Bontie held back a yawn as she shoed Bagsy towards Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Bagsy waved Bontie goodbye, who smiled tiredly before disappearing towards the Floo Station. Bagsy watched her go, a tug of sadness pulling at her heart. She was certain she'd write to her sister some more before she was back for the Easter Holidays.

Bagsy ran at the brick wall that hid the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and in the blink of an eye she was surrounded by smoke, owls, trolleys and parents shepherding their children onto the train, that let out a few blows of its whistle, lifting her heart with the high-pitched sound. She was on her way back to Hogwarts at last.

She struggled to get onto the train with all her luggage. When she found herself a nice empty compartment at the back and hauled her trunk, rat carry-cage and extra satchel onto the seat next to her, she realised glumly that no one would join her.

At least, that was what Bagsy had thought, when all of a sudden the compartment door was pushed open and standing in the doorway was Mezrielda. Bagsy opened her mouth to say something, to apologise for looking in her bag even after being told to mind her business, but Mezrielda beat her to it.

'How was your holiday?' she asked icily. Bagsy shut her mouth, looking at Mezrielda uncertainly, who sat down opposite her and flicked her wand. Bagsy's things rose up onto the luggage shelf above her head and, as they did, Mezrielda's own things floated in through the door which closed behind them.

'Fine,' Bagsy said at last.

Mezrielda nodded.

They sat in silence.

After what felt like ages, Bagsy couldn't be silent anymore. 'Tod Alden is a silver tongue,' she blurted out, 'but I have no idea what that means, only my sister gave me this thing to drink and when I did I remembered a bunch of things I hadn't before.' Mezrielda sat forward, suddenly interested. 'And I remembered that he was being suspicious in the Owlery, and that he was on the endless staircase, and that there was an endless staircase, and that he knew about the message we found, and he knew you were looking for the gauntlet.' Bagsy was running out of breath as the words tumbled out. 'And I think he has the other half of the information to finding the gauntlet, but I don't know how we can get it off him, and even if we do-'

'Bagsy,' Mezrielda cut in. Bagsy silenced. 'Shut up.'

'Sorry,' Bagsy murmured.

Mezrielda looked out the window as the train began to pull away, humming thoughtfully to herself. 'To recap,' Mezrielda said at last, fishing a piece of parchment and a quill out of her own bag. 'First, Tod Alden is a silver tongue, whatever that may be?'

'Yes,' Bagsy confirmed.

'Second, your sister gave you a cure that reminded you Tod was being suspicious in the Owlery and on a staircase, and that he knew about the message you and I found?'

'Yes,' Bagsy said, then, as Mezrielda was about to continue, 'no, wait!' Mezrielda looked at her quizzically. 'It wasn't just any staircase, Mezrielda…' Her throat tightened, she hadn't thought about that horrible day for a while.

'Bagsy? What is it?' Mezrielda snapped impatiently.

'When I ran out of Charms on that first day of lessons I was very upset, and not paying attention to where I was going. I went down a spiral staircase and realised that they never ended. I was trapped for a while. They just kept going, Mezrielda, it was terrifying!' Mezrielda sat silently, watching Bagsy with her brown eyes. Bagsy continued. 'And then Tod appeared, and he took me back to the corridor I'd entered them from.'

Mezrielda silently wrote on the parchment, her eyes narrowed. 'Third,' she said once she'd finished writing, 'you think Tod has the information I've been missing this whole time?' Bagsy nodded. Mezrielda pursed her lips. 'Then tell me, Bagsy, why on earth you didn't mention any of this vital information last term?' The train's whistle blew, in time with the anger on Mezrielda's face.

Bagsy looked down at her feet. 'I didn't remember it until just last week,' she explained sheepishly. 'After my sister gave me that potion.'

Mezrielda opened her mouth, about to rant at Bagsy, when instead her face turned to realisation. 'I know what a silver tongue is,' she said, and Bagsy looked up. 'The reason you didn't remember was because Tod Alden, a silver tongue, made you forget. Until, of course, your sister cured you.' Mezrielda laughed. 'It makes perfect sense.'

Bagsy's face fell. 'Tod cast a spell on me?'

'Not so much a spell. If there is a name for it, being silver tongued, or being a silver tongue, it's probably a trait he was born with. He didn't cast a spell at you with a wand. No. He used something he could inherently do.'

Bagsy nodded – it made sense. 'We need to talk to Tod,' she concluded.

Mezrielda put a hand to her face. 'Ah, yes, hello mister can-edit-our-memories-with-words-alone, Mezrielda is looking for an item you want to find first – care to tell her where it is?' Mezrielda grumbled, 'How stupid can one girl be…?'

'Maybe that would be a stupid idea…'

'Of course, it would be – he'd do the exact same thing he did last term. Maybe he'd make us forget about the gauntlet entirely.'

Bagsy asked, 'How are we going to get the other half of the information?'

Mezrielda looked back out the window at the passing country side. 'I'm sure we'll think of something,' she said, rolling up the parchment she'd been writing on.

When they arrived at Hogwarts they were told their bags would be taken to their rooms for them. Mezrielda looked knowingly at Bagsy, who remembered her comments at the end of last term and wondered, again, where Belta Zotova had been during the first week of the first term. Bagsy said goodbye to Mezrielda when they entered the great hall; at the welcome feast they both had to go to their own house tables but Bagsy didn't mind all that much once she spotted Greenda. She hurried over, scrambling to sit next to her.

'Hi Greenda,' Bagsy said.

Greenda looked down in surprise and smiled back. 'Welcome back Bagsy!'

The fat friar, who floated down the middle of the table past them, laughed deeply. 'Yes, welcome back, Hufflepuffs!'

Soon food was before Bagsy and Greenda, and the two stuffed themselves full of pies, apples and mashed potatoes.

When dessert was done and Bagsy was ready to roll her way to the Hufflepuff dormitory, wondering if she'd fit through the barrel, Fitzsimmons walked to a podium sitting in front of the teachers table. The hall fell silent and eyes turned to fix on them.

'I hope Christmas found you all well,' Fitzsimmons began, but their speech wasn't heard by Bagsy, who became distracted thinking about the reading she'd been doing in her last week of holiday. Unseen Connections by Opius Pepsini had made little more sense when starting from the beginning as it did mid-way through. However, Bagsy was too tired from a full belly and a tiring journey to think any more on it, and missed the rest of Fitzsimmons' speech as the jumble of words she'd read in the confusing book rustled around her brain.

When Greenda nudged her awake, Bagsy let her lead her to the Hufflepuff common room. She felt a lot like her sister had been looking – only half-awake and paying hardly any attention to what was going on around her. It was a welcome relief when she sunk below a warm duvet.

Whilst at home, she'd grown used to empty dreams, but back at Hogwarts, she found herself in the same dark space, with that unshakable feeling that something was behind her, just out of sight. She turned, frustration joining her fear, but could see nothing. There was a low rumble, the air around her shaking, and her mind ached like it was being cut open and she grimaced, gripping her scalp and doubling over.

When Bagsy startled awake, her eyes flying open and her mouth drawing in a short breath, it was the following morning. Taking a second to calm herself, and cursing that the bad dreams had returned, she noticed that she wasn't in her room. Instead, she was in a smaller bed that, unlike her usual one at Hogwarts, had a canopy above it. She sat up, still in her robes, and looked around. The round room had five other beds in it, in which Bagsy could see the tops of heads poking out. She realised Greenda must have put her in the first-year girl's dormitory.

She slid off the bed as quietly as she could, hoping the wooden floor wouldn't creek too loudly beneath her feet, but one of the girls in the other beds woke up. Bagsy looked at her, frozen.

'Hello?' the girl said sleepily. She was a small thing with a snub nose and a sniffle. Bagsy had seen her sitting at the back of classes during lessons and she briefly wondered if this girl was a shy as she was.

The girl reached a hand to her nightstand, feeling around for her glasses, that Bagsy saw had fallen to the floor. She walked forward, picked up the glasses and handed them to the girl. They were very large and round on the small girl's face and Bagsy guessed that with the changing effects of time, she'd grow into someone who suited them better.

'Thanks,' the girl said in a small voice, rubbing her hands together nervously. She had dark skin and darker eyes, and her curly hair was cut incredibly short, like a typical boy's hairstyle.

'No problem,' Bagsy whispered.

'Who are you?' the girl asked as Bagsy turned to leave.

She looked over her shoulder. 'I'm Bagsy.'

'I'm Neve.'

'It's nice to meet you, Neve,' Bagsy whispered, inching her way through the door.

'Are you the missing Hufflepuff?' Neve asked.

Bagsy hesitated, not sure what she meant. 'The missing Hufflepuff?'

'The girl who was meant to be sleeping in that bed.' Neve pointed at the bed Bagsy had woken up in. Unlike the others, it had no trunk at the end, or decorations, or items on the nightstand, and Bagsy remembered when Blythurst had said arrangements had been made for her to have her own room. She realised that she was what these girls had been calling 'the missing Hufflepuff'. Bagsy swallowed, not sure what to say.

'Who knows.' Bagsy shrugged, then left as quickly as she could. She went to her room, slipping through the door hidden behind the armchair and ferns, to find Bill and Jill complaining about being locked in their travel cage all night. 'I know, I know,' Bagsy cooed apologetically to them, opening their cage and setting them free around her room. She quickly unpacked and dressed. She'd spent the last week of her Christmas holiday reading Unseen Connections and working on her project so she fished her toolbox, with newly added tools, out of her trunk and dumped it onto her work bench. Finally, with delicate hands, she pulled her nearly completed project out of the trunk.

Her first attempt at a home-made broom stared back at her, looking very much like a first attempt. Brooms and their Workings had been indispensable in giving her the information she had needed and now all she wanted was a test subject, and she had just the prefect in mind.

It was a Sunday and lessons had yet to begin. As Bagsy walked down the great hall, her home-made broom wrapped in brown paper clasped tightly in her hands, she saw that it was a clear day even if there were piles of snow on the ground. She supposed the snow could act as a useful cushion if things didn't go to plan.

Greenda was eating some porridge and skimming a copy of The Daily Prophet when Bagsy sat down next to her. 'Morning,' Greenda said, looking up from her newspaper. 'What's that you've got there?'

Bagsy beamed at Greenda. 'Guess.'

'A broom, by the looks of it, but you're a first year.' Greenda narrowed her eyes. 'I'm a prefect, if you're breaking the rules then-'

'No, no, it's not for me,' Bagsy rushed. 'Quick, just finish your breakfast, we can go to the practise field and you'll see what I mean.'

'What kind of broom is it?' a deep voice asked from across the table. Bagsy hadn't noticed Ford Krinkle, the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, sitting opposite them.

Bagsy shrunk under his curious gaze. 'Um, w-well, it's not really any kind…'

Ford puzzled at that. 'What do you mean?'

'Um…' Bagsy trailed off.

Greenda rolled her eyes humorously. 'I think we had better head to the practise field, Ford,' she said, pushing her bowl of porridge away from herself and rolling the newspaper up. 'I was full, anyway.'

'Me too,' Ford agreed, despite wolfing his croissant down in one mouthful and grabbing two more for the walk.

Bagsy hurried ahead of Greenda and Ford as they made their way to the practise field. Greenda was telling them about all sorts of things – the Quidditch matches she'd watched over the holidays, her family visit to Diagon Alley, and the gifts she'd received, one of which was a new head protector for playing Quidditch, whilst Ford said a word or two every now and then. Bagsy was happy to simply listen.

Once they reached the field Bagsy placed the package with the broom inside down on the snow and fixed the two older students with the most authoritative and important look she could muster. She even puffed her chest out and folded her arms.

'You must promise not to tell anyone about this!' she declared, and Greenda and Ford exchanged a humorous look. 'I'm serious! This is top secret.'

'Alright, we promise,' Greenda relented, placing her hands on her hips, Ford seeming just as amused. Bagsy puffed out her cheeks but was satisfied enough and she crouched down and pulled the brown paper away, revealing the broom she'd constructed.

Ford frowned. 'I don't recognise the make,' he said, leaning down to take a closer look. 'That handle is from a Gold Apple, I'm sure of it, but here,' he pointed at the left foot stirrup, 'this is clearly from a Hurricane, and,' he pointed to the right stirrup, 'well this is obviously from a Swift Witch, perhaps one of the older models.'

'Bagsy, where did you get this broom?' Greenda asked, kneeling down next to her.

Bagsy looked at the both of them. 'I made it,' she said truthfully.

Greenda and Ford shared a look again – but there was no humour this time.

'Really?' Ford asked in disbelief and Bagsy nodded. Ford gripped the broom in his hands and stood up. 'Mind if I…?' He gestured up at the sky.

Bagsy stood, shuffling her feet. 'I was hoping Greenda would try it…' she admitted.

Ford smirked. 'Right, sorry, of course.' He handed the broom to Greenda. 'Your shadow made you a broom,' he commented, not unkindly.

Greenda hopped on the broom and kicked off the ground. 'Woah!' she shrieked as it took off into the air and Bagsy watched, heart in her throat, as she zoomed around. Eventually, Greenda landed, and Bagsy felt the need to crouch down in the snow again her legs were shaking so much. 'That's an impressive broom,' Greenda said, handing it back to her. 'I mean, it's not better than my current one, if I'm honest, but for a first year to make it by hand is pretty incredible.' Greenda smiled, and a warm feeling spread through Bagsy.

Ford held out his hand. 'May I?'

Bagsy gave him the broom and Ford ascended into the air. Greenda and Bagsy watched in amazement as he pulled off a dozen different stunts and tricks, at one point leaping from the broom and trusted it to circle beneath him in time to catch him. 'I'm a pretty good flier, so I can make up for flawed brooms,' Ford boasted as he landed, 'but it is a pretty solid broom. Doesn't drag one way or the other, stable grip, and acceleration's not half bad.'

Greenda ruffled Bagsy's hair. 'You're a smart cookie, you are,' she said. Bagsy felt like she was flying on a broom herself.

'You know what…' said Ford, putting on a thinking face. Bagsy and Greenda looked at him. 'If you could add a few upgrades to the school brooms we use we'd have a much better shot of winning the house cup.'

Greenda nodded enthusiastically.

Bagsy was uncertain. 'I'm not sure I'm good enough for that,' she admitted.

Ford waved his hand dismissively. 'Nonsense. Look at what you've already made out of scraps, you'll easily fix the school brooms. I'll ask Professor Kim, but I can't see why not. So long as the brooms pass inspection there's no reason she'd say no.'

Bagsy gulped, suddenly feeling very small. She'd wanted to tinker and explore the school brooms for ages, but she didn't want the whole Hufflepuff Quidditch team flying on them during matches. An image of Greenda and Ford falling out of the sky as lightning cracked around them and their brooms broke apart flashed in her mind.

'That's a lot for a first year to take on,' Greenda murmured in a low voice to Ford.

Ford shook her off. 'I'm sure she can manage it – anything to win the cup, right?' he asked, looking hopefully down at Bagsy.

Bagsy nodded her head. 'Of course, I don't mind…'

Ford clapped his hands together. 'Perfect! It's settled then. I'll speak to Professor Kim this morning.' With that, he walked back towards the castle.

Greenda put her hand on Bagsy's shoulder. 'I'm sure your brooms will be great,' she assured her as Bagsy nodded mutely, picking her mismatched broom up. 'Perhaps you should hang on to that? Use it as a guide for upgrading the school ones,' Greenda suggested and Bagsy nodded again. 'Come on, it's getting cold,' she added, leading the stunned Bagsy back to Hogwarts Castle.