The rest of the semester flew by. I got top grades in all my classes, and was improving on the quidditch pitch. Apparently Arabella was so proud, she wrote home to her parents about me. Now, the first Hogsmeade trip I was ever going to take was also going to involve meeting her parents.

Arabella and I became fast friends. I think she enjoyed having another female on the team. Besides us, the seeker and the keeper, there was James, Jack Gowan, and Reginald Fitzbert, the other guy in our year, as Chasers. Hugo Weasley and another boy from fifth year, Marcus Swift, were our beaters. I was glad having a friend like Arabella. She and I would push each other farther and faster in anything we did, making us perform better in school, and on the pitch.

Soon, the weather got really, really cold. I was bundled up so much I looked like a Gryffindor marshmallow, whereas my friends were comfortable in sweaters. "How are you not cold?" I demanded.

Georgie shrugged, and winked. "It's not California anymore, love. And you should be thankful. Usually, by now, we'd have a couple of meters."

I grumbled, but was thankful it hadn't snowed… yet.

Finally, the Hogsmeade trip came up, and a group of us went together. I had never seen it before, and was completely enchanted. I stuffed my face at Honeyduke's, already knowing from my birthday present that I'd love it, and came away with so many bags of candy I had to charm my pockets with an Undetectable Expansion Charm.

"If you eat all of that by yourself, Benedetto, you're going to become a marshmallow, instead of just looking like one." Carly laughed.

Jane just nudged her, and said, in a staged whisper. "Don't worry, I'll slip her a sleeping potion later so we can have it all to ourselves."

Everyone was still laughing as we made our way to Zonko's, where I got a couple of presents for friends in the States. We then took a break at the Three Broomsticks for butterbeers before going on our way to the bookstore that Arabella's mom ran.

"Just think," Jane sighed dreamily as we walked along, "This is the last Saturday before winter break." She beamed at everyone else, but quickly frowned. "But that means three weeks before we see each other again!"

Georgie laughed. "You know we'll be over at each other's houses all the time, dear."

I shuffled my feet nervously. "And, well," I said, looking down at the ground, "my parents want me to invite all my friends over for a New Year's party…" I trailed off as I realized I was walking alone. I turned around, and was met with nine different looks.

Jane, Carly, Georgie, Arabella, and Jack all were whistling and cheering.

"PARTY!" Arabella bellowed. She ran up to me, "Can I bring along Eddie, please?"

I nodded and laughed. Edward Garrason, a 7th year from Hufflepuf, and Arabella had just started dating. Everyone thought it was such an odd match, considering Eddie was clueless when it came to quidditch and Arabella was clueless with everything but that.

Hugo, Lily and Rose all looked up at Albus, who sighed. "We'll talk to Mum."

I grinned. "I can't wait!" I jumped up and down like a rabbit the rest of the way, much to the embarrassment and amusement of my friends.

We finally reached the bookstore, and I was in shock. It was perfect. There were books everywhere, and not just magical ones. Most of it, actually, was muggle works. I teared up and hugged Albus, who only laughed, but later secretly confided in me that he had had the same reaction the first time he had been here.

We filed into the shop and were greeted by a lady who looked almost exactly like her daughter.

Her eyes sparkled as she took in our cold forms. "Arabella," she hugged her daughter tight, "go upstairs and tell your dad you're here. I'll close up."

And so we shuffled up the stairs, and up to a little flat that occupied the second story. I gasped as I saw Oliver Wood. I was going to meet one of the best Keepers in the league!

"Hey, dad!" Arabella rushed up to give him a fierce hug. Albus, Lily, Rose, and Hugo already knew him, but Jane, Georgie, Carly, and I needed introducing.

"Ah," his eyes twinkled as he shook hands with me, "this is the American Potter, then?"

I blushed. "Hardly, sir."

"Please, it's Oliver. I'm not old." He laughed as his daughter scoffed.

"Hate to tell you the truth, dear," Arabella's mom came up the stairs, "but you are." She tucked a piece of brown hair behind her ear as she gave him a swift kiss on the cheek. She then turned to us. "Come in and sit down. What's this about an American Potter?"

I protested, "I am not comparable to Harry Potter. I'm a good seeker, but never like him."

Oliver's eyes twinkled. "We haven't seen the Potters in a while, have we Lizzy?"

His wife laughed. "No, we haven't. Perhaps we should pay them a visit with Caroline in tow. What d'you say, Al?"

Albus grinned. "She'd beat him, and he'd complain it's because he's out of shape, but really he's just old."

I blushed even more furiously and everyone had another laugh.

Soon, the conversation moved to other topics, until Wood took me aside. "What's your best time?"

"In a match?" I started thinking.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Um, 5 minutes and 20 seconds, sir, but that's only because the beater on the Ravenclaw team was being an idiot." I was right, too. I would've caught the snitch before then, if that stupid beater, Victor Fletcher, hadn't tried to ram me head on.

He nodded again. "That's a very good time, still. Harry's time was 2 minutes 30 seconds. It's a damn shame he didn't go into quidditch professionally."

"Um, I don't mean to be rude, but did he have better things to do?" Everyone else, who had stopped talking and started listening to our conversation, laughed at my question as Oliver ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment.

"Wait 'til you hear what Oliver did in his seventh year, dear." Elizabeth continued to laugh as she recounted the tale of Harry Potter's Firebolt.

We were each sent off back to Hogwarts with a cup of cocoa. I had just finished it as we entered the castle doors. "Tell your mom thanks again, Ary," I said as we ascended the stairs.

"Hey, Lin," Lily poked me, "are you going to invite anybody else to the party?"

"Well, you lot are all supposed to bring your families…" I trailed off.

Carly smacked me in the back of the head like she did whenever I did something she deemed stupid. "Dolt! We need more people. I'll post something on the bulletin board in the common room."

Lily looked pained. "What about people in the other houses?"

I knew she was thinking about Scorpius Malfoy, a boy in Slytherin that was friends with Albus. I felt indecisive. "I don't want all of Hogwarts showing up at my house. I mean, geez, it's big, but it isn't, well, Hogwarts!"

Lily looked crushed. I sighed in defeat. "Alright, invite whoever you want. But where the hell am I supposed to find food for everyone?"

Georgie clapped her hands together. "It can be a potluck!"

I scowled. "Fine. Take over my party. Would you mind telling me what time I have to be there? I don't want to be rude, after all."

Jane winked at Carly and both of them each took hold of an arm of mine. "My my, we are snarky, aren't we?"

The next day we were all leaving to go home for the holidays, so we went to our respective dorms and packed. I fell asleep looking out the window, after writing owls to all my friends in the states, and to my parents, explaining how our house was probably going to explode with people over the holidays, excited for the next two weeks to happen.