Catching Water (Discontinued, rewrite in progress)

The Mystery of the Dragon

 One of the things I like about the color blue is how it looks in different lightings. In the white light of Sally's apartment, sometimes too white, It looks like it's almost extraterrestrial, in a place it tries to belong and yet doesn't belong. In the darkness, it can be mistaken for black, something that blends into the endless night. But it is not black, it is blue, and you only realize when you look back twice, maybe even three times. Now, in the light of the room in Gryffindor tower, the navy blue on the Ravenclaw brooch looks like it's reaching for something it cannot. Just as I cannot reach my friend.

 It has been a few weeks since Emily went missing, and my mind has been restless ever since then. I am surprised I was even able to complete my exams, let alone concentrate on them with so much going on. Emily's friends in Ravenclaw tower had been a help to both Selene and I, in their own way, offering to help us study (I declined, informing them that I was the worst study partner that they probably find in the entire castle). They were trying, but they weren't much of a help; we should have been paying more attention to where our friend was.  

 The iris message Percy had sent haunted me, and caused me to think more about him and Sally. I had denied it earlier, but considering the fact that Luke is looking for me to join his ranks, that I am constantly moving around, that I now have to worry about the possibility that I could spontaneously time travel somewhere at any unexpected moment, the home they had offered me had only just been a dream that never can truly be.

 Selene and I had been making daily trips to Professor McGonagall's office to gain an update on the search for Emily, sometimes along with Seamus, when he was able to come out of his room. He looks about five years older, and his hair isn't as well tended as he normally keeps it. Ron, Hermione, and Harry all seem stressed out as well, and attempt to double their efforts by extending more kindness to Professor Quirell. Harry and Ron wanted to expose Snape to Dumbledore right away, but as Selene and Hermione pointed out, we didn't have enough evidence to prove Snape was the one that was trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. We had little evidence that Snape had been with Quirell at all when Emily had first disappeared. Because of this, we'd doubled our efforts into protecting the stone, always keeping an eye on Snape. Selene had even attempted to create a spell that would allow us to keep an eye on his office, like a surveillance camera, but that had ended with a broken bed, an angry kitten, and a detention for everyone in the dorm room at the time. ("I tried to mix a certain variation of a latin word and a slashing movement." Selene told me later, sounding embarrassed. "I probably shouldn't work on surveillance spells until I get a book on more variations of latin words.") Snape had proved more evasive than my first impression of him, which made me more frustrated. Our only hope was to wait for the full moon, which was tonight. A werewolf would definitely take Snape by surprise.

 "Is this how I'll always feel?" I ask the empty dormitory, staring at the blue in Emily's badge. "Like everything is going to crash down on me suddenly from above, sideways, even below?" I shake my head. "Talking to yourself, now are you Bethany. You really are going insane."

 "No you're not." a voice says behind me. "You're just... a bit stranger than usual."

 Hermione. Trust her to be the voice of reason.

 "You're probably right about that." I reply. "I'm just..." I hesitate. "I'm scared. I shouldn't be; I'm a Gryffindor. But not everything is just falling apart and I don't know what to do."

 She is silent for a moment. "Magic is something that is found in the depths of people who are capable of many things. It is meant to be used." She clears her throat, going into lecture mode. "That's from 'A Wizard's Guide to Magic.' I may not be a demi-god, but perhaps the fact that you are one in addition to being a witch means that you were meant to have both powers. That takes strength to be able to understand what it means, and quite a bit of bravery—"