Late that night, when everyone else was asleep, Jade was in the library surrounded by books once again. She was curled up in the huge chair across from the window, a single candle burning on the end table next to her. Alana and West had been with her for a while, reading the Eaglesclaw history books and archived student journals with her. But exhausted West and victorious Alana had called it quits at ten thirty, leaving Jade alone to read.

The noise of a footfall made Jade look up from her book. She saw a faint shadow and pulled out her wand. A breath behind her filled her with adrenaline, and she sprung to her feet and held her wand to her attacker's throat, ready to hex them...

"Calm down, Jade, it's just me."

It wasn't an attacker at all. It was...

"Jack?" Jade apprehensively lowered her wand to see a pair of blue eyes, glittering with amusement. It was, indeed, Jack Forest, the fourth year Merdock boy she'd been crushing on. He was her Herbology study partner, as the third and fourth years were partnering up for this month's unit. "Don't scare me like that! I could have hurt you." Her voice dropped from a yelp to a concerned whisper.

"I couldn't sleep, so I figured I might as well study for Charms class. Why are you still up? Studying for the Herbology essay?"

She felt an uncanny need to lie. "Yeah. The 'Green Man' legends are really interesting." She blushed and gazed down at her feet. She had never been a good liar.

"Yeah! Did you read the one about how he used to herald the spring and I know you're lying, Jade." He looked vaguely disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Jack. It's really important."

"You can tell me." He took her hands in his. "I won't share it with anyone."

Jade cleared her throat and tucked a curl behind her ear. "Umm...Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure. You can trust me." The expression on Jack's face made her think otherwise, but she decided to share nonetheless.

"I had a vision. Last night, I mean. There was this huge beast chasing me. I called it a Windigo. And then my friend, Abigail the ghost, said something about seeing something that same night, something that reminded her of when she was a student here in 1821. She started to mention the Windigo, but then she seemed to clam up. So I decided to do a little research of my own."

Jack looked blown away. "Wow. You must be busy. Is there anything I can do to help?"

She blushed. "I guess you could help me sift through information."

He sat down next to her, picked up a book. "Alright. So let's see...Windigo, Windigo..." He pointed to a spot on the page. "Here we go."

Jade leaned in to read over his shoulder. "What does it say? 'The Windigo is a beast of legend, known for its skeletal appearance. Its genus is unknown, and very few people have ever spotted it in person. Most of the information gathered about the Windigo is from urban legend and myth. The only recorded attack was in 1821.'" She looked at Jack. "That's when Abigail went to school here!"

Jack turned the page and took a turn to read. "'The Windigo is rumored to feed on magic, slowly absorbing power and brightness and replacing it with darkness. No one has ever encountered the Windigo up close and returned alive.'" He looked Jade right in the eye, his denim blue eyes locking with her deep green ones. "Do you know what this means?"

Jade shook her head, too exhausted to waste time thinking. "What?"

"It means the school is in danger again- and we're the only ones who can save it."