Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this story, Rayne Briar, and Maize the owl. I wish I the story, but I don't, so now you know.

A/N: This is a sequel to my original story on Quizilla. A link to it can be found in my profile. But, if you're too lazy to read it, never fear, because this story will have little to do with the last one. Completely separate plot. And another thing, if by chance you don't like my story, please don't go flaming me by reviews. Just stop reading the story. I'll accept constructive criticism of course, but dissing my story up for no apparent reason is just pointless. Thank you.

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Chapter 1: The Letter

Rayne stared at herself in the mirror. It slowly set in on how much she had changed over the summer again. Her once sandy-blonde hair was now a rich dark blonde, and her blue eyes had turned into two shining silver orbs. She wondered what the girls, Katie, Alicia, and Angelina would say about it. What would the twins say? What would Oliver say?

She shook her head to get the thoughts out of her head. She'd find out soon enough what they thought, because school started in 2 weeks. Everyone had been busy over the holidays. Katie had gone to Paris, Alicia went to Australia, Angelina went to Africa, the twins had gone to Eyjpt, and Oliver had been off training for Quidditch.

Quidditch. She smiled at some of the memories from the previous year. Madam Hooch had made her a referee, and she had been a brilliant one indeed. She even got her own study just off of the girls change room! Poor Oliver though. They had lost the Quidditch Cup, and the poor guy had had his heart set on winning. He had been crushed. She remembered him falling asleep on her shoulder the night they had lost it. She smiled at the memory of being so close to him. How she missed her Oliver…

"Rayne, darling, what's the matter?" Mrs. Briar, Rayne's mother, broke Rayne's trance. Rayne remembered the year before how she had found out that her parent's had died when she was very young. She flashed back to the day she got off the train for the summer and Dumbledore was at the station. He took her by the hand and lead her to a small booth. There were her parents, as clear as day. Somehow, they had managed to survive the Dark Lord's attack, though no one knew how.

"Oh, nothing mum. Just reminissing some of last years events." She said, glancing at the picture of Oliver on her dresser. The picture grinned and winked at her. Cheeky boy, she thought to herself. She looked at the picture again and he blew a kiss. Rayne giggled as she turned back to her mother.

"Ah," her mother said with a twinkle in her eye. "You miss Oliver don't you?" She grinned and sat down on the bed beside Rayne. "You'll see him soon dear. I'm sure he misses you too."

Rayne laughed. "He better!"

Her mother grinned and walked to the door. "Breakfast is in a few minutes dear. Afterwards, your father and I are going to Diagon Alley. Do you need us to pick anything up?"

"No mum, but thanks. The school book list won't be here until next week, so I'll just Apparate quick." Rayne had turned 17 during her last term at Hogwarts, and got her licence about 3 days after she got home. Her parents were so proud of her.

Her mom smiled and walked back to Rayne. She touched her daughter's cheek lovingly. "My baby is growing up." She said with a smile, bringing a tear to her eye. Rayne stood up and hugged her mother. Her mother let go and walked out the door.

Rayne looked around. "So," she said to herself. "What to do today…." She looked around. Once she found her real parents, she moved in with them. She adored her new room. There was plenty of light and lots of space. She walked over to Maize's cage. "Hello darling." Maize hopped from foot to foot and hooted lovingly to Rayne. She jumped out the open cage door and onto Rayne's shoulder. She nibbled Rayne's ear affectionately. Rayne opened the window and let Maize out. She soared out, and headed for the woods.

"Rayne!" her father called. "Your mother and I are heading for Diagon Alley! Are you sure you don't need anything?"

"I'm sure dad! Love you!" she called. She heard the door slam behind her parents. She scrunched up her nose and went downstairs. There was a pile of pancakes and bacon on a plate at the table. She sat down and began to eat. She didn't realize how hungry she had been till she was staring at her empty plate. She stood up and put the dishes in the sink. With a swish of her wand, they were clean and in the cupboard. She smiled and walked out into the living room.

About 10 minutes later, there was a tap on the window. Rayne walked over to the window and let the owl in. She untied the letters from the owl's leg and gave it a treat. It hooted at Rayne expectantly. "Not gonna let me get away with it huh?" Rayne said with a laugh. She pulled a Sickle and 3 Knuts out of her purse and gave them to the owl. With a soft hoot, it flew out the window.

She grabbed the first letter. She knew the writing very well. It was Oliver's. Rayne squealed and plopped down onto the couch with the letter. She opened it up and read it.

Dear Rayne,

How are you? I'm sorry I haven't written lately. The practices have been getting longer and tougher. I think you'd understand.

It's beautiful down here. The sun shines everyday and the mountains just to the north of us are incredible. I wish you were here to see them; I know you'd love them. I still have the picture of you. It keeps getting cheekier by the day. It reminds me of you every time, and it always makes me smile.

I hope your summer is going well. I loved your last letter about your trip to the lake. Flint got what he deserved… again! It's nice to hear that my girl still hasn't lost her spunk.

I have to go now; the coach is being grumpy. Thinking of you.

Oliver xoxoxo

Rayne sighed and held the letter close. She closed her eyes and smiled. She was so lucky to have someone like Oliver. She put the letter back down and grabbed the next letter. It was from Hogwarts. "Odd," she said. "This letter is really early… Something isn't right…" She opened the letter carefully and read the first few lines. Her breath caught in her throat. "Oh my…" she whispered.