A/N: I'm really sorry about all the grammar/mixed-up name mistakes I made... I went back and proofread the previous two chapters, so hopefully they're error-free now. I read this chapter multiple times too, just in case. Maybe I should get a Beta-reader... But it seems to take so much longer, then.

Thanks for all the reviews!

James scanned the Daily Prophet for any exciting news. The front page was all about the wedding of the Muggle British Prime Minister, something that James wasn't interested about. He flipped toward the Politics section and examined the articles. There was nothing exciting.

Hoot! A snowy white owl landed on top of the pile of toast, clutching a letter and hooting loudly. "Stop it, Hedwig," James said, moving the toast away from the owl. Hedwig, short for Hedwig II, was his father's owl, which he had gotten after the first Hedwig had died.

"What did your dad say?" Fred asked from across the table, reading his own letter at the same time.

James shrugged. "I didn't open the letter yet."

He untied the roll of parchment from the owl and unrolled it. It was a written in his father's distinguishable script.

Hello James [it read]

I hope your seventh year is going well. It's going to be very busy, even though I never endured it myself, so I'm not a reliable source. Anyway, keep watch of your younger cousins and siblings. Your grandpa is going to send a letter soon to all of your family, so watch out for Styx.

Your father, Harry Potter

James scowled as he rolled up the parchment again. His father's letter seemed so distant and uninterested in his life, just telling him to keep watch of his younger relatives. James stabbed a piece of sausage and began eating.

Down the table, Styx, Grandma and Grandpa Weasley's owl, had just arrived, and all of the younger Potters/Weasleys were crowded around Lucy, who was holding the letter and reading it aloud. James decided not to join the rest of them, choosing to eat his breakfast in silence instead.

Another owl came swooping down; James recognized it to be the owl of Anton Rosencrantz, his Norwegian friend. He quickly untied the letter and read it. During the last week of the summer, a letter had come out in the Daily Prophet describing the many disappearances of children in England. Anton, living nearby in Norway, had also experienced disappearances. However, the Daily Prophet had quickly affirmed that the kidnapper, a middle-aged single wizard, had been caught, while Anton had still expressed that more children were being kidnapped.

Hey James

How's school? I bet it's quite boring compared to last year.

Something happened last night. Katrina—you know, my youngest sister—went to one of her friend's house for a sleepover. Her friend only lives two blocks away, so we let her walk there herself. Now that I think about it, that was probably a bad idea. Maria—Katrina's friend—said that she had showed up and stayed the night. However, Katrina had left two hours ago, but, right now, she still hasn't come back. Maybe she went to visit somebody else… we're all really worried, though. Hopefully the worst hasn't happened.

Poor Anton, James thought. He hoped that Katrina was okay. James dug into his bag and pulled out a quill and ink. He turned the parchment over and scribbled a reply.

Don't worry too much. Katrina might just have stopped by another friend's house or something like that. It's only been two hours… she'll come back soon, probably. If she doesn't… well, let's not jinx it.

"James."

James turned toward Oliver, who was calling his name. "Yeah?" he asked.

"You done?"

James nodded. "Yeah. Let's just stop in the Owlery on the way to our first period."

"What do you have?" Oliver asked, placing his timetable on the table. James pulled his from his bag and compared it to Oliver's. They had all the same classes, except Oliver had History of Magic when James had a free period. Fred had James's schedule too, except Fred had three less classes.

"It's not like I'm going to need Potions when I grow up," Fred said, in response to Oliver's question about why he didn't study hard. "I'm not going to be a healer, or something like that which needs potions."

James opened the door of the Owlery and stepped inside. "Yeah, but still," Oliver replied. "You want to do the best you can in all your subjects."

"No, you want to have fun and relax too," Fred argued back. James ignored his two friends and went to attach his letter to Rosencrantz's owl, which had flown up to rest in the Owlery after it had delivered James the letter. He watched the owl fly out the window, growing smaller and smaller.

Then he turned and headed toward first period, Charms. The other two followed, still arguing.

The first week of school quickly flew by. Fourth year had not been as bad as Albus had heard from his older cousins, but it was still more busy than third.

"You are one year away from OWL year," Professor Anderson, the transfiguration professor, had said. "This means we will expect more of you so you will all be ready for next year."

It seemed a bit early to be preparing for OWL year, Albus thought, but nevertheless, he finished all his assignments on time. Albus, Rose, and Scorpius were the best students in their year. Albus was the best at Defence Against the Dark Arts, Scorpius was good at Potions, while Rose was the best at everything else. The three of them managed to work together and excel at all their classes, and they always had lots of free time, unlike the rest of their classmates.

On the third day of their second week of school, the three Gryffindors were working on a Charms essay when all of a sudden Rose spoke up. "I think we should start Dumbledore's Army tonight."

Albus and Scorpius exchanged glances. "That was really random," Scorpius said. "Why tonight?"

"Well, I've been thinking," Rose said, putting down her pen and turning her chair so she could face the other two. "School work has been quite busy so far, but it's been bearable. As the school year goes by, it'll get even more busy."

"What are you suggesting?" Scorpius asked.

"I think we should start it tonight," Rose replied. "We don't have that much work, and we have time. Besides, I really want to start learning these new spells. I've been reading up on them during the summer, and I've found some really cool ones. We'd be taking a break from schoolwork, too."

Albus nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But we need to tell the others."

"I already asked Lucy," Rose said. "She said that she was too busy; I mean, it is her OWL year. I think tonight, it should just be the three of us, and maybe some other people if they want. I could ask Lily or Hugo…"

"No," Scorpius interrupted. "Just us three. For today, at least."

Rose raised her eyebrows, but didn't protest. "Fine then. After dinner?"

After dinner, the three of them quickly finished up the last of their homework and then made their way up toward the Room of Requirement. Since Rose seemed to be the one who was most excited about learning spells, Albus and Scorpius let her walk back and forth. After Rose's third walk past, a door materialized. Rose squealed and quickly ran inside.

"Somebody's a bit too excited," Scorpius said in a low voice to Albus. Albus snorted and entered the Room of Requirement.

The Room was a perfect portrayal of what Rose liked. The walls were royal purple, Rose's favorite color. There were couches along the side of the room, but there was an empty space in the middle, with pillows and rugs scattered along the ground. There was also a bookshelf at the far end of the corridor, stuffed with books. Albus knew Rose would like this room, but it felt a little too bright for him.

Scorpius sank into a couch and closed his eyes, yawning, while Rose grabbed a random book off the shelf and began reading. Albus watched the two of his friends, slightly amused. After a few seconds when none of them made the slightest movement, Albus began to get annoyed. Then he smiled. He was in a room that would do his bidding whenever he thought something. It was the perfect time to take revenge on Scorpius for all the annoying things he did in the past.

I need a bucket of cold water, Albus thought, and a bucket of cold water appeared on the ground. He checked to make sure Scorpius's eyes were still closed. Then, he tiptoed with the bucket in one hand around the couch, and he poured the entire contents of the cold water onto his best friend's head.

Scorpius yelped. "What are you—?" he jumped up, feeling his hair that was now sopping wet. He saw Albus standing right behind him, holding an empty bucket and wearing a gleeful smile. "Oh, you're not getting away with that," Scorpius said. All of a sudden, a ball appeared on the ground before Scorpius. He picked it up and threw it at Albus, but he dodged. Quidditch training had come in useful.

Albus used his wand to make more water appear in his bucket, and was about to throw it again at Scorpius, when the door of the Room of Requirement opened. Albus dropped the water, staring at the entrance in shock. Even Rose had put down her book.

James, Albus's older brother, was standing there, looking surprised. "Wow, Albus," he said. "I didn't know you would throw water on people."

"Why are you here?" Albus asked, not answering his brother's question. "Who told you to come?"

"Lucy," James replied matter-of-factly. "She said that you had asked her to help teach new spells, so I thought that you wouldn't mind if we came along."

"We?" Albus asked.

"Well…" James hesitated, but another person stepped inside the room. Fred.

Albus had never seen anyone react so quickly, but that was probably because he'd never seen anyone as mad as Rose before. Rose stood up and pointed her wand at Fred. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, her wand still on Fred's chest.

Fred backed up, looking nervous. I would be nervous too, Albus thought. Even though Fred was three years older than Rose, Rose was known to be a great dueler.

"I just wanted to say," Fred began slowly. "That I told Dad not to sell any more of those button things. You were right; they didn't belong in a joke shop."

Rose nodded, but didn't move her wand away.

"And also, I want to apologize," Fred continued. "For what I said on the train that day. I didn't mean it… I just wanted to make you go away."

"Wait…" Albus interrupted. "What are you apologizing for?"

"It's nothing," Rose said. She stopped pointing her wand at Fred and held it to her side. "It's okay, Fred," she said. "So will you help us?"

Fred nodded. "If it's okay with you. But you need more people; right now, it's kind of small. Why don't we find a day when none of us are busy, and we can get our whole family up here to practice spells? It sounds like a good idea."

"Okay," Rose said, giving Fred a smile.

"Thanks, Rose," Fred replied, turning to leaving the Room of Requirement. James gave Albus a wicked grin but followed his friend out of the room.

"Now can you get this water off of me?" Scorpius interrupted. "I'm freezing right now."

"I don't know the spell," Albus answered. "Sorry."

Rose sighed in exasperation. "Haitando," she said, pointing her wand at Scorpius. Immediately, his robes and hair dried.

Scorpius rubbed his hair. "Aw, now it's all messed up," he said. "I spend hours every morning making it perfect."

Albus laughed, remembering last year's Yule Ball, when Scorpius applied layers of gel to his hair to make it smooth. Rose just shook her head.

"So, what spells do you want to learn first?" Albus asked.

"How about Protego?" Rose offered. "It's very useful."

Albus and Scorpius nodded. "Let's take turns. I'll stun, Rose blocks, and Scorpius watches," Albus said. He positioned himself so he could focus on Rose. "Stupefy!" he shouted. They had never officially been taught that spell, but the three of them had learned it on their own. Stunning was quite a useful spell.

Albus was lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Rose's perfect shield charm until his own stunning charm hit him in the chest and he hit the ground.

Lucy looked up at the clock. "Oh no, I'm late," she said, putting down her essay and running out of the Gryffindor Common Room. Fifth year really was a nightmare. Her teachers had been giving her so much homework that she barely had any time to rest. Prefect duties occupied an hour every week too, for patrolling the corridors.

Lucy ran toward the area outside the Headmistress's office, where prefects met for duty. Every week, one boy and one girl were paired together to patrol the corridors for about an hour. There were two slots: 8-9, or 9-10. Today, Lucy had the 9:00-10:00 pm slot. Lucy remembered, with a grimace, how last week had turned out.

She had arrived outside McGonagall's office at 7:55, five minutes early. She had waited for a few minutes until finally the other prefect had arrived. He was a sixth-year Hufflepuff, somebody that Lucy had never met before. They patrolled the corridors silently, not having much to talk about. It was honestly the most awkward hour Lucy had ever had to deal with. It wasn't that Lucy wasn't talkative; she loved talked to others. It was just that the Hufflepuff was really annoying. He wouldn't respond to anything Lucy said but just kept on walking.

As Lucy hurried toward her destination, she hoped she had somebody good to patrol with. For the first two months, their patrols would be assigned, but later on, they would be able to choose. Lucy hoped the person she was assigned to wasn't boring, like the sixth-year Hufflepuff.

"I'm really sorry I'm late," Lucy said, turning the corner and seeing Maeve Robinson, the Head Girl, and Nicholas Schwab, a fellow fifth-year Ravenclaw. Nicholas gave Lucy a smile, and Lucy returned it. She and Nicholas weren't the best friends, but they were acquainted. He had been part of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and he was quite intelligent too. He also had the prettiest green eyes that seemed to stare right into your soul when you looked at them.

"Oh, it's okay," Maeve replied. "You're only a few minutes late. Well, I expect Oliver told you last week, but your job is to patrol the whole school, starting from the ground floor and working your way up to the top. It should only take about an hour. If there are any students still out, just remember their name and tell me when you report back here in an hour. Got it?"

Lucy and Nicholas nodded simultaneously. "Good luck," Maeve said, heading off in the opposite direction.

"So," Nicholas said as they set off. "How do you like fifth year so far?"

"I hate it," Lucy replied, as they walked past the Great Hall and the other empty classrooms on the first floor. "It's so busy. All our professors are giving us so much work."

Nicholas nodded in agreement. "Plus, we have prefect duties, which takes even more time. Our Quidditch tryouts are taking place next week, but I dunno if I'll have time to play Quidditch."

"You should still try out," Lucy answered. Nicholas had been a beater for the Ravenclaw Team in his third year, and he had been pretty good, helping Ravenclaw get 2nd place in the Quidditch House Cup. Gryffindor was still first, of course. "Are you still trying for beater?"

Nicholas shook his head. "I don't really like hitting bludgers at people. If I had my choice, I would be Keeper. It sounds really fun. Of course, I might not get the spot…"

"You should still try out, though," Lucy said. "You never know."

"Perhaps," Nicholas said. "How's the Gryffindor team doing?"

"Our tryouts are this Saturday," Lucy replied. She got into a deep explanation of the Gryffindor team. The majority of the team was part of the Weasley/Potter clan. James was the captain, and one of the Chasers. As captain, he wanted the team to work well together, which meant that even if somebody was really good, they had to cooperate. He said that the other two chasers would probably be Roxanne Weasley—the daughter of George and Angelina, she was really good—and one other person who cooperated well. The beaters would be Fred Weasley and Peter Gladwell, a sixth-year who had been on the team for 4 years and cooperated well with Fred. For the seeker, it could be Albus Potter—he had decided on focusing on seeking—or Scorpius Malfoy. It all depended on who was better.

"Did I honestly just tell you all that?" Lucy asked as soon as she finished explaining. "I just gave all of Gryffindor's secrets away. Now you're going to tell the Ravenclaw's all about them. Oh, Merlin, James is going to kill me."

"I promise I won't tell," Nicholas replied. "I swear. Besides, it's not like you told me anything secretive. We'd find out anyway in two days."

Lucy still wasn't convinced, but she nodded.

The two of them continued patrolling the corridors, talking about Quidditch or schoolwork as they walked. When they reached the seventh floor, Lucy heard a voice coming from the hallway in front of them. It seemed like it was laughing.

"Is that Peeves?" Lucy whispered. Nicholas shrugged. The two of them silently walked forward, toward the voice. It didn't sound like Peeves; besides, they had just encountered him below on the fifth floor.

The laughter got louder as they reached a blank stretch of wall. With a start, Lucy realized that this was the entrance to the Room of Requirement. Today was Thursday; there shouldn't be anyone in there. Rose had said that they were using it yesterday, but not today.

Lucy turned to Nicholas. "Do you know what this is?" she asked. Nicholas shook his head. "You've never heard of the room of requirement?"

"I've heard of it before," Nicholas replied. "It was used during the Battle of Hogwarts, wasn't it? But I never knew it actually existed."

"It does exist," Lucy answered. "And it's right here. The Room of Requirement. To get in, all you have to do is walk back and forth three times. Then a door appears, and you can go inside and do whatever you want."

Nicholas nodded. "But why would somebody be in there right now?"

Lucy shrugged. "Let's find out."

She walked back and forth three times, thinking I need the place where the laughter is coming from. Show me that place. I need to see it. When she opened her eyes, no door appeared.

"That's strange," Lucy said. "There's nothing."

"Maybe you're thinking of the wrong thing?" Nicholas suggested. He walked up and passed the door three times. Nothing appeared.

"That's really weird," Lucy commented, frowning. She put her ear to the wall, but the laughter had disappeared. All was quiet.

"Let's just keep on going," Nicholas said, walking down the hallway. "I don't know what was in there. We can just tell Maeve later. We're almost done anyway."

Lucy nodded, and followed her fellow prefect down the hall. They finally reached the end of the hallway and started down the stairs from the seventh floor all the way to the first floor. As they were walking, there was a silence between them. Nicholas was just staring at the floor, not saying anything. Lucy didn't say anything either but just continued walking.

Soon, they reached the first floor, and walked toward the area at the foot of the Headmistress's office. Maeve Robinson was already standing there. "How was it?" she asked.

"It was good," Lucy replied. "But on the seventh floor, we heard this voice coming from inside the area where the Room of Requirement is located. It sounded like it was laughing."

"That's strange," Maeve said. "Did you discover whose voice it was?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, sorry."

"It's probably just some students who are using it so they don't have to be back in their common room," Maeve said. "But I'll make sure to tell the other prefects about it. So, Lucy, your next patrol time is next Tuesday at this time, and yours, Nicholas, is next Friday at 8. Got it?"

They both nodded.

"Okay, you can go back to your common rooms now," Maeve told them.

"What in the world could that voice have been?" Lucy asked Nicholas again. He just shrugged. They walked in silence together until they reached a point where they would separate to go to different common rooms.

"See you tomorrow in Potions," Lucy told Nicholas, turning to leave.

"Wait!" he called, and Lucy turned back, confused.

"What?" she asked.

"Er…" he hesitated, staring at his feet. "There's a Hogsmeade trip next Saturday, so do you want to go together? It's okay if you're busy…"

Lucy thought for a moment. Nicholas seemed quite earnest, he was intelligent, part of the Quidditch team, a prefect, and a bit hot, so she accepted. "I don't have anything to do," she replied. "I'm fine with that."

Nicholas smiled. "Okay, thanks! See you tomorrow, then." He ran off in the direction of the Ravenclaw tower.

Lucy headed back to the Gryffindor tower with a slight grin on her face. She wasn't sure what Lorcan, Louis, or Lysander would say, though. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm not the best at writing romance scenes, so sorry if I made it too cheesy. There's going to be more action in the next chapters, though... you'll find out soon. Please review? How were your Halloweens?