talkin' about with that head girl business, o' course there was some fellow sayin' he was perfect last night. Nice to know our house be confident. Arrh!"

Cho tossed her head back and laughed. "Eliza, you're so silly! Head Girl and Boy are the student leaders for the year. Each house has six prefects, who are fifth, sixth and seventh year students. They help us run the student body and enforce the school rules. One of the Ravenclaw prefects is Anthony Goldstein. That's probably who you're talking about. I'm sure you met him in some of your classes today. Padma is one too." She smiled over to the Indian girl.

"Oh, right. That Goldstein fellow's a prefect. That makes more sense I suppose. Head Girl be the captain and the prefects are the mates?" Eliza smiled, the hierarchy of the student body clicked into place in her head. "Ye may call me Izza if yeh like, it be a nickname from the crew. That goes for the lot of yeh." Eliza pointed her hook around at the table with a furrowed brow. The other Ravenclaws smiled and shook their heads. Most of the things Eliza said in the last day had come off like a threat, but it was just her way.

"Well, if there is anything you need Izza, feel free to ask." Cho smiled, stood and left the Great Hall with a tall blue-haired fellow Eliza recognized to be Zack Hunter, a transfer student from Brazil. He was also in Ravenclaw, but seemed quite preoccupied by female population of Gryffindor to stay and chat. Eliza soon followed with Padma and Lisa back to the common room.

She decided that the rest of the evening should be spent unpacking and making her surroundings more familiar. She climbed the stairs to the dormitory alone, the other girls remained in the common room chatting. Eliza opened her chest and pulled out several of the clothing items, placing them in drawers and hanging them up. She had brought a few hats along, just in case, one never knew when you would need a good hat. One was a well plumed tri-corner hat that looked a lot like her father's, another was a French musketeer hat she had picked up on her travels. It was pinned up on the right side, not that Eliza did much in the way of archery, but it was still a nice style. She set both hats on the tops of the bedposts and continued pulling out items. She placed the picture of her parents on the dresser and her other personal items along side it. There was jewelry, school supplies, letters and a few decorative boxes here and there. Several rarities she had gathered on miscellaneous islands or ports. Her favorites were a few small ivory carvings of merfolk she had traded a pair of earrings for in the port of Yokohama.

Lastly, she took out a large Jolly Rodger with the symbol of The Defiant on it. It was a gift from the crew to send her on her way. The laughing skull looked around and winked at Eliza. She pinned the flag up on the wall behind her bed. It made a nice addition to the headboard. With the Jolly Rodger in place, and her things scattered about her area, she felt much better about calling Hogwarts her home away from home. Mandy came through the door of the dormitory and let out a stifled scream. The laughing skull stuck its tongue out at her.

"Izza! That thing scared me half to death." Mandy sat down on her bed and looked around at Eliza's things. "What is it?"

"Oh, it be the flag from my father's ship. The crew all signed it for me on the back. Buncha softies at heart." Eliza smiled and shook her head. Thinking of the last time she saw her father, she was astonished that it was only yesterday morning, it felt like ages.

"Well. It's quite interesting… Is that a picture of your parents? May I see?" Mandy inquired.

"Aye. Here ye go." Eliza took the frame and passed it to Mandy.

"She's very beautiful. You look a lot like both of them. Are they standing on your ship?"

"Aye, that they be."

"Izza, why are you here? I mean, you came to school so late, why didn't you just finish school where you were?" Mandy asked, handing the photo back to Eliza.

Lisa, Padma and Sally-Anne were walking into the room as Eliza started to speak. They sat down on their beds, listening quietly with genuine interest. Eliza sat on the top of her chest, holding the picture of her laughing mother and wistful father.

"I were born on th' Defiant, my father's ship. I never intended to leave it. Some things change though. My mother taught me, day in and day out from th' time I were five years old. I learned th' art of magic under her careful watch," she paused and stroked the photo with her fingers. "My father has made many enemies over his lifetime. Thar be seawizards who would see him dead in an instant, not without cause mind you, my father be a pyrate, and that name doesn't come without warranted connotations. However, thar are those pyrates who are cruel beyond… beyond." She waved her hand, trying to emphasize a point for which she didn't have a word. "He knew that Mephisto Munroe, the villain-" she hissed his name with thick venom, "-were after him. We all knew. But time passed, and thar were no attack. We thought…everyone thought that he had given up th' chase. We had taken port on a small island in th' Caribbean. We stayed almost a month, gatherin' supplies and givin' th' crew leave. Th' night before we were to shove off…my mother, may she rest in peace, went for a walk along th' shore, she always loved th' feel of sand beneath her feet." There was a pause; Eliza mustered the mental strength to finish. "She…she never returned. We waited days, my father and his crew tore up th' village…searching… on the third night a small row boat glided towards the side of th' Defiant." Eliza stopped speaking now, and only remembered.

The rowboat gently rubbed against the side of the ship, wood scrapping wood. Eliza heard the crew screaming and crying out. She walked slowly forward, unable to stop her feet from carrying her closer to the sight she new would rip her up. Her hand crawled along the rail, holding her upright.

"Eliza! No! Don't look!" One of the crew tried to restrain her, sickening distress filling his expression.

She tore through his arms and leaned over the rail. She could hear screaming, ear piercing and full of pain, it was ceaseless. Her mother's body lay lifeless and bloodied. Not even set in the boat with respect, just tossed inside and sent to be found. Her dark hair was matted with her own blood. The white robes were marred, stained dark. Her body was broken. Eliza realized the screaming was her own, uncontrolled and unyielding. Her father was at her side now, trying to shield her away from the lifeless form of the women he loved so deeply.

"My mother were inside." Her voice came quietly. "She were murdered… tortured." There were no tears now, only venom.

"She were my Mother! MY MOTHER!" she pounded her fist uncontrollably onto the table.

"AND I AM YER FATHER!" His face, red with anger, red with fear.

"I want to see him die, I want to see him in as much pain-"

"No."

"No? No!? How can ye say that? How can ye send me away? I deserve to fight along side ye. I NEED TO!"

"No," he was firm, but not angry. "I be th' reason yer mother is dead. It be me he were after. I will not have yer blood stainin' my decks as well. Thar be no discussion about this, Eliza. Yer too young, and too much of a target. I won't have ye near."

She sobbed bitterly and sunk into the chair.

"Where will I go? To grandfather's?"

"No, Munroe knows where the Count and Countess are and that it be likely to send ye there. He'll be watching all of the Ethereal Islands. I'm sending ye to England. To school. Yer other grandfather retired in London many years before ye were born. He has since died, but I still have many friends thar. Yer mother would have wanted ye to finish yer learnin'. Become a full-fledged witch just like her. School in th' Americas is out of the question. He'd look for ye thar as well, and thar not as well protected. I've made arrangements with th' Headmaster at Hogwarts. th' Defiant is already heading toward the English coast."

"And I don't have a say in it?"

"The decision has been made. I need to know that ye are safe before I go after Munroe. I don't know how long it will be. Ye won't leave England until I come for yeh. I will give ye contacts of those whom I trust in London so that ye can spend the summer holidays with them, if thar be a need. I suspect thar will be."

Eliza sat defeated.

"My father is huntin' down Munroe. He didn't want me to be a target for Munroe to use against him. So he sent me here." She sighed. "Perhaps for good. I don't know when I will see him again. I don't know if he'll ever write, being afraid to disclose my location or his own…I hope he tears that vile creature limb from limb. I want to see him hung, strugglin' against unforgivin' rope for breath! Thar ain't a night that I don't envision him screamin' for mercy." Eliza's voice was so filled with hate it chilled the room.

Lisa walked over to Eliza and put her arms around her. She spoke softly, "Oh, Izza. I'm so sorry."

The other girls slid forward and did the same. She found their affection eased the pain and cooled her anger. The group embrace was so very foreign to her, knowing little feminine touch besides her mother and grandmother.

"It be alright. Thank ye." The girls loosened their hold on their new roommate, their new friend.

"Ahoy, Izza! Scalawag will rip his throat out! Squawk!" The parrot whistled, bobbing his head. Eliza and the others burst into laughter.

"Aye, Scalawag, ye'll get your chance some day, and be a huge hero!" More laughter.

"Izza? Can I…Can I try on your hat?" Mandy asked, furthering the lightened mood.

"Arrr…go a head," Eliza grinned as Mandy stood and plucked the musketeer hat from the bed.

The rest of the evening was spent in good humor as the girls got to know Eliza Smythe and shared with her their own histories.

***

In the morning, Eliza rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a loud thud. Her head felt as though she had poured a bottle of rum down her throat the night before. She cursed violently before pushing herself to her feet. Lisa just looked at her, shaking her head.

"You, my dear, are not a morning person."

"Be it that easy to tell?" Eliza proceeded to get ready, grumbling to herself another myriad of obscenities.

Today, she had Care of Magical Creatures, Potions and Transfiguration. She was actually looking forward to it. She knew Hagrid would be teaching Care of Magical Creatures, a subject that she loved. Well, sea creatures anyway. Potions was one of her favorite subjects as well. Her grandmother was the island guru of special brews. On the occasions they would visit, Eliza would sit for hours watching the Countess in her kitchen, preparing bottles of potions to send along with the ship. Transfiguration sparked her interest, regardless of the stern faced professor she new would be teaching it.

"Ugg. Potions. At least we're still with Hufflepuff," Sally-Anne said with distain.

Eliza barely swallowed her toast before she spoke, "What be so bad about potions?"

"Well, it's not the subject. Just that it's with Professor Snape. He's dreadful and spiteful. He hates everyone except for the Slytherins and is always unfair."

Eliza waved off the comment; she had dealt with all sorts of personalities on The Defiant. Butting heads with an arrogant git wouldn't be anything new. They finished their meals and headed outside to meet Hagrid at his cottage. The students talked excitedly, wondering what crazy animal Hagrid would bring out today. Most of the Ravenclaws seemed to treat this subject with a bit of jest and Eliza was unsure as to why. The Hufflepuffs, however, were cheerful and optimistic.

The giant man walked up from over the hill, calling to the class to follow him back down to the lake. The students were surprised, expecting him to emerge from his cabin. Once they reached the lakeshore they were greeted with a snort from an odd looking creature, playfully lying in the water. It had the head of a horse and beautiful sea foam color mane dripping with water. Its forelegs were strong and shaped like the front legs of a horse, but ended in webbed paws. Its body curled into that of fish, a blend of scales and horsehair. It snorted again, kicking water up toward where Hagrid was standing.

"This is a Hippocampus. It is half horse and half fish. It is said that mighty Neptune uses one of these as his steed. Th' merfolk often domesticate them and use them as workhorses, so ta speak. Now, the important thing to remember with the Hippocampus is that it has the ability to alter yer mood if yeh get close enough. Yeh don't want to alarm it or cause it to mistrust yeh, much like it's cousin the Hippogryph. But unlike its cousin, the Hippocampus won't attack, but it will set off your panic button and we'll have to be pulling yeh out of a tree. Ha! Ha! Alrigh' don't be shy, pull up your robes and take off yer shoes. Th' water is a bit cold."

Many of the class took off their shoes reluctantly, looking into each other's faces to decide how they felt about this lesson. Eliza however had tossed her robe aside and was hopping on one foot trying to get both boots off simultaneously. She ran into the water, her socks still on.

"Alright Eliza? Good to see yer fittin' in with your classes."

"Ahoy Hagrid! Wonderful lesson! I just luv hippocampus."

She kneeled, soaking the bottom of her skirt, to pet the beast. It responded warmly to her and nuzzled against her hand. Eliza immediately felt elated. The hippocampus, having decided she wasn't a threat, filled her with jovial emotion. The other students now wandered into the water, grimacing at its icy feel. The rest of the class was spent learning how to feed the hippocampus. Hagrid told them that they would be focusing on the lake creatures this year. Eliza was very happy with this, she knew how to handle water animals.

The class wandered back to the castle. Hagrid had let them go a few minutes early so they didn't worry about rushing to the Potions classroom. They stopped off at the dormitory to pick up their cauldrons and ingredients. The girls lead the way down to the dungeons. The dank air made Eliza think back to exploring the bottom of the ship's holds when she was younger. The classroom looked like a classic horror flick, it perfectly reflected the professor who sat at in a desk at the front. Most of the students suddenly became interested in their shoes or the contents of their notebooks. No conversations were carried out. Eliza sat next to a girl named Hannah Abbott, she was a Hufflepuff. Hannah looked mortified.

Snape started the lesson at precisely the correct time. He strutted about the room, listing off ingredients and their importance. Several of the students looked flustered with the speed at which he directed. At long last he sat with distain and bid them to work on their potion. Eliza began preparing her ingredients. They were making a simple lightening potion. A few sips and the drinker would become almost as light as a feather. Hannah looked perplexed. Eliza continued working meticulously. The work calmed her and she thought of her grandmother again.

"Miss Smythe, I don't believe I told you to mutilate those moth wings," Snape hissed from his desk, eyeing Eliza's work.

"Sir, by mashing them thoroughly the effect of the potion will be extended by at least five minutes," Eliza said simply and continued her work without even looking up.

Snape clenched his teeth. "Do as you're told, Miss Smythe. Cutting them will suffice for our use." He was angry, but the emotion was lost on Eliza, who dropped what was left of the wings into her cauldron. In her head she was humming a low deep song her grandmother used to sing while she worked. It was enough to even block out the fact Snape was striping the Ravenclaws of five points for her attitude.

The afternoon drifted into view, and Eliza found herself sitting in the transfiguration classroom. She sat in the back of the room, Lisa Turpin took the chair on her right. The rest of the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins entered and took their seats. On her left was a pair of sneering boys. She recognized the pointy blonde one from her shopping day at Diagon Ally. He glanced in her direction. She met his cold, gray glare with a cryptic smile. They still had several minutes before the class would start. Lisa was discussing an Arthimancy assignment with Padma who sat in front of her. Millicent Bulstrode walked in and shot daggers at Eliza. Eliza hoped she dreamed of spoons.

She took out her transfiguration book and began reading through it. She wasn't sure how much she had learned compared to the other students. She knew Professor McGonagall would not let her off easy for not having been in school before. She focused on the words, some of which were quite familiar. To her left a growing voice became apparent.

"…Honestly, that Muggle-lover will let anyone in this school. She looks like a vagabond. Like common trash. How disgracing! Gods, look at her legs, what tart wears striped tights-"

His words were cut short by an unmistakable feel of a cold steel point tugging on his Adam's apple. Draco chanced a look down, his fears realized. Eliza's left arm was extended, her hook crossed his neck. He shifted his eyes along her arm. She hadn't even moved, her face was still looking in the transfiguration text, her other hand casually leafing through pages, her eyes scanning the words.

"Ever heard of the phrase…Cut…throat?" She said, checking Draco's expression in the corner of her eye, as the words registered. "Vagabond's have no home. I have, its called Th' Defiant. I believe I have made my…point." She accented the last word with a slight tug. Draco held back a gulp.

"Miss Smythe! Release Mr. Malfoy! I will not tolerate this behavior in my classroom! Detention and five points from Ravenclaw. You are going to have to learn there are rules here, I suggest you learn them." Professor McGonagall's voice came sharply.

Eliza withdrew her arm and continued reading.

"Malfoy, I wouldn't cross Izza. I heard she once killed seven men in a single afternoon…and Professor McGonagall may not be there next time to save you," Padma whispered to the sulking pale thing. She winked at Eliza. And this was how her relationship was established with Draco Malfoy.

Chapter 5
Of Ships and Scars

"ELIZA SMYTHE!"

The commotion in the Ravenclaw common room ceased. Several of the younger students tried to look uninvolved. John Huddas, a first year, suddenly became interested in the upholstery of an armchair. Eliza, on the other hand, was hanging from the chandelier by her hook with a dagger in her teeth and her wand in her free hand, her only hand, rather. The only sound in the room was the swaying tension of the chandelier chain, rocking back and forth. Everything else was still. From the waist down it was reminiscent of the gallows. This, by the look on Professor Flitwick's face, was quite accurate.

She slowly brought her hand up and took the dagger from her mouth, wiping the spit off onto her robes.

"What?"

Professor Flitwick was furious. "What are you doing?!"

Eliza considered her answer for a moment. From this vantage point Professor Flitwick looked as though he were a miniature, although she could tell that his anger was not. His hair looked even whiter next to his red skin.

"Arrh…I be showin' some of the first years how to properly board a ship-"

"GET DOWN IMMEDIATELY!" He was quite beside himself with uncharacteristic behavior.

Eliza reached up to detach her hook from the bronze light fixture and dropped to the floor.

"Give me that dagger!"

Reluctantly she handed it over.

"Do you have any more weapons?"

"No," she lied, knowing full well she had her mother's cutlass as well as her own stowed away upstairs.

"Detention! We do not board ships here Miss Smythe, and we do not swing from chandeliers and we most certainly do not run around with daggers. Now I've forgotten why I came in here." Professor Flitwick looked around the common room and shook his head before he turned on his heals and scampered off through the door.

Eliza seemed to be unshaken, and pulled out another dagger from her other boot.

"Well, that's two this week. As I were sayin'…"

***

"Ship? What ship?"

Lisa and Padma looked over to Eliza who had joined the conversation late. They giggled uncontrollably.

"We were talking about who we thought Harry would end up with." Padma pointed over to the Gryffindor table where a dark, messy haired boy was eating lunch. On his side was a bushy haired brunette who was reading a thick book. Next to her was a noisy red head who was shouting to the table about some broomstick game. "Lisa thinks he's in love with Hermione, the girl next to him. I say she'll end up with Ron, after all, they've been playing cat and mouse for years."

"Padma says she thinks that Harry's not who he seems, and is really heartbroken over Malfoy," Lisa teased.

"Who? That pale scurvy thing?" Eliza asked, feeding her parrot a bit of her lunch.

"Scurvy! Squawk!"

"Most of the seventh year Ravenclaws think that he'll go after Cho again since things were left very unresolved between the two. I don't think it will ever happen though," Sally-Anne added, practically whispering.

"I still say Ginny Weasley is going to pounce on him one of these days, and he'll be too shocked to say no," Mandy piped in.

"Ginny? Oh, come on, can't you just see him writhing under Draco's glare? How tragic it is, to love your enemy," Padma finished, overdramatically, and then laughed with the rest of the girls. "Come on Izza, aren't you the slightest bit interested in a bit of gossip? In stolen moments? In torrid trysts? In epic love affairs?"

"Yeah what about you, Izza? Fancy anyone?"

"Yeah, Izza, who've you, got your hook on?" Lisa couldn't help herself, they all giggled.

Eliza stood, throwing back her chair, true to pyrate fashion. She drove her fist into the air and said, to no one in particular, "Harrh! A pyrate's only love be the unforgiving sea!"

She took her seat and continued eating her lunch, not noticing the silence she had caused. She still didn't have any idea what all this had to do with ships. Well, perhaps she did see how love could be associated with sea-fairing crafts.

Between mouthfuls she continued, "'Sides, I 'spect one day my ship'll be boarded by a dark and cruel scoundrel. He'll take me prisoner and maroon my crew, leaving them for dead. We'll fall madly in love and get married." She took another bite. Yet again there was silence. She looked over to the other girls who gave her puzzled stares. "What? How'd yer parents meet?"

All five of them burst into laughter again.

At the end of lunch Padma grabbed Eliza's arm and pulled her over towards the Gryffindor's table.

"I wanted you to meet my sister. I know we've had classes with her, but I don't think you've ever been introduced. Parvati! Over here!" The girls approached a group of sixth year Gryffindors, including the ones they were all gossiping about previously. Eliza's gaze met that of a girl who looked exactly like Padma. They smiled the same smile to each other and spoke with the same voice. Twins were weird.

"Hi Padma. So this is the famous Eliza Smythe, a real cutthroat I hear. At least to certain Slytherins," Parvati said, laughing a bit and holding out her hand for Eliza to shake.

"Ahoy, Parvati. Good to meet ye."

"This is Lavendar Brown, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter. I think we all have Charms together next."

Eliza shook all of their hands, rendering pyratey greetings to all of them.

"Not bad, that." Eliza tapped Harry's lighting bolt scar with the curl of steel. "How'd ye manage it?"

Harry was a little dumbfounded, but the look of genuine curiosity registered on Eliza's face, and he realized it wasn't a joke.

"Well, um…When I was a baby, my parents were killed by Lord Voldemort when he tried to kill me, but it backfired and sort of ended up destroying him and leaving me this scar. Unfortunately, he's back now, and wreaking havoc on the wizarding world." He seemed a bit annoyed at having to repeat the story.

"Oh. Well. Bad sort this Voldemort fellow then? I imagine it was some sort of revenge thing. That happens." A quick shadow flashed on her features before she lit up. "I'll show ye a good scar! HA!" She stepped her right leg up onto the bench at the Gryffindor table. She pulled down one of her striped thigh-highs to reveal one darkly tanned upper leg. Across its entire length was a jagged thick scar. Several of the crowd gulped, some at the sight of the scar, some at the sight of the upper thigh so willingly showed.

"Now, that…be a good scar! There I was, a tot of only five years…not a care in the world. I was just running along after my grandfather, the Count Ethereal, down the city market. My mother and I were stayin' for a week while my father was off on some…business. Ah, but they had it all planned out, those scoundrels…Dark Derek, the Savage Sage, who had previously thwarted my father, hired men to kidnap me and my mother and hold us as ransom. I, in my innocence, knew nothin' of these things and played outside of the shop door, waitin' for my grandfather to reemerge. When suddenly, my world were utter blackness! Someone, or some ones," she said with a suspicious growl, "had thrown a thick canvas bag o'er my body and thrown me o'er their shoulders. I were taken briskly away. Th' next thing I knew I were tied to a mast with my mother. She were tellin' me that it would be all right and that my father would be here soon to fetch us. Dark Derek was laughin', he thought victory were already his. HA!"

At this, Eliza stepped both feet onto the bench and stood, her hands flying about to visualize the story. "But then days went by and thar were no word from my father, no pleadin' letters to allow his kin to live. Derek became angry and frustrated. He took his desperation out on my mother. Beatin' her savagely. 'Ye must be a useless whore if he ain't come for ye by now!' He screamed at her." She mimicked a deep throaty pyrate voice and than her own mother's, "She smiled and said, 'the fact that he has not given into a man like you, only makes me love him more.' And then she spat in his face! HA! Gods love my mother! May she rest in peace." She paused for a moment, the green blur on her shoulder, desperately trying to hang on during her avid storytelling whistled.

"Squawk! Peace!"

"Finally the hour came when Dark Derek's ultimatum were up." This was bringing her to the climax of the whole event; she climbed onto the table top, drawing a larger crowd. "No sign of my father and The Defiant. Derek cut me loose and dragged me over to the rail of the main deck by wand point. My mother screamed to take her first instead, but Derek had tuned her out. He threw me onto the plank. I clung to it, fifty feet in the air, above the choppy water." Her eyes and hand sank down and pointed at the floor, the crowd's eyes followed as if they could see the water licking the feet of the table.

Her face suddenly rose, "Derek turned on one of his own, slashing their throat." The gesture was self-explanatory. "He really was savage. He threw the body into the water just past me. I could still see the look of incomprehension on the face of the seawizard. Dark Derek wanted to draw the sharks, and he had no qualms using his own men's blood to do so. He cast Imperius, forcing me to stand and walk to the edge of the plank. He was laughing; I'll never forget that sound. I could still hear my mother screaming, cursing him, and trying to make him angry to turn on her. He did, briefly, only to knock her unconscious. And then he turned back to me, eyes raging, mouth foaming. He bid me take one final step. And that was it. I was falling through the air with incredible speed. The water filling my vision ever quicker. I hit the surface like it were brick." Eliza slapped her hook into her right hand, a demonstration of her flailing young body slapping against the water waves. There was a gasp among the crowd, a few shudders and murmured worry.

"The force knocked the wind from my chest. Then I began to sink. My arms were still bound behind me, there was nothing I could do but sink into the watery depth. I opened my eyes, I still can feel the stinging of the salt. And there before me was and glinting rows of sharp teeth. The blood of the dead seawizard had done its job well. I screamed into the water, the cold fluid choked me. The shark dived at me, gripping my kicking legs. I watched helplessly as my blood stained the ocean. He backed away for another charge. All my fear and all my rage culminated, and there, under the velvet ocean is when I discovered that I were gifted with magic, like my parents. Without any explanation, the ropes around my hand and hook had disappeared. I held them out before me, with no other defense to hold off the ensuing attack. The great fish darted towards me with deadly speed…then!" The entire audience was so drawn into the tale, eyes bugging out. The dramatic pause was not wasted on Eliza, she knew how to hold suspense.

"THEN! He just stopped, frozen in the water. I held him in place, my sheer will enough to bind him. He sank, having stopped swimming, his body lost its buoyancy." She dropped to her knees on the table, acting a drowning shark. She paused with her eyes closed and then violently jumped up. "I kicked my way to surface, my right leg barely attached. The light drawing me up. Breath filling my lungs as though I had never known what it was like to breathe before. As quickly as I emerged from the depths was I raised into the air by an unseeing force. I recognized the ship before me, it was The Defiant. My father were attacking Dark Derek. There were a fierce battle raging. I tried to stay conscience, I tried to look for the face of my father, but the loss of blood and the lack of oxygen caused me to black out." Again, she sank to her knees, hand over her eyes. She whipped it away quickly. "When I woke, I found I was in my bed, the wound had been hastily mended by the ship's cook, a mildly talented witch. The fight had been won. Dark Derek's piercing laugh had been silenced forever. My mother was safe, recovering in her own cabin."

With that, Eliza clutched at something in her belt and pulled out a long necklace of shark's teeth. Standing, she said, "This, THIS, is all that is left of the dastardly beast that gave me this scar." She raised the edge of her skirt again to show off the flawed flesh. In a quick movement she had replaced the necklace and jumped back on to the bench, turned to the table, stabbed an apple with her hook and turned again on the crowd. They were so shocked by the whole event they were paralyzed. Even when she swung her hook out in front of her they were too afraid to duck, regardless of the overwhelming urge to do so.

"AVAST YE, BRUTE!"

A seventh year Slytherin who had a resemblance to that of an ox, stopped instinctively, subconsciously knowing the meaning of her call. She tossed her satchel of books at him, which he caught and hung on to.

"Charms classroom now!" Without even pulling up her stocking, she leapt onto his back as though he were a horse and wrapped her arm around his great neck. She took a loud bite from her apple and looked back at the gasping audience.

"Yer story tellin' could use a little work there, Harry." She laughed and winked and began singing, "Ooooh… I am the cook and the Captain bold and mate of the Nancy Brrrrig! Har aarh!" The Slytherin walked out of the great hall as though he didn't even notice the intrusion on his back.

"My, she is quite…bold, isn't she?" Hermione said, clutching her texts to her chest.

"That's not the word I would have used," Ron responded.

Padma and Parvati shared a knowing glance, unseen by anyone.

Chapter 6
Athens

"Honestly, it's not like ship boarding ain't a good thing to know. I were just trying to be helpful," Eliza mumbled under her breath as she scrubbed the stone tiles.

Earlier in the day as she prepared to leave the Charms classroom, Professor Flitwick stopped her. He brushed his tuft of platinum hair back, looked up and in a sympathetic tone told her to report to Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to serve out her detentions from the previous week.

"Miss Smythe, I do hope that in the future you won't continue this behavior. Threatening young Malfoy is one thing, but I can't have my entire house swinging from the rafters. Do try and understand." He had told her.

"Understand…understand! Ha! That scurvy kid deserved a bit of fright…callin' me a vagabond…"

Peeves, the resident ghoulish prankster, had thought it would be funny to take a ton of food from the kitchens and do some artwork on the floor of one of the halls on the second floor. Eliza had been ordered to serve out both of her detentions with an evenings worth of deck swabbing. Well, stone swabbing really. The mess was thick and sticky. Peeves had done a pretty good job of being destructive. Filch had told her that she couldn't use magic so she was on her hands and knees with a bristly hand brush and a bucket of soapy water, scraping gunk out of the grout with her hook. It was nine o'clock and the castle had quieted down, most of the students retreated to the dormitories to finish their work and get ready for bed. Eliza stood and surveyed the area.

The floor was immaculate. It had better be, Eliza had been at this for three hours. She sighed and tossed the brush into the bucket. She had memorized the crevasses of the cold stone floor, but hadn't even noticed the hall she was in. She looked around briefly, taking a moment to get feeling back into her legs. It seemed like it was some sort of historic wing. Several plaques and paintings were on the wall displaying the founders of Hogwarts. Eliza had learned quite a bit about Rowena Ravenclaw from her housemates, but really didn't know a lot about the others. As she read one of the plaques below a painting of Helga Hufflepuff, she noticed a chilling breeze next to her.

"Interesting witch, that one was."

Eliza turned to find she was looking at, and through, The Gray Lady, the Ravenclaw ghost. She was tall and very, very thin. She looked even pale for a ghost.

"Good evenin', Ma'am."

"G'evening, Eliza Smythe," The Gray Lady returned her greeting in a thick Scottish accent.

They wandered about the hall together, an odd match. Eliza had changed into some scrubby work clothes. She had on some gray pants, cut short at the calves, which were host to several holes. Her top was a large, tan tunic shirt, which Eliza left untied so it fell around her left shoulder, exposing her skin. The fabric pooled around the base of her hook, almost hiding it. Her hair was a tangled mess, tied back and covered with her bandana. She was barefoot. The Gray Lady hovered inches above the ground, her long, beautiful dress covering her feet. She looked so slight, if it weren't for her height and piercing eyes, you would almost not notice her. Her features were gaunt and she held herself with a regal air.

"Ma'am… how did ye… how did ye die?"

The Gray Lady stiffened slightly and glided over to the next picture frame.

"It was the plague. I was left in the dungeon to rot. I don't like to talk about it, it was…unpleasant."

"I see. I'm sorry to be bringin' it up."

"Have you ever read this?" The Gray Lady referred to a parchment inside the picture frame. It was a set of two verses written in neat script.

"No, I've never been in this area of the castle before."

"I have read it many times. Its meaning is still lost to me. It was found in Slytherin's office after he left. No one knows if it is his, or if it was given to him. I at first thought it described the location of the Chamber of Secrets… but I believe that is wrong, in light of the actual location of the Chamber. Who knows what it leads to? I would certainly like to know."

Eliza briefly glanced at the words, but it was too dark to read them. She continued on with The Gray Lady, looking at famous wizards and witches, who in turn looked at them. The paintings weren't particularly happy with being gapped at, at this hour; many were trying to sleep and voiced their angry opinions. Eliza felt perhaps it was time to return the cleaning supplies to Filch and go back to the dorms. She bid The Gray Lady good-bye and picked up the bucket with her hook.

***

She was wandering aimlessly now, granted Eliza knew that she wasn't familiar with the castle, she still thought that she would at least be able to find her way back to the Ravenclaw Common room, if not to Filch's office. She was perhaps mistaken. It now neared half past ten, the last time she recognized anything was about twenty minutes ago. She rounded a corner and stopped abruptly.

Standing in the center of the corridor, almost completely shadowed, was the figure of a woman. She was tall and slender. Eliza could make out no discerning characteristics, nor could she decide if the figure were alive or a ghost. Eliza started to speak but was cut off before the sound left her throat.

"Eliza Smythe. You have been chosen for initiation. You have until the hour of midnight to prepare. You will be summoned. Bring with one item sacred to you. Tell no one."

Without another word the figure stepped back into the shadows and was gone. Eliza ran forward, but there was nothing. The corridor was empty, save one puzzled pyrate.

It took another fifteen minutes, and several prodding of various unhappy paintings to get Eliza back to her dorm.

"Astute Flier."

The knight sidestepped and allowed the girl into the Ravenclaw Common room. All was quiet; the rest of the house had gone to sleep. Ravenclaws always understood that a good night's sleep was the best thing for a hard working mind. Eliza cursed at the darkness, and held her wand out, "Lumos."

Using the faint light from her wand, Eliza climbed the stairs to her room as quietly as she could, her bare feet slinking across the stone. She set the bucket down next to her trunk, she would return it tomorrow. She sat on her bed holding the wand in front of her. Eliza had never been chosen for something. She had never even been summoned before. This school life was a curious thing. Were secret societies running rampant beneath the floors of Hogwarts? Was every student stopped dead in his or her tracks in the middle of the night by unknown persons and propositioned to join up? Would she? Well. There was only one option for Eliza Smythe. Of course!

She silently took off her work clothes and went into the bathroom. She showered quickly and walked back into the room, letting the air dry her skin. She absent-mindedly tied her bandana onto her wet hair, she felt less naked with it on. She went to her closet and pulled out some clothes she had yet to wear through the corridors of Hogwarts.

It was her favorite shirt, a stark white peasant top that exposed her shoulders entirely. It had long and poofy sleeves that came together in beautifully laced cuffs. She pulled on a skirt, if you could call it that. It had once been floor length and quite proper, but now it had been worn into a most comfortable set of blue rags. It was cut and ripped and at its longest fell barely to her knees. Fabric was tucked or pinned here and there, giving it a very gypsy feel. Eliza searched through her drawers until she found the ornately embroidered, black corset. She laced it on, adjusting her shirt accordingly. She then covered her muscular legs with green and black striped stockings and her tall, black boots. Eliza looked for her belt, she had tossed it onto the bed when she changed previously for her detentions. Once it was on, she stuffed her wand into its right side and looked for one last object. Inside her trunk lay her most sacred possession, her mother's cutlass. She stared down at it balanced in her hand and across her hook. It was a truly beautiful piece of weaponry. It slid so perfectly onto her left side. Eliza stood, in true pyrate form, and looked ready to board any ship.

Her body became rigid. She had the distinct feeling that she was being watched. Slowly she turned and found herself face to face to face with two figures. Both were dressed identically. Their dresses were sleeveless, silver, Grecian togas, bound at the waist and hips with black ribbon. The material was metallic and caught the light of the moon, streaming through the window. It matched the scarves that wrapped over their heads and hair and draped down over their shoulders. The scarves almost completely obscured their faces, showing only the bottom of their chins and the top of their necks. Both were holding a thick, white, lit candle with both hands.

They said nothing, and Eliza returned the favor.

The figure on the right turned around and began to walk back down the stairs into the darkness. Eliza understood she was to follow. She walked past the other cloaked figure, which remained frozen. Eliza blindly followed the dark silhouette of the first woman, her edges only lit by the candles she was holding. She now felt the presence of the other woman following behind her. This was how they proceeded through the Ravenclaw common room, and through the rest of the castle. They met no other students or professors or even Filch and his cat. The halls were silent accept for the steps of three women in some sort of bizarre procession to the depths of the school.

At last they came to a large set of double doors. Eliza knew they were somewhere in the dungeons, but had never seen this wing. Of course, there were many areas that Eliza had never seen, as was evident of her wanderings earlier in the evening. The figure behind her walked forward and opened one of the doors as her partner opened the other.

The sight of the room sent waves of chills down Eliza's skin. Not that she was afraid, rather that it was so unexpected. Along the side walls of the room were at least twenty figures, all wearing the same Grecian type garments, all faces covered, all holding white candles. So still were they, that Eliza might have mistaken them for statues under any other circumstance. Her eyes trailed up the lines of evenly spaced identity-less women to the center of the gathering. On a small wooden table was centered a silver cauldron. Vapors poured over the sides and onto the surface of the table covering a book, a dagger and a long white wand. What really drew Eliza's attention was the woman behind the table. She remained just as motionless as the others, but instead of a scarf covering her face, she had a steel helmet. It was smooth and completely covered her head and neck, a thin plate jetted from the top to cover her nose. Her eyes were lost in shadow. On the top was a thick row of short stubbed white feathers. She looked truly legionnaire. Around her arm was a piece of coiled silver jewelry, it resembled a snake. At her side was a large steel circular shield, imprinted with a Gorgon head. The flicker of candles danced on its surface, giving it a living appearance.

Eliza understood that this was the nature of secret societies; it was a lot of silence and anonymity. Eliza rather liked a good masquerade, she just felt a little jilted that she was the only one without a mask. Well, without an obvious mask. She walked forward without caution. The figures that brought her here followed behind her, evenly with one another. They stopped short, before Eliza halted, centered five feet before the table. The woman in the helmet began to speak.

Her voice came purposely deep and serious, "Eliza Smythe, student of Witchcraft. You have here by been summoned for the purpose of initiation into the Coven of Athene, Goddess of Wisdom, Goddess of Art, Goddess of War, Goddess of Women. Do you accept this summon?"

"I do."

"The Coven of Athene has existed sense the dawn of Athens, its first witches paying homage to their mother-goddess. It has the strength of thousands of witches, worldwide. Eliza Smythe, tonight you bring our numbers to the high seas. You have been chosen for your intellect, for your fearlessness, and for your strength, qualities favored and governed by Athene. To enter into this Coven binds you forever, heart and soul, to its sisters. We ask for your loyalty, your commitment, and your discretion. In return, you are offered knowledge, wisdom and a sisterhood of sworn witches, who will always be prepared to give aid, asylum, and alliance. There will be times when you will be required to do the work of the Coven, regardless of personal feelings. Are you prepared to accept these responsibilities?"

"Aye."

"You have brought an item sacred to you?"

"Aye. My mother's cutlass," She pulled the sword from her belt in one smooth motion.

"Kneel Eliza."

She did so.

"Hold out the sword."

She did so. The woman took the cutlass and walked back behind the table. Eliza watched her sharply. She placed the tip of its blade into the caldron, saying words too softly for anyone to hear. She returned the blade to Eliza's hands, taking the dagger from the table.

"On this cutlass, do you Eliza Smythe, Daughter of Ezmerelda, swear your loyalty to the Coven of Athene, and enter of your own free will?"

"I do."

"Your hand, Eliza,"

She placed her hand palm up into the woman's. Eliza knew what was coming, the cut would probably be deep, it was hardly ever that only a drop was required for a binding potion. The corners of her mouth flinched, yet her eyes remained unwavering. The dagger dragged across her hand, splitting the skin with one long clean incision.

The woman held a small silver bowl under Eliza's hand as she gently squeezed. The blood dripped unhindered for several minutes before it began to clot. The woman released her hand and walked to the cauldron. She slowly added the contents of the bowl, speaking again in a quiet tone. She reached for the white wand on the table. The woman cast a simple conjuring spell to produce a clear goblet. She dipped it into the potion and let it fill. She turned to Eliza, holding the glass and wand. With a swift motion and another spell, all of the figures were holding similar glasses, they appeared to be filled. She held the glass forward for Eliza to take.

Her hand throbbed, but felt strangely soothed against the cold glass. The woman held up an identical cup in a toast. The wall figures did the same, Eliza followed in suit.

"Sic eratin fatis, ergo bibamus. It is fated, therefore, let us drink!"

Simultaneously twenty-one glasses rose to twenty-one eager lips.

The liquid ran cold down Eliza's throat, it felt like it was going to freeze her breath. It did. It was full of oxygen-less minute before the potion consumed her.

Glass shattered. She threw her head back with a violent snap, but the pain went unregistered. Her mouth gaped in a silent scream, her eyes open but unseeing. Her mind was an inner struggle of invading images. She saw faces and forms of witches she didn't know. Thousands of names, thousands of faces, thousands of women through thousands of years flashed through her consciousness, burning their essence into her. They flickered with increasing speed, faster and faster, becoming so rapid it was beyond comprehension. Eliza felt bombarded. Finally, it reached a climax and blurred into one last image.

The figure stood alone on the top of a hill. The setting sun cast an orange glow over her skin and body. She was tall, beautiful, truly beyond words, she was a goddess. She wore full armor over her long white dress. The Gorgon head resting on her breast plate. A serpent crossed her sandaled feet, an owl rested on her strong shoulder. Her face accented by the curve of a great helmet. Her hand clutching the lightning bolt of her father. Her eyes spoke to Eliza without words. Her thoughts calmed and tears streamed from her eyes. She choked on air, finally being able to breath, and reeled back into the moment. At some point she realized where she was and what had happened. She let her head drop to see the girl, who now paled in comparison to the goddess she represented.

"Est Athene in nobis. Athene is inside us."

Eliza realized that she was covered in blood. She had been gripping the blade of her mother's cutlass. She slowly removed her hand, wincing slightly as the steel left her skin, showing new marks of incision.

"Will her sponsors come forward?"

The girls who had led her to this room stepped forward to either side. They placed a hand on each of her shoulders.

"All that remains, Eliza, is to receive the Protection of Athene."

She lowered herself to one knee and pulled aside Eliza's shirt, exposing the top of her left breast. It had been mostly exposed anyhow, due to the style of Eliza's wardrobe. She placed the tip of the white wand against her skin.

"Adstringo Soror."

It was not painful, but it was the most intense feeling Eliza had ever felt. The hands on her shoulders gripped tighter in an effort to keep her grounded. When she opened her eyes, on her chest was a golden circle, its edges lined with smaller curls, at its center was a small elaborate 'A'. It shimmered, as if it were jewelry instead of a tattoo of the Athenian shield.

"Factum est. It is done."

The figures removed their hands and stood aside.

"Stand Eliza."

She did so.

"Turn and face your sisters."

She did so.

"Sisters of Athene, audaces fortuna iuvat! Fortune favors the bold! I give you your newest, Izza the Bold."

The room thundered with applause.

The lights raised and Eliza beamed.

"Izza!"

She turned to her sponsors who had stepped back. Their scarves now pulled away.

Indistinguishable from one another, save for their house colored bindis on their foreheads was Padma and Parvati. Parvati's was made of scarlet jewels set in gold. Padma's, true to her Ravenclaw house, was a small collection of sapphires bound between curls of bronze.

"Padma! Parvati! I can't believe it were you two."

They each hugged her warmly.

"Welcome to the Coven of Athene!"

Other girls began taking off their scarves and coming to introduce themselves to Eliza. Some she had already met, several were younger and she had never seen. There seven seventh year girls, including the girl with the helmet, one of which was from Ravenclaw. The other sixth years were Lisa Turpin, Pansy Parkinson from Slytherin, and Miko Nott from Hufflepuff. There were five fifth years and only three fourth years. Lisa ran to her and almost knocked her down with an embrace.

"I was so happy when Padma told me she was going to bring your wand to the Appello meeting and-"

"Hang on, ye took my wand…where?" Eliza turned on Padma.

"To the Appello meeting. It's the first meeting of the year, where each member has the option to bring an object that belongs to a girl they would like to see initiated. The Hogsmater, that's Vicky Frobisher from Gryffindor, casts an Appello charm over the objects and determines who will receive a summons. I took your wand while you were sleeping. Oh, don't look so mad, you didn't even notice."

This was true. So, Eliza forgave and started asking questions about the society as a whole.

"Hogsmater, that's a funny name ain't it?"

"The Hogsmater is just a reference to the school, short for Mater of Hogwarts. It's an elected position. We'll choose next year's before we leave this year. Vicky will graduate and pass on the helmet and shield. Well, it's sort of like team captain you know? She calls and runs the meetings, as well as maintains contact with the English Coven, who we are sort of a sub sect of," Lisa said.

"And this tattoo bit, anything special? I never saw it on either of you." Eliza tapped her own gold circle with her hook.

They smiled, "that's because you couldn't see it until you had one of your own. Part of its charm. Anyhow, it connects you to all of the other sisters of Athene. Here in school its not as important, but when we're on the outside you can use it to call for help. See, you just put your hand over it and say, Adiutorious Soror." Parvati said, briefly holding her hand over where her own tattoo is, but removing it as she said the spell. "The spell will alert every other sister to your whereabouts. When we're older, then we can just apperate there to help. Course, there's not much we can do now, since we can't apperate, but at least we know we can call for help. Also, you'll know if someone else went to aid them. Sort of like, 'don't worry about it, I've got it covered.' I felt it once over summer break."

"Yeah, so did I." A few of the other girls said.

"We all did. That's the point of it." Pansy said from behind Eliza. It never occurred to Eliza to like Pansy. The only other time she had seen the Slytherin she had been verbally accosting a group of second year Gryffindors and giving them all a week's worth of detention.

The other girls laughed and opened a place for Pansy to join them.

"I can tell by the look on your face Eliza that you don't know what to think about me. There are no houses here, Eliza. We can leave off our rivalry for one evening. Although, don't expect smiles and little chats during the day."

Eliza decided that she liked Pansy; she had a lot of spite and malice.

The girls talked for quite awhile. Each of them told Eliza about their own initiation and who brought them. They speculated on other witches worldwide who were members. Slowly the room started to filter out, the younger ones leaving first. Parvarti, Pansy and Miko said good night to the Ravenclaws and walked their separate ways back to the other house common rooms. Eliza walked side by side with Padma and Lisa. They headed for the third floor and their knight in shining armor.

"Isn't anyone worried about drawing a teacher's attention? This late at night?" Eliza asked, since they just seemed to be strolling along the corridors, without any care.

"Naw, McGonagall's on watch tonight," Lisa said.

"Oh…OH!" Eliza replied, realizing the implication and tapped her new tattoo with her hook.

The knight did a cartwheel and allowed them into their common room. Eliza felt it had been a splendid evening.

Chapter 7
The Morning After

Somewhere birds were chirping.

Somewhere the morning sun danced off of a windowpane.

Somewhere an alarm was going off.

Somewhere a girl was thrashing lividly at fabric, unleashing a stream of vulgarities that even offended the feelings of the four-poster bed that was under attack.

That somewhere was the sixth year Ravenclaw girl's dormitory.

"IZZA! SHUT YOUR YAP, WOULD YA? SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO ENJOY THE MORNING!" Lisa whipped a pillow at the mess that was Eliza Smythe.

Eliza sat still for a moment, feathers from a bleeding pillow settling on her knotted hair. A sheet twisted in an attempt to strangle her, trying to stop the ghastly murder of the other bed linen.

Eliza laughed.

"Sod off Lisa! I not be a morning person, we've established this arrready." She threw the pillow back at the blonde mop struggling to get up.

Lisa shook her head.

"C'mon. We better get ready or we'll miss breakfast. Mandy and Sally-Anne already went down. Padma's in the shower."

***

Eliza's eyes drooped and her mind was trying to convince her into laying her head down into her bowl of cold cereal. Padma, Lisa and Eliza had stayed-up late celebrating in the Ravenclaw Common room with the younger girls of the Coven of Athene. If it weren't for that incessant alarm, Eliza would have slept all morning. She was bored and tired and not interested in eating her cereal.

Eliza absentmindedly rubbed her temple with the tip of her hook. She had long since learned how to handle the curl of metal without causing harm to herself or others. Still, the carelessness with which she wielded the replacement hand made several students uncomfortable.

Her eyes drifted to the Slytherin table in front of her, several smiled at her, as she had indeed made friends with a few, however, her bored gaze settled on an angry steel glare. Eliza's sleepy scowl grew into a crooked grin. She slammed her hook into an unassuming orange, that had done nothing to deserve it accept be the wrong fruit, at the wrong time, in the wrong place.

Draco Malfoy's eyes widened and he did his best to hide his surprise behind an arrogant mask. But Eliza caught it and laughed. She peeled the orange. The citrus scent wakened her drossy senses. Her eyes floated more between faces and the backs of heads until she found Pansy. Who acknowledged her with a cold stare, and lifted one cut palm to push back her perfect hair. That one was a piece of work. Eliza laughed again, full on from the belly and slapped little Stewart Ackerly on the back. He coughed and everyone looked at Eliza.

"Sorry, what were we talkin' about?"

The conversation continued, apparently it was a very heated topic. The entire table was involved.

"…tryouts next weekend. We need a chaser and a new keeper. I just can't believe that all of the seeker's are team Captain's this year. It's so unusual…"

"What is?"

Cho turned to Eliza, slightly vexed. "The teams' captains…"

"What team?"

"Izza! Haven't you been listening? We're talking about the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. The tryouts for chaser and keeper are next weekend. Think you will go?" Jared Moon, another sixth year asked.

"What that thing with the broomsticks? Are ye mad? How would I hang on and play at the same time? I have a bloody hook, haven't any of yeh noticed? Yo-ho! Hookie! Hook!" She waved her hook around, bits of orange flew about.

There was an uncomfortable pause and then table roared with laughter.

"I guess that might make it a bit difficult." Jared conceded with a chuckle.

"The practices will start right after the tryouts. We got so close last year and I want to win this time. I've been working on my skills all summer and I got a new broom for my birthday. So, one Mr. Harry Potter better watch out." Cho said glancing briefly over to the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, Cho, just smile at him, that would be enough to distract him long enough to get the snitch! Ha!" Another seventh year said, poking Cho in the side.

"Oh hush! Honestly. Well, I've got to run back to the dorm to get my books. I will see you all later. Everyone be thinking about the tryouts!" Cho got up, slightly blushed, and walked off out of the Great Hall.

"Even if he did get up the gall to ask her out again, she wouldn't say yes. Poor thing. It's been over a year and she still hasn't taken off that yellow arm band." Terry Boot said.

"Well, neither have any of the Hufflepuffs…" Padma said quietly.

"She was quite fond of Cedric wasn't she? It just takes time that's all." Lisa sighed. "Well, we better get to Herbology, Madam Sprout won't be happy if we're late."

"Excellent! Some quality time with the Slytherins then!" Eliza chirped. No one else seemed to share her enthusiasm.

They made their way to the greenhouse in one large gaggle. Of course the Slytherins refused to walk with the Ravenclaws on principle. No one expected them to. Madam Sprout started to lecture on the pruning of big hairy vine, a subject that no one really cared too much about. Eliza gazed around the glass room, choosing to study her classmates rather than the botany.

Padma was trying to look like she was paying attention, but it was apparent in her eyes that she was off on flights of fantasy. Her long black hair was pulled back into a tight bun, it showed off her delicate jaw quite nicely. She had replaced the ornate bindi with the small red circle she usually sported. Eliza laughed to herself to think about how Padma had said her sister like to think it was a third inner eye, which meant she was distained to be a seer. Most of the Ravenclaws didn't put a lot of faith into divination, Padma was no different. She dressed up the boring school robes with just a touch of her Indian heritage, a small sash of bright color tied to her waist and large gold earrings weighing down her lobes. Her eyes were so dark, you could hardly tell the pupil from the iris, but the look of inner calculating registered on them perfectly.

Lisa was biting her lip, as often she did. Eliza like her easygoing attitude. She was funny, she was sweet, she was short. Very short. But it suited her well enough. She had blonde, tight, curly locks, which she wrestled with continually in the morning. She usually gave up and left them to their own devices. This was also Eliza's method, only she never bothered with them in the first place. Her skin was pale and gave her an air of frailty, but Eliza knew the girl could be quite vicious. Especially when it involved waking Eliza up. She had an interesting sense of style as well, quite dark really. Lisa had been born to muggles in southern England, and had quite by accident discovered she was a witch. Of course the Hogwarts letter confirmed it. So, the obvious thing was to start dressing like one. Her blue eyes were heavily lined in black, and her lips were stained a dark shade of purple, which incidentally wasn't rubbing off on her teeth. It looked like Lisa really was paying attention to the lesson, perhaps she liked Herbology, Eliza couldn't remember her saying one way or another.

Eliza's eyes drifted over to the segregated group of Slytherins. Out of any of the other houses, Ravenclaw was the only one that the serpent-loving group seemed to bother talking to, but still, there were those who wouldn't even do that. Draco Malfoy was pulling apart a leaf of something, maliciously destroying it with his slender white hands. Perhaps he thought no one was watching, perhaps he didn't care. His white hair fell down over his brow, covering his eyes. His eyes looked like storms brewing. And, in Eliza's mind, they probably were. She did not feel any kindness towards Draco, he was, after all, a huge snobbish git, but she was interested in his viciousness. Eliza was after all, a pyrate, its not like she wasn't acquainted with a very questionable lot.

For the second time that day, Eliza's gaze found that of Pansy's. Pansy raised an eyebrow, as if daring her to some unspoken challenge. Her platinum hair was pulled back into a very sophisticated French twist. A perfectly placed piece of loose hair swept across her forehead and down to her left ear. An ear that was decorated with a large diamond stud. It had been obvious to Eliza from day one that Pansy had money, and that she certainly wasn't ashamed to show it. Eliza couldn't decide what she thought about Pansy's nose. It was small and turned up slightly at the end, which could be genetic, or from years of self-superiority. It wasn't that she wasn't pretty. She was just so aristocratic.

Mandy and Sally-Anne were caught up in heated whispers. Both were quite plain, and quite normal. It was reassuring to Eliza. They were gossips of course, but gossiping to Ravenclaws was more of a puzzle or word game. Something to be dissected, something to be figured out. Mandy was tall and slender with chestnut, shoulder length hair. Sally-Anne, on the other hand, had her black hair sported in a short pixie cut. Both were from wizarding families and had known each other since they could remember. Eliza wasn't jealous of their closeness, but it did make her miss certain people from her past.

Eliza turned her focus back to Madam Sprout who was finishing the lesson. She made a mental note of the homework that was assigned and helped pick up the gardening equipment that had been pulled out during the course of the class, Eliza hadn't remembered using it. Oh well, there were a lot of things Eliza couldn't remember doing.

Defense Against the Dark Arts hadn't held her attention much better than Herbology had. Eliza sat next to Parvati and Lavendar Brown. They seemed to be caught up in showing each other some star charts. Eliza wasn't taking Divination, she didn't have the memory for it, or the imagination. To Eliza, tealeaves looked like tealeaves. Besides, she knew the stars well enough to navigate, she didn't need to consider if they meant she was going to have a row with a lover when she was trying to decide which way was east. Captain Smythe had mind for it though. He used his sixth sense to predict his luck at finding treasure. It was something Eliza didn't mind not inheriting from her father. Padma had said that Parvati was very much interested in the subject, with a roll of the eyes. Eliza found it curious just how different the twins were.

Professor Vance was showing everyone how to draw a protection sigil. Eliza was never very good at drawing or writing. She assumed she had been meant to be left handed, but well, you know how it is. Some things you just adapt to.

The rest of the day held very little interest, considering she had class with the Hufflepuffs, and they wouldn't even look her straight in the eye. This was beside the fact that Professor Binns seemed to be teaching the same lesson that he had gone over last week. It was going to be a long year if they never got past the first lecture.

That evening in the common room, however, was much more interesting. Padma was teaching Eliza to play wizard's chess. To an innocent onlooker it would appear that Eliza was perhaps throwing a tantrum, or maybe seized by epileptic fits. Padma was winning without much effort.

"Ye sorry lily-livered-landlubbers! Put your back into it!" Eliza was shaking her fist at a pawn who was, undoubtedly, being killed off by Padma's knight.

"You ought to focus more on the movements of the pieces, than the fighting between them. Honestly, Izza, you'll have a mutiny on your hands shortly…" Padma laughed to herself, her friend was making such a spectacle.

"Mutiny…" Eliza's eyebrows almost met, shadowing her gaze. Padma was sure that she was calculating just the right speech to threaten the chess pieces with to avoid such a sticky situation. "Ye even think about it…" her voice trailed off into a string of unfinished sentences, that were, most likely, insults.

"Checkmate." Padma stood up, patted Izza on the head, and walked over to one of the tables.

Eliza scowled. She didn't like losing.

"I need a smoke." Eliza stood, giving the wounded chess pieces once last disdainful look.

She walked out of the common room into the halls of Hogwarts. It wasn't too late, they still had at least a half hour before curfew, but still the halls were empty. She listened to her boots trudge against the stone floor, hollow. She paused momentarily in the entrance hall, swearing she heard the shuffling of feet, and a few muffled gasps, but seeing nothing. Eliza opened the door and welcomed the cool autumn air. She wasn't going to go far, but she figured enough now that the professors wouldn't be happy to find smoking students. Her feet glided through the grass taking her to a small hill overlooking the lake.

Almost as quickly as she stopped, she found she wasn't the first one here. An elegant frame wrapped in green robes leaned causally against the trunk of a birch tree.

"Izza, the bold…" the girl tutted. "The Hufflepuffs are all scared of you, you know? They think you should have been in Slytherin… along with the rest of us devil children." Pansy's words were well articulated and followed with a long draw of her cigarette.

Eliza laughed. "Well, to each their own. I don't think they be warming up to me any time soon. I hexed Macmillan the other day for teaching Scalawag to say, 'Polly want a cracker.'" A pause. A flash of light and the cool scent of Eliza's hand-rolled cigarettes filled the space. "How bloody trite. I weren't amused."

It was Pansy's turn to laugh. She shook her head and took another drag on her cigarette. It was menthol, of course. White and crisp. It held very little contrast to the fingers that were wrapped around it. Eliza flicked ash off her thick black cigarette. Again, the air around her swirled of clove and harsh tobacco.

"That droning hat this school's got thought about puttin' me in Slytherin, ye know? Could have been friends. Harrr." Eliza said, a twinkle in her eyes, she smiled at Pansy.

Pansy very deliberately turned to look at Eliza. "Perhaps. However, I am growing quite bored of the holier-than-thou of the other snakes. With the world today as it is, lines are being drawn in the sand. I'm sure you noticed. And, of course, it is expected that we follow in the steps of our families. Many of the Slytherins have already pledged their undying servitude to Lord Voldemort…" she said servitude with such distain. "I am nobody's servant. Regardless of what I wish this world to be, it can be achieved without my bowing to some self-righteous mudblood. I get the feeling from you, that you're not one to choose sides." Pansy threw the stub of her cigarette onto the ground.

"I have only one side, my own. My place ain't here among this warring world. I have my own battles." Eliza looked out over the lake, its gentle lapping called to her.

"Then there's a good chance we just may become friends after all." Pansy stood, turned and walked back to the castle without a gesture of good-bye.

The pyrate tossed the burnt out cigarette onto the ground. Eliza didn't draw lines in the sand. She much preferred large looping curves.

***

Eliza trudged into the potions classroom, sopping wet from the waist down. She made her way to her seat and sat, making a series of indescribable squishy sounds. She placed her hand and her hook intertwined on the desk, as though there were nothing out of the ordinary while a puddle formed beneath her.

Snape's mouth was moving, but it seemed he was so livid, his voice was scared to escape into the room, incase it too, aroused a lecture. Padma flipped around and cast a quickdry spell, rendering both Eliza and the floor moisture free.

"…Smythe…Detention!" Snape choked through clenched teeth.

"Yes sir. Sorry, sir. I just got very enthusiastic about the Care of Magical Creatures lesson. It be my next favorite subject, after potions, of course. Arrrh." Eliza grinned, turned and nodded a thank-you to Padma.

Snape struggled to compose himself, mumbling under his breath. Eliza was sure she caught the words, "bad as Potter." Whatever that meant.

He began lecturing on the complex potion they would be working on.

"The Abscoditus Potion is used in a variety of ways. From decoding information, and revealing invisible ink, to forcing a hidden object to appear. Today we will be making a weaker version of it and using the vapor to reveal messages. Miss Patil, pass out these ink jars on my desk. If everyone would take out some parchment and a quill. You will write a short message and exchange it with a partner. You will make the diluted Abscoditus Potion and then hold the parchment over the caldron, allowing the vapors to flow over. The message will be revealed. Ingredients and instructions start on page twenty-nine of your advanced potions texts. Begin now." With a swirl of his robes he sank into his chair looked as though he didn't know the class was there.

Everyone flipped open their books and began to write messages on their parchments. There were a few stifled snickers, as a few boys thought they had written something terribly clever.

Eliza set about organizing her ingredients. They weren't terribly rare, and they weren't terribly complicated, but it was the order and method of how they were combined that made it such a complex potion. Of course, they were making the weaker version. Eliza wondered what the difference was. She lulled into a trance as she methodically created the Abscoditus. Humming bits and pieces of a song out loud, much to Hannah's dismay. Even a simple normal action such as knowing a song unsettled the Hufflepuff.

An hour later the room was filled with laughter as students revealed the messages, many of which were insults or lewd drawings.

"Hannah Abbott? Ye wrote yeh name?" Eliza looked down at the quivering pig-tailed girl.

"Y-yes."

"I knew yer name." Eliza sighed, she was hoping for something more interesting. She looked at the characiture of Snape that Padma was holding and snickered.

Hannah trembled more as she revealed the signature laughing skull with the pentagram eye. It winked at her.

***

It was not that Eliza liked serving out detentions. But there was something familiar about scrubbing and cleaning. It had been her father's choice of punishment throughout her childhood. Not that he minded Eliza getting trouble, he was actually quite proud, but Mrs. Smythe felt there should be some consequence for disobedience. She set to work cleaning the potions cabinet under the watchful eye of Professor Snape. He was working on grading some scrolls and shooting cold glances at Eliza every now and again.

She hummed again, and wiped the remnants of spilled ingredients from the shelves. She organized and alphabetized, segregating ingredients into sections based on whether they were plant, animal or other.

"Sir? Yer out of Dakar grass."

Snape looked up from his grading and regarded the girl holding a near empty jar coolly.

"Miss Smythe, Dakar grass is a very rare and expensive ingredient. It should be used sparingly. The local potion shops have been out of it for quite sometime. Place it in back. I don't foresee any of the classes needing to use it anytime soon." He dropped his gaze back to the scrolls. Irritated that Eliza still stood there, making no motion to replace the jar. "Did you not understand what I said, Miss Smythe?"

"Sir, Dakar grass is actually very common where I be from. My grandmother actually has a large portion of her garrrden devoted to it. On the Ethereal islands it is often used in cooking just as much as it is used for potions. I brought a large amount of it with me…more than enough really. If ye would like a refill I would be more than happy to run and get it."

Snape kept his cold stare for a few moments, before his intense interest in potions overtook him. "Really? How much to you have?"

"A least three bundles about yay big." Eliza held her hand and hook about six inches apart.

"If you feel you can spare some, the school would be much obliged I'm sure. For education purposes, of course."

"Of course." Eliza grinned, because she knew that when Snape said school, he meant himself. We are all a slave to some passion, and Snape was to his potions. She set the empty jar down and ran off out of the room.

She returned to the dungeons within a quarter of an hour, holding a bundle of deep scarlet grass. Some of the locals called it fireweed, for when it caught the sun just right, one would think the hillside was ablaze. Snape tried to look uninterested when she returned, but couldn't help smiling when she said, "do you have a larger jarrrrh?"

Chapter 8
A Hogsmeade Adventure

The rest of September and most of October passed without much incident. Eliza was growing accustomed to life at school. She even tapered her detentions down to one a week. Despite common belief, she was actually doing quite well in her classes. Herbology really wasn't that hard, plus, Lisa was always around to help. Defense Against the Dark Arts went smoothly as long as you could hold a piece of chalk. History of Magic was straight forward enough and required very little outside class effort. She threw herself into Care of Magical Creatures. Her Nixes was easily the largest and most mature water elemental. Potions was going much better now that Snape accepted her talent and enthusiasm for the subject. She even stayed after class on some occasions to talk to him about various indigenous potions she learned as a child. She couldn't say she was excelling in Transfiguration or Charms, but she wasn't drowning either. The few other subjects she was taking, Astronomy and Muggle Studies, hardly ever entered her mind. Astronomy was almost all review, since she had been studying stars her whole life and Muggle Studies, although interesting, was really just something to fill the time.

October brought with it the excitement of the coming Halloween Feast and this year, there was going to be a costume ball. The first Hogsmeade weekend had been posted to coincide. Meal times were often filled with the inane chatter of third years mapping out what they were going to do. Many of the muggle-borns asked questions a mile a minute about all of the stores and attractions. Eliza listened to the answers with minor interest. She had been to so many ports and cities and villages all over the world. Muggle, wizard and mixed. She didn't expect to find anything knew in Hogsmeade. Besides, there wasn't a sea next to it so it would lack the excitement of merchant ships and the hustle and bustle of a busy port. Walking among the docks and sizing up the different vessels was one of Eliza's favorite pastimes. Of course, it would provide the opportunity to pick up some supplies, and perhaps grab a drink at the tavern. Eliza was itching for a good bit of rum.

Eliza's social life, of course, was both good and bad. She was becoming very close to Padma and Lisa. However, Mandy and Sally-Anne pulled away into their own social groups. Which, according to Padma, was usual. Only a few Hufflepuffs had warmed up to her, most of them were associated with the Athene Coven. However, Eliza delighted in torturing Hannah Abbott by whispering select stories of her past, many of which were accompanied by various scars. Her words often left the girl white faced. Eliza was sure Hannah took the stories back with her to the Hufflepuff common room and told whoever would listen about the big bad pyrate disguised as a sixteen-year-old witch. Some of the less snobby Slytherins had taken a liking to her and she enjoyed their sly company. It felt very familiar. Pansy and Eliza had shared a few more late night chats with their nicotine addictions. The Slytherin was usually very cryptic and talked little of her past. She was like a puzzle, and Eliza was a Ravenclaw after all. So they got along well. Eliza also enjoyed sharing her experiences with some of the younger Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, who were all terribly excited to hear about her swashbuckling past.

The latest development in the social structure, however, had nothing to do with Eliza. Padma had taken a liking to a seventh year Slytherin and he to her. He was tall and lean with deep dark chocolate skin. His name was Ira Hunnam and he liked to keep to himself. The gossips of Ravenclaw liked to pry and during dinner one day inquired how she had managed to engage him in conversation, since he barely spoke to anyone.

"We'll just chalk it up to my natural abilities… snake-charming!" She had teased them.

The Athene Coven had met once more in the beginning of October. During the meeting Eliza had received a set of ceremonial robes, they were identical to the metallic silver togas all of the girls wore. She also was given a scarf and a spell book. The spell book contained the Coven history and its ceremonies, including the initiation ceremony Eliza had gone through. The spells that it detailed were ones Eliza had never heard of, ancient magic. She spent some quiet afternoons looking through them and trying to practice a few. Padma told her that at several of the meetings the pervious year they worked on the spells and she would help Eliza learn them.

During dinner the night before Halloween, Professor Dumbledore stood and addressed the students.

"As most of you know, tomorrow is All Hallows Eve. We will be putting on a celebration for the Holiday. I think we all could use a bit of fun. As you enter the Great Hall please come forward to the head table. The judges of the costume contest will be all of the faculty members. Please come forward and show us your outfit, tell us what it is, and then you are free to enjoy the feast and the ball. At midnight we will announce the winners. There will be a first, second and third place prize. Also, tomorrow all third years and above may spend the day in the village of Hogsmeade. Carriages will be waiting to take you from the Entrance Hall. First and second years will have free roam of the castle. I look forward to see what strange and wonderful disguises you'll create." He chuckled and twinkled and sat.

The next morning, breakfast was full of excitement. The first and second years looked jealously at their third year friends who told anyone who would listen where they were going to go first. Padma was glowing and kept smiling over to the Slytherin table. She whispered to Lisa and Eliza that she was meeting Ira at The Three Broomsticks later in the day for a drink. They finished breakfast and the other Ravenclaws started to leave the table.

"Hang on." The pyrate girl said to the others.

Eliza climbed over the Ravenclaw table and jumped off the other side. She walked directly and determinedly towards the cluster of sixth year Slytherins. Eliza saw that Draco was watching her saunter over. He put on his best smirk. Poor boy probably thought she was coming over to talk to him. He dropped his smirk as she walked past him and stopped before the preening Pansy Parkinson.

"Ahoy Pans. Goin' to Hogsmeade." She said it more as a fact, rather than a question.

Pansy snapped her compact mirror shut and flicked her eyes up to Eliza's.

"Maybe. Are you inviting me?"

"I be tellin' yeh."

"You can't be serious! Pansy doesn't want to be seen with the likes of you!" Draco drawled with hint of distain.

"Malfoy, Pansy don't need yer input. Go play yer part of villain to Potter's champion and let those of us who write our own roles conspire. Pansy?"

Pansy smiled, a flash of amusement passed over her ice blue eyes. "Well then. Let me get my things."

"Padma, Lisa and I will meet ye in the Entrance Hall." Eliza turned and walked toward the doors of the Great Hall, where the Ravenclaws were waiting for her.

"Patil and Turpin? You've got to be joking!" Draco turned to Pansy, face flushing with anger. "Why do you even talk to her?"

Pansy looked into Draco's eyes with a cool glare. "Because I know she wouldn't stab me in the back." She turned her gaze to the leaving figure, "No, Izza would slit your throat and never break eye contact." She stood up and left the other Slytherin with his thoughts.

***

Pansy appeared out of the woodwork without so much as a hello. Eliza stuffed her wand into her belt and smiled.

"Right, shove off then." Eliza practically ran out of the school and into one of the Threasle drawn carriages that were waiting outside.

The other girls followed her out silently and climbed into the carriage. It immediately took off and joined the line of carriages all headed into Hogsmeade. They rode in silence, Eliza plastered to the window. Lisa sighed and pulled out a cigarette. Pansy joined her and the two looked an odd pair. Pansy, ever in her pureblood regal state, sucking on a Salem menthol sitting next to the short, little, punky, gothic muggle-born chewing on the end of a Kamel.

Padma concealed a laugh as she watched the two scoff and smoke in almost an identical way, like two sides of a coin. The carriage came to a halt and the door swung open. Lisa was the first out. She opened her large black umbrella since it was raining slightly. She stepped out and trudged through the mud. She had on oversized black sneakers without socks. They were so wide, they made her feet look even smaller than they were. Her legs were totally bare, regardless of the temperature out. Many of the older students had taken to wearing more fashionable things while they visited Hogsmeade or were on holiday, the constant black of the school robes grew monotonous. However, Lisa's choice of dress, was really more questionable. It was a dark maroon, knit dress, that could very well have been mistaken for a sweater because of its length. If it wasn't so form-fitting, the other girls would have thought she forgot to throw on a pair of pants. She had on over it a small leather jacket that only came down midway on her back. Her hair was behaving for once and formed perfect spiral curls. She had charmed her lipstick to match the dress and lined her eyes with black.

Padma joined beside her, covered head to toe in shades of blue. She had on a tight, long-sleeve shirt with a v-neck that was a radiant dark blue. Her skirt was long and dragged through the mud as she huddled under Lisa's umbrella. It was a shiny turquoise with swirls of gold beads spattered across it mid-calf length. She wore her hair down, slick and dark. They both turned to look as they heard a begrudged complaint behind them.

Pansy looked down at her boots as they soaked into the mud. She looked a proud Slytherin, dressed in green and black. She had on a top that was a mix between a shirt and a wrap and left her shoulders bare. It looked like it had fur lining. It was a metallic looking black. Pansy's pants were skin tight and dark green. They showed off her perfect lithe form and joined seamlessly with her tall, black, leather boots. She carefully made her way over to the pair of Ravenclaws. She opted not to stand under the umbrella, and simply stood along side, looking angry at the rain.

Eliza jumped out of the carriage and splattered mud all over herself. She smiled broadly and stared at the other girls. She had on her usual boots, belt and bandana. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail with a small black ribbon. She had opted to wear her dark brown pants and long-sleeve white and black striped shirt, since it was a bit chilly out. Eliza was used to unusual weather, but she didn't care much for the cold. She had also brought with her matching brown overcoat just incase it got weird out and snowed or something. It looked a lot like the one her father usually wore, large cuffs with huge lapels, all trimmed in gold.

She threw the coat on and looked at the other witches. "Where to first?"

So, they ventured off down the main street of Hogsmeade, a mismatched band. The pyrate, the ice queen, the snake charmer and the goth.

***

The girls flew into The Three Broomsticks out of the rain. The storm had raged out of nowhere from a few scattered sprinkles to a full on dampening. The tavern was crowded with students and Hogsmeade locals. Several of the students had fled instead to the carriages and back to the school, but there were still a good number who didn't want to waste day. It was barely noon and the Halloween Feast didn't start for another six hours. Eliza stormed towards the back of the bar, resembling the weather outside. The third years at a back corner table vacated immediately and scurried off to join some friends on the other side of the room.

"Excellent! A table just opened. Oi, Girls!" Eliza climbed into the corner seat so she could watch the room.

The Lisa and Padma sat down. Pansy, however, stood by the table.

"I'll get the drinks. What do you want?"

The others paused, it was highly unusual behavior for the Slytherin. They stumbled over answering her in surprise. Eliza however, didn't notice the awkwardness of the situation.

"Rum! Much obliged, Pans!" She threw a few Galleons toward Pansy.

Pansy returned momentarily with four butterbeers.

"Izza, you'll have to get your rum elsewhere. The Three Broomsticks doesn't serve alcohol to students. But you'll like this."

Eliza scoffed and took the mug, muttering under her breath. They chatted a bit about the things they had bought. They had stopped at all the usual stores to pick up school supplies, but had spent quite a lot of time at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The joke shop was a huge attraction to the Hogwarts students since it was run by some Gryffindor alumni. They place had been full of the house's students as well as a good portion of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Pansy was probably the only Slytherin that had been in, considering the looks she got. Then again, considering the looks she gave the shop, it was mutual. She stayed only a few moments before she said she would meet them outside in an hour, turned and left for more suitable surroundings. When they found her they started to walk toward The Three Broomsticks to sit and grab some lunch when the storm hit. They had made it to the tavern before getting thoroughly soaked and were now quite content enjoying their drinks.

Padma burst into a huge grin and started to stand. Her tall dark Slytherin had just entered.

"I'll see you all a little later." She walked over to meet him and they took a seat at a secluded table on the other side of the room.

Eliza stretched her arms around the backs of the other girl's chairs. They were both smoking again. Lisa was talking excitedly about her Halloween costume. Apparently, she had found some spell and had the perfect plan.

"I mean, it's not like turning totally into a cat, but it will look really realistic. I got a suit for the rest, and a little makeup for my face. The only thing I haven't figured out are the claws. But if we head back early enough I'm sure I'll figure it out."

Pansy rolled her eyes, "just elongate your nails, and paint them black. We all know you have a large supply of black nail polish."

Lisa ignored the jeer. "Well, what about you two? What are you going as?"

Pansy took a drink of her butterbeer and said nothing.

Eliza laughed, "I be goin' as a pirate! Arrh matey!"

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Really, Izza. Every day's a masquerade for you isn't it?"

"And it isn't for you?" Pansy said quietly from the other side of Eliza.

Suddenly, the door to the bar burst open. A huge dark form blocked the entrance. A flash of lightning lit the features of the intruder and a roar of thunder shuddered the building. A collective gasp rung through the patrons, sucking all of the air out of the room. Somewhere a glass shattered against the floor. Every head watched the man in scared silence, except one. Eliza stared at the man without emotion. He was at least seven feet tall. He was lean, but still looked muscular. His hair lay in scruffy bits of silver over his forehead. He had a large handlebar mustache in matching gray. It covered a collection of scars. It, however, did not detract from the fact he had a huge, black eye patch covering his right eye. One of the students silently wished there was a patch to cover the other. It was huge and almost completely bloodshot. It pierced as a dagger would. He had no beard, he didn't need one, he had a very defined and masculine chin. He was dressed in a black overcoat with thick silver buttons. The cuffs folded up to his elbows and had detailed stitching along the edges. The coat was open to show a simple black vest and white sailor shirt. Stretched from his right shoulder to his left side and around his back was a leather baldric, it looked a lot like Eliza's belt. In it was a sharp cutlass and a long black wand. A flintlock pistol was stuffed into a blue stash that was tied around his waist. He had rugged black trousers that ballooned from his waist down to the black leather boots that covered his lower legs and feet.

The thoughts that ran through Lisa and Padma's heads were that this was surely the dreaded pyrate Munroe who was after Eliza's father. They looked at her with caution, trying to draw little attention to where Eliza was sitting.

His left eye bulged from its socket. It scanned the tables of the tavern; stabbing fear into every student it made contact with. It came to rest on the table in the back corner.

"SMYTHE." His voice was like sandpaper.

Eliza stared back, her arms still casually drooped across the backs of the girls' chairs.

"Morse." Her voice had become deep and dark.

Seconds passed like minutes. It was the type of silence that made children cry.

"I'VE COME FOR YE."

Eliza picked up her mug of butterbeer and finished it in one huge gulp. She slammed the container down on the table, sloshing foam out of the other girls' drinks. The third years that were present all jumped. Without warning, with which Eliza did most things, she knocked over her chair and leapt onto the table. She stood with her hand and hook planted firmly on her waist.

"Have ye now?" Under her lips, her tongue rolled across her teeth.

"IF YE COME WITHOUT A FIGHT, I'LL BE EASY ON YEH."

"And when have ye known a Smythe to come without a fight, Morse?"

"N'VER."

"Then, Morse, ye will have to take me by force, ye ruddy bastard."

"RUDDY BASTARD, AM I? YER NOTHING BUT A MEWLING SCUT!"

Eliza fumed. She leapt off of the table and pointedly stomped over until she was only a few feet from the tall menacing form. "Villainous maggot!"

"PUNY, DIZZY-EYED FLAX WENCH." He hissed inches from her face.

Eliza let loose, "SURLY, CROOK-PATED, FLAP-MOUTHED, MILK-LIVERED BARNACLE! NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO LICK THE MUD OFF MY BOOTS! "

He burst into a deep seeded laugh and swept the girl into an embrace.

"Neptune! Ye sound jus' like yer father! How ye've grown!"

Confusion rippled through the crowd. Eliza wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ye've gone soft, Morse! It be good to see ye!"

"I got a little surprise for yeh!" He set the girl down and leaned back out the door. "C'mon then."

Morse held the door open for another figure cloaked in darkness. Eliza burst into an even larger grin when the person stepped into the light. It was another young pyrate, a girl who looked about Eliza's age. She was taller and thinner than Eliza, dressed almost identically to Morse, only in varying shades of red. She had short maroon hair that fluttered about her face in the wind. In one ear, she had a small bone pierced through the lobe. In the other, she had a gold disc widening the piercing into an inch circle. The girl had eyes like blue frost, marred only by a thin scar that ran from the right of her forehead down over her left eye and onto her cheek.

"Meg?!" Eliza looked beyond surprised.

"Izza!" The girls leaped at each other.

Eliza hugged Meg around the waist and lifted her off the ground and spun in a circle. They were both laughing and close to tears. Morse let out another hardy laugh. He dug a small leather bag from his belt and tossed it onto the bar. Galleons spilled out over the surface.

"Drink up Hogsmeade! It be on Mad Morse, the Black Rouge! Ha! Ha! Haaarrrrrh!" Morse bent down and grabbed both young pyrates around the knees. He stood and threw them over each shoulder. The girls giggled and Eliza waved her hook at her companions.

"I'll find ye later!"

Mad Morse kicked open the door and walked out into the rain.

"Think we should do something?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah. Have another butterbeer, courtesy of the pyrate that just kidnapped Izza." Pansy replied.

***

"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
We wrapped 'em all in a mains'l tight,
With twice ten turns of a hawser's bight,
And we heaved 'em over and out of sight,
With a Yo-Heave-Ho! And a fare-ye-well
And a sudden plunge in the sullen swell
Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell!"

Eliza was enjoying herself so much she had to wipe tears from the corners of her eyes. The entire crew was jovial with rum and sea shanties. Eliza and Meg and sung along and even did a rendition of 'Jenny the Pirate' for everyone. Of course, they shared in the rum as well.

"I still can't believe ye be here!" Eliza hugged Meg again.

Mad Morse was a close friend of her father's. They had sailed together for many years, before Morse got his own ship. Meg was his daughter, and best friend to Eliza. They had known each other before they could even speak. Granted they only saw each every few months, they had grown closer than either could imagine. Eliza remembered begging to have Meg stay on The Defiant for a few months and then switch to The Incinerator for an equal period of time. That way the girls could see each other for longer than just a few nights stay in a port somewhere when Morse and Smythe met up. They hardly had to speak anymore. They finished each other's sentences and thoughts without intention.

The Incinerator had anchored at the edge of Hogsmeade, hovering about twenty feet above the countryside. It was slightly smaller than Eliza's father's, but still quite impressive. Students and other witches and wizards had gathered on the ground to gawk at the sight.

"Where be Scalawag, Izza?" Meg looked to the empty space on Eliza's shoulder.

"Aarrr, he got himself a cold. Won't leave my room. Ruddy bird, keeps mimicking sneezes. Tells me he be dying. Ha!"

A mangey looking brown and white cat jumped into Meg's lap. It looked irritable and eyed Eliza indifferently with its huge orange eye. The other eye was covered with a small version of Mad's eye patch. Its front right leg had been replaced with a small pegleg. Scut was very much a pyrate's cat.

"Ahoy, Scut! Bet yer happy Scalawag's ill." Eliza ruffled its fur. Scalawag had been the reason Scut was missing an eye, something the cat would never forget. Meg giggled and scratched Scut's ears.

"How are yer studies Eliza?" Morse asked, swirling a bottle of rum.

"Oh, they be fine. School be not so bad. I've made some good mates."

"Ye gettin' into trouble?"

"'Course! Ha! Harrr!" Eliza grabbed the bottle and took a swig.

"Izza, Mad's thinkin' about sendin' me next year. To pass some blasted exam." Meg said with a grin. "I can keep ye company!"

"Meg! Tha'd be perfect! Think of the fun we'd have!"

"Oh no! Ye girls better be good or I'll pull ye right out. Nathaniel sent ye to learn Eliza." He glared teasingly at the pair.

"Speaking of my Daa, have ye heard from him? I've not got any news since I left."

"I haven't spoke to him, but I've heard rumors he's in th' South Seas somewhere. That be where Munroe's said to be. Won't let me come help, don't want no one else to get involved. Thought th' least we could do was come check up on yeh! Harrrrrrhh! Thought ye'd want to see lil' Meg too. Go on, go get into some mischief yeh two!" He waved them away.

Eliza and Meg ran off to climb around the ship. They had a little too much rum and were stumbling all over the place. Laughing and slamming their fists into the deck, Eliza hadn't had this much fun since she left The Defiant. They scurried up the main mast and dived into the crow's nest. Eliza giggled as she watched the world spin. She told Meg a few of highlights thus far of Hogwarts.

"Meg, do ye really think yeh come to school next year?"

"I sshuppose so. Might be nice to be on land awhile."

Meg had been born in England while Morse was recovering from an injury. She stayed there until she was five before her and her mother joined Morse on The Incinerator.

"It's not all bad. N'ver been 'round so many people though. It's a bit stiflin'."

"Aye."

"Aye." Meg understood everything; Eliza didn't have to say another word.

Eliza slowly realized that she had spent most of the day on The Incinerator and it was growing dark. She needed to get back to the school for the Halloween Ball, and she hadn't even thought of a costume yet. Oh well, she'd figure it out later. Eliza and Meg finished off the bottle of rum before leaving the crow's nest. Eliza fell the last ten feet into the arms of one of the crew.

It was an elderly pyrate with whom Eliza was well acquainted. He was a legend to her and Meg.

"Black Darren the Bastard!" She slapped his shoulder as she set her down.

"Aarghh… Young Miss Smythe, our new Academic." He smiled briefly and then looked around, eyeing the other crew dangerously.

He had taken to riding with various ships in his retirement. Darren the Bastard had been switching back and forth between The Defiant, The Incinerator and a few other ships for the last eight years. As children they had drunk in his countless tales and relished in his infamy. Usually, he was carefree and quite chipper, but now he looked very serious. He eyed those near by again, willing them to find something else to do on the other side of the ship.

"May I have a word with ye before yeh shove off?"

"'Course," Eliza nodded and put an arm on the mast for support.

Meg had managed to get to the ground safely and swaggered off to her father. Darren the Bastard dug into his boot and produced a small bit of leather.

"Miss Eliza… My past be a great mystery to all seawitches and wizards. I threw aside my former identity when I stepped onto my own ship for the first time. If what I'm about to tell ye is ever uttered to anyone, anywhere, I will slit yer throat without a second thought. Is that understood, young Smythe?"

Eliza nodded. She thought that the old coot was behaving rather oddly, but it was probably best to humor him. He leaned forward so his face was only inches from Eliza's. He spoke quietly.

"I were born in England to a poor wizarding family. They ran a simple shop in a small port village. We didn't have much, but they scrapped together what they could to send me to Hogwarts when I was eleven."

Eliza gasped. "Ye went to Hogwarts?"

"Keep yer voice down, lass!" He hissed.

"I can't believe it! Ye, Black Darren the Bastard! Went to a wizarding school? Right and proper like?"

"Look, that's not important now, what is important is what I found there…" He slid the bit of leather into Eliza's hands.

Her currently blurred vision didn't allow her to make heads or tails of the markings on the leather, but she feigned understanding.

"That, dear gel, be part of a map. A map to possibly one of the greatest treasures in existence. I spent five years lookin' for it while I were at school. N'ver found it 'course, n'ver even found the other half of the map. But I can't go back, far too protected, 'sides, I got a reputation to hold. So, I be givin' it to ye. I nicked it from the Headmaster's office when I were waitin' for him to come talk to me. It were hidden in the back in some dirty glass case. I doubt he even knew it were missin'. One of the past Headmasters must a come across it and thought it was nothin' more'n a sketch of th' grounds 'n kept it for archival purposes. Yer a smart gel, I'm sure you'll figure it all out."

"Do ye know what the treasure be?"

"When I were a student I didn't have a clue, but when I became a seawizard I started hearing all sorts of stories. That be when I connected it to the legend of Baneheart the Warlock's lost treasure."

"Baneheart? Blimey!!" Even in this drunken state, Eliza knew the name. Every seawitch and wizard knew his name. Sir Magus Baneheart, or Baneheart the Warlock as he was commonly called, was reasoned to be the first of the great seawizard explorers, as well as, the first pyrate of any consequence. Very powerful, and very, very cruel.

"Baneheart were a very close business associate of one of the founders, who I reckon allowed him to bury his treasure on the grounds. They were protected beyond the reach of any wizard and pyrate looking for his most priceless possession. Th' legend always says he'd come back for it. But he be dead ain't he? And so are all of th' founders. So, finders keepers, right Eliza? It's in yer hands now, good luck!" He slapped her shoulder and then narrowed his eyes. "Not a word to no one, Smythe. Not a word."

"Ye bastard! I can't believe it! Best present I ever got! I won't let ye down, yeh'll see! Yeh'll be tellin' crews about Izza the Bold and the Hogwarts Treasure fer years to come!"

Darren the Bastard smiled and then nodded for Eliza to leave. She turned and started to make her way up the main deck. Maybe it was the rum and maybe it was the sheer exhilaration at her ensuing adventure, or more likely it was both that rendered her almost unable to walk. She held the rail and made her way to where Captain Morse and Meg were standing.

"Loose yer sea legs, Izza?" A scratchy voice of a crewmember came from somewhere.

"Fuck off ye lout!" Eliza accompanied this with a gesture that made more than a few pyrates laugh. Eliza made it to Morse and Meg.

"Be thar anything ye need before we leave?"

"I be almost out of tobacco…"

"Say no more!" Morse stalked off to his cabin and returned shortly with a large cigar box and something else hidden behind his back. He handed her the tobacco filled box and leaned in close. "That should do ye for awhile…and a little something to warm ye up." He slipped a large bottle of rum into her coat pocket. "Good-bye, Eliza! Don't ye get into too much trouble. Make yer father proud! Show 'em what a real seawitch can do! Harrrrrrr!" Morse hugged her again and slapped her hard on the back before he retreated to instruct his crew.

Meg and Eliza just looked at one another. Both girls' emotions were running high because of the alcohol and the elation of seeing one another. There were a lot of things to say, a lot of feelings to convey, but some things were just to deep to put into words. So, they resorted to drunken playfulness. Meg pushed Eliza over and the two brawled for a few moments. Trading insults and punches.

"Ship's leavin', Eliza." Morse called from the helm.

Eliza struggled to get up and hugged Meg with all her strength.

"Bye then."

"Bye Izza. I'll try to write."

Morse held out his wand, Eliza became weightless and was whisked off the main deck. Eliza watched them hoist the anchor and slowly pull away as she floated to the ground. She decided standing was overrated. So she let herself just continue falling until she was laying down and propping herself up on her elbows.

"Izza! Don't forget that yer a pyrate first! Witch second! Don't let those landlubbers make ye think different! Yo-ho!" Meg yelled down as she leaned over the rail waving.

Eliza stared after The Incinerator long after it could no longer be seen in the sky. She was happy, she was heartbroken, she was drunk. She felt a shanty coming on.

By the time Padma, Pansy and Lisa found her she was on the third verse of 'A Pirate's Life', and didn't pause for them.

"We kindle and char, inflame and ignite. Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho! We burn up the city, we're really a fright. Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!…Oh! Ahoy there! Padma! Pans! Lisa! Have a good afternoon? Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me. We're rascals, scoundrels, villans and knaves…" Although Eliza was developing a good throaty pyrate voice, she was no where near a descent singing voice. The words tone deaf crossed Pansy's mind.

"Christ, is she drunk?" Lisa crouched beside Eliza.

"Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!"

"Gods, she reeks of rum." Padma was beside her.

"We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs!"

"We'd better get her back to school before someone notices…If she's caught, she'll be expelled." Pansy added from a good distance away.

"Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!"

"Why, Pans, I didn't know you cared. Your just full of surprises today." Padma smiled, Pansy sneered. "You're right though, we're going to have to sober her up before the Halloween Ball."

"Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me! We're beggars and blighters and ne'er-do-well cads…"

"Let's go." Lisa said as he put an arm under Eliza's back.

"Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!"

"Ufff!" Padma heaved Eliza to her feet with the help of Lisa.

"Aye! But we're loved by our mommies and dads!"

"Here. We'll take one of the back roads, there won't be as many people there. Just villagers." Pansy took Eliza's spilled belongings and the other girl's purchases and started to lead the way.

"Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho! Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me."

"She is…going…to owe…us…big time." Lisa was struggling slightly because of Eliza and Padma's height.

"Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me! Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me! Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me!"

They quickly made their way back to the area where the carriages were waiting. Pansy put a silencing charm on her as soon as she started singing '100 Bottles of Rum on the Wall' for the second time. The other girls were grateful.

The carriage ride back was fairly uneventful as Eliza had taken to playing with her hook. Silent sea shanties weren't all that fun and the other girls must just not know the words, or surely they would have joined in.

Amazingly enough they made it all the way back to the Ravenclaw girls' dormitory without running into any teachers. The other students who passed by, simply were confused by Eliza's silent jeers. She looked stark raving mad. Which, was what they had grown accustomed to.

Padma dropped Eliza into her bed and sat down next to her, exhausted. Lisa seemed to wash her hands of the situation and went to get her things ready to take a shower.

"We should just leave her to sober up. If she misses the ball, that's her own fault." She walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

"Well, you know if we leave her, she'll show up anyway, completely intoxicated, brandishing that sword of hers. She'll probably threaten half the first years with a bloody death. Give all of the Hufflepuff's heart attacks." Pansy smiled at this thought. "And then pass out in front of the head table."

Padma snickered, "that or break her neck swinging from a chandelier."

"I doubt we could get everyone to believe she was dressed as a drunk pirate. No, we better keep an eye on her. Keep her near."

"We need costumes still." Padma laid back on the bed.

Neither said anything for awhile. Eliza was snickering to herself and throwing candy at Scalawag. The silencing charm had worn off, but she hadn't yet resumed her singing. Pansy's eyes narrowed. She whipped her head around and looked at Padma and Eliza and seemed to be considering something. She decided.

"Padma, get changed into your toga. Get her in hers too. See if you can do something with her hair. I have a plan. I'll be back in half an hour. Let me back into the common room then." She ran off down the stairs, without another word.

"Well, alright then. Thank you so kindly for elaborating." Padma said to herself.

Eliza was now verbally fighting with the parrot.

Padma sighed. This was going to be a long night.

***

Pansy and Padma walked through the first floor corridor with Eliza draped between them. She was in her fourth rendition of 'The Ballad of William Kidd' and it was slowly becoming just a series of garbled words.

"Hang on, I've got to go to the bathroom." Pansy said.

"Me too. Should we bring her in?" Padma said.

"No. She'll be fine out here, we'll only be a minute." Pansy crossed her arms and turned to walk away.

Padma looked around for a moment. She signed and hung the singing girl over a figure in the corner. "Don't move Izza. We'll be right back." She turned to follow Pansy into the girl's lavatory.

Eliza found her arms had been shoved through the opening between the sides and arms of a very cold and hard person. Most of her was sprawled across the stone floor of the corridor, if Eliza was sober, she probably would have found this to be a compromising position. But as it is, she was really quite comfortable. Eliza flopped her head back to see that she was being held up by a suit of armor.

"'Lo," she grinned

The metal visor curved into an awkward smile.

"Good costume! Crackin'!" Eliza hadn't quite gathered that it was a decoration, not a fellow student. She was distracted from the fact that it didn't respond by a pair of very irritated voices quickly approaching.

"…I thought you'd come as a Death Eater. Isn't that what you always wanted to be? Lucius Jr.?"

"What? Just so you could come as a martyr?"

"Fuck off!"

"You're such a muggle-loving bastard! Why don't you run off and change into you're cheap hand-me-downs and come to the party as one? It would suit you better."

"Oh really? Like jail robes suit your daddy? You think you're so dignified! We'll see how proud you are when the rest of your family is in Azkaban, you dim git!"

Their conversation degraded into insults and perhaps violence since someone was saying never to lay another hand on them. They were playing Eliza's favorite childhood game! Perhaps she could have a go. Eliza looked up at the suit of armor's helmet.

"Ye mind helpin' me up?"

The suit lifted her up by the armpits and set her on her feet.

"Cheers matey!"

She stumbled around the corner and found a blond and a raven-haired boy ready to throw fists.

"Yer both a pair of dirty curs!" Eliza's torso wanted to run, but her feet were content to stay where they were, which resulted in falling full force into the boys. She locked her arms around their shoulders and ended up smashing all of their heads together.

"Damnit!"

"Blasted!"

"Bloody Hell! Sorry 'bout that! That fellow in the armor must have tripped me…" Eliza shot a suspicious look behind her. She returned her unfocused gaze back to Harry and Draco, who did not look happy to see her.

She slid her left arm off of Harry and tapped her noggin, "That smarts a bit. Oh, looks like that left a mark, hang on!" She raised her arm and wiped it across Harry's forehead. "Doesn't seem to be coming off…"

Draco snickered and Harry scowled and pushed Eliza off. He quickly brushed his mess of black locks back over the scar. Eliza lazily dragged her head up to look at Draco, who by this time realized he was disgusted with having her arms around him.

"Get off you ridiculous mudblood sea urchin!"

"Arrright Draco. Upset aren't we? I wouldn't worry…my blood be as clear as yers…try lookin' up Ethereal if ye find yer way to a book when yer not bein' horrible…Ha! Ha! Ha!" Eliza slid her arms off the tall thin frame of a boy, then suddenly became aware it had been her only support. She fell to the ground.

"Is she drunk?" Harry said, wide-eyed.

"Are those scissors?" Draco stepped back.

"Oh dear." Padma said as she and Pansy rounded the corner and took in the scene.

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were staring down at a cackling Eliza Smythe, whose toga was wrapped up around her knees and hanging off her shoulders. Padma rushed forward and picked the girl off of the floor.

"C'mon Izza, leave the boys alone, they have archenemy things to do. Don't mind her, she's just excited about Halloween and all." Padma said as she dragged the fighting pyrate away.

"Oh, now I see why ye be brawling! Ye've got the same costume on! Vampires! Ha! Ha! Harrrrr!"

"What is this a Count Dracula convention?" Lisa Turpin appeared out of nowhere, dressed as a very realistic looking lioness.

"Sod off, Turpin, this doesn't concern you." Draco drawled at her with obvious revulsion.

Lisa muttered under her breath about useless, inbred, blood-sucking purebloods before she grabbed one of Eliza's arms and helped Padma carry her off toward the Great Hall. Pansy slowly walked up to the pair of vampires, who were staring at her uncomfortably. She stopped and leaned very close to Draco with a look of seduction. She breathed hotly on his cheek. The boy quivered.

"If you breath a word of this, Draco darling, then the things you say in the dark when you think no one is listening will find a way of being heard." She whispered with a voice of poison honey.

She whipped her head around with lightning speed and gave Harry a look that scorched. "Keep your mouth shut, Potter, unless you want to add to your scar collection."

Pansy's shoes clicked off into the darkness.

Chapter 9
Halloween Meets Its Fate

The doors of the Great Hall stood ajar, welcoming the costumed student body into its elaborately decorated interior. Padma and Pansy dragged Eliza with them towards the doors to make their entrance. Pansy was giving Eliza some sort of instructions, something like stand still, walk properly and don't look drunk. Well, she wasn't really that drunk. She could see straight again, it's not her fault the room kept moving the floor from under her. It was such a spiteful castle when it wanted to be. Padma was tying something around her head, and she was quite positive that it wasn't her bandana. It was a shimmery pink blindfold, only Eliza could see through it very plainly.

"Ye might want ta get yer money back on these blindfolds… doesn't do a thing to shroud everythin' in darkness…" Eliza commented, waving her hand in front of her eyes.

"That's the point Izza… they look like blindfolds to everyone else, but we can still see out of them. Now, smile and be good." Padma spoke to her like she was a child.

"Hmphf!" Eliza crossed her arms and scowled at the pair who were telling her something important it seemed.

"Alright. Let's go." Pansy said, nudging Padma through the door.

There was some sort of string dragging her along after Pansy, who walked close after the dark-haired Ravenclaw. Eliza barely had time to notice that her hook was gone.

"What the bloody hell-?"

The three Fates burst into the Great Hall and solemnly walked to the head table. Padma's toga had been glimmered to look light blue, which matched the massive amount of make-up on her face, as well as the blindfold. Padma's skin was covered in glowing blue Latin words. Her arms were outstretched, holding between her hands a thick ring of metallic thread. The thread wound around her fingers in about a dozen loops before it loosely draped behind her to Pansy. Pansy held the thread taunt between her hands, as if measuring it. She was dressed identically to Padma, save the tint of green. From her hand, the thread found its way back to Eliza, who was maintaining a fairly graceful entrance, recovering from a few minor stumbles. She was also in her toga, only it was a matching shade of pink. Eliza was for a loss about how all of the pink Latin lettering had gotten on to her body, she suspiciously eyed Pansy as she followed her. She had something to do with all of this. The thread stretched taunt from Pansy's hand to Eliza's hook, well, what was her hook. Someone, not naming any names, had transfigured it into a pair of scissors. Eliza fought the urge to start cutting the thread, she seemed to remember being told to wait until they were in the front. Padma stopped. Pansy stood next to her, and Eliza found herself coming to a halt at Pansy's right side.

Pansy's voice came well rehearsed. "We Moirai, we Fates, daughters of darkling Night, much named, draw near, infinite Moirai, and listen to your prayer. In the heavenly lake, where waters white burst from a fountain hid in depths of night, and through a dark and stony cavern glide, a cave profound, invisible abide. From whence, wide coursing round the boundless earth, our power extends to those of mortal birth; to men with hope elated, trifling, gay, a race presumptuous, born but to decay. To these acceding, in a purple veil to sense impervious, ourselves conceal, when in the plain of Fate we joyful ride in one great car, with glory for our guide; till all-complete, our heaven appointed round, at justice, hope, and care's concluding bound, the terms absolved, prescribed by ancient law, of power immense, and just without a flaw. For we alone with vision unconfined surveys the conduct of the mortal kind. We are Zeus' perfect eternal eye, for Zeus and we, your every deed descry. Gentle powers, well born, benignant, famed, Atropos, Lakhesis, and Klotho named'" She gestured to Eliza, herself and Padma in turn, "unchanged, aerial, wandering in the night, untamed, invisible to mortal sight; We, Moirai, all-producing, all-destroying, hear and decide."

Eliza cut the thread.

The Halloween ball was in full tilt by eight o'clock. All of the students had made their entrance, presenting their costumes to the Head Table. The Great Hall itself had a wonderful makeover for the event. The long house tables had been moved along the sides of the room and set up as sort of feeding areas. Each table featured an assortment of appetizers, hearty treats, desserts and beverages. Students mingled near them, filling their small plates and chatting to one another. In the center of the room was an enormous jack-o-lantern. It had four house carvings in it. A sinister looking snake on one side, opposite a roaring lion. On the other two sides were a rearing badger and a soaring eagle. Each mascot was made to look particularly fearsome. Inside of the jack-o-lantern was a blazing fire that warmed the room and cast interesting shadows along the floor and walls. The large pumpkin, as well as several smaller ones throughout the room, had been enchanted to play lively music. The less self-conscience students surrounded it and were dancing. The enchanted ceiling of the hall showed the raging storm that had reformed itself once again and gave the room a strobe-light effect with the almost constant lightning. There were other decorations around the hall as well, an assortment of orange and black banners twisted and draped from almost every possible nook, and live bats and spiders danced around the walls. Lastly, and probably the favorite party quirk was the random explosions of candy from various unassuming objects.

Eliza observed the students. They were dressed in so many possible ways, she hardly recognized anyone. It seemed like there was at least one person designated to come as their house mascot. Of course, there were some unofficial mascots as well, ones perhaps that were other houses making attempts to tarnish one another, like the snake maliciously constricting a badger. Or the lion in a tutu. There were many monsters and magical beasts roving around, casually chatting with princesses and faeries. There were many things that Eliza did not recognize such as these fearsome looking creatures. They had huge floppy feet and crazy vivid colored clothing with large dots, plaids and stripes. There mouths were exaggerated and expressions of surprise, anger, and joy were painted on. And the absolute worst things about them were these perfectly round, red noses. Eliza cringed. The costume that caught her eye the most was actually a group of seven Hufflepuffs dressed as a bright yellow, long, flowing, dancing Chinese Dragon.

Now the students' costumes were all quite well done, but several of the professors out did themselves. For instance, Professor McGonagall had managed to transform herself into Medusa complete with live snakes protruding from her noggin. Rather odd for the faithful Gryffindor. But odder still was the fact that Professor Snape was dressed as Perseus. Showing his knobby knees and all. Maybe later they would duel. Sitting near them was a very organic looking Professor Sprout. She was covered in head to toe with vines. She looked like some vicious plant experiment was trying to devourer her. Still, it was an interesting costume. Now, Eliza knew that the Headmaster was a very eccentric man, but that didn't explain the two foot high stack of fruit on his head or the rather bright tropical dress…er…robes he was wearing. Were those maracas?

Eliza discovered that she had a plate of half eaten creamy pastries. So she resumed munching on them and listening to the conversation at hand. Pansy, Padma and Lisa were of course near by. So were Morag MacDougal, Jared Moon, Terry Boot, Blaise Zabini, and some random younger students that Eliza didn't know.

"Interesting Blaise, are you a regular wolf, or a werewolf?" She heard Pansy say.

"Werewolf, of course! I thought about throwing on a ragged robe and come as Professor Lupin." He snickered.

A few students laughed, some rolled their eyes and the youngers seemed clueless. Jared piped in, "Well, then you'd give half the students the hope for a descent Defense Against the Dark Arts class… pity." More laughed at this.

"Are you going to eat that, Jared?"

"Well, then I said to him, really are you supposed to be in Arthimancy, or did you wander in by mistake? We all had a good laugh…"

"No, go ahead and take it."

"I don't understand that costume, they're wearing this huge hat and these ridiculous pointy boots. And like this brown leather open robe thing with a star on it… what is that all about?"

"Did anyone see Professor Sprout?"

"I think they're dressed as a cowboy."

"What did he say, then?"

"Yeah, she looks awesome!"

"What's a cowboy?"

The conversation blurred in Eliza's ears. She was growing impatient and sobering up too much for her liking. She was uncomfortable in this crazy get-up that she still didn't know how she got in it anyway and it seemed like Pansy and Padma were angry with her. Or maybe they were just trying to ignore her sour expression. Eliza wasn't usually one to be a wet rag, so shook her head and resolved that she should make an effort to have a good time, perhaps she would sing everyone a song. The conversation drifted back to her ears and she looked for an opening.

"Ugg, the punch is a bit off." A younger child commented.

Pansy and Lisa took a sip. A thin smile crossed Pansy's face and she said hushed to the other girls. "No… no it's quite right. Its been-"

"Spiked! Ha! Ha! Harrr!" Eliza downed the glass and poured another.

"Oh, good grief. Izza, haven't you had enough today?"

"I wonder who spiked it…"

"What does spiked mean?"

"Never mind, dear, just don't drink very much."

After the discovery that the punch bowls on most of the tables had been added to, the ball quickly degraded into chaos. It was possible the professors all knew, but simply did not act upon it. Perhaps they felt the students could use a little stress reliever, what with the war and all. It was also possible that their own goblets had a much stronger punch in them and they simply did not care what the hell was going on. Many students now felt the courage to dance, some even felt the table tops were the best place for it. Eliza was quite happy with this turn of events.

"No, Izza, you may not give the first years haircuts. Stop. Put him down." That was Pansy.

"Izza, for gods' sakes it's supposed to cover your shoulders." That was Padma.

"No, Izza, no one wants to hear your rendition of Jenny the Pirate, again. Get down." That was Terry.

"Ha! Izza, I love you!" That was Lisa.

Well they loosened up a bit after the party raged on and scolded Eliza less for trying to cause mayhem. At some point they were all back in one big gaggle again near the front of the hall, chatting, giggling and gossiping. Pansy was actually smiling and laughing. Something she hadn't done all year. Lisa leaned over and whispered something to Slytherin.

"Pansy, when you've finished talking to that mudblood and come over here where you belong." Draco drawled from behind the group. He was flanked by a number of Slytherins.

Pansy's face went marble, except for the one pulsing vein in her forehead. Padma cocked her head to one side, coolly looking back to Draco the Vampire. Terry scoffed. Blaise backed away. Jared narrowed his gaze. Eliza launched.

She was dragged back to the ground in mid spring by Lisa's strong hand. She held herself high and said, "its alright. Padma probably wants to talk with Ira anyhow." She smiled, it almost looked convincing. "Besides, there's a certain Gryffindor I want to show my costume to. Go ahead. C'mon Izza."

Lisa led the venomous pyrate away with her towards the back of the Great Hall, holding her chin a little bit higher than she usually did. Muttering again about useless purebloods and how they should all die fiery deaths. Eliza calmed a bit and then completely forgot all together why she was angry with the sharp-faced slime ball. Lisa put on her best 'come hither' look as they approached the group of Gryffindors.

Parvati and Lavendar were there, Eliza struck up a conversation with the pair. It wasn't much of a conversation, considering Eliza's renewed drunken state. They found it amusing though. Lisa b-lined for Seamus Finnegan, who was leaning heavily on Dean Thomas next to the girls.

"'Ello, Lisa. Eliza."

"G'evening Seamus…You make a lovely Gryffindor mascot."

"Thanks! And I see you…" Gulp, "…make a lovely one too. Ahh… How did you get your tail to swish like that? Oh… are you… purring?" His face started to turn a brilliant crimson.

Eliza laughed and smiled broadly. Her friend really was a sight. Her costume was quite formfitting, along with giving a very cat-like effect. She wrapped her tail around Seamus's legs. He looked like he was about to quiver.

"Did ya… " Gulp, "…did ya try the punch?"

Lisa laughed and held up her cup. "Its very yummy… rum, I would say…"

"Yeah. Dean and I… I mean to say, it was us that spiked it." They smiled proudly.

"Ah, taking the place of the Weasley twins? Mischief and mayhem…"

"Yeah, well, we try…"

Parvati started to chime in with some of the other pranks the two of them had tried since the beginning of the year. Lavendar was going on about the trip to Hogs Head pub to get the liquor. Lisa was laughing and chatting merrily with all of them. Eliza, meanwhile, had found a nice little spot on the floor, under a table.

It was strangely quiet under the folds of the tablecloth, and nicely dark. Eliza thought that the cold stone floor was very inviting against her feverish skin. It was also fine to be secluded from the others. Not that she wasn't having fun. But it only served to remind her of the good time she had on The Incinerator, earlier in the day. And that she wasn't there now, and wouldn't be for a good long time. She missed her father…

"We're having a little after hours party in the Gryffindor common room after the ball… you're welcome to come…" Seamus's voice drifted down.

"Hmm…. I would love to…Izza? Oh…heavens."

***

At some point Eliza managed to drag open one heavy eyelid. After being reassured that the curtains were drawn and it was still dark inside the four-poster bed, the other followed suit. She felt like every bone in her body had come undone. With much strenuous effort she threw her right arm towards the curtain and pulled them aside. Sunlight shot through like a buccaneer's cutlass into a Spanish privateer. Eliza winced. Her head was a battlefield, it raged with screams and the ringing of the constant bombardment of her pulse. She made an attempt to ignore the headache as it split through her skull. Looking down, she regarded herself with distain.

She was still in her toga, which now looked like some tie-dyed pink relic of the nineteen seventies. Just what she wanted to look like, a bloody hippie witch. The somewhat smeared and half glowing Latin words scribbled on her skin didn't help the cause. Her feet hurt something horrible, probably because she had slept in her shoes, and she really wasn't used to sandals to begin with. Eliza fumbled with the strings to get them off and stood up, looking positively murderous.

"Squawk! Izza looks like Hell!" Scalawag chirped.

This was followed with a whistle/scream as one of the sandals was violently winged into his cage.

"Well, I'd agree with him, if I weren't afraid you'd pelt me with the other one."

Eliza looked around the room. It was empty save for Mandy, who was snuggled on her bed studying.

"If you hurry, you can probably still make lunch."

Eliza grumbled and stripped as she walked to the bathroom.

***

Eliza walked very slowly into the Great Hall. Taking every step very delicately as to not upset her already livid hangover. She had thrown on her scrubby work clothes. Again, she was barefoot with the calf-length pair of gray pants hanging off of her hips. Her torso was covered with a tan tunic that left one of her shoulders bare. However there was an addition to the shoddy outfit, that was one large tri-cornered hat. She pulled the front down to shield her eyes from then sun that dared through the millions of panes of glass everywhere in this god-forsaken castle. She felt, rather than eyed, her way to the Ravenclaw table.

"Morning Sunshine-" The look in Eliza's eyes silenced little Stewart immediately and he dropped his head back to his meal.

Eliza sat alone on the far side of the table, the aura she emitted dared anyone to come close with vicious intent. She poured herself a cup of steaming water and dug into a pocket. She produced a small bag of herbs, delicately wrapped in thin white parchment. They were dropped into the water. It tinted blue for a moment, like ink had been dripped and stayed vivid before it diluted into the liquid.

Eliza held her face over the steam while the herbs seeped, brewing a cup of dark tea. After a few minutes she took a deep sip of the searing hot drink. It singed her throat, but soothed her head. She relished in its odd flavor and cleansing scent, silently thanking her grandmother.

She sat like that for ten minutes. Mulling over the evenings events. Many of which were missing from Eliza's memory. She was sure it had been fun, but there were things that needed remedying. Eliza stood, now with more conviction as the tea had eliminated the need for careful trodding. She turned and scanned the Slytherin table. Pansy was sitting among a group of sixth and seventh year girls. She was plainly ignoring their conversation and inspecting her fingernails. Eliza approached and waited for her attention. Pansy turned and seemed to be giving her the same look she would a sub par manicure.

Eliza tilted her hat up, revealing a series of small cuts and abrasions all along her face and neck. She held up the instrument that had dealt the wounds, one transmuted hook, now, scissors. Snip. Snip. Pansy's expression did not change and Eliza silently cursed her for wearing sunglass so she couldn't see the Slytherin's eyes. She was probably thinking that Eliza deserved it for the muck she caused yesterday. Obviously, that was the line of thinking Draco was on.

He laughed scornfully and smirked, "Serves you right, wench."

Snip.

Draco gasped as a chunk of his white locks drifted into his lunch.

"Now, Pans, are ye goin' to fix this or do I have to keep clippin' the blue blood over here?"

Pansy's eyes flickered blue ice behind the black lenses. She gracefully pulled out her light colored wand from the mint robes she dawned. She tapped the silver scissors and they wiggled back into Eliza's trademark hook. Eliza swiped it a few times in the air, as close to Draco's face as possible, checking its balance and proportion.

"Splendid." Deadpan. Eliza left the Great Hall.

***

Eliza sat with her legs folded under her in one of the large plush couches in the Ravenclaw common room. She was carefully studying a scrap of leather that she held taunt in her hands. It was a most curious treasure map. She debated whether it was a joke or not. Darren the Bastard did love messing with the young pyrates' heads, but he had seemed so serious about this. Plus the omission of being a student once at Hogwarts was hardly something Darren would say in jest.

The map had drawn in the upper left corner a very intricate sketch of the Hogwarts castle, showing its towers and main entrance. Most of the lake was drawn in below the castle. Eliza recognized much of its shore line, having walked it several times over. The eastern end of it, however, was cut off. Judging by her exploration of the grounds, the missing portion of the map must show the Forbidden Forest in great detail. Now, all of these things were quite normal for a pyrate map, including the compass in the corner. The peculiar thing was the severe lack of dashed lines. The point of all treasure maps was to lead you to the treasure. This one did not seem to directly lead anywhere. The only thing that reassured Eliza that this was indeed a treasure map was the small symbol in the lower left corner. It was a dark red skull with a wand centered behind it, pointing north. It was the symbol of Baneheart the Warlock. Where the hell had Darren been looking for five years?

"Joined the land of the sober I see."

Padma walked over from dormitory staircase and sat down next to Eliza. She looked a little under the whether herself. There were still a few glowing letters in random places on her hands and not all of the makeup had washed off. She was dressed in a set of violet robes that looked very comfortable.

"I've never seen anyone in a drunken stooper that lasted thirteen hours before. Quite a feet."

"I've done better."

"Mind not doing it again for awhile? I haven't recovered from carrying you back from Hogsmeade yet."

"Oh, I was wonderin' why everyone seemed a bit sore with me this mornin'. Where's Lisa?"

Padma smiled and raised an eyebrow, "hasn't come back from the Gryffindor tower yet. I think Seamus got more than he bargained for by spiking that punch."

Eliza laughed and shook her head. She vaguely remembered Lisa playing the part of vixen the night before. Poor Seamus.

"Well, since you slept most of the day away and wasted yesterday, we have a lot of homework to get done in a very little time. Want to get your books and head to the library?"

Eliza looked down to the bit of leather she was clutching and frown. She stuffed the piece into her shirt and replied with a sigh, "aye."

She followed the other Ravenclaw up the steps to get her side satchel. It was filled with almost all of her textbooks and several sets of notes and blank parchment. Padma loaded her bag on to her back and directed the already complaining girl back out of the dorm. The common room had begun filling with other students who decided to utilize the tables for their own work. Eliza started to say that they should just say here and work and that the walk all the way to library was very tedious anyhow, but Padma was already out of the room before the thoughts reached her mouth.

Once in the library they found a table near the windows that was empty and sat down. Madam Pince was circling through the place, collecting books and tomes that had been put out of place. She looked to be in a bad mood. Well, so did the rest of the students there. There weren't too many that enjoyed writing long winded descriptions of rare plants and how they related to magic or listing the subtle differences between sigils created in the fourteen hundreds verses sigils created in the fifteen hundreds. Eliza and Padma spread their books and papers out over the table and started working.

Padma slammed the transfiguration text shut and pushed the heavy roll of parchment away from her. Eliza scribbled a few last words onto her own essay and threw down her quill. Regardless of the fact they had at least two feet of parchment to do for every subject they finished with most of the evening left. The other houses' students were still working feverously on their homework all around the library. That was the nice thing about being a Ravenclaw, you tended to be done much sooner than anyone else. Schoolwork just seemed to come naturally. Of course, Eliza's general dislike for it only made her work faster and more precise. No good would come from having to go back and redo something. The girls gathered their supplies and headed out of the library. Padma stifled a giggle as she passed a very hungover looking group of Gryffindors. Seamus caught her eye and blushed.

The corridors were fairly quiet. Most of the student body was in hushed up in the common rooms and library trying to get the work done that they neglected all weekend. Eliza was skipping slightly and running her hands along the walls. Padma just smiled and looked up toward the ceiling, as if silently asking some deity why she had chosen the pyrate as a friend. She looked rather childlike with the oversized clothing and bare feet. She had left the tri-cornered hat back in the dorm and dawned her usual bandana. Padma suddenly felt more like a mother than a peer as she called Eliza away from an unpleasant painting.

"What? He started it." Eliza cast a mean glare back at the portrait in question.

"Izza… sometimes…" Padma shook her head but couldn't finish scolding her friend when she saw her bright smile. "Oh, honestly." Padma grabbed Eliza and put her in a headlock and ruffled bandana up.

"Oi!"

***

Eliza climbed into her bed and tucked the covers up to her chin and watched her roommates. The rest of the girls were also getting ready for bed. Padma and finally managed to get the rest of the blue markings off of her skin and flopped onto her bed and shut the curtains. Lisa looked back to normal, except for the tail. That was a pretty good bit of magic and it decided it wouldn't be charmed away just yet. Lisa had given very little details of the previous nights events. Perhaps that was because her memory was about as whole as Eliza's was. Mandy was loudly brushing her teeth and listening to Sally Anne who was going on about some project for Arthimancy. Both the girls emerged from the bathroom and climbed into their own beds.

"Lights off?" Mandy called.

There were murmurs of agreement from Lisa and Padma's beds.

"Aye!" Eliza called over, shutting her curtains.

"Nox." Mandy said and yawned.

The room darkened and there was a bit of shuffling as the other girls pulled their curtains shut as well.

"Good night, Sally Anne." Mandy sighed.

"Good night, Mandy. Good night, Lisa, Eliza, Padma." Sally Anne replied.

"Night, Padma." Lisa called.

"Mmm…yeah, Night." Padma mumbled.

"Night, Izza." Lisa continued.

"G'night, Lisa. Padma." Eliza smiled, she loved this little nightly ritual they started. The girls said good night to each other for at least five minutes until someone got really frustrated and silenced them all.

"Night, Sally Anne, night Mandy." Lisa tried to hide the giggle in her voice.

"…Night." Padma was almost asleep.

"Good night, moon." Lisa called.

"Is Jared in here?" Mandy sounded startled.

"I thought you were seeing Seamus now…?" Sally Anne questioned.

"Yeah…but…no…its from a book…" Lisa sounded like she was rubbing her temples.

"Good night, moon? Why would you say that?" Mandy did not understand.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph! …You bloody purebloods… would it kill you to read some muggle writing?"

"Is Jared here or not?" Sally Anne fought back a laugh.

"GOOD NIGHT!"

Chapter 10
Reflections

Today was the day. Today was the day that Eliza Smythe would find the Lost Treasure of Baneheart. There was no doubt in her mind that it would be in her hands by mid afternoon. She had cleared her entire Sunday just for this. She woke just after dawn, the rest of the girls were still fast asleep. Eliza quietly put on a pair of dark blue britches and a loose white shirt. She half tucked it into her belt and pulled on over it a lighter blue jacket with wooden buttons. She found her stockings and boots under her bed and wrapped her bandana over her messy hair. Scalawag climbed onto her shoulder saying nothing, he knew it was a time for secrecy. Without much noise she grabbed her leather satchel and tiptoed out of the room. Today was her day, she didn't want to be disturbed.

Eliza climbed the astronomy tower stairs sliding the leather map from her shirt. She had a plan and it would require her entire concentration and a good bit of her navigator training. She found her way to one of the large windows and set her bag down. Scalawag flew to the sill and fluttered his wings. Eliza started to pull out her tools of trade. There was a small gold compact that she opened. Inside, it was beautifully etched. The lid was a combination of a sundial and a compass. On the other half was a moving diagram for calculating the tides from the phases of the moon, called a volvelle. In its center was a small hole that a little gold wind vane would fit. The whole thing was exquisitely crafted and engraved. It was one of Eliza's most precious gifts. Her grandfather had given it to her on her eighth birthday. She set the open compact on the sill and pulled out a larger device that was folded into itself. As she righted all of the parts it took the form of a complicated set of straight and arched rulers. It was called a backstaff and it measured latitude and distance. It was made of wood, but it was just as intricately carved as the compact. Next, was a small telescope, which many pyrates called "Bring 'em Nears". It was made of vellum, with was very thin calfskin. On it was painted a very lovely sea scene. Waves with fish and sea creatures diving and slashing. Lastly, Eliza pulled out a thick book that was old and worn. Its cover torn and stained. Inside was a collection of charts Eliza had found or made over the years. There were several of the ports of Ethereal and the surrounding islands.

She had learned the art of navigation from one of the crew. His name was Avery Alexander and he had been Captain Smythe's navigator for over fifteen years. After a long stay at a port in Ethereal, Alexander bought the blank volume and had given it to Eliza with a set of ink and a nice quill. He sat down with her and began showing her how to draw the bay and its details. She wasn't very skilled at drawing much, but because she practiced on almost a daily basis, she acquired the ability for map making. There were still several pages that were blank and this was where Eliza intended to start.

The leather map was five inches wide and seven inches high. She began sketching it in, to scale, on half of a blank page. It took about three quarters of an hour to match the detail of the castle and the edges of the lake that it showed. Once she was satisfied, she set down the quill and picked up the backstaff and the compact. Looking through the device she began measuring out distances to landmarks on the map. From these measurements she was able to figure out the scale of the map she had drawn, as well as the original leather map. Every inch on the leather piece was two and a quarter miles. On her map it was three. She began sketching in where the corners of where the other half of the map should be and brought the book over to the sill. She looked out over the school grounds and started taking distances again, this time to landmarks that would be on the missing half. Eliza detailed the line of the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid's Hut. She added the roads and paths, as well as the edges of the lake that extended eastward. She did all she could from the Astronomy tower and gathered her things. She needed two other perspectives to check her measurements and sketches. Once her satchel was loaded she woke Scalawag up and set him on her shoulder.

It was breakfast time when she descended the stairs of the tower. There were a few students about, making their way to the Great Hall. Eliza thought she should pop in to get something to take with her. The Ravenclaw table was half full. Mandy was there, but no sign of the others. She nodded a quick hello and took a chuck of bread, an apple, and a handful of nuts without sitting down. She was headed out of the Entrance hall through the main doors when she heard Padma call her.

"Izza! Where have you been all morning? And… where are you going?"

"Ahoy, Padma. Got some business to attend to. Be back for lunch." She walked quickly through to the outside before Padma could question her further. Somehow Eliza didn't think the Ravenclaw would really understand the urgency of hunting for buried treasure.

She set off for a high bluff on the southwestern side of the lake. It would take a good hour to hike there, but it was an excellent vantage point and perfect for private scouting. The walk was pleasant. The air was clear and crisp. It was still warm for the fall. A light breeze rustled the golden leaves in the great trees on all sides of the shore. The castle was growing smaller in Eliza's rear and she relished the sound of the water lapping against the rocks and shoreline. Scalawag whistled on her shoulder, he was enjoying the walk as well.

Eliza finally reached the top of the hill that she set out to and found a good clearing. Scalawag leapt off her and flew to the nearest tree. The parrot was used to more tropical surroundings and was keenly interested in the foreign foliage. Eliza dug out her navigation tools again to set to work checking her distances and details of the forest and lake. She touched up her shoreline here and there, correcting the jagged blue jaunts. Her rendition of the forest line was fairly close, she only had to add in a bit of the southern edge as it winded around the lake.

She was fairly satisfied with the map, but felt it was her duty as a good navigator to triangulate herself just to be sure. The only problem was where. The best place would be somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. But there were no high points in sight, nor was she allowed in there by school rules. Not that she cared so much for the rules, but she couldn't get kicked out before she had the treasure in her hands. The other option would be the hills to the east of Hogsmeade. She vaguely remembered noticing them while she was on Morse's ship. They were a bit south of where she was now, and far enough east that it would check her points. Of course, that meant an illegal trip into the village, but Eliza supposed it was better than running off into the den of evil that was the Forbidden Forest. So, she packed her things again and looked around for her lime colored friend.

"Oi! Scalawag, we're off."

The bird fluttered down from a pine and nuzzled up in her hair. He was shivering slightly. Scalawag had such a weak tolerance for temperature change. Well, so was Eliza, but she had a coat on. It was already noon and Eliza figured the hike would take another hour if she set a brisk pace. She would have to skirt the edge of the village if she didn't want to be seen. It was common knowledge that professors frequented Hogsmeade on the weekends. Eliza figured she was fairly recognizable and strutting through The Three Broomsticks waving a treasure map may be a bad idea.

While she tramped through the woods and fields she let her mind wonder. What would the treasure contain? More Galleons than she could hold? Rare gems and jewels? Rose sapphire pendants, emerald rings, bloodstone reliquaries, handfuls of garnets, chips of malachite, strings of rubies and opals? She fantasized that Baneheart would lock away his most valuable and finely crafted weapons and magic items. Ornate cutlasses, elaborate daggers, charmed trinkets? The possibilities were endless. Maybe there would be rare muggle treasure. Gold doubloons or Spanish silver? Eliza had a small necklace made of doubloons and pieces of eight back in her chest. Pyrates were often fascinated by the muggle pirates and their adventures. Of course, Baneheart was a purest so perhaps there would be no muggle treasure here. She smiled as she envisioned herself in piles of gold, tossing coins into the air. Eliza's flights of fantasy brought her to the edges of Hogsmeade. She best start paying attention to her feet.

There were several witches and wizards out today, not surprising for how nice the weather was. There was even a good crowd on the side streets. Eliza would have to stick to the woods or the streets around the houses. It added a good half an hour to her trip, but it was worth not being seen and stopped. The hills on the eastern side of town were very steep and rocky. Eliza had to dig her hook in several places and hoist herself up. It was a good climb, honestly, her muscles needed the exercise. Years of scampering up rigging and hanging off of yardarms had trained her balance and strength well. It would be a pity to lose all of that before she returned to her ship. Finally, near mid afternoon she reached the summit. It was a fairly good distance up and she could see the castle off in the northwest. Scalawag stayed close this time, siphoning off Eliza's body heat. She pulled out her bring 'em near and ran her vision over the castle and the grounds. There wasn't a whole lot of activity. There were a few students running around or sitting outside. There were a few down by the lake studying and a few practicing on the Quidditch pitch. Eliza sighed and put down the tool. She dug around for the backstaff and her gold compact. Once her charts and quills were set she resumed checking the distances as she had done before on the bluff. Like she had presumed, her map was accurate and done quite well. So that was done, phase one of her plan was complete. She had created the entire treasure map. All that was left was finding the treasure.

This, of course, was easier said than done. As Eliza made her way back to the castle she began calculating the enormity of the area covered by the map. Half of the map was five inches long, so the whole of it would be ten. Ten inches by two and a quarter miles per inch was twenty-two and a half miles. This was taken by seven inches by two and a quarter miles, which was fifteen and three quarters. That meant there was just over three-hundred and fifty square miles to search. No wonder Darren had searched for five years without turning up anything. It was starting to become late in the afternoon and Eliza would probably just make it back to the castle by dinnertime. Perhaps, she should spend the rest of the evening drawing up an order to her search. It would be dark soon after dinner and the temperature would surely drop. As much as Eliza prided herself on her rough and tough body, it did not handle the cold well. So tomorrow would be the day then. Yes, tomorrow would be the day Eliza Smythe would find the Lost Treasure of Baneheart.

***

Eliza grumbled as she heaved the small rowboat from the lakeshore to the water. It was one of the boats she had come over to the castle with at the beginning of the school year. Hagrid had stored most of them in the boathouse at the base of the castle, but a few had been left out on the shore to tend to the water creatures. Eliza was sure he wouldn't mind her borrowing the one. She pushed it out into the shallow water and her companion climbed in and sat on the seat in the back. Eliza shoved off past the drop off and jumped aboard, unsettling her friend. She took the oars and began rowing. They were a good distance into the lake before either spoke.

"Well, I be glad ye came with me. I've a lot on my mind, ye know. Could use some venting, if ye don't mind."

"Don't mind."

"I guess it be mostly this map. Well, it started with this map. I mean, it's been a whole week now, and I be no closer than I were when I took it from Darren. It's really very maddening. Now, I've ruled out that it's in the castle, because Darren would have found it if it were. So that helps. And I would like to think that it's not going to be on the open ground anywhere, because how would you explain to students about the crazy pyrate digging holes just outside of the castle?"

"Open land?"

"Well, like the fields and grass. But I see what you're sayin'. Could have all been forest back then, so it could be anywhere right?" Eliza mulled on this point for a moment. "No, no. The original map would have had it on there then, but it don't. Looks almost like it is today apart from the Quidditch pitch and the willow. Anyway, that leaves the lake and the forest. Both of which aren't the easiest places to search. That's partially the reason we're out here, I've heard thar be merfolk here and I were hopin' to inquire of them. I mean, they would know wouldn't they? If someone had buried or sunk treasure in their lake at some point? It's not somethin' you ignore as merfolk, people disturbin' your environs."

The figure at the end of the boat nodded slowly, pondering Eliza's reasoning.

"So, anyway, that's how it really all started, I've been getting so frustrated with this search. It's nothin' but paperwork and useless hikin'. It's supposed to be fun, ye know? It's supposed to be a distraction, when all it does is drive me back to the fact I'm miserable. And that's what its down to. I be miserable. I've been here over two months now and I think I've reached my point. At first, it were amusin' and I enjoyed the change of scenery. The novelty of being with so many my age. The girls are nice and all, a little balmy. But they're not Meg. And they're not pyrates. And despite the good temper I've been keepin' I can't help but be annoyed by all of the youngins. Well, fun while it lasted but now it's time to go home." She signed. "I mean where does it fit in to my life?" She gestured to the school walls.

The history of Eliza's families brushed through her mind as she pulled the oars into the boat and sank back. She lowered her body onto the floor of the boat kicked her legs up onto the seat and flung her arms over the sides so that her fingers swept the surface of the water.

The island of Ethereal had existed for an unknown number of years before Sir Ethan Ethereal, an early wizard seafarer, came across it. At the time, very few wizards were enticed by the call of the ocean. Many stayed close to the safety of their native woods and glens, fearing persecution by muggles. Sir Ethan, though, had too much of explorer in his blood, he needed to see the edge of the known world and fly right past. It wasn't long before he was able, with the help of his crew, to enchant an entire ship so that it wouldn't be seen by muggles. Sir Ethan and his crew left the coasts of England and set out for adventure. They sailed all over the Mediterranean. The muggle corsairs were running rampant all over the place so Ethan headed west in search of the fabled edge of the world. Instead he came upon several islands in the sky. The islands are near the present day Caribbean, east of the southern edge of North America and south of the island of Bermuda. They sort of cover a triangular region. Some were very small and uninhabited. However, when he first laid eye on the island that would bear his name he was speechless.

The island looked as though an invisible volcano erupted in the air and formed this huge mountainous floating citadel. The foliage was lush and the white sand shores spread out into the clouds. Sir Ethan and his crew were probably the first ever non-natives to see the beautiful site. They brought their ship as close as they dared and Sir Ethan and the other officers took a landing boat to the shore. They had only walked on the sand for a moment before they were surrounded by the island natives. The creatures resembled humans, but were of magical origin. Tall, dark and thin with huge bright eyes. Not witches or wizards, but they possessed inherent magical ability. The creatures surprisingly accepted the presence of the wizard crew and welcomed them to stay in their tribal homes. They lived among the great trees in the thick rain forest that covered all but the shoreline. Ethan's crew stayed there for many months. Exploring the island and discovering its rarities. Rarities which proved to be highly magical. The natives shared with the wizards their pagan rituals, spells, potions and magic. The wizards eventually learned the native's language and were able to co-exist with them very easily.

During a great feast in honor of the chieftain's daughter's birthday, Ethan announced his decision to leave the island to continue exploring. This saddened the chieftain, as well as the other natives. He silenced the feast and offered his only daughter to Sir Ethan if he and his men would stay and cohabitate the island. This, of course, was an offer that the English wizards could not pass up. The island was paradise, as well as part ownership offered business opportunities one only dreamed of. There was also that the chieftain's daughter was beyond beautiful and quite powerful in her own right. A marriage to her would be very beneficial to Sir Ethan.

That was the beginning of it all. Sir Ethan Ethereal became the master of the island with his beautiful wife, Zuriah. The seawizards and natives worked together to export the island's rare plants and animals. Many of which were potent ingredients for powerful potions. Sir Ethan, however, kept very detailed volumes (presently housed in the library of her grandfather) of the native magic, some of which was only known to Zuriah, being the chieftain's daughter. He shared with the rest of the wizarding world things of great value, but kept for himself and his family the most powerful secrets. Life on the island flourished and the Ethereal family had a largely successful merchant shipping company. Ports and villages sprung up on the island and were all controlled by the Ethereal family, the now rightful owners of the land.

Today, the native and seawizarding culture are so integrated, it's hard to distinguish. Almost all of the Etherealians have the native magic in their blood, but there are no pure islanders as there once was. The Etherealians consider themselves pureblood witches and wizards, just with a little twist. The Ethereal family has governed the island country ever since and is currently at the hands of Eliza's grandfather, the Count Cisco Ethereal. Eliza's uncles help to run the family business, as well as the island itself. Eliza's mother, may she rest in peace, had left the island to go to school in Jamaica at a young age. When she returned she had the undeniable urge to see other places besides the island of Ethereal. Her family didn't stop her, after all, they had exploration in their blood. Of course, that led to her kidnapping, but that is neither here nor there.

"The blood of my mother, may she rest in peace, calls to me. I want to run along sandy shores and bask in the direct sun of the equator. I want to dance and live carefree. I miss the whole attitude of island life. Its warmth…its plants and animals. It's so cold here and the land is covered in thick grass and weeds. There's no sand. No dirt. The forests are so boring, and so high. Hardly any underbrush. Ah, what I wouldn't give for a nice jungle walk. Thick vines to swing on. Sweet, rich colored fruits. Everything here is cold and lifeless. Everything here is stone." Eliza turned her body slightly so that she was looking into her reflection in the water. She slid her hook through the icy recesses.

Her hook. Her hook was a constant reminder of her life of piracy. She was her father's daughter, there was no doubt. The culture of seawitches and wizards ran almost independently from the rest of the wizarding world. They had their own islands, ports and economy. They dealt little with, and in most cases completely ignored, governments. Ask a seawizard how he felt the English Ministry of Magic was handling the growing threat of dark wizardry and he'll probably just grunt if you're lucky, if you're not, he'll slit your throat. That was another interesting thing about the culture. They ran like a well-incorporated mix of fifteenth century muggle seamanship and clever wizardry. They carried muggle weapons right along side their wands. Their ships ran as easily through the clouds as they did the water and often switched between several times a day. But they preferred to run their ships the way they were meant to. There was nothing like fighting a storm with nothing but rope and your hands. Of course, there was always wind in their sails, whether they had to make it or not.

The economy of the sea culture adapted to, and even depended on the existence of pyrates. Pyrates would often rob ships or pillage ports, only to return days later and spend enormous amounts of treasure on food, booze, supplies and women. It was a very give and take relationship. They would burn a place down, but then spend enough money there in a week to build it back twice as tall. There was actually little danger to wizard merchants, they would be boarded, and their holds ransacked, but little else. The danger came when pyrates met. Many were always vying for the title of most ruthless and most vicious. Ships ran through crews almost like water the way they killed each other off. Of course, there were different classes of pyrates. Ones that were mostly merchants, only carried some protection and didn't mind coming across unguarded ships and taking some of their things to add to their sales. There were those that enjoyed the act of piracy and rarely killed. They loved the freedom of the life, were fun loving and actually got along quite well with the merchants at every port. Even had a few regular ships they routinely boarded and stole from. Hello Earl, how are the kids? Mind if we nick all of your rum? Thanks so much, see you next week. And then there was the killing kind. Pyrates who thrived on blood and lived under the red flag that warned: "there would be no survivors". They were the ones to keep away from. Not bad at parties, but never fought fair. Well, few pyrates fought fair. But the killing kind were usually pretty ghastly about it.

The Smythe family had originated somewhere on the coast of England. It's hard to say when the first Smythe took to the seas, but it had become a family tradition. There wasn't a Smythe anywhere that didn't have something to do with the sea. Eliza's grandfather on her father's side, Jonathan "Iron" Smythe, had been a great pyrate, and his father before him. So it was quite natural for Nathaniel to choose this line of work.

"The blood of my father calls to me as well. I have the undeniable urge to sail with the running tide, to taste salt in my mouth and feel gold in my hand. Seeing Mad and Meg last week was so wonderful, yet also it just added to my misery. They're off having the life I want. They're enjoying the night breeze from the top of the main mast. Looting and pillaging. Drinkin' rum and singin' with the crew every night. That's where I belong. That's what's in my blood. So, where does this fit in? This school? Uuugh. This monotony? Every week I go to the same classes, see the same teachers. Hear the same conversations over and over. It's so routine that I can't stand it. I need adventure. I need high seas. I need storms with mile high waves!"

Eliza glazed over to her listener and realized she had been blabbering on for a good part of the morning about her misgivings when she had come out here to discuss the map.

"Thanks again for listening, don't know what I'd do without ye. But, enough of my worries. That's where this map was supposed to help, but I can't understand it! Half a map and nothing else. No signs, no clues. It's very unlike a pyrate to leave something like this. That's the whole point isn't it? To leave yourself a note, a map, telling you how to get back to your treasure. I mean, pyrates have a tendency to be bludgeoned or knocked upside the head often. So, its not surprising we forget things like where we buried that untold vast amount of gold or that insanely, wicked, powerful, magical cutlass. Who does this bloody thing help?" Eliza waved the map around and sighed.

"No clues?"

"No, only what Darren told me. That bastard. Nicked it from the Headmaster's office. Said that Baneheart were a business associate with one of the founders. That they probably let him bury it here. But who would he have done business with? Not Gryffindor, that be for sure. I'm sure Hufflepuff wouldn't have spoken to a pyrate. Not with how they run screaming from little me. That leaves Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Baneheart could have been one of Rowena's lovers I suppose. But would she allow him to bury treasure on the grounds? I think she would have been suspicious of it. It would have taken too long to convince her to allow it. Must have been Slytherin. That makes sense I suppose, Baneheart were a purist. Hated muggles, killed how many muggle sailors and pirates? So maybe there's a clue near something of Slytherins?"

"Squawk! Slytherin!"

Eliza rocketed out of her lounging position, nearly toppling the boat.

"Scalawag! That's it!" The bird flapped his wings slightly. He had patiently listened to Eliza's unsorted thoughts all morning and hadn't even been given a treat. Judging by her excitement, he wouldn't be getting one for a while. She grabbed the oars and started frantically rowing them back to the shore. "I don't know why I didn't remember it. It was such an odd conversation anyway. Of course!"

Eliza careened the rowboat onto the lake's edge and flew towards the castle. Scalawag did his best to catch up as the young pyrate rattled off more insults to herself for not seeing the obvious. Scalawag, of course, had no idea what she was talking about. Of course, he had no idea what she had been ranting about earlier either.

Eliza ran all the way to the second floor before she slowed down. Now just where was that hall she had been scrubbing for those detentions? She checked various doors, finding random classrooms until she found the historical wing on the eastern side of the castle. She carefully checked each frame, looking for the set of verses The Gray Lady had pointed out to her. She had said it was found in Slytherin's office and led to somewhere. Maybe it was a note, or instructions or even the other half of the map with an incantation to make the dashed lines appear. Finally, Eliza found the ornate dark oak picture frame that the small parchment was mounted in. It was light enough for her to read it now.

Deep within the den where snakes and serpents lie
There, where they that lick fingers red make bone dry
In wildwood long since free
Splinters cover sacred key
Monstrous treasure
Of untold measure

To unlock its secrets, whole it must be made
For once it was severed with Banes bloodied blade
In its folds the answer lies
Hidden there under disguise
Dead Hands of the past
Bid poison outcast

This was it! It had to be! Monstrous treasure! What else could it be? The verses obviously lead to the other half of the map. And when you find it, it must tell you how to get to the treasure. Eliza was beside herself with excitement. She fumbled with her satchel to get out her ink and quill. She had to get it copied so she could decipher it. She flipped to a blank page behind the map she had drawn and wrote down word for word the two verses with shaky hands. The treasure would be hers, there was no doubt now. She threw her things back into her bag and ran off for the Ravenclaw common room with Scalawag close behind. It was still early on Saturday, she had plenty of time to just sit and mull over the clues.

She got to the knight and was about to call the password when a stampede of Ravenclaws in wintry garments flooded through the entranceway. The knight plastered himself against a wall and missed being trampled. However, Eliza did not. When the dust settled she was lying on the stone floor of the corridor, her bag spread out, and Scalawag circling her like a vulture. It was at that moment Padma and Lisa emerged from the Knight.

"Izza! We've been looking for you! C'mon let's get your cloak! It's the first Quidditch game, remember? Ravenclaw verses Slytherin!" Lisa called as Padma grabbed Eliza's arm and dragged her up into the dorm while Eliza pleaded.

Chapter 11
Bloody Broomsticks

As much as Eliza protested she still found herself being forced into her thick, black Hogwart's cloak. A bright blue Ravenclaw crest stood out on the left chest. Padma did up the clasps while Lisa ran off to get something from her bed. Eliza stood with her arms slightly in the air. She felt like she was back in Madam Malkin's being fitted.

"Now mateys, Arrr. I have business to attend to…"

"Here they are!" Lisa called as she skipped back over to the pair.

"Lovely of ye fer invitin' me but…"

"Look Izza, Lisa made you a hat!"

"Well, I just altered the school uniform one a bit…"

Lisa handed Padma a thick winter cap, who in turn vigorously put it on Eliza's head. It was blue and bronze striped and clashed horribly with her bandana. Padma smiled broadly and Lisa looked proud.

"It's striped! Just the way you like it!"

"Goodie." Eliza grumbled.

"And that's not all! I also got you mittens! Well, one mitten…"

Lisa pulled out a matching blue and bronze striped mitten and shoved it on Eliza's right hand. There was another piece that resembled the mitten, but it had clearly been misshapen. Eliza gasped as she realized what Lisa had done. It was a mitten for her hook. Her mind quickly leapt to the fact she would look like a candy cane and she started to back away from her little friend, who looked more fiendish as the seconds ticked.

"Now, Izza, I worked really hard at charming this so it would fit your hook, let's try it on!"

"No… no… really, I must insist… I have much to do… Don't even like broomsticks really… Don't imagine…watchin' a match… I'll see the next one, honest…"

Eliza backed into Padma who grabbed both her arms and held her tight as the curly haired blonde approached, a malicious grin forming on her face.

There were several moments that escape description as Eliza tried to flee from the pair of Ravenclaws, dead set on adorning her in house colors. It was perhaps a good thing that the hook mitten was put on, or there may have been the need for medical attention. However, when the air cleared there stood Padma and Lisa, looking triumphant. And there stood Eliza, looking like a Ravenclaw billboard. The red and white stripes of her bandana showed through slightly under the winter hat that was cockeyed on her head. She could hardly lower her jaw in disgust because of the tightly wrapped blue and bronze striped scarf. Her hook did indeed cause one to think of blueberry and butterscotch candy canes and lick their lips, however it is not suggested to attempt a lick at Eliza, not in this state at any rate. The culmination of the entire ensemble was her extended right arm, mitten and all, holding a bright blue pennant that waved itself and proudly proclaimed, "RAVENCLAW - Where Eagles Soar!" It was perhaps glued on, since Eliza found that she could not let go. Another blessing, or it may have been hurled towards those victorious smiles.

"We better go! I want to get a good seat!" Lisa twirled and started for the door.

Padma shoved Eliza, who wished to remain planted in the dorm. She hissed with spite. Scalawag flew down from the corner he was hiding in and landed on Eliza's shoulder. The pyrate turned slightly, since that was all she could do.

"Be… be my bird…wearing a jumper?" Eliza seethed.

***

Eliza sat, expelling a curse, high in the Ravenclaw section of the stands. The aura she emitted was black and spiky. An empty radius appeared around her, something in the students' subconscious told them to scoot several feet away for fear of being skewered. Lisa and Padma dropped to the seats on either side of her, acting like prison escorts. Scalawag fluttered a bit and chirped happily.

"If ye act like ye like that jumper, I'll eat ye, because I won't have ye as a pet."

Scalawag took his position on her left shoulder and formed as much of a scowl as his beak would allow. Being dinner really wasn't his first choice of evening activities.

"Well, isn't this nice?" Lisa smiled.

"I bet Ira five Galleons that Cho would get the Snitch before Malfoy. I hope she does," Padma said cheerily.

Both girls completely ignored Eliza's temperament and chatted merrily. Eliza decided it was good time to start ranting, as the players were now taking the field.

"Broomsticks! You can't even swab with broomsticks."

"Welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season! This is Seamus Finnegan of Gryffindor and your lovely announcer for the year! The Slytherin team is headed out to the pitch! Team Captain and Seeker, Draco Malfoy is the first out. Following him are Warrington, Pucey, Crabbe, Goyle, Baddock and Pritchard. The lineup is mean and green!" Seamus' voice came over the stands.

"No one says, sweep the decks! What good is a broomstick? And who would want to fly with one of those? When ye can fly a ship?!"

"But are they a match to the runners-up for last year's Quidditch Cup? The Ravenclaws came close last year to beating Gryffindor, can they do it this year? Team Captain and Seeker, Cho Chang seems to think so as she takes to the air! She's followed by Bradley, Moon, Goldstein, Corner, Ackerly and Quirke! Blue and ready to sweep through!"

The section around Eliza burst into applause and cheers. Eliza remained unmoved. Not that she didn't want her house to do well, but it was the principle of it really. Lisa and Padma and dragged her there, despite the fact she clearly had other things to do of a treasure seeking nature. What was Quidditch compared to the hunt of fortune?

"Bloody broomsticks!" Eliza yelled, crossing her arms after shaking one rage filled mitten.

"Madam Hootch is releasing the Quaffle! Oh! And Bradley takes it! He passes it to Quirke! Back to Bradley! Oh look out! Crabbe and Goyle, Slytherin beaters, sent a Bludger right for him! Quirke's got the Quaffle, she tosses it to Corner! Corner heads to the goals. He's close now… Can Baddock block him? He shoots! Oh and it's caught by Baddock. Baddock passes it to Warrington. Warrington to Pucey. Moon knocks a Bludger but Goyle manages to hit it away before it gets to Pucey. Pritchard has it now. New Ravenclaw Keeper, Stewart Ackerly looks nervous. Smart kid, one of the top in his class, but how is he as a keeper? Pritchard shoots…Oh Stew! Ten points to Slytherin! Better luck next time Ackerly."

Sounds of disappointment were issued on all sides of Eliza.

"Corner's got the Quaffle now, he dives under Warrington and OH!! That was clearly blatching!"

Warrington had quickly dived to collide with Michael Corner and knock the Quaffle from his hands. Michael looked very angry, as well as hurt. He rubbed his left side with a grimace.

"Madam Hootch agrees and gives Slytherin a foul. Corner takes the Quaffle, he's got one shot to tie the game. And he does it! Way to go Corner! The score is ten all! Pucey takes the Quaffle…"

At this point Eliza tuned out for a moment. It wasn't a bad game, fairly interesting to watch, but again, she really didn't see the point in getting all keen on something involving broomsticks of all things. She mulled on the riddle. Deep within the den where snakes and serpents lie. The phrase rose into Eliza's mind. This, of course, could be literal. Somewhere you would find snakes. Under rocks. In the woods. Serpents? Well, the lake was more like. Of course, there was the figurative places as well. Things to do with Slytherin. There was their head of house, Professor Snape. Maybe his office. Or Slytherin's former office too. Perhaps his living quarters if he had them. Then there was the Slytherin Common room, wherever that was. Probably the Dungeon. Maybe the Dungeons themselves. Well, that was a good list to start with. Now what was the next line?

"-Foul! That had to be a foul! Slytherin beaters deliberately smash Quirke! She's on the ground! Madam Hootch! She didn't see it! No foul! Quirke looks likes she's going to be ok… She's on her feet! Oh, no, back on the ground. Looks like it's a trip to the hospital wing, courtesy of Slytherin."

Eliza was on her feet with the rest of the Ravenclaws. She rather liked Quirke. They were shouting and hissing. The Slytherins in the next section cheered.

"They just crashed into her!" Eliza exclaimed.

"Slytherin always plays dirty - FOUL!! Malfoy grabbed her broom! Hey!" Padma yelled.

"Damn it, Moon! Hit him! You have a fucking bat! Use it!" Eliza jumped up onto the bench.

"Bradley has the Quaffle, he passes to Corner - "

"You bloody maggot! Goyle!"

"Oh! Corner's almost knocked off his broom by a Bludger - "

"I don't understand, why don't they hit back? GOUGE HIS EYES OUT BRADLEY!"

"Well, it's not fair. It's fouling if you do," Lisa said before she let out a whoop for a Ravenclaw goal.

"Fair?" Eliza scoffed.

"That brings the score to Ravenclaw, ninety and Slytherin, one hundred and ten. Pucey takes the Quaffle down field. Passes to Warrington, oh! And he's lost control of his broom and dropped the Quaffle, way to go Moon!"

"That's the spirit, Jared! Aim for his head next time! Bloody Hell, Cho! Ye better get that snitch!" Eliza shook her candy cane hook. It was strange that it was still quite menacing.

"Corner's got it again, he passes to Bradley. Back to Corner. He tosses back to Bradley - WAIT, it's intercepted by Pucey! Slytherin is in control. They're gaining on the goals!"

"Ackerly, if ye let that past - SOMEONE HEX HIM! YE BASTARD! Warrington! I hope harpies rip out yer innards!"

"Warrington has the Quaffle! He shoots! SAVED BY ACKERLY!"

"They ought to be allowed wands or swords or something! Blunderbusses! Because those bats are USELESS IF YER NOT USING THEM TO CRACK SOMEONE'S SKULL IN! YE BLOODY OGRE!" Eliza jabbed at the air wildly with the pennant, even Lisa and Padma moved away.

"The Seekers are circling the pitch, Malfoy's right on Chang's tail. Looks like they've paused."

Draco and Cho hovered just in front of the Ravenclaw section, both scanning the air for the snitch. Eliza let loose. Malfoy didn't like her anyway, so it wasn't much of a loss.

"Malfoy! Ye motley-minded boar! Ye hideous pointy vulture! Do ye really think ye can get that little gold thing before Cho? Ye've absolutely no talent! Yer a puking, puny, ill-breed, hedge-pig! AND YER MOTHER WAS A VARMINT!" Eliza spit.

"Ferret, more like!" A voice came from behind Eliza.

The Ravenclaws laughed. Draco sneered. Cho dived.

Eliza went to kick someone who made the mistake of sitting within the radius of her feet but found that suddenly nothing was in the radius of her feet, not even the bench she had been standing on. She shuffled and pointed her boots dumbly in the air.

"I be flying!"

She wasn't. She was actually being held up by the scruff of her cloak.

"Oh, ahoy Hagrid! Enjoying the game?" Eliza said smartly.

"'Ello Eliza." Hagrid was holding her up to eye level, which left Eliza's feet more than six feet in the air. "It's been pretty eventful. A few of the professors are getting uneasy with your commentary, lass. Said I'd come over and have a few words. Now, what would yer father say?"

"Rob 'em blind? Kick 'em in the teeth? Arrrh?" Eliza flashed an award-winning smile.

Hagrid attempted to stifle a laugh before he replied, "yeah, that's what yer father would have said - "

Whatever Hagrid said after that was drowned out by the eruption of applause and cheering that thundered through the Ravenclaws as Cho Chang circled the Quidditch pitch holding the golden Snitch proudly in the air.

"RAVENCLAW WINS!"

***

Eliza burst into the common room, rum sloshed from her bottle and she let out a loud, "HUZZAH!" The other Ravenclaws responded with equal enthusiasm. The celebration was in full force by sundown. The Ravenclaw Quidditch team had returned from the pitch to find all of their housemates gathered in the common room. Banners had been hung up, food brought, and butterbeer flowing like, well, butterbeer. Of course, Eliza broke into her stash from Mad Morse, she felt that the bloody broomstick thing was worth it after all. She felt quite refreshed and even revitalized for having had the opportunity to let out all of the pent up aggression towards other living things. On a day to day basis it turns out that one earns quite a few detentions for name calling, whereas at a Quidditch match, it's expected. Maybe not expected but at least tolerated.

The pyrate joined Padma, Lisa, Jared, Terry, and Anthony on one of the larger couches. They started to move over for her, but instead the girl plopped down on a few laps, swung her left leg over the arm and leaned back on someone else.

"Ahoy me 'earties!"

Lisa let out a deep laugh and grabbed the bottle from Eliza's hands. She took a large swig and passed it over to Padma. The Indian girl looked around a bit sheepishly.

"I really shouldn't be doing this… I'm a Prefect…"

"Yeah, you and me both, sister." Anthony grabbed the rum before Padma had taken a drink and helped himself. She scowled and took it back, enjoying a healthy gulp.

Terry and Jared also had a nip while the other Ravenclaws around the room downed bottles of butterbeer and congratulated members of the team. Cho and Michael were circling around with one another talking to various groups of students. Everyone wanted to slap her on the back and shake her hand. Eliza heard her saying that she had been practicing and had a new broom and all. Michael had his share of handshakes as well. Although, it was Orla Quirke who got the flood of love from the crowd as she entered into the common room. After an afternoon in the medical wing being cured by Madam Pomfry. She insisted that she was fine but everyone treated her as though she were about to fall apart. Eliza swore she heard someone call her brave, and say poor soul. Obviously the butterbeer was going to their large intelligent heads.

"Oi, how about a smoke?" Eliza rolled off of the bodies on the couch and jumped up. She took her rum and headed for the exit into the hallway.

"That's our cue…" Padma and Lisa stood much to the dismay of the three boys. They were probably upset about the rum.

The three girls snuck towards the entrance hall. Well, two of them snuck. Eliza walked down the center of the corridor, swinging the bottle of rum. Padma and Lisa giggled and stumbled against the wall.

"Shh! Heheheh…Stop! Or you'll wake up Filch!" Padma whispered loudly.

Luckily, they made it to the entrance hall and outside without being noticed or chased by Peeves. Eliza marched over the frosted grass to one of the garden walls with the pair of giddy girls traipsing behind her. They found a nice wooden bench and sat down. It was shielded from the wind by several large trees on either side and the garden wall to the rear. Eliza tucked her legs up to her chest and pulled out her little gold case. Lisa offered Padma one of her cigarettes, which the raven-haired girl took and lit. They sat out there smoking, drinking and chatting for several minutes before Eliza heard footsteps approaching.

"Shh!" She clamped a hand over Lisa's mouth.

"No need to stop your midnight illegalities on account of me." Pansy's voice floated eerily over the garden wall. She appeared past the trees shortly after.

"Come to celebrate with us, Pansy?" Lisa asked with a smile, holding out the bottle of rum.

"I do not celebrate the Ravenclaw win, but I'll mourn the Slytherin loss." She took the bottle and had a drink. The other girls laughed.

"Good match, wasn't it? I'm up five Galleons. Too bad your blonde boyfriend couldn't cut it." Padma smiled and lit another cigarette.

"Shut up, Patil." At that the Slytherin took a sour look and huddled into her cloak on the far side of the bench.

"Ooh…touchy." Lisa laughed and took a drink.

"Awe, don't be upset Pans! Just bloody boomsticks, you'll win other games!" Eliza did her best sympathetic voice before bursting into laughter.

Pansy scowled and lit a Salem. "I don't care about the Quidditch match."

"Not care about Quidditch? She is in a foul mood," Lisa replied.

"Stuff it mudblood."

Lisa glared at the Slytherin, but said nothing.

"Or maybe it's Draco she's in a huff about…" Padma leaned in towards Pansy.

"I told you to shut up Patil."

Padma laughed, "What happened? Have a tiff? I thought the two of you stopped dating last year anyway - "

"We aren't dating anymore. He can die for all I care. Bastard went after a third year behind my back during the O.W.L.s."

Lisa and Padma exchanged looks. "Well, you always seem to be together. At least around school. Practically joined at the hip…"

"Not because I want to be. I have to. At least, according to him. We're betrothed." Her voice was as sour as her expression.

Padma choked on the gulp of rum she had been taking.

"What? Betrothed? Are you serious?" Lisa gasped.

"Poor Harry…" Padma said overdramatically.

"Poor Ginny…" Lisa said trying not to laugh.

"Poor Draco!" Eliza grabbed the bottle and took a swig.

At first Pansy stared at Padma and Lisa, her mouth open, not understanding. The two laughed profusely and began going into hysterics. Then Pansy turned to Eliza and pushed her off the bench.

"You three are ridiculous."

"No seriously, Pansy. What happened?" Padma's laughs died down and she put on a sincere expression.

Pansy scowled and took a drag off her cigarette. "This summer, my parents decided to tell us that they made arrangements for us several years back. I guess in light of Draco's father's imprisonment they thought it would be good for us to know, whatever, ensure the family lineage or something. Next generation of Death Eaters." She laughed sadly. "I told him that it changed nothing between us, I still hated him for all that he's done. But in his eyes, I'm now his property. Said if I don't do as he says now, he'll push for the wedding to be this Christmas. I much rather enjoy the little time I have with freedom, even if I have to cater to his whims. He chased off…well, never mind. He told the person I was seeing over the summer that we were to be married at graduation and that pretty much ended that. I've been doing some serious thinking the last few months. It would seem that if my parents are so willing to make that choice for me, then I doubt they would allow me to make decisions concerning the rest of my life. All hail, Lord fucking Voldemort. I'm sure they can't wait for me to be branded as one of the chosen. The other Slytherins act as if we've already been initiated and Draco is their king. It's sickening." She finished with a note of anger and resentment.

There was a moment of silence. The three Ravenclaws watched the pale girl finish her cigarette and throw it to the ground with disgust. It was Padma who broke the tension.

"Pansy Malfoy! Ha!" Padma reeled with laughter.

"Oooh, can we have a bachelorette party? We can decorate with little dragons and pansies! Make Pansy wear a little vale! Question is, does she get to wear white?" Lisa managed between giggles.

"Have you considered what the name of your first born will be? May I suggest Eliza, it is a nice name... C'mon Pans, don't look so mean! They can call me Auntie Iz! Har HAR HARRRR! They can summer with me on my ship!" Eliza jeered.

"Oooh, what do you think they'll look like? Pale and blonde? Ha! There's a surprise. How scandalous it would be if they had anything different!" Padma was on the ground, hand on her stomach.

"I hate you. I hate all of you." Although malicious the words, they didn't match the half amused expression on her face. Pansy stood, rolled her eyes and started to walk towards the castle.

The three drunk Ravenclaws followed behind spouting off more jests to Pansy's dismay. The moonlight glinted off of Eliza's hook as she hummed a wedding march.

"Here comes the bride! All brat and snide! Here comes the groom, better off with a broom!" Padma sang with the tune.

"Shut up, Patil!"

"Oooh Pansy! You'll get to help Narcissia in the kitchen on holidays! In the kitchen, ha ha ha ha! You can call her mum!" Lisa did her best impression of the wretched women, "Draco darling, help your bride with the Christmas goose…"

The castle, and dungeon entrance couldn't come soon enough for the ice queen who, was trying to maintain her stony expression in spite of her companions antics.

"I hate you. Good night."

"Oohh, Good night young Mrs. Malfoy." Lisa said in the same Narcissia voice.

"Yes, Good night! I do hope you'll invite us up to the manor sometime. Probably not Lisa, as I'm sure she'll be hexed before getting within a mile. Kiss, kiss." Padma echoed.

"Harrrrh! Sweet dreams, Pans! Ha, although they'll probably be of Draco, pity!" Eliza followed the others towards the third floor.

***

"Lumos." Eliza whispered into the darkness. The light of her wand was shielded by the bed draping.

She took out her book of charts and on the page after the riddle she wrote the following:

Woods
Lake
Slytherins Office
Slytherins Quarters
Snapes Office
Slytherin Common Room
Dungeons

After a pause she added,

Potions Classroom

Feeling satisfied she slid the book under her mattress and whispered, "Nox." She fell into sleep lighthearted and happy.

Chapter 12
Requests and Inquiries

The excitement of the beginning of the Quidditch season helped early November pass. The Ravenclaws lorded the victory over the Slytherins as often as possible, which caused some ruckus in Herbology and other classes. Eliza had chalked her number of detentions up to about three so far since the game. However, the end of November was rather a drag. The only thing Eliza looked forward to was the meeting of the Athene Coven, which was to take place on the last day of the month.

Eliza tried to stay focused in classes, she did her homework and even made the attempt to practice some spells for charms and defense. But most of her attentions were always on the map and the riddle. She questioned Hagrid about locations of snakes and serpents. He told her that there were none housed on the Hogwarts campus. Some could be found deeper in the woods, but it was unadvised to go searching for them. This information did not help her much, but she was happy to learn that they would cover lake serpents later in December before Christmas.

A full month had passed since she had received the map on board The Incinerator. She was disappointed in herself for not being further along in the search for the treasure. She wondered briefly at times during meals, or in lulls of conversation, what her father would have done. If he would have pursued the treasure differently than she had been doing. Would he have been able to understand the riddle immediately after reading it? There was something that she was missing. If only she could understand the next few lines of the verse, perhaps she would stumble into insight. She only knew that she wanted to figure this whole thing out on her own, to prove to herself and to her father that she was a worthy pyrate. And perhaps earn her place back on The Defiant the following year to aid on the pursuit of Munroe.

***

The night of the meeting finally came and Eliza slipped out of bed as quietly as she could. Padma and Lisa were also up getting ready. Eliza put on the silver toga and its accessories. Although she put the scarf over her head, she did not remove her own bandana. The three girls quietly descended from the dormitory and through the common room. Padma looked out into the corridor first, checking to see if it was clear. They exited and walked as fast as they could towards the dungeons. Eliza was quite proud of herself for remembering the way down, as it was only the third meeting.

When they arrived to the room they found that only about half of the members were present. Eliza looked for a place to sit. There were several chairs and cushions that had appeared since last time. Vicky must have something to talk about tonight. Eliza sprawled out on a bench next to a figure she guessed was Pansy. The figure ignored her, so she was fairly sure it was the Slytherin. Padma and Lisa took chairs nearby. Everyone was chatting while they waited for the rest to show up. Eliza engaged Miko Nott, a Hufflepuff, in a conversation about swords.

"Well, I were trained with a cutlass, mostly, but I've used a rapier a few times. Course I quite like daggers as well." Eliza looked wistful. She had always loved fencing across the decks of The Defiant.

"Oh, I would love to try some time. I've never even held a sword before. Maybe… maybe you could bring them sometime and we could have a go?" the girl said excitedly.

"Arrrh! Excellent idea! I would love that! It be probably very few witches and wizards who've handled them. Not the usual choice of weapon unless yer a seawitch or a rich muggle-born."

"I've held one before," one of the younger Gryffindor members said quietly as she turned around.

"Have you Ginny? When? I suppose your father is fond of muggle objects…" Miko replied.

"No… It was in the Chamber of Secrets. Harry let me hold Godric Gryffindor's sword for a moment before we came back up." Her voice was particularly quiet, as if she was recalling a memory that was both dark and cherished.

Chamber of Secrets? What was that? Where had she heard that name before? Something about going there? No, it was leading there. The Gray Lady had said she thought the verses led to the Chamber of Secrets.

"Pardon? Chamber of Secrets? Where be that?" Eliza inquired, sliding closer to Ginny.

"It's where Slytherin housed his mudblood-killing Basilisk. It's also a place the little Weasley is very well acquainted with." Pansy's voice came very curtly from under her scarf.

Ginny reddened and turned around, looking down to her shoes as if she was washed over with guilt. Eliza turned to look at Pansy, ready to question her further. A Basilisk, she knew, was a large snake like beast and this chamber sounded a lot like a den of sorts. Perhaps the very one she was looking for. Before she could speak Vicky Frobisher called the meeting to order.

"Could everyone please take their seats? I have some important issues to go over tonight." She paused to allow the chitchat to die down. "Good. Thank you. The Britmater has asked me to relay a message that she feels is very important for members to hear. Because of the nature of the Coven, its membership is very diverse. The Coven does not segregate between light and dark magic, nor does it divide its membership based on their alliances. It is important to remember this as well as the oath we have all taken upon entrance into the Coven. During the first war with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named there were several incidents that brought disgrace to the Coven. Some of its members felt that their other devotions were above Coven law and used things sacred to Athene against their own sisters. Now, with the second rise of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named the Britmater would like to remind everyone that this behavior will not be tolerated under any circumstance. If it is discovered that a sister uses her position within the Coven to cause ill to another sworn daughter of Athene then the sentence will be death. No trial. No hearing. Just judgment." Her words fell heavily upon the Athene Coven of Hogwarts. All were silent for several minutes, letting the meaning of what the Hogsmater had just said sink in. A small had rose from a girl in the front row, it was Brooke Marceau, a fourth year Hufflepuff. "Yes Brooke?"

"What…well…what were the incidents if you don't mind me asking? I mean, what did they use that was sacred to the Coven?"

Vicky thought for a moment about how to phrase her answer. "There were some witches that due to their loyalties, tried to use their contacts within the Coven to help their side during the war. They…well…they called others to meet them under false pretenses, under the guise of Coven affairs and either delivered them to their master or killed them. The number of deaths is hard to say…since the witnesses to these crimes often never made it. The few who did informed the higher circles within the Coven, but it wasn't until very near the end. They are hoping that by informing the members that they are watching for this now, right away at the beginning of all this, it will deter those who considered the possibilities."

"What she's trying to say is the Dark Lord's servants told their Coven sisters they wanted to grab a bite to eat and chat about Athene and then served them a killing curse… or worse, bound them and laid them at You-Know-Who's feet," the seventh year Slytherin said loudly from the back corner. Several eyes turned to regard her coldly. As though it had been her idea.

"Actually, Serena, the crimes were committed on both sides of the war. There was a fair share of Death Eaters brought to trail because their Auror sisters preformed sting operations. The message that the Britmater wants to be made clear is that this won't be overlooked during this war. The point is that the daughters of Athene, Goddess of War, should be gratified when they come across opponents they know to be their sister. Satisfied to know they fight an enemy that has proven to be worthy of the blessing from the Goddess. This blessing is not something to exploit. Remember that with blood binding to the Coven you gain strong alliances. Do not misuse these alliances for your own personal gain within other organizations." Her gaze fell on several faces but stopped on Serena Roth, the Slytherin who had interjected before.

The tension was thick in the room.

"That's all I have this evening. Good Night." Vicky walked away from the center of the gathering and took off the helmet. She turned her back to the members and busied herself with her belongings. Obviously making the point she did not want to discuss anything further.

Eliza glanced around the room, making an assessment of the reactions.

Serena Roth looked momentarily stunned at the revelation that Vicky hadn't been only accusing or directing the warning at the would be Death Eaters in the group. It occurred to Eliza that the statement Pansy had made the night she was initiated was true. There were no houses here. The Athene coven celebrated strength in all its forms, for good or for evil. It was somewhere Eliza fit in well since her actions were governed by neither.

Pansy looked as though she had known all along what Vicky was going to say. Or at least it wasn't unexpected. She slipped a small compact from her toga and checked her appearance, completely indifferent as to what was going on outside of the mirror. Padma looked deep in thought, as though the words were bounding in her head and she was trying to catch them and dissect their meaning. Lisa reflected a fairly similar concentration. But it was obvious that, as she shot unsure glances at the Slytherins in the room, a spark of alarm was raised. Lisa never took the topic of Whoever-The-Hell-They-Kept-Not-Talking-About lightly. Probably for the fact she was muggle-born, and Pansy's carelessness for the warning did not ease her fear. The other coven members showed faces of mixed emotions. Although, they could not possibly foresee themselves ever using the coven relationships for ill, they were unsure about their counterparts in the room. This warning had spurred a fear that had not even existed until tonight.

"Well, this has been good for morale." Eliza said lightly before she stood and started back for the common room. Padma and Lisa followed. A few others made a start to leave as well. Pansy watched the Ravenclaws' retreating forms in her mirror.

***

The pink glow of dawn seeped through the large picture window in the Ravenclaw common room. Eliza was lounging casually on a plush blue bench next to it. She had in her arms her chart book and was staring at the riddle once again. In her mind she mumbled the words to the first verse and considered their meaning.

Deep within the den where snakes and serpents lie. This new idea of a Chamber that once held a Basilisk was very intriguing indeed. There, where they that lick fingers red…make bone dry. Now, what are they that lick fingers red? And make bone dry? How do you dry bones? Leave them in the sun? That both dries them and bleaches them. But, sun shining where snakes and serpents lie? That doesn't make sense. And the sun really doesn't lick fingers red. Well, unless you consider sunburn. But the line is THEY…The sun is singular. Perhaps drying the bones is a reference to cleaning them? Or ripping the flesh from them? That would work for a dungeon one would suppose. And perhaps an animal of some sort, or two. Or a Basilisk. Well, a Basilisk would definitely kill a person, eventually drying their bones. They that lick fingers red, very curious.

The only other occupant of the common room, Zack Hunter, another sixth year, raised his wand and pointed to the fireplace.

"Incendio." A fire blazed and sent a rush of warm air around the chilly common room.

Eliza stood and pointed at the fire and laughed insanely.

Zack gave Eliza a look that could have said, "Yes, it's a fucking fire. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Eliza narrowed her gaze, and although he hadn't said anything she still shook her hook at him for thinking it. His eyes widened and he returned to his book saying, "whatever…"

Eliza grabbed her things and waltzed out the entrance, laughing again to herself. A FIRE! A fire LICKS fingers red AND dries bones, if you burn them. People always referred to flames as though they licked. So, fire and snakes it is. Now, where would one find this lovely combination? She skipped lightly down the corridor. It was still very early, but she was sure breakfast would be laid out already. She was rather happy about everything. She had a good lead on the riddle and soon she would not have to attend classes for several weeks. Of course, almost everyone was leaving for the break. But being alone in the castle really wouldn't be too bad. No one to follow her around or discover anything about the treasure. She wasn't up to sharing it, this would be her glory.

She sat down at the Ravenclaw table and looked around. Luna Lovegood was the only other Ravenclaw. She was sitting at the far end reading something and snorting to herself. There were a few Hufflepuffs and one Gryffindor also eating breakfast, all submerged in their own thoughts. Eliza helped herself to some toast and coved it thickly with strawberry jam. As she munched on it she pulled out her chart book and a quill. She looked at her list of places and made a few amendments.

Woods X
Lake X
Slytherins Office
Slytherins Quarters
Snapes Office
Slytherin Common Room
Dungeons X
Potions Classroom
Chamber of Secrets

In or around a Fireplace
Stove or Burner
Fire pit

She quickly decided that the lake and the forest were out of the question as there would be no clear place to build a fire. She reasoned in the same manor that the dungeons were far too expansive to be considered. No, this verse lead to somewhere specific. A place that either currently or previously housed real snakes and/or serpents or a place that held things of the Slytherin nature. The signs were all pointing to this place called The Chamber of Secrets. Eliza would need to find out more. But before she threw herself into the inquiry, she wanted to rule out the others, and possibly reason out the rest of the clue.

In wildwood long since free, splinters cover sacred key. Now was this a literal key? Or a key to the map? Like a legend that would suddenly make everything clear on the map that Eliza held. She felt sure it was the later. It must be the other half of the map, only instead of showing the Forbidden Forest as she had previously thought, it must instead have the map's legend and scale. Once put together, the path to the treasure would become clear. That was obvious due to the first lines in the next verse: to unlock its secrets, whole it must be made, for once it was severed with Banes bloodied blade. She couldn't believe how easy this was all coming now that she understood the first few lines. What was catching her was the wildwood line. Did that mean wood for the fire? Surely not, considering any piles of wood near a fireplace would long since have been used. Exactly how would one set wildwood free anyway?

The questions pored into Eliza's mind and she quickly scratched notes to herself. Some of her conclusions and some of her questions, half asked and half answered. To anyone one reading the pages following the charts it would look like a stream of random thought with no concrete meaning. She shut the book, feeling slightly overwhelmed by all of it and because the room had been steadily filling since Eliza had sat down. For now she would have to focus on getting through the next few weeks of classes before she could settle down figure everything out for sure during the break.

***

She spent a good week scrubbing the potions classroom form floor to ceiling for the number of detentions she had earned from Professor Snape. She thought he was being unreasonable. After all, she had just inquired whether or not they could light a rather large fire somewhere in the potions classroom because it was chilly. Not that she wasn't chilly, but she had wanted to see if there was some unseen stove, fireplace or fire pit in the room. All she could see was the small burners for the students. Which were packed away with the rest of the equipment at the end of the lesson. Unfortunately the time she choose to make this request was in the middle of Snape's lecture, that she really hadn't realized was going on. Apparently, he didn't like being interrupted. Also, the man must have found it vexing that she did not let go of the subject, asking again later in the hour.

The real reason she had to do so much work for the Potions Master was probably because she had hounded him at his office as well. Thinking that he could escape the Ravenclaw once the class was over and been an oversight. She pranced towards his office thinking to herself that if she couldn't find a fireplace in the Potions classroom, perhaps she would find one in Snape's office. Reflecting on the event later during detention, Eliza had actually found it quite funny. But during the moment, she was actually very perturbed at the Professor. All she wanted was to get a good look at his office.

She had knocked and waited for a reply. When none came, she knocked again, much louder. The Professor simply said, "Go away."

When this was carried out another dozen times, and it became apparent that the visitor would not leave, she heard a muffled curse on the other side of the door before it was opened.

"Miss Smythe. It is inadvisable for you to continue pestering me as you are. I am in the middle of some very important work and I do not wish to be disturbed, however important you think your intrusion is." His voice was very cold and showed a trace of irritation.

Eliza took this as an invitation and ducked under Snape's arm and walked into the office. She took a quick glance around. There were endless jars of potion ingredients all along the walls, a cupboard in the corner and a very Spartan desk and chair. It was clear the Professor didn't care for being comfortable. And of course, there was no fireplace. He would like it cold, Eliza reflected. Before she could think much more of anything, Professor Snape and grabbed her arm and hauled her back out of the office.

"Smythe! That is enough! I am tired of your childish actions and interruptions. You are a sixteen year old witch, perhaps making your two detentions a week's worth will teach you some responsibility as well as some bloody manners." He slammed the door in her face.

Eliza had discovered what she wanted to know, and now after cleaning the potions room very thoroughly she found no large fire pit or stove that could possibly hold the key to her map. It was time, perhaps, to hit the library. She stopped back off at the Ravenclaw dorms to change into something warmer. The dungeons had introduced a chill into her bones she couldn't shake. She paused momentarily at the large fireplace in the common room. She ran her hands over the mantle piece. It was thick oak, stained dark. It was carved very cleanly. Rowena had simple elegant taste. Of course, Eliza assumed that the mantle had been there since the founding of the school. And that assumption brought with it two realizations. Had the common rooms in fact been in the same locations since the time of the founders? If not, then the other half of the map couldn't possibly be there. Also, the mantle was wood. Wood that had long since been cut and carved and turned into a beautiful piece of art. Free from the imprisonment of the ground. Wildwood, long since free. She almost ran to the library.

***

"I would like to look at Hogwarts, A History."

"I think you should know where it is by now, Miss Granger -" Madam Pince cut her words as soon as she looked up to find that it was, in fact, not Miss Granger, it was young Eliza Smythe. "Oh, Miss Smythe. I didn't expect you… I mean to say that Miss Granger usually checks out that particular book. It's on the fourth shelve on the right. Third row from the top about midway."

"Much obliged." Eliza turned and walked away to find the book.

Madam Pince briefly worried about the pages being stabbed by the girl's hook, but then, only Miss Granger would notice.

Eliza slammed the gargantuan tome down on a table. It was at least four inches thick even with very thin pages and small writing. She flipped through the first few, looking for a table of contents, unfortunately there was none. She silently cursed Darren again for setting her on this quest with so few clues. She had just about talked herself into starting at chapter one when an unfamiliar voice addressed her.

"Oh! Hogwarts, A History! I've read that six times now." There was a pretty brunette girl in front of her table looking down at her. Her brown eyes were wide with eagerness and reflected the pages of the tome.

"Six times, ye say?" Eliza pushed out the chair opposite her with her boot. She twitched her eyebrows to invite the girl to sit.

"You're Eliza Smythe. The pyrate," she said very matter-of-factly.

Eliza looked down to her hook that rested on the table and felt for her bandana. Once checked she replied, "Seems to be so."

"Hermione Granger. We've en introduced once before. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms together."

"Oh, right. Ye be a Gryffindor. Friends with Parvati?"

"Well, we're housemates. Not really close friends…par say."

"Ah."

There was an awkward pause and Hermione thought to explain why she was better friends with the Gryffindor boys than the girls, only she wasn't sure herself. Besides, she was sure the Ravenclaw really didn't care.

"Six times, ye say? Know it pretty well then?"

"Oh yes, it's very interesting..."

Hermione started to ramble on about dates, names, and wards. Eliza smiled politely and tuned her out. A plan was forming.

"…and that's why you can't apperate inside the castle walls."

"Fascinating," Eliza said with false enthusiasm. "Would ye mind if I asked ye a few questions? On account'a I don't even know if th' information I want be in this book. Ye seem like ye are quite familiar with its contents."

"Oh, of course! I could tell you for sure if it's in there." Hermione smiled.

"I'm interested in the structure of the castle. For instance…were the house common rooms and dormitories established during the time of the founders? Or were they built later on?"

"I could tell you that! They were most definitely established by the founders. The dorms however, were smaller and have since been added to but their locations haven't changed. The guardians to the entrances have fluctuated during the years…"

Hermione trailed on about paintings and statues. She said something to the effect of the common room decors matching the tastes of the founders as well. Eliza, meanwhile, pulled out her chart book and quill. She dipped it into an inkwell and started jotting down notes. This, of course, egged Hermione on and she talked faster.

"Really?" Eliza interrupted, "Now, did the founders live within the castle, or did they have homes elsewhere? And what of their offices… they didn't all use the headmaster's office did they?"

Hermione was momentarily upset about being cut off in mid sentence, but then rushed to answer the new questions. "Well, it's not really known where they lived… it was so long ago. But I think they would have had quarters here during the school terms, but it's not sure where they would have been, of course. So much of this castle is a mystery."

"Ye don't say."

"They're offices, however, are in the same corridor as Professor Dumbledore's. Actually I believe he uses Gryffindor's. It has sort of become the standard for headmasters after the founder's time."

Eliza wrote this fact down and looked up, expecting more.

"Oh. Ah. Well. They're impossible to get into, of course. So many advanced wards. Professor Dumbledore probably doesn't even know how."

Eliza grimaced and kept eye contact as she crossed out the previous sentence from her notes. Neither girl said anything for a moment. Eliza set her quill down folded her hand and hook and leaned in close to Hermione's face.

"Now, Hermione Granger…What can ye tell me 'bout th' Chamber of Secrets?"

***

"So ye don't know much 'bout th' layout…I only ask because I have an intense interest for ancient architecture… Ye couldn't say what it looked like? Large stone pillars? Green tile? Large ornate fireplaces with secret drawers in the mantles? How was it lit? Torches? Huge fire pits with bones in them?" Then with an almost sinister voice she added, "Skylights?"

There was something odd about the pyrate's last statement, but Hermione couldn't quite place a finger on it. She seemed far too interested in the Chamber. The girl had listened intently to her entire recount of the events that took place in her second year at Hogwarts. It was strange to have so many new students this year who were unfamiliar with the things that occurred over the time Hermione had been a student.

"Skylights?" she paused. "No. I'm afraid I don't know that."

Eliza looked most displeased with that answer. She would have to track down that red headed Weasley girl and find out for sure.

"Well, look, you can ask Harry for yourself. Ron! Harry! Over here!" Hermione called towards the entrance of the library, where two boys were standing. Madam Pince shot her a disdainful look for yelling in the Library. The boys walked over slowly, eyeing Eliza suspiciously.

"I thought we were working alone." Harry breathed quietly to Hermione.

"Eliza was just leaving, but she wanted to ask you a question."

Eliza regarded the three Gryffindors warily. Hermione had a stack of books she was keeping closely guarded. Harry kept looking back and forth from Hermione to Eliza. Ron looked guilty. Eliza knew guilt when she saw it. They were up to something. She briefly narrowed her eyes, and then caught herself. Better to look nonchalant. She didn't want them to think she was too interested. She leaned back on the chair, balanced on the two rear legs. She threw her right arm over the back and slid her hook onto the table to steady herself. She cast a careless look over to Harry, who was getting impatient.

"Just to staid my curiosity, Harry… Tell me, what did th' Chamber of Secrets look like?"

This did not seem to be the question he was expecting.

"Oh. Well." He adjusted his glasses. "It was done heavily in evil. Big stone snake theme." She heard the sarcasm in his voice. "You know, dark and dank. Very Slytherin."

"Yes, that be all well and good. But what about the lighting? Any fireplaces? Fire pits? Nothing burning? Curious mantles?" At the word good she had flown out of her chair and was now standing a little too close to Harry. Too eager she told herself. He suspects! She twitched her head to pretend to be interested in her nails. This unfortunately did not cover for the fact she had knocked her chair down and had one knee on the table.

The Gryffindors cocked their heads at various angles in puzzlement over the oddities of the Ravenclaw. Being smart must do something to your senses. Perhaps she was related to Luna. Hermione decided she was on drugs and resolved to leave a self-help pamphlet for Padma to give to her. Harry decided she was mentally ill, or evil, or both. Ron wondered how she could be interested in her nails when she was wearing black gloves, or a black glove, rather.

Eliza watched them out of the corner of her eye. This wasn't going as well as she planned. But the library was a far too public of a place to kill all three. She needed to escape quickly.

"No…There were torches on the walls, but that's it. No fireplaces." He spoke slowly watching Eliza.

"You're quite sure?"

"Quite."

Eliza looked at Hermione and said leisurely, "fascinating."

A moment later she had gathered her things and was walking towards the exit.

"You can't get in, you know. It's been sealed now, by Dumbledore himself," Harry called over his shoulder. Eliza stopped and shot a look back at the trio.

"Oh, I don't want to go there. No fireplaces. I don't like the cold." She continued out of the library.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Ron said as he watched her go.

Chapter 13
Crestfallen

"Are you sure you won't come with us Izza?" Padma and Parvati stood with their trunks, completely bundled up in winter cloaks.

The whole of Hogwarts was getting ready to leave for the Hogsmeade station to be taken to their homes for the holidays. The Patil twins had been asking Eliza for the last week to join them over the vacation and spend Christmas with their family. Lisa had also offered citing that living with muggles for a few weeks would be interesting and her parents had never met a pyrate before. Eliza had politely refused both offers and told them that she had work to catch up on as well as she was hoping that her father might make an appearance at the castle. Since she couldn't contact him, he wouldn't know where to find her if she left. The girls understood but were still sad that their friend would be spending the holiday away from them and possibly alone. Eliza maintained a chipper outlook, after all she was quite sure that after the vacation she would be the proud owner of one lost treasure. She declined once again with a broad smile. Both of the twins gave her a quick hug and left the Great Hall. Lisa paused for a moment squinting her eyes at Eliza.

"You're up to something. Whatever it is. Be careful. Remember Izza, dead witches tell no tales." Lisa leaned down to hug her.

Eliza laughed, and she laughed and she continued laughing several minutes after Lisa disappeared in the direction of the twins. It was funny how well the girls had come to know her in the past few months. She really hoped she wouldn't have to kill any of them in an epic battle for the world's largest treasure. The smile faded from her face and she put an air of disregard as Pansy approached.

"Izza."

"Pans."

There was a pause as both girls stared at one another. Pansy caught the hint of amusement in Eliza's jade eyes. So this was a game. She didn't mind joining in the pyrate's sport. They stayed that way for several minutes. Pansy bundled in light blue robes with a dark blue velvet cloak wrapped around her. Her pristine black trunk lay next to her feet. She was obviously going home for the holidays as well. Eliza half sat half sprawled on the Ravenclaw table dressed in her usual manner. Scalawag was pacing on the table scoffing at the pair of girls. Eliza was the first to break the silence.

"So, will I be calling you Mrs. Malfoy when ye return?" She shot the Slytherin a crooked smile.

"I certainly hope not. I should never have told you three. I'll never hear the end of this. It's bad enough the Slytherin girls talk about it as if they wished it were them. Add you ridiculous Ravenclaws to the picture and I may not come back." Eliza just smiled. Pansy sighed, fine she would take the bait. "Why are you staying here? Surely one of the others has invited you back."

"Aye. They have."

"Well, I'm not inviting you."

"I wouldn't go."

"My parents would crucify you and then me as well for daring to bring home such a ruffian." "Ruffian? This be my best coat!" Eliza laughed. Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Happy Christmas then, ruffian." Pansy gave her a small smile.

"Ye as well, Mrs. Malfoy." The Slytherin scowled and charmed her trunk to follow her as she glided out of the hall.

Eliza said good-bye to a few other Ravenclaws and then turned back to the matter at hand. Tonight the castle would be empty for the most part and she would have X whole weeks to find the treasure. First things first, she needed to assess the information she had gathered. She turned to her chart book to the list of places. The only one that remained uncrossed was the Slytherin common room. It was true the common room was a den where snakes and serpents lie. It would most certainly have a fireplace with a mantle piece. Now the trouble was, how to get into the common room. Eliza had no idea where exactly it was. Pansy had never spoken of it, nor had she ever taken the girl down to it. On the other hand, Pansy had been inside of the Ravenclaw dormitory before, so it wasn't like it was outlawed. She just needed a way in.

Eliza scanned the Slytherin table for any familiar faces. There were only two students at the table who appeared to be remaining at Hogwarts over the holidays. One was a nasty little first year that Eliza had seen spitting into girls hair over a balcony once. The other was a fourth year girl whom Eliza knew was enamored with Pansy. Despite her disinterest in the house of Slytherin as of late, Pansy still had her fans. This, Eliza was quite sure, would work to her advantage.

The pyrate's mind started to whirl with idea. Of course, she couldn't just walk up to the girl and demand to be let into the common room. At least, not yet. So she flashed the girl a cryptic smile when their eyes met and then gathered her things and left the Great Hall. She had things to see to.

***

It was a few days later and Eliza had covered an entire table in the common room with her school things. She knew that despite how near she was to finding the rest of the treasure map that once it was in her hands there was no way she would be able to concentrate on anything else. So she argued with herself and finally managed to convince her gold obsessed half that the schoolwork needed to be done before the hunt. Steadily for the last few days she had been going through each subject methodically and completing each assigned task before moving to the next.

Eliza reflected over everything she had finished and what was left to be done. She had written a thirty-inch essay for Herbology on the uses of a basilico shrub, a plant whose roots had made a huge impact on the medimagic field. She had practiced and mastered Blasting Charms, as well as several hex deflecting spells for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Vance had issued them a list before the end of term to work on during the holidays. Professor Flitwick had given them a similar list as well, the charms were fairly simple once used in every day occurrences. Eliza got through them fairly quickly. She had spent almost the whole of yesterday's afternoon reading for Professor Binns' class. Although the author was very dry, the subject was someone interesting. It had been all about ancient Egyptian practices and their influence on today's magic. There had been a few essays that she quickly completed for Astronomy and Muggle Studies. Neither really concerned her. Hagrid hardly ever assigned any out of class work for Care Of Magical Creatures but Eliza resolved that as soon as the rest was done that she would go down to the lake and see if she could get her Nixes to appear. It didn't occur to her the lake would be frozen. The trouble was that she still had a large amount of work to do for Potions as well as Transfiguration.

Both Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall had laid a heavy amount of holiday work on the sixth years. She reasoned that she would spend the rest of today working on the Potions assignments, which included two essays and a practical lab. He had given them a short problem that could be fixed with some potion or other, and a list of ingredients available to use. From that the students had to decide what potion they were going to make and why, then describe how to form it as well as how to use it to solve the problem. Eliza actually thought it was a pretty clever assignment. She loved experimenting with potions. Not that she was actually making one, but the idea was the same. If she could get it done by the evening then that would save all of tomorrow to work on the Transfiguration homework. Professor McGonagall had made sure they understood that she would be giving them a quiz at the start of next term on several chapters of reading. They would also be expected to perform a series of advanced glimmer charms on themselves and others in the class. Eliza rubbed her eyes and returned her attentions back to Snape's first essay.

***

"Izza? Say it isn't true!"

"Izza! You have to choose! It's either him, or me."

Eliza rubbed her temples and looked up at the two boys looking earnestly down at her.

"I'm sorry. What were yer names again?"

The seventh year Hufflepuff boy looked tragic, his eyes glossed over and he bit his knuckle. The other boy, who appeared to be a seventh year Gryffindor, flushed and looked like he was going to yell. Eliza knew that she should remember them, but those sorts of things never stayed in her memory. The Hufflepuff burst into tears and ran out of the Great Hall. Eliza shrugged. The Gryffindor, however, stood his ground. He was obviously upset over the quick affair. Some boys were so fragile. Eliza glanced back up.

"Be there somethin' ye want? Only I was enjoying my breakfast…"

"How could you? I thought you were different! I thought…we were different…" the boy exclaimed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Look. Don't take it personal. I'm sure it was fun. Maybe I can give ye something? Flowers? Chocolate? Oh dear, what do boys like to make them go away...."

The boy threw up his arms and stomped off to the Gryffindor table and sat down, making quite a commotion. And Eliza thought she had a bad temper. Perhaps everyone gets a little emotional around Christmas. It was, after all, December 23rd and those left at Hogwarts were in a high state of readiness for the holiday. The Great Hall was completely decorated. Hagrid had dragged in twelve trees, one of which was very large. The other professors had decorated each in a different color. Eliza was sure the one in all black was Professor's Snape's. He was so funny like that. She dwelled a moment on a memory of her last Christmas.

Captain Smythe had transfigured a small palm tree into an evergreen; it glowed with a strange light. Eliza had spent the previous evening with her mother decorating the small Christmas tree. They hung long strings of pearls and ancient gold coins. When it was finished it looked a beautiful display of treasure. The mix of gold and green reflected in Eliza's eyes as she looked at it on Christmas morning. There were several presents all around the base. Her mother walked over, holding a cup of steaming tea. She was still dressed in her sleeping robes, for it was just after dawn. Eliza could never wait to open presents. Captain Smythe grumbled irritably from the bed and rolled over. He smiled at his daughter and wife who were laughing together and creating shadows of pyrates and boats in the air with entertainment charms. He stood and pulled on a thick green robe. Ezmerelda turned and greeted her husband as he sat down next to her at the small table in the cabin. Eliza was sitting on the floor, rifling through the packages. She grinned and handed each out so they could begin opening them. Shiny foil paper and huge silk ribbons were soon being tossed into the air as the Smythes tore into their presents.

Eliza twisted the silver and gold ring on her right ring finger with her thumb. It had been one of the gifts she opened that day. It was from her mother.

The Captain burst from the cabin and shouted at the crew. Their faces were all alight with seasonal merriment as their leader drew forth a huge feast for all of The Defiant to enjoy. Tables and chairs appeared from thin air and the meal that had been prepared in the galley below floated up from the opening in the deck. The pyrates raised their rum filled glasses in a toast to Captain Smythe for his Christmas charity. Ezmerelda, Eliza and the Captain himself sat down to join the crew for the feast. It had been a wonderful meal.

Eliza sighed and shook her head. She forced the thoughts from her mind and tried not to dwell on the fact that this would be the first Christmas without her mother, and she had to spend it away from her father as well.

She threw down the toast, having lost her appetite, and turned around on the bench. She was facing the Slytherin table. The two students were sitting at opposite ends, obviously they didn't care of each other. It was funny how there was division even within their house. Eliza stood and walked over to where the younger girl was eating. She looked up and a moment of terror flashed over her face. Eliza sat down across from her and smiled.

"Ahoy there."

"Um. Hello," the girl replied.

"I have a proposition for ye," Eliza said as she leaned in close.

The girl eyed her suspiciously. Of course the Slytherin wouldn't do her a favor for free, regardless if she were considered close to Pansy.

"I need yeh to let me into the Slytherin common room."

"What for?" She gave Eliza a suspicious look.

Eliza slid her tongue along the inside of her teeth. "I have…a Christmas present to leave for Pansy Parkinson."

"Pansy?" The girl was momentarily stunned. "Ah. Wait, why can't you owl it?"

"Because it has something to do with her dorm room. It wouldn't work to just owl it. It would loose all it's meaning." Eliza finished simply and half turned away.

"What…what do I get in return?"

"Ah. That is the question isn't it…" Eliza turned back and raised an eyebrow.

***

Eliza leaned back against the dungeon wall. This was very vexing. She had thought the Slytherin girl had agreed too readily at the table. Now, she was exhibiting signs of reluctance so close to the entrance into the den of Slytherin.

"How do I know you're not going to do something awful to Pansy's things?"

"Fine! Ye want her permission? Ye want to owl her in the middle of her holidays to ask her if her friend can leave her a gift? Here I thought ye were capable of making a decision on yer own, but if ye want to risk Pansy's wrath at being annoyed by some little fourth year just to get her permission…honestly…"

The girl looked at Eliza and then down to the ground.

"Look, I told ye I would make it worth yer while."

After a moment of trepidation, the girl finally answered, "Alright." She led her a little farther down the hall, paused and turned to face the damp stone wall.

"Untainted," the girl said to the figure. A door appeared and slid slowly aside with a hiss.

Eliza pushed her out of the way and stalked into the common room. It was dark and lit by low green lights. The furniture scattered about the room was all covered in dark fabric or lacared black. Eliza scanned the room further as she walked into the heart of it. There was a huge ornately carved fireplace at the far end of the room. She started directly for it.

"Smythe, the door to the girls' dormitory is over here," the girl spoke from a large rough stone archway.

Eliza paused and turned back to the girl. "Right." She started to walk back and under her breath she said, "first things first."

Once they had climbed up the few levels to the dormitory room that was Pansy's, Eliza halted and turned to the girl. "Ye stay out here. This be a private matter." She walked into the room.

The dorms were just and dank and dreary as the common room. No wonder Pansy was always in a foul mood. Of course the linens and draping were all rich black velvet and lent the room some elegance, but it hardly made up for the lack of light and slimy stone walls. Eliza scrutinized the five beds in the room. Judging by the belongings left laying here and there on the others, Eliza guessed the one that was made perfectly and showed no signs have having been used was Pansy's. The girl who spent so much time perfecting her hair and robes would spare no lack of attention on her other things. The dresser along side had few things laying on it. There was a larger silver hand mirror as well as a matching jewelry box. The rest of the surface was blank and dust free. Eliza flipped open the box to find it empty. Of course the Slytherin would have probably brought several things home to wear during the holiday.

Eliza did actually have a Christmas present for Pansy. Instead of sending it, she forwarded a card instead telling the girl it would be waiting for her when she returned. It was far to precious to trust to owls. She laid the bit of jewelry inside of the box along with a note. It was a short silver necklace of Eliza's, made on the Ethereal Islands. The metal itself had come from within the deep mountain at the center of the main island and the few jewels that adorned it were clear but shined green when they hit the light. There was magical protection inherent in the materials that made it, but the necklace had also been blessed by ancient Etherealian rituals. Silver really wasn't Eliza's color anyhow; it would suit Pansy much better. It was a little hard to part with, since she had it for so many years, but she never wore it and she didn't foresee a time she would. She closed the box.

The Slytherin girl was still patiently waiting outside of the dorm for Eliza, wondering if the pyrate was shredding the room with her hook. She vaguely remembered that Pansy and the Ravenclaw hadn't been speaking before the break, but she did see Pansy say good-bye to her. Eliza reemerged, looking happy. She slide her hook arm around the younger girl and whispered, "And now, for yer payment." The girl silently wondered what she had gotten herself into.

***

It was about an hour later and Eliza walked back down to the Slytherin common room alone. Eliza had spent the time showing the Slytherin girl an advanced charm she had learned on The Defiant, it was sure to impress the other sly children and gain the girl some respect among her peers. She had also given her a handful of cigarettes. Not too bad of a trade. The room was empty except for the feeling of ominous foreboding. She walked slowly over to the fireplace. She could barely conceal her excitement. Her hands were jittery and her skin was covered in goose bumps. Eliza couldn't believe she was this close, she almost had the key to the treasure in her hand.

The black wood was smooth and felt almost wet under her fingers. She let her hand dance along the twisting snake carvings. It was highly detailed and almost had an Asian feel to it. The scales slid under like the flesh of a real snake, had her eyes been closed she doubted she would be able to tell the difference. Her keen eyes spied a change in the black, a thin crack hardly noticeable from more than a few inches away in the center of the mantle. Eliza's heart was beating fast, she could feel her blood warming. The lines of the verse voiced themselves in her mind. Splinters cover sacred key. She used her nails to dig into the thin fracture. The splinter of wood flipped down with some effort to reveal a small drawer. She raised her hand to the small knob that was on the front of the drawer and tugged.

***

How long Eliza stood there she did not know.

How long she stared at the vacant wooden drawer and quelled her anger she did not know.

There was no mistake; she had followed the clue correctly. At the bottom of the drawer branded with magic was the same symbol for Baneheart the Warlock. It mocked her with its eyeless sockets, its dead mouth curled into an unnatural smile. Eliza twitched and threw the drawer across the long room. How could it be? How could it be the drawer was empty? After all this? Had someone already found the other half and held it stashed away somewhere, waiting to find the half Eliza owned? She sank into a tall backed chair and stared at the fire. Her skin was burning red and she clenched her fist. Her hook bore deeply into the arm of the chair and ripped its kingly fabric. She was pissed.

It was only a moment later that realization dawned on her. She hadn't uncovered a drawer empty of the second half of the map. She had, in actuality, uncovered the original hiding place of the first half. The half she already had.

"WASTED!" she screamed into the dark dungeon room and threw over the chair she had been sitting in. The words echoed through the hollows of the underground den. She walked out of the Slytherin common room completely unsatisfied.

***

It was Christmas and Eliza was staring dully at her presents. She had entrenched herself into the dorm room and covered her anger with a mean scrooge façade. The day before she had yelled humbug to at least four people, possibly students, Eliza couldn't remember. Since the moment she had discovered the empty drawer in Slytherin she had been living in a blurred infuriated reality. She didn't remember if she had eaten at all, but her stomach made no pains. She must have slept at intervals because she always felt awake and rage full. Here it was Christmas morning and in other rooms students would be cheery eyed and opening gifts with joy. Eliza did not feel any joy at the moment. It was Christmas. She was away from her father. She was away from her friends. Her mother was dead. And she had a useless map and an even more useless set of clues to lead to a treasure she probably never would find. She felt a wretched pyrate.

She sighed thickly, as a small child would do at the onset of a tantrum, and took a neatly wrapped gift off the pile. On the card it said, "To Izza. Happy Christmas, Lisa." She peeled back the purple paper and opened the small gift box. Inside, lying on a little bed of velvet was a pentagram necklace. The edges and the star were made of blackened metal while the inside areas were painted a brilliant red. The whole thing hung on a piece of thin black leather. Eliza slipped it around her neck and let it hang just above her chest. It was a nice piece of jewelry and it suited the pyrate well. The next box was larger and held a similar message from Padma. Inside was an old book that smelled like coffee. On the brown cover was written the title, "Tales and Etchings of Pirates, Privateers and Corsairs". It was a volume of the history of muggle piracy on the high seas. How like Padma to give her a book, at least it was on a subject she had a keen interest in. She set the book aside and picked up a beautifully wrapped box. It was from Pansy. She hadn't really expected something from the Slytherin. She paused before unwrapping it, a moment of anticipation. It was a long thin box made of dark wood. On the side was a silver clasp, which Eliza undid and let it fall open. Inside was a dagger. A dagger unlike any Eliza had seen. The blade had a smooth curve to it and a gleam that said it was very sharp. The hilt was a snake, of course, swallowing the end of the dagger and sinking its teeth into the metal. The eyes were inset with emeralds. The body and tail of the snake wrapped around to form the handle. Eliza lifted the piece and let her hand slide over the snake. She could hear a low hiss as she made a practice swipe. Eliza was impressed.

She replaced the dagger into its box and looked to open the last gift so she could be done with all of this Christmas nonsense. It was wrapped very plainly and looked as though it was a little worse for wear. Like it had been sent from far away. Eliza's heart jumped. She ripped at the paper with enthusiasm that she hadn't shown the other packages. There was no note. There was only a bottle. But she recognized it at once. Eliza lifted the glass bottle to eye level against the light of the window. Inside was a perfect working model of The Defiant. It rose and fell on small blue green waves that rocked against the side of the glass. The sails were filled with imaginary wind and the small flag waved and winked. The bottle had sat on her father's desk for years. It was a possession that he kept very dearly, for it had taken him a very long time to perfect it. Once it was sealed he charmed it so the glass would be unbreakable and set it with reverence in his cabin. As a child, Eliza loved to just sit and look at it as it mimicked the actions of the real vessel. It was assurance. Her father had sent it, no doubt through several middle men, to remind her that he still thought of her and knew she must be worried. Now she could watch the miniature Defiant and know that he was sailing true. It was the best Christmas present she could have gotten.

And it was also the worst. All of her anger returned, only now it was drenched in sorrow. She could see her home, floating there, racing forward in a mission to avenge. Here she sat, miles away, alone, unable to even track down a treasure that was positively buried somewhere on the school grounds. She was filled with the feeling of uselessness and unrest. She pushed herself off of the bed and walked over to her chest. She dug around for a moment and pulled out the half drunk bottle of rum. They had left a good amount of it after the Quidditch match celebration, but Eliza intended to finish it off.

She set the bottle on the floor and pulled on her boots. Eliza was wearing her warmest clothes, the English winter was in full force. She had on thick blue wool sailor pants and at least three shirts. There was an undershirt, simple and white, a tunic blouse in vivid red and then a knit jumper she had purchased at her last visit to Hogsmeade. Over that she put on a blue peacoat and tied the Ravenclaw scarf over it. She pulled on her tri-corned hat over her bandana and snapped the bottle up off the floor. Scalawag flew down from the bedpost and landed on her left shoulder. She took a swig and walked out of the dormitory.

***

"And the ship The Black Freighter runs a flag up its masthead and a cheer rings the air…" Eliza sang lowly to herself, "by noontime the dock is a-swarmin' with men comin' out from the ghostly freighter. They move in the shadows where no one can see and they're chainin' up people and they're bringin' em to me askin' me, 'kill them NOW, or LATER?' Askin' ME! 'Kill them now, or later?'" Eliza paused a moment as she passed by the doors leading into the Great Hall.

She stopped just on the other side and leaned against the cool stone. Inside about two dozen students and teachers were partaking in a Christmas meal. It was just after noon and Eliza had made her way to the first floor after circling several floors above. She could hear the sounds of laugher and lively conversation. The scent of the food was very enticing, but Eliza had no appetite. What she had a hunger for could not be sated with food. A shadow passed over her eyes and she began singing again barely audible and staggered down the corridor.

"Noon by the clock and so still by the dock ye can hear a foghorn miles away and in that quiet of death I'll say, 'Right now. Right now!' Then they'll pile up the bodies and I'll say, 'that'll learn yeh!' and the ship The Black Freighter disappears out to sea and--on--it--is--me!" Singing Jenny The Pirate always cheered Eliza, it was one of her favorite shanties. However, now, it did not bring a smile to her face, it simple filled the silent air around her and kept her mind occupied.

She sang other songs and recited anthems and odes as she carried herself through the dungeons and then back up the stairs. Some how she ended up back on the second floor in the history wing of the castle. She paused in her hymn as she found herself looking back over the verses of the treasure clue. Her vision was blurred, but she had it memorized so the words formed in her mind again.

"What is the answer to yer riddle Bane? Why lead me to an empty drawer?" She sighed and took the last swig of the rum. Fighting to keep balance she brought the empty bottle to eye level and considered it. "Empty. Everything is empty. Even me." She dropped it and let the glass shatter around her feet.

Without much thought she climbed into the Ravenclaw common room and up the stairs to her room. Eliza pulled her thick black cloak off of the floor and pulled it on. Scalawag, who had remained quiet most of the day (accept for the few times he joined Eliza's chorus) squawked and returned to his roost near the ceiling. He knew Eliza was headed outside, and would have no part of the snow-covered landscape. Eliza tipped her hat low and headed back out of the Ravenclaw tower. She found herself in the entrance way fairly quickly and pulled the great doors open. A gust of cold hair hit Eliza in the face and she winced. The alcohol was still swimming through her veins and kept her body warm as she trudged awkwardly through the snow. She hadn't really thought about where she was going, but found herself in front of Hagrid's hut.

Eliza shivered and knocked on his door. At present he was her only connection to the seawizard world. Hagrid knew her father, she wagered he knew other pyrates as well. Maybe she could get a message sent. She knew she was being delusional, the alcohol had yet to wear off. The door of the hut opened with a loud screech. Hagrid's huge form blocked almost all light coming from the inside.

"'Ello Eliza! Come in, come in." Hagrid stepped aside to allow her entrance.

She stopped suddenly as her eyes met those of his guests.

"Oh. I didn't realize ye had company. I'll come back later."

"Ah, Eliza I'm sure 'arry, Ron and 'ermione won't mind!"

But it was rather clear to Eliza that they did. The three Gryffindors eyed Eliza from behind Hagrid, arms crossed and faces set in disapproval. Eliza was an intruder into their cozy Christmas visit.

"That's quite arright Hagrid, I have things to tend to anyhow. I'll stop by in the evenin'." She turned and walked away.

"Alrigh' Eliza! Be seeing yeh!" Hagrid called after her and shut the door.

Eliza crunched through the crisp white layering. The temperature had dropped during the night and froze a thick layer over the snow that covered the grounds. Eliza was cold, but she didn't feel like being inside the castle just yet. She walked down to the lake and cleared a bench off of snow. She sat and tucked her legs up to her chest. The lake was frozen, which vexed her royally. She could do with a lap around in the rowboat. It had made her feel much better the last time, as well as provided her with the solution… or supposed solution to her treasure problem. Part of her had hoped she could climb back in and wait for the answer to come to her. The answer to what, she mused, to the treasure or to her homesickness? The wind whipped her cloak and bit her face. The weather was bitter, and so was Eliza Smythe.

Later she told herself it was the blustery weather that burned her eyes and that she wasn't really crying.

***

Hagrid opened the door slowly to the frosty night air. He had expected Eliza to come back shortly, but it had been several hours before he heard her light knock at the hut. She looked half frozen, her lips were tinged with a shade of blue violet. He had forgotten the girl wasn't used to the season of winter. He could tell right away that something wasn't quite right, her eyes didn't reflect their usual spark. Hagrid offered her a warm smile and ushered her in to the fire. Eliza sat down and shivered.

"Cup o' tea, Eliza?" Hagrid offered.

"Aye with a spot of rum," she nodded, "I see yer guests have left."

"Oh those three? Yeah, they had some mischief they were up to." He laughed as he readied the drinks. "Don't trust yeh farther then they can throw yeh! That's fer sure."

Eliza decided this was probably an accurate statement since she would not let them throw her let alone pick her up any time soon.

"'arry says, 'Hagrid, do yeh know who that was?' I says, 'course, that's little Eliza Smythe.' The he says, 'and yer friends with her?' And I says, 'sure am! Eliza's a nice girl.' Then Ron, he says, 'yeah but Hagrid yeh thought Blast-Ended Skrewts were cute and cuddly.' And I laughed I did, and said, 'oh Eliza can be a wicked slip of a girl, but she's got a good heart! Just like her father,' I said. Then 'arry, he said, 'yeh knew her father, Hagrid? He's a pyrate!' I said then that I knew yer family back a few generations for sure. Smythes are good wizards… well good in a sort of stretched meaning of the word, said, I knew 'em longer then I knew his folks. Then 'ermione pipes in that she heard yeh once killed seven men and I says, 'oh that's an exaggeration… there's only five that I know of." Hagrid was rambling. He handed her a cup of hot tea that had the distinct scent of Rogue Red Rum, Eliza could tell it anywhere.

Hagrid's random recount of his day warmed Eliza more than the fire or the rum. She enjoyed listening to him talk and it felt nice to hear him say things about her father.

"Hagrid, ye said yeh knew my granddad?"

"Knew him? Why me'n Iron, we were quite close! Well, yeh know, we kept in sporadic contact throughout the years until he came up to London to retire. Every time I was down to Diagon Alley for business I'd stop in and have a few card games. Ol' Iron was somethin' else that's for sure."

"I don't remember him."

"Ah well, yeh wouldn't. Nathaniel didn't oft come back to London. Not once he was married and all. No… but there was one time, that's when I firs' met yeh, Eliza. I hadn't seen Nathaniel for going on about seven years and then one weekend he shows up out of the blue to Iron's place while I were visiting. Yeh could see he'd been busy, had yer mother and yeh in toe."

"May she rest in peace." Eliza said, and raised her tea in a short toast.

"Yeah… Bless her, she was a good women, Ezmerelda. Quite a talker. I stayed the whole week just chatting with her and yer dad. Firs' time Iron'd ever seen yeh. He was quite the proud granddad he was. Well, Nathaniel had been escortin' one of yer mother's family's ships to the wizarding harbor. Had some business with merchants here I guess. Anyhow, yer mother and I got to talking and she said her and Nathaniel had been discussing school for yeh. 'Course they weren't sure yeh'd be a witch yet, but I don't think they doubted. I mean yeh do have Ethereal blood in yeh. But then squibs aren't uncommon in the seawizard world, are they? Don't matter too much if yeh got magic or not… still can help run a ship! And fight with a sword, can't yeh? Anyhow, yer mother asked me 'bout Hogwarts since I was actin' as the gamekeeper even then. She reasoned yeh could come since Nathaniel was English. But she did talk fondly of that Jamaican school she attended. Watching yeh then though, I said to her, do yeh think yeh can separate her from the water like that? And she didn't know. Nathaniel, o' course wanted yeh to be a pyrate like himself. Iron was all for that. Said yeh were born to be sail the seas and the sky under the skull n' bones. Ezmerelda though, hard to say what she wanted. I think part of her wanted yeh to grow up like she did. Maybe sail for her family. But I think she understood that yeh belonged on a ship… That's why, in the end, they decided on home schoolin' instead of sending yeh off somewhere else." Hagrid finished his tale and took a long drink from his tea mug.

Eliza sat and quietly reflected on all of this. She had never actually considered doing something different than being a pyrate. Was that what her mother wanted? She realized she didn't know. She had never asked. She had never even discussed the mater with Ezmerelda Smythe. A proper witch from a proper family. Had Eliza turned out all wrong? She looked down to her hook as it clinked against the mug. She thought about all of the times her mother had asked her if she wanted to spend more time on Ethereal. So many of those times Eliza had just shrugged and said she wanted to stay on The Defiant. What had her mother wanted for her?

Hagrid was going on about something else, something about a dragon and possibly something that sounded horrible, yet he spoke about it as though it were an accomplishment. Eliza set the mug down and interrupted him politely. "That sounds wonderful Hagrid. Thank ye so much for the tea. I better be getting back to the castle before it reaches midnight. I don't want to get into trouble."

Hagrid laughed and mumbled something about her and trouble were close cousins. Eliza smiled and gave him a quick hug. As she headed for the door, she turned and said, "Thanks Hagrid, not just for the tea, but for the advice as well." She shut the door quietly as she exited.

Hagrid's smile didn't fade, but he wondered what she meant. He hadn't offered any advice, just some fond memories.

***

Eliza piled her snow-drenched clothing on the floor and slipped off her boots. In her hand she had two things. One was the square of worn leather that detailed the map of Hogwarts. The other was the glass bottle with The Defiant model inside. She sat on her bed and looked at both for several minutes. Her mind and heart were in an internal struggle for her future. Part of her had always believed she would take over for her father when he retired. She would be the Captain of the little ship that dipped and bobbed within the constraints of the glass. Being a pyrate was something that she never questioned. It was in her blood, it was all that she had known. She had an intense desire to see this treasure hunt through, the map beckoned her and intrigued her far more than anything else she had in her possession. But the treasure hunt was all wrapped up in her ambitions as a pyrate. And now somewhere inside her was asking if that was the right course. The voice sounded a lot like her mother.

She stood and walked over to her chest. She opened it slowly and pushed away its contents until she found its bottom. Eliza laid the map face down and removed her hand, letting her other things wash over and bury it. With heavy resignation she closed the lid and turned her back on it. She set the miniature Defiant on her dresser, where she could look at it and know her father was safe.

Now her empty hands sought out something else, her mother's spell book.

Chapter 14
A Rose By Any Other Name

Eliza was sleeping soundly in a rather awkward and disturbing position on a bench that was too small for her in the middle of the common room. She had one leg twisted over the low arm, while the other was bent underneath. Her right arm was propped against a table resting on a lampshade and her hook was dragging on the floor. Her head was hanging off of the other low arm, exposing her neck at an acute angle. Her clothes hung loosely and raggedly off of her form, revealing her shoulders and feet.

"She looks dead," Lisa commented.

"Legs aren't supposed to be able to do that," Padma agreed.

"Think we should wake her?" Lisa asked.

Padma gave her an abashed look before replying, "Of course!"

"Izza! We're back! Hey, Izza," Lisa tried.

Padma didn't wait to see if this had any effect before she pushed the pyrate off of the little bench. Eliza hit the common room floor with a very graphic thud. This, in turn, was followed by a more graphic description of what Eliza was going to do as soon as she managed to stand up.

"Well! Hello to you too!" Padma retorted.

Eliza crawled into a sitting position and glared at her friends. They were still bundled up in cloaks, hats and scarves toting their trunks. She looked up at them with a mixture of confusion and joy.

"Holiday's over, Izza. The express just got here about a half hour ago. Everyone is still arriving in the carriages," Lisa explained. Eliza looked around the room and saw several other of the house's students dragging in their luggage and greeting each other.

Padma turned and started toward the stairs. "Coming?"

Lisa charmed her trunk to follow and scampered off after Padma. Eliza picked herself off of the ground and stood a moment, adjusting her belt before she also wandered off after the other two.

Eliza entered the dorm room to find Padma and Lisa examining a large crate next to her bed. It had several labels on the front saying things such as, "Handle with care," "Property of Honeydukes," and "This side up."

"Izza, what's this?" Padma asked as she turned to look at the half asleep girl.

"What? Oh, that. Well, I were down in Hogsmeade and it er…" Eliza muttered as she went to stand next to the object in question.

"Fell off the delivery broom?" Lisa ventured in an amused tone, arms crossed.

"Fell off the delivery broom. Exactly." Eliza smiled broadly and pulled a dagger from her boot and started to pry the lid from the crate. Padma and Lisa watched her with strange curiosity. After some effort and small cursing, Eliza ripped the crate open and gave a victory laugh. She turned to face the girls with a handful of various candy goodness, her eyes alight with pleasure. She struck a crooked grin and said, "Of course, since ye be my friends, I'll give yeh a discount."

Padma broke into a smile.

Lisa laughed and tackled Eliza. "I missed you, yeh scurvy dog!" she said in her best impression of a pirate.

"Scurvy?!"

Eliza flipped Lisa on her back and pinned her wrist with her hook. Padma jumped in and tried to haul Eliza off, but was pelted with the handful of candy from Eliza's right hand. This degraded into a tangle of Ravenclaws laughing, fighting and shoving candy in one another's faces.

"What the hell is going on?" Mandy's voice came from the doorway.

"I wanna see!" Sally-Anne chimed in, peering around Mandy.

They were both immediately showered in Beartie Blott's Every Flavor Beans.

***

Eliza stared numbly at the ceiling. She was not ready for this. The Hogwarts professors had begun the term with renewed vigor. Eliza had promised herself that she'd make every effort to pay attention and work hard, but she had already weeded her way through Herbology with feigned interest and now Professor Vance had been talking for at least an hour straight on only one of the hex deflection charms that she assigned them to learn over break. It was becoming decidedly boring.

Besides, Lavendar was conjuring a small multitude of pink butterflies on the DADA classroom ceiling to amuse herself and Parvati. The two Gryffindor girls quietly giggled to themselves. Lavendar flashed Eliza a smile when she saw the Ravenclaw transfixed on the ghostly images. The Granger girl shot the three of them an unappreciated look. Lavendar frown and stuck her tongue out when the Gryffindor Prefect turned away. Padma, who was next to Eliza vanished the butterflies with a quick wave of the wand and tapped Eliza's notes with her quill.

Sighing, Eliza managed to scribble a few more things down before Professor Vance wrapped things up. She tossed the quill onto the desk and looked up at Padma who was beginning to pack up her bag.

"Come on, we've got to get to History of Magic. Professor Binns is going to go over the reading on Egyptian magic today. I hope he covers the relationship between sceptars and wands." Padma slung her bag over her shoulder and waited for Eliza to haphazardly shove her school things into her satchel and stand. They were already halfway to the History of Magic classroom before Lisa caught up with them. She had stayed behind to chat with Seamus about something that was probably unimportant, yet urgent all the same. She was smiling as she took her seat next to Eliza, separating the pyrate from the Hufflepuffs on the other side of the room.

Professor Binns had already launched into a lecture on the finer points of how ancient wizards had channeled their energy through pyramids and how this had eventually led to the use of wands. Padma seemed enthralled. Lisa was drawing little hearts around the initials S.F. on her parchment. Eliza sighed and flipped open her textbook to the section she had already read that Professor Binns was covering. She forced herself to pay attention and even make extra notes. This being studious during class thing really wasn't her style. But she would get used to it.

In five minutes Eliza was fast asleep on her books.

***

Eliza crashed on one of the chairs in the common room before the roaring fire. One full day back at school down, she shuddered to think of how many were left. She closed her eyes and let the fire warm her. Scalawag perched on the chair back behind her and sang out a few lines to a drinking song. Eliza let herself lapse into memory.

Captain Smythe was laughing deeply. Eliza crept through the slightly open door. Her father was at a table in his cabin with Mad Morse and Dylan "Sloe-Gin" Flynn, another old associate. They were celebrating whole-heartedly with drink and food. Eliza's mother was absent, she had rushed back to Ethereal to help look after her father. The Count had come down with a terrible case of dragon pox.

"Yer a scoundrel, Mad! Don't think I haven't forgotten!" Flynn laughed. He took a heavy bite of roast chicken.

"Har! Har! So I am! So I am! Another game?" Mad shuffled the deck of cards with one hand and took a chunk of bread with the other.

"Deal a hand! Hooligan, ye in?"

"Aye! With a haul like we made today, we've earned a good bit of gammblin'!" Captain Smythe replied and took a swig from his mug.

Eliza tiptoed across the floor to where she could watch her father and his mates. She had a vague idea that they had discovered some vast amount of treasure the day before. The crew had been hauling aboard huge chests all evening. Captain Smythe, Mad and Flynn were all in high spirits over the whole thing.

CRASH!

Eliza knocked over a thin wooden cane that was leaned against the wall. She froze.

"Who's thar?" Flynn stood up, knocking his own chair to the floor. Mad and Captain Smythe stopped talking and stared into the darkness.

Eliza gulped and walked forward into the candlelight.

"It be arrright Sloe-Gin, it's just little Eliza. Awe now, pet! What are ye doin' in here?" Captain Smythe smiled and beckoned her over.

Flynn flushed, righted his chair and sat again with a grumble.

"I couldn't sleep, da," Eliza whispered to her father as she inched up to his side.

Captain Smythe picked her up and set her on his lap. "My wee one," he took her miniature hook in his hand. "Ye miss yer mum now don't yeh? She'll be back soon 'nuff. An' tomorrow yeh'll get ta see young Meg when we take Mad back to his ship. Why don't ye sit with us for bit, help yer ol' pa play cards?"

Eliza grinned and wrapped her arms around Captain Smythe's neck. "Aye, da!"

Eliza roused herself out of the dream like state. The warmth of the common room had almost lulled her to sleep. She shook her head slightly. She hadn't thought about old Sloe-Gin since--

"Izza, did you finish your potions assignment?" Lisa asked, pulling Eliza out of her drowsy thoughts.

"Mmm? Oh…Aye," Eliza responded without looking up.

"Want us to take a look at it?" Padma asked, setting down the roll of parchment in front of Lisa.

Eliza debated for a moment and looked up at her friends. Both were looking at her anxiously holding large quills dipped in red ink.

"I guess it couldn't hurt, could it?" Eliza smiled and dug out the assignment she had worked so very hard on at the beginning of the holidays from her bag next to her. She got out of the cozy armchair and walked over to the table Padma and Lisa had commandeered for the evening. There was a large stack of parchment and books around them. Most of it looked like the holiday homework assigned by Professors Snape and McGonagall and some of it was unfamiliar to Eliza. Probably large quantities of Arithmancy, which was both one of Padma and Lisa's favorite subjects.

"Let's see then," Padma said as she reached out for Eliza's work.

Eliza handed over the parchment and took a seat. She had never really joined in with the other girls in the past when they went over one another's homework. Padma and Lisa refused to turn in anything that hadn't been edited by someone. Lisa gave Eliza a sideways glance and pushed her own homework along the table. Eliza slid it in front of herself and pulled out a quill from her bag. She read Lisa's three-foot parchment for about fifteen minutes and was actually surprised that she enjoyed going over the work, putting in comments where she thought it necessary. Padma was shaking her head as she tossed Eliza her rolled up potions parchment.

"Really, Izza, it's very good. But I think we need to sit down some time and go over…er…your grammar. Not that your dialect isn't endearing to hear…but on paper, well, it's a little hard to follow."

"Were it?" Eliza shrugged and returned her attention to Lisa's work.

"Izza?"

"Mmm?"

"You seem a lot more focused since we got back, less distracted. I just wanted to tell you that I thought it was nice. I mean… I don't know, you were always running off to do things on your own before break and I guess we sort of missed you."

Eliza raised her head from the paperwork and met Lisa and Padma's gazes. Both seemed to be regarding her with looks of affection mixed with protection. Eliza swelled with happiness. She hadn't thought her treasure hunt had really been noticed before break. But she supposed she and been as neglectful of the other girls' friendship as she had her school work and she thought that should change now.

"I had some things to work though, but it be taken care of now."

The other girls smiled and continued to go through the homework. Eliza looked over the correction Padma had made for her and rewrote the assignment. By the end of the evening her had was stiff and she had gone through two quills. The common room was still full of students working on homework that, undoubtedly, wasn't due for several weeks. Eliza had heard the words, "get a head start," at least a dozen times already. She picked up her things and nodded toward the dormitory stairs.

"I be turnin' in, ye lot comin'?"

"Well, I had wanted to get a head start on that Herbology project…but I guess I can work on it tomorrow," Lisa replied, closing the textbook she had out.

"I'll be there in a few minutes. I have some prefect duties to see to before I can rest," Padma said over-dramatically.

Lisa followed Eliza up the steps, they were only seconds out of the common room before she launched into a detailed account of her and Seamus' last date. Apparently, they had met up quite a few times over the holidays.

"…see his mum's a witch, but his dad's a muggle, so they get along wonderfully with my parents. Talked straight for almost an hour! Well, anyway, after we all had lunch we left them to get better acquainted and went down to Quality Quidditch supplies. Seamus loves the game…"

Eliza jumped on her bed and rested her head in her arms. Lisa laid down next to her and finished her story. She was obviously very excited about the whole affair. That was nice.

"Get along well, then? Ye can have a joint wedding with Pansy and Draco. Harr!" Eliza teased. Lisa gave her an offended look and pushed her off of the bed. Scalawag started and flew down to land on Lisa's head.

"Hey!"

"Squawk! Death ta ye, coward!"

Lisa and Eliza were almost in tears of laughter when Padma walked through the door. She shook her head and didn't even ask. The three girls got ready for bed and were almost asleep when Mandy and Sally-Anne arrived; apparently they thought it was necessary to start that Herbology project tonight.

"Night, Scalawag!" Eliza called.

Scalawag whistled.

"Night Padma!" Eliza said in a sing song voice.

"Good-night, Izza…"

***

January was going at a fast pace. Classes picked up even more intensity. The 5th years were falling apart all over the place. Eliza has to carry at least three, on separate occasions, to the hospital wing after they burst into fits in the library. Poor things won't make it to the end of the school year at that rate. Eliza, however, was in high spirits. She had received full marks from Professor Snape for her holiday work, no small feat at that. As well as she had done quite well on her Transfiguration assignments. The rest of classes were going without a hitch as well. Lisa teamed up with her for the Herbology project and done most of the work so Eliza merely helped to prune the shrub when needed. Hagrid had taken to melting huge holes in the frozen lake for the students to study how winter affected the creatures of the lake. Eliza positively loved it. She did come down with a wretched cold though, and had to take some blasted pepper-up potion from Madam Pompfy.

It was near the end of the month and Eliza was feeling much better, she had even taken off her fourth layer of clothing. She was in the library with Padma researching on the life of Adalbert Waffling for History of Magic. Padma sighed and closed the large tome.

"All done?"

"I be, if ye are."

"Let's go. It's getting late and I want to rewrite my charms homework before we go to bed." Padma stood and placed the tome on a cart.

The corridor outside of the library was empty. The library itself was sparse. Padma was walking quietly with her nose planted in a small leaflet, Eliza at her side.

"It's strange, Hermione Granger gave this to me. Said I should talk to you about it. Some sort of drug addict's program at St. Mungo's… I don't know what she's on about."

"She's an odd one, that girl-"

Padma and Eliza rounded the corner, their conversation cut short as they were confronted with a brutal scene. Pansy and Draco. Padma grabbed Eliza's arm and yanked her back around the corner and pressed herself against the cold, stone wall. Eliza followed suit and perked her ears to hear the exchange between the Slytherins. They were still speaking in hushed, cold tones, unaware they had been interrupted by the pair of Ravenclaws. Eliza closed her eyes and the frozen image of the split second she had seen was still burned on her eyelids. Pansy was on her knees, her posture rigid and her chin held high. Even in a position of submission, everything about her screamed insolence. Draco was over her, her wrists caught in his hands, his nails digging into her flesh. He was bent forward, his white features tinged pink with rage.

"…You are hurting my wrists, Draco." Pansy's voice was cool and collected.

"I can do worse if you continue this ridiculous behavior. I won't tell you again."

"Good, because I'm sick of your commands. I'm not your wife yet."

This was followed by a quick intake of air, signaling that Draco had tightened his grip hard enough to warrant an uncontrolled reaction of pain from Pansy.

Eliza stiffened and moved to burst around the wall, but felt Padma's hands restraining her. Eliza turned to regard her. Padma just shook her head.

"No, Izza. She'll only resent you for intruding. She'll probably be angry enough that we heard. Draco is her problem, not ours to fix." Padma dropped her hands, turned and walked away quietly, taking a different route back to the common room. Eliza, however, did not follow. She leaned again against the wall and strained to listen, which was increasingly becoming easier, considering the volume of their voices was growing proportionally to the depth of their argument.

"…This. Will. Stop." Draco was hissing though clenched teeth.

"Or what? You'll hit me? Of course not my face, you wouldn't want the bruises to show." Her indignation was met with tensed silence. "You're just like him. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference if my eyes were closed."

"So what? So what if I am?"

"You used to be able to be more. It wasn't long ago you could decipher the qualities in him you admired. Ambition, power, confidence, cunning…charm. But you were also able to separate them from the things you hated in him as well. The things you said you'd never aspire to."

"You forget your place, Pansy."

"And you forget what I know. There was a time when you were willing to tell me everything Draco." There was the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the floor and it took everything Eliza had to hold her to that wall. Pansy's voice broke. The injury injecting pain and emotion into her words. "We had a plan Draco! We had a plan, you and I, and you threw it away for what? That child? That harlot? She understands nothing of you! I was the only one who knew your secrets, the only one-"

"ENOUGH! I have been lenient with you too long. I gave you time, considering the circumstances of how our relationship ended. But this ends now. Traipsing about with that mudblood and that bloody seawitch. You are a PUREBLOOD and my future wife and you will start acting like it."

"That ink on your arm has seeped into your brain," she said viciously.

"You're a disgrace."

"You're nothing."

Pansy's words were accented by the clicking of Draco's heels as he walked away leaving her on the floor.

***

Pansy sat on the floor, partially against the wall. Her knees were out before her, her legs kicked out to either side. She was absent-mindedly fiddling with the hem of her gray skirt. The word disgrace hung heavy in her ears.

Pansy needed something to anchor her in neutrality. She needed someone to understand that although she did not agree with Dumbledore and his lot about allowing the education of muggle-born witches and wizards, she did not support Voldemort's killing spree and bid for world domination. Her world was fast becoming gray, not only were her principles and beliefs coming under question, but also her allegiance to family. Pansy had always desired to hold to family and tradition. She was every Slytherin pureblood's dream of what the good daughter should be. But now, now she had to face that what her family wanted and what she wanted were no longer the same thing The choice between defiance and with it, disownment, or a lifetime as the submissive wife of Draco Malfoy, once loved and now loathed, was a hard one to make. The most she could do at the moment was ward off the decision until it was absolutely necessary for her to do so.

The stalemate in her mind had not gone unnoticed by some of the other Slytherins, not with her sudden friendships building outside of the house so obvious. It was accepted by most that an alliance with the pyrate was not out of line or even speaking with the Patil girl, she was a pureblood, but there was the matter of Lisa Turpin. Just what was the Slytherin trying to prove by becoming involved with her? Pansy wasn't quite sure herself. But Lisa was part of it. Part of her dilemma. Crossing over into the hands of the Dark Lord would mean she was aiding the murder of people like Lisa, but fighting against him meant support of educating muggle-borns and risking exposure to the outside world. That was a risk that Pansy lived in fear of. Obviously, Lisa and her family weren't a threat considering that she had lived as part of the wizarding world for six years, but that didn't mean that others after her would understand so heartedly. An entire branch of the Parkinson family line had been wiped out by the persecution of muggles. It is hard to stand by and watch as the shield over the wizarding world slowly erodes and know there were cousins, aunts and uncles who one should have had and never would.

She wasn't really surprised when a pair of polished black boots with shiny gold buckles walked into her line of vision. Whether Eliza had just happened by or if she had heard the entire fight with Draco, she didn't know. Nor did she care. Eliza spoke first.

"Alvida the Terrible went on account to avoid an enforced marriage. Ye could always follow suit, become a pyrate."

"I hate water."

"Well. Normally I don't do hits for free, but Malfoy is a special case. Skull splitting is in this year."

"It doesn't matter," she paused and raised her head to meet Eliza's gaze. "He'll follow his father and his Master blindly into this war without hesitation. And he'll die just as quickly. In a year he'll be nothing but a corpse and I'll be his widow."

"Mmm. Rich one too."

"Exceedingly."

"Well, Lisa will be able to come to the manner after all."

Pansy rolled her eyes and took out a small mirror from a little black leather purse that lay on the ground next to her. Eliza took a seat on the floor beside her as she fixed her hair and redid her glimmer charms. Pansy clicked the mirror shut and slid it back into the purse. She turned her head to find Eliza studying her.

"What?"

Eliza cocked one eyebrow. "Want to see something?" It wasn't really a question since she started to undo the buttons on her sleeve. Pansy raised her brows. She marveled at the ease with which the pyrate undid the small rounded buttons bound in lace with the tip of her hook. She slid the loose sleeve up her arm and anchored it around her shoulder.

Pansy gasped.

"Is that…is that a muggle tattoo?"

"Arrr. That it be."

On Eliza's right bicep, faded and dark, was the Ethereal Family seal. It was built around the frame of an upside down isosceles triangle. The border of the shape was decorated with tribal designs, deep earthen tones and primal. In its center was the front view of a ship with two billowing white sails over a blue background. Along the top of the triangle and spilling over its edges were piles of clouds. Superimposed over the lower portion of the triangle was a white banner that read, "ETHEREAL."

Eliza looked down at it with a tinge of sadness. It was a symbol that combined the sea exploration and ancient tribal nature of her mother's side of the family. Before Pansy could comment on it, Eliza turned and pulled up her left sleeve to reveal another tattoo, mirroring the Ethereal seal on her other arm. Pansy recognized elements in it as being part of Captain Smythe's flag. It was a collection of random blue swirls, mimicking waves. Intermixed with the water was a laughing skull with a familiar red pentagram eye, a wand and a cutlass. It didn't need to say, "Smythe." It screamed it.

Eliza smiled down at her marred skin. They had been done at the same time two years before by a member of the crew. Jacque the Blade was a younger member of The Defiant. Born to muggles in America, he had joined once he met Captain Smythe in a small bar in south Louisiana. Jacque had wandered in completely by accident of course, having no prior knowledge of the wizarding world, but his inert magic abilities had allowed him to see the entrance and in he went. A few drinks into the evening, he was exploding small bottles with incredible accuracy. He was just as accurate with throwing daggers, which earned him his name. Eliza got along with him very well, since he was closer to her in age, being only in his twenties. Jacque's lean body was covered with muggle tattoos and he began adding wizarding one as well as soon as he discovered them.

There were many differences between wizarding and muggle tattoos. Wizarding tattoos were done with specially made paint and drawing on the skin with brushes. Then they were charmed to stay on the bearer's skin as long as they wished. Very few of them were ever meant as being permanent additions to wizard's skin. Of course, they moved ever so slightly over the skin, flashing or glowing on occasion. The magic that Pansy and Padma had done to create the Latin words on their skin for the Halloween ball had been a form of wizard tattooing. Muggle tattoos used ink as well, but injected under the skin with a needle. The effect was similar but motionless, and far more permanent.

Eliza was completely intrigued by Jacque's body art and it was often a common discussion between the two. One spring Jacque surprised her with a small tattoo gun as a gift. It had reworked with spells and charms to run off magic, yet still produce muggle-like tattoos. She loved it. He had also taught her how to conjure the images she wanted to duplicate and temporarily rest them on skin to trace. Eliza had practiced on bits of leather and finally, when Jacque thought she was ready, had let her tattoo him. As a thank-you Jacque tattooed the Ethereal seal on one arm, and took artistic license with Captain Smythe's symbol on her other. Eliza cherished both of them, as they represented the influence of both her parents.

"How very vexing it would be for Draco to find his new wife, a noble pureblood, marked with a muggle tattoo…"

Pansy's eyes flashed with rebelliousness. She looked down the corridor in the direction Draco had left her and then back to Eliza, who was giving her a wickedly amused grin.

"Does it hurt?"

"Aye, a bit."

Eliza reached into her leather satchel and produced a rather evil looking device. It looked like a cross between a sharp quill and a thick stubby wand. On the dull end there was some sort of ink well attached with cords or tubes. Was that a trigger? Pansy's eyes widened momentarily before regaining their composure.

"What, pray tell, is that?"

"Tattoo gun. Got it from a friend."

"Gun? I don't understand." Pansy stuck her chin in the air, flashing an expression that said it was Eliza's fault the concept was lost on her.

"It shoots ink under your skin."

"And you carry this around with you?"

Eliza took off her right boot and slid down her red and white striped knee-high. Her foot was covered with what looked like a hundred bands of different colors, dots and designs. Tribal symbols and swirls of lines danced from her toes to her ankle. Eliza brought the gun down to her foot and tapped it with her wand. It hummed into life and Pansy jumped. Without flinching Eliza began inking a partially completed circle on her big toe.

"I've been working on this one for about seven months now…I keep the gun in my bag so I can work on it between classes or during meals…"

Pansy raised a brow. "I see. What's next? Branding irons in your pocket for lulls in conversation?"

"Don't be silly, Pans. Branding irons are far too large, I keep them in my dresser."

Eliza tapped the tattoo gun again and it became silent. She looked up to Pansy.

"Well?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"What do ye want a tattoo of? A pretty little green snake? A giant S for Slytherin?"

"Now you're being silly. I'm not as cliché as you think."

"How about…"

Eliza took her wand and wrote into the air in bubbly pink letters, "Property of Izza Smythe."

"Hmm? I think it be rather nice…right across yer back?"

Pansy broke up the incantation with her wand.

"I don't think being owned by you would be much better than Draco. He may be an utter bastard, but you're entirely too eccentric. I wouldn't know what to buy you on holidays."

"Well, ye did pretty well this year." It was the first mention of either of their Christmas presents.

"As did you." She gave Eliza a simple smile.

"Besides, I be a great catch." Eliza widened her grin with self-pride.

"As I've heard from half the seventh years." The comment was smooth as porcelain.

"Mmm. So I be the topic of choice among the Slytherins, aye?" Still leaking off an over abundance of smugness.

"They were fighting over you the other day."

"Really? Who won?" Eliza said, without much interest.

"Who did you want to win?"

Eliza shrugged.

"You have someone in mind, don't you?" Pansy started to tease.

"Naw, strictly entertainment purposes they be. In the long run it'll have to be a pirate or it'll be no one."

Pansy snickered then burst into shrill laughter. Between gasps she sputtered, "I can see it now! Tall, rugged sailor standing on the deck of a ship…dark hair flowing in the wind, black eyepatch and open white shirt… revealing a big, burly chest with CABIN BOY: Property of Izza the Bold, branded right in the middle!" She burst into another fit of giggles, hand on the ground for support.

"Hmph! Like ye won't keep cabana boys in yer service fer th' soul reason yer carrying on illicit affairs with them under Draco's pointy little nose."

"How do you know I'm not having illicit affairs now?"

"Oh please, I would know. What? Ye don't think I would? I be a Ravenclaw ye know."

"Yes, but I'm a Slytherin, my purpose in life is to be sly…"

"True, but everyone else ye associate with be a Slytherin as well. And they all have their price. Ye'd be surprised how cheap information can come from a willing source."

Pansy gave her a calculating look. She couldn't decide if the pyrate was joking or not. There was no doubt that the girl had the ability to get what she wanted. Eliza ignored her and instead conjured another image. It looked like outline of non-symmetric butterfly wings in vivid purple. Eliza added two black dots in a line on the left of it and three in the shape of a triangle on the right of it. She gave it a wistful look before she turned to Pansy.

"What is it?"

"Oh…ancient Etherealian for a certain flower," she flashed a look in Pansy's direction, "…of course I could show you 'rose' as well. That suits you better any how."

"It means Pansy?" She was momentarily stunned and then she whipped her eyes to Eliza, who was focused on the incantation again. "What do you mean a rose would suit me better?"

"They are brilliantly cultivated…precisely grown plants…beautiful…but covered head to foot with thorns." Eliza gave her a sideways glance to see her response.

Pansy was staring at the conjured image. "No, I want this. It's perfect."

Eliza smiled.

"Where do ye want it?"

Without removing her gaze from the image Pansy rolled up her left sleeve and pointed to an untouched forearm.

"Here. Right here." Her voice was firm and serious.

Eliza's smiled faded into look on interest mixed with concern. "It be permanent ye know. It ain't something that can be hidden."

"I know and I'm sure."

Without further discussion Eliza transferred the image from the air to Pansy's arm. It glowed there for her to use as a template to ink. Eliza tapped the tattoo gun and this time, as it hummed awake, Pansy did not flinch. She took Pansy's wrist and balanced it inside of her hook, resting her arm across her right knee. Eliza set her concentration and steadied the gun. She could see Pansy bite the inside of her lip as she started the process of drawing the tattoo on the Slytherin's skin. It took only a half hour to complete the purple portion of the design and the subsequent dots even less.

When Eliza drew back and turned the tattoo gun off, Pansy pulled back her arm and studied the marking. Places in her skin were bleeding slightly but the symbol clear. She smiled down at it and then raised her head to look at Eliza. The pyrate dug in her satchel once again and produced a small vial of thick blue potion.

"Here, put a bit of that healing salve on it. And ye best apply some moisturizing potion to it twice a day." She tossed the vial to Pansy, who caught it with her right hand. She applied small amount of the salve and tossed it back to Eliza.

"Well. Guess it be my turn, then."

"What? You can't be serious? I can't possibly…I don't know how to operate one of those things…"

"Stop yer blubbering. It be easy enough. Ye saw me do it. And I ain't askin' for much."

Pansy watched as Eliza summoned a mirror image of her own face, complete with bandana. She stared at for a few moments before drawing a series of vertical dots over the conjured Eliza's left eye. There were two above the lid, below the brow, and three below the eye stretching down onto her cheek.

"That be it. That's all I want. Ye can do that, can't yeh?" Eliza's expression was hard to judge, as Pansy watched her look at her own image. She looked sad, yet determined. As if the tattoo drew some sort of far off memory that was tragic, yet hopeful. Eliza turned to get a reply.

"Yes I supposed I can. That's all though?"

"It be more than enough."

"What is it?"

Eliza paused, considering her answer. "A mark of the Chieftain's line. All women born in the Ethereal family receive a facial tattoo at the age of sixteen to symbolize their transition into adulthood. It means they are of the age to marry. Of course, it's more of a tradition now. But I missed having it done on my sixteenth birthday…we weren't near the islands, and then… well… things got a little complicated. So I guess seventeen will have to do."

"It's your birthday?"

"Aye, just."

Pansy looked at her watch, it was ten past midnight. "Happy birthday."

Eliza offered her a wry smile and stepped into her conjured face, masking her features with misty duplicates. Pansy took a hold of the tattoo gun and tapped it with her own wand. It started to purr and vibrate in her fingers. She raised it hesitantly toward Eliza's closed eyes.

"Pans?"

Pansy halted, "What?"

"Don't fuck up."

She laughed a little and shook her head. She steadied her right arm with her left hand and applied the tip of the gun to Eliza's cheek. It went very quickly, as she needed only draw a tiny circle and fill it for each dot. She paused for a moment before doing the last two on Eliza's eye lid, since they were on a much more sensitive area. When she started, Eliza didn't move or show any indication she was in pain. The tattoo gun slowed and slipped into silence as Pansy removed her wand. Eliza's eyes fluttered open.

"Give me yer mirror."

Pansy set down the gun and reached into her purse. She handed Eliza the small mirror she had used to fix her appearance earlier. The Ravenclaw inspected the work for a few minutes and then applied dabs of the healing salve. She clicked the mirror shut and handed it back to Pansy.

"Not bad. I expect lines next time." Eliza grinned and jumped to her feet. She pulled Pansy up off of the ground and gathered her things. Both girls pulled on their cloaks and walked down the corridor together in a happy silence.

Chapter 15
A Wizard's Duel

The morning sun was bright and glittered through the beautifully ornate stained glass windows of the great hall. It traveled over the large flagstones of the floor and lit of the dark wood of the house tables. It glinted off of the smooth curve of the silver spoon that was frozen in place, in midair, three and a half inches from Millicent Bulstrode's right eye.

Eliza was perched in a half leaping position on the Slytherin table; breakfast lay in a mess under her feet. Scalawag was flapping wildly around Millicent's head and it was only the combined effort of Pansy and Serena Roth, who were holding onto Eliza's arms, that kept the Ravenclaw, and her spoon, from disfiguring the hulking, menacing, and completely surprised, Slytherin.

Eliza waved the spoon uselessly in the air in an attempt to reach Millicent.

"Izza-DROP-THE-SPOON!" Pansy said haltingly as she struggled to keep a reign on the girl.

"I'M GOING TO EAT YER HEART, BULSTRODE!" Eliza screamed, spitting the words all over Millicent's huge face.

"Eat yer heart! Squawk!"

"Ms. Smythe!" yelled both Professors Flitwick and Snape in unison.

"Placatus!" Professor Flitwick hit Eliza with a calming charm square in the chest.

Suddenly, everything seemed very, very light and fluffy. Pansy looked so angry, Eliza wondered why. She sat down on the disarrayed breakfast table and smiled serenely. Various Slytherins were shouting at her and waving pointy things. Perhaps they were quills. Eliza liked quills. They made her think of hats. Big pretty hats with volumes and volumes of green plumes. Professor Snape was advancing very quickly with little Professor Flitwick at his heel. Eliza laughed, they all looked so funny! Why did everyone seem so upset? Eliza turned around and pinched Millicent's chubby cheeks.

"Cheer up, Milly! Tis not so bad!"

Millicent probably would have started pounding Eliza mercilessly had Professor Snape not yanked her off of the table by her upper arm. He began dragging her out of the great hall while Professor Flitwick muttered, "Oh dear, oh dear. This is a mess."

"Foolish, bloody Ravenclaw. Just like her to get detention on her birthday," Pansy stated as she watched the girl try to poke Professor Snape in the nose with her hook.

"It's her birthday?" Padma inquired, saddling up to Pansy's side to watch Eliza depart.

Pansy nodded.

"Ah. Well, then. I think this calls for a party!"

"Party? I love parties!" Lisa chirped as she joined the cluster.

Pansy rolled her eyes and walked back down to the other end of the Slytherin table to finish her breakfast.

***

"Now, Ms. Smythe, this is very serious- will you please put down that feather? I'm sure Professor Snape doesn't like being tickled. This mean spirited threatening of Slytherin students seems to be becoming a habit and that won't at all do. My goodness, no."

"I save a fair share of it for the Hufflepuffs too, Sir." Eliza said as she threw down the feather. The calming charm was starting to wear off.

"Silence! Your antagonizing of my students will stop! Is that understood Ms. Smythe?" Professor Snape snapped.

"She said Scalawag was an overgrown, mangy, pigeon, with a skin condition!" Eliza yelled, shaking her hook violently in the air.

"Oh, I see, that warrants gouging her eye out with a spoon," Professor Snape said laden with sarcasm.

"It would be an improvement," Eliza muttered as she pet Scalawag's little green head. "Yer not mangy, are ye? Naw, and green suits ye, it does…" she began cooing.

"Ms. Smythe, what are we going to do with you?" Professor Flitwick sighed and rubbed the bridge of his little tiny nose.

***

The concept of writing lines as a punishment seemed completely ridiculous to Eliza. How did writing that one wasn't going to participate in certain actions do anything for preventing one from doing them again? I will not try to gouge out other students' organs with spoons, forks, sporks or any other eating utensil. Even cleaning for hours on end made one regret misbehaving, because later, you're just going to have to buff out the scuff marks on your hook and it's just more work. Landlubbers were ever so soft, no wonder there were a large number of troublemakers among them. No sense of certain peril. No one got boiled in oil. No one was chained upside down by their ankles for long periods of time. I will not try to gouge out other students' organs with spoons, forks, sporks or any other eating utensil. A night with a quill and a blank sheet of parchment really wasn't all bad when you consider the alternative- I will not try to gouge out other students' organs with spoons, forks, sporks or any other eating utensil-to be dragged under water and scraped against the barnacles along the bottom side of the haul.

It was at this point, while Eliza was thinking dark thoughts about the efficiency of academic reprimands, that she gave herself a severe paper cut.

"AHHK-Hades damn it all!"

It bled an insignificant amount for the sheer agony of the pain residing in her right index finger. So this was how it was then. Blast professors and their evil, sadistic tortures. Invisible to all, leaving almost no wound, oh, but you know very well it's there, every time you try to button something or hold a quill, you remembered. Perhaps writing lines wasn't a terrible form of punishment after all, since now, Eliza would feel the pain of it every time she even thought of holding a spoon. Clever Professor Flitwick… Clever.

The candles lighting the charms classroom were now short stubs, close to extinguishing themselves. Eliza stood and surveyed her five-foot parchment that glimmered with wet ink stating very plainly that she would not try to gouge out other students' organs with spoons, forks, sporks or any other eating utensil. She hated making promises she knew she couldn't keep. Sighing, she rolled it up and placed it on Professor Flitwick's desk. She blew out the remaining small flames and lit her own wand to show her way out.

Eliza sucked on her poor mutilated finger the whole way back to the Ravenclaw common room, which resulted in her bumping into a lot of things since she was more concerned with staring cross-eyed at her fist that straight ahead.

"'Amorrrah," Eliza mumbled through her fingers.

"What was that, child?" the Knight asked.

"Ramora, sorry."

"Much better," the Knight replied, stepping aside.

Eliza marched into the common room set on going straight to the dormitory to bandage her finger. It was oddly dark. It wasn't that late, there should have still been Ravenclaws up studying or working on next week's homework. Eliza stumbled and fell onto the floor, jabbing her little paper cut finger on a chair.

"BLOODY HELL!"

"SURPRISE!!!!" The lights flew on, a massive fire exploded in the fireplace, and somewhere around fifty members of the Ravenclaw house appeared out of nowhere covered with festive hats and crazy little streamers.

"The Devil?" Eliza forced out in surprise.

"Happy birthday Izza!" Padma called, as she pointed her wand at Eliza's head and conjured some sort of pointy wizard hat made of shiny blue foil.

Lisa and Seamus jumped up from behind a couch holding a huge birthday cake. The frosting was blue and on top there was a little toy ship surrounded by candles. Everyone started singing some insane song at different times with different pitches. It was the most wretched thing Eliza had heard, and she had heard a lot of wretched things. She smiled so hard it hurt her teeth.

This was about all that Eliza remembered from her birthday party, as the rum, courtesy of Seamus, started flowing as soon as the cake was cut. There was a snippet that Eliza recalled later of herself standing on a table, stub of a cigar hanging out of her mouth, using her wand like she were a musical conductor and orchestrating a round of "Plunder on My Mind." The rest was a bit foggy, but generally it was agreed by all that attended that the party was one of the best the house had ever had.

***

Eliza woke up half under a bench with four different colored streamers tying her hook to one of the legs. Lisa was curled up with Seamus on the floor nearby. There was a pile of fourth years on the couch all looking sort of ill. Eliza shredded the streamers and stumbled up and tripped over Lisa's body, waking her up.

"What? Where are we?"

Eliza pointed and laughed. "Ha! Not a morning person!"

Lisa squinted, positive that Eliza's statement should make sense, but the night's wilds had shaken her general ability to make out English. Seamus shuddered and covered his ears.

"Ugh! My head… please don't yell," he muttered as he tried to stand. "I'll see you in Charms…" he whispered and kissed the top of Lisa's head. She groaned and fell back to the floor.

"We goin' to classes?" Eliza asked as she slumped into a chair and started to munch on a piece of left over cake.

"I don't see what the point is, since it's half past eleven," Padma said from the common room door.

Eliza turned slowly to look at the tall Indian girl as she entered the room, seemingly unaffected by the night's activities. Yet, somewhere in Eliza's memory she saw Padma climbing on the fireplace and casting a levitation charm on Anthony Goldstein from the mantelpiece.

"Eleven?! Oh no!" Lisa jumped to her feet and scurried up the dorm steps, presumably to get ready and rush off to the afternoon courses.

Eliza slumped deeper into the chair.

Padma sighed and hooked a leg on the arm of the chair. She tossed s stack of parchment onto Eliza's lap. "Here's your homework. Have a good birthday?"

"Mmm. Aye. Thanks. But I be payin' for it today, though. I think I need a bit more sleep." Eliza rose with some stiffness and made her way slowly to the dormitory steps. She paused momentarily, placed her hand on the doorframe and turned her head back. "Padma?"

"Yes?"

"Yer a good friend."

Padma smiled and gave a slight nod. Eliza turned back and climbed up the stairs.

***

Eliza riffled through a number of cards and notes as she chewed on a chocolate piece from a little heart container. The end of January brought with it the excitement of the approaching holiday of St. Valentine's. The castle had gone and got another makeover. There were red, pink and violet draperies hung over the windows and in various places on the walls detailed with massive amounts of fresh flowers. Statues sporadically spit up little foil hearts and many of the paintings were heard to be reciting sonnets and romantic Haiku. Unfortunately, the intent of the decorations spread to the student populous, which left Eliza sitting at the Ravenclaw table looking through a pile of valentine's cards covered with cuddly things, glitter and sappy sayings.

She had begrudgingly agreed to go to Hogsmeade with a fairly handsome fifth year Gryffindor, who had given her the chocolate she was devouring. He was fairly adamant that it be just the two of them. Eliza protested, seeing as how she had a mind to rope a few more in as prey. How bad could it be, though? He did seem fairly interesting, if not something nice to look at. Padma had left early in the morning with Ira to some unknown destination. Lisa was sitting at the Gryffindor table gazing stupidly at Seamus, who was looking at her with the same stupid grin. Pansy was chatting with the other Slytherins, wearing some sort of pink frock. Of course, she looked more like she was talking to herself, and the other girls just had the privilege of being nearby. Valentine's day turned people into fools. Eliza stabbed another chunk of chocolate with her hook. Someone coughed lightly behind her. She turned slowly to find the Gryffindor who would be accompanying her to the village. Eliza pushed her lunch things aside and stood.

She threw back her hair in a seductive way. It really didn't move very much, considering it hadn't been combed since October, but that was beside the point. She had on her bandana, of course. The rest of the ensemble was fairly dressy for the girl. The shirt was almost all lace, off the shoulders and very revealing. Her black skirt stopped just above the knees and had two giant slits up the front over either leg. Through the slits, her red and white striped tights showed and traveled down into a pair of laced boots with sharp heels. To top the whole thing off, she had laced on her brightest red corset.

The Gryffindor gasped.

"I..erm…I…erm…I…erm…wantedtoseeifyouwerereadytogo?" he stammered, keeping very little eye contact.

"Aye," she looped her arm around his and started to half drag him from the great hall to the waiting carriages.

They waited in the hall with the other departing couples, the Gryffindor still unable to look at Eliza directly in the eye for very long. Somewhere a painting shouted, "Golden frame of wood, she is painted perfection, oil base is my love."

The ride was short and uneventful. Turned out his name was Reed Linton, which Eliza found amusing.

It also turned out that he got over his shyness very quickly. He started talking when they got of out the carriage and didn't stop the whole way through Hogsmeade and to the Three Broomsticks. Eliza had only inject a, "Really?" or a, "How interesting," here and there to uphold her end of the conversation. He filled her in on the gossip of the Gryffindors, his entire family history and had started in on his hopes and dreams.

Eliza stared dully at the bottom of her butterbeer mug. What she wouldn't give for a more serious drink. She had to give him that he was confident. Almost arrogant. That and he had nice hair. But whatever the outcome of the date, it certainly wasn't worth this.

"And then Colin, you know Colin don't you, Colin Creevy? Well, anyway, then Colin said to Ginny that he wanted to find out what was in the cave…" He has just launched into describing a series of zany adventures when Eliza stood.

"I've got to go to the bathroom. Yes, the bathroom."

"Oh, alright then," he finally took a sip of his butterbeer, since he had been speaking at length since they sat down.

Eliza ran off to the bathroom. Once inside she slammed the door shut and rested her back against it. She looked wildly around, searching for an exit. There was a large sink, a few mirrors and three stalls. Then her eyes spied it, a small window high on the far wall. She dashed toward it and dragged a small bench from the corner under it. She was just starting to climb up to it when she heard one of the stall doors unlatch.

"Izza? What are you doing?"

She turned, it was Cho.

"Oh. Cho. Ahoy thar. I were… I were…" She turned and looked back up at the window. "I were checking the fire exits… ye know…make sure they were up to code."

"Izza are you ditching that sweet little Gryffindor?"

Damn her and her Ravenclawness.

"Aye. But, Cho, he wants to talk," Eliza pleaded.

Cho shook her head and went to wash her hands.

"You are silly, you know?" Cho cast her one more glance before she left.

Eliza proceeded to scramble out of the window. She dropped into a small alley between the Three Broomsticks and another establishment. She dusted off her skirt and adjusted her corset. It was then that she noticed that it was rather chilly out and she was without her cloak. Her shoulders shivered and her skin turned to goosebumps.

"Damn! Accio Cloak!" Eliza cast through the window. Her cloak came flying through a few moments later. She caught it and threw it over her bare shoulders. Eliza ran off down the alley and on the main thoroughfare of Hogsmeade. It was full of couples, young and old, hand in hand. Eliza ducked through the crowds and down a side street. She kept running until she was out of breath and found herself outside of the Hog's Head.

"Well, this looks like a fine tavern, think I'll have a pop in," she said to herself as she opened the door.

It was dark and dingy inside. There were few costumers. Some seventh year students, and a handful of sketchy characters. Eliza turned to the grubby bar. There was an old man behind it with a long beard giving her a calculating look. She waved her hook at him and smiled. He bared his teeth and turned his back to her. She sauntered up one of the stools and sat down next to a dark robed figure. Eliza glanced at him, and saw that it was a boy, looking forlorn into his glass of firewhisky.

"Whaddou want?" the old man asked, setting a cloudy glass down in front of Eliza.

"A Red Rouge for me and another here fer my matey," Eliza said, slapping the boy's shoulder.

"'Ello, Izza."

"Ahoy, Anthony. Drinkin' yer sorrows?"

The fellow Ravenclaw drunkenly turned his head. "Yeah… Bloody Valentine's day. Whad 'bout you? I thought you had a hot date."

"Erm. He wanted… he wanted to get to know me." Eliza rolled her eyes. "So hard to get a man drunk and take advantage of 'em if they won't bloody shut up," she pauses and gave him a quick smile, "but ye look half way there."

"Whad are you implyin', Izza? Are you gonna take advantage of me?" he said with a good amount of surprise and drama.

"I might." Eliza took a drink of her rum and smiled evilly.

"Sucha vixen, you are." He laughed and finished his firewhisky.

"Now, tell me, why be ye poutin'?"

Anthony sighed and sunk a little lower. "It's Susan. She doesn't even know I exist."

"Bones? A Hufflepuff? Oh, Anthony."

Another sigh, "Sheees th' love of my life."

"Is she really? Good Poseidon. Ye said Susan, right?"

"Susan Bones. Th' most beautiful girl ever-erm, not that you aren't pretty, Izza…It's jussh, well, you have a hook. Thasss a little intimidating."

"Not to some." Eliza smiled.

"Heh. Yeah, alright. Anyway, we worked on a charms project together lash year, and we were in this defense club together… and she's jussh sho great…sho smart and funny, and she…"

Anthony spilled into a long drawn out praise of Susan Bones, which Eliza sat through politely. He was sulking again and raving about someone named Zacharias, Eliza gathered that must be Susan's boyfriend.

"Want 'em dead? It can be arrrranged." Eliza said pleasantly, before ordering another rum.

"Dead? Heavens, no, Izza! Jusssh outta the picture." Anthony sighed. It was starting to become a bit grating.

"Look, have ye ever told her how ye feel?"

"Well. No. Not really."

"Then stop whining and go sweep her off her feet."

"And pray tell, how am I to do that? With Zacharias around… Oh la-dee-da, I'm Zacharias Smith, and I'm a huge git…" Anthony was crossing over the lines into belligerent drunkenness.

"Leave him to me. I've got a plan. But, it'll have to wait for another day, Anthony. And probably not tomorrow either, ye won't be in any condition for it."

"'ave you ever been in love, Izza?" Anthony gave Eliza a very concerned look.

She laughed, "Love? Love be a strong word Anthony. I've cared about someone very much though… a good friend, probably could've been more."

"Whad happened?" Anthony leaned over closer to Eliza, his breath reeked of firewhisky.

"Hmm? Oh, lost at sea several years ago."

"Oh…oh dear, I am shorrry…"

"It's alright, Anthony, it were a long time ago. We were only children. The sea be an unforgiving master, Anthony. The bounties of its waves are plentiful… but the mercilessness of its crashing depths is just as abundant. Many are lost to ol' Davy Jones' locker…" Eliza raised her drink and finished it off.

"You miss it don't you? Being out there on your sship?"

"Aye, Anthony." Eliza placed her hand on her heart and said softly, "I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, and the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, and a gray mist on the sea's face and a gray dawn breaking."

Anthony nodded slowly, "John Mansfield right? Good poet. I shhhould write Shushan a poem."

"A poem? Well, yer drunk. We better get ye back to the castle, besides, I promised Pansy I would help her on her charms homework. C'mon." She tossed a few Galleons onto the bar and helped him off of his stool.

He gave her a funny look, "Is it true you killed ten men?"

"Twelve. But who's counting?"

"Twelve!?" he yelled. Then he paused a moment and cocked his head to the side, "Wait, are you jokin'? Because I shometimes can't tell."

"Ye won't remember anyhow." She slipped her arm around his waist and started toward the door.

"Isha, are you still gonna take advantage of me?" Anthony swung his head up in a huge arch and smiled.

"Naw, ye not be my type. Let's go," Eliza laughed and hauled the Ravenclaw out of the Hog's Head.

***

Susan Bones? No, we're just really close friends."

"That's not what I heard," Eliza said accusingly.

"Well, you heard wrong, and why do you care?" Zacharias Smith said back, jabbing his finger in the air.

"Because…because I want her fer myself!" Eliza stepped forward, her nose inches from Zacharias's

"What?" He looked shocked.

"Aye! I love her and I challenge ye to a duel fer her hand!" Eliza grabbed the front of his sweater.

"Her hand? You're barking! I can't believe I followed you all the way out here to the lake just to listen to this nonsense!" He tried to unglue her hand from his collar.

"On second thought, I think I like you better." Eliza let go and ran her fingers down his chest. "Taller and more filled out… Ye play Quidditch don't yeh? And yer rather disagreeable. I like disagreeable people! More of a challenge!" She smiled with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes.

"I think I'm losing my mind. This can't be happening. You really are as mad as everyone says!" Then he took off at a dead sprint toward the castle.

"Curses!" Eliza yelled and took off after him. "Bloody hell!" He was too fast for her. She pulled out her wand and aimed. "Petrificus totalus!" Zacharias dropped to the ground in a full body bind.

Eliza took her time walking up to him, leisurely smoking a cigarette.

"Look Smith, ye escaping really ain't in my plan, so we're going to hang out here for awhile, if that's alright with ye? Good, I thought so." Eliza took a seat on Zacharias's back and pulled out her charms homework. She wanted to leave plenty of time for Anthony to profess his undying love to that longhaired Hufflepuff girl, after all she had sent them such nice forged letters, making sure they were in the same place at the same time.

"Comfortable? Good." She set to work on her essay.

***

"Nice badge Izza."

"Arrgh! Thanks! Pansy gave it to me." Eliza looked down and flicked the little button on her chest that was flashing, "GRYFFINDOR SUCKS!" in red and gold.

"Considering it was a Slytherin-Hufflepuff game, I'm not sure it's fitting." Seamus said with a mild amount of annoyance.

Eliza shrugged and laughed.

She was walking back from the Quidditch pitch with Lisa, Padma, Dean, Seamus, Anthony, Michael Corner, and Neville Longbottom. They had decided to stop off at a pretty spot on the hill and sit outside to enjoy the weather. It was a gorgeous March day, one of the first for the year. The sun was shining, the air was warm and the grass was turning green again. Seamus threw a handful of the lawn at her.

"Hey!" She pushed him over onto Lisa, who was sitting behind him.

The others all sat down and joined them on the hill over looking the lake.

"That was a good game, don't you think?" Michael asked.

"Yeah it was alright. I especially liked it when Malfoy got hit with the bludger! The stupid git wasn't even looking," Anthony laughed.

"Yeah well, he was probably distracted by Izza's jeering. I think he took that last one rather personally. I mean, he really doesn't look like a blast-ended skwert. And the fall he took looked rather bad," Lisa said with a small amount of pity.

"Oh, you're only saying that because he's Pansy boyfriend and you're all smitten with her. God knows why." Dean interjected.

"Smitten! She's our friend. Well. Sort of," Lisa replied.

"Aye, and I think Pansy would be the first to agree to Malfoy's bad points," Eliza added, throwing more grass at Dean.

"She is a Slytherin though. They stick to their own kind in the end. She'll just drop you all eventually. They're all bound to become Death Eaters, anyhow," Michael said as he burned a small MC + CC into the bark of the tree with a charm.

"Not all of them," Padma said, her voice a little too firm.

There was a short moment of uncomfortable silence. Michael looked a little guilty and Padma twitched her lip.

"Eliza…how did you lose your hand?" Neville finally asked, to change the subject.

"How did I…lose…my…hand?" Eliza's face registered confusion. She had never been asked before. She had never taken the time to consider the answer. She looked down to the hook and drifted back.

"A! Mama! Mama! Look!" Eliza pulled her hook from the sand and waved to her mother who was walking through the lapping water. The hook was a smaller version of the one she bares as a seventeen year old, only duller at the end.

"Oh, how wonderful Eliza! You wrote your whole name in the sand! E-L-I-Z-A, Eliza!" She picked up the little girl and swung her in a circle before bringing her into an embrace. "My little Eliza. You should go get your grandmother and show her as well! She'll be so proud!"

Eliza returned to the sand and giggled. She padded away, her bare feet leaving small footprints through the retreating wake.

"I don't really know." Eliza held her hook up and tried to remember further back.

Her first memory. Eliza was perhaps two and she was curled into her mother's arms, laying on the ships shrouds. Her world was blue. Up was blue, down was blue. The only thing to break this monochromatic scene was the deep olive skin of her mother's arms and face. Eliza was chewing on something hard and rubber. The object slipped from her mouth lightly tapped her mother's hand. It was a hook. It was small and more resembled a child's teething ring, but still it was undeniably a small hook, attached to a small arm. Eliza's mother was laughing and smiling, but the only soundtrack that came with this memory was the sound of rushing waves.

Eliza looked down again to her hook and to her hand, regarding both in puzzlement.

"Always been a hook…can't remember not having it."

Neville and the rest seemed a little disappointed, they had hoped for another dramatic recount of fighting off livid sea creatures or something to the effect. Eliza always had a good story to tell in regard to her various scars.

"Oh. Well, I guess we should be heading back to the castle. It's already past lunch time," Dean smiled.

"It's after noon? Oh, Padma! The career fair, we're going to be late!" Lisa jumped up. Padma looked at her watch.

"You're right! I completely forgot!"

"Career fair?" Seamus looked confused.

"Yes! In the great hall! There's going to be representatives from several major jobs in the wizarding world. Remember? It's open to all fifth, sixth, and seventh year students. It's so exciting, I hope they have someone from the Department of Foreign Botany," Lisa started rambling.

"You would," Seamus sighed.

"I heard there's going to be one of the top Healer's from St. Mungo's as well," Lisa went on.

Padma, Lisa, Michael and Anthony started walking up the hill.

"Are you all coming?"

"Naw, I've got to go help Lavendar and Parvati with some homework," Dean said.

"They not be going to the fair?" Eliza asked.

"Those two? Ha!" Padma called back, "They're planning on opening a beauty parlor in Hogsmeade. They want to call it Glimmer."

Eliza laughed so hard she had to hit the ground with her fist. All she could envision was a bubblegum pink building with frilly lace curtains framing a huge picture perfect window. She could just see Lavendar standing over an elderly witch telling her delicious bits of gossip while casting a curling charm and Parvati applying smoothing potion to a young woman's hair and saying, "Did she really! Scadilaious!"

"What about you Izza, are you going to join us?" Lisa called.

Eliza mused on the question. She had indeed begun thinking on the matter of her future over the last few months. The more she became entrenched in life as a student and the closer she got to the people here at Hogwarts, the more she couldn't see herself leaving. Her latest idea revolved around wintering on Ethereal and summering here in England. Perhaps she could organize or run the family's shipping here at the wizarding port. Or perhaps sail back and forth between the two islands and incite commerce. Become a merchant? Maybe there would be a representative from the seawizard community present. It couldn't hurt to look.

"Aye. Maybe I will." Eliza stood and caught back up to the departing Ravenclaws.

***

Padma shivered as she and Lisa stood in the dark dormitory room. Even with the weather getting increasingly warmer now that it was well into April, the castle was still cold at night. Of course, they were only wearing light shimmery togas.

"Izza?" Lisa whispered into the empty air.

There was no reply.

Padma pulled back the curtain surrounding Eliza's bed. It was still made and completely empty of the pyrate.

"Where is she? She knows we have a meeting tonight," Padma whispered back.

"Maybe she went ahead of us."

"Well, wherever she is, we've got to go or we'll be late."

Padma let the curtain fall and gently tiptoed out of the room with Lisa behind her.

Eliza had left the dormitory only a quarter of an hour before, her toga still in her dresser. She slipped quietly through the corridors with a sword drawn. There was a rustling noise ahead of her and she froze.

"Izza? Is that you?" a girl's voice came from the dark.

"Aye, that it be," Eliza said quietly back.

"Oh, good. I was worried it was a prefect. Come on."

Eliza followed the voice deeper into the dungeons and through a small door. She crept into a very brightly lit room. She immediately shielded her eye, giving them a moment to adjust. When she found she could look without squinting she took it away and turned to her companion, Ann Worthy, a seventh year Hufflepuff.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked.

Eliza looked around at the converted Athenian meeting room. The cushions had been pushed back against the walls and at its center was a long narrow platform. Eliza walked over to it and climbed up onto it. She jumped up and down a few times to test how sturdy it was.

"It'll do," she said to the girl. "Are ye prepared for this?"

"Oh, yes. I'm very excited. This should be a lot of fun."

Just then Vicky walked in through the large doors, leading the pack of Athenian girls into the meeting room. Many of them stopped in mid conversation as they took in the sight of Eliza and Ann standing opposite one another on a dueling platform, Ann dressed in white, Eliza in black, holding similar long, shiny foils.

"What on earth is going on?" Padma called.

Vicky turned to her members. "Tonight, we will be having…a duel. Please, take a seat." The girls walked in slowly and pulled up the cushions. "We will have the pleasure of a demonstration by our sisters, Ann the Steadfast and Izza the Bold. They have much experience with swordplay and wish to pass on the knowledge to us. Izza? A few words?" Vicky bowed slightly and took her own seat.

Eliza walked to the center of the platform. "Ann says that many of yeh are familiar and even quite good at dueling with wands, or at least defending yerselves with magic. Tonight, we wanted to show ye thar be other ways to fight, and to defend. Muggle weapons or even charmed tools can come in handy and give ye an advantage o'er a wizard or witch who only has their wand. Ann?"

Ann stepped next to her and began speaking. "This is a fencing foil. It has a ball at its tip so no one gets seriously injured. We'll also be using glimmer charms in place of offensive spells so that you get the idea where you would use them. Obviously, you would want to use disarming spells, stunning charms or hexes to defend yourself…"

As Ann explained the details of the fighting equipment and a few of the different moves they would be using, Eliza walked to her end of the platform. There was a small stool, which she had requested. She pulled up her left sleeve to expose her hook entirely. The difficult thing about fighting with a sword and a wand was that she had only one hand to do it with. For many battles, she didn't have time to prepare so she simply had her wand in her belt and juggled between them when needed. Tonight, however, was a demonstration and Eliza wanted to do it right. She planned on employing a tested method of combing her hook and her wand. A wizard's wand was a tool to direct the caster's magical energy into a single point. To do that, it needed contact with skin. The common practice of holding it in one's hand had simply arisen out of the need to be able to aim that energy once it was gathered.

Eliza undid a short brown leather cuff that was buckled over the base of the hook. She let it rest on the stool and examined the area of the hook she very rarely showed. She had started wearing the leather cuff long ago, and the original reason was lost to her. Now, it was more out of habit than anything else. She felt less secure without it there. The base of the hook was a two-inch cup of dark wood. It had four evenly spaced slender pieces extending down past her wrist. The whole thing was intricately designed with beautiful carvings and wood inlays in various gothic shapes.

Padma, who was sitting near Eliza's side gazed on with interest. The wooden hook base was a wonderful piece of work and she wondered why Eliza kept it covered. She had never seen the cuff off, even in the dorms.

Eliza placed her wand centered on the leather cuff that laid flat on the stool. She positioned her hook over it with her underarm facing up. The shaft of the wand lined up between the extruded carvings of her hook against her skin. She redid the cuff's buckles as tight as possible, lashing the wand so that it ran parallel to the backside of the hook. She swiped it a few times, testing its cohesiveness.

"Izza, shall we?" Ann asked, facing the pyrate.

Ann was the daughter of wealthy muggles and had been brought up learning to fence, good and proper. She was standing En Garde with her sword at the ready and holding her wand in her left hand. This would be a Florentine duel, where both fencers had secondary weapons, namely their wands. Muggle duelers would most likely have had a dagger or another sword in their off hand. Eliza personally like flintlock pistols with hexed bullets, but that wasn't really proper here. She whipped her blade up in a salute to Ann, who returned the gesture.

They started a simple conversation of swords, trading attacks and parries to get the feel of one another. Ann fenced smoothly with practiced method. Her technique was impeccable and she fought as though her every move were being judged. Eliza, on the other hand, battled with an ingrained hastiness and natural intuition. Her motions were fierce and more resembled wild hacks and cuts than proper fencing moves. She used brute strength to carry out her intentions rather than dueling etiquette.

Ann lunged forward and made a well-aimed thrust at her fellow Athene, but Eliza parried it with great force. While Ann recovered from the motion, Eliza had time to cast the first spell.

"Aureus scintilla!"

Ann's clothing turned a bright gold. Eliza flashed her a quick smile, gold after all, was one of her favorite colors. Ann narrowed her gaze and initiated another attack. This time, as Eliza defended herself, Ann countered the Ravenclaw's glimmer with one of her own.

"Croceus scintilla!"

Eliza's shirt changed from black to yellow. She cursed herself for the mistake. Both duelers retreated a few steps, their blades still at the ready. Eliza was breathing heavy and Ann's brow was covered in sweat. It was Eliza who took advantage of the resting moment and went to cast another spell. Ann caught the flick of her wrist out of the corner of her eye and tumbled out of the way of the jet. Somewhere behind her a curtain turned blood red. Ann was quickly on her feet again, just in time to meet Eliza's assault. The engagement this time was longer. The girls took the duel up a notch. Using feints and flicks, ripostes and remises. They intensified their conversation of blades, the wands temporarily forgotten. Ann's footwork was timed with measured grace, while Eliza thundered across the platform. The air was filled with the chinking of metal on metal and the uncontrolled exclamations issued from their mouths.

Eliza made a wild cut that was blocked once again by Ann's quick reflexes. The Hufflepuff jumped forward with a lunge but Eliza deflected it to her side. Eliza executed a fleche, leaping off of her lead foot in an attempt to make a hit, she missed and passed Ann at a run. She wielded her hook arm around and cast another spell toward Ann, who was still moving to turn and face where Eliza had ran.

"Ostrinus scintilla!"

Ann turned a vivid purple before she let loose her own shade of blue at Eliza's head.

"Caeruleus scintilla!"

For a few moments the witches unleashed a brutal barrage of glimmers toward one another, dodging, recovering and casting until both resembled badly tie-dyed handkerchiefs. Ann grinded her teeth and ran with full force at Eliza, crashing their blades together. They were locked there for several seconds, testing each other's strength and caging their eyes, until Eliza grunted and let out a burst of energy that sent Ann flying backward. Eliza moved after her, hoping to catch her off guard, but Ann was fast and recovered her footing almost immediately. She sent a myriad of quick, direct attacks at the advancing pyrate. Eliza stayed on the defensive, letting Ann fatigue before she delivered a vigorous side thrust, sending Ann's foil into the crowd. Momentarily shocked, Ann found herself being pushed to the ground by one of Eliza's shoulders and caught under her, blade to throat.

She looked up to Eliza with grim defeat. The noise from the audience rose with collective gasps, cheering and clapping. No one heard the spell form on Eliza's lips. A jet of green went spiraling from her wand. The room was suddenly very silent.

Eliza stumbled back, breathless, and let her foil clatter to the platform. Ann slowly sat up, her entire body was a shade of lime green. She looked like she was still processing what had happened when Eliza looked up to the tensed crowd and spoke.

"Ye would want to use a killing curse thar."

Ann, suddenly shaken out of her dazed state yelled, "Killing curse? Izza, that's entirely illegal. You'd be sent to Azkaban for sure!"

Eliza turned her head to look at the green girl on the ground. "Azkaban? Fine then, stun them if ye want, but do ye really think that yer opponent will do yeh the same courtesy?" She then addressed the assembly of Athene's Coven loudly. "Every fight be a war. It's all or nothin'. Make no mistake; if yer in a fight like this, only one of yeh be going to walk away. Do what yeh must to make sure that it be yeh. If I had hesitated thar, blade to her throat, she could have easily sent another curse at me. I may have taken away her sword, but she were still armed. It takes but a second. Stop to think about the moral complication of casting an unforgivable curse and yeh may loose yer opportunity, as well as yer life. My grandfather used to say, 'On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions, who on the dawn of victory sat down to rest, and resting died.'" With that Eliza climbed off of the platform.

She walked to the table Vicky had set out with a pitcher of water and a few glasses and poured herself and Ann a drink. Ann came to join her, albeit more slowly. Vicky grabbed the attention of the coven members, who were left with troubled thoughts. She began giving out thin rods of wood to spar with and directing the members into pairs. Eliza finished her water in one long drink and poured another.

"That were fun, we ought to do it again," she directed at Ann, who was sipping at the liquid.

"Mm, yes, perhaps we should. I think…I think I may need the practice," she said quietly.

"What? Ye were wonderful. I've never had to fight so hard. 'Course, I was tryin' not to fight dirty. It be a lot harder than it looks." She offered Ann a smile, who returned it with a little grin.

They finished their water and finally stilled the rapid beating of their hearts. Ann went to direct some of the sparring and teach some of the younger students some parries.

Eliza was content to watch as she undid her cuff to remove her wand. Vicky, seeing that she was alone walked over, leaving the Slytherin pair behind her to duke it out (this later turned into a fist fight and a seventh year had to subdue them both).

"Wonderful demonstration, Izza."

"Thank ye," Eliza responded, turning to face Vicky.

"You command quite a presence when you speak. The entire coven was so engaged through the whole fight… and then with your speech. Well. Let's just say I think they are both scared of you and respect you." She smiled warmly. "Izza, I would like you to consider running for Hogsmater for next year. I think you would do well."

Eliza was a little surprised at suggestion. "Hogsmater? Really?" She realized that not only did she not consider the fact she may not be around next year, but she actually wanted to be at Hogwarts. "Ye know, I might just do that."

"Good. I'll talk to you more about it before the next meeting. Have a good Easter." Vicky strode away and began gathering the girls to close the meeting.

Eliza set down her glass and went to collect her things. "Hogsmater Izza… that has a nice ring," she said to herself.

Chapter 16
The Storm

Scarlet light reflected on Eliza's face as though the sun were shining in through stained glass. It was one of the most brilliant blood red sunrises Eliza had had the privilege of witnessing. She curled up in the window seat and watched the clouds turn crimson and burgundy, gently pushing out the midnight blue of night. The others were all asleep still, but for some reason, Eliza had woken up and could not drift back into slumber. Scalawag flew down and rested on her shoulder. He nibbled lovingly on her earrings as she smoothed his feathers.

"Red at night, sailor's delight," he cooed softly.

"Red in the morning, sailor's take warning. I know. We're in for one hell of a rain," she whispered back.

The sun crept over the horizon, lending rust and copper to the color scheme.

She rose and walked gently toward the bathroom. She felt almost alone since no one else was awake. She let her nightshirt drop to the floor as Scalawag left her for his roost. Quietly, Eliza turned the shower faucet to a steaming stream. She let the water wash over her and through her tangled hair. As she washed, memories flashed into her mind. The circle burn on right arm, a miscast fire charm. The Ethereal tattoo, Jacque's Cajun accent. The thin line that ran down the right side of her neck, a close call in a sword fight. The golden Athene shield on her breast, Padma and Parvati calling her sister. Claw marks on her left hip, the shark bite on her thigh, the myriad of other scars that covered her body all brought back happy adventures, mistakes, and sad recollections.

She slid out of the stream and toweled the water from her body. From the shelf of the sink, Eliza took the pentagram necklace and pulled it over her head, letting the cool metal rest against her skin. She put on also a bone and bead choker that Meg had made for her and a charmed necklace she had made herself with shark teeth, shells and little gems. In the mirror she examined the facial tattoo Pansy had done for her several months ago. It made her think of her mother's calm expression, her forehead smooth and showing only a diagonal line of dots stretching from the left down over her right eye. The other girls didn't say much about it, a few comments noting its appearance but nothing more. However, Eliza caught Pansy looking over it a few times since it's creation. Eliza had yet to see the Slytherin's body art again. She kept it to herself.

Eliza walked out into the dormitory that was now shadowed. The murderous clouds were now piled dark and deep in the sky completely concealing the sun that had tried to break through earlier. She slipped on a small white camisole and a frilly pair of red knickers. Over these, she slowly put on her school uniform, the gray skirt, white shirt, gray vest and the little blue and bronze tie. The socks she chose were knee high green ones with orange vertical stripes. Eliza had never heard of the word clash before. She was just pulling on her boots when she heard Lisa stir.

"Mmm. Izza, are you awake? What time is it?"

"Quarter to seven."

"Seven? It's dark," Lisa said groggily.

"Rain's a coming." As if to accent her comment, a flash of lightning lit the room and a roll of thunder quickly followed. "I'll meet yeh down in the great hall," Eliza replied, pulling on her black school robe and grabbing her satchel.

"Alright," Lisa yawned and sat up.

Eliza walked down the dormitory steps. There were about half a dozen students up working on schoolwork in the common room. Eliza nodded to them as they all glanced up when she entered.

"Mornin'," she said.

"Good morning, Izza," Luna Lovegood said from a far table.

"Ahoy, Loony!" Eliza waved and stepped out of the entrance.

The corridors were all still lit by the huge torches on the wall, since daybreak was making no headway. Eliza walked slowly, saying hello to the few other students she passed. Soon the rest of the school would be waking up and making their way down to the great hall for breakfast. As it was, there were only about a dozen people sitting at the long tables. Another roll of thunder crackled through the castle. Eliza sat down at an empty section of the table and pulled her satchel to her lap. She rummaged through it until she found charms book and pulled it out. She wanted to reread the assignment before class. With the book laid out before her, she pulled some bread from a plate and began eating as she read.

Within a half hour Lisa and Padma had made it down to join her. They sat across from her and put together their own breakfasts. Padma was yawning and buttering toast as Lisa chewed on a pear. Everyone was a bit lethargic due to the coming vacation. The students would have some time off for Easter at the end of the week. Lisa was planning on going home, while Padma wanted to stay and work on an ancient ruins project with some Gryffindor. Eliza planned on staying, since the holiday didn't have much meaning for it anyhow.

Eliza shoved the book back inside her bag and served herself a bowl of oatmeal. She added a few spoonfuls of sugar and cinnamon to it and stirred vigorously.

"Going to have some oatmeal with that sugar?" Padma teased.

Eliza took a big bite and smiled.

The rest of the Ravenclaws were filling up the table and a steady buzz had grown in the room. Everyone was chatting about the upcoming time off and another trip to Hogsmeade. Cho was going on about Quidditch with the team members hanging off her every word. Padma started lecturing the others on something to do with the druids but Eliza's attention was elsewhere.

Several owls began swooping in with the morning post. Eliza watched them drop letters and packages to the other students. There were calls of delight and amusement registered all around her. Lisa received a copy of the Daily Prophet and Padma had a letter from her family. Most of the birds had departed and Eliza glanced over to the Slytherin table. Pansy was opening a large ivory colored envelope with a look of mistrust on her face. Eliza turned back to her breakfast.

She froze with a spoonful of oatmeal halfway to her mouth. There had been the addition of one grubby owl claw into her breakfast bowl. The owl gave Eliza an imploring look and held out its non-oatmeal covered leg. She hesitated to take the letter that was attached, being overcome with a feeling of dread. The parchment looked stained and slightly singed.

She slowly unrolled the letter and took in the words.

She started softly, almost a whisper, but her tone took on a wild rasp with each word. "No…No…No…No…"

She read it over it again, unbelieving, but the words didn't change.

White rage washed over her features, she was on her feet in an instance. She growled and slammed her arm over the table, knocking several dishes including her own breakfast to the floor. Food, food, who could think of food right now?

The morning chatter at the Ravenclaw table died and several sets of eyes focused on the angry girl. Eliza screamed a feral sound and violently shook her hand that was clutching the offending material. She shot daggers at everyone and stormed out of the hall, knocking several first year Hufflepuffs over in the process.

Padma and Lisa locked eyes. The owl that was the bearer of bad news collapsed. Padma set down her toast.

"Well. I guess we should see what that was all about." They rose and dropped their napkins onto the mess Eliza had thrown to the floor.

They followed the trail of aghast paintings that were saying things like, "I never!", "Well, in all my years!", "Did she really say that?" and "That girl is too strange, I find her to be off balanced, perhaps she is deranged." To which Padma said, "That was six syllables not five."

The insulted art brought them all the way to the Ravenclaw common room. By the time they got to the dorm, it was already too late. Eliza had hit like a long awaited tornado. She had cleared her dresser top to the floor and emptied her laundry to the walls. The picture frames were broken on the ground, her figurines and little trinkets were strewn about, dismantled and even smashed. But what made Lisa gasp was the little glass bottle that rolled to their feet as they stood in the doorframe. Lisa looked up and took in the full extent of the pyrate's anger. Eliza was sitting on the floor slamming both her fist and hook into her emptied chest repeatedly, screaming incoherently.

Padma walked forward slowly until she was beside Eliza, but outside the radius of her flailing limbs. Lisa stayed near the door accessing the damage as it occurred. Anything the girls said was lost to Eliza, who was still lividly fighting with the ornate chest and working herself into a frenzy.

"Izza, what's the matter?" Padma asked, her voice hauntingly calm.

"No good! Bloody!" Eliza stammered through clenched teeth.

"Izza?" Padma tried again.

Eliza whipped around and glared at Padma, pointing a sharp finger. She yelled, "If he thinks I'm going to stay here and do nothing…!"

"Eliza! STOP!" Padma lost her calm and screamed back at the pyrate on the floor.

Surprisingly, she did. And to all intents and purposes it appeared that she started picking the remnants of her tantrum up. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. Eliza was packing. She half crawled and half ran around the room scooping up her belongings. With hurried anger she threw clothes, books, trinkets, and whatever other random things her hand found into the mutilated chest.

"How does he expect me to stand by? Well, I WON'T! Hades DAMN it! That's it, I be getting' the next ship out of here--!"

She looked up to scalawag, who was quivering in his roost, with an expression of piss and vinegar.

"--On my shoulder NOW, bird!"

Scalawag looked with fright to Padma and Lisa and then back to Eliza.

"NOW, or you'll be a feather duster by noon!" It was not an empty threat.

He fluttered down and perched on her left shoulder, digging in his claws with anticipation of a rough ride. Eliza grabbed the leather handle of the chest and started to drag it from the room, unleashing a series of vulgarities directed at some invisible foe.

Lisa made a motion to grab onto her, but Padma stopped her. "Let her go, she can't get far."

Eliza's trunk thudded down every step, in between the clatter her disjointed sentences could still be heard. Several people had gathered in the common room and were waiting to watch the spectacle. The chest scraped against the floor. Eliza clomped through the common room in disarrayed school robes, her hair a tangled knot and her flesh a vivid red. She did not see any of the other students, only the exit.

Most of them were watching in silence, holding quills in midair or in the midst of turning pages in a book. It was Luna Lovegood who addressed the cursing and currently escaping pyrate from the far table she was still sitting at.

"Go get 'em Izza! Arr!"

Eliza shook her hook and echoed the "Arr" as she disappeared through the Knight.

"Don't encourage her, Luna," Padma said with crossed arms from the dormitory steps.

"She looked like she could use it," Luna defended herself before turning back to her lopsided copy of the Quibbler.

***

By the time Eliza reached the entrance hall several students, who had been on the receiving end of her wrath, had scurried back to their common rooms, or to the great hall to share the news of her flight. There wasn't a student within earshot who didn't know. Not that Eliza was being particularly quiet about her departure. She pushed over statues and cut paintings with her hook. She screamed at nothing randomly and insulted ghosts who got in her way. By now even the professors knew that Eliza was in a fit and making for the main doors. It was also detrimental to her cause that several of the paintings whose canvases had been attacked had booked it to Dumbledore's office to report her insolence.

She stomped out into the pouring rain, slammed the door shut and looked at the clouds with distain. She started to drag the chest toward the stairs when there was a click as the door opened. Eliza turned to face Professor Snape like a trapped animal. He stood looking tall, dark, gaunt and dry under a black umbrella.

"Professor Flitwick has been detained in the hospital wing due to a batched summoning charm by an idiotic third year, so I have been sent to fetch you," he said in a cold uncaring tone. Lightning flickered across the sky.

"I not be stayin'," Eliza called over the low rumbled of thunder.

"Ah, well, in that case I'll leave you to it. By all means, leave. You're an utter nuisance anyway." He gave her a challenging look.

Eliza answered by pushing her chest down the stairs. It landed in the mud and she ran down to right it. Taking the handle she set off down the road toward Hogsmeade. Professor Snape inwardly cursed, climbed down the stairs and walked silently next to her.

Eliza continued her ranting, not that she thought the potions master was really listening, she really didn't care if he continued walking with her or not. She had made it about a hundred yards before she started to struggle with her luggage, the mud retarding her progress. She turned and latched her hook on it as well and pulled with great effort.

"I BE LEAVING," she said, not sure who she was trying to convince. She tugged and tugged but the chest was moving only inches at a time.

Had Eliza not been in such a state, she may have noticed the weightening spell Professor Snape was casting with a hidden wand, tucked deep into his sleeve. However, she did not, and continued yanking with all her might on the chest as the Slytherin professor stood calmly by.

"I-" tug, "HAVE-" tug, "TO-" tug, "GO-Ahhh!" Eliza gave the handle one last pull with all of her strength, but it stood fast and she flew to the ground landing in a think puddle of mud.

It was the last straw Eliza burst into a screaming fit. She threw her arms and kicked her legs, splashing mud over herself, the chest and the bottom of Professor Snape's robes. When her convulsion tapered off she climbed up and sat on her fixed chest, kicking mud and snarling into the rain. Professor Snape suddenly felt uneasy. Girls had such fickle emotions at this age, he wasn't at all good at dealing with them. Where was Professor McGonagall when you needed her?

"Why is it, Ms. Smythe, that you need to leave us?" he ventured.

"Bbbecause she's in trouble! I have to help! I have to! And he thinks he can send me here!" she swung her hook from her body and gestured to the castle, "And that I won't do anything about it? How can he send me here, when-when they be out there?!" She stood and looked out over the grounds, outstretching her arms.

It made absolutely no sense. Professor Snape sighed. "Who is in trouble Ms. Smythe?"

Eliza dug in her robe produced a half destroyed letter. She flung her arm in his direction, indicating that he should look at the note. Begrudgingly he took it.

Izza,

I have little time. A visitor has come to The Incinerator. He is after treasure. Most of the crew has taken leave. Remember, my family will always remain loyal to yours.

M

It was a simple note. Let it not be said that pyrates did not possess the skill of brevity. Unfortunately, it did not explain much of the girl's actions. She was obviously certifiably insane. Snape made the mental note to suggest an appointment at St. Mungo's to the headmaster, but now probably wasn't the time to mention her mental stability. He folded the letter and handed it back to the girl. Eliza took it, squeezing it again in her palm, as if she could force the words to be different.

"I need to go to… I need to go to…where she is…I need to find her…I can take a ship…" The girl was talking more to herself now than to the professor.

"Ms. Smythe, what exactly is it you think you can do? If, on the off chance, you make it back to London, how do you propose you'll find the wizard harbor? And then what, will you buy a ship and sail the seven seas? Buy passage on a merchant ship? Just how much money did your father leave you? Enough to even have room and board for more than a few weeks? Whatever is it you think you can do, or who you think you can help, let me debus you of your illusions. You are a 16-year-old witch who has a sporadic, at best, knowledge of magic use and the British wizarding world. And if you haven't noticed WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR! The best thing you can do to help whoever it is you are ranting about is to stay far away from them. What you need is here. It is knowledgeable professors and structured classes. What you need to help yourself and your friend is here at Hogwarts--"

He was right, of course.

Eliza's mind stopped swirling with useless plans and disjointed vengeful thoughts. He was right, what she needed at Hogwarts. Her face set with grim determination she stood up and grabbed the chest's handle. The luggage was now surprisingly light. She started dragging it back toward the castle without another word. Professor Snape watched her start with an expression of perplexity and agitation. He did not like his speeches to be interrupted. He was going to say, "What you need is education and discipline," but the girl was out of earshot now. Certifiable. He rolled his eyes and followed along after Eliza, at least she had stopped grumbling under her breath and seemed in control of her emotions once more.

***

When Eliza entered the common room it was empty of any Ravenclaws. Morning classes had started and undoubtedly all of the house's students felt compelled to be in them. Eliza trudged through slowly, trying to organize her thoughts. She pulled the trunk up the steps, leaving a thin trail of mud behind. Her mind was arriving at a plan of action as she stepped through the dormitory door and was forcibly snapped back into reality.

The room was in shambles. Lisa was returning some clothing to a laundry hamper and Padma was on the floor among the broken glass casting reparo charms and trying to piece together the things Eliza had broken. Lisa froze and whipped her head around at Eliza who was stopped in the doorframe. Padma looked up, tears dried on her face.

"Back already? Come to throw something else?" Lisa half yelled.

"Lisa…" Padma raised a hand to silence her friend.

"Padma." Lisa glared and did the silencing instead. She turned her attention back to the pyrate and began advancing as she spoke. "Eliza Smythe, you think you are better than this. You think you shouldn't be here, well, here's a news flash-This is who you are, a student. This is your home as well as ours and you can't just storm in here and rip it to shreds! You destroyed our things as well as yours. I thought we were friends, Eliza. Friends just don't do that. They don't throw a tantrum, leave everything in disarray and RUN AWAY! You know that I actually thought you could just leave…you would walk out that door with out a thought about either of us and we'd never hear from you again. And God, Eliza, that hurts. To feel like you could just-do that. Just leave us, like we're nothing, like the past 8 months have meant nothing. We've done nothing but be a friend to you, Izza. We've done nothing but support you and share with you. We've carried you home from Hogsmeade, covered for you when you decided you don't feel like coming to class, Padma turns a blind eye every time you blatantly break a school rule-WE BROUGHT YOU INTO OUR COVEN FOR GOD SAKES! All because we care about you! Now, you tell me-us-what the fuck is wrong with you, because if you don't…this," she made a triangular gesture between herself, Padma and Eliza, "is over." Her voice was firm and left no room for misinterpretation.

Padma looked just as shocked as Eliza felt.

She had not expected to be screamed at the minute she returned. Really, she didn't know what to expect. The entire morning was almost a blur, she barely remembered anything she had said or done. Lisa's fury and Padma's sorrow brought home the fact that all of this was really happening. Her shock at Lisa's words and the emotional drain the letter had taken on her brought Eliza to the floor. She collapsed in front of Lisa's feet and stared up at her with large tear-filled eyes.

"Meg's been taken hostage," she said quietly offering the rain soaked letter to Lisa before she succumbed to the sobs that had been threatening her body since breakfast.

Padma came and kneeled beside her to hold her close, letting the pyrate cry into her hair. Lisa just closed her eyes and hung her head. A roll of thunder tapered in the distance.

Chapter 17
The Map Unfolded

They stayed like that for a long time. Eliza let a torrent of tears escape her eyes before finally relenting into silent shuddering. Padma had just held her and spoke soft words of comfort. Lisa had walked to one of the beds and let herself fall onto the covers. When Eliza pulled away from Padma and wiped her eyes, Lisa sat up and looked at her with a mixture of regret and worry.

"I need yer help. I need both of yer help. There be somethin' here at this school that can save her," she said rather softly. Lisa's words still hung in the room. "Ye don't have to. I know I don't deserve it. But I can't let her die."

"Izza…" Lisa swallowed and then held up the rain soaked letter. "This doesn't really say anything, how do you know she's in trouble?"

Eliza sighed. "Ye have to read between the lines. Meg and I, we've been friends for a long time. We used to write letters to one another when our ships were close." She took the letter from Lisa's hands and read it over again, out loud. "I have little time. A visitor has come to The Incinerator. He is after treasure. Most of the crew has taken leave. Remember, my family will always remain loyal to yours. M. It be coded. We made up an entire system when we were only children. As a game, we'd send notes that looked like simple correspondence and hid information within the words about hidden treasure, epic battles and evil villains…imaginary adventures we wrote in our heads. But this one isn't a game. The word visitor means that they've been boarded. Some one has taken over The Incinerator and they want a ransom before they'll leave. That's what she means when she says he's after treasure. The crew has taken leave…" she closed her eyes and brought her fingers to the bridge of her nose. "The crew has all been murdered or marooned, which means they are as good as dead."

"Oh, Izza, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for yelling, I didn't think… I didn't know…" Lisa put her hands on Eliza's shoulders.

"No, ye were right to. I shouldn't have reacted like that. I should have thought-I should have told ye both first," Eliza admitted.

"What about the last line, 'My family will always remain loyal to yours.' What does that mean?" Padma asked.

"Just what is says. She be my loyal friend. As is her father. She wants me to know that, whatever happens, she will be that. Loyal. As I should be to her. I need to find a way to free her."

"How? We don't even know where she is," Lisa asked.

"No, but I can find her. The problem be the ransom. But I think I-we-can get that."

"Izza, I don't understand. Neither of us are very rich, I mean we're alright, but enough for a ransom…?" Padma started.

"No. I don't need yer money." Eliza walked over to her poor brutalized chest and opened it. She searched inside of it for a few moments before producing a scrap of folded leather. "I need yeh to help me find the lost treasure of Baneheart the Warlock. And this be the map."

***

Watching a pair of Ravenclaws attack a problem was like watching a really grilling game of Quidditch. The idea, like a quaffle, was tossed with ever growing speed between them. Eliza was sitting on her chest, with Scalawag perched on her shoulder, trading glances between Padma and Lisa, who were pacing the room at an accelerated rate. The pyrate had showed them the map before launching into her tale of how it came into her hands. She also showed them the verses that she found in the historic wing. That was all it took to jump-start their thought processes.

"Deep within the den where snakes and serpents lie…" Lisa repeated, looking down at the verses in Eliza's chart book, before she turned on her heels in front of the window and walked another direction.

"Well, that's obviously something to do with Slytherin. It could be his office or the Chamber of Secrets, but they're all completely locked up and not really what we're looking for, besides it's plural. So it must be a reference to the entire house plus a den is more like a home. Their common room?" Padma tossed from across the room, scratching her chin.

"There where they that lick fingers red and make bone dry…" Lisa, satisfied with Padma's reasoning, caught it and went on.

"What can dry bones and lick fingers red?" Padma put both hands on her hips and stalked away toward Lisa.

"No, no. What about, what has red fingers and can dry bone? Something hot, something like, like fire!" Lisa was practically yelling with excitement as she ran past Padma to one of the beds.

"Oh, yes! Fire! Where do they keep a fire down there? Cauldron burners? Firepits? Satanic sacrificial basins?" Padma sat for a moment on a small bench, perplexed.

"In wildwood long since free! In wood, like a mantelpiece or something surrounding a fireplace. I mean, it would be wood from the wild, long since chopped down and carved, right? In essence, 'freeing' it from the ground." Lisa was on a roll, and her eyes lit with life, the goal was within sight.

"I agree! Splinters cover sacred key. Well, what is the key? Like a legend to the map? Or the key to the treasure box? A key to the monstrous treasure of untold measure?"

Eliza had been so enthralled with watching the girls take to the mystery like thestrals to a bloody corpse that she didn't notice they were discussing something she already knew the answer to. It was ever so electrifying to witness the spark of understanding flare up between the two, that she was momentarily stunned when they both turned on her, grabbed her arms and started to head toward the door.

"Wait! Where we going?"

"To find Pansy!" Padma drove a finger in the air.

"To get into the den of snakes! To the Slytherin Common room, Padma!" Lisa jumped down a few stairs. Eliza was sure she heard action music play from somewhere; the castle really had an interesting sense of humor.

"WAIT!" Eliza called, before the girls got too far.

"Yes?! What is it?"

"I've already been there! Over Christmas. There be a drawer in the mantel, but it were empty, save for the mark of Baneheart. I think it were the original hiding place for this half of the map, before Darren the Bastard got a hold of it," Eliza said quickly, pulling out her chart book out of Lisa's hands and flipping to show them her scattered notes.

Undaunted, the Ravenclaws returned into the dormitory and ingested this news.

"Well, of course, that would make sense, wouldn't it? You would have only had the verses to start with… then the first one would lead you to the first half of the map… the second must lead to the rest!" Lisa concluded.

"But I can't make head nor tail of the second part," Eliza sighed.

Lisa seized the pouting pyrate's chin and forced her to look up-well, more so across as Lisa's standing height wasn't much more that Eliza's sitting height. "Izza, do not underestimate the power of three Ravenclaws at work. This treasure has no chance"

Suddenly, all Eliza's original excitement and vigor for the search of the Hogwarts treasure returned in full force. Finally, she had allies who not only were smart enough to help her, but also had the drive to see a problem to its conclusion. All of her senses were aroused and she jumped to her feet.

"To unlock its secrets, whole it must be made. Well, that's self-explanatory isn't it? Once this half be reunited with the other, the path to the treasure must be revealed," Eliza recited from memory the second verse and her thoughts on it.

"For once it was severed with Bane's bloodied blade. Just some background information here, really. Clarifying that it is indeed a reference to Baneheart, yes?" Lisa said almost immediately, welcoming Eliza to the game.

"Perhaps. Go on." Padma was already deep in thought, calculating the next move.

"In it's folds the answer lies. Hidden there under disguise," Lisa read.

"In its folds? What? The blade?" Eliza's skin was flushing, she felt the answer was going to come soon enough.

"No! The map itself! Izza! The half you have contains the other half! We just need to figure out how to get it to reappear!" Padma abruptly exclaimed, pointing aggressively at the scrap of leather.

Everything began to click into place in Eliza's head. She studied the scrap of leather. "All this time! Both halves! It must be a charm… or something. Maybe we need to cast a certain spell… Dead hands of the past bid poison outcast… a poison?"

"I think… I think it's time we head to the library. Izza, put on some dry clothes. I think we may be there for a while. The hunt is on." Lisa said, with serious overtones.

Eliza grabbed a handful of mismatched clothing from the floor and traipsed off into the bathroom, while Padma and Lisa gathered up their bags and all of Eliza's research materials. A few minutes later the pyrate came out in boots, black cutoff pants, a green and yellow stripped long-sleeve shirt, a gray uniform vest and three belts. Padma laughed.

"Shut it, let's go to the library."

The three girls took off down the stairs, after covering Eliza with a clean school robe.

Half way down, Eliza asked, "How did ye know all that stuff so quick? I mean, about going to the common room instead of the offices, or the dungeons? It took me a few months to get that far."

"Well, I mean, it's all common knowledge isn't it? It's all in 'Hogwarts, A History,' haven't you read it?"

***

The three Ravenclaws commandeered two entire tables a back corner of the library. Madam Pince eyed them suspiciously. Padma wandered up to her and used her I'm-a-good-student-and-very-trustworthy look to casually inquire on some titles. She brought back a list to the other girls and started giving them a variety of titles to go and find.

Eliza brought back "Poison, I See, Hath Been His Timeless End! A Chronology of Death," "The Vitiated Vain: Injected Toxins," "Mushrooms, Poisons and Panaceas: A Handbook for Naturalists, Mycologists, and Healers," "Deadly Doses," and "The Quiet Contaminate," whereas Lisa has been quested to search out books such as, "Fangs of Despair: A Study of Venom," "Melanthiaceae: Plants and Bulbs of Death," "Professor Yuck's Guide to Toxicology," and "Antidotes and Anti-don'ts." They piled them high on to the tables, spread out parchment and Eliza's notes. Each girl set to work perusing the ancient tomes in search of possible poisons that could be used to reveal the missing half of the map. Eliza jotted down a small list as she went on. Most of them were far-fetched ideas, anything with the word dead or hands in it she felt was a prospect. Padma scanned through every now and then, taking all of their notes and going through them herself, weeding out the choices.

"Look, I'm going to go see if there's a chance we can even get some of these. Poisons are hard to come by. But Ira might have some access… the Slytherins run a sort of dark art's black market. Perhaps we should bring Pansy into this," she said as she rose from the table with a small scroll.

"I'd rather we didn't. It's going to be hard enough pulling this off, we don't need more people to screw it up. Besides, Pansy, well, solving riddles and digging for gold really isn't her thing. She'd stand by with a sun umbrella complaining about the amount of dirt," Eliza said over the pages of "Deadly Doses".

Lisa snickered. Padma shook her head and departed.

***

"Look, Izza, you've been up all night. Give it a rest, alright? You can't miss any more class either," Lisa scolded her in the Ravenclaw common room.

It was eight thirty in the morning and Eliza had feverously been going though more books and scrolls that her and Lisa had brought back from the library the night before. Madam Pince finally kicked them out and pried Eliza away from the tables. Lisa had only made it another few hours in the common room before she dropped off to sleep. Padma returned unsuccessful from her mission. She had retired to the dorm room with a mail order catalog to someplace on Knockturn Alley, which she hoped could ship them a vial or two if they figured out what it would take. Eliza, however, would not rest. She scrutinized each tome once again, finding the ingredients for obscure poisons and making several badly written lists.

Padma entered the common room to find Lisa trying to pull a scroll away for Eliza, whose hair was knotted up insanely on one side.

"Fine. Don't go to bed. You know your mind won't be able to analysis this if you don't get some sleep. Padma and I can't miss out on class today, we already missed all of yesterdays. I would tell you the same, but I know you won't come. We'll be back after class to help some more," she said as she let go of the paper, sending Eliza to the floor.

Padma walked over and glanced at the sheets of Eliza's research. "Izza… do you have any good potion books among these? Maybe we should be looking for a special sort of potion. It's a similar word to poison, as well as certain potions could very well be poisonous to ingest. Just a thought." She grabbed a hold of Lisa's arm and took her away through the Knight.

"A potion?" Eliza asked to the empty air.

Eliza managed to drag herself and the texts back to the library, where she checked out another set of books. This time they were all potion making related. She struggled back to the Ravenclaw common room and walled herself into a corner. Eliza sat in there, reading and writing for the rest of the morning, looking up advanced potion recipes in obscure books. They were all very complicated, but Eliza thought she could manage. If not her, then with the help of Padma and Lisa.

Lunchtime passed, but Eliza still worked. People came and went, some said hello or stopped to see what she was working on. They, however, found she was not being very conversational and merely grunted at them. The afternoon classes were nearly over and the other Ravenclaws would be returning shortly. She wasn't really reading anything anymore. The words were going in and out of focus. Her hand was making notes, well, attempting to at any rate, but really she was just writing the last few lines of the verse over and over. Bid poison outcast. It was such a weird instruction. Her head bobbed and she scribbled more.

"Izza? Are you alright?" It was Stewart Ackerly. He was standing beside her table looking concerned.

"What? Oh, aye. I be fine. Just… doing a bit of research… special project…" She was mumbling she knew, but she couldn't help it.

"Want to see a trick? My little brother sent me a muggle magic book…It's really clever!"

Eliza rolled her head up and nodded enough to get the boy to start fumbling with some coins.

"Look, now watch," he held a coin out to Eliza and juggled it slightly in his hand. "Um… Abscodo!" He opened his hand to show it was empty. Eliza was let out a gasp. Stewart smiled and then ran his hand by Eliza's ear and miraculously pulled the coin from her head. "Ta-da!"

Eliza grabbed him by the shoulders and stood up, lifting the boy off the ground. "What was the spell word ye said?!"

"What? Oh, Abscodo? I just made it up, it's not a real spell… just slight of hand, Izza… really, it's a muggle illusion…" The boy looked visibly shaken.

"Abscod…it means hidden doesn't it?" She set him down and then hugged him. He was even more shaken, and ran quickly away when she released him.

Eliza was very much awake now. She looked down at her notes. "Bid poison outcast" was written disjointedly around the edges of the parchment. Padma had said as she left that morning that poison and potion were similar words. Perhaps that wasn't just a coincidence. She wrote out potion and crossed off the letters from the phrase. Leaving her with the letters: b, I, d, s, o, u, c, a, s, and t. She pulled out her potions book and flipped to the notes she made early on in the year. There she found it, ingredients for the weakened Abscoditus Potion. She crossed off the rest of the letters.

She set the quill down and just stared at the words on the paper.

It was at this point she began manically laughing.

It was also at this point that Padma and Lisa walked in to the common room.

"She's gone mad! I knew we shouldn't have left her alone!" Lisa called.

"Aye!! Come and look girls! It wasn't a hard to get poison… or even a terribly difficult potion! Absoditus! Arrrr!"

Padma leaned over and looked at the rewording Eliza had done. She shook her head and said, "What the bloody hell is it with evil wizards and anagrams?" The three burst into happy, victorious laughter.

***

They were back in the library. Finding out the true ingredients and instructions for the non-weakened Absoditus Potion turned out to be much more difficult that thought. Padma wagered that it could be found in the restricted section as undoubtedly everything students desperately needed was. The three eyed the barred section scrupulously out of the corner of their eyes while feigning to do their homework (which, of course, was already done.)

There had been several plans suggested. Eliza wanted the girls to distract Madam Pince by throwing a bag over her head and knocking her out, while she stormed into the restricted section, crashing the bars and stealing the needed books. This had been vetoed by the majority.

"Sod. Bloody democracy. If I were Captain…" Eliza trailed off into mangled words consisting mostly of tearing the library apart and holding first years captive.

"Well, you're not on a ship, Izza, so shut it," Lisa said while she jotted something onto her Charms paper.

"Aaargh." It was halfhearted. Padma continued calculating, Lisa mused, and Eliza kicked the table's leg.

"Alright. We just need a note. All three of us will have to try. Lisa you go speak with Professor Sprout, tell her you need to find information on…"

"Polygonatum verticillatum, for my independent research project…that would have to be in the restricted section," Lisa finished.

"I'll go speak with Professor Vector, I'm pos