The raindrops sounded like hailstones as they hit the roof outside. Ciara Saivien watched the dark, wet window with gloom and sighed. This weather sucks, she thought disgustedly. She shrugged and turned her head back down to her homework. Summer homework was always the longest of the whole year, but her teachers had never assigned anything to this magnitude before. The list of assignments and requirements took up half of the parchment.

Summer Assignments

Potions: Essay on the Composition of Anti-Venoms. (No less that two and half feet)

Transfiguration: Report: "Anamagi of the 20th Century". (No less than 3 feet of parchment

History of Magic: Short Essay on the Positive Effects of the Troll Rebellions of the 17th century

Arithmancy: Compile an analysis of the Grammatic and Numerogical Significance in your Family Tree

DADA: Research paper on the dark creature of your choice. (2 feet of parchment maximum)

Charms: Review years first through fourth year spells and copy down 5 spells from the Standard Book of Spells Grade 5 write what they do and why you want to learn them.

Muggle Studies: A short essay on "Why Muggles Need Electricity" (no less than 1 and half SHEETS of parchment

Herbology: Research a magical plant of your choice and from your findings draw a detailed diagram and a short description of its location, climate etc.

Astronomy: Observe the summer skies for familiar constellations. Choose three clear nights to record the stars on a chart. Name the constellations you recognize

Ciara and the rest of the soon-to-be-5th year Slytherins thought that all of this was totally unfair, but all of their teachers reminded them that it was O.W.L. year and they were just preparing you for when you should expect.

Ciara hadn't even gotten to school yet and she was already swamped. London Sorvez, one of Ciara's friends and the newly-chosen Slytherin prefect, had sent her a letter with most of the assignments written down because Ciara had been too lazy to do them herself before the holidays. Much to Ciara's displeasure, London had found Ciara's horror amusing. London said she was done with most of it. Ciara, though knowing the Underage Magic Restrictions and not to mention the fact London was a good friend, Ciara seriously considered sending London an envelope full of itching powder; a thought which she promptly abandoned when she accidentally spilled the bottle of powder all over her bed clothes. She resorted instead to sending London a letter full of curse words. London didn't mind, Ciara had a nasty habit of cursing too much, and she didn't send a response.

Another friend of Ciara's sent her the Arithmancy homework. Lukas Kaine was the reputation bad-boy. It was really only his outward appearance that made him seem that way, most kids when the see a tall, muscular teenager with black spiky hair and frighteningly blue eyes, they tend to expect the worse. He was really nasty to all of the other houses except for his own, but due to his intelligence, the teachers tolerated him. He was nice to Ciara, most of the time, when he wasn't hovering over her shoulder correcting her Arithmancy answers. His lineage was strictly pure blood. His family was from Greece and he could trace his family all the way back to his 100 times great grandfather. He also had a few family members in jail for having dealt the Dark Arts once or twice. So had Ciara, but neither of them spoke about it. Most of Ciara's family had, at one point or another, practiced them. Although Lukas had acquired the Slytherin mindset that they were better then everyone else. That was partially true of course, even Ciara thought so, but she wasn't going to admit that to anyone other than her cat, Fin.

Fin was a lynx/domesticated cat mix. An accident, if you will. He was well trained, but hardly polite to anyone but Ciara. His glossy black coat and honey colored eyes made him a frightening animal to be alone with. Not for Ciara, he was almost attached to her, and when she wasn't there, he would guard her room, or bed, whichever place they were Hogwarts or home at 1229 Overland Place. Ciara had gotten used to the fact that she had to come back home every summer. London had a large flat in, needless to say, London, and Ciara could have stayed there, but no, the parentals wanted her home, I hate freaking Wicklow, she thought grimly as she snapped a hair band at the window above her desk. Tabby and London were probably having the time of their lives in Diagon Alley right now, but not Ciara, she was stuck in stormy Ireland with nothing to do but homework. Her parents orders, no shopping until everything is done.

Ciara, though encouraged by every family member to excel in 5th year, wasn't ready to appease them. She sighed and turned her eye back down to her homework. Her Potions essay was still and inch and half short of the minimum, D'Vine and London could help her on the train.

Anamagi Who Changed Modern Times, a rather large volume containing every one of the registered Anamagi of the 19th and 20th centuries complete with a large biography and achievements listed as well for each of them. She flipped the pages and found that Minerva McGonagall, her Transfiguration teacher, a whole twenty-five pages. She was impressed, her liking for McGonagall was dampened by the fact she was the Head of House for Gryffindor, but Ciara's grade in Transfiguration was proof that McGonagall was a fair teacher, and also a very good one.

Three essays, two research papers, one rather long Arithmatic calculation sheet, and two other assorted assignments later Ciara was finished. It took two and half days, but she was mostly finished except for the Astronomy assignment. It never stopped raining in Wicklow so she decided to do it later, when she was on London's roof of her penthouse. Either that or she could just copy Robert Loelle's he had been madly, passionately in love with Ciara since 1st year, and he moved to her every whim and fancy. Which worked for Ciara, she wasn't complaining.