A/N: Here's Chapter 8 to the people who've been reading. Please leave a review with your criticism and/or suggestions for the upcoming chapters. The next one will contain the Halloween feast and the beginnings of Christmas excitement, among other things.

Hope you enjoy! (seriously though, leave some suggestions. I'll do my best to incorporate them later on in the story.)

Xx...xX

Chapter 8

Their first weeks came and went with almost no trouble. It would have been completely without incident if it hadn't been for Sebastian and Cain nearly breaking down a door because they thought that it was the correct classroom ("Honestly, boys," Ravie had scolded them, "We just had Transfiguration last Tuesday!") They enjoyed their meals in the Great Hall and all was going swimmingly. Well, except for one particularly curious Slytherin girl named Penny Nemora that had been ducking behind corners every time they turned around. Since they've always traveled in groups of two to five, the pack of friends had no idea who this girl was trying to follow.

After Herbology, the pair of Ravenclaws decided to ask this girl what exactly she was following them around for.

During History of Magic, Cain and Ravie decided to talk to Nemora. As they were taking their seats, the Slytherin girl across the aisle from Ravie, the Ravenclaws took their chance.

"Hey," said Cain, "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did, mate," she replied with snark.

"Well, I'm going to ask another." Ravie flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Why've you been following us around?"

Nemora just looked back to her desktop and went about unrolling her parchment. She shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't pull that with me," said Cain with a roll of his eyes, "It's not like you're the most inconspicuous stalker in the world."

The Slytherin's cheeks reddened. Ravie huffed with impatience.

"Well? Why?"

Just then, Professor Binns drifted into the room via chalkboard. The Ravenclaws reluctantly turned to face the front of the room. Cain glanced back over to Nemora to see that her face and ears were quite pink and he suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for embarrassing her like that.

As Binns began his lecture on Uric the Oddball, Cain had terrible trouble taking proper notes. He did pay a little more attention, though, when Binns mentioned that the oddball was once part of Ravenclaw House. Well, Cain thought, McGonagall was right about Ravenclaw coming out with amazing witches and wizards.

As the bell sounded, signalling the end of the lesson and the start of a meal in the Great Hall, Cain and Ravie tried to catch up with Nemora to try and get a straight answer out of her, but to no avail. The young Slytherin had fled the room before they could even finish swinging their bags over their shoulders. With a surprised look, the two Ravenclaws exited the room to find their friends.

In the Great Hall, Sebastian waved Cain over to where he was talking to the half-giant Hagrid. Tentatively, Cain shuffled across the room to his Hufflepuff friend while Ravie went off to meet up with Nicholas. Hagrid turned with a grin hidden in the depths of his wild beard to Cain as he approached.

"So, yer the new American, eh?" he asked.

"Uh, yessir," came Cain's mumbled reply.

"Oh, no," the big man waved his massive hand, "Call me Hagrid. All that 'sir' nonsense makes me feel old." Cain chuckled nervously as Hagrid pushed a bit of greying hair away from his face. "You're one o' the first Americans to've ever attended Hogwarts."

"Wow, really?" asked Cain with amazement. Hagrid beamed down at the first year. "That's amazing!" With a chuckle, Hagrid gave Cain a pat that almost flattened him to the ground.

"I'll let you boys get on with yer lunch." Hagrid started to leave, but turned back to Sebastian. "Tell yer folks I still remember their last big prank. Nearly ruined all the vegetables for the end o' the year feast."

"I will," he laughed, then a worried look came over his features. "Er-does that mean that you're angry still?"

"Ah, no." Hagrid let out a booming laugh. "They were a couple o' the best students of their year."

Sebastian laughed with relief. "Thanks, Hagrid. I'll tell 'em you remember them."

Cain and Sebastian joined Fida at the Hufflepuff table while they waited for Ravie to come back. Cain was beginning to think that she fancied her dear friend Nicholas.

"Apparently, my mum was quite the troublemaker when she was here," Sebastian informed them with a laugh. "The rowdiest Hufflepuff he'd ever seen, Hagrid told me 'fore you guys got here."

"Yeah? I wonder what they did to the garden," Cain muttered, trying to think of what kind of prank could ruin some veggies.

"So, Cain," Fida started uncertainly, "What's the deal with your bag? It's a little unsettling."

"Unsettling? What's unsettling about it?" Cain swung his backpack off his shoulders and around to look at the front. The bag itself was a red and black checked background with the Punisher skull on the front pocket. Across the top of the bag were several buttons and pins that he'd collected over time. "I've used this bag for the past two years."

"Why would you want one with a skull on it?" Sebastian asked eyeing the bag like it was going to bite him.

"The skull is something of a logo for a comic book series that I liked when I got this," he explained. "It doesn't mean anything bad."

The Hufflepuffs just nodded in faux understanding. Cain rolled his eyes with a chuckle as Sebastian took the bag for a better look at the dozen or so buttons. They were in deep conversation about a quote Fida had noticed, "Saving people and hunting things... the family business", when Ravie interrupted saying that they all had essays to complete, and that they weren't just going to disappear.

"But tomorrow's only Tuesday," Sebastian stated.

"So?" Cain and Ravie questioned in unison.

"We won't have these classes again until next week."

"Better to get it done now than to wait for the last minute," Cain said with a shrug as he followed his friend to the Ravenclaw table. "We'll see you guys later!"

Back in the common room, Cain turned to Ravie with a question, "Does my bag creep people out? Should I use a different one?"

"I think it suits you," Ravie complimented, "Although, I think you should try that charm Flitwick taught us last week."

"Which one?" Cain thought back, but there were quite a few things he'd learned since coming to Hogwarts.

"The colour changing charm," she clarified. "I'm guessing it's the one that fifth year used to change Nicholas's hair to red instead of blue."

"Well, I need blue instead of red, then," Cain muttered as he brandished his wand from the inside pocket of his robes and aimed it at the backpack. He concentrated on the colour he wanted to change, and what he wanted it changed into. Cain cleared his throat and flicked his wand.

"Colovaria!"

Immediately, the red on the bag began to morph into a murky purple before settling on a deep blue matching that of Cain's tie. He grinned triumphantly at Ravie who congratulated him on his successful charm.

He suddenly had an idea.

"So," he started, "Since the photographs and paintings and things move in the wizarding world, could I make the ones on my buttons move?"

"Hmm," Ravie murmured as she tilted her head in thought. "Perhaps. We may have to go to the library and find the proper spells."

Cain's jaw dropped as she mentioned the library.

"Why have I never been in the school's library?" he demanded. "I don't even know where it is!"

Ravie laughed and turned back to her roll of parchment. With a shake of his head, Cain did the same. He still had incredible trouble writing with a quill. Always ending up with ink all over his fingers and hand without really knowing how to properly hold it. Sometimes, Cain wondered about using a regular, ball-point, Inkjoy ink pen.

Suddenly, there was a loud pop followed by a groan and the smell of burning hair. Cain turned to see two fourth year girls with soot-blackened faces, holding their wands haphazardly as they looked forlornly at their failed experiment.

"Wonder what they're trying," Ravie mumbled as she stood to join the girls in the floor near the entrance to common room.

"I'm gonna go meet up with the others," said Cain as he packed his finished essays away and went to leave his now-blue bag in his dormitory.

"You go ahead, I'll catch up later." Ravie waved a hand in dismiss. Cain nodded and went on his way.

As Cain wandered the corridors, looking for anything to do, he slammed against the solid form of Fida, her glossy black hair whipping as she stumbled forward. Cain grabbed a fistful of her robes to keep her from hitting the ground.

"I am so sorry, Fida!" Cain gasped, kneeling to help pick up her books that littered the hall. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I'm so sorry."

"It's all right, Cain," Fida laughed, "Thank you for helping pick up my things."

Cain laughed and took the hint to stop worrying over spilt milk, as the saying went. They stood and piled her things back into her bag before continuing down the corridor together.

They chattered about Cain's successful Colovaria charm and how Fida had discovered how to get into the school kitchens by accident.

"How did you accidentally get into the kitchens?" Cain asked with a disbelieving chuckle. "I mean, even the stairs change. How was that even possible?"

"I was leaning against the wall near a painting of a fruit bowl and needed a stretch; long story short, I tickled the pear in just the right place and the painting swung out like a door." Fida shrugged and went on, "I stepped in and saw that there are dozens of house elves who do all the cooking and things. I'm guessing they're who does most of the cleaning as well."

"House elves?" asked Cain, perplexed. He'd never heard of such a creature.

"Yeah, the elves must belong to the school," Fida explained as she lead the way out of the castle. "They were falling over themselves trying to make me something to eat."

Cain shook his head, "That doesn't seem right. It's like they're slaves."

"No, no, it's what they live for. Chores and things. Sometimes families mistreat their elf, but we always thank Pucky and treat him as well as ourselves."

Nicholas and Sebastian were waving Cain and Fida over from their seat at the base of the tree near the lake. As they headed toward their friends, the duo argued over the fairness of the way house elves were treated.

"What about the ones who are mistreated?" Cain was saying, "Do they get released if it's noticed?"

"Well, I'm not certain," Fida admitted, "I would assume so. Our government can be helpful occasionally."

"What are you two on about?" asked Sebastian upon their approach.

"House elves," Fida answered smartly before dragging the other Hufflepuff into her argument. "Will you please tell him that it's okay to own one?"

"Seriously?" He rolled his eyes, "Cain, it's totally fine to have a house elf. My family's got one. They serve the one family until their death or are released for whatever reason."

"But there was an entire war to get rid of slavery!"

"Yeah, a civil war. In America," Nicholas butted in. "That was to stop humans from enslaving other humans. The elves-it's their entire reason for existence. They like to serve people."

"It just doesn't seem right to me," Cain mumble and plopped down next to Sebastian.

"Well, when you grow up, get an elf and treat it as well as you want," Nicholas suggested. "Keep that one from being mistreated."

Cain nodded and the subject was changed to a lighter one. The upcoming Halloween feast. It the most excited chatter they'd been hearing about in all their classes.

"What do you guys think it'll be like?" Cain asked excitedly. He'd never been so happy for Halloween to come, and the spooky holiday was his favourite.

"I've heard that Hagrid grows the biggest pumpkins-big enough for, at least, five grown people to fit inside-and he carves them into humongous jack o'lanterns," Nicholas informed them, using his hands to show just how massive the pumpkins would be.

"I bet Flitwick will bewitch something to jump out and scare us."

"Live bats!"

"This is gonna be so cool," Cain breathed, leaning back against the tree, dreaming about all the magical possibilities.