Author's Note: I decided pattern Alana's sword after the saber that I got at faire last year. Originally, I wanted her to wield something more similar to Gryffindor's sword in CoS, but I don't know how to use one of those as well and decided to go with a weapon I knew how to use better. That will probably make it easier later on when I write about the sword itself and her fighting style.

The sun shone brightly over the castle. Only a few puffy, white clouds hovered in the blue sky as Alana walked down to the lake with her friend Brook, a fellow Ravenclaw, and an armful of books newly borrowed from the library.

"No, no, no. Supreme Mugwump Ivan Liber presided over the Confederation while the King James V of Stewart held the muggle Scottish throne; so Helena could not have come to power for another fifty years," argued Alana.

"But it was Helena's mother, Louise that initially set the Acts in place. Helena only continued the policy, eventually claiming them as her own," countered Brook.

The two girls continued their debate across the grounds until they were able to find shade under a giant oak tree and consult their texts on the matter. They sat down on the cool grass and heaved the books to the ground with a final huff of effort. The cool air of late summer glided across the lake to play with their long hair and rustle the leaves above.

"Claiming policies of her predecessor" snorted Alana. "Honestly, she sounds like another Catherine 'The Great' if you ask me."

"Catherine who?" asked Brook. "I don't believe I've ever heard of her." Then, after a short pause, "Oh, wait, let me guess, another muggle monarch of yours?" she asked with a grin.

"As a matter of fact, yes. She was Tsar of Russia a long while back, and, in my own opinion, was only responsible for continuing and expanding upon the policies of her predecessor, Tsar Peter the Great," shot Alana with a smirk.

Brook shook her head a bit. "You and your muggle history."

"You and your lack of interest."

"Well, forgive me for studying something a bit more relevant to us."

Alana let out a laugh. "As if history isn't relative to our entire world?"

"Touché," Brook replied and joined in Alana's laughter.

They had both settled down into the grass. All around them students enjoyed the waning summer days. Many sat under similar trees, studying, chatting or playing games while others walked around the grounds. Alana looked thoughtfully through her pile of books and picked out a large, black and gold leather bound one to start reading.

"What's that you've got?" asked Brook. "I didn't see you get that one from the library."

"Actually, I bought this one in Diagon Ally before coming here. You see, I've been saving my money all summer, and even before that..."

"You saved all summer for a book?" gasped Brook. "Oh, let me look at it! It must be truly rare or on some obscure topic!, what is it about?"

"I didn't save for the book itself, although it did set me back quite a bit. I had to get both this year's transfiguration AND potions texts second hand, but oh it was worth it!"

Brook slid next to Alana and gazed at the volume. It was ebony leather with thin, elegant gold writing on the cover. "A Wizard's Guide to the Mastery of Muggle Weapons, Volume 348: The Saber," said Brook, reading the title. "Saber? Alana, are you joking? Wait, then what you've been saving for...?"

"I found the exact one I want!" exclaimed Alana. "It's a real beauty! The blade is a meter long; virtually unbreakable with a leafed vine etched the entire length of it. It's a one handed sword, so I've been building up a bit of muscle in my right arm; the hand guard starts as one strip of metal from the base of the hilt and then separates into smaller strips like the mouth of a river, connecting to the blade!"

"Wherever did you find such a thing? Why would you want one? ... Would your family ever even allow you to own one?" asked a very surprised Brook.

"Well, to tell you the truth," the girl started.

"Ohh, here we go," chastised her friend. "Come, come, Alana, what have you done?"

"I've done nothing! ... Yet at least." She added this last part in a very quilt ridden voice. "So there's no need to get all offensive. Besides, Sardelle's a few years older than I am, and she is going to help me out, so nothing is technically being done illegally."

"Don't act so innocent, Alana. Wanting a weapon, and you're not even of age! Sardelle is actually going to buy it for you? And from where?"

"Well, I am the one paying for it; I'll just have her pick it up for me. As for where..." Alana paused. Brook looked her friend squarely in her eyes.

"Where, Alana?"

"Well, now, don't judge it by where it's from, Brook. After all, many good things come from...disreputable backgrounds. I mean, just look at Mugwump Liber! He was born with a muggle father, and yet he became the most powerful wizard in the Confederation..."

"No excuses, Alana. Where are you getting it from?"

"From an old wizard who deals in muggle weapons and the like. He has a small shop in Knockturn Ally, and"

"Knockturn ally!" exclaimed Brook.

"Shhh. Please, not so loud!" hissed Alana.

"Knockturn Ally!" repeated Brook, only much quieter this time. "What on earth has possessed you to buy ANYTHING from such a place? I mean, who knows what could have been done to that sword! It could be bewitched to kill the owner in her sleep!"

"Well, my Uncle knows the man who is selling it and Sardelle says that Uncle claims him to be an honorable man; at least when it comes to business. And frankly, business is all that matters between him and I; so why should I not trust the sword?"

"I'll say it again Alana, just two words: Knockturn Ally."

Alana shook her head. "I'm still buying the sword, I've made up my mind about it; did so a long time ago. Besides, Sardelle has already told me that she'd do it."

Brook sighed in defeat. She knew Alana to be too stubborn to give up her position when her mind was made up.

"Honestly, Alana," she said. "Sometimes I wonder why you weren't sorted into Gryffindor; you can be so stubborn sometimes."

"Gryffindor?!" Alana let out a burst of laughter. "Brook Clearwater, I am throughly insulted! Why, there hasn't been a Gryffindor in my family since...well, I don't believe there ever has been one. My point being, however, that I would never be the first, and I certainly hope not to see one in my time!" Her eyes shone brightly through this little speech; it had been meant as a jest, but the deep rooted pureblood in her partially believed these words.

"Well, you seem to be a minority in your family anyway," said Brook motioning towards a group of slytherins coming closer across the grounds. They were not more than a few dots dressed in green and black a ways off, but it was easy to tell Lucius Malfoy from a distance; with his long white hair and two hulking body guards, he was not very hard to miss. Alana knew that among the other dots would most likely be her cousin, Severus. He and Lucius were very close friends.

"A minority at the present, perhaps" said Alana, her gaze still on the slowly approaching group, "but we have a long line of Ravenclaws in our family" she finished with a smile. "To tell you the truth, I don't really care much for most Slytherins. I remain surprised to this day that Sardelle is one."

Brook shrugged. "The Sorting Hat knows best, I guess."

"Since when do you 'guess'?" laughed Alana.

Brook shot her a sneer. "Fine. The Sorting Hat simply knows best then" she corrected herself.

The two girls laughed and sank back into their books (Brook was reading one on obscure spells that could produce almost the same effects as many of their standard charms learned in Professor Flitwick's class).