This is actually the last little bit in the first notebook the story was written in. From here on, most of the story I will be writing as I go. There was only a few pages written in the second notebook. So, wish me luck on continuing this story; I have to get motivated!!!

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December 24th

Audrey

The school was bustling with activity. It was Christmas time and the whole school was getting ready for the Third Annual Yule Ball. It was the tradition we decided to keep after the Triwizard Tournament a few years ago. Dresses were being flown in by owls for all the girls, tuxedos for the guys. This was a BIG deal at Hogwarts.

Naturally, I already had my dress. It was burgundy, a color I had always liked on me. My date of course was Artemis. Everyone in the school knew we were an item by now. He was currently out with Malfoy at Hogsmeade searching for matching ties. Malfoy was taking Pansy Parkinson, just like I knew he would. I was sitting with Nikkie in the Great Hall playing Wizard's Chess, passing the time until they returned.

"Knight to E7," she commanded. Her knight moved up two spaces and over one, crushing my pawn with his front hooves. She grinned a victory. I was on the brink of losing once again.

"I don't even know why I play this game with you anymore. I always lose." I studied the board. "Pawn to A5."

As my pawn moved, I noticed Harry and Hermione enter the hall. I sighed with relief; Ron was nowhere in sight, which was a good thing. He hadn't been around since the thing with Artemis, the thing everyone knew about.

"Bishop to C2," Nikkie commanded. Her piece moved and crushed my queen.

"Will someone please take over?" my king yelled.

Hermione laughed. "Want me to?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Be my guest." I scooted over on the bench so she could sit next to me. "You don't look too happy Harry."

Harry shook his head, frowning. "Not really," he muttered quietly.

"Knight to G4," Hermione commanded.

"Queen to G4," Nikkie grinned. "Check."

My mind zoned out, away from the game. I moved away from Hermione, as her perfume was giving me a migraine. I needed to be able to think clearly. Harry wasn't feeling well again. My guess was another vision, but I didn't dare ask.

Suddenly, the door burst open, allowing the cold December air rush into the Great Hall. I glanced up to see Artemis and Malfoy striding into the room. I immediately left the table, rushing to his side. After a quick hug, we went down to the dungeons where our dormitories were.

When we arrived, Artemis immediately pulled a tie out of his robes. "Matches rather well, don't you think?" he asked.

I looked at the tie. It was the same exact color as my dress. But my mind quickly drifted from the tie to Artemis' face. He had a fresh cut across his cheek. "What happened to your face?" I wondered.

Artemis brushed a hand across his face. He glanced at his hand afterwards, blood streaked across it. "I don't know," he eventually answered.

I gave him a concerned look. "Artemis..."

He glanced around, to ensure no one was looking or listening before he said, "Battle with the Ministry. It's just a scratch, and it'll be gone by the end of the night."

"Artemis, you need to be more careful," I scolded. "You're going to get killed."

He sighed. "I know, I know..."

He meandered into the boys' dormitory. He disappeared for a few minutes before returning to the common room. Artemis sat down on the leather couch across from me. "It'll heal soon," he announced.

I nodded slightly. "Good. You're pretty face doesn't need to be covered in cuts."

He blushed slightly at my comment, but said nothing. We all sat in an awkward silence. I decided I needed to make a quick run to the bathroom. "I'll be back Arty," I decided. After a quick wave, I left the common room, making my way down to the nearest bathroom. I walked down a seemingly empty corridor; I had the door in sight when I caught a glimpse of red coming towards me. Upon further examination, I realized it was Ron; I felt my heart sink. I knew this wasn't going to end well.

He approached me with single-minded determination. He had a gleam in his eye that I had never seen before, and to be honest, it scared me. He stopped in front of me, a big goofy smile on his face. "Hey Audrey," he greeted.

"Hello Ron," I muttered.

"I have a question for you," he went on. I raised an eyebrow, allowing him to continue. "Well," he stuttered, "I was... wondering if you'd... go to the Ball with me?"

I sighed. I tried my hardest not to roll my brown eyes. "Ron I can't go to the Ball with you."

His bright determination seemed to fade all at once. A deep frown came over his lips. "Why not?" he asked.

This boy was really pressing his luck. I brushed my hair behind my back. "Because Ron," I repeated for what had to have been the twentieth time, "I am going with Artemis."

"Artemis Fowl?" he asked.

I sighed. "Yes Ron, Artemis Fowl."

Ron contemplated what to say. Finally he said, "You don't need him."

I was honestly confused. "Excuse me?"

Ron cleared his throat, and spoke a bit louder. "I said you do not need him."

The boy was on drugs. I hated to admit it, even to myself, but a part of me did need Artemis. Whatever that part was or why, I had yet to decide. And I couldn't just pick up and leave with everything I had gotten myself into with him. And if I hadn't seen him all those years ago on that first day, where would I be now?

I found myself shaking my head at Ron. "I do need him."

Ron scowled. "No," he said. "All he's going to do is hurt you. The Death Eater doesn't want you. He's using you to get to Harry." He paused for a moment. "I would never do that to you. Never."

I slightly panicked. "Artemis is not a Death Eater," I insisted hesitantly. "What would give you that idea?"

Ron gawked. "Come on. Audrey! Harry told me about the night in the forest. And most times people don't go around accusing random students of being Death Eaters." He paused. "And Harry has a tendency to be right about these kind of things."

I frowned. My brown eyes fell to the ground. Ron was clever. But I had to defend Artemis. "Ron, think about it. Does Artemis really seem like the type of person to be a Death Eater? I mean, he can hardly duel, let alone kill someone." I paused. "Malfoy... I wouldn't argue with that. But get serious. Artemis isn't cut out for Death Eater work." Then I quickly added, "I love the boy to death, but he can't fight."

Ron ignored that last part, which disappointed me. He pondered. "Yeah," he finally said. "I guess it does seem logical." He shrugged. "But I still believe Harry over anyone else."

Ron was sad. Upset. Heart-broken. I felt kind of bad. That was when I remembered Hermione's tea leaves. I offered a smile.

"Why don't you ask Hermione?" I suggested.

Ron thought about it. "Yea, maybe she will." He turned to walk away but he stopped. "Be careful with Artemis, Audrey. I don't trust him. None of us do." He continued to walk away.

"There isn't anything to worry about," I insisted quietly.

"Of course there isn't."

I spun around to see Nikkie standing behind me. She had her thumbs in her pockets of her jeans and a sweater with an H on it. "I was coming to warn you about Ron." She smiled apologetically. "I guess he got here first."

I shrugged. "I think I set him straight."

She shrugged as well. "He'll be back. He always is." There was something on her mind.

"What is it?" I asked her. I started towards the bathroom again.

"Harry's getting worse," she informed me, walking beside me. "He says his scar is starting to bother him. It's giving him headaches."

"And his visions?" I asked, though immediately regretted it.

"The same," she stopped at the bathroom door. "Nothing to worry about?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing to worry about."

And with that, she started towards Gryffindor tower. I quickly used the bathroom before making my way back to Slytherin's common room. I walked in to see Artemis and Malfoy in private conversations with Professor Snape.

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Meanwhile...

Artemis

I sighed as Audrey left the common room. Malfoy gave me a concerned look.

"She's right you know," he said. "You need to be more careful. All we need is a body to prove we were there."

"It was a scratch," I sighed. "I'm one of the better duelists. So what if I got hit? Everyone gets hit by a spell at some point or another."

Malfoy took a seat in the leather chair across of me. "It's not the point. If one of us gets killed the whole plan goes up in smoke. We cannot afford to mess up."

He was beginning to irritate me. "Draco, I know! Do you honestly think I don't know?! I've been stressing for weeks, months about our task. We have a week to complete it, and we still have NO idea of how we're going to kill him!"

He sat there, dumbfounded, for a moment before he finally responded, "Like I haven't been stressed out about it?"

"You have been off with Crabbe and Goyle doing God only knows what!" I shot back. "Your mind hasn't been on the task at all!" When he said nothing, I went on. "I suppose you think I'm the mastermind, that I'll figure it all out. I've gotten out of worse things." I took a deep breath. "I don't care whether you help me or not. I'll just make sure that credit is given where credit is due."

His expression softened for a moment. He knew I was right. I took another deep breath and let it out. My hand went to the scratch on my cheek. My finger traced it lightly. It was beginning to heal with vampiric speed, but it wouldn't be fully gone for sometime still.

"Alright," Malfoy finally said. "I get it."

I would have normally grinned a victory, except I was extremely worried. Voldemort didn't mess around. And here we were, fooling around. Time was ticking down and I needed a plan. My mind raced, ideas circled in a whirlpool of thoughts inside my brain.

Suddenly, Harry's face appeared in my thoughts. He was having visions. Visions of Dumbledore's death; how I would kill the Headmaster. Befriend Harry, con it out of him. Why didn't this occur to me before? I stood abruptly, starting for the door. Malfoy stopped me.

"Where do you think you're going?" he called out.

"I have a plan," I announced, turning to face him.

"It's about time you have one," a cold voice hissed from behind me.

I turned to see Professor Snape standing there. He had a gruesome look upon his face (not that he ever didn't). He did not look very pleased. "The Dark Lord is growing weary of your insolence," Snape went on. "If you don't have him dead soon, he will have your heads on a platter."

I sighed. "That's what I was about to get a start on before you interrupted me sir."

Snape stared back at me for a moment before I saw Audrey walk in behind him. She has an irritated look upon her face. I ignored Snape, pushing past him and greeted Audrey with a hug. "Are you okay sweetie?" I asked.

"Yea, I'm okay," she assured me. "Ron just asked me to the Ball..."

Ron, always in the way. He was always doing something stupid to irritate me. Usually hitting on Audrey. "I'll deal with him later, hun," I promised. "I'll be back shortly."

Audrey gave me the look. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing bad," I assured her, though I think she could tell I was lying. "Just go relax. We have a long day tomorrow."

I kissed her briefly before releasing my embrace around her. I made my way alone out of the dungeons and into the Great Hall. My eyes darted around the room, trying to see if Harry was anywhere in sight.

To my dismay, he was not in the Great Hall. That meant I was going to have to hunt him down. After running up and down the school's hallways for what seemed like forever, I finally found him sitting by the astronomy tower. He was sitting with that Mud Blood Hermione Granger. They were speaking in hushed tones. When I approached them, they looked up at me with bewildered looks upon their faces. I suddenly felt very awkward.

"Hey..." I greeted.

"What do you want, Fowl?" Harry asked, staring back at me, anger in his eyes. I could tell he was still mad about the day in the forest.

I sighed. "Look... Harry. I know we didn't exactly get along the night in the forest, and I'm sure you're under the assumption that I'm a pompous jerk and... perhaps on that night I was." He raised an eyebrow at me, allowing me to continue. "I want to apologize for my rude behavior." I offered what I hoped was a sincere smile as I stuck out my right hand.

"Took you long enough," Harry sassed me.

My friendly demeanor suddenly disappeared with his snappy reply. My smile disappeared, and I then realized that this was not going to be easy. "So you don't accept my apology?" I wondered.

"You threatened me, and you want me to forgive you?" Harry questioned. "It doesn't work that way."

I frowned. Harry was too smart. Possibly as clever as me, but I highly doubted that. This wasn't going to be anything like I planned. But it was the only way. Time for some Fowl actions, I thought.

Turning away, I replied quietly, "You accused me of being a Death Eater. I forgave you."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "I can't accuse you if I know," he said rather simply. Rather harshly too. "They say innocent until proven guilty, but I don't think you're innocent."

I was taken aback. Potter had some snapping come backs. I can be mean too, I thought, but I need you on my side. I pondered. "I'm not a Death Eater," I repeated rather calmly. "If I was, wouldn't you have more proof besides your visions?"

"That night in the woods," Harry said without hesitation

"The dark makes me paranoid," I admitted sheepishly. "And I don't really like unicorns. They're too sweet." I shrugged lightly. Good thing I was good at lying.

"How do you explain my scar hurting around you?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Paranoia, I am a Slytherin." I offered a smile. "We're not all bad, you know."

Harry considered my words. He was pondering it deeply. To trust me, or not to trust me? Of course, it probably went against anything he knew about Hogwarts and Slytherins. WE were always getting in the way of everything. Silently, I wondered if being Harry's "friend" would actually make me feel guilty in the end. Guilt was a rare thing. I'd always been mixed in with something "evil."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Harry finally asked.

"Well, I am here," I pointed out.

Hermione jumped in then. "How are we-" I assumed this meant his friends "-supposed to trust you? I mean, how do we know you won't just hurt him in the end?"

She was right to worry. Very right. But I could never let her know. "Listen," I began with a sigh, "I know I've done my fair share of bad things as a child. But I have grown up. I'm mature and past childish charades. I've looked all around the school and finally found you. My being here apologizing should be enough proof. And if it's not, then I don't think we were meant to be friends."

I turned to walk away. Admittedly, I walked slowly, listening to Hermione and Harry talk it over quietly. I was beginning to feel defeated when Harry called me.

"Alright, Fowl," he agreed. "I'll give you a chance."

"But if you screw up, it's over," Hermione eyed me carefully. "Everything."

I got the message. "You won't regret this." And I wouldn't. This was so perfect I nearly grinned and laughed out loud. With Harry on my side, trusting me like a friend, Dumbledore would be dead by the end of the week. Or maybe sooner. As I said good bye and headed to get my things together for the Ball, I thought about how easy this was going to be.

But even then, my thoughts wound back to Audrey. What if she found out? What if she saw how my actions would hurt her friends? A feeling that I didn't quite recognize stabbed me in the stomach.

Maybe this wouldn't be so easy after all...