Sophomore year had officially started so I'm not sure of how avidly I'm going to be updating, but I'm gonna try my best! Not to sound repetitive or pushy, but I get a lot of story alerts so if you story alert my story could you please leave a review? I really want to know people's thoughts on it and what they like/don't like about it. It'd be really helpful :)

Disclaimer: I own Lydia and Jason only!

"Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"It'll be fine, Hermione. And hilarious for that matter."

Hermione and I entered the Potions classroom, Harry and Ron following closely behind us. "It's just—you could get in serious trouble! Snape isn't exactly the most laughable person."

I sniggered. "Well that's for sure. But really, don't worry about it. I don't mind getting in a bit of trouble."

Hermione sighed sharply. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." We shuffled off to our designated seats. Hermione had become a lot less strict about the school rules since she started hanging out Harry, Ron and I. This was a relief, because the calmer less stern Hermione was much easier to be friends with.

"Settle down," Snape said, his voice echoing around the room. It wasn't even necessary because the class was dead silent anyway. "If you would please open your books to page 20 and get out a cauldron." The class obeyed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the second half of the twins and I's prank fastened on the walls and I smirked.

As class began, Snape showed an already brewed example of what the potion we'd be creating should look like. The cauldron containing the potion was placed perfectly in front of him. About half an hour into class, a loud noise came from outside in the hallways of the dungeons. It sounded like a huge bang of some sort.

Snape went to investigate and I took my chance. Silently I slipped out of my seat and rushed up to the front. I heard a few of my classmates already starting to giggle as they saw me drop the tablet into Snape's potion. I just barely dodged being seen by Snape as I jumped back into my seat.

Snape reached the front again, glaring at all of us from behind his desk. I was trying not to laugh or look suspicious at all. Normal class continued on, until about 30 seconds later. There was a loud BOOM! I looked up in time to see Snape's face both soaking wet and covered with a thin layer of ash. I bit my lip to keep from laughing, but I couldn't hold it in any longer as paint of many different colors covered his head.

Every Gryffindor was in guffaws, some even rolling on the floor. Most of the Slytherins, however, were not amused. In fact, the only one laughing was Blaise. Snape was fuming. Before he even got a chance to say a word, Pansy Parkinson's hand shot up. "It was Black, sir. Black slipped something into your potion when you were gone!"

I snapped my head around to glare at her. She and several other Slytherins sneered in delight. They would just love to watch me get in trouble. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, Black," Snape snapped. He stood in the same place; he was still dripping with potion and paint. "AND you have detention all of next week, starting Monday the 10th."

I merely smirked. My punishment could be a lot worse. The detentions didn't interfere with our first Quidditch match on Sunday; and honestly, I couldn't take him seriously covered in a rainbow.

~o~

"It was genius—brilliant! I couldn't take him seriously even as he stood there, giving me a full week's worth of detention," I later said to Fred, George and Jason.

"We wish we had seen it," George said jealously.

"But at least we got some thrill of our own," Fred added, him and George smirked at each other.

"How?" I asked.

"The thing they set off in the dungeon hallways—"Jason started to say.

"Dungbomb," the twins finished.

"Which Filch and Mrs. Norris happened to be in the way of," said Jason, smiling. I laughed.

"He was so busy with his hacking he didn't even see us sneak out," Fred mused.

Later on that evening, Harry had attempted to retrieve his book from Professor Snape (he had unfairly snatched it from him along with taking away five points). When he came back, he was out of breath. Snape had injured his leg a few days before and Harry had seen the full view of it, blood and all. There was definitely something up with Snape.

~o~

Normally, breakfast would have looked and smelled delicious to me—except for today. My nerves made me feel sick and the best I could do was nibble on a bit of toast. Harry was having the same problem as I, but we had a good reason. Today was the first Quidditch match of the season—mine and Harry's first game overall.

"Come on, Harry. Lydia's eating!" Hermione tried to persuade. My face scrunched up.

"Barely. I think I might vomit," I said shakily, dropping my piece of toast. Only the corner was missing from it.

"Charlie, Fred and George all said they thought they would on their first games," Ron told us. "Charlie was the Seeker a few years back. Fred and George said their first game turned out fine…but Charlie came out with a broken nose and both of his arms broken."

"Yeah, Seekers are always the ones that get clobbered by the other team," Seamus added.

"Thanks, Seamus," Harry replied bitterly.

Only an hour later, nearly everyone in the school was packed in the stands, eagerly waiting for the first Quidditch match to start. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed something flashy up where Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus and Dean sat. Beaming, I nudged Harry in the arm and pointed to where I was looking.

Side by side, my friends held two sheets. One read "Potter for President" and a flashing Gryffindor lion underneath. The other said "Black attack!" and was painted red and gold with me hitting a Bludger on it. Harry and I laughed joyfully together and we suddenly felt more confident. We were the first 1st years in a century to join the Quidditch team—we could do this!

In the locker rooms after the team has changed into our scarlet robes, Wood began his speech. "Okay, men."

"And women," said Angelina Johnson, one of the three Chasers.

Wood nodded. "And women. This is it."

"The big one," said Fred.

"The one we've all been waiting for," added George.

"We know Oliver's speech by heart…we were on the team last year," Fred told Harry and I. I grinned at him.

"Shut up," Wood interrupted. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years; I know we're going to win!" He then glared at us. He meant business. Outside, Madam Hooch was waiting on the two teams, broom in hand.

"I want a nice fair game, all of you," she warned, particularly eyeing the Slytherin Captain, a sixth year named Marcus Flint. Glancing at the "Black attack!" poster, I exhaled, letting my nerves out. I felt a flash of pure excitement now and was itching to get up in the air. "Mount your brooms, please."

I climbed onto my new broom and gripped my bat tighter. Then, Hooch blew hard on her small silver whistle and all fourteen students (and Madam Hooch) kicked off and rose high in the air. The match had begun.

"Gryffindor Chaser Angelina Johnson takes the Quaffle—excellent Chaser she is, and very attractive too—"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor."

"As we were saying, Johnson passes to Katie Bell—"

"Bell back to Johnson—"

"To Slytherins! The Quaffle has been snatched by Captain Marcus Flint…I think he gonna try to score!"

"Flint going for the goal aaaanddd—"

"MISSES!" Lee Jordan and Jason shouted together. Silently, they high fived.

I watched the Bludger closely and sped towards one that was flying towards Katie Bell. She ducked underneath it just as I wacked it hard across the field. Its direction was now aimed for the head of Adrian Pucey.

"Thanks!" Katie yelled, quickly glancing behind her before speeding after the Quaffle.

"Nice hit!" Fred praised. "Not bad for a beginner!"

"It's harder than it looks!" I admitted.

"Yeah, well, you get a bit bruised up—maybe a broken limb here and there—but it's better than the rest of the team working on getting us points!" he responded. I nodded in agreement. There wasn't much time for conversation. The game was moving along rapidly. Gryffindor had already scored!

Not long after, Gryffindors had called a foul. I had seen it too! That wanker Flint (who keep in mind is a Chaser) hit a Bludger towards Harry just as he'd seen the snitch. It almost knocked Harry right out of the air! Of course he only got a yelling at and Gryffindor got a free shot. I think Flint deserved worse.

"After that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating—"

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall growled.

"Sorry, after that open and revolting foul—"

"Jordan, I am warning you!"

"After that penalty, Gryffindor earns a free shot and is now in possession of the Quaffle."

"Thank you, Ericson," McGonagall said stiffly. Although Jason didn't sound happy, his commentary was more acceptable than Lee's.

In the next time frame, I at first didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The game was still in play moving as fast as ever, Lee and Jason were still commentating, and the crowd roared. It wasn't until I noticed people in the stands staring high in the air and pointing that I realized something was wrong. Looking above my head, I saw Harry. I had no clue what was happening to him, but it appeared as if his broom was out of control—I had the same broomstick!

"What's happening to his broom?" I yelled loud enough so Fred could hear me. We had both halted from our Beater duties to watch Harry jerking around on his broom.

"Dunno, but if it doesn't stop, we're gonna have some smushed Seeker later!" he cried back. My eyes widen at him in fear. That couldn't actually happen could it? I mean, someone ought to catch him, wouldn't they?

"I have the same type of broom!" I yelled. "What if it's a defect in the brand or—something?" Fred shook his head immediately.

"Nimbus Two Thousands—nah. Never," he replied. "That—that looks like a curse of some type."

"Who would curse him?"

"My guess would be one of those slimy Slytherins. Bloody gits will do anything to win."

After a scan of the crowd, I found no one that could possibly be cursing Harry. Of course, I wasn't the best judge. I didn't know what a curse was supposed to look like! I hadn't seen exactly what had happened, but whoever was cursing Harry stopped. Harry was able to climb back onto his broom, only to charge for the ground and land on all fours.

I couldn't take the suspense anymore. I landed shortly after him; and just in time to see him spit out a little gold ball. The Snitch! He caught the Snitch! "I got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it around. We met eyes, beamed and embraced tightly. It didn't matter whether he caught it or nearly swallowed it, we still won! We won our first Quidditch match!

~o~

"Hermione and I both saw him. It was Snape!" Ron explained later in Hagrid's hut. "He was the one cursing your broom. He was muttering and he didn't take his eyes off you!"

Harry and I were quick to believe it, but Hagrid wouldn't hear anything of it. "Rubbish. Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I met eyes. Truth is, we didn't know why he would want to do it, but the point is that he did! Harry spoke for all of us. "He tried to get past the three headed dog on Halloween; we think to steal whatever it's guarding. But it bit him, so he couldn't get far."

Hagrid completely stopped in his tracks and stared at us astonished. "How do you know about Fluffy?" My eyebrows shot up at the name.

"Fluffy?"

"Way to pick a name that really suits him," I said sarcastically.

"Yeah well—he's mine. I lend him to Dumbledore to guard the—"

"The what?" my friends and I questioned together eagerly.

"No," Hagrid refused fiercely. "No more. That's top secret."

"But Snape's trying to steal it," Harry reminded him.

"Rubbish!" Hagrid said again. "Snape's one of the few protectin' it!"

"So why did he just try to kill Harry?" Hermione exclaimed. "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid; I've read all about them. To perform one, you're supposed to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid argued ardently. "Harry's broom must've had somethin' wrong with it—Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, all four of yeh: yer meddling in things that don' concern yeh! Whatever yeh know, it's all between Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel and them only!"

"So," Harry started mischievously, "someone called Nicolas Flamel is involved?" I held back a giggle.

Hagrid couldn't win when he was dealing with us.

~o~

"How are you not that cold? It's freezing!" I complained to Jason, walking side by side with him to the castle. Mid-December had hit and the holidays were nearing. Fred and George were enjoying the snow—they had spent most of yesterday following Quirrell around and aiming snowballs to bounce off the back of his turban. I was bundled in nearly everything warm I possessed: a shirt, a sweater, an even warmer sweater and a jacket over that. Jason, however, marched out in sub-zero temperatures wearing a green knit sweater and gray jeans. How was he not freezing?

"I live in Chicago—lived. It was much colder there in the winter time than here in Scotland," he replied smirking. I shuddered once again, goosebumps running up and down my whole body.

"It's definitely chillier here than in England," I threw in. "Why don't you live in the States anymore exactly? Too cold?" I added the last sentence with a sarcastic grin. He chuckled a bit.

"Nah, my mom and Aunt Amanda missed it here," he answered. We had made our way through the doors of the castle and headed towards our classes. I had Potions next and he Transfiguration. "My mom—we call her the leprechaun. She's a short little Irish lady. But as much as she loves Ireland, she prefers England. We moved here before the school year began."

"What are the States like?"

"Well, I've only seen a little of it, but from what I've observed over the past 14 years: crazy. Chicago's a nice place though. Crowded, cold, and wet, yes, but still pretty." I nodded along. We soon had to say goodbye to head to our separate classes. I wish I didn't have to return to my despised class, but I didn't have much of a choice.

"I do feel sorry for those have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home," Malfoy started immediately, making it a point to look towards mine and Harry's directions. His minons, Crabbe and Goyle, sniggered.

"Really? I feel worse for your family," I interrupted their childish giggling. "They get you for Christmas!" Harry, Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus all laughed. Even Blaise began snickering. Malfoy turned and glared at his fellow Slytherin.

"What are you laughing about, Zabini?" he sneered coldly. Blaise ignored him gladly and Malfoy returned to attempting to make snide comments about Harry and me. Only the Slytherins found it funny.

Harry and I obviously had no problem whatsoever staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. Another Christmas with the Dursleys? Yuck, I don't think so! Ron and his brothers were also remaining at Hogwarts for the holidays since their parents were visiting his brother Charlie in Romania this winter.

On the way out from Potions, we helped Hagrid as he was setting up a tree for decoration in the Great Hall. The Hall was covered with mistletoes and holly and Christmas trees. It oozed Christmas spirit! "How many days until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.

"Only one," Hermione said before a light bulb went off in her head. "Oh! Harry, Lydia, Ron—we need to be in the library!"

"Oh yeah," Ron and I sighed. I hated the library as fascinating as it was.

"Studying before the holidays? Bit keen, are yeh?" Hagrid said.

"Oh, we're not working!" Harry contradicted brightly. "We're trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel is."

"You what?" Hagrid cried, shocked. "No, I've told yeh, drop it. It doesn' matter what that dog's guardin!'"

"We just want to know who he is, that's all!" Hermione reassured.

"Unless you want to tell us and save us the trouble—it'd be appreciated, we've must've looked through hundreds of books already," Harry offered. Hagrid didn't say a word.

And so, we were off to the library once again. We had been searching for two weeks and we had no luck by any means. Also, I didn't think Madam Pince the librarian was fond of me much. I had no idea why. She'd just sit there glaring at me while I was rummaging through the books, minding my own business. It was creepy!

For the billionth time, we discovered nothing. "You have to keep looking while I'm away, okay?" Hermione said. "And send me an owl if you find anything."

"Something tells me you're not going to be getting any owls like that," I said glumly, discouraged by our misfortune.

"Plus, you could ask your parents if they've heard of Flamel. It'd probably be safe to ask them," Ron suggested.

"Very safe, as they're both dentists," Hermione said.

Please, please, please review! I'd really, really, really appreciate it! What did you like/dislike about it? Please tell me! Thanks for reading!

CaptJess :)