For those that didn't remember it from the first chapter: this story is set somewhere between the Battle of Hogwarts and the when the Potter children first come to Hogwarts.

Thank you to everyone who was kind enough to leave a review.

Jonathan Bulstrode sat in History of Magic, all senses alert - something which very rarely happened. After being divided into their houses for breakfast, he had been unable to talk to the girls and plan their revenge, so he thought that this class was the perfect opportunity to contact Aria. Around him, Gryffindors and Slytherins alike fell asleep on their desks, barely even bothering to antagonise each other.

Twirling his wand absent-mindedly, Jonathan looked down to discover that he had burnt a design into his desk. He sighed, it seemed no matter what he did, he always ended up defacing something or other. Glancing at the student who had made the mistake of falling asleep next to him though, Jonathan couldn't help grinning. His reputation was definitely well-deserved.

Removing a Ravenclaw tie he had swiped earlier from his robe pockets, Jonathan scribbled his message and watched the ink soak into the fabric. (What? It wasn't like he was going to waste his own precious parchment or tie just for prank preparations!) Screwing up the material, Jonathan chucked it across the classroom. The most attention anyone gave it was the student sitting next to him giving a large snore.

Aria unfurled the material and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Jonathan made the mental note to clean out his pockets at next opportunity. The Slytherin girl gave him a look that clearly said really Jonny? She glanced at the boy sitting next to him with glasses drawn over his face, as he let out another snore. She appeared to realise that he was serious.

Giving a sigh, Aria jotted down her reply on a piece of parchment and levitated it back across the sleeping History of Magic Classroom, while Professor Binns droned on at the front of the classroom. Jonathan rolled his eyes at how boring her message-passing skills were. Nevertheless, he unwrapped the precise folds of her note.

At least it will give us a chance to return the tie.

Jonathan grinned his ever-present joker-smile.

Meanwhile, Phobia Darkthorne was in Herbology. It was one of the few things she had a passion for, because as long as she turned her powers off, plants never hated her as much as people did. With all the staff changes after the war, Professor Sprout was one of the few teachers that remained after the Battle of Hogwarts, even if she was now starting to complain about retiring.

Although Phobia loved the whole "let's re-pot mandrakes because they can be really useful" vibe of the lesson, she was really anxious about speaking to her head of house at the end of class. As usual, everyone avoided the corner of the greenhouse she was working in like the plague, yet Phobia couldn't help thinking of the two first years who had kept her company in the dungeons.

Phobia liked to follow the rules. It didn't give anyone the excuse to be even more horrible to her. However, she couldn't help wondering if they shared any lessons that morning and if they were planning on making revenge on the Ravenclaws without her.

As the lesson ended, Phobia dusted some soil from her robes, trying to make her decision. On one hand, she could speak to Professor Sprout (who she didn't think liked her very much) about her sleeping arrangements and hope she didn't send her back to her dormitory. On the other hand, she could rush off to the Great Hall as fast as possible, learn the plan from Aria or Jonathan and hope they hadn't carried it out yet.

By the greenhouse door, she hesitated.

"Did you need something, Miss Darkthorne?" Professor Sprout's said in her motherly tone, despite her facial features being twisted into an expression to hide her fear. She was gathering the potted mandrakes from the workbench and all of the other students had already left the greenhouse.

Phobia opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it. Professor Sprout was known for her fairness towards all of her students, so why would she consider giving a student she didn't like any special treatment? She'd be back to Hufflepuff in a heartbeat.

Turning her gaze to meet her teacher's, Phobia shook her head. "It's nothing Professor." She'd take her chances in the dungeons for the time being, it wasn't like anyone in her dormitory appreciated her presence.

Aria Rey had a death wish. At least, that was the general consensus in Slytherin House. Not only was she a muggleborn witch who refused to bow down to intra-house politics, but she also consorted with no-good Gryffindors and the Hufflepuff dementor. She would often ignore her housemates or act as if they were beneath her whenever they insulted her for those reasons and it was simply making them madder.

The first year Slytherins cornered her outside of the Great Hall, while everyone else was inside having lunch, leaving the Entrance Hall was deserted. It started with the intimidation tactics, but Aria calmly stared them down.

"Finished?" She asked impatiently, as she attempted to push past them for lunch.

Aria gasped at how roughly they pushed her back against the wall. "No, we're not finished, you filthy little mudblood! Do you really believe you can get away with defiling the noble name of Salazar Slytherin?" The ringleader hissed in anger.

Inside her head, Aria was rapidly searching for a witty comeback, but she wasn't fast enough. Instead she shrunk closer to the wall, thinking how ashamed her father would be that she couldn't even take on the schoolyard bullies in a verbal duel.

"ENOUGH!" A harsh cold blew through the Entrance Hall, sending icy pains through Aria's body. She heard her father's voice scolding her, telling her she wasn't good enough, telling her she was a disgrace to the name of her family. Aria's back scraped against the wall as she slid down to the floor. All those times her parents ignored her because they were too busy, the realisation that one of her best friends in primary school only liked her because she was rich, that incident where she fell in a patch of stinging nettles aged five and her father told her to stop her unnecessary bawling.

No matter what she did she would be a disappointment, no matter what she did she would always be on her own.

It took her a while after the images had stopped to notice that she didn't feel cold anymore. Instead, she found arms around her, enveloping her in a warm hug and the other Slytherins nowhere in sight. Slowly, Aria crawled out of the foetal position and sat up.

"I'm sorry, Aria. There were so many of them and I couldn't think of another way to get them away from you." Aria blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, revealing Phobia as the one with her arms around her. Despite the fear she had felt just moments ago, Aria felt herself relax slightly. She wasn't alone and while Phobia had been the one to inflict those fears upon her, she found she couldn't blame her, because she looked even more terrified than she was.

"Um, thanks Phobia. You can er, let go now." The two girls awkwardly released each other from their embrace, just as the doors to the Great Hall opened.

Jonathan grinned at them, his pockets overflowing with food he had swiped from the Gryffindor table. "So... floor party?" He asked looking at the two of them sitting on the ground, both pale and shaken. Sitting himself between them, he handed them each a chocolate frog.

"Thanks Jonny, we got a bit held up coming to lunch." Jonathan shrugged modestly, causing the insides of his robes to rattle slightly, with all the sweets inside.

Phobia glanced at the doors to the Great Hall. "How long do we have until lunch is finished?"

"Another half-hour or so," Jonathan replied, his usual grin coming back full strength.

Aria took another bite out of her chocolate frog. "That's enough time, isn't it?"

The Gryffindor made his best cheshire cat impression and raced off to get the supplies.

Phobia looked at Jonathan's retreating back curiously. "Are you going to let me in on the plan?"

Aria handed the older girl a ragged Ravenclaw tie. "Read this, we'll meet him up at Ravenclaw Tower."

The Hufflepuff second year opened her mouth to ask, but Aria just shook her head. "You don't want to know."