For the next several weeks, Aralynn could not manage to pull herself from her own head. What Hagrid had said about Professor Snape having good reason to like her wouldn't stop turning over and over in her mind. It was clear that the people around her knew more about her than she did. Throughout the years, she had always felt as though there was something about her that she didn't quite understand—something she was missing. She had never felt whole, not even on her greatest days. No matter how hard she tried to ignore that feeling—overlook it—it always came creeping back. It would never stop nagging at her, hiding in the back of her head. Why was this feeling so overpowering? Why did she always feel as though she were wrong? That something about her was wrong? Aralynn knew who she was… didn't she?

It was hard for her to focus on her classes, but she had still somehow managed to maintain relatively good marks. Hermione was still raging in the primary spot as the top of their class. Aralynn was proud of her for that, but disappointed in herself. She had managed to fall so behind simply because she couldn't focus. Simply because there were words people had said that she couldn't stop thinking about. Realistically, these words probably held no stock, but they still refused to go away. They were relentless; unyielding.

Aralynn and Ron had since forgiven each other for their unfriendly behavior and resumed the close relationship that, as twins, they were meant to have. It was only when Aralynn overheard Ron and Harry's conversation during supper one night that she truly came back to reality.

"—Hagrid and I were there earlier that day… in that same vault," said Harry.

"I wonder what could have been in there," Ron replied, itching his head thoughtfully. "Who would want to steal something from a vault that was already empty?"

Aralynn excused herself from Hermione and scooted closer to Harry and Ron. "What's going on?" she asked. "What are you two talking about? Something about a vault?"

Harry nodded, a bit eagerly. "When Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley, we visited a vault at Gringotts. Hagrid wouldn't tell me what it was that was in there. All he said that it was 'official Hogwarts business' and that it was 'very serious.' Obviously, it was meant to be kept a secret. Whatever it was, it was in a very small parcel, and it was heavily protected. When we went to Hagrid's a few weeks back, I saw an article from the Daily Prophet. A vault at Gringotts was broken into, and it was the same vault we went to earlier that day! Whoever went there was trying to find whatever Hagrid took…"

Aralynn listened attentively to Harry. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Gringotts is protected by incredibly powerful magic," she said. "Nobody has ever been able to break into those vaults. Only someone who possessed unimaginable power would have been able to do that."

"A seriously dark wizard," Ron agreed.

"I wonder what it was," Harry wondered longingly.

Aralynn shrugged. "Well, whatever it was; it's safe here now. It's at Hogwarts, and it's under Professor Dumbledore's protection. I don't think it's something that needs to be worried about anymore."

Harry had an unconvinced frown on his face. "I dunno. Maybe not."

That afternoon was their first flying lesson with Madam Hooch. The participating students were jittering with excitement and chatting exuberantly amongst themselves. Given that the students were born with at least one magical parent, the chances were good that they had flown before. Aralynn and Ron both had, but Aralynn had no doubt that Hermione and Harry were both anxious. Hermione was Muggleborn, and Harry had been raised with a Muggle family. Surely, they had never even thought of riding a broom before reading or learning about it from their friends and professors.

Madam Hooch was a fierce looking woman with spiky grey hair and yellow eyes that reminded Aralynn of a hawk. She approached the students, looking between them. She nodded. "Each of you, step up to your brooms," she ordered.

The brooms were lined up, split into two columns, and were several feet apart. Each student stepped up to their respective brooms, now looking nervous rather than excited. Aralynn looked down at the knobby training broom and studied the skewed sticks at the bottom. She figured that it wouldn't be too hard for her to manage this broom. The brooms that her mother and father had been able to provide for them—which they were all very grateful for—looked about the same, maybe worse. While she might have been able to get the brooms at home into her hand; she was unsure of her capabilities at this moment. More than anything, she was afraid of embarrassing herself. She shouldn't have been—they were all inexperienced. Yet, there was this unusual desire blazing inside of her for her to be able to prove herself.

"Right," began Madam Hooch. "Now, place your hands over your brooms. With force, I want you to call the broom into your hand with a simple: 'Up!'"

The children looked between one another warily but followed Madam Hooch's instruction. Aralynn looked down at her broom, trying to focus all her energy into pulling it into her hand. Filling herself with intent, she inhaled, and stated, "Up!"

Simultaneously, Harry and Aralynn's brooms immediately shot into their hands. They looked at one another, then looked back to their brooms. Clearly, they were both extremely shocked. How could this happen; so quickly and naturally? Aralynn couldn't remember this happening any other time she had ridden a broom.

Great, Aralynn thought. Another unanswered question.

Once the rest of the students had their brooms in hand, Madam Hooch gave them further instruction to mount them, lean forward slightly, hover, and then come back down. The students had less issue with this, but Harry, Aralynn, and Draco Malfoy had gotten up the easiest. They eased their brooms back down… all of them aside for Neville Longbottom. On the other hand, Neville seemed to have lost all control of his broom. He kept rising higher and higher, until he had tilted off the side and came plummeting back down.

Madam Hooch swept over to Neville, examined him, and gave a few tuts. Aralynn heard her saying that his wrist was broken. "Stay perfectly still as I escort Mister Longbottom to the Hospital Wing. If any of you even dare to pick up these brooms and mount them, you will be removed from Hogwarts immediately."

Then, she walked off with a hand dragging Neville along by his elbow.

Aralynn shuffled over to Harry and Ron, shaking her head. "Poor Neville."

"Yeah," Ron said with a shake of his head. "Useless, that one."

"That's rude," Aralynn hissed. "He's new, and he's learning. Don't act superior."

Ron rolled his eyes but proceeded to shut his mouth. One argument Ron knew he would never win was when Aralynn adamantly insisted that people deserved the benefit of the doubt. "Well, anyway," Ron grumbled. "How is it, Harry? Y'know, starting to fly?"

"Brilliant," answered Harry with a smile. "Feels natural."

"Your broom came to you really quickly," Ron told him. "You must be a natural!"

"I… guess I could be," Harry replied humbly.

"You have incredible control for someone who's never flown before," Aralynn told him. "Hey, maybe you could try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team next year!"

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "What's Quidditch?"

Ron looked offended, until he realized that Harry was new to the wizarding world. "It's a very famous and popular wizarding sport."

"Teams have seven players," Aralynn added. "A Seeker, two Beaters, three Chasers, and one Keeper."

"Just so you know—the Chudley Cannons are the best Quidditch team," said Ron.

Aralynn leaned over to Harry, whispering: "No, they aren't."

Harry grinned at Aralynn. "Well, how do you play Quidditch?"

"It's all in the air," Ron told him. "There are three goals on each side of a Quidditch pitch, and the teams try to score on each other."

"Kind of like basketball," Harry nodded.

"Like what?"

Harry shook his head. "Nevermind. Go on."

"A game is won when a Seeker catches the Golden Snitch. The Snitch gives the catching team one-hundred-and-fifty points."

Aralynn nodded. "If the Snitch is never caught, the game can go on for ages."

Harry opened his mouth to ask another question, but his attention was caught by the rest of the class congregated together. "What's going on over there?"

Ron, Aralynn, and Harry wandered over to the crowd. Aralynn stopped at Hermione's side, looking at her. "What's going on, Hermione?"

"Do you remember when Neville received a parcel from his grandmother with a Remembrall in it?"

Aralynn nodded.

Hermione sighed. "Well, it seems that it had slipped out of his robes when he fell. Draco found it."

Aralynn's attention was caught by Harry marching straight over to Draco, who was flaunting his new find. "What an idiot," said Draco. "Can't keep track of anything, can he? Has he lost that stupid frog again yet?"

"Give it to me, Malfoy," said Harry sternly. He held out his hand, waiting for Draco to place the Remembrall in his palm.

Draco scoffed. "No," he said simply. "Perhaps Longbottom would have remembered to fall on his fat arse if he could ever keep his head on straight. You know what? I think I'll leave it somewhere for him to find. How about on the roof?" He mounted his broom, flying around the crowd. "What d'you think, Potter? Think he'll remember it's gone?"

"Malfoy, if you don't give me the Remembrall, I'll come up there and knock you off of your broom!" Harry hissed, preparing to mount his broom as well.

Hermione, Ron, and Aralynn strode over to Harry. "Careful," Aralynn warned.

Draco sniggered. "Well, if you're going to act like that… Fetch!" He then threw the Remembrall with full force towards the castle.

Harry mounted the broom, flying into the air after Neville's trinket.

"Harry!" Hermione called. "You'll be expelled!"

Aralynn went to mount her broom, too, but she was stopped by Hermione. "Don't," she hissed. "Don't you be a fool, too."

Per Hermione's insistence, Aralynn remained on the ground with the rest of the crowd. They collectively watched as Harry darted on his broom towards the castle. Just as he was about to crash into the wall, he took hold of the Remembrall, flipped in the air, and steadied himself. Even from the ground, it was obvious that he was sporting a satisfied grin. He came flying back down, triumphantly waving the marble-sized ball in the air. "I've got it!"

The students rushed Harry, lifting him into the air briefly once he landed. "That was incredibly stupid!" Hermione told him.

"But brave," Aralynn interjected, smiling at Harry.

Hermione glared at Aralynn, but there was a small smile peeking at her lips.

The cheer was suddenly disrupted when Professor McGonagall strode over. Her lips were pursed sternly, and her eyes seemed to be blazing with fury. "Harry Potter!" she shouted. "Come with me, now."

Harry went pale and swallowed the lump in his throat. He handed the Remembrall to Aralynn. "Be sure to give that to Neville," he muttered to her before following behind Professor McGonagall.

Ron stopped at Aralynn's side, frowning. "Bloody hell," he muttered. "He's doomed."

When Madam Hooch returned and was told about the situation that arose between Draco and Harry, and about Harry being escorted away by Professor McGonagall, class was ended abruptly. She assured them that their flying lessons would resume once the students learned to behave and follow instruction. Aralynn, Ron, and Hermione strode through the corridors. There was a significant amount of time before their next class, and they decided to discuss what would become of Harry instead.

"He's going to be expelled for sure," said Hermione. "There's no way he'll get away with that."

"McGonagall would be mad to expel him," argued Ron. "He's Harry Potter. He's the Boy Who Lived against You-Know-Who. She can't just expel him."

"She can!" Hermione shouted. "He broke the rules."

Aralynn shook her head. "There's no sense in arguing about whether or Harry should, or can, be expelled. We should be hoping that he isn't. Harry deserves to be at Hogwarts with the rest of us."

They roamed through the corridors for some time before Harry finally rejoined them. Instead of looking downtrodden, he was quite cheerful. The three stared at him, expecting explanation, but he seemed too distracted by his own thoughts.

Hermione finally decided to garner his attention. "You seem rather cheery for someone who was likely expelled."

"Oh," Harry blinked, shaking his head. "No, I wasn't expelled."

"What happened then?" asked Aralynn.

"I'm on the Quidditch team!" Harry exclaimed. "I'm the new Seeker!"

"What?" Ron questioned incredulously. "First-years never make the team!"

Harry shrugged but was still giddy. "McGonagall said my skills were quite notable."

Aralynn tilted her head. "You must be the youngest Seeker in…"

"—A century," Harry nodded, smiling brightly.

They were soon joined by Fred and George, who slapped Harry on the back.

"Congrats, Potter!" exclaimed George.

"Wood just announced it to the team!" added Fred.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, looking between Aralynn and Ron.

"They're on the team, too," said Aralynn.

"Beaters," nodded Ron.

"A Beater's job is to make sure none of the players get roughed up too badly or knocked off their brooms!" said Fred.

"No guarantees," added George. "Quidditch is a brutal game."

Fred nodded. "Rough, but no worries—nobody has died in a long time."

The elder Weasley twins wandered away, leaving Harry looking soberer than he had before. His face had been flushed of color.

Aralynn placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Harry. You'll be great."

"What if I'm not?" Harry countered. "I mean, I'm new to flying, and I've never played Quidditch before. I could be rubbish! I could lose all the games!"

"You won't," said Hermione. "Quidditch talent is in your blood."

Ron jerked his attention to Hermione. "She knows more about us than we do."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Follow me."

Harry and the Weasley twins followed Hermione through the corridors. She was walking with such a sure step that she was going much faster than they were. They were jogging to catch up to her. Abruptly, Hermione had stopped outside of a showcase. They three blundered into the back of her, having not expected her to pause.

Hermione waved her arm to the showcase. "Look."

The three peered into the showcase, which housed Quidditch trophies throughout the years. One plaque had the name of Harry's father engraved on the shield-shaped gold.

James Potter. Chaser.

Ron gaped. "How come you never told us that your father was a Chaser, Harry?"

Aralynn glared at Ron. "He didn't know."

Harry was shaking his head. "I can't believe this. I am a natural."

"You'll be great at Quidditch, Harry," said Hermione. "So long as you don't get yourself expelled."

Aralynn looked upon Harry's face, who was now smiling. It was more of a sorrowful smile than a joyful one. It had to be hard for him to learn things piece by piece about his parents, instead of already knowing it. He had never had the opportunity to learn who his parents were, and what they did while at Hogwarts. She could tell that he was proud to be following in his father's footsteps but dispirited that he couldn't share the news.

After finishing their classes for the day, the four regrouped in the corridors. It was getting late, and they would need to be heading back to their dormitories soon. They shared what they had learned from their professors. Hermione was talking eagerly about their curriculum. She was clearly enjoying Hogwarts far more than the rest of them. Perhaps Aralynn, too, would have been equally as enthusiastic about their coursework… if she hadn't spent the entire term distracted by her own questions, and by the words of people who seemed to know her more than she did. She was talking animatedly about Charms while they walked up one of the staircases.

"—Professor Flitwick's lessons are truly incredible. He's an amazing professor, really. I think I've learned the most from that class than any others. We'll be learning the Levitation Charm soon; did you guys know that? Within the next few weeks, I've heard. I've been talking with Professor Flitwick privately about advanced lessons. He said he would consider teaching me more next year, but I told him I've been studying on my own, too. He was quite proud. He said that I'm one of the most promising first-year students, along with Aralynn, of course. Oh! I told him that I've learned a rather advanced charm, the—"

Hermione suddenly went quiet when the staircase jerked from its position. It began to shift away from the landing they needed to step off on to get back to their dormitories. The four of them latched onto the railings. "What's going on?" Ron asked.

"The staircase is moving," said Aralynn. "They change, remember?"

Once the staircase came to a stop, Harry exhaled a short breath. "Let's get off before they decide to move again."

They hurried off the staircase, shaking off the brief fear that they had felt when it had unexpectedly soared away. They opened the door before them, entering an unlit room. They looked around, trying to peer through the darkness. "Where are we?" asked Harry.

"I don't know," said Ron. "I'm getting a weird feeling, though."

"Like we're not supposed to be here," added Aralynn.

"This is the third floor," said Hermione. "We're not supposed to be here. It's forbidden. Oh, we need to get out of here before we get expelled!"

Aralynn had her eyes locked on something down the corridor. She swallowed hard, tapping the three others a couple of times. "We might get expelled," she told them. When they looked at her, she pointed down the corridor, where a pair of yellow lamp-like eyes sat, staring them down. A flame burst alive to reveal that the eyes were owned by a cat, who sat there flicking its tail back and forth. The cat stood, beginning to meow loudly.

"It's Mrs. Norris!" Ron hissed. "We have to get out of here, before Filch comes!"

Harry tugged on the sleeves of their robes. "Run!"

The three of them took off toward the opposite end of the corridor, running as fast as their legs would allow. They rammed into a door at the end of the hall. Ron desperately fidgeted with the handle, but it wouldn't open. "It's locked!"

Aralynn looked to Hermione. "Standard Book of Spells," she said to her. "Chapter seven!"

Suddenly, Hermione perked up. She shoved her way between the boys, waving her wand at the handle. "Alohomora," she whispered. She opened the door and the three of them shoved inside. They carefully closed the door behind them, holding their breaths as they heard Filch's footsteps lingering around the door.

"Did you see someone, Mrs. Norris?" he asked the cat, who mewled back. "Let's see if they've gone this way."

Once the footsteps faded away, they exhaled sharply, feeling relieved. Aralynn pressed her palm to her chest, feeling the rapid beating of her heart. "That was close."

Hermione nodded. "Too close."

"We have to get out of here before Filch circles back," Harry said. "We must get back to the dormitories. Thankfully he didn't look here. He thinks the door is still locked. Why was it locked?"

Ron gulped and raised a shaky hand. "That's why."

Harry, Hermione, and Aralynn turned away from the door to see whatever it was that Ron was pointing at. Once they turned, their eyes traveled upwards to see three massive dog heads. They were paralyzed with fear, and even more so when they realize the three heads were attached to one body. The heads bared their teeth, beginning to growl. Finally realizing what was before them, they began to scream. Aralynn jerked the door open and the four went toddling out when the dog's heads began snapping at them. They collectively used their weight to shove the door back until it locked once more.

Again, they took off at a run. They ran down the corridor, back to the staircases, and navigated the halls until they found their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. They hurried through the portrait hole before they could stop the catch their breaths. "Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed. "Are these people mad!? Keeping a monster like that locked in a school… a school with children!"

Aralynn leaned forward, placing her palms on her knees. She heaved in desperate breaths of fresh air. "It wasn't there for no reason," she told him. "It's a guard dog."

"Guard dog?" Harry questioned.

"It was standing on a door," Hermione added with a nod. "It was protecting something."

"How did you notice?" asked Ron, exasperated. "I was a little preoccupied looking at its heads!"

Hermione glowered at him. "It's not my fault you're oblivious!" She straightened her robes and marched up the staircase to the dormitories. "I'm going to bed before you two get us killed! Or expelled!"

Aralynn coughed through her lack of breath. She stood straight and smiled at the boys. "Don't mind her. She's really concerned with her education." She turned her back, following Hermione into their dormitory. The two didn't speak, but Hermione was muttering angrily under her breath while she changed into her nightwear. Aralynn changed but couldn't manage to fall asleep. Instead, she sat in the sill of the window, looking out onto Hogwarts's grounds as rain flooded the grass.

She brought her knees up to her chest, thinking back to the three-headed dog and the trapdoor it was standing on. She wondered what was so important that it needed to be protected by such a beast. Then she thought about the vault that Harry had mentioned. It had been broken into after it had already been emptied. Could the item in the vault have been what the dog was guarding?