I woke up early that morning, eager for the first day of classes. I was up early enough that no one else in my room was awake before I went down to breakfast. I wasn't sure that the Great Hall would even be open. There were few enough people in the halls, that's for sure. I passed Mrs. Norris in a corridor, and she stared at me as if I wasn't supposed to be there, but she didn't cry out for Filch so I assumed I was safe to roam the corridors. When I got to the Great Hall only one other student and Professor Sprout were in there. By the untamed hair of the girl at the Gryffindor table I knew it was Hermione. She was bent over a book, and didn't seem to be aware that I was there. Nevertheless, I decided to go and talk with her.

"Hey, Hermione," I said, smiling as brightly as I could. She seemed to be pulsing with energy, and I could tell she was more excited than even us Ravenclaws to be getting back to classes.. Despite the knowledge I gained just from seeing her, I asked, "Are you ready for classes to start today?"

"Of course I am," she said, absolutely serious but bubbling with anticipation. "But I'm concerned about Harry. He has been having more dreams with visions through Voldemort's eyes." She was fearful as she looked around to make sure no one had been in earshot of her confession. "I want him to tell Dumbledore, but Harry just says Dumbledore has enough to handle seeing as they sent in an Inquisitor."

I considered it for a moment, then said, "I think that if they keep bothering him he should let Dumbledore know, Inquisitor or no Inquisitor."

Hermione nodded. "I agree." At that she got up and left, presumably to go tell Harry she had gotten a second opinion.

Since Hermione was gone I decided to head over to the Ravenclaw table and wait for everyone. It wasn't long before people started trickling in, and the day at Hogwarts truly began.

Classes went quite well, and I was glad to be in them. I knew the feeling wouldn't last long as each subject would be the topic of more and more homework, and even Ravenclaws prefer to do work in class and have time for themselves elsewhere. For now, though, I only had one assignment in Muggle Studies, and it took me very little time to finish.

When I was done I went to talk to Elle. I needed Elle time. She was my best friend and as full of crap as she sometimes was, she knew how to stabilize me, which was more than anyone else could do. As I walked up to her, however, I realized she and Sarah were arguing again. Sarah had been reading Elle's journal and she was mad at Elle because she found fanfiction in the journal. Sometimes I just didn't know what to do about her. She just makes me so angry.

Since I couldn't go talk to Elle, I decided to go down to the library and get a jump on the work I knew we would be assigned in DADA the next day. I could judge from the Umbridge chick's personality exactly what she would assign, and as much as I hated to do it, it's always wise to be ahead rather than behind.

On my way down I had the misfortune of being reminded of the one person I didn't want to think about: Malfoy. What I saw hit me like harder than a roundhouse kick from Chuck Norris, and hurt worse. I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart, and the pain was all the worse because I knew I had no right to be feeling it. As I saw him pushing Jules up against the wall, kissing her passionately, my heart seemed to crumble, and then harden. I had no reason to be jealous of Jules. Malfoy had never liked me, and I didn't like him. All it had been was a stupid dream that I had let get to my head. I kept on walking but he caught my eye as I passed, and winked as he stuck his tongue into her mouth. I was disgusted with him and with myself. Why did I let him hurt me again? How did he know I hurt?

I headed back up to Gryffindor Tower for some comfort, and raised my hand to hush the portrait of the Fat Lady before she could ask for the password, instead asking her if Fred and George were inside. They weren't, so I had a feeling I knew where they were. I headed down near the Hufflepuff Common Room and tickled a picture of a pear on the wall, gaining entrance to the kitchen, where I found my greatest source of amusement, the Weasley twins.

We snuck some food up to an old classroom and hung out for a while, and I was so glad to be around people who weren't serious all the time. It seemed to me like everyone else in and around Hogwarts was always concerned about something of vital importance. It was always Voldemort, classes, or love, and that night I wanted none of it. Fred and George made everything a laugh, until Fred looked at me with a concerned expression on his face and said, "Okay Cal, what's wrong?"

"We know there's something," George piped in. "You rarely get this involved with us."

"Yeah, you're always with the Dramatic Trio and such," Fred added.

I looked up into Fred's eyes. He was often known to be the crueler of the twins, but he was more protective too. Then I looked over towards George and said, "I just want to be more like you. I have nothing to worry about, so why should I worry? I'd rather be joking around and having fun. I'm done being serious."

Fred gave a disbelieving look as George said, "Aw come on, we don't believe that. Who's the guy who hurt you?"

"We'll beat him with our Beater bats!" Fred exclaimed.

"Or you could just knock him in the head with a bludger next Saturday," I suggested.

"It's a Slytherin!" they both shouted.

"Wait a second," said George, staring at Fred.

Fred's face was astonished as he looked back at George. "It can't be..."

I covered my face. "Yes," I admitted. "It is-"

"MALFOY!" they cut me off and quivered with rage.

"It won't just be one bludger," Fred said, his voice icy. "He'll pay for this." Then Fred leaned down and kissed my cheek, dangerously near to my lips, as he and George left the room. I could hear them mumbling as they moved down the corridor. Once they were out of earshot I ran my hands through my hair and sighed. "Poor Malfoy," I said, smirking a bit as I exited the empty classroom and made my way back up to the Common Room. I didn't know what would happen, but I knew I felt better after going to the twins.