"As much as I'm dying to continue this love-fest, you're not the first girl to throw herself at me. So in the interest of keeping things fair, why don't you head on back to the end of the line?" Albus -correction: the slimy Potter git- smirked up at me.

My eye twitched at his cheekiness. I could already feel the telltale throbbing that usually accompanied the beginnings of a migraine.

I quickly gathered my wits and removed my body from his, grimacing as I shook off the sudden loss of warmth.

"Puddlemere United?" he arched an eyebrow, glancing at my jersey.

"Only the best," I shrugged, absently running a hand through my hair.

"At least you've got good taste," he acknowledged. "Shame you got nothing else going for you."

I clenched my knuckles tightly, fully intent on bludgering the prick, only to release my grip at the sound of approaching footsteps.

I glanced towards the subject of interruption, my eyes softening when they landed on another head of jet black, unruly hair. At least Potter's brother was tolerable.

I grinned, remembering the events of my fifth year. Taking the O.W.L. exams had not been a desirable affair, but James had provided quite the entertainment when he missed his N.E.W.T.s in favor of starting some business in Hogsmeade. His sudden appearance was proof that the school board had held him back to repeat his seventh year and complete his final assessments.

"Oi, there's my favorite Ravenclaw!" James shoved past his brother -I stifled a grin at the disgruntled expression on the younger Potter's face- and grabbed me in a headlock, ruffling my hair ruefully.

"Wotcha, mate!" I greeted back, grabbing his outstretched hand and ramming my shoulder into his.

If Rose were here, she would have definitely disapproved.

When he pulled away, his golden-hazel eyes took on a mischievous glint, a sure sign of impending doom.

Before I could react, he had launched himself off the stairs, landing squarely on his unsuspecting brother.

"Oi, gerroff me!" Albus let out a cry in protest before the two brothers descended into a heated wrestling match. I shook my head in amusement, returning to my search for Raven as I maneuvered my way past the pile of flailing limbs.

I had yet to make it to the kitchen when Rose came to my side, a sleeping Raven nestled snugly in her arms.

"You ought to pay more attention to your cat," she nagged, passing Raven off to me. "Poor thing was stuck in between one of the vents."

"I told you she ate one too many Pumpkin Pasties," I stroked Raven's silky black fur as the two of us hunted down a spare cat carrier for the train.

"You girls ready to go?" Mr. Weasley called from the front of the house as I deposited Raven into her carriage.

"Almost!" we chorused in unison. "Our trunks are still upstairs."

"Better make it speedy," came his reply. "We're already running a bit late."

With that, Rose and I made our way back upstairs and to our respective rooms; I glanced around one last time before grabbing onto the handle of my trunk, straining to balance Raven's carriage and the heavy suitcase.

"To hell with the bloody idiot that came up with the restriction against underage magic. Practicality my arse…" I trailed off darkly, feeling beads of sweat form at my brow. If I was struggling now, I hated to think about what the excursion down the stairs would be like. Especially after that unfortunate incident with that unfortunate sod of a Potter.

"Do you always talk to yourself?"

Oh, speak of the devil.

"Bugger off, I'm in the middle of something," I gasped as I lost my grip on the handle of my trunk.

Before I could be dragged backwards by its weight, an arm shot past me and latched onto my trunk, simultaneously allowing me to maintain an upright position.

I hiccuped, once again thrown off guard by the closeness of our proximity. He arched an eyebrow at that, his eyes clouding and making his expression unreadable.

"You're such a klutz," he broke the silence, pulling back with my trunk in his arms. I watched as the veins in his arms popped. "Save some of your clumsiness for the pitch this season."

That snapped me out of it.

"I'll have you know, Ravenclaw is going to obliterate Slytherin this year," I scoffed, readjusting Raven's carrier in my arms and following him downstairs.

"Doubtful," he chortled. "Maybe if you don't get demolished by Hufflepuff this year, but still highly unlikely."

"Hey! Davies wasn't in his right mind, some third year accidentally hexed him-"

"Admit it, Mellow. Slytherin is going to come out this season as the undefeated champions," he interrupted.

We came to a halt at the bottom of the steps and I glared at him levelly.

"Not if their Seeker gets injured."

Before he could respond, I planted a forceful kick to his shin and dashed out the front door.

"Oi, Mellow!" he called after me, his voice muffled by the increasing distance.

I sprinted down the sidewalk, seeking safety from Potter's sure retaliation as I squeezed my way through the tightly packed van that Mr. Potter had rented out.

"Merlin, why are muggle vehicles so jammed?" Rose squirmed against me as I fought to claim a spot of my own.

"I'm pretty sure the maximum carrying capacity has been surpassed," I responded. "Didn't Mr. Potter cast an Enlargement spell?"

Rose shrugged helplessly, her body unnaturally compressed between Hugo and James.

I moved past her, mumbling an apology when I accidentally stepped on her foot. I had just settled in nicely, Raven situated neatly in my lap, when I was abruptly shoved to the side. I felt my cheek connect painfully with the side window, a hint of sage and amber wafting in.

"Move aside, Your Gwen-ness. You're taking up all the space."

Ugh, what an irritating prat.

Needless to say, I spent the rest of the car ride mentally calculating the amount of self-control it took to not snap a Potter in half (through carefully conducted experiments involving the varying effects of different breathing techniques) and violently tasering him whenever his elbow jabbed into my side at particularly sharp turns.

I was in the middle of devising a list of pranks to pull (on Potter) for the new school year when Mr. Weasley announced that we had arrived at King's Cross Station.

Mrs. Potter began fretting about, idly fixing James's collar and patting Lily's hair into place. I accompanied Rose towards the back of the car, making sure that Raven was secure in my arms before grabbing my trunk. We grabbed a few trolleys and began wading our way through the crowded sea of commuters.

Platform 9 ¾ soon came into sight and without hesitation, our ensemble was barreling past the brick wall and through the misty white steam towards the Hogwarts Express that sat waiting expectantly.

A flutter of excitement began bubbling inside of me. The thought of being able to use magic again, to spend hours pouring over ancient texts in the library, the scent of fresh ink on parchment...its appeal almost overwhelmed me.

"Oi, Al! Over here, mate!"

I felt myself tense slightly in alarm. I would recognize that dry voice anywhere. I turned and had my suspicions confirmed when I spotted Scorpius Malfoy launching himself towards his partner-in-crime.

Merlin's beard, how wonderful. The excitement that I had been feeling earlier was quickly replaced with dread.

Sure, the train ride was only a few hours long. But trust me when I say that it was a few hours too many. Just the thought of spending mere minutes with Dumb and Dumber together was enough to bring back the familiar pulsing at the back of my head.

"Now listen, girls," Mrs. Granger pulled Rose and I to the side. "Make sure you don't skip any of your meals. A healthy diet leads to a healthy mind. Rose, I better see an improvement in Muggle Studies. Honestly, it's quite embarrassing that that's the one subject you're a bit lacking in. And Gwen, dear, please do try to avoid any Quidditch-related injuries this season. Having to make up work was always such a chore," she gently patted our cheeks before hugging both of us fiercely.

"Rose, don't forget to show that Scorpius kid his place," Mr. Weasley cut in and I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

He was the same every year: "Beat Scorpius in everything otherwise I won't buy you a new broomstick."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Relax, we're not kids anymore."

"She's right," I affirmed. "We'll be fine."

The Weasleys pulled back to face us with bittersweet smiles and I couldn't help but squirm a little under their affectionate gaze. Mrs. Granger pulled us into one last hug. "Till Christmas holidays then," she whispered, stepping back.

"Till then," we both nodded before turning to make our way onto the train.

We found an empty compartment, quickly slipping in to claim it as ours. The train slowly began pulling away from the station as we got situated, stashing our baggage away.

I turned to Rose, eager to discuss what to get from the treat trolley when a knock sounded on the door to our carriage.

"You ladies mind if we join you?"

Without waiting for an answer, Scorpius Malfoy came tumbling in with his trunk, followed by a bemused Potter and his own luggage.

Rose spluttered disbelieving and I was about to mirror her reaction, only to be surprised when her face took on a sudden flush of red. Huh. Was she blushing? I'd have to ask her about that later.

Scorpius plopped himself down next to Rose and if possible, the redness in her face was now exceeding the redness of her hair. I arched an eyebrow curiously, only to frown when something warm and slightly moist dropped onto my lap.

"Oops."

Did that oaf seriously drop a bloody cauldron cake on my pants? Oh, this meant war.

"Potter, are those shoes new?" I stood up, the dirtied pastry sliding to the ground as I fixed him with a withering stare.

"Yeah, they're actually quite comfortable," he supplied.

"How nice," I quipped, pulling my hair back into a messy ponytail. "Are they fast?"

"Well I haven't really tried running in-why?" he paused.

"Shall we find out then?" I offered. Realization dawned on his features and he scrambled towards the exit

It was going to be a long ride indeed.