Disclaimer: JK Rowling and Roald Dahl are quirky creatures, full of quirks and secrets.

Part of this chapter has been quoted from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

A/N: We wanted to address some of the comments on the previous chapter complaining that this story is a canon rehash. And that's an understandable complaint. I (White Squirrel) have been known to complain when promising stories turn into canon rehashes. The difference here is that this is a novella. It was only ever meant to be 7-9 chapters, and as such, it's more about Matilda's time at Hogwarts than it is about making major changes to the plot, especially since she's three years younger than the main characters and can only affect so much.

Chapter 7

The summer before third year, Matilda finally accepted a subscription to the Daily Prophet. It was this that gave her all the information about the aura of fear and confusion that was being sown by the Death Eaters. Aside from the few who had been captured at the Ministry, or previously imprisoned, no one knew for sure who was a Death Eater, who was under the Imperius Curse, or who was just trying to get by in their daily lives.

A couple of weeks into summer, she decided to send a letter to Harry. The state he'd been in when they'd left Hogwarts in June had her worried, and so she wanted to see how he was doing. If anything, it would give her a distraction from the lack of letters from Laura. Her friend had been worryingly out of contact since school let out. As a matter of fact, most of her friends had been unusually silent this year. From some, like Susan, it was expected. After all, the Daily Prophet had done a big article on her aunt, Amelia Bones's, death several weeks ago. But it seemed like everyone was being more restrained in their post.

Harry,

I just decided to write and check on you. How are you doing? I know you've probably got a million things on your mind after your Ministry adventure last year. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. I know we're not the closest of friends, but the offer is absolutely there.

Jenny is thinking about sending me to Beauxbatons next term, and I think that it might not be a terrible idea. The only thing stopping me from totally committing is all of my friends at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore. I've been told he will keep Hogwarts safe, so I think it may be a good idea to stay. I have about a week to decide though.

Write back soon and let me know how you are,

Matilda

She looked up from her letter as Jenny walked into her bedroom. "Matilda, have you made a decision on Beauxbatons?" she asked. "Their admissions ends next week, you know."

Matilda nodded. "I know. I just can't decide." It would be a big decision to leave Hogwarts, and she would not make it lightly.

"I don't like the way things are shaping up right now," Jenny worried. "Those newspapers you've shown me… that Voldemort wizard is on a warpath, and as someone not from that world, you'd be one of his targets."

"It's not exactly anything we didn't already know, Jenny," Matilda said. "We already knew Voldemort was back. Things might be more dangerous now that he's out in the open, but everyone says Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain."

Jenny crossed her arms protectively over her chest. "Matilda, I'm worried for you. If you get into a dangerous situation… I still think that Beauxbatons would be safer for you."

Matilda sighed. Time to make the decision, whether she wanted to or not. "You may be right, but I don't think I can just leave my friends in this. If they end up needing me—I don't mean fighting Death Eaters or anything—I want to be there for them.

Jenny deflated. "All right then, I suppose I can understand that. I just want you to be safe."

Matilda nodded. "I'm going to try and keep out of trouble this year. I don't think anything as crazy as Umbridge will happen again, so it should be quieter, at least inside the school."

A day or two later, Matilda got a reply from Harry.

Matilda,

I'm still pretty shaken up, but I'm not as angry as I was. Sometimes I'll just catch myself wanting to write Sirius a letter, and then I'll realise I can't. It hits me over again then. Thanks for the offer, I'll take you up on it if I need to.

Otherwise, I'm doing pretty well. I'm at the Weasleys' now, and I'm supposed to stay there for the rest of the summer. I'd rather never go back, but Dumbledore says I need to one more time next summer. He was the one who brought me to the Weasleys a few days ago, and we went to try to convince this retired teacher to come back next year. He didn't fully explain why, but it sounded important.

I think you should stay here at Hogwarts. As you say, Dumbledore is the best protection anyone can offer. Voldemort wouldn't dare attack the school as long as Dumbledore's there. If the time comes, though, I do think it's best for you to leave. Save yourself if things get crazy. You don't want to get involved in this mess, especially when you're not fully trained. Trust me, I speak from experience.

It's good to hear from you. Write soon,

Harry.

Matilda was glad to hear Harry was doing better, but most especially that he was somewhere he had a support structure. She'd been in a position where she'd had to deal with things on her own before, and it was not a good place to be.

Jenny and Matilda observed the many abandoned shops of Diagon Alley as they went to get some new robes and potions supplies.

"I never expected this," Matilda marvelled, the gloomy atmosphere surrounding them seeming to seep into her bones. "All of these people…"

Jenny pursed her lips as she said, "This is what Voldemort can do?" She seemed disbelieving that any one person could cause such despair. Matilda merely nodded. "I suppose it must have been like this during World War II, but to see it today…"

They quickly got their packages, and were walking down the high street to Flourish and Blotts when Matilda caught sight of a brightly decorated shop at the end.

"Is that—?" Matilda couldn't believe it, and started racing towards the shop. The sign eventually came into view. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. "It's Fred and George's shop! Come on!"

Jenny quickly caught up as Matilda entered the shop. Matilda looked around in wonder at all of the amazing candies and trick items.

"What is a Canary Creme?" Jenny asked, motioning to one of the items on a shelf.

Matilda examined it. "It looks like it temporarily turns you into a canary."

"Indeed it does," a voice from behind them said. They both turned around to see Fred and George grinning at them.

"Boys," Matilda said, smirking at them.

"Honey," they both said in sequence, mimicking her tone. "And this woman is?"

Matilda turned to Jenny. "These guys are Fred and George. Twins, this is my mother, Jenny."

"Matilda has told me about you," Jenny smiled, shaking the twins hands.

"Likewise," George said. "So, Honey, what do you think of the place?"

Matilda spread her arms around. "It's amazing! How did you manage this in just a few months?"

Fred seemed to lose a bit of his good mood at this. "Sign of the times. Things are so tense now that people are coming here to get something to help lighten things up."

Matilda figured that made sense. "People need a laugh. I'm glad you've been doing so well. What do you recommend?"

George led them over to a stand that held some pink flasks. Matilda uncorked one and smelled it. "Love potions," he said. She immediately stilled and carefully lowered the flask from her nose. "Don't worry, we don't deal in the really strong stuff. What do you smell?"

Matilda gave it another sniff. "Pancakes, a new book, and a fresh running stream."

Fred grinned. "Nice picks. They smell different to everyone. I smell mum's mince pies, broom polish, and chocolate."

"Why does that sound exactly like you?" Matilda laughed lightly. It felt nice to joke around with the twins again. "This place is really amazing, guys. I'm glad you've been able to make something of your pranks."

"I have to agree," Jenny echoed. "The things I see here… most people I know could only dream of them."

George chuckled. "High praise, indeed. Now listen, Honey, we can't make a habit of giving our products away for free, but since you're a fellow prankster like us, you can go ahead and pick one thing."

Matilda tried to wave the offer off, but the twins wouldn't hear a word. Eventually, Matilda decided on an anti-gravity hat, which seemed like a lot of fun.

"Goodbye, guys," Matilda called as she and Jenny left the shop.

As they returned to the gloom of the main Alley, Jenny said, "The contrast is extraordinary, isn't it?"

Matilda agreed. The twins definitely deserved it, though.

A few days later, Matilda was on the Hogwarts Express, searching the compartments for any of her friends. Finally, she found Laura in a compartment by herself.

"Laura, thank goodness!" Matilda said, putting her bags down and embracing her. "I hadn't heard from you in so long, and I was worried!"

"I didn't mean to worry you," Laura replied, accepting the hug. "My family and I were travelling quite a lot this summer, and I never got a chance to write to anyone."

Matilda released Laura and started to put her bags up in the storage rack. "That's okay. I'm just glad you're okay."

Laura sat back down and faced Matilda. "I'm surprised you actually came this year, Matilda," she said. "I thought you might stay in the Muggle world."

Matilda shook her head. "I thought about it, but I couldn't leave you guys. I did almost go to Beauxbatons, but it's no Hogwarts."

"That's true," another voice said. The girls looked to see Eleanor entering the carriage. "I know I would never have transferred."

"Hi, Eleanor!" Matilda grinned. "Almost late, eh?"

"Nah," Eleanor shrugged. "I got caught up by the new teacher, he wanted me to give you this." She held out a scroll of parchment tied with a violet ribbon. Matilda took it with an interested look.

Matilda,

I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in Compartment C.

Sincerely,

Professor H. E. F. Slughorn

That was odd, she thought. She'd never been invited to have lunch with a teacher on the train. In fact, she'd never even seen a teacher on the train before. Presumably, he was the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, but the invitation looked just a little fishy.

"That's strange," she said. "Was he giving out other invitations, Eleanor?"

"A few," Eleanor replied, holding up two more scrolls. "In fact, I have to go for a minute. I'm supposed to deliver these to Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom."

Oh, Harry would be there. At least she'd see a familiar face, then. "Alright. Good luck," Matilda said. She chatted with her friends for a while before she started off for Compartment C. Arriving, she found a group of mostly older students being hosted by a rather elderly man.

That man, who could only be Professor Slughorn, was so fat that he seemed to take up half the compartment, and he was dressed in finery that could have come straight from a Victorian novel. In the compartment with him were Harry and Neville, along with Ginny Weasley and three older boys.

"Hello, guys," Matilda greeted, quickly taking the seat that Slughorn offered her.

It was a strange situation at first, but it was plain to see pretty quickly that this was an elite group, for the most part. Marcus Belby's uncle had invented the Wolfsbane Potion. Cormac McLaggen seemed to know everyone at the Ministry of Magic. Blaise Zabini's mother was apparently widowed seven times over and had come out fabulously wealthy for it. (Matilda subconsciously scooted away from him.) Ginny was the odd one out. Apparently, Professor Slughorn was impressed with her Bat-Bogey Hex.

After introducing some of the others and going over their (or their family's) achievements, he finally arrived at Matilda.

"And Matilda Honey. The stories I've heard about you—wandless magic at your age—and a muggle-born. Funny, isn't it, how such talent comes from those who are new to our world. How did you do it?"

Matilda shrugged, deciding not to ask who had told him about her. That "muggle-born" remark rubbed her the wrong way. "It just sort of came naturally to me, Professor," she said. "I didn't even know I was doing magic, but I taught myself to control it pretty quickly."

"Remarkable! Most remarkable," Slughorn said. "When Dumbledore mentioned you, I was unsure it would be possible in someone so young. Would you—"

Matilda resisted the urge to roll her eyes. With friends, she didn't mind it, but she felt a little more cautious about showing off now than she had two years ago. "This compartment is a bit small, I don't want to do something I didn't intend and hurt someone," she said, despite the fact that she could have managed it easily.

To his credit, Slughorn accepted this with little argument, and went on to Harry. He seemed quite uncomfortable while being interviewed by Slughorn, which made sense because all Slughorn seemed to want to talk about was Harry's dead parents and godfather. He completely ignored the fact that both Neville and Ginny had also been in the Ministry last June.

Eventually the lunch ended, and Matilda stopped to talk with Harry outside the compartment. "That can't have been pleasant, are you okay?" she asked him.

Harry shrugged. "I wouldn't say I'm alright with it, but it's happened so much I guess I should just get used to it, eh?"

Matilda shook her head. "No, you shouldn't ever have to be okay with people invading your comfort zone about your parents. That's not the only thing that defines you."

Harry smiled a bit. "Thanks, Honey. That's nice of you to say."

"Nice is a bit Hufflepuff's forte, isn't it?" Matilda smirked. "Unlike Slughorn. Do you know anything about him?"

To her surprise, Harry nodded. "Dumbledore took me along to convince Slughorn to come back and teach," Harry said. "Remember I told you? Apparently, likes to 'collect' people he thinks are going to be famous or powerful or something. He was head of Slytherin when he was here before."

"He's done this sort of thing before?" Matilda asked.

"Yeah," Harry responded. "My mum was part of it, back when he used to teach. He likes to claim that he led them to their fame."

Suddenly, the atmosphere of the whole affair clicked into place. Professor Slughorn was trying to run some kind of elite gentlemen's (and gentlewomen's) club, and he deemed Matilda's exploits sufficiently impressive to offer her a place. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She probably would have wound up in some group like that if she'd gone to Roedean, but Jenny had always made sure she stayed down to earth at Crunchem Hall. And Slughorn himself seemed provincial at best, with the way he talked about muggle-borns. She would reserve judgement until she actually had him for a class, though.

It later emerged at the Welcome Feast that Professor Slughorn was actually the retired Potions Master of the school who was returning to take over his old post. Professor Snape, meanwhile, would be moving over to Defence Against the Dark Arts. She wondered how he'd be in that class. He'd certainly be better than Umbridge, but a rock would be a better teacher than Dolores Umbridge.

Matilda walked into the Great Hall a couple of weeks after the start of term. Things were off to a good start this year in her opinion. Professor Snape wasn't great at teaching Defence, but they were learning something so that was a plus, and Professor Slughorn was a pretty good Potions teacher. Her electives were going fairly well too—she'd picked Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy. She and Laura had just come from Ancient Runes, which Matilda found fascinating.

"I didn't fully understand everything about that ehwaz rune," Laura was saying. They both went silent as they noticed the tense atmospheres at both the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables.

"What's going on?" Matilda asked Susan as she sat down beside the older girl. Susan turned her drawn expression to Matilda.

"It's Hannah," she explained. "She was pulled out of Herbology this morning, her mum's been killed!"

Matilda's eyes widened. "Killed? How?" Neither of them needed to answer that question, it was obvious. Mrs. Abbott had been a casualty of the Death Eaters.

Laura spoke next. "Where is she now?"

Susan shrugged. "McGonagall called her out, and as soon as class ended, I went to Professor Sprout to see if she knew anything. She told us that she would probably be with McGonagall for a while. I was planning to try and find her after Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Matilda said, "We'll go with you. I feel awful for her." She tried to think about how she could tactfully ask her next question. "Do you...do you know anything about her family situation, Susan? I mean, were they involved in…" She waved her hand vaguely. She supposed the Ministry, now that they were organising against Voldemort.

Susan understood her meaning. "Not exactly. Her mum—" She sniffed. "Her mum was muggle-born. Her dad's from an old pureblood family. Like, a step below the Malfoys-elite. For him, marrying a muggle-born was political all by itself."

Matilda nodded. It made sense. For the most part, the victims of the Death Eaters wouldn't be truly random. That was the one consolation for people like her and the other younger muggle-borns who weren't as involved. Given the timing, this might even be someone who thought they had a score to settle from the last war, though for Hannah, she was sure, it didn't really matter.

And so, later that afternoon, Matilda, Laura, and Susan made their way back to the Hufflepuff dormitories, where they guessed Hannah might be after such a devastating blow. Sure enough, they arrived in the sixth year girls dorm to find Hannah sitting on her bed, seeming more shocked than anything.

Susan was the one to sit next to her and put an arm around her. "Han, I know things aren't okay, but do you want to talk?"

Hannah let a few tears fall as she said, "I haven't been able to learn everything yet. Dad wants me to go home, at least for a while. I don't know if I'll be back."

Matilda took the spot on the other side of Hannah, placing a hand on her knee comfortingly. "When are you going home?"

"In a couple hours, as soon as Dad gets a Portkey to Hogsmeade and can get up to the castle."

"Can we help you pack?" Laura asked. It was the only real thing they could do for their friend at the moment.

Hannah nodded. "That would be nice, thank you guys."

Over the next couple of hours, the four of them managed to get all of Hannah's things packed up. It seemed to take Hannah's mind off of the terrible situation, which was a good thing. Eventually, Professor Sprout came up to the dormitory to inform them that Mr. Abbott had arrived and was waiting in the Entrance Hall.

Together, the four of them got all of Hannah's things down to where her father was waiting. Susan and Laura both quickly said goodbye to Hannah and left, seeming to feel awkward with Mr. Abbott there. Matilda remained for a moment, facing Hannah.

"I'm just really sorry," Matilda finally said. "I can't say I know what you're going through, but I do know the effect losing a parent can have on someone—my mum lost both of her parents really young." Sensing that she wasn't exactly saying the most helpful thing, she finally gave Hannah a tight hug. "Deal with it how you need to okay? And please keep in touch?"

Hannah managed a small smile. "I will, I promise. Keep yourself safe, right?"

Matilda nodded, and Hannah joined her father as they left Hogwarts.

Matilda hadn't had a chance to see Hogsmeade before, being too young for the trips. The town was very much like Diagon Alley in some ways, but quieter, and especially dreary given the day's bad weather. It had a much more medieval look about it with high-peaked roofs and comically-tall chimneys. Some of the stores were different, of course, and the Three Broomsticks was said to be the best pub in magical Britain.

It was at the magical pub that Matilda had arranged to meet Beatrice. She hadn't seen her since she'd graduated after Voldemort's return. They had exchanged letters, of course, and they'd even spoken on the telephone over the summer, but it just wasn't the same.

Arriving, Matilda pushed open the door and examined everyone there already, taking the moment to get warm from the cold and sleet outdoors. Most of the pub goers were normal villagers (it was too early for most of the Hogwarts students to want to come in). Scanning everyone, she found the person she was looking for.

"Beatrice!" she exclaimed, hurrying over and embracing the older girl. Beatrice had changed quite a lot, she realised. She had always been quite resilient, able to shake most things off, but Cedric's death and the brewing war had got to her. Her face, while still young and bearing the mischievous smirk Matilda knew, also held a certain sadness.

"Matilda, I'm so happy you're here," she responded. "I'm always so worried about you being a muggle-born kid, and all…"

Matilda picked up the pause expertly, grinning as she said, "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

Beatrice chuckled. "Knowing you, that's not an empty threat!" After a beat, she said, "Where do you want to go? Anywhere in particular?"

"I'll take the Beatrice tour, please," Matilda said. "Show me your favourite places here." The girls ordered two butterbeers to go and left the now slowly filling pub.

The next hours were spent touring the town. There were so many things to see! They first went to Honeydukes, filled with hundreds of types of magical sweets and treats. Some she had seen on the Hogwarts Express, as part of the trolley witch's array of items, and some were completely foreign. For instance, she couldn't imagine ever liking a Blood Pop.

They then headed to see The Shrieking Shack.

"Haunted, that place is," Beatrice told Matilda. "Ever since it was built, practically."

Matilda eyed the place skeptically. "But we see ghosts all the time in school. Why is everyone afraid of it if it's just a ghost, unless it's a really vicious one?"

Beatrice shrugged as she said, "Good question, never thought of that. But the place always moans and shakes around the full moon. At least, it used to."

There was an obvious explanation for that, although she wasn't sure why a werewolf would frequent a place like that.

Unfortunately, the place Matilda thought she would like most, Zonko's Joke Shop, was boarded up just like so many of the stores in Diagon Alley.

"It's too bad," Beatrice said. "It used to be a great stop back in the day, although the Weasleys' new place in Diagon Alley is better…to be honest, I'm surprised old Bilton Bilmes managed to make it this long without getting killed by his own products."

"I hope he can reopen it," Matilda said. "It should be a fun shop to have near the school."

Beatrice said, "Maybe you'll get the chance. There are usually three or four trips in the year, and he could still come back if things change."

They were quiet for a few minutes as they headed back to the Three Broomsticks to warm up (it was getting extremely chilly now). The sleet from earlier in the day was now properly snow, and it was starting to blanket the paths.

"It's freezing today," Matilda said. "Did you ever have October snow when you were here?"

"No—or at least not this much," Beatrice said. "It was always pretty predictable. People are saying the dementors being loose from Azkaban is affecting the weather."

That only made Matilda shiver more. "What do you say we start to head back?" she asked as they sat at an empty table. "Day's nearly over, and you can walk with me to the Common Room before you head home. I think they'll let you in as long as you aren't carrying any dark artifacts."

"That sounds like a plan,"' Beatrice agreed. "Professor Sprout will, I'm sure. Besides, Maya's brother sneaked in loads of times." The two of them waited in the warm pub for a few minutes, and finally got up their courage and headed back into the cold.

The path was getting quite slippery, and Beatrice and Matilda had to help each other stay upright. They almost didn't notice as a figure shot up into the air quite a ways up the path.

"What's going on?" Matilda questioned. "Who is that?"

Beatrice tensed as she said, "I don't know, come on!"

They hurried to the scene, to find Hagrid, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and an unfamiliar Ravenclaw girl surrounding another girl lying unconscious in the snow. Harry was very carefully picking up what looked like some kind of elaborate jewelry from the ground with his scarf. As Matilda got a look at her face, she realised she recognised the girl on the ground.

"It's Katie Bell," she whispered. "She plays Quidditch for Gryffindor."

Beatrice nodded. "I recognise her." To Hermione, she said, "What the hell happened to her?"

"It was a cursed necklace," Harry answered for her. "I don't know what it did, but it looked back. It came from Borgin and Burkes. I think it was Malfoy."

"Harry, you can't know that," Hermione insisted.

"Yeh can worry 'bout that later," Hagrid said, hefting Katie into his arms. "I'll take her teh the Hospital Wing. Beatrice, Matilda, I think yeh can go. The rest o' yeh, better come along. Dumbledore migh' have questions for yeh."

Matilda and Beatrice watched them go. Matilda's heart was still racing. "I've never seen anything like that," she whispered. "What kind of curse was it?"

"Dunno," Beatrice said. "My sister and I saw loads of curses when we were here, but none of them sounded like that."

"Do you think Malfoy was really behind it?"

She shrugged. "Maybe? I always thought he was just a little snot, myself. Never paid much attention."

Hermione and Matilda left the Hospital Wing, after finding out that Katie would soon be moved to St. Mungo's.

"I hope she's going to be okay," Hermione fretted. "She's so badly hurt, I'm worried for her."

Matilda nodded. "She doesn't deserve this, Hermione. But St. Mungo's has the best healers, they'll take care of her."

They headed through the castle, passing everyone going about their regular business. They heard whispers about Katie as they did, but no one seemed to know exactly what happened.

"Harry thinks it was Malfoy," Hermione eventually said. "He's been suspicious of him all year, thinks he's up to something."

"I heard," Matilda said. "But why? I mean, sure, he's a jerk and a bully, but I don't think he would be willing to harm an innocent girl. It seems like a step up for him."

"I agree," she said. "Not only is it unlike him, it physically couldn't be. McGonagall said he was in detention with her today. He didn't go to Hogsmeade."

They were quiet for a bit, as they both considered the situation. They were interrupted, however, when they ran into a group of Slytherins as they passed through the Entrance Hall. Matilda recognized these two. Graham Pritchard and Malcolm Baddock were the typical Slytherin bullies, similar to Draco. She'd dealt with them several times, and previously had only defused the situation and left.

"Oh look!" Pritchard called as he spotted them. "It's the Mudblood geeks. No wonder they're friends!"

"Don't start, Pritchard," Matilda glared at him. "Not in the mood right now."

Baddock's eyes widened in mock sympathy. "Oh, the Mudblood isn't in the mood. How rude of us."

"Baddock, I'm serious," she said. "Don't test me today."

Hermione eyed her nervously. "Matilda…"

Graham raised his eyebrows as he said, "How are you going to make us, Honey?"

Matilda couldn't tell if they were bluffing or not. She'd pranked them on any number of occasions. "I can handle you two, believe you me. I don't want to hear you bothering any muggle-borns again, do you hear me? You know what I can do."

The boys didn't seem to be taking her seriously. Her eyes alighted on a table about six feet away, covered in several candelabras and other small knickknacks. She eyed them and made them levitate, approaching the group at a steady pace, holding the projectiles over the boys' heads. "I'm serious. Now go on."

Their eyes wide in real nerves, the two bullies dashed off into the Great Hall.

"Matilda, that was…" Hermione seemed to struggle for words. "Did you need to terrify them?"

Matilda shrugged. "I'm tired of them bullying everyone. I want to stop them, so I needed to. And if I catch them bullying others again, I'll remind them what I can do."

Matilda was walking to the Common Room after class a few weeks later when she ran into Professor Dumbledore—almost literally.

"I'm sorry, sir!" she exclaimed, nearly dropping all of her things in the effort to avoid a collision. "Wasn't looking where I was going."

Dumbledore smiled at her. "No worries, my dear. Actually, it is fortunate I came upon you now. I have something for you to deliver." He pulled a scroll out of his robes and handed it to her. "Please take this to Harry Potter at your earliest convenience."

It was the first time she'd actually seem how bad his hand was. It looked almost mummified. She'd heard the rumours all year, of course, but they didn't compare.

"I'm sorry," she gulped, gently taking the scroll from him. "Does that hurt much?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I am in surprisingly little pain most of the time. Professor Snape has been helping me manage."

Matilda took a breath before she asked, "If you don't mind my asking, what happened?"

Dumbledore answered, "An amazing exciting tale, but one not suited for young children, I should think. Perhaps someday, you and many others will know."

Matilda wanted to press—the answer seemed important, somehow—but she didn't think Dumbledore would give up any information before he was ready to.

"All right," she said. "Goodbye, sir."

Matilda quickly ran her things to the Common Room before searching the common areas for Harry. Eventually, she found him in the Entrance Hall, about to head in for lunch.

"Harry!" she called to him.

"Matilda," he said, raising an eyebrow and giving a small grin. "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing," she laughed slightly. "I just was looking for you, Dumbledore asked me to give you this."

She handed him the letter, which he read quickly. "He wants to have another lesson. Thanks, Matilda."

Harry rushed off, leaving Matilda completely confused. She had no idea what was going on. Probably something to do with fighting Voldemort, she figured, so she left it at that.

The Christmas holidays approached as the weather chilled further, and with it came the announcement of a Christmas party for members of the Slug Club. The meetings thus far had mostly been full of Slughorn talking about people Matilda had never even heard of, so this was a chance for some excitement. Even more exciting was the fact that they could bring a guest.

"Do you want to come with me?" she asked Eleanor a few days before the event. "It'll be a laugh, at least, eh?"

Eleanor grinned as she said, "Definitely, count me in!"

Matilda had considered asking Laura, as Eleanor had essentially abandoned her for most of last year. However, she'd been making an effort to improve their friendship, and figured this could be a way to do just that, and have a good time.

The party was the day before the Christmas holidays, so Matilda spent most of the morning packing. Around five o'clock, she and Eleanor decided to start getting ready to go. Matilda donned a dark blue dress that she'd worn to Christmas events before.

Eleanor and Matilda headed up to Slughorn's office. Almost as soon as they reached the spiral staircase, they heard people talking quite animated.

"This is quite a to-do," Eleanor remarked as they finally reached the party.

"No kidding," Matilda agreed. "Slughorn said that he was inviting some influential people, supposedly to help us make connections or something."

They braced themselves before heading straight into the groupings of people.

It was quite an awkward experience for the girls, as they were very obviously the youngest in attendance. There were very few of the important people that she recognised, so she searched the people until she found Ginny. She was alongside her date, a boy that Matilda recognised as a member of the DA, though she couldn't remember his name.

"Hi, Ginny," Matilda grinned. "Good to see someone else familiar here!"

"Seconded," she replied. "Who's your friend?" She gestured to her date. "This is my boyfriend, Dean."

Dean, that was it! Matilda smiled at him as she said, "My friend, Eleanor. Eleanor, you know Ginny, right?"

Eleanor nodded, appearing slightly starstruck. "Hi."

Over the next hour or so, Matilda and Eleanor spoke to several of the guests. It was an impressive group, even if they had to be told the significance of each of the guests. They got to meet a real vampire for the time (and quickly made themselves scarce when he licked his lips upon meeting them), one of the most famous Quidditch stars in the country, and a couple of punk rocker types whose music she'd heard Beatrice listening to in her first year.

They found Harry, who had invited Luna to the party. Luna seemed to be under the impression that the Minister of Magic was a vampire. Matilda didn't think that sounded right, but you never knew.

Suddenly, there was a commotion as someone was pushed through the crowd towards where Slughorn was talking with a group of people. It was Filch, and he was dragging Draco Malfoy by the ear.

"I caught this boy trying to sneak into the party!" Filch explained. "He claims to have been invited."

Draco scowled at the caretaker. "All right, I was gate crashing!"

Matilda didn't know what this was about. If Malfoy wanted to come to the party, he could have been invited by Zabini. Matilda's guess was that he was caught trying to do something else, and used the party as an excuse.

To their surprise, Slughorn ended up allowing Draco to stay at the party. Matilda watched Draco disappear into the crowd. Looking over to Harry and Luna, she found that Harry had also disappeared. "Where'd he go?" She asked Luna.

Luna appeared unconcerned as she said, "He said he was going to be back in a moment. I saw him bring out the Marauder's Map, though."

Matilda could make an educated guess about what he was doing. "He followed Draco."

"Yes, that could be it."

Harry's efforts didn't seem to be very conclusive, but he was more suspicious than ever afterwards.

The next several months passed with minor upsets here and there. Everyone was taken aback by the poisoning of Ron Weasley on his birthday. Matilda had gone with Hermione up to the hospital wing.

"So what exactly happened?" Matilda asked on the way.

Hermione struggled for words. "He was under a love potion. It was sent to Harry, but Ron ate them unknowingly. Harry took him to Slughorn, and he made an antidote. Ron was left feeling awful, and since it was Ron's birthday, Slughorn brought out some mead. It turned out to be poisoned. They're still investigating, but they think it was an attempt on Dumbledore's life, because it was originally intended for him. Ron only survived because Harry found a bezoar."

"And Slughorn didn't notice until Ron was writhing on the floor?" Matilda questioned. "He didn't think anything was off about the mead before he poured?"

Hermione shrugged. "I guess not. Some poisons are undetectable if you're not looking really close."

Hermione was having a hard enough time as it was with some kind of love triangle or square or something involving her and Ron. Matilda didn't have any idea what to do there except to be a shoulder to cry on. She was old enough to start noticing boys herself now, but she really hoped she could avoid that level of drama.

Ron's poisoning seemed to set the tone for the rest of the year, at least to hear Hermione tell it. Ron recovered, but in his absence, Harry had to recruit Cormac McLaggen to the Quidditch team. She'd gotten to know the older boy through the Slug Club, and he was exceedingly arrogant. (And a pig, according to Hermione.) During the match, he took one of the new Gryffindor Beaters bats and smacked a Bludger right into Harry's head, knocking him out.

Once both boys were released, things seemed to be relatively quiet for a while, but her older friends' wild luck continued. Harry couldn't play in the final match, due to Snape giving Harry detention, though Matilda didn't know why. (There was a rumour about him killing Malfoy, but it seemed too outrageous to believe. Plus, Malfoy was still distinctly alive.)

Gryffindor managed to win the Quidditch Cup anyway with Ginny standing in as Seeker, and the next day, it was all over the school that Harry and Ginny were dating. Matilda thought they were quite well matched, and felt that Harry deserved some happiness in his life.

Matilda dealt with more attacks from Pritchard and Baddock. They seemed to be taking her previous threat seriously, but every once in a while she caught them at it and gave them a reminder.

Other than that, the madness seemed to have calmed down. Despite the war outside the castle walls, things had returned to close to normal inside. As exams approached, Matilda thought that the end of third year would pass quietly.

She was wrong.