Happy New Year to all of you! I hope your Christmas was as delightful as my was...even though I wasn't that much in the Christamassy mood...

However, I've got a new chapter for you. I'm not that happy with the result... but yeah, It was a chapter that had to happen, so that the next meeting between Lupe and James could take place and make sense... It also gives some insights into Hagatha's and Lupe's personal/family life.. so it was fun to write.

I hope you enjoy reading at ;-)

Aggie was in a pretty bad mood for it being a beautiful Sunday morning. She was buttering her toast rather rudely and spreading jam on her scone so crudely that for a moment I considered taking the knife out of her hand and doing it myself, just in case. I could hardly watch her penetrate her breakfast like that. However, Aggie had her mouth twisted in the way she always did when something was on her mind and she was on the verge of lashing out at someone with some new and imaginative insult. At such moments, it was best to remain silent until she addressed her concerns on her own.

So I merely eyed her over the rim of my teacup and remained silent, thougtfully waiting. It was only a matter of time.

Aggie looked at the scone with slitted eyes as if it were her nemesis himself. She bared her teeth and I involuntarily wondered what face she was currently projecting onto the innocent scone.

"I hate having training at the weekend," Aggie finally sputtered out as she took a bite of her scone with jam.

I had to admit that she really did look quite tired. The bags under her eyes testified to how draining yesterday must have been for her. The Slytherin team had stood - or flown? - on the field into the evening. - despite the cold and the darkness. Aggie, who liked to sleep in on weekends, preferably until the evening so that she could fall asleep again immediately and didn't even have to crawl out of bed, was not very enthusiastic about training on a Saturday. However, Aggie didn't really get excited about anything when it was Theodora Hitchcock who suggested it.

I broke off a piece of my own scone and dipped it in my green tea. "The next game is approaching. Theodora must be under quite a bit of pressure," I mused.

"Nonsense. She just likes to see us suffer." grumbled Aggie, taking another - and somewhat aggressive - bite of her scone.

I wasn't surprised that Theodora was the reason for her bad mood. Aggie had been at war with Theodora ever since she had been made captain of the Slytherin team last year. It wasn't that Aggie envied Theodora's position, it was more that she disliked authoritarians out of pure principle. Aggie did not like being told what to do and what not to do. Theodora, however - and that's why the two head-butted each other in almost everything- could be very authoritative.

It would probably be the most sensible thing to do to distract her a little, but very discreetly, from the subject.

"Who are you competing against? Us Hufflepuffs, right?", I inquired therefore, and Aggie's temper immediately cooled at the prospect of talking about the next game.

Aggie grinned widely. "Yes, and we're playing Gryffindor after that. I'm looking forward to crushing Potter."

I didn't even mean to, but my gaze flickered involuntarily to the Gryffindor table at his mention and found said Quidditch player in an instant. James was sitting at the table alongside his friends Fred, Reuben, Aadhya and a few others I'd never spoken to in my life, chatting away chirpily. It was funny that I had had more to do with the popular Gryffindors in the last three weeks than in all my school years before. Of course, our encounters weren't worth mentioning and I could count them on the fingers of one hand... which probably proved how monotonous my social life at Hogwarts seemed to be. Not that it bothered me. I'd always preferred it simple and fuss-free. Work smart, not hard. That was my - perhaps Mildred's too - maxim for life. I imagined it exhausting to be on the cusp of popularity. Much was expected of James. Of me, on the other hand, nothing at all.

Suddenly, as if James had felt my gaze, our eyes met. It was only brief, because as soon as I realised he might have caught me staring, I averted my gaze and fixed my eyes on my teacup. I couldn't shake the feeling that he was eyeing me for a few more seconds. I took a sip of tea to collect myself and then turned my attention back to Aggie.

"This season is going to be very exciting, I'm sure," I surmised, listening intently as Aggie explained her tactics for the upcoming game.

I had never been particularly interested in Quidditch, but Aggie quickly became very passionate when talking about her favourite sport, and this passion was almost contagious. While Aggie explained the theory of the Bludger Backbeat to me in detail, I grabbed a second scone and refilled my teacup. Aggie swiftly drained her hot chocolate and was about to spread her next toast with a thick layer of nougat cream when I heard a distant flutter. I paused in my movement and nodded towards the ceiling.

"The mail.", I therefore disclosed to Agggie as the fluttering slowly grew louder in the background.

Aggie's eyebrows drew together and she seemed to be hearken, but she just shrugged. "You sure?"

Despite all the Quidditch reflexes and heightened senses on the pitch, Aggie wasn't the most observant of people. Not because she couldn't, but because she simply didn't care enough. I, on the other hand, had always had a keen sense of hearing. If I were more interested in other people's affairs, I might even be a good snoop.

I nodded. Not much later, all heads in the Great Hall turned towards the owls that flew into the hall, all carrying letters and parcels in their talons. Some pupils were given quite large packages, which were cardboard box shaped. Others were sent bulky, paper-wrapped gifts. Still others received a letter from their loved ones. For almost all of them, however, only one owl arrived - for me there were three. The first I discovered was my father's owl, Onuris, a handsome barn owl, who handed me a package neatly wrapped in golden paper with a red bow on top. I immediately recognised the curved handwriting on the little card tied to the bow as my father's.

I hope you like it, my dear. It's the finished version, with all the trimmings. My readers are thrilled, it said on the little card.

I didn't even have time to unwrap the package when a second owl, unknown to me, a tawny owl, landed on the table. The package he delivered to me was a large pink cardboard box labelled in gold letters.

Thursa Tremelling's Tippy-Toes Heels Boutique

The owl, presumably a post owl from London that my mother must have paid to deliver her order, scratched its claws across the tabletop. I stroked its head briefly and then it spread its wings and glided through the air over my head and disappeared.

While Onuris made himself comfortable on my shoulder, I smiled blissfully down at the pink cardboard box and stroked my fingers over the gold letters. I knew exactly what the contents of the package were. But again, I didn't get to unwrap it.

Plump! A paper bag landed in my lap. Then a second one.

"Oh Merlin.", I breathed as a third bag fell, narrowly missing my teacup. I pushed the paper bags aside as a desert owl landed on my thankfully empty plate. I didn't know this owl either, but unlike the post owl from London, it joined Onuris and me at the table instead of flying away immediately. It probably wanted to regain its strength before parting.

For the first time since Onuris had delivered the golden parcel, I turned my attention back to Aggie, who in turn was holding a plain letter and examining it with wide eyes. She swallowed hard and then looked at the two parcels and three shapeless paper bags that had piled up around me.

"They contained themselves by their standards, haven't they?", Aggie tried to be cheerful, but her voice trembled slightly.

"Yes, they are making an effort."

I pushed all my mail aside, for Aggie's letter seemed to shock her more than the arrival of so many parcels scandalized me. This was probably because my parents always insisted - regardless of the fact that I frequently asked them to simply rein in the overall amount - on sending me superfluous gifts, which, while very delightful, also made me feel a little ashamed because my parents didn't seem to know any measurements. I loved the silky dresses and scarves Mom bought me, and I loved the novels and all the bits and bobs my dad always sent me, but it was always too much of everything. I often got more presents in a month than my classmates got in half a year. I was a bit embarrassed about that, and I was glad that no one paid much attention to me at breakfast, so I could quite inconspicuously slide the two packages under the table.

"And what did you get that?", I asked with a glance at her letter and went back to sipping my tea.

Aggie hesitated. She took a quick breath before holding it out to me. "A letter from my mother."

"Open it." I gently gave it back.

"Yes." But instead of opening it, she put it away and refilled her cocoa cup. "But first, I'll watch you unpack your packages. That's much more interesting than some stupid letter anyway."

I eyed her sceptically while she placed her plate on top of the letter so that only the corners were sticking out. She was trying to distract herself from it, I realised.

"Sure, if you say so," I said hesitantly.

The first thing I did was reach for the pink box from Thursa Tremelling's Tippy-Toes Heels Boutique. I lifted the lid and unfolded the pink tissue paper to reveal a beautiful silver pair of shoes.

"These are the shoes I asked Mom for. For the Yule Ball, you know."

The shoes had a high, slender heel and straps around the ankles. They glittered in the light as if they had been strewn with silver dust.

"You could have just gone to Gladrag's Wizardwear. Here in Hogsmeade.", Aggie pointed out, squinting critically into the shoe box.

I shook my head decisively. "To buy what? Talking socks? No, thanks."

I had to admit that I could be a bit particular from time to time. I cared but little for the possession of more or less commonplace things, but when I walked up and down Diagon Alley with mom, and, after inspecting the most beautiful show windows, went into Twilfitt and Tatting's or Madam Malkin's to buy a number of clothing items for the upcoming school year, my true character showed itself. Only the most elegant articles found favour in my sight, and, if I could not have the best, I forewent the second-best, because this second meant nothing to me. Beyond question, I was able to forego - much more so than my mother- and in this ability to forego there was a certain amount of unpretentiousness. But when, by way of exception, it became a question of really possessing a thing, it always had to be something classy and out of the ordinary. In this regard I was pretentious.

"And you have to admit, they look really pretty," I added, shoving box under her nose. I could tell Aggie liked them as well.

"They're quite nice," she confessed reluctantly.

I sighed happily. "I know, I saw them on holiday in London and fell in love with them straight away."

"And what's in the other parcels?"

She pointed with interest at the three full paper bags and I shrugged. Then the little note attached to one of the sachets caught my eye and I read it carefully.

"This is not from my parents. It's from my Jiddah."

For my beloved Lupe

Yours, Jiddah

PS: Enjoy, honey!

My curiosity was aroused. With nimble fingers, I untied the bows and peered into the bag. I immediately began to smile.

"These are petit fours, baked by my Jiddah herself."

"Yum, I love petit fours," Aggie said.

"Egyptian petit fours. They have nothing to do with french petit fours." I shook my head with a laugh. "Look, they're butter cookies. A holiday classic in Egypt."

"They look really good."

"They don't just look good, they taste good too. Here, try some."

Petit fours were my favourite biscuits that my Jiddah used to bake for me whenever I visited my family in Egypt. This was usually in the summer because they didn't celebrate Christmas in Egypt, but my parents and I had adopted the tradition of Christmas and therefore stayed home in Windsor for the Christmas holidays. In the north of Africa they generally celebrated Ramadan, but my parents had moved to Britain so long ago that they had never made a big point of teaching me about Egyptian or Arabic festives. Thanks to my grandparents, uncles and aunts, however, I knew enough about these traditions, even if I didn't live them out personally. On holidays, one always bake incredibly delicious desserts and pastries; among them petit fours, a sprinkled pastry dipped in chocolate.

It was very sweet and thoughtful of my Jiddah to send me the biscuits, and so many at once. I could give some to Aggie and my roommates. I'm sure they would be delighted.

"Tell your grandmother these taste really great!" said Aggie, sounding impressed and ecstatic as she popped the petit four into her mouth.

"I'll write it to her in my next letter. She'll be delighted. Wouldn't surprise me if she even sends you your own parcel next time."

Aggie said she wouldn't mind and I just smiled as she looked under the table and pointed to the last golden package.

"And what's inside this one?"

"I think..." I reread what my dad had left me on the little card. I had my conjucture and when I removed the package from its wrapping, it was confirmed. "Yes, it's Dad's new book. Scarabs - Ancient Magic of Rebirth and Resurrection."

My father was really fond of everything that had to do with ancient magic. He had a special focus on magic in Ancient Egypt. The function of amulets, the belief in gods and all that kind of stuff interested him greatly. So he spent hours in his office, bending over old parchment scrolls and deciphering spells written in hieroglyphics. Afterwards, he summarised the results of his work in his books, and although he was definitely no Gilderoy Lockhart - but I didn't want him to be like Lockhart, because hadn't he gone mad? - they sold quite well. He was very popular, especially among the history research community he was highly regarded.

In the past, before I came to Hogwarts, I had always spent the evening sitting in the chair opposite him while he deciphered scrolls, using a magnifying glass. I had drunk my warm milk and watched him work, feeling happy and carefree. I had always flicked through books from his shelves that were too hard for me to read, pretending to know what was happening in the book. Often, I had just made up my own story and imagined it originated from the book instead of my imagination.

Whenever I spent the holidays at Windsor, I would sneak into Dad's study and just sit with him there. It had become our own little custom. We would remain silent; he would fiddle with the parchment scrolls and I would read the books, which by now I was quite capable of reading - although admittedly they were considerably more boring than my own stories of yesteryear.

Aggie's voice snapped me out of my memories, "Eugh, I don't like bugs."

The cover of the book featured a scarab beetle crawling across the picture, stopping every so often to nibble on a ball of dung. Not particularly appetising. I had expressed my doubts about the cover to Dad, but he had just been too enthusiastic and hadn't let me change his mind. I certainly wasn't impartial though, as I didn't like creepy-crawlies at all, especially spiders, but I wasn't a big fan of bugs either.

"Tell me about it." I smiled and quickly put the book away. I would read it in bed tonight, but I didn't want to be confronted with bugs - real or unlifelike - at breakfast.

Speaking of confronting... It was about time Aggie confronted her mother's letter. After all, there was no getting around it: she would have to read it sooner or later.

As gently as I could, I pushed her plate off the envelope with my index finger.

"But now... open your letter. It's been a long time since she sent you a letter, right?"

Aggie swallowed hard. "Right."

With jerky movements she reached for the envelope and opened it in what seemed to be slow motion. I couldn't blame her. She had a complicated relationship with her mother. The latter did not normally write letters to Aggie. So there had to be a pregnant reason why she did now. I could tell from Aggie's face that she was expecting bad news or even trouble.

A quizzical expression spread across Aggie's face as she read the letter and I wasn't sure what to make of it.

"And what does it say?", I questioned unsteadily.

"She's coming!"

I just blinked and looked perplex. "She's coming?", I repeated.

A grin, wide as a Cheshire cat's, graced her lips. I had to admit, I found it a little creepy to see Aggie grinning like that when it came to her family. Had her great-aunt Rawley died? Well, I hoped not, but it would explain a lot...

"Yes, she's coming to the next Quidditch game! She wants to watch Geoff and me play. I've been on the team for two years and she hasn't been to a game since my first one, but she's coming next week and Dad might be too. At least there's a chance he'll come. And that's something, isn't it?"

I was a little speechless, to be honest. I really hadn't expected that. After all, Aggie had tried for years to persuade her parents to come to one of her games and they had always turned down the invitation. Either there was a business meeting or other urgent matters to attend to, all however more important than dealing with their daughter's Quidditch games.

I clapped my hands in delight. I found her enthusiasm quite infectious.

"Wow, Aggie, that's wonderful. I know how much you've wanted them to watch you play."

"Yes, but-" she began, suddenly looking very pale. "By Salazar, now more then ever we have to win!"

"You guys have been training so hard these past few weeks. You'll be fine," I tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, you're right." muttered Aggie. "And those trainings Theodora scheduled at six in the morning should better not count for nothing."

"I'll root for you."

I demonstratively crossed my fingers. Aggie merely rolled her eyes and snorted, "Well then, we won't be able to lose."

"Exactly," I said, dismissing her objection with a smile.

Aggie rose from the bench and clutched her mother's letter to her chest. She was all excited and nearly knocked over her cocoa cup in the process.

"I have to let Geoff know. His parents are coming too." she exclaimed, waving the letter through the air. "It's his last season. I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

I nodded in understanding. Geoff was a chaser on the Slytherin team and simultaneously Aggie's favourite cousin. I thought he acted very rowdy at times, but he was a sweet guy at heart. Aggie and him shared a love for Quidditch and although he played very dirty every now and then, he was one of the best chasers Slytherin had seen in recent years. It would be hard to find a good replacement for him next year.

"You do that. Shall we go for a walk afterwards?", I asked, putting a spoonful of sugar in my tea, because, Merlin, it had been too bitter for my taste.

Aggie answered in the affirmative and then left the Great Hall briskly, almost beaming with joy. I looked after her and watched as a group of Ravenclaw third years recoiled from her; it wasn't every day you saw a Slytherin grinning so happily to herself. Shaking my head, I lowered my eyes to my tea and smiled.

Aggie hooked through my arms as we walked across the meadow. If I wasn't mistaken, it was around eleven o'clock. Quite a few of our classmates were either on their way to or had just come back from the owlery. Moreover, it was quite sunny today by November standards and several first-years were checking the lake to see if it was possible to skate. But as I had already noticed yesterday, this was not yet the case. That's probably why it was quite crowded on the meadow, despite the cold being a bit uncomfortable. Apparently Aggie, Elain, Millie and I were not the only ones who had decided to go for a walk.

"This isn't what I had in mind," Aggie groaned, her lips forming a brief grimace of disgust that I might have expected from a child being forced to eat cauliflower, but not from a sixteen-year-old.

"Why do you say that?", I asked.

"When you asked if I would accompany you, I didn't know they would be here too. I would have declined if I had known. I guess that's why you didn't tell me."

Aggie pointed her finger reproachfully at the two girls strolling across the meadow several feet in front of us. One was gesticulating animatedly with her arms and feet as she told a story. The other seemed to be listening intently to the first. The first was my roommate Mildred. The other was Elain, Millie's best friend and likewise my roommate.

"That's not true at all." I frowned as I watched Millie and Elain. The two of them didn't make the slightest effort to talk to Aggie and me. "I didn't invite them. They saw me getting ready and then decided to go for a walk as well. Look, they don't even walk with us."

Aggie could only scowl in response, "Oh please, who do you think I am? It's obvious you're trying to build a friendship between your Hufflepuffs and me, as usual. Even after I specifically asked you not to-"

I interrupted her immediately. And I didn't feel bad about it. I didn't like it when someone jumped to conclusions and accused me of things I had not done.

"Do you really think that after the embarrassing behaviour we engaged in the other day in The Three Broomsticks I would dare try again so soon? No, I'm not an idiot or are you suggesting otherwise?"

My voice was unusually sharp, despite all the calm I maintained. I was not angry, not at all, it was not so easy to make me angry. Maybe, I was still a little disappointed because of the escapade of the last Hogsmeade visit. Aggie's and Krista's, and especially my passive behaviour still embarrassed me even today.

Aggie shook her head wildly. "What, no... Okay, I'll take your word for it, but if Krista jumps out from behind the nearest tree or something, I'll be gone before you can say Quidditch, got it?", she warned me, snorting.

"Krista stayed in the common room. She doesn't feel like meeting you any more than you feel like meeting her-"

"That's hardly possible," Aggie snorted.

"Trust me, it's very possible," I objected. I gave her a quick side glance. "Anyway, she was all engrossed in one of her complicated books when we left. And I bet she still is."

Aggie seemed content. She nodded serenely.

"Very well. Would've been just what I needed, having to put up with that annoying plum."

I pursed my lips. "Her hair isn't purple anymore," I reprimanded her.

Krista's hair was brown by now. It suited her beautifully and she looked prettier than ever. But the purple hair - despite its resemblance to plum jam - had not been a bit ugly. Whether it was because every hair colour suited her or simply because Krista would have looked beautiful even with a terrible hairstyle, I didn't know. In any case, I did not approve of Aggie making fun of Krista. Especially when it was for unjustified reasons to boot. Krista might have been a plum, yes, but she had been the prettiest plum I had ever seen.

"Once a plum, always a plum," Aggie shrugged.

I just shook my head and decided I'd rather not start a discussion. I would save my energy for reprimanding Aggie when she used worse insults than "plum".

I turned my gaze to the sky. For the first time in days, it wasn't cloudy. The sun's rays were still shy, hiding behind some clouds, but they always were in winter. A small, weak ray of sunlight fell on my face and I smiled pleasantly. Aggie began to tell me about her terribly exhausting roommate's (her words, not mine! I actually quite liked Gretchen. She could be very funny) new boyfriend, who Aggie actually liked even less than she liked Gretchen.

"Hey, Lupe."

I knew that voice quite well by now. I didn't need to look to know that it was James to whom it belonged. Still, as I averted my eyes from the sky, I was a touch perplexed to see James walking past Aggie and me, accompanied by his friends. They surely were on their way back from the owlery. What puzzled me, however, was the fact that he had greeted me. He had never greeted me before, except when we happened to meet in a corridor during the night. I had noticed in the last few days that he had sometimes smiled at me or nodded at me in the corridors between classes. But I had always dismissed it by saying that he didn't adressed me at all, but someone else entirely who just happened to be standing near me. But now that he had called me by name, there was no doubt that he did in fact adressed me, because as far as I know there was no other Lupe at Hogwarts.

"Good morning... Rashid.", Fred said hesitantly, as if he had forgotten what my name was, which was certainly quite possible since we didn't have much to do with each other, after all.

"Helga!" Aadhya gave me her most charming smile and waved. Her right arm was on Reuben's shoulder, her left arm on James' shoulder.

"Hello, James. Fred, Reuben, Aadhya."

I smiled at her as kindly as I could, though I was still unsure if I was happy to hear their greeting after all. I knew it was rude not to be pleased and of course I appreciated their courtesy. However, I couldn't help but wonder where this sudden attention they were now giving me had come from. I had reckoned that after Fred's birthday party, none of them would even remember me. After all, the rest of the school didn't either, but in that respect I was probably wrong. They might have forgotten me for a while, but by now they greeted me as if we were good acquaintances. But we weren't. So what was I missing? I wished the pony with the coneflower could help me clear up confusion, but he seemed as perplexed as I was.

James and his friends passed by. They continued on their way towards the castle, chatting animatedly. Aggie, on the other hand, shot them a venomous glare over her shoulder. She had just told me about Gretchen's boyfriend squealing like a dying pig when he laughed (Again, not my words) when James had unconsciously interrupted her in her narrative. She hadn't liked that, what's more, the culprit had been a Gryffindor.

A shrill voice snapped me out of my thoughts and suddenly Elain was standing in front of me, as was Millie.

"Lou!"

I was beginning to wonder how excactly they had managed to reach us that quickly. I hadn't even noticed them approaching.

"What just happened?" asked Millie, putting her hands on her hips.

That question was superfluous, I dared to claim. My eyebrows furrowed. "Well, I was greeted. I thought that was obvious."

"But why is James Potter greeting you?" exclaimed Elain, putting her hands on my shoulders to shake me hard.

"And his friends!" added Millie.

"I guess they wanted to be polite."

"But-"

That was as far as Elain got, because Aggie stepped brusquely in front of me, thus shaking Elain's arms off my shoulders, for which I was quite grateful to the former. If I had been shaken a little harder, I would probably have been dizzy. Merlin, I wasn't a snow globe after all.

"Now give me a break and don't crowd her like that, you pests!" complained Aggie, also shoving Millie back a few steps by slapping her hand lightly against her chest. "So what, he just said hello to her. That guy greets half the world. He invited Lou to a party. So why shouldn't he get to say hello to her as well?"

Now that I thought about it, Aggie was right, of course. James did greet randomly anyone he somehow knew from somewhere. He was a frank and popular person, so why not? He knew a lot of people, a lot more than I did, and he was constantly smiling and talking to friends. I still found it strange that it was James Sirius Potter, of all people, who became aware of my existence, out of nowhere by the way. But there was nothing wrong with it. He was just polite and friendly. One or two more acquaintances at Hogwarts wouldn't do me any harm.

"That's quite different. Lou said he only invited her to the party because he felt guilty," Elain replied, and she looked a little irritated. When it came to James, she was quick to get upset. But that was probably how one acted when one had a crush. Her irritation was therefore excusable.

"That's what I said," I confirmed, nodding.

"Well then, there's your answer! Maybe he still feels sorry for her.", Aggie hissed, as a snake was supposed to, and shooed Elain and Millie away, waving her hand through the air until they were several feet away. "Now scoot forward a few feet again. I have important things to discuss with Lou and you're too much in earshot for my liking."

My friends threw nasty looks in her direction, then said goodbye to me and hurried away far enough that they could no longer hear Aggie and me talking.

"Did you have to do that?", I asked with a frown.

Aggie's response to this was a broad smirk and a gleeful chuckle.

However, this encounter with the notorious Gryffindor was not to be the end of the story, because on the Tuesday after History of Magic, I ran into James once again. And this time, too, he greeted me, which didn't exactly shock me, but despite everything, mildly surprised me.

I was out with my roommates and they were complaining loudly about the long homework assignment Professor Binns had given us.

"History of Magic is so boring!" moaned Millie, clearly upset.

"The most boring subject ever!" agreed Elain, giving Millie a sympathetic look as we stopped at the bottom of the stairs and waited for the stairs to start moving so it could take us to the Defence classroom.

"I actually find the class quite relaxing," I said with a shrug. Everyone gave me knowing looks in response.

"Yes, of course. It's the only class where you can daydream without the professor admonishing you," Krista explained with a grin.

I thought about it for a moment. "That might be true," I admitted.

"Still, the lessons aren't exactly relaxing. Those long essays he always assigns!", Millie added, looking down reproachfully at her book bag, as if it was the bag's fault that Professor Binns had a penchant for reading and correcting long essays.

"Oh yes, Merlin, how I detest those." Elain shuddered.

Krista, Elain and Millie walked on side by side, arms hooked into each other, as if in a three-way chain. I, on the other hand, was carrying my books in my arms because I hadn't felt like carrying my yellow book bag around today. So I walked a few steps behind them, listening to them whenever they spoke up and turned to me.

"Hey, Lupe."

James was walking towards me. Next to him stood Aadhya Brown, as usual with a charming smile on her lips. She only noticed me after James had greeted me. He grinned at me with a twinkle in his eye that some would have found sympathetic. It probably was sympathetic - or would have been, if I hadn't been a little uncomfortable with him addressing me once again.

"James.", I said.

I smiled back, albeit a little more reservedly than Aadhya and James had. James' grin widened even more, if that was even possible, because James already had the most mischievous grin I had ever seen.

I quickly turned my gaze to Aadhya. She had addressed me anyway:

"Helga, long time no see, long time no say!"

Aadhya waved goodbye to me. And then they had both already passed by, and I hurried to catch up with Millie, Krista and Elain.

"Worse than History of Magic, though, is Potions. I'm so bad at it. Why didn't I drop it when I had the chance?" Millie sighed deeply and ran her hands through her hair. "How do you actually manage, to be as bad at Potions as I am, Lou? Isn't your mother a potions god or something?"

"I didn't inherit her talent," I stated matter-of-factly.

"But her aversion to spiders!"

All of them had to chuckle and I smiled, even though the memory of the eight-legged critters shouldn't have made me happy.

"Yeah, you're right."

It was Thursday afternoon and I was on my way to the castle gate. From there I was going to walk towards the lake. I was still looking for inspiration for my essay and slowly Krista began to press me. She had - quite discreetly, of course - borrowed me a couple of textbooks from the library ("Just in case you could use a little inspiration from a sensible source."). Moreover, by now she was questioning me almost hourly about my progress, or rather the lack of it. I also had to admit that time was running out, and knowing that textbooks would not be of much help, I had decided to pay a visit to the giant octopus in the Black Lake.

In the entrance hall, however, I again encountered the famous James and his friend Aadhya. Aadhya was wearing a very beautiful cloak, that was the first thing I noticed. And James next to her had taken off his cloak and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt as he usually did. If I hadn't known that Reuben was mightily interested in Aadhya, I would have assumed that James and Aadhya would make a handsome couple. But I had a feeling that neither Aadhya nor James would date the other as long as their mutual friend harboured feelings for Aadhya (Although I doubted that they wanted to date anyway). Gryffindors, after all, were not only brave, but also very loyal.

Aadhya had become accustomed to greeting me in a very special way:

"Helga!" she exclaimed, smiling broadly.

She and James had come out of the Great Hall and I assumed they were going back to their common room. But I stopped and looked after them and they weren't very far yet, so they could easily hear me speaking up. It wasn't that I was burning for answers, but it did bother me a little not knowing why Aadhya was calling me by the wrong name all the time. I also didn't like the name Helga. It sounded... dumpy.

"I wasn't going to ask, but why do you call me Helga? My name is Lupe, better yet Lou."

Aadhya and James turned around and the former laughed out loud. She didn't seem to have to think long about an answer.

"You're a born Hufflepuff, that's why. At least that's the impression you give me. Don't you think so, Potter?"

She nudged James in the ribs with her elbow, so that he nodded in agreement and put on his ever-so-familiar smile.

"A little too stubborn for a Hufflepuff, perhaps, but otherwise our Lupe fits the bill for a Hufflepuff, yes."

I frowned. I doubted that either of them knew me well enough to assess my character. Perhaps it had slipped past me, but I had assumed I dealt with James and Aadhya as much on a personal basis as I did with the caretaker Mr Waterbury. Mr. Waterbury was a friendly man, of course, but still...

"You seem to know more about me than I do myself, James."

"I wouldn't go that far, but thank you," he said, sounding smug.

"I must go."

My gaze wandered to the door, then back to the two Gryffindors. Now that I had my answer - however unenlightening it might be - I was eager to get to the lake. I clasped my hands behind my back, considered whether an excuse would be necessary, then decided against it.

"Well, bye then."

A See you soon would have been a lie, because I wasn't necessarily in a fever of excitement at the prospect of reuniting with the Gryffindors. I wasn't fond of lying. So I kept my goodbyes as short as possible and tried to hurry away before I could hear the goodbye I didn't want to hear. Of course, I was too slow for that.

"See you soon, Lupe!", I heard them call and I didn't really know what to make of it.

Notes: A short part of this chapter is highly inspired by Effi Briest... it's the part from 'I cared but little for the possession of more or less commonplace things..' to 'In this regard I was pretentious'. It's not that I loved the book but I found this description to fit very well with Lupe's character.

I'd love some feedback and comments. I'm missing you guys. So if you have some tips or just some feedback for me, I would really appreciate it. ;-)

BoulevardReader