The Changeling

Cac·o·e·thes- an irresistible urge to do something inadvisable

Hogwarts, Slytherin Common Room

Spring was in the middle of a crossword puzzle, curled up in the chair closest to the fire with the others spread out around her, taking the time after dinner to laze around. "I need... a five-letter word for a slow creature that spouts slime." It was amusing to hear the answers the others gave, even if she already knew the answer.

"Ginny," Blaise remarked dryly, playing chess with Draco.

Giggling, she made a humming noise. "Close, but no. It's a snail."

They both looked up at her. "A snail?"

Nodding she grabbed her sketchbook, flipping to a free page and sketching out a rough drawing of a snail. "These. They're not magical so they might not be smart enough to get through the muggle repellent wards, but they're slow and leave a trail of slime behind them."

"Sounds like a troll." Daphne sat down across from her with Pansy and Tracy- all of them eyeing the drawing. "Do they do anything of value?"

Spring tilted her head. "Well... if you put salt on them they shrivel up and die, though that's mostly because they are mostly made up of water and the salt literally sucks it all out... It's actually quite fascinating."

Autumn had taught her about death by showing her that- and she would appreciate the lesson even if she was against hurting an innocent (if bit dumb) creature that way.

Nox meowed slightly, jumping up into her lap.

Petting his head, she smiled. "I agree with Nox. Salt really is a harmful substance."

"That's gross." Daphne wrinkled her nose, even as Theo leaned against the arm on the end of the couch where Draco was sitting.

Theo just grinned at the girls. "I think it's wicked. What do you think, Blaize?"

"I think you're a sadist." The boy rolled his eyes at Theo's offended noise, looking at her. "What are you doing?"

She looked down at the small newspaper clipping. "A crossword. It's a muggle puzzle that is made of words that you have to figure out."

Draco glanced up at her while Blaise thought over his next move. "Did you do your homework?"

Nodding but not looking up, she waved her hand in motion towards the spiral notebook she had all her class-related things in. "Mhmm."

She was thinking over a hint for a seven-letter word when Draco made a sound of surprise and she looked up to find him holding her sketchbook. "Is this Professor McGonagall? This is really good!" He flipped to the beginning, eyes widening. "What-

Standing quickly, she slowly eased the sketchbook from the boy's stunned hands. The black and white drawing was that of a girl huddled in the corner of a tiny space, wounds crisscrossing her skin. Closing the sketchbook, she smiled at the boy gently. "I would prefer if you didn't go looking through my sketchbook, Draco. Not everything is as pretty as you would like it to be."

The blonde looked stunned, frowning as if he couldn't understand what he'd seen. "But- but you were protected! You were in hiding!" This seemed to draw the attention of the room, most of the eyes that weren't already watching them turning their way.

"I was not always with the family I have now." Sitting back down, she folded her legs and didn't look up from her crossword as she tucked the sketchbook under her leg. "Hence why I owe Bill a debt for saving my life."

"Spring... you..." Draco looked as if he was on the verge of wrapping her in blankets and hiding her away from the world. It would have been offensive from an adult but she let it pass, as he was a child still and her friend. The boy's voice was insistent. "What happened?"