The sun had only just risen on September first and the Andrews household was already in a state of frenzy.

'Mum, I can't find my cauldron.'

'Mum, Jackie and Ari took my Ancient Runes book.'

'We did not! Elizabeth, have you seen my new robes?'

'Alright everyone, listen up,' Jackie's mum, ever the voice of authority, called up the stairs. 'Jackie, your cauldron is down here in the kitchen. Josh, look under your bed. Ari, your robes are down here in the laundry room. Everyone, I washed lots last night, so come look if you are missing anything.'

'Josh, you could just Accio your bloody book – you are seventeen after all.'

'Shut up, Ari.'

Once everyone located their missing items and finished packing, they loaded into the family car and Jackie's mum drove them to King's Cross. They got trolleys for themselves and entered the bustle of Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

'Alright, go find a compartment. I'll wait here,' Jackie's mum smiled.

'C'mon,' Ari grabbed her trolley and led Jackie to the back of the train, where they always sat. Once they dropped off their trunks and Anastasia's cage, they went back to see Jackie's mum.

'Alright, you three.' Jackie's mum smiled at Jackie, Ari and Josh. 'Make me proud. I'll see you at Easter; have fun at the Yule Ball.'

'Bye, mum.' Jackie hugged her mum. The whistle blew as Josh was, as he claimed, 'getting smothered.'

'Have a good time! I love you all!' Jackie's mum waved and Jackie, Ari and Josh leaned out the window and waved back until they turned the corner.

'See ya.' Josh turned and walked to join some of his friends.

'Aha! Look,' Ari whispered triumphantly, pointing to where Josh was walking away. As she looked, Jackie noticed that Josh was walking particularly close to Sasha.

Smiling, Jackie turned away and saw Lucas Wood, a sixth year Gryffindor Beater, walking toward her.

'Hi, you're Jaquelyn Andrews, right?'

Jackie sighed. 'Yeah, I'm Jackie.'

'Oh, sorry. Derrick wants to know if you would like to join us in our compartment.'

'Yes, she does,' Ari answered.

'I do?' Jackie turned to Ari. Ari raised her eyebrows and nodded, Jackie shook her head.

'Could you give us a second, please?' Jackie smiled at Lucas and pulled Ari away.

'Look, just 'cause you have a huge crush on Derrick does not mean that we are going to go sit with him.'

'But, c'mon! You can use your captain status for my advantage.'

Muttering to herself about Captain's badges, Jackie turned back to where Lucas was waiting, only pausing a moment to put a smile on her face. 'Okay, sure, but we'll need to go get our trunks.'

'Okay, no problem.' Lucas followed them and waited outside while Jackie and Ari changed into their robes and shrunk their trunks to fit in their pockets. Jackie let Anastasia out to fly alongside the train and carried the cage.

Lucas led them to the middle of the train and stopped outside two compartments. 'Alright,' he instructed,' you can leave your trunks and everything in there,' he indicated the compartment they were standing next to, 'and come on in.' He disappeared through the door one compartment forward.

Jackie and Ari put their trunks in the room and enlarged them again. Jackie put her badge on and admired it in the reflection from the window. She liked how it looked – the blue and bronze set against the black of her robes.

Ari looked like she was going to jump out of her skin as they walked into Derrick's compartment.

The first thing Jackie realised when she and Ari entered the compartment was that they were the only girls. Ari seemed to notice this as well; she had a smug grin on her face.

'Hi, Jackie. Hello, Arianna. Come on in,' Derrick greeted them with a smile. Lucas had obviously told him about Jackie's preferred name.

'Call me Ari,' Ari smiled, surprising Jackie by sitting between Lucas and his little brother – Oliver, the fourth year Gryffindor Keeper. Derrick smiled at Jackie as she sat down next to him in the only open seat left.

'Congratulations on becoming captain,' Derrick said as everyone fell into their own conversations.

'Thanks.'

'So, welcome to your N.E.W.T. years,' he grinned. 'What classes are you taking?'

As Jackie told him, she heard Ari describing her new dress robes. She could almost see the boys' eyes glazing over.

'…and Transfiguration,' Jackie finished. 'What about you? What N.E.W.T.s are you taking at the end of the year?'

'I'm taking Potions, Muggle Studies, Charms, Defense, and…' he hesitated slightly, 'Divination.'

Jackie couldn't help but laugh. Derrick smiled apologetically. 'Yeah, I know, I don't seem the type. I get that a lot.'

'Sorry,' Jackie apologised, smiling. Derrick grinned back.

The compartment was filled with chatter and laughter as rain lashed at the darkening windows. When the food trolley came by, Derrick bought them all half of everything that was there.

Jackie was in the middle of a game of Exploding Snap against Oliver when Johnathan Spinnet and Nicholas Bell jumped up.

'Look, Slytherins,' they hissed to Derrick.

All of the guys got up and stood out in the hall. Jackie and Ari watched through the windows. Trent Black stood there, flanked by Alamexia Nott. Jackie wondered if they went anywhere without each other.

'Look what we have here, boys,' Derrick sneered.

'What do you want?' Trent sounded annoyed.

'We just wanted to remind you that we run the school, and make sure you know not to mess with any of us this year.' Jeering, the Gryffindors sauntered back in the compartment. One shot a jinx into Trent's face, causing him and Alamexia to go running back to their compartment.

The boys all laughed, and Jackie tried to join in, but she didn't get what was so funny. Sure, Slytherins were bad and all and maybe Trent even deserved it, but why were they all cracking up so hard? It must be a Gryffindor thing.

They chatted away the rest of the ride until the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station. The rain had stopped, so they didn't have to rush off the platform.

'Fancy getting a carriage?' Derrick offered Jackie his arm. Smiling, she took it. They walked up to where the thestrals stood, ready to pull the carriages. Derrick opened the door and helped Jackie up. Giggling, she sat down; however, Derrick was the only other person to climb in.

'Where are Ari and the others?'

Derrick looked out the open door, but before he could do anything, the carriage lurched forward.

'I guess they got their own.' He pulled the door shut to block out the chilly wind that had picked up.

'What's it like, being a Seeker?' Jackie asked. Being a Beater herself, she had always wondered what other positions were like.

Derrick's face lit up. 'Oh, it's amazing. Soaring high above the pitch, dodging around other players, all the time looking for this little gold ball, it's exhilarating. What about you?' he inquired. 'How'd you end up a Beater?'

Jackie grimaced. 'It was the position my brother and his friends always made me play when I was little – it was the one they didn't like – so I got good, since they played pretty much every day. Then, second year during tryouts, the returning Beater took us aside to work and I hit the captain in the face from across the pitch, so I didn't think I would make it. But, after he got back from the Hospital Wing, he told me I was on the starting crew.'

Derrick laughed as they approached the castle. He got out first and offered Jackie a hand. They entered the Great Hall together and paused a moment.

'Well, I'll be seeing you around,' Jackie smiled.

Derrick gave her a one-armed hug. 'See you later.'

They split and walked to their respective tables. Jackie found Ari and sat next to her.

'What was that about?' she asked, sitting down. 'I thought you were the one with the crush.'

Ari grinned. 'He asked for you specifically, so I figured you should sit next to him. Plus, if it doesn't work out between you two,' her grin turned into a smirk, 'I'll be there for him.'

Jackie shook her head, but before she could continue, the doors opened and Professor McGonagall entered, leading the first years.

'Blimey, they're getting smaller,' David, one of Jackie and Ari's friends, observed in a whisper. Ari giggled, trying and failing to turn it into a cough.

Jackie smiled and glanced over at the Gryffindor table. Derrick and his friends were doodling on a spare piece of parchment. He looked up and caught her eye, giving her a grin and wink. She grinned in return before turning back to watch the Sorting. The hat was about to start its song.

'A thousand years or more ago
When Hogwarts was begun,
Our founders created Houses
In the school itself as one.
Said Ravenclaw: 'I'll teach those
Whose wit and smarts come in a flood.'
Said Slytherin: 'I'll teach just those
Who are of noble and pure blood.'
Said Gryffindor: 'I'll teach those
Whose bravery shines through.'
Said Hufflepuff: 'I'll teach them all
What I know is true.'
The four founders ruled over the school
For many years to come,
Until those friends became rivals
And almost ruined what they'd done.
For they were all the best of friends
But those friendships fell apart.
Slytherin left and ran away
From the school he helped to start.
The moral of the story or
The lesson of my song
Is: Make new friends, but don't forget
Your enemy's growing strong.
So come on up, slip me on
Snug about your ears.
I'll figure out where you belong
For all your Hogwarts years.'

Jackie and Ari clapped with the rest of the school and cheered when the hat shouted 'Ravenclaw!' but otherwise chatted, in whispers, amongst their friends until Professor Dumbledore stood up. The Hall went silent immediately.

Professor Dumbledore beamed at them all. 'There is a time for speeches, but that time is not now. Tuck in!'

'Hear, hear,' everyone cheered as the golden plates filled with food.

'So, Miss Arianna,' Jackie filled her plate and turned to Ari. 'Where were you on the platform?'

Ari's brow furrowed as she began eating. 'I don't know. I was following you, but then you disappeared. I didn't see where you went, but then I saw Lucas and his friends so I went with them.'

They all talked their way through dinner and dessert until the feast disappeared and Professor Dumbledore stood up once more.

'Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!' he beamed. 'Mr Filch, our caretaker, would like me to remind you all that the list of banned items, which is now at two hundred and forty-seven, I believe, is up on the door of his office for your perusal. I would also like to tell the first years, as well as remind some of you older students, that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students unaccompanied by a staff member.' His eyes paused a moment on a pair of redheaded twins sitting at the Gryffindor table. 'Magic is not permitted in the corridors.' Here his eyes twinkled, like he knew how few students paid attention to that rule. 'Anyone interested in trying out for their house Quidditch teams should see their Head of House within the next two days. Now your warm, comfortable beds await you. Good night!'

Deafening scraping sounds punctuated the end of his speech as everyone pushed back from their tables. David and Alex, the two Ravenclaw prefects and a couple that had been dating for three years now, began calling for the first years to follow them. Jackie and Ari rushed ahead so as not to get caught in the crowds.

They made it to the door of Ravenclaw Tower and Ari knocked. The knocker changed into the head of an eagle and asked, 'Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?'

'The phoenix,' Jackie answered immediately.

'The flame,' Ari argued.

'A circle has no beginning,' a voice came from behind.

'Well-reasoned,' the knocker responded and the door opened.

'You're both welcome,' Hannah laughed, walking in with them.

'We would have gotten there eventually,' Ari laughed along.

'Before or after the weekend?' Hannah grinned as they walked through the familiar circular common room and up the stairs to their dorms.

They all found their beds and went about getting ready. Anastasia sat on her cage, waiting for Jackie. Once Jackie stroked her head for a moment, Anastasia gave a happy hoot and flew to the owlry.

Jackie pulled on her pyjamas and snuggled under her covers, pulling the bed curtains shut.

'Night, ladies,' she heard Hannah say as the door opened to let their other two dorm mates in.

'Night, all.' Jackie was asleep soon after.