I fell into a familiar routine over the next few months. I had my schedule down pat and I had carefully allotted my free time to allow for maximum studying productivity, as well as quidditch training. Our quidditch team was determined to beat Gryffindor this year, and if we wanted to do that then we were going to have to train furiously. Cho Chang, a seventh year, was our team captain, and a brutal one, too. She had booked the field solid and was having us spend hours each day drilling over and over. Once, Henry Edmunds actually fell off of his broom in exhaustion. Cho Chang made him do another three laps. I would return almost every day splattered in mud and windswept, and have to eat my dinner that way because there wasn't enough time for me to shower beforehand. Still, progress was slow. Two of our best players had graduated and left, meaning we had a couple of third years with not nearly as much quidditch experience as the rest of us. They weren't bad- Cho wouldn't have chosen them if they were- but they were unsuited for the rigor and intensity of practice.

I had mostly been able to keep Parker off of my mind, but for the first couple of weeks at school the wound was still raw. Steph was the only friend of mine who had actually had a boyfriend before, so she knew how to handle my misery- stealing down to the kitchens at night and bringing me a bottle of butterbeer and some mint chocolate-chip ice cream, which the house-elves had been all too happy to provide.

"It sucks," I cried, burying my face in my pillow, when everyone else had gone to watch Lucas and Elijah's intense game of exploding snap down in the courtyard (bets were placed). "I even wished that I had never come here."

"I know," said Steph softly. "I hate that it's a secret."

"I keep thinking that maybe there's a way, but there's not! There's no way! He's a muggle, and I can't live in the muggle world! I don't have any muggle education, I can't get a muggle job like a doctor or a teacher or... or something. I can't even be an accountant!"

"It sucks."

She sat there with me, drinking butterbeer while I cried myself to sleep.

I wouldn't get to wallow in self-pity, however, because now that the OWLs were over, the pressure was on to choose your next classes, which would be in direct correlation with the job you intended to pursue. I very badly wanted to work in the Ministry of Magic, specifically the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I had always been passionate about the study and conservation of magical creatures, as well as goblin rights. They, too, were intelligent and clever beings, so why should they be governed by us? They had every right to have a voice in government, especially since our societies were so closely intertwined and our laws affected them as much as they affected wizards. Anyway, after meeting with Professor McGonagall to discuss career options, I had decided that I wanted to take History of Magic and Care of Magical Creatures as two of my classes. Steph wanted to be a professor- either at Hogwarts or another magical school somewhere. Lucas wanted to open his own shop in Hogsmeade, and Emma was hoping to become a Healer and work at St. Mungo's. Other than dinnertime and whispered conversations when we passed each other in the library, we barely got to see each other at all because of the immense amounts of schoolwork on our plates. In fact, there was one day when I didn't speak to a single person all day except for answering questions in class until I said "Good night" to Emma right before going to bed.

In fact, I was so absorbed in all of the work I had been doing that on Monday morning, the day of our first quidditch game of the season, I didn't even realize that I should have been down at the pitch ten minutes ago until I glanced up from my copy of The Chimera Crisis: Controlling the Illegal trade of Exotic Magical Beasts and realized that everyone in the Great Hall was clutching either Ravenclaw or Slytherin flags and chattering excitedly. "Crap!" I practically yelled, and bolted from the table to change, leaving my open book and a half eaten plate of eggs and apple-smoked sausage. When I arrived, panting and clutching my Comet Two-Fifty, the team was already warming up, doing laps around the field and a complicated quaffle-passing drill. Dustin, our keeper, was swooping around in front of the goalposts, while Cho hurled the quaffle at him, attempting to score. Cursing, I mounted my broom and swooped up to her. She frowned. "Katherine Rayleigh, you're late."

"I know, I'm sorry- I was studying and I forgot."

"Go get out the tennis balls and we'll practice. We only have another ten minutes before the game."

"Yes, Captain!" I said, and plummeted towards the ground, pulling up at the last second- I had been practicing the trick after drills when I had time, it was called the Wronksy Feint and I couldn't wait to try it out during a real game. For the last ten minutes, Cho threw tennis balls this way and that, while I dove after them, since we weren't allowed to use a real snitch. I caught all but two, and even Cho, grumpy at my lateness, had to admit I was pretty much as prepared as I could be. That didn't stop my nerves, however, and my palms were sweating furiously as we stepped out of the locker rooms and onto the field, this time for the first game of the season. Madame Hooch threw the ball high into the air, and the game began! I spiraled up high into the air, observing the game unfold from an eagle's eye perspective. Cho had immediately taken control of the ball and shot down the field, dodging the Slytherin chasers with incredible maneuverability. All of the passing drills were coming in handy- our chasers seemed to have some sort of telepathy, from the way they passed it easily, seeming to predict each other's every move. I watched with pride, then quickly began to circle the pitch, scanning for any sign of the glittering little ball. Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin seeker, pulled up beside me, his sleek blond hair tousled by the wind. His eyes narrowed.

"Pity, really," he said, but I couldn't hear him over my heart pounding in my chest from nerves. "After all of the practice you put in, to be crushed so easily- I mean, come on. A Comet Two-Fifty? I think they sell those at antique stores nowadays." He did a complicated loop-the-loop, showing off his dark, agile broom. "How much money do you think you could get off of it twenty years from now? It'll be a collector's item by then, I should think-"

But he stopped suddenly, because at that moment I dropped into a steep, practically vertical dive, speeding towards the ground. Malfoy, thinking I had seen the snitch, was on my tail in an instant. The wind whistled deafeningly in my ears as, seconds before impact, I wrenched my broom out of the descent and sped along the bottom of the pitch. I had been cutting it pretty close- I could actually feel the blades of grass skimming along my knees as I flew, and I ascended slowly to an eruption of cheers, boos, and applause from the crowd. Malfoy had completely wiped out against the grass, and Madame Pomfrey was rushing to his side. Dean Thomas, the commentator, was roaring into the microphone - "What a spectacular play by Raleigh, there, the Wronski Feint if I'm not mistaken- immortalized by the famous Viktor Krum during the four hundred and twenty-second world cup, Bulgaria versus Ireland! Ooh, and it appears that the Slytherin seeker, Malfoy, is out for the count, and look! I do believe Raleigh has spotted the snitch!"

I had, indeed, hovering by the ear of Blaise Zabini, one of the Slytherin Beaters. He gasped when he saw me barreling towards him at full speed, and zoomed out of the way, allowing me to swipe at the tiny, fluttering ball, and snatch it from the air. The crowd exploded in a tidal wave of blue and silver, their cheers ringing in my ears. Our team collapsed on the pitch, screaming and cheering wildly. The entire game must have lasted about five minutes, and the team was going crazy, hoisting me on their shoulders and chanting my name. Right then, flushed with victory and adrenaline, I don't think I could have gotten any happier.

Which I did. After the match had ended, and the students flooded back into the castle, chattering excitedly, a party was held in the Ravenclaw common room. A lot people assume that Ravenclaws never party, but they'd be wrong- while we don't party often, it's pretty amazing when we do, and we really know how to let loose. The last of the first and second years went to bed around nine-thirty, yawning from being up so late, but most of the fifth, sixth, and seventh years stayed up. Ravenclaw doesn't have the best track record when it comes to quidditch, so we definitely had reason to celebrate. Someone had managed to smuggle in firewhiskey, which I avoided, but by ten I had given in to curiosity and gasped as the fiery liquid scorched its way down my gullet and settled in the pit of my stomach. I choked, eyes watering furiously, and as the burn subsided I could already feel the edges of my brain going fuzzy and warm. Someone handed me another glass, and I downed it without thinking. Whoops exploded around me. I felt weightless and giddy. The party raged on.

"Kat."

"Huh?"

It was Dustin, our Keeper. "It's late. The team's all gone to bed."

I giggled. "But the party's still going! Wooo-hooo!"

Dustin's brow furrowed. "How many drinks have you had?"

"Um, five... four..." I mumbled. "I don't know." I giggled again. Everything just seemed so funny.

"You need to go to bed." He grabbed my shoulder and steered me out of the crowd, which had dispersed slightly was still filling most of the common room. I stumbled along beside him, rubbing my eyes. "Wow, you're strong."

"No, you're drunk."

"Am not."

"Yes, you are. And it's going to hurt in the morning."

"You're going to hurt morning... it's... whatever." Another giggle. Dustin raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were supposed to be smart."

I gasped, putting a hand to my heart in shock, but missing and swatting myself in the chin. "Me? How dare you..." I attempted to shove him, but his chest was hard as a rock and I was very woozy, and I ended up flinging my arms around him and planting a kiss right on his mouth. Several seconds later, we broke apart. It tasted like cinnamon gum. Someone wolf-whistled. Dustin's face was painted with surprise, and it was almost comedic until his expression hardened and his grip on my shoulder tightened until it almost hurt. "Ow."

"Go to bed, now." He gave me a little shove and I stumbled up the stairs into the dorm, crawling under the covers before I had even changed into pyjamas. I was fast asleep in moments, despite the sounds of celebration carrying from downstairs.

"Ugh."

"Kat, you have to get up."

"No."

"Kat, get up."

"..."

"Get up!" Emma clapped her hands sharply, and I moaned in pain, burying my face deeper into the pillow. Everything hurt. And my head. My poor, poor head. Merlin's beard, what had I done? I rolled slowly out of bed, wiggling out of the clothes I had slept in and changing into my school uniform. I kept my eyes half-closed. Why was everything so ridiculously bright?

"I'm proud," said Steph from across the room. "Baby's first hangover. It's about time."

"I hate this," I groaned. "I hate myself. Why did I drink anything? I'm so stupid. I'm never drinking anything ever again."

"Aww, now here come the feelings of regret and shame that follow," cooed Steph. "She's growing up so fast." Emma laughed.

"Quiet!" was my grumpy response. The memories of last night were hazy. Firewhiskey, that happened for sure. The evidence of that was stabbing pins and needles into my skull. Everything else was a bit blurry. I remember Dustin, or maybe I was just thinking about the team. We won. Despite the pounding headache, I grinned. We had won!

Things didn't get much better that day. I winced at loud noises, and although the quiet darkness of the potions room provided some temporary relief, when Neville's cauldron went off with a bang and flash of light, I could practically feel my retinas being burned, one cone at a time. The general hubbub of Hogwarts that I had once loved now felt like some sort of medieval torture device. Like corkscrews were drilling into my skull. And the day worsened when I sat down in my usual seat next to Dustin in charms, and just seeing him triggered my memory and the events of last night came flooding back to me. My cheeks flushed red.

"Merlin," I mumbled. "I'm so sorry, Dustin, I was soused out of my brain."

"Don't worry about it," was his short and harsh response. He didn't make eye contact. At the end of the lesson, I grabbed Emma by the arm and pulled her aside. "Who saw?"

"Ow, girl! Saw what?"

"At the party, last night. Who saw?"

Emma squinted at me in confusion. "What? What happened last night?"

"Oh. You didn't see?" I released her arm. Emma shook her head. "No, I left around nine, I didn't want to stay up too late and I had studying to do. Why, what happened?"

I blushed again, and my ears felt hot. "I think... I think I might have kissed Dustin."

Emma gasped. "What!"

"Shh! I had too much firewhiskey, okay?"

Emma lifted an eyebrow at me. "Yeah, I think I might have figured that out for myself, thanks. When did it happen?"

"I don't know," I said miserably. "I can't remember that much. Oh, I swear I didn't mean to! This is totally going to ruin the entire season, I just know it!"

She looked confused. "Hold on," she said slowly. "You just kissed, like, a super cute guy, and you're worried that it's going to ruin your quidditch season? I mean, it's great you have your priorities and all, but quidditch? Really, Kat?"

"It'll throw off our rhythm," I argued, blushing even harder. I kept thinking about cinnamon, and I didn't recall why. "This is the first time in forever that the Ravenclaw quidditch team has gotten really good players all together at once, and we could have a real shot! I've messed it all up."

Emma shrugged. "I mean, in terms of accidentally kissing someone, it's really not that bad. You could have done a lot worse."

"Not the point!" I sighed, rubbing my temples. The headache was still there, if not as bad as this morning. "What should I do about it?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"You heard me," said Emma. "Nothing. If you try to apologize, then it'll get all awkward and it'll ruin things for sure. If you just act like normal, like it never happened, he'll do the same."

"Really?"

"Yup! Trust me, I would know," she smirked.

I hugged Emma, relieved. "Thanks for the advice. Now let's go, we don't want to be late for herbology."

Well, Emma's advice seemed to work- quidditch practice that night was startlingly normal, and I felt the tension in the knot of my stomach vanish as I kicked off and soared through the air, whizzing like a bullet. Cho didn't know about the kiss- I guess she had either gone to bed already or just didn't see it, because she didn't pull me aside to chew me out. In fact, I was so elated by this news that my performance was the best yet- I zipped around, dodging and weaving, light as a feather, while Cho hurled tennis balls at me. By the time we were finally done and ready to go, Cho pulled me aside and said that she expected me to keep whatever maniacal energy I had inside of me for the rest of the season. Which I was all too happy to agree to.

That night, after I had finished all of my homework, I wrote a letter to my parents. Probably something I should be doing more often, but the amount of schoolwork we had been getting was absurd. I assured them that everything was great, that the food was delicious and the course work was hard but manageable, and that I would be visiting for Christmas break. It seemed a shame to miss out on Christmas at Hogwarts, I thought, but I had always been home for Christmas since first year, and I was still able to get a feel on how the castle might look with the grounds coated in glittering snow. Besides, they still liked to put up their decorations relatively early in the season, so I got to see the wreaths and garlands strung up on the stairway banisters, and the four massive trees in the Great Hall.

When the time came for me to leave, I hugged Steph, Emma, and Lucas, who would all be staying this year, and carried my trunk out of the castle. The train ride home was quiet, but it gave me the time I needed to catch up on some reading- I had been so absorbed in school work lately that I hadn't really gotten any books for pleasure yet. When the train pulled to a stop and I passed through the barrier into King's Cross station, I couldn't help but reel a little bit at the difference of it all. There were no sweeping robes or bizarre arrangements of muggle clothes that I had grown so fond of. Despite it's differences, though, it felt good to be back in the muggle world, at least for a little bit.