*  *  *

THE NIGHT AT the Hospital Wing was the last she would be spending at peace. It was a true shame that Valerie had no prior knowledge of this, for if she did she would have relished the hours resting in that mildly uncomfortable cot.

Her dream had been the same; blurred flashes of a book, a snake, and a sword. They repeated themselves in carousel, all throughout the night. Valerie hadn't the slightest idea what they meant, and neither did she want to find out. All she wanted was a good night's sleep.

She had grown more sensitive to loud sounds, and she swore that the cry of a mandrake would kill her in a second. But, as she listened to Gilderoy Lockhart's voice as he paced around the platform, she would have preferred the mandrake.

"Gather 'round! Gather 'round." he bellowed out to his students, wand in hand. "Can everybody see me? Can you all hear me?"

'Unfortunately,' Valerie thought to herself.

"In light of the dark events, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little duelling club, to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourself, as I myself have done on countless occasions.For full details, see my published works." Lockhart proceeded to toss his cloak to a group of devoted fangirls in his audience, earning him gasps of admiration. He then introduced Professor Snape as his 'assistant,' cockily assuring the students that no harm would come to him.

The two wizards raised their wands in front of them in acknowledgement, curtly bowing to one another before taking their places on opposite sides of the platform.

Memories from the summer with her grandfather came rushing back, and she wondered just how meaningless of a coincidence it was for him to teach her duelling.

Lockhart counted to three, barely letting the last number go as Snape spoke clearly, "Expelliarmus!"

A strong, blazing force sent his opponent hurling backwards, hitting the ground with a painful thud.

"Bloody hell." Theodore turned to Snape, his hands cupped around his mouth as he shouted, "Destroy him, Professor!"

The Potions Master shot the boy a hard glare.

Lockhart, regaining his composure, strutted back to his starting position. "An excellent idea to show him that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying, it was pretty obvious what you were about to do."

"Merlin, he's making a fool out of himself," Valerie murmured to Theodore, who cracked a proud smile.

"There we go, that's the Valerie I like! Is he really not 'easy on the eyes' anymore?"

That said, the deriding comment earned him a sharp elbow in the ribs.

"Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students how to block unfriendly spells, Professor."

Lockhart hesitated at Snape's words, before turning to smile at the students once again. "An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape. Let's have a volunteer pair, er— Potter! Weasley! How about you?"

"Weasley's want causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending Potter to the Hospital Wing in a matchbox," said Snape. "Might I suggest someone from my own house? Malfoy, perhaps?"

Valerie winced at the name, knowing no good come of the situation as Draco sauntered up to the platform. He sent her a smug glance, to which she simply narrowed her eyes at. The atmosphere was tense as the pair walked to meet midway, raising their wands at the ready.

"Scared, Potter?" Draco sneered.

Harry remained stoic. "You wish."

Theodore rolled his eyes from beside her. "Boys," he sighed. Valerie raised her eyebrows at him in amusement, before turning back to the duel.

Draco and Harry took their places at opposite ends of the platform as Lockhart continued, "On the count of three, cast your charms to disarm your opponent, only to disarm.We don't want any accidents here. One. Two—"

"Everte Statum!"

Harry was sent flying several feet backwards at Draco's spell, causing the crowd to let out a series of gasps. His behaviour was unsurprising, but infuriating nonetheless. Valerie could feel her fists clenching at her sides. Crabbe and Goyle were giggling to themselves like a band of giddy schoolgirls, but Theodore managed to suppress his own laugh.

No more than a few seconds later, Harry was back up on his feet and charging towards Draco. "Rictusempra!"

The Malfoy boy was hoisted off his feet, spiralling to the ground in a manner that could only result in a painful landing. He looked up at Snape with a grimace, but the Potions professor only gripped him by the collar, nearly throwing him back into the match.

"I said disarm only!" At that point, no one even bothered to listen to Lockhart.

A menacing glint shone in Malfoy's eyes before he shouted, "Serpensortia!"

Instantaneously, a snake had leaped out his wand, slowly slithering its way to Harry.

"Don't move, Potter. I'll get rid of it for you—"

"Allow me, Professor Snape!" Lockhart interrupted him, "Alarte Ascendare!"

"He's a bloody idiot," Valerie spoke frustratedly. "What does he think he's going to do? Break the snake's bones?"

"In and out, Val." Theodore calmed her with a laugh, "In and out."

The room fell silent when Harry began taking steps towards the snake, hissing in a language only he could understand. The creature stopped just as it was about to attack Justin Finch-Fletchley.

Valerie's lips parted slightly at the sight, a strange feeling of familiarity overcoming her. 'The snake,' she thought. It was the vision from her dream.

"...Vipera Evanesca." Snape pointed his wand, as the students watched the snake wither into ash from conjured flames.

Justin looked aghast, staring up at Harry incredulously. "What are you playing at?"

"Grindelwald," Snape suddenly called. "Get up here."

Valerie gave Theodore an alarmed glance, to which he shrugged worriedly in response. The young witch walked up to the platform warily.

"Continue."

"What?"

"Continue the duel," Snape declared.

Lockhart nodded his head, as if to psyche himself back. "Wands at the ready."

Valerie shakily raised her wand in front of her, her thoughts racing incessantly. Harry looked back at her, his expression clear with the same confusion.

"You speak Parseltongue?" Valerie asked him quietly as they met in the middle of the platform. Harry simply furrowed his eyebrows at her.

"What, you just failed to mention that you can talk to snakes?" her tone was laced in disbelief.

"Talk to snakes?" Harry was stumped.

Valerie scoffed softly, "Really, Harry?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" he exclaimed.

"Quit the chatter," Snape demanded. "Take your positions."

Valerie spun on her heel, trudging away from Harry. Theodore shot her an uncertain thumbs-up as Draco stood beside him with his arms crossed over his chest, still worn out over earlier.

At Lockhart's countdown, the duel commenced, but neither of them made to move. It was only with his housemates encouragement that Harry finally uttered the words, "Expelliarmus!"

Valerie let her reflexes take control, and with a flick of her wand a Protego charm was cast around her.

Severus Snape observed closely, his eyes narrowing at the girl's actions. She was frozen in her place, unflinching as she so easily performed a non-verbal spell.

Harry resumed his advancements, each one unsuccessful as they were either blocked or redirected towards him. Valerie couldn't help her annoyance building up, and she hesitated for a moment before lifting her wand.

"Expelliar—"

"Stupefy!"

Valerie could feel her stature falter as the stunning spell hit Harry, knocking him backward. The impact loosened the grip on his wand, and it fell to the floor out of his hand.

"Enough," Snape stopped them. "Congratulations, Miss Grindelwald."

Claps resounded from the audience, but she did not miss the fear on their faces as they did so. They were afraid of her.

* * *

The rest of the class had gone by in a blur. They were instructed to duel against various other students, and Valerie had blankly done so.

She had gone up against Hermione Granger, who looked utterly irritated when she was stricken by a Body-Binding Spell. Needless to say, Valerie did nothing but destroy any chances of befriending the bushy-haired girl. After that, she managed to dodge a mean jinx sent her way by Ronald Weasley, who insisted it was an accident.

Harry avoided her for the remaining minutes of the session, taking part in the guilt she already had. Soon, she realised that it would all get better in the end. She could learn to stifle the person she was becoming, and the feelings of self hatred would dissolve into nothing.

But, as of the moment, Valerie felt numb.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

hey y'all! sorry for the late update, but rest assured this book will continue on as normal. i know it's all kinda confusing, but let's just hope that valerie gets through. or not. kidding... love you all! <3