The next night, Hannah and Tanya were up late into the night, trying to finish their homework. The fire was smoldering in the fireplace and everyone else had gone to bed long ago. Tanya was working on her Potions essay and Hannah was struggling with Astronomy.

"What time is it?" Tanya asked with a yawn.

"Twelve-thirty," Hannah replied, glancing down at her watch.

"Oh, I want to go to bed!" Tanya cried and sprawled out on the floor.

"I know, but we've got to get this finished so we don't fail. Do you really want Snape to fail you?"

"Definitely not!" Tanya exclaimed and began to scribble more words on her parchment. Suddenly, they heard a noise from up the boys' staircase.

"What's that?" Hannah whispered.

"I don't know," Tanya replied, "but I want to find out." She held perfectly still and blended like a chameleon into the semidarkness. There she and Hannah waited patiently for whomever it was to show themselves. When they did, Hannah couldn't muffle her gasp of surprise.

"Harry?"

He jumped and nearly dropped the lantern he was carrying. "Uh, hi." He hid a silvery cloak behind his back.

"What are you doing?"

"You'll get caught!"

"I wouldn't do it if I were you!"

"Don't you care if you get expelled?"

"Look," Harry lied in exasperation, "I just want to…to see Professor McGonagall about a dream I had." He then pushed past them and clambered out the portrait hole.

"Men," Hannah sighed, and went back to her work.

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"I love Quidditch!" Tanya shrieked, her blonde ponytail bobbing up and down with excitement.

"I normally do," Rachel said. Her face was pale with nerves. "Stay safe, Harry," she moaned. "Cedric Diggory's on that team, and Snape's refereeing."

"Cedric Diggory?" Seamus asked.

"Fourth year Seeker. Tall, talented, handsome, not at all full of himself…someone you'd love to hate."

"Aye," Seamus agreed, with a dark look towards the Hufflepuffs.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, patting the pocket where her wand was.

"The more risk the better," Katelyn cried, shaking the stands with her excited jumping. "Everyone likes Quidditch! See? Even Dumbledore's come to watch!"

Hermione and Rachel's heads whipped around. "Dumbledore?" Sure enough, there he was. There was no mistaking that silvery beard.

"Oh, thank goodness," Rachel sighed, sagging on Seamus with relief. They had quite forgotten their little spat from the week before. "I thought Harry was a goner."

"Sure, what with Snape refereeing," Seamus said.

"Sure, now."

"Let's not start this again," he warned.

Rachel snickered. "You Irish are funny. Not bright, but funny."

Seamus looked rather pleased with himself. "Thank you ver—HEY!"

Rachel was about to get chased again (and this time there were no girls' dorms around), when Neville, on Seamus' other side, turned around to face—Malfoy.

"I-I'm worth t-t-twelve of you, Malf-f-foy," he stammered, face blotchy with anger and fear.

"You tell him, Neville," Ron said.

"Longbottom, if brains were gold, you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."

Rachel turned around, wand in hand. "Shut it, Malfoy."

He sneered. "What are you going to do about it, Muggle filth?"

She sneered right back. "Wouldn't be talking if I were you." Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles menacingly, and she looked over at them. "You're eleven," she said scathingly. "Would you really hit a girl?"

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked suddenly.

Rachel turned her attention back to the game as Harry streaked toward the ground. "Come on, Harry!" she shouted.

"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!"

Ron leapt out of his seat, but Rachel and Hannah, who had been listening, beat him to it. "It's a good thing Potter found that money, because you're going to need it for your hospital bill when we're through with you!" Rachel hissed.

And slapped him full across the mouth.

Hannah followed up nicely with a sound thump from her Charms textbook. "Take that, Malfoy!"

"Mudbloods," Malfoy spat, wiping the blood from his lip.

And that was a mistake.

Ron, Neville, and Seamus leapt over the seats and tackled Malfoy. Confused, Hannah and Rachel could do nothing but hope their hexes hit the right people. In the end, Ron and Neville got by with only minor injuries, while Seamus had gotten in the way of one of Rachel's body-binding curses and received a bloody nose from Goyle.

"Sorry," Rachel said, performing the countercurse. "Now get up before someone sees. Besides—we won again!"

"Nice," Seamus said darkly, staunching the blood with his robes.

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"Heads up!"

Everyone ducked as a book bag came hurtling toward the table. "You're a witch, Rachel," Hannah said irritably. "Can't you just levitate your stuff over?"

Rachel rubbed her dark-circled eyes and made a spot for herself between Tanya and Hermione. "Exams are tomorrow, Hannah. I don't have time to 'float them over'."

Hermione shoved her fingers in her ears and began reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood as Seamus threw an empty inkbottle into the fire. "Aye, I'm gonna fail, and me mam will personally decapitate me."

Rachel ignored him. "Usually I'd tease him about that."

"Goes to show how nervous you are," Katelyn said distractedly.

"Yeah."

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It was sweltering hot in the room where they took their written exams. Succumbing to the heat and nerves, one by one, each first year removed their robes and loosened their ties and rolled their sleeves up. Their stress was showing: Seamus' arm was twitching uncontrollably; Tanya was drumming her fingers on the desk; Ron's head was so close to the paper that his nose nearly touched it; Katelyn was chewing absentmindedly on the end of her quill; Hannah was scribbling furiously; and Rachel's leg was shaking violently.

Katelyn sighed heavily, shifting positions so her shoes scuffed the floor loudly. Rachel threw her a murderous glance, but Katelyn didn't notice and continued with her exam.

Rachel stared at the parchment, but she couldn't help thinking of things other than her exam. She glanced over at Seamus. Leprechaun… she thought, and snickered. Finnigan's after me Lucky Charms! She had to stifle her laughter in her white shirt, and succeeded in smearing ink across her sleeve.

Hannah and Dean looked up and she nodded toward Seamus' back. There, Dean had stuck a sign that said: Beware, the Leprechaun Bites in bold letters. Hannah dissolved in silent giggles, and Dean looked pleased with himself.

This is the best school ever, Rachel thought, and went back to her exam.