After lunch they went out together onto the grounds for their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson.
"I can't believe Hagrid is our teacher," Neville said, smiling brightly.
"He is?" Rachel asked.
"That's right, you didn't hear the announcements yesterday," Millie said. "Hagrid is the new Care of Magical Creatures professor. Professor Kettleburn retired."
"Well that explains the book," Rachel said.
"It really does," Theo said.
They joined the fifteen people who were waiting together near Hagrid's house. It seemed Care of Magical Creatures was a more popular class than Arithmancy.
"I can't believe Hagrid is our teacher," Draco said, though in a much different tone than the way Neville had said it.
"What's wrong with Hagrid?" Rachel asked, trying not to frown.
Draco turned around. "Oh, hi Rachel. How are you after the Dementor got you?"
"Fine," Rachel said, though she certainly wouldn't have put it that way.
"Anyway, Hagrid isn't a qualified professor," Draco said.
"But he has a lot of practical experience," Millie said. "I think that's even better, because it's not just knowing things out of a book, it's actually taking care of the creatures."
"What about that awful book he assigned us?" Draco asked.
"All you had to do was dispel the Alivening charm and it's fine," Rachel said.
"Try telling that to the shopkeeper," Draco said after a moment.
"We did," Millie said.
Their conversation came to a merciful stop as Hagrid came out of his house.
"Alright everyone, I've got a great lesson planned for you today, just follow me," Hagrid called, waving them forward.
They followed Hagrid and for a moment Rachel worried that he was leading them into the Forbidden Forest. Thankfully, Hagrid brought them around the trees and soon they arrived at a small empty paddock.
"Come around the fence here, make sure you all can see," Hagrid said. "Now, go ahead and open your books to page 58."
"How?" Ron Weasley asked loudly.
"What?" Hagrid asked.
"How do you open the books?" Ron asked, holding up his to show that he had tied a rope around it.
Rachel had opened up hers to page 58 and peered down at the illustration. Hippogriffs.
"Looks like some of you have got it," Hagrid said, motioning to where most of the study group had their books open. "Stroke the spine and they'll relax."
Theo shook his head slightly but stroked the spine on his book and it stopped struggling, allowing him to take his belt off of it.
"Alright then, you've got your books, and now for your creatures. I'll be right back," Hagrid said, turning and walking off into the Forest.
"Biting books, how stupid," Draco said, cramming his back into his bag.
Rachel wasn't sure what to do. She didn't like what Draco was saying about Hagrid, but the books weren't the greatest idea she'd ever heard of either.
"Look," Lavender Brown said, pointing to the opposite side of the paddock.
Rachel looked up and watched as Hagrid led in a dozen creatures. The illustration in the book hadn't really done them justice, and they were a lot bigger than she'd expected. The backend and bodies were like horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads seemed to be from an eagle. Their beaks looked sharp and deadly, and the talons on their front feet more so. Each Hippogriff had a collar and Hagrid was carrying the chain leads.
"Hippogriffs," Hagrid called. "Absolutely beautiful. Come closer and take a look. The first thing you need to know about Hippogriffs is they're proud creatures. Never offend a Hippogriff unless you want a face full of their talons."
Rachel watched the Hippogriffs as she listened. She could sort of see what Hagrid meant, they were very beautiful once you got used to them and they were in all different colors.
"Always let the Hippogriff make the first move. Walk toward him, bow, and then wait. If the Hippogriff bows back, you can touch him. If he doesn't, back away right quick. Who wants to go first?" Hagrid asked.
No one volunteered and Rachel got a sinking feeling as she watched Hagrid's smile start to falter. She thrust her book and bag at Millie and raised her hand.
"Rachel, come on out here," Hagrid said, smiling at her.
Rachel gritted her teeth and climbed over the paddock fence. She'd already faced down a Dementor yesterday, why not a Hippogriff today? She just wished it wasn't in front of everyone.
"Alright then, here's Buckbeak," Hagrid said, bringing forth a grey Hippogriff and taking off its collar.
Rachel would have rathered Hagrid kept the collar on, but things were probably beyond that point now.
"Wait for a moment, try not to stare into his eyes," Hagrid said.
Rachel looked at its feet and didn't feel particularly comforted. The talons looked much larger now that she was up near it.
"Okay, now bow," Hagrid said.
Rachel took a deep breath and leaned forward into a deep bow and then slowly stood up.
Buckbeak dropped onto one knee and lowered his head.
"Very good. Now you can go pet him, try up near where his ears are," Hagrid said.
Rachel wasn't entirely sure where his ears were, somewhere under all the feathers probably, so she took a guess and gently scratched his head like she would if he were an owl. Buckbeak closed his eyes and Rachel took that as a good sign.
"Well done. Do you want to go for a ride?" Hagrid asked.
"No, thank you," Rachel said quickly. She had no experience riding horses, she hadn't even seen one in person, and she did not want her first time to be on a Hippogriff.
"Alright then. Now the rest of you lot come on out and we'll start pairing you up. Good job, Rachel," Hagrid said.
Rachel retreated back to the paddock fence and took her bag and book back from Millie.
"You are insane, you know that right?" Millie asked.
Rachel shrugged. "Someone had to do it." She put her book back in her bag and waited by the fence while Hagrid paired people with Hippogriffs and started them bowing.
Draco wound up nearby, with Crabbe and Goyle, and Rachel watched as Draco bowed and Buckbeak bowed back. Draco went up to Buckbeak and started petting his beak before walking back to his friends.
"Well that was simple enough. They're not really dangerous, they're just ugly," Draco said.
Rachel saw the change in Buckbeak immediately as he stalked toward Draco. "Draco!" she called, running to push him out of the way. She made it just in time to shove Draco and to feel a sharp stabbing pain down her lower back as Buckbeak swiped down.
She gasped as she landed on the ground. Her back hurt and she could feel blood seeping into her clothes. She'd been hurt worse, but not by a lot.
"Rachel!" Hagrid shouted as he ran over to them. "You're bleeding bad. I've gotta get you to Madam Pomfrey. Class dismissed!"
The next thing Rachel knew she was being lifted into the air and held against Hagrid's chest. "I'm fine, Hagrid. I can walk," Rachel said. She thought that was true, though she wasn't entirely sure.
"No you can't," Hagrid said, jostling her as he ran.
Rachel grimaced and settled for holding onto Hagrid's arm. She could feel that her shirt was wet and thought that she'd lost quite a bit of blood.
"That's right, just hang on," Hagrid said, jostling her again as he opened the entryway door.
"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked as soon as they entered the hospital wing.
"Slashed by a Hippogriff," Hagrid said as he set Rachel down on the bed.
"I need privacy to work," Madam Pomfrey said, shooing Hagrid away. As soon as Hagrid was gone, Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and Rachel found herself back in a hospital gown. "You're losing some blood. Stay still."
Rachel lay down on her stomach and tried to focus on something other than the stinging pain on her back. The only thing that came to mind was that this was twice in two days that she'd wound up in the hospital wing.
"Here we go, hold still for me," Madam Pomfrey said as she returned.
Rachel tensed as she felt Madam Pomfrey touching the wounds, her other hand resting on Rachel's back. She didn't like being held down.
"Do you need a Pain Relieving potion to get through this part?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"No," Rachel said, clenching her jaw immediately after.
"If you do, just say something," Madam Pomfrey said and then continued working.
It seemed like a long time later, but Madam Pomfrey finally waved her wand and a bandage wrapped around Rachel's middle.
"That's mostly to keep the Healing Salve in place so it can work. You shouldn't see any scarring with this. Now for a Blood-Replenishing Potion. Can you sit up?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
Rachel managed to roll over and sit up without putting any pressure on her back. She accepted the vial of dark red potion and swallowed it as quickly as possible. It tasted deeply bitter. "Can I have some water?"
"Yes, but then you need to rest," Madam Pomfrey said, conjuring a glass and filling it with water.
"Rachel, are you alright?" Millie asked. The rest of the third years in the study group were with her.
"Miss Snow will recover, but she needs rest. Go on with you," Madam Pomfrey said.
"We'll check on you later if we can," Neville called as they left.
Rachel sighed and set aside the empty water glass.
"Now just lie still and let the potion work," Madam Pomfrey said.
Rachel settled onto her side and tried to figure out how she was going to explain all this to Severus.
"Veritaserum should be entirely clear and odorless, can anyone tell me why?" Severus asked, looking over the six sixth year students in his class.
Alex Hornburg, a Ravenclaw, raised his hand and Severus nodded to him.
"Because the inventor of Veritaserum intended for it to be used stealthily, so that the person dosed with the potion would not realize they were taking it," Alex said.
"Precisely. It took less than a year from the invention of Veritaserum for its use to become regulated by the Ministry of Magic. However, that does not stop the less than scrupulous from attempting to use it, always guard your drinks in mixed company," Severus continued, looking up as the door to his classroom opened and Theo and Millie slipped in. "Take a moment to review the instructions for brewing Veritaserum on page 28 of your textbook, though we will not be brewing this in class. I also want to discourage you from attempting to brew this on your own while you're at Hogwarts as being in possession of Veritaserum is an expellable offense."
Severus walked to the side of his classroom and opened his office door, gesturing Millie and Theo through and then casting a privacy ward so that he could keep an eye on his students while he spoke with them. "I trust you have a very good reason for interrupting my class and not being in your own class," he said, though he already suspected the reason.
"Yes, sir," Millie said quickly. "We were dismissed early from Care of Magical Creatures."
"Rachel's in the hospital wing," Theo added.
"She collapsed after over exerting herself?" Severus asked. He had suspected she might, which was the reason he had given her the option to take the day to rest.
"No, sir," Theo said.
"There was an accident in Care of Magical Creatures. She was bleeding quite a lot. Hagrid took her to the hospital wing," Millie explained.
Severus forced himself to remain calm. "What sort of accident?"
"She was attacked by a Hippogriff, sir," Theo said.
Severus thought he could just about hex Hagrid, though little good it would do with Hagrid's giant blood. Letting third years run loose with Hippogriffs on the first day of class was enormously irresponsible. "Do you know Rachel's condition?" he asked, knowing full well that he would have been summoned to the hospital wing if his presence was needed, but ready to dismiss his class regardless.
"Madam Pomfrey said she'd recover, that she just needed to rest," Millie said.
"Very well. Thank you for alerting me to the situation. I will go visit Rachel after my class has finished," Severus said, relaxing a little. If Poppy had said that Rachel would recover, then she would.
"Can you tell Rachel that I brought her bag to our dormitory?" Millie asked.
"Yes, I will tell her," Severus said. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"No, sir," Theo said.
"Then you're dismissed," Severus said, dispelling the privacy ward and returning to his classroom. "Now that you've had a chance to review the instructions, tell me what stands out to you. Yes, Miss Jugson."
An hour later, Severus entered the hospital wing and immediately spotted Rachel lying on her side in one of the hospital beds. Poppy's office door was open and Severus could see her behind her desk.
He walked around the bed, checking to see if Rachel was asleep, but found her hazel eyes looking back at him.
"I was hoping Madam Pomfrey wouldn't tell you I was here," she said as she sat up.
"Why's that?" Severus asked, conjuring himself a chair and sitting down.
"It's kind of embarrassing to be in the hospital wing twice on the first day back," Rachel said.
Severus conjured her two more pillows. "Lean back on those so you're not exerting yourself."
Rachel sighed but did as she was told. "It's not that bad, it doesn't even really hurt anymore."
"I'm glad it doesn't hurt. What happened?" Severus asked. The version he'd gotten from Millie and Theo had been lacking in details.
"It was in Care of Magical Creatures. We were studying Hippogriffs. They're actually quite nice, once you get used to them. Have you ever seen a Hippogriff?" Rachel asked.
"I have," Severus said. He thought the creatures were rather ugly, but their feathers could be used as ingredients in certain potions.
"Then you'll know that their talons are long and sharp. Buckbeak got me right there," Rachel said, turning on the bed and placing her hand on her lower back.
"What led up to Buckbeak attacking you? Was he provoked in some manner?" he asked.
"You could say that." Rachel's gaze dropped to her blankets.
It took Severus a moment to realize what the problem was. Rachel was obviously worried that he was going to be upset with her. "I will not be angry with you, I merely wish to know what happened so that we can prevent it from happening again."
"It's not me I'm worried that you'll be angry at," Rachel admitted.
Severus raised an eyebrow. Had someone set her up to be attacked? "My anger or lack thereof is not the issue. I will not harm anyone. I just want to keep you safe." A daunting task at the best of times, it seemed.
"Draco had walked away from Buckbeak and he called him ugly. I guess he didn't think Buckbeak could hear him, or he wasn't paying attention when Hagrid told us never to insult a Hippogriff. Anyway, I saw Buckbeak get ready to charge and Draco's back was turned, so I shouted at him and went to shove him out of the way, but I didn't get out of the way in time," Rachel explained in a rush.
Severus stifled a sigh. Of course Draco Malfoy was somehow involved in this. "You're certain this wasn't intentional?"
"Not unless his intent was to be slashed open by a Hippogriff. I don't think Draco even knew I was standing there. Besides, he's my friend," she said.
Rachel being friends with Draco was a subject matter they'd have to discuss at a later time.
"What are you going to do?" Rachel asked.
"Give Draco a lecture on listening to his professors and following their directions," Severus said. A detention was likely as well, depending on how honest Draco was with him.
"I don't think Draco sees Hagrid as a real professor, because Hagrid hasn't gone to school," Rachel said.
"Regardless, Hagrid is teaching a class and it's the duty of the students in that class to listen to him and follow his directions," Severus said. Personally, Severus had been a little unsure about Hagrid teaching as well, and he intended to have a talk with him about what sort of creatures he exposed his younger students to.
"What would you have done if this was my fault?" Rachel asked.
"I would have talked you through what happened. If it was an error in judgement, we would have discussed that. If it was a lapse in attention, I would have asked you to pay closer attention to your professors," Severus explained, realizing that he'd never come across the issue of disciplining Rachel. It had never crossed his mind that she would willingly disobey him. It was a little strange to want a child to be disobedient, but he thought he wouldn't entirely mind if Rachel was. She needed the experience of making mistakes and learning from them, and needed to know she could disobey him without being harmed.
"Can you get me out of the hospital wing?" she asked.
"I will ask Poppy when you will be well enough to leave," Severus said. "You are to follow her directions."
"Okay. I just, I don't like sleeping in here. I don't think I could. It's too open and anyone could walk in," Rachel explained.
Severus nodded. He could empathize with that, he also disliked sleeping in unsecure locations. "I understand. I will ask her what the conditions of your release are. Do you need anything?"
Rachel shook her head. "I'm fine. Just kind of bored."
"Okay, I will check with Poppy and be right back," Severus said, getting up and ending the conjuration of his chair.
He knocked on the doorframe to Poppy's office and she looked up.
"Ah yes, I was going to firecall you when classes were released," Poppy said.
"Two of my students were kind enough to let me know of Rachel's situation. How is she?" Severus asked.
"She's fine, I'm just having her rest while the Blood-Replenishing Potion works. She won't even have any scars," Poppy explained.
"Thank you for taking care of her. She'd like to know when she can leave," Severus said.
"I'll check her blood pressure an hour after dinner. If that looks good and she has minimal to no pain, she'll be free to go," Poppy said.
"I'll let her know," Severus said.
"Of course, Severus. Not to worry, children have accidents all the time," Poppy said.
Severus nodded and went back to Rachel's bedside. "You may leave an hour after dinner, presuming your blood pressure is normal and you're experiencing minimal pain."
"How is my blood pressure now?" Rachel asked.
Severus cast a diagnostic charm. "Low, though eating should help and the Blood-Replenishing Potion is still doing its work."
Rachel frowned. "Oh. The robes and uniform I was wearing might have been ruined. I don't know where they went."
"Poppy would have sent them to the laundry. Likely the House Elves can fix them, if not, we can get you a new set of clothes," Severus said.
"Can you ask Millie to bring me some clothes from my wardrobe an hour after dinner?" Rachel asked.
"I can ask her to do so," Severus said, reminded of what Millie had told him. "She also indicated that she placed your bag in your dormitory."
"Oh, that's great. I had nearly forgotten about it," Rachel said. "Thanks for coming to see me."
"Of course. You don't need anything else in the meantime?" Severus asked.
Rachel shook her head. "I'm fine. Really."
"Alright," Severus said. "I will see you around the castle tomorrow then."
"Thanks," Rachel said again as Severus left.
Rachel was finishing her dinner of ham and mashed potatoes with green beans and pumpkin juice when she heard footsteps. She looked up just in time to see Draco walk through the doors to the hospital wing.
Draco walked over to her bedside and sat down on a nearby bed. "I came to see how you were doing," he said quietly.
"I'm fine, Madam Pomfrey stopped the bleeding and gave me a Blood-Replenishing Potion," Rachel said, setting down her fork on her tray.
"That's good," Draco said, looking down at the floor. "Why did you do that?"
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that question?" Rachel asked.
Draco looked up. "What?"
"Why did you insult Buckbeak?" she asked.
Draco shrugged. "I was just saying the truth, he is ugly."
"Did you hear Hagrid say that if you insult a Hippogriff it will attack you?" she insisted.
"Yes, I just didn't think he was serious. How is a Hippogriff supposed to know if it's being insulted?" Draco asked.
"Magic," Rachel said. She didn't have a better answer than that. "Hagrid knows a lot about magical creatures. You should listen to him, even though he doesn't have a fancy education."
Draco shrugged again. "He's not a real teacher."
"I'm sure that will go over well when you say that to Professor Snape," she said.
"You told him?" he asked.
"I didn't have much of a choice, he kept pressing me for details. I didn't want to tell him," Rachel said. She had tried not to, she didn't want to be a tattletale, but Severus was hard to say no to.
"It's hard to keep anything from Professor Snape. Did he say what he's going to do to me?" Draco asked.
"Lecture you," Rachel said.
"Well that's not too bad then. As long as he doesn't firecall my father," Draco said, brightening slightly.
"What would your father do?" Rachel asked, worried. Lucius Malfoy kind of scared her.
"Let's just say he wouldn't be happy with me and leave it at that," Draco said shortly.
"Do you want me to ask Professor Snape not to call your father?" she asked. She didn't know if she had that sort of influence over him, but she could try.
"Would that actually work?" Draco asked.
Rachel shrugged and then kind of regretted it as it pulled on the still healing skin on her back. "It's worth trying at least."
"Well, if you'd think it would work, then yeah," Draco said. "Anyway, why did you get in the way of the Hippogriff?"
"Your back was turned. I couldn't just stand there and let it attack you," she said.
"You could have just shouted at me," Draco pointed out.
"I did, but there wasn't enough time for you to turn and then get out of the way," Rachel explained.
"So there was enough time for you to push me out of the way?" he pressed.
Rachel stopped herself from shrugging that time. "I wasn't exactly planning things out ahead of time. I just saw you about to get attacked and I reacted to try and stop it. I'm your friend, Draco. At least, I hope I am."
"You are. I like playing Quidditch with you," Draco said. "Just don't expect me to get in the way of any rampaging Hippogriffs for you."
"I don't," Rachel said. "But at least yell at me to get out of the way."
Draco smiled. "Okay, yeah. I can do that. Are they keeping you in here?"
"I hope not. If my blood pressure is better, I should be out of here in an hour or so," she said, glancing toward Madam Pomfrey's office.
"What happened with the Dementor? Did it try to kiss you?" he asked.
Rachel felt her nose wrinkling in disgust. "Kiss me? Why would it do that?"
"It's how Dementors take people's souls," Draco explained.
"You're not joking?" Rachel asked, uncertain because it sounded ridiculous.
"Not in the slightest. Only the very worst criminals are sentenced to receive the Dementor's Kiss," Draco said, his expression entirely serious.
Rachel still wasn't sure if she believed him. "Anyway, no. The Dementor did not kiss me. I just don't do well with them for some reason."
Draco nodded. "They are pretty awful. I should get going. I have things to do. I hope you get out soon."
"Thanks for coming to visit me," Rachel said.
"Yeah, sure," Draco said, hurrying away.
Rachel shook her head and settled against the pillows Severus had conjured for her. Draco didn't seem to know what he was doing sometimes.
Millie showed up at the hospital wing carrying a set of clothes for Rachel just as Madam Pomfrey was finishing her diagnosis.
"Your blood pressure is approaching normal. How is the pain in your back?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"Almost completely gone," Rachel said. It was mostly true. She was still sore, especially when she moved it, but compared to what it had been it was practically nonexistent.
"Alright, don't take off the bandage and don't shower tonight or tomorrow morning. Come back either at breakfast or at lunch so I can remove the bandage and make sure the wounds have completely healed," Madam Pomfrey instructed.
"Does that mean I can go?" Rachel asked, glancing at Millie.
"Yes, you may, though you are not to exert yourself. I want you to go to bed early tonight and rest," Madam Pomfrey said. "Let me put up a screen so you can get dressed."
"Thank you," Rachel said, smiling brightly as she took the clothes from Millie. She changed quickly behind the privacy screen. She hoped Severus was right that the House Elves could mend her uniform and robes and remove any blood stains.
"How are you?" Millie asked as soon as they were out of the hospital wing.
"I'm fine," Rachel said. "Much better now that I'm out of the hospital wing."
"I'd ask you what happened, but I think Theo will want to hear it too. And the others, tomorrow," Millie said.
"Nothing much to tell. Draco was about to be attacked by Buckbeak so I tried to shove him out of the way," Rachel explained.
Millie stopped and looked at Rachel. "And just why was Buckbeak attacking Draco?"
"Because he called him ugly," Rachel admitted.
"Figures," Millie said, and they started walking again. "I bet Professor Snape loved that."
"Apparently he's going to lecture Draco," Rachel said.
"About time somebody lectured Draco," Millie said, shaking her head. "It's people like him and the other pure-blood extremists that make the rest of Slytherin look bad."
"Some of the time," Rachel agreed. "Some of it I don't think has anything to do with blood purity."
"I guess," Millie said as they walked past Curbin's portrait. "Vincit qui se vincit."
The doorway appeared and they entered the common room.
"She let you go," Theo said as he came up to them.
"Finally," Rachel said. "I felt good enough to leave hours ago."
"She's supposed to rest," Millie said.
"That's probably not a bad idea, you've had a hell of a couple of days," Theo said.
"Rachel, I heard you were in the hospital wing again?" Gemma asked as she came up to them.
"I'm fine," Rachel said quickly. She noticed the badge on Gemma's robes. "You made Head Girl!"
"I did," Gemma said with a broad grin. "I think Professor Snape convinced Professor Dumbledore that I was the right choice."
"You are the right choice. It's about time a Slytherin was Head Boy or Head Girl," Theo said.
"Agreed," Gemma said. "Rachel, you might want to check in with Marcus, he's a little worried that you might not be able to play because of injuries."
"I'm really fine," Rachel said. "Besides, we don't have a match for at least a month."
"Still, talk with Marcus and reassure him. He's over with some of the other seventh years," Gemma said, pointing to a group of chairs near the back of the common room. "And, as always, let me know if something is wrong or if you need something."
"Thanks, Gemma," Rachel said. She turned to Millie and Theo. "I'm going to go tell Marcus I'm fine, I'll be right back."
"Okay, but then you should probably take it easy," Millie said.
"I'm fine," Rachel said again. She wasn't sure how to get people to believe her when she said that.
She went over to the chairs Gemma had pointed to and found Marcus and Imogen with some of the other seventh years.
"There you are. You were released from the hospital wing?" Marcus asked.
"Yes and I'm fine to play," Rachel said.
"You're sure? Professor Snape isn't going to have reservations about you playing because of injuries or anything?" Marcus asked.
"I am sure and there's no reason for Professor Snape to not let me play," Rachel said.
"What Marcus means to say is that we're glad you're doing better and we're resuming practices on Sunday," Imogen said. "And also, hello and good to see you."
"Good to see you too, Imogen," Rachel said.
"You'll be at practice?" Marcus asked.
"Yes, I will. I spent the summer practicing with the Snitch and I'm ready to go," Rachel said.
"Good. I want you to spend some time training with the Chasers this year. Good Seekers can do both," Marcus said.
"Sounds good to me. Do you need anything else?" Rachel asked.
"No. Just don't get injured again," Marcus said, raising his eyebrows at her.
"I'll do my best," Rachel said. She shook her head as she walked away. Marcus could be a little single minded.
"Millie told me about Draco. Next time just let him get slashed," Theo said when Rachel returned.
"You would have done the same thing I did," Rachel said.
"I doubt it," Theo said. "I'm going to go get some reading done. I'll see you both in the morning."
"Goodnight," Millie and Rachel said in unison.
"I lost a whole afternoon of not being able to do homework," Rachel said as she and Millie headed toward their dorm room.
"Well, at least Hagrid didn't get a chance to assign any," Millie pointed out.
"I get the feeling Hagrid isn't going to assign us a lot of homework anyway," Rachel said. She had a hard time picturing him giving them essay assignments or quizzes.
"Rachel!" Pansy said as they entered the room. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Rachel said once more.
"We saw it happen. It was awful, there was so much blood," Daphne said from where she was sitting on her bed.
"Well, Madam Pomfrey fixed me right up," Rachel said. "How were your summers?"
"Good, we went on a trip to Bulgaria," Daphne said.
"Did your sister get Sorted into Slytherin?" Rachel asked as she began removing books from her bag.
"Of course. I wrote to my parents last night to tell them. They were worried about sending her to Hogwarts and I promised them I'd look out for her," Daphne explained.
"That's nice of you. How was your summer, Pansy?" Rachel asked. She set aside her Arithmancy book. She could at least do the reading for that tonight.
"It was fine, rather boring really. I was actually glad to come back to school," Pansy said.
"Me too," Millie said.
"It is good to be back," Rachel agreed, even though it had been a rough start. It could only get better from here though, right?