((OOC: This is basically Kylindra's personal logs during a certain life-changing time in her life.))

Its very strange. Yesterday was like any other day at first. I went about my business, studying every piece of magic text I could get my hands on. I never expected what would happen to me that day. All my life I've lived as an outcast. Being my sister's twin has always been hard for me. Everyone loves Amy, and people always seem to confuse me for her. I know that our only difference is our eye color, but nobody seems to check that first. So I started hiding my face, along with the rest of me. I became cold, secluded, a girl who was often seen as "creepy" or "weird". Okay so I did tend to look rather... intimidating. Having robes with giant spines coming out of them will do that. But at the time I wanted people to leave me alone. I've never been one for making friends, that is until recently...

I will never forget how that day started. I was walking through the Entrance Hall of the castle, when I stopped to converse with a fellow Ravenclaw for a moment. There was this small Gryffindor girl there, a first year no doubt, she seemed to be having fun with the people who were there. I remember during the conversation that I mentioned not being one for making friends, and thats when that little girl did something I never expected. She came to me and offered to be friends. Friends, with me. Why would anyone even want to be my friend? Yet here was this sweet little girl, eager to accept someone she barely knew with open arms.

Needless to say I was taken aback by this, and amazingly enough I accepted. I was weird at first. I mean, when someone who has never had any friends throughout her life suddenly gains one, how should she react? I was silent for a little while, watching her play around with the others. I don't know why, maybe the sudden shock of having a friend made me think it was okay, but for the first time since entering that school I willingly took off my hood. Though things soon took a turn I wasn't fond of. Casting occurred, and the girl was offered some magical items that honestly were probably a bit too strong for someone her size. The first was cookies that turned her into a chicken. Standard joke item I know, but it still concerned me. She didn't seem to have too much trouble with it though, but it was the next item that bothered me the most. She was offered this golden potion, and when she drunk in she was soon on the floor laughing. Normally this probably wouldn't have been a problem, but the amount of potion this little girl took was a bit too much for her size. She laughed until it began to hurt. I had to put a stop to it. I intervened and had them disspell the effects in order to prevent her from coming to harm. Of course, after she recovered she asked for another of those cookies. I really didn't approve, and it was here that I wish I had watched what I said during this event. Basically I had brought up that if she stayed as a chicken some jerk student might decide to kick her. Of course all the girl heard was something about her getting kicked, and she ran out crying. For once, I felt a swell of guilt and worry. I chased after her until finally I caught up with the girl in Greenhouse One.

Professor Sprout was there trying to comfort her. I walked in slowly, not wanting to alarm or scare her. I spoke softly to her, reassuring her that nobody was going to kick her, nor would I let them. It was different for me. This girl was so sweet and innocent, and yet I had this feeling like all I wanted to do was protect her. Is this what having a friend is like? Finally I calmed her down, and we started to head back to the castle. She suddenly realized though that her necklace was missing, probably dropped it when she was running. She took off to find it faster than I thought was possible. She was a quick little thing surprisingly enough. So I waited, and she did return, though her hair was different. I asked about it, and she explained how the necklace changes her hair color when someone is thinking about her. I have to admit, I've never heard of a charm like that. Maybe this was something new? Whatever the case, more unexpected events followed.

I looked at my own hair, remembering how much like my sister I looked, and remembering how much I disliked it. I'm different than her, why must we look the same? I explained this to the girl, who I learned was named Katheryn. She told me we should get it dyed, that a new look would help. At first I thought this was impossible. I had attempted to dye my hair before with muggle dyes, but nothing held on. Having magical hair makes it a real pain to recolor. But she knew a place, so she dragged me along to Diagon Alley. There was a salon there, which I'm surprised I never noticed before. I had been to Diagon Alley several times, yet I never recalled seeing this place. She dragged me in there and the lady, I forget her name, started work on my hair. The nature of my hair became clear to her in the first few minutes, and she pulled out some special magical dye and let me pick a color. I chose purple. Not that light shade like my sister likes, but darker, much darker. At first I thought it was bound to fail, but the dye worked. I was amazed, but it wasn't done yet. She soon began to style my hair. She gave me a good size ponytail, with some loose hair in the front and short bangs. It was different, I hardly reconized myself at all. Finally I wasn't looking so much like my sister, I was looking like... me!

We went to the tailor's place next where we started to work on new dresses. At first I was reluctant to be in anything other than my spiky robes, but Katheryn managed to convince me that in order to have a proper new look, I needed to change more than just my hair. We each made a dress in our respective house colors, though she helped me a bit with mine, saying I needed to not make it so "closed". Finally when the project was done, we changed into our newly made dresses. I was amazed when I saw myself in it. It was a beautiful blue and black dress, lined with bronze to complete the Ravenclaw theme. My shoulders, back, and a little of my chest was exposed, more skin than I had even shown in my life, but I didn't complain. I was something new, something more inviting. It was like I didn't want to force people away anymore but rather let them know who I was. Finally, Kylindra Valerine was her own person. At last, I was beginning anew.

We joked and laughed on our way back to the school. I threw my cloak on to cover up some of the exposed skin so no prefects would give me a hard time, it was still a school after all. When we arrived we didn't see many people at first. Katheryn talked with this boy, Jacob was his name, a Hufflepuff who apparently is known for playing his guitar around school. It was amusing watching her as she managed to get him to give her a "piggyback ride". Indeed she was adorable. We had a little fun in the entrance hall for awhile, until she needed to go to take care of some homework. I felt a little sad that she had to go, but I understood. Besides I'll see her again, she's my friend now, and I couldn't have asked for a better one.

The first person I knew who spotted me was Tyson. He showed up shortly after Katheryn left. At first he didn't realize it was me, and instead thought I was someone new. When I told him who I was though I swear I think his jaw nearly fell off his face. Truly my new look took him by surprise, I looked like a whole different person. To be honest, I FEEL like a whole different person as well. I guess it took a sweet little girl from Gryffindor house to finally bring her out.

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Zackary Fang -- Kylindra Valerine

The unexpected seems to happen often in this place. No matter what possibilities you might try to watch out for, you'll always have something that just comes at you out of nowhere that you never even considered before. Today was like that for me, and it was perhaps in the worst way.

I will not say all that occurred, as it is painful for me to even write right now. I will say that a disturbing event happened, one that made me fear for the safety of the school. The students cannot know, not yet. The teachers are aware now, but at what cost? I reacted too quickly maybe, jumping ahead to inform them because I felt time was of the essence. I now question that judgement. I watched today as an innocent student, who happened to have information on the event, was pressured into telling what she knew. I of course didn't get to hear what it was, I had been sent out of the office at the time. Frankly, I'm not sure I want to know.

Am I subjecting innocents to misery in exchange for the safety of others? Or perhaps were my instincts false? Whatever the case, I feel horrible. I believed I had become a new person, but the way I acted... I had gone cold again. It was like I didn't value her feelings as an individual. How can I change? My original reputation was the most accurate of me. I'm a freak, a monster... capable only of causing anger and pain to those around me. I don't want to admit it, I want to be something else, something better, but clearly I can not.

I'm in my dorm room now as I pen this... crying... I feel I've gone back to the very thing I didn't want to be anymore. My hood is up again, I'm too ashamed to show my face anymore. This feels like a living nightmare!

Perhaps I should attempt to sleep it off. Maybe my mind with center itself again when I'm calm in the morning. For now... I will return to hiding myself until I can restore the belief that I can become something better.

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Zackary Fang -- Kylindra Valerine

It has been a few days since I've last written. In truth, much has happened that has kept me busy. Shortly after my last entry, the school was attacked by a mysterious and evil creature, that I learned to be a "Mirror". Keeferson was badly injured, a Hufflepuff was nearly killed, and from what I understand a Slytherin student was able to rid the school of the Mirror. My attempts to help anyone during the crisis were futile. Every spell I cast failed, every physical attack I threw with my staff didn't do anything. I've never fought such a foe before...

I spoke with Professor Dumbledore that night, who said that there was no way to fight them, only run. However, I was able to get him to tell me something, a clue I didn't fully take into consideration until a little while later. Mirrors can only be destroyed by using another one against it, forcing their energies to cancel out. As I thought about this, and compared it to other pieces of evidence, I learned a possible weapon against them.

However, prior to my discovery of a possible weapon, I discovered something far more disturbing. During a Divination lesson, we practiced what was known as "dowsing". My diving rods answered my question, but in doing so I found a clue to what plans to attack the school soon. On a desk in the Ancient Runes classroom, I found a piece of parchment with a rune meaning "Man" on it, written in orange ink. This clue told me of the possible return of a group known as the "Orange Men", beings responsible for the death of a Ravenclaw prefect during their last attack. Nearby I noticed a runed pillar, which I fear might be an instrument in their attack. Some pillars of that nature can be used as gateways, and if that one was activated, they could ambush us. I informed Professor Firenze once the lesson was done, and he assured me that he would inform Dumbledore.

Speaking of Dumbledore, I've requested a meeting with him in order to show him my theory for fighting back against the Mirrors, should more of them come. I certainly believe its a better method than what Lockhart attempted in his class last night. He performed VERY unstable spells that allow one to clone their image and leave it behind. In theory it could work as a distraction for the Mirrors, but an image isn't strong enough to hold their interest. Attempting to clone oneself more physically... that could have lethal side effects if done improperly, especially if it goes too far and tries to clone the mind. He mentioned how a student named Amber was helping to discover these, of course later on he said it was all him. I don't like the fact that he's trying to teach the students something so unstable. What if... wait... I am such a fool! If Lockhart had really done it all himself, the spells would've been flawless, just like everything else he claims to do is! No.. no Amber was on to something, then the accident that made her "lost" occurred... now suddenly only Lockhart seems to have all the pieces of the puzzle. I will need to see this Amber, or learn of her condition in full detail. If I'm right... then I think Lockhart had something to do with this. I'll need proof though, perhaps I can enlist the aid of my sister. She's snuck around the school long enough, she might be able to tail him and learn something.

Time is short, I must continue my research into all the clues I have found thus far. If I can solve this puzzle... maybe I can save the students.

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Zackary Fang -- Kylindra Valerine

I can't believe I lost track of this journal. Clearly my mind has been so full with everything else that I've been forgetting to document everything. Well no matter, I can start writing down important events now that I've found it.

My research into the Mirror problem has turned up very little. I thought I had a possible weapon against them, but that was proven false by the fact that Mirrors are spawned in pairs. Each one lives the hunt the other, and only its opposite can destroy it. So far the only solution I know of is the close the portal to the void, wherever that is, and however that is possible. I'm working with a couple others, one of them being Keeferson, to find out how we can do this. At this point though I'm pretty much stuck waiting for a report.

School work progresses slowly nowadays. Not that I haven't wanted to finish it, but lately I've one major, but pleasant, distraction. I didn't understand at first what was going on. This other wizard, Allanon, for some reason he always seemed to want to help me. Even back in second year when I got into that fight with a Slytherin student, he joined in to help me even though it wasn't his fight. At the time of course I didn't know him well. We became friends of a sort over time, but something felt strange about it. I couldn't figure out what it was until that one night. We spent some time training our skills and exploring some of the more challenging parts of the castle. We decided to go somewhere to relax, and so we went to the Astronomy tower. Its always a peaceful place to see the sky at night. At first we just talked a little and looked at the stars, then as things went on, he mentioned how all he seems to want to do is help me. I told him the kind of research I was doing, warned him that I was already at risk of getting killed, that he shouldn't even bother. Yet, he just kept insisting, saying he cared about me. Now I really began to suspect I was a danger to him as his friend, he was too trusting of me. Of course he didn't seem to care. Something in me kept conflicting my logic though. I knew the danger, I knew I couldn't let him, but I became emotional. I could feel what I wanted to do, but my mind kept screaming I couldn't. Then when I finally asked why he was so intent on helping, he said the one thing I could never have predicted. He told me he loved me. Me. Kylindra Valerine. Not my sister.

I broke down, unable to control myself. At last I knew the feeling inside me that kept urging me to let him be close, to let him help. It was love, something that aside from my family to an extent, I wasn't very familiar with. My heart was full of so many mixed emotions, I couldn't figure out what to say or do for awhile. I just sat there, head in my arms, crying. But finally I admitted to him how I felt, and he hugged me. I hugged back as well, I couldn't fight my emotions now, they had taken over. He spoke softly to me as he held me. That night, he promised to not let anyone take away my happiness. I wasn't prepared for something like that, and I especially wasn't prepared for what happened next. When I looked up to look at his eyes, he smiled at me and then kissed me. I lost myself completely at that point. All I wanted was to be with him at that point, nothing else mattered. It was by far the best night of my life.

Some of the students know we're dating now. When I first told Keeferson I had a boyfriend, he hoped it wasn't someone he had to "break the kneecaps of ten times over". Soon as I told him it was Allanon though he seemed relieved. Believe it or not, he actually wished us the best! For someone who acts like this big tough guy on the outside, he certainly showed he had a softer core.

The other day, I did something that normally I wouldn't have. I actually joined a group of students after playing a game of Wizard Chess with Allanon, and we played various muggle games for fun. We started with "Duck, Duck, Goose" which was actually quite amusing. Some of them were really quick! I laughed a lot, it was strange, but for some reason I didn't seem to care. I was happy, I was having fun, and Allanon was right there with me the whole time. Next we did Musical Chairs, which of course involved a little magic. Shandy would Conjur and dismiss the chairs as needed, while Brennan would sing during each round. Of course, when he and Tyson started singing "I Will Survive", I had a VERY hard time trying to keep a straight face. Some of the students are really silly, but they're good people. I should really get to know some of them better.

Lastly we did Hide & Seek, which was rather interesting. We were only allowed to hide on the ground floor level, and out in the gardens and courtyards. I hid in a reading room near the Candy Store for the first round. Allanon was "it", the person seeking the others. He came looking in that room twice, and he wasn't able to spot me. Of course Brennan found me and mentioned I should've moved towards "Base" by now. I of course missed that detail, but nevertheless I left and made it there without getting spotted. I guess the tips I got from my sister paid off. The second round, Sierra and Brennan were the seekers. Me and Allanon hid in a small room near the bathrooms. We thought we'd be pretty well hidden there, and of course we decided to risk being a little close. Of course Sierra at the worst possible time jumped in and found us as we were kissing. I had the urge throw something at her, but I held it in. Shandy won that round, being the only person to not get spotted.

So as it is plain to see, I've had some distractions of a really pleasant nature. I'm finally being someone who has a chance of fitting in somewhat. Of course I suspect I was only so relaxed cause Allanon was with me. Still, I'm actually enjoying my life now.

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Zackary Fang -- Kylindra Valerine