I'ma back! Wow, man it's been a long time. Oh, well, I finally got it up didn't I? At least that's an improvement. Ok I know that the previous chapters were slightly sappy, but I just had to put some mush in. Anyway I doubt there will be any more of that... then again! ;p

Alright, enjoy.

Chapter 5 – Home sweet Hogwarts

It was raining hard outside the Hogwarts Express, as Kara pulled open a random compartment door.

"This one's empty Ginny!" She shouted over her shoulder. The redhead soon appeared at her side.

"Great!" she answered throwing her jacket onto the seat to their right.

The two girls settled themselves comfortably for the long journey to school. Kara was so glad the summer was over; she could finally enjoy time with her friends. She missed the fun and mischief of Hogwarts so much. The idea of missing classes surprised her though, and yet, her summer had been awful from the very beginning. Kara had been greatly shaken after their adventure in the Ministry of Magic. After that night, she had felt that she was a Malfoy only by name. Unlike her parents and her brother she had no interest in joining "you-know-who". She knew she was betraying her own blood, yet she felt somehow she was doing the right thing, or at least what she believed was right.

(The Next Day – First Class)

"Ginny!" Kara called to the redhead after breakfast. Ginny made her way through the crowd toward Kara. "So how many classes did you take?"

"Oh the most important, I guess. Transfiguration, astronomy, care of magical creatures, charms, potions... and ummm..." Ginny looked over her schedule once more.

"You didn't take defence against the dark arts?"

"Of course I did, it's pretty important isn't it, even though we may despise the teacher. Speaking of which..." Ginny said peering down at the parchment again.

"Oh no... Not that..." Kara said desperately, also looking down at her time table. "Geez! First day of the semester and I'm stuck in double defence against the dark arts right after potions! And we've got it double tomorrow and then again on Friday. Pleasant year this is going to be." Kara exclaimed frustrated, as she reviewed her schedule for the eighth time since she received it at breakfast.

"At least you're stuck in it with me!" Ginny said taking hold of Kara's arm and leading her towards the dungeons.

"Still can't believe Snape finally got the job." Ginny said after a while.

"I know. Kinda weird isn't it? I wonder if potions 'ill be the same as last year, since we got Slughorn now?"

"Most likely. I don't think our classes will change that much. We do have to know certain things for our OWLs anyway."

"Yeah, I guess. So... what did your brother do last year in potions?" Kara asked.

"Umm, I'm not exactly sure what we're supposed to know for our OWLs, something about learning a lot of new ingredients and lots of essays and ... oh, lots and lots of potion making!" Ginny answered thinking.

"Ah, I see. Any details?"

"Umm... nope. Why don't you ask your brother?"

"Ask Draco? I can barely talk to him any more. Besides... I just... I can't... talk about it right now." Kara said her eyes downcast. "It just hasn't been the same since our escapade at the ministry." She said looking up and trying to sound casual. She smiled weakly at Ginny and started off towards the dungeons. Ginny caught up to her. Kara was taking in long breaths to calm herself. Ginny hugged her friend.

"You're gonna be fine." she whispered reassuringly. Kara didn't answer but let her self be directed to class, trying to block out images of the past from her mind.

(That evening)

Kara sat in the Ravenclaw common room trying to get a start on her defence a.t.d.a. homework. All her books were spread out around her on the carpet in front of the warm fire. She snatched her finished transfiguration essay off the couch beside her, as a sixth year dropped her self down where Kara's papers had been.

"Sorry didn't see those." The girl mumbled as she found her marker and began reading from a small red book.

"That's ok." Kara said without looking up. She was desperately trying to block out the noise caused by her fellow Ravenclaws. The first, second and third years had not received much work on their first day back, and were now trying to entertain themselves as the evening wore on. Many of the older students had retired to the library, hoping they could work in silence. She had also been in the library earlier that evening trying to get her work done with Ginny, but fate would so have it that Dean came along, distracting the redhead. Kara had hastily given an excuse and left, deciding to leave the two alone.

Soon giving up on her incomplete defence assignment, she scrounged around for her astronomy textbook. Seeing the familiar deep blue binding poking out from under the sofa to her left, she pulled it out form under the seat. And there curled up on the cover was her Tobi. She gently picked up her small furry companion, which she had taken in when she was younger, and placed him on her lap. She gazed down at him for awhile. He had the body and tail of a ferret except he wasn't as long as one and his fur was slightly longer and incredibly soft. He was extremely light and sleek, his build made for speed and flight. She scratched him absentmindedly behind his wing joints. As she looked down at him once more the little form quivered and opening its three large crimson eyes it looked up at her.

"Hey Tobi. Sorry, but you fell asleep on my homework."

The creature seemed to shrug unperturbed and laid its head down on her knee staring at the crackling flames. Kara had just opened her astronomy text book and gotten out some fresh sheets of parchment when a shadow fell over her.

She looked up to find an unfamiliar face peering down at her.

"Hello?" she said looking up at him. But the young boy simply stared at her, or rather at her knee. He suddenly snapped out of his silent state.

"Sorry... I just... I've never seen... well, something like that before." He exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh," Was her answer, as she glanced down at her companion. "This is Tobi."

"Ah, and I'm Anthony..."

"You're a first year then, aren't you?"

"Yes," He said proudly. "Mom and Pa were so pleased when I received my letter. A bit of a shock though, since they were both muggles." He said quickly and enthusiastically.

"I see. Well, it was nice to meet you Anthony." She said slightly irritated at the interruption. She had wished to finish her homework as soon as possible. She knew leaving it to the next evening was simply out of the question, since the Ravenclaw quidditch team was getting an early start in practice sessions. Kara turned back to her blank parchment. She jotted down her name and the date, and was about to start her paragraph about the positions of the planets and their meaning, and how to record their location in the night sky, when she noticed that the young boy was still standing over her. She looked up again at his expectant face.

"Yes?"

"Umm... are you by any chance Kara Malfoy?" he asked her hopefully. She eyed him curiously.

"Yeah, actually I am."

"Oh... ok..." he said thinking. There was a moment of awkward silence. Kara broke it impatiently.

"Listen, I've got a lot of work I've gotta finish up. What is it?" she said as kindly as she could.

"Right. Well, someone told me to give this to you." He answered, fumbling in his pockets for something. He soon produced a folded bit of parchment and handed it to her.

"Thanks." She said, taking it curiously. She opened it to find a short barely legible scrawl.

Meet me in the chamber across from the potions classroom at twenty past midnight.

There was no name and she did no recognise the handwriting.

"Who gave this...?" She began, but scanning the room around her she noticed that the boy had vanished. Looking around one last time, she sighed and looked at her watch. She still had two hours before the meeting. She had an idea of who it could have been, but she was not sure, so she pushed the message to the back of her mind and continued her homework.

So that's it for now. I hope I got your attention. I'll TRY to update soon; promise. Review Plz! I'm asking nicely to please Review. Ok... I think I asked enough. Anyhoo, till next time! Bye... P