Although there was parts of education that Calvin really enjoyed, the real reason why he was so eager to return to Hogwarts was to see his friends, as, although he had seen them over the holiday, it had been quite a rare occurance that he had been able to spend more than a few hours with one of them as his mother didn't like visitors and she was always paranoid about him travelling long distances alone - she wasn't about to stop him, but he felt bad making his mother worry, so he tended to stay home and help look after the farm.

After preparing his mind for the coming day, he cleaned and dressed himself in a plain black hoodie and some jeans and headed out on to the porch, where he stood and looked out across the farmlands, the crops all very healthy and prosperous, partly thanks to his own magic. Today was the day he would return to Hogwarts.

Calvin nodded to himself after ensuring that he had everything he needed. He had made the mistake, in the past, of being underprepared for the first day of school - but not this time. His treasured wand, the very same that he had been given several years ago in his first visit to Ollivander's in Diagon Alley, was already tucked away with his luggage. Hark, Calvin's owl, had already left for Hogwarts several hours ago - Calvin had purchased Hark around two years ago, and despite his stubbornness and lazy nature, Calvin appreciated the companionship of Hark, and he was useful when it came to communication. Not only that but Calvin had made sure to get all the correct books for the year ahead, meaning he wouldn't have to burden any of his friends by leeching off them for another year.

After giving one last farewell to his dear mother, Calvin smiled and pulled his luggage back in to the farmhouse's old fireplace. He dove his hand in to a small pot of floo powder and took a breath. "King's Cross Station," Calvin spoke out as clearly and calmly as possible, ensuring he would not end up in some obscure location. Seconds later, he found himself in the bustling London station. He slowly made his way towards platform 9 3/4, where Hogwarts Express had arrived minutes previous. After storing away his luggage, Calvin made his way into the carriages, finding one of the many empty compartments.

He then sat and waited for the arrival of his friends.

The night before...

Death surrounds
My heartbeat’s slowing down
I won’t take this world’s abuse
I won’t give up, I refuse!

This is how it feels when you’re bent and broken
This is how it feels when your dignity’s stolen
When everything you love is leaving
You hold on to what you believe in

The last thing I heard was you whispering goodbye
And then I heard you flat line

No, not gonna die tonight
We're gonna stand and fight forever

The music blared through the set of headphones that Zef had bought from the muggle store in london, he stood completely still his feet were extended slightly on each side, in front of him was a training dummy he had constructed himself. In reality it was just a souped up scare crow but it served training purposes quite well, he did not have many friends with him during summer break, his closest friends only visiting every now and again during his break, and himself he was unable to make himself leave his grandmother alone seeming she was alone long enough when he went to school. His grandmother was a strong person, but as she would always tell him, not even the strongest person in the world can beat time. Even though he had moved past the events of his life when he was five, he still feared that there was a reason he was not killed that night. he did not know what it is was, and he always feared his grandmother might be attacked she too had be an Auror in her younger days. No... he wouldn't let it happen, he would be ready when the day came he would not lose his grandmother too, not like that.

Zef flicked his wrist as his wand came free from the leather restraint he kept above his wrist, he swished his wand very quickly as the word Expelliarmus flashed through his head, in and instant the stick depicting a wand in the dummys hand flew away and disappeared into the dark. Waving his wand again in quick succession, confringo flashed through his mind, a ball of fire erupted from his wand and smashed into the dummy there was a small explosion as the entire dummy set on fire in brilliant flames. In another quick swish of his wand the word Defodio raced through his mind, in quick slices with his wand chunks of the dummy fell from the whole and hit the ground. In one more swish of his wand the word reducto flashed through his mind as a ball of brilliant light flashed and hit the dummy, it almost instantly disintegrated and the entire dummy fell to the ground in small pieces making a pile of ash and dust.

Zef lowered his want as the last of the flames slowly went out in a gust of wind, as the wind hit him Zefs hair flew back a little bit as the cool air felt good on his face. Turning he looked at the lake he was near, the moon was glinting off of it and creating a silver lining to it. Walking to the edge he slowly took a set setting his down next to his hand, he watched the calmness of the lake, there were small ripples here and there as the wind blew but other then that it was perfectly still. Zef took out the headphones and the device from his pocket, he set it beside him, he sat there for a time just looking at the surface of the water. No one really knew but this was Zef's private place to come and be alone, a place he could think, no one ever came here for one reason or another so it worked for him perfectly. Zef thought about going back to Hogwarts in only mere hours, and about his friends whom he found himself missing more and more as time went on. Truth was he needed his friends, they made it so much more bearable and less painful to live with the memories of that night.

They probably wouldn't know that though, he had never been one to show his emotions in front of anyone, maybe besides his grandmother, and only Calvin knew about his parents dieing and the way they died. Thats how they truly clicked with each other, neither one of them had a perfect childhood, they both had suffered great pain at a young age, and because of that strived to become stronger in its wake. He had wanted to tell the others about his parents and what really happened, but he felt that perhaps it was not time to tell Rin,Adelie and Stella. They cared for him like he did for them, and perhaps it was better to just not make them worry, worry that he would do something stupid because of the way he felt all the time. His grandmother did that enough, she often told him so that she was always there for him, and that anytime he needed to cry she would be his shoulder. He just wished he could bring himself to do it, to let it out, to let it go, but in life he had made himself strong and he refused to cry or to pity himself.

Perhaps that day would come when everything would finally shatter, and the person who murdered his parents would come for him, and they would duel to the death and he would finally face the demon that had long hid in the deep recesses of his mind. Zef was suddenly snapped from his thought when he heard the approaching foot steps behind him, gripping his wand quickly he got up from the ground and looked behind him. Swishing his wand the words lumos maxima went through his head, waving his wand a ball of light shot into the air and illuminated the area below. Zef relaxed when he realized it was merely his grandmother in the distance, only she would be able to see pas the charms he had put up to conceal the fact he was here, he should have guess from the start but his paranoia of attack was always there. His grandmother slowly came over, she was tow feet shorter then he was, but she always had such a cheerful face which was a god send to Zef, she was silent as she slowly sat down near the edge of the lake and patted the ground next to her. That was always her way of telling him she wanted him to sit down so she could talk to him.



Zef sat down beside her as they both seemed to just stare at the lake for a bit, the silence lasted for awhile before Zefs grandmother finally spoke,

"I figured I would find you here Zamir, you always did like this lake, although I have to say gifted as you are in DADA you sure do need work on your charms skills, any witch with a brain could see through yours."

Zef smiled a bit as he knew she was right in that, he was not the best at charms but at least they were good enough that no muggle could accidentally stumble upon him training so he was content with his skills for now.

"You know me and your grandfather used to come here long ago, so its no surprise you found this place to me, me and you we often do think alike in a lot of ways. If your mother was still here she would laugh at how similar we are, she always found something funny in everything that was one of her gifts, being able to always laugh in the grimmest of situations. I know your thinking about them, you cant pull one over on Granny Rea, it seems the more you grow the more you think about your parents which is more then understandable. Sometimes it is hard for me too knowing my little girl is gone now, I can imagine it is harder for you."

"I guess... I just don't understand why what happened had to happen. The more I think about the more it just seemed to make less sense then it did before."

"You know for all your intelligence sometimes it just doesn't work in the places you want it to the most. I am almost seventy years old and even I can't figure out why some things happen, just as I don't know why some things don't. Your problem is you think too much on things that you won't find the answer to, sometimes the answer is not presented to us because were not ready to understand why yet. You are young Zamir, and yet you have had to deal with things that grown men have trouble with, I should know I have watched you grow up in pain, was there when you woke up from your nightmares... I guess what I am trying to say is that you have your whole life ahead of you now, and as hard as it is you have to learn how to let go of that pain you feel. Its not easy but you will find a way one day, you will grow more and you will find a girl and start a family of your own, the secret is to just keep walking my grandson, do you understand?"

"I think I do grandma, truly."

"Good then come on home and get packed, its your last year and I am not bringing you anything you forget, I may look younger then my age but I am too old to be bringing you your underwear anymore."

Zef laughed as he slowly got up with his grandmother, looking out at the lake one last time he smiled and turned, there was a harsh noise and they were both gone from the side of the lake.

Current Morning...

"Pack"

Zef swished his wand as his trunk quickly finished packing itself, as it closed he turned and picked up the hoody off his bed and put it over his body, putting the hood over his head he went over to the cage nearby and opened it. Outstretching his arm Talan jumped onto it as the talons poked at his arm a bit, going to the window he opened it and gave Talan a quick nuzzle with his fingers across her cheek and then put his arm out the window for her to make her journey to Hogwarts. Going back to his bed he slowly put on his old worn black boots and laced them up tight, he was finally ready to get going, making his way downstairs he came into the livingroom where his grandmother was silently snoozing in her favorite chair. Walking up to her he gave her a quick peck on the cheek and walked over to the fire place, he would not wake her, reaching over he took some floo power from the mantle and walked into the fire place looking back one last time.

"Bye grandma see you soon"

With that he clearly spoke Kings cross station clearly and threw down the black powder almost instantly he popped out onto the crossing. Pulling along his trunk he descended down among the many people hustling and bustling to catch their trains. Zef slowly made his way through the crowds and came to platform 9 3/4, almost casually he walked through the wall and quickly appeared on the other side where the Hogwarts express hissed loudly, he was meant with another hustle and bustle of people, students and parents alike going in every direction. He smiled at some of the younger kids who were no doubt new years, they were so full of wonder and adventure very much he had been that first year, it did always bring him certain joy to see their excitement. Quickly storing his trunk away he slowly boarded the train and started walking down the aisle of different cars and room looking out for any of his friends. As he walked he felt a rather harsh knock into his shoulder looking over Edward lugnist had purposely bumped into him passing by, his fellow Slytherin house student gave him that knowing glare and then quickly disappeared in the crowd down the car. Shaking his head Zef looked in one of the rooms and saw Calvin inside, turning he went to walk in and quickly bumped his head on the door like he always did.

"ugh damn it, I wish they would make these higher."

Zef grabbed his head as he quickly took a seat across from Calvin who was no doubt probably laughing on the inside and would be laughing on the outside, smiling Zef gave a hand to his friend.

"Good to see you Calvin, an equally good to know I wasn't the last one in this time, the girls just love to laugh at me when I smack my head on that door. How was your summer?"

Stella Nieves’s eyes flew open as she sat bolt upright. A cold sweat clung to her brow, and her breathing came too rapidly. It took a moment for her dark eyes to adjust to the bright light streaming through the window, and once recognition came, her heart rate began to steady though it took much longer for her body to stop trembling. “I’m in my room.” She breathed, confused. Where had she thought she’d been before? Try as she might, she could not conjure any memory of what she realized must have been a dream. Only the feeling of danger and terror still clung to her.

Oberon, her kneazle-cat, bumped his forehead against her hand, prompting Stella to wrap her arms around him. His soft fur and warm body were a great comfort to her, and it wasn’t long before her shivering stopped. He had been so patient with her these last few weeks as she awakened more and more in these cold sweats. She must have reeked of fear, but he never showed any distaste, only empathy and love. “You’re the best companion a witch could ever ask for.” She mumbled into his snowy fur. He responded with a resonating purr that vibrated through them both.

Stella sighed and pulled away to press the button on her alarm clock. She always seemed to wake before it went off whether she was in the midst of a nightmare or dreamless sleep. It didn’t matter if she stayed up all night or went to bed early, either. It was just who she was. Her internal clock was perfectly synchronized to the hour. It could be both a blessing and a curse.

Getting out of bed, she did her daily routine of a short yoga session, showering, and getting dressed. Today’s attire would be about comfort because she’d be spending most of the day on the Hogwarts Express. A tank top, cardigan, jeans, and flats could accomplish a nice mix of comfort and style well enough. She could change into her school robes on the train when it got closer to Hogwarts.

Oberon, who had refused to leave her side the entire morning, escorted his human into the kitchen where Stella’s father was setting down plates of eggs and toast. “I think I set a new record!” The man said excitedly, his accent still distinctly American even after living in England for over a decade. “I only burned one egg. The rest turned out perfectly, and all of the toast is the perfect shade of golden brown.”

“Wow.” She replied, nodding her head appreciatively. “I’m impressed.”

“Me, too.” He laughed.

Stella used a fork to scoop a hard-cooked egg onto the toast. It wasn’t bad to eat, but it was a little bland. “This is perfectly cooked, Dad. The next step is learning to cook eggs with seasoning!” She teased.

“Hey, it’s edible for once. Baby steps.” He replied.

They both ate their food while standing. Stella was too excited to sit, and her father wasn’t about to relax so much he’d cause his daughter to miss her train to school. When they finished, he spoke. “I think it’s time to go. I packed you some food for the train. There’s enough to share with your friends, too, if they’re feeling hungry. It’s in here.” He handed her a backpack.

“You made me food? Did you suddenly learn to cook more than eggs and toast when I visited my friends last?” She teased.

“Ms. Renally next door, with the dwarf rabbits, made me some dinners for while you’re gone, and I divided up the leftovers I won’t be able to eat for you to take.” Her father admitted.

“Oh.” Stella replied, surprised. “Are you two…”

Tadlo lifted his palm. “I’m going to stop you right there, Estela. Ms. Renally is a very nice woman who has been very good to us since she moved into that house last year. However, I can assure you that Renally has no interest in me beyond friendship. I think she just wants friends, and she may be trying to get us to buy a rabbit.”

Stella laughed. “Why don’t you just tell her about Oberon? I don’t imagine kneazles and tiny bunnies make a great combination.”

He shrugged. “I might eventually, but I want some more cooking tips first. You don’t think I magically figured out eggs on my own, do you?”

Stella shook her head, sighing dramatically. “I think we better get to the Platform before I learn any more about how you manipulate our neighbors.” She entered the fireplace, and Oberon leapt into her arms. She transferred him to one arm, scooping up floo powder with her free hand. “King’s Cross Station!” Stella spoke clearly as she dashed the powder on the stones at her feet. In an instant, her surroundings changed, and she stepped from a new fireplace onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. A moment later, her father followed behind her with the trunk of her belongings.

Oberon hopped down and waited at her feet while Tadlo hugged his daughter tightly. “Be good at school. Study hard. Have fun, and if you need anything at all, you contact me. I’m here for you no matter what you need, no matter what the hour.”

Stella smiled, a little sad to be leaving her father again after what felt like such a short time with him. She was glad he was getting on with the neighbors while she was away at school. He’d seemed so lonely these last few years. “I know, Dad. I will. I love you.” She kissed his cheek.

“I love you, too. Be safe!” He called as she boarded the train with Oberon.

“I will!” Stella replied over her shoulder with a wave. Now was the time to find the compartment that housed her friends, provided they’d already arrived. Thankfully, it didn’t take long before she saw a very familiar boy smack his head into the top of the doorframe. She cringed empathetically, resisting the urge to simultaneously chuckle and rub her own forehead. How did Zef manage to do that every time? She supposed it didn’t matter as much now that they were in their final year. She suspected he might do it once more when boarding for the train right home, but after that he would be free. Door frames elsewhere seemed tall enough to accommodate him, usually.

The witch hesitated just long enough in the corridor to make sure it didn’t seem like she’d witnessed Zef’s blunder, then she slid open the door and stepped in with Oberon on her heels. “Hey! Long time no see!” She placed her bag in the overhead compartment and sat between Zef and the window. “How was the rest of your summer, guys?”

”Come on, da ya really have ta take sa long puttin’ on yer face?” Adelie said, green eyes flickering dangerously at her sister. It was the first day of school and already her sister was under her skin. How did she always manage to do that? Adelie had been ready an hour ago. Hair air dried, makeup waved on with a wand simply, and wearing a long sleeve V-neck t-shirt with some jean shorts. Her sister yelled something back about how she liked to do her makeup by hand because it was better- more precise. Adelie just rolled her eyes and was already walking away stomping her feet until she was in the living room, back sitting on her trunk. She’d sent her owl Iris ahead of her, and per her transfiguration abilities, Adelie was a millimeter away from trying to give herself wings and fly to Hogwarts too. She hated being late. And late to her was if one showed up after 15 minutes early for the time set. She chewed her lip and watched her parents who were fine and dandy just waiting on her sister, who just now bounced down the hallway, curtain of straightened blonde hair flowing behind her and wearing a lacy white cami and well, very short shorts. ”I’m glad ‘ogwarts ‘as robes fer ya ta wear,” Adelie mumbled under her breath, grateful they could finally get a move on at least before she had to hex her sister with purple hair. Like last year.

The Hurst’s drove to King’s Cross Station like muggles, like every year, and when they pulled up Adelie quickly got out and began pulling bags from the car. Her sister and parents raced to help her get their things on carts before Adelie just left them all behind. They all followed in a procession though. Adelie at the front, her sister behind her, and their two parents then. Her father was always nervous about running into a brick wall at the platform, so they always said their goodbyes prior to doing so.

”Ok. So, I love ya, kisses, ‘ugs, be gewd, don’ touch meh things, an’ I’ll write erry month,” she said, hugging her mom first and then her father with a sincere smile towards them both. She felt a lot calmer now that they were actually here, and kept a smooth face as she walked through the portal as if she’d never been bothered with getting there on time.

Boarding the train with her carry-on bag, she began searching the compartments, wondering if any of her friends had yet to arrive. ”Hmm…” she murmured to herself, tucking a bit of her hair behind her ear as if it helped her listen for where they might be. It honestly didn’t take long though to see a unique looking cat, white with black spots and stripes, stepping into a compartment. Smiling, Adelie made her way over, seeing Stella, Zef, and Calvin already there. ”Allo!” she smiled cheerfully, looking at each of them. Of course, her mind immediately went to the missing one of their group. ”Rin not ‘ere yet?” she frowned with mild concern, knowing the girl probably got caught up doing something silly and lost herself or was just not early like she was, but there was always that piece of her mind that would make her believe something terrible had happened.

Rin woke up early the morning she was meant to be off to Hogwarts. So early in fact, that the sun haden't even risen yet. As she lay in bed for a while, her mind wandered... no, buzzed with thoughts. All kinds of thoughts, but one in particular. Some news that her older brother, Corentin had told her the night before. For once in a long time... Rin was feeling sad, angry, and confused all in one. She had gotten only around three hours of sleep, and despite that fact, she rolled out of bed and began to go through her things, doing some last minute packing. She kept herself busy until after the sun rose, at which time she would hear the front door open and close shut.

"Rin. Are you awake?" she would hear her brother call as he stepped into the house, returning from work.

"Yes. I'm getting ready." she said simply. "I would like nothing for breakfast."

"I'm going to make you pancakes. You will eat them." was his reply in a bored tone.

"I'll hate them just like everything else you cook." she said, glaring at her door as if her eyes could pierce through it and into his skull.

"Yes, but you'll eat them all the same." he said with a light chuckle, and then she heard his steps fade away followed by the light clanging of pots.

Rin sighed and rubbed her tired eyes just as a light mew from Sebastian signaled his waking up. A light tap followed his jumping off her bed and prancing over to her. She turned her blue eyes to his, and after staring into them for a moment, Rin's began to fill with tears. The warm liquid pooling at her lids before slowly slipping over. "Oh Sebastian." she said picking him up and pressing her face into his fur. "I am... so sad Sebastian..." she said as she began crying into the cat who just accepted it. Silently comforting the girl as her shoulders shook from her quiet sobbing. Rin sat there in her pajamas, allowing herself to let go of her feelings. Afterall, it was better here and now instead of in front of her friends. Rin wouldn't allow herself to cry or show any kinds of negative emotions around her friends. They didn't such a trouble... so she was always happy around them, always carefree, always hiding if she ever felt sad. But... those emotions were always easy to bury. At school it was alwyas just someone picking on her or doing poorly on a test. Nothing like this... nothing like what he had told her about her-

"Rin? What's taking so long in there."

Her eyes flew to the door when she suddenly heard her brother's voice. "DONT OPEN THE DOOR!" she screamed.

"Woah, tone it down. I figured you were naked anyways. Just hurry up or else you will be late." he said in his normal monotonous voice.

She said nothing, just sighed and wiped her eyes and stood, releasing her cat and proceeding to dress up. Her outfit was of a style she would normally wear on a normal day. After a look at herself in the mirror, she noticed her eyes had prominent bags beneath them that stood out against her pale skin. Another sigh escaped and she turned from the mirror, grabbing her lone large suitcase and her purse that contained her important things, Wand, a camera, a snack for the train, etc. With a click of her teeth at Sebastian who was pawing at her ankles, she picked him up again and carried him out of the room along with her things. Corentin was sitting at the dining table reading a newspaper, and Rin said nothing when she came out and took a pancake from the table in her hand and ate it, chewing slowly.

"I'm leaving." she said softly before turning and making her way to the door.

"Are you sure you still want to go? Despite what I told you last night?" he said in a bored tone.

"I have no choice. What else will I do with my life? Its too late for me to just stop now." she said to him, opening the door.

Suddenly he was up and out of his seat and had gripped her shoulder gently. "Rin." he said softly, the tone in his voice changed into a sad one."I never blamed you for her death you know. It was out of your control." he said to which Rin was quiet for a long moment.

"No. You never did.... but Dad did. That is the point." she said, her voice trembling as she was on the verge of tears once again. Corentin said nothing, simply removed his hand from her shoulder. Rin reached into her purse, setting down her suitcase, and took her wand out. Her tierd eyes closed and she pictured the platform 9 3/4 in her head before waving her wand and aspirating to the spot, not bothering to say goodbye to her brother. When she got there, her eyes opened and she looked around her, making sure Sebastian and all her things made it as well. Seeing she had everything, she would step through the wall and slowly make her way towards the train where many students bustled about, making their way aboard. Sebastian silently followed Rin as she boarded the train and shuffled down the isles, peeking into compartments, looking for her friends. When she finally spotted them, she smiled a smile that didnt reach her eyes, and went inside.

"Hey guys." she said softly when she saw everyone was already there, not bothering to scream and jump on everyone like she would normally do. She put her things above them with everyone else's belongings, and Sebastian made his way over to Oberon and the two sniffed eachother as a hello. Plopping down next to Adelie, Rin leaned on her bestie's shoulder, allowing her hair to cover a bit of her face so no one would see how horrible she looked. "I'm sleepy." she said, a twinge of guilt stabbing at her heart for not being honest.

Calvin stared in to space for a little while, humming lightly to himself as he waited for his friends. He was eager to hear about their summers. It was very refreshing, being able to see them - sure, school was dull and Calvin had a year of stress that would end in crucial exams ahead of him, but it was worth it if he was making good memories alongside people he enjoyed spending time with. He rubbed his eyes. Although he had slept okay the previous night, he hadn't been sleeping well over most of the summer, which had led to a pretty distorted sleeping pattern that resulted in him being quite lethargic.

Calvin glanced in to the hallway of the train and caught one of his friends' eyes as they approached - Zef, a Slytherin and a good friend of Calvin's, was the first of them to arrive - and just before entering, he managed to once again walk in to the doorframe. "Good to see you Calvin," Zef said upon entering the compartment, rubbing his head as he did so. Calvin couldn't help but crack a smirk. It had become somewhat of a regular occurrence that Zef hit his head of things, the train doorframe in particular - Calvin knew Zef wouldn't be hurt too badly and he was pretty sure smirking wouldn't offend him at all, so it was all in good humour. It amused Calvin that this was their first meeting of the year, and Zef had already hit his head.

"Hey, Zef," Calvin smiled, genuinely happy to see his friend as Zef took a seat opposite Calvin and began to converse. "Oh, you know. It was okay," Calvin breathed. "I'm sort of glad it's over. It was nice having nothing to do for a while, but it got monotonous. By the end I was really looking forward to getting back. How-" Calvin was about to ask Zef about his summer before Stella arrived. "Hey," Calvin greeted his Hufflepuff friend. Part of him wondered if she'd had any of her visions lately, because he could comprehend that they had the potential to be very dark and painful things to deal with. Nevertheless, he decided not to ask - even though she was very mature about it, it probably wouldn't be a great thing to talk about on the first day back. She asked the same question that Zef had asked him in regards to how his holiday had been, to which he gave a similar answer as he did to Zef. He wasn't going to pretend he had a brilliant summer and he was happy to be honest with his friends.

Before long, Adelie arrived, looking slightly concerned that her best friend Rin was not here. "Hey, Adelie," Calvin greeted brightly, before shaking his head to her question. "Nope, she's not here yet." He wasn't too worried - Rin didn't exactly have the most orthodox methods but he trusted that she could make it here okay - he knew why Adelie was asking, though, as the two Gryffindor students in the group were as close as any of them - Calvin wouldn't say he had a best friend in particular, as he saw all of his friends in a similar value, though Adelie and Rin were truly best friends.

When Rin eventually did enter, Calvin could see she was not her usual self - she seemed off the boil in some sort of way. He would have said something, but the way she acted just seemed like she would rather he not. He frowned slightly, concerned, but in an attempt to prevent any unwanted attention, he decided to bring up another subject. "So, uh, anyone actually do anything worthy of an anecdote over the summer?" He asked sluggishly, peering around. It seemed like quite a dispiriting question to ask, but he said it in a tongue-in-cheek way.

It seemed Rin had arrived just in time, as around the same time that she took her seat, the train began to slowly chug. Calvin peered out the window as the station was slowly pulled out of his vision. Before long, the train was going at a considerable pace - Calvin glanced down at the one bag that he had taken in to the compartment with him - it contained some money and his school uniform, which he would likely change in to later in the trip when he had the chance - at the moment, however, he was quite happy in his casual clothing.

Rain began pelting off of the windows, though Calvin took no notice of it, he was more interesting in catching up for his friends. The journey would last several hours, meaning it would be dark by the time they arrived at Hogwarts. It felt like this trip alone would be better than the vast majority of his holiday. It was a pretty depressing thought that he was quick to remove from his head when he realised that it would be counter-productive if he was trying to enjoy himself. He eagerly awaited anyone's stories from the summer.

When the rest of the group had arrived Zef found himself smiling to himself it was almost like the muggle story of the three musketeers except that it was five instead of three which suited him just fine. It was when Rin arrived that he felt something was wrong, she was not her usually bouncy self. usually she leap in and tackled them when she arrived but when she just walked in and layed her head down it was obvious something was not right. Zef would have liked to have said he knew what was wrong but the truth was he didn't, he had been pretty secluded this summer away from his friends, more of his own hand then anything else. A lot of things can happen in such a short time, and he felt bad that he did not know a thing about what might be wrong with Rin... then again he was over thinking again, his grandmother was right he had to stop doing that. His own summer had not been easy, looking at his friends now and Rin in particular he did not know if he should even mention what was going on, perhaps it was best not to given Calvin was the only one who would realize what he was talking about. No... maybe it was better that he didn't it was better not to cause a panic amongst everyone but none the less he could not get it out of his head.

"My summer was the rather usual one I guess you could say, lake side training, grandma trying to teach me to cook very much like the muggle do without Magic, although its not going too well given I nearly burned down the house trying to use the stove. She has been saying forever how much we as wizards and witches rely way too much on magic. But you know the irony is she secretly uses magic to cook when I am not looking. Other then that though it was a pretty normal break..."

Zef looked down as he felt he had ended that a bit too roughly, he was never a convincing lier, hell he had been raised old school, he did not like to lie. Unknown to him his hand was twitching his fingers twiddling on the seat which was a clear indication that he was thinking deeply on something. Truth was that something had happened during his break, something that worried him to no end, especially now that his grandmother was alone and no one was there to look after her now.

"He is coming Zef... I don't know when but I know he is coming back. When he does I don't want you to worry about me, because the years have been kind to me and we must all face our past's sooner or later, confront our demons and we must do it alone.

When his grandmother had spoken this too him she seemed relaxed and perfectly content as if she was just trying to tell himself something normal. But in his gut he knew that something was wrong with it, and all the signs over the summer, his grandmother speaking cryptically, the stillness of the night, the silence of it all, it was almost like the calm before the storm. Maybe he was over thinking this too much, but he had been raised by his grandmother and she was not known for speaking in riddles, it was almost like she was trying to tell him something but she couldn't just flat out tell him. Looking up Zef saw the open door to the hallway of the train car, slowly he put his hand on it and slid it shut so that no one would try to listen in on what he was about to say, he had to say something, he was already frigid because of it, he needed someone to know, to talk to at least.

"Something's wrong... I don't know what it is..."

Zef looked back at Calvin in particular more or less directing those words towards him then anyone else in the car. Zef gave Calvin that knowing look so he knew exactly what he was referring too from his past. Zef intended to say something more but when the door to the car suddenly opened, he became increasingly silent as an older witch popped her head in cheerfully.

"Anything from the trollie dears?"

Zef merely shook his head to motion that he did not want anything else looking at the others he tried to put on a rather sheerful face and change his attitude to change the subject he had just barely started.

"Come on guys tell me what have you been doing with your lives this summer, I know someone in this car didn't have a boring break like my own."

Zef gave a fake smile but he didn't know if it would fool anyone, the car seemed terribly depressive this year you had to be an idiot not to see that, perhaps he wasn't the only one who had a lot on his mind.

Adelie sat down next to Calvin with a sigh after putting her bag up above them. She had gotten pretty good at brushing against Cal and not blushing, she thought to herself. Or looking in his eyes when they talked and not smiling for any real reason. All like she had after he’d pulled her from the lake first year. Now she could at least sit next to him without being like a shy school girl. It didn’t mean she didn’t get a turn in her stomach when her arm rested against his though. She shook her head and tried to focus her thoughts, hoping the others took the shaking of her head as a disapproval of Rin’s lateness. It’s not like Adelie could spend every moment of the year mulling over her crush on one of her best friends, and they hadn’t even left the station and she was thinking about it.

She forced her mind back to Rin and reassured herself her friend would show. It wasn’t too many moments later her blonde friend appeared in the doorway but when Adelie smiled, but it softened to a concerned one when Rin simply said hey. Adelie flashed a look to the others for a brief moment before looking back to Rin, who sat down and leaned against her, saying she was sleepy. Adelie opened her mouth as if to say something, ask if that was the only thing bothering her, but realizing there were currently 4 pairs of eyes now focused on Rin she thought better of it. If she’d wanted to discuss anything else now would not be the time. They would talk later. If about nothing else, then she would ask why she was so sleepy. So Adelie dropped it for the moment, leaning her head back atop Rin’s as a sign of comfort before lifting it up again when Calvin asked if they had any good stories.

She listened to Zef as he spoke about learning to cook, though that was it. She frowned a tad, wondering what was wrong with her friends exactly. Had she been left completely out of the loop this summer? She was mere inches from scolding them all for not contacting her if they needed her or just an ear to listen if something was wrong, when the candy trolley pulled up. She got distracted, accidentally flashing her frown at the old woman before rapidly smoothing her face and giving an apologetic smile while clearing her throat. ”Um, no, no thank ya,” she said politely, pulling on the sleeves of her shirts absentmindedly.

She tensely glanced to others and thought about her summer. ”Well, meh family went on a trip ta Switzerland for a bit. Course we pretty much just tured buildin’s and shopped,” she shrugged. ”Course Adrianne used erry chance she got ta be a bloody nuisance,” she added, knowing her friends knew exactly what she meant. ”We visited meh gram for a couple weeks now too, but uderwise we kinda just ‘ad ‘family time’ at home,” she said rolling her eyes with a smirk. ”Missed ya guys so I’m glad school is startin’” she shrugged, reaching a hand up and chewing her thumb nail without really thinking about it, eyes glancing towards the window where trees rolled by.

Something was wrong. She could feel it once everyone was together. Aside from Adelie, the rest of them all seemed to be keeping something dark within them. She couldn’t be sure what it was for any of the group, but for Stella, it was that building feeling of dread with each reoccurrence of that dream.

That dream? Since when could dreams she couldn’t even remember be one cohesive thing? All she consciously knew was that, over the summer, she’d been waking up more frequently with an impending sense of dread and fear. Were her dreams visions of the future? A chill wound its way along her spine at the thought. If that was the case, why couldn’t she remember anything about it? Wouldn’t she have something more than a mere feeling? No, it probably wasn’t a prophecy then. Maybe they were just regular nightmares, and she was attributing more to them than was actually true.

Something’s wrong… I don’t know what it is…

Stella’s eyes darted to Zef at her side. Her brow creased. He was looking at Calvin as if the Ravenclaw would have an understanding of the cryptic words, but while the Hufflepuff couldn’t know what he meant specifically… “I feel it, too.” Her words were barely more than a whisper, and with Adelie, Calvin, and Rin all sitting farther away than Zef, the Slytherin may have been the only person who could hear her.

Maybe it was for the best. Adelie had always been skeptical about Stella’s sixth sense, and it was better not to get into another argument about what was real or imaginary, especially when she didn’t have any substantial proof to give. She didn’t want to make things worse for any of them by starting a fight that no one could win.

Thankfully, the tea trolley came to not only signal the halfway point with the pleasant, albeit ancient, trolley witch offering her wares. “Can you make that five waters, please? Thank you!” Even if they didn’t want it, Stella wanted to make sure that she and Rin weren’t the only ones who stayed hydrated on this trip. She hadn’t seen any of them eat or drink anything yet, and despite the impending sense that something was off, it would be easier to face if they had energy and clear heads.

When the trolley witch left and when Rin pulled Adelie outside, she grabbed her bag from the overhead compartment and opened it up. She didn’t want the silence without the other two girls to become too thick, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to give anyone an opportunity to question what she’d said just before the tea trolley had come in.

This was the prime opportunity to peruse the food her father had given them, as she hadn’t really bothered to look to see what it was. Now, she pulled out seven, little, plastic containers, opening one up to see what they had. “So, my dad made friends with our new neighbor, and she made him some food for when I’m gone, but it was a lot of food for one person. He gave me the rest to divide between the five of us. How do you feel about vegetarian quiche?” In the sixth container were utensils and napkins, but in the last and largest container were five sandwiches. Her father must have put them together – one of the few things he could make due to the lack of cooking it required – just in case quiche wasn’t their thing. “Or sandwiches with meat?” She stuck a sandwich in each container and passed one each with napkins and forks to Calvin and Zef.

The girls weren’t long returning, and it was obvious from the redness around Rin’s swollen eyes that she’d been crying, but her demeanor belied any sadness at all. Before she could offer sandwiches, Rin told them all something that twisted at Stella’s heart. She couldn’t imagine growing up in an abusive home because her parents had both been so loving and attentive. Her father was a stark contrast to Rin’s. Tadlo easily could have blamed Stella for her mother’s death, but he hadn’t. Rin’s father, on the other hand, had a lot of blame in his heart over something that Rin had less control over.

Words of sympathy were on the tip of her tongue when the Gryffindor chastised her knowingly. Stella rethought what she would say. She grinned “Okay. I get it. How about some food instead of sympathy?” She offered, leaning around Zef to give Rin a container before leaning across the aisle to give Rin hers. “Quiche from our neighbor who can cook and sandwiches from my dad who can’t.” She chuckled softly. They’d been to her home before, so they’d all suffered through at least one attempt on her father’s part to cook a meal. Sandwiches were kind of his go-to when all else failed.

The sudden joy Rin now exhibited seemed to rejuvenate the train compartment for bit. She really did know how to make everyone feel happier. With half of them feeling better, Stella could forget any unease she may have been felt… for now.

Calvin peered over at Zef as his Slytherin friend gave a summary of his holiday - which didn't sound much more exiting than his own. Zef sort of trailed off to the end of his synopsis, which is when Calvin noticed that his friend was having issues. Zef's hand was twitching quite uncomfortably - maybe the others didn't see it, but it was pretty obvious if you looked at it hard enough. Calvin knew Zef had been having troubles - he didn't know the full details but, over the few times he had spoken to him over the holiday through both letter and actual meetings, he had garnered that Zef had been struggling with life at home. Calvin acknowledged that Zef had not had the most favourable past, just like himself. Zef had seemed relatively fine when he had arrived today, so Calvin didn't think twice about his current state of mind - which was quite selfish really, Calvin thought to himself looking back.

"Something's wrong... I don't know what it is..." Zef continued in a solemn manner before directing his gaze to Calvin. Calvin could detect in Zef's expression that his theories were true and the troubles that had been plaguing Zef at home over the holidays had not come to a close. Calvin tried to look reassuring, but in all honesty he had no clue what he could do to help. "Let's talk when we get to school," Calvin uttered to Zef in a hushed manner so that the others would not hear him. He wasn't pushing Zef off, he just knew that Zef might want to speak in private about it and that the school train wasn't really the place to do that. The atmosphere on the carriage was already low enough to bring up another dark subject.

After this, Zef tried to continue the conversation, but it was a meagre attempt to cover up his previous statement - luckily, the trolley witch arrived to divert attention away from the conversation.

"Anything from the trolley, dearies?" the old woman pushing the cart asked kindly. Calvin peered at her for a moment, waiting for his friends to get whatever they wanted. After she distributed their orders, he asked for some small snacks for the journey - nothing too savoury as Stella had apparently got that front covered. Calvin got enough to share between his friends and left it beside him on his seat, leaving it available to his friends. He glanced up in concern as Rin and Adelie departed the room - it clearly wasn't for a toilet break, their was something wrong and he could tell he wasn't the only one who could sense it. He had enough tact to let them deal with it by themselves and remained seated, not mentioning their simultaneous departure to his two other friends who remained beside him.

Calvin took the plastic container and the water off of Stella, when she offered them, without debate. All that was needed was a slight yet grateful smile and a quiet "Thank you," and that was what he gave in return to her offering - he wasn't about to beat around the bush, if anything his friends, who knew him well enough by now, would probably be offended if he didn't just take their kindness. They were kind, and he was hungry, anyone offering him food in this situation made for a winning combination in his eyes. Whilst things like vegetarian quiche may not be some people's ideal choice of food, Calvin was perfectly happy with it - after all, he lived on a farm, so it wasn't like he was eating a cheeseburger for lunch everyday. He dug in to the quiche at a steady pace with his fork and continued to listen to whatever else was going on in the compartment, dabbing the corners of his mouth with the napkin after he was done. He left the sandwich in the case for later, as the trip was several hours long and it would be unwise to eat everything at once.

When Rin and Adelie re-emerged in to the compartment, Calvin expected them to take their seats without a word and for the depressing conversation that was clearly an attempt to divert from awkward silence to continue, but instead it seemed they had something to say. Calvin noticed that Rin had been crying, but he refused to jump to conclusions before she was done saying what she had to say. As Rin went on explaining her predicament, Calvin listened attentively. He had no idea about any of the things she was saying, and a look to his side confirmed that the others were just as bemused and sympathetic as he was. When Rin was done speaking, she made it clear she didn't want to dwell on the subject, so Calvin didn't say anything on the matter - though Rin would realise that he was just doing this for her benefit. Afterwards, Rin seemingly reverted to her former self and an injection of life that the group was in dire need of was given. He sat back and relaxed slightly, happy to converse normally from now on. He smirked a wry smile at Rin's tongue-in-cheek challenge to Zef.

"I feel it to.."

Zef had looked at Stella before slowly nodding to Calvin, he wanted to say something more but it was better to just let this conversation go until another time, the train did after all have ears, and most of Slytherin house would love to get something on him if they could and use it against him. When Rin got up and left with Adelie the car seemed to be... quieter for a short time, Zef had been thanking the stars that the trolley lady had appeared and broke the growing tension before it blew up and pieces shattered everywhere. Before long Stella began to speak, she quickly offered them one of the waters she had gotten off the trolley and also some food her father had sent for them. Zef took the container with a small nod and a smile, just now realizing he had not eaten breakfast or dinner the night before, feeling his stomach churn for the first time in almost a day or so he quickly took off the lid of the container and dug in... too quick if anyone was bothering to watch him. It wasn't normal for him to go on no eating binges, in fact it had gotten worse over the last couple years, sometimes he went for couple days on nothing but water never feeling the need to eat, then he would see food and eat it like a man who has not eaten in a week. By the time Adelie and Rin had returned Zef had pretty much finished what was left in the container sandwich in all, feeling the twinges in his stomach quickly told he had eaten too damn quick but it was better then starving.

Zef shot Rin a look when she first re entered the car and he could see she had been crying, before he could say anything however she quickly leapt over and took the seat beside him putting her arm in his. Zef quickly looked away as his cheeks went a little red, however his long hair covered them so no one could easily see him blushing, he did it almost every time Rin touched him. He was not so new to emotion that he didn't know why of course, but he was not used to physical contact having spent most of his life alone keeping to himself. Then again perhaps it was not that at all perhaps it was just when Rin did it, however he had no time to even over think it like he usually did before Rin started speaking and went into a rather frustrating story at least to him about her relationship with her father. As he listened Zef felt his body tense up from the growing anger within himself, he cared deeply for Rin and the fact that she had to deal with something like this was simply intolerable, however when she finished her story and made sure that no one would give her and sad faces he slowly let himself relax a little before she realized her was close to saying something vulgar about her father.

But with what she said Rin quickly went back to being happy and outgoing the Rin they all knew so well, when she mentioned having a good old dueling competition with Zef here merely smiled and turned his head letting Rin catch his eyes.

"Well Rin perhaps this might be the year you finally get one over on me, however if you had seen the countless training dummy's I practiced on or well the lack there of now, you might not be so willing to face me this year. Lets just say I learned a slew of new spells that may just... surprise you. Although this year no biological warfare, I remember that someone tried to give me a dizzy draft right before one of our duels last year. Honestly I think you did it, not to beat me in a duel but to get me off my feet, yeah I think you were trying to get me off my feet for devious reasons."

Zef nudged Rin as he let a sinister smirk hit his face, the memories of the beginning of the ride fading into his now playful mood.

"It reminds me of my first year with you lot, I remember you all used to say you would get me to cut my hair and that if I wouldn't do it then you would do it for me. Now I don't presume to know how you all keep getting the ingredients for knock out potions and such, but thinking back on it now perhaps Rin wasn't simply trying to knock me out to cut my hair... I think she had other.. plans."

Zef made sure to give Rin another smirk, he was just trying to get her to blush, he loved it when she got embarrassed and blushed like that, he was not ashamed at all to say it was damn cute when it happened.

"OR! We could revisit that duel we had when one of your spells supposedly went wrong and slashed my pants in two dang near dropping my pants to the floor."

Zef got his face real close to rin and smiled.

"Maybe there was more to this then I originally thought."

Zef winked at Rin as he razzed her a bit, he was glad to be smiling again it had been simply too long since he last legit smiled about something and was happy to actually be somewhere.

As the train rattled away through the hills, the conversation between the group reignited. Though there was certainly something still off, the friends could abandon the feeling, for at least now, for they were more interested in actually catching up with eachother as opposed to feeling sorry for eachother. As usual, Calvin wasn't the most talkative of the group, but he did contribute his part and showed a great deal of interest as each of his friends threw their metaphorical hat in to the ring in terms of summer stories - and even though they weren't as good as last year, they still brought a smile to Calvin's face, as even in what - to be put bluntly, was a shitty summer, each of them had all had bright points. Calvin - for example, had really enjoyed the time spent with his mother. Even though she was there 24/7, some parts of the holiday had really been special. Just them sitting there and talking. He knew she was lonely and she appreciated that he spent time with her, and he was glad, because he enjoyed it too.

Before he knew it they were barely five minutes from Hogwarts, so he quickly pulled out his blue-detailed Ravenclaw robe and pulled it over his casual clothes. He wouldn't normally wear normal clothes like this under his uniform, but he wasn't about to take it all off in front of everyone and change. It was a flawed system really. He frowned and peered out the window, realising that the train was pulling in to Hogsmead station - the end of the line. Hogwarts was in sight. It looked just as magnificent and amazing as it had the first time he laid eyes upon it seven years ago. He stood up and walked out beside Zef, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder and reminding him to avoid the doorframe, eager to save Zef any cool points if he could.

After collecting up his luggage, he went over to claim one of the carriages that were pulled by thestrals. Of course, Calvin couldn't see them. Apparently, you had to have seen someone die to see them, and Calvin never had. Frankly, he would rather not see them and avoid having to watch someone die than vice versa. He had had them described to him by people who could see them before, and it was kind of fascinating. He used to think they were just magical carriages. He supposed that most things that just seemed 'magic' did actually have something behind it.

Soon later, the carriage arrived at Hogwarts and the friends uttered goodbyes to eachother as they moved over to separate tables, save for Adelie and Rin, who went off to sit together on the Gryffindor table. Calvin took a seat by a group of Ravenclaw students who he knew wouldn't talk to him, which was exactly what he was going for. Not that he was a dick or anything, he just didn't really like talking to people just for the sake of talking. It was annoying that most friendship groups were within a house, as when the houses were separated it left Calvin on his own. He didn't care about other people mocking him, as in that way he really didn't care at all, but he could use his friends' company to help burn through the time.

Professor Cybin stood up and cleared his throat, calming the ongoing noise that Calvin hadn't noticed until this moment. "Good evening, students, welcome back to Hogwarts. Please welcome our new first years." The headmaster spoke out as the doors at the back of the hall opened and droves of new students entered, all looking very nervous. It was the sorting ceremony. "Ah, this crap," Calvin muttered to himself, glancing over at the wall as the thing went in to full flow.

Adelie walked with Rin back to the compartment, and sat next to Calvin like she had been prior, raising an eyebrow with a smirk as Rin sat with Zef and hooked arms with him. Of all the secrets she and Rin shared, not just telling Zef to ask Rin out to quell the girl’s crush was probably the hardest. The only thing that kept her from it was her integrity, and the fact that Rin would spill the beans to Cal about how Adelie felt if she ever dared whisper to Zef a clue. So, Adi stuck to smirks and eye rolls, sideways glances and shakings of her head.

She listened more soberly as Rin recounted the conversation they had together away from the others, letting the others in on her secret. Adelie found her friend incredibly brave. Not only had she put up with these abuses for so long, she did is silently, by herself, and then had the courage to reveal them. She was just sorry her friend had to endure anything unpleasant at all.

Adelie smiled as Stella attempted to comfort Rin with food, finding it very much like her mother. When something was wrong, Adi’s mom baked. Passed out cookies and food, kept her hands busy. ”Aye, that looks yummy,” she remarked to Stella with a smile.

Though Calvin stayed rather quiet, making Adelie wonder if his summer had really been that boring or if he was troubled about something… She’d have to make a point to ask if she caught him alone later as well. He was never very talkative, but when it was just the 5 of them, she could usually count on at least a little interaction. Granted, he was better at one on one conversations she’d found than anything in a group.

Her attention was brought back to Zef and Rin, who were having a back and forth that made Adelie blush and laugh at the same time watching. ”Wouldn’t surprise me if’n there was,” Adelie giggled when Zef said Rin might have other intentions, her eyes flashing to Rin.

She almost lost track of time before she noticed the scenery getting more and more reminiscent of last year, and retrieved her own robes. She just put them on over her clothes, and pulled her hair out from them, feeling the excitement that had been building like it always did the first day back to school, become more and more. She smiled widely as the train stopped, and went with her friends to the carriages that were invisibly pulled.

When they were walking into the castle, Adelie was busy making her way into the Great Hall when she tripped and almost fell on her face. She stumbled, arms flailing a bit only to turn and frown heavily while Lugnut and two of his buddies laughed like idiots. ”Don’t make me hex you before the year even starts,” she growled, spinning back around and straightening her robes and hair before going to the Gryffindor table. She sat down with a bit of a huff, glancing up to the podium where their headmaster introduced the first years and the sorting ceremony. Adelie never minded the ceremony, but that didn’t mean it was too exciting for her. After all, she didn’t know any of the first years. Instead, she glanced to the other house tables, wondering if she and her friends should get together tonight after dark. Of course it was more difficult, considering they didn’t all share a common room, but she and Rin had never minded letting them sneak into Gryffindor. Perhaps they could do that. Or just meet after they all ate. It was just harder to talk in private when people were still wandering about the castle. Maybe they could discuss whatever they felt was wrong. Oh well. They could all decide together.

Adi began writing on a piece of paper, saying Do you guys want to meet up tonight somewhere private? in very elegant script. She then showed it to Rin before folding the paper in a plane shape and directing it with her finger towards another one of their friends to read. As it landed, Adelie looked towards Ravenclaw table, where her sister had taken a seat next to Calvin. Adelie tensed up and blood flowed to her cheeks. The blonde girl glanced up at Adelie and smirked, obviously bothering Adelie on purpose. Furrowing her brow heavily, Adi grabbed Rin’s arm and whispered, “What does she think she’s doin’?!”

Ever since Rin had made her revelation, Stella noticed that the compartment of friends had become a brighter group with their usual, steady chatter and laughter. It was really nice that the gloom had lifted from their minds, even if only for a little while. Even Oberon and Sebastian seemed happier to be there, communicating in whatever feline body-language they understand.

Their talks continued for so long that the time flew by. Stella took a cue from Calvin and Adelie and simply pulled her yellow and black Hufflepuff robes on over her regular clothes. It was too late in the game to expect that she could change in the loo. There weren’t enough of them on the train to accommodate the crush of students who would be scrambling to use them for dressing or for relief before the opening ceremony that began every year at Hogwarts.

She collected her things, and Oberon leapt onto her shoulders. He was a large cat, but she was used to this annual tradition. Ever since their first year at Hogwarts when someone had accidentally stepped on his paw when they were leaving the train, he refused to walk out on his own, so he hitched a right on his human’s shoulders or in her arms. Stella was just fine with that.

The teen swallowed a little as they approached the carriages. When she’d seen the carriages just before her third year at school began, she’d genuinely thought they’d changed from being magically pulled to being pulled by the strange, skeletal equines. It was only later that she learned the truth. The carriages had been pulled by these creatures, thestrals, the entire time, and she could only now see them because she’d witnessed her mother’s death.

Stella didn’t like to talk about the fact that she could see the thestrals because then she had to reveal that her mother hadn’t simply died but that she’d seen the entire thing. It tore at her that she hadn’t revealed that somewhat large detail to her friends when she’d told them her mom had died on the job, but it was too hard for her. It was enough that she’d told them what happened to her mom. They didn’t need to worry about her for the rest.

While she wasn’t afraid of the thestrals, they were a reminder of her guilt about both her mother’s fate and the things she’d omitted when discussing it with her friends. After a quick glance at the winged horses, her eyes darted away, and she climbed into the carriage after Adelie, scooting over for Rin and Zef.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too long before they had arrived at the castle. Stella could feel her excitement grow. She adored school. It was so beautiful, and she loved all of her teachers with the exception of Professor Develyn who she felt was a little too hard on those students who, like her, weren’t naturally gifted in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Even so, she didn’t dislike him. He simply wasn’t one of her favorites. Her true admirations lay with Professors Beasty and Lawrence for their helpfulness, kindness, and willingness to defend students against cruelty.

She was so lost in thought, envisioning how fun her final year would be, that she didn’t initially notice the dark cloud coming their way until Adelie stumbled. On instinct, the Hufflepuff quickly grabbed her friend’s arm, helping the Gryffindor to steady herself. It was then that she saw Lugnist who had been unaffectionately dubbed “Lugnut” by Adelie. The other girl spat a threat at him.

“What? I’m just walking here. Not my fault you’re such a clutz.” He replied with a smirk which earned him more laughter from his goons along with a glare that seemed to become Stella’s go-to facial expression whenever he was around.

“Come on. Let’s just ignore him.” Stella said quietly so only the other four could hear. “He just wants a reaction. Let’s not give him one.”

They walked into the Great Hall, and split up to go to their tables. While Stella got along reasonably well with the rest of her house, she didn’t like parting from her group. Calvin and Zef didn’t seem to care very much for their housemates, and she hated that she had to leave them. At least Adelie and Rin had each other at the Gryffindor table.

The Sorting Ceremony hadn’t changed a bit. First Years were put on an uncomfortable display in front of the entire school and forced to await their fate. Stella’s mother had told her about it, and it hadn’t seemed to have changed one bit from her mother’s youth, so at least she’d known what to expect. It didn’t stop her from feeling a small twinge of disappointment when she was sorted into Hufflepuff instead of Ravenclaw as her mother had been.

She wasn’t disappointed any more, of course. Her mother had told her that if Stella’s father had been British instead of American, he’d have likely been a Hufflepuff, too, and her mother felt that Hufflepuffs were one of the more noble houses which experience hadn’t diminished one bit for the teen. Some of the best people she’d ever met – aside from her main group of friends – were Hufflepuffs, and she loved being a part of this house.

It wasn’t long before a little paper aircraft landed right in front of her. Adelie’s beautiful script asked a question that brought a smile to Stella’s lips. For the first two years of school, Stella had been very strict about abiding by the rules, but the longer she’d known this group, the more relaxed she’d become. It had even become fun to sneak about the castle, and as long as Oberon was with them, Mrs. Norris didn’t seem as eager to summon the ancient Mr. Filch to catch them in the act.

Stella pulled out a pen and inkwell and scrawled, Yes! Where did you have in mind? Her script may not have been as beautiful and careful as Adelie’s but the round, bubbly writing was very legible and quite recognizable as belonging to the Hufflepuff. Her eyes moved around the Hall, and she sent the plane flying toward the next person to answer.