black | sirius black

Fuck.

Please just be a nightmare.

The unsettling scenes replayed in her mind – the altered personalities of her friends, the strange interactions, and the distorted reality of Slytherin's common room.

A nightmare, she told herself, attempting to shake off the lingering unease.

"You alright? You're looking at us like we don't belong here," Marlene chuckled, breaking the remnants of Jayce's unsettling reverie.

"So, what's our plan for today?" Lily asked, her eyes sparkling with a mischievous glint.

"What plan?" Jayce raised an eyebrow.

"You know, what're we gonna do when we skip class?" Lily asked.

"Who are you and what have you done with the Lily Evans I know?" Jayce walked closer to Lily, who would never even think about skipping class.

"Stop getting so poetic. I'm gonna do something so extraordinary today that James will have no choice but to fall in love with me," Lily exclaimed.

"What?" Jayce gasped. "No choice?"

"What?" Lily repeated.

"Are you guys pranking me?" Jayce crossed her arms.

"Why in the world would we prank you?" Marlene asked.

"It's just... you're not acting like yourselves," Jayce explained.

"You probably just had a confusing dream. Go get dressed, and we can carry on with our classes," Marlene waved her away.

"Classes?" Lily huffed. "You can go study, nerd. Jayce's coming with me to beat up that beefy Gryffindor. What was his name? Snivellus?"

Jayce knew something was wrong. And that it had something to do with the box Dorcas had dropped last night.

Normally, under incredulous amounts of pressure, anyone would crack. But, she was sorted into Slytherin for a reason. Despite being utterly and disgustedly confused, Jayce kept a straight face.

"Whatever Jayce's doing, she better start with clearing her mind because she's not acting like herself," Marlene said, placing her hand on Jayce's shoulder. Oh, honey, it's you not acting like yourself.

"Right, well, I'll go get ready. Um, I've got important things to do. You guys carry on." Jayce declined all the offers presented to her.

"What?" Lily stood up, crossing her arms as she fumed at Jayce. "You promised that we would go prank Snivellus today."

"Sorry, Red. Promises are meant to be broken," Jayce forced a smile before running out of the dorm.

Where? She didn't know. But, she knew she couldn't spend another moment there.

"Isn't the bathroom the other way?" Marlene asked, fixing her tie.

"Dunno, but she's acting weird," Lily shrugged, laying back down on the bed.

Meanwhile, Jayce had successfully managed to get out of the Slytherin Common Room.

What was even more shocking to her was that she couldn't recognize a single person in Slytherin. They were all students from different Houses! And it seemed everyone else found her odd as well as they stared at her disheveled hair and clothes when she ran, hoping to find Dorcas or just somebody that was themselves.

Then, suddenly, she remembered something else and came to an abrupt stop.

The third person! Who was the third person?