Padma Patil marched through the crowd, elbowing people out of the way as she went, a huge grin plastered on her face. She finally reached me, not bothering to apologize to the second year she nearly beheaded with her book bag, and stood there beaming at me. After standing there like an idiot for a few seconds in silence, I figured that she was not going to say why she was so happy until I asked her first.

"What's up, Padma?" I asked cautiously as I slid my potions book back into my bag. "Are you going to tell me what's got you so excited or am I going to have to curse it out of you?"

"Guess what," she squealed and, before giving me time to come up with an answer, she went on, "you are looking at the new president of the Charms Club!"

"Wow…that's..er, great Padma." I personally thought admitting you were in the Charms Club was bad enough, let alone admitting being the president of it.

We've been best friends since we shared a desk in potions class first year and bonded over our mutual dislike of Professor Snape. Inseparable, I might add, even though we're in different houses. We've laughed together, cried together, and all that other together stuff. She's my only best friend, but she's true blue.

"I start tomorrow and my first order of busi-"

She was cut off suddenly by a pissed off seventh year who stated that Professor Snape wanted to see me in his office and if I wasn't there in five minutes from the time the message was delivered he would personally fail me for the rest of the term.

I sent a quick look of resignation to Padma before weaving my way through the thinning crowd to Professor Snape's office. It was only the first week of term and I had somehow managed to find my way back on the top of his "Students I Hate" list. Well, correction, Harry Potter was the obvious number one pick but, despite the fact that I was a member of his house, I was a close second.

By the end of last school year his office had become a second home to me because I spent so much time there. And it was never because he felt the need to congratulate me on my good grades. It was usually for things like getting the house elves to do my homework or painting my nails in Professor Burbage's class.

Evidently Professor Burbage was highly allergic to nail polish and couldn't stop sneezing for half the class. Her lecture for the day consisted of small snippets on how to use a camera followed by large amounts of sneezing.

The whole class thought it was hilarious, but she still hasn't forgiven me and to this day she still will not allow me to take anything into her classroom that resembles a bottle of nail polish.

Today, however, I knew why I was being called into Snape's office.

The day before I had been held after class to discuss my Transfiguration homework with Professor McGonagall, because I had fallen asleep mid-way through, so I was late for my study session with Padma. I was rushing down the hall when I noticed a sickle on the ground by the stairs

I am fully aware that a sickle is not that much money, but, being broke, I understood the countless possibilities. I hurried over to pick it up, but since I was carrying five books stacked on top of one another, my Defense Against the Dark Arts book slipped from the pile and bounced down three flights of stairs.

I groaned internally. Padma was really looking forward to studying for some reason and I was going to be late for sure. Instead of running down three flights of stairs, where I would surely drop all my books or fall and crack my head open, I decided to take a short cut. I'd slid down the banister and just hop off where my textbook had landed.

I quickly hopped onto the banister, situating my other four books between the underside of my left arm and left hip as I went. Using my right hand, I pushed off the top of the banister and down I went. My dark, curly hair whipped behind me and I smiled, enjoying the sensation …until a broom closet at the foot of the stairs opened and Filch bustled out.

I was sure that if he didn't move I would either collide with him at full force or fall off the banister. He spun around just in time to see me flying down the hand rail, but unfortunately he is pretty old and not very fast, so the smooth landing I had planned turned into an absolute massacre.

I ended up colliding with Filch and I remember thinking how dead I was going to be when my mom found out as we careened down six flights of stairs, Filch on his stomach going head first and me situated awkwardly on his back as I clutched my books and screamed.

Before we hit the last staircase, I grabbed a hold of the banister to stop myself, leaving Filch to bounce, roll, and slid down the remaining stairs, landing with a nasty thud on his back at the bottom where he lay motionless.

"Um, sorry," I offered up weakly after a moment of deep breathing. When he didn't move I figured it would be best to leave and explain to Professor Dumbledore later how I accidently killed the caretaker.

And that was why I was headed toward the dreaded dungeons.

I entered Professor Snape's office, where I instantly wrinkled my nose at the sight of newly jarred rat brains. He swiveled around at the click of his office door shutting and I tried my best to put on the most innocent face I could muster.

"Sit down," he said forcefully and I obeyed immediately. "Well, Miss Garcia, believe it or not, it seems that someone else has accused you of doing something wrong."

I pretended to be shocked.

"It seems that yesterday afternoon Filch was preparing to mop the floors when a student seen sliding down the banister plowed into him, knocking him unconscious, and throwing him down several flights of stairs. He was very badly bruised."

"A U.F.S sighting? Sir, are you sure he didn't suffer any head injuries?" I inquired, looking as concerned as I possibly dared to.

"A U.F.S sighting?" Snape drawled out dangerously.

"An Unidentified Flying Student." I managed to turn a giggle into a cough.

"Miss Garcia," Snape seemed to inflate as he began the usual lecture, "I know you did it. Filch says he saw you-"

I interrupted. "But, if Filch is seeing things-"

"I assure you he is certainly not seeing things!" he cut me off. His voice had risen to an almost-shout.

I was quiet for a moment, letting him take the time to deflate. I knew that Professor Snape wouldn't take house points from me (he was far too into his house than his pride would ever admit), but I was banking on a few detentions tacked on before I left the room.

He glared at me for another moment after the deflation occurred, adding on in a dangerously quiet voice that I would have detention with him for the next three Saturdays before shooing me out of his office.

I was actually very surprised he only gave me three (his average is six to ten), but then I figured he was in a slightly better mood than last year after being named the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. With a new skip to my step, I ran from his office, down the hall, and all the way to Professor Binn's classroom.

Taking that newly found sickle out of my pocket (I knew I would find a good use for it), I quickly took aim at the back of Padma's head.

"Ow!" she exclaimed quite loudly. Everyone seemed to jump out of their stupor to glance toward her. Professor Binns, obviously not fazed, droned on about Goblin wars. She raised her hand quietly before asking if she could use the restroom. Binns nodded his translucent head, not even bothering to stop his lecture.

As she grabbed her book bag and walked out of the classroom, I turned around quickly and headed toward the girls' bathroom. She took the hint and followed me. As the door to the bathroom closed, she rounded on me, asking me what had happened with Professor Snape.

I waved her off, not wanting to explain my ride down the stairs on Filch, the Incredible Human Toboggan. "I need to see your essay on ways to ward off vampires," I jumped in, as she had just opened her mouth to probably state that she knew I was lying.

Her mouth shut tightly as she narrowed her eyes. "Natalie Maria Garcias. Don't tell me that you didn't do the essay from over the summer. Professor Snape wants us to hand it in tomorrow."

Of course I wasn't going to tell her that I didn't do it. Did she think I was that much of an idiot?

"No, no, no," I rushed in with wide, innocent eyes, "I finished it ages ago. I just wanted to make sure that I hit all the correct points. I know how good you are at writing essays."

Her narrowed eyes softened as she turned toward her book bag. "Oh, erm, sorry. Yeah, you can borrow it. I just need it back by tonight."

I took the rolled up essay carefully from her hands, wanting to show her that I took the work she did with high regard. Which, of course, I did considering she is probably the main reason I passed all my exams.

"Oh, I have to head to potions. I'll catch you later," I grinned at her as I backed slowly out of the bathroom. She eyed the essay the entire time before it dawned on her. "Hey! You didn't really do the essay did you?"

"Nope!" I yelled back as I booked it out of the bathroom, not wanting to give her the chance to steal the essay back.

As I rounded a corner a few hallways away from the girls' bathroom, I ran headlong into a tall something. I shrieked as I fell to the floor, dropping the essay, and spilling my books across the stone floor. I glared up, expecting to see another statue that Peeves had moved, but to my unfortunate surprise saw Draco Malfoy instead.

I groaned outwardly. He was one of the prefects of the Slytherin house and always went out of his way to make my life a living hell. I had been successful in avoiding him and his crew for the first week of school.

"Oh look, isn't it the blood traitor," Pansy sneered as she jumped at the chance to insult me. Great, I thought as I glanced behind him, I was getting the full monty today. A few feet behind him stood Crabbe and Goyle, smirking slightly as they cracked their knuckles menacingly.

"Ah, moved on from mudblood lover, have we?" I quipped back as I stood up, brushing the dust off my skirt. Last term the Dream Team of Insults did nothing but call me "Garcia" or "Mudblood Lover." Evidently they spent the entire summer coming up with new, cutting-edge names.

Pansy smirked. "Nice outfit."

I was slightly taken aback by this. "Huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "I said nice outfit. What are you, deaf?" I heard a few sniggers erupt from Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy's face remained motionless.

"What are you, blind? We're wearing the same thing."

She looked down at herself quickly, her smirk only faltering for a moment before she hitched it back on and replied, "Well, at least some people can pull this look off."

I stared at her incredulously for a moment. "Are you kidding me? No one can pull this look off. We're wearing pleated skirts and knee high socks."

Malfoy seemed to think that it wasn't the right time for verbal humiliation, so he stepped in front of Pansy, picked up Padma's essay off the ground, and started to unroll it.

"What is this?" he smirked as he started to read it. "A love letter from another blood traitor?" These people really needed to work on their witty comebacks.

"It's an essay, Malfoy. Ever heard of one?"

His smirk grew as he looked up at me over the edge of the parchment. "It's Padma Patil's essay. Cheating again, are we Garcia?"

I rolled my eyes. "Going to take points, Malfoy?"

"No, something better." He took his wand out of his pocket and brought it up to the tip of the parchment. "Incendio."

"No!" I screeched as the tip of the essay caught on fire. I whipped out my wand and, with a quick twist of the wrist, turned Malfoy's ears into octopus tentacles. Although I was trying to go for the summoning charm, I guess that worked too.

Malfoy dropped the essay quickly as he grabbed onto the tentacles, a look of horror crossed his face. Pansy did a high-pitched scream as she jumped back from her boyfriend, not wanting the tentacles to touch her. Crabbe and Goyle just stared, evidently unsure of what to do.

I gathered up the essay and swung my book bag over my shoulder, racing away at top speed before they could figure out I was gone.

Snape better like this essay, I thought as I entered the library, I've gone through way too much hassle for it.