It was a beautiful summer's day. Harry was circling high above the game, the Seeker for England at the Quidditch World Cup. The Irish were good, but England was putting up a good fight. Their best chance to win would be for Harry to catch the Snitch. Suddenly, he saw it! He leaned forward, going into a spectacular dive. The crowd was screaming and chanting his name... The cheers turned into clanging...

'What is that?' Harry thought. 'I wish it would stop. It's giving me a headache...'

Harry sat bolt upright in bed. He looked around. He wasn't at the World Cup at all; he was in the bunkhouse at Serena Riddle's ranch. The loud clanging that was making his head pound seemed to be coming from the main house. Then he noticed the voice accompanying the noise, Serena's voice.

"BREAKFAST! COME ON, BOYS. COME AND GET IT!"

Harry looked out the window. The sky was mostly dark, the slowly rising sun staining it pink. It was dawn. Groaning, Harry woke Ron, pulled on his bathrobe, and walked up to the house. When they entered the living room, they noticed Billy sprawled on the couch, still fast asleep. How he was able to sleep through the racket Serena was making was anyone's guess.

Billy wouldn't be asleep for long. Serena was strolling toward him, looking a bit cross. She leaned over Billy, roughly shaking his shoulder. Billy stirred, surveying his boss through one partially opened eye. "Another half hour," he pleaded into the sofa.

"No," said Serena firmly. She knew perfectly well that after the half hour was up, he would ask for an additional one. Billy might not have been working for her very long, but she knew his tricks inside and out.

"I hate you," Billy said flatly.

"Yeah, well, bite me," said Serena, pulling the blanket off him. She jumped, realizing Billy was in his underwear. "Will you put some clothes on?" she asked, tossing him a pair of pants.

"I wore these yesterday," yawned Billy.

"They're still extremely stylish." she said, going back into the kitchen.

Harry and Ron sat at the table with the rest of "the regulators," as Serena's workers were called. Both boys got very funny looks from the other men, who were already dressed. Serena herself stood over the stove, where something was sizzling in the frying pan. The boys helped themselves to coffee and toast with mango jelly, reading The Independent, which was the local newspaper.

Serena set a mixing bowl full of scrambled eggs and a teetering mountain of chocolate chip pancakes on the table.

"Make sure you eat plenty," Charley advised. "We got about five or ten miles of cow trail before we stop for water."

"What about lunch and afternoon tea?" asked Ron.

Everyone present laughed. Working on a ranch, you were lucky to get ten minutes to sit down and catch your breath. They never had lunch or afternoon tea, unless John Tunstall was there. It was technically John Tunstall the men worked for; it was his ranch. But John was two towns over, visiting his friends, Alex and Susan McSween.
Though Serena was the only female he employed, it was always she John left in charge when he went away. John knew she was not only a hard worker who was very skilled with horses, but the only person who got along with everybody on the ranch. She was also a hell of a cook, so he knew "the boys" would be well-fed.

"Where's Doc?" asked Dick, noticing the blond with the penchant for poetry wasn't there.

"Probably in town with that China doll," Charley said sagely.

Doc had been seeing Yen Sun for almost a week. He was barely able to keep his head in the work during the day because he was so madly in love with Yen, a Chinese immigrant whose family made a modest living by running a laundry business in Silver City.

"Well, if he ain't back soon, 'Rena will kick his ass," said Billy.

Doc ended up wandering through the door just as Serena was clearing the table. He asked if he could catch up with them on the trail, as he hadn't had breakfast yet. Serena agreed, but sternly reprimanded him for not telling her that he was going to see Yen. On that note, she and the others headed out to begin doing barn chores.

Doc settled in front of his plate, silently thanking the angel of mercy that had saved him from a serious ass-kicking. It wasn't as though no one wanted him to have a life; John understood that a man was incomplete without a woman to love and protect. However, Serena, their temporary boss, had a temper. Granted, it wasn't quite as bad as Billy's, but she was still a force to be reckoned with. Doc hoped John would hurry back. Something about Serena Riddle made him awfully nervous...