Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and profit in no way from this story.

Dakota sighed as she plopped down on her four-poster bed. The first day of seventh year! She couldn't believe it. It felt like just yesterday she was opening her Hogwarts letter and beginning her journey into the wizarding world. Her parents, both muggles, had definitely been in for a shock that day.

She felt herself smiling as she nimbly unbraided her long, naturally blonde hair. Her best friend, Anna, was pulling her night clothes from the trunk at the foot of the next bed. Dakota started gathering her own clothes, throwing a dirty sock in Anna's directions. "Doesn't it feel so good to be back?"

Anna rolled her eyes and threw the sock back in Dakota's direction. "You say that every year, Koty."

"Yea, yea. I know, but every year it's always true!" She was always excited to come back to Hogwarts. Even though she thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her parents and two brothers, Hogwarts had just became her home over the last six years.

"We will see if you're still saying that tomorrow after N.E.W.T. Potions with Slughorn."

Dakota wrinkled her nose in response and walked across the sixth year Ravenclaw girls' room to the bathroom. She clumsily changed clothes and started brushing her teeth, while examining herself in the mirror over the sink. Her long blonde hair fell in messy waves to the small of her back, and her cheeks and nose were softly spattered with a light array of freckles. In her own opinion, her eyes were her best quality, though. They were a very pretty shade of blue that she had inherited from her father, her left eye, however, was just a smidge darker shade than her right. She considered herself about average height for a girl her age and though she wasn't extremely thin, she was toned from her years as chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. She flashed a smile to herself in the mirror to make sure her teeth were nice and clean before walking back into the dorm room.

Anna, who stood just slightly taller than Dakota, with boob-length brown hair and bright green eyes, was already snoring when Dakota crossed the room. Her other roommates were gathering their things for classes the next day and she opened her trunk back up to do the same.

Feeling confident that she was ready for her first lesson of seventh year, she sat down on her bed, writing a short entry in her journal before pulling the blue curtains around her bed. Neptune, her handsome grey and white, short haired cat lie on the foot of her bed purring with contentment as she drifted off to sleep.

"Ok, you were right, that was pretty excruciating." Dakota pulled her bag further onto her shoulder as she walked with Anna down the long hallway away from the Potions classroom, feeling as if their brains had been severely fried. "If that's any indication of how the rest of the year is going to go, I don't know if I am going to survive."

"Please. At least you're good at potions! Myself, on the other hand, I will be stuck in the library every free second to have any chance at all of passing my N.E.W.T."

"Look out!"

"Coming through!"

The girls moved to the side just in time to avoid being ran over by the group of Gryffindor boys that had been dubbed the Marauders in the years past. Anna huffed and rolled her eyes. "Seriously? I cannot believe they all got into N.E.W.T. Potions. Remus, sure, but the others?"

"Unfortunately, they are not lacking in the intelligence department." Lily Evans, one of the Gryffindor girls walked up beside Dakota.

"Unfortunately?" They were both rather fond of the red-headed Gryffindor from the many encounters they had with each other throughout the last six years.

"Yes, unfortunately! This just gives Potter that many more chances to hit on me. Not to mention Dumbledore made him HEAD BOY! I mean, seriously, what was he thinking?"

Dakota looked at her with raised eyebrows, "Head Boy? Shit. I did not see that one coming."

Lily huffed and picked up speed, "I'll catch you guys later, I have to get to Ancient Runes."

Anna pushed her brown hair behind her ears, "Though annoying, we all have to admit those boys are easy on the eyes."

Dakota laughed and agreed. It was an undeniable fact.

James Potter, with his constantly messy black hair and Quidditch muscles, was definitely eye candy. He was Gryffindor Quidditch captain and a fellow chaser. He was also madly in love with Lily Evans and had eyes for nobody else. That didn't keep half of the female population at Hogwarts from trying, though.

Remus Lupin was ruggedly handsome, with short dirty blonde hair and wonderful blue eyes. He was extremely smart but had always struck Dakota as guarded. She had spoken to him on many occasions, though, and had always gotten along with the boy.

Peter Pettigrew was the least fortunate looking of the four boys. His mousey blonde hair was already thin and wispy, despite his young age. He had an overall creepiness about him that his friends seemed to offset. Though he seemed misplaced, the other three treated him like a brother and never left him out of their shenanigans.

Finally, there was Sirius Black. He was tall, naturally tan, muscular, and the main character in every girl's dreams at Hogwarts. The half of the girls that hadn't slept with him, wanted to. His black hair fell to about his shoulders and his eyes were a handsome grey color. He always seemed to be in a good mood, except when Slytherins were around, and then all of the Marauders had a demeanor change. Not that she could blame them, most of the Slytherin population was in deed bad news.

They all seemed relatively intelligent, though equally annoying and immature.

Anna gave her a pointed look, "Tell me you wouldn't jump their bones if given the chance."

Dakota laughed and thought about it a minute. "Well, if I had to choose one, I think I would pick Remus."

"Really? I mean, ok, I can see the attraction, but I would have guessed James or Sirius for you."

"Oh they are definitely sexy, but James has eyes only for Lily and Sirius is a major player. I think Remus would be more my type."

When they reached the Ravenclaw common room, it was crammed full of both new and returning students. Dakota always thought it was fun watching the first years, who were easy to spot cowering in the corners of the room, often in groups. As the year would go on, however, they always gained confidence and found their own spots in the school.

In their dorm room, Koty pulled her hair into a messy bun and sat down on her bed. "I have a free period now so I think I'm going to talk a walk before lunch."

Anna was already gathering her things for Divination. "Alright, I'll catch you in the great hall in a bit."

Dakota decided to take a walk around the lake and enjoy the feel of the sun against her face. She had the sleeves of her white uniform shirt rolled up and had replaced her school shoes and socks with a pair of flip flops. She watched as other students were enjoying their free periods lounging around the grounds and some even going swimming, despite the giant squid that terrified most students and for good reason.

She couldn't help but focus in on a certain group of Gryffindor boys that seemed to defy the giant squid's claim on the water and were whooping and hollering while pushing each other into the lake. She smiled to herself at their antics. Though they had a rebellious reputation, they did always seem to have fun. They also looked bloody good with their uniforms clinging to their every muscle.

Her attention then focused on the hut sitting towards the end of the grounds. She made a mental note to pay Hagrid a visit very soon. She was very fond of the giant man. They shared a love of all creatures, magical or not, and he always offered her a friendly conversation.

As she made her way further around the lake, she seen the Quidditch pitch. She was very excited for Quidditch season to start. She had played as a chaser on the Ravenclaw team since third year. Last year they barely lost the cup to Gryffindor and she was determined to not let that happen this year.

Dakota pushed some stray hairs out of her face as she completed her route around the lake. Sitting down against a tree, she found herself wishing she had brought her sketchbook to keep her busy until lunch. She enjoyed quiet times like this when she could just sit and think. Drawing was a hobby of hers, not one that she was particularly good at, but one that she none the less enjoyed doing. The quiet didn't last long, however, as a large black dog bounded across in front of her. She cursed as she tried to convince her heart not to burst out of her chest. Where did he come from?

The large black beast made its way back towards her and slowed as it got close. She held her hand out and called for the dog to come to her. He had come from the direction of the Forbidden Forest. She looked around as if she could find the answer just hanging in the air. "Hey, fella. What are you doing out here?"

He walked up to her, his neck outstretched so that he could sniff her hand. She reached up and scratched the side of his head, before moving up and scratching him behind the ears. "You like that, boy? Yea, you do, don't you?" She sat on her knees petting the shaggy black dog as he wagged his tail and rolled over as if to say please rub my belly! Dakota happily obliged, smiling at the happy dog.

He jumped up and seemed to disappear just as quickly as he had appeared. Dakota watched him run towards the Forbidden Forest as she stood and dusted herself off, thankful it was almost lunchtime as her stomach let out a ferocious growl.

Sirius transformed out of his animagus form, walking a ways down the forest line before emerging back out onto the grounds. Jogging back over to his friends, he held his hand out. "I got a belly rub in less than five minutes. That'll be 10 sickles."

James shook his head and handed to money over to Sirius. "You cheated! You targeted Jinks and everyone knows she's an animal lover."

Sirius laughed, "Hey, she was there, she's cute, and the bet was already made. I wasn't passing up that opportunity." He wagged his eyebrows to further his point.

Remus shook his head, "She is so out of your league, Padfoot."

Sirius put his hand to his chest, "That hurts, Moony. That hurts right here." He patted his chest to emphasize. "Besides, what makes her so 'out of my league'?"

"Well, let's see. She has an IQ higher than four."

Sirius laughed and shoved Remus' shoulder. He knew that he was joking, though Sirius had never had much luck with Ravenclaws. He chalked it up to the fact that they spent too much time studying to appreciate his charms. Though there was one seventh year that had been flirting with him for a while. He couldn't remember her name right off, but thought she might give him something to occupy himself this weekend and blow off the stress of the first week.

He had never thought much about Jinks before. Probably because she had never shown him much attention, which meant there were much easier girls available. He always had a line of girls willing to do anything and everything that he wanted.

He never dated them though. Slept with them more than once? Sure, in some instances, but he never let it go further than a physical relationship. He had too much baggage of his own and didn't care about anyone else's, other than his friends.

James started gathering his things, "Let's head to lunch, guys, I'm starving."

"When are you NOT starving, Prongs?"

"That's beside the point, Wormtail!"

The boys finished gathering their things, casting drying spells on themselves as they made their way back to the castle.

The first week of school was almost over. With only Transfiguration left between them and the weekend, Dakota and Anna were waiting at their desk anxiously for McGonagall to start. Their N.E.W.T. class was relatively small, seeing as how McGonagall only accepted students that got an E or higher on their O.W.L.s after fifth year. Last year, there were even several students who were accepted and then decided they couldn't handle it and dropped the class, having to decide on new career paths.

Dakota had been set on her own career path ever since she could remember, even before she knew she was a witch. She loved animals, and when she was a child she wanted to be a veterinarian. Now that she had been introduced to the wizarding world, her interests turned to magical creatures instead. That was why she and Hagrid got along so well.

Anna had similar career interests, except hers included people. She was intent that she was going to be a healer. Having a muggle doctor as a mother and a wizard healer as a father, she had never even imagined herself being anything else. Sometimes her mother was slightly put off that her daughter didn't want to pursue muggle medicine, but she understood and accepted her daughter's choices.

McGonagall came through the door in a bout of robes and ordered everyone to take out their parchment and quills. With a wave of her wand, the board at the front of the room was suddenly full of notes.

"As seventh years, I expect only the best from my students. This year, each of you will choose a topic in transfiguration that interests you and compile an essay by Christmas. I am not setting a specific length to this project." She paused as she looked around the classroom at the anxious seventh years. "But I expect it to show a full semesters worth of work."

Dakota and Anna exchanged a glance as they each started thinking about what they might research.

"Take out your books and turn to page fifty-five."

After what seemed like forever, Transfiguration was over and the weekend had officially begun.

Anna jumped onto her bed, face first, "So, other than the pile of homework that our lovely professors decided we needed on our FIRST weekend back at school, what are we going to do this weekend?"

Ellie, who occupied the bed beside Dakota and was currently brushing her hair out, spoke up. "I have a huge Ancient Runes assignment due Monday. MONDAY. I swear, they are trying to kill us this year!"

Ellie was a petite girl with short black hair and chocolatey brown eyes. Though Anna had been Dakota's best friend since day one at Hogwarts, she and Ellie were also close.

Alicia, their fourth roommate, was a tall girl with big boobs. She had blonde hair and bright green eyes. She was extremely pretty in Dakota's opinion. She was also a pretty big bitch that hated all three of her roommates, though she hid it (somewhat well) under sarcasm. She walked into the room, laying her bag on her bed. "Ok guys, guess what?"

Anna, Dakota, and Ellie all exchanged glances, silently asking each other why Alicia thought they even cared. She had always been quite mean to all of them. Dakota couldn't even remember a time when she wasn't. It seemed like Alicia had decided against them from day one. Finally, Dakota bit, "What?"

"I have a date with none other than Sirius Black this weekend!"

They all stifled giggles. Alicia had been after Sirius since second year.

Anna raised her eyebrows, "By date, you mean you're going to shag in the broom closet." A statement, not a question.

Alicia threw her a dirty look before recollecting herself. "It's ok to be jealous, Anna. We all know you're a virgin."

"Better to be a virgin than a whore, darling."

Alicia shrugged, "So says the virgin."

With that she walked out of the dorm and disappeared down the stairs.

Anna fumed, "I hate her. I hate her so bad."

Ellie gathered her books, preparing to head to the library. "Don't let her get to you, Anna. She's celebrating now, but she'll be sobbing next week. We all know how Black operates. If she's dumb enough to fall for it, let her."

When the door shut behind her, Anna looked at Dakota with a heated expression for all of two minutes before they both burst out laughing at how right Ellie was. "Come on, let's go for a run before supper."

Mainly a prologue to introduce some characters! Reviews are greatly appreciated!