The next day both twins began with Charm. Professor Flitwick was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. His hair and beard were whiter than Dumbledore's and once again, Rohini wondered if a teacher at Hogwarts were there forever.

At the start he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry and Rohini's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight, making everybody laugh. He told them that students will learn specific wand movements and proper pronunciation with him. However, they will not be allowed to practice until October as they needed theory first.

Rohini was a bit disappointed, but Flitwick class was so interesting that she ended up with two parchments full of notes, just like Hermione. At the end of the class, the teacher came and told her he was proud to have her in his house for he was the Head of Ravenclaw and assured her that if she had any problems, his office was always opened.

"Urg, I have Transfiguration with the Slytherins…" Rohini complained as they left the classroom. "Do you think I'll be allowed to turn Malfoy into a frog?"

"I wouldn't mind if you tried." Ron assured her. They parted in front of the statue of a crooked witch -she reminded Rohini of Tom the bartender- and she was going to compliment Padma on her beautiful hair when a new problem crossed their path: Peeves. Peeves was the most notorious and troublesome poltergeist in British history. His looks reflect his nature, a seamless blend of humour and malice.

"Isn't it Pot Potty!" He said, floating around them as the two girls hurried to join the rest of their class. The poltergeist snickered and pursued them with a stick, making them scream. The Slytherins and especially Malfoy seemed to enjoy the pitiful spectacle of Padma and Rohini chased by Peeves. He didn't give up until McGonagall stepped between him and the poor Ravenclaws, a severe frown on her face. Peeve grimaced, blew a raspberry, and left.

McGonagall began her class by giving them a test to see what they remembered from the previous lesson. Rohini was quite proud of herself for she had memorised most of the symbols and was even rewarded by one of McGonagall rare smile. However, she felt quite unhappy when it was revealed that she and Draco had the same, highest score; not only was he irritating, he was also quite smart too.

Then, they used their wand for the first time since they arrived at Hogwarts, for Professor McGonagall wanted them to change a match into a needle. By the end of the lesson only three students had been able to do that: Draco Malfoy, Padma Patil and Rohini. They each got 5 points of their houses.

The next lesson was, to Rohini's displeasure, Potions. Snape was just as unfair as the day before and both Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws lost 10 points because of minor mistakes. Once again, Padma and Rohini succeeded to brew Forgetfulness potion, their face red from the steam coming of the cauldron.

"Could you feel him breathing down our necks? It was creepy." Padma said with a shudder, and Rohini agreed. They spent lunch time criticising the Potion Master and complaining about how many points they were losing because of him.

"Maybe we should report him?" Lisa suggested. "Rohini should do it; teachers love her." Rohini wondered if she had imagined the jealous tone in her voice.

"I never asked to be famous." She said with a frown. "I'd rather be normal with both parents alive."

The rest of the meal was awfully quiet, Lisa and Rohini refusing to talk to each other and Padma looking quite uncomfortable for she was sitting between them. Mail delivery was what saved her for Lisa and she received the Daily Prophet and Rohini was surprised when Hedwig dropped a letter in her plate.

Dear Rohini,

I know yeh get a break on Friday afternoon so would yeh like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?

Hagrid

Rohini smiled before scribbling "Yes, of course! See you on Friday" at the back of the letter than she handed to the snowy owl. Hedwig took in with her beak and flew away.

"She's beautiful." Padma said with a smile. "What class do we have next?"

"DADA with the Gryffindors." Rohini said, remembering what Professor Quirrell had told them the first time they had met. 'F-fearfully fascinating subject. N-not that you need it, e-eh, Potters?' Was it what everybody thought? That Harry and she were just naturally talented because they were lucky enough to survive a murderer when they were babies? She felt revolted by the idea; if she was going to be a great witch, it was because she will work hard for that, nothing else.

Xxx

'Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom. No cursing allowed.' Said a notice outside the room.

Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a joke. As soon as they entered the classroom, everybody covered their nose with their sleeves for it smelled strongly of garlic. He explained that the lessons will have a practical approach with theoretical assignments given as homework. Then, he began his lesson about vampires. Professor Quirrell claimed to have had an encounter with vampires in the Black Forest during his break from teaching to get some "hands-on" experience with dealing with the Dark Arts.

"Maybe Snape is a vampire." Rohini told her brother and friends, making them snort.

"Maybe you should wear a garlic necklace." Padma suggested in a serious tone, though Rohini didn't miss the discreet smile she gave her. They were heading outside to enjoy the last few rays of sunshine when Harry pulled on Rohini's sleeve to slow her down so they would be behind their group.

"Remember that day at Gringotts with Hagrid? Somebody broke into Gringotts and was after the vault 713."

"That's the one with the mysterious package!" Rohini said before frowning. "They must have been looking for what Hagrid picked up that day. I wonder what it was…"

"Speaking of Hagrid, did he send you an owl too?" Harry asked as they caught up with their friends. They spend the rest of their break lying on the grass and talking about the difference between Muggles and Wizards cooking.

Xxx

Lisa had apparently decided to ignore Rohini until Merlin knew how long and it was quite irritating, to have her talk to Padma as if Rohini wasn't here. Rohini finally decided to go study in their Common Room for the rest of the evening. Padma gave her an apologetic smile before Rohini left.

"What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?" The eagle head asked her and Rohini internally curse; she wasn't in the mood for riddles right now. She thought about trying to sneak inside the Gryffindors' common room to talk with Harry, Ron and Hermione instead but thought that Filch would probably find her and give her detention if she did. Frustrated, she sat in front of the magical door and waited. The floor was cold but she didn't felt like going back to the dorm. Strange, how she had felt both intense joy and terribly frustrated in the space of two days.

Finally, she decided to go back to the dorm. Everybody was asleep now and she did her best to be as quiet as possible. Thranduil must have felt it for he didn't meow and lay on her back. Rain was falling now, and she fell asleep to the sound of it.

Xxx

She was in front of the door again. The same strange voice was whispering into her ears to open it, but it was still locked.

"You know the spell!" The voice hissed but Rohini shook her head; neither Flitwick nor McGonagall had taught them to unlock doors yet.

"Rohini, what are you doing?" Padma said and Rohini opened her eyes with a grunt. To her surprise, she wasn't lying in her bed but rather standing in the middle of the bedroom downstairs. A few girls were staring at her oddly and Padma was still holding her by the arm with a frown.

"What am I doing here?" Rohini asked, glancing around nervously.

"I think you were sleepwalking." Padma said and Rohini felt puzzled; she never had a case of sleepwalking before. "You should go get dressed, it's breakfast time." Padma said before letting go of her and Rohini nodded.

She was distracted the whole morning, her notes less clear than usual. As for Lisa, she was still ignoring her but Rohini realised she didn't care as much as last night. They weren't truly friends to begin with.

As usual, she joined Harry and the other after lunch.

"You never sleepwalked before." Harry said with a frown. "I would have hear you if you did."

"Yeah, that's why it's so strange." Rohini sighed. "How about you, everything is going well? You seem bothered." She pointed out and the three Gryffindors grimaced.

"We just had our first Potions class with the Slytherins." Hermione explained.

"You were right; he totally hates us." Harry said bitterly, glancing at Snape sitting at the teachers table and talking to Quirrell.

"Malfoy is obviously his favourite." Ron added. "He shouldn't be teaching if he hates most of us so much."

They nodded in agreement and glanced at the teachers table again but Snape was gone.

Xxx

Finally it was time for Rohini's first flying lesson. She felt extremely nervous for almost most students had stories to tell about their first time on a broom and everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Flying wasn't something you could learn by heart out of a book; she had talk with Hermione after lunch about flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages.

They were standing in the yard on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. The grass was still wet from the rainy night and there was a nice smell floating around that helped Rohini to relax a bit.

The Hufflepuffs were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Finally, Madam Hooch arrived. She had short, grey hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk but her face reminded Rohini of a peacock somehow.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Rohini glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles. She heard Padma gulp loudly on her left, probably just as worried as her.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP!" everyone shouted.

Lisa's broom jumped into his hand at once and made her gasp. Zachariah, Padma and Rohini had to try a few times before the broom came to their hands. However, most of them were shouting "Up!" desperately as their brooms simply rolled over on the ground. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips.

"I feel ridiculous." Padma told Rohini who nodded.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle—three—two—" and she whistled.

Rohini wasn't sure what she had done wrong; perhaps she had kicked the ground too strongly, or her broom was so old it was malfunctioning. She barely had the time to tighten her grip that her broom flew extremely high, making her scream.

"Rohini!" She heard Padma shout as the broom continued to go higher and higher. Soon, everybody looked like ants to her and she panicked when she couldn't hear what Madam Hooch was screeching. Finally the broom came to a stop; she was now at the she same level as the highest tower. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to calm down.

The wind was dancing with her robe and caressed her skin. When she opened her eyes, she realised that she actually liked the feeling of floating where nobody else could reach her. She looked around and was amazed by the beauty of the landscape around her. She could see the Forbidden Forrest surrounded by a thick mist, and the lake glittering under the sun. A few Owls were coming back to the Owlery too. She grinned.

"POTTER!" Someone shouted her name and she realised Madam Hooch was now flying at the same level as her, her face red from anger. "Five points from Ravenclaw!" Rohini gulped; in less than a week, she had been responsible for the lost or more than twenty points.

When they reached the ground again, a few of her comrades quietly congratulated her for flying so high without breaking her neck. The rest of the class was spent with a few minors accident of people slipping from their broom or going in the wrong direction. They weren't allowed to fly higher than three feet above the ground and anyone who would get higher will lose five points.

When Rohini told Harry about her first time on a broom after dinner, her brother seemed even more eager to have his first class the next day. Hermione reminded them that they had Astronomy at midnight which made them loose their smile. They decided to wait together in the library where Hermione buried her nose in a huge book about stars while Ron and Rohini played chess together. As for Harry, he had borrowed the Quidditch book Hermione had told him about that morning and seemed quite interested.

Xxx

"I'm exhausted." Ron groaned as they left the Astronomy tower, barely able to stand on their feet. "Seriously, I can't believe they gave us classes tomorrow morning."

"And it's Potions." The twins grunted in unison. Padma and her sister had stay behind for they had questions for their teacher but Rohini had decided to leave with the Gryffindors for she just wanted to be in her bed as soon as possible. They said goodnight and Rohini found herself alone. There were no ghosts and the portraits were asleep, giving the dark corridors an eerie atmosphere. Absently checking that she had her wand in her pocket, she headed back to the dorm. She fell asleep rapidly, her head filled with memories of the flying class.

She woke up in the middle of the night, panting and lying outside the dorm with no idea how she ended up here. It seemed that sleepwalking was becoming a habit. She went back to bed and this time, she stayed in until morning came.