There were only two Hargrave children going to Hogwarts, for now. Ger was too old, Poppy too young. The goodbye routine had changed. Now, they said goodbye to their mother and little sister at home, and their father took them to the platform. This year was no different. They arrived by ten thirty, as always, and Robert helped his daughter with her luggage. Finally, having said their goodbyes, Alan and Bonnie boarded the train.
"Can't believe it's my last time doing this," he said with a sigh as they walked among the compartments, greeting old friends who poked their heads out to say hello.
"Getting sentimental all of a sudden, Alan?"
"No, it's just...it's weird, you know?"
She attacked her brother with a hug that he couldn't dispel. Rather than trying though, much to her surprise, he returned it. He was so much taller than her that his hug lifted her feet from the ground.
"Thanks, Bonnie-Bug," he whispered, the old childhood nickname coming out to play again.
"Any time, Alan." She grinned broadly, and he returned with his usual, smaller grin.
"Shouldn't you be going, little Prefect?" Alan asked, his smile broadening.
"Oh! Right!" Bonnie cried, skipping backward a bit almost immediately. "Thanks, Alan, see you!"
She waved and began to walk, very quickly, toward the Prefect compartment. Few of them were already there - she and her brother were one of the first on the train. But she wasn't the only one in the compartment.
Ian Rosier sat there, the Prefect's badge gleaming on his chest (when did it get so broad? she wondered), smirking at her expression.

"You're a Prefect?"
"That is why I'm here, yes."
His voice, as always, was slow and smooth, like honey. And deep. A strange, fitting voice for his eyes.
"Oh. I thought...nevermind."
She blushed and took a seat across from him, still in her Muggle jeans and scoop-necked shirt. Without realizing, they had matched their current positions to first year - Bonnie with her pretzel-crossed legs, Ian sitting formally straight. The two cats were the only things missing.

They sat in silence until the others began to arrive, Cedric Diggory taking a seat next to Bonnie and stretching an arm out along the back of the seat behind her. Ian raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing, and Bonnie did nothing in return. Cedric had always been easily affectionate, in a way that was more brotherly and comforting than anything else. Bonnie had, in fact, figured it out - it was when he wasn't openly affectionate with a girl that something was up. She'd noticed it when, during third year, he'd been briefly and awkwardly stand-offish around Maggie. Luckily, though perhaps not for him, it hadn't worked out. Maggie had soon taken up with a boy from Ravenclaw, and Cedric moved on after a little while.
All told, the arm meant nothing. She'd long ago adopted Cedric as a third brother, and he'd taken her as the sister he'd never had. Their relationship was easy, open, and uncomplicated. And Bonnie was eternally grateful that it was.

The female Prefect from Gryffindor arrived shortly, followed by Percy Weasley hand-in-hand with Ravenclaw Prefect, Penelope Clearwater. The male Ravenclaw followed. All that was left was the Slytherin girl.
Ian rolled his eyes when she finally entered, just in the nick of time with her nose in the air, and sat beside him.

They listened to the Head Boy and Girl for what seemed like hours. The Head Boy this year was from Ravenclaw, the Head Girl from Gryffindor. And she could tell by their continued glances and small, knowing smiles that they were a lot closer than simply being Head Boy and Girl.
Bonnie yawned, hiding it behind her hand, and let her head fall on Cedric's shoulder as the Heads continued to talk, outlining duties and meetings and patrols until Bonnie thought their voices should have gone hoarse. She hoped they couldn't tell she was hardly listening, not to the things that didn't apply to her.
Finally, they released them. They were expected to patrol the corridors every so often but, other than that, they had no other responsibilities until they were to lead the First Years to their common rooms.
Bonnie was enormously excited for this. To see the wonder in the first year's eyes, to watch them watching her as she tapped the barrels with her wand to lead them into what would be their home for the next seven years.

She stood up and stretched, shook her blonde hair down from its ponytail and put it back up again, more loosely this time.
"You're sure you're set for the first patrol?" Cedric asked, looking partly worried and partly guilty. "I told Thalia I'd help her with the Ancient Runes translation, I don't know why she picked that class up..."
Bonnie just laughed.
"Oh, go on, Cedric, I'm just fine! Thal's going to need all the help she can get."
Cedric grinned and squeezed her shoulders.
"Thanks, Bon. I'll see you later!"
"Bye, Ced."

The rest of the Prefects had scattered along the length of the Hogwarts Express, leaving only Bonnie and Ian in the compartment.
Of course.
"So. Are you and Diggory happy, then?"
Bonnie tilted her head at him, like a confused puppy or a parrot who'd just heard a new word.
"Me and Dig...oh! Me and Ced? No! No, no. He's like...he's like another brother to me. He's like that with almost everyone. He's my best friend, but...no. Just no."
Ian looked skeptical, and, for some reason, almost angry. Bonnie shrugged it off.
"Well," she said, when it seemed like silence had permanently taken over, "Guess we'd better go do the first patrols, then?"
Ian nodded and joined her. A silent, mysterious patrol partner. When they'd finished, and were nearing Hogwarts, Bonnie fulfilled her promise to Ian and sat again in one of the last compartments.

"Did you receive my letter?" He asked finally, Matilda perched on his knees at last, blinking her enormous green eyes.
"Your letter...?"
And then she remembered - the envelope with the green-ink address, the cramped, spiky hand.
"Oh, goodness, I'm an idiot! I did, but...I'm so sorry! I never got a chance to read it, my brother interrupted, and we went to Diagon Alley, and..."
Ian listened to her babble, obviously amused.
"It's quite alright," he said finally. "Really, it is. Don't worry about it."
She smiled at him sheepishly from beneath the fringe of hair over her forehead.
They were like a brook and a river, she decided. She was the brook, always babbling and stumbling over herself, uncomplicated, her secrets tossed to the sun and discarded. He was the river, deep and unreadable, with who-knew-how-many buried secrets.
Just as she was about to strike up some new conversation, the train whistled.
"Oh! I'm not even dressed yet!" She said, hopping up at disturbing Milton, who'd fallen asleep beside her. He blinked at her, drowsy and unamused, used to her antics by now.
Quickly, she grabbed her school clothes and disappeared, arriving back in the compartment in extraordinary time.
Ian blinked.
"That was quite quick," he remarked when she returned.
Bonnie was hastily smoothing her hair back again, throwing it into a quick braid.
"My family tends to move at the speed of light," she said. "You get used to it, after a while."
"I would assume so."

Bonnie knew he wasn't looking for pity, not in the slightest, but she couldn't help it - she felt sorry for him, just as she had in first year. Funny, how things had moved in such a circle.

They lost each other in the crowds and ended up in separate carriages - Bonnie thankfully found a group of her friends and hopped in their carriage.
She, unlike Ian, could not see the thestrals.

Maggie and the twins were there, along with Cedric and some other boys from their House and year - Asa Henry and Berry Cleary. The little knot of friends continued on together into the Great Hall, when they'd reached the castle, and were soon joined by Patricia. Her round face was glowing with excitement at the sight of her friends.
As could be expected, Patricia's growth had sorted out the excess chubbiness of her earlier years. She was curvier, now, but more importantly seemed at peace with herself. Hufflepuff had an odd, happy way of making that happen. Maggie and the twins hadn't changed much, but for growth - Thalia and Tess were easier to tell apart, now. Their facial features were slightly different, and Tess's eyes were a shade darker than Thalia's. Maggie squealed happily and threw her arms around her two nearest friends, who just happened to be Bonnie and Asa.
"Fifth year," she said, "Can you believe it!"
"Yes, Mags," Asa said, ducking out from under her arm. "Just because you're a Hufflepuff doesn't mean you have to squeal, though. I think I've gone deaf!"
"Oh, lighten up," Maggie said, and swatted his arm as they found seats at the Hufflepuff table.

Bonnie quickly found Alan sitting with Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet. In other words, most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She waved before she settled in, her back to the Slytherin table.
Her excitement to lead the first years after the feast was mounting.

Finally, Professor McGonagall appeared with hat and stool, and then disappeared again to lead the first years in. As always, the hat sang its song. And, as always, Bonnie didn't pay it much attention. She was interested in the people, not the hat, after all.
Her interest in every single one of the first years dwindled after Creevey, Colin, had been sorted into Gryffindor. Soon, she only really payed attention when one was sorted to her house. Soon, Weasley, Ginevra had been sorted into Gryffindor House, where she went to join her brothers, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger. That had been last year's sorting, and quite an interesting one it had been. The Hufflepuffs had gained Susan Bones, Amelia Bones' niece, as well as several others. Ernie McMillian was not exactly Bonnie's favorite Hufflepuff, but Hannah Abbot and Justin Finch-Fletchley were both sweet, as was shy Megan Jones. The real excitement, of course, had come from the Sorting of Harry Potter, when all Houses held their breath in anticipation.

The Hufflepuffs hadn't really expected Potter to be Sorted to them. But it was fun to wonder, nonetheless.

When the Sorting had finished to mild applause, McGonagall, looking rather more upset than usual, took the hat and stool away for another year. Following Dumbledore's customary opening words, the feast began in earnest.

Bonnie found herself suddenly ravenous - she hadn't even noticed she was hungry, until the smell of the food had found her. She gave herself generous portions of Shepherd's Pie and vegetables, along with a goblet of cold pumpkin juice.
"Not to worry you," Maggie said, her plate already empty and pushed to the side (she always ate quickly and neatly, more like a military operation than anything else) and leaning into her forearms on the table, "But there's someone from Slytherin watching you."

She didn't have to turn around to know who it was, but she did anyway, if only to prove her suspicions true. Sure enough, gold-brown eyes jumped away and Ian Rosier turned to engage another Slytherin in impromptu conversation.
"Oh, it's just Ian," she said. "I've known him since first year."
Maggie frowned and pulled her lower lip between her teeth.
"I remember him, now," she said slowly. "You used to study with him in the library. Are you...talking...again?"
Bonnie nodded.
"Is there something wrong with that?" She asked pleasantly, tipping her head slightly to the side. Maggie's brown eyes narrowed as they glanced over Bonnie's shoulder, then locked with her friend's gaze.
"No," she said finally, her voice sure and steady. "But...be careful. Okay? My family knows some of his relatives, and...well, they're kind of shifty, Bon."
"Oh, he's not bad at all," Bonnie said stubbornly. "Thank you, Maggie, but I think I'll take my chances this time."
Maggie looked at her carefully for a moment and then, with a shrug that seemed to say "your funeral," as she lifted a slice of apple pie onto her place for dessert. Bonnie happily tucked into her trifle, watching the first years sample a little bit of everything as if they'd never seen such food before and never would again. She remembered that feeling, remembered floating on a happy, too-full, sleepy cloud for the rest of the night. She imagined she might have to tug them, bobbing, along the corridor like fat, lazy balloons. The thought made her grin, just before the plates cleared themselves.

"I'll see you all later," she said, standing with Cedric to collect the first years. They were just as overfull and just as sleepy as Bonnie had imagined they would be. One girl was blinking slowly and swaying on her feet. Bonnie put a hand gently on her shoulder, and smiled down at her. Had they ever been that small? she wondered. Surely they must have been.
"Alright, first years!" she said, looking at the little flock. "I'm Bonnie Hargrave, and this is Cedric Diggory. We're your Prefects this year."
"We don't bite," Cedric said with a wink. "So feel free to ask us anything."
Bonnie agreed with a nod.
"If you'll follow us, we'll lead you to the Hufflepuff Common Rooms. If you don't...well, let's not take that option, okay?"
A few of them giggled, and Cedric and Bonnie led their little group through the corridors and down the many flights of stairs to the stack of barrels, which Bonnie explained as she tapped her wand to the rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff" on the appointed barrel. The tunnel opened, and Bonnie led the way through with Cedric bringing up the rear.

Bonnie watched with satisfaction as the eleven-year-olds took in their cozy Common Room, pleased with the glowing, homey scene.
"Now, dormitories are this way..."

Once Cedric and Bonnie were sure that the first years were tucked away in their dormitories for the night, they both flopped back into a plush black couch. The yellow armchairs on either side made sure that the room wasn't made somber by the darker pieces, and all of the glowing brass and happy plants did the rest of the job. Milton, already purring, curled up in the crook of Bonnie's curled legs.
"I heard you and Maggie earlier," Cedric said, stroking the leaf of a plant which curled and uncurled happily at his touch.
"About what?" Bonnie asked, yawning, as the first of the older Hufflepuffs began to arrive.
"Ian Rosier."
Bonnie rolled her eyes, leaning her head against the back of the couch.
"Oh, Ced, not you too..."
"No," he said, carefully. "I think Maggie's right. You should be careful. He is a Rosier, after all. But...he's not a bad sort. He doesn't seem to be, anyway. Don't let other people's suspicions get in your way."
Bonnie smiled and reached for Cedric's hand, gave it a squeeze, and then let go.
"Thanks, Ced."

Soon, they were joined by other fifth, sixth, and seventh years. The earlier years all headed to bed almost immediately, to unpack and prepare for the next day. But in the Common Room, someone had brought a barrel of Butterbeer - how, she wasn't sure - and began to pass the warming, sweet liquid around in foaming mugs. For those still with an appetite, one of the seventh years had set out cookies she'd baked at home.
The classes they had the next day were sure to be easy, introductions to the year and lectures on the importance of O.. No one was overly concerned with how late they stayed up or how much Butterbeer they drank, and the common room was full of the older students until very early in the morning. Some even fell asleep on the couches in front of the fire, while others talked about summer trips and future plans. Their little welcome-back party was quiet and cheerful - Professor Sprout didn't tend to care how late there was activity in the Common Room, unless things got out-of-hand, which they rarely did.

Bonnie, Maggie, Patricia and the twins went to bed somewhere passed three, bidding goodnight to those who remained, lost in murmured discussions and sleepy stories.
Surrounded by the sound of her friends' even breathing and the occasional word uttered in sleep, Bonnie traced the stitching of her patchwork quilt and blinked drowsily at the ceiling, full and content from her meal, with the Butterbeer creating a pleasing, glowing warmth in her belly that seemed to radiate all the way out to her fingertips.
It was good, so good, to be back.