My friends and I fill almost an entire compartment. We invited Bill to join us, but he has to patrol the train since he's a prefect. Rowan, Ben, and I take the seats on one side, and Penny and Alana sit opposite us.

"How was your summer?" Rowan asks.

"Difficult," I say. "Dumbledore sent my parents a letter."

I think of that gravestone, a symbol of how much my family has lost. "They think Jacob is dead. They want me to move on, and stop searching for him."

"How can they just give up on him?" Rowan asks, sounding shocked. "Don't they want him to be found?"

"Of course they do,' I say. "But more than that, they want me to stay safe, so that our family can be normal again."

"Have you thought about the book and the broken wand we found?" Ben asks, changing the subject. This is our first chance to really discuss our findings. In Diagon Alley, we were always in public places.

I stand and find the bag in my trunk. I pull out the journal, showing them the scribbles inside. "None of it makes any sense."

I rub my thumb along the polished wood of my brother's broken wand, thinking. Something clicks inside my brain. "I always thought his wand was broken when he was expelled," I say, showing my friends the jagged ends. "But the Ministry would have broken it cleanly with a spell. This looks like it was snapped by hand."

"Who do you think broke it, then?" Alana takes one of the pieces, twirling it in fascination.

"I don't know." Every year, I find more and more unanswered questions. Maybe this will be the year I start getting answers.

I notice that Penny hasn't spoken yet. I look over at her, surprised by her silence when normally she's the most talkative one among us. She's sitting in the window seat, staring out at the passing clouds. Her features are weighed down by a sadness that wasn't there just a few weeks ago. "Are you all right, Penny?"

"I'm fine," she says, but her voice trembles, threatening tears.

"Are you sure?" I press. "You seem sad."

"I don't want to talk about it," Penny sniffles. "Not- not yet." She swipes her sleeve across her nose.

"All right," I say. I want to help her, but for now I'll just give her space.

Still, I watch her for the rest of the ride. She doesn't say another word, and continues staring out the window. What could have happened in just a few weeks to upset her so much?

The conversation moves on to a cheerier topic, our new classes. "I wish I could have quit History of Magic," Ben says.

"But that's a fascinating subject!" Rowan insists.

"The subject is fascinating," I say with a laugh. "Binns is not." Rowan is the only one who pays attention to his lectures. Mostly I just read the textbook or work on homework.

I take another concerned look at Penny as we gather our things and leave the train. Except for when I asked if she was okay, she didn't say a word the entire time. I hope that she'll open up and tell us what happened once she's had time to be alone.

Ben and Penny get into a carriage with Tulip and Tonks. Rowan and I shared a boat with them in first year.

The ride up to the castle is short and silent. We join the mass of students moving up to the castle, a sea of black-robed figures of varying heights.

I follow Rowan over to the Ravenclaw table. We take seats in the middle of the table, between the second- and fourth-years. By silent agreement, the end of the table is left empty for the new first-years.

I watch the line of students near the stool with the Sorting Hat. What will their futures be? Will they grow up to play Quidditch professionally, or return to Hogwarts to teach? Not all of them have bright futures. Some will die young, some will fail to secure the job of their dreams, and some of them have been raised to be blood purists.

I watch the line shrink as each student is called forward one by one. Two identical girls with blond hair are separated, placed in Slytherin and Ravenclaw. I think of how I followed Jacob into Ravenclaw. Will Finch be a Ravenclaw like his sister, or will he join another house?

A boy with shocking red hair takes a seat at the Hufflepuff table. Penny claps along with her housemates, but her clapping seems reluctant and subdued. Her heart isn't in the celebration. I hope that whatever is upsetting her, it isn't too serious. I hate it when my friends are sad.

My stomach is rumbling by the time the last student- a tiny Slytherin boy named James Thompson- is sorted, and it's with annoyance that I watch Professor Dumbledore begin his welcoming speech.

"I'm pleased to have all of you new and returning students here for another year of learning and self-discovery," he says, smiling pleasantly. However, his expression quickly melts into a sterner one. "I would be remiss if I did not mention the Erumpent in the room. As many of you know, last year Hogwarts was afflicted by cursed ice from one of the long-rumoured Cursed Vaults. The curse was unleashed by students attempting to enter the vault. While it is true that the students who opened the vault broke the curse, they put us all in danger by doing so."

I'm certain that he's looking directly at me when he says this, but I refuse to look away. We didn't release that curse, and he knows it. So why is he saying we did?

"Students are absolutely forbidden from investigating the remaining vaults. The punishment for anyone caught doing so will be severe. Especially for repeat offenders." He's almost shouting now. This time I'm certain he's looking at me.

I think we all need to learn some Concealment Charms from Ben, I think. I have to be careful. I can't help Jacob if I'm expelled.

Professor Dumbledore keeps speaking, but I ignore him. He can warn me away from the vaults as much as he likes, but his words will always fall on deaf ears.

The next day, I have my first Divination class. I struggle to find my way to the North Tower. Just look for the knight portrait, I think with a smile. When Rowan and I came here in our first year, we encountered the portrait of a knight who challenged us to a duel.

This time, there's no need to throw a book to get Professor Trelawney's attention. The ladder is already lowered.

I climb up into the classroom. It's been almost two years since I last saw it, but it hasn't changed at all. Despite my struggle to find the right place, I'm the first one here. Maybe everyone else got lost as well.

I watch the other students as they climb up one by one, naming each of them in my head. Liz Tuttle, Chiara Lobosca, Barnaby Lee, Ismelda Murk, Jae Kim, Tulip, Tonks, Badeea, Talbott, Corey Hayden. It's a small class. I wonder if my other new classes will be so small.

As they come in, the others take seats at little tables. Tulip and Tonks sit together, obviously. Barnaby and Ismelda pair up, as do Talbott and Badeea. Corey takes the seat opposite Liz, leaving Chiara with Jae, and me alone.

Professor Trelawney is sitting in an ornate armchair with large silver wings. "Welcome to Divination," she says when everyone has found a seat. "I am Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before…"

The only time I've ever seen her was when Rowan and I sought her advice. Is this her first glimpse of everyone else in the class?

Professor Trelawney continues her speech, outlining her plans for the year. "We will start with tessomancy. Later this term, we shall progress to palmistry. Classes will be disrupted around November. After Christmas, we will progress to the crystal ball." She looks at Chiara. "You will be out with the flu in January, so mind you work extra hard to catch up." Her spectral gaze turns to Ismelda next. "On the first of April, you will lose a friend. And before you graduate, death will touch this classroom."

Everyone is silent. Will her predictions come true? Is one of us fated to die in the next few years?

"Now, if you would all kindly take a teacup from the shelf- and if you would kindly join a group-" This last part is, of course, addressed to me. I make my way over to the shelf, which holds an array of teacups, some made of pink china. I take one patterned with blue.

I look at the pairs that have formed. Who should I join? I know Tulip and Tonks the best, but they're already deep in conversation, and I feel odd butting in.

I approach Jae and Chiara. "Mind if I join you?" I ask.

Chiara briefly meets my eyes, and then quickly looks away. In the end, it's Jae who answers. "No,' he says with a welcoming smile.

I pull a chair over to the little table. There's an expression that says two is company and three is a crowd. It's definitely true when you're sitting at a table this small. I push my chair back again, to give the three of us a bit more room.

I sip from my tea while flipping my book open to the correct page. The tea is scalding. It tastes spicy and leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Behind me, I hear Talbott trying to talk Badeea into drinking his for him.

Following Professor Trelawney's instructions, I swirl the dregs around and place the cup upside down on my saucer.

After a few minutes, we pass our cups around. I end up with Chiara's.

"Hmm…" I say, holding up the cup. "This looks like an apple, which means you'll either have a long life, or be successful in school." I turn the cup to the side. "This way it looks like a bridge, so you're going to undergo a positive journey. Ooh, that's not good…this way's a coffin, which represents long illness or the death of a loved one." I give the cup one final turn. "But this way is an axe, which means overcoming problems, so it looks like you'll be all right in the end."

I watch Chiara's face to see how she reacts to her cup. There's an odd kind of wistfulness on her face when I finish. She hides it so quickly that I wonder if I imagined it.

Chiara picks up Jae's cup and flips open her book. "You have an anchor, which means a prosperous business, and a star, which means…" She runs her finger down the page, searching for the word. "...good luck. A sun, so you'll have great happiness, but a unicorn, so you'll be involved in a scandal."

Jae doesn't react to his cup at all. He picks up my cup immediately and squints at the inside. "This way looks like two mountains, which means you have a powerful enemy." He turns the cup and frowns, trying to make sense of the leaves. "This is some sort of squiggly thing, maybe a worm or a snake? So you either have a secret enemy or really bad luck. There's a line... and here's a letter R...so you're going to get a letter from someone who's name begins with an R. And you have the axe as well, so you're going to overcome a problem."

My heart sinks as he reads through everything. I had hoped that the notes last year would be all I saw of R, but it seems that won't be the case. Although Divination is an imprecise branch of magic, I think. Or maybe it just means Rowan will send me another letter. But then who's the powerful enemy? Merula? I stifle a giggle.

When class ends, I join the other Ravenclaws and Jae as we walk to History of Magic, while the others go to Charms.

I take the seat next to Rowan, and to my surprise, Jae sits on my other side. As Professor Binns starts his lecture, he pulls out a deck of Exploding Snap cards. "Want to play?" he offers.

Rowan glares at him. The expression on her face reminds me of Madam Pince whenever someone talks in the library.

I look at Rowan, then at Professor Binns, then back at Jae. I'm torn. I take pride in the fact that I've always paid attention, or at least been productive, during the bland history lectures, but it's not like I'll lose anything by accepting Jae's offer. Rowan will let me copy her notes, although she'll probably complain. And the textbook has most of the information anyways.

"Sure, let's play," I say. "What rules?" There are three ways to play Exploding Snap- the classic way, Patience, and Bavarian Rules. I've never played with Bavarian Rules.

"Let's see if anyone else wants to play," Jae says. He turns around. "Anyone want to play Exploding Snap?"

Tulip and Charlie pull their chairs over. "Let's use Bavarian Rules," Tulip suggests.

"All right." Jae sorts out the cards while the rest of us ready our wands.

Jae sets a stack of cards in the center and places the rest facedown in a ring. I've never played this way, but I know how to. Each card in the ring has a match in the stack. The objective is to tap the cards in each pair with our wands before the cards explode.

As soon as Jae places the last card, we reach out and start flipping cards. The cards in the stack go flying, until everything is jumbled together. I lunge for the second dragon card, only to stab Tulip's arm with my wand. Fortunately, she doesn't seem to care.

Fairy, fairy... where is it? The remaining cards start vibrating. We've got to move fast. There!

I spear the second fairy card with my wand just as the rest go off with an explosive BANG! All four of us are showered in bits of cardboard. They aren't hot enough to really hurt, but hot enough to be a nuisance. I brush several flakes off my arms, glancing nervously at Professor Binns. Surely that racket won't go unnoticed. Miraculously, however, Professor Binns drones on, oblivious to our game.

I look back at Jae to see that the cards have reformed. We help him stack them. He splits the deck into two piles and shuffles them together. He lays out the cards for another round.

Binns might be ignoring us, but the other students aren't. Several of them throw us nervous looks, but as it becomes clear that Binns won't stop us, they start their own games. Another Exploding Snap group forms. Two Gryffindor girls sit on the floor and start playing Gobstones. I even see a game of wizard's chess being played, although I have no idea where the board and pieces came from.

In the middle of it all, getting hit by stray bits of Exploding Snap cards and jumping at every explosion, Rowan hunches over her notes, determinedly scribbling away. I grin. It would take a full-scale battle to disrupt her notetaking.