The trio said good-bye to Luna and wished her luck as she proceeded to the line of nervous first years. This year, they wouldn't be taking the boats; they would be driven to the castle in horseless carriages. When they approached them, Blaze halted and Konata staggered backward. "What is that?" she gasped. Shiro grinned, continuing toward the stagecoach. "It's a carriage, Konata. Scary, is it?"

Konata shook her head rapidly, shaking and backing away, now speechless. Blaze, who appeared a bit shaken herself, slowly pointed to the front of the cart. "I'm pretty sure she's referring to those things pulling the carriages," she murmured. Shiro blinked, following Blaze's finger with his eyes. He playfully knocked on her head. "Did you happen to forget over the summer that this is a school for MAGIC? It's the norm here for the carriages to pull themselves."

"Shiro, what ARE you talking about? There are things pulling the carriages. Can't you see them…?"

Shiro sighed, a bit of impatience inching into his expression. "No, naturally I can't, there isn't anything there… What do these things look like, hm?"

"Winged horses," Konata and Blaze said in unison. Konata started to explain more, but looking at the seemingly invisible creatures seemed to silence her voice box.

"They're sort of reptilian… And, they look more like horse skeletons with bat wings than Pegasus," Blaze indicated. Shiro's eyes widened.

"Oh, wait! If I'm not mistaken, those things… Those are Thestrals! Have both of you… seen death and fully accepted the incident?"

Both girls nodded morosely. "I was in the room shortly after my dad stabbed my mum," Blaze told him quietly.

"And I held my great-grandmother's hand as she passed," Konata said in an equally as soft voice.

"I see… I've read about these creatures called Thestrals. They're only visible to those who have seen death, but if you never fully accepted it, then you can't see them. I'm sorry I started thinking you two are nutters… Come now, we should get going."

The girls nodded in silent agreement.

The sorting was relatively similar to the previous year's, except for the introduction of the new DADA teacher: Gilderoy Lockhart himself. Nevertheless, Konata, Blaze, and Shiro were excited to see the sorting from another point of view. Luna was sorted into Ravenclaw, so naturally she sat with Shiro. He felt uneasy about this at first, but by the end of the magnificent feast, Shiro decided he had most certainly made a new friend.

Except for Lockhart's disastrous, childish lessons, this year seemed almost uneventful. That is, until spread of word that something deep in Hogwarts called the Chamber of Secrets had been opened for the first time in 50 years. The students pressed Professor Binns to explain that it was a secret chamber created by Salazar Slytherin, who despised wizards who weren't purebloods. Rumor, as well as legend, stated that a monster lie deep inside the chamber.

"Don't act on such high alert, Konata, this is all rubbish. Muggle born hating monster my foot! Nobody's gotten hurt, have they?" Shiro reasoned one day. Konata looked up from her Astronomy homework, terror suddenly ablaze in her eyes. "Haven't you heard? Mrs. Norris- you know, Filch's cat that patrols the halls at night- was petrified. And Filch is a Squib! No, not a Muggle born, but not a pureblood either!" she squeaked.

Shiro shook his head, patting her shoulder. "It's all rubbish, Konata. Don't worry. And put that homework down, we're on a break."

Konata got to her feet, avoiding eye contact with Shiro. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now… Blaze is going to have a practice session with Neville and I. Good-bye." Before Shiro could protest, she hurried off with her books clasped to her chest.

"She's been acting awfully odd lately…" Shiro remarked under his breath. With a small shrug, he gathered up his bag and went back inside.

The months seemed to fly by. After last year, Blaze and Konata didn't dare leave the school grounds on Halloween. Satoshi and Shiro spent all 7 days of Christmas break at home, Shiro to spend time with Opey and Satoshi to play pranks on the poor little elf. Konata and Blaze stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Verdent the entire break.

Konata was still acting odder than usual, disappearing often and working herself harder than normal. Shiro often asked if she was okay, each time receiving the answer "Of course, I'm fine," but Blaze chose not to question her about it. It wasn't until February 14th that Konata seemed to drift back to her old self.

"Why looky here, Shiro! Konata's got even more admirers than last year," Blaze commented with a smirk, eyeing Konata's small pile of valentines. Shiro didn't even bother to read his stack this year, and wrapped up ¾ of the candy he received to send home to his siblings.

Konata scrambled to hide her cards from view. "No, I actually have less than last year… Most of them are from one person, I've been getting them for months. They write these cheesy little poems, it's so sweet… I-I feel kind of bad though, because I've been writing letters to the boy I have a crush on," she said quickly. In a flash, Blaze snatched up one of the pink pieces of parchment and scanned it over. She made a sort of choking noise.

"Oh my gosh. I'd recognize this hand anywhere. Konata, your biggest secret admirer is LONGBOTTOM!"

Konata's face went crimson. "A-are you kidding? My, that's… wonderful! Because, th-the boy I like IS Neville!" Blaze and Shiro's jaws dropped.

"He is?" they shrieked.

Konata nodded, fidgeting in embarrassment. "I-I mean, he's so CUTE! Plus, we have so much in common… We're clumsy, we're looked down upon, we excel in Herbology, we're bullied…"

"You're bullied? By who?" Shiro asked, becoming serious.

Konata gave a motion with her hand, waving Shiro's words away. "Never mind. I think he might return the feeling… I mean, half of the time I've disappeared, I've been practicing spells and studying with him. And if it IS him who's been sending these notes…"

Blaze firmly placed her hand on her shoulder, eyes flickering. "I say ask him!"

"Y-you think I should?"

"Absolutely! Go get 'im."

Konata nodded, cheeks turning even pinker. She stood up, brushed off her robes and straightened her ponytail, took a deep breath, and left calling out, "Neville!"

Blaze whistled. "Konata and Neville, huh? I should've seen that one coming." She turned to Shiro. "Do you like anyone yet?"

Shiro bit the inside of his cheek, looking away timidly. "I might fancy a certain blonde companion…"

Blaze couldn't help but blush. "Oh do you now…?"

Shiro glanced up and grinned. "Oh my gosh, don't think I'm referring to YOU, Blaze. No offense, of course. It's just, I've found myself falling for… Luna."

Blaze nodded, her shoulders falling in relief. "Oh, cute. And good. It'd be so awkward to have my best friend crushing on me…"

Shiro laughed. "I'll say. So. Who does Ms. Alexanders have her eye on?"

Blaze shrugged. "I haven't found my someone yet. I will eventually, I'm sure, but we're still pretty young."

"Mm, true. I don't know if I should advance toward Luna just yet… I mean, she's still a first year. That might be, you know, inappropriate. I'll wait a while before I start getting real serious about the whole relationship saga."

The two sat chatting and munching on chocolate until Konata returned about 20 minutes later. She ran toward them, stumbling in the snow and huffing big clouds of breath into the air. Either she was freezing, or she was blushing a whole lot.

"Oh, my goodness… I. have. a. BOYFRIEND!" she shrieked. Blaze and Shiro were on their feet in a flash, smiling from ear to ear.

"Neville likes you back?"

Konata nodded animatedly. "I came over, and before I even said anything, he asked me to be his girlfriend! Poor bloke was shaking like an earthquake… But naturally I said yes! Hugged him too, to show I was sincere… Oh, I'm so happy!"

"And we're happy FOR you," Blaze and Shiro told her. They opened their arms to bring her into a hug.