Me: Well, I'm not inviting my sister again.

Candlemon: How about inviting your girlfriend?

Me: I don't have a girlfriend! I don't even know why I keep you here. I'd much prefer Giramon, since he's my friend and doesn't make all the smart-ass comments. Anyway, please enjoy the next chapter.

Tai and the others woke up at about 7:00 AM. All of them groaned when they had to go to classes in an hour, but decided to use their free time. After Sora got dressed, she was a lot happier. The rest were happy to stay out of the way, as they wanted to stay out of the hospital wing for a while, at least.

Kari was eagerly telling Tai about her roommates, Jennifer Creevy and Carol Willford. She made friends wherever she went, but for a different reason than Tai did. Tai often won them over by his skills in soccer, while she did it by her kindness. Matt had a bored look, wanting to get the day over with as soon as he could.

Mimi still had her spell on, which made about half the boys gape at her. Still, they looked away when Tai and Matt rose their wands. They walked down to breakfast. Izzy and Joe were talking about learning more spells, and actually looked forward to their classes. T.K. and Patamon just ate their food. Agumon was about to throw some at Mimi, but Sora scolded him and he ate it.

However, their free time didn't last. They had to go to classes. The Gryffindors went to herbology with the Hufflepuffs, while the Ravenclaws had transfiguration with the Slytherins. Joe and Izzy were both on their guard, in case the Slytherins tried to hex them.

"She's one for long lectures, isn't she?" whispered Tai when they got to their class. McGonagall lectured for about 10 minutes before giving them matchsticks and tell them to turn them into needles.

"At least you didn't fall asleep." said T.K. "I hope the professor didn't catch me."

Sora was the first one to turn one of her matchsticks into a needle. Kari kept trying, but she was going nowhere. Tai wasn't having much better luck. His real strength was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Mimi was almost crying in frustration until Sora showed her the way to do it properly. Afterwards, she turned one into a needle, but the class was almost over.

Only Sora managed to transfigure all three of her matchsticks into needles. Tai managed the first one, and got half of the second. Matt turned 2 of them into needles, but Kari and T.K. couldn't even get one.

* * *

Meanwhile, Joe and Izzy were listening to a lecture about plants. Professor Sprout was in the middle of a lecture of the dangers of the plants inside the greenhouse. After the lecture, they were each given the wizarding equivalent of SMYRNIUM, which was deadlier than the muggle plant. They were about a foot tall, as they were in the early stages.

One of the more foolish students leaned his face towards the plant and it struck his face, leaving a gash on his face. Izzy saw that the upper vine had thorns to protect itself (No, the muggle version does not have thorns. One of the other names in Horse Parsley, in case you're interested.)

"I don't know anything about this plant." said Izzy. "All I know is that there is a muggle version of this. I'll bet that once it's full grown, it could give a fatal blow."

Joe asked Professor Sprout about it, and she told them that after about 6 months it becomes poisonous, but only to small things, like dogs. Still, it didn't reassure him very much, as it would probably make them sick for a few days.

A Slytherin tried to cut the vine off, and eventually succeeded, although there was a gash on his forearm, which he quickly covered. Izzy thought he looked familiar, and told Joe of his suspicions.

"That boy looks like Dorian Malfoy." said Joe. "We'd better keep an eye on him. He's probably going to try and use it on Tai, or one of us."

The class was soon over, and they went to their second period. Izzy was frustrated because he didn't know a thing about this subject, which was a pretty rare occurrence. They had History of magic with the Hufflepuffs, and just barely got to their class in time.

* * *

The Gryffindors had DADA with the Slytherins. Tai was looking at the young Malfoy with hatred, and not listening to anything professor Lupin was saying. (Sorry, I didn't mention this in the last chapter) Malfoy was looking smug about something.

"I swear, he has something on his mind, and I don't think I want to know what it is." said Matt.

"He's got something planned, I know it." said Sora. "He's hiding something beneath the desk. We better keep an eye on him."

"I'll take care of that." said Gabumon. "You kids just listen to the lesson. You're not here for nothing."

Professor Lupin explained about the doxy, a small poisonous animal. They were sometimes used to distract the enemy during the first war, and the antidote was a third-year potion, although it could be considered one fourth-year one. Matt whispered something and Malfoy turned upside-down. He swung a vine, hitting Tai in the shoulder. It was bleeding badly, and he was now very furious.

Agumon was the first to take action. He lit Malfoy on fire, which he eventually managed to extinguish with his wand. Professor Lupin stopped the fight before it could go any further.

"15 points from Slytherin for an unprovoked attack." He said. "Also, 10 points from Gryffindor. Both of you get to the hospital wing. Jason, please escort them and make sure no more conflicts between them erupt."

Agumon went with them, in case Malfoy did something else. Matt didn't like Jason escorting them at all, as he was a friend of Malfoy's. He whispered it to Mimi, and she shared his concerns, but there was nothing they could really do about it.

"I can't believe I have to escort a mudblood." he muttered. "As far as I'm concerned, Kamiya got what he deserved."

Malfoy sneered and agreed. Tai wanted nothing more than to beat the hell out of both of them, but they would win the fight. Agumon was about to fire another attack, when Tai gripped his shoulder in warning. He drew his wand in case of any trouble.

However, Malfoy took it as a threat and fired a hex at him. It stung badly, but Tai didn't want to show any sign of pain. He was about to attack, but Jason cut him across his other arm. Agumon fired his pepper breath, but both dodged, and levitated him to the ceiling.

Professor Snape arrived, and Tai felt relief. He reversed the levitation spell, and Agumon was back on the ground. After listening to both sides, he made a decision.

"20 points from Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on students." said Snape. "I will see you in detention at 7:00 sharp."

The class was over, and Tai was fuming. They were in the wrong, but he's the one who got in trouble. He was about to hex Snape, but thought better of it. Sora and the rest went to join him. He was now too angry to go to the hospital wing, despite the blood on his arm and shoulder.

"Holy god, what happened to you?" asked Matt.

"It's nothing." replied Tai. "I fell on a piece of glass Malfoy set down, probably on purpose, but I'll be okay."

"Don't lie to us, Tai." said Biyomon. "Both of us know those two attacked you, so just admit it."

"Forget it, we're not going to get an answer." said Joe. "We only want to help you, Tai. Let's just go to lunch."

"I'm not looking forward to the evening." said Tai. "I just got detention from Snape. The boy who escorted me and Malfoy looked like his son."

"Now we have to deal with two Snapes." Groaned Matt.

"Well, from what I heard from Ron, Professor Snape let the two get away with it." said Kari. "Why didn't he punish them?"

"Why would he punish his own son?" growled Matt. "When I get my hands on those two..."

"Matt, calm down." said Sora. "We can't do much about this, as much as all of us want to. Attacking them is not going to solve anything; the only thing it'll do is get you two into more trouble."

"Let's just drop it." said Patamon. "This arguing is pointless and we better go to lunch. I don't know about you, but I'm really hungry."

All of them walked to the great hall, Malfoy and Snape both smirking. Tai was about to draw his wand, but Matt grabbed his arm and gave him a warning look. Gabumon was also trying to calm him down, with little success. Tai sighed, and turned his wand away from them. He muttered a spell and turned Ron's hair Green and Purple.

Harry was laughing his head off, while Hermione was giving Tai a disapproving look. The Digidestined all had amused expressions, although they did their best to hide it.

"Weasel, you may want to sell that hair!" yelled the elder Malfoy. "Some idiot will want to buy it, and it'll be worth more than your family's whole house. Your mother doesn't make enough money selling herself in Knockturn Alley."

Ron was so enraged that it took the combined efforts of Harry and Gatomon to hold him back. Mimi could tell that Harry wanted to attack Malfoy as well, and she felt the same way. Why would he try to humiliate Ron like that? It was horrible, the way people sometimes treated each other. Matt ducked down, and whispered something to Gabumon, who passed it around to the other Digimon.

They sneaked behind Malfoy and Agumon lit his robes on fire. His two bodyguards went after him, but Palmon knocked one flat on his face, and Tentomon shocked the other, in addition to Gatomon sending him flying about 20 feet.

20 points were taken from both Gryffindor and Slytherin, and Malfoy and his two cronies were sent to the hospital wing. The digidestined managed to escape punishments, as it was the Digimon who broke the rules. Snape wanted to put them all in detention, but the staff overruled him. The younger Malfoy was fuming, and sending death glares towards them, which Tai and Matt returned with equal intensity.

None of the Digimon ate much, and it was time to go to class. For the first time, they were all in class together. Except for lunch and breaks between class, they hardly saw Joe or Izzy, who were happy that they would not be around the Slytherins. Harry told them that the first D.A. meeting was to take place on Wednesday. The charms teacher, professor Flitwick, was the shortest person the Digidestined had ever seen. He was about as tall as Agumon. Tai didn't make any jokes, since he didn't want to get his house into more trouble.

"Wonder if Ron got his hair changed back." said Joe. "I got to admit, it was funny, but you should think of something more creative."

"I want to look up some spells to hex Malfoy and Snape into the next century!" said Tai. "I'm sure Agumon will be joining me. What about you, Matt?"

"If you do that, you'll be no better than they are." said Sora and Biyomon at the same time. "They just want to get a reaction out of you."

"Sora, I don't think this is going to do any good." said Izzy. "Tai has never been one to listen to advise, so let him make his own choices."

Kari and T.K., as well as Patamon and Gatomon were willing to go along with them. Tai was thinking dreamily of Greymon torching the two students, until Matt finally snapped him out of it.

They were doing Levitation charms. Kari was the first one to get it, followed by T.K. Mimi managed to get it, but none of the rest did. Tai seemed to be very bad at charms. Matt wasn't any better, so they just talked about Voldemort, and when the class heard the name, most of them flinched. They sighed, thinking that the lot of them were cowards.

:I'm glad we don't get homework on the first day." said Mimi. "Still, it isn't going to last for very long."

"Just enjoy it while you can." replied Palmon.

Over the next few days, the Digidestined were all occupied with doing homework, and in Izzy's case, learning more spells. Tai and Matt were responsible for several pranks, but so far, the professors hadn't caught them. Still, Dumbledore looked like he knew who was pulling them off. Voldemort had begun to attack France and Germany and the amount of followers he had was increasing every week.

Harry was sitting alone in the common, reading about advanced transfiguration. He was distant from everybody, and it wasn't just because of his godfather's death. Since the last summer, the Dursleys were physically abusing him. He had the strength to fight back, but he just couldn't get past his depression. He just hoped none of the order would find out.

Ron and Hermione were asleep after a long day on doing homework, although Ron spent about half the time complaining about Snape. He had given him detention for sneezing in the middle of his lecture. Each of them liked the other, but both were too stubborn to admit it.

There was something strange about Kari Kamiya. She had an aura of power around her, stronger than any of the others in the school, even Dumbledore. It was even stronger when her brother was around her, and it seemed to be the same for T.K., although it wasn't quite as strong.

How could he possibly kill Voldemort? He was too strong, and he really didn't have any time to prepare. The more time passed, the more people died at the Death eater's hands. He learned of an ancient, but still valid, law of the ministry. Anyone mentioned in a prophecy became a weapon of the ministry. He had not told anyone, even Ron and Hermione.

Secretly, he began reading books about the dark arts. He needed to know what he was up against, but his friends would say that if he used them, he was no better than the death eaters. He was not going to be killed without a fight. He only wished he was able to help at the battle of Diagon alley, but the digidestined seemed to handle the death eaters pretty well, despite the casualties.

Even after about 5 weeks, he could not believe Aurors would torture innocent children. Ones that saved dozens of lives, no less. Tai was exceptionally furious, as he was very protective of Kari. About 15 percent of the Aurors were dead, because of them attacking the children.

He had a very strange dream 3 nights ago. He saw a figure at Voldemort's right hand, and it did not look like any of the death eaters. He could be like the creatures the Japanese children had, only evil. In that case, the wizarding world was put into even more peril.

He was now very tired, and it was almost 3AM. Perhaps he could get his essay done tomorrow night.

********

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Said Tai lazily. They were having charms with the Hufflepuffs, and after having potions, anything was a relief. He really felt sorry for Izzy and Joe having to put up with young Malfoy.

"I've got a little idea." said Matt. "Why not try this levitation charm on something heavier? I'm bored, and I'm ready for something harder."
"I don't think it's a very good idea." said Sora. "You two could get into trouble. We don't want to cost Gryffindor any more points. You guys have lost enough."

They tried to ignore her, but it was true. They had lost Gryffindor about 40 points since school started, which made them unpopular at the moment. They won back 25 in the classes, but they were still frowned upon. Most of the point-taking was from their feud with Dorian Malfoy.

"5 points each to Gryffindor for a astounding levitation charm." said Professor Flitwick. "Would you care to try something heavier?"

Both of them smiled, and the professor told them to lift their textbooks, but they had other ideas. With an effort, they lifted Mimi out of her seat, and once she saw it, she was screaming for them to put her down. Matt flipped her over, amusing himself. The boys were gaping at her, as Mimi's charms has still not worn off.

Sora finally took pity on her, and put her back into her seat. Mimi was fuming, but decided to keep her mouth shut. No points were awarded or given, so the class continued.

"Can I give it a shot?" T.K. asked Matt. He whispered into his brother's ear, and T.K. rose his wand. Kari helped him, and they actually lifted Matt above them. Tai decided to give them some help, and span Matt around over and over. 5 points were taken from Gryffindor, but the professor was still impressed.

After class was over, all of the digidestined were pleased at the progress. Izzy and Joe came back from Potions, looking less than happy. Professor Snape, the potions master, was incredibly biased against everyone but Slytherins. Classes were over, but they had about 2 hours' worth of homework. Still, everyone was looking forward to tomorrow. They had flying lessons with all houses, as the headmaster wanted to promote house unity.

In the Ravenclaw Common room, Joe was practicing his transfiguration skills. Even the upper students in the house were impressed, and told him so. Gomamon was still asking about how his classes were going.

"Well, potions is my worst subject." said Joe. "The professor hates me, since I always screw up the potions. If it wasn't for the headmaster, I'd have 3 days' detention. He seems to hold a real hatred for all of us ever since Matt turned his hair blue and pink."

"Those two really are pranksters, aren't they?" said Gomamon. "I can't believe they fired a babbling curse at me."

"If it give us peace and quiet, I wouldn't have taken it off you, but since you are my friend, and you were annoying the whole house, I decided to help. Well, I'm done with my homework. Most of them are going to wait until the last minute to do their work."

"What do you think we should do about Malfoy?"

"I'm going to stay out of it as much as I can. Tai and Matt seem to be taking care of the fighting, anyway. I really don't want to get involved."

* * *

"So what's going on, Kari?" asked Jennifer. "How are your classes going?"

"I'm doing fairly well at them." she replied. "Of course, Tai and Matt thought it amusing to play jokes, and lost us about 60 points in a week."

"I was wondering why the points were always going down. There are 4 hourglasses, one for each house. They keep track of the points gained and lost. Gryffindor and Slytherin are the two houses in last place. I heard some of the older students insulting your brother."

"This is the result of fighting with Malfoy. They aren't listening to our advice to stop and ignore him, not that they ever listen to advice."

"They seem to be really stubborn. How can the rest of you put up with them?"

"You grow used to it after a while. Still, they're good people at heart."

"Is Gatomon supposed to protect you? Why do you always hang around together?"

"We have a bond of love, Jennifer. She protects me and I do the same to her."

"I wish my parents cared about me that way."

* * *

"What is your report, Severus?" asked Dumbledore.

"The Dark Lord is furious at the Japanese brats, and wants them all killed." replied Snape. "He even seems to think less about Potter, and I've heard something about his partner, although I don't know anything about him."

"Do you know what his next target will be?"

"It will likely be something to destabilize the government. Also, he is recruiting followers in France and Germany."

"When will he attempt to rescue Malfoy and company?"

"He worries about striking Azkaban because of the high security, but he will likely attack another area as a distraction to do so. He has gotten about 100 followers in other countries, and it is rumored he will attack muggle towns, as he is furious about a certain family of muggles."

"Tom has always underestimated muggles. They are capable of many things, and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of their wrath."

"Albus, muggles are pathetic! They can hardly fight back against death eaters, and only care about themselves. It is a waste of time protecting them!"

"Severus, it is never a waste of time protecting innocent lives, no matter who they are. Secondly, the majority of muggles do care about others, though you don't see it. I do not want to hear about it being a waste of time protecting them again, understand?"

"There isn't anything else, headmaster. I'll tell you if I hear anything more, but Voldemort is beginning to suspect me."

Snape left, leaving Dumbledore to his thoughts.

*********

Harry was staying up late yet again, thinking about his current life. He had become more distant from his friends lately. They had tried to get him to talk, but he just blew up at them again. Hundreds of people were dying because it was up to him to kill the Dark Lord. He just wished Sirius was still alive.

He still wasn't very certain about the digidestined. Ron believed that they were Voldemort's spies, ever since Tai's... Digimon almost made him faint, but until they had proof, they couldn't do anything about it. Ginny was very furious at him, but he wouldn't tell them anything. None of them knew how it was like to be unloved for your entire life, and lose someone whom you considered a parent.

There was a voice from the dorm, and Harry raised his wand, but it was just Kari and Gatomon. He lowered his wand, looking embarrassed. Kari seemed to know something was wrong, but she didn't say anything.

At this point in the war, the ministry was as bad as Voldemort. They tortured and killed death eaters, so was there any "right side"? They had even tortured a 9-year-old girl because they thought she was a death eater!

Kari just smiled at him and sat down with Gatomon on her shoulder. She was doing her transfiguration homework, though it was obvious she found it pointless. After a few minutes, Harry decided to help her, just to find something to do, and she seemed to find it easy afterwards and left.

Remus Lupin was probably the only one who knew how he felt, as Sirius was his best friend, and he was despised by the majority of the wizarding world. Still, he had barely talked to Harry since the summer, and it was obvious that he blamed Harry for Sirius' death.

Was it ever going to get better? Was this war ever going to end? Would he survive the conflict?

I am terribly sorry for the wait. I had a case of writer's block, and other things have come up. If everything goes to plan, I should have the next chapter within about 10 days or so.

Me: Well, that was a hard chapter to write. I'm looking forward to the action scenes.

Giramon: I've got a suggestion for the story. I'll have to tell you later, though.

Me: I have to go do my homework. Sorry I have to leave you with Candlemon, but at least my sister isn't around.

Giramon: I'll deal with him somehow.

Candlemon: Prepare for a living hell!

Me: This probably isn't going to end well.