Ginny stared in delight at the Quidditch pitch in the distance. Iris playfully nibbled the first year's ears as she begged for more petting, already having grown fond of her touch. Willow knew that she would have to up her game with her own owl soon if Ginny kept paying this much attention to her. She whistled to Iris, and the beautiful tawny owl landed beside her in the rafters. Several other owls, including Hedwig, were chirping to each other nearby, enjoying her company.

"I hope to be playing for Gryffindor next year," Ginny said. "What about you, Willow? Do you think you'll make it this year?"

"I...have a shot," Willow said uncertainly. "Maybe as a reserve, but not as an actual player. I haven't honed in on a single position that I love yet. Being an all-around player isn't that helpful, I guess."

Ginny looked up at her from the floor of the Owlery. "You'll make it. I just know it."

A loud click! startled a few of the owls. Feathers flew in every direction as they took off, landing mostly on Willow, somehow. She sneezed and brushed them away from her eyes. "Colin! I told you not to scare the owls! They spook easily in the morning!"

"Sorry!" the mousy-haired boy apologized, putting his camera back around his neck. "I'm just excited about being here! There's a whole new world out there that I never knew existed! I want to photograph it all and give my dad a whole scrapbook of it."

Willow sighed. Colin Creevy had become fast friends with Ginny during the party the night before, and when he found Willow leaving to take her on a tour of the castle, he decided to follow them. Willow didn't mind. He reminded her of Neville in the way that he was a complete klutz but made up for it in his adorable nature. The boy had been fascinated with everything so far, especially the small details, like moving pictures, self-cleaning bathrooms, and enchanted quills. Willow remembered being in his position last year, barely having any knowledge of the wizarding world, either. She was only a little less enthusiastic than him about taking pictures of everything.

"How did you even get up there?" Colin asked, goggling at how high Willow was in the ceiling. "I've barely climbed a meter in my life!"

"I don't know, actually," she admitted, frowning. "I guess I just start climbing and finding handholds until I'm satisfied with where I am. There's lots of nice beams to sit on, actually. The owls enjoy the company."

"You should teach me sometime!" Colin suggested, bouncing on his toes. "I'd love to do a photo shoot on the roof sometime!"

"Can we move onto the next stop?" Ginny said. "I need to know where all the classrooms are before breakfast starts! Ron told me how he and Harry got lost so many times last year before they figured out the corridors."

"Yes, they got lost much more than I did," Willow agreed. "But thankfully, I've got a good sense of direction. Follow me!"

The rest of the morning, Willow showed Ginny and Colin where every classroom was, the locations of the restrooms, and a few miscellaneous places they'd need to know about, like the library and the kitchens. Colin took a photo of every single place they went, maybe collecting forty shots of the Astronomy Tower and its view. Ginny could barely keep her voice down as they passed through the corridors. Both first years were unbelievably excited, making Willow wonder if she was that insufferably giddy the year before. Their tour ran into to breakfast, so by the time they sat down at the Gryffindor table, nearly everyone was there, looking sleep deprived and hungover- which the majority of them were. Hermione was scowling at both Harry and Ron. Ginny and Colin found their roommates, leaving Willow to herself. She decided to grab an apple and stay out of the quarrel between her friends. Thanks to the water from the night before, she didn't have the pounding headache that Lee was whining about further down the table. She shook her head and glanced around the Great Hall, looking for something to do.

Then, she caught sight of the signup sheet next to the grand entrance.

Willow's pulse quickened. She glanced at Fred and George. Their attention was fully focused on Lee, who was dramatically reenacting the party from the night before, much to the sleepy delight of the exhausted fourth years. If she hurried, she could sign up before anyone noticed. Willow bit her lip. Checking one last time, she walked at as normal a pace as she could to the signup sheet.

There were already three names on it from other houses. So far, two girls had signed up from Hufflepuff to stay in Gryffindor and one boy from Ravenclaw had signed up for Hufflepuff. Willow quickly scribbled her name in the Gryffindor column, then wrote "Slytherin" in the other column. She spun around and was about to head back to her seat when she was surrounded on all sides by familiar faces.

"What- Holy- Ay dios mio! What are you all doing here?" Willow hissed.

"Covering for you," Sally explained. "We saw you looking between the Weasley twins and this sheet, so we decided to make sure you went unnoticed. Besides, we were curious as to which house you signed up for."

"Ha! I knew it!" Mandy exclaimed quietly. "You owe me a sickle, Sam!"

"Aw, man!" Sam groaned, handing a piece of silver to Mandy. "I really thought she would have gone for Hufflepuff..."

"Guys, are you sure you're providing cover this way?" Willow asked hurriedly, peeking at the Weasley twins between the gaps in her friends' ring around her. They were still focused on Lee. "This is kind of a dead giveaway that you're protecting me."

"Fine, we'll casually stand near you, then," Sally said. She positioned everyone so that they were inconspicuously standing near Willow. "Hey, why did you sign up for this, anyway? You don't strike me as the type."

"I don't know, really, but it's too late now," Willow said. "My name is down. I'm going to do it."

"Well, in that case, we'd better join you," Sue concluded. She grabbed the quill floating next to the signup sheet and put her name down for staying in Slytherin. Sally did the same, and surprisingly, Oliver did, too. Willow gaped at her friends as they smiled at their work.

"What- why are you doing this?" she whispered. "You didn't have to."

Oliver shrugged. "I want to see if the Slytherin common room is as creepy as they say it is."

"But- hang on, Sue, you'll be separated from Mandy and Lisa. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Like you said, it's too late now," Lisa said. "Besides, Sue can handle herself with all of those taekwando skills, I've got Mandy to protect me, and if anything goes horribly wrong, I'm sure you can sleep in your original dorm. It should be fun."

A smile slowly made its way across Willow's face. She hugged all of her friends at once. "You guys are truly the best friends anyone could ask for. Now, go sit down, quick, before anyone notices! I don't want to get you guys in trouble."

Willow unobtrusively made her way to the Gryffindor table. Just as she did so, a hundred or so owls poured into the Great Hall, dropping off gifts, forgotten items in Neville's case, and well-wishing letters. A single letter landed in front of Willow. She tore it open the moment she saw her dad's name on it, her eyes scanning the page so fast she forgot to absorb what it said the first time. By the time she finally read the whole thing, Willow realized she was almost in tears. Her cheeks reddened as she inconspicuously wiped her eyes.

Suddenly, an enormous, tumultuous voice burst through Willow's eardrums. She covered them in pain and literally fell on the floor. It wasn't until she spotted a red letter curling into fiery smoke that she realized it was a howler from Mrs. Weasley. Ron sat petrified not too far away. Harry looked equally affected by the content of the howler, except more guilty than scared. Willow understood why.

"What are you doing down there?" Fred asked, pulling her back into reality.

"Oh. I don't know how I got down here, actually," Willow said. She got up and brushed herself off. "Is Ron going to be okay?"

"He's fine, don't worry a bit about him," George said. "This isn't the first huge mistake he's made. And little Ronniekins is the youngest, which makes him immune to most threats."

"I'm seriously questioning if he shouldn't take that as a real threat."

Professor McGonagall dropped a schedule in each of their hands, abruptly ending their conversation. Willow was almost thankful for the interruption. Any longer, and she might have let it slip that she was doing the house exchange. The twins, Lee, and Paige discussed their plans for the day. Willow barely had time to notice she had double Herbology first when the professor of the very class appeared behind her.

"Miss Guerrero, if you could gather your things and follow me, please."

Willow glanced at the professor. Her foot was tapping impatiently, the corner's of her mouth twitched in agitation, and a sort of anger simmered in her eyes. Sincerely hoping she wasn't in trouble, Willow bade goodbye to her friends and followed Professor Sprout out of the Great Hall. Her short, stout frame implied all the wrong things about her. Professor Sprout was a Hufflepuff through and through, being their head of house. For the most part, she was a strict but caring woman, very understanding of students when they didn't finish their homework because of a quidditch match and whatnot. But when she was mad, she didn't hold back the firestorm within her. Students knew not to take her threats lightly. She meant business, and everyone knew it.

Willow had to break into a light jog to catch up to Professor Sprout. She wasn't heading towards the greenhouses like she had originally thought. Instead, Professor Sprout was marching towards a massive tree. Willow recognized it as the Whomping Willow almost immediately. Its branches were broken and frayed in several places, the bark was beaten and scratched here and there, and in one place, a car-shaped dent had been punched into the trunk. Willow grimaced at the damage. As many bad things as she'd heard about the tree, she felt sorry for it. The tree was much more intelligent than most plants, and it had so much of a spirit that it was enough to cause Willow's powers to act up around it, sensing its "emotions" and how much it was hurting. The Whomping Willow almost looked sad, appearing to slouch at the top of its hill.

Professor Sprout stopped about ten meters from the base of the tree. It was already reacting to their presence, turning towards them and preparing to beat them into a pulp. Professor Sprout sighed, taking in the damage, then grumpily began to unpack a bag she had brought with her. Waving her wand, an array of bandages, slings, and medical wrap appeared from it. She opened her mouth to say something to Willow when another voice that was definitely not hers carried across the landscape.

"Oh, isn't it marvelous?"

Willow thought Professor Sprout would implode. Turning around, she found herself facing an unfamiliar figure. The man was dressed in a bright shade of blue robes, seemingly chosen to make his perfectly wavy blond hair stand out. He wore a charming smile that almost twinkled, reminding Willow of a celebrity she had seen in a Muggle magazine. The way he walked across the hills as if he owned all of Hogwarts told her all she needed to know about this wizard. Professor Sprout's beet-red face confirmed it.

"Hello, ladies! I know you already, Pomona," the wizard cheerfully greeted. He turned to Willow with fake interest. "I don't believe I've met you, though, young lady, but I suppose you know me, of course. You've probably read all my books already- "

"Ah, but you see, I don't know you at all, actually," Willow interrupted, her stomach twisting into a sickening knot as she remembered Harry telling her all about this vain man. "I think you're going to have to explain who you are and why you'd assume I'd know about you."

A menacing flicker passed over the wizard's eyes, but he quickly hid it beneath his toothy smile. "Why, I'm Gilderoy Lockhart, of course! I'd think everyone in the wizarding world would know me by now, especially since you've got my books for this year. Of course, how could I be so thick? You must be a Muggleborn!"

"I'm a pureblood," Willow said simply. She turned her back on Lockhart, nauseous with the idea of having this arrogant idiot as her professor. "Professor Sprout, am I in trouble? You never explained why you called me out here."

The look on Lockhart's face must have been priceless, because Professor Sprout's lit up in glee. "I didn't, did I? Well, since you're particularly gifted with taking care of difficult plants, I decided I could use an extra hand fixing up this Willow."

"I'd be glad to help."

"So would I!" Lockhart butted in. "I absolutely love Herbology! Why, I was exceedingly successful in it during my Hogwarts years. I've seen loads of these monsters through my travels- "

Willow willed her ears to go temporarily deaf as she blocked out Lockhart's useless ramblings. Professor Sprout showed her how to doctor up the Whomping Willow's limbs without getting punched in the face, involving some complicated spell that she kept failing at and soon gave up on, all while Lockhart pretended to help. He was going on and on about some vampire that he'd defeated, and all Willow could think about was whether there was a spell to make someone permanently mute. She shook the sinister thought away and focused on subtly using her powers to tickle the Whomping Willow into submission. Professor Sprout got a few cuts and bruises, which returned her to her sour mood. Willow really wished she could reveal her powers and help her, but thought better of it and continued higher and higher into the tree. Lockhart wouldn't shut up the whole time. He didn't even offer to help Professor Sprout up when the Whomping Willow threw her to the ground only feet away. Willow wondered if he even noticed, because he didn't so much as put a break in his sentence. By the time Lockhart had finished telling the two of them about his adventures ("People would pay for even those summarized versions, you know!"), the Whomping Willow was strung up in slings and bandages, looking like a giant spider had spun a web in it. Professor Sprout hurriedly put her remaining supplies away, wiped the blood off the cut on her cheek, and speed-walked towards the greenhouses, where a group of students was waiting for them. Willow trailed behind to make sure Lockhart stayed as far away as possible from the professor. She was beginning to wonder if Professor Sprout was plotting to hex Lockhart in his sleep when Lockhart suddenly stopped talking about himself, pulled Harry aside, and left her alone. She felt bad for Harry, but not bad enough to wait around with him. Willow sprinted into greenhouse three and found a seat with Neville, Oliver, and another Hufflepuff boy.

"Good morning, lads!" Professor Sprout called as she swept across the room.

"Good morning, Professor Sprout," the students murmured.

"Let's try that again, good morning class!"

"Good morning, Professor Sprout!" they said with much more enthusiasm.

"I was beginning to think you were all sleepwalking, and on your first day, in greenhouse three to boot! What were you all doing last night? Not staying up until half past one drinking, I hope?"

Willow and Sally shared a knowing glance that required no interpretation. They hid their faces while they tried to contain their giggling. As Professor Sprout gathered the supplies for the lesson, Willow decided to talk among her group.

"How was your summer, Neville?"

Neville's cheeks reddened. "It was great. Nothing out of the ordinary, though my grandma did threaten to throw me out the window when she caught me sneaking a Venomous Tentacula into my room."

"I'm glad you had a good summer," Willow said. She turned to the Hufflepuff boy, who seemed to be exploding with energy. "I don't think I know your name."

"I'm Ernie!" the boy burst out. Willow noticed how he was completely confident in himself, not shying away from new people in the slightest. He was definitely an extrovert. "Ernest Macmillan, actually, but please, call me Ernie, I don't like the sound of Ernest. I'm in Hufflepuff. I know all about you guys, of course, from last year's events."

Ernie shook each of their hands in turn, pausing when he got to Oliver, as if expecting something. Willow gave Oliver a meaningful look. He shyly shook Ernie's hand and said, "Hi, Ernie."

The already energetic Hufflepuff boy seemed to overload with extra enthusiasm. He bounced over to Willow, nearly in awe. "How did you get him to do that?"

"Do what?"

"How did you get him to speak to me?" Ernie clarified. "That's the first two words he's spoken to any of us Hufflepuff boys!"

The blood rushed to Oliver's face. He backed up behind Neville, who was already behind Willow. She rolled her eyes at the two nervous boys. Willow would never understand how anyone could be even shyer than her, but here she was, defending two of the most introverted wizards in her year. She mentally made a note to make sure they treated her to some Chocolate Frogs in the near future.

"I don't know, really," Willow said. "Sometimes it takes a gentle word to get him out of his shell. Other times, I hand him over to Mandy, and she does everything for me."

Ernie furrowed his brow. "Who's Mandy?"

Willow grinned. "Boy, are you in for a treat. Oliver, can you please make sure you point out Mandy in your next class?"

"As long as she's far away, yes."

Ernie stared at Willow as if she were a goddess. Thankfully, Harry popped into the greenhouse, and Professor Sprout promptly began the lesson, sparing her the embarrassment. She announced that they'd be repotting Mandrakes for the lesson. When she asked if anyone knew what they were, Hermione, as usual, answered, sparing Willow from digging into the depths of her brain to remember the books she'd read last year, something about hundreds of magical herbs and mushrooms.

Willow shook her head to clear the cobwebs. What was wrong with her? Normally, she remembered at least the title of every book she read, but that apparently wasn't the case today. Willow tried really hard to pay attention, but Professor Sprout's words went in one ear and out the other. She ended up putting on a pair of earmuffs that were her least favorite color- pink. It was then that her eyes started blurring. Another room swam in and out of focus every five seconds. Willow sat down as she realized that she was about to have another vision. It didn't do any good, though, because right as Professor Sprout pulled out a Mandrake, her slightly right-leaning weight yanked her off the stool, and she was swallowed up by the vision before she hit the floor.

Willow found herself rooted to the ground of a dark room. It wasn't a room, really, she realized as she took in her surroundings, but more of a cave. The walls were dripping with moisture, several puddles surrounded the dry path she was on, and a pool of water sat at the far end of the great place. Willow shuddered with a chill. She could physically feel the sinister cold of the place leaking into her skin. Willow wished the vision would end already so she could get back to the lesson, but her powers had other ideas.

Something stirred in the corner of her eyes. A small sound came from way behind her. Whipping her head around, Willow tried to find something, anything that would explain the noise. But there was not a creature stirring. Plink! It was louder this time. Willow's heart hammered against her ribcage. There was definitely something down here, a big something, for that matter. If it came for her, would she physically feel it? Could she be killed in a vision? But no one could see her in the last vision she'd had of her mum's house. It wouldn't be able to mess with her, could it?

A giant sliding sound rang in Willow's ears. She wanted to cover them so badly but found that she was completely frozen in place except for her head. Frantically glancing around, she tried to find anything that would bring her out of this vision. Something in particular caught her eye as she did. At the end of the dry path, beyond the pool of water, there stood a giant statue of a god-like figure. He had intricate snake patterns carved around his head, as if he controlled them. Willow's heart leaped into her mouth. She wasn't particularly fond of ancient snake stories involving gods. Any time a god was mentioned controlling snakes, it usually turned out bad. Willow didn't want to find out if this was the place where those stories were based.

Suddenly, behind her, the giant uproar of a creature splashing and thrashing soaked her shoes in water. Willow closed her eyes and screamed. The creature didn't even make an incriminating sound to identify itself. It simply threw itself on her, squishing her deeper and deeper into the puddles, slowly suffocating the life out of her...

Then, her eyes flickered open, and Willow was back in Herbology class, propped up against a few pots. Sweat lined her forehead and made her robes uncomfortably hot. Someone kneeled before her and handed her a cold washcloth.

"Here, use this," he said.

Willow blinked, and her vision fully cleared, revealing Oliver's familiar face. She gratefully took the cloth and dabbed it around her face and neck. It quickly took care of her overheating and wiped away the sweat. Oliver offered her a hand and helped her stand up. A few people nearby were staring at her, but otherwise, the class was busy struggling to put shrilling Mandrakes into their pots.

"What happened?" Willow asked. "Anything important I missed?"

"Not really." Oliver shrugged. "You passed out, and Professor Sprout said it was probably because your earmuffs weren't on right. Neville and I put you over here." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "We know it was a vision. You can tell me later."

Willow smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Oliver. Did you at least talk with Neville a bit?"

Oliver nodded. "I promise. He's easier to talk to than most boys."

"Is he? I'll take note, then."

Willow and Oliver set to work repotting their Mandrakes, taking extra care to make sure they didn't get cut from their sharp little claws and teeth. Neville struggled a little bit, and one time he dropped a Mandrake on himself, but otherwise did much better than the rest of the class. The three of them managed to repot all of their Mandrakes way before the rest of the class finished. Ernie, not being in their group from last year, was definitely not as advanced as they were. His rather small Mandrake was putting up the fight of its life. Instead of easing it into the pot, Ernie was forcefully pushing the plant in while it hung onto the edges for all it was worth.

"Do you need a hand with that, Ernie?" Willow asked, practically shouting to be heard.

"Nope, everything's under control!" Ernie puffed, trying to dodge his Mandrake's attempts at biting his finger. "I'm really good at…Herbology. Ornery little…bugger…Come on, into the pot…So close…"

Oliver tried and failed to hide his laughter. Willow nudged him, and he got the message. While he helped Ernie not get his fingers lacerated, Willow observed Oliver in a comfortable silence, watching the way he gently handled the Mandrake, soothingly speaking to it as if it were a misunderstood toddler instead of a deadly plant. He eased the Mandrake into the pot, then buried it in potting soil. Oliver brushed his gloves off and placed them on the table. Ernie stared at him, open-mouthed, apparently shocked. Willow wondered if he'd ever seen Oliver this confident before. Judging by Oliver's scarlet face when he noticed, he hadn't.

"Wow, you're really good with plants!" Ernie observed after they had finished placing the last Mandrake in its pot. "Have you always been this good at Herbology? I've never paid enough attention to it, to be perfectly honest. I barely passed my exams last year. Don't get me wrong, it's a fascinating subject, in fact, fascinating enough to get me to study hard by the end of the year."

Oliver looked at Willow in pure panic. He hid it very well, but to Willow, he could be screaming and it would make no difference. She fixed him with a stern stare when he tried to hide behind her. Yes, he was incredibly shy, and that was perfectly fine, but Ernie was being very nice to him and there was no reason Oliver couldn't try to talk to him, especially when Ernie was complimenting him. This was the perfect opportunity to get him more acquainted with his roommates. Nodding towards Ernie, Willow made sure Oliver got the message, and he nervously stepped up to the Hufflepuff boy.

"I've been- I've been pretty good at it," Oliver stuttered. He cleared his throat. "It's always been my favorite."

Ernie barely held back his shock. Nearly passing out from it (or appearing to, at least), he said, "My favorite has always been Astronomy. I'm not the best at it, but it's still my favorite. I love how there's all these constellations up in the sky creating the perfect map for the entire universe to use. It's an extraordinary idea to wrap my head around, and one day I hope to understand it all."

Oliver glanced back at Willow, received an encouraging nod, and turned back to Ernie, who was excitedly shifting from foot to foot. "I wish I understood Astronomy, but I'm no shooting star."

Ernie burst out laughing. "That's really funny! I didn't know you had a good sense of humor, Oliver!"

Oliver's cheeks burnt bright red. "I have a good sense of humor?"

"Yeah! You're super funny, actually!"

Oliver and Ernie began talking back and forth about their classes, every once in a while finding something they had in common. Of course, Oliver was making his sentences as short as possible, but he was still participating in their chat. Willow tried her best not to do a happy dance. She had finally gotten Oliver to talk with his housemate! Sitting a good distance away, she tapped her foot with boundless energy, excitement coursing through her veins. Oliver was holding a conversation all on his own!

Willow was almost sad when the bell rang to signal the end of Herbology. The majority of the class was covered in dirt and sweat, so they were instructed to wash up before heading off to their next classes. Ernie caught up to some of the other Hufflepuff boys, loudly raving about Oliver, while Oliver himself found his way to Willow like a magnet. He was visibly shaking, but otherwise appeared to be fine. His emerald green eyes were brighter than ever.

"Did I do good?" he asked.

"Yes!" Willow squealed, hugging Oliver tight. "You did so good! I didn't have to help or step in at all! You did that all on your own, Oliver! Congratulations!"

Oliver beamed all the way into the castle, glancing at his shoes to hide his bright red face. Willow was finally pulled away by her roommates when they got to the staircases. She said goodbye to Oliver, then was dragged up the stairs at record speed by Lavender, Fay, and Mia. Parvati and Sally were streaking along behind her as if to make sure she didn't fall behind.

"Whoa, whoa, guys, what's happening? What did I do?"

"What did you do? What did you do?" Fay squeaked. "It's like you're blind, honestly!"

"How can you not see it?" Mia gasped.

"You were surrounded by three adorable boys in Herbology, and they're totally into you!" Lavender shrilled.

Willow face palmed, then tripped herself and had to keep jogging to keep up with her roommates. "Guys, please don't do this to me again! You know those guys are just my friends, especially Oliver! In fact, I got him to talk to Ernie today- "

"We know!" Sally giggled. "He was totally conspiring with Ernie to ask you out."

"And Neville is definitely planning something, I just know it!" Parvati claimed.

Willow looked up at the ceiling exasperatedly. "Why is it always me? Why can't it be you guys?"

"Oh, don't worry, we've got loads to tell you about," Mia assured, conspiratorially winking at her. "There's going to be sooo much more drama this year than the last. We've all got a special someone we're going after! It's time for the Gryffindor Sisters to start taking their rightful places as wingwomen!"

"'Gryffindor Sisters'? Is that what we're called now?"

"Oh yeah, we came up with that last night!" Fay said. "It's our official team name. The Gryffindor Sisters have to stick together through thick and thin, good and bad, and of course, all the drama and juicy gossip!"

Willow chuckled. "I like it. Alright, Gryffindor Sisters, let's put away the drama for later. Right now, we've got to clean up before Transfiguration. I call shower first!"

"Not if I take it first!" Lavender shouted, crawling through the portrait hole and sprinting up the stairs.

"Oh, you're on!"

The Gryffindor Sisters raced each other up the spiral staircase and entered their dormitory as one, big, crazy, completely ridiculous mob of giggly, screaming girls. Willow wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm done with this thing!" Ron exploded. "I might as well snap it!"

"Ron! Don't you dare!" Hermione scolded. "It's not impossible, see? I turned loads of beetles into buttons. If I've done the math right, you have at least a fifteen percent chance of succeeding based on- "

"Hermione, it's probably not going to make them any happier if you do that," Willow interrupted. "And you've forgotten to factor in the problem of his wand being broken. That would make it a lesser chance for Ron."

Hermione cursed under her breath and began redoing her calculations. Willow dropped her three coat buttons onto the table, examining them for the fifth time since Transfiguration ended. She was suddenly very good in a subject that she had had to study very hard for the previous year. Willow bit her lip, wondering if she should talk to Cebba. They hadn't had a good chat in a while. That, and the fact that Cebba was hiding some obviously important information from her.

Hermione suddenly snatched something out of Ron's hands. Her face was bright shade of red as she closed a notebook and hid it deep within her robes. Willow was about to ask what it was all about when Lavender answered her unspoken question.

"Oh my God, Hermione, you're obsessing over him too?"

"I wouldn't exactly call my behavior 'obsessive' in comparison to some other girls," Hermione said.

"Quit trying to worm your way out of this!" Fay exclaimed. "Don't you realize what this could become? Mia and I were starting to think about founding a Lockhart fan club, but we should keep this within the Gryffindor Sisters!"

"That's our new name, by the way," Mia explained proudly.

"We could stay up for hours just talking about how dreamy Lockhart's hair is, the way it glints golden in the sun, those perfect curls, and don't forget his fashion sense, of course," Parvati said.

Hermione sat up straight, her mouth slightly open. "You think it's revolutionary, too?"

"Yeeesss! I knew we'd figure out a way to connect with you sooner or later!" Sally squealed. "Welcome to the Gryffindor Sisters, Hermione! This calls for a group hug!"

Willow couldn't tell whether Hermione was embarrassed or overwhelmed with joy when her roommates surrounded her in a giant hug. She opted to think it was both, because that's exactly how she felt when her roommates started doing things for her in their first year. Hermione finally had a group of girls she could connect with. Willow was a little moved by the whole display and excused herself from the Great Hall before she could say something that would ruin her reputation.

The courtyard was fairly empty when she arrived outside. There were only a few older students chatting here and there aside from Colin and Ginny, who were sitting on one of the stone walls. Willow was about to head over to them when someone yelled, "Boo!" right in front of her.

"Ahh!" Willow tripped over her own feet and fell hard on her bum. "Ouch! Who the heck do you think you- " She stopped mid sentence and rolled her eyes when she recognized George hanging upside down from a tree branch. "George! What are you doing up there? I thought you were in the Great Hall with- "

"That's the beauty part, isn't it? No one suspects I'd leave Fred's side. It works wonders on Halloween to scare the first years."

"George! That's awful!" Willow said, standing up and brushing herself off. A thought struck her as she did. "Since when do you leave Fred to talk to me, anyway? I'm curious now."

George shrugged. "We have to spend five minutes away from each other now and then. I get on Freddy's nerves fast. I mean, have you seen us when we fight?"

"No, but it sounds awful," Willow said.

"Do you want to come up here?" George asked, sitting up. "There's actually a nice breeze."

Willow climbed the tree and sat next to George in response. She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet early fall air, which promised colder weather in the near future. The tree swayed and groaned ever so slightly. Willow grinned as she let the fall aesthetic overwhelm her senses. There was no question when it came to which season was her favorite- fall won by a landslide. The crunch of colorful leaves underfoot, the cooler temperatures inviting her to run around with her friends, the warmth of a sweatshirt on the weekends...everything about fall made Willow happy, no matter what was going on in her life. She guessed that was why she loved the season the most; if anything could take the worry off her shoulders, it was a stroll through the woods during autumn. It was nice to live in peace once in a while.

"You really like fall that much?" George asked softly.

"You have no idea," Willow said.

She leaned up against George, who didn't seem to mind. They both sat there in silence, enjoying a peaceful moment in such a beautiful setting. Willow couldn't believe how happy she was to be back at Hogwarts with all of her friends. If only she could stay this happy all the time and forget about the implications of her powers...

"GEORGE AND WILLOW SITTIN' IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Fred shouted from below them.

Willow and George sprang apart, glaring down at Fred, who was laughing his fool head off while the older students stared. Paige came galloping out of the Great Hall, skidding to a stop in front of Fred.

"You better be joking! Willow is not allowed to do such things until she's older!"

"Fred! I'm going to throw you to the dragons one of these days!" George yelled.

"Sure, of course! You know I'm right!"

Willow jumped out of the tree, sighing. Would anyone leave her to have a moment with a friend without trying to get her together with them? "George, it's not worth it. Don't bother." She raised her voice. "As for you, Fred Weasley, I've heard you were snogging Angelina the other day! Care to dispute?"

Fred's mouth dropped open. "I was not! Who started that rumor? George? You better not have!"

"How the tables turn!" Willow sang. "Nope, it wasn't George. Someone just passed along the truth."

"That is not the truth! I'll have you know- "

"Save it for later, Weasley," Willow interrupted, waving away his statement. George and Paige could barely contain their snickers behind her as she stood with her arms crossed in front of Fred and smirked. "I know how to play this game."

Fred was silent for a moment, looking between George, Paige, and Willow, then burst out laughing. The other three followed suit. They knew this was all in good fun. But for a moment, Willow considered the possibility that Fred was trying to tell her something. He better not be. She was not ready to handle the complicated relationships with her friends that would result from them fancying her. Willow shook her head, dismissing the abominable rouge thought. There was absolutely no way that any of her friends liked her as more than just that, friends, even Neville. She had made up her mind. Now that she thought about it, as Fred, George, and Paige walked away, she didn't truly fancy Neville. What she did feel for him was a type of admiration. He was bumbling, stumbling, klutzy Neville, yet he didn't let any of that stand in his way. Neville made friends, worked hard in school, and went through life without letting the bullies get him down. Willow had never met anyone with his amount of mental strength to push through obstacles. She decided that what she really wanted to do was get to know Neville better than she knew herself, because down the road, he could become the best friend she ever has.

Willow became suddenly aware of a crowd forming in the middle of the courtyard. She jogged closer and recognized Colin and Ron angrily staring down Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. The hair on the back of her neck prickled in agitation. Draco was causing a fight yet again. She really needed to keep a closer eye on that idiot. Just as she fought her way to the front of the crowd, Professor Lockhart appeared, swooped in, and took Harry away while Colin fumbled with his camera. Draco smirked as if he'd won a particularly satisfying argument. He turned around to address the crowd when he yelped and leaped back in fear. Willow was standing right behind him, crossing her arms and glaring daggers at him. Draco brushed himself off and pretended not to be affected by this.

"How are you doing, Wisp? Did you come by to congratulate me? Potter finally gave into his fame, you should have seen how happy he was when Colin asked for a picture- "

Willow slapped the smirk right off of Draco's face. "You think you're so smart, don't you, tonto?" Draco stared at her in horror as he rubbed the red hand-shaped mark spreading across his cheekbone. "I know Harry better than almost every person in this courtyard, and I'm here to tell you that he's a better person than you're shaping up to be, you mierdito! We know better than to believe your snake tongue. And I thought you were going to change for the better! I guess I was wrong, yet again! Why do you keep doing this to me? Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" Willow balled up her fists angrily, ignoring to expression of pure terror on Malfoy's face as he backed away. "I don't know why I keep forgiving you! Sometimes I wonder how you're still my friend. I hate you! You slimy, arrogant, stupid, selfish, piece of rubbish! I hate you!"

Willow was vaguely aware of the crowd backing away as she stormed off to Defense Against the Dark Arts. For a few flights of stairs, she thought she was alone, that no one had followed her. But someone had. As she briskly walked down the hallway where Lockhart's class was, a small voice called out, "Wait!"

Willow whipped around. "I don't want to see you right now! Get out of my sight!"

"But...I can't. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts together, remember?"

Willow ripped her schedule out of her robe pocket. Her eyes furiously scanned the page until they stopped on her current class. She crumpled up the piece of parchment and chucked it at Draco, helplessly trying to diffuse her anger. Willow banged her fists on the walls, then sank to her knees, breathing heavily. Draco tentatively crept towards her. She could see that Crabbe and Goyle were staggering up the steps out of the corner of her eye. Willow quickly stood up and icily stared down Draco, wishing she could send him to the moon. He cowered under her gaze.

"I don't need to monitor you on top of everything else that's going on right now," she said. "This is getting old. I'm done, Draco. I can't make you be a good person if you won't try."

"Is it...your powers, messing with you?" Draco whispered. Crabbe and Goyle were resting beside the staircase, pathetically winded, but still out of earshot. "I remember you telling me they won't stop getting stronger."

"Yes, you idiot, that's part of the problem," Willow snapped. "And your enticing me to use them on you isn't helping."

Draco took a step backward, his hand tight around his wand. "Please don't."

"I won't if you don't give me a reason to."

Draco sighed, hanging his head. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to do this to you, Wisp. You know I don't. I just hate Potter. You know how much he gets on my nerves, and he hates me almost as much as I hate him- "

"I don't need another rant to add to the list of Potter rants," Willow said. Crabbe and Goyle stumbled past them into the classroom. Checking her watch, Willow followed suit. "Come on, we've got two minutes until class starts."

Draco perked up. "So you forgive me?"

"First you have to prove that this wasn't just a ruse to make me like you again so I don't beat you to a pulp."

"I'm not like that!"

"Yeah right. You've done that too many times before. Once you prove it, I'll believe it."

Willow stepped into the classroom, surveying the empty seats. Unfortunately, all of the desks on the Gryffindor side of the classroom (Gryffindor and Slytherin students always sat on separate sides of the room) were taken. Before she could try to move a desk, Draco yanked her into the seat beside him. She glared at him as he smirked triumphantly. The mierdito was never going to give up.

Gilderoy Lockhart swept into the room from his office, making a big deal of himself. Willow grimaced every time he said something extraordinarily cocky (which was a lot). When he gave out the quiz over his books, Draco and she exchanged a look that said the exact same thing: This teacher is an egotistical idiot! They piled their books in front of each other and shared answers, hoping that they'd get something right out of the fifty-four questions. Professor Lockhart paid no attention to their snickering when they passed notes afterwards, only smiling giddily at himself in the mirror. He reminded Willow of the Greek story of Narcissus. Draco took offense when Willow compared him to Lockhart and shoved her out of the desk. Everyone except Lockhart seemed to notice. She didn't care, though, because the moment she sat back up in her seat, Willow transfigured Draco's hair into the flowing golden locks of their Professor's. He desperately tried to change it back while the Slytherin girls pointed and giggled. Willow choked an apology out of him before fixing it, dragging it out so long that Draco was practically begging her to fix it by the end. It was safe to say they had made up for the time being.

Willow hadn't been paying attention while Lockhart was discussing their answers. She noticed that Hermione was blushing furiously while the rest of the Gryffindor Sisters whispered excitedly with her. Meanwhile, everyone was watching Lockhart, who was now standing beside a covered cage. He made such a big deal about it that the whole room quieted down in a tense silence. Willow decided to reach out with her senses and discovered that what was in the cage was barely worth the concern. Cornish pixies? They could be a handful, of course, but there was no need to get everyone so excited by them. Surely he'd teach them the Freezing Charm and they'd be on their way.

But he did not. Amid everyone's laughter and doubt, Lockhart opened the cage and let the pixies explode into the classroom. Chaos erupted. Willow sprang to her feet, desperately trying to remember the spell for the Freezing Charm, then giving up and beating at the pixies with her copy of Voyages with Vampires. She knew that there was no reasoning with the little buggers. If she had barely gotten tigers to listen to her that summer, then never practiced the ability again, there was no way she was going to charm the pixies into submission.

Neville was hanging precariously from the chandelier. Willow's sensitive ears heard the metal snap, then give way. She dove towards Neville and caught him before he could smash to the floor. The heavier boy stopped rolling almost immediately, but Willow's lighter frame was painfully carried into the wall by extra momentum. She was going to feel her spine for the next week.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed hers, and Willow found herself being dragged out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. He cursed at her to hurry up, then at Lockhart as he disappeared into his office, and finally at her again. Willow tried to fight against him. She needed to stay in the classroom and help! Her friends were still fighting off the pixies! But shortly after her fuzzy brain processed these thoughts, Willow was shoved into the hallway, out of range of the pixies. She rubbed her temples and sank against the wall as she tried to crack her spine.

"Merlin's beard, Wisp, you're even more stubborn when you hit your head!" Draco said.

Willow blinked to clear her vision. She realized Draco was standing over her, and the rest of the Slytherins were hovering nearby, appearing disgruntled from the turn in events.

"Why'd you drag me out here? My friends are still in there, fighting off the pixies!" Willow complained.

Draco raised his eyebrows. "I thought friends are supposed to keep each other safe? Or am I wrong in assuming you didn't want me to let the pixies throw you out the window?"

Willow's mouth dropped open. "You were actually trying to...protect me? Without ulterior motives?"

Draco's face went slightly pink, but he quickly recovered by smirking. "There's always ulterior motives, Wisp. Always."

Draco left to talk with Blaise Zabini. Willow found herself beaming idiotically as he did. She was finally getting through to him. Draco was starting to think about others instead of himself. If only the end of September could come faster...