Jinx was grateful that she had managed to avoid a certain Third-Year Slytherin for two weeks, but it seemed that her luck eventually ran out. Penny had caught a cold and had to rest in the Hospital Wing, which left Jinx without a Potions partner. Snape decided that the best course of action would be to place Jinx at a table with Merula, Merula's lackey Ismelda Snyde, and Barnaby Lee (who had been separated from Jackson Hall after melting a third pot).

"Welcome back to Hogwarts," Merula sneered. "How did it feel to be publicly humiliated by Dumbledore at the feast?"

"I'd rather not start another year with another argument," Jinx said with a tight-lipped smile, acutely aware that Snape was hovering within earshot at the table next to them. She made eye contact with Rowan, who gave her an apologetic smile before returning to her cauldron to make sure Tonks hadn't knocked anything over.

"Of course. And don't worry about Dumbledore and the Cursed Vaults," Merula added. "I'll open them all before you even have a chance to find them. With the help of my new associates Barnaby and Ismelda here, all of the fortune and glory in the vaults will be mine."

Jinx resisted the urge to snort at the use of "associates", as it seemed that Ismelda and Barnaby were less than ideal with helping Merula with the Vaults, but she didn't say anything and instead focused on copying the first set of notes for the day. Snape seemed to be in an extra-grumpy mood, as his writing was slightly messier than usual. The class period seemed to drag on for an unusually long period of time; Jinx despised theoretical Potions classes for this very reason.

"What do you think is inside the next Cursed Vault?" Barnaby asked as he fiddled around with a broken quill, having given up on taking notes a while ago. It wasn't too much of a distraction as Snape was spending the last minute of the class reviewing the basic set-up of the Pepper-Up Potion. He had taken out his cauldron and had started a small fire under it, emphasizing the small flame size.

"I hope it's something that can bring back the Dark Lord," Ismelda said gleefully. Jinx gave her a strange look.

"Maybe it's something that can bring back Raider's brother," Merula added. "On second thought, no one cares about that loser."

"Honestly Merula, give it a break," Jinx finally snapped, turning to face Merula. "If I were you I'd shut your mouth unless you want to duel again."

"Ha! You wish," Merula snorted. "You just got lucky, Raider. Next time we duel, you'll be begging for mercy."

"Didn't you beg a bit when Jinx beat you?" Barnaby said softly. "I remember you crying, but I could've sworn you begged a bit too."

Jinx couldn't help but giggle at that. Barnaby's lack of a filter amused her, especially since it was at the expense of Merula's dignity. Even the way he said it wasn't mocking or mean in any way; it sounded as if he was simply recalling a past memory, a gentle thought.

Merlua didn't seem to take Barnaby's comments too kindly as her face turned as bright as the flames under Snape's demonstration potion. "Shut up Barnaby," she snapped, trying to regain some sense of composure. "Let's go. This loser isn't worth our time," Merula said, sending a withering look in Jinx's direction.

The moment Snape dismissed the class, Merula and Ismelda marched out of the classroom. Jinx chuckled to herself as she watched them leave. Personally, she was in no rush to pack her things up, taking the time to arrange her notes neatly back into her bookbag. To her surprise, Barnaby Lee stayed back, still fiddling with his quill.

He sat next to Jinx in silence for a minute before frowning. "If you mess with Merula, I'll vanish all the bones in your body," he informed Jinx evenly.

Jinx cocked her head and scrutinized him. What an interesting fellow. "Why are you friends with her?" Jinx asked, ignoring his "threat" - as it stood, she was not concerned in the slightest about Barnaby Lee's magical abilities. "She's terrible to everyone," Jinx continued to say, closing the lid of her inkpot. She looked directly at Barnaby, who looked as if he was chewing the inside of his cheek.

From the corner of her eye, Jinx could see Penny and Rowan packing their things up. She made eye contact with Rowan, who gave her a confused look. Jinx waved towards the door, signaling to her friends that they could go ahead without her.

"If what's inside the vaults will make me stronger, then I want it," Barnaby began to say slowly, bringing Jinx's gaze back to him. "Merula is the most cunning witch in Hogwarts. The only way I'll ever get into the vaults is to do exactly what she says."

"Is that what she told you?"

"Yeah," Barnaby replied immediately.

Jinx raised an eyebrow. "Seems a bit convenient, don't you think?"

Barnaby didn't say anything to this. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. After a few moments, Barnaby grinned brightly at Jinx. She was slightly taken aback by how….happy Barnaby looked. "Don't try to make me think, Raider," Barnaby joked, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

Jinx held his gaze for a few seconds before Snape interrupted her.

"Do you two plan on staying here all day?" Snape asked, annoyed but not malicious.

"Not at all, Professor, I'm hungry right now and there's no snacks in here," Barnaby said.

"Well then, you ought to leave."

"Right on, Professor," Jinx grinned. She had finished packing and headed out of the classroom, Barnaby following close behind her. She could hear his stomach growling and had to stifle a laugh.

"I've got the door," Barnaby said, holding the door open for her.

"Thanks," Jinx said. He followed after her, shutting the door softly behind him.

The two paused again. "Well, see you around, Raider," Barnaby finally said, scratching the back of his head. "You know, you aren't as awful as Merula says you are."

"I know," Jinx said impulsively, flashing him a grin. She then turned on her heel and walked down the dungeon hallway back to the Hufflepuff Common Room.

Barnaby Lee was certainly a strange fellow.


The first Hogsmeade trip was getting closer, and an excited buzz filtered amongst the Third-Years. Not even the scattered appearances of Boggarts and strange dark clouds throughout the castle could dampen the excitement that every Third-Year felt. Jinx was less excited than the rest of her peers, as she had spent almost the entire summer working in the village, but she still looked forward to spending the day with Penny, Rowan, and Tonks. She also planned on stopping by Ceridwen's to say hi to Atticus and Coretta, and to pick up a spare cauldron (the troublesome duo of Barnaby Lee and Jackson Hall had melted yet another pot).

But to prepare for the day of fun, Rowan insisted on dragging Jinx to the library so they could start getting ahead of schoolwork a whole month before the trip. Jinx was reluctant to do extra work but didn't mind spending the extra time with Rowan. Ever since Rowan had begun taking a full load of classes, she had spent most of her spare time in the library, and Jinx had seen less and less of her during their few free hours. Most nights by the time Jinx and Penny had fallen asleep, Rowan was just starting to make the trek back down to the dorms from the library.

So Jinx was not at all disappointed when Rowan asked to do a joint study session in the library. As Jinx made her way up to the library after picking up her books from her room, a familiar sour voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Wipe that smug, confident expression off your face, Miss Raider. Just where do you think you're going?" Snape asked, curling his lip.

"The library to study," Jinx replied evenly.

"The library? On such a fine afternoon?" Snape asked, suspicion lacing his voice.

"Yes, with the Hogsmeade trip coming up I'm trying to get ahead of my schoolwork," Jinx explained, hoping that Snape would see the sense in her statement.

"Hogsmeade?"

"Yes, Hogsmeade," Jinx said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "See, I have my permission slip here." She made a point of taking the permission slip out of her bag and waving the piece of parchment in the air. But Snape just raised an unamused eyebrow and plucked the parchment from Jinx's fingers.

"Permission slip? It is my pleasure to inform you that you are banned from Hogsmeade, even with your little permission slip."

Jinx's mouth dropped open slightly. Who was Snape to ban her from going to Hogsmeade? "What? That's not fair! You can't do that, you're not even my Head of House!" Jinx insisted.

"Watch me," Snape sneered. "With all of the school rules you have broken, you should feel fortunate that your lack of self-control hasn't gotten you expelled yet."

"I saved Hogwarts," Jinx argued back.

"You risked lives," Snape countered, "and did nothing that Dumbledore couldn't have accomplished during teatime."

"Then why didn't he?"

At this, Snape paused, as if he didn't have a good answer either. He was saved from answering by the timely appearance of Professor Sprout, who was carrying a large, potted blue flower with iridescent petals.

"Severus, Miss Raider, what seems to be the issue here?" Sprout asked, gently placing the flowerpot on the ground.

"Professor Sprout!" Jinx said, happy to see her Head of House. Sprout was reasonable, and was more likely to be on her side than Snape's if House loyalty meant anything. "Is it true that I'm not allowed to go to Hogsmeade?" she asked.

Sprout sighed and gave Jinx a look of pity. "That is something being discussed by the Headmaster and the Faculty. Your track record has shown that you have the tendency to make irresponsible decisions, and Hogsmeade is a privilege."

"I understand, Professor," Jinx said, taking care to sound as patient and accepting as she possibly could in this difficult moment, "but I'm genuinely working hard to try to behave better."

Sprout gave her a weak smile. "I trust that you are. If you want to earn Hogsmeade privileges, you will need to study diligently and stay away from this Cursed Vault business."

"I know that I can study hard, Professor, thank you."

"And what about the Cursed Vaults?" Sprout asked, her voice growing harsher.

"I expect Professor Dumbledore will have that issue solved by suppertime," Jinx retorted, unable to hold that back. "Thank you, Professors, now I ought to begin my Transfiguration homework."

As she turned to leave to go to the library, Jinx could just imagine Sprout sputtering and sighing and Snape rolling his eyes. It seemed like she would have to find a different way to get back into Hogsmeade. So now the question was what, or perhaps who, could get her into the village in a way that wouldn't be seen as a privilege….

"You talked back to Snape?" Rowan gasped when Jinx finally settled down into the seat next to her. It had taken her a while to find Rowan, who was in the very back of the library at a table with two other Third-Years: Corey Hayden, a Ravenclaw who was dealing with a pair of broken glasses, and Sadie Ross, a Gryffindor who was flipping through Witch Weekly. "I'm surprised he didn't turn you into a toad!" Rowan continued.

"It's fine. I'll just have to pay extra attention in class and study until my eyes melt," Jinx said cheerfully.

"Well I'm getting a head start on reading," Rowan announced. "There are literally tens of thousands of books in the Hogwarts Library. I don't know if I'll have time to read them all, but I'll try."

"Rowan Khanna," Madam Pince, the librarian, scolded, "the fact that you spend more time here than any other student doesn't mean you can disobey the rules."

Rowan groaned. "Ugh, Pince is always shushing me because I'm always too excited to remember to keep my voice down."

Right on cue, Madam Pince's head snapped back towards Rowan as she shushed them loudly. Sadie Ross covered her mouth so the librarian wouldn't see her giggle.

"Maybe we should quiet down," Jinx laughed quietly. "Madam Pince seems irritated."

Instead of studying, Jinx decided to call upon one of her connections in Hogsmeade: the marvelous Madam Rosmerta. She figured if Madam Rosmerta, whom she knew to be close with Professor Sprout, could vouch for her and ask if she could continue to work there on the weekends, then Sprout would be more inclined to let her go.

By the time she finished the letter and a Potions essay, the sun had already set. Jinx said goodbye to Rowan, who was still hunched over an Ancient Runes dictionary. She left the library quickly, feeling Madam Pince's gaze burning into her back. Jinx didn't want to stay out too late, so she practically ran up to the Owlery so she could deliver the letter.

The Owlery was relatively empty, which made sense considering it was nearly dinnertime. Jinx ran into Sebastian and Aiden, who were talking about a Fourth-Year Hufflepuff who told them that he had found Snape in the supply cabinet in Potions Class, but then realized it was just a Boggart. After chatting for a few more moments, Sebastian and Aiden headed down for dinner, which left Jinx almost alone.

"Hey Andre," Jinx waved at the Ravenclaw boy who was tying a package to an elegant eagle owl.

"Jinx!" Andre grinned upon seeing her. "How're you doing?"

"Good, good. A little tired, but that's probably because I've been studying all afternoon," Jinx replied, seeking out Penny's owl.

"Me too. I'm here to ship some silk scarves back to my family," Andre said. He finally successfully tied the package to the owl's leg. It nipped at its fingers before flying off into the night, perfectly silhouetted against the moon.

"Silk? That's fancy. I can't possibly imagine anyone would need a silk scarf," Jinx said.

Andre laughed at this. "Clothes make the wizard. My philosophy is the better you look, the better you feel, the better you are at whatever you do," Andre explained. "For me, that's Quidditch. For you, that's curse-breaking."

"You know about that?" Jinx asked, scrunching her eyebrows together. She wasn't sure how she felt about her curse-breaking adventures being so well-known. Although she supposed she should've expected it, considering the fact that even the newspapers were reporting on it over the summer.

"Everyone does!" Andre said, confirming Jinx's thoughts. "Cursed ice trapped me in the Quidditch Changing Rooms last year. When you broke the curse on that vault, you freed me and saved my life."

"Well, I didn't do it alone," Jinx said quietly, unsure of how to respond.

"Still, I owe you a massive thank you," Andre said, giving Jinx a warm smile. "It means that I can play Quidditch again, which is all I've ever wanted."

"Yeah, I saw you guys demolish us in the first game this week," Jinx laughed. She remembered how disappointed the entirety of her house was after that loss. For days after, Sebastian had insisted that if he wasn't merely the reserve Beater, they would have won for sure.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Andre grinned, clearly not feeling sorry at all. "Can't help that Raymond is an amazing Captain."

Once Jinx found Penny's owl and made sure that the letter was properly attached, she and Andre left the Owlery together. While Andre went on about Quidditch, Jinx could only hope that Rosmerta would approve of her request to work Saturday shifts at the inn, allowing her to go into Hogsmeade as she pleased.


A few days later during breakfast, Penny's owl came barrelling into the Great Hall. It knocked over the tall glass of orange juice that Lenny was preparing to drink, spilling the juice all over Lenny and Sebastian, who was unfortunately sitting next to him.

"Penny! Control your creature!" Lenny shrieked, bringing the entire Hufflepuff table to laughter.

"Yeah! That's my sweater Sebastian's wearing and got dirtied," Aiden huffed, dabbing at the sweater Sebastian was wearing.

The owl landed neatly on Jinx's shoulder, and she thanked it as she took the letter from its claws.

"Why's it nice to you?" Lenny complained, watching the bird give Jinx a gentle pat on its head.

"I give him food," Jinx replied, giving the owl a bite of bacon.

"Don't feed Toffee so much food," Penny laughed, "else he'll grow fat."

"With a name like Toffee, I think that's his destiny," Sebastian smiled.

"Sorry about the juice, Seb," Penny apologized to Sebastian. "Toffee gets excited when Jinx sends him on errands."

"Oi, what about me?!" Lenny spluttered.

Jinx ripped open the letter upon seeing the letter was from Madam Rosmerta. To her delight (and what she could imagine to her professors' disappointment), Madam Rosmerta promptly got back to Professor Sprout, putting in a work request for Jinx. This letter was simply to let her know she could start her first shift the following weekend, as long as Jinx managed to get to the inn a few hours before Hogwarts students started coming in. She quickly wrote out a response to Madam Rosmerta, confirming that she'd be happy to work, and sent Toffee on his way with another bite of bacon.

"I can't believe that worked," Rowan said as she finished up her piece of toast.

"Me neither," Jinx grinned.

So for the rest of the week, Jinx felt that she could successfully match the excited energy of the Third Year class. The night before the Hogsmeade trip, the Third-Year Hufflepuffs sat around the fireplace, chatting about what they wanted to do in the village. Jinx had brought out what remained of her birthday candy from the week before (Raul had outdone himself this year with the candy delivery), and everyone was enjoying the American sweets provided. Of course, that meant the first shop that everyone wanted to go to was Honeydukes.

The first location that Jinx would be going to, of course, would be the Three Broomsticks. Madam Rosmerta had told Jinx that she would have to get there as early as down. Unfortunately, Jinx had stayed up late the previous night to work on an Ancient Runes translation assignment, but the tiredness wasn't anything a combination of hot coffee and Pepper-Up Potion couldn't cure. The early morning sunlight streamed in through the common room windows, illuminating the shiny candy wrappers a gaggle of First-Years had left behind from the previous night. Jinx let her eyes linger on the sunlight before dashing out the door and out towards Hogsmeade.

At the entrance to the village, Mr. Filch was waiting. He gave Jinx a dirty look as she walked past him, but he made no move to stop her. Madam Rosmerta had evidently informed all of the Hogwarts staff of Jinx's special arrangements. And it was also evident that most of the staff was not very pleased with said arrangements, nor were they entirely certain how Jinx had managed to procure them.

Jinx felt comfort in the familiarity of the Three Broomsticks. She recalled how although the work could be chaotic at the Inn, it gave her mind a rest from school. And she felt so very happy inside when she saw Rosmerta's face light up when she walked through the door.

"Jinx, my darling, I'm so happy you're here," Rosmerta said as she embraced Jinx. The warm smell of cinnamon and bread and Rosmerta's flowery perfume washed over Jinx and she immediately relaxed.

"I'm happy to be here too," Jinx smiled.

"Come, I already have work for you to do."

And so, Rosmerta led Jinx to the kitchens, where a tub of dirty glasses and mugs awaited them.

"I have a question, Rosmerta," Jinx began hesitantly while the two cleaned and dried the cups. "A question about my brother."

"Your brother?" Rosmerta repeated, furrowing her eyebrows together. She placed the next clean glass down more slowly on the cloth.

"Yes, what do you remember of Jacob?"

"Well, darling," Rosmerta said slowly, carefully, "I remember many things. He was a quiet boy. Sweet. He spent a lot of time at the bar, scribbling in Muggle notebooks."

"Notebooks?!" Jinx echoed.

"Aye. Then one day, a pair of Ministry Aurors grabbed him by the hood of his robes and dragged him out the door. The only thing he left behind was a black quill."

Another black quill? What if Jacob had Transfigured that quill into a message too? Jinx tried to calm her breathing before asking, "Rosmerta, would you still happen to have that quill?"

"Settle down," Rosmerta chuckled, noting the sudden spark of energy in Jinx's voice. "I don't throw anything out, so I'm sure it's here somewhere. I'll look in the back, but it may take me a few days to find anything. It's a mess in there, and no charm in the world could tidy it up. I can actually look now if you start up with the morning customers."

"Thank you so so much!"

"I'll get to it," Rosmerta laughed. "And I trust that you know what to do.

"I sure do," Jinx said, giving Rosmerta a salute.

This morning rush was unlike one Jinx had ever witnessed. Not only was there the usual weekend commotion, but also the added energy of a rush of Hogwarts students. Jinx recognized many of the students, and in turn many recognized her as well, giving her a friendly wave, or more often a puzzled look as to why she was running around with plates full of food and goblets of Butterbeer.

Jinx gave herself a short break when she saw Rowan, Penny, and Ben enter the Inn. She quickly waved them over to an empty table while Rosmerta was distracted with giving a group of Seventh-Years their drinks.

"Hi guys!" Jinx greeted, placing down extra-frothy glasses of Butterbeer in front of them.

"Jinx! I didn't know you were still working here," Ben said as he took a sip of the Butterbeer.

"A little extra money never hurt anyone," Jinx grinned. "Anything you guys want, just let me know. It's on me!"

"In that case, I'll take the butter chips then," Penny said.

"And I'll take like four more glasses of this," Rowan called out, splashing a bit of the drink onto her glasses.

"Coming right up!" Jinx called out before running to clean up the newly-emptied tables.

After her friends had left, time seemed to fly by. Rosmerta wasn't lying when she mentioned in her letter she could use the help that Jinx offered. Jinx had never felt more tired at the end of the shift, but her mind was still very sharp and focused on the one thing she had come here in the first place for.

"You've been a huge help, Jinx," Rosmerta said as the two swept the floors. The Inn had been closed for some time now, and Jinx was just helping Rosmerta clean up the last few things before heading back to the castle. "I'm going to ask Professor Dumbledore to reward Hufflepuff with House Points. As for the real reason why you're here, here you go. It took me a while, but I finally found your brother's black quill."

Rosmerta wiped her hands on her apron before pulling out a delicate black quill.

"Thank you very much, Rosmerta," Jinx said as sincerely as she could. She gently plucked the feather out of Rosmerta's hands. She placed the quill on one of the tables and pointed her wand at it. "Reparifarge pluma," she murmured, imagining the quill turning into a book, a note, a map, anything.

When she opened her eyes, she caught a glimpse of gold dust as the quill Transfigured back into a small, leather-bound notebook.

"Wow," Rosmerta breathed out softly. "I didn't know that's why you wanted to find the quill so badly.

Before Jinx could reply, the door to the inn opened loudly and a man stormed into the room, snatching the book off of the table. "Don't believe you'll be keeping it anytime soon, eh? That notebook, I'll be taking it from you now!"

Jinx narrowed her eyes at this. "Excuse me, Mr. Filch, but that notebook belongs to me," she initiated, reaching out to grab the notebook.

"Not anymore," Filch grinned, baring his yellowed canines. "I'll be addin' it to the collection of confiscated contraband in my office. Professor Snape's orders. Anything related to the Cursed Vaults is to be kept away from students.. for their safety, of course."

"And what makes you think that's related to the Cursed Vaults?" Jinx demanded, trying to grab at the book again. But Filch was surprisingly agile for such an old-looking man, and he stuffed the book deep into the inside of his jacket pocket.

"Because it has to do with you," Filch replied before storming back out. Jinx made out to run after him, but Rosmerta's firm hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"I'm sorry, Jinx," Rosmerta gave her a pitying look. "I know you did a lot of good hard work to get that notebook."

Jinx didn't have any response to that. She could only stare out the dark of the window and wonder how in the name of Merlin she was going to get that notebook back.