"Thanks for the save, Cedric," Bethany told him on the way out. Cedric grinned.

"Anytime, MacCleod. Sure is different from your pa's class, isn't it?" he replied.

"Regrettably so."

"Your father taught potions?" Oliver asked.

She nodded.

"Yeah, always his favorite class. Of course, when he was an exchange student here, Snape was a fellow student."

"Ooh, that must have made things fun," Fred quipped, catching up to the trio."Professor, professor! Snape just gave me a dirty look...oops, sorry, that's just his regular face!"

"He doesn't seem to be that bad," Bethany said.

"Sure, but that's on account of Oliver slapping his hand over your mouth," Cedric told her. Mac stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm off to my next class. I'll catch you later, Bethany! And by the way, tell the boys your amethyst story. I'm sure they'll want to hear it." With that, he disappeared into the crowd of students.

Gryffindor had a free period for the next hour, so Fred, Mac, and Oliver headed to the Great Hall to study and talk.

"George should already be in there. Said he would, anyways," Fred spoke up.

"Amethyst story?" Oliver asked as they spotted George and sat down at the table with him. Bethany rolled her eyes.

"Silly. Don't know why he brought it up."

"Amethyst story?" George repeated. "Wot's that about?"

"Her amulet, most likely," Angelina replied, sitting next to Bethany at the table.

"Study hall, people. Come on!" Percy reprimanded them. George made a face at his older brother. Bethany laughed.

"I suppose I could tell. It's not really that interesting. I mean, just a sort of ghost story."

"You had ghosts at Cowlings?" Lina asked.

"We have them here at Hogwarts. Big deal," Fred retorted.

"The ghosts weren't at the school. At a local plantation, for one. Among many other places. Louisiana is known as one of the most spiritual and supernatural spots in North America. I'm speaking of the Myrtles Plantation. It was just down the road from the school. Of course, Muggles don't know the school is close by. All they see are woods and swamps and such. Beautiful there," Bethany started.

"What does that have to do with your amulet?" Oliver questioned.

"Everything. Amethysts are a sign of strength, the stone of spirituality and contentment. What else is magic about than bestowing that upon the user?" Mac cocked her eyebrow. The rest of the group looked around at one another.

"Well...I suppose...it's a way of life," Angelina finally said.

"Stability?" Mac stated. Lina nodded. "Yet another characteristic of the amethyst."

"No offense, Mac, but so what?" George put in, leaning back, arms crossed.

Mac let out an exaggerated breath and rolled her eyes.

"I'm just saying that such things can aid a witch or wizard immeasurably. My father gave this to me when I was eleven, right after being accepted into Cowlings. It was his grandmother's, and formerly his cousin's. She died around ten years ago."

"Who was your cousin? Did she go to Hogwarts or Cowlings?" Oliver asked.

"She attended Hogwarts. Lily was a magnificent witch. Powerful...but not strong enough, even with this amulet."

"Whoa, whoa. Lily? Died about ten years ago?" Percy repeated, coming up behind his brothers. Bethany glanced up and nodded. "Ringing any bells for anyone else?"

Oliver's eyes narrowed.

"Lily...Potter?" he said hesitantly.

"The one and only," Bethany replied, matter-of-fact.

"So that would mean-" Fred started.

"-that Harry Potter is your second cousin?" George finished, eyes wide. The others gawked.

"Have you ever met him?" Angelina wondered excitedly.

Bethany held up her hands.

"Calm down. Second cousin. Barely blood. I never met Lily. I've never met Harry. Our families have had no contact with one another. Growing up, Lily and my father were quite close, that's why he transferred to Hogwarts for a while. Then there was some big family blow up that I never got the chance to figure out the why, but it happened. When Lily died that fateful night, Professor Dumbledore gave the amulet to my father, somehow. He knew she wouldn't want it passed on to her horrid sister. Anyway, even before Lily died, there was some huge argument in the family. My father went back to the United States, after he'd met my mother. They were in their sixth year then, Lily, my mother, and my father, along with James Potter and others. They kept in touch, my father and mother, through owls, and soon after they graduated school, my mother moved to the US where my father soon accepted a position teaching at Cowlings. Shortly after that, they were married, and then I was born. Lily and my dad lost touch, talking only occasionally, but never finding time to visit. Then He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named came along and, well, the rest is history. What child of the non- Muggle world hasn't heard of Harry Potter?"

"Good point," Oliver commented.

"Wow...so, well, does it work? Like, protect you? Make you stronger?" Fred asked eagerly. George gave him a playful shove.

"It didn't exactly save Lily Potter, did it now?" he answered. Bethany glared at him.

"None of that really matters to me. I mean, maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. But my father gave it to me. And that's what makes this amethyst so important," she replied.