Standing in the Great Hall, Wylan was extremely nervous for his turn at the sorting hat.

"Nervous?" A boy asked from beside him. He was burly and broad-shouldered, with shoulder-length blond hair and icy blue eyes.

Wylan shrugged. "I guess."

"What's your name?" The boy asked.

"Wylan."

"I'm Matthias."

Suddenly, a voice boomed from the front of the room, "Kaz Brekker!"

Everybody went silent and looked towards the man holding the sorting hat.

A boy walked to the stage. . He sat on the stool and immediately, everybody started to whisper.

"Who's that?" Wylan asked Matthias.

Matthias shifted awkwardly. "Kaz is feared in the wizarding world. Everybody knew of his brother, Jordie. Jordie was a powerful wizard, but he was killed by another wizard. Kaz was very upset by his brother's death."

Wylan nodded in understanding. "Why do people fear him?"

"They believe that he could be just as powerful as his brother, but they fear that his sadness and anger could cause him to become evil."

"Oh."

The sorting hat spoke quietly to Kaz and the hall went silent. Whatever the hat determined, it must have scared the poor boy. He was frowning, his brown eyes wide, his face paler than it should have been.

Then, the hat let out a loud laugh. "You are a difficult one to determine, Mr. Brekker. Hardworking, cunning, intelligent, and daring."

A pause. Kaz closed his eyes for a moment.

"Slytherin!"

The boy jumped off the stool and marched over to the Slytherin table, greeted by claps and cheers as he took a seat.

"Wylan Van Eck."

Wylan took a deep breath. Matthias smiled and nudged him forward.

Wylan sat on the stool, trying desperately to calm his breathing.

"Hm..." The hat crooned as it was placed on his head. "Very intelligent... a thinker..."

Wylan closed his eyes tightly.

"Ravenclaw!"

Wylan leaped from the stool and hurried over to the Ravenclaw table, taking a seat next to a boy who was already picked.

"Hi!" The boy grinned. His skin was a dark brown, his hair a shade darker. "I'm Jesper."

Wylan nodded. "Are you excited for... class?"

Jesper shrugged. "It depends."

The two boys laughed and continued watching the ceremony.

*****

"Fourth Year and you still won't admit it!" Nina taunted.

Inej frowned at her friend. "I do not have a crush on Kaz."

"Who has a crush on Kaz?"

Both girls looked up as Wylan, Jesper, and Matthias entered the tower. Typically, students of other houses did not visit other houses, but Inej's friends usually broke the rules.

Matthias immediately squished onto the armchair beside Nina. The tall girl giggled.

Inej couldn't help the jealousy she felt. Matthias and Nina seemed so happy. Though Kaz had tried to do kind things for Inej, she wouldn't let him in. She didn't want to end up with her heart broken once they were done with school.

That's when he showed up, his shoulders dusted in snow. Inej fought the urge to brush it off.

"Hey, Inej."

She smiled. "Hi."

He went to sit beside her, still not brushing off the snow. Though the heads of the school had decided against the Triwizard Tournament, they had announced that there would be a Yule Ball. Inej had been asked by four different boys, one of which she was still considering.

Kaz had not asked her yet. Though she refused to admit her feelings for him, she was slightly offended that he hadn't asked.

Jesper and Wylan were going with each other and Nina was obviously going with Matthias.

"So," Kaz suddenly said, "are you going to the Yule Ball?"

Inej shrugged. "I don't know yet. A few people have asked me."

Kaz's eyes widened. "I didn't know you were supposed to ask so early."

Inej glanced at her bare feet. "The ball is in a week, Kaz."

"Oh."

No invitation. Inej suppressed her sigh. "Do you have plans with anybody?"

Kaz ran a hand through his black hair. "It depends."

Inej crossed her arms and looked away from him. "I thought you would have asked somebody by now."

Then, the boy she was considering entered the room. His name was Chaol Westfall. He was brave and loyal.

"Hi, Chaol!" Inej waved at him and he walked towards her.

"Inej!" He grinned. "Do you have an answer yet?"

Inej nodded. "I was thinking that... it would be fun to go to the dance with you."

She saw Kaz's calm, cool exterior fall as she spoke to Chaol. "You're going to the dance... with Chaol?"

Inej ignored, focusing desperately on Chaol's handsome face. "So, would you like me to meet you in the library?"

Chaol nodded. "That sounds perfect."

If only Inej saw Kaz's scheming face as everybody else did.

****

Kaz fought to keep himself under control as he got dressed, allowing lots of time for his plan to work.

"Hi, my love!"

Kaz inwardly gagged as he turned towards Lysandra. She was smiling, twirling her brown hair around her finger.

Kaz nodded. "Meet me there?"

She dipped her head, turning and exiting the room.

Kaz followed after her but headed instead towards the library.

When he entered through the back, he slid behind a shelf covered in books. He crept along until he had a perfect view of Chaol.

The boy was standing directly in the center of the library, a smile on his face.

Inej entered the room and Kaz's jaw dropped.

She was gorgeous, the moon in a night sky, the bright flower in a field of grass, the sun in a cloudy sky.

Inej's dark brown hair was braided and coiled up on top of her head. It took Kaz a moment to notice what it resembled. A snake. It was Kaz's house animal.

Fitted to her slim body was a long green dress, a silver line snaking it's way up to her neck, creating a beautiful necklace that also resembled a snake. Her eyes were dusted with green and silver, her lips were light pink.

The dress was low, with no sleeves. It outlined her curvy form and Kaz had a difficult time focusing on the task at hand.

"Dressed like a Slytherin?" Chaol asked.

Inej ducked her head. "Chaol, I'm sorry but... there's someone else."

The boy's face fell. "You said you would go with me."

"Chaol, I'm so sorry. I was thinking and... there is somebody else who needs me. Somebody who is hurting and who needs more than anything for me to help them."

Chaol was silent for a moment. "I hope we can still be friends."

Inej nodded, turning towards the door. "Of course. Thank you for understanding. Now, I just need to get to the Slytherin Dungeons."

Kaz froze. He had to beat Inej there. He ran from the library, exiting through the back entrance. He scrambled down the stairs, nearly slipping and falling multiple times. Reaching the bottom, he raced into the common room, hurriedly fixing his mussed up hair.

"Need something, Brekker?" Celaena Sardothien crowed from the other side of the room.

"Nothing you could provide, Sardothien."

Kaz hated the girl with a passion. Though he was a powerful wizard, Celaena was, too. She was just as notorious as Kaz, and she often taunted him with her own titles.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the ball with me?" She grinned. "I'm an excellent dancer and I promise that I won't step on your feet."

Kaz collapsed onto the couch across from her. "I deny your invitation."

She shrugged. "You are going with my enemy, though."

Kaz had forgotten about Lysandra. He had only asked her at the last minute. "I don't like Lysandra."

Celaena shrugged again. "I'm going to enjoy the party. I would love to taste some of that delicious cake."

Kaz rolled his eyes as she left. He was the only one left in the dorm.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Kaz nearly fell off the couch. He took a deep breath, straightened his jacket, and opened the door.

Inej stood before him. If possible, she was even more beautiful than she was in the dim library. "Kaz."

He swept an arm wide, motioning for her to enter the common room. "If you're looking for a friend, you're out of luck. Nobody else is here."

Inej entered anyway. "I'm looking for you."

"Oh?"

She fluffed up the bottom of her dress, the beautiful layers shimmering in the dim green lights. "I wanted to ask you to the ball."

He had to act carelessly. Dirtyhands would deny her. Dirtyhands wouldn't even go to the ball.

"I would love to go to the ball with you, Inej."

She grinned. "Really?"

Kaz nodded, reaching for her hand. It was only then that he realized she was wearing leather gloves like his own. "Are you ready?"

Inej nodded, and together they made their way to the ballroom.

****

Everything was going perfectly. Inej and Kaz danced for hours, then they ate as much food as they could, and finally sat down with their friends.

Wylan was laughing about something, a smile on his face as he described it to Kaz.

Jesper and Matthias were arguing and Nina and Inej were still eating waffles.

Kaz allowed Wylan to lean on his shoulder as the boy grew tired. He enjoyed the redhead's company.

"What do we do now, Kaz?"

Kaz shrugged. "I don't know, we could-"

A gunshot echoed throughout the hall. Wylan jumped, gripping Kaz's shoulder. "What was that?"

Two cloaked figures entered the ball, one of which Kaz recognized. Pekka Rollins.

Celaena suddenly raced towards them. "We need to go. Now."

"Celaena? Why are you helping us?" Inej hissed suspiciously.

"Erawan is the most powerful wizard to live. He's looking for me. If we don't go now, we all die."

Erawan and Rollins both had wands lifted. Kaz reached for his own wand. "Can we fight against them?"

Rollins suddenly spun towards Kaz. His wand lifted and he shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

It was a killing curse. If the green beam hit any one of them, that person would die.

The beam was aimed at Wylan. Without thinking, Kaz leaped at the boy, shoving him to the ground beneath him. The beam hit the wall, the stone cracking.

"Bombarda!" Celaena hissed. Beneath Rollins and Erawan, the ground exploded. The two men simply stepped aside.

People were screaming and crying, fleeing from the ballroom.

Before Kaz could get to his feet, a spell struck him. Everything suddenly hurt, like daggers of molten lava were being driven into his body. He used Crucio.

Kaz screamed, flailing desperately, trying to ease the pain. There was no known defense against the spell.

"Kaz!" Wylan wailed. "You have to fight it!"

Kaz could barely see through the pain blinding his vision. He forced himself to sit up, his bones burned, his skin seared.

"Brekker!" Rollins crowed. "Tell me what you are doing here."

If Kaz gave in to the man, the curse would get worse. "No."

The pain intensified. Kaz felt hot tears on his cheeks but did nothing to wipe them away.

"Where is your brother's wand?"

That's what he wanted. Jordie's wand was equally as powerful as the legendary Elder Wand. Only Kaz knew where Jordie's wand was stashed away.

"I'll never tell you."

Kaz could only survive the pain for a few more seconds. He willed one of his friends to do something.

"Everte Statum!" Celaena hissed.

Rollins was thrown backward, his wand landing harmlessly across the room.

The pain disappeared and Kaz collapsed, clutching his head. He had no idea if the spell had caused him mental damage, but he thought he was fine.

"Kaz!"

Wylan shook his shoulders. "Kaz, you have to get up!"

When Kaz said nothing, Wylan raised his wand and cast his own spell. "Expecto Patronum."

A swirl of blue light unraveled from the boy's wand, exploding into a beautiful swan. The graceful animal immediately defended the attacks of Rollins and Erawan.

"Are you alright, Kaz?" Wylan asked quietly.

Kaz nodded, calming his breathing. "Should I cast my Patronus?"

Wylan pointed towards Inej who was crouching behind a table, her makeup running down her face. More of the cloaked figures had arrived and two were attacking her.

Kaz summoned his Patronus- a snake- and focused its energy on the two cloaked figures.

The snake tangled itself around them, slowly draining their lives.

Kaz raced towards Inej, sliding under the table and landing by her side.

He scanned her from head to toe, checking for any injuries. He then took her head in his hands. Her brown eyes met his.

"Kaz, you saved me," she whispered.

He nodded. "Come on, Inej, we need to go."

She stood and Kaz followed suit, commanding his Patronus to protect them.

Together they fled the building. Inej's heels slowed them down, so Kaz eventually picked her up and ran back to the main campus and fleeing towards the Slytherin Dungeons. It took him a moment to realize that the rest of his friends had followed, including Celaena and her Ravenclaw friend, Dorian.

Kaz stood beside the door, his wand up. Celaena stood across from him.

"If we die today, Sardothien, I want you to remember that I'm the better wizard."

She grinned. "Not a chance, pretty boy."

Kaz smirked and prepared himself for the attack, but nothing happened, even after three hours.

"Is it too late to party?" Nina asked.

"Slugulus Eructo."

Everybody glared at Celaena, then at Nina, who was barfing slugs onto the carpet.

"Seriously?" Kaz asked with a raised eyebrow.

Celaena nodded. "Yep."