Hogwarts TNG: The Four Corners and the Black Queen

by Marcus Gaudry

It's a whole new generation at Hogwarts! As four new students enter their first year, they soon learn that a terrible dark witch from the past still lingers in the forbidden forest, waiting to join a secret society that has been developing for decades. A/N: This story ignores most of Cursed Child, call it AU or not cannon if you wish.

7. Chapter 7 November

NOVEMBER

1

The first Saturday after Halloween was also the first Quidditch game. Daisy had already served her detention for her brawl in the hallway, so she was permitted to go. Adam didn't have any detention, so it went without saying he could go. As for Rachael and Richard, well Rachael was still in the hospital wing for observation and Richard did have detention.

Of course, everyone was talking about the match; this year the season opener was Hufflepuff against Gryffindor. James Potter was placing bets on Gryffindor to completely demolish Hufflepuff. Bobbi Bell, Captain and Chaser for the Hufflepuff team took that bet; fifty galleons.

Besides that, Daisy had fetched Rachael's diary for her. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help but try to open it; she just had to see if Rachael thought about her as much as she did. Thing is, the book wouldn't open at all. The best result Daisy could get for her efforts was the otherwise empty nameplate on the front cover revealing a single word: PASSWORD. After trying at least a dozen different words, Daisy finally gave up and took it to Rachael. She didn't say anything about it; not even to comment on it not opening. The fact that she even tried to read her best friend's diary was too disgraceful; yes they were friends, but that was no reason to pry into her business. Some might say that friends should trust each other with everything and have no secrets, but that was rubbish. If Rachael wanted Daisy to know something, she would say something. Besides, it wasn't as if Daisy told Rachael everything, either.

That first week in November, she also got a reply from Rene; the parchment she wrote her request on asked which course she would like to start with, and Daisy replied Defense. Then the scroll- she presumed it was Rene writing on a similar parchment- set up a date, time, and place to meet for their first session.

Then it was Saturday; the opening of the Quidditch season. It seemed everyone was there; except, of course, for Rachael and Richard. There were even people from outside the school there; mostly parents. Adam's Mum and Dad were there, and when she sat with him, Adam introduced her. They both appeared nice enough, if maybe a little uptight. Miss Granger and Ron Weasley showed up, too, and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. The one person that showed up that was a bit of a shock was Rachael's Mum. Rachael didn't talk much about her parents; but Daisy definitely got the impression Rachael didn't much like them- or at least didn't trust them. She did know part of the reason she wanted to come to Hogwarts instead of Ilevermorny was because of how much farther it was from home.

For her part, Daisy thought Miss North seemed polite enough, if rather forced; like she barely abide being around so many people she considered 'less' than her status. Also, she thought her features seemed all pinched in- much like a Pug dog. At any rate, Miss Pansy North navigated her way through the seats, finally taking one in the midst. She was like a tiny dot of green and silver in a vast sea of scarlet, gold, yellow and black. Daisy wondered obscurely for just a moment why Rachael's dad wasn't there with her; and then decided he was surely chasing down some big story for the Daily Prophet.

As Daisy recalled, Miss North wasn't present for very long; it seemed she got in quite the row with Hermione Granger before the match even started. Something about a broach Miss North was wearing. Daisy wasn't paying much attention, but Pansy claimed it was a gift from an important member of the Black Family after Hermione asked about it. Then Uncle Ron made some kind of crack- probably to break the tension- and suddenly everyone was all up in arms with pushing and shoving and swearing. In very short order, Miss North –ne-Parkinson found herself surrounded by friends and allies of the all but incumbent Minister of Magic. In a huff, Rachael's Mum walked out of the stands of the pitch, head held high in a vain attempt at dignity.

Once that matter was settled and everyone was seated again, the match got ready to start.

"What was all that about, anyway?" Daisy asked.

"I dunno," Adam replied.

"Nothing really to worry about too much, kids," Romilda, Adam's Mum said. "Those two have always been at each other."

"Seems like some things will never change, right?" Ernie, Adam's dad, said.

And then, the whistle blew and the two teams came out and got ready to play. The crowd roared with excitement; in equal measure for both the Lions and the Badgers. Daisy looked aside and saw that Adam was very clearly behind the Badgers; specifically, it seemed their premier chaser and Captain Bobbi Bell; Daisy wasn't sure if she was the daughter or niece of Katie Bell, though she supposed it didn't much matter. One thing Daisy did know; is that all four of them wanted desperately to play. Adam was after becoming a Chaser, Rachael was sure she'd be a great Seeker, Richard fancied he could be Keeper; though Daisy wasn't sure his flying skills would be quite up to it. As for Daisy herself, why, she wanted to be a Beater; that was why she was planning on paying closest attention to the Beaters on the pitch today. Her primary focus was going to be on Roxanne Weasley, whom she learned had beaten her to the punch at being a girl Beater, though there is the Harpies, so obviously that's not really a thing anyway. With that in mind, it was apparent that Daisy would be supporting the Lions.

Oliver Wood, flight instructor and Quidditch referee laid out the rules, and then tossed the Quaffle into the air. Very quickly Daisy got a little discouraged; she had no idea that even at this level the game would be so fast paced. It was all she could do to keep up with the Quaffle at all, and before she knew it the Badgers were ahead 40 points to none. Three of the goals were scored by Bell. Then Roxanne smashed a Bludger, knocking Bell off course enough to drive her into the sand below. It looked like Bobbi was going to be ok, so Daisy didn't feel too badly for cheering the hit; especially since the Lions scored a pair of goals right after that.

The match was actually quite close for awhile, at least until Bobbi Bell came back into play. Little as Daisy liked to admit, Bell was brilliant as a Chaser. She seemed to have a natural ability to find the loops to score. The way daisy was seeing it, the only one able to even slow Bobbi down was Roxanne Weasley. She made a note of it. When she was a Beater, whichever team, if she was up against Bobbi Bell, it was on Bell her sights would have to be locked. Beside her, Adam was ecstatic. Daisy could understand why; it was looking like Bobbi Bell was almost singlehandedly demolishing the Gryffindor Lions. It was apparent to Daisy anyway, that Gryffindor's only hope was to catch the Snitch. The score had worked up to seventy points to sixty, with the Lions actually pulling ahead for a moment before Bobbi Bell recomposed herself enough to get back into the match, and then almost as suddenly as Daisy could blink, it seemed the score a hundred and ten to seventy; three of the goals scored by Bobbi herself, and she played a role in setting up the other two. Roxanne Weasley did manage to tag with a Bludger or two, but not enough to stop her like that first hit. Daisy looked frantically for the Snitch to see if the Gryffindor Seeker, a boy called Stephen Dunn, was anywhere near it. She couldn't see the Snitch, but then Dunn dove into the pitch, racing towards the Hufflepuff loops, just as their Seeker, an African boy called Thomas Venport- older brother of Dennis who was in first year with Daisy- was streaking on his broom mere inches above the grass and rising towards the same spot. It looked to Daisy like they were as likely to crash as not, and the announcer whose name escaped Daisy seemed to agree. Daisy looked away, shutting her eyes to avoid seeing the inevitable carnage...

"AND VENPORT GUNS HIS BROOM AT THE LAST SECOND, GAINING JUST ENOUGH SPACE TO SNATCH THE SNITCH AND AVOID COLLIOSION!" The announcer screamed at the top of her lungs. "Unfortunately, Dunn was not so lucky; he's smashed straight into the sand. BUT NEVER MIND THAT! HUFFLEPUFF WINS! 260-70 FOR HUFFLEPUFF! Captain Bobbi Bell, Chaser extraordinaire, has put together a bloody brilliant team, my apologies for the language, Headmistress."

"Bollocks" Daisy muttered.

"Did you see that?" Adam asked gleefully straight into her ear. "Did you see that? She's brilliant, isn't she? It's not just the scoring; it's the setting up the plays!"

"Yeah, I saw it!" Daisy replied, smiling for Adam's sake; it was good to see at least he was happy; sort of. She could be happy with him for his sake; kind of. "She was great."

Apparently Adam was not oblivious, in his glee after all. It dawned on him that she was, although technically a Muggleborn was actually born from a Squib, and that much of her extended family, in the stands with them right now, were Gryffindor for generations and most likely here to support their House. He calmed down immediately, even as he and his father exchanged high fives and bumped their fists together. Adam then made a point of shaking hands respectfully with Daisy first, then several members of her family present, saying 'good game' to each of them.

As the crowd began to disperse with the end of the game, Daisy endured Adam going on about his new apparent hero in Roberta Bell; mostly by tuning him out- or at least turning the volume down a notch or two. On their way out, she noted Bobbi and Roxanne were actually talking at the other end of the Pitch; it looked like they were having an amicable conversation. It struck Daisy odd they would be friends. But that is how it almost looked.

Of course she went to other games throughout the month, but much of the remainder was all about sessions with Rene. Although there was some ribbing to deal with about needing remedial courses, especially from York and Hodges, the one really big bonus was the sessions often meant she had reason to be out of the dorm after curfew.

The first session, which was on DADA, was particularly helpful; Daisy quickly found Rene to be highly approachable and actually a very good teacher. They started with the disarming charm. Her first attempt worked more like a stunning spell; nearly knocking Rene off his feet even though he did manage to block the actual spell.

"Wow," he commented. "There's a lot more to your punch than I expected. May ask you what your core is?"

"Pegasus Feather," Daisy replied.

Rene nodded. "They tend to be a little stubborn, don't they?" He asked rhetorically. "That might be part of the matter; it will take some patience, but I have little doubt it'll come around. Full disclosure; I checked with a few of your instructors, and they all seem to concur that you're not as far behind as you might think." He readied himself. "Here's what I'd like to try; take a deep breath, counting to four as you in inhale."

Daisy drew a breath, counting to four.

"Now hold it for four seconds, please."

Daisy held her breath, counting to four.

"Now exhale, counting to four."

Daisy did it.

"Now hold it, again for four seconds."

Daisy did as Rene instructed, and then repeated the whole process at his request. Then did it twice more, and by then she felt different; she felt a lot more...grounded, more centered, calmer. Then Rene had her try the charm again.

A red stream came from her wand, and connected with his wand; but instead of knocking his wand from his hand, the stream wrapped around his wand and made sparkles.

"Okay, good," He said. "That's an improvement, right? You're already showing signs of harmonizing with your wand! Care to have another go? Only this time, perhaps it might help if your snap at the end wasn't quite so sharp."

Daisy did want to. This time, she more flicked her wand at the end of her wave rather than snapping it. Finally, Rene's wand shot out of his hand and clattered to the floor of the DADA classroom. He quickly snatched it up, congratulating Daisy as he did so. They gave it a few more goes, and made sure that she actually had the charm down.

"Let me ask, if I may, what was the main thing that was different now from before?" Rene asked her.

"I guess it was that I felt more relaxed; less pressured." Daisy replied. "I reckon the breathing helped some."

Rene beamed. Apparently her answer served to prove a theory of his or something. He then advised that she practice the breathing technique each morning as part of her morning exercise program, and at night before going to sleep.

"The idea," he explained, "is to keep your mind and body in harmony with each other. This way, you are centred with yourself and thus more apt to harmonize with the world around you. Your wand should be more cooperative as a result. Of course, there are some issues with your form that I would like to work with, but I'm already certain that you'll see a noticeable improvement in your regular classes."

He was right. That month was by far her best month in school so far. She had even managed to rack up a few credits towards her prospective House. Not only that, but Rene was very handy in gently taking notice of the slight weaknesses in her actual technique. By the time they got to Christmas break, she still felt like she was a little behind the curve, but also felt like she was catching up.

2

My detention was assigned to Filch. The old custodian squib was delirious with pleasure at the prospect. Much to his disappointment, Headmistress McGonagall warned him that corporal punishment was strictly verboten; there would be no hanging students by their thumbs in the dungeon. I'm not sure if she gave Filch this warning only to frighten me, or because Filch really needed this kind of instruction. If it was to scare me, it worked; I was freaked right out. He was clearly dismayed at this limitation, but made up for it in his own way by vocally reminiscing about the days when such punishments were the norm, while coming up with the most unpleasant tasks he could think of.

The first night of detention saw me scrubbing toilets without magic; starting with the one he was forced to use after being dosed with Daisy's U-Go-Poo. It was all I could do to keep from gagging, much to Filch's joy.

"If I can't have the punishment you're really due, then let the punishment fit the crime, I say." He rasped at me. "You and your little friends were behind that prank; I know it! Count yourself lucky I can't have my way; if I did, you'd be paddled while hanging by your ankles!"

You get the idea. These were the kinds of things Filch had me do.

Anyways, the first Saturday of November was the opening of Quidditch; Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. As I was still in detention by then, I was not allowed to go. I did, however, get to go see Rachael during the game; she was still in the hospital wing 'for observation' I had no idea what they were observing her for, except that it had to have something to do with that weird mist in the forest.

I know she got a howler from her mom over our misadventure; she was clearly furious. I didn't hear the message myself, but I was told that in it, Mrs North threatened to pull Rachael from school personally if stepped out of line again. Even I got a letter from my mom, delivered by Isis- that's Adam's owl. She said she was disappointed in me, that I should know better than to disrespect the rules of the school like that. That I know very well rules like the one about the Forest are in place for my protection and safety. She didn't make any threats, but it was clear that she was not happy with my behavior.

So I went over to the hospital wing to visit Rachael. When I got there, her dad was just leaving; actually I almost ran right into him except that he gripped my shoulder firmly and stopped me before we crashed. He was once again wearing his green overcoat with the silver buckles; which I noticed now were little serpents. His unnaturally red hair was tied into tiny braids and he had strange golden eyes. What I also noticed was the tattoo on the back of his hand; a blue pentagram.

"Oops!" I cried. "I'm so sorry, sir! I should've been paying closer attention to where I was going!"

Mr. North smiled; I think it was an attempt at a warm smile, but something in it chilled my bones.

"No harm done, I'm sure." He said. He studied me a moment, as if sizing me up. "You're Richard Gavin, David's son, yes?"

"Yes, sir," I responded.

"Rachael has mentioned you in her correspondence. She tells her mother and I that you're quite brilliant and talented, especially for your age; possibly the best of this year." He said with a kind of icy calm. He wasn't unfriendly about it, but his cordiality seemed less than genuine. "It's good to meet you. I'm Rigel North." He extended his hand in greeting.

We shook.

"Good to meet you, too, sir." I replied. "Thanks for the subscription from the Prophet, by the way. I really like your work; someone has to keep watch over the activities of those Harker people."

Mr. North beamed; apparently I said the right thing. "Thank you," he said. "Well, I suppose you're here to see my daughter; I'll let you to it." He released my hand and stepped aside to let me pass as he made his way down the hell to wherever it was he intended to go next; my guess was to the match.

I walked into the hospital wing and made my way to Rachael's bunk. She was sitting up with her journal in her lap and a quill in her hand. She looked up and saw me, and then promptly closed the journal and placed the quill on the table beside her.

"Hey, Richard," she greeted, smiling. "I guess you decided to come see me since you can't go to the match, eh?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." I answered. "How're you feeling?"

"Good, actually," she said. "Maybe a little bored, but good. They say they'll be letting me go tomorrow night; I figure they've decided I'm fine. Now it's just a night and a day of follow up. What about you? How're you doing?"

I groaned. "Detention's been with Filch." I answered. "Some of the things he's had me do have been beyond gross; before you ask, I don't really want to talk about it. On top of that, he's been hovering around me and telling me what kind of punishments he remembers from days of old."

Rachael swore. "And here I thought I had it rough." She commented. "Sorry about your luck."

I waved it off. "I got to wondering just how old Filch really is."

Rachael laughed lightly. "I don't know for sure, but the way my dad and mom talk, he was old when they were in school."

I believed that.

"So I nearly crashed into your dad on the way in." I said to change the subject. "I guess that was a pleasant visit; more grief over our little exploration, right?"

"Funny you should say," Rachael replied. "He was here for that, but not quite for the same reason as mom's howler. See, he was giving me crap for being careless and getting caught; can you believe that?"

I blinked and gave my head a good shake. I was starting to think maybe her old man was alright, after all. I even told her so. She said that it would seem that way, but the way she trailed off made me wonder what she wasn't saying. Maybe she just didn't want to talk trash about her folks; it's already evident that for some reason she doesn't like them much. I can't help but think that might just be a girl thing.

"Yeah, it kind of does," I said. "So, anyways, are you allowed to say what they are observing you for, or is that a big hush-hush thing like the forest was?"

"They didn't say I couldn't talk about it, so I'm guessing it's okay." She answered. "Mostly they've just been watching me, asking me weird questions mainly about my dreams; that and about what I remember of what happened out there in the mist."

I was a little bit curious about that, too. "What did happen? If I can ask."

She said it was no problem and then told me as best as she could. It sounded to me like some kind of ghost or something, but I'd have to research it to be sure. I started off by asking what she thought was really out there.

"That's just it," she said. "I'm not sure asking what it was is the right question. I almost think we should ask who was it that was out there. It really felt more like a person than a thing... or kind of. I even asked if they had any idea, and they just kept changing the subject or avoiding my questions altogether. Why do grownups do that?"

I shrugged. "I have no clue." I answered honestly. "What I wanna know is if it was so dangerous, why didn't they just get rid of it right off?"

"Maybe they couldn't." Rachael replied. For just a second her expression changed; like she was morbidly pleased. "Maybe it's too powerful. Maybe all they could- I mean can- do was detain it until they can figure out what to do with it."

"Yeah, maybe," I agreed. "Well, I guess I oughta get outta here. I'm sure Filch has something especially pleasant for me to do tonight, so I better make sure I'm ready for it."

Rachael wished me luck as I left. From outside, I could hear the cheers from the Quidditch pitch and heaved a sigh; wishing I could have been there with them watching the match.

"Awww... poor wittle Richie," Peeves taunted me from overhead. "Can't watch the game 'cuz he's been a baaaaad boy..." He cackled, giving me a raspberry as he floated backwards through the wall behind him.

It was around that point that the first of the revellers of the match came rushing through the door; judging from the amount of black and yellow flying around, I was able to quickly figure out that Hufflepuff had won the first match of the season, and from the resounding chants:

"BOB-BIE! BOB-BIE!"

I was able to discern that most of the credit was being given to Bobbi Bell, their team captain and premier Chaser. Given that Thomas Venport was being carried into the school on the crowds' shoulders, I reasoned out that Dennis' older brother, the Hufflepuff Seeker probably caught the snitch as well.

"Too bad you had to miss it, Richie," Dennis shouted as he grabbed me to bring me along with the crowd. "It was bloody brilliant! At the end, it was a race for the Snitch; Thom and Dunn were both going for it," He held his hands out, one low and one high, and gradually brought them closer together. "And then at the last second Thom gunned his broom and..." He sped up the movement of his lower hand to zip it past his higher one. "POW! He had the Snitch and Dunn ate pitch!"

"Yeah, it sounds awesome!" I said, grinning. "I wish I could've been there. Hey, you know what? I really gotta go. Filch, you know..." I excused myself, hearing Dennis say something to the effect of yeah right. Then I nearly got run over by Adam.

"It was amazing, Richard!" He said. "You really missed out...oh, sorry; I guess you don't need to hear about it right now, do you?"

"It's fine, Adam." I reassured him. "Why don't you walk with me to the dungeon and tell me about it?"

That was an invite I quickly regretted. He accepted the offer happily, and proceeded to give me a play by play in intricate detail; most of his focus being on Bobbi Bell and her 'brilliant plays' both with her scoring and her setting up her other Chasers.

"She's a genius, I tell you." Adam gibbered. "I hope I get sorted into Hufflepuff just so I can be on her team next year; I can't imagine anyone beating the Badgers as long as she's Captain."

For most of November, that's how it went with Adam; Bobbi Bell this and Bobbi Bell that, with some healthy doses of Indigo Alders in there for good measure if the subject wasn't Quidditch related in any way. He clearly had no interest in whatever it was or is in the forest anymore; in fact he seemed to do all he could to avoid that subject altogether, quickly changing it to either Quidditch or classes or Indigo- sometimes he would ask Daisy how her work outs with Philip were going or inquire about Rene's lessons.

The four of us managed to stay out of trouble long enough to go to the next match: Ravenclaw against Slytherin. The crowd gathered at the Pitch was nothing short of phenomenal; not only were the students all there- as far as I could tell- and the whole staff, but several parents and relatives, too. Even Draco Malfoy- that's Scorpius' dad- showed up. Apparently his mom wasn't feeling well that day. The stands were a wash of blue, bronze, green and silver. Banners of Eagles and Serpents were flying everywhere. It was kind of like this hockey game my mom took me to once, but way better.

Even Rachael's mother was at the game. She apologized to Rachael that her father couldn't join them, but he was up in the announcer's booth to do a report on the game for the Prophet. She pointed up to the announcer's booth, and sure enough there he was, with the announcer and the Deputy Headmaster Professor Flitwick.

"And what about your mother, dear?" she, Mrs North, asked me. "Will your mother be joining us? What was her name again?"

"Uh... no I don't think she will be." I replied kind of dumbly. "She's back in Canada, and a Muggle, see? Her name's Sylvia, anyway."

"Oh, a half-blood are we?" she commented, as if she suddenly caught a whiff of dragon fertilizer. "Well, I suppose we can't hold that against you, talented as Rachael tells us you are." For some reason, I got the idea in my head it might have been a mistake to tell her my mother's name.

"Mom, please!" Rachael cried, sounding a little embarrassed. I have to admit, knowing she had mentioned me in her letters to her parents made me feel a little bit giddy inside. Of course, she probably mentioned Adam too; not so much Daisy, though. I always got the impression her parents felt the same way about Muggleborns as Solberg, York, Wilkes and Hodges did. But they didn't mention Adam. Was I given special mention? For that matter, when mentioned her to my mom in my letters hoe, did I give any impressions she was separate somehow from Adam or Daisy?

A whistle blew. The teams came out. The announcer introduced the teams.

"And let's not forget, the new captain of Ravenclaw, their aptly named Keeper, TREVOR WALL!"

The roar from the Ravenclaw supporters was deafening as they cheered and chanted his name over and over again. I was hoping to try out as Keeper next year for whatever House I got sorted into, so I figured that if this guy was a good as they made him sound, I might want to study him.

The cheers died down as the teams gathered to the centre of the Pitch and Mister Wood gave a short summary of the rules and outlined his expectations as far fair play are concerned. Finally he tossed the Quaffle in the air and in a flash the game was on.

The Slytherin team was relentless right from the start; their central Chaser (I forget his name) clutched the Quaffle as the other two took on a formation like an air force strike; their Beaters wasting no time smashing the Bludgers to intercept the Ravenclaw Chasers. Straight away, the Slytherins tried a fake out move with a drop pass trick, but Trevor was more than up to the task; he made it look effortless when he shifted his position to the hoop the Slytherins tried to score on and kicked the Quaffle away and into the hands of a Ravenclaw Chaser which escaped the onslaught of the Beaters with their Bludgers. The Ravenclaw Chaser (I think her name was Jordan) made a mad dash for the Slytherin goal and tossed the Quaffle. Their Keeper blocked that shot, but then another Chaser in blue tipped the Quaffle through the posts to take an early lead.

The Slytherins quickly regained control of the Quaffle and began a confirmed barrage of shots on Trevor, who blocked every last one of them; he really was like a wall! For what seemed like an eternity, the Slytherin team dominated the pitch, but could not get anything past Trevor 'the' Wall.

"...and there's the snitch!" The announcer declared. "Both Seekers, Watson and Holmes, there's a joke in their somewhere, I'm sure, have seen it and are going for it!"

Sure enough, the Seekers made a dive and run at the Golden Snitch. At first the Seeker for the Slytherins – Watson – took the lead; though not by much, Holmes of Ravenclaw was right on his heels. Meanwhile, the game went on, with Trevor blocking every effort that Slytherin made at getting on the board; even with the ability to cancel out every Ravenclaw to gain control of the Quaffle. Chasing the Snitch all over the Pitch, Holmes and Watson started trying to bump each other off course.

Then the announcer cursed, and quickly apologized to Flitwick for language. "Alex Casewell has just knocked his own Seeker off his broom after Holmes served to avoid his Bludger! He's likely to pay for that mistake!"

"What an IDIOT!" Both Rachael and her mom spat. I glanced at Rachael for a moment; that didn't sound like her at all. Both the sentiment and her voice just sounded all kinds of wrong. She soon noticed I was looking at her, and for just a fraction of a second her eyes looked wrong too. It might have been my eyes playing a trick on me, because as soon as I saw that it was gone.

"HOLMES HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" The announcer shouted. "THE GAME IS OVER! RAVENCLAW WINS, 160 TO NOTHING! What a rare thing to see, a shut out! Trevor really is a wall!"

A wave of blue and bronze stood and cheered. Those in green and silver seemed to groan in unison; including Rachael and her mom. I may have witnessed the one time ever that mother and daughter North actually agreed on something. Meanwhile, the Ravenclaw supporters began to chant WALLWALLWALL! followed by a single sharp clap over and over as Trevor was lifted up on the shoulders of his teammates. Holmes was raised too, but the celebration was obviously mostly about the Keeper captain.

"I have to admit," Adam said beside me. "That's impressive; I can't think of the last time any Keeper got a shutout. Still, I bet Bobbi can get one by him."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." I said back, though at the time I was having my doubts. Bell might be good, but Trevor was nothing short of amazing.

The rest of the month struck me as kind of unremarkable. Classes went on smoothly enough. Daisy was showing some serious improvement; apparently her sessions with Rene were paying off. From what I could tell, a lot of it had to do with some kind of breathing exercise. I don't really get it; but maybe it has to do with some centering herself or something. Adam was big on talking about Quidditch, but actively avoided anything to do with the mist in the forest. Rachael would talk about it, but only in a vague and sometimes rather cryptic way. Daisy once mentioned that she, Rachael, wasn't sleeping well since my birthday. My best guess is that whatever she saw in the mist had a much larger effect on her than she admits; she says she doesn't really remember.

"I reckon tha' migh' be fer the best." Hagrid once said when I told him about that. "The two of yeh should never've gone out there in the firs' place."

"You're probably right about that." I agreed; or pretended to agree. I liked Hagrid a great deal, and didn't want to argue with him. Besides, in a way he kind of was right. We were breaking the rules, Rachael and I.

"Ye better believe I'm righ' abou' tha'!" He admonished further. "McGonagall was furious wit' the both o' yeh! If she wasn' so worried about yer well bein' she migh o' expelled yeh. Why, if it wasn' fer me and Rene remindin' her..."

He stopped talking.

"Reminding her of what?" I asked. I had noticed that sometimes Hagrid gets to talking and says maybe a little more than he should. That theory was confirmed once by Albus... well, more by James Potter; he said that if you ever want word to get around the school fast, just tell Hagrid like it was secret.

"I shouldn' o' said tha'" Hagrid mumbled, lumbering toward the stovetop in his hut to fetch more tea. "I should not have said that. Never yeh mind what we reminded her o', It don't concern yeh none, anyway. Now go on, get on outta here." He said, not unkindly. "I got work to do."

I left his hut and found Rachael and Daisy in the Great Hall. Adam was friends with just about everyone in school, it seemed, so he was off with some other group; Indigo Alders almost certainly among them. Kyle Delaney too, probably; I think Kyle is an okay guy, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me very much. Anyway, Rachael was writing in her journal, and Daisy was playing a game of wizard's chess with Philip Knox. Since it's played just like normal chess except with moving pieces that actually attack each other and sometimes interact with the player, it was simple enough for me to understand. I took a look at the board, and Daisy was winning, It was Philip's move, and despite his pieces objection he made a bad move; one that would almost guarantee Daisy would win. I was about to say something when he looked up at me with a desperate look that told me to shut up. Then I got it; he was letting her win, but he didn't want her to know.

Besides that, I can't say much more about the month of November, except that ny the time December rolled around I was really looking forward to Christmas.

3

To: Rachael Truth North, Hospital Wing, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry From: Pansy North ne Parkinson, Governess of Gringott's (Canadian Branch)
Re: Your incident in the Forbidden Forest on Halloween

A Howler

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, YOU CARELESS, FOOLISH LITTLE GIRL? Do you have any idea how much of an embarrassment you are right now? Your father and I are VERY disappointed in you! You do realize, of course that you could have been killed, or worse, YOU NEARLY GOT YOURSELF EXPELLED! MARK MY WORDS, YOUNG LADY; IF I EVER HEAR OF ANY HIJINKS LIKE THIS FROM YOU AGAIN, I WILL PERSONALLY COME THERE AND BRING YOU HOME! Then I will give Tonka your favorite gown, setting her free and YOU will take on her chores as if you were nothing more than a FILTHY SQUIB!"

From the Diary of Rachael Truth North

Nov 6

Still in the hospital wing; but the staff all say that I should be good to go Monday. It's Saturday today. I don't get why I'm here; I feel completely fine. They keep asking me about my dreams. Thing is, I don't remember any. At least it's not like they make me stay in bed; they just don't let me leave the wing. Daisy, Richard and Adam come by a lot. Well, Richard when he can get away from Filch; usually he comes up with an excuse like bringing me homework or to fill me in on what's going on in classes. That's his way of working around his detention restrictions.

Sorry, Richard just popped in; apparently he was able to slip Filch's leash for awhile. Everyone else is on their way to Quidditch. First game this year will be Gryffindor against Hufflepuff (big whoop).

I got a Howler from Mom; whatevs. It's not like she didn't mess around with the rules when she was here. I attached a version of it to this Diary for the sake of it. It's kind of cute that mommy dearest cared enough to send it!

Anyway, just before I got interrupted by Richard, dad was here. He said mom was actually at the Quidditch match; which is weird since it had nothing to do with Slytherin House. His approach in talking about the Forest and the Mist was quite a bit different than mom's. He chuckled about it a little, saying that he and mom should have gotten into much worse trouble with some of the things they did; especially while hanging out with the likes of Draco Malfoy and his idiot friends. The difference, he said, was that they found better ways to not get caught; or better still, they found ways to work the system so that they actually got rewarded for some of their activities. There's something to think about. I bet most of that was dad. I seem to recall that mom was pretty tight with Draco at one point. Apparently mommy picked her pet in the end, and that was actually the wise choice...

I digress. After dad's lecture (which I think was more like a hint) he added that I shouldn't worry about the Howler (I wasn't); that it was sent merely for show. Mother isn't mad that I went out at all. She is disappointed that I got caught, but that is a lesson n and of itself. Then he finally got around to asking how I am.

While I was telling him that I felt absolutely fine, he was watching me very closely. I swear he was looking for something; I know he can usually read me like a book; that was part of the reason I wanted to come here to Hogwarts. I wanted some distance so I can hopefully figure out a way around that. Whatever it was he was looking for, I think he must have found it, or at least saw something he liked. He smiled that serpentine smile of his that passes for warmth and said he was glad. I believe that; dad might be able to spin a story backwards and make it seem like the absolute truth and then twist it into a pretzel, but I think I can read him pretty good. Usually I can tell the difference; and he really was glad I was feeling okay. He asked me about classes, and then went on to ask about my friends.

He seemed marginally pleased that I was associated with Adam, even if his parents were from the Houses he liked least; at least they were both Purebloods. Daisy he didn't seem too interested in; he didn't say anything outright hateful about her, but hardly seemed surprised she would resort to fisticuffs in order to settle disputes. He avoided calling her a Muggleborn and did not use the other term at all, but I got the idea that he believed one could expect nothing else from 'people like her'. The infuriating thing about dad is that I sometimes think he actually believes he's being open minded and 'tolerant'. Still, he does hold to his values, and even he is slippery and sneaky about the way he does things, he gets results, which is much more than I can say for Lucius Malfoy and his useless son Draco.

What struck me as weird was his interest in Richard. Why did he ask so much about a half-blood with so many ties to Ravenclaw? I mean, sure, he's starting a year younger than everyone else and still at the top of the whole class (even me) on average, but I don't get why that would be so important; especially since although he's nice and all, he's also a bit weird and doesn't make friends too easily.

Well, whatever; I guess it's not important. All I know right now is that dad seems keen on me keeping my friendship with him. He also suggested I start keeping track of my dreams. I said I would, but I have no idea what good that will do. He left, and I saw him nearly bump into Richard on the way out. They exchanged words, and as far as I could tell, Richard seemed to think dad was alright. Then he wanted to talk about Halloween. I didn't. I mean, not really; actually I don't remember much more than I already wrote about. Most of that seems kind of vague, too; more like a nightmare than anything that really happened.

Nov 11

DREAMLOG:
I was walking in the halls of school in my bedclothes, late at night, but it was all wrong because it was more like I was floating in my own body. I was on the second floor and heading towards the girl's washroom; the one Moaning Myrtle died in. I remember thinking some totally foreign thoughts about the ghost: filthy Mudblood; good riddance to that trash anyway. Where that thought came from I have no clue. Then I got into the washroom and went straight to the sinks. One of the faucets had the Slytherin House symbol engraved on it.
"Open" I demanded in a voice that wasn't mine, and then cursed when nothing happened.
"You said it wrong," Myrtle moaned sulkily. "You have to say it in that other language. You know, the one Harry can speak." She sighed dreamily.
"Be quiet, you miserable little Mudblood!" I snarled. It was as if I was not in control. Myrtle whimpered indignantly and flew herself into one of the toilet bowls and out of sight.

Somehow I knew what she was talking about. I had to speak in Parstletounge if I wanted to open this passage to the Chamber deep beneath. The problem was that I didn't know Parstletounge. This is going to make it all the more difficult to the work that needs to be done.

That's what I remembered about my dream. McGonagall has finally let me out to attend classes like a normal student. Richard is still bugging me about Halloween. I'm not sure who Adam is crushing on more; Bobbi Bell or Indigo Alders. Daisy seems alright; she's certainly getting much better at the practical end of classes.

It's a little bit weird here, nobody is really commemorating Remembrance Day. The part that makes it weird is that the UK was definitely in the war and lost plenty of vets. Maybe it's because it was a Muggle war that didn't have much effect on the Wizard world.

I am having a hard time putting my thoughts on paper today; that dream is bugging me; the worst part of it was the lack of control of even my thoughts. It was like I was becoming what I picture my mom was like in school.

Nov 16

So like I've been saying a lot lately, I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping. There have been a lot of bad dreams, but I find I forget them as soon as I wake up. All I know is they seem to center around someone called the Black Queen. Daisy has noticed; that doesn't surprise me in the least since she sleeps in the next bunk. I've been considering making use of that Warding Powder mom made me after all. The only problem with that idea is that next year I'll be moving to one of the houses and I don't know if the powder will prevent another student from using my bunk in this first year tower. At least the sleep deprivation hasn't hurt my progress in classes.

Anyway, Richard, Daisy and I have managed to stay out of trouble. Adam never gets into trouble anyway; he's such a goody-goody. Albus and Scorpius got busted exploring the halls after curfew last week; I don't know what they were up to. Daisy said she asked Rose Weasley, but she didn't know exactly, either. Neither did James Potter, but he did mention that Albus actually seemed relieved about something. Whatever. So they got their detention and that's all sorted. It looks like they'll be able to go to today's Quidditch game. It's Slytherin against Ravenclaw.

Later that day

The game was a total blowout. Ravenclaw stomped Slytherin 160-zip. Slytherin could not even get on the board! Mom was disgusted, especially with that idiot Beater Casewell. He nailed Watson with a Bludger! What kind of MORON disables his own Seeker? It was bad enough that the Slytherin Chasers couldn't get past the Ravenclaw Keeper to save their miserable lives, but the team had to botch on every other front! A lot of older students are ribbing on Casewell- both Ariya and her brother – for his botch.

Also, I've thinking about this Black Queen; who is she? Maybe I should look her up in the library. For that matter, I can take Richard with me; I'm sure he'd be thrilled. The library is pretty much his go to spot in the school; I'm almost positive that his sense of direction here is based on where things are in relation to it. Not only that, but he's been hounding me constantly about Halloween, and I'm pretty sure this Queen or whatever has something to do with that.

Nov 23

I haven't invited Richard to look up this "Black Queen" yet. I don't know why, but it seems like a bad idea. Maybe it's because on some level I don't want to know. He's persistent on wanting to talk about that night, though; even with literally everybody saying he should let it go. The other day he told me even Hagrid's saying so; if that old oaf is bright enough to tell him that, then surely it's best to forget the whole thing and just move on with our studies. Or maybe he's having such a hard time letting go of it because he's too clever for his own good. Maybe that's why dad wants me to keep him close, though I still don't see why he should care.

I'm still having a time of trying to remember my dreams. I know that in the one I had last night I was in Slughorn's supply room, though I have no idea what I was in there for. The night before last I was in the greenhouses; Wilbur was in there, eating gnomes and getting super fat; like, ready to explode fat. The part that's weird is yesterday Professor Longbottom said that some Mandrake seedlings vanished. Should I be concerned? No, I wouldn't steal. That's ridiculous.

Nov 25

Okay, I'll admit, I'm getting a little freaked out. Today in Potions Professor Slughorn announced that someone raided his supplies over the weekend. He was perfectly clear he didn't think it was anyone in the first year class, but that we should be very careful about our possessions. Richard asked if he could tell us what was taken, and Slughorn accommodated him by listing a bunch of ingredients.

At lunch, I asked what those ingredients were for. Daisy had no idea. Richard felt he should know, and Adam said they were for an antidote for petrifaction almost right away. I don't get it; what would be the use of that?

The reason I'm getting freaked out is that my dreams- even the ones I can't remember- always seem to have one common thread: I see them through my own eyes, but there's this sense of detachment to them; like it's not really me in them. Maybe that's why I'm having such a hard time remembering them. That I did mention to Richard. Not that I dreamt the greenhouse or Slughorn's supplies; I didn't mention that. I only mentioned the detachment thing. He went on this long exposition about legilimency (I think that's how it's spelled). It's when a witch or wizard basically goes into the mind of someone or something like that. What if I'm doing that to the thief without knowing it or how I'm doing it? That's a creepy thought. Maybe this Black Queen is the thief, and I'm getting into her head somehow.

I'm going to stop there. I'm scaring myself.

4

It occurred to Adam that year that kids in general seem to have a remarkably short attention span. This revelation was made clear to him in the very first week of November. For the first couple of days loads of students were asking him about Daisy, Rachael, and Richard; in that order of frequency. They asked if he, Adam, or Daisy knew what Richard and Rachael were up to on Halloween. They asked loads of questions about Daisy's outburst and if she was like that often. James Potter asked when she was planning on giving lessons on how to scrap like that. They asked if it was true that whatever was out there drove Rachael mad. Ariya Casewell even asked if it was true that somehow Richard set the whole thing up; apparently Wilkes put the idea out there that Defaustis and Gavin and Hagrid were aiming to take over the school or some rubbish.

"Of course, Wilkes also said he'd be willing to put his dislike for the runt aside if that were true." Ariya added. "For some reason he despises the Headmistress."

"Professor McGonagall is the best person to ever run Hogwarts!" Rose Weasley said to that. "She's strict, yeah, but she's fair, too. From what I've been told, she even does a better than Professor Dumbledore did!"

"Well, of course you'd hear that, Weasley," Ariya replied. "Everybody knows how much your family loves having a Headmistress from Gryffindor- especially a blood traitor like..."

"Come on now," Adam interrupted. "There's no call for that kind of talk."

"Is everything alright here?" Counsellor Defaustis interjected. On top of being Counsellor, he was also the staff member that led the first years. As he spoke, Adam noticed, a crow that somehow got into the tower common room flew out a window that got left open. By then, Daisy and Philip had gone off for a run, and Richard was either in the library or serving some of his detention with Filch. Rachael was still in the hospital wing.

Adam felt all eyes in the Common Room rest on him; even Kyle Delaney, who originally encouraged him when he reported Daisy's fight, was looking wary. He'd kind of gotten a bit of a reputation for being a tattletale.

"Erm, yes Counsellor, everything's fine." He said finally. He thought maybe if he let this go and did not make trouble for Ariya, he might get out of being labelled like he was- at least a little bit.

By the next morning, it seemed like Rachael, Daisy, and Richard were all but forgotten in favor of Quidditch. Adam could see why; the season was to start that Saturday, but it still struck a bit odd that one topic could die off so quickly in favor of another. Contrary to the way his Mum and Dad often talked about their memories of the game when they were in school, most of talk was about the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams rather than Gryffindor or Slytherin. While it was true that either the Lion or the Serpent had won the cup most of the last twenty years or so, Ravenclaw did win it the previous year, mostly due to the work of their Keeper; some bloke called Trevor Wall. Apparently he was named Captain this year and loads of students were certain they would have a repeat win. Others argued that this was going to the year of the Badger; Bobbi Bell, the Captain and star Chaser were bound to lead them all the way to the cup for the first time nobody really knew how long. The first game that season was scheduled to be Hufflepuff verses Gryffindor.

That Saturday, Daisy and Adam were at the game along with everybody else other than Rachael and Richard, or so it seemed. Even loads of parents were there. It was a little odd to see his Dad wearing the black and yellow of his House and Mum wearing scarlet and gold. Even Hermione Granger-Weasley was there, wearing Gryffindor colors, of course, as was Ronald Weasley. What did stick out a bit was the presence of Rachael's Mum. As she sat near Mrs. Granger-Weasley, the tension could be cut with a dagger. They greeted each other coldly.

"That's a lovely broach, Pansy." Hermione said, pointing at a broach Mrs. North was wearing on her cloak. It looked to Adam like some kind of family crest; but as far as he knew it was neither that of the North family or the Parkinson family. In fact, he wasn't sure if the North's even had a family crest; though he supposed they must.

"Why thank you, Granger." Pansy replied icily. "It was gift from a long time family friend back in the summer after fifth year. It's kind of a congratulatory present for being named Prefect."

"Is that so?" Hermione inquired; her interest was so over the top it had to be sarcastic. "Friends with the Lestranges, are we?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah, the Parkinsons and the Lestranges have been friends for generations." Pansy replied, as if she was clearly legitimately proud of the fact.

"Why is that not a surprise?" Ron Weasley chimed in, grimacing. "Like attracts like, I suppose."

"Shut it Weasel-beak!" Pansy retorted sharply. "It's really rich that a Muggle loving family like yours would dare criticize anyone!"

Hermione stood up quickly to look Pansy in the eye. "You take that back!" she warned.

Grinning maliciously, Pansy shoved Hermione hard enough to force her back into her seat. "Make me, Granger." She challenged.

Immediately everyone in the area stood up and turned their attention onto Pansy. Pansy, realizing she was surrounded, and not by allies, simply made a noise like 'hmph' and walked out of the stands, head held high.

Once Mister Wood blew the whistle, reviewed the rules and tossed the Quaffle up, the game had begun. It was brilliant in Adam's mind, especially the work of Roberta 'Bobbi' Bell. Not only was she stellar goal scorer, she was a genius playmaker as well. There was one point when Roxanne Weasley, a Gryffindor Beater, knocked her out of the game for a bit. This was much to the delight of the Gryffindor supporters, especially Ronald and Hermione. Daisy also seemed quite happy with that; that was alright, Bobbi didn't seem to be seriously hurt. At any rate, the Lions made good on catching up and making it look like a close game; especially with Roxanne's Beater work keeping the Badgers offense at bay. Then Bobbi got back in the game, and the tide turned again; though not quite as spectacularly as before. Finally Thomas Venport- Dennis' older brother and Seeker for Hufflepuff- snatched the Snitch to end the game. The Badger supporters exploded with celebration. The crowd carried both Bobbi and Thomas back to the school on their shoulders, chanting Bobbi's name.

Back in the school, Richard was in the front hall; obviously he was either finished with Filch or was on his way to do that. Whatever the case may be, Dennis Venport grabbed him and pulled him along for the celebration; telling him all about how Thomas won the game. Dennis wasn't wrong in the strictest sense, but the way Adam saw it, it was really Bobbi Bell that made the game happen; it was all about her scoring ability and the plays and strategy she employed as Captain.

For most of the rest of the month, he kept reliving that game; probably driving Richard, Daisy and Rachael mad in the process. While he was excited about the prospect of Hufflepuff actually making a run for the Cup, he was also trying to avoid talking about whatever it was that happened to Rachael on Richard's birthday. It seemed like Rachael was avoiding the subject, too. Meanwhile, Daisy was often off taking extra lessons with Counsellor Defaustis; Adam just couldn't bring himself to call a staff member by his first name. To be fair, it certainly seemed to be working for Daisy; she was starting to get pretty good. As far as Adam could tell, it was mostly about a breathing exercise.

In one of the letters he sent home, he mentioned that to his parents. His Dad replied that it was a very old magical remedy- more a mystic remedy to be precise- which theorized that by regulating your breathing, you put yourself in better alignment with the Universe, With this better alignment, it was easier to channel your internal energies and accomplish what you once thought impossible. Apparently this was really quite a thing in Eastern mysticism, and also used in the Americas.

While his dad believed that was mostly rubbish, he did accept it might work to help someone focus themselves to the task at hand. To Adam, it sort of made sense; he was still certain Daisy's problem was synching up with her wand. He wasn't sure if the theory the exercise was based on was true or if his dad's explanation was right, but he didn't think it mattered much one way or the other; it seemed to be working.

In addition to keeping conversation on Quidditch, especially on Bobbi Bell, Adam was avoiding the subject of Halloween by spending time with other people. He had loads of friends in school, so this was an easy enough thing to do; but usually he found he enjoyed the company of Indigo Alders, Dennis Venport, and Kyle Delaney almost as much as Richard, Rachael and Daisy. Actually, he might have liked Indigo even more.

The next Quidditch match, Ravenclaw against Slytherin, was on November 16. It also had a great turnout, but instead of Gryffindor or Hufflepuff colors, the stands were drenched in the Blue and Bronze of Ravenclaw and the Green and Silver of Slytherin. Adam had no trouble staying out of trouble; he liked things to be orderly and loathed the idea of making any waves in the first place. Richard, Rachael, and Daisy also managed to stay out of detention, too. A few people, especially Wilkes, York, Hodges and to a slightly lesser degree Solberg tried egging Daisy on to throw another punch; for her part Daisy did well to control her temper. Philip Knox mentioned to Adam once that Daisy had been running a lot harder lately. Perhaps she was taking her anger out by running it off.

The four sat together, and Philip, Indigo, Ariya Casewell, and a boy called Nathan Carter sat near them. For about a week before that, Nathan had been trying to earn Rachael's favor; Rachael was basically ignoring him. The Friday before the game, Adam asked Rachael why in the First Year common room.

"Withhold the love, gain the power." Rachael replied in a cool tone that Adam didn't like much. Before he could ask what that was supposed to mean, Rachael got up and went to the girl's dorm.

The match on the sixteenth was a rarity; Trevor Wall, the Keeper and Captain of the Ravenclaw team led the Eagles to a shutout victory. He certainly lived up to his name; despite the rabid volley of shots taken at him by the aggressive Slytherin Chasers, nothing got past him. It was uncanny. The Slytherin Keeper was very good, too; Ravenclaw Chasers only got one goal. Ultimately the match was decided by the Seekers. For some reason both Daisy and Richard got a bit of a chuckle out of their names; Holmes and Watson.

In any case, Holmes ended up catching the Snitch due to an error from a Slytherin Beater (Ariya's older brother), when he accidentally hit his own Seeker with a Bludger while they were both racing for the Snitch. It was clear to Adam that Casewell meant to hit Holmes but got Watson by mistake. The incident brought out a rare and unexpected moment of solidarity between Rachael and her mother as they both began cussing out the Beater's competence and intelligence.

The rest of the month went by without any real incident. Rachael got to act a little odd; she seemed much more irritable, and though she was always often sarcastic her humor was coming off as a lot more hostile. Other than that, things went great; Daisy was showing remarkable progress and getting better with her studies with Counsellor DeFaustis, and even Richard seemed to all but forget about Halloween. Instead, most of their conversation was about whom would win in a matchup between Trevor the Keeper and Bobbi the Chaser. Adam felt certain that now everything was going to go just as it should.