During the first week of her second year, Samantha had to work on remembering which passage led to which class. She knew that certain hallways lead to places she'd need to be, but didn't always know if she needed to be there then or later.

She was sure one way led to the Charms classroom, and Leslie was sure it was the other way. Samantha ended up in the Defense Corridor, and Leslie in the History of Magic one. Both girls were late to class.

She was also trying to get out and practice Quidditch before tryouts the second Saturday, and was annoyed by the extra homework they were assigned.

"My sister said it gets much worse in fifth year and up," Bella sighed as they worked in the library on the newest Potions essay.

"Ugh, this is awful. When will I ever need to know the theory of the Swelling Solution? It's simple, it makes things swell!" Samantha exclaimed, earning a death glare from Madam Pince.

"I've got no clue. Maybe he thinks we'll all become Potions teachers?" Bella suggested.

Samantha laughed. "With the way he teaches, I'd think that's safe to assume that's what he thinks," she agreed.

That Friday, Hedwig delivered a letter to her and Harry from Hagrid, asking them to come visit that afternoon.

"Ooh, that'll be fun," Samantha said. She quickly scribbled down a yes and handed the paper to Hedwig.

"Can I come? It sounds like it'll be interesting, given the stories you've told me about Hagrid," Leslie asked. Samantha had told her and Ellie about how Hagrid wanted a dragon while they were on the train.

"Of course," Samantha said.

"Ron, you come too," Harry said.

"Sure," Ron said, eating some toast.

After classes, Samantha and Leslie met Harry and Ron at the entrance and the four set out together to Hagrid's. They met his dog, Fang, who Samantha petted the whole time. She loved animals, and had always been mad the Dursley's hadn't let her get a dog. If she'd had her way, she would've gotten both a cat and an owl, but only one was allowed at Hogwarts, and owls were more useful.

Hagrid made them rock cakes, which were ironically as solid as an actual rock, and they talked about their week. Harry was talking about Snape's hatred of him.

"Told you, he hates all the Gryffindors, and especially us," Samantha said.

"He asked me these pointless questions, like he expected me to have memorized One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," Harry complained.

"Oh, about wormwood and asphodel? Yeah, asked me too," Samantha said.

"Did you know?" Harry asked miserably.

"Not the answer he was looking for. In Victorian Flower Language I did," Samantha said.

"Since when have you known Victorian Flower Language?!" Harry asked, bewildered.

"The library is much more pleasant than the Dursleys house. Learning Greek Mythology and Victorian Flower Language were great distractions from Dudley," Samantha answered.

"Well, all I know is that he despises me," said Harry miserably.

"I'm sure he doesn' hate yeh," Hagrid said.

"He definitely does, Hagrid," said Samantha casually. "As long as you're not complete garbage at Potions, though, you should do fine. He can't really do much to me, because I get it right every time."

"Great, I just have to be perfect at it and he'll leave me alone. Thanks for the advice," said Harry with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

After a few moments of silence, Harry spoke up. "Hey, that Gringotts break-in was on my birthday! It could've happened when we were there," he said.

Samantha, who had been rubbing behind Fang's ears, looked to see that Harry was reading a newspaper on the ground.

"There was a Gringotts break in? How did no one tell me about this?" Samantha asked.

"It says that the vault in question was emptied earlier that day..." Harry read.

"Hang on, you emptied that vault, didn't you, Hagrid! Did they try to break into that one?" Samantha questioned excitedly.

Hagrid just grunted.

As Samantha and Leslie walked back to the school with Ron and Harry, Samantha's head swam with questions. Had the thief been looking for whatever Hagrid took? Who had tried to rob it? What had Hagrid taken from the vault?

She filled Leslie in on the small package that night. While telling everyone about her trip to Diagon Alley, it had completely slipped her mind, because what importance could a small, grubby package have? But now, it was the center of a great mystery for Samantha, and she needed to know what it was and why it was important.

The next day, Samantha met Harry at dinner.

"So, how was your first flying lesson? Are you as talented as me?" Samantha asked him.

"I- I'm Seeker, on the Gryffindor team," Harry said, sounding shocked.

"What? No, don't be stupid, first years aren't allowed on the team," Samantha said. Harry simply had to be lying, Professor McGonagall hadn't let her anywhere near the team last year.

"No really, I am," Harry said.

"You're lying, you have to be! That's crazy," Samantha said.

"Ask McGonagall," Harry said.

"I will. You can't possibly be on the team, tryouts haven't even happened yet!" Samantha said. She spotted Professor McGonagall a little way across the hall, and ran over.

"Professor, Harry says he's on the Gryffindor team, is that true?" Samantha asked.

"He is on it, in fact," McGonagall replied.

"But- but- first years aren't- he doesn't even have a broom!" Samantha spluttered.

"We're going to order him one, probably a Nimbus 2000," Professor McGonagall said.

"Wow... that's- that's crazy, I can't believe he actually made it onto the team," Samantha said.

She walked back to Harry. "So, found out I'm not lying?" he asked.

"Yeah. That's just insane," Samantha said. "I guess it'll be cool to be on the team with you though."

"Huh?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I'm trying out on Saturday and I'll definitely make it on the team," Samantha said. Leslie walked over. "Hey, Les, guess what?"

"Oh, yeah that's another thing, Wood wants me to be a kind of secret weapon, so don't tell your hundreds of friends. Finish telling Leslie, though," Harry said.

"What happened?" asked Leslie.

"Harry's Seeker on the Gryffindor team," Samantha told her.

"What? How's that even possible?" Leslie asked.

Harry told the story to them, of him saving Neville's Remembrall during a fifty foot dive.

"That's incredible, Harry!" said Leslie.

"It really is," Samantha agreed.

Fred and George came over to offer their congratulations, and then a boy with pale blonde hair and cold grey eyes came over with two friends, both big and stupid looking.

"Think you're so tough, Potter, do you?" he asked. "You got to stay one last day before being shipped off to the Muggles?"

"You're much braver now that you've got your friends with you, Malfoy," Harry said.

"I'd be up to face you alone anytime. How about we have a wizard's duel, tonight? You do know what that is, don't you?" Malfoy sneered.

"Of course he does!" exclaimed Ron. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at his friends, sizing them up. " Crabbe," he said. "We'll do it at midnight, in the trophy room, that's always unlocked."

"Okay, see you then," Ron said.

"What is a wizard's duel?" Harry asked.

"A duel, just with wizards," Samantha supplied.

"Very helpful," Harry responded.

"All you and Malfoy are able to do is turn matches into needles and shoot sparks at each other, nothing's actually going to happen," Samantha said.

"I couldn't help but overhear your plans," said a bossy voice from behind. Samantha turned to see the girl with bushy hair and long front teeth from the Sorting Ceremony, and remembered her name was Hermione.

"Bet you could," Ron said.

"You simply can't go to a duel, do you know how many points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught?" she asked.

"Oh, let them have their fun," Samantha said. "It's just a few points, they can always be earned back. In fact, I'll probably earn them back in Charms or Herbology. That is if they are caught, but they're not idiots, so I doubt they'll be."

"You're that girl that told me Gryffindor was the best house," Hermione said.

"So I am. I spoke the truth, and nothing but it," Samantha responded.

"Well, I think it's very irresponsible," Hermione said, then stalked away.

That night, Samantha and Max snuck out for a late night walk, hoping to maybe watch the duel after. Soon, though, they heard a scream of "run!" and decided to investigate.

They sped down the corridors, following where they'd heard the noise come from. They quickly ran into Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the boy they'd seen on the train with Hudson called Neville running away from the direction of the trophy room.

"What happened?" Samantha asked as she and Max joined in the run.

"It was a setup!" Harry panted, and finally, they made it to a deserted hallway where they caught their breath.

"Draco Malfoy set us up!" Ron said.

"How did these two get here?" Samantha asked.

"Well, Neville was outside because he forgot the password, and Hermione followed us out and the Fat Lady wasn't there to let her back in," Harry explained.

Suddenly, Peeves shot out from a cabinet. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" he bellowed.

"Quick!" Samantha hissed, they took off down the hallway, ending the first door they could. Max tried it.

"Locked," he said.

"Alohomora," Samantha said, pointing her wand at the door. It clicked open, and they rushed inside.

They heard Filch arguing with Peeves, and then Neville whimpered.

"What, Neville?" Harry asked.

Samantha turned and saw what.

There, a few feet behind them, stood a giant dog with three enormous heads. He was drooling madly and looked ready to eat them all. Samantha looked it quickly up and down, then noticed something. It was standing over a small, square shaped trapdoor.

"Sam, come on!" Harry said.

Samantha turned and saw they had opened the door, and she quickly ran with them back to the Common Room.

"That was an adventure, wasn't it?" Max asked. "Who the hell keeps a giant three headed dog in a school?"

Hermione huffed. "He's obviously here for a reason," she said.

"Like what?" Ron asked.

"He was standing on a trapdoor. He was obviously guarding something," Samantha said.

"Exactly," Hermione said. "Anyways, I'm going to bed before any of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed-or worse, expelled," said Hermione, and she stormed off to her dormitory.

"I'd better go too, I've gotta deal with Snape tomorrow," Samantha said, and followed Hermione up the stairs.

Before falling asleep, though, she thought about that trapdoor. Could the dog possibly be guarding what Hagrid had taken from Gringotts? If so, what could that tiny thing possibly be, that needed so much protection they had gotten a murderous three headed dog?

Saturday, Samantha got ready for Quidditch tryouts. At half past two, she walked onto the pitch to wait for them to start. Max had come to try out was well, and Katie Bell was seated a few feet to the left of Samantha. Samantha remembered her saying she'd be on the team last year. A girl Samantha recognized as Alicia Spinnet was seated a few rows away, and there were a few others Samantha knew, including Cormac McLaggen, who shared a dormitory with Max, Damon, Connor, and Elias (they all claimed he was awful), Margot, and another boy who looked a few years above her and her friends who had very dark skin and shoulder length dreadlocks.

Samantha saw the team on the field, and smiled at Harry. Next to him stood Fred and George, then Angelina Johnson and Oliver Wood.

Seeing as Harry had been chosen as Seeker, only Chasers were trying out.

Finally, at the end, Wood asked for Samantha, Alicia, Katie, and Max to all try out again.

"Okay, I've made my decision," Wood said to the four of them after their second run. "Samantha, Katie," he started, "you two are on the team. Max, Alicia, you will both be reserves, because it's always good to have backups. You'll train with us every so often. Samantha, Katie, practice is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at five. Max and Alicia, you will join us Wednesdays, and if someone happens to get injured with notice before a game, you'll be added into however many more practices we have before the next match. See you Monday," Wood said, and dismissed them

"I did it!" Samantha cried happily once they were inside the castle. "And you made reserve! That's better than Margot did, you'll get to rub it in her face," she joked.

"That'll be nice," Max smirked.

"It definitely will. She said second years don't make the team, but now me and my first year brother are on it!"

Samantha was very happy that night. So happy that whatever the dog was guarding slipped her mind completely.