After Harry and Kellen left the common room to get settled in for the night, Kellen got started on a thank-you note to Hermione for the Christmas gift that she sent him. He thought Ender's Game was positively wonderful, and that she and her 'very big friend' did a terrific job of picking out a fun science fiction novel to read.

They both played a couple of rounds of no-maj checkers – which they split – and shortly afterwards, the two boys drifted off to sleep in their four-posters. After a long day of traveling, it felt good to back in the castle for sure. They both had a very restful night of sleep.

The next morning, they resumed their physical training – after a couple of weeks of relative inactivity, it was decidedly difficult to get back into their routine of running and calisthenics. Harry, Kellen, and Ana were hoping that Nova would be able to re-join them on the pitch later that week after she assured them she felt completely fine and was ready to not only return to their morning physical training sessions, but also resume quidditch practice after her unfortunate injury due to the poor sportsmanship exhibited by the smug Pukwudgie beater, Flynn Replogle.

True to her word, Theresa Singh had reported Replogle's inexcusable behavior to the deputy headmistress, Professor Goode, who informed Replogle that he would serve an evening of detention – he would be assisting the diminutive Pukwudgie Keepers in the kitchen later that week by hand-washing each and every dish, glass, and utensil. And with over five hundred students and faculty in the castle… there was a lot of dishwashing to be done!

That Thursday afternoon Nova was officially given the green light to resume quidditch practice and attend physical training sessions, much to Harry's relief, as the very next day, Kellen and Ana had to go to Vermont for another Quiz Bowl.

Kellen got up a little extra early so he could get changed into his formal robes. "Oh, good morning, Harry," he said as he saw Harry's emerald-green eyes flicker from his bed. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"You're fine, Kellen," Harry replied with a smile. "Good luck in Vermont today. I know you're going to represent us well. We've built up a comfortable lead in the House Cup so far – we're ahead of the Thunderbirds by forty five points!"

"And I hope we only add to it," Kellen replied as he put on his sweater vest. "It's going to be tougher this time around, but hopefully the extra time I spent in the library this week will pay off. Anastasia made good on her promise too – she was up in the library for a good bit as well." He snickered. "She was all business too – she didn't really want to waste valuable time with idle chit-chat, which I totally get."

Harry grinned. "Ana is exceptionally studious. It doesn't come as easily to her as it does to you, so she naturally has to spend more time with her nose in a book."

Kellen chuckled. "She's one of the top three students in her year for a reason." His face contorted into a grimace. "She won't openly say it, but I think she's a little resentful of the fact that I'm top of our year, but I only put forth a fraction of the study time she does."

Harry shrugged as he looked for some gym clothes in his dresser. "Maybe, but she also adores you, man. I'm not just saying that… she really thinks the world of you. And it's not like she's directly competing with you because the two of you are in different years."

"And I adore her, Harry," replied Kellen as he adjusted his necktie. "But she definitely prefers you over me, and that's okay. She won't date a swot like me because she finds my intellect a little intimidating… she's pretty self-conscious about that. I can't help my gifts, I certainly didn't ask for them." He smiled at Harry, and tried to carefully phrase his next words to make it sound as complimentary as possible. "She digs you because you're relatively ordinary… you're smart, but not exceptionally so. Trust me, my gifts are sometimes as much of a curse as they are a blessing."

"You're taking a bit of a leap of faith with that Granger girl across the pond, man," Harry reasoned. "I mean, I know she agreed to be your date for the dance, but that's probably going to be a one-time thing… you may never see her again after this spring. What if you fall for her and she doesn't reciprocate?"

Kellen arched an eyebrow, then pointed a finger at his friend. "You were the one to told me to chillax about Granger the other day, remember? I'm just going to enjoy the moment." He slipped into his robes. "All right, Harry. How do I look?"

Harry nodded approvingly. "You look sharp, Kellen. Kick ass and take names for the Horned Serpents today."

"Thanks, man. I will," replied Kellen with a smirk. "And fortunately for you, Nova's fully back in action today so you have that to look forward to during physical training." He combed his hair back after putting a glob of holding gel in it. "I'm going to wait in the common room for a bit… hopefully I'll see you for a few minutes in the great hall before we leave." He gave Harry a friendly fist-bump then left for the common room while Harry finished getting ready.

As Kellen entered the Horned Serpent common room, he saw Anastasia already fully-dressed in her formal robes, with her rather heavy-looking black and white lace-up brogues propped up on a teal plush ottoman with gold trim. In her right hand was a paperback mystery novel, and a flat bowler hat dangled from her left ring and pinky fingers. Her milk-chocolate hair was done up in a perfect French braid, and she had just a touch of makeup that accented her pretty hazel eyes. She didn't even seem to notice Kellen rambling into the common room… she actually jumped slightly when he called out to her in a sharp voice: "Hiya Anastasia!"

She looked in Kellen's direction, and gave him a bit of a glare. "Ugh! Grimseth! Don't scare me like that!" She shook her head in frustration. "Asshole," she said under her breath, with a faint smirk on her lips.

Kellen snickered into his sleeve, then smiled at her. "Well good morning to you too, Harrison. You look quite lovely today, if I may say so."

She returned the smile. "You look very handsome yourself, Kellen. Having your hair slicked back like that is a good look for you, really."

Kellen blushed. "Thanks, Anastasia. Your French braid is gorgeous, for what it's worth. You really have beautiful hair."

This time, Ana's cheeks turned crimson. "Thanks, Kellen. I don't have my older sister's blonde hair and blue eyes… I've always been jealous of her looks."

Kellen flashed a brilliant smile, revealing his almost-perfect teeth. "Blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls are a dime a dozen in Minnesota, Anastasia. You're a breath of fresh air. You're a very, very pretty witch. Harry's one lucky-ass kid, you know."

Ana closed her book and stood up to embrace Kellen warmly. "You're quite the handsome little wizard yourself, Kellen." She looked up to meet his gaze. "And had you asked me to be your dance partner instead of Harry, I would have been equally delighted to be on the floor with you. That Hermione girl at Hogwarts has no idea how lucky she is."

"Thanks, Anastasia," Kellen replied softly. "Oh… about the dance, we are allowed to wear no-maj dress clothes, right? I don't really feel comfortable in fancy robes…"

Ana giggled. "Yes, Kellen. You can wear tasteful no-maj clothes to the dance. It's what I wore last year, after all."

Kellen breathed a sigh of relief. "Good to know, Ana. I'll let Hermione know – I need to finish writing the note I started last night. I'd like to have it sent out before we leave for Vermont."

Ana motioned with her head to the common room exit. "I don't suppose you'd care to join me in the great hall downstairs? A nice bowl of oatmeal sounds pretty tasty right now, I'd think…"

Shortly afterwards, the rest of Ilvermorny met outside in the cold, dark weather. It was just a few degrees above freezing, so most of the students were wearing sweatshirts and sweatpants in their respective house's colors.

Harry's heart skipped a beat as he finally saw Nova on the pitch, getting ready to do some warmup stretches. He couldn't help but beam at his pretty blonde friend. "It's been a while since I saw you on the pitch, Nova. It's really good to see you."

"Hiya, Harry!" Nova squeaked. "It's good to be back, yes. I fully expect today to be a little rough since it's been several weeks since I exerted myself physically, but it shouldn't take that long to re-acclimate…"

The sixth-year Horned Serpent trustee Missy Ludwig blew her whistle and instructed everyone to start running around the pitch for forty minutes. Harry and Nova were relieved that they didn't have to run sprints, and gratefully made their way to the track surrounding the pitch for an easy jog. It didn't take long for them to spy a coppery-red ponytail and a carrot-top jogging next to each other.

"Hey, Chelsea! Hey, Hunt!" Harry called out.

"Potter!" Chelsea squeaked, panting slightly. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, you two," Nova said. "Fancy seeing you two together! I'm glad to see you've made at least one friend in your house… good job!"

Chelsea giggled. "Alexander's not the only Thunderbird I'm friends with, but he's my closest one."

"Hi, Potter. Hi, Woodward," Alexander murmured. "Not exactly a lovely day for a run – it's cold and overcast, and it's drizzling slightly. A few degrees colder and we'd be looking at flurries."

"So, are Ana and Grimseth off to Vermont again, I take it?" asked Chelsea, her eyebrows arched slightly. "Last time, I heard ol' jerkface sealed it for the Horned Serpents." She giggled. "That boy is ridiculously smart. They normally don't let firsties participate, but Grimseth is just too damn brilliant for them not to make an exception."

"Yes he did," replied Harry with a nod. "And you're preaching to the choir, Chelsea. He's the most talented boy I know."

"Well, I wish them the best of luck," Chelsea said sincerely. "We came in third last time, so it's better than being in the cellar, but not by much…" She shrugged. "With Grimseth and Harrison leading the Horned Serpents, every other house is at a pretty sizable disadvantage. But thankfully both of them are quite likable, so it's not like I'm going out of my way to root against you guys."

"Did you hear about our last quidditch match?" Nova asked. "That Pukwudgie idiot Flynn Replogle whacked a bludger toward Harry, but I intercepted it to try and preserve the win. Harry got the snitch, but my broom shattered in the process… I had to spend a couple of nights in the infirmary."

"I did," Chelsea confirmed. "My heart broke for you, but I'm glad you weren't hurt that badly. And that was a very selfless thing you did to protect Potter, by the way. You have my respect for that, Nova."

"Their team captain came over to apologize after the game, and offered to help pay for Nova's next broom stick," added Harry. "She also came over and visited her in the infirmary. She brought some sort of peace lily plant… that was very thoughtful of her, I think."

Nova grinned. "Theresa Singh is truly a class act. She only puts up with that git because his family is wealthy and can get them nice equipment. Thankfully, Replogle got suspended for the next game due to unsportsmanlike conduct, and from what I gather, he got a night's worth of detention from the deputy headmistress."

"That's only going to piss him off even more," Alexander added. "My older brother is a sixth-year and a Thunderbird trustee, and he had to break up multiple scuffles that involved Replogle last year. He's a bit of a loose cannon, but then again, his whole family is rather intimidating. They tend to get their way because they have dragots to spare."

"Well, dragots can't buy respect," Harry grumbled.

"But they can buy grades," Nova sighed. "He's not particularly bright from what I gather, so his family bribes MACUSA – your version of the British Ministry of Magic - to ensure he passes… they have to go above the school as Professor Fontaine does not condone such corruption. It sucks that Fontaine is undermined like that, as he's a very honest mage. We're very lucky to have him as our headmaster, but he still has to kowtow to MACUSA at the end of the day. I don't envy his position."

TWEEEEET!

Missy Ludwig blew her silver whistle. "All right… good job today, everyone! Let's bring it on back to the pitch for a quick cooldown, and then everyone is excused to clean up, get changed, and get a bite for breakfast!"

Harry, Nova, Chelsea, and Alexander all jogged back to the middle of the pitch, where they did a few cooldown stretches, then at seven o'clock sharp, they made the short hike back to the castle to shower and change. Harry wasted little time – he was one of the first Horned Serpents in and out of the shower, and after getting changed, he hurried down to the Horned Serpent breakfast table to see if Kellen and Ana were still there.

Thank Merlin, he thought to himself when he caught the unmistakable visage of his two friends in their full formal robes. "Good morning, you two," Harry said cheerily. "I got here as quickly as I could, I wanted to see you two off… I know you're gonna do great. Both of you."

Ana blushed slightly as she pulled up one of her charcoal grey kneesocks. "Thanks, Harry. We only have a few minutes left… hopefully Nova will be able to see us off."

They then heard a familiar giggle. "You rang?" Nova plopped down next to Harry and across from Ana and Kellen.

"Well, speak of the dragon," chuckled Harry. "Glad you could make it!"

"I wasn't going to let them just zip off to Vermont without saying good-bye first," Nova said with a broad grin.

"Oh, looks like Professor Frye's getting up from her seat. I think that's our cue, Ana," Kellen said. Both he and Ana both stood up from their table, and Ana put on her peacoat.

Harry and Nova each hugged Kellen and Ana good-bye.

"Good luck, you two. I know you'll do the Horned Serpents proud," Harry said. "You two are the best and brightest we have."

"I hope all that extra studying in the library paid off," giggled Nova. "I have no doubt the both of you will do exceptionally well. Win or lose, Harry and I are very proud of you. We look forward to seeing you at dinner. Best of luck!"

"Thanks, you two," Kellen replied. "I hope we'll be up twenty-five more house points by then!"

"You two be good, mmkay?" Ana said. "I'll do my best to keep this Norwegian knucklehead out of trouble," she said, playfully swatting at Kellen's elbow.

Kellen and Ana headed toward the Horned Serpent coach, as Harry and Nova waved good-bye to their friends.