Rohini was an evil bloody goblin. Or at least, that's what Ron seemed to think as she persuaded the boys to show her their dress robes, the day before going back to Hogwarts. She had to admit that as Ron feared, he looked awful in the probably baroque-inspired robe.

Fred and George didn't look great either, but at least their personality made it easy to forget it as they jokingly mocked each other.

"Harry, please trade with me." Ron begged Harry, who had been forced to change into his, too. "Nobody will make fun of me if I wore yours."

"Don't sweat it; Draco bought exactly the same one." Rohini told them and Harry looked as if she had forced a toad into his throat. "Come on, Ron; I'm sure you'll survive. It's not like we'll have to wear it the whole year."

"You bet I'm not going to wear this rubbish thing the whole year!" Ron said, turning crimson as he took off his robe and threw it into Pig. "Come on, Harry. Let's go play Quidditch."

"Good idea." Harry said, happy to move to another topic. "Are you coming, too?" He asked Rohini who shook her head.

"Not today: I want to ask Bill's help to translate something for my Study of Ancient Runes essay before he leave for grocery shopping with your mum."

"You just missed him." Percy informed her as he walked past Ron's bedroom, his arm filled with paperwork. "I could give you a hand, though."

"Who would want to ask you help?" Ron said, exchanging a bored look with Harry.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind." Rohini said, following Percy into the stairs under the boys' bemused gaze.

Truth to be told, she had learn to appreciate Percy's hardworking personality; it seemed quite impressive in her opinion that he managed to find a job into the Ministry right after graduating and she found it quite sad that his brothers dismissed his perseverance and enthusiasm because of his personality.

She had also been the only one interested by his opinion on the legal thickness of cauldrons, siding with him on the fact thin cauldrons were quite dangerous and could lead to many accidents if melting.

Percy's bedroom was the most organised room of The Burrow; in fact, it almost looked more like an office with a bed than a proper bedroom.

"What are you working on?" Rohini asked, trying to take a look at the parchments on his desk but Percy hurried to hide them under a heavy manual about the history of wizard currencies.

"Secret project, I guess." Rohini said before sitting on the closest chair and pulling her Runes manual out of her bag. "Back to business, then!"

"What do you need help for?" Percy asked, looking above her shoulder.

"This part; I get the context of the text with the rest of the runes, but this part sounds like Chinese to me." Rohini sighed; she had been working on this text about vampires for two days now, but even her dictionary didn't help.

"Hmm, let me see…" Percy mumbled, adjusting his glasses. "It's about how a vampire's thirst for blood can feel similar to jealousy."

"How come?" Rohini asked, interested.

"Well, a vampire would long for what his victim has that he doesn't; fresh, warm blood." Percy explained.

"Oh." Rohini said. "I see… Thanks for your help! I know you're very busy lately, so it was nice of you to take a minute to help me."

"I'm always glad to help a serious student in need." Percy said, bumping his chest proudly, as if he was still wearing his Head Boy pin. Rohini smiled and took her leave, deciding to finish writing her essay in Ginny's bedroom where she, Ginny and Hermione were sleeping.

The room was empty, meaning her friends probably decided to go with the boys to play in the field on top of the hill. Rohini glanced outside; the sky was blue and cloudless, and the weather was comfortably warm.

Pushing Crookshanks off her pillow, Rohini just laid down for a few minutes, trying to enjoy this quiet, peaceful moment. She had forgotten how lively The Burrow could be and thought she loved this atmosphere, she didn't mind taking a little break from Fred and George's loud experiments and the fights between Percy and his brothers.

She was beginning to daze off when a little "hoot!" caught her attention. Blinking, she sit down and saw the largest owl she had ever seen landing at her feet, a letter in its beak.

"Well, hello there." Rohini said as she took the envelope. "I don't have any treats so you should probably go downstairs to get water and food." She said and the bird blinked before flying off by the window.

Rohini felt a sudden excitement as she recognised Sirius' handwriting spelling her name on the envelop and hurried to open it. It said:

Dear Rohini,

I hope this letter will reach you soon. I can't tell you my location, but I'm not as close to you two as I wish I were. Sadly, it is no longer sunny where I'm staying right now, but I can't tell you more in case this owl gets controlled.

Harry told me about his nightmares, and I think it would be wise of him to speak about it with Dumbledore. As for the World Cup accident, this is a grim sign; if Death Eaters begin to rise again, then we need to act fast; we need to prevent another war.

Also, do not worry; you aren't like this traitor of Wormtail, Rohini. I know you would never betray your brother and friends, no matter the situation. I, too, wish we had killed him that night, though I would have never let you do this dirty job yourself.

Still, be careful: Voldemort's old allies are everywhere –and I mean everywhere, even in the safest places- and though it is true that Harry is his main target, you're not to be excluded; you're a smart, strong girl and getting rid of you is probably one of Voldemort's top priorities, too.

Be brave but be wise, too. Do not run into avoidable dangers. (I know I'm not a good example, so act just like I wouldn't act.)

Take care,

Padfoot.

Rohini re-read the letter with a frown; what did Sirius mean by "even in the safest places"? She didn't have more time to think about it however as she heard voices getting closer. Hiding the letter under her pillow, she grabbed the closest book and pretended to be reading as Mrs. Weasley came in.

"Hello Rohini, dear. I just saw an owl eating in Errol's bowl. Did you just receive a letter?"

"Ah, yeah, it was Luna." Rohini lied. "She was telling me how excited she was about meeting us again tomorrow."

"I see." Mrs. Weasley said. "She does sound like a sweet girl; Ginny is always talking about her. I'm glad she made a good friend after… after what happened during her First Year."

Mrs. Weasley was referring to that terrible experience were Ginny got brain controlled by the sixteen years old version of Voldemort that had been living in his old journal, given to the young girl by the malevolent Lucius Malfoy.

"Do you need help with the groceries?" Rohini asked, uncomfortable with the sudden heavy atmosphere.

"Oh, no, it's fine dearie. Bill and Charlie are already helping me." Mrs. Weasley said with a smile. "I tried to convince them both to get a haircut on our way back home, but they are so stubborn about keeping them long…"

Rohini felt sorry for the two young men; Mrs. Weasley's obsession with her sons' hair reminded her a bit of Aunt Petunia's obsession with the two Potters' wild locks. Though luckily for Bill and Charlie, Mrs. Weasley was a far more pleasant woman.

"I could help you cook lunch, then!" Rohini said, already standing up. "I promise it doesn't bother me anyway."

"Well, I suppose you can, yes." Mrs. Weasley said with a smile. "I hope Arthur will be able to join us today, he's been so busy since the World Cup accident…"

"Yeah, I've heard him and Percy talk about it." Rohini said. "That's terrible."

"Do not worry, Rohini. You and Harry will be safe once you're back to Hogwarts; Dumbledore will never let anything happen to you." Mrs. Weasley assured her but Rohini didn't answer, dubious of everybody's blind trust into the old man.

They were in the middle of setting the table when the Weasleys brothers, Ginny, Harry and Hermione came back, sweaty and merry looking.

"It smells good, mum." Fred said before giving his mum a kiss on the cheek. "What are you doing?"

"A bit of everything. Everybody, please wash your hands before eating!"

"How was it?" Rohini asked Harry when her brother stood up in front of the sink.

"Not as good as a real match." Harry said. "Can't wait for real practice to begin."

"Soon." Rohini said with a smile, before whispering. "I got a letter from Padfoot, by the way. He thinks you shouldn't treat your nightmares too lightly."

"Ok." Harry said with a nod. "Is he ok?"

"I think so! He moved to a new location, but he didn't tell me where."

"Harry, Rohini, come and eat while it's still warm!" Mrs. Weasley called from the other side of the room.

"Coming!" The twins said, taking place between Ginny and Ron. Ginny had gained a few more freckles since the end of her third years and her pale skin was almost disappearing under them all. With her beautiful brown eyes and ginger hair, Rohini was convinced she would be a real heartbreaker in a few years.

"Rohini told me she received a letter from your friend, Luna." Mrs. Weasley said as she handed a plate of toasts to her daughter.

"Really?" Ginny asked, interested.

"Errrrm, yeah. We talked about her dog, you know, Padfoot." Rohini said and Ginny seemed to understand the truth.

"Oh, I hope he's doing well! She told me he ran away in her last letter. Did they find him?"

"Yeah, he was lazing in a sunny alley." Rohini said, enjoying this game. "He came back home on his own, though. Not a single scratch, slightly fatter; an old lady probably fed him."

"Good." Ginny said with a nod.

"How are we going to King Cross tomorrow?" George asked his mum. "Was dad able to get cars from the Minister?"

"No, none of them were available." Mrs. Weasley sighed. "I guess we'll have to use the Muggle way, what is it called? Taxe?"

"Taxi." Hermione, Rohini and Harry said at the same time.

"Right, Taxis." Mrs. Weasley said. "I do hope it's not too expensive, though…"

"Harry and I can pay for ours." Rohini assured her. "Oh, but I need to go change some money at Gringotts then…"

"I will go for you don't worry, dear." Mrs. Weasley said. "Just, pack your trunks and enjoy your last afternoon here, you all."

"Yes ma'am." They answered with more or less enthusiasm before heading back to their rooms.

Harry followed the girls into Ginny's bedroom to take a look at Sirius' letter before going back to Ron's bedroom to pack.

"I wonder who's going to teach us DADA this year…" Hermione said as she grabbed her manual.

"Someone as competent as Professor Lupin, hopefully." Ginny said.

Dinner was quite merry that evening, Fred and George showing Rohini their new tricks when their mother wasn't looking. Hermione went into a short but heated debacle with Percy about House Elves and Rohini scared them all by chocking on a piece of garlic bread.

There was a definite end-of-the-holidays gloom in the air when they awoke next morning. Heavy rain was still splattering against the window when Ginny pushed a grumpy Rohini out of bed and forced her to put on the first t shirt and pants that she could grab; they would change into their school robes on the Hogwarts Express anyway.

Still feeling groggy, Rohini almost missed a step and fell head first into the stairs but was luckily caught by Mr. Weasley as he rushed downstairs.

By the time they reached the kitchen, Mr. Weasley was standing in front of the chimney while Mrs. Weasley rummaged anxiously in the drawers while shouting "I've got a quill here somewhere!"

Curious, Rohini stood up next to Harry who was looking at the flames with a confused expression- and blinked stupidly.

"Mrs. Weasley? There's someone's head in your chimney fire." She said as the man turned to look at her with a nervous smile.

"Ah, you must be Harry's sister, Rohini! I'm Amos Diggory, pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure's mine." Rohini said, marvelling once again about the wonders of the magical world. Amos Diggory was now talking really fast to Mr. Weasley, both men looking slightly anxious.

". . . Muggle neighbors heard bangs and shouting, so they went and called those what-d'you-call-'ems - please-men. Arthur, you've got to get over there -"

"Here!" said Mrs. Weasley breathlessly, pushing a piece of parchment, a bottle of ink, and a crumpled quill into Mr. Weasley's hands. "And you two, it's time for breakfast!" She told the twins who didn't move; still trying to digest the fact a floating head in a chimney fire was a normal thing for wizards.

"- it's a real stroke of luck I heard about it," said Mr. Diggory's head. "I had to come into the office early to send a couple of owls, and I found the Improper Use of Magic lot all setting off - if Rita Skeeter gets hold of this one, Arthur -"

"What does Mad-Eye say happened?" asked Mr. Weasley, unscrewing the ink bottle, loading up his quill, and preparing to take notes.

Mr. Diggory's head rolled its eyes. "Says he heard an intruder in his yard. Says he was creeping toward the house, but was ambushed by his dustbins."

"What did the dustbins do?" asked Mr. Weasley, scribbling frantically.

"Made one hell of a noise and fired rubbish everywhere, as far as I can tell," said Mr. Diggory. "Apparently one of them was still rocketing around when the please-men turned up -"

Mr. Weasley groaned.

"And what about the intruder?"

"Arthur, you know Mad-Eye," said Mr. Diggory's head, rolling its eyes again. "Someone creeping into his yard in the dead of night? More likely there's a very shell-shocked cat wandering around somewhere, covered in potato peelings. But if the Improper Use of Magic lot get their hands on Mad-Eye, he's had it - think of his record - we've got to get him off on a minor charge, something in your department - what are exploding dustbins worth?"

"Harry, Rohini!" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen. "Breakfast, now!"

"Coming." Rohini said, pushing her brother tow ards the table where Bill and Charlie were fighting over the last brioche.

A minute later, Mr. Weasley shouted good-byes to everyone, dragging a comb through his hair.

"I'd better hurry - you have a good term, children, said Mr. Weasley to his children, Hermione and the twins, fastening a cloak over his shoulders and preparing to Disapparate. "Molly, are you going to be all right taking the kids to King's Cross?"

"Of course I will," she said. "You just look after Mad-Eye, we'll be fine."

"Did someone say Mad-Eye?" Bill asked. "What's he been up to now."

"He says someone tried to break into his house last night," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Mad-Eye Moody?" said George thoughtfully, spreading marmalade on his toast. "Isn't he that nutter -"

"Your father thinks very highly of Mad-Eye Moody," said Mrs. Weasley sternly.

"Yeah, well, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he?" said Fred quietly as Mrs. Weasley left the room. "Birds of a feather. . ."

"Pfff!" Rohini snorted, accidentally spitting some apple juice on Ron who threw her a disgusted look.

"Moody was a great wizard in his time," said Bill.

"He's an old friend of Dumbledore's, isn't he?" said Charlie.

"Dumbledore's not what you'd call normal, though, is he?" said Fred. "I mean, I know he's a genius and everything.. ."

"I see what you mean." Rohini agreed while handing a napkin to Ron.

"Who is Mad-Eye?" asked Harry.

"He's retired, used to work at the Ministry," said Charlie. "I met him once when Dad took me into work with him. He was an Auror - one of the best... a Dark wizard catcher," he added, seeing Harry's blank look.

"Half the cells in Azkaban are full because of him. He made himself loads of enemies, though... the families of people he caught, mainly... and I heard he's been getting really paranoid in his old age. Doesn't trust anyone anymore. Sees Dark wizards everywhere."

Bill and Charlie decided to come and see everyone off at King's Cross station, but Percy, apologizing most profusely, said that he really needed to get to work.

"I just can't justify taking more time off at the moment," he told them. "Mr. Crouch is really starting to rely on me."

"Yeah, you know what, Percy?" said George seriously. "I reckon he'll know your name soon."

"The taxis will be here soon." Mrs. Weasley said, taking a look by the window. "Go get your stuffs!"

Five minutes later, they stood in the rain-washed yard, watching the taxi drivers heaving seven heavy Hogwarts trunks into their cars.

"Oh dear, they don't look happy, do they?" Mrs. Weasley said.

Neither the twins nor Hermione told her that Muggle taxi drivers rarely transported overexcited owls, and Pigwidgeon was making an ear-splitting racket.

Nor did it help that a number of Filibuster's Fabulous No-Heat, Wet-Start Fireworks went off unexpectedly when Fred's trunk sprang open, causing the driver carrying it to yell with fright and pain as Crookshanks clawed his way up the man's leg.

Thranduil hissed, too, but Rohini had been wise enough to put him in his cage beforehand.

The journey was predictably uncomfortable, owing to the fact that they were jammed in the back of the taxis with their trunks. Crookshanks took quite a while to recover from the fireworks, and by the time they entered London, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Rohini were all severely scratched. They were very relieved to get out at King's Cross, even though the rain was coming down harder than ever, and they got soaked carrying their trunks across the busy road and into the station.

"Finally going back home." Rohini said between her teeth, rubbing her arms as she waited for her turn to cross the barrier to Platform 9 ¾.

They were all used to getting onto platform nine and three-quarters by now. It was a simple matter of walking straight through the apparently solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. The only tricky part was doing this in an unobtrusive way, so as to avoid attracting Muggle attention.

They did it in groups today; Rohini, Ron, and Hermione (the most conspicuous, since they were accompanied by Pigwidgeon, Crookshanks and Thranduil) went first; they leaned casually against the barrier, chatting unconcernedly, and slid sideways through it. . . and as they did so, platform nine and three-quarters materialized in front of them.

Instantly, Rohini forgot about the crappy weather and found herself smiling brightly.

The Hogwarts Express, a gleaming scarlet steam engine, was already there, clouds of steam billowing from it, through which the many Hogwarts students and parents on the platform appeared like dark ghosts.

"As crowded as usual." Ginny pointed out as she appeared at Harry and Bill's sides.

"Let's find seats." Rohini suggested and they were soon stowing their luggage in two compartments halfway along the train.

They then hopped back down onto the platform to say good-bye to Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie.

"I might be seeing you all sooner than you think," said Charlie, grinning, as he hugged Ginny good-bye.

"Why?" said Fred keenly.

"You'll see," said Charlie. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it... it's 'classified information, until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it,' after all."

"Yeah, I sort of wish I were back at Hogwarts this year," said Bill, hands in his pockets, looking almost wistfully at the train.

"Why?" said George impatiently.

"You're going to have an interesting year," said Bill, his eyes twinkling. "I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it."

"Oh come on, tell us!" Rohini begged him but Bill only winked at them as the whistle blew and Mrs. Weasley chivvied them toward the train doors.

"Thanks for having us to stay, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione as they climbed on board, closed the door, and leaned out of the window to talk to her.

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.

"You're the best." Rohini added with a smile.

"Oh it was my pleasure, dears," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'd invite you for Christmas, but...well, I expect you're all going to want to stay at Hogwarts, what with. . . one thing and another."

"Mum!" said Ron irritably. "What d'you three know that we don't?"

"You'll find out this evening, I expect," said Mrs. Weasley, smiling. "It's going to be very exciting - mind you, I'm very glad they've changed the rules -"

"What rules?" they all asked together.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will tell you. . . . Now, behave, won't you? Won't you, Fred? And you, George?"

The pistons hissed loudly and the train began to move.

"Tell us what's happening at Hogwarts!" Fred bellowed out of the window as Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie sped away from them. "What rules are they changing?"

But Mrs. Weasley only smiled and waved. Before the train had rounded the corner, she, Bill, and Charlie had Disapparated.

"Damn, I really want to know now…" Rohini grumbled.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione went back to their compartment, Fred and George went looking for their friends Lee Jordan and both Rohini and Ginny decided to wait for Luna and Padma to join them.

The two girls were silently staring by the windows when Rohini heard a familiar, disagreeable voice by the open door.

"Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. He knows the headmaster, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore - the man's such a Mudblood-lover - and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riffraff.

But Mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away. Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually learn them, not just the defense rubbish we do-"

Malfoy suddenly stopped in front of the open compartment, looking at Ginny and Rohini disdainfully.

"Well, speaking of rubbish…"

"Rubbish? Are you referring to your family's reputation, Malfoy?" Rohini said shortly, not in the mood for a fight. Before Malfoy had the time to answer, she stood up and closed the door to his face.

"I wish he had gone to Durmstrang instead, that little git." Ginny said.

"Durmstrang's another wizarding school, right?" said Rohini.

"Yeah, and it sucks," said Ginny, "Horrible reputation; puts a lot of emphasis on the Dark Arts. I think Durmstrang must be somewhere in the far north because they've got fur capes as part of their uniforms. Bill showed me a picture of one of his colleague from Durmstrang, once."

"I'd love to know Malfoy is dying of cold, far, far away from us…" Rohini said.

"Shame his mother likes him." Ginny laughed. "I'm gonna go and see if I can find Luna and Padma."

"Ok!" Rohini said, making herself more comfortable.

The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved farther north. The sky was so dark and the windows so steamy that the lanterns were lit by midday. The lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor and Rohini decided to buy some candies at the same time as Harry.

"Oh, hello." Said a voice behind them and Rohini smiled as she saw Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw's Seeker and Harry's teenage crush.

"Hi." The twins said at the same time.

"You're smiling stupidly." Rohini told Harry once Cho had left.

"You're stupid." Harry said, handing his change to the old lady.

Rohini bought more treats than she should probably eat and went back to her compartment, wondering where Ginny, Luna and Padma were.

Five minutes later, her friends arrived, looking grim.

"What happened?" Rohini asked, worried. "Are you ok?"

"Parvati and I were having an argument with two Hufflepuffs and a Slytherin about Professor Lupin." Padma explained. "Then, they tried to make fun of Luna just as Ginny arrived…"

"… And I punched those jerks in the face." Ginny said, sounding rather proud of herself.

"I would have done the same." Rohini assured her before hugging Luna. "It's good to see you again! Loved the latest edition of The Quibblers."

"I will make sure to tell dad." Luna said with a smile.

Half an hour later, Hermione joined them for she was tired of the boys talking about Quidditch. It was Ginny's turn to leave, interested by the topic.

"What are you doing?" Rohini asked Hermione, her mouth filled with chocolate and strawberry muffin.

"Trying to learn a Summoning Charm." Hermione said without raising her head from her book.

"Oh, let me try too!" Rohini said, grabbing her wand; she had been waiting for what felt like ages to use magic again. "Did I tell you that mum and dad were excellent at Charms?"

"About a billion times." Padma said with a smile.

"I don't mind hearing about it again." Luna said, looking quite amused too.

As the Hogwarts Express slowed down, the girls hurried to put on their robes as the train finally stopped in the pitch-darkness of Hogsmeade station.

As the doors opened, there was a rumble of thunder overhead.

"Lovely weather." Rohini said and Hermione gave her a look as she bundled up Crookshanks in her cloak. After counting to three, they left the train, heads bent and eyes narrowed against the downpour. The rain was now coming down so thick and fast that it was as though buckets of ice-cold water were being emptied repeatedly over their heads.

"Hello there!" Said a friendly voice a few feet away.

"Hi, Hagrid!" Rohini yelled, seeing Hagrid's familiar silhouette at the far end of the platform.

"All righ', you all?" Hagrid bellowed back, waving. "See yeh at the feast if we don' drown!"

First years traditionally reached Hogwarts Castle by sailing across the lake with Hagrid.

"Oooh, I wouldn't fancy crossing the lake in this weather," said Hermione fervently, shivering as they inched slowly along the dark platform with the rest of the crowd.

A hundred seemingly horseless carriages stood waiting for them outside the station. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville climbed gratefully into one of them, and Luna, Ginny, Padma and Rohini went into another before the door shut with a snap and a few moments later, with a great lurch, the long procession of carriages was rumbling and splashing its way up the track toward Hogwarts Castle.

"Home sweet Home." Rohini said with a smile as she stared at the hundreds of lighten windows.

"Home sweet Home." Luna repeated, and the girls tried to sit as close as possible to warm up.