...

Hey guys! So...I'm back! Kind of. More information at the end:)

Chapter 4

"Well, that was fun," I joke.

Anica snorts.

"For you, maybe," she sighs. "I'm probably going to be pink for a few days."

"Who knows, maybe Xinia can work her...well, magic, and find a way to get rid of it," I say.

She shrugs.

"I don't mind. The boys are worse than me. I saw them as I came out."

We make our way to the Great Hall, but just before we enter, I stop.

"Ah, crap," I lie. "I forgot to grab my bag. You go ahead; I wanna grab it before we go to class."

I had forgotten my bag, but it was on purpose. Anica looks at me suspiciously for a moment before shrugging. I turn away and go back in the direction we had come from. Once I turn the corner, I pass Xander.

"You know the plan?" I ask.

He nods.

"The boys are in position."

I grin.

"Okay. We'll meet you in five minutes."

I sprint off to grab my bag and a few other things before heading back to the Great Hall. I remember earlier this year when everyone had organised a 'celebration' for my birthday, and I was determined to one-up them. Just before I walked into the Great Hall; however, I suddenly remembered something.

"Damnit," I curse, getting a few stern looks from the older students around me.

I groan, wondering what to do. On the weekend I had involved Kimmy in my plans, which meant I was a person down. Unfortunately I had planned this specifically for the people that were there, so I couldn't make do. Someone would have to take her place.

"Hey, Gena! What was Xander up to this morning?" I suddenly hear.

I whirl around, a grin forming on my face.

"Yes! Xandler, I need your help."

He glances at Bailey in confusion, but my brother shrugs.

"He was helping with the girls birthday plans. But we're a person down. You're my back-up," I explain impatiently. "Now, listen carefully."

I tell him exactly what I want him to do before pushing him inside the Hall. Bailey follows with a slight shake of his head but a grin ever-present. I wait outside, tapping my foot as I wait for everyone to get into position. Then, when I hear a bang from inside, I grin.

"Go time," I mutter, pushing the doors open.

Inside, everyone was focused on the Howler that had just arrived.

"AHEM. COULD I PLEASE HAVE EVERYONE'S ATTENTION?" my voice rang out through the Hall. "THANKS. NOW. I JUST WANTED EVERYONE TO BE AWARE THAT TODAY IS SOME OF MY FAVOURITE PEOPLE'S BIRTHDAYS. NOW DON'T GET COCKY. YOU THREE YOU JUST HAPPEN TO BE THE ONLY ONES WHO LIKE ME," that gets a couple of chuckles. "FIRST TO MISS XINIA REN. GOTTA START WITH THE OLDEST, RIGHT? NOW, MISS REN. I WANT YOU TO TURN AROUND, PLEASE," my voice pauses for a moment. "OH FOR GOODNESS SAKE JUST TURN AROUND I'M NOT GOING TO KILL YOU!"

From here, I can see Xinia rolling her eyes as she does what me in the Howler asks. Then I see them widen as she sees what I had been doing while the Howler was distracting everyone.

I had dug around in my room when I got home after being at the twins' place and found a few muggle party decorations. I had then asked for a couple of spells from my parents, and now about a hundred red and gold balloons were spelt out to read 'Happy Birthday!' On top of that, I had managed to gather a few muggle photos of Xinia that were quite embarrassing, if I did say so myself. Xinia turned bright red as she saw them.

"NOW I KNOW JUST HOW MUCH YOU LOVE GRYFFINDORS," my voice pauses in the Howler, and you can hear me laughing, to which Xinia scowls. "ANYWAY. SO I DECIDED TO DECORATE YOU WITH THEIR COLOURS!"

Then the balloons popped and a swirl of red and gold came down all over Xinia, coating her from head to toe in colour. She swore as everyone gasped and laughed and my Howler chuckled.

"NOW WASN'T THAT FUN? ANYWAY, NEXT. MISS CIENA WORE. THE MIDDLE. THE PEACEKEEPER. THE - YEAH I GOT NOTHING. ANYWAY, MISS WORE. IF YOU WOULD PLEASE DO ME A FAVOUR BY TURNING YOUR BODY TO FACE THE DOORS OF THE GREAT HALL? DON'T WORRY, YOUR PRESENT ISN'T LIKE MISS REN'S. YOURS IS MUCH BETTER. COME ON NOW, STOP WORRYING. AH, THERE WE GO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NOW, BEHOLD!"

I was impressed that the three boys had managed to get it all together. They had slipped away when the Howler went off, but now everyone knew what they had done. Of course, Xander and Xandler had helped them, but still, I was impressed.

A temporary illusion shimmered on the doors, showing the Quidditch pitch. More importantly, an image of Ciena on a broom. The sight in itself was hilarious, but the next bit was even better. Image Ciena pulled out her wand and sent a message out of it in green sparks; 'Go Slytherin!' Then the illusion panned to an image of Anica and I hitting a bludger at Xinia. Cheers erupted from nowhere just as the illusion dropped, milliseconds before the bludger made contact with Xinia. Everyone in the Hall laughed, knowing the rivalry the four of us had with Quidditch.

"I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOVE QUIDDITCH, SO I DECIDED TO BLESS YOU WITH THE IMAGE I KNOW JUST WARMS YOUR HEART!" my Howler starts back up again, laughing slightly. "SEE, THAT WASN'T SO BAD, NOW WAS IT?"

On the contrary, Ciena looked very annoyed, although slightly amused. I was glad she wasn't mad and had seen the humour in it. We weren't as close as I was with the other two so I had decided her 'present' wouldn't be too bad. She was also a lot more serious than Xinia and Anica, so I knew anything much worse could have ended badly.

"NOW. MISS ANICA WORE!" there was a slightly longer pause I had put in for a dramatic effect. "DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK YOU KNOW YOU LOVE ME. NOW, IF YOU'LL LOOK UP, PLEASE!"

Unlike the other two, Anica followed my directions immediately, as I had suspected. I grinned.

"SO WE ALL KNOW JUST HOW MUCH OF A RAVENCLAW YOU ARE, RIGHT?" my Howler jokes. "SO I DECIDED YOUR PRESENT WOULD REFLECT THAT. OBSERVE."

Just as the Howler finished speaking, things started to fall from the ceiling above Anica.

Cushioning and endurance charms had been put on all the items so that they didn't hurt someone or break when they hit the ground. But that didn't stop Anica from cowering as books and quills, and papers with 100% written on them started raining down on her. To make it even better, every time something touched her, the skin or clothing changed so that an image of what had hit her appeared. Soon enough, she was covered in drawings and pictures of books and graded papers.

Everyone was watching in amusement as Anica groaned, looking physically pained, although I knew she wasn't.

Meanwhile, I was incredibly proud of myself.

None of the effects of the presents would last too long, but while they did, they would be pretty amusing. They were actually pretty tame. I prided myself on that thought as well. I knew Ciena's didn't compare to Anica's or Xinia's, but, oh well.

"WELL, THAT WAS FUN!" my voice rang out. "THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR YOUR ATTENTION. NOW, FOR THE FINALE, PLEASE JOIN IN AS I SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THESE THREE WONDERFUL LADIES!"

Then my Howler launched into song and Dylan, Nick, George, Xander and Xandler and I joined in. All of them were waving their arms around, trying to get everyone to join in. One by one I saw Bailey, then Tim and Kyle, Fred, Wyrene, hell, even Quinn and Jamie. By the final 'Happy Birthday to you', everyone in the Hall was singing along, even the teachers. Well, everyone who mattered.

Parkinson and his group of friends plus Kimmy and a few other Slytherins weren't singing, but I paid them no attention. As I conducted the final Hooray, cheers and clapping broke out for a minute before everyone quieted down again. My Howler had shredded itself up during the song, so everyone's attention was on me.

"Sorry guys. That's it," I announced.

As I walk over to the girls, I see that they are less than amused.

"We did something nice for you! And what do we get? A bunch of impractical jokes!" Ciena complains.

"Oh let's not forget that it was outright boring! We did much better!" Xinia laughs.

I can tell she is joking, but it still hurts.

"I thought you'd try harder! I'm disappointed," Anica smirks.

My grin falls off my face, and my mood dampens considerably.

"Oh, stop your whining. We're only joking," they say standing to hug me.

"Plus you must have studied and practised those spells and charms, so extra points," Xinia adds.

I smile as the rest of the group joins us. George compliments the girls on their outfits, and I hold back a snort. Xinia was still coated from head to toe in red and gold, and Anica was moaning about the books and parchment decorating her skin and robes all over. They were quite the sight. And contrasting, which was what I was going for.

"How long will this last?" Xinia asks.

I shrug.

"A couple of hours. Maybe more. It depends on how well I did the spell," I grin.

Horror fills her expression.

"I've got to go to the library," she exclaims, dashing away.

"Party pooper!" I call out after her retreating form.

Everyone laughs as she sticks the finger up without looking. Then I turn to the group.

"Thank you for your help. I couldn't have done it without you," I thank all the boys.

"Our pleasure," Xander answers with a mock bow. "Anything to see these girls flustered."

"I wasn't flustered," Anica protests.

"I believe the screaming as books rained down on you prove otherwise dear Anica," Xandler laughs jokingly.

She hits his shoulder.

Just then the bell goes, signalling time for class. Everyone groans as they start to get up to leave the Hall.

"I grabbed a timetable for you," Anica says, handing me a copy.

"Thanks," I say, studying it.

I groan.

"Double History of Magic first up? How is that fair?"

"Suckers," George laughs, grabbing his out and looking at it. "We've got Defence."

"I have Transfiguration," Ciena says without even looking at her timetable.

"No fair!" I cry. "Then we've got Double Herbology and Double Potions!" I whine as I study the rest of the timetable. "What is this meant to be, our personal torture?!"

"It's called education, Miss Dinnick," I suddenly hear Professor Malfoy come up behind me, and I try not to wince, knowing he would have overheard the last bit of my rant. "Now, don't make any plans after class. You and Miss Wore will be serving detention straight away with me."

"Of course, Professor," I turn around, putting on an incredibly fake smile I know he'll see right through.

Oh well. With a disapproving look at Anica's robes, he turns away and exits the Hall. Our group reluctantly (except for Ciena of course) follows a little later. We bid goodbye to the boys once we reach the History of Magic classroom, Ciena having turned off beforehand. Anica and I then enter the classroom, taking the very back seats as always. Hailey gives us a little wave before returning to her conversation with...Thomas? And Katherine? I think that's their names.

Before long, I find myself zoning out until Anica slides a note across my desk.

At this rate, I'm looking forward to detention later. This is the most boring thing I've ever done.

I grin as I answer her.

I know, right. I wish there were something we could do. But none of the Puffs are fun.

We continue writing back and forth until finally, the lesson ends. After that, we traipse into the Great Hall to find that Xinia has reversed the effects of her robes and Anica quickly rushed over, to which I pouted. We move outside for a bit until it's time for Herbology. That passes just as slowly, although it's more bearable with Xinia and Ciena, then finally, it's lunchtime. I was dreading Potions afterwards, but for now, I ignored it.

"What do you reckon you guys will be doing for three weeks?" George asks just as the bell rings.

I groan and then shrug.

"Hopefully, nothing too boring. It's going to be a long few weeks if it is, otherwise."

"Surely he can't be that bad. He's your Head of House!" Nick says.

I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Yeah. Slytherin Head of House. That in itself is self-explanatory. Besides, has Longbottom ever gone easy on you just because you're in his house?"

"Well, Longbottom's mostly a softie," Dylan pipes in. "The worst he makes us do is help with his plants. Most of the time, it's just cleaning the trophy room or something."

I grunt as we descend the stairs to the dungeon.

"I hope that's all we were doing. The amount of times we get detention there, cleaning the trophies is pointless. They're spotless every time. All we do is get rid of the occasional cobwebs."

"Yeah, I always forget to thank you for that," George laughs. "Makes our job much easier."

I send him a glare just as we reach the Potions classroom. A moment later, Malfoy beckons us inside and gives us our directions.

"Who's ready for Gena to turn a forgetfulness potion into a death potion?" Nick laughs.

"If I do, you'll be the first to test it," I smirk.

His eyes widen slightly before he smartly shuts up. Malfoy gives us a few more instructions before letting us get started. As always with partner potions, Anica and I pair up. Although she's not much better than me, she still manages to refrain from blowing things up, something I haven't been able to achieve yet. She puts me on cutting up the ingredients, one of the only things I could do without a problem.

I noticed Malfoy hovering around us in case something went wrong, and sighed with a roll of my eyes.

"Surely we're not that bad?" I ask when he's in earshot.

He merely raises his eyebrows.

"Come on," I complain. "I managed to pass last year. That qualifies for something, doesn't it?"

"Miss Dinnick, you passed by two per cent. That was because you didn't manage to blow something up. Your potion was dreadful. I tested it on a fly, and the poor thing died without me even administering the poison."

"It was light blue!" I protest. "I mean, sure, it was meant to be teal, but they're practically the same, right?"

"Light blue potions more often than not are poisonous," Anica pipes in beside me.

"Shut up, no they're not. Besides, at least I passed."

"You say that like I didn't."

"63 per cent isn't much better."

"It's eleven better than you."

"Girls, I feel I should warn you your potion is going black, which is a common sign of poison," Malfoy interrupts.

"Told you," Nick mutters across the bench from me.

I scoop a bit of the potion up and hold it out to him.

"Test subject number one, are you ready?" I joke.

He backs off. Malfoy just sighs and keeps an eye on us. At one point, he has to step in as the potion starts to bubble and spray out of the cauldron randomly. But apart from that, the lesson goes successfully.

"In your opinion," Anica mutters as Malfoy dismisses the class.

We pack up our things but don't leave, instead, waiting for his instructions.

"You'll be helping me with a potion I'm brewing today," Malfoy informs us.

I glance at Anica.

"You're joking, right?" I ask. "You know how bad I am. I don't even have to touch a potion to ruin it."

"Then think of this as remedial potions for you. Besides, you can relax. I'll be handling the complex parts. All you two have to do is get and ready the ingredients."

I groan as Anica sighs beside me. The detention in itself wasn't all that bad. It was just dull and pointless. Malfoy would be better off without us helping. Sighing, we set to work gathering and cutting and weighing ingredients.

"I can't wait for three more weeks of this," Anica jokes as we walk out.

We make our way to the Great Hall when we suddenly hear glass breaking.

"What the hell was that?" I question as I hear footsteps approaching.

"Run! She's going to kill us!" Nick screams as he comes around the corner.

"What did you do?" Anica asks.

"Xinia was reading this muggle book, and we took it off her, read the ending and spoiled it then threw it through the window," Dylan explains following him.

"You freaking idiots!" I yell.

At the same time, Anica yells, "You read something?"

"NICK! DYLAN! GET YOUR ARSES HERE NOW!" Xinia screeches, and we can hear her from the Great Hall.

"Run!"

The boys are gone before we finish yelling. A few moments later, Xinia races out of the Hall. Anica and I try to block her, but she snarls at us.

"Get out of my way, or you're next."

"It's not worth it Gena!" Anica yells. "Let her go!"

"She'll kill them!"

"I don't care!"

Then a moment later, I let Xinia go.

"Neither do I."

Xinia races off in a blur of red hair, and we are joined a few moments later by George and Ciena.

"Where did she go?" Ciena asks.

"After Nick and Dylan," I answer.

"Where did they go?" George asks.

"No idea," Anica answers.

"What the hell were they thinking?" I exclaim. "Everyone knows not to take a book off of her, let alone spoil the ending. And why did they have to throw it out the window?"

"Because they're idiots and don't think things through before doing them!" George answers.

"What was she reading?" Anica asks.

"This murder mystery, I'm guessing they told her who killed the dude," Ciena says.

"Oh, that's a big no-no," Anica says. "Even they should know that."

"Come on, couldn't they have at least waited until after you guys had gotten your presents?" I complain, completely ignoring her.

"We're getting presents?" Anica asks excitedly.

"Not anymore apparently," I grumble.

"Oh, those two are going to die. I'll kill them after Xinia has," Anica glowers. "They cost me my presents."

Anica storms off in the direction the others did, leaving Ciena, George and I in shock.

"Should we help them?" George asks, looking hesitant.

"Only if you are keen on dying as well," I smile. "Come on. I'm hungry. Detention wore me out."

"You're just going to let them be killed?" Ciena asks.

I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't, just making sure we're all on the same page," she answers.

I grin.

"Now you're talking."

Before we can go into the Great Hall, however, Professor Patil stops us.

"Where did Miss Ren go?" she asks us.

We point in the general direction. She sighs and then hurries away.

"Poor woman," I laugh, pushing the doors open.

Inside, McGonagall was repairing a broken window next to Gryffindor table. I rolled my eyes as we sat down at the Slytherin table. Ciena and George had already eaten, so they sat there as I ate, making small talk.

It was quite funny watching them interact. Of everyone in the group, they were probably the two that least spoke to each other. Their conversation was more formal than friendly, and they both kept glancing at me every few seconds as if I would be finished eating in the time they had looked away.

"Merlin, you guys have been in the same group for over a year, and your conversation consists of the weather? Seriously?" I exclaim.

They both look sheepish but don't answer. I huff and finish my food as quickly as I can before getting up.

"What do you want to do?" I ask.

They shrug.

"Well, you two are boring," I snort. "Come on. Follow me."

Ciena looks sceptical, but George just grins.

"Where are we going?" he asks.

"You'll see."

"You're not going to get us in trouble, are you?" Ciena asks.

"Of course not."

We walk out and down the hall a bit before we run into a furious Xinia and an annoyed Anica.

"I hate their guts!"

"I'm going to tear out their bloody hearts!"

"Let's not, shall we?" I step in. "That could get messy."

"Too late for that," Xinia snarls.

Only then do I notice two figures hiding behind a column. It takes me a moment to recognise them because their features are so messed up. But when I do, I gasp.

"Girls? What did you do?"

Nick and Dylan looked like they had been on the wrong side of a gang beat up. Both had two black eyes and split lips, and Nick had blood running down his cheek, which I saw was coming from a cut on his head. His blonde hair was run through with blood, which I gathered was from his hand, which was stained red.

Dylan's nose didn't look quite right, and he had obviously been on the receiving end of a stinging hex, as he had a big red welt right between his eyes.

"We gave them what they deserved," Xinia said, obviously proud of herself.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," George laughs.

"We remind you not to at least once a week," I say.

"We're sorry!" Nick cries. "We give in."

"We'll do anything!" Dylan adds.

Anica and Xinia share a look before turning back to the boys.

"Anything?"

"Within reason!" Nick rectifies. "We'll do anything within reason."

Anica visibly slumps, but still looks happier.

"We'll think about it," Xinia says after a moment.

"You better have gotten me one hell of a present," Anica mumbles.

"That reminds me!" I interrupt. "Follow me, everyone."

I led them through the castle and into the Liability Lounge Xinia and Anica had used to give me my makeover last year. We entered, and the girls lit up upon seeing the piles of presents on the tables. They rush over to their stacks and start unwrapping the ones on top.

Between the three of them, they got books (for the Ravenclaws), jewellery, some muggle and wizard candy, Weasley's Wizard products for Anica and various other items.

"I thought you said they ruined our gifts?" Anica questions once they're finished opening their presents.

"Nope," I pop the p.

A huge smile climbs across her face.

"Do we get an apology?" Nick asks, hopefully.

"Hell no. I'm happy I beat you two up!" Anica grins.

We all laugh as we settle into the lounge.

"You two got beat up by two girls. Both may I add are at least a couple of inches shorter than you!" I mock.

"Hey, Anica is my height!" Dylan complains.

"And that makes it better how? Still means it should have been an even fight!"

"You try facing two angry girls with wands and see what happens," Nick pouts.

"Did you forget you have wands as well?" George raises his eyebrows at them.

The boys' faces drop, signalling that they did.

"You idiots!"

I laugh with the others, but then my mind wanders elsewhere.

"Oh, hey, Xin, I forgot to ask," I start. "How are the twins?"

"Fine, they didn't have a dramatic entry like us two," she points to herself and Ciena. "But they're good."

"Good. I'm trusting you to look after them," I warn lightly.

She rolls her eyes.

"You know they are more than capable of looking after themselves, right?" she points out. "Way more than you are, anyway."

I ignore her.

"Have they made any friends? Who was the boy that sat next to them last night?"

"Charlie Rain," she answers. "He's a muggleborn, and yes, they're friends. You can stop worrying."

"I'm not worried," I huff. "Just making sure they're alright."

"You're worrying," everyone says.

I glare at them.

"Fine, maybe I am," I admit. "So what? They're my baby brothers. I have every right to."

"Do you want me to bring them with me to dinner?" Xinia asks.

"Yes, please."

"I was joking."

"I wasn't."

She rolls her eyes.

"You're turning into such a Hufflepuff," Xinia laughs.

"I am not!" I cry, standing up.

"Are too!" everyone agrees.

"I am not! Since when is caring about my family a Hufflepuff thing to do?"

"That is legit the most Hufflepuff thing you can do! Caring for people! That's no Slytherin trait that I know of," Xinia smirks.

"And she knows everything," Anica nods along with her.

I glare at them.

"No. Slytherin's are loyal to a fault to the people they care about. Hufflepuff's would be doting all over them and not leaving their side for a week!"

"Wow, arguing with us. I thought we all agreed that was a bad idea," Xinia laughs even harder.

I shake my head, not angry so much as I am annoyed.

"I'll show you Slytherin," I mutter, sitting back down.

The group falls into conversation while I sit there listening. I don't input much, only making occasional smart remarks. When dinner time comes around, we trudge along the halls and down into the Great Hall.

"I'm starving. What do you reckon they'll have tonight?" I ask as we push the doors open.

"Caring about food?" Xinia grins.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Anica whisper-shouts.

I slap her as we sit down at the Ravenclaw table.

"That doesn't even make sense," I huff.

"How can you even be hungry?" Ciena asks. "You literally just ate."

"That's like asking how can you start a new book right after finishing one," I say, loading mashed potatoes onto my plate.

"Why are you talking about books?" I suddenly hear someone behind me.

I jump slightly before turning around and grinning as I spot two identical brunettes.

"Quinn! Jamie!" I exclaim, jumping up to hug them quickly.

All too aware of everyone giving me knowing smirks, I roll my eyes and release them before sitting back down. Jamie sits down next to me with Quinn on his other side.

"So how are you settling in?" I ask, spooning some soup into my mouth.

"Good. The Common Room is amazing, and there's so much room for our books in the dormitory!" Quinn says excitedly.

I chuckle. Typical.

"And friends?"

"A few. Cameron said you met him last night," Jamie answers. "And there's his sister Isabella, and we met Charlie properly this morning."

"Cool. Classes?"

"Ugh, you're being such a Hufflepuff!" Quinn and Jamie complain.

I glare at them.

"Sorry for being interested."

"They were good," Quinn rolls his eyes. "We had Transfiguration, Herbology and Charms. We won't bore you with the details."

"Good."

Just then the blonde haired-boy, Charlie, comes up behind Quinn.

"Mind if I join you?" he asks hesitantly.

Quinn gestures for him to take a seat. Jamie introduces me and everyone else, and then the three boys fall into a quiet conversation. I grin at them before turning back to the group. All of them were looking at me with pointed looks. I choose to ignore them as I finish my dinner.

"Want to go to Community Hall?" Anica asks us.

"Why not?" George shrugs.

We leave the younger Ravenclaws and walk to the Community Hall. Inside I see the various groups in the year sitting around and right in the middle, Parkinson's group. This doesn't surprise me in the slightest, except for the new addition to their group.

"Kimmy?" George exclaims. "What are you doing with them?"

"Unlike you, these people actually care about me."

I laugh despite the situation.

"You really think that? If we don't care about you, then they must wish you dead."

I scan the group and notice no one looks even on the verge of standing up to defend Kimmy. In fact, they look exactly like I said; wishing she wasn't there (or dead).

"Bitch can sit with the bitches," Xinia laughs, walking over to our usual seat.

In her wake, I hear several wolf whistles and cheers from Tim and Kyle's group. Looking over I spot Owen and the other Gryffindor boy, Gabriel, as well as two more Gryffindor girls; Zena and Brittany. All of them were grinning at Xinia, who had turned around at the noise and was now smirking.

"Go, girl!" Kyle cheers.

Xinia cracks up as she blows him a kiss from across the room. I knew all of them were being overdramatic, but it was still funny. The rest of us join her on the couches, and I settle down next to Anica. George casts a worried glance at Kimmy attempting to make conversation with Kylie and the other Ravenclaws before sitting down.

Glancing around the room, I take everything in. There were seven groups around the room, most with a mix of houses.

There were seven of us, and then the nine in Parkinson's group. Tim and Kyle and Owen's group had six, and Hailey's had five. The other three groups had three. I noticed Fred looked almost like a third wheel where he sat with two of the Ravenclaw boys.

Anica laughing beside me brought me back to the group.

"So how would you rate your birthday this year?" I ask once they quiet down.

The three girls grin.

"I'd say about a seven," Xinia says and the other two nod.

"Only seven?" I exclaim, holding my hand to my chest. "I thought it would at least be a million and one!"

Anica scoffs.

"Try us again on a day we don't have classes. Or at least not the three worst classes and detention."

"Actually, that was only you," Ciena points out.

"Yeah, we know, everyone else got awesome classes, and we got stuck with terrible ones, can we move on now?" I grumble.

"Hey Xinia, would you mind healing us?" Nick asks hopefully.

She stares at him.

"Seriously?"

"Yes?"

"No."

He groans as Dylan turns to him.

"We should go to see Madame Cheri. Xinia's never going to heal us."

"Alright," Nick sighs. "Come on."

They get up and bid us goodbye, leaving the five of us in a moment of silence.

"What should we do?" I ask.

"I don't know, but let's go to the Quidditch room," George suggests. "Hopefully there'll be more people there."

We get up and leave, taking note to try and avoid places we know get patrolled by teachers and prefects. It wasn't quite curfew time yet, but it was getting pretty close. We would be expected to be in our Common Rooms right now.

"Oh! Hey guys!" Nick suddenly yells when we get there.

"Shut up!" I hiss, pulling the door to the room shut. "That was quick."

Inside, I see Bailey, Xander and Xandler, Wyrene and Jason and a few of their friends and some of the older students.

"Hey," Bailey grins when he sees us.

"Shouldn't you two be in the Common Room?" Wyrene asks, cocking an eyebrow at Anica and me.

"Noo," Anica smirks.

"What are you talking about?" Xinia asks sharply.

"The stupid prefects have to 'keep an eye on us'," I say the last part sarcastically.

They all burst into laughter.

"Serves you right," Ciena smiles.

"Well, they're going to have a fun time looking for us," I grin. "Cause we're not going back anytime soon."

Wyrene looks at me disapprovingly.

"When you come back, you are going to be in deep shit."

"Well, they can line up some detentions for three weeks time," I reply. "Eventually they'll get sick of us, and they won't bother taking points from us because at this rate we're never winning the House Cup. And I mean, I couldn't care less how many detentions I get."

"Neither," Anica laughs. "So what should we do? I'm bored."

We pause for a moment to think, and then I grin.

"Idea. Idea, idea, idea!" I exclaim.

Everyone looks at me, expectantly.

"Never Have I Ever," I say.

"Boring, we play that all the time," George interrupts.

I glare at him.

"If you'd let me finish, we could be playing by now," I snap. "But a modified version," I explain. "Whoever hasn't done something has to do it. For example, if I said Never Have I Ever stripped naked in front of a professor, everyone who hasn't would have to."

"Except George," Xinia laughs.

I snort at the reminder.

"Well, yeah, except him. I would also be excluded cause it was my idea."

"Noice," Nick grins.

"Want to join in?" Anica asks the older students.

They look at each other before answering.

"Nah, that could get pretty weird for you lot," Xandler grins.

"Come on," Dylan whines. "It'll be more fun!"

"Besides, it'll be weird anyway," I laugh. "Come on!"

They roll their eyes and sigh, but nodded after a moment. All of us settle down into the couches around the room.

"Who's going first?" Xander asks.

"Gena can, it was her idea," George answers.

"Okay. Never Have I Ever…" I pause to think for a moment. "Wow, this is harder than I thought. I've done a lot of stuff. Um...Oh! Never Have I Ever waxed my legs."

The boys all pale at the prospect, and the girls just roll their eyes.

"Oh, god, no!" Xander cries.

We crack up laugh and all of a sudden there's a pot of wax in front of us.

"Let's get this started," Wyrene smiles.

One by one we wax each of the boy's legs, the next screaming louder than the other. Anica also has to do it, but the other girls are 'safe.'

"My go!" Xandler exclaims. "Never have I ever kissed someone of the same gender."

"Really? You've never kissed another guy!?" I answer jokingly.

He scowls at me.

"No, I haven't."

"Come on X," Bailey complains. "They're like twelve."

"Thirteen," all three of the girls correct him.

"I told them it could get weird!"

"Yeah, but a first kiss is meant to be special!"

"Sentimental much," Wyrene laughs at our brother. "What, are you worried about cheating on your girlfriend?"

"It'll only have to be on the cheek," he says firmly, ignoring her jab.

"Boring," Xandler sighs but agrees.

We all pair up with someone of the same gender. Dylan and Nick, Ciena and Xinia, Wyrene and one of her friends, Bailey and Xander, Anica and I and George and a reluctant Jason.

"Three, two, one! Kiss!" Xandler announces gleefully.

Anica and I give each other a little peck on the cheek and when we turn we see Dylan and Nick in a full-on makeout sesh. I feel my eyebrows pull up to my hairline, and my eyes go wide.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" George screams.

"Oh, you didn't know they were dating?" Xinia comments dryly. "Oi idiots! Times up. Let yourselves breathe."

The boys pull away in surprise, looking around at our surprised faces.

"What?"

"It was only supposed to be on the cheek!"

"Since when are you two dating?

"We never back down from a dare," Nick declares. "We aren't dating."

"That doesn't mean you had to make out!"

"We weren't. It was for like a second," Dylan answers, a blush forming on his cheeks.

"Just let them believe that. It's better for all of our sakes," Anica smiles.

George seems to let out a massive sigh of relief.

"Ok, who's next?" I ask, attempting to move the conversation on.

The game goes on for a bit longer, each 'dare' getting more intense. Everyone is surprised when people get to sit out, claiming they've done it before. Only when George claims he's never handed in homework before to annoy Xinia and Ciena do we reign in a bit.

"Okay, okay. I got one," Jason says, surprisingly involved with the game despite not being close with any of us. "Never Have I Ever beat up anyone."

Our whole group stays quiet while Ciena, Bailey and Wyrene's group throw a few punches.

"Did you see what me and Xin did to these two idiots?!" Anica smiles, nodding at Dylan and Nick.

"Xin and I," Ciena corrects.

"They came back with black eyes and bloody faces. The whole thing!" George laughs.

Xander and Xandler begin to laugh.

"What'd they do?" Wyrene asks, stepping away from the group who have all now stopped trying to hit each other.

"Told me how my book ended!" Xinia complains.

"Ruined my presents! Well, until they didn't," Anica grins.

Nick and Dylan's faces turn slightly red before they join in the laughter. Once we've recovered everyone looks at Ciena in anticipation. It was her go next. She thinks for a moment before grinning.

"Never Have I Ever deliberately gotten in trouble after curfew before," she smirks.

So I'm sorry this is kind of crappy but at least it's out, right? Anyway, I just want to clarify something. Technically, this story is still on hiatus. However, I have about three more chapters that I've already written that I'm deciding to publish. After they're all out, I can't guarantee that I will continue to update straight away. As I said in my note in the last chapter, I am going to try and finish this story, but I'm still not feeling that into this story. I'm so sorry to everyone who got hopeful, but this is the best I can do. I hope you all understand :)