Chapter 17

Unfortunately for Santana, thoughts of her uncle returned in the wee hours of the next morning. It started with a dream in which she and Quinn were wondering around the forest, looking for a dragon, which Santana wanted to prove she could kill. The dream itself didn't make much sense. The giant squid had somehow appeared, wrapping them in its long tentacles, and then the branches of the trees had joined the mix, flicking them in the face occasionally. Then some birds had perched themselves on said branches, laughing at them every time they were flicked. Santana's mother's voice was calling out to her, asking where she was. Begging her to come back, while her father's voice encouraged her. 

"You got this Santana, it's just a squid. Cast a spell."

But Santana couldn't think of the spell to cast, and Quinn was screaming beside her, and her mother started crying and then there were suddenly spiders falling from the sky. That's when Santana had woken up. She woke up frowning, because while she knew she'd just had a nightmare, it was so over the top and ridiculous that she didn't really feel scared, just confused. 

One thing was clear though, the news about her uncle was getting to her. She got out of bed and sat by the window, staring out into the deep green lake, thinking. Trying to convince herself that she was freaking out over nothing. She wasn't her uncle. Just because they were both smart and talented and in Slytherin didn't mean she was going to suddenly feel the urge to explore the forbidden forest. Santana liked to think she had a pretty good sense of self preservation. When the giant squid had emerged from the lake that day when she was talking to Brittany, she'd ran, and Halloween….well that wasn't her idea, it was Sebastian's. Maybe she was a little excited about the adventure, but so was Mike. That was a natural thing for kids to feel, it wasn't a sign that she sought out trouble. Honestly she was more likely to get into a duel with another wizard than go looking for dangerous creatures to prove her skill against. 

But that thought made her pause. 

Was she really trying to argue that she was nothing like her uncle by saying she tested herself against other wizards, not monsters? What was the bloody difference? The point was that she shouldn't be eager to prove her skill against anything. 

All of it was too much for Santana. She felt like she was having an identity crisis. She needed to talk to someone. 

Quinn was right there. All she'd need to do was walk across the room and climb into her bed. Quinn was always happy to listen to Santana's problems, even if she didn't always have advice to give. But Santana couldn't do it. This didn't seem like the kind of thing that Quinn would be able to understand. 

So Santana walked back to her bed, slipping into her warm bedroom slippers, grabbed her wand and left the room. 

She'd never been to her brother's room before – there'd never been any reason to before now. So for a solid five minutes Santana tried to decide how she was going to find him. She could yell out his name until he came out, but she would likely wake up all the boys if she did that, and she didn't want to face that kind of wrath. She could look through each room until she found him, but that would include walking close enough to see each boy's face and Santana was sure that not all of them slept fully clothed. She didn't need that kind of emotional scarring.

She was about to just go back to her dorm and wait until breakfast to talk to Leon, when an idea struck her. When she was little, Leon taught her a whistle. The secret sibling's whistle, he called it, that they would use when they needed to find each other. It didn't take long for Santana to realize that he really only wanted to be able to keep track of her when they went out to Diagon alley together, or whenever their mother would take them to the hospital with her; Santana liked to wonder off on her own. They hadn't used it since Santana turned ten, but she figured it was better than yelling through the corridor. 

Moving to the door closest to her, Santana took a deep breath a began to whistle. She waited, but nothing happened. She moved to the next door. At the third door, she heard her name being called, but not from inside. She turned to see Leon walking towards her, frowning. He was holding Willow's hand. 

"What are you doing?" He asked, looking around suspiciously. 

"Looking for you. What are you doing?" 

He looked back at Willow, quickly dropping her hand. 

"Nothing we just…"

Santana was shocked to see him blushing. Willow was avoiding her eyes, staring down at the floor. Suddenly Santana felt angry. She didn't really know why, or who she was angry with specifically, but she felt betrayed somehow. 

"You are dating." She said in disbelief. 

"What?" Leon scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "We're not-"

"Oh shut up." Santana snapped. "I know you were probably hiding out on one of the couches, snogging. Don't bother lying about it."

"Santana…." Willow said, turning away from her. That pissed Santana off. 

"I asked you if you liked her. Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I didn't…" Leon looked at Willow once again, but she offered no help. "Whatever, it's not any of your business anyway."

"Right." Santana nodded. She wanted Willow to say something. Make her believe that she wasn't actually dating her brother. That she hadn't spent the whole night with him in the common room, kissing and touching... "Urgh." She grimaced at the mental image. "Forget this."

She moved to walk passed them, back into the common room. 

"Hey." Leon called, following her. "You were looking for me."

Santana shook her head. She couldn't talk to her brother now. She needed to process this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, and try pretend she didn't feel like crying. She glanced at Willow, who was now looking at her from the corner of her eye, but she could barely hold her gaze. 

"Forget it." She mumbled, turning away from the both. "Just forget it."

  *************** 

"They're dating?" Quinn asked as they made their way to breakfast.

"I knew it." Sebastian said, nodding his head. 

"Yeah right." Quinn scoffed. "You didn't know anything."

"I did too. With the way they're always together, and everyone always calling him her boyfriend. It was obvious."

"Whatever." Santana said. "Who cares if they're dating anyway."

"You seem to." Quinn said. "I mean I know it's gross to think about but you seem kind of pissed."

"I'm not. I just thought she was better than-"

She stopped abruptly as she spotted Willow getting up from the table, looking right at her. 

"Let's eat with Mike."

Neither Quinn nor Sebastian objected. Thankfully, Willow didn't seem willing to follow her to the Hufflepuff table. Mercedes and Mike weren't there yet, so it was a little weird to just pick a place to sit without them, but Santana had no intention of talking to either Leon or Willow today. 

"I just can't respect someone that would agree to date my brother."

"What's the difference between dating and being friends?" Sebastian asked. 

Santana recalled how they'd looked earlier that morning. Both their hair a mess, hands linked securely, cheeks flushed. Willow looked completely different. Santana had seen her just after waking up before, but this morning she looked more vulnerable. Smaller somehow. Usually Willow was confident. She took charge and gave everyone direction. This morning, she didn't give off any of that. This morning she looked almost fragile, like she needed Leon to protect her. Santana didn't like it. 

"You didn't see them." She decided to say, shaking the image from her head. 

"Did you catch them snogging?" Sebastian laughed. 

"No thank Merlin." She grimaced. "I would definitely need my memory wiped if I did."

"I can't believe Leon has a girlfriend." Quinn said, lifting off her seat a bit to see Leon at the Slytherin table. "I mean Leon has a girlfriend."

Santana shook her head again. It was impossible for her to process as well. 

Mike was as shocked as they were when he and Mercedes joined them a few minutes later. 

"Since when?!" he asked, swiveling round to look. 

"Dunno." Santana shrugged. "A while I guess."

"Aww good for them." Mercedes said, smiling. 

"I don't get what she sees in him." Quinn said. 

"Your brother is really cool." Mercedes said. "And he has really nice curly hair, and when he smiles he has a dimple on the…" Mercedes stopped, her eyes widening as they all stared at her. 

"You fancy Leon?" Sebastian asked, howling with laughter. 

"No!" Mercedes said loudly. "No I don't, I just….I can see why Willow does."

Santana's frown deepened. 

"No need to wonder what he sees in her." Mike said, finally serving some food. "Willow is like…the prettiest girl in the school."

"True." Sebastian nodded. 

"They're kind of the perfect match actually." Mercedes said. 

Santana felt a little sick. "Urgh whatever." She waved her hands. "Can we talk about something else?"

  ********************

Since it was Saturday, Santana, Quinn, Sebastian, Mike and Mercedes decided to find a classroom to spend some time in. Santana would have preferred the common room, but they couldn't take Mercedes and Mike down there. Mike kept insisting that they could go to the Hufflepuff common room, but Santana couldn't see how that was possible. She decided to hang out with them for a couple of hours and then head down to the common room for a nice nap after lunch. 

Most of the school was down in Hogsmead village, which was the only reason Santana didn't have quidditch training. Only the first and second years were left in the castle, so finding an empty classroom wasn't hard. 

Mike was just telling them how he'd caught a house elf cleaning the common room one night, when the door to their class opened slowly. Santana turned to see Willow looking nervously at them. She faced forward, groaning. 

"Uh Santana?"

Santana didn't respond, staring hard at the wall behind Mike. 

"Santana, can I talk to you?"

Mike and Mercedes were looking at Santana curiously, trying to figure out why she wasn't answering Willow. Quinn was pursing her lips, like she knew Santana was going to be difficult and didn't want to be involved. 

She heard Willow sigh and take a few steps into the room. 

"Santana please?"

"What's wrong with you?" Sebastian asked, leaning forward. "Are you mad at her or something."

Santana scoffed, rolling her eyes. 

"Just get it over with." Quinn said quietly. "She's just going to keep looking for you otherwise."

Turning to look at Quinn, Santana had to concede that she was right. She wouldn't be able to avoid Willow forever, so getting it out of the way now would be better than dragging it out. Even though Quinn wasn't asking, Santana could see the question in her eyes. She wasn't sure why Santana was so annoyed by Willow and Leon dating. If she continued to act like this days from now, she knew the questions would start coming, and she really didn't want to talk about it. 

"Fine." She huffed. "Whatever." She jumped off the desk she'd been sitting on and walked passed Willow without looking at her. She leaned against the wall outside, several feet from the door to make sure her friends wouldn't be able to overhear. She wasn't going to say anything in this conversation. She would listen until Willow was done talking, and then she'd leave. Talking would just make this a longer conversation than she wanted. 

"I'm really sorry you're upset." Willow finally said. 

Santana frowned, looking up from the tile she'd been staring at on the floor.

"You're sorry I'm upset?"

There went her plan to be silent. 

"Yeah." Willow nodded. "Leon and I have been talking and-"

"I don't want to hear about you and Leon." Santana said quickly, fighting the urge to cover her ears. That would make her come off as even more childish than her reaction to the information that they were dating, and Willow clearly already saw her as a child. "And I'm not a toddler. You're sorry I'm upset..." She scoffed. "That's what you tell a kid throwing a tantrum."

Willow pulled her lips into her mouth, folding her arms over her chest. 

"Is that why you came looking for me? I'm just a toddler throwing a tantrum-"

"No." Willow said forcefully, shocking Santana into silence. "You're not just a child to me Santana, you're…you're Leon's sister."

"So?"

"So do you know how excited he's been to have you here?" Willow dropped her arms and took a step towards Santana, looking her right in the eye. Santana couldn't look away. "All of last year he kept talking about you. He told us all about what he thought your favourite subjects would be, how you'd love watching quidditch so much you'd probably hound Daniels into madness. He wanted to show you around and bring you stuff from our trips to Hogsmead, he was excited!"

Santana took a moment to think, trying to understand what this had to do with why Willow had hunted her down to apologise. 

"So what?" she asked again, this tome more confused than irritated. 

"Well it was pretty obvious how close you two were. I became a little anxious to meet you too…and then…I don't know. I already liked Leon by then, so I really wanted you to like me."

Santana frowned. She still couldn't make the connection. 

"So you're apologising because you don't want your boyfriend's little sister to be mad at you?"

Willow looked down, licking her lips slowly. 

"I knew you had a crush on me…." She said quietly. 

"What?" Santana sputtered, pushing off the wall. "Why would you assume that, that's…that's…." she looked around the corridor for words. "That's just not true."

Willow raised an eyebrow, almost looking amused. 

"It's okay." She shrugged. "I thought it was cute-"

"Don't call me cute." Santana raised a finger. "And I don't have a crush on you."

"Why are you upset then?" 

She was caught there. Santana had no idea why she was so mad, or why she felt so betrayed. But she couldn't tell Willow that, not when it would have her assuming she had a crush on her.

"Because you should have told me."

"Why?"

"Because I asked him. He lied to me."

"So what? Quinn's not mad."

Santana felt her anger rising. Willow was talking to her like a child too stupid to understand basic concepts. 

"I'm not Quinn!" she made to storm off, having had enough of this conversation and everything it implied. 

"Santana!" Willow yelled grabbing her wrist. "Just stop it alright." She sounded irritated now, which had Santana calming down instantly. "You weren't acting like a child before but you are now."

Santana turned to glare at her. 

"Yeah that's gonna keep me calm." She mumbled, taking her hand back. Willow cracked a smile. 

"You know why he's always telling you to calm down?"

Santana shook her head. 

"Because he has the same temper as you."

"No he doesn't." Santana said, trying to think of a time Leon had lost his temper. 

"He does." Willow nodded. "He just hides it better when you're around. Trying to be a better example."

Santana considered this. Truthfully, since coming to Hogwarts, she'd seen a side of her brother that she'd never seen before. He was intimidating and violent, like when he'd punched Montgomery on Halloween. 

"When I realised you had a crush on me…" Santana cringed hard, closing her eyes. 

"I did not have a crush on you, will you stop saying that!"

"Okay." Willow said, raising her hands in surrender. "Anyway, I'm the one that told Leon we shouldn't tell you about us."

"You told Leon I fancied you?" Santana asked, mouth gaping. 

"No." Willow chuckled. "I told him it would be weird having his sister in our business."

"Oh." Santana nodded, looking down. This conversation was just getting depressing now. Willow was essentially telling her that she found Santana so sad and pathetic that she couldn't even bare to tell her she was dating her brother for fear her fragile little heart couldn't take it. "You know what Willow, forget it okay?"

"What?"

"Just forget it. What you told Leon was right, it's weird for me to be in your business so just forget I know."

She went to walk away again, this time Willow let her. 

"Santana." She called, just as she reached the door to the classroom her friends were in. "Just don't be mad at him okay? He doesn't really know why you're so upset, and I didn't think you'd want me to explain it but…" she sighed. "It wasn't his fault, that we didn't tell you. It was mine. So don't be mad at him."

"I'm not mad at anyone." Santana shrugged, before pushing the door open and disappearing inside it. 

If she never had to have a conversation like that in her lifetime, it would be too soon. Her brain couldn't get passed the idea that all along Willow knew she had a crush on her. Thought, she amended quickly. Willow thought she had a crush on her. Santana could see why. She was nicer and more respectful to Willow than any of the other senior Slytherins, she didn't mind being around her in the common room or in the great hall, in fact she could say she even enjoyed it. Willow was always happy to help them practice spells, which was fun for Santana, and she told embarrassing stories about Leon. Why wouldn't Santana enjoy her company? And maybe she thought Willow was pretty, but that wasn't really a matter of opinion, it was fact. Mike and Sebastian had said it themselves during breakfast, and no one was saying they had a crush on her. 

The idea was ludicrous. Santana Lopez didn't have crushes, especially on people her brother fancied. That would imply that she had the same taste as her brother which was laughable. 

"What was that about?" Mike asked as she retook her seat on the desk. 

"She wanted to make sure I didn't go talking about what I saw this morning."

Quinn frowned, like she knew Santana was lying, but it disappeared quickly. 

"She doesn't want people thinking it's a good idea to sneak into the common room at night to sleep with their girlfriends." Sebastian laughed. "I bet Snape wouldn't be happy if he heard either."

"Yeah that's probably it." Santana nodded. "But we've talked about my brother enough. What were you guys talking about?"

  ************

After lunch Santana kept her promise to herself and made her way to the dorms to take a nap. She didn't much feel like watching Sebastian and Quinn play Mike and Matt at wizard's chess, and even if she did, she was exhausted from having woken up so early. 

But as she walked down the corridor, the strangest thing happened. Azimio and Puck, who were approaching from the opposite end, stopped dead in their tracks. She frowned at them, pulling open her robes in case she needed her wand. 

"What's wrong with you two?" she called, when they continued to glare at her. "Forget how to walk?"

"Stay away from us Lopez." Puck said, his fists balling. 

Santana's eyebrows rose, an amused smirk crossing her lips. 

"Don't tell me you're scared." 

"You wish!" Azimio yelled, but when Santana stepped forward, they both took two steps back. 

"I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be brave." Santana laughed, continuing to walk forward. Puck shuffled back quickly, walking right into the wall. "You two clearly have the hearts of a lion."

"Shut up." Azimio snapped, standing his ground but looking anxiously around the corridor. "I just don't want any more detention."

"Oh right." Santana nodded with faux understanding. "It's definitely not that you're still aching from crashing into that suit of armor."

"We're not scared of a little girl." Puck said. "A couple of fifth year's though."

"Shut it." Azimio hissed, hitting Puck's arm. 

"Fifth years?" Santana narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean fifth years?"

"Nothing." Azimio grabbed Puck by the arm and dragged him back down the corridor. "Just stay away from us."

Santana watched them leave, feeling both relieved and angry. She wasn't sure that Professor McGonagall would be quite as sympathetic towards her if she got into another fight with Azimio, so this at least meant she avoided having to find out, but she had an idea of what had the Gryffindors cowering away from her. 

For the second time that day, Santana went in search of her brother. 

  ****************

She found Leon in the common room by the fire, kneeling on the floor and leaning on the table, on which several books were strewn open to various pages. 

"I thought I told you to drop it."

Leon looked up at her, frowning. 

"Urgh Santana." He sighed. "I don't have time to deal with you-"

"You had the time to go looking a bunch of stupid Gryffindors and threaten them."

Leon looked back down at his book, dipped his quill into the ink beside it and resumed writing. 

"Are they giving you any more trouble?"

"No, they're too scared to even look at me."

"Good." Leon chuckled. "As it should be."

Furious, Santana stormed forward, smacking her hands against the table. 

"Watch it, you'll spill the ink all over my notes."

"I can handle my own fights."

"No one said you can't." Leon shrugged. "I just let them know that whatever you did to them will be nothing compared to what I'd do if I hear they came anywhere near you again."

Santana wasn't sure what to say to that. She'd been expecting Leon to say she was too young to take care of herself, or that he had to take care of her cause that's what big brothers did. His nonchalant reaction was kind of putting her off, and despite herself, she felt her anger subside. 

She stood watching him scribble notes in his book, not really sure what to do with herself now. 

"You wanna help me study?" Leon asked, glancing up at her. 

"Sure."

She didn't really have anything better to do, and she was curious what sort of content the fifth-years were learning. Santana lowered herself to the floor, crossing her legs and picking up one of Leon's books. He sat back, dropping his quill and stretching his back. 

"Ask me theory questions." 

"Okaaayyy" Santana flipped through the pages of Achievements in Charming, trying to find something to ask Leon. "Um…You know all this stuff?" She was surprised by how complicated it all looked, and while she obviously knew that Leon was a fifth-year, she hadn't really thought about what that meant in terms of his abilities as a wizard. Flipping through this book had her realising that he actually did know more than her. 

"Well that's what I want you to test."

"Right." She decided to just read from any page, since she didn't know what any of it meant anyway. "What's the incantation for the slowing charm?"

"Arresto momentum." Leon said. 

"And what's it-"

"A charm that could be used to slow the velocity of an object. Too easy."

"Fine." Santana huffed, flipping to another random page. "What's the reverse spell?"

Leon's face scrunched up, his smirk dropping slowly. 

"Reverse spell?"

"Yup." Santana nodded. 

"Are you sure we've learned that."

"I read it here in your book." Santana giggled. "How else would I know what it is?"

Leon frowned. 

"You made it up."

Santana laughed fully now, shaking her head. 

"Just say you don't know."

"Wait…" He held up his hand to stop her giving him the answer. "Is it…making things go backwards?"

"No." Santana shook her head. 

"Um…give me a hint."

"It…." Santana read the page carefully, making sure she understood properly. "It makes something happen to a person's wand…"

"A lot of spells make things happen to a person's wand." Leon huffed. "That's not a good hint."

"Okay….specifically, it makes something come out of a person's wand."

Leon was quiet for a second, his eyes closed, head tilted to the side. Santana found it so amusing to see him think so hard.

"Urgh I don't know." He snatched the book from Santana, turning it so he could see. 

"Prior Incantato Oh!" he smacked his forehead. "Countered by the eradication spell. I knew that."

"Except you didn't." Santana laughed. 

"We haven't actually learned that spell." Leon said, turning the book to face her. "This page is about the eradication spell. If you'd have asked me what that was I would have told you that it's a charm that could disintegrate certain objects and served as the counter-charm to the Reverse Spell, vanishing the shadow emitted from the wand."

"I didn't want to make it to obvious. You said my last question was too easy."

"Well the exam isn't designed to trick us like that. It'll be straight forward, so if that's easy for me then that's good. It means I'll pass."

"What kind of shadows does it make come out of a wand?" Santana asked, abruptly changing topics. 

"Specifically, the spell is supposed to force the other person's wand to conjure up images of the last spell they cast."

"Wicked." Santana said with wide eyes. "So like…if I'd cast incendio it would make my wand bring up a ghost version of a fire?"

"Yeah basically."

"Wait." Santana said quickly. "What about if I'd cast the kickback jinx. Or curse of the boggies?" she giggled, imagining smoke-like images of snot floating through the air. 

"It would show whoever you hit with the spell and the effects of it."

"Cool. Prior incantatum." 

"Yeah, but don't go trying it out. Like I said, it's not a spell we actually learned. You could get in trouble."

That had Santana remembering her inner turmoil that morning, and why she'd been looking for her brother. The fact that she had in fact been excited to try it out with Quinn had her stomach suddenly sinking. 

"I have something to tell you."

"Mh." Leon grunted, looking down at his book. 

"While I was in detention with Mcgonagall, she told me something…."

"What?"

Santana bit the inside of her cheek. "Remember when I told you dad had a brother?"

Leon looked up sharply. 

"Yeah?"

"And we spent all that time trying to figure what he'd done?"

"Yeah..." He said more suspiciously.

Santana looked down. 

"He's dead."

"Dead?"

She nodded. 

"But….how come we've never heard of him? How come abuela doesn't have any pictures of him or anything?"

Santana shrugged. She didn't actually know why her family had kept her uncle a secret from them. Maybe they were scared that Santana might think he was brilliant and take after him. Turns out she was doing that regardless. 

"What happened to him?" Leon asked quietly, like he was almost afraid to hear the answer. 

Santana told him everything McGonagall told her, from how talented and impressive he was, to how stupid he'd been at the end, eventually getting himself killed. 

"What did he meet out there in the forest that could have killed him?" Leon asked, looking genuinely worried. 

"I don't know." Santana shook her head. She'd been wondering the same thing. Everybody knew that there were dangerous creatures in the forbidden forest, hence its name. There were werewolves, centaurs, giant spiders, and those were just the things Santana knew about. She was sure there must be animals she didn't even know the name of, and then there were the plants. Given her experience with devil's snare in the dungeons, she knew plants could be just as bad as magical creatures. "Something really bad obviously, if he was good enough to sit his NEWT exams."

"He sounds like you." Leon scoffed, giving her a wry smile. Santana felt her blood run cold. "Hey, hey I'm only joking."

"That's not funny." She choked out, feeling close to tears. 

"What the devil?" Leon asked, clearly astounded by Santana's extreme reaction.

"Do you really think he sounds like me?"

Leon eyed her apprehensively. 

"I mean a little…he was a genius, you're a genius, he was an arrogant twat you're an arrogant-"

"I'm being serious Leon!" And the tear fell. Santana wiped it away quickly, but Leon had seen it. He scooted closer to her, dipping his head to catch her eyes. 

"Are you going to tell me what is going on?"

"Mum said…Over Christmas, when I overheard her and dad talking about uncle Theo, mum said she wasn't going to let me turn out like him. And then when McGonagall was telling me the story, she said I was a lot like him and that I should learn from his mistakes."

"Oh." Leon sat back, understanding crossing his face. "And now you're worried…."

Santana took a deep breath, calming herself down. "You're always saying you have to get me out of trouble. You're always asking me what I've done this time, you even asked if I'd gone into the forbidden forest-"

"I was exaggerating." Leon cut in. "I didn't actually think you'd done it."

"But a little bit you did." Santana said quietly. "A little…everyone believes I could. Mum…McGonagall…"

"McGonagall never said she thought you were mental enough to go looking for a creature to fight."

"You didn't see the way she was looking at me. And mum thinks so. Mum's so worried I'll get myself killed that she took my wand."

"Mum's….Mum's dramatic." Leon dismissed. "Besides you have me. I'd never let you go wondering in that infernal place."

"WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU LEAVE?"

Santana was breathing heavily, feeling slightly hysterical. The way Leon was looking at her right now, like she was losing her mind, felt very accurate. A part of her wished she'd never asked McGonagall about her uncle at all. At least then she could have peace of mind, instead of freaking out that she was headed down the road to her grave. 

Leon clearly didn't know what to say. Unhinged though she may be acting, there was truth behind her words. Her fear wasn't invalid and Santana could tell that Leon knew that. 

"What if….What if I end up just like him?"

"You're different." Leon said, shaking his head. "You're not…you don't go looking for danger to prove you're awesome."

"Only cause I don't have the skill yet. Uncle Theo wasn't like that either when he was a first-year. He was eager to learn, like me. What if when I'm old enough to know the spells I need to take on some dark creatures…I actually try to. You know I would."

"No you wouldn't."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW?"

"Because I know you Santana. You're not an idiot. You don't do things just to prove that you can. Halloween was stupid, but you weren't actually expecting to find a troll in there. You didn't go in thinking you were so badass you could take on a troll, and you didn't go in alone. You're not stupid."

Santana swallowed, taking in Leon's words, letting them wash over her and calm her down. 

"If you'd known for certain that there were trolls in there, would you have gone in?"

She didn't have to think about it. The answer was clear to her as soon as he'd asked. "No." 

"Exactly. And now that you know how dangerous the dungeons are, are you training up on spells and curses so you can go back and prove you can handle it?"

"No." This time she shook her head. 

"Exactly. You're staying the bloody hell away from them, because you're not an idiot. You're arrogant, but you can also recognise danger. You don't think you're invincible, and you're not working hard to get there. So stop acting like you're a dead witch walking."

Santana sighed, exhaling all her anxiety and fear and all the tension that had been building up inside her since hearing the full story from McGonagall. 

"You're right." She eventually said. "Yeah…"

Leon put his arm around her. 

"Have you calmed down?"

"Yeah."

"Thank goodness, you were really freaking me out. I've never seen you like that."

"Well you'd be freaking out too if you realised all the adults in your life thought you were headed for an early grave."

"Nah you'll be fine. All you have to do is stay away from the forbidden forest." He playfully shoved her head, pushing her away from him. 

As he got up and moved back to his previous spot, Santana settled back into her crossed legged position and smiled. Her brother was right. All she had to do was stay away from the forbidden forest, and she'd be fine.

  ***********************

With Santana newly resolved not to follow in her uncle's footsteps, the next few months went by with much less anxiety on her part. She still liked to peruse spell books for years above her own, but she limited herself to third year texts. She also decided to be asking the librarian to get her the books, so that in case she was doing anything close to what her uncle did, at least an adult would be aware. So far Madam Pince only seemed aggravated that Santana wasn't getting the books for herself. 

By the end of April, she was acing every class except History of magic and astronomy. She could never stay awake during their midnight classes to write notes, and could never really be bothered to memorise constellation. It all seemed incredibly pointless to her. As for history of magic, Santana had no intention of taking that class after OWLs, so she didn't see the point of struggling to pass it now. She took it as an opportunity to catch up on sleep, or read through One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. Herbology was a class that required the most effort out of Santana, followed closely by Transfiguration. It wasn't that she couldn't remember the plant's names, it was that she often found whatever they were or did so boring that her brain tossed the information aside as soon as the lesson was over. 

The days were getting warmer now, which meant they could finally go back to sitting out in the courtyard. That was where Santana was reading through the chapter on Aconite instead of joining in on the discussion going on around her about the upcoming Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw match. 

"Santana!"

"You're the one always telling me to put more effort into things I'm not good at. Why won't you let me study?"

"You can study before the exam." Quinn said dismissively. "Who do you think is going to win?"

"Not who you hope." Mike said quickly, holding up a finger. "Who do you really think will win?"

Mike, Sebastian, Quinn and Matt were all looking at her expectantly. She sighed, closing her book. 

"Hufflepuff are favoured, because of their seeker. Even if they're down in points she's most likely to catch it."

"So we're going to win." Mike said happily, high fiving Matt. 

"We so got the cup in the bag."

"Don't be so sure." Santana said. "Ravenclaw chasers aren't bad, and I heard they've been working on their seeker and keeper most during training. That means they want to keep you guys from scoring, which let's be honest, isn't that hard, and ending the game early by catching the snitch."

Mike looked nervous. 

"So who do you think is going to win?" Quinn asked again.

"It's impossible to know. It will all depend on how badly Ravenclaw wants it. If they work hard enough, they could beat Hufflepuff seeker to the snitch. She was off last game. Kept missing it. If she has another day like that, Ravenclaw won't even have to get any goals past Hufflepuff keeper to win."

"But that's based on luck." Matt said. "Ravenclaw have to be lucky to win."

Santana had to concede the point. 

"Yeah…I guess if I was going to bet, it would be on Hufflepuff, just because Ravenclaw has to overcome more to win. But that's not to say that Ravenclaw can't do it."

"Yeah, yeah." Mike said, waving his hand. "We're so going to win."

Santana didn't say anything. She had the nagging feeling that Mike was right. She obviously wasn't allowed to watch Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff training sessions, so there was no way of knowing how they were doing. Not knowing was eating away at her. At least if she knew for sure that Hufflepuff would win, she could stop fretting over the Slytherin match versus Gryffindor. She'd still make sure they won, but the pressure to score upwards of ten goals would at least be off her shoulders. The closer the match got, the more impossible such a win seemed. 

"Oh darn!" Sebastian jumped up suddenly. "Quinn we were supposed to go see Professor Snape."

"What about?" Santana asked, quirking an eyebrow. 

"He just left a note in our books that we should go see him." Quinn said, standing up as well. "Maybe our homework was rubbish."

"Why is everything the worst case with you?" Sebastian asked, frowning heavily. "Why can't it be that we did so well he wants to reward us."

Santana and Quinn snorted. 

"What because he didn't call you too?" Mike asked. 

"Precisely." Santana smirked. 

"Whatever Santana." Quinn rolled her eyes. "See you in a bit?"

Santana nodded. This actually worked out well for her. She'd been working herself up to sneak into the quidditch stands to watch the Gryffindor team practice. She'd seen the team dressed in their quidditch robes after lunch so she knew they were training today. If she could just see what they were planning, maybe she could give Slytherin a better chance to win. 

She stood up and stretched. 

"Where are you going?" Mike asked, looking up at her. 

"I just need to do something really quick. I'll catch up with you guys before dinner."

She carefully made her way through the castle, making sure to look like she was on the way to the Slytherin common room. She'd been caught once before trying to spy on Gryffindor training by Professor Lupin, and while he'd been pretty good about it, he'd made it very clear that if she was caught again she'd be banned from the quidditch pitch completely, even for Slytherin training. When she got to the stairs, she paused, running through her plan. If she was stopped by anyone she had a plan to tell them she was going down to the greenhouses to look for Proffessor Sprout. She'd gotten the idea from Brittany actually. Certain teachers, like Professor Snape and McGonagall never let students hang around their offices, but Flitwick and Sprout were always chatting with students, always happy to let them waste hours of their time with stupid questions. It was an excuse any teacher would buy and, Santana just realised, she was walking around with a herbology text book. She smiled to herself. That would make her story even more believable.

There weren't many students walking around the castle, which Santana was grateful for. No one would even see her leaving. A bit more confident now, Santana strode purposefully out of the large front doors. A few older students were sitting out by the lake, she saw a few in the distance by the whomping willow; she could even hear them shrieking as they jumped out of the way of its swinging branches. 

"Hey." Came a very timid voice from somewhere behind her. Santana turned to see Sam standing there, looking down at his shoes, his hands clasped behind his back. Her initial reaction was to roll her eyes and walk away, but then she remembered how he'd jumped in to defend her against his fellow Gryffindors, without even really knowing what was going on. She couldn't hate him as much after that. So she gave a small smile. 

"Hey." She turned back to the students, they looked to be in the third year, one of them just narrowly missing being caught in the legs by a branch. 

"What are you doing out here?" Sam asked, sounding less scared but still cautious. 

"I'm not allowed to go for a walk?"

"Alone?"

Santana shrugged, turning to face him. "What are you doing out here, alone?"

"I was watching Gryffindor practice." He pointed towards the pitch. "There's nothing else really for me to do." 

Santana nodded. She'd noticed Sam on his own more often since the night he'd fought Puck and Finn. 

"Your housemates weren't happy you sided with a Slytherin were they?"

Sam shook his head, pursing his lips. 

"They say I should have stayed out of it, cause then we wouldn't have lost so many points, but who cares you know?" He shrugged. "They're all a bunch of tossers anyway."

Santana grinned, reaching out to grip Sam's hand. 

"I tried to tell you."

"Yeah." He chuckled. 

"Oh this is priceless." Santana spun around, coming face to face with Azimio and Puck. She dropped Sam's hand quickly. "Oh don't stop because of us. Were you two about to kiss."

"Oh shut up." Sam snapped, stepping forward so he was slightly in front of Santana. 

"I'm not surprised." Puck said, sneering at them both. "First he befriends the freak Pierce, and now he's holding hands with a Slytherin."

"I don't know which is worse honestly." Azimio said, shaking his head in disgust, then he stopped suddenly, tilting it up in thought. "Actually, Pierce is worse. Lopez may be a Slytherin but at least she's actually a witch."

"Yeah. Rather be a traitor to our house than your own kind."

"Brittany's not a squibb." Sam said, seething. Santana was actually shocked by the venom in his voice. 

"Oh yeah?" Puck laughed. "Let's see. She can never perform any spells, can't make a potion to save her life, didn't know diddly squat about quidditch, I mean who doesn't know quidditch unless they're muggleborn?"

"And she has a cat, just like good old Filch."

"I bet that's why he's so easy on her. He knows she's just like him."

"Maybe he's her dad." Azimio cackled. 

"Shut up!" Sam yelled, rushing forward and tackling Azimio round the waist. They tumbled down the hill, both trying to get a good hit on each other. Santana cringed as Azimio managed to punch Sam square in the mouth. 

"Get off him." Puck was shouting, running after them. "You'll lose us more points Adams. Get off him!" He managed to pull Azimio off of Sam, who had definitely gotten the worst of it, and pushed him back with a hand on his chest. "Don't mate. He's not worth it."

Scowling, Azimio allowed Puck to lead him back up the hill. 

"At least we don't have to worry about Pierce embarrassing us anymore." Azimio muttered, shooting a glare at Santana as he walked passed. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Santana asked. 

"Let's just say….we won't be expecting her for dinner."

"Or her demon cat." Puck said, shaking his head. "I doubt that fat ugly thing could survive one hour in there."

Santana frowned…following Puck's line of sight to the forbidden forest. Her eyes widened. 

"In where?" she asked urgently. Puck and Azimio simply smirked at each other as they walked away. "In where?" Santana yelled, panicking now. "In the forest? Did you let her cat lose in the forest?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Lopez." Azimio called back, but the gleam in his eyes told Santana plainly what she needed to know. She turned slowly towards the forbidden forest, thoughts rushing quickly through her mind. Brittany's cat was in there, and after the story Brittany had told her of how she came to own that cat, Santana knew she wouldn't leave it to die, which meant Brittany was in there. Brittany who couldn't cast any spells. Santana felt her breathing pick up. Without thinking, she stuffed her hand into her robes and took out her wand. 

"Get help." She said to Sam, before taking off down the hill at full speed, towards the forbidden forest.