Rachel stared down grimly at her Defense textbook. Never before in her entire life had she wanted to light a book on fire. Not even the stupid Lockhart books. This book, however, fully deserved it. She'd done some checking and every Defense student in the entire school was studying out of this ridiculous vapid book.

It was mid-October and they'd just reached chapter seven. Chapter seven was all about conflict avoidance. Rachel had left a big ink splotch on her outline as she imagined writing an essay about this. Conflict avoidance was just fine if you were talking about disagreeing with people at school. Plenty of fights could be avoided if people just walked away instead of continuing to argue. Conflict avoidance was impossible with Death Eaters and the Dark Lord.

She could just imagine meeting the Dark Lord again and using one of the suggested phrases from the book. 'It seems we'll have to agree to disagree about the issues of pure-blood superiority and murder. Have a good day.' It might actually be worth it just to see the look on his face right before he cast the Killing Curse at her.

Irritated, she wrote out 'suggest putting aside differences' on her outline and turned the page in her book. The classroom was almost silent. She could hear Hermione's quill scratching as she wrote her own outline. Both of them continued to turn their outlines in at the end of class and neither of them ever received their outlines back again. To her left, Millie was flipping her quill between her fingers as she stared at her text book. To her right, Theo was tapping his fingers against the side of his text book while he looked increasingly moody.

Around the classroom she could see other students fidgeting, gazing out the window, or doodling on parchment. She briefly met Professor Umbridge's gaze before turning her attention back to her textbook. Professor Umbridge was always watching her and it was a disconcerting feeling. She had told Severus before the school year started that she wouldn't recant what she'd said about the Dark Lord returning. She still didn't plan on doing so, but she hadn't really expected it to be like this either. So far Professor Umbridge hadn't asked her directly, but that couldn't last. Rachel wasn't sure what it was going to look like when it finally happened.

The only real piece of solace about the situation she had was knowledge that Professor Umbridge would be gone at the end of the year. The curse on the position had taken all their other teachers out, except Moody who had come in planning to only teach one year, and it would take out Professor Umbridge too. She knew Professor Dumbledore couldn't fire her, so it had to be something else. Hopefully it wouldn't be too violent, but Rachel would mind if Professor Umbridge was at least seriously embarrassed or something.

Rachel grudgingly finished her outline and reminded herself that at the very least their Defense club would start soon. Their group had come up with a curriculum that was both useful and fun, and next week they would start to tell people to meet them behind the Quidditch pitch at 10 am on Sunday the 29th. A week after that, they'd start their club meetings. They'd decided to use the Room of Requirement for their meetings, but they'd get there first so that no one else knew how the room worked.

The chime that signaled the end of class sounded and Rachel put away her quill and textbook and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Your homework is to write sixteen inches on conflict avoidance. Class is dismissed. Miss Snow, please stay after," Professor Umbridge announced.

Rachel exchanged glances with Millie and shrugged. She went to the front of the classroom with Hermione and both of them handed in their outlines.

"You are dismissed, Miss Granger," Professor Umbridge said pointedly.

"I'll see you in the hall in a few minutes," Hermione said, meeting Rachel's eyes and nodding.

Rachel nodded back. At least her friends wouldn't be too far if she needed help.

"I'm sure you noticed that I didn't hand your essay back at the beginning of class," Professor Umbridge said.

Rachel had noticed that, but hadn't particularly cared. Professor Umbridge had been grading all of her essays as 'Poor' without any additional comments. It was aggravating and embarrassing, but there was really nothing to be done about it. And there was some comfort in knowing that it wasn't because the essays were bad, it was because Professor Umbridge didn't like her and nothing could change that. "Yes, ma'am," she said, reminding herself to stay polite and to say as little as possible.

"Your work in my class has been consistently poor. You don't articulate yourself well, your essays are disorganized, and your vocabulary leaves much to be desired," Professor Umbridge said, handing Rachel her last essay with 'Poor' written at the top.

Rachel could feel herself flushing. "Yes, ma'am."

"The level of effort that you show is disrespectful to me as an educator. I expect you to perform better. If you don't, you will fail this class," Professor Umbridge continued.

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said again, swallowing hard. Maybe she could petition Professor Dumbledore at the end of the term. She could keep all of her essays and assignments. Surely if he read them he would change her grade?

"I would like for us to have a little chat sometime soon. It's not just your behavior in my class that needs attention," Professor Umbridge said, her sharp eyes fixed on Rachel's face.

And there was what Rachel had been expecting. This was about Rachel saying that the Dark Lord was back. "Yes, ma'am."

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I'll put in more effort on my essays and attempt to rectify my behavior, ma'am," Rachel said, hoping that's what she was looking for.

"Very well. I expect improvement. Dismissed." Professor Umbridge sat back down.

Rachel hurried out of the classroom, still feeling her face burning. What a mess.

"Are you alright?" Millie asked, once they were further down the hall and away from the classroom door.

"I'm fine," Rachel said as she adjusted the strap of her bag so it wasn't cutting into her shoulder.

"What did she want?" Neville asked.

"To say that my work is poor and that she'll fail me if I don't improve," Rachel said. "She's been grading all my assignments as poor. No comments, just poor."

"She hasn't!" Hermione sounded aghast.

Rachel showed them the essay she'd just been given back.

"Can Professor Snape or Professor Dumbledore do anything about it?" Theo asked, frowning as he held open the door to the study room to let them in.

"I don't think so. Not now at least. If this is still a problem at the end of the year, I'll take all my work to Professor Dumbledore and ask if he is willing to independently grade me." Rachel wasn't sure it would work, but it was at least worth trying.

"Let me read your essay," Hermione said, holding her hand out.

Rachel handed it over and sat down with a sigh. "That's not all. She wants to have a chat with me sometime soon about my behavior outside of class. I assume she means me saying that the Dark Lord is back."

"This is ridiculous. What are you going to do?" Millie asked.

Rachel shrugged. "Same thing as I have been doing. Be polite. Say as little as possible. Get out as fast as I can."

"I don't know what else you can do," Neville said, shaking his head.

"Your essay is just fine," Hermione said, looking up from the parchment.

"Let me see," Theo said.

Hermione passed it over. "Really. There is nothing wrong with your essay, especially considering the textbook we're working with."

"It's not about the essay. The essay could be the best thing anyone has ever written and she'd still give it a poor if it's written by me. As long as I refuse to recant, this will keep happening," Rachel said. She was absolutely sure of it.

"She hasn't even given you the opportunity to recant. She hasn't even told you what she wants from you," Theo said as he read Rachel's essay.

"Doesn't matter. You can't reason with people like that. To her, this is an effective way of getting what she wants," Rachel said, thinking of Aunt Petunia. "I'm supposed to know what she wants without her telling me. And, in this case, I do."

"Are you considering it?" Neville asked.

"No," Rachel said firmly. "I'm not going to say I was lying. Or that I was mistaken. It's too important."

"Good," Theo said, handing Rachel her essay. "I could understand if you wanted to, but you're right that it's too important. Our grades don't really matter anyway, it's all about our OWL scores, and you'll do fine there. And your essay is good. It's no different from mine and I got an exceeds expectations."

"As did I," Hermione said.

"Me too," Millie said.

"That was my grade too," Neville added.

Rachel shook her head. "Let's just study. The less we have to think about Professor Umbridge, the better. We've got Arithmancy equations first?"

"We do, and then Care of Magical Creatures OWL review," Hermione said. "Let's start with a brief review of angles and we'll begin."

Rachel opened her two-way book and started flipping through to find their latest Arithmancy notes. Her mind kept coming back to what Professor Umbridge had said and it wasn't a good feeling. She reminded herself yet again that they only had to deal with Professor Umbridge for a year. She could manage for that long, couldn't she?


"How was your day, sir?" Pansy asked as she sat down at the table in Severus' office.

"Well enough, and yours, Miss Parkinson?" Severus asked, sitting down across from her.

"It was fine, though I'm glad it's Friday. Most of our classes are asking a lot right now. I've never had so much homework in my life!" Pansy said as she dug in her bag, eventually pulling out a quill and a piece of parchment that already had the start of a letter written on it.

"In many ways this will be your most difficult year at Hogwarts. The NEWT classes are tough, but you'll be taking fewer of them and they will be aligned with your interests," Severus said, recognizing that all of the fifth years who were serious about their OWLs were feeling this way.

"I can't wait to drop History of Magic. I've been using it as a study period to get some of my other homework done," Pansy said, then abruptly looking at Severus as if expecting recrimination.

"I trust you will keep this to yourself, Miss Parkinson, but I did the same when I was a student," Severus said. He certainly wouldn't scold her for using her time wisely.

Pansy smiled in relief. "I bet you scored all Os on your OWLs."

"I did not, there are very few people who manage that achievement, and I was not particularly interested in some of my classes, though I did pass all the OWLs I took, and I expect my prefects to do so as well," Severus said.

"We will. I'm not worried about passing. I just want to do well. Do you think it's possible I'll make it into your NEWT class?"

"If you put the work in, it's certainly a possibility, but I'd like you to think about why you would want to join my NEWT class. A potion's NEWT isn't required for most fields and in general I don't recommend that students take the class unless they need it for their career plans or if they have a special interest in potions," Severus explained.

Pansy looked worried for a moment before she cleared her expression. "My parents' expectations are that I'll marry shortly after I finish at Hogwarts and be responsible for bearing and raising children and maintaining a home. I don't really know that I'm going to have a career."

Severus had encountered this problem with pure-blood girls a number of times. In the end, his advice was almost always the same. "Those may be your parents' expectations, but it is your life. There are many pure-blood women who choose to work outside the home after they marry and even after they have children. Take some time to consider which subjects you truly enjoy and what careers you might make of them. That way you still have the choice as you grow older."

She nodded and pushed her letter toward him. "This is what I have so far, just class stuff."

"Did your parents reply to your last letter?" he asked as he began to scan the contents of the letter.

"My mother wrote a short note telling me that she loved me and asking if I needed anything. She didn't say anything about what I'd written to them," Pansy said.

Severus finished with the letter and returned it to Pansy. "I think what you have there is fine. Do you have any ideas as to what to say about Rachel this week?"

"Professor Umbridge made her stay after class, but I don't know why. But since I've been telling them about what's been happening in Defense, I think it makes sense to include it," Pansy said, twisting her quill between her fingertips.

"Since it is out of the ordinary, I think it makes sense to include it as well," he said, waiting while Pansy wrote about it. He resolved to check with Rachel on Sunday to see what exactly Umbridge had wanted from her.

"There's one thing I noticed, but I don't think it would be a good idea to write about it," Pansy said when she'd finished writing.

"What's that?" Severus asked.

"One of the things that my parents said to find out was Rachel's favorite foods. And obviously chocolate, because she does like chocolate frogs, and who doesn't like chocolate. But I was watching her at mealtimes in the Great Hall, and she doesn't really eat that much. Usually she'll eat a bread roll, or a slice of toast. Sometimes she'll have eggs. At lunch she'll have a half of a sandwich. At dinner she'll sometimes have some of the main dish. I don't know if she's always been that way and I just didn't notice, or if it's something new." Pansy was frowning again. "Is she so small because she doesn't eat?"

"I think Rachel's stature is just naturally small," Severus said, not wanting to get into Rachel's problems with Pansy. If she wasn't eating in the Great Hall then it was beyond time that he spoke with Torey. "As for saying what she eats, I think you can safely indicate that she likes chocolate and sweets, bread, eggs, and sandwiches. I think that is all general enough that we don't need to worry about poisoning attempts."

"Would the Dark Lord really do that?" she asked.

"He may send something poisoned as an attempt to weaken or disable her, but I doubt he would attempt to kill her that way. He will want to do that in person," Severus said. The Dark Lord never did favor indirect methods of killing, with exceptions for people that were difficult to reach, such as the Minister and other high ranking Ministry targets.

Pansy looked away. "How long can we do this? How long is this going to be practical?"

"We'll make this work for as long as we need to. Did you have any other observations about Rachel you wished to put in this letter?" he asked.

Pansy shook her head. "This should be enough for now. I can write that I've spent the past few weeks watching what Rachel eats, so that it seems like it took a while to gather the information."

"Alright. Is there anything within the House I should know about? Anything happening in the common room?"

"The fourth years have been behaving themselves a little better. There haven't been any fights in the past few weeks." Pansy paused and then looked at him directly. "Are you asking me to spy for you? Is that what you're asking in return for helping with the letters?"

"I'm not asking for anything in return, I just want you to do your job as a prefect, which includes having a general awareness of what is happening in the House and letting me know if there are any indications of difficulties." Severus resisted the urge to shake his head. As if he would ask a child to spy for him. That was a role he would never foist on anyone after experiencing it himself.

"Okay. Things are pretty calm right now. The first years are doing better, but Gordon is pretty much hopelessly lost. The other prefects have said so too. I don't know what to do with him." Pansy shrugged and shook her head again.

"I'll look into it," Severus said. It was better to find out these problems when they were still early in their first year. "Any difficulties with the second years?"

"They're all okay. Malcolm doesn't really contribute unless you ask him directly, but I've seen his work and it's not bad," Pansy said.

Severus nodded. Yet another student he needed to look in on, though he'd check with Tracey first and get her opinion. "Anything else you wished to discuss?"

"No, I think that's everything. I'll show my letter to Rachel tonight and send it tomorrow," Pansy said, putting her parchment and quill back in her bag. "Thank you."

"Thank you, Miss Parkinson," Severus said, meeting her gaze.

Pansy nodded and quietly left his office.

Severus stood. He had thirty minutes until dinner, essays to grade, and plenty to worry about.


"I'm going to go talk to Draco, I'll be back in a little bit," Rachel said as she saw Draco sit down on the other side of the common room by himself.

"Good luck with that," Theo said, exchanging glances with Millie.

Rachel made it halfway across the common room before hearing her name. She turned and found Harper rapidly approaching. Carefully, she moved her hand to the robe pocket where her wand was - she wasn't fumbling around like that again.

"Rachel," Harper said, coming to a stop in front of her.

"Yes?" she asked. She didn't expect that Harper was going to attack her in the middle of the common room, not while the prefects were gathered not ten feet away, but she didn't know what he wanted either.

"I wanted to apologize for threatening to curse you. I shouldn't have drawn my wand on you. I lost my temper and I really wanted that spot on the Quidditch team. I'm sorry," Harper said.

Rachel blinked. She absolutely had not been expecting that. "Uh, thank you. I accept your apology." She wondered if Severus had made him apologize.

"I want to try out for the Chaser spot when Adrian leaves at the end of the year," Harper continued.

"You can try out, but it's not your Quidditch skills I'm worried about. It wasn't just that you threatened me, you yelled at another person about a pass. That's not how my team works," she said, not wanting to give him false hope. "Off the pitch matters too. The team may not all be friends with each other, but we treat each other well, regardless of our blood status or anything else."

Harper nodded. "Things have been better since Professor Snape talked to some of the people in my year. He told me to change too, and I've been trying. I already apologized to Scarlett and Fergus, and they apologized to me."

"Good. Keep it up and we'll see how things go at tryouts next September," Rachel said. She'd check with the rest of the team and see if Harper had actually apologized and was being less of a jerk.

"I'm going to go, I just wanted to say that," Harper said, nodding and then hurrying away.

Rachel shook her head and continued over to where Draco was sitting. She sat down in the armchair opposite of him and noticed he looked distant. "Everything okay?"

"Fine. Just fine. Hufflepuff tomorrow. It's going to be a tight game, but you can beat Cedric to the Snitch every time. I'm not too worried," Draco said, focusing on Rachel.

"You know some of Seeking is luck, right? It's about being in the right place at the right time," Rachel said, feeling uncomfortable with the idea that Draco thought she'd get the Snitch every time.

"And you're exceptionally lucky," Draco said.

"On the Quidditch pitch, maybe," Rachel said. There were a lot of good things in her life, but she wasn't sure she would call herself lucky. "Can we talk privately?"

"It's after curfew, you really want to try to sneak out?" he asked, raising his eyebrows briefly.

"No, just here. I can cast the privacy ward," Rachel said.

"Sure, but you know there are people who can read lips, right?" Draco asked.

"In Slytherin House?" she asked, surprised.

Draco nodded. "The Carrow twins can do it, at least, but it looks like they're already in their dorm. But if two people can do it, other people might be able to do it as well."

"I suppose." Rachel glanced around the common room, but most people seemed otherwise occupied. "We're not really visible from over here though. I think they'd have a hard time seeing us."

"Your choice, it just depends on how secret you want to keep this," he said, watching her with clear curiosity.

"It is a secret, but I think we'll be alright," Rachel said, pulling out her wand and casting the privacy ward around them. "How do you feel about Defense class this year?"

"That's your secret question?" Draco asked.

"Whether or not I tell you the secret depends on your answer," she said, feeling that should be obvious.

Draco leaned back in his seat. "And if I tell you that I think Defense is a waste of time and has been pretty much every year since we've started at Hogwarts?"

"You thought Professor Lupin and Professor Moody were bad professors?"

"Lupin never got off dark creatures. Simple, boring, and we're never going to encounter any if we don't wander off into the wilderness," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I walked into a boggart this summer." Not that the lesson on boggarts had done her any good, other than to be able to recognize it for what it was afterward.

"What is your boggart anyway? You didn't take a turn in class," Draco said.

"Why is your boggart a werewolf?" Rachel countered. She decided not to point out that Draco's boggart had also been a Death Eater.

"Because they're bloody terrifying, that's why! Anyone with an ounce of common sense and self preservation should be terrified by them. They're dangerous animals!" Draco shook his head. "I met him, not on the full moon, thankfully, but he's given enough of himself over to the wolf that he still has werewolf features even on the new moon."

Rachel was offended on Remus' behalf, but she supposed Draco didn't know better. Besides, even she knew enough about werewolves to know that one that had given themselves over to the wolf was absolutely dangerous.

"So, pay up, what's your boggart?" Draco said.

"A dementor," Rachel lied.

"My mother said that people who react very badly to dementors had something terrible happen to them, something so bad that when their mind is forced to relive it their conscious mind flees." He was watching Rachel closely now, like he could get the answer he wanted just by looking at her.

Rachel shrugged. There wasn't really an answer she could give to that. "What about Professor Moody?"

"What about him?"

"What didn't you like about his class?" she asked, pressing the subject change.

"Mostly him thinking we were all junior aurors, ordering us around, yelling 'constant vigilance' at us. And I already knew most of the spells he taught us," Draco said, shaking his head. "I heard he gave you a hard time too."

"A bit. And do you think Professor Umbridge's class is a waste of time?"

"Definitely. Reading the book in class, what a laugh. I've pulled the cover of my Defense book and put it on whatever book I'm actually reading that day just so I can get something done in there," he said. "What is the deal with her taking your outlines? Why don't you just stop writing them?"

"I think she would criticize me if I stopped writing the outlines. And she does it because she doesn't like me, because I said the Dark Lord has returned." It was Rachel's turn to watch Draco closely.

His features remained impassive. "That would do it. She's loyal to that idiot Fudge, and he will be in his grave before he admits that the Dark Lord is back."

"Hopefully not literally," she said. "Are you worried about doing well on your Defense OWL?"

"No. My Defense skills are just fine. Why, what are you trying to do? Start a Defense club or something?"

Rachel's surprise must have shown because Draco started laughing.

"You are, aren't you? You and your friends are starting a Defense group." He smiled and shook his head. "You are going to get yourself expelled when you get caught."

"Expelled? Do you really think so? Just over a club?" she asked, now feeling a little bit more worried.

"If Umbridge has the power to do it, she'll do it. Fudge would love to see that in the paper 'Girl-Who-Lived expelled for starting a group to fight the Dark Lord'."

"Our purpose isn't to fight the Dark Lord, we're not stupid. It's about passing our exams and staying alive." The thing was, she could absolutely picture that headline on the front page of the Daily Prophet. She supposed they were just going to have to make sure they didn't get caught.

"Why are you telling me this anyway?" Draco asked.

"Because I'm inviting you to join our Defense club," Rachel said, wondering how Draco could be so perceptive about some things but completely clueless about others.

It was Draco's turn to look surprised. "And what do the rest of your friends have to say about that?"

"They're fine with it as long as you keep it a secret and set aside any House rivalries while we're in the club. There will be people from all four Houses, and people of a variety of blood statuses." She was a little surprised when Draco just shrugged.

"As long as you're not asking me to be friends with them," he said.

"No, just be civil. Anyway, it's your choice, Draco. Join us if you want to. I think it will be fun and good practice. All I ask is that you don't tell anyone about it, whether or not you join us," Rachel said, hoping that she could at least trust him to keep it a secret.

"I won't tell anyone. I want to think about it some more, but I won't tell anyone," Draco said with a nod.

"Thank you. I'll let you know when we have a time and a place to gather, you can choose if you want to show up. Get some rest tonight, we're on the pitch at nine o'clock tomorrow morning," Rachel said as she stood up.

"You too. We need our Seeker sharp," Draco said.

Rachel dismissed the privacy ward and walked back to where Millie and Theo were sitting.

"How'd it go?" Millie asked.

"Fine. He'll think about it," Rachel said as she sat down.

"I suppose that's better than an outright no," Theo said.

"I suppose," Millie agreed.

Rachel nodded and glanced around the room to check on the rest of the team. Adrian and Miles were with a group of the sixth and seventh years, all of them chatting and laughing. Scarlett, Martin, and Stephen were with some of the fourth years. Rachel was both surprised and relieved to see that Harper was with them and seemed to be comfortable.

"I think I might go to bed. We have a game tomorrow," Rachel said, hoping that the rest of the team would turn in soon.

"I'm going to stay up for a bit, I'm still restless," Millie said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, sleep well," Theo said.

"Goodnight," Rachel said. She left the common room, her mind torn between Quidditch plays, the growing Defense club, and the idea that they could get expelled if they were caught. It was a lot to think about.


"Alright everyone," Rachel said, once the entire team was dressed and assembled. "This is Hufflepuff. Fleet left last year, so they have a new Keeper. They also have two new Beaters, who we haven't seen in action yet. I don't think they're anything you can't deal with. Chasers, watch for Heidi and Robin, they're both good. Try to edge out Eurig if you can. Questions?"

"Don't worry about this, we've got it," Miles said with a firm nod.

"Not a problem, it's Hufflepuff," Adrian agreed.

"I think I've forgotten how to fly," Martin said, looking unnaturally pale.

"You'll remember once you're on your broom. Do you need to be sick?" Rachel asked, figuring it was better for him to throw up now than it would be in the air.

Martin shook his head, but he looked uncertain.

"Let's keep it a clean game. We can win without doing anything that lets them wind up with a penalty shot," Rachel said, glancing at Draco.

"We'll be fine, let's go," Draco said, his broom slung over his shoulder.

"We've got this! Go Slytherin!" Scarlett shouted, causing both Martin and Stephen to flinch.

"Let's go," Rachel said, touching her captain's pin and then leading them out toward the pitch. "You doing alright, Stephen?"

"Fine. I know where to send the Bludger," Stephen said, adjusting his grip on his Beater's bat. "Don't worry about me."

"Alright. Watch Scarlett if you're not sure what to do," Rachel said.

"I know what to do, Scarlett taught me well," Stephen said.

Rachel decided to leave it at that as they entered the pitch to the sound of cheering and screaming students. She always felt a wave of nerves when that happened, but she knew she'd feel better once she was in the air.

"Okay, actually, I'm going to be sick," Martin said, pausing to kneel down on the grass and vomit.

Draco shook his head and looked at Rachel.

Rachel shrugged and went over to crouch down next to Martin. "Take a couple of slow breaths. Don't worry about the people on the stands. The only thing that exists is the Quaffle, the goals, the Chasers, and the Keepers. That's all you have to worry about, alright?"

"You don't think you made a mistake, picking me?" Martin asked.

"I don't. You'll do fine. I know you will. I was scared my first time too, but once I got up in the air it was easier. You can do it," Rachel said, hoping she was saying the right things.

Martin nodded and stood up. "I'll try."

Rachel stood as well. "Good. You've got this. Really."

The team continued out to the center of the pitch where Madam Hooch and the Hufflepuff team was waiting. Rachel waited until everyone was in formation before she stepped up to where Cedric was waiting.

"Everything alright?" Cedric asked.

"Just first game jitters. Are you alright?" she asked.

"Pretty good. Last year, so I want to make it count. I'm not going to go easy on you," Cedric said with a smile.

"I wouldn't want you to," Rachel paused and checked that no one was close enough to hear them. "If you and your friends are interested in a Defense study group this year, come talk to me sometime in the next few days. It's top secret though, only people you absolutely trust."

Cedric nodded. "I'll look for you at lunch tomorrow then, before your practice."

"Sounds good." Rachel smiled at him. She was glad she'd gotten to know Cedric these past few years.

"Are we ready?" Madam Hooch asked, coming closer with a frown.

"Good luck," Rachel said, offering Cedric her hand.

"Good luck to you too," Cedric said, shaking her hand.

They both fell back and got into position.

"Clean game, both of you," Madam Hooch called, though she was only looking in the direction of the Slytherin team. "Three. Two. One."

At Madam Hooch's shrill whistle they flew up into the air. Rachel quickly got herself out of the way of the Chasers and went higher so she'd have a good look at the whole pitch.

It was a sunny day, with a slight chill in the air, but it was nothing compared to what the winter would bring. She had good visibility, which would make it easier to find the Snitch, but it was a double-edged sword. It was all about being in the right place at the right time.

Rachel tuned out the sound of the announcer. She trusted her own eyes more than she trusted him. The Hufflepuff Chasers were in possession of the Quaffle - Heidi and Robin if she wasn't mistaken - and were quickly moving toward Miles. A Bludger, sent by Scarlett, disrupted a pass, and Draco swooped in to grab the Quaffle and went back toward the Hufflepuff goal. She found Martin flying along with them, seeming to have gotten over his nerves, and Stephen was across the field, sending a Bludger toward where Eurig was trying to intercept.

Satisfied that her team knew what they were doing, Rachel got to work looking for the Snitch. Cedric was flying slightly lower than she was and was doing a cross search pattern rather than circling the pitch. Rachel preferred either a back and forth pattern or an oval pattern because the Snitch often liked to hide at the end of the pitch, just out of view of the Keepers.

As she flew, she kept a basic awareness of the game that was going on around her. Draco scored, followed by Adrian, Miles blocked a shot by Robin, but then Heidi scored. A Bludger forced her out of her search pattern, but only moments later Stephen flew up to retrieve it, sending it directly at Eurig, who managed to get himself out of the way just in time to avoid a collision.

It was nice to be playing as a Seeker again, but Rachel found that she did miss being in the thick of things as a Chaser, just a little bit.

Cedric passed her once more, clearly entirely focused on finding the Snitch.

Rachel went a little bit faster, but kept her eyes relaxed. It wasn't so much as she was looking directly for the Snitch as she was looking for anything shimmering in the sunlight. The score was 50-30, in Slytherin's favor, when she caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye.

The Snitch was nearly across the pitch from her and she and Cedric were about equidistant, but he was facing the wrong direction. It would be close, but now was the time to act. She took off after the Snitch, pushing her broom as fast as she could.

"And there go the Seekers, Slytherin in the lead but Hufflepuff is rapidly gaining ground," Lee Jordan called.

Rachel ducked beneath a Bludger that had been sent her way and maintained her focus on the Snitch. It didn't matter what Cedric was doing, it mattered what she was doing. The Snitch seemed to want to lead them on a chase because it took off away from both of them. She was barely aware of the screams and cheers coming from the stands. She had to stay in the lead. She was a bit faster, but Cedric had a much longer reach than she did.

The Snitch plunged, trying to evade capture, and Rachel followed, feeling the wind stream against her face. Almost there. The ground was coming up rapidly, but she knew the Snitch would pull up before then and she could pull herself up even going this fast. She flattened herself against the broom, pulling up just in time to avoid the ground and she thrust her hand forward and grabbed the Snitch just as she heard a thud and a groan from behind her.

Pulling a full turn while going that fast nearly did unseat her from her broom, but she managed to slow herself down and drop to the ground. "Cedric! Cedric!"

"I'm okay," Cedric said. "It's just my ankle."

Rachel dropped her broom and ran to his side. "Cedric! How bad is it? We need to get you help!"

Cedric pushed himself up so he was sitting. "I'm fine, Rachel. Really. Just a broken ankle from where I hit the ground too hard. I'm lucky I was nearly parallel to the ground when I hit, or I would have gone flying over my broom."

Rachel knelt down, her heart racing, and she tried to absorb that through the sounds of the crowd. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen."

"It's not your fault. I should have pulled up sooner. Don't worry about it," Cedric said, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Cedric, you fucking idiot! What did I say to you this morning!" Heidi shouted as she landed hard nearby.

"Not to be an idiot," Cedric said, smiling in Heidi's direction, though it was clear from the way his eyes were pinched that he was in pain.

"I said don't pull any stupid stunts and get yourself killed," Heidi said, kneeling down next to Rachel. "How bad is it?"

"Broken ankle and some bruises, I'm fine," Cedric repeated. "Madam Pomfrey will have me put back together before lunch."

"Mr. Diggory, how badly injured are you? Make room, back up, make room," Madam Hooch said as she landed and hurried over to them.

"Ankle. I'm really okay," Cedric said.

Rachel and Heidi moved out of the way as Madam Hooch conjured a stretcher and forced Cedric to lie down.

"I'm really sorry," Rachel said to Heidi. She really hadn't meant for Cedric to get hurt, she just hadn't been thinking about it.

"Not your fault, Rachel. Cedric knows damn well that's a hard move and he should have pulled up earlier," Heidi said, moving to pick up Cedric's broom.

"Rachel!"

Rachel turned and saw her team waiting for her.

"Go on, I'll check on Cedric in a bit, he'll be fine," Heidi said.

"Thanks," Rachel said, deciding that if he wasn't in the Great Hall for dinner she'd go visit him in the hospital wing. She went over to where her team was gathered.

"Nicely done," Draco said, nodding to the Snitch that Rachel had forgotten she was holding.

Rachel nodded, not pleased by what had happened. For a split moment it had been them back in the maze, her screaming Cedric's name as she heard him scream in pain.

"Everyone did well. We'll go over what we need to practice tomorrow," Miles said. "Go shower and get changed, there will be a celebration in the common room."

"I'm just glad it's over," Martin said. "It gets better, right?"

"It does," Adrian said, patting Martin roughly on the shoulder.

Rachel collected her broom, followed them back to the changing rooms, and went inside the girls changing room with Scarlett before sitting down on the bench. This was not how she'd wanted this to go.

"You alright?" Scarlett asked as she began pulling off her bracers.

"Yeah. I'm not sure what I was supposed to do," she said, thinking over it again. She hadn't even thought about the fact that Cedric was right behind her. She'd known where he was, but she'd been so focused on staying ahead of him that she hadn't given it much more thought.

"You did exactly what you were supposed to do, you caught the Snitch. If Cedric knew he couldn't pull out of that dive he should have slowed down or pulled up sooner," Scarlett said, sitting down on the bench opposite of Rachel. "Sometimes people get hurt playing Quidditch. It's a rough game."

Rachel nodded, but it was hard to hear. She couldn't remember anyone getting hurt in any of the other games she'd played, and she thought she would remember something like that.

"Cedric will be alright. Madam Pomfrey probably has already covered him in Bruise Paste and he'll be fine in a few hours. Don't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault to begin with and has an easy fix anyway," Scarlett said, pulling off her shoes and then her shin pads.

"Okay," Rachel said, though she knew it would at least take seeing Cedric up and about before she felt any better about the situation.

"Come on, you can't sit in here all day, at least get changed out of your Quidditch stuff," Scarlett said, grabbing her clothes and heading toward the shower stalls.

Scarlett was right about that at least. Rachel sighed and began the process of getting out of her Quidditch gear, starting with her gloves. She still had other things she needed to do today.


Rachel was only half aware of her breakfast and the chatter around her crashed like waves against her consciousness. It was Sunday, which meant a busy day. First, Ancient Runes homework, then a Potions OWL review where they were going to refresh their memories on ingredient reactions tables. Then lunch. Then Quidditch practice, where she was going to work with Martin on passing and not balking while there were Bludgers in the air. Then History of Magic homework, then a Charms OWL review. Then dinner with Professor Snape. And then, finally, a break in the evening. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with that break yet, but it was entirely possible that she'd fall asleep on top of her bed covers while fully dressed like she'd accidentally did yesterday.

"Dare I ask what that piece of toast did to you?" Draco asked from a little way down the Slytherin table.

"Me?" Rachel asked, realizing that Draco was looking at her.

Draco nodded, his eyebrows raised.

Rachel looked down to find that she had been tearing her piece of toast into tiny pieces. Thank God she hadn't buttered it.

"You alright, Rachel?" Theo asked, also looking down at her plate.

"Fine. Just didn't feel like toast, I guess," she said, though she couldn't say why she had mutilated the toast. She'd been holding it, intending to eat, and just sort of lost track of things.

Draco shook his head slightly and returned his attention to his own breakfast.

Rachel pushed the toast pieces into a small pile and served herself some of the scrambled eggs. She was fine, she decided. Just a little stressed. Besides, it was almost the end of October, and then they only had seven months until their OWLs. It would be fine. "Our NEWT years aren't going to be like this, right?"

"No," Theo said quickly. "Actually, I think we might need to scale back on our studying."

Millie sighed. "I was hoping someone was going to say that."

"What about the chart?" Rachel asked, imagining what Hermione was going to say about them reducing their study time.

"We can still follow the chart, but I think we're going a little too in depth in our study sessions. We're getting plenty of homework. I'm not saying we shouldn't review, I'm saying we shouldn't reteach ourselves all the lessons we've learned in the past four years," he said.

"What about Hermione?" Millie asked.

"Leave that to me. I'll talk to her privately and explain that we're sabotaging ourselves by studying like this. Four classes and four full study sessions a day isn't working and wearing ourselves out by November isn't going to help us pass our OWLs. We simply need an adjustment so that we have the best chance of doing well when June arrives," Theo said with a nod.

When Theo put it that way, it did sound okay. She thought Hermione would listen to that.

She nibbled on a piece of egg and decided she didn't feel like eggs today either. There was still a rasher of cooked bacon nearby, breakfast sausage on a plate beyond that, a serving bowl of oatmeal, with a bowl of blueberries and a bowl of brown sugar to accompany it, another plate of toast, and some fried eggs near the plate of scrambled eggs. None of it looked appealing. She couldn't think of anything that did sound appealing.

Maybe she just wasn't a breakfast person, though she'd been eating breakfast most days during the summer. Her stomach felt okay, but the idea of placing food into it was off-putting somehow. She had no idea what was wrong other than general stress. She knew Severus wanted her to eat, and she knew logically that people needed to eat, but the act of eating was just repulsive at the moment.

"We're starting with Ancient Runes today?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"That's the plan. Professor Babbling said we're doing more rune carving next week. Maybe we should spend the evening after dinner practicing since we haven't done it for a while?" Theo suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," Rachel said. She found that she actually did like carving runes, even though she wasn't very good at it.

"Let's suggest it to the others, I think we're going to want to do that in the study room instead of the common room," Millie said. "I had been looking forward to taking an evening off."

"We can still take an evening off. We can carve from seven to eight, and then have eight until we go to sleep to do whatever," Theo said. "Do you not want breakfast, Rachel?"

"Not really. Do you think carving runes into food is a thing?" Rachel asked absently as she stared at her ruined piece of toast and cold eggs.

"That's a weird idea, but I could see some bakery making a thing out of it. They could sell breads and pastries in the shape of different runes, and you could give them as gifts or share them with people to give them various good fortune," Millie said, smiling briefly before her expression turned more serious. "Do you want to go by the hospital wing and have Madam Pomfrey check you over? You seem to have been feeling like this for a while now."

Rachel frowned. She didn't really want to go to the hospital wing and she was pretty sure there was nothing wrong with her. "I'm okay. I just don't think breakfast agrees with me very much right now. I'll have something for lunch."

"Do you want to get lunch from the kitchens? We could get a few platters of things and take them up to the study room, that way you know there's something on there you like," Theo suggested.

"Maybe," Rachel said, though right now she couldn't think of anything that she'd actually want to eat. Even the idea of chocolate made her stomach roll a little.

"Rachel."

Rachel turned and found Cedric standing nearby. She stood up so she could talk to him without craning her neck so much. "Cedric. How is your ankle?"

"Just fine, Madam Pomfrey mended it pretty much instantly, just with her wand. Gave me some Pain Reliever Potion and some Bruise Paste and I was good as new in a few hours," he said, smiling.

"Good. I'm really sorry about that, Cedric. I just wasn't thinking." Rachel was glad he was better but she still felt bad that it had happened at all.

"No need to worry, it turned out alright. Someday, when we're both finished at Hogwarts, we'll have a rematch, Seeker to Seeker," he said, still smiling fondly.

"Alright. Are you going to try to play professionally? Have you sent letters to scouts?" she asked.

"No. I thought about it, but I don't think the league is the right choice for me. I'll probably follow my father into the Ministry, but my NEWTs will determine where I go. Yesterday, you said I should come see you to talk about things. Is now a good time?"

"Sure," Rachel paused as she tried to figure out where they could go where a group of them could talk privately. "Empty classroom on the first floor, just like last year?"

"Under mostly better circumstances this time," Cedric said, nodding wryly.

"Okay, let me gather everyone, but we probably shouldn't leave the Great Hall all together," Rachel said, glancing at the staff table where she could see Professor Umbridge sitting.

Cedric followed her gaze and nodded. "We'll meet you at the left of the first floor staircase in five minutes then."

Rachel nodded and leaned down to get her bag.

"Let's get the others, I think we can better answer Cedric's questions as a group," Theo said as he stood up.

"I'll grab Luna if you'll get the Gryffindors," Millie said.

"Alright," Rachel said, wondering if Millie was also going to seek out her sister. She hoped not. That still wasn't going very well.

They went to the Gryffindor table and found most of the Quidditch team gathered together.

"Nice dive, just don't pull it on my sister," Fred said as he assessed Rachel.

"Fred!" Ginny shook her head as she stood up. "I can take care of myself and you damn well know I can dive just fine."

"We're just saying, mom will kill us if we let you get hurt. The Howler won't be addressed to you, it will be addressed to us," George said, raising an eyebrow at his sister.

"Won't be much different than all the other Howlers she sends you then, now will it," Ginny said dismissively.

"We're not going as easy on you as Hufflepuff," Angelina called, though she was smiling.

"Good," Rachel called back. The Quidditch rivalries were comfortable now, though she probably would have been intimidated in her first year of playing.

"Okay, Ancient Runes, then Potions," Hermione said as she joined them, her bag slung over one shoulder and carrying two books with her right arm. Neville followed her close behind.

"With a quick stop on the first floor," Theo said quietly once they'd left the Great Hall. "We're recruiting Cedric."

Hermione nodded and glanced in the Great Hall.

Rachel followed where she was looking and found that Millie was trying to talk with her sister again, with Luna standing nearby. "I wish I knew how to fix that," Rachel said. She knew Millie didn't get along well with her sister, but at this point Millie was actively making things worse by seeking out Isobelle.

"Me too," Hermione said, frowning as Millie turned away and headed toward them.

"Don't try. It's a sibling thing. Let Millie decide if she wants us to intervene," Ginny said.

Rachel nodded. It wasn't like she knew what to do about it anyway.

"Alright. Let's go find Cedric," Millie said as she and Luna joined them, Millie's face red though she seemed intent on ignoring what had just happened.

"Yes, let's," Theo said, taking the lead.

They found Cedric, along with his study group of Heidi Macavoy, Martin Beccles, and Roland Abberley waiting for them on the first floor landing.

"Full group, huh?" Heidi asked.

"We wanted to be able to answer any questions you might have," Theo said with a nod.

"The first classroom on the right should be fine, I already checked it," Martin said.

They followed Cedric and his friends and entered the disused classroom. All of the desks had been moved to the side of the room. Theo closed the door behind them and used a locking charm on it.

"Privacy ward, just in case?" Cedric asked.

"Yes, please," Rachel said. There was no sense in not taking precautions. "Can you cast it, mine isn't all that big yet."

"Sure, gather round," Cedric said.

They all gathered in a small circle and watched as Cedric cast the privacy ward, the silver bubble expanding just large enough to encompass them all.

"So, all Cedric would say is that it's a secret Defense group and that we couldn't tell anyone. What's the deal?" Roland asked.

"Well," Hermione began. "Obviously the state of our current Defense curriculum is a mess. We're reviewing on our own, and I'm sure other students are as well, but it's not the same as having an organized practice with a larger group. We've designed a Defense curriculum of our own which is entirely practical, but is mostly based on OWL level spells, which may be a drawback for your group. Still, we figured the practice itself couldn't hurt anyone and wanted to ask if you'd like to join."

"Naturally we have to keep this an absolute secret. We're not sure what Professor Umbridge would do if she found out, but I think detentions would be the least of our worries," Theo added.

"How many people are you thinking of?" Martin asked.

"We've asked a little less than thirty," Rachel said. "It's okay if you don't want to join us, but we wanted to offer in case you did. We just ask that you keep it a secret even if you don't join."

"How often will we be meeting?" Heidi asked, looking interested.

"We're aiming for once a week," Hermione said. "Our intent is to hold them a little bit before curfew on different days of the week, that way we're not running into Quidditch training schedules and we're not in an obvious routine. There are fewer people out in the castle in the evenings, which gives us less of a chance to get caught."

"Seems reasonable," Cedric said, looking at Roland. "What do you think?"

"It's our duty to help the other students, isn't it. We'll have to keep holding our own Defense practices, but I don't see why we can't do this too," Roland said.

Cedric nodded. "I feel the same way. When do we start?"

"We're aiming for the first week of November, but there's something else we'd like you to help with, Cedric. We want to hold a game of Chaser's Folly on the twenty ninth, which should give us a reason to gather a bunch of people on the grounds without any of the professors wondering what we're doing. Would you be one of the people who is playing?" Rachel asked.

Cedric smiled. "Sure. Who else is playing?"

"I am," Ginny said.

"And Adrian from Slytherin. We still need a Ravenclaw player," Millie said.

"Cho will do it. Is it alright if I ask her and Roger?" Cedric asked.

"You're sure they'll keep it a secret?" Theo asked.

Cedric nodded. "I'm sure. They're good people and I know neither of them are happy about the Defense classes."

"That's fine then, though I'm not sure we can take anyone else. I think thirty is about as many people as we can manage," Rachel said.

"I think that's a reasonable number to work with," Roland said. "Can I see your curriculum?"

"Of course, I have it here," Hermione said, bending down to dig in her bag.

Rachel smiled a little bit as she looked over their group. This was really happening. They were going to start a secret Defense club.