Everyone looked at each other. The chairs weren't quite close enough to one another to really carry on a conversation, so everyone got up and started milling around. Harry, Ron, George, Fred and Daniel all huddled together to talk Quidditch. Hermione approached Ana, Lynne and Reggie. Ginny shoved Neville towards the other boys and joined the girls.
"So, you're a prefect, huh Herm?" Ginny asked. "And you didn't even tell Ron. I'm surprised."
"Well, he didn't tell me he was trying out for keeper," Hermione muttered.
"But you knew anyway. Didn't you?" Ana asked. She smiled at Hermione.
"Of course," Hermione said, "That's not the point."
Reggie and Lynne looked at one another. "We're confused," they said at the same time.
Ginny smiled. "My brother was quite obvious about it. He practiced all summer. His excuse was that he was gonna help Harry."
"Then Harry never got to come over, so the excuse fizzled, but he still practiced." Hermione added.
"Why couldn't he come over?" Lynne asked.
Hermione and Ginny exchanged a glance with Ana. Ana knew Harry's history because she'd been at the school for the past four years. Ginny cleared her throat, "Family trouble."
"Oh. Right." Reggie said. The girls exchanged a somber look as they remembered.
After a moment Ginny turned back to Hermione. "You didn't tell Harry you were a prefect either.'
"The subject never came up." Hermione said.
"So, I'm the new guy to this group," Daniel said.
"Not really," Fred said.
"We know you," George added.
"We've spent the last five years playing you on the pitch," Fred continued.
"You did." Daniel agreed. The three seventh years sized each other up. Harry looked at Ron, raising his eyebrows.
Then they all broke into grins. "You're not bad," George said, "For a Ravenclaw."
"And you two are great," Daniel said, "For Gryffindors."
"This is ridiculous," Harry said. "What do you suppose we're all doing here?"
"Taking a class, of course." Ron said.
"From someone the same age as the twins, and only a student teacher," Harry said.
"That's right. She is our age." Daniel said. "I forgot. She must have gotten some special training though right?"
"Yeah. She told us she had a lot of animal research as part of her training," Harry said.
"But she didn't tell us where or why," Ron added.
"We're already in an animal husbandry class," Neville said.
"Huh?" Ron looked confused.
"Care of Magical Creatures," Neville said, smiling at Ron. "So this class won't be anything like that."
"What do you mean Neville?" Harry asked.
"We were trying to figure out what she's gonna teach us right?" Neville asked.
"I guess," Daniel said, "But why wonder? She's about to tell us."
Sure enough Rose was back. She was carrying a small velvet bag, and her wand. "All right everyone, please move to stand in a circle. Your dannikits should sit in your chairs. They know what to do."
"How do they know?" Reggie asked. "I mean we just got ours at lunch, how would they already know what to do for a spell?"
"This is their naming. It's something they are taught about by their mother. At least the ones that will go through it are." Rose smiled at her kit. It waved a paw at her.
"You mean they don't all go through this?" Hermione asked.
"No. In fact, only these twelve from the litter will participate in the naming. The others will just be named by their companions," Rose explained. She waved a hand at their dannikits.
"Well, what do we have to do now?" Fred asked. He glanced back at his kit. She was staring at him, blue-eyes wide in her tiny face. In fact, all the dannikits were now sitting up in their chairs, with eyes fixed on their respective companions. "What the…?"
"They know what's going on," Rose said. "I want no talking. It's crucial to the ceremony." She looked at Shadow. The cat leapt from its chair and approached Ginny's chair. She joined the dark brown dannikit in its chair. His eyes remained on Ginny. "Ginny, turn and face your kit." Ginny did so. Rose moved over and handed her something from the velvet bag. "Feed it to him." She held out the tiny item to the kit. It took it from her hand and ate it. There was no sound.
Then there was a rumble of thunder. Ginny's kit tensed up. It opened its mouth and a single word came out. "Erian." The mouth closed, and the kit relaxed. Ginny and everyone else stared at the kit. Ron's mouth was hanging open. Rose smiled.
"Ginny, meet Erian. He will be your companion for life," Rose said. "Sit down and get to know one another." Ginny reached out for the kit. Shadow leapt from the chair to join Neville's kit on his. Ginny scooped up Erian and sat down in the chair, snuggling him. Rose smiled again.
She moved to Neville and repeated the process. His chocolate-colored dannikit became Andra. Instead of waiting for Neville to pick her up, Andra leapt into his arms, whirring. This earned her a disapproving glare from Shadow before the naming continued.
Ana's blue-gray kit became Segan. He remained seated sedately, until she picked him up. Then he wriggled happily in her arms.
Reggie's white and gray swirled kit became Ikarus. His tail lashed across the chair until she picked him up.
Lynne's creamy kit became Anondir. He stretched lazily into her arms.
Daniel's shorthaired brown kit became Phantom. Her silver-blue eyes glinted as he picked her up.
Before each name was said, there was a low rumble of thunder. There was a loud clap of that thunder as Harry's black kit became Kali'na. She twitched her tail and mewled at him. When he picked her up she stretched a paw to tap his scar, and whirred faintly.
Ron's red kit blinked her bright blue eyes at him, as she became Fianna.
Hermione's light brown kit became Nildur. When she picked him up, he immediately tangled himself in her hair.
Fred smiled happily, as his fluffy gold kit became Solida.
There were grins all around, as George's kit became Lunia. The similarities behind the names were unmistakable. And finally they came to Rose.
Shadow had been with every kit as their names were said. She finally joined Rose's. Their postures were identical. Seated primly on their haunches with their tails wrapped around their front paws. Rose fed him the small item and the red kit opened his mouth, "Vestan." Rose went slightly pale. She dropped the now empty bag to the floor and stared at Vestan and Shadow. Shadow moved to the next empty chair and Rose scooped up Vestan with shaking hands. No one seemed to notice as she sank into her chair. The room was filled with the sound of whirring Dannikits. Vestan nuzzled her chin, and Shadow climbed into her lap. She closed her eyes.
They sat that way, while everyone cuddled their kits. After a time Rose opened her eyes and looked around. George was looking at her, but everyone else was focused on his or her own kits. He brought his eyebrows together worriedly. Her eyes had gone gray. Lunia blinked at her. Rose blinked quickly and gold swirled into her eyes, though some of the gray remained. "Are you alright?" George asked.
Rose nodded. "I'm fine," She cleared her throat, "Okay everyone, I suppose you'd all like to know what this class will be focusing on." There were nods and affirmative noises from around the room. She looked down at Shadow. The cat jumped neatly to the empty chair next to her. Vestan climbed to her shoulder and wrapped his tail around her braid for balance. Rose smiled at them all. "This is a class never before taught at Hogwarts. Nor is it likely to be taught here again, unless I continue to do so. In this class you will learn to defend yourself in unconventional ways, even by magical standards." She grinned at their surprised expressions. They had their kits in laps and on shoulders, or in Harry's case, the top of his head.
"Like what?" Hermione asked. Nildur was still tangled in her hair, only his tail visible. She was vainly trying to remove him.
Ron put a hand on her arm. "Just leave him for Merlin's sake!" Surprisingly, Hermione desisted.
Rose smiled again and held out her hand, palm up. "Let me show you," she said. She stared into her palm. A small flame appeared in it. The class gasped.
"But… you didn't even say a spell!" Ana exclaimed. Segan looked as surprised as she did. He stared at the flame, pale green eyes unblinking.
"She didn't use her wand either," Fred said, gaping.
"How…" was all Harry managed to get out because Kali'na had swished her tail around until the tip ended up almost in his mouth.
"I'm going to teach you how to do this…" Rose smiled, "And this." She focused once again on the flame. It tripled in size. Then suddenly she threw it across the room at the wall. A scorched mark appeared where it hit. The flame reappeared in her hand. She looked around. "That's just a sample. A very minor one."
Daniel grinned. "This is gonna be fun." Phantom trilled at him. His sisters rolled their eyes.
"You're going to teach us how to throw fireballs?" Neville asked. He looked a trifle nervous. Andra popped her head out from inside his shirt to gaze at the dancing flame.
"That and much more Neville," Rose said.
"We're learning offensive tactics now," Ginny said suddenly. "Instead of just defensive ones."
Rose nodded. "That's right." She tossed the fire up into the air and caught it again easily, like a tennis ball. She grinned at the astonished expressions on their faces. She closed her fist and the flame disappeared. "Now, I'll show you more next class. I believe you all have another class to go to?" There was a long silence. "Well? Get going or you'll be late!" She laughed brightly as they all stood to go. Daniel, Fred, Harry and Ron went to the scorch mark on the wall. They inspected it closely, talking amongst themselves before Hermione and Ginny shooed them out the door.
Ana, Reggie, Lynne, Neville and George remained behind. Ana shook her head at the mark on the wall, turned and looked at Rose again. "This will certainly be interesting." She smiled and disappeared out the door.
The twins approached Rose. "Are you sure we are in the right class?" Lynne asked.
Reggie continued, "We're only first years… and way behind the others."
Rose smiled. "You wouldn't have even gotten the class on your schedule if you weren't supposed to be here. Or gotten into the room for that matter. Besides, I don't think you two are as far behind as you think." She winked at them. " I'll see you around alright?" They nodded and left, cuddling their kits.
Neville cleared his throat, "Are we still having that lesson this evening Rose?"
"Of course Neville. I'll meet you in the common room an hour before dinner okay?" Rose smiled reassuringly. Vestan whirred at him.
Neville sighed with relief. "Okay. Thank you." Andra waved a paw over his shoulder at her as he turned to leave.
Rose looked at George. Her smile faded at his expression. "What's wrong?" He asked pointedly.
She sighed. "I told you I was fine."
"You forgot how your eyes betray your feelings Rose. The others were too far away to see, but I saw the worry, and your trembles. What's going on?" George said.
Rose scowled. "I don't remember you being this nosy." Vestan whirred in her ear.
"Four years changes things," George said.
"Yes, I suppose it does," Rose agreed. She sat down again and looked up at him. Her eyes were more gray than gold now. "I can't tell you yet. It's not that I don't want to… It's that I don't quite know myself." She smiled a bit. "Will that satisfy you Mr. Weasley?"
George grinned back. "Only if you are listening in on my next class."
"And what is your class?"
"History of Magic."
"Oh no." A look of mild horror swept over her face.
"Oh yes. Come on Professor." Laughing, he pulled her, ignoring her protests, from her chair and out the door. Vestan and Lunia clutched precariously to their shoulders.
They caught up to Fred in the hallway. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Your brother is kidnapping me," Rose said, glaring at George. He still held her arm.
"Oh," Fred said. "Need a hand?"
"Yes!" Rose exclaimed. She smiled gratefully at him.
Fred grinned and took her other arm. Fred looked at George. "So, where are we taking her?" he asked.
"What!?!?" she exclaimed, starting to struggle. Vestan made a faint mewling sound and she went still.
"You didn't really expect him to turn against me did you?" George asked, smiling at her. To his brother, "We're taking her with us to class."
Lunia looked at Rose. The gray was gone from her eyes. Instead green and a little blue had filtered in. Rose looked back at the kit. "This is beyond ridiculous," she muttered. The white kit yawned cutely. Solida looked at her from Fred's shoulder. If anyone had asked her, Rose would have sworn that Solida winked at her. But no one asked.
The twins strong-armed Rose down the corridor. As they reached a more populated area, she stopped resisting and hissed at them, "I have to look respectable!" They loosened their holds on her arms. To a casual observer it appeared that they were merely escorting her to class as they had to last night's dinner. Had anyone looked more closely, they might have noticed the green flecks in her eyes, and the flush to her cheeks. An even closer observer would also notice the blue swirls in her eyes. But no one was looking that closely.
"He may not want me in his class again," Rose whispered to the twins.
"And why not?" Fred asked curiously.
"Because I observed his class yesterday," Rose answered.
"That was a fifth year class… this is a seventh year class." George returned.
"But, I'll be a distraction," Rose protested.
The twins looked at each other over her head and grinned. "Exactly," they said together. They continued through the halls.
Meanwhile, the trio and Neville made their way to the Transfiguration classroom. Daniel, Ana, Reggie, Lynne and Ginny left them with cheerful waves and went on to their own classes. As they walked down the hall, Harry noticed the many curious glances they were getting from fellow students. "Why do you suppose they are staring at us?" he asked the others. Kali'na was still perched on the top of his head, front paws on his scar, tail wrapped around his neck.
"I don't know," Ron said. Fianna was curled in the crook of his arm, blue eyes watching the passing students avidly.
"I don't like it," Neville said. Andra had retreated to his shirtfront again, only her ears visible. They twitched at every sound. In the noisy hallway, they were moving constantly.
"It's probably just the kits they're staring at," Hermione said. Nildur extricated a paw from her hair just long enough to tap her nose. Hermione blinked. He drew the paw back into her hair. "That was quite a ruckus they caused in the Great Hall."
"Yes, but why are they staring at us?" Harry asked. "We weren't even there until the end."
"Maybe that's why then. Because we weren't there, yet we still have kits." Hermione continued. Nildur's paw came out and tapped her nose again. Ron almost laughed, but her frown stopped him. Hermione paused in the hall. The others stopped as well. When the paw appeared again, she said, "Nildur, not now." The paw stopped in midair and retreated into her hair again.
"He understood you!" Ron exclaimed.
"Of course he did," Hermione said, starting down the hall again.
"Wait a second… How could he understand you?" Harry asked. "OW!" He reached up and grabbed Kali'na. He turned her to face him and squinted at her from behind his glasses.
"What happened?" Neville asked. He had one hand on Andra, the other holding his bookbag to his shoulder.
"She scratched me!" Harry exclaimed.
"Of course she did," Hermione said. "You insulted her intelligence." Nildur waved a paw at Harry from inside her hair. One of his seven claws was visible.
Harry blinked and looked back at Kali'na. Her green eyes were wide in her tiny face. "I… didn't mean to…" Harry started. She wriggled and trilled at him. "That's a new sound." She did it again. He smiled, and put her back on his head. She covered his scar again with her paws, re-wrapped her tail around his neck, and whirred.
"I suppose that settles it then," Ron said. Fianna yawned cutely.
"Settles what?" Neville asked. Andra wriggled under his shirt. He put a hand on her and she stilled.
"The dannikits are smarter than we gave them credit for… and we're destined to forever be late to the first day of Transfiguration," Ron finished.
"LATE? Oh no!" Hermione exclaimed, she dashed down the hallway again. The boys followed at a more moderate pace. Harry didn't want to unbalance Kali'na, Fianna was still hurt and Andra was… well… not in a very secure position.
They entered the classroom nervously to find… students playing with dannikits. There was no McGonagall in sight. Not even as a gray tabby cat. "What's going on?" Harry asked Seamus Finnagan.
"McGonagall's not here," he said cheerfully. He was tickling his kit's tummy. She was whirring loudly.
"We can see that Seamus. Why isn't she?" Ron asked. Fianna was staring at Seamus' kit as if she disapproved of her affectionate display.
"Don't know. She wasn't here when we got here. I didn't see any other students either. Other that our class that is." Seamus turned away from them, back to his kit. He scooped her up and snuggled her.
Harry and Ron looked at one another. They looked across the room at Hermione. She was vainly trying to get Lavender to answer her questions, and getting no acceptable answers.
She stormed over to them. "All they'll tell me is that McGonagall's not here," she grumbled.
Nildur had worked his way mostly free of her hair. He was perched indignantly on her shoulder, tail slashing the air behind her back.
"I don't understand," Neville said. "We hurried to clean up the great hall so that there could be classes… so where is the teacher?" Andra popped her head from his shirt and looked around the classroom, as if searching for something.
"I'm right here Mr. Longbottom," Professor McGonagall swept into the room. "Take your seats please everyone, so we can begin." Reluctantly the students did so, though the trio, looked at one another, bemused. Neville just looked confused. Andra retreated once again under his shirt.
What followed was a class of review, and a few transfigurations of dannikit boxes into carrying pouches. The trio and Neville discovered that they had left theirs in the other classroom… so could not complete the lesson. Strangely enough, McGonagall did not seem to mind. In fact, she seemed unusually cheerful.
At one point, Ron asked Harry, "What do you suppose got into her?"
Hermione overheard him and said in a 'any fool can see' tone of voice, "The kits shunned Slytherin house."
Fianna grumbled and Ron resituated her on his shoulder. She balanced carefully, just long enough to reach over and bop Nildur on the head with a paw. At Hermione's outraged gasp, Ron grinned. She narrowed her eyes at him. "She doesn't want you talking to me like that," Ron said. Fianna bopped him on the head in exactly the same way she had Nildur. It was Hermione's turn to grin. With a satisfied whirr, Fianna wriggled her way into his shirtfront. Harry just looked on, still trying to figure them out.
The class continued with no further complications or incidents.
In Professor Binns' classroom, Rose was trapped in a seat between the Weasley twins. While the ghostly professor had been surprised to see her again, he had not protested her presence. She had had a very tense twenty minutes so far. Once they had seated her, the twins had not said another word. The only sign that they even acknowledged that she was there, was the fact that anytime she started to get up, a hand from one or the other of them would reach out and grab whatever was handy under the table. After three knee pinches and two pulled fingers, she gave up.
Vestan did not seem to notice Rose's discomfort. He was sitting on the table in front of them. If she tried to write anything, he would attack her quill. So she took no notes. She and the twins were the only ones with dannikits in the room. Lunia was sitting on George's lap. He kept one hand petting her while he took notes with the other. That petting hand was the pinching culprit. Solida was draped around Fred's neck. Rose couldn't figure out how she stayed there. He had one hand in his lap. That was the finger-pulling suspect. Finally, Rose picked up Vestan, put him in her lap and when he stretched a paw towards her quill, she murmured, "No." He pulled back the paw and made himself comfortable in her lap. He was now completely ignoring the quill.
After a moment's thought, Rose picked up the quill again and started writing something.
"What are we doing?" She then slid the parchment over to George. He flashed her a smile and responded.
"We're taking notes on the history of wand waving. I think." He slid it back.
"Well, what am I doing here then?" Rose wrote with a flourish.
" Providing a distraction." He winked at her.
"A distraction from what exactly?" It was amazing how suspicious a simple handwritten sentence could look.
"The monotony of this class" He smiled.
"And???" Rose passed it back to him crossly.
There was a loud pop behind them, near the door. George's smile turned into a grin. "That," he said happily.
Rose would have jumped up, but Vestan kept her in her seat. George put a hand on her arm. 'Don't move." He murmured.
"Why ever not?" Rose asked, going still.
Fred spoke from her other side, "The more you move around, the faster it works." Rose was about to say something, but paused as the other students came out of their boredom-induced stupor. Even Professor Binns paused in his droning to investigate. Rose glanced back. Pink smoke was spreading throughout the room. "What the…?"
A boy in the last row suddenly chuckled. His seat partner, a thin blonde giggled. Both looked surprised and at the same time supremely happy. As similar reactions came from the other students, Rose looked at the twins, eyebrows raised in question. They just smiled. It was the oddest thing. It was like a wave of joy sweeping through the classroom. No one was sleeping anymore. Everyone was awake and smiling by the time the pink smoke reached the three of him or her seated in the front row.
Rose was suddenly swept with a wave of self-confidence and happiness. Her eyes turned a vivid blue and she smiled widely. Vestan, Lunia and Solida whirred loudly. "What was that?" she asked. Though she was incapable of being annoyed at the moment, she knew she would be if she were in a normal state of mind. Even the Professor seemed affected by the smoke. After a moment's pause he returned to his lecture, but there was brightness to his tone that hadn't been there before.
Rose returned to the parchment note. [I]What was that?[/I] Even her handwriting was cheerful.
Fred took the note this time. George was busy watching the class' reactions. [B]A Bubbly Booster[/B] Fred scribbled. He was grinning just as hugely as she, but like George his eyes were intent on the reactions of other people.
"But What Is It?" Rose wrote insistently. She was still smiling, but the effects of the smoke were fading.
"It's a happiness bomb" Fred wrote. Rose would have asked more, but Vestan stopped her quill with a paw. She desisted and waited for the twins' spell to dissipate.
Two hours later, the trio met Daniel, Ana, Reggie, Lynne and Ginny at the doors to the great hall. "Have you guys seen Neville?" Ginny asked the trio. Erian was inside his box, and she held the box under one arm. He didn't seem to like it very much. He wasn't grumbling, he just didn't look comfortable.
"He was having a private potions session with Rose, I believe." George said, appearing behind the four Ravenclaws.
"Why does he need a private lesson from her? Why not Professor Snape?" Ana asked. The ten of them sat on their table benches, so they could talk across the aisle.
Everyone stared at her, even the Emmortal twins who were a little in awe of her. "Are you mad?" Fred asked finally.
Ron elbowed his brother and Hermione explained, "What he means is… Neville wouldn't get a single thing done if he were left alone with Snape."
"Why not?" Reggie asked. Ikarus was hiding amongst the robes that had bunched up in her lap.
"He doesn't get along with Snape," Ginny said. Erian wriggled in his box.
Fred coughed. It sounded suspiciously like the word "Understatement." George elbowed him this time.
Hermione interceded again. "Rose offered her help to keep him from being penalized for a mistake he made in class yesterday." Nildur looked at Ana from his seat on Hermione's pile of books.
Ron grinned and said, "She's a much more interesting teacher than Snape any day." Then he winced. Fianna and Nildur had both leaned over and sunk their claws into his arm. They didn't draw blood, but they did leave fourteen little scratches. "What did you do that for?" he asked Fianna. She was curled in his lap and just returned his gaze, blinking innocently.
"Quit while you're ahead Ron," Daniel said. He grinned at the bewildered redhead and turned to his own table. The tables were already set, though the food had not yet appeared. Harry and the twins moved to the other side of the Gryffindor table. Ron, Hermione and Ginny remained on the side next to the Ravenclaws. Hermione hadn't said a word since Ron's remark. Ginny kept looking at the doors, as if she were waiting for someone. It seemed as if Ron's remark had made her nervous.
"Who are you looking for?" Neville asked, appearing beside Ron. He sat on the bench between Ron and Ginny. She jumped.
"You actually. How'd the potions lesson go?" Ginny asked. Erian still looked decidedly uncomfortable in his box.
Neville's eyes widened as he looked at her. "How'd you know about that?" Andra crawled out of his shirt and onto the table. She looked expectantly into a small bowl next to Neville's plate. Erian grumbled from his box beside Ginny.
"Oh… I heard it around…" Ginny mumbled. Erian grumbled again. "All right fine." Ginny unlatched the box. The dannikit jumped from the box directly onto the table. He joined Andra to stare into an identical bowl next to Ginny's plate.
"What do you suppose they're doing?" Neville asked. He seemed to have forgotten his question. He and Ginny looked at the other kits. Kali'na, Lunia, Solida, Nildur, and even Fianna were all doing the same thing.
"Hey you guys look at the kits," Ginny said. "They're doing something strange."
Harry and the twins paused in their Quidditch conversation to look. Hermione was already staring at them and Ron just shook his head and continued to contemplate his arm.
Dumbledore stood up at the high table. " Let our nice… quiet… dinner begin."
Delicious food appeared across the table. The small bowls that the kits had been staring into were abruptly filled with a thick cream mixture. Kali'na and the others were already daintily lapping it up. "They knew it was coming," Harry said, staring.
"Of course they did," Hermione answered. She still wasn't looking at Ron. "They're smart."
"Look at the others though," Harry said pointing down the table with a Cornish pasty.
They all turned to look. The other dannikits were in various states of messiness. Lavender's black and white kit was actually sitting in its bowl of cream. Seamus was trying to keep his out of a pudding, and Dean was vainly trying to mop up his spilled pumpkin juice. His kit was drenched with it.
By comparison, their seven and the Ravenclaw four were calm and well-mannered. All eleven of them were neatly finishing their food already. Andra splashed a droplet of it onto the table, but before Neville could even pick up his napkin, she'd swiped it up with a paw.
"I think there was something in that tablet we fed them." George said, patting Lunia proudly. She whirred and swished her tail at him, but continued eating.
"Of course there was," Ron said, "It was a potion capsule. How else could it have made them say their names?" He absently served himself some roast beef.
Hermione finally looked at him. "How did you figure that out?" She asked. Her voice sounded tense.
Ron smiled the tiniest bit. " I learned from the best." Then he winked at her.
Harry's mouth fell open. The twins were smirking. Ginny was wide-eyed. Neville was oblivious. He was too busy trying to keep Dean's kit from climbing into his plate. Hermione blinked at him. "Oy Dean! Get her out of my plate!" An embarrassed Dean scooped up the still damp kit.
"Hello everyone," Rose exclaimed, coming up to them. Vestan was happily perched on her shoulder. To their surprise, she sat down at the Ravenclaw table, next to Lynne. "How's it going?" she asked cheerfully. The Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had gone silent around her.
"We're fine…" Lynne whispered, "but aren't you at the wrong table?" Anondir waved a paw at Vestan, who leapt from Rose's shoulder to the table. A bowl of cream appeared with a pop in front of him. He started eating. Rose helped herself to a shepherd's pie.
"No I don't think so," Rose replied. "I'm sitting next to you, so this must be the right table."
"Yes… but…" Reggie started. Ikarus mewled and she turned her attention to him.
Daniel leaned around his sisters. " You may not have noticed… but this is the Ravenclaw table." He smiled, eyebrows raised. Phantom had finished her cream and was now cleaning her paws.
Rose rolled her golden blue eyes. "Of course I noticed. Would you drop it? I didn't get a chance to eat lunch." She took a huge bite of the beef, carrots and mashed potato mixture that was the shepherd's pie.
"Whoa. What's the deal with your eyes?" Daniel asked. "They're different." His blue ones sparkling with amusement.
Rose turned to look at him. Her own eyes were even bluer than before. She swallowed, grinned and said, "Yes, they are." She winked at him and turned back to her plate.
A Ravenclaw fifth year came up behind her. "Excuse me, but what are you doing at our table? You're a Gryffindor." The attractive oriental girl smiled at Rose.
Rose turned, the blue in her eyes fading quite suddenly. They were solid gold, as she looked the girl up and down. "I'm Rose, and I'm eating dinner," Rose said, "What are you doing?"
"Well I was about to do the same. That's my usual seat." The girl said. She still smiled. "I'm Cho Chang."
"It's nice to meet you Cho. Why don't you sit over there?" Rose said. She pointed to the Gryffindor table.
The Hall had gone quiet. The entire student body was watching them. The Slytherin's table was still devoid of kits. The students of that house were glaring jealously around the hall at all the other kits. Except for the twelve with names, they were all exploring the tables full of food with immense curiosity. Malfoy was staring intensely at Rose. She didn't seem to notice.
"Oh I couldn't." Cho said, looking prettily confused.
"Why not?" Rose asked. "They've got the same food over there. And empty seats." She smiled. "I can see one right next to Harry actually." A bit of blue crept back into her eyes as she heard the sound of pumpkin juice being knocked over.
Cho looked at Rose, then over at the Gryffindors. Fred and George were grinning good-naturedly as they mopped up pumpkin juice that spread down the table towards them. Ron and Hermione were both looking over at them, though not with the same concentration as everyone else. Hermione's gaze kept flicking to him, and Ron kept trying to catch her eye, but both kept missing. Neville looked quite shocked and Ginny was still wide-eyed. Cho looked back at the Ravenclaws. Reggie and Lynne were both slightly bewildered. They knew that the house tables just didn't mix from stories Daniel had told them.
Ana looked at Rose, her dark eyes searching. Segan looked up from cleaning his bowl to do the same. The seventh year nodded and stood. "I think that I will go over there too. It's a bit crowded with all the kits here." She scooped up the smoky-blue Segan and walked around the Gryffindor table to sit next to George. He grinned and discreetly shoved Fred further down the bench.
With a final confused shake of her head, Cho followed and slipped into the still empty spot next to Harry. Kali'na immediately moved to stand on the table in front of her. The black kit cocked her head at the girl. Tentatively Cho patted her. She whirred faintly. This distraction allowed Harry the chance to finish mopping up his pumpkin juice. Cho helped herself to a pasty and chatter resumed around the hall. Though it was rather subdued and included many furtive glances to the blending tables.
Rose had already turned back to her food. Vestan was whirring loudly. Daniel looked quite amused and his sisters shook their heads, confused. Phantom was sniffing Segan's empty bowl. Ikarus and Anondir had curled up in the laps of their companions. There were three other kits on the Ravenclaw table. They were all at least partially covered in one kind of food substance or another.
Rose picked up her glass and took a drink. Making a face, she glared at the offending cup. Pulling out her wand she whispered, " Pumpkin juice makes me think of a spider, wish I had some apple cider." She put her wand away again and took a tentative sip. "Ah. That's much better."
Lynne glanced at her. "How does pumpkin juice make you think of a spider?"
Rose smiled. "It's just a charm. The house-elves in the kitchens answer to silly things like that. It's the only way to get them to pay attention." Vestan and Segan's empty bowls vanished with a pop. "Then again, most of they time they keep a very sharp eye on us and our preferences. I'll probably never have to do that charm again."
The meal continued on with no further interruptions, though everyone was curious about the meaning of the blending tables. There was much speculation. As everyone sat back with sighs of contentment, there was some movement at the head table. Snape leaned over and said something to Dumbledore. After a nod from the headmaster, he stood and raised his hands for silence. It took five minutes for the students to grow quiet. "I want everyone to know that the wildness of the Agoradan kits will not be tolerated in my classroom. Please make sure that they are securely fastened into their cages before you come to the dungeons." And he swept from the hall. A few seconds later, students started to leave as well.
"Well, that was cheerful," Ginny said. She looked at Erian. He was sitting primly on the table, cleaning a paw. "What do you think of that Erian?" He paused, blinked his blue eyes at her and then his gaze turned to the box. He stared at it with obvious distaste. "Hmmm… you aren't going to like being in there for a full class period, are you?"
"I don't even have mine," Neville said. "What am I going to do?" He looked slightly panicked.
"We don't have ours either," Hermione said softly. She glanced at Nildur, who was sitting on the bench between her and Ron.
"Must have left them somewhere," Ron commented. "It's just a matter of remembering where." Fianna was sitting neatly on his shoulder. She seemed perfectly all right now.
Harry, blushing furiously, muttered something. Cho didn't seem to hear him, but Ana did.
"You're probably right Harry," she said, "We left them in the classroom."
"What are you all talking about?" Daniel said, slipping onto the seat on the bench that had been vacated by a leaving fourth year.
"Our boxes are still in the classroom," Ana answered. Segan was lying on the now empty table, his tail waving gently.
"Well let's go get them then," Daniel said, grinning. "We've got lots of time before curfew. It'll be fun." They all looked at one another.
"G-g-good night," Harry stuttered to Cho. She smiled, nodded and left them. Harry turned back to his friends, a goofy grin on his face. "So what's going on?"
Fred smiled, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief; "We're going to the classroom." Solida leapt from the table to his shoulder, creamy gold tail lashing the air.
"To get our Dannikit boxes." George added. Lunia whirred from his lap. He grinned. "And apparently, we're going now."
"You're not going without me," Rose said from behind Daniel. " I don't even know if you can get in without me at this time of day." She gave George a reproving look. " I don't have Vestan's box either."
"And we don't want to miss a thing," Reggie said as she and Lynne joined them.
And so the twelve students and twelve dannikits left the hall together. With a silent sneer, the watcher followed stealthily.
"We're wandering around the castle, at night, on the second day of classes," Hermione said. "This does not bode well for the rest of the year."
"At least we're not alone," Ron said, " and we're not wandering. We've got a specific objective in mind."
"What are you two blathering about?" Rose asked. "Nevermind. Be quiet a second. Someone's coming."
"I hate to spoil your illusions Rose, but there are twelve of us," Daniel whispered. "We can't exactly hide in a niche in the wall."
"Why do we have to hide at all?" Reggie asked. "We're not doing anything against the rules, are we?"
The lack of response from the others made her eyes widen. Lynne groaned. "We're going to be expelled before we even learn anything!"
"They wouldn't expel us for walking around. There's still an hour before curfew." Harry said reassuringly. "And believe me, the three of us have done far more complicated things than going to a classroom to pick up forgotten boxes."
Ana smiled over at them. "Let's elaborate on that Harry. Wasn't there an incident with a troll your first year…"
"Or the basilisk your second…" Daniel said. Ginny shivered and Neville put his arm around her.
"Then there were the dementors third year," George added. He was looking at his sister and the boy with his arm around her a trifle suspiciously.
"And that twice blasted Rita Skeeter woman fourth year." Fred said. "I've always wondered what happened to her."
At that, Hermione burst into giggles. Rose glared back at all of them and hissed, "QUIET!"
Ron put his hand over Hermione's mouth to stifle her giggles. The other students froze. Rose peeked around the corner and immediately went tense. Harry heard her mutter, "Blessed hell!" He looked over her shoulder and around the corner.
Snape was standing directly in front of the window into their classroom. He was glaring around the hallway and tapping his foot impatiently. "Where in the name of all wizards is she?"
"I'm right here Severus," said a silky voice. Rose and Harry both jumped as a hooded and cloaked, but obviously feminine form stepped from the shadows directly across from them. They heard several swift intakes of breath behind them. "I'd love to know why you insist on meeting me here. It's not like I'm going to tell you anything."
"I don't know what you are talking about. What makes you think I was going to ask you anything?" Snape oozed.
"Severus I'm tired. I've had a hard day and I don't bloody care that your house has been shunned by the Agoradans. In fact I think they are marvelously smart creatures. If you keep summoning me for such inconsequential drivel, then you are sadly mistaken about the reason for my presence at this school." The woman turned to go.
"Wait! I… I have something for you," Snape said. He seemed quite agitated, and almost… eager to please. It turned Harry's stomach. He didn't like the man, but this was pitiful.
The woman turned back to him, "Yes?" She held out a delicate white hand imperiously. He gently placed a small, wadded up piece of paper into her palm. She didn't say anything more. Just put the paper somewhere inside her robes. "Thank you Severus. But if this is just another one of your paranoid delusional fantasies, I shall be mightily upset with you."
"I understand," Snape said. She turned and disappeared into the shadows again. Snape stood up straighter after she was gone. He stalked down the hallway directly towards them, muttering, "Stupid snob of a witch. I'm getting tired of playing up to her. If this goes on much longer, I may have to resign."
Rose turned slightly panicked eyes to the others. She quickly saw that Daniel was correct. There were too many of them to hide in any of the niches. She shooed them all hurriedly back down the hallway. They reached the last corner they'd turned. Rose pulled out her wand and aimed it at them all. "Effluvian effervescence," She whispered. They all erupted into delighted, incomprehensible babble. Harry, who had been standing behind her, was missed by the spell.
Rose turned back around and led the ten cheerfully babbling students' back the way they had just fled. Snape swooped around the corner and nearly ran into her. "Oh hello Professor."
The Potions Master turned completely white. "What are a gaggle of Gryffindors,"
"And Ravenclaws," Daniel added, cheekily. He grinned at the Weasley twins, and the three of them laughed boisterously.
"And Ravenclaws," Snape snapped, "Doing in this end of the castle at this time of night?"
"We were just fetching our Dannikit boxes from the classroom." Rose said, her smile and tone placating.
"We wouldn't want to disrupt your class tomorrow, Professor," Harry said.
Snape narrowed his eyes at the twelve of them. "See that you don't. Curfew is in forty minutes." And with that he swept down the hall past them. The Emmortal twins were giggling uncontrollably as he passed, but he ignored them. Rose watched him go.
As soon as Snape was around another corner, she and Harry ushered the still babbling students over to the window. One by one, they were pushed through. Harry gave Rose a curious look before following them. She looked around the hallway quickly. Before following Harry, she tapped the window frame three times. There was a faint shimmer of red light, and she stepped into the air.
And found herself facing ten confused and angry teenagers. They were all glaring at her.
"What was that?" Ana asked.
"I didn't like that at all," Lynne muttered.
"What spell was that?" Hermione asked, "I've never heard of it."
"I don't understand," Neville said.
"What happened?" Ginny asked.
"I don't appreciate being spelled," Ron muttered.
"What did you do?" Reggie asked.
"I charmed you all to talk of inconsequential things. We couldn't risk a slip up that would have tipped him off to what we saw." Rose explained. She walked through them to the pile of Dannikit boxes in the corner. "That was one of my own charms so I'm not surprised you've never heard of it."
"What exactly did we see?" George asked.
"Or rather, what did you see?" Daniel corrected. "We weren't looking around the corner."
"It was Snape… and a strange woman." Harry answered. He pulled Kali'na off his head and suddenly burst out laughing. Kali'na waved a paw at him.
Harry just laughed harder. Rose glanced over. "Okay, I didn't charm him. And the window would have dissipated it if I had. So what is he laughing at?"
Ron looked at Hermione. "The sight of Snape with a woman must have pushed him over the edge," he said dryly.
That set off Fred, George, and Daniel. Neville just shook his head at their foolishness and said, "Even I know that he wasn't with her that way. He was way too grumpy when he ran into us." This statement earned him an appraising look from Ginny and a grin from Hermione. He blushed. Andra whirred from her place on his shoulder, her tail wrapped affectionately around his neck.
Rose smiled at them all rather like a tolerant parent with precocious children. "They were meeting about something. He gave her a piece of wadded parchment." Rose handed Harry his dannikit box. Still laughing softly, he put Kali'na on his shoulder and tucked the box under one arm. Rose finished handing out the boxes.
Harry finally got a hold on himself enough to ask, "What do you think was on that parchment?"
"I'm still trying to figure out why you were laughing," Reggie said. "Trying to decipher the motives of a teacher is a bit beyond me at the moment."
"What do you mean Reggie?" Daniel asked, eyes still sparkling with mirth.
"I mean it's only my second day here, I got a new pet and started a brand new class, I know that what happened at dinner was unusual, and now we've got a mystery on our hands." She finished with a sigh. Ikarus did not seem to take her remark about him being a pet very well. His tail started lashing as soon as she said the word pet.
"Yeah, when do we get to do the easy stuff, like homework?" Lynne asked.
"I'm sorry you two," Rose said. "You've begun your lives at Hogwarts during a very hectic year. So far you've held up well." She smiled as she passed them their boxes. "Even if it is only the second day."
Harry spoke up then, though he made a note in his mind about Rose's remarks. "I was laughing because even in all the confusion in the hall, Kali'na stayed on my head. And Snape didn't seem to notice her at all. It struck me as funny. I supposed it's not really."
"Maybe Rose's spell really did affect you, and it was just delayed." Lynne said.
Ana smiled at the young Ravenclaw. "Charms don't work like that Lynne, they either work when you cast them, or not at all."
"Unless, Rose came up with one that could be delayed," Hermione added. Ana and Hermione looked over at Rose. The redhead was trying without success to coax Vestan into his box.
With a sigh she looked back at them. "I cast a single, simple charm that wasn't delayed in any way. Harry just got the giggles."
Harry looked indignant. "I do not get the giggles! That's a girl thing." This remark earned him six identical, female glares.
Even Neville flinched as Ginny asked softly, "Oh really?" The six young women in the room shared a LOOK, and they each began to grin.
Quicker than he could see, all six women whipped out there wands and yelled, [I] "RICTUSEMPRA!!!" [/I] But instead of falling to the floor helpless with laughter, Harry just grinned wide enough show all his teeth. After a silent moment, a chuckle came from one of the other boys. Soon all five of them were chuckling softly.
The girls stared. Hermione looked positively flabbergasted, Ana looked confused, Reggie and Lynne were staring at Harry with their mouths hanging open, and Ginny's eyes were wide cornflower blue saucers. "How?" That was all Hermione managed to say. Rose narrowed her eyes at Harry. His face seemed stuck in that huge grin. Then she smiled ruefully.
"Kali'na you little minx. You're already working for him aren't you?" Rose said. "Silly kit. That spell wouldn't have harmed him. At least, not much."
"You mean…" Daniel managed through his own laughter.
"Yes. The kits disperse or absorb magic. That's part of their own magic." Rose replied. "Why are you guys laughing?"
"Your," Fred started, before laughing again.
"Your faces," George finished.
Hermione glared at Ron, who quickly stifled his own mirth, but not before she aimed her wand at him.
The boys settled down after a few more minutes and Harry's face relaxed into a more natural expression. They all had their dannikit boxes by now, though none of the kits had actually gotten into them.
"You know, I don't think they like these things," Neville said. Andra was then glaring at her box disdainfully.
"Well we don't have time to change them now. We only have five minutes to get to our house towers before curfew," Rose said. She tried once again to get Vestan to go into his box. He looked at the box, then back at her. His expression clearly read, 'Yeah. Right. You first.' She sighed.
"We could change them in the morning, before Potions," Ron suggested. Fianna was completely ignoring her box.
"Well I know that Erian doesn't like his so, that's probably a good idea," Ginny said. She hadn't even tried to put Erian back in his box. He had sat on her shoulder and watched the others.
"Okay tomorrow then. After breakfast, or before?" Ana asked.
"How about a quick fix at breakfast and then we all meet here at break to fix them up even better?" Daniel suggested.
"Sounds good. Come on you guys. We have to hurry." Rose said. She started to the door.
A moment later, she was out in the hallway, waiting. Vestan was on her shoulder and his box was in her arms. Because of the lateness of the hour, the torches were at a low glow. Rose pulled out her wan just as Harry stepped through the window. She muttered something and her wand erupted into that sizzling silver white light that she'd used in the dungeons. She waited patiently as the others stepped through. Once all twelve students had stepped through she tapped the window with her glowing wand. There was another red shimmer. When she tried to put a hand through it, her fingers met glass. With a firm nod, she turned back to the others.
"What did you do?" Neville asked. Andra had once again returned to his shirtfront.
"I locked it," Rose answered, "Come on. We're late."
They started down the hall. The light from Rose's wand was enough to light the hall for all of them. Harry had the odd feeling that it only lit the area around them. He would even have gone so far as to say that if someone looked at them, that someone wouldn't see the light at all. Hermione moved to walk beside Rose. No one else was talking. They didn't want to get caught.
"You still haven't told me how you do that," she said primly. Nildur was staring at the silver light, fascinated.
"I'll make it one of my lessons," Rose said, her voice a bit tense. She was looking intently into the blackness at the edge of her light. Suddenly she stopped walking. George ran into her back. And others ran into him. Luckily, no one fell.
"What is it?" Lynne asked. She was in the middle of the group and couldn't see anything.
Rose sighed loudly. "I think we're all about to get detention."
"Detention?" Reggie asked. "You're a teacher, you don't get detention. The rest of us do."
"Who is it? Maybe we can talk our way out of it," Ron said hopefully.
"We aren't doing anything wrong. We had to get the boxes. It's not our fault that the classroom is on the opposite end of the school from our dormitories," Ana whispered.
"Actually it is," Filch growled as he stepped into Rose's light. "Students should never be out of bed after curfew."
"Pardon me Mr. Filch," Rose started, " I was just,"
"You were all just about to follow me to see the Headmaster," Filch interrupted. " Come along."
Rose tried again, "There is no need to bother the Headmaster with this. We were already headed,"
"No more talking out of you, you little… You are not a teacher yet and I'll not have you speaking like that to me!" Filch sounded outraged. His eyes actually bulged.
"But," Rose protested. Her eyes swirled green and gold.
"That's enough! Double detentions for all of you! And you can thank your Fellow Student for them." Filch stormed down the hallway. "We're all going to my office right now!"
Rose turned blazing green eyes to the others. Through clenched teeth she said, "We have to follow him, but don't worry about the detention. I'll take care of it." She turned back to Filch's vanishing back and hurried after him. The eleven others exchanged a confused and worried glance, before following as well. Just before they reached Filch's office, Rose paused and took Vestan off her shoulder. She lifted the kit to eye level with her. "Find Shadow and my sister. Bring them here." She put the dannikit on the floor of the corridor. After a moments hesitation he sped off down the hall. Without warning, Lunia leapt from George's shoulder and followed. The two kits disappeared around the corner. When George would have said something, Rose shook her head the tiniest bit.
The twelve of them crammed into Filch's tiny office. After a making sure they were all inside, Filch said, "I'll be back with the Headmaster. You wait here." And with that he shut the door and they heard the loud clang of a lock.
Reggie and Lynne looked at one another. Twin pairs of eyes shimmered with tears. "Detention! On our second day!" Reggie wailed.
Lynne sniffled, "Mum's gonna send us a Howler."
Daniel looked at a loss for a moment, then he said, "If she sends one at all, which I doubt, she'll send it to me, as I'm the oldest." He put an arm around each of his sisters. Neville looked terrified, Ginny was staring at the door intently, and Hermione was frowning at Nildur. The kit had jumped from her shoulder to Filch's desk. He pounced on a large square of parchment, tail lashing wildly. As Hermione investigated his findings George pushed his way to Rose, who stood by the door.
"What's going on Rose?" George whispered to her.
"We are waiting for Filch to return with Dumbledore," Rose answered calmly. Gold had returned to swirl with the green in her eyes.
"I know that, but why did you send Vestan for your sister and your cat?"
"She'll help us," Rose answered, " and before you ask, I have no idea why Lunia followed him."
George gave her a thoughtful look, but she didn't notice it. She was looking back at Hermione. The girl had picked up the parchment and was showing it to Harry and Ron. Fred was examining the various oddments around the room curiously. Ana was trying to comfort the twins with Daniel. She wiped their eyes with a corner of her robe. Neville offered a hanky to Lynne, another to Reggie. "They're clean. Gran told me to always carry a couple," he muttered when they glanced at him.
They smiled and muttered their 'thank yous.' Neville blushed and Andra whirred loudly. Ginny smiled for a moment, but her attention was still focused on the door.
"Rose," she said suddenly, " Try opening the door."
"We all heard it lock Ginny," Ron said. "No sense in doing something that we know will be useless." He was standing slightly in front of Hermione and Harry. The two of them were whispering over the parchment.
Rose reached over and touched the doorknob. "No biggie Ron," she said. She turned the knob, and to everyone but Ginny's surprise, it opened.
"Wicked," Daniel said, grinning.
"How did you know?" Neville asked Ginny.
"Contrary to Filch's belief, Rose is considered a teacher. The door responded to the authority behind her touch." Ginny explained. They all moved out into the hallway again. If Harry seemed to take a bit longer than necessary to pick up Kali'na's box, no one really noticed. Ginny continued, "Filch didn't lock the door with a key. It's charmed to lock whenever it closes and can only be opened by a teacher."
Fred looked at his sister appraisingly. "I think we misjudged you Ginny. You definitely have mischief potential." Solida tapped his nose reprovingly.
Ginny laughed, "No thanks Fred, leave me out of anything you're planning please."
"We weren't planning anything yet," George said with a grin.
The twelve of them stood in a huddle outside Filch's office. "We'll just wait here, for the headmaster. It wouldn't do for him to come all the way here to find us gone," Rose said. "Then we really would be in trouble."
"Yes you certainly would young lady," Cora said as she rounded the corner and approached them. She was cradling Vestan in her arms and Lunia was perched on her shoulder. Shadow walked beside her. Starlight was there as well. When Cora stopped in front of Rose, the two cats sat at her feet, on either side. Vestan leapt from her arms and into Rose's and Lunia leapt at George. Both were whirring loudly, quite proud of themselves. "What have you all gotten yourselves into now?"
"They are out after curfew Professor Jameson," Filch hissed as he appeared from the other direction. Professor Dumbledore at his side, wearing a sky blue dressing gown and a floppy nightcap covered in clouds. "And Miss Jameson was disrespectful of my authority. I recommend double detentions for them all Headmaster."
Dumbledore looked at the students. All the dannikits went quiet as his twinkling blue gaze fell on them. "What were you all doing in the halls after curfew?" he asked. Filch blustered, but Dumbledore ignored him.
"We were getting our dannikit boxes from my classroom Headmaster," Rose answered. "We got distracted by the kits once in the room and did not notice the passage of time. We were on our way to our dormitories when Mr. Filch found us."
Dumbledore nodded. "Do all of you agree that this is what happened?" he asked them.
"Of course Headmaster," they chorused. The Emmortal twins sniffled loudly. Their dannikits looked as upset as they sounded.
Reggie swallowed hard and whispered, "Will we be getting detention Headmaster Dumbledore…Sir?" Lynne gasped and tried to cover her sister's mouth, too late.
Dumbledore smiled and his eyes twinkled merrily. "No I don't think so. I doubt that you'll all be caught out after curfew again anytime soon." Filch sputtered, but he was once again ignored. "Now Professor and Miss Jameson, if the two of you would please escort the student to their dormitories? I believe they have classes in the morning."
"Of course sir," Cora answered. She took the twins by the hands. "Ravenclaws come with me please."
"I guess that leaves the Gryffindors with me." Rose said. With cheerful waves, Daniel, Ana, Reggie and Lynne went with Cora, but the two cats stayed.
"Miss Jameson, I'd like you to come to the faculty meeting tomorrow afternoon," Dumbledore said. "Now good night everyone." He turned to go back the way he had come. Filch followed, still sputtering furiously.
"Let's go guys, We are way past curfew now." Rose said wryly. They started down the hallway.
Within five minutes, they were at the portrait hole. "Merlin's earwax." Rose muttered. The fat lady was quite curious about what they were doing, but no one answered her queries as they stepped into the common room. It was only ten o'clock, but the common room was surprisingly empty.
Hermione collapsed into an armchair. "If the rest of the year is as eventful as today has been, I don't think I'll survive until the Christmas holidays," she exclaimed. Nildur curled up on her lap and immediately fell asleep.
"Well goodnight all," George called as he and Fred started up the stairs.
Ginny followed a moment later, as did Neville. This left the trio with Rose in the common room, sprawled across chairs.
With a jaw-cracking yawn, Rose stood and waved her wand at a tapestry. It swung aside to reveal a door, which opened at her touch. "See you three in the morning." The door closed behind her, and the tapestry fell to cover it again.
"I'm going to bed before anything else exciting happens today," Hermione said sighing heavily. She looked at Nildur. "Move Nildur, I want to get up." The dannikit refused to move.
Ron shoved himself out of his chair. Fianna was snoring softly inside his shirt. Ron picked up Nildur and offered Hermione a hand. He pulled her up and handed the kit back to her. She looked at him a moment before saying, "Thank you. Goodnight." And she went slowly up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. Ron's eyes followed her.
Harry turned raised eyebrows to his friend. "Come on Harry, my heads about to fall asleep on my shoulders," Ron blustered.
"Isn't that where it usually sleeps?" Harry asked, heaving out of his chair.
Ron just started up the stairs. Harry followed. They found Shadow and Starlight on their beds once again. Neither was surprised. Their kits were placed next to the cats and they changed quickly for bed. As they climbed into their beds, Ron asked sleepily, "What was that parchment anyway?"
"Not sure," Harry mumbled, "I'll find out in the morning." Kali'na slept next to his head, and Shadow at his feet. The same was true for Ron, Fianna and Starlight. The room was soon quiet but for the occasional snore.
A/N
I have just combined what was formerly chapters 7, 8 , and 9 into a single third chapter.