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Xenia Loughty and Fraser Paige

Xenia Loughty was trying to work on her Potions homework with her friend Alice in the Gryffindor common room. They were only in their second year, but as Xenia stared down at the strange information in her book that she needed to understand and explain in her essay to Professor Slughorn, she couldn’t help but feel like there was no way these things could actually get even harder than they already were. Though by the looks on the faces of the older students, she figured that was mostly an unrealistic pipe dream.

Unlike her, Alice was natural when it came to Potions. She felt at home in the dungeon, where their lessons took place. Their lessons usually ended with Alice receiving a beaming, proud smile from Professor Slughorn and slightly scolding looks from the Slytherins who shared those lessons with the Gryffindors.

The previous year the Gryffindors barely got any points during those lessons thanks to Professor Snape being the teacher. Xenia thought it was extremely unfair to watch as he granted his own house points for absolutely nothing while the Gryffindors received the kind of treatment Xenia and her year-mates have been warned about but didn’t really believe. How could a teacher in such a respected school be so foul, after all?

The most unfair thing must have been the way Professor Snape looked into Alice’s cauldron last year, observed her perfect potion with a scrunched-up nose and then took five points from Gryffindor because Alice’s potion want bubbling enough. Ten more points were taken from them because Fraser Paige argued with Professor Snape, claiming this wasn’t fair. The boy was fuming after that while their teacher looked absolutely smug. But at least nobody else dared standing up to Professor Snape after that.

Now Alice was flourishing in her Potions studies under the much-better teacher they had – Professor Slughorn. Despite being a Slytherin like Professor Snape, Professor Slughorn didn’t seem to favor any student over the other. He was a jolly old man that walked around the room with a spring in his step as he congratulated the students that had the best results, no discriminations.

Unfortunately, the two-years didn’t get rid of Professor Snape completely. He still taught them – only this year it was Defense Against the Dark Arts with him rather than Potions. At least Alice – who wasn’t that good in that subject anyway – didn’t get lower grades than she deserved. Probably. Frankly, Xenia wasn’t sure how much their class deserved in that subject, but she was willing to admit that Alice wasn’t too good when it came to DADA.

“Swelling Solution requires dried nettles, right?” Xenia asked, tapping her quill against her cheek as she pondered this. “And it’s the Ice Potion that has salamander blood in it? I didn’t mix those two up again, did I?”

“Right.” Alice said, her quill running over the parchment before her like she had too many thoughts to put down and not enough time to express them. Xenia sometimes envied her friend’s success in Potions, but then she remembered that she herself was better when it came to Charms and her mood lifted a bit. They each had their own advantages and disadvantages. Her friend bit her lip worriedly. “Do you think Professor Slughorn will mind terribly if I give him ten more inches than he’d requested?”

Xenia frowned down at her own work, trying to remember the last ingredient in the potion. “Oh, he’ll be furious, alright.” She said distractedly. The next moment Alice’s quill stabbed her side. “Ouch! Do you mind?” Xenia glared at her friend and rubbed her middle with a grimace.

“This isn’t a joke, Xen! Can you imagine the look on everyone’s faces if I end up taking even more points from Gryffindor because of this? Marcus Baine will never talk to me again!” She exclaimed and sent a slightly distraught look toward a group of third-year students that were sitting just a few paces away, laughing about one thing or another. One of them was a boy Alice has been obsessed with since their first week in Hogwarts that year.

Personally, Xenia thought Alice was making a mistake with this one – Marcus seemed to only care about impressing people – there was nothing cute about it. But she decided not to voice her own thoughts on the matter, figuring her friend wouldn’t appreciate it all that much.

The sound of the Fat Lady’s portrait sliding and opening the hole drew Xenia’s attention and she watched as Fraser Paige climbed into the common room, looked around and then settled his eyes on Xenia. The two of them never interacted for longer than five minutes and it was always about homework or whatever it was that was going on around Hogwarts. Usually, there were more people around to join the conversation because the two of them just didn’t have all that much in common.

Apparently, today Fraser decided it would be a good idea to approach her without any prompting. Alice glanced at him in surprise for a moment and then just went right back to her homework, seemingly trying to decide which paragraphs she may be able to delete so that Professor Slughorn wouldn’t be disappointed with her essay.

“Hey, Xenia.” Fraser said, his hands in the pockets of his robes. “I just ran into McGonagall – she said she’d like to speak with us in her office.”

“About what?”

The boy shrugged. “Didn’t say.” He was quiet for a moment and then his eyes glanced over to Xenia’s parchment. He furrowed his brows. “Well, are you coming or what? I’m not going to wait around for you all day.”

And with that, he turned around and went back over to climb through the hole. Xenia and Alice glanced at each other, both obviously confused, before Xenia got up and followed in Fraser’s footsteps. Despite his earlier claim, he was still waiting for her out of the common room, not looking like he was in a hurry at all. Down the hall Xenia could see Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley (she only knew her name because she was the Chaser of the Gryffindor team) leaning against a wall and talking to each other in hushed voices, smiles on both their faces.

For a split second Harry Potter’s eyes drifted away from Ginny and landed on Xenia and Fraser. He flashed them a small smile and then went right back to his girlfriend. Xenia wasn’t even sure the famous boy knew who she was. Maybe he recognized her as a Gryffindor but he wouldn’t remember her name or face that well, right? He wouldn’t know she was the same girl who’d asked for his help two weeks ago with the Tickling Charm. It was her first time making someone squirm – it wasn’t perfect, but it was a start. And it was better than Professor Snape’s progress with her.

Taking her eyes off the couple, Xenia turned to Fraser and without a word they nodded at each other and started walking toward Professor McGonagall’s office. Xenia’s been in that room only once before and it was after she’d hotheadedly jumped in to defend Alice in front of a nasty Slytherin that was about three years older than the two of them.

Back then, Xenia thought Professor McGonagall couldn’t look any more intimidating. Ever. Then she accidentally walked out on her basically screaming in pure rage at Harry Potter for attacking that Slytherin in the bathroom – that thing everyone kept talking about – and Xenia realized that the Head of House’s rage at her incident was nothing compared to what Harry Potter must have endured during his years in Hogwarts – even if only half the stories were true, this guy had some pretty terrible luck and he wasn’t the teacher’s favorite student.

“Did she look angry?” Xenia asked all of a sudden, her steps matching Fraser’s. The boy glanced at her. “Professor McGonagall – did she look like she was upset with us?”

“Not more than usual. Stern, but not angry.” He sent her another look – one he must have thought was inconspicuous. “Why? Do you know something? Did you get in trouble? Did you get me in trouble?”

“Like you need my help with that.” She shot back.

It was justified, too. While Xenia was considered somewhat hot-tempered, she was nothing next to Fraser. He could explode over the most minor of things just because he felt like it. It was mostly because something wasn’t fair or because someone from Gryffindor was being treated wrongfully, but sometimes those explosions seemed to come out of nowhere and earned him a lot of hours in detention. Xenia didn’t think he was a stranger to Professor McGonagall’s office. Or any teacher’s office, really.

Instead of looking ashamed of his own reputation, Fraser straightened up as a smirk appeared on his face – the idiot was proud of himself. “Well, someone needs to get in trouble to keep the others free to mess around, don’t you agree?” He said. Before she could reply and say how stupid it was, Fraser knocked on the door of their Head of House’s office and then opened it when they received a positive response. “After you, Loughty.”

She really wanted to wipe that smirk off his face, but instead Xenia only huffed and stepped into the room, Fraser a step behind her.

Professor McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, as stern as usual with the aura around her making even Xenia want to flee the room quickly. She didn’t look angry – not quite – but there was something in her gaze that made Xenia a bit worried. What did the two of them did that Professor McGonagall wanted to talk to them? As far as Xenia was concerned, her worst deed this last week was her latest essay given to Professor Snape. According to him, it was barely acceptable. But that wasn’t too serious, right?

“Well, don’t just stand there – sit down, you two.” Professor McGonagall said curtly after a few silent moments of the two students staring in confusion at the witch. Feeling slight apprehension. “No need to look so tense – I only had a couple of questions and then you’ll be free to go. Honestly, you look so guilty, I feel like you’re hiding something.”

“Questions, Professor?” Xenia asked before Fraser could make a mess out of this.

Fraser’s attention seemed to have wandered toward the jar of cookies on their teacher’s desk. “Can I have one?” He asked.

Professor McGonagall looked at him flatly and then nodded once before ignoring him as he munched loudly on the cookie. “The two of you have turned to Mr. Potter in the past for his help with your Defense Against the Dark Arts work, correct?” She inquired bluntly.

Fraser faltered a bit, the hand with the cookie lowering slightly as he looked at McGonagall with a strange expression. Xenia herself felt a little anxious. “Was that forbidden?” She asked uncertainly. “I know Professor Umbridge – “

“That Ministry toad…” Fraser snorted.

“I know she said we weren’t allowed to work in groups last year, but this ban has been lifted once she’d left the school, hasn’t it?”

“It has, Miss Loughty. You’re not in trouble for seeking Potter’s help.” Professor McGonagall assured them. “So you did go to him for assistance?”

Swallowing another bite of whatever cookie Fraser was enjoying, the boy nodded. “I needed some help with that Disarming Spell.” He shrugged. The professor focused on him. “And I heard from Dennis Creevy that he’d learned it properly from Harry Potter last year in that Dumbledore’s Army group they’d had. Plus, Coal Warren – “ He turned to Xenia. “Remember him? That bloke from Ravenclaw that can’t even write his own name properly?”

“Mr. Paige – “ Professor McGonagall started, her voice stony.

The Gryffindor just kept on talking. “Well, he was bragging about their house being in the lead and I couldn’t let that go on, could I? So I decided it was about time I finally went to try and get some help. And if I got us some extra points – who am I to complain?” He smirked. “Warren’s face when we topped their score that day was definitely worth the hard work. And Snape’s reaction to me finally managing that spell was golden.”

“Professor Snape, Paige.” Professor McGonagall chided. Then she turned to Xenia. “And you went to Potter, as well, did you not?”

“He helped me with the Tickling Charm. Though I still need to practice a bit more. I think I’m doing something wrong with my hand – I’ll ask him the next time he’s not swarmed by everyone else.” She tapped her foot on the floor and stared at the witch before her anxiously. “He’s not in trouble, is he? Harry Potter?”

Fraser snorted. “After that stunt he’d pulled on that Draco Malfoy bloke – I bet he’s in tons of trouble, Loughty.” Then, before Professor McGonagall could say anything, he went on. “Yesterday in the common room I heard him talking to that Weasley girl. I couldn’t believe what he was saying – no, wait, I could believe it – apparently he hexed that Slytherin right in time to avoid an Unforgivable Curse. Malfoy was going to use the Cruciatus Curse on Potter! And to think everyone’s mad at the bloke who nearly got tormented.”

“That’s quite enough, Mr. Paige.” Professor McGonagall snapped though she looked a little paler than usual.

“Wait, and that git never got any sort of punishment, did he?” Xenia asked. She had no idea Harry Potter nearly got tortured not too long ago. She knew from that interview of his in the Quibbler that he’s already suffered from the Cruciatus Curse when You-Know-Who came back from the dead. She couldn’t believe such a thing nearly happened again – on Hogwarts grounds, no less! “That’s not right!”

“That is not for you two to decide!” Professor McGonagall said in a raised voice. The two students fell quiet and stared at her – Fraser with a look of cold defiance and Xenia with betrayal. “Rest assured, I will look into this.” The witch said evenly and Fraser and Xenia relaxed a little. “Now, let us get back to our main subject, please – why did you go looking for Mr. Potter instead of turning to Professor Snape? I should think that since that’s his subject to teach, he would be the first person to pop to your mind when you’re in need of assistance.”

Xenia squirmed a little in her seat. “Well…” She drawled out, unsure about whether she should voice her thoughts in the presence of one of Hogwarts teachers. It would be rather rude. “You see, it’s just that… I figured it would bother Harry Potter less, so – “

Huffing, Fraser crossed his arms over his chest, giving Xenia a dry look. “Oh, please. There’s no need to go beating around the bush, is there? Just say the truth and admit that this man should never have become a teacher with the way he treats us.” He declared bluntly.

Narrowing her eyes in a catlike manner, Professor McGonagall regarded Fraser for a few quiet moments. “Explain yourself.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” The boy asked with a note of arrogance. Xenia pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. “He shows favoritisms when it comes to his own house and then scorns everyone else if they’re not in Slytherin.” He leaned forward. “Just yesterday Olive Macron from Ravenclaw managed to perform all of the spells he told us to practice on her first try and Snape pretended not to see before he took points from her for her arrogance.” He rolled his eyes. “All she did was try and help her friend who was struggling with the motion of the wand.”

Professor McGonagall was silent. It must have been a shock to her because she didn’t even correct Fraser at his use of Professor Snape’s name without the formality they needed to add to it. No, the woman looked like she was deep in thought, mulling over the boy’s words like she’s never heard such accusations against Professor Snape before.

Turning her gaze from Fraser to Xenia, the witch’s lips thinned. “Is that true, Miss Loughty?”

“Yes, Professor.” Xenia nodded. She remembered how the Ravenclaw girls had to comfort Olive after the lesson was over because she just burst out into sobs the moment the bell rang and they were set free.

Nodding slowly, Professor McGonagall seemed to come to a conclusion. “Very well. You two may go. That’s quite enough.”

Xenia gladly jumped to her feet but Fraser looked less thrilled at leaving things like that. He gave Professor McGonagall a long look, as if he was assessing her. “You are going to look into what had happened between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, right? Because we heard you when you yelled at Harry, Professor, and if he really was trying to protect himself against an Unforgivable Curse, he definitely didn’t deserve that.”

“I will, Mr. Paige. Now go on – get back to your common room and do your homework for a change. I don’t want to hear another complaint about your assignments until the end of this year – is that clear?”

He just smirked and walked out of the office. Xenia stood there, shocked, and then quickly followed after him, feeling strangely numb. She knew, of course, that Fraser had a strong sense of justice, but she never imagined she’d hear of the day when the boy would actually defend Harry Potter in front of a teacher with such a serious look on his face. And yet…

“Don’t look so surprised, Loughty.” Fraser cut through her musings and the young witch turned to him, cheeks burning slightly at the realization that he seemed to know exactly what was going through her head. Fraser sent her a friendly smile that caught her off guard. “We lions need to look out for each other, don’t you think?”

She had no response to that so she just continued walking by her side in silence.

Kit Spinster

“A walk around the lake?” Asked Becky O’Connell, her voice loud enough to carry around the entire Great Hall from her place next to the Hufflepuff table. Kit Spinster glanced up from his plate filled with chicken wings and their eyes locked for a moment. She winked and then stood up. “What a marvelous idea, Tina! I’ll see you later!” And off she went.

Next to Kit, Robert Seeds elbowed him a few times sharply, not minding the way it made Kit wince in discomfort. “I reckon your girlfriend is trying to tell you something.” Robert said cunningly.

“Very subtly, might I add.” Commented Tonny Belch. “Not like the entire Hall was invited to your make-out session, mate.”

Groaning, Kit rolled his eyes at his friends and took another bite from his chicken wings. “Shut up.”

Tonny eyed him incredulously. “You’re still here?” He demanded. “If you don’t stand up in the next ten seconds I’m going to go over to that lake and take your place, Spinster. Get on, you lazy troll – the food can wait. We can bring you some back to the common room if you’re that hungry. But we can’t bring your sweetheart there.”

“Should’ve picked a Ravenclaw like we told you.” Robert nodded.

“Shut up, Rob.” Kit grumbled again. He lifted his gaze once and noticed Becky going through the doors of the Great Hall. They were right, of course – she was practically shouting at him to join her out there. His heart was in his throat as he thought about that. He had no idea how he got to be this lucky – getting to date Becky O’Connell? That was definitely something his friends found impressive.

She was one of the best catches in their year. Of course, that only seemed to occur to people after they all came back to school after summer vacation. Suddenly Becky was no longer the lovely, smart girl that was always so friendly to everyone around her – she was also the girl that walked obliviously down the halls, unaware of the stares she drew from everyone around her.

Kit found it all extremely annoying, though. He’s been in love with her since their third year at Hogwarts, when Becky wasn’t that popular. And now suddenly everyone liked her and Kit just didn’t understand why people saw how amazing she was only now. Of course, the blokes that kept on ogling her were only interested in how hot she was rather than her personality. Kit nearly ended up punching Stewart Jones’ face when the fourth-year could be heard talking about it to his friends.

And then, one day during Herbology, something extraordinary had happened.

They were working – Ravenclaw and Slytherin – in greenhouse 4. Professor Sprout let them feed some kind of dangerous flower that nearly swallowed Tonny’s hand because Seon Frayer from Slytherin intentionally bumped into him, making Tonny collapse straight into the man-eating flower.

“Excuse me?” A voice had cut through the chatter filling the greenhouse. Kit’s head had snapped upward at the familiar sound of Becky’s voice. She was standing sheepishly at the entrance, a sealed scroll clutched in her hand that was trembling just a little from the cold weather outside. “Professor Sprout? I’m sorry to interrupt your lesson, but Professor Dumbledore wanted to speak to you. Here.”

The class watched as Becky handed the scroll to their teacher who read it quickly and then nodded decisively and turned to all of them, warning them all to be careful while she’s gone. Kit and his friends immediately took a few steps away from the flower they were feeding that clearly had more interesting eating them and while his two friends had started bickering, Kit focused on Becky who looked out at the cold grounds she would now have to walk through to get back to the castle. She didn’t look like she appreciated the weather in that moment.

With his heart beating erratically in his chest, banging against his ribcage, Kit crossed the greenhouse until he was right next to Becky. Becky O’Connell. He could feel the judgmental eyes trained on him as he approached the girl that turned to him curiously. Her cheeks and nose were rosy from the cold and she was shivering a little. Her robes were clearly not enough for such weather. Professor Dumbledore must have caught her by surprise, then.

“Here,” Kit tugged the blue and silver scarf with the symbol of Ravenclaw from around his neck and then handed it out to the girl. “you can use this. I know it’s not much, but it’s better than nothing, isn’t it?”

For a second Becy just blinked at him and then she smiled happily and wrapped the scarf around her neck, looking content despite the fact that she was wearing the wrong colors for a girl from Hufflepuff. “Thank you, Kit!”

“You know my name?” He asked in surprise.

Her head tipped to the side as confusion sipped into her gaze. “We used to work next to each other in Potions on our second year. Don’t you remember?” And she actually sounded sad at the thought that he might not remember that detail.

Shaking his head frantically, Kit spluttered. “N-no! I-I mean… I mean, yes! I do remember!” He said quickly. Becky’s smile returned to her face. “You and your friend – Amy – were really good. It was always frustrating to see Snape just walking past you like you’re not even there.” He felt a little ridiculous recounting that, but it seemed to make Becky happy.

“It was rather rude, but I stopped expecting much from him a long time ago.” She said with a note of sadness laced in her voice, like she was upset at having to give up on Severus Snape. Then she perked up. “Are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?”

“Oh, I’m not sure. I have a load of homework to finish that I’ve been pushing off.” Kit muttered. His eyes slid over to Tonny and Robert who were staring at him with their jaws practically dropped and dragging on the floor. When they noticed he was looking at them, they glared at him, mouthing insistently at him until he realized what they were saying. His face hit up and he turned back to Becky. “B-but, er, would you like to? I mean, I didn’t say what so you can’t really answer.” He wanted to feed himself to that stupid flower that was creeping toward Seon.

“I’d love to.” Becky said brightly.

“Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me? Oh, wait.” Kit registered her words. “You would? Really?”

But Becky was already looking back toward the castle. On its steps Kit recognized the distant figure of her friend, Amy. “Oh, I’ve gotta run!” Becky actually started running but she glanced back at Kit over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you at the Great Hall after breakfast on Saturday!”

And they did go to Hogsmeade together that weekend. They had a great time, too, and Kit and Becky kept on going out since that moment on. He didn’t even mind Tonny and Robert as they teased him about it – it was just too good a thing to happen to him for Kit to care. He was dating Becky O’Connell! Him! That was already more than he’d thought possible.

“Three,” Tonny’s voice cut through Kit’s thoughts and he saw Tonny getting up, as if preparing to leave. “two, one. Well, I guess I’m going on a date with Becky after all. See you later, mates.”

“Sit back down. Bloody hell – can’t people even swallow without it being considered a waste of time?” Kit groaned but he put his food down and then quickly got up and left his friends to go find Becky out there, wandering the grounds and waiting for him to come to her.

He didn’t get far before McGonagall came marching toward him, an unreadable look on her face. He didn’t like it. Was he in trouble? Was Becky in trouble? On the other end of the corridor he noticed Harry Potter walking briskly forward, his bag swinging as he looked like he wanted to run but also look somewhat casual on his way to the Great Hall. It was strange to see him alone, without any of his friends around him.

Too busy staring at Harry Potter, Kit missed it when McGonagall stopped right in front of him. “Mr. Spinster – a word in my office, if you will?” It didn’t sound quite like a question, so Kit spared one last glance toward the great oak doors that led to the outside world, where Becky was, and then let his shoulders slump as he nodded at the Gryffindor professor. “Potter, what are you doing?”

Kit lifted his gaze from the floor to see Harry Potter glancing back at McGonagall and Kit. He blinked a few times, as it confused at being addressed. Then he shook his head. “Just looking for Ron and Hermione, Professor.” He said. His eyes landed on Kit for a long moment and after a second or two he offered the fifth-year a smile, probably recognizing him from that time Kit had asked him about bogarts.

He was nearly too distracted to see the way Harry Potter shoved a piece of old parchment into his pocket discreetly. By the look on her face, McGonagall had noticed the movement, too, but she didn’t press the older boy for more answers and instead started leading Kit toward her room. When Kit looked over his shoulder, he noticed Harry Potter peeking into the Great Hall before pulling back again, looking frustrated.

“Hey!” He called back to him and the jet-black haired boy turned his head to look at the younger Ravenclaw. McGonagall didn’t slow down. “If you go outside and see Becky O’Connell, can you tell her I’m with Professor McGonagall?”

There was a look of utter confusion on the wizard’s face but Kit didn’t get the chance to explain to him who Becky was before McGonagall and he turned around a corner and walked further and further away from Harry Potter and Becky. Kit sincerely hoped the famous boy would at least try and figure out who Becky was because imagining her waiting there for who knows how long made Kit feel a little queasy.

It didn’t take long before the two of them finally reached McGonagall’s office and Kit hesitantly stepped inside, watching nervously as the professor stepped in front of him, regarding him from her spot with a bit of weariness that he didn’t really understand. She wasn’t even his Head of House, so Kit was more than a little baffled as to why he was sitting in her office, feeling like a troublemaker that just got caught red-handed.

“A cookie, Mr. Spinster?” McGonagall asked.

“A-a what?”

She gestured toward a jar that was sitting on her desk. “A cookie? I used to have biscuits but I suppose Fred and George Weasley thought it would be funny to take all of them with them when they flew out of here last year.” She noted, a hint of fond exasperation in her voice.

Kit remembered the chaotic twins that had caused so much grief to the staff, but especially to Umbridge. They were probably considered heroes to most students who were present when the two of them just flew on broomsticks out of Hogwarts, letting Peeves terrorize everyone else – but mainly Umbridge – in their wake. In fact, after they’d left, Kit’s friends tried to cause as much trouble to drive Umbridge mad to honor the memory of the two Gryffindors, like so many others.

“Er, no thanks.” He said eventually.

The witch didn’t look like she minded his answer. “You’re one of the students who went to Mr. Potter for help with Defense Against the Dark Arts, right?” She asked.

Kit was too stunned by her question to say anything so he just nodded numbly. He didn’t think the teachers actually knew about this thing that was going on with Harry Potter – although some of the little kids made it pretty obvious with their over-eagerness to reach Harry Potter in the middle of the Great Hall.

To be fair, it looked like McGonagall was onto the entire thing not too long ago, when she approached Harry Potter during dinner after three first-years asked Harry to help them in front of everyone. But when nothing seemed to happen to the people involved, Kit figured he was wrong.

Of course, there were rumors going around about the points given by Harry Potter actually counting for real. Something about the castle allowing him to have the kind of power professors and Prefects had. Personally, Kit thought it was nonsense. How could a student just suddenly be able to give or take points from his fellow students?

Or, well, he had thought this was ridiculous until Colin Creevy got ten points from Harry Potter the previous day during lunch. Kit was just passing by and he heard the interaction. Then his eyes flitted over to the Gryffindor hourglass and his jaw nearly dropped when the red, rubies dropped, adding to the pile of the red and gold house. But it had to be a coincidence, right? It had to be.

He wasn’t sure whether it was only in his head or not, but he thought McGonagall’s lips twitched, like she was on the verge of smiling. Her eyes glinted with a strange light that made Kit wonder whether she was actually proud of her famous student that wasn’t only working hard on his own workload (did Harry Potter work hard? Kit assumed he did…) but also helped other students who could use the guidance. Like, say, Kit.

“Why is it you turned to Potter rather than Professor Snape, the teacher of the class? Isn’t he supposed to be the one capable of offering assistance in case its needed?”

Kit flinched a tiny bit. “W-well, it’s just that… You see…” He looked around the office, suddenly feeling extremely trapped in this confided space. Was this a trick question? Should he just lie so she’d let him go and find Becky and maybe find a tree to hide behind so they could have some time away from everyone’s eyes? Was she still waiting for him, getting more and more frustrated by Kit’s lack of an appearance or has Harry Potter found her and delivered the message?

“Mr. Spinster, an answer before the next century would be excellent.” McGonagall noted dryly.

“Er…” He said stupidly. He blinked furiously to try and get Becky out of his mind. McGonagall was waiting for his answer. He needed to focus – the faster he answered, the faster he would be allowed to leave and go find Becky. “I guess I just don’t feel comfortable seeking him out…” Kit murmured, hoping he wasn’t saying anything that might get him in trouble.

McGonagall’s eyes narrowed. “Elaborate, if you will.”

“I-I guess he’s not exactly one of my favorite professors, see?” He stared at her, silently pleading with her to take the answer and not press him even more. She didn’t seem to get the message as she just kept on waiting for more. Kit’s shoulders sagged. “Professor Snape is usually nasty when it comes to students that don’t belong to his own house, alright?” He said quickly, voice sharper than intended.

“In Potions he always sneered at everything we made, even if it was actually good. The girl sitting next to me was really good and Snape always pretended not to notice. And whenever he paid our potions any mind it was just to tell us how stupid and incapable we are. It doesn’t exactly give the impression that you can approach him to ask for a few extra lessons, does it?”

He thought McGonagall would berate him for speaking ill of one of the teachers so bluntly, but instead she just regarded him carefully, as if mulling his words over in her mind and actually taking them in. That was a first when it came to Snape, that’s for sure. Usually when students complained about him, the other teachers brushed those concerns aside, not paying them any mind. Not really, at least.

McGonagall’s eyes turned to look at the cookie jar and for an absurd second Kit actually thought she might take one. She didn’t, but the mental image made him relax a little. It was just too weird of an idea to pop in his head for Kit not to calm down from his tense state.

“The Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs had Potions together. Is that correct?” The witch asked. Kit nodded. “And now in your Defense lessons you only have the fifth-years of Ravenclaw in the classroom?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Then what makes you think Professor Snape favors the Slytherins if you never had a class shared with them and with him?” She asked sharply though Kit realized she wasn’t trying to discredit him – she was genuinely trying to understand.

It encouraged him enough to find the words. “The Gryffindors in my year always complained about it. Creevy once left the dungeons in such a foul mood because he said Snape – Professor Snape,” He corrected quickly as McGonagall opened her mouth to chide him. “well, Creevy said that Professor Snape claimed his potion was so bad he would get a zero and made it vanish from the cauldron even though Frayer’s potion was worse according to everyone else in that class. But Frayer for away with it because he’s a Slytherin. And that’s just one story I’ve heard. The stories about Harry Potter are so much worse.”

“I see…” McGonagall said quietly. Her voice almost sounded dangerous. Then she straightened up and schooled her expression. Somehow, she looked even more tired than she did at the beginning of this weird conversation. “Thank you, Mr. Spinster. You may go now.” She dismissed him.

Kit didn’t waste a moment – he jumped onto his feet and walked out the door to the corridor outside. He nearly bumped right into Ron Weasley by doing so. The redhead was standing next to Hermione Granger and they both startled at the sight of Kit floundering a little to steady himself. Weasley kept on staring at Kit like he was trying to understand what he was doing in McGonagall’s office just now, but Granger started looking around the same way Harry Potter had earlier that evening.

Which reminded him. “He’s looking for you – Harry.” Kit said.

The two looked at him curiously. “Where have you seen him last?” Granger asked.

“He was going to look for you outside. Maybe by the lake.” He barely finished speaking and they were already gone, bickering between themselves like an old married couple. Honestly, Kit didn’t believe the people that said those two weren’t dating – it didn’t make sense to him. “You’re welcome.” Kit said dryly to the empty hallway and then started walking in the duo’s wake – he needed to find Becky.

Zeno Fox and Constance Edevane

He was wandering the castle aimlessly, stretching his legs. Because if there was one thing Zeno Fox knew, it was that he couldn’t sit still for such a long time, no matter how much he needed it. He just couldn’t handle the idea of lounging in the common room any longer, staring at the words written in his books or his parchments. He couldn’t study any longer!

Frankly, his respect to the older students grew as he got more and more piles of homework before his exams. He could tell that the older students got more work because they had O.W.Ls or N.E.W.Ts. He knew that the pressure would be worse the next year and that he might actually be one of the students who had to go to Madame Pomfrey because their nerves have been stretched thin.

Of course, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to him. Zeno had an older sister that had finished her seventh year just before he got into his fourth. He saw her freaking out over exams and basically pulling at her hair while staring at the information she needed to remember. He remembered how anxious she was throughout those summer vacations, when she would just stare out the window and wait for the owl to bring her the results back.

So none of this came as a surprise, really, but he still felt like it will catch him unprepared next year. It was almost alarming to see all of the students in the fifth and seventh years studying all the time. They read during meals, in the hallways while walking from class to class, outside when the weather was pleasant enough…

The Ravenclaw that sat a few seats away from Zeno during the last Quidditch match had a Transfiguration book in his hands, for crying out loud! So when everyone stood on their feet at Gryffindor’s win, the Ravenclaw just pressed his hands to his ears to try and block the outside world and concentrate. It was depressing enough to make Zeno feel slightly off for the rest of the day.

Back in the common room of Hufflepuff there was a pile of homework waiting for Zeno to attend to it. He knew he wasn’t really handling it all properly. But Zeno needed this break. He’s always been an energetic person and to just sit and study for so long without taking any breaks at all? Well, it was bound to drive him mad. And the fact that Kelly Fost from fifth-year kept on drumming on the arm of her chair and humming under her breath definitely didn’t help Zeno concentrate on the runes he needed to translate for his next Ancient Runes class.

The sound of someone sniffling caught Zeno’s attention and he stopped dead in his tracks. It came from around the corner, he figured. He glanced backward but there was nobody in the corridor but him. What were the chances of him running into someone crying? He expected to stretch his feet and have some time to take his mind off things. He didn’t expect to come crushing back to earth because of someone else’s misery.

Taking a few hesitant steps forward, Zeno walked toward the end of the corridor and then turned to the right. There, sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her legs and her face buried in her knees, was Constance Edevane. She was another Hufflepuff in his year. She was friendly enough, but never seemed to get really close to people, almost like she was scared of having best friends. So she hung around with the other girls in their year, but wasn’t quite a part of their group.

In their first year at Hogwarts, Zeno remembered sitting in the same compartment with her on the train. She read one of their study books curiously, her eyes roaming over the page with such enthusiasm, it was hard not to feel a little excited himself. Zeno came from a family of witches of wizards, but according to Constance, she was the first witch in the family. Anyway, it made sense that she wanted to get every single piece of information available to her about magic and about Hogwarts on her way to the school.

And then those dementors got on the train and went through the corridor. Zeno recognized them from his parents’ stories about Azkaban but when a dementor opened their compartment and everything turned cold and miserable, Zeno still noticed the horror-struck look on Constance’s face. The girl that found so much wonder in her book stared at the dementor like her world was crashing down around her.

And then something white came along and chased the dementor away a moment before a ragged-looking man appeared in the doorway to their compartment, worriedly observing Zeno and Constance as they both shook in their seats. Zeno accepted the chocolate from the man immediately and each bite from it felt like it was reviving him from that experience, but Constance took some time to get over the dementor’s effect. Zeno couldn’t even blame her – that feeling… that cold, dark feeling… For a moment there he feared he might never be happy again.

That was probably not the best first impression they could have made on Constance, Zeno figured. She was withdrawn from that moment on. He remembered seeing her during the school year, always looking around warily, as if expecting another dementor to attack her. That Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff didn’t help, either. Constance came from a muggle family, but she still knew who Harry Potter was – probably read about him in advance – and seeing him falling out of the sky in the middle of a game because of the dementors made her scream shrilly and curl into herself in fear.

To be frank, Zeno kind of expected the girl not to show up for their second year, yet she was still on the Hogwarts Express on September 1^st, looking for a compartment where she would be able to sit. Zeno let her sit with Arielle Wayne, Bobby Match and him. It wasn’t that he was a friend of Constance… but the girl with the sunshine, blond hair and the shy, reserved look kind of grew on him. And it wasn’t like they had to keep up a constant stream of conversation with her because the moment she sat down next to Arielle, she just pulled out a book and disappeared behind it.

Their years in school must have been cursed or something, because by the sound of it, Zeno’s sister’s Hogwarts experience has never been as weird as his has. Or at least, from the moment he stepped foot in that school, strange things kept on happening (although the Chamber of Secrets reopening happened a year before he got his letter, so that was something his sister experienced by herself).

On their second year at Hogwarts, a tradition Zeno didn’t even know about came back – the Triwizard Tournament. Zeno found it interesting. By the looks of it, Constance found it terrifying but somewhat mystifying. Until Harry Potter somehow ended up joining this lovely, safe competition despite being too young. Zeno and his friends were upset, of course, because they already had a Hufflepuff to represent the school. Harry shouldn’t have walked all over the rules to get fame and glory from this thing because he already had those. Hufflepuff deserved it so much more.

Zeno would have probably kept on thinking like that had it not been for that moment when he’d overheard Constance arguing with Charlotte Mist and claiming this wasn’t going to bring Harry honor – it was going to kill him. That lovely image stayed in his mind throughout the three tasks. Cedric did well, of course, and Zeno was proud, but he couldn’t help but think that Constance was onto something – why would Harry want to join this contest when everything was trying to kill him? He wasn’t as skilled as the older contestants and he got mostly hate out of the entire thing…

And then Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter came back from the third task together and Zeno was on his feet, about to clap his hands and cheer… when he saw that something was off. Cedric was on the ground, unmoving. Harry was screaming and weeping and looking distressed as he refused to be pulled away from Cedric who was, according to the Gryffindor, dead. Killed. Murdered.

Yeah, that wasn’t the best second year, either. Constance, who was standing next to him, actually fainted. He had to catch her before she hit the floor and then he struggled to hold her up without dropping her before she came to.

He didn’t expect to see her again for their third year. He really thought that would keep the girl away. But there she was, back on the Hogwarts Express with another book and a shy gleam in her eyes as she sat next to Zeno on the train, not saying a word to join the conversation he was having with Bobby and Arielle. He couldn’t help but wonder whether or not she’d heard about the Daily Prophet’s claims regarding Harry Potter. Whether or not she thought he was a troubled, lying boy.

Zeno’s family trusted Dumbledore so the moment the Ministry and the newspapers started trashing him and Harry they stopped reading the Daily Prophet. Zeno didn’t think Harry was crazy. He didn’t believe Cedric Diggory just dropped dead tragically. Dumbledore had told them at the end of the previous year that it was You-Know-Who’s doing and that the evil wizard was back, and Zeno believed it. But if Constance believed it, too… well, it would just make it easier for Zeno to really accept.

He didn’t ask her about it. He barely talked to her that year, too busy hating the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The Senior Undersecretary. The High Inquisitor. The Headmistress. He was too busy hating her to even know about that secret group Harry and his friends had started to learn Defense on their own. He only heard about it once it was busted, which was frustrating.

He was too busy being shocked to see Umbridge firing Trelawny. Sure, he never liked the teacher and her prediction – she had to be a fake – but she didn’t deserve the humiliation that Dumbledore had saved her from. He was too busy being shocked at the news of McGonagall being taken out of the school after getting hit by too m any spells at once for trying to protect Hagrid (who ran into the forest).

Thankfully, Umbridge left the school before the year even came to its end after Harry Potter and Hermione Granger let Centaurs take her away (honestly, Zeno didn’t know much about that and he could tell that everyone else was aching to hear the details behind that). Despite not hearing much from Constance throughout that year, the moment they were all informed about Umbridge’s leave from the school, Zeno noticed the way Constance relaxed in her seat. Though she and everyone else had tensed again the moment they heard that You-Know-Who was in the Ministry (as was Harry Potter and a few of his friends).

And now here they were, on their fourth year, knowing there was a dark wizard out there, killing people left and right. Zeno read those columns in the Daily Prophet about the missing or dead people. He could see the anguish of the students who knew some of them. Could see the distress of half the student body. Because despite the fact that Hogwarts was such a safe place, it was obvious there was war all around them and they weren’t completely cut off from it.

This time Zeno arrived at King’s Cross and instead of hopping immediately onto the train, he took a look around, spotted Constance waving at her family – muggles who looked at her the same way his own mum had at the thought of sending him away again – and he made his way over. Once Constance walked away from her parents, Zeno joined her and offered her to sit in his compartment. She looked slightly surprised but then smiled sheepishly and followed him. Honestly, he wasn’t sure why he was still surprised to see her coming to Hogwarts this year, but he was. She came from a muggle family – she was in more danger than he was, that’s for sure.

And, of course, now she was crying alone in a corridor.

“Constance?” He asked timidly.

The girl inhaled sharply and lifted her gaze. For a moment her azure eyes stared at him – almost unseeing, in a way. And then she seemed to relax a little. “Oh, hey.” She said in a small, wavering voice. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and then let it fall limply by her side. “I didn’t think there was anyone else around.”

Her voice was so quiet, Zeno was pretty sure he wouldn’t have heard it had he not focused solely on it and nothing else. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” He glanced around again. “Did someone attack you?” It wouldn’t be that out of the question for a Slytherin, maybe, to attack a muggle-born. He just hoped that wasn’t it. Constance shook her head wordlessly and bit her bottom lip. “So… what is it?” He shifted uncomfortably. “Do you, er, wanna talk about it?”

“I-I asked my owl t-to get me the muggle newspaper, too.” She said softly though her voice shook like she was trying hard not to cry again. Zeno, not sure what to do, walked a little closer to her. “I-I wanted to make s-s-sure that everyone w-was o-okay.” She whimpered and instead of saying anything else just pulled out a torn page from a newspaper, handing it out to Zeno.

The boy furrowed his eyebrows but grabbed the page from her. The pictures on it weren’t moving, which was strange, but he bet that wasn’t what Constance wanted him to see. Especially since it must have been normal to her. So he looked at the contents of the torn page, skimming through everything that was written in such small letters until a familiar word caught his attention. Or rather, it wasn’t a word – it was a name. Edevane – Constance’s surname.

He read it quickly – according to this, the house had collapsed (the muggles were clearly confused as to why it had happened but as a wizard living through a time of war, Zeno had no doubts about what the cause of this random thing was) and the family inside… well, there were no survivors. Five people were gone, and Zeno knew it was because of the Death Eaters. Because of You-Know-Who. It had to be.

Lifting his gaze from the newspaper, his eyes landed on Constance. She was crying again, her entire body shaking in agony. “I-I-I never t-told them ab-about t-the war, o-or Y-You-Know-Who!” Constance sobbed. “I d-didn’t w-w-want them t-to worry! And n-now they’re… t-they’re…” She choked on the words and shook her head from side to side miserably. “I don’t h-have any o-other family. W-what am I g-going to d-do now?”

Zeno was frozen to the spot. He had no idea what to do or say to make it better. He tried to imagine his own family dying – all of them – leaving with no house and no one to look after him. He imagined the pain and hurt coursing through his body at the mental image of all of them dying without him around. Not that it would help them in any way, but at least he wouldn’t hear about it from a newspaper!

It was too painful, though.

“I’m so sorry…” He mumbled, the words slipping out before he could even comprehend their meaning. He didn’t know how to help Constance. He thought about her happy parents as they sent her to Hogwarts, not knowing she was in danger. Not knowing they were in danger. “I don’t know what to…” Zeno shook his head. “We should find Professor Sprout. She should know about this, Constance.”

“W-where am I gonna go this summer?” She asked in despair, seemingly not hearing him.

He frowned. “You can come to my place.” He said. That made Constance pay attention to him. In fact, she snapped her head up so sharply that Zeno was almost taken aback. “Let’s go to Sprout. Come on.” He held his hand out and Constance hesitated for a brief moment before accepting it and shakily getting up with his help. “Let’s go, then.”

They were silent as they wandered through the castle to try and get to Professor Sprout’s office. Constance was leaning against Zeno like the energy in her body was gone. He was really glad she was light because this whole thing would have been much worse had he not been capable of supporting her weight. Though he was never going to tell her this.

“I keep thinking…” Constance broke the silence – probably for the first time since she got to Hogwarts. “I keep thinking about what would have happened had I been there, too.” She shook her head. “But I’m not very good when it comes to DADA, so it wouldn’t have helped much, would it? I would have died right next to them, then.”

“They’re Death Eaters. Even if you were good you would need a lot of luck to survive a meeting with them.” He hummed a little. “I bet practicing wouldn’t hurt, though, right?” He took her sniffle as agreement. “Harry – Harry Potter – agreed to help me with a few spells tomorrow. You can come and practice with me, if you want.” He said quickly, unsure about how she might take it.

Constance just offered him a weak smile. “He’s been helping me a lot, too.” She said. “I asked Snape first, but he wasn’t very nice about it. And then I ran to Harry and he didn’t mind helping me. It’s really nice of him, isn’t it? To spend so much time with other people who need help even when they’re not even from his own house. And I’m sure he’s got a lot of other things to worry about – don’t you agree?”

“I guess so.”

They both fell quiet for a few more minutes. Zeno couldn’t decide if the silence was awkward or not.

“Did you mean it? Before?” Constance asked. At Zeno’s confusion, she quickly clarified. “About staying at your house?”

“Oh, that. Of course.” He said. It was an impulsive suggestion before, but Zeno didn’t really mind. And he was certain his parents wouldn’t mind helping Constance out. What he wasn’t sure about was how willing they will be to risk their lives for a muggle-born. Normally, they wouldn’t bat an eye. But with the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who running around, killing muggles and muggle-borns, it was a lot riskier. Zeno hoped his parents wouldn’t let him down. “I can go later to the owlery and send them a letter, if you want. To let them know what’s going on.”

Constance nodded and wiped another tear before it could slip down her cheek. She opened her mouth to say something when they both heard the footsteps of someone approaching. Zeno and Constance turned to see Professor McGonagall walking forward, her shoulders slightly sagged, like she was carrying the weight of the world on her back.

Her sharp eyes fell on the two Hufflepuffs and a furrow appeared between her eyebrows. When she stopped to talk to them, Zeno wondered what kind of school they must have accidentally broken. Why else would the stern witch speak to them? Maybe she was just disappointed because they weren’t studying in their free time like she’s been encouraging the fourth-year students to do in every single lesson they had with her.

“Mr. Fox, Miss Edevane – have you two been practicing with Mr. Potter, by any chance?”

Zeno didn’t expect this. And by the look on her face, neither did Constance. “W-we have.” Zeno replied for the two of them. The girl was too busy trying to hide her face and he had the feeling she was tearing up again. “Why? It’s not against school rules, is it?”

“No, no.” McGonagall dismissed that notion like she’s heard the words countless times before. “I was just wondering why you went to him instead of Professor Snape.” She said it, but there was something in her voice that almost sounded like she knew exactly what to expect from them and wouldn’t be surprised by whatever they had to say.

“Oh. I guess… it never really crossed my mind?” Zeno shrugged. “He’s not very approachable, is he? Professor Snape, that is. Not Harry. Whenever I’m around Snape – I mean, Professor Snape – I feel like he’s trying to look for a reason to take points from Hufflepuff. And he’s not very subtle about it, either. He once took points from Macy Witeck for breathing too heavily into her potion! I think it was nonsense but when Casandra Bolton tried to stand up to Macy, Professor Snape took even more points from the house for being rude to him.”

Constance sniffed and started nodding. “I-I remember that.” She said quietly. McGonagall suddenly seemed to realize the girl wasn’t doing too well as her eyes widened a little. “It was horrible.” Constance looked at Zeno, not noticing McGonagall’s alarmed expression. “And do you remember that day Piero hexed Arielle outside Snape’s classroom and Arielle was the one to lose points because she retaliated? He nearly made her sit through class with her nose all swollen!”

He did remember that. But by the looks of it, McGonagall no longer cared about Snape’s treatment toward his students (she didn’t even correct Constance when she didn’t add the word ‘professor’ to Snape’s name!). Instead, she took in Constance’s red eyes and the sparkling tear-tracks on her cheeks.

“Miss Edevane, what happened to you?”

Constance slumped down at once, her mind obviously taking her back to the source of her misery. Zeno stayed by her side as she explained everything to Professor McGonagall. It was the least he could do, really.

Kitty Villin

There wasn’t much to focus on in the small, narrow room. Of course, normally Kitty Villin didn’t make it a habit to visit inside dingy, old closets, but this was her only hiding place around and she needed it after accidentally running into Peeves in the corridor. She was so sick of dealing with that lame excuse of a ghost (or whatever he was!) – even a dark closet seemed like a better option.

Of course, it would have been so much better had the closet been unoccupied. As it turns out, though, it was not. There, hiding a little deeper in it, were Harry Potter and his sidekick… uh… Kitty really wasn’t sure what his name was. She knew he was the Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team but she never got Quidditch and the games didn’t interest her that much, so his name didn’t stick.

The two older boys stared at her, clearly confused as to what she was doing hiding in the closet they were already hiding in. Honestly, Kitty would have been much more thrilled at being in close proximity with Harry Potter had she not been in a foul mood thanks to that stupid poltergeist chasing after her like he had nothing better to do. And it didn’t help but she just heard that her older brother got engaged and she wasn’t even around to celebrate it with him and warn him about what a jerk his fiancé actually was.

“What are you hiding from?” Kitty asked curiously.

Potter grimaced and his friend made a face, like he was thinking about something that belonged at the bottom of his shoe. “McLaggen.” They said as one. Kitty had no idea who that was and she found that she didn’t really care, either. Especially when Potter’s sidekick looked at her like she was a mouse rather than a person. “And what are you doing here? Find some other place to hide!”

Scowling, Kitty pointed an accusing finger at the freckled guy that looked at the finger that was so close to his nose now, his eyes were crisscrossing. “For your information, you can’t boss me around – whoever you are.” She stated firmly. The boy’s mouth fell open and she thought she saw a small smile on Potter’s face before he cover it with his hand. There was some sort of scar there that Kitty couldn’t make sense of. “And I’m hiding from – “

She didn’t need to say much more because just then Peeves started calling for her loudly, his annoying voice making the three in the closet wince at once. “VILLIN! VILLIN! COME TO PLAY! WHAT KIND OF VILLAIN HIDES AWAY!” His shrill voice sang. Kitty thought she heard the squeak of a young student before there were rushed footsteps – whoever it was must have run away to avoid Peeves. Kitty suspected whoever this student was could be that McLaggen Potter and his friend were avoiding.

“Ugh, this is the worst about Hogwarts!” Kitty said and kicked a bucket in her frustration. It knocked off the wall and fell on the redhead boy that started cursing under his breath while glaring at Kitty.

“I can think of worse things.” Potter noted and then shied away from Kitty’s probing eyes. “You know, I once tricked Peeves into leaving us alone by mimicking the Bloody Baron’s voice. It worked like a charm.”

His friend finally relaxed and turned to face Potter. “Oh, I remember that! It was ingenious, really!” He said enthusiastically. “I bet Fred and George never even thought of doing something like that!”

Kitty’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Fred and George Weasley – aren’t you their little brother? Paul or something?” Kitty asked. Potter barked out a laugh of surprise and his friend turned right back to glaring at Kitty. She couldn’t care less. “I miss having your brothers around. They were really fun! Last year Umbridge chased a firework menace created by them during one of my lessons – it was the best day we had at Hogwarts!”

“That’s – “ The redhead started saying, his face turning a deep shade of red just like his hair.

She didn’t let him continue. “I went to their shop before school started. Wanted to see what more they had in there.” She looked at Potter who was alternating between watching his friend worriedly and smiling at her in a friendly manner. “I’m surprised you’re not fawning over half the school at this point with how many girls were there, buying love potions to sneak into your food.”

Potter’s friend looked even angrier as the other boy patted his back with a weird expression on his face. “I ended up eating that thing!” The sidekick exclaimed. “And then, on top of that, I got poisoned and nearly died!”

“Well, how did you even get a love potion that was meant to be given to Potter? Did you steal his food or something?” She asked, unimpressed. “Anyway, that’s not very interesting compared to their other stuff, is it? Have you been there? I bet you have with you being their brother.” She shrugged and turned back to Potter. “I had a bag full of their products, but I forgot it back home and my little sister used it all up. She’s muggle-born, so it was fascinating to her.” She faced the redhead and red-faced boy. “I know of your sister, too. You two are dating, aren’t you?” She asked Potter. “The girls talk about it in the bathroom all the time – Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley everywhere I turn. It’s getting kind of annoying.”

“That’s getting annoying?” Potter’s friend asked in an incredulous voice.

Again, Kitty didn’t pay it any mind. “So you have Fred and George as brothers and Ginny Weasley – who everyone says is a really good Chaser – as a sister.” She thought about it for a second. “Come to think of it, don’t you have a brother that also used to be a Perfect? Percy, was it?”

Both boys flinched at the name and then the redhead’s glare intensified for a moment before he turned to face Potter, acting like Kitty wasn’t in the closet with them. “Percy, they remember, but the one who beat McGonagall’s enchanted chess game to save the Philosopher’s Stone from getting stolen by Voldemort and fought a mountain troll in his first year is anonymous to this day!” He fumed. Then he turned back to Kitty, this time pointing a finger at her. “And for your knowledge – I’m a Perfect, too! So watch your tongue!”

She shrugged and pressed her ear to the door of the closet, listening carefully. “I think he’s gone now. Bet he found that McLaggen guy you’re running from and decided to change targets.”

“I’m actually not sure which one’s worse.” The redhead grumbled.

“Come on, Ron, the bloke who got Gryffindor to lose spectacularly by aiming a bludger at my head despite not even being a Beater versus Kitty Villin?” Potter said and Kitty was mildly surprised to find out that the famous boy knew her name at all.

Sure, he’d helped her and her friend – Kelly Fost – once with that hex Snape had tried to teach them to get rid of bogarts, but that happened over a week ago. It was surprising that someone this famous bothered with remembering the names of people he might never actually run into again.

The two of them – Harry Potter and Ron Weasley (apparently) – stepped out of the closet soon after that and walked away, whispering to one another under their breaths. Although Kitty still thought she heard Weasley hissing something about comparing her to Malfoy. She resisted the urge to jinx him. Mainly because before she could reach her wand, McGonagall was there, glancing up at her from a piece of parchment she was busy reading.

“Oh, Miss Villin.” The professor said and then stopped walking completely. She had a calculating look on her face as she gazed upon Kitty. “You wouldn’t happen to be one of the lot who have asked Harry Potter for help with Defense Against the Dark Arts, would you?” She asked.

Kitty blinked up at her in surprise. “I came to him once, actually. Kelly and I were having a bit of trouble. Why?” She asked. “Is it true that the point he gives out are real? Because if so, then we earned Hufflepuff thirty that day.”

“And why did you go to him and not Professor Snape?”

“Well, Kelly went to Professor Snape at first, but she came back to the common room crying after he told her she was too stupid to understand the simplest instructions. I’d imagine she didn’t feel like learning anything from him after that, Professor.” Kitty said bluntly. It was one thing to insult her, but to insult her friends? That was going a step too far. Especially when Kitty had so few of those. And her family becoming so… estranged… well, it didn’t help matters at all.

McGonagall nodded briskly. “I see.” And she didn’t say anything else before she walked away. Kitty noticed that despite turning back to the parchment in her hands, McGonagall was glaring at the scroll rather than actually reading whatever was written on it.