This was it. This was the day. The day of reckoning. Well, not really- but still. The day.

It had arrived. Quickly, and before I could realize it, Yuki and I had come to an understanding. Basically, she didn't pitch a fit when I attempted to wrangle her into the shed after our lessons with Enver, and I brought her something of which she'd become rather fond. She liked raw squirrel. I was told by Enver that each griffin had its own favorite food. While Barley's was cooked fox and Shade's rotten, uncooked eggs (gross), Yuki's was squirrel.

So that was it. We went squirrel hunting, and she went willingly to her chain that night. Though a timid, temporary agreement, the quick-tempered flash in her blue streaked eye laughed at me. We were becoming fast friends. I never would get used to the smell of festering sulphur when Shea brought Shade his favorite meal. I came to the conclusion that he did this only when I was there. I skirted around Shade and his owner every change I got. I didn't want to tempt his hatred.

I rubbed my hands together in the cold. It was freezing again, the promise of snow on the horizon, hidden in the fleecy gray pockets of dense cloud. December fifteenth. Only ten days until Christmas, and Farlost was showing it. Shiny thickets of tinsel bunched on the stairs leading to the different floors, and tall, stately Christmas trees lurked in nearly every corner. But spirits were high. I'd decided to take Enver up on his offer – Apparating to Diagon with him to go shopping. It seemed harmless enough, and I liked his company.

"Ready, girl?" I asked Yuki. Enver watched closely from behind me on Barley, an air of protectiveness settled in his eyes. Spritely, I slung my leg over Yuki's back and grabbed her reins. Her feathers bristled; I knew she didn't really feel like flying that day. Wrapped in layers of Enver's hoodie under my thick jacket, I breathed out a puff of air. On the ground below me, Leah and I's friends were watching. This was the moment where Avianics students proved their worth- in the annual race. Closely bumping into Cyan was Shade, and Shea atop him.

I didn't know if I was ready. Yuki nuzzled Barley's beak affectionately. Coldly, I turned her head. I needed to focus. Griffin romance would have to wait.

"You'll do fine," Enver assured me. I nodded, though my doubts were high given the peppy determination which Leah had seemed to take on Cyan. The smaller, pouty griffin paced nervously, his paws heavy on the ground. Yuki's long, brown tail flicked back and forth.

"One!" shouted Delia from the ground. I made panicked eyes at Berkley, but she was watching her brother carefully. Elspeth looked enamored with Enver. Marcena winked at me and gave me a thumbs up before turning to watch Xander peck Berkley on the cheek to steal her attention.

"Two!" Was it possible I could lose before I'd even started?

"Three!"

Yuki's wings instantly rocketed her into the sky. Enver trailed me. Leah had flattened her back on Cyan, her blond waves streaming behind her back.

"Ack!" My divided attention led me to barely avoid a tree. Rebounding, Yuki pushed her back legs from the massive oak, shooting us a miniscule inch in front of Leah. I patted her happily, thanking her with a breathless, "Good girl."

There it was! Barley and Shade had swung around to an air space in front of me, between them was stuck a checkered finish line. Almost there. I could hear Cyan's pants from behind me; Leah hadn't trained him well enough to have such speed for a long period of time. This was it.

"Spinolovosa."

What? What had Leah just said? As I turned to question her ( a faulty plan considering we were both speeding towards the end of the race), Yuki spun backwards and began losing altitude. We dropped to tree level along with my stomach. I heard Enver call, "Amee!" before I gripped Yuki's sides and we vanished from the sky and onto the forest floor with a thump.

As soon as I disboarded Yuki, she shook her head dizzily and paced in a circle before cocking her head at me. Above us, I heard cheers. Leah had won. But was that word she spoke at me a spell? Those were forbidden outside of class, and I didn't want to be on the Professor Gerog-Professor Wesley side of disciplinary measures. Disappointment shackled down on me. I patted Yuki's beak once.

"Nice try," I said, but I didn't really mean it. Well, I did – Yuki was amazing and could have won – but the shiny silver feather trinket to the winner was now probably firmly affixed in Leah's slender fingers.

Convinced Yuki wasn't planning to escape, I crawled back onto her back and steered her upwards. I met Enver almost immediately. Edging Barley close to Yuki, he cast me a questioning look.

I shrugged, attempting to look and sound indifferent. I sounded heartbroken, which I wasn't, I told myself. "I don't know."

A gust of icy, thin mist stung my face. Enver pointed towards the ground where my friends looked like dark pins on brown cloth. I urged Yuki to land, and fast. As much as I loved her, I didn't want to be near her right now. Leah's friends were ringing her, giggling and touching their fingertips to the feather. Cyan proudly stuck his stubby head into the air.

Yuki didn't even have the heart to resist me as I led her to her chain. Throwing her the limp body of a squirrel from the feed stores, I appraised her. We'd really become close over the last few months. She was already curled up and covered by her wings, the rise and fall of her white-coated, freckled chest indicating that she was awake, but ignoring the world, too. I didn't bother to chain her up.

When I returned, Enver handed me a styrafoam cup of something scalding hot.

"Cherry cupcake latte, extra whipped cream," he told me. Something itching and warm fizzed up my chest.

"Thank you," I said. I bit my lip before continuing. "Want to go hang out in the Common Room?" The Common Room was furnished with plush, squishy couches and tiny antique tea tables. It would be bustling with activity.

When we got there, I stripped of my jacket and shoes and pulled Enver's hoodie over my knees, drawing them up to my chin. I took a sip of my latte. It was warm and comforting.

"So, what happened back there?" Enver asked me. "You didn't even say anything to your friends."

"I don't know," I admitted again, staring miserably at my socked feet. Another sip loosened me up a bit. Rocking me into calm, it was creamy and sweet with a hint of nutty espresso. Perfect.

Enver looked uncomfortable, inching closer to me until our legs and shoulders were pressed against each other. "Did Leah do anything?" he whispered, trying to skirt the gaze of a few people trickling into the Common Room. It didn't work; Enver was often seen with girls and was the topic of gossip. They'd be overjoyed to hear that I was far from Enver's sweetheart.

"No." I wasn't really sure, though. What if she had? It was possible.

"We still going to Diagon later today?" It was only ten, and I had a whole pouch full of 'spending money' from Rory.

"You know it." Enver reached forward and stroked my cheek gently with his fingers. The touch felt like tiny electrical impulses. "By the way, you look adorable."

A/N: Wait a minute, is that a crush on Enver I see?! Will Amee get her heart broken by the charismatic prankster, do you think?

What's up with Leah?

And still...what's going on with Jen and Shea?!