Hi guys! I have returned with the sequel to The Cub! This is all really the same story, but I've skipped to third year, so I figured I should stick a break in. So, here is the briefly mentioned Alyssa and the newest addition to the group, which I'm very excited to introduce. :) Years one and two will probably be shown in flashbacks, or at least that's the plan.

I'll apologise in advance for my lack of updates-I'm at school now, so they will likely be few and far between. However, reviews may entice me to write faster. ;p

I do not own Harry Potter-if I did, Lupin would still be alive.

Love, Randomuso!

Alyssa's gaze flew around the group as she stepped into the classroom. Her first class of the third year and it was an advanced class. Lucky her! Granted it was potions, but still. Alyssa was unnaturally skilled at potions and always had been, even in first year. Smirking, she remembered Reggie's extremely unsubtle copying of her potions essays and Leo's equally as unsubtle eye rolling. Feeling a familiar yearning rise in her chest, Alyssa began to look forward to their little study and social sessions in the spare classroom down the hall.

Alyssa had really missed the boys over the holidays. Over their first two years the group had really bonded and Alyssa couldn't wait to get back together.

A tall form invaded her vision and Alyssa looked over sideways as someone took the seat beside her.

"Hi, I'm Sly."

The boy was slightly taller than average with wiry muscles standing out beneath light olive skin. His eyes were bright, light blue and his thin lips smiled as he spoke. A white fedora with a black band around it rested on his head, with shaggy black hair peeking out from underneath. His thin wrists were adorned with bracelets and he wore rings on far more fingers than he was supposed it to.

Alyssa grinned. "'Hi, I'm Sly.'" she quoted. "I'm appreciating the rhyme."

The handsome boy laughed. "Well thanks, I made it up myself." His tie, knotted loosely at the bottom of his sternum, was striped in green and silver, marking the boy as a Slytherin. In the advanced classes, there were usually representatives from every house present, and in potions, the class seemed to be mostly Slytherin orients, probably due to the fact that the teacher was head of the house.

"I'm Alyssa Pedrin." she supplied, sticking out a hand for Sly to shake. "Do you have a last name?"

Shaking Alyssa's hand warmly, Sly grinned. "If you must know, I'm a Rydon. And I suppose you'll want to be calling me Sylvester then, won't you?"

Alyssa scrunched up her nose. "Nah, too long. Sly's just perfect."

The pair shared a smile, but before further conversation could develop, Professor Snape began his brisk swoop to the front of the class. Alyssa fell silent, knowing from experience that it was better to let the Professor speak before screwing around. Especially in an advanced class. They were only in place from third year up and they were only for the very top students, or the kids that wanted to do a lesson but already had a full schedule. As it was, there were only eight of them there. Alyssa had had some sort of conversation with everyone in the group at some stage, apart from Sly, evidently. The ever hungry, yet always slim Rebekah and the unlikely looking troublemaker Ceridwyn-more commonly referred to as Bex and Dwyn-were the other two from Slytherin. On top of them, there were the Gryffindors, funny little Jaana and the very sassy Archer, the singular Hufflepuff of the class, the impossibly pretty Scottish bookworm Rosie McDonald and Alyssa's only eagle friend-one of the grade's two resident singer/guitarists, Alistair Quentin. Alistair was sitting on Alyssa's other side. He was generally rather reserved outside the Ravenclaw common room, especially around people he didn't know too well, but he was one of Alyssa's good friends, and he was damn good on his guitar.

Nodding to herself, Alyssa decided that she approved of the class. It ought to be a fun one.

"Welcome to your first advanced potions class." Snape's black eyes slowly travelled the room, taking in each of the students. "This is called an advanced class for a reason. The potions you will learn here will be significantly more challenging than any you have previously encountered."

Alyssa felt a thrill course through her. She hoped they were harder. She hadn't yet had to make an effort to execute a potion, and she was dying for a challenge.

"I expect that you will all give your full effort to this class. I also expect that you will give a similar effort to the curriculum potions class. Should I find your grades unsatisfactory in either class, you will no longer receive advanced placement."

Holding in a sigh, Alyssa nodded. That was reasonable, but it meant she wasn't allowed to just fall asleep in normal potions.

Snape had never been one for long speeches that weren't coming out of a textbook, so he merely waved his wand and instructions appeared on the board. Gesturing for them to start, Snape swished into his seat and began to look over some reports.

Alyssa quite happily began to dig in, happy to begin the tricky potion. She quickly got to the instruction to wait for twenty minutes for the potion to change colour. Glancing around the class, she found that everyone was still looking over their own potions.

Sly finished only moments after her, and Alyssa grinned, but raised an eyebrow when his gaze went past her. Curious, she followed his line of sight to where Rosie was sitting, daintily staring over her potion. Alyssa laughed lightly and quietly, not wanting to disturb people who were concentrating on their potions. She nudged Sly and he shot her a fleeting glance before returning his gaze to the front desk.

"Just checking out Rosie are you?" Alyssa teased. She saw his point, Rosie was tall and slim, with perfectly layered brown hair that held a hint of red inherited from her Scottish ancestry. Her grey eyes took up half of her face, giving her a constantly innocent look. Despite being a bookworm, she was quite athletic, but her main hobby was Herbology. She studied it for leisure and so was really quite good. As if to tell the world of her passion for plants, a circlet of flowers constantly rested on her head. Rumour had it that she had a sweetheart in Scotland that she had known since she was born and he had given it to her.

Sly visibly jumped in shock at Alyssa's remark. His chair screeched back a few inches, dragging against the floor and tearing harsh sound out of the stone. For a moment, everyone looked to the back of the class. Professor Snape looked up and sighed at Sly sideways on his chair, starign at Alyssa with his eyebrows in his hair. "Rydon, Pedrin, I'm quite aware that you two enjoy entertaining yourself by making a lot of noise, but I'm sure the rest of the class would be much more intent on their potions if you could be quiet?" The words were phrased nicely, but delivered with a tone that ensured that the rest of the class quickly got back to work.

Snape's eyes lingered on the pair at the back for a moment longer before he returned his gaze to his desk.

"What was that?" Alyssa shouted in a whisper. "I wasn't expecting that reaction, Sly!"

Sly briefly took off his hat to run a hand through his hair. "You just surprised me…"

Alyssa's eyebrows skyrocketed. "I just said that you were eyeing up Rosie, which you so were-"

"Rosie? No, she's like a little sister!" Sly retorted in a whisper-shout that turned into a hiss with all the 's's.

Alyssa's confusion raised her whisper-shout to a normal speaking volume. "Then why were you eyeing her up?"

Sly's utterly bemused look kept Alyssa in the throes of confusion. "Alyssa, I'm gay!"