Minerva McGonagall, it could be said, was never a lenient person. When someone acted up around her, she would bring the hammer down on them. She was a firm believer in never giving her students an inch with which to get away by. The more severe the crime, the more severe the punishment. And she was currently prepared to give out the strongest punishments since she had taken over for Albus Dumbledore. Earlier in the night, Professor Sinistra had stormed into her office, looking more livid than McGonagall could ever recall seeing her. It took almost fifteen minutes before she could calm the Astronomy teacher down enough to make sense of her furious ramblings. She hadn't wanted to believe the story she had then heard, as she didn't wish to believe anyone in the school could ever be that cruel to a fellow student, let alone a first year. She had immediately thought back to when the children of the Death Eaters had infested the school. But that was a long time ago, and most of the enmity between the four Houses was kept strictly to Quidditch matches.

Vega Potter and the Malfoy twins had been rushed to the Hospital Wing, all of them in bad shape. Vega was the worst, with multiple broken bones and a severe depletion of his magic. Viola had escaped with two broken ribs and a bruised shoulder, and Hydrus had mostly escaped unharmed, a rather ugly welt on his stomach aside. A few of his ribs had been bruised as well, but none had been broken by the curse that had struck him. The twins had been patched up and were free to go within an hour, but Vega had remained unconscious, something Madam Pomfrey had told McGonagall might last a very long time.

They weren't the only ones wheeled into the medical staff's care, however. One of the boys who had injured the three Slytherins had been brought in with an odd, spiked object lodged into and poking through his arm. Madam Pomfrey had been able to deftly remove the object, which Gabrielle had said looked like the business end of a morning star, and had the Hufflepuff boy as healthy as could be expected, given the blood loss. The Hufflepuffs had been released under the watch of Professor Longbottom, their head of house who, McGonagall noted, also looked as angry as she had ever seen.

The two groups were found by one of the Hufflepuff trio's friends, who had gone off to look for the boy who had been attacked by the second monster. She had run into Professor Sinistra on her way to the Hospital Wing. Professor Sinistra had told her to find Professor Longbottom. Together, the two professors got the six students up to Madam Pomfrey's care. The two Hufflepuffs who hadn't been injured had been rather quiet the whole trip, comforting the one whose arm had been turned into a pin cushion aside. Sinistra had demanded the uninjured Hufflepuffs explain what had transpired in that hallway. Once she had found out, she had gone off to collect the headmistress.

McGonagall was, of course, appalled. After spending time in the Hospital Wing and discussing the severity of the situation with all involved, McGonagall had come to her decision. The three students who had committed the attack were to be suspended for no shorter than a month's time. When they returned, they were to be monitored and given detentions if they put the slightest toe out of line with anyone. When the Hufflepuff trio and their head of house had left, McGonagall turned her attention on the ones who had been attacked. The Malfoy twins had been awake and coherent for most of their stay, and both seemed to be recovering just fine. This left all eyes focused on the only one who wouldn't be leaving the room under his own power that day.

That had been five hours ago. McGonagall wasn't able to get any sleep, though she had tried. She would have to address this during breakfast, though the Malfoys certainly weren't going to like being put in the spotlight. The staff had enough to worry about from outside forces invading their school without having to constantly be on the lookout for students harming other students. And while she knew she couldn't halt fights entirely, she was jolly well going to ensure that no one would try to gang up and attack anyone else over their own paranoia. She had known from the minute she had penned the acceptance letters to the children of the Potters and the Malfoys that there might be trouble following them into Hogwarts. It was a sad state that, despite two attacks by two seemingly different monsters, the gravest injuries had come from a group of students.

She stared at the flames lazily crackling away in her fireplace, trying to allow them to soothe her troubled mind. But it was doing her little good. Times like this made her wish she had Dumbledore around to consult. But she had managed to keep herself from doing so thus far. She kept in touch by fire and by letter, as the former headmaster was always curious as to the goings-on at the school he had loved so much. McGonagall didn't want anything to cause Dumbledore enough alarm to bring him back. That wouldn't do anyone any good. The press would have a field day with it, for one thing. And for another, Dumbledore had retired for a reason. He had spent the years since his departure in a cabin at the edge of a small wizarding settlement, near a forest. He was also starting to very much look his age, something McGonagall had attributed to not having so much adrenaline pumping through him from dealing with Voldemort, monsters in the castle, and other assorted worries.

Times like this, thought the headmistress as she got up from her chair, she really did miss being able to have a good, stiff drink or three. But the headache she was sure she would have after that day's breakfast would trump any hangover. A part of her was glad she didn't have much in the way of proper headmistress duties that week. It would at least give her a little down time. She had already sent off letters to the Hufflepuff boys' parents, informing them to come and collect their children. She had also talked to Pansy Parkinson and Nymphadora Tonks about their childrens' conditions. It took a rather herculean effort on her part to prevent Tonks from storming the castle and exacting revenge on her own. She had told the woman that if she wanted to come see her son, she should do it the following day, when it was light out. Tonks had reluctantly agreed, and McGonagall had no doubt that she wouldn't be the only one getting precious little sleep that night.

"One more go." She muttered to herself as she slipped into her bedroom. Staring with irritation at her bed for a moment, she headed toward it to attempt to get at least a bit of rest that night.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Gabrielle Delacour sat on a stool beside an occupied bed, staring at the young man laying unconscious in it. She had, of course, seen and heard of worse things than the beating that had occurred to Vega Potter, but it didn't make it any easier. Madam Pomfrey had once said that, as she got accustomed to being a mediwitch, she would naturally develop a tougher skin for that sort of thing. But this was all too familiar to her, and she couldn't shake a worry deep in the pit of her stomach. When she had visited Hogwarts when she was just nine, she had remembered being very awestruck of this boy's father. She had spied on him more than a few times and, on the odd occasion she could, managed to get up close when he was sleeping. He hadn't looked like some kind of grand hero all of the books had described him being. He was just an ordinary boy. A very cute ordinary boy, but an ordinary boy nonetheless. Her puppy love for Harry had vanished into the aether years ago. But seeing his son in the hospital bed, seeing how broken he had been on arrival, and seeing how much smaller he was than Harry had been had all been very difficult for her.

She had kept a close eye on Vega since his arrival, feeling some sense of duty beyond what was required of her. His parents had dropped by a few times in the days since the incident had occurred. The first time seeing Harry in person since they had been young, Gabrielle had been momentarily stunned. He had more lines in his face than a man his age should rightfully have. The stress from his time fighting Voldemort, and now with dealing with whoever was behind the attacks throughout the country, was taking its toll on Harry. It didn't matter what time of day he stopped by, he always looked tired. Perhaps her crush on him hadn't evaporated as fully as she wanted to believe. Harry certainly didn't need to constantly worry about his son in addition to the case he and the Aurors were working on.

Reaching a hand out, Gabrielle brushed Vega's hair away from his eyes. As she was pulling her hand away, the muscles in Vega's face twitched a little. Seconds later, he let out a quiet whimper and cracked open his eyes a little.

"Nn...?"

"It's alright." Whispered Gabrielle. "Don't try to move too much, alright? Scans are saying you're mostly healed, but..."

"...Hospital?" Muttered a very groggy Vega, licking his too-dry lips. "...Vivi? Hyde?"

"They're both fine." Murmured Gabrielle. "Both were healed up and out of here the night you all came in. I can send for them if you'd like."

When Vega gave a little nod, closing his eyes, Gabrielle smiled and got to her feet. Heading for the office, she slipped in and told Madam Pomfrey that Vega had finally regained consciousness. As she went to pen a quick missive to the twins, the hospital's matron strode out to run another analysis of her patient. Keeping her note brief, Gabrielle walked over to the window, where a large barn owl was perched.

"Take this to Hydrus or Viola Malfoy, alright? Whichever's closer." She said, attaching the note to the owl's leg.

Clicking his beak, the owl pushed off and went into a dive. Smiling, Gabrielle turned and headed back out, eager to see how Vega's health was looking. As it turned out, he came up clean. Aside from being incredibly hungry and thirsty, Vega was asking Madam Pomfrey a number of questions, which she was patiently answering. He learned, in better detail, what had happened to Hydrus and Viola, along with the boys who had attacked them. They had been removed from the school for the time being, and the headmistress had delivered something of a rousing speech the morning after the attacks had occurred, getting rather vehement over the whole subject of House on House violence. The Hogwarts students had been told, in no uncertain terms, just what awaited those who so brazenly dared to attack their fellow students, and said that if needed, she would increase the punishment length each time, until they reached full on expulsion. The students had all been very quiet during breakfast that morning, with the Hufflepuffs in particular keeping their heads low.

The boy who had been attacked, one Allan Verrance, had also stopped by to check on Vega numerous times, feeling extraordinarily guilty over the whole situation. He had been aghast to find out what his friends had done, and had apparently caused quite a commotion in the Hufflepuff common room after learning. And while Vega wasn't surprised to find out both his parents and the twins had stopped in numerous times, he had been taken aback slightly to find out that Lapis Eskander had stopped in precisely twice to see how his condition was doing. On both visits, he had simply stated that with one of Slytherin's matches rapidly approaching, it simply wouldn't do it their Seeker was out of commission. He never stayed more than a few minutes, and never spoke aside from informing the two mediwitches as to why he was even dropping in.

A short while later, Vega had finished changing back into his robes - which had been fully repaired - when the doors to the hospital opened and the twins came in. Viola shot across the room and embraced him, causing him to flail about for a moment until Hydrus could pull her away far enough for Vega to breathe. Blushing, Viola had quickly apologized before asking how Vega was feeling. Responding truthfully, Vega had told the two he felt perfectly fine, circumstances considering. He did, however, mention that he really, really wanted something cold to drink. His throat felt as dry as the Sahara and, waving to Gabrielle and Madam Pomfrey as the three left, he suggested heading down to the Great Hall to talk further.

"...Hey, guys? What day is it? I never did ask." Vega said, walking with a hand against the wall.

"25th." Hydrus replied. "You've been out for awhile this time, Potter."

"Urg... no wonder I feel like hell." Muttered Vega, making a face. "Anything interesting happened since I apparently knocked myself out?"

"Not a whole lot. Everyone's been kind of on-edge, though. I think seeing you up and about will help a little." Viola said. She had ahold of one of Vega's shoulders, ready to catch him just in case he stumbled. "What the heck did you do to that kid, anyway? None of the staff said they could work out what you had done. Madam Pomfrey asked your dad when he came by once - we were there at the time - and he just gave her this odd smile. So he obviously knew..."

"Dunno. Everything about the fight's kind of a blur from my end. I don't remember much after they put you two out of it. You guys doing alright?" Asked Vega.

"Viola had to reign her energy in long enough for the soreness around her ribs to go away, but that was about it." Stated Hydrus, earning him a weak glare from his sister. "We're perfectly fine. And, since I know you're probably going to try, you aren't allowed to apologize. We should have listened when you said to run."

"Yeah..." Agreed Viola, turning her attention back to Vega. "Wasn't the best decision ever, looking back. But hey, at least a few positive things happened because of it. Those jackasses who attacked us have been suspended, and everyone's gonna watch 'em like hawks once they come back."

"And we haven't even had a single glare leveled at us since McGonagall's rant on the matter." Hydrus added. "At the very least, we're no longer being seen through hostile eyes. For a few days after the attack, the both of us were a touch on the jumpy side."

"Always felt like someone was sneaking up on us." Viola said, frowning. "Was an awful feeling. But that passed, and we've been doing as good as can be expected. Worried sick about you, of course..."

"I need to compare my track record to dad's." Grumbled Vega. "Bet I've been in the Hospital Wing more than he had been as this point."

"At least you seem to've inherited his quick recovery times." Viola said, squeezing Vega's shoulder. "Come on. Lunch is still a bit off, but we might be able to dredge up some drinks before then if we catch someone on staff. Can they do that? Summon up things before the meal's started?"

"I don't see why not. Presumably they can contact the house elves when needed." Hydrus said. "I guess we'll find out."

"Yeah." Vega said, letting his eyes unfocus slightly. "Hell of a first year so far."

Viola glanced aside. "You sure you're up for this?"

"No. Which is why we're going. Won't do me any good to hole up in the Pit forever." Vega said.

"The what?" Viola asked.

"I'll show you later. It's where I was escaping to." Vega explained. "May need to hole up there later, depending on how I'm feeling. You guys seen Eskander around?"

"Not other than at meals." Hydrus said. "Why?"

"He's stopped by a couple of times, apparently. Gabrielle said he never really said much, just that he was worried I'd be out as Seeker. God, I don't even want to think about being in the air right now."

"That should pass. We still have four days before the match." Hydrus replied. "Don't push yourself, Potter. If we have to forfeit this one, we have to forfeit this one. We'll be able to make a comeback. One loss won't kill our momentum."

"We just have to make sure we win all the others." Viola said, blandly. "No pressure at all. Really though, try not to worry about it. That won't help you recover at all. Let's get some food in you, yeah?"

"Yeah. Something really light. Toast, maybe. If I'm feeling up for it, I'll have something a little more solid." Vega said, stepping into the Great Hall as the twins pushed open the doors. Only a handful of students had arrived, and a good deal of the staff was still absent.

"Wanna ask?" Viola said, looking to Vega.

"I can wait. Not going to die from thirst. Be perfectly happy to just sit down and not move for a bit, though." Vega said, wincing as he took his place at the end of the Slytherin table. As the twins sat down, he fidgeted for a moment before twisting his torso to the right, producing a small series of pops from his back. "Ow. Owww..."

"Oh jeez, are you okay?" Asked Viola, looking worried.

"Ask me again in about five minutes." Said Vega, slumping forward against the table. "Felt like it needed to pop, but I didn't think it would be that bad..."

"Speaking of bad, we'll help you catch up on school work if you'd like." Hydrus said. "You haven't missed too much, to be honest. I'm not sure if Fedorov will ask you to stay after the next class to try brewing the potion we made earlier in the week. I can point out what it was, though, so you have time to memorize it."

"Don't want to think about catching up on school work, either." Vega sighed. "That's the worst part of being knocked out, you know. It isn't being hurt, it isn't laying unconscious for so long, it's the work load I'm stuck with after I wake up."

"Hey, be glad you accomplished that last part. Was starting to really worry you'd be out of it for good..." Viola said, frowning. "This is the longest you've been out of it, ya know..."

"I know. It's not like I plan for this stuff to happen, though." Vega said, his voice quiet. "Are you okay?"

"Am now that you're awake." Said Viola, putting her arm around Vega's shoulders and pulling him into a hug. For once, he didn't try breaking free. "So tell us about this 'Pit' place..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

A good forty minutes later, the Great Hall was noisy and packed, something Vega wasn't terribly minding for once. A few people had come over to see how he was doing, in fact. Aside from the rest of the Slytherin team, who Viola and Hydrus had to practically hex to keep them from hefting Vega over their heads in celebration, the boy that Vega had helped out that day had come over. He looked as though he hadn't gotten much sleep lately. The two had talked for awhile, with Vega repeatedly assuring the Hufflepuff that he didn't blame him for what his friends had done. Allan looked more than a little relieved to hear this, but still apologized quite a lot. The two had parted on amiable terms, with Allan saying he would be cheering for Slytherin in the upcoming match against Gryffindor.

Lapis Eskander and his two female friends had also stopped by after they had entered the room, arguing about something. Samantha Alven had been the one to prod the other two, nodding towards Vega. When he had turned to look, Vega had caught an odd expression on Lapis' face for the briefest of moments. It was quickly replaced with a smirk as he and the girls walked over to exchange a few rounds of banter with Vega and the twins.

"You'd better fly. I've flown against Terrana and Haque and neither put up the same fight you do." Said Lapis, referring to the Seekers from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.

"Any advice against Terrana?" Asked Vega.

"He's nearsighted. Not a great thing for a Seeker to have. Wouldn't surprise me if he's out next year. You just have to hope the Snitch appears off a good ways. If he catches it within range, chances are he'll get to it before you. He knows how to push his broom." Lapis stated, crossing his arms. "You won't have the speed advantage this time, Potter. You'll have to hope you luck out."

"Great. I get laid up in a coma or something for awhile and have to try beating that after I get out?" Vega groused. "Man, this sucks."

"Don't worry too much. Like I said, he's not got the same kind of fight you do. He does have one other rather glaring weakness... but I think it'd be fun seeing you try working that one out by yourself." Lapis said, smiling wryly. "It's just a matter of using both of his... quirks... to your advantage. That's all I'm saying."

"Oh, thanks a lot." Vega said, giving the Ravenclaw Seeker a weak glare. "Very cute."

Lapis snorted. "It wouldn't be any fun if I told you everything. Good to see you back on your feet, Potter. I might have bowed out of playing if you hadn't gotten better."

"I can't be that good a match." Vega said.

"You're interesting to watch." Lapis stated. "You change in the air, whether you admit it or not. And not in the way that caused that blackout. You get a lot more serious, your muscles loosen up, and your eyes are constantly darting around."

"Yeah, Lapis wouldn't shut up about you after your last match." Chimed Valerie Carmichael, causing Lapis to blush and glare at her. "What?! It's true! We had to listen to you carry on for almost two hours!"

"It's true." Added Samantha. "You did go on a really long time."

"I was trying to find a weakness!" Lapis said through gritted teeth. Turning back to Vega, his cheeks still faintly glowing, he continued, "Anders Terrana has two major weaknesses. Elisa Haque has more than four. You, however, I can't work out. That's what makes you so interesting. And that's why I want to fly against you. I want to figure out your weaknesses."

"What about you, Eskander?" Asked Vega, a smirk of his own forming. "What're your weaknesses?"

"I spend far too much time analyzing my opponents." Said Lapis.

"Obviously. Anything else?"

"Figure it out on your own, Potter. Now, if you'll excuse us, we should probably eat something before lunch actually finishes." Lapis said, starting towards his own House's table, the two girls following behind.

"I think his cockiness is one major weakness of his." Hydrus said, not bothering to look up from his plate.

Vega looked over at Hydrus, then Viola. "You got any info?"

"On Eskander? Maybe." Viola said, smiling faintly.

"Maybe? What is 'maybe,' Vivi?" Asked Vega. "C'mon, if you know anything I could use against him, tell me!"

"Dunno if it could be used against him, though." Viola said. "I think those girls of his are a pretty big weakness, though, don't you?"

"They do seem to trail after him a lot. ...Seriously, which one do you think he'll wind up with?" Asked Vega.

"I still think he'll find some quiet girl from another House." Hydrus stated, reaching for his goblet. "Of course, he'd need to find someone who could actually tolerate him first..."

"Abrasive enough to remove paint from a wall." Agreed Viola.

Vega sighed. "Ah well. I guess that's part of the fun, working your opponents' weaknesses out as you play against them. You guys almost done?"

"Yeah, why?" Asked Viola.

"Wanna show you that place I mentioned." Vega said, the volume of his voice lowering. "You two gotta promise to keep it secret, though."

"Of course." Said Hydrus. "So... where will we be going?"

"You'll see." Vega said, smiling. He was feeling far better than he had been, and his stomach had been gracious enough to let him eat a good bit more than he figured it would. He actually felt full without feeling ill, something he hadn't been expecting. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt like showing the twins the Pit so soon, though he had a sinking feeling it was due to having a lot of school work to catch up on. Trying to get it all done in the rumble of the Slytherin common room would be a trial of its own. "Come on, let's get outta here. We might have to wander awhile if anyone follows. Don't want anyone finding it."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Alright, now walk through the wall." Vega said, motioning towards the false piece of hallway in front of him.

"A part of me wants to believe you. A part of me thinks you want me to walk into a wall." Viola said, raising an eyebrow. "You do it first."

Rolling his eyes, Vega stepped forward and through the illusion, his head poking out a moment later, grinning. "Will that do, madam, or shall I need to prove myself further?"

"I'll prove your head into a pie later if you keep being smarmy." Viola said, giving her friend the evil eye. "Alright, we're coming. So what is this place?"

"Snake Pit. Dad found and named it. Apparently, he and mum spent most of their time down here after they got together. It sort of became everyone's hang-out spot or something." Vega said, walking down the stairs and giving Levi the password. The little snake hissed quietly and the door popped open slightly. "I've been coming down here to think. It's quiet."

"Interesting. Did the headmaster know?" Asked Hydrus, stepping into the room and glancing around. "Why is there a hole in the ceiling?"

"That's where the beholder was." Vega stated.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Dad summoned a beholder to protect the Pit. Apparently nothing ever happened, so mum let him go free. Dunno what every happened to him..." Vega said, looking up at the ceiling. Following this bit of pondering, Vega gave the twins a quick tour of the other rooms. Upon seeing the bathtub, Viola had let out a long, low whistle, saying it looked like the tub back at the manor.

"It's a bit smaller, but yes, it is rather... extravagant, isn't it." Hydrus had added.

Throwing himself back onto the couch, Vega blew out a sigh. "Figured you two'd work it out sooner or later. No point in needlessly delaying the inevitable, ya know? All you have to do is give the password and the door'll open. I can open it from this side if need be. Figure it might be a good place to work on homework, actually."

"Well, it certainly beats the din of the common room." Said Hydrus.

"Can we get food whenever we want?" Asked Viola.

"As far as I can tell, you can. Your dad ever tell you about the house elf the Malfoys lost? He works here now. Made friends with dad, since he was the one who tricked your grandfather into freeing him." Vega explained. "Dad said this place used to belong to a former headmistress or something, too. So I guess it makes sense that you can custom order whatever you want at any time..."

"Father never spoke much about that man." Hydrus said. "He told us that Lucius Malfoy worked for Voldemort, and that he betrayed almost everyone by the end. Seemed rather bitter about the whole ordeal."

"Guess that's understandable." Vega said, frowning. "So... if you guys want to make the trip with me, I was thinking about knocking my homework out right now. Get it all done tonight, eat down here today, and just push that annoyance away so I can focus on more important stuff."

"Like the match?" Asked Viola, grinning.

"That and figuring out what's been attacking." Vega admitted.

"Do you think whatever it is could get in here?" Hydrus asked, leaning against the back of the couch. "Are we safe?"

"Dunno. I assume so, but..."

"But?"

"Sometimes, I get this weird feeling... like something's watching me." Vega said, glancing up at Hydrus. "Dunno how else to explain it. I've searched the rooms and I've found nothing. Dobby says he and the other house elves haven't seen or heard anything. So I dunno. Maybe it's just the hole in the ceiling making me nervous."

"Possibly." Hydrus said, turning around and looking up once more. "Between the quiet and having that up there, I can see how you'd get to feeling like you weren't alone. Have you tried doing anything about it?"

"What, the hole? What can I do? I tried looking up there, but the thing goes too deep and in too many directions. It's like a series of tunnels. And you guys are the only ones I've told so far..." Vega said.

"Have you tried McGonagall? Surely she knows where this place is." Viola suggested.

"Nah. I figure she's too busy with what's going on to indulge my paranoia." Vega said, shaking his head. Getting to his feet, he sighed. "Anyway, enough stalling. Shall we go get our books?"

"If we must." Groaned Viola. "At least we'll be able to speed it up a bit. You didn't miss too much, really."

"Good. I want to be able to focus on the match. After that's over with, then I can worry about the monster. Monsters. Whatever." Vega said.

"A chimaera and something large enough to heft a student up with one hand." Hydrus said, slowly. "I honestly can't see any similarities at a glance, but..."

"But no one's gotten a good, clear look of either." Viola finished. "So who knows. The first girl was panicked, and that guy with the jerk friends pretty much got blindsided, yeah? What do you think that means?"

"It means," Hydrus said, following Vega as he walked to the door, "That this is probably all just a series of warm-ups. Isolated attacks on lone students couldn't possibly be the plan of whoever set this into motion."

"I'm more worried about when the next attack will come." Vega said, opening the door and stepping aside so his friends could exit.

"And who'll be the target." Viola added. "I know it sounds terrible, but I'm glad no one we know's been attacked."

"Don't even get me thinking about that." Vega said. "I've tried not to so far."

"So what's the best way to get back out without being seen? How can you tell?" Asked Hydrus as the three walked up the short flight of steps.

"No one comes down this way, best I can tell. I should probably get a mirror or something and figure out how to make it invisible. That way we could just stick that out through the fake wall and check." Vega said. "And honestly, it doesn't matter too much. The door's still password protected. Unless one of us gives the password, no one's getting in."

"Unless they make a lucky guess." Hydrus said.

"Not with the current password." Vega stated, grinning crookedly.

"I suppose that's fair enough. So, are we ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Let's get this work over with..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Author's Notes: Hmm. Chapter seemed a little short to me, but it clocks in at standard chapter size. Not sure what that means, aside from the fact that it was an in-between chapter and those tend to usually be a bit lackluster. A lot of things going on behind the scenes, of course. About three or four plot points are brought up, and that's just the stuff I can think of without scanning through it again.

Games have slowed my writing a bit. Sudden influx of new stuff. That and writer's block. Terrible bit of writer's block, actually. I just have NOT wanted to sit down and focus my efforts on this or my side project. And it's getting rather irritating, as I'm decidedly not making my two chapters a month self-imposed deadline. Hopefully, once I figure out how to squash this writer's block, I'll get a bit better. We'll see, I suppose.

Plus there's the problem that what I really want to write about is like two damn books of material away. I've rearranged two of the books, actually. What was 5 is now 4 and vice versa. Mostly because it just works better. Mostly because book 4 is a SERIES of big changes. Book 4's gonna be really effin' weird anyway. Most of it isn't going to take place at Hogwarts. And that's all I'll say about that for now.

So many characters to surprise you with... at least one of them is going to happen at the end of this book or the very beginning of the next. I may have this one show up over the Christmas break. Just to make people go "Wait, what the hell? That can't be right!" The next big character moments are both in book 3. One due to a new character (technically) showing up. One involves a character you've already met!

Ah, I love teasing future revelations.