Generations: Waves of Time

by Charlotte1

Leshia, Katie and Rachel are beginning their fifth year at Hogwarts in the hope that they have put the perilous adventures of their previous school years behind them. With the dark rising and the Malfoys under threat, this might become a distant dream.

3. Part Three

Generations: Waves of Times

Part III

Leshia, Katie and Rachel leaned lazily against the corridor wall outside the Ancient Runes classroom. They had arrived a little later than their more studious classmates and were therefore relegated to the back of the line. This suited them just fine and soon they found themselves breaking the hushed silence.

"I feel so sorry for Owen," Leshia whispered.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed grimly. "Anyone would've been better than having Tripper as your form tutor. I can't imagine him supporting anyone. They're better off helping themselves and staying the hell away from him."

"I'm sure he can't be that bad," Katie cut in dryly, earning herself two disdainful stares from her best friends. "Well think about it. Dumbledore's forced to have him as a teacher here right? Minister Crayik hasn't really given him a choice, but that didn't mean he had to give him a tutor group did it? I mean, for all we know, he may be really good at the job."

"All right then," Rachel exclaimed cheerily. "Come sixth year, you'll be putting in a request will you? To be in his form group?"

Katie's cheeks reddened and she shook her head.

"I wasn't going to go that far. I was just trying to make Leesh feel better."

"Me?" the blonde girl piped up curiously. "It's nothing to do with me."

"No I know, but Owen…well, he's your…you know…" Katie's cheeks had now grown a deep shade of scarlet and the usually composed girl seemed to be suddenly terribly fascinated by the floor. Leshia's brow hardened and she placed a hand on her hip.

"He's my what exactly?"

Luckily for Katie, the door to the classroom creaked open. Those standing nearest to it sidled backwards and everyone turned to watch as the greasy face of Silas Tripper peered out at them all from the dim classroom. His eyes roved over them all, before settling on Leshia. The blonde girl could have sworn she saw him shudder.

"Good morning," Professor Tripper muttered and he pulled back into the safety of his classroom. The youngsters left standing in the corridor passed one another curious gazes before the bravest of them started shuffling inside. The fifth year Gryffindor friends were the last.

"Did I just imagine that?" Leshia asked her companions with a deeply furrowed brow.

"No," Rachel agreed thoughtfully. "It's weird. It's like he was scared of you or something."

"Shhh," Katie ordered and she stepped boldly forward into the room where she promptly dropped her bag, its contents spilling across the floor. While a few of the others tittered and giggled, a tall young man rushed forward and started helping Katie stuff everything back inside her leather satchel. Leshia and Rachel entered at the same time behind their friend and stared in confusion at the scene before themselves.

Leshia's expression however, soon turned to one of disgust when she saw the identity of the young man who had come to Katie's rescue: Black. While Katie fought to compose herself Julius Black straightened up, granted the three girls a rogue-like smile before sidling over to his table.

"Katie," Rachel grumbled from behind the embarrassed raven-haired girl. "Budge up, we can't get in!"

As though a firework had been lit beneath her, Katie darted over to a spare seat and hid her face behind her hair while Leshia and Rachel fell down either side of her. At the front of the classroom Professor Tripper was rifling through some notes, seemingly unaware of his students' presence in the room. Rachel sized him up for a moment, then judging it to be safe she leaned over to her cousin.

"Why did you drop your bag like that?" Her concerned tone thinly veiled the amused grin on her face. Katie let out a withering sigh and glared at the flame-haired girl.

"I was expecting it to fly off to my designated seat for the term. You know, like last year. He always had somewhere for us to sit. This is just…"

"Weird," Leshia interrupted, her pale icy gaze following the uneasy movements of their teacher. She dropped her voice to the quietest of whispers, "He seems terrified."

"Good morning!"

The fifth year pupils stared at their teacher, taking note of each nervous twitch and every wince. Professor Tripper seemed alive with nerves and his shrill call to the class had momentarily taken it out of him. He rallied himself together, inhaling so deeply it rattled through his bony chest.

"Welcome back after the holidays."

The foul man looked from one pupil to the next making them look away from his hungry gaze. Only Leshia watched his eyes as they skipped past her, leaping from Katie to Rachel at her side.

'Why not look at me Silas?' she pondered snidely in her mind. 'What are you afraid of?'

"I take it you all had fun?"

Again an uneasy silence, in which the pupils studied their desks intently. At the front of the room Tripper clapped his hands together and shuffled backwards until he reached his blackboard. Clumsily, he spun it round, causing a small avalanche of papers to cascade from his desk. No one so much as giggled.

While the teacher scuttled about, trying to bring some order to his papers the tall boy at the front of the classroom looked up from his hands to catch Leshia's eye. She glared forcefully at him, eking a smile onto his face. He held her gaze however, until at Silas Tripper straightened up.

"This term we will be studying the Anesh family of Runes. Er…" His wild watery eyes roved over the youngsters one more. "Er…can anyone tell me where these Runes come from?" A few hands timidly reached into the air. "Yes, Miss Beckwaith?"

"They come from India sir, from around the turn of the first century," Tamara Beckwaith clearly replied.

"Ah," Professor Tripper mumbled. "Ah, I'm afraid your wrong Miss Beckwaith."

Instantly the other hands in the classroom dropped while the pupils looked to one another with frowns on their faces. Leshia looked to Katie, who had the deepest frown of all. "They do in fact hail from China and are believed to…er…have originated in the er… sixth century"

"Sir."

Rachel and Leshia exchanged a smirk before they looked to their raven-haired friend, who had stuck her hand straight up in the air.

"Sir," the girl repeated, waving her hand about vigorously. Tripper squinted at the girl and waved his hand at her, indicating she speak.

"Yes Miss Potter?"

Katie's cheeks glowed brightly once more and she rubbed at her cheek anxiously, trying to build up the courage she needed.

"Tamara's right sir. They do come from India. You must be thinking of the Hakeh family." An ugly silence filled the room. "Sir," Katie added for good measure. For a moment the class stared while Professor Tripper's face flitted through a series of expressions.

Quite suddenly, he darted to a large book open on his desk. He directed his wand at it and moments later the pages started flying. Suddenly they shuddered to a halt allowing Professor Tripper to pour over the pages feverishly, his fingers tracing the lines he was reading.

He looked up and gulped, before double-checking where his fingers had ended up.

"Ahem," he coughed and he wiped his clammy brow. "Well done Miss Potter. You passed my first test. Well done for noticing my purposeful mistake. Five points to Gryffindor."

There was another awkward silence while the trembling teacher glanced at his notes despairingly. He rubbed his brow once more, before he dropped the papers on his messy desk dejectedly.

"Your first task for the term will be to do some research in the library on the Anesh family of Runes. I expect you to have finished two feet of notes by the end of the session." The incredulous expressions of his class met him. "Well what are you waiting for? Go on, off you go."

Leshia, Katie and Rachel were the first out of the door, slinging their satchels onto their shoulders and exchanging bemused glances.

"I don't know which I prefer," Katie grumbled as they walked. "Tripper when he was terrifying, but at least had some idea of what he was talking about or this new Tripper, who seems to be scared of his own shadow, but has no idea what he's talking about."

"Um," Rachel laughed. "Isn't it obvious? This one of course! At least he isn't breathing fire down our necks this year."

"Yeah, but how are we supposed to pass our OWLs if he isn't even able to tell the difference between a linear runic style and a cyclical one? The Anesh and Hakeh families are completely different. They don't even sound the same for goodness sake!"

"Katie," Leshia complained with a frown. "I know you're upset, but bloody hell! Get over it! At least he doesn't seem to have it in for me this year. Instead…well…he actually seems scared of me."

"We could have some fun with this," Rachel chuckled darkly.

"Well I'm glad the pair of you are having such a good time. We may as well bunk off all his lessons and spend the rest of the year dossing about, because to be honest, we'd learn more from that than we would in any of his lessons!"

Leshia and Rachel's jaws dropped while Katie flounced off ahead of them. For a few moments they seemed frozen to the spot, before as one, they leapt forward once more to catch up with their friend.

"I'm sorry," Rachel spluttered once she had reached her cousin's side. "But did you just give us permission to doss about? All year?"

Katie let out an exasperated sigh before she cast Rachel a fierce glower.

"No! I was just being dramatic. If anything, we're going to have to work harder this year because we'll be teaching ourselves. Fat lot of good Tripper is going to be to us."

Leshia and Rachel exchanged a horrified grimace, both of them imagining their tall friend taking charge of weekly (or worse, daily) Runes sessions in the library to catch up on their missed work. In an instant they realised this had the potential to go very seriously pear shaped.

"Um Katie," Leshia tried tentatively as they hurried along towards the library. "I'm just putting this out there early on just so as you know, but I'm going to be capping the hours you can force us to study with you in the library at four hours per week. Now you can take them all in one go or spread them out, it's up to you, but really any more than that and I will have to say no. And I can't promise I will be polite about it every time."

Katie stopped quite suddenly and turned to stare at Leshia with a thoughtful expression. One glance at Rachel's face showed the redhead would happily match Leshia's offer. After a few moments Katie nodded.

"Agreed. Four hours per week, but I get to say when."

X

After a rather dull lesson in the library in which Katie seemed to do more to manage the chatty distractible behaviour of her friends than Tripper did, the youngsters were free to go to their next lesson. Leshia and Rachel hung their heads while Katie berated their Runes teacher furiously. Suffice to say, they were thrilled when they reached the Charms classroom where they ran into Parys and Rodeo, who had just enjoyed a fun-filled Care of Magical Creatures lesson out in the brisk morning sunshine. They fell upon the girls and rallied round them, ensuring everyone was in good spirits throughout the usually enjoyable lesson. Even Rachel managed to get through the hour without anything dreadful going wrong; such as her wand igniting anything that came near.

As the bell rang signifying the start of break time, the girls tumbled out into the sunshine, ambling after their male companions, who had conjured Rodeo's muggle football as though from nowhere and were now running over to the relatively flat patch of grass that had served them as a football pitch these last four years. The girls made themselves comfortable on a small hillock, where they could watch (and make fun of) the game till their hearts' content.

"So Leesh, when are you holding quidditch trials?" Rachel asked curiously after they had spent most of their break time watching the boys and their game. The blonde girl frowned for a moment; the thought had rather slipped her mind. It would seem she wasn't taking to her captaincy as quickly as she had imagined. Shouldn't it be at the forefront of her thinking at all times?

"Um," she pondered aloud. "What've we got last thing on Wednesday?"

"Charms," Katie responded automatically. Leshia and Rachel exchanged a grin.

"Have you already memorised our whole timetable Katie?" the redhead asked her cousin fondly. Katie shrugged her shoulders noncommittally.

"Of course I have. Haven't you?"

"Katie we've only had it for two hours or so. How have you managed that already?" Rachel demanded happily while Leshia sniggered at her side.

"Charms you say?" the blonde girl interrupted, before Katie could launch into an in-depth description of the memory techniques she used on a daily basis. "Well that's not so bad. Yeah, I'll hold them Wednesday."

"Just remember we'll be finishing lessons at five thirty," Katie chirruped helpfully eliciting a pair of scowls from her friends.

"How could we forget? Ruddy sadistic teachers. Making us…"

The rest of Rachel's diatribe was put on hold by an errant football landing between the girls in the grass. Theatrically they screamed and looked up to see Parys hurtling towards them up the slope. Seeing him coming, Rachel threw herself at the ball, leaning her upper body on top of it, making retrieving it more difficult for the young man.

At the sight of her Parys burst into a broad grin, which lit his whole face up as he came to sit down by the girls. Down on the pitch the other boys from fifth year saw what had happened and ambled over to one another to entertain themselves while they waited for Parys to settle the situation.

"Are you going to make me fight you for it?" the tall boy asked amusedly.

"Fight me for what exactly?"

Parys' grin broadened at the feigned perplexed expression on Rachel's face and for a moment he let his eyes drift to the poorly concealed football, before looking to the girl's friends with a resigned sigh.

"You're witnesses right? She asked for it."

"Oh absolutely begged for it I think," Leshia quickly replied with a broad smile of her own. For a moment a playful affronted expression grew on Rachel's face before all of a sudden she found herself well and truly manhandled to the ground. Her raucous laughter drew the attention of not one, but three patrolling teachers who were on duty and seeing the pair struggling together for the ball in a most indecent way they started making their way over.

"Um guys?" Leshia spoke over the laughter. "I hate to break up this very touching moment, but in about one minute McGonagall, Flitwick and Sinistra will be breathing down your necks about 'improper displays of public affection'."

As though her words were electric, Parys suddenly leapt to his feet, the ball in hand, before he ran back down to the pitch leaving Rachel lying on her back, her laughter dying down to a contented chuckle. She remained this way and gave the three passing teachers a cheery smile while they went back on their way.

"Have we got Transfiguration today?" she finally asked, glancing in Katie's direction.

"No, not till tomorrow."

"Good, I don't think I've seen McGonagall so sour-faced in a while. I wouldn't want to be cooped up with her for an hour." Leshia grinned and watched their head of house ambling off towards the lake to patrol the path that snaked around it (usually a veritable goldmine for teachers looking for pupils engaged in indecent displays of public affection).

"She's alright McGonagall. She'd never give you a hard time, no matter how upset with you she was. She's not like Snape. Now there's a teacher that knows how to hold a grudge."

For a moment Rachel looked awkward. Leshia noticed and furrowed her brow as her best friend wrapped her fingers around each other, trying her very best not to make eye contact with the blonde girl. She had been doing this a lot lately whenever Professor Snape was mentioned.

"You know," Leshia mused aloud. "One of these days I'm going to start thinking you've got a crush on old Snapey Rach."

This did the trick. With a disgusted expression Rachel looked up.

"Oh get lost, no I haven't," she grumbled.

"Well why else is it that you go all weird and moody whenever I'm slagging him off?" Leshia demanded cheerily. "I mean you used to join in with me whenever we were bashing Snape and it would be this one over here who told us off." Here she jerked her thumb at Katie, who was watching her cousin calculatingly. She knew why Rachel was feeling differently about their Potions master.

Katie's lack of a response also managed to irk Leshia, who now looked on the raven-haired girl with a questioning glance.

"And now you? Come on guys, what's going on? The pair of you have been funny for ages. I hate it when we keep secrets from one another!"

Rachel looked to Katie, who after a moment shrugged her shoulders. Theirs wasn't a terrible secret after all, but it did bring back dark memories from a time of her life that Leshia was desperately trying to forget.

"Look," Rachel sighed. "You know last year, when um…when you were…"

"When I was what?" Leshia persisted, eliciting a groan from Rachel. She was just going to have to say it.

"When you were on trial. You know, when your grandfather reappeared." Instantly Leshia backed off and she dropped her head, momentarily overcome with a flood of nightmarish memories. Rachel barrelled on to save her friend from these haunting thoughts. "We saw quite a lot of Snape. He was often in the witness chambers and he was the one who came to get us on that last day we saw you. Leesh I know you're not going to believe me, but you should have seen him. He was so sad that you and your dad were probably going to end up in Azkaban. He was really upset. And then that last day, when we were called in as witnesses. Do you remember I managed to get to your side down in the pit?" Leshia nodded slowly. "Well it was him Leesh. He was the one who knocked the guards out and let us in, he said so that we could say goodbye to you. So you see, I just don't know what to make of him anymore. I'm not saying he's the world's nicest teacher, or he's suddenly changed, but there is definitely a lot more to him than meets the eye."

Rachel fell silent and for a moment she and Katie exchanged a concerned glance. They didn't want to start a feud with their best friend on the first day back and Leshia had a habit of reacting unnecessarily passionately to these sorts of conversations.

Finally Leshia spoke, though all she managed was a quiet, "Oh."

In the distance the bell was ringing, signifying it was time to head in for their next lesson: Herbology. As they ambled back in the pleasant sunshine Leshia looked up to see Rachel and Katie were watching her worriedly. She graced them with a broad genuine smile.

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to make of that. A part of me thinks you're mad and making it up, but I know you wouldn't. Let's just hope that he treats us all a little nicer in our lessons from now on."

X

"Malfoy! And you too Weasley! This is the last time I am going to ask you to stop talking. Both of you, detention! My office, after dinner this evening," the furious voice of Severus Snape rang out across the dungeon. The two subjects of his wrath looked to one another with an amused grimace. "For the time being, as you both seem incapable of keeping your mouths shut, Miss Malfoy move yourself next to Mr Black."

Leshia's amusement quickly dissipated and she glanced to the front of the dungeon classroom to see Julius Black look up interestedly from his notes. Just why they were back to having Potions lessons with the Slytherins was a mystery, as they had been granted a reprieve last year in the form of sharing this most dreaded of lessons with Ravenclaw instead. Perhaps Snape had missed his favourite hobby of berating the Gryffindors in front of their sworn enemies the girl wondered as she moodily picked up her belongings and sauntered to the front of the room with as much attitude as she dared.

Once she had finished making her protest, however small, Snape narrowed his eyes at the girl and carried on with his lesson. Luckily there were only a few minutes left before the bell went signifying the end of the day for the tired fifth year pupils. Leshia was the first out of the room, rushing to get away from the insufferable knowing look that had materialised on Julius Black's face when she sat down next to him on the end of the bench.

"He's even worse than before," the blonde girl grumbled as she and her friends hurried back to Gryffindor tower. It was Leshia who was setting the pace. "So much for him secretly harbouring some deep affection for me. He ruddy hates me does that man!"

"Leesh," Katie laughed happily. "The pair of you had sat there talking throughout the whole lesson. You were sort of asking for it."

"Oh don't you start," Rachel grumbled. "You'll be docking housepoints from us next for slagging of a teacher."

"Ha!" Katie exclaimed happily. "I do want Gryffindor to win the House Cup you know. If I started docking house points from you for that sort of thing we'd be in minus figures before the week was through."

The girls had now reached the entrance hall and seemed much happier for it. Everywhere they looked happy peers ambled past them, sparing a smile for the popular trio of Gryffindors. The three girls had earned a certain level of celebrity status amongst their peers over the years and particularly those in the younger years looked up to them with admiration.

"Hang about," Leshia suddenly exclaimed and she reached into her satchel to pull out a hastily crafted quidditch notice. With a big grin she ambled over to the quidditch notice board and pinned the note up. It was her first act as captain of the squad and it made her swell with happiness to be putting something on the notice boards for the first time.

"Can't wait till next year," Rachel sighed.

"Why's that?" Katie asked at her side. They had hung back a little to watch their friend put her notice up.

"Well Tom and Luke will have left school of course," the redhead explained cheerily, referring to their older cousins in seventh year who had played for the Gryffindor side for six of their seven years at the school.

"Oh charming," Katie laughed. "Are you upset with them or something?"

"No you muppet, but they're beaters aren't they? I bet I'd stand a chance of getting on the team when they hold beaters tryouts. Hey Katie, why don't you try out for chaser? You always play really well when we hold matches at the burrow."

Katie grinned proudly at this compliment and shrugged her shoulders. By now Leshia had rejoined them and they were making their way up to the tower. The blonde girl, having heard Rachel's question, was listening interestedly for her response.

"Well if I'm being totally honest it's the time issue really," the bespectacled girl finally explained, her cheeks blushing slightly. She knew her friends wouldn't understand her studious concerns.

"What do you mean the time issue?" Leshia asked with a frown.

"Leshia there have been times where you've been in training five days a week!" Katie replied firmly. "I just couldn't give up all that time. When would I have time to do my homework?"

On cue the girl's friends burst into mocking laughter.

"You really are such a swot Katie," Rachel crowed gleefully. "You surprise me every day! How do you think Leesh manages?"

"Yes well I'm not like Leshia," Katie grumbled, feeling embarrassed by their lack of understanding.

"Excuse me," Leshia herself laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"No nothing bad," Katie quickly complained. "It's just you're really good at doing things last minute and you still get really good marks. I just don't think I could do that. It would stress me out far too much!"

"Katie, Katie, Katie," Rachel sighed and she wrapped her arm around her taller cousin's shoulders. "What are we going to do with you eh?"

"Let her be as swotty as she likes and then copy her homework before she hands it in?" Leshia suggested cheerily, earning herself a playful elbow to the ribs.

"Hey!" the shorter girl complained happily. "Just because you can't face the fact that you're the school's biggest swot does not mean you get to mortally wound me!" Quite suddenly a messy play battle of old developed, with the three girls careening down the corridors wrapped up in a tickling match. They could have carried on all the way to the portrait of the Fat Lady (and probably beyond), but someone slight had stepped into their path.

"Girls!" a fond voice called out, cutting through their laughter. Instantly the three teenagers straightened themselves out with glowing expressions to meet Hermione's eye. "Have a good first day did we?"

"Yeah mum, it was great," Leshia chuckled.

"Already in trouble though I hear," her mother countered with an affectionate smile. For a moment Leshia grinned wryly.

"How is it that even though you're not a teacher, you still seem to know the second I get in trouble?" the girl finally asked. Hermione gave her a conspiratorial grin, but shook her head.

"Now that would be telling. Anyway you, I've come to find you because I need a big favour."

"What's that?"

"Your father and I are going out this evening and we need someone to babysit Evie," Hermione explained, before looking up at the other two with a broad smile. "You could all come along of course. I've got some homemade pizzas ready to pop in the oven."

"We'd love to," Rachel quickly agreed. Pizzas were her favourite meal and she knew for a fact that Hermione's homemade variety were some of the tastiest in Britain.

"Yeah mum, no problem," Leshia added happily.

"Um, aren't you two forgetting something?" Katie piped up with a sneaky smile. "After dinner you two have a date with Professor Snape. Remember?"

"Oh," Hermione exclaimed. "That's tonight?"

"What, you didn't know that?" Leshia asked incredulously. "You knew I had a detention."

"Well it's not so specific Leshia," Hermione chuckled. "We don't know when and where. Okay, well that's not a problem. What time does your detention start?"

"After dinner," Rachel grumbled.

"I don't mind babysitting on my own for a few hours while they do their detentions," Katie quickly piped up, earning herself a grateful smile from Hermione.

"Thanks Katie, we should be back by nine thirty."

"Do you need us right away?" Leshia asked, hoping they at least had time to dump their heavy satchels in their dormitory before they were called away. Hermione smiled at her daughter and shook her head.

"Come round in half and hour or so."

X

And so, half an hour later and minus two heavy satchels (Katie just couldn't be parted with hers as she claimed this an ideal time to get a head start on their homework), the three girls ambled down to the portrait of the newlywed couple. After scratching the groom's foot the painting fell forwards making way for a front door that Leshia had never found locked.

Once inside the girls found a very well dressed Draco lying on the rug in front of the empty fireplace, playing with a pyjama-clad Evie. Upon seeing the three teenagers the baby started squealing with delight, entirely ignoring her father in favour of these youngsters.

"Lih! Lish! Lih!" Evie cried out over and over, throwing her pudgy hands into the air in the general direction of her big sister. The blonde girl smiled broadly and swooped down to pick the now one-year-old into her arms.

"You're getting heavy fatty," she complained, shifting the little girl into a more comfortable position. Evie was too delighted to listen to Leshia's words and started jabbering at her in her own baby language.

"You're so charming," Draco's amused voice came and he stood up at their side, fondly squeezing Leshia's neck. "Get that from your mother."

"Excuse me?"

Everyone looked to the doorway leading into the master bedroom so see a highly amused Hermione appear. She looked divine in a beautiful evening gown. Leshia fought the silly childish jolt that passed through her. Whenever she saw her mother dressed up like this, it always cast her mind back to the times she had been a very young girl and her parents would be leaving her with a babysitter while they went out to parties with their many friends. The sudden wave of attachment still came as a surprise to the teenager. Yes, when she had been little she would cry and cry when her parents went out for the evening, but did she still have to find herself cowing to the same emotions? She was nearly sixteen for heavens sake!

Shaking herself out of her sudden emotionality Leshia dropped down onto the sofa with Evie still clutched in her arms. Rachel and Katie joined her moments later and seeing her sister's flame-haired best friend, Evie went into overdrive.

"Ray! Ray! Ray!" the baby shouted, her pudgy hands no longer seeking out her sibling, but her friend instead.

"Traitor," Leshia laughed, but she appeased the baby and handed her over to Rachel to moddy coddle. "So where are you two off to tonight?"

"Oh nowhere special," Hermione uttered coyly and she quickly hurried over to Draco's side with a beautiful pearl necklace for him to attach round her neck.

"Nowhere special," Leshia repeated slightly incredulously. "I don't get it. You both look really nice, it's not like you're just popping round the Potters' for tea is it?"

Draco glanced at the girl with a fond expression. She had indirectly complimented her parents after all. While he attached the necklace round his wife's neck he waited for her to speak, but she seemed entirely distracted by pulling at a loose thread in the beautiful embroidery on the bodice of her dress.

"Well seeing as you won't tell them I will," he finally chuckled.

"No Draco," Hermione complained, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Your mother has won a prestigious award," the tall man explained, ignoring his wife's mild protests. At his words Hermione glowed bright red and disappeared back into their bedroom to find her shoes.

"An award?" Leshia asked sounding puzzled.

"Which award has she won?" Katie added curiously.

"It's a ministry award actually, for all the work your mother has done over the past year in furthering our understanding of the magical history of this country," Draco explained proudly. In the bedroom he heard Hermione utter a frustrated groan.

"It sounds more prestigious than it actually is," she called through. "It's just an archaeology award really."

The three girls on the sofa giggled as they watched Draco shake his head theatrically and mouth to them, "Don't believe a word she says."

"Draco!" Hermione complained and she appeared once more, ready for the award ceremony. "You mustn't go spreading rumours, making out this is something it isn't. Anyway, girls, speaking of history of magic, how was your Ancient Runes lesson this morning?"

It was a thinly veiled probe into Tripper's affairs. Everyone in the room could tell, but Hermione continued to stare at the girls intently.

"It was awful," Katie finally responded when the silence had become slightly awkward. "He doesn't know a thing! He mixed up the Hakeh rune family and the Anesh rune family."

"Yeah and then all we had to do was study in the library," Rachel complained grimly. "It was so boring!"

"Best bit of all though is that he seemed scared of me," Leshia added, a smug grin spreading across her face.

"Really?" Hermione finally uttered. Anger radiated from her for a moment, before she shook her head. She knew she couldn't vent how she was feeling in front of the three girls, but one look to Draco revealed that he would receive an earful once they were alone.

"We might need you this year mum," Leshia was continuing. "At this rate we won't be learning anything and you'll need to teach us in our spare time."

It was a joke, but at her side Leshia felt Katie stiffen. Rachel noticed too and glared playfully at her blonde friend. The last thing they needed was extra lessons in their free time.

"Oh give over," Hermione laughed. "I don't know everything darling."

"Yes you do. Here, I bet you could tell me what this says." Leshia reached down inside the collar of her shirt and felt for the peculiar stone she had found on the beach at Ryan's wedding. It felt slightly warm to touch. The girl hesitated for a moment and then pulled the cord over her head. Intrigued, Hermione wandered over and reached out for the pendant.

"Where did you get this?" she asked curiously. Leshia thought for a moment, a lie ready on the tip of her tongue, but in truth, she hadn't done anything wrong, so why ought she lie about it?

"I found it on the beach at Ryan's wedding. There was no one around so I kept it."

"It's a very beautiful stone," Hermione marvelled, watching as the light sparkled over the dark surface. "I don't think I've ever seen runes like these before. Do you mind if I hold onto it for a few days?"

Somehow, Leshia did mind, though she couldn't explain why this might be so. To her mother she showed none of this reluctance and instead she nodded happily.

"Study it till your heart's content," the girl replied cheerily, before she added, "As long as I get it back mind."

Hermione carried the stone through to her study and placed it carefully on her desk, before she reappeared looking at the clock in the kitchen. Draco, knowing it was time to go, easily scooped Evie from Rachel's arms and kissed her goodnight.

"Don't rally this one into a frenzy please girls," he told the three teenagers on the sofa with a sly smile. "There is a bottle of milk for her in the fridge to have in an hour and then she should go to bed."

"Dad," Leshia laughed. "What do you think we're planning on doing with her? Taking her for a night out on the town in Hogsmeade or something?"

"Knowing you Leshia, I wouldn't put anything past you," Draco warned wryly. After one last kiss he dropped the baby back into Rachel's arms. Leshia smiled slyly at her father and shook her head. That there was a certain element of truth in his words mattered little to the teenager. The three girls climbed to their feet as Hermione and Draco walked over to the hearth. They each picked up a handful of floo powder, before looking to the girls with mixed expressions. Hermione's beaming face merely conveyed her gratitude, whereas Draco's expressed a look of warning.

"Be good," was all the man said before he disappeared in a haze of green flames. Hermione followed moments later leaving the three fifth years alone with a very excitable Evie.

"Well I'm going to start my Herbology homework," Katie announced, before she flounced over to the kitchen table with her satchel. The other two exchanged a grimace, before they made themselves comfortable on the sofa once more, Evie sandwiched between them.

"Hey, shall we teach your sister how to play exploding chess?" Rachel asked suddenly, spying the chessboard in the middle of the coffee table. For a moment Leshia glanced to their more studious friend, who had looked up at this ludicrous suggestion. A violent game was hardly suitable for a one-year-old.

"That my dear Rachel, sounds like a splendid idea!"

X

The following morning on their way down to breakfast Leshia made a detour via her freshly pinned up quidditch notice. With a jolt of excitement she saw that at least two dozen hopeful Gryffindors had written their names up. Rodeo Holsson and Parys Jackson were third and fourth from the top. With a happy smile Leshia turned to catch up with the other two who had gone and found their seats at Gryffindor table. Along the way however, she was waylaid in the most unpleasant of ways.

"Watch it blood traitor," a filthy voice accompanied the rather painful shoulder barge Leshia received on her way into the great hall. She turned around angrily to see Damian Allseyer stalking into the hall with his gang of rather dim-witted henchmen. The boy had grown, but there was something else that made him appear differently to the snivelling wretch he had once been. There was a darkness Leshia couldn't quite describe accompanying him like a thundercloud. Something about the expression on his face made Leshia turn away and walk over to her table without so much as a glance back.

"Everything alright Leesh?" Katie asked with a concerned expression. She had seen the brief altercation at the doors. Leshia nodded and sat down quickly, still not turning around to see what had become of Allseyer.

"He looks bigger this year," Rachel spoke up. "Look at him. He's really beefy."

"That's not all that's changed," the blonde girl complained, now that she had overcome her short period of anxiety. "There's something different about him. He seemed really…I don't know, sinister I guess."

"Sinister? That muppet?" Rachel chortled.

"Yes," Leshia replied firmly. "I know it sounds ridiculous. I mean up until now he's been a snivelling toe rag, but just now…well he was actually a little scary. You know, he would be scary to other people. Not to me obviously."

To distract the others from her moment of cowardice Leshia quickly pointed up the table to where Rachel's little sister Ria was enveloped in an excitable discussion with none other than Taylor Lofting and Claire Gabriel.

"Looks like they're the best of friends already," she said loudly, luring the others' attention away from herself.

"Yeah I saw them at it in the common room last night. Were we ever that giggly when we were eleven?" Rachel asked with a furrowed brow.

"There are some who might say you're that giggly now."

The girls looked up to see Parys had wrangled himself into the conversation by leaning right up against Rachel's side. Rodeo had shuffled up beside Katie on the other side of the table.

"I'm sorry, but did we ask the pair of you?" the flame-haired girl asked with feigned haughtiness. Parys grinned charmingly and slung his arm around the girl's shoulders.

"I thought you were asking the world at large my dear Rachel. If you don't want just anyone to join in the conversation then why do you talk so bloody loudly?"

"Ha! The cheek!"

Predictably the pair fell into a wrestling match of sorts while the others tried to go about their breakfast without getting involved.

"What've we got first?" Leshia piped up through a mouthful of toast. Her eyes were trained on the walking timetable that was Katie Potter.

"Divination with Professor Trelawney followed by Potions," the girl responded automatically. Leshia groaned and rubbed her forehead.

"Brilliant, what a fun morning. Tell me, have we actually got any decent mornings this year or are they all rubbish?"

"Tomorrow's not so bad. Muggle Studies followed by Herbology," Rodeo spoke up. Both Katie and Leshia turned to stare at him, jaws hanging. "What?"

"Rodes, don't tell me you've memorised our timetable too," Leshia complained.

"Just got a good memory I suppose," the boy shrugged. "Why? Who else…never mind. That's a dumb question isn't it?" His eyes twinkled in Katie's direction, who smirked happily and turned back to Leshia.

"Look, would it make you feel better if I told you we've got our first free period after break?" she explained, trying to pacify her fiery smaller friend.

"Yes!" Leshia crowed triumphantly. "That's made me feel infinitely better. Hey Rachel! Rachel! Rach let him go and listen!"

At her side her best friend relinquished her hold on Parys' head and turned to look at Leshia with an expression that warned this had better be good enough to interrupt the highly amusing play battle she had been enjoying moments ago.

"We've got our first free today!" Leshia exclaimed happily. Rachel's face split into an enormous grin and she looked to Katie as if for confirmation.

"Really? When?"

"After break," Katie replied with a smile at the excitement something so minor had evoked in her friends. Sometimes they could be quite simple creatures the girl felt.

"What've we got first?" Rachel now asked.

"Ah," Leshia grumbled. "See that's the thing…"

X

"They're both mentalists! I ruddy hate them!" Leshia fumed as they trudged back to Gryffindor tower. Rain had swept across the grounds and as such everyone seemed to be heading back to their common rooms for break time. Rachel and Katie were having to run to catch up with their irate friend, suppressing amused grins as they went.

"Come on Leesh, Trelawney wasn't that bad," Rachel tried, but her heart wasn't in it. Yes, Trelawney had been bad. The flame-haired girl was amazed that her friend had kept her temper in the face of such incessant provocation. It would seem that the batty old teacher had encountered several visions over the holidays, all of which had involved Leshia and a terrible dark fate that lay awaiting her. She had spent the whole lesson practically fainting at the sight of the blonde girl. Following this Potions had gone disastrously, as the Slytherins from Divination had seen to it that Leshia would not forget about the mad old woman's ominous words. Every time Leshia had responded to their bating however, Snape had seen to it that she was the one punished for the disruptions. By the end of the lesson she had earned herself another detention.

Leshia groaned furiously and sped up, reaching the portrait well before the other two. By the time they caught up with her the girl was slumped in a settee in front of the fire, her expression murderous. Within moments Rachel and Katie had sandwiched her in and after fifteen minutes Leshia had regained her composure, forcing the frustrating teachers to the back of her mind.

"Hey Leesh," a girl's voice called out from across the common room. Seconds later Jaime Wood had joined the trio of fifth year girls on the settee. "Saw your note up downstairs. Do you want us there too?"

"You're kidding right?" Leshia laughed. "Like I could do it without you lot."

"Well you'd better let us know then," Jaime chuckled. "You're lucky I'm free you know."

"Oh really. What could you possibly be doing tomorrow afternoon?" Leshia quipped. Her younger friend grinned and climbed to her feet again. In the distance the bell was ringing signifying the end of break.

"Oh you know, washing my hair, darning my socks, doing my homework, that sort of thing."

"Well that all sounds terribly thrilling, but if you don't mind, I could use your help tomorrow."

"I'm all yours captain."

With a last humorous salute Jaime disappeared through the portrait hole following her friends to their next lesson. Leshia glanced around and managed to catch sight of Luke and Tom relaxing by a table in the corner. Within moments she'd caught up to them.

"I take it the pair of you know I'd like you to join us tomorrow at the quidditch tryouts."

"Sure thing boss," Luke piped up cheerily. "We sort of assumed you'd be needing our help anyway."

"Yeah, can't imagine you doing tryouts without our expert opinions," Tom added happily. Leshia grinned at the pair and then looked round the common room one last time. There was no sign of Owen or Joss, the remaining players on the team and so Leshia rejoined her friends on the settee and watched as the last of their peers filed out on the way to their lessons.

"Feels so good watching them go knowing we don't have another lesson for a whole hour doesn't it?" Rachel sighed contentedly. Leshia nodded happily at her side.

"A whole hour," she parroted. "What are we going to do with ourselves for a whole hour? I mean we rarely see the common room when it's this deserted."

The girls looked around at the room spotting a few people from their year milling about in a similar state to themselves. There were also a few sixth and seventh years studying at the tables round the edges of the room. For the most part however, the common room was deserted.

"Well I know what I'm doing." This decisive voice had come from Katie and while Leshia and Rachel turned to stare with disgruntled expressions, their friend lifted her satchel onto the settee and started taking out her Potions textbooks and a piece of parchment.

"Why am I not surprised you're starting on our Potions homework barely half an hour after the man set it. You're supposed to let these things settle you know Katie. Good homework is like good wine, the longer you leave it the better it gets," Rachel complained. Katie shot her an amused glare.

"Actually, the quicker you do homework the more you can remember from the lesson you halfwit. Now come on, the pair of you are not going to doss about for an hour. This is a study period remember? We're supposed to be studying."

"What did she just call me?"

Ignoring Rachel's bemused face turning on her, Leshia spoke up loudly to catch their raven-haired friend's attention, "Katie listen carefully because I'm only going to say this once. We are not, and I repeat, not going to do our homework in our first ever free period. So you can just bugger off to the library and leave us in peace because we are going to be doing what we do best."

"What? Dossing around?" Katie asked irritably. Leshia smiled proudly and nodded.

"Exactly."

The moment of frosty silence was thankfully interrupted by a group of very soggy looking fifth year boys tramping into the common room. Most of them headed up the stairs, but two remained behind having seen their favoured female companions sat in front of the fire, the place they most wanted to be right now.

"Morning ladies," Rodeo called cheerily to the girls as he and Parys sat down inches from the roaring flames. They were dripping with muddy water. One look at them broke the tension between the girls.

"You're both mad. Why is it that you can't abandon your stupid ballfoot game for just one day because it's raining cats and dogs?" Rachel asked the boys. They ignored her purposeful mistake and shrugged their shoulders.

"It's the beautiful game Rach," Rodeo replied. "Bit of rain never hurt anyone. Besides, we've got a whole hour to dry off."

"Yeah, we could of stayed out there even longer, but apparently you're not allowed outside during free periods," Parys added with a disgruntled frown.

"Actually," the voice of reason spoke up. Everyone looked to Katie. "You are allowed outside if you're studying. You know, studying? What you're supposed to do in our study periods?"

"I wish you'd stop saying the word study like that Katie," Rachel grumbled. "I feel like you're attacking me with it."

"What's got into her?" Rodeo asked with a frown. Leshia and Rachel shrugged their shoulders in unison.

"What do you think? She wants to do homework and we don't, so now she's getting arsey about it," Leshia muttered tiredly.

"I'm not getting arsey! I'm just trying to get you lot to follow the rules that's all because…"

The girl fell silent and hung her head slightly causing the other four to lean forward slightly. That 'because' had seemed particularly ominous.

"I don't much like how you said because either you know," Rachel spoke first, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Leshia hushed the redhead with an urgent wave of her hand and leaned even closer to Katie.

"You're not thinking of doing what I think you're about to do are you?" the blonde girl asked warily. Katie looked up pathetically and she reached into her pocket to take out her prefect's notebook. The other four stared at it with wide eyes as though the girl had pulled out a tiny goblin from her pocket.

"Look, you're supposed to be studying, not dossing around right? I'm a prefect! I can't just let you all break rules like that can I?"

Another silence enveloped the five fifth years. Outside the rain battered against the windows of the tower. The fire crackled comfortingly in the hearth. And somewhere high up in the dormitories someone was playing a wireless as loud as it could go, blasting out one of the latest hits. Everyone continued to stare at Katie.

"Katie Potter!" At last someone had spoken. Everyone's eyes darted from the prefect in their midst to the soaking wet blond boy sat in front of the fire. His moody eyes were glaring at the raven-haired girl. "I thought you'd changed. Don't let that badge rule you. There is no way you are going to docking housepoints from us for relaxing a little during our free period. I know you Katie, there's no way you're going to do that, is there?"

The way he had said the words 'is there' seemed to convey that there was no possible way for Katie to disagree with the boy. There was a magic of sorts in the way he had spoken and everyone looked back to Katie to see she was struggling with a monumental conundrum. Rachel nearly held her breath the tension was so high.

Eventually Katie shook her head and put the notebook back in the pocket of her robes.

"No Rodes," she sighed. "You're right. There's no way I could do that to any of you."

Leshia and Rachel let out audible sighs of relief and they briefly looked to Rodeo, nodding to him in thanks. They couldn't quite imagine what life would become like if Katie started docking housepoints from them for such a minor crime.

Suffice to say, the remainder of the free period went by swimmingly. Katie sat in the corner with a small group of sixth year girls while Leshia and Rachel started an exploding chess tournament with all the fifth year boys. By the end of the hour they were all excitable and overjoyed. Something Professor McGonagall put to rights in their Transfiguration lesson. The day was starting to fly by and soon the fifth years found themselves lining up outside their last lesson of the day: a triple Defence Against the Dark Arts session. Leshia wasn't at all surprised when they arrived in the corridor to find they were sharing this lesson with the Slytherins once again.

She managed to artfully avoid looking at Damian Allseyer's moody face and instead found the slightly amused eyes of Julius Black. The girl glared firmly at him before finding her place at the back of the line with her friends.

'What does he have to look so smug about the whole time?' the girl thought to herself angrily. Putting the peculiar young man to the back of her mind Leshia managed to tune in to the last part of Rachel's amusing blow by blow recount of the game she had just beaten Parys in to be crowned the free period chess queen. Parys was left glaring playfully at the girl, but any chance for a rebuttal never came as the strong loping strides of their teacher instantly caused the fifth years to dart into a straight line, their hands checking their shirts were tucked in almost instinctively. Within moments Professor Malfoy had arrived and looked the line up and down with a small satisfied smile.

"Good afternoon," he told the class. A few of those nearest to the teacher responded, but for the most part the youngsters remained silent. Draco appreciated this year group above any other. They were the classes he had taught the longest leading them to be well trained, but not entirely terrified of him. He had just spent the day grappling with a difficult group of seventh years who cared not for his rules or his punishments and a series of first and second years who were all absolutely terrified of him. The fifth years were a breath of fresh air in comparison.

"Please, come in," the teacher spoke up and he opened the door allowing the stream of pupils to file past him. They all avoided his eye apart from one towards the back of the line who rewarded him with a beaming smile. Draco rolled his eyes fondly at the girl before he strode into the classroom behind his class. He watched as they took their usual seats, some of them noticing with interest that at last Argus Filch had got his way and they seemed to have a new set of desks to deface.

The old ones had become positively littered with exclamations akin to 'Prof Malfoy is well fit'. The little blighters who had defaced the desk had done so with everlast ink, which a very determined Filch had not managed to clean from the desks despite several hundred hours of scrubbing. Dumbledore had been refusing to allow him to replace the desks, as he believed graffiti was a valid form of expression at Hogwarts and a part of its history. Four years of the old caretaker nagging however, had finally taken its toll on the headmaster and he had finally agreed to get new desks for the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, providing they kept some of the more detailed old desks in the staffroom as a form of entertainment for the teachers. Draco had been highly bemused when he walked in on the first day to find a gaggle of his colleagues gathered round sniggering about some of the more poetic scrawls. He'd had quite enough of them quoting them too. If he heard Severus Snape mention his 'ocean-blue eyes' one more time he was going to snap and do something quite reckless.

As for this new set of desks, they seemed to be enchanted in some way to prevent any more mutilation. No doubt it would only take a matter of weeks for the more determined defacers of the school to find a way round this, but for now at least Argus Filch was happy.

Leshia felt a little perturbed by the untouched oak desk staring back at her as she sat down. She reached out and ran her fingers along the smooth wood. In her time in her father's lessons she had memorised every single scratch, dent and scrawl her old desk had held. For some strange reason, she missed it, particularly the additions she herself had added over the years.

"I trust you all enjoyed your summer holidays," Draco spoke loudly, reclaiming the attention of his pupils. Some of them were nodding. "Good, but let's not forget that we are now back at school. That means you're going to have to try and find a way to stay awake Mister Holsson!"

A few rows behind the girls Rodeo sat up sharply in his chair. Draco smiled darkly at the youngster, holding his gaze longer than Rodeo felt comfortable with, before turning back on the class.

"Thank you. Right then, you're probably wondering what we're going to be doing this year. Over the last few years we have alternated between learning about dark magical creatures, basic curses and how you might defend yourselves against them. This year will be the last year of your OWL course, therefore the summer term will be taken up going over everything you have learnt in your time here at Hogwarts, as any of it might come up in your exams."

Across the room the youngsters glanced to one another out of the corners of their eyes and grimaced as much as they dared.

"In the meantime however, we will be spending the next two terms addressing an area of dark magic that we have so far neglected. Has anyone got any idea what this might be?"

Across the room a smattering of hands went up into the air.

"Yes Miss White?"

"The unforgettable curses Professor?" Nicola White, one of Leshia, Katie and Rachel's dormitory mates, asked hesitantly. Draco smiled wryly and nodded.

"They will form a part of this year yes. Any other suggestions? Mister Black?"

"Death Eaters sir and other dark wizards," the boy spoke clearly. Everyone turned to stare at him and then back to their teacher who was smiling darkly.

"Got it in one Mister Black. You are of course correct in saying that so far in our learning we have neglected to mention the very worst of the dark magical creatures we know about: the human. We are capable of more death and destruction than any of the animals you have learnt about in this classroom. Over the next two terms we will learn all about Death Eaters and dark wizards. You will learn how to recognise them, how to defend yourself against them and how to protect yourselves against their power."

Across the room the youngsters remained absolutely silent. This sounded far better than they had anticipated. Draco watched them quietly for a moment before he spun his blackboard round, revealing two words emblazoned in bright white chalk on the dark board. For a moment the pupils stared at the words before one by one their attention was caught by their teacher. He was fingering the edge of his sleeve and for the first time he seemed unsure. Leshia's jaw was slowly dropping. Was he about to? Surely not! He had never willingly shown it to her in his life. Surely he wasn't going to reveal it to a class full of teenagers and then openly discuss it.

It would seem however, that he was. In a quick motion that seemed to pain the teacher he pulled his sleeve back to reveal a faded tattoo. It bore the skull and snake of the Death Eater's mark. It was Voldemort's sign. The teenagers remained deadly silent, watching their teacher with renewed fear.

"I was once a Death Eater," Draco told the class. "I know you all knew that, but I feel it must be said. I was very young, only slightly older than you are now, when I became one. It was not my choice." The man glanced briefly to his daughter, an apology of sorts in his eyes.

"I wasn't one for very long, just two short years. To me however, they were the longest years of my life. After that I spent the rest of my life hunting down the remaining Death Eaters in the world and bringing them to justice for their wrongdoings until there were none left, or so we thought. I am possibly one of the most knowledgeable people alive about that dark world and that is why I am going to teach you about it. You need to know how to protect yourselves against people who want nothing more than to see you tortured and killed. I know I won't surprise any of you when I say the dark following is on the rise once more. There are almost certainly new Death Eaters being sworn in. They are no longer extinct I am very sad to say… Yes Mister Allseyer?"

The sudden end of their teacher's narrative, one that had held the audience captivated, took a while to register in the teenagers' minds. Finally though, each and every one of them turned to stare at Damian Allseyer, who seemed to have gone very pale.

"Just because the newspapers keep ragging on about Death Eaters and the dark rising doesn't make it true," the boy spat venomously. Draco's brow lowered and he stared the boy down for a moment. He too had noticed what Leshia had, Damian Allseyer had changed.

"I agree," Draco finally replied, his voice light and simple.

"My father says there is no dark rising. My father say it's all lies to keep us under control. My father says…"

"And your father is what may I ask?" Draco interrupted coldly.

"What? What do you mean?" Allseyer growled.

"I mean to say, what line of work is your father in? If you don't mind me asking."

Allseyer shifted in his seat, his face a perfect picture of rage.

"I do mind you asking. It's none of your business!"

"Alistair Allseyer. Yes, I have come across his name many a time. Especially as it appears on my annual taxation summary. He works for the ministry does he not? In the accounts department?"

A few Gryffindors hid their chuckles with coughs while across the room Damian Allseyer bristled once more, his expression mutilating into hatred.

"What does that matter? It doesn't mean anything," Allseyer hissed. Draco sighed and realised what he was doing was cruel. To put this young man in his place in front of his peers is what a lesser man would do.

"You're right. It is irrelevant. I apologise," the teacher offered, to which Allseyer surprisingly nodded and looked down at his desk. Draco looked back to the class of pupils. "However, I am very well placed to tell you with authority that though Mr Allseyer is right and the newspapers are full of lies, there is a dark following growing in this country. I know this not from reading the Daily Prophet nor do I know this from listening to scare mongers on the wireless. I know this because it is my job to know these things. I cannot tell you any more on the matter."

Draco stopped speaking and he watched as every member of his class deflated slightly in their seats. They had been sat up straight, their attention rapt by what their teacher had been saying.

"Put your hand up if you are afraid of Death Eaters or the dark following."

Some of the youngsters sniggered slightly under their breath while Draco stared them all down. He watched them all, sitting there, far too proud to admit the obvious. He could see a few hands hovering over desks, waiting to tentatively make their way into the air. With a small smile he decided to help them and he stuck his own hand high into the air. The titters died down and slowly other hands joined his until eventually almost every hand in the classroom was in the air.

"I'm glad most of you seem to have a healthy sense of self preservation. Even in all my time fighting these people I still fear them slightly. They are dangerous and unpredictable. If you don't fear them now, by the time we have finished this part of the course you will have changed your minds. Now then, what I am about to do is one of the hardest parts of my job. I initially refused to do it, but I was convinced that by now you are old enough to understand and that you must know what you are up against. I am about to pass around a selection of photographs and case notes that I collected when I was an auror for the ministry. If the images frighten you too much then please, do not feel pressured to look at them. We will spend half an hour looking at the evidence and then we will discuss what we have found. By the end of today's lesson we will have enough evidence to write your first piece of homework."

Draco ignored the few groans that went round the room and started writing a title up on the board. The teenagers waited patiently for him to finish. It was a simple title: Why Death Eaters are Evil.

Despite the gravity of the last five minutes Leshia turned to Rachel and grinned. This was a piece of homework even they wouldn't mind doing. At the front of the room Draco was picking up a box Leshia had seen many a time before. She had even had the gory privilege of sorting it out once into some sort of system. Seeing it made the girl feel slightly relieved. She wasn't in the mood for any nasty surprises. Little did she know, the last time Draco had allowed her to see the cases he had removed the most disturbing cases. She had been too young, still was in his opinion, but Albus was convinced that fifth years were ready to know the truth. They had a right to know what Death Eaters were capable of, as almost certainly some of them would soon become vulnerable to the persuasions of these very people. Those in Slytherin might soon be cajoled into joining the same as he once was. Draco had to protect them from this.

"You will be working in groups of five. Once you have arranged yourselves into your groups, please come and collect a case from the box. You will have half an hour to try and read and look at as many cases as you can."

Instinctively Leshia, Katie and Rachel turned around and found Parys and Rodeo climbing to their feet and making their way over to them. Katie went off to get their first case file while the remaining four youngsters stared at each other awkwardly.

"You know if it weren't so bloody scary, this would be wicked," Parys spoke up. Leshia grinned and nodded.

"I know what you mean. I don't think my dad's very happy about teaching us this stuff."

"Who made him do you think?" Rachel asked curiously. Katie was heading back now, her face a little paler, her expression anxious. She had caught a look at the picture on the front of the file and dearly wished she hadn't. Leshia looked away from the bespectacled girl and back to the others.

"Dumbledore of course. Who else?"

By now Katie had arrived and she delicately placed the case file down on the desks the others had pushed together. They all looked at the image on the front and then looked away again. Leshia fought the urge to retch right there and then. She had never seen this case before.

"Right then," Katie spoke up shakily. "Who doesn't want to look at the pictures?"

Simultaneously everyone stuck their hand up.

"Oh come on," Leshia grumbled and she pulled her hand down. "We've got to be grown up about this. My dad wouldn't let Dumbledore push him around if he really didn't think we could handle it. If anyone actually starts vomiting then, and only then, are they exempt from looking at the pictures. But only on that file! Agreed?"

The others nodded grimly and as one they all looked back to the picture. Parys started retching theatrically. Rachel grinned roguishly and clapped the boy on the back a few times firmly.

"We don't believe you Parys, now pull it together and let's get started. There's a lot of these to get through and I don't want to have to stay after class and go through these alone because to be honest I think I'd wet myself with fright to be left alone with these."

X

As the final bell rang for the end of the day the fifth years were delighted to get out of the classroom. It had been an eye opener, but a highly unwelcome one for many of the teenagers. As predicted, there would be the annual flock of angry letters from parents arriving on Draco's desk berating him for showing their precious little darlings the horrors of the real world, which he would immediately pass on to the headmaster to sort through. It was his idea after all.

Most of the youngsters were gone before the bell had stopped ringing. Only one however, had remained behind, lingering at her desk, watching as her father put the files away carefully in the tattered cardboard box. Draco wasn't surprised.

"You're angry with me," he sighed, before looking up and catching Leshia's eye. "Angry that I always ignored your questions about the mark and now I've shown your whole class and discussed it openly."

Leshia shrugged her shoulders. In truth, she had been a little bit annoyed about that yes. Draco nodded resignedly.

"Let me make on thing clear. I did not show you that mark and tell you about it as your father do you understand? I was doing it as your teacher and because I have been told that this is what I must teach. I still don't want to talk about it," Draco explained firmly.

"I know that dad," Leshia sighed. "I'm just a bit surprised, that's all. I mean all of this, it's really quite scary isn't it?"

Draco held the girl's gaze a little longer before he smiled and reached out his hand to her. The teenager looked like she wanted to remain by her desk, aloofly refusing the show of affection, but she wasn't like that, not really. Within moments she was at his side, wrestled under Draco's arm and pulled firmly to his side.

"I know it's scary," he agreed quietly. "And even though I think you're all too young to find out about all this now, I do agree that you should know what you're up against. The dark world of magic is scary and it's growing. If I can arm you all against it as much as I can then I'm doing my job well."

"Right," Leshia agreed and she looked down at her feet. "I bet you didn't teach this stuff to your fifth years when you first started working here though did you?"

Draco grinned at his daughter's perceptiveness. Sometimes she was all Hermione.

"No, you're right. It was the year after Lucius reappeared if you must know. Anyway, you don't want to hang around with an old man like me your second day back. Go on, get back to your friends."

Leshia grinned and nodded. Before she darted out the door though, she quickly threw her arms around her father's chest and hugged him firmly. Draco was left watching the door she had left by with a tight feeling across his chest, though Leshia's hug had little to do with it.

Meanwhile Leshia was sprinting to catch up with her friends. She did so just before they reached the portrait and together they tumbled inside. Katie headed straight for their usual window box and threw her satchel down on the table beside it. There was no doubting her intentions to get started on their homework and as such Leshia and Rachel left her to it. While Rachel collapsed onto a settee with Rodeo and Parys, dislodging an unlucky bunch of third years who were relegated by the arrival of the fifth years, Leshia looked around the room for the remaining two members of her quidditch team.

Joss was easy to spot, as the seventh year girl was only a few meters away on one of the other settees. The moment she saw Leshia approaching she smiled and held her hands up.

"Don't worry, I'm free for tomorrow," the older girl called out. One look at her neighbours on the settee – Luke and Tom – revealed how she knew what Leshia was coming to ask and so after a grateful smile Leshia turned around to see if she could spot Owen. There was still no sign of the boy and with a disgruntled frown Leshia realised she hadn't seen any sign of him all day.

There were a group of sixth year girls sitting at a table towards the back of the room and so Leshia wandered over to them. They looked up happily at the arrival of the popular girl.

"Hi Leshia," Sarah Weasley, a cousin of Katie and Rachel, greeted the fifth year girl. Leshia smiled at her and the other sixth years.

"What's up?" Amy Weasley, yet another cousin, asked.

"I don't suppose you lot know where I could find Owen do you? I need to tell him something about quidditch," Leshia explained, feeling awkward at having to ask after the boy. If this got back to him the growth in his ego would be unstoppable.

"I think they're all in the library," Sarah replied. Leshia smiled and nodded.

"Thanks." She turned to go, but then stopped. "Oh. If you wouldn't mind not mentioning this to him, the me looking for him thing, then I'd be really grateful!"

Sarah and Amy grinned at one another, but nodded anyway leaving Leshia to dart off to the portrait hole. On the way she made a detour via Katie, stealing one of her many library books. Katie's cries of "I was using that!" were lost however, as Leshia was out of the room in a flash. She ran all the way to the library doors where she stopped and got her breath back. Making sure her face didn't betray any of her breathlessness Leshia ambled inside in as nonchalant way as she could manage. She noticed the sixth year boys immediately, but pretended she hadn't and headed for the librarian instead.

"Hi Madam Pince," the girl spoke up politely, catching the attention of the stern librarian.

"Good afternoon Miss Malfoy," the woman replied stiltedly.

"I just wanted to return this book. It's in Katie Potter's name by the way," Leshia told the librarian. The elderly woman nodded as she took the heavy tome from the youngster. "Thanks Madam Pince." Leshia turned to go, but then made an obvious effort to notice Owen Gabriel and his friends sat nearby. "Oh, hi Owen. What are you doing here?"

The tall boy looked up from his work and grinned dashingly at his friend.

"Do you know what shorty, I think, now I'm not sure, but I think I'm working," the boy replied. Leshia rolled her eyes and wandered over.

"Yes I can see that. What are you doing?" Her eyes roved over the complicated magic the boys were copying into their notes. They all seemed to be doing different things.

"Transfiguration," Owen replied and he stretched his long arms out above his head. Leshia looked away shyly from the patch of skin that became visible as Owen's shirt rode up. "I had two hours of it this morning and I still don't think I understand any of what McGonagall was going on about."

Leshia almost expressed her sympathy for her friend when she saw the way his expression fell, but she knew such an act of sentimentality would get her ridiculed by his friends. So instead she shrugged her shoulders.

"I bet they start you off on really hard stuff to make you get in the habit of working really hard," she tried. Owen grinned wryly.

"Well it's working! But I don't know when you're supposed to find the time to get anything done. I've got Defence Against the Dark Arts in a minute and I bet that'll be really hard too," he complained. Leshia frowned, wanting to say lessons had finished, but then she remembered the new structure of the timetable.

"We had Defence Against the Dark Arts just now. It was really rough. We had to look at all these cases where Death Eaters brutalised and murdered people," the girl explained with a grim expression. At her words the other boys looked up.

"Oh you had that lesson did you?" Owen commiserated. "I remember that. It doesn't get much better either this term. Some of that stuff is really mental."

"I bet yours won't be any better," Leshia complained with a grin. "I mean we're only doing our OWLs. What'll you have to do for your NEWTs?"

"Don't make me think about it!"

"Sorry. Hey Owen, while I remember, tomorrow I'm doing quidditch tryouts for chasers. Do you think you can make it? I'm holding them at quarter to six down on the quidditch pitch."

"I'd love to be there shorty, count me in," Owen replied cheerily. His friends started climbing to their feet. It was nearly time for their afternoon lessons to start. Owen too started packing his stuff together. "Do you know what you're going to get them to do yet?"

Leshia forced a confident expression onto her face. So she hadn't thought about it yet, but Owen needn't know that.

"Oh yeah. I've got it all sorted out."

X

The following day and Leshia did finally have everything sorted out. It was a good thing they had a two-hour free between break and lunch, because she had used this time to draw up a plan and collect the necessary equipment. The afternoon's lessons lasting till five thirty had been a rather painful slog. Particularly as they had started with a half an hour History of Magic lesson, which had put most of them to sleep. Leshia had tried to stay awake, as the subject sounded somewhat interesting: the rise of Voldemort. Professor Binns though, had lulled her into a slumber leaving her sleepy throughout the following charms lesson.

The girl couldn't help but wake up after their afternoon break however, as the fifth years were to endure another hour-long gruelling Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson in which they were confronted with yet more gruesome evidence to add to their essays. Leshia and her friends couldn't have been happier to get out of the lesson. Katie and Rachel kindly offered to help Leshia levitate all the equipment down to the quidditch pitch where they found the rest of the squad waiting for instructions. There were quite a few Gryffindors already waiting in a neat line. The sight of them all made Leshia feel a jolt of excitement. These people were all here because she had asked them to come and in a moment they would all look to her for instructions.

Once they had reached the pitch Leshia called her team over and asked them to help her set up the areas. She had been incredibly organised and had made up a little diagram of each area for her team to easily replicate. Owen's grin had a distinctly teasing tone to it as he took his diagram and went off to set up the stealth flying course. Once her team members were setting up the different areas Leshia wandered along to where the hopefuls had lined up. She noticed with a smirk that Rodeo and Parys had somehow shouldered their way to the front.

"Afternoon," she called out and then added unnecessarily, "I'm the Gryffindor captain."

"Yeah we know," a voice called from the line. It sounded distinctly Weasleyish. Leshia grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

"I hope you all know that the only position we're looking for today is chaser. There are going to be a series of trials ending in a small game. I know all your names obviously, but I'm still going to give you numbers because it makes it easier to sort you out. There's a fair few of you you see." The girl paused and looked down the line to see at least thirty faces staring back at her. "Okay, so if you go and form a line in front of Katie she'll give you your number."

The hopefuls stampeded off to where Katie was waiting patiently. One by one she used her wand to emblazon a glowing number on the fronts and backs of the hopefuls. A few girls seemed concerned that a prized piece of clothing had just been ruined, but Katie assured them the numbers would wear off in a few hours. Within ten minutes all the areas had been set up and the hopefuls had all been numbered.

Leshia expertly organised her hopefuls into the different activities. It had been Katie's idea to use numbers as it made it far easier to give orders if they were as simple as, "Numbers one to five go to the agility area." Each area had a member of the team judging the performance of the hopefuls with a clipboard and quill Leshia had provided (again, one of Katie's ideas).

As the drills got underway Leshia flew from one to the next with her own clipboard. She was able to see all the hopefuls and her teammates were quick to alert her to the hopefuls they thought needed their captain's opinion. Leshia felt secretly very pleased every time she saw Rodeo performing at one of the trials. He was doing splendidly well and most of her teammates seemed to agree with her.

After forty-five minutes the hopefuls had been given a turn at all the trials on offer and Leshia, with the help of her team, had narrowed the list down to six potential chasers. The most difficult part of the whole afternoon was when Leshia gathered the hopefuls around herself to announce which six had made it through. Sophie Gabriel, William Lloyd, Laura Weasley, Magnus Black, Sally Michaels and Rodeo were all delighted when their names were read out, but the others hung their heads dejectedly and cleared the pitch. Parys alone didn't seem too hurt by it and merely thumped Rodeo on the shoulder before he ambled over to where Rachel and Katie were sat watching the proceedings.

"Okay guys," Leshia called to the chosen six. "Sophie, Rodeo and Laura you'll be team one. Will, Magnus and Sally. You're team two. Uh, the team number you're in means nothing by the way. Okay, so team one, you'll get Luke as your keeper and team two, you're getting Tom. We figured it would be fairest this way because they're both as bad as each other."

"Cheers Malfoy," Luke called down from his broom. He was hovering above the group.

"We'll play first to ten goals. If we've got time we'll try it again. Remember it's not just about how well you can fly and how well you can score goals. It's also about how well you can adapt to a new team and how well you pass and catch. Everyone ready?" Leshia looked from one eager face to the next before she nodded. "To your positions then."

Even though the game was only small it was nonetheless exciting to watch. The potential chasers did well. Leshia hovered just above the level of play with Owen, Joss and Jaime at her side. They were all quite impressed with the standard of the players, but it became clear that they were divided on who they thought was the best.

"No way is Holsson better than Sophie," Owen grumbled when he noticed Leshia put another tick by Rodeo's name on her notes. She had been giving ticks every time she saw one of the hopefuls do something impressive.

"Owen! Stop looking at my notes!"

"Well you're mad if you think he's better, that's all I'm saying," the tall boy complained. Leshia rolled her eyes, but tried to ignore her friend.

"I agree with Leesh you know," Jaime now spoke up. "Look at that! He made a pass without even looking up."

"Yeah, that's because Sophe called to him," Owen countered.

"The point is he heard her and didn't need to look up to know where she was. He made an accurate pass without even needing to take his eye of the goal," Jaime pointed out.

"Yeah, he does that in football too when he's passing," Leshia agreed. The other three turned to stare at her with an assortment of expressions. Jaime seemed amused, Joss perplexed and Owen downright hostile. "Just saying. It's something I've noticed."

"Sophie does have a beautiful way of finishing off goals though," Joss now spoke up. Owen smiled smugly.

"Exactly. Holsson's not nearly as good." As he spoke though Leshia watched with a satisfied smile as Rodeo intercepted a pass by the opposing team and easily threw the ball through the hoop directly behind Tom. Owen bristled slightly. "Lucky throw."

"That makes ten," Leshia called out to the players, ignoring Owen's anger and instead looking at her watch. There were ten minutes till dinner. She felt she had enough information to go on. Within moments she had congratulated the hopefuls on an amazing performance and had assured them that she would inform them of the results in person over the next few days. As they walked off chatting happily to each other Leshia sighed and wished she could go with them, but there was a lot to do.

Her team chatted about the potential chasers while Leshia supervised them bringing the equipment in. Leshia herself didn't feel she could join in the conversations. She knew where Owen, Jaime and Joss stood and soon found out from listening in to Tom and Luke's exuberant conversation that they deemed Rodeo the better chaser. Leshia suppressed a smile when she heard this.

By the time the team had deposited the equipment in the quidditch supplies cupboard dinner was well under way. The team rushed into the hall without bothering to change leaving Leshia locking the cupboard up and heading in the direction of the staff room to leave the key in Madam Hooch's pigeon hole. She hadn't realised one of the others had remained behind.

"If you choose Holsson everyone'll accuse you of favouritism you know."

Leshia narrowed her eyes in annoyance and turned around to see Owen loitering a few feet away. She glowered at him.

"Everyone or just you?"

"You know Sophie was better than your friend. Just admit it," Owen persisted. Leshia's glare darkened.

"No Owen, that's what you thought. Most of the team thought Rodes was better. It was just you and Joss who thought otherwise," Leshia countered coldly. "Your sister was very good, but Rodeo was better and I'll be choosing him to be our new chaser."

A filthy look crossed Owen's usually cheerful face and he stalked off towards the great hall, pushing past Leshia as he went. For a moment the blonde girl stood shaking in anger, before she shook herself out of her mood and wandered off to hand the key back in. If Owen wanted to act like a child just because he didn't get his way then he could, but she would not stoop to his level.

X

Over the next few days Rodeo walked around with a ridiculously pleased expression on his face. Owen however, had taken to glaring at Leshia whenever he saw her and this distressed the blonde girl more than she wanted to admit. By Friday everything had settled down a bit and Leshia was happy that she had organised the first Gryffindor training session for the following morning. When Owen saw how well Rodeo fitted into the team and how well he could fly, he would soon shake himself out of his mood.

Before this though Leshia and her friends had to get through their second Ancient Runes lesson of the week. It had been a difficult morning with an hour long Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and a gruelling hour of Potions. Leshia was hoping Tripper hadn't reverted back to his insane self in the days that had passed, as she didn't think she could face him after the morning she'd had. Luckily, as the class were beckoned into the classroom by a timid greasy Professor Tripper Leshia realised with glee that he was still the snivelling wreck he had been on Monday.

Leshia and her friends commandeered the desks at the back of the room and watched their teacher with interest. He was writing something up on the board in a messy script. It seemed to be an essay title. When he turned around, the teenagers were staring at him with bemused expressions on their faces.

"Good morning class," Tripper called out to the group. When they didn't respond he started to fiddle with his hands. "Yes well er right. Let's get started eh? Now then. Er, after Monday's lesson when you took notes on the Anesh family of Runes I feel you must all be experts now then eh? Right?"

The class stared dumbstruck at the professor. One hour's worth of note taking and he considered them experts? The first year of their course, the only year when they had enjoyed the benefit of a good Ancient Runes teacher in the form of Professor Granger, the youngsters had been given a whole term to learn about one family of runes. How could one hour's self-taught study equate to a term's worth of careful guidance by an expert?

"So I thought, seeing as er, seeing as you're all so good with the Anesh family you could tie it in to my little test that I gave Miss Potter on Monday. You see, I thought you could er do a conversion between the Anesh family of runes and the Hakeh family of runes and then er come up with a working translatory framework. Then er you add this into your essay which compares and contrasts the er two families on the five spines of rune comparison."

Katie's jaw dropped, shortly followed by all the other jaws in the room. Never, ever, had they been set a task so challenging.

"So er, I thought you could start today and get it done by say er… Monday?"

"Sir!" The strangled cry had come from across the room. It was a mousy girl in Ravenclaw who went by the name Daisy Cartwright who had spoken up. Tripper squinted down his nose at her.

"Yes Miss Mitten?" A few of the youngsters sniggered.

"Miss Cartwright sir," Daisy corrected the quivering teacher.

"Yes that's what I meant. Miss Cartwright what is it?"

"Sir we can't possibly do all that by Monday," the girl gushed out and then held her hand over her mouth in shock at having just challenged Professor Tripper. Such an act last year would have seen her thrown from the room and her evenings booked up in detention for the rest of the term.

This Tripper however, was not the same man that had terrorised these studious pupils for the duration of their fourth year. This man was far less powerful and far more…snivelly. His eyes darted from Daisy's worried face to the other astounded pupils.

"What I meant to say er, was that you should have it ready by next Monday of course. Er, right." Still the faces seemed taken aback. "I meant to say uh, two weeks on Monday of course and in the meantime you can uh do self study during our lessons in the library to get the er work done. Yes. Right."

Katie was starting to tremble.

"Can we go now sir?" Leshia called out. Tripper winced slightly at the sound of her voice and nodded quickly.

"Yes yes, er off you go."

Within moments Rachel and Leshia had supported a now violently shaking Katie out of the classroom. Any second now and their friend was going to explode. They just hoped they could get her down the corridor and into the relatively secluded girls' toilets before she did, to save her dignity if anything.

They succeeded. Only just.

"That…that…that!" Katie stammered the moment the other two launched her through the open bathroom door and into the girls toilets.

"Calm down Katie," Rachel warned. "Remember to breath."

Leshia took one look at Katie's scarlet face and backed away into the sinks. She started running one of the taps.

"That…that!" Katie fumbled with an adequate enough swear word. She couldn't get her mind to do it though and any second now she would break. Katie wheeled on the other two, who were stood by the sinks and Leshia took her chance and lunged at the tap. The water hit Katie directly in the face.

For a few seconds all that could be heard was the running of the tap. Everyone was holding their breath. Finally Katie exhaled and she reached to her face to push the wet tendrils of hair away from her eyes.

"Thanks Leesh," she sighed. Rachel melted against the side of the sink while Leshia nodded quickly at their friend.

"No problem," she replied in a strained sounding voice. Katie noticed.

"I'm not going to blow up anymore, don't worry."

"Thank heavens for that," Rachel finally spoke up. "You had me really worried there. I don't think I've ever seen you like that before."

"Yeah well I don't think I've ever been that cross before," Katie agreed sadly. After taking a few moments to dry her face with a quick spell, Katie led her friends back into the corridor. In the distance they could see their classmates heading for the library.

"For your information," Rachel began happily. "Any of the following words would have worked: pillock, tosser, berk, imbecile, nob, git, bastard…"

"Yes thank you Rachel," Katie chuckled. "You know lots of insults. I'll remember that next time."

"Next time?" Leshia demanded. "Katie if you ever get like that again I'm calling an exorcist!"

Katie laughed loudly and she shook her head.

"I'll be prepared next time," she uttered firmly.

"Prepared for what exactly?" Rachel asked worriedly.

"For Tripper's madness, that's what! He's absolutely off his trolley. That essay he asked us to do is without a doubt the hardest thing anyone has ever asked us to do and he wanted to give us two days to do it in. He's absolutely bonkers."

"That, or he doesn't have a clue about runes," Leshia sighed. "I suspect it's the latter. The man's an imbecile, a snivelly scaredy-cat imbecile. You know how we're going to get this done right?" Rachel and Katie shook their heads. "We're going to have to ask my mum and she's going to go mental and then my dad'll be annoyed with us because he'll be the one that has to hear about it all the time, but at least we'll get our essays done."

X

Hermione stretched contentedly and smiled at the sight in front of her. It had been a very lazy Saturday morning so far. Draco had kindly got up and fed the baby leaving Hermione to shuffle out in her dressing gown well past ten to find Draco lying on the settee, a pile of essay on his stomach and little Evie sprawled on the carpet with an array of toys to keep her happy. Every now and then she had been delightedly showing Draco something, to which he would respond enthusiastically before getting back to his work.

Hermione could have stared at this scene for the rest of the day.

"Morning," Draco called out to her.

"Mamamama!" Evie added happily and she pushed herself to her feet with the aid of the coffee table. Within seconds the baby had tumbled over to Hermione's feet allowing her to lift Evie from the ground and into a cuddle. Evie gabbled constantly sounding delighted.

"It's lovely to see you too darling," the mother cooed over her youngest, before she ambled over to her husband and sat down at his side. "Good morning you."

Draco leaned up and kissed his wife gently before he pulled her down at his side.

"You've been asleep a long time," he said curiously. "I haven't seen you sleep like this in a long time. Could it be that you're…"

"What?" Hermione laughed. "Pregnant?" Draco shrugged his shoulders eliciting an adoring smile from his wife. "Not yet darling, we've only been trying a few weeks."

"Well you never know, the last two times we didn't exactly try very hard. In fact, as I recall they both just sort of happened. There was no trying involved," Draco replied with a shrug.

"Yes thank you darling," Hermione chuckled and he covered Evie's ears dramatically. "But I'd rather you didn't reveal to our youngest that she was an A-C-C-I-D-E-N-T. Nor to our oldest for that matter."

"Evie doesn't understand the word accident yet, do you Evie?" Draco asked the baby, who turned a curious face on her father for a moment before she happily started devouring the end of her sleeve. Hermione rolled her eyes fondly and she reached out to stroke Draco's stubbly cheek.

"It might be a bit different this time, you never know. I'm just so happy you want to try again," the beautiful woman gushed and she kissed Draco lovingly. He smiled sadly and shook his head.

"Don't be like that," he sighed. "You know when I was younger, before I met you, before any of this, I always saw myself with three children. I guess now I'll finally get what I wanted."

"I know you're worried about your father though."

Draco's grey eyes shot onto Hermione for a moment and he sat up sharply. In one firm move he pulled his wife and baby daughter towards him.

"Don't talk about him," he spoke gently, but there was passion in his voice. "Don't bring him into this happy place. I am through running from him. I am through living in his shadow. If we want three children, then we will damn well have three children. I won't let him get in the way of our happiness. I promise you that!"

Hermione felt her nose prickling and she smiled.

"I know darling," she whispered. In her lap Evie started getting restless. She couldn't understand why her parents seemed so emotional. All she wanted was to get back to her toys on the floor. Hermione kissed the top of her baby's curly head and placed her lovingly on the floor.

There was a knock at the door and moments later it opened meaning it could be just one person. No one else would wander into the chambers uninvited.

"Are you decent?" a young voice called from around the corner by the front door.

"Define decent," Draco called back.

"Dad don't be disgusting. I can hear Evie, so you'd better not be ruining her childhood by scarring her with images of the pair of you, you know, getting off and all that gross stuff that I understand you have to do because you sort of love each other, but I'd prefer it if you just…"

"Leshia don't make me come over there and get you," Draco warned fondly. Moments later the quidditch uniform clad girl appeared, her expression ready to turn disgusted should her parents be engaged in what she had so tactfully described as 'that gross stuff'. Seeing them fully clothed and sitting side by side on the settee with the baby playing at their feet she smiled instead and flounced in to drop down onto her father's armchair. At the sight of her Evie started wobbling over to her.

"You're up late," the teenager remarked seeing her mother's pyjama clad appearance. Hermione grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

"Your father's been treating me to a few lie ins while he sees to the baby," the mother explained simply. Leshia frowned and turned a suspicious look on her father.

"Why? What are you after?" she asked suspiciously. Draco grinned and lobbed an inkpot at the girl. Thankfully he had attached the lid to it before he did so, but it gave Leshia a fright nonetheless.

"It's always such a pleasure when you come to visit us my dearest," Draco sighed with feigned contentedness. "But I can see that it's you who wants something so come on, out with it."

Leshia grinned charmingly and paused for a moment to lift Evie off the floor and into a quick hug. Within seconds the baby was requesting to be put down again and so the older sister obeyed.

"Well," the girl spoke eventually, looking at Hermione with a hopeful expression. "You see the thing is, Tripper's gone and set us a really difficult piece of homework and I was hoping I could come round for dinner this evening and pick your brain over it."

"How difficult?" Hermione asked with a frown. Leshia grimaced and looked away for a moment. "Leshia, how difficult?"

"Do you remember last year when I came round with that really difficult essay me and Rachel were trying to finish? And you were sort of shocked by how hard it was?" Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly and nodded, urging the girl to go on silently. "Well it's sort of, well, it's about ten times harder than that basically and we've only got two weeks to do it."

For a moment Hermione seethed quietly, before finally she nodded.

"Of course I'll help you darling. Bring it round tonight and we'll have a look at it together." There was a forced cheeriness to her mother's tone that worried Leshia.

"Mum you're not going to say anything to Tripper are you? Because that would be mortifying. You know that don't you?" Leshia stated firmly. Hermione looked away guiltily, while Draco, who was still at her side shook his head firmly.

"Of course she's not going to do that Leesh, don't worry," he answered on behalf of his wife. Leshia looked to her mother's furious form, but took Draco's word for it.

"Okay then."

"So I hear you pulled off some pretty impressive quidditch tryouts the other day," Draco began conversationally, but Leshia was already climbing to her feet. The girl paused for a moment and smiled shyly.

"Let me guess, Madam Hooch told you," she complained weakly. Draco smiled dashingly and nodded.

"Well you did tell her about it in great detail. She was very impressed with you. Is that where you're off to now? Practice?"

Leshia looked down at her clothes and then back up at her father with a wrinkled brow.

"No," she eventually replied and she started heading for the door. "I'm trying to start a new fashion trend. Do you think it'll catch on?"

"Get out of here," Draco called after the girl. Leshia's drain-like laughter accompanied her out of the chambers leaving her parents smiling fondly at each other. Down on the rug Evie looked up and stared at them with a beautifully confused expression.

"One day Evie, you're going to be just like that. I can already tell you know. You mark my words. You're another one that's going to be a cocky so-and-so."

"Draco!"

X

Leshia stared at the immobile form of Jaime Wood with tears running down her face. On the other side of the room Rodeo and Owen were being held apart by the remaining members of the team while Madam Pomfry tried desperately to sort out who was wounded from those who weren't. How had everything gone so badly wrong?

The training session had began relatively well. Leshia had delivered a rousing motivational speech about the team going for a record fifth consecutive quidditch cup this year, which would match the former record holders. The team had seemed eager to please and as they threw themselves into Leshia's well thought out training exercises the new captain had prided herself on an excellent first training.

Somehow though, amidst training exercises that had been too difficult, bad leadership decisions and communication leading to mid air collisions and bad people management skills leading to Owen and Rodeo throwing fists at one another twenty feet above the ground, the training session had dissolved into disaster.

Now here they were, in the hospital wing of all places. Poor Jaime had a broken arm and a cracked skull, which would take several hours to heal. Tom and Luke were being treated for concussion and Rodeo needed some urgent wand-work to mend his split lip. Not to mention Owen's broken nose!

How had it come to this?

All Leshia could do was watch the chaos unfolding. Madam Pomfry had called for help and now Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall were successfully separating the sparring boys and sending all the injured to separate sides of the hospital wing. Leshia looked away from the mutinous expressions they were casting her. Yes, she deserved their scorn. She was not a good captain.

With a resigned sigh the girl wiped at the tears that had coursed down her cheeks and climbed to her feet. She didn't speak to her broken team as she walked out of the room and made her way across the school to a well-known location. Most pupils had the good fortune not to have been called to this place in all their time at the school. Leshia was not one of these. She had lost count of the amount of times she had stared up at the statue of the phoenix with a deep feeling of dread growing in her insides.

She found the statue quick enough and was thankful the corridor was deserted. The weather was fine outside and most of her peers were spending their Saturday lazing around in the sunshine. The girl looked up at the stone phoenix and furrowed her brow slightly.

"Lemon Drops," she spoke up loudly. Nothing happened. "Cherry Fizzies. Bertie Botts Flavoured Beans. Sugar Spiders. Heaven Drops. Chocolate Frogs…"

The girl jumped back in surprise. She hadn't expected to get the password so quickly. Before her eyes the phoenix started rising up revealing a worn staircase. The girl stepped onto it as it lifted her up to the headmaster's study. The wooden door lay open and Leshia peered round it to see Albus Dumbledore looking up expectantly from his desk. For good measure Leshia cleared her throat and knocked on the door.

"Can I please come in sir?" she asked quietly.

"By all means, please do," the old man called back. There seemed to be a twinkle in his eyes that alerted Leshia to the fact that he had known she was coming. Did the man know everything that happened in this school? "How may I be of service to you this fine day Leshia?"

The fifth year girl hovered for a moment before she took the chair Dumbledore was indicating. She felt dwarfed by its enormous proportions.

"I don't think I should be the Gryffindor quidditch captain anymore sir," Leshia stated firmly. The headmaster smiled warmly and leaned back in his chair, lifting his fingers up in front of his chin in a steeple. "It's just we had our first training this morning and now most of the team is in the hospital wing. They all think I'm rubbish and you know what sir, they're right! I can't lead anybody. I can barely lead myself. I'm rubbish. So I think you should give the job to someone else."

The smile on the headmaster's face was growing. Leshia felt threatened by it, as though it knew more about her current situation than she herself did.

"Allow me to tell you a story Leshia," the old man finally spoke. Leshia wrinkled her brow, but nodded nonetheless. "The first lesson I ever taught ended with one of the children being taken to Saint Mungos with serious burns all over their body. We were not doing anything particularly dangerous, but this boy and another young man in the classroom took it upon themselves to duel one another in my lesson. I was powerless to stop them. They ignored me as though I were just part of the furniture. The whole class descended into chaos and I went to my then headmaster to hand in my resignation. I am very glad to say he turned it down quite emphatically."

"But something really terrible could have happened Professor. What happened to the boy?" Leshia asked. Dumbledore chuckled quietly to himself.

"The boy was back in school within a few hours. In their next lesson with me I publically denounced what they had done and sentenced them both to a term's Saturday detentions. By showing strength I reclaimed the respect of the class and that is why I am still here today. If my headmaster had accepted my resignation and allowed me to run away, I never would have learnt from my mistake would I?"

Leshia sighed and hung her head. She knew where this was going. Of course Dumbledore was never going to accept her own resignation as captain. The man was incapable of letting the pupils in hi scare fail if he could do anything to help them.

"But sir, I'm not like you. I'm not a good leader. Things will only get worse," the girl uttered quietly, her head hanging.

"Leshia," the headmaster spoke firmly, lifting the girl's eyes to meet his with the power in his voice. "Whether you like it or not, the student body at this school already look to you as one of their great leaders. They will turn to you to lead them in times of crisis and I am afraid you are going to have to face this fact. If you feel you lack the skills necessary for such a role, then I would suggest you learn them."

"The school don't look to me as a leader," Leshia complained, but her heart wasn't in it. She knew the way the younger pupils viewed her. "Well at least the Slytherins don't, I know that much!"

The twinkle was back in Dumbledore's eyes.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you," he countered cheerily. Leshia rolled her eyes.

"Sir, I don't mean any disrespect, but you're mad if you think the Slytherins look up to me. I know at least a dozen that would happily see me dead," the fifth year objected passionately. Dumbledore leaned back and started laughing merrily. His mirth brought a smile to Leshia's face, which she fought to conceal.

"I would very much like to be there the day you realise you are wrong on this point young Leshia," the old wizard chortled. "Now then, if I were you, I would start devising a way to take control of your team. You are more than capable of doing so. I refuse your request for a replacement captain to be found."

Leshia sighed heavily, but a wry smile was creeping onto her face. The headmaster had won. What had she been expecting?

"Fine sir, but if one of them ends up dead, I'm telling you now, it's not my fault. I warned you!"

With this the girl nodded in thanks to the elderly man and turned to leave his study. At the door she stopped and looked to see that the great Albus Dumbledore had returned to his work as though she had never interrupted him.

On her way back down the stairs Leshia felt a renewed confidence. She was going to have to find a way to sort the male egos out in her team and work better at planning exercises that didn't end up with several key players bashing into each other at great speeds. First though, she needed to stamp her authority on the players while their minds could still be changed. Thankfully, they were all still in the hospital wing being treated for their various ailments. One by one Leshia gathered them all round the foot of Jaime's bed. The young chaser was still out cold, but Leshia felt better knowing the girl was at least part of the meeting. Not that she would remember any of it of course.

The members of the team were still eyeing their captain with nothing short of mutiny. Leshia glared them all down, until one by one they looked to their feet. There was nothing quite so menacing as a Malfoy glare.

"Today was a disaster," the girl announced firmly. "A complete and utter disaster. I apologise for the training exercises that nearly got some of you killed. I've learnt some important lessons on that front and I'll plan the drills better next time, you have my word. Owen and Rodeo." The two young men looked up at the sound of their names. "I still can't quite believe how despicably you both behaved. You're going to have to learn to work together, or I am dropping you both from the team. This isn't a macho 'who's the biggest' tournament, this is quidditch! And it means everything to me. I won't have our chance at the record jeopardised by the pair of you. So sort it out."

A small silence filled the room while Leshia continued to glare firmly at the duelling boys. Both of them had the good grace to look ashamed of themselves.

"Sorry Leesh, it won't happen again," Rodeo uttered quietly. At his side Owen nodded.

"Yeah, it won't happen again."

The captain of the squad nodded firmly.

"It had better not. Now as for the rest of you, well done for keeping your heads when everything was going mad. I'm happy to say at least you lot seemed to be thinking straight. Even if the three of us weren't."

As though the speech had erased the awkward memories, suddenly the mutinous glares were gone and back were the friendly expressions of her teammates.

"Right then, has anyone got anything they'd like to add?" Leshia asked looking to each of her friends questioningly. They shook their heads. "Is everyone okay with trying again tomorrow afternoon?"

Thankfully no one objected and as they made their way back to Gryffindor tower to change Leshia felt the warm buzz of success squirming through her belly. Yes, the training session had been the most appalling pile of rubbish the girl had ever seen, but she had made up for it with firmness. One of these days, Leshia thought privately, she was going to have to thank Albus Dumbledore for the amount of times his good advice had come through for her.

Gryffindor tower was deserted allowing the team to easily head for their dormitories. Leshia felt she needed a lie down after the morning she'd had, but upon entering the dormitory, she realised this was not what she was going to receive.

"There you are!" Rachel exclaimed dramatically the moment the blonde girl walked into the room. Leshia darted back from her best friend, who was barrelling over to her.

"What is it? What have I done?" she asked hurriedly.

"Listen to this one," Rachel scoffed and she looked over her shoulder to where Katie was doing her homework on her bed. "What have you done? You've only bloody gone and saved my life, that's what you've done."

Leshia stopped darting away from Rachel and found herself dragged into a bear hug, a deep frown set into her forehead.

"What are you talking about?" she finally demanded and pushed Rachel away. The flame-haired girl was grinning ecstatically.

"Oh don't be like that Leesh, I knew you would deny it. Thing is, I saw you mate! There's no denying it, you saved my life!"

"How exactly? And when?" Leshia demanded.

"Earlier, in the entrance hall. You know, with the chandelier?" Rachel exclaimed dramatically. Leshia's face contorted into complete bewilderment. What was her friend going on about? "Ugh! Do I have to spell it out for you? Earlier, when I was walking in the entrance hall I looked up and there's this great big chandelier coming towards me from the heavens. Everyone was screaming and I thought I was done for, but then next thing I know someone's levitated it away."

"And you think that someone was me?" Leshia asked incredulously.

"I know it was you. I bloody well saw you Leesh, there's no point in denying it. I knew you would. You're so weird sometimes. Why can't you just take my everlasting gratitude and be done with it?" Rachel countered happily.

"Rach, I was at quidditch practice this morning. It couldn't have been me," Leshia complained.

"Well then you must have an exact double walking round the castle doing good deeds then, because I wasn't the only one who saw you."

"Rach," Katie now called out amusedly. "If Leshia wants to pretend it never happened then let her, now come and help me with this. This is your homework after all."

"But it didn't happen," Leshia tried helplessly earning herself a beaming smile from Rachel.

"Sure sure Leesh, it didn't happen. You're too much you know that?"

As Rachel ambled back over to Katie's bed Leshia sat down on her own, her expression bewildered. What on earth was going on? Surely Rachel must have been mistaken? The trauma of having a chandelier nearly fall on her head must have made her start seeing things.

With a deep feeling of unease Leshia went to have a shower and change out of her uniform. By the time she got back to the others had finished their homework and wanted to go and get some lunch. As they went Leshia told them all about the horrendous morning she'd had. Rachel's knowing expression started to irritate the blonde girl and shortly after lunch she excused herself to go and do some quidditch research in the library. She needed to plan her next training session far more carefully and thankfully this offered enough of a distraction for the rest of the afternoon.

Come evening time and Leshia found herself walking into her parents' chambers. Hermione was in the kitchen cooking up a storm while Draco was feeding Evie her own dinner. After a round of greetings the oldest child in the family sat down at the table.

"How has your day been darling?" Hermione asked, her back turned on the others while she stirred a delicious smelling saucepan. Leshia realised her parents probably already knew how her day had been, but she decided to tell them anyway.

"Well it started off terribly. Over half my squad ended up in the hospital wing and Owen and Rodeo nearly succeeded in killing each other," the girl sighed. Hermione turned around with a sympathetic expression.

"Yes we heard about that," she exclaimed sympathetically.

"Then Professor Dumbledore wouldn't let me quit as quidditch captain and he told me to show strength so that's what I did. I went and told Rodeo and Owen off for being pillocks and then apologised to the team for being rubbish. I think everything's going to be okay now. I've just spent the whole afternoon planning tons of quidditch sessions, so I'm going to be better prepared this time."

"And in between all this excitement you managed to save Rachel's life," Draco spoke up at last. Leshia frowned heavily and stared at her father.

"What?"

"Don't look so surprised," her father chuckled. "Nothing stays secret for very long around here."

"I didn't…" the girl trailed off. What more could she say?

"It was so lucky you were there at the time," Hermione added. "And I had just seen you. Just think, if I hadn't have been in such a hurry and we'd have stopped to talk then poor Rachel might be… oh it just doesn't bear thinking about does it?"

"You saw me?" Leshia's voice seemed strained. A part of her felt terrified that she was losing her mind, yet the other part of her felt incredibly indignant that even her parents were in on the joke.

"Yes darling," Hermione laughed. "Don't you remember? We met on the stairs? I asked you why you were in our pyjamas…" The mother trailed off and frowned at her daughter. Leshia seemed quite alarmed. Draco too turned to stare at the girl.

"Are you feeling alright Leesh?" he asked worriedly. The girl's eyes darted onto her father and then back at her mother.

"Yeah," she lied convincingly. "Yeah, absolutely fine. To be honest I think it's been such a stressful day that I must have blocked that bit out."

Draco grinned and got back to feeding an impatient Evie while Hermione walked over and smoothed Leshia's wild curls down.

"Well don't worry, you can stop being a hero for a few hours. I've made your favourite." Leshia sat up interestedly.

"You've made chicken tikka?" she asked happily. Hermione laughed aloud and shook her head.

"Chicken tikka?" the mother repeated. "Since when has that been your favourite?"

"Since like, ages ago. I thought you knew that," Leshia complained, though a grin was pulling at her face.

"You know, it would be a lot easier to please you if you didn't change your mind every ten minutes about what your favourite meal is," Hermione chuckled and she shook her head fondly. "So no, there is no chicken tikka I'm afraid. I'm making my special lasagne, the one that was your favourite three weeks ago."

"Oh well, that's still really good, thanks mum," Leshia exclaimed happily. Across the table her father was smiling and shaking his head.

"Still pretty good," he uttered amusedly under his breath. "Evie don't go taking any lessons from this one in matters of tact. You'll be a lost cause if you do."

"Hey! I happen to be very tactful I'll have you know," Leshia objected. "You should see Rachel. She's got no concept of the word."

"Funny you should say that…" Draco began, his face the pure personification of mischief. Hermione could see that she needed to intervene before her husband pushed their teenaged daughter too far. She had a habit of suddenly snapping. Hermione realised this had probably come from her; she'd been just the same in her youth.

"Right then Leshia, show me that essay then," she said loudly, interrupting the playful argument that was about to begin. Leshia, suddenly remembering why she was here, reached into her satchel and pulled out the scrap of parchment she had written the essay title on, along with the notes she had collected so far. Hermione took the paper from her and read, her brow furrowing more with each word. Finally she got to the end and dropped the parchment in defeat.

"Well," she spoke brightly; heeding the warning look Draco was giving her. "That's a little harder than I imagined, but I'm sure with everybody's help we'll get through it."

"What do you mean everybody's help?" Leshia asked confusedly. Hermione sighed and looked back at the title.

"Darling I know the Anesh family of runes quite well, but the Hakeh runes are less well known to me. There are also ten major variants with hundreds of dialects. This is going to take us a long time to figure out, even with all my expertise. If we can get everyone in your class to help and if I call some favours in from my colleagues then we might just pull it off in time, but I will need to see everyone in the group," Hermione explained rationally. At her side Draco snorted derisively.

"This is madness," he complained. "Why not just go to Albus with the essay title and explain to him that this is far too difficult for a group of fifth years to complete. You needn't involve Silas directly."

"That's not the point dad," Leshia countered. "I want to beat him. I want to write an amazing essay and shove it in his face."

"Exactly the response I would expect from our fifteen-year-old daughter Hermione," Draco continued, indicating the girl with his hand. "But not what I would expect from a rational grown woman. Why involve the children in this? Just go to Albus directly."

"Leshia's right Draco," Hermione protested. "Silas will never learn, but if the class can do well at this essay and if they complete a few more over the course of the year, then they will more than satisfy the requirements for their OWLs and I can inform Albus to give them all Os if Silas tries to give them anything else."

Draco chuckled and shook his head.

"You're going to get too involved and then he'll find out. You mark my words."

"And so what if he finds out?" Hermione replied haughtily. "I'm not doing anything wrong. The muggle educational world is full of private tutors. That's all I'll be doing."

"If you say so," Draco laughed and he turned back to Evie once more, who was looking very impatient to have had her dinner disrupted for so long.

"Thanks mum!" Leshia crowed and she hugged her mother tightly. They arranged to meet the following morning after breakfast, in which Leshia would inform her classmates about the secret homework group she was setting up with the help of her expert mother. Any other group of pupils would laugh at the idea, but Leshia knew this particular group of swots as she liked to think of them would jump at the chance.

"Oh by the way Leshia," Hermione suddenly exclaimed before she rushed out of the kitchen and into the little room that doubled as a library. Leshia frowned at Draco, who merely shrugged his shoulders. Within moments Hermione was back holding a leather chain in her fingers. Leshia inhaled sharply as she remembered the pendant she had loaned her mother. "I've had a really good look at all my rune dictionaries and I just can't seem to find anything similar to this one. It looks made up to me, but then again, it might be a language we have never come across before."

The girl reached out to take back the pendant. The moment her fingers closed around the smooth stone she felt strange sparks flying up her fingers and into her wrist. With a grateful smile to her mother the girl pulled the leather chain over her head. Without a word to her parents she tucked the stone back under the top and turned back on her notes to put them away.

She had just shut her satchel once more when Hermione, who had gone to take something out of the oven, leapt backwards clutching at her forehead. Draco was on his feet within seconds, trying to pull Hermione's hands away from her forehead.

"What's happened?" he asked soothingly, but his wife was staring at their eldest daughter with a peculiar expression. Leshia shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"How did you know Leshia?" Hermione finally asked. Draco looked at their daughter too and raised his eyebrows, hoping someone would shed light on what had just happened. Leshia however, was as clueless as he was and shook her head quickly.

"I'm not sure. What's happened?" she finally replied. Hermione shook her head in disbelief and pulled her hands away from her face to reveal a painful burn mark straight across the middle of her forehead. Leshia winced, it looked very painful.

"Let me," Draco said as he lifted his wand. Hermione smiled and shook her head.

"Don't worry darling, I'll leave it to heal naturally for a few days and then I'll fix it," she explained. Before she turned back on the open oven she cast Leshia one last suspicious look. Draco too was looking at the girl strangely, but when she caught him looking he busied himself with lifting Evie from her highchair.

The rest of the evening was rather marred by the strange turn of events and when Leshia wished her parents goodnight there was a definite tenseness to the farewells. By the time she reached the common room Leshia was convinced she must have fallen asleep earlier in the day and gone sleepwalking. Why else would everyone be convinced they had spotted her around the school? And why else would she have been in pyjamas? It was quite late and the common room was quite deserted. Leshia made her way up to her dormitory and found her friends changed for bed and sitting on Rachel's four-poster gossiping by the looks of things. Within moments Leshia too had changed and had joined her friends.

It would seem the flourishing relationship between Eliot Wood and Charlie Thomas in the year below was the main topic of conversation. Upon hearing of the match Leshia laughed raucously and rolled around on the bed.

"What is Eliot thinking?" she managed through her hysteria. "Charlie Thomas is such a slimebag!"

The rest of the evening past with yet more insults directed at the unfortunate fourth year boy, but before long the fifth years had all retired into their own four-poster beds for the night. Leshia lay awake under her warm covers for a long time, her slender fingers wrapped around the pendant, her busy mind going over the peculiar events the day had brought. There must be a reasonable explanation for everything, there simply must be!

For a long time Leshia tried desperately to find what it was and slowly she heard the familiar sounds of her sleeping friends wafting into the dormitory. Sleep evaded Leshia though. She kept tossing and turning, a sickness growing in the pit of her stomach.

By midnight it suddenly developed into a sudden urge to regurgitate her dinner. With her hands clamped tightly over her mouth Leshia sprinted out of the room and down to the bathrooms. She only just made it to the toilet where she expulsed the contents of her stomach.

Feeling very shaky the girl hobbled over to a sink and washed her mouth and face. The girl looked up at her pale reflection in the mirror and frowned. She leaned closer inspecting the strange glow she could see. Within seconds she had realised what it was and frantically she scrabbled for the leather chain round her neck. She pulled the pendant over her head and saw that indeed, it was starting to glow brightly. With trembling fingers the girl placed it in the middle of the bathroom and started back stepping towards the door.

In a blinding flash the room filled with light and Leshia collapsed.

X

When Leshia dared to open her eyes she found herself in a draughty stairwell. Somewhere up above the rhythmic thuds of a dance class were falling in time with a tinny pop song Leshia had never heard before. The girl looked down at her pyjama-clad appearance and frowned heavily. What had just happened? Where was she? The pendant, it had been glowing…and now she was here. Had she found a peculiar magical transportation device? What was the point in that? The stairwell clearly belonged in Hogwarts, Leshia recognised it vaguely, but why had she been transported here of all places?

A little shower of dust rained down on the girl from above and she sneezed. The thuds from above had become far more vigorous as the song was reaching its climax. Quickly Leshia started descending the stairs to get away from the dancers. Why were they rehearsing at midnight anyway? Funny, there was a lot of sound around for midnight. Pupils' voices were wafting up from the entrance hall down below. Where were the patrolling teachers?

Leshia froze. Slowly she turned and stared at the window she had just rushed past. Her jaw dropped.

"Impossible," she whispered.

The sunlight was streaming in.

"Leshia!"

The teenager spun round to see her mother bustling up the stairs in a hurry. The girl stared at her for a long time eliciting a fond laugh from her mother.

"What are you doing here in your pyjamas? Aren't you going to quidditch darling?" Hermione called out when she was a little closer. Leshia swallowed hard at her dry throat and looked down at her clothes.

"Uh," she garbled. Slowly things were slotting into place, but her conscious mind was desperately trying to deny it. "I lost a bet."

"Well you'd better go and change darling. You don't want to be late for your first practice do you?"

By now Hermione had caught up with her peculiarly dressed daughter on the stairs. Leshia got a good look at her and frowned.

"Where did your burn go?" she asked distantly. "Did dad convince you to get rid of it in the end?"

Hermione adopted a perplexed expression and she shook her head.

"What are you talking about you silly girl?" she laughed. "Anyway, I must dash. Madam Hooch wanted my help taking the dance class and I am frightfully later. I completely forgot!"

"Okay," Leshia mumbled and she watched as her mother ran up the remaining stairs. Feeling entirely deflated the girl dropped backwards into the window, using the windowsill to prop herself up.

"I can't be," she whispered to herself. Realising she was shaking from head to toe Leshia reached out and hugged her arms round herself. "There's just no way I'm…"

Up above the plaster was starting to trickle into a steadier waterfall of dust and paint. Leshia looked at it in confusion, her frazzled mind finding the waterfall that had suddenly developed above the entrance hall a bit much to deal with right now. She glanced up and saw the great chandelier swaying precariously from the ceiling. In the attic above the dancers were whirring themselves into a frenzy.

In a moment of lucidity everything snapped into place. Thanking her lucky stars that she slept with her wand tucked into her pyjama bottoms Leshia leapt to her feet just as the beautiful chandelier started falling. Down below the screams of the pupils unfortunate enough to be in the great hall wafted up. Leshia ripped her wand out and screamed, "Wingardium leviosa!"

The chandelier's descent became instantly less rapid and Leshia was able to levitate it gently to the ground. The pupils down below stared up and several started applauding. Leshia met the eyes of her best friend stood in the middle of the entrance hall before she fell backwards trembling. She struggled at her throat, trying to help the air in. She couldn't breath.

"There's just no way," she gasped. The sound of footsteps wafted up the stairs, but before they could come across her a bright light filled the stairwell. Leshia shut her eyes tightly. After several moments of frantic panting the girl dared to open them again. She was back in the bathroom, collapsed against the door.

The pendant lay in the middle of the bathroom, normal once more.

XXXX

End of Part III