I headed back to the common room alone. Bored with everyone at Hogsmeade except me, I pulled out the Marauder's Map—knowing subconsciously I should be doing homework—and began to study it. It was very interesting, seeing the teachers move about, and the younger students that stayed behind.

Suddenly, my eye caught something strange. A little dot labeled Peter Pettigrewstruck my sight. It was heading down a corridor by Lupin's office.

I jumped off my bed and ran downstairs. I followed my map throughout the corridors until I reached Lupin's office. However, I realized with a jolt, the dot was moving the way I had come. I whipped around. No one was there.

I started running. I ran until I was almost right on top of the dot, but there was no one there.

Suddenly, I tripped over something living on the ground. Screaming, I watched as a rat scampered away. "Stupid rat!" I called after it, and thought painfully of Scabbers.

"Haile!" came Lupin's voice behind me. "What are you doing?"

I got off the floor, embarrassed. "Nothing," I murmured. "I tripped."

"I see. Haile," he said suddenly. "What is that?" He pointed at the map in my hand.

"Oh, nothing," I said, beginning to stuff in my pocket, but Lupin took it fro me in an instant.

"How did you get this?" Lupin asked, wide-eyed.

"I…I found it," I stammered. "How do you…"

"Yes, I know this map," Lupin said shortly. "I know it well, actually….Anyway, I'm surprised you didn't turn this in earlier. As a teacher, I can't let you have this back."

I nodded. "I understand. I apologize, sir," I told him.

I trudged back to the common room, still mulling over the fact that Peter Pettigrew was shown on the map when he was supposed to be dead. I rubbed my sore knees. They still hurt from the fall. Stupid rat…

When Ron arrived back later, he gave me more Honeydukes sweets. We played a game of wizard chess by the common room fire.

Hermione approached us later that night, tears streaming down her face. "I—I just thought you should know," she stammered. "Hagrid lost the case. Buckbeak's going to executed."

"No!" I said, standing up suddenly. "No!"

"It's true," Hermione sobbed. "It's over!"

"No it's not," Ron said, standing up too. "We'll help, Hermione."

Hermione flung herself around Ron, sobbing harder. "I'm so sorry, Ron!" Hermione wailed.

"It's okay," Ron said, puzzled, awkwardly patting her back. "He was old…maybe I'll get an owl now."

I was so relieved our trio was back together.

During our next Care of Magical Creatures lesson, Hagrid was a complete and utter mess. We tried to comfort him as best we could.

Malfoy was no help, and I was sick of him, especially after the dementor incident at my last game.

As we walked back to the castle, near the lake, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle was in front of us, talking.

"Look at him blubber!" Malfoy laughed. "Pathetic, the great big oaf."

Hermione's face narrowed maliciously and Ron made a furious move towards him, but I got there first.

I threw back my hand and smacked Malfoy's face as hard as I could. My hand left a red mark across his pale, arrogant cheek.

"Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic!" I snapped.

Malfoy looked dumbfounded. "Did you just slap me, Potter?" he asked, his jaw dropped.

"I'll do it again," I warned.

Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles, and made quick movements towards me I would have thought impossible for people of their size. I scoffed. Like they would do anything to me.

However, they kept moving towards me threateningly. They proceeded to lift me up and drag me towards the lake, while I struggled and kicked.

"PUT ME DOWN!" I screamed, grappling for my wand. It wasn't in my pocket—when they lifted me up, it had fallen out.

Malfoy laughed as he trailed behind us. Ron jumped him, choking him as they staggered into a nearby tree.

Hermione followed me, pulling her wand out. She was too late to aim a spell, though. Crabbe and Goyle had already thrown me.

I screamed, helpless, as I landed in the cold lake water. My feet touched the rocky bottom and I floated to the surface, blowing my wet hair out of my face.

Hermione had tied up Crabbe and Goyle by the time I had surfaced. She was screaming at them, red-faced.

Ron was running towards me, and Malfoy was on his trail.

Ron helped me out of the lake. I coughed out water. Malfoy laughed at me. "I didn't tell them to do that," he said, looking at my dripping, glaring face.

"I swear, Malfoy," I told him, ringing my hair dry. "You are the most foul, evilest, most arrogant boy I know!

Malfoy laughed. "Whoa!"

Snape appeared out of nowhere. "Miss Granger," he snapped. "Why do you have Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle tied up?" His lip curled.

Hermione pointed at me. "They threw Haile in the lake!"

"What proof is there of that?" Snape asked lowly.

Ron gaped. "LOOK AT HER!" Ron yelled. "SHE'S SOPPING WET!"

Snape said, "Don't speak to me like that, Ron. Perhaps Miss Potter wanted to go swimming."

I burst out in hysterical laughter. "Right."

"Fifty points from Gryffindor," he said, looking at Hermione, "for harassment."

"I wanted to go swimming?!" I screamed at Snape, shivering.

Malfoy cut in. "Professor, I saw the whole thing. Haile slapped me," he said, pointing to his red cheek. "And then Crabbe and Goyle threw her into the lake. Hermione here," he continued, wincing, "was just helping her friend."

Crabbe, Goyle, Hermione, Ron, Snape, and I gave Malfoy stares that questioned his sanity.

"Haile slapped you?" Snape repeated. "And Crabbe and Goyle threw her into the lake?"

"Yes sir," he said.

Snape shook his head, and walked away, muttering something like, "And they said pigs can't fly…"

We all shrugged. I looked at Malfoy. "What was that for?" I asked.

Malfoy handed me my wand. "I couldn't have you thinking I was a cruel, heartless jerk," he said, smirking. "See? I have a heart after all."

"We're late for Charms!" Hermione cried, and we ran up to the Charms classroom.

When we reached the classroom, I said, "Hermione, could you do a spell to dry me?"

But Hermione wasn't there.

"She was right behind us!" Ron said, surprised.

As I walked into the classroom, everyone stared at me. "I got thrown into the lake," I explained.

Everyone burst out laughing, and Professor Flitwick dried me quickly, promising he would talk to Crabbe and Goyle later and take points away. Hermione didn't turn up all lesson. Before Divination, Ron and I rushed up to the common room. Hermione was napping at her usual table.

"Hermione!" I called. She woke with a start.

"What…what happened?" she asked, disoriented. "Oh, no, I didn't forget to go to Charms, did I?"

"You did," I said, sadly. "But you were right behind us…"

"Oh, no! I better go to apologize to Professor Flitwick! See you in Divination!" she cried, running out the door.

She showed up for Divination luckily. We had moved on from palmistry to crystal balls. Every class was like the same: she predicted my death in the nearby future. I rolled my eyes every time.

Hermione was in a skeptical, laughing mood this particular class, and when Ron stared into the misty ball and declared there was going to be fog tonight, Hermione and I couldn't keep our giggles in.

Everyone looked in our direction. Parvati and Lavender looked annoyed, but everyone else, amused.

Professor Trelawney moved in our direction. "Let me see," she said impatiently. "Oh yes…it's closer than ever, my dear. It's the Grim."

Hermione snapped. "Oh, not again!" she burst.

Professor Trelawney eyed Hermione with anger. "You know, you have been nothing but cynical from your first day. I predicted someone around Easter would be leaving us, didn't I? And here she is."

Hermione laughed. "Well, there's something you can put on your resume! I'm out of here!" she said, leaving the classroom.

Ron and I stared after her dumbfounded. "I think she's finally snapped," I said, eager to get out class to talk to her.

The Easter holidays were nowhere near as relaxing as I hoped them to be. The homework load was stressful, and with Quidditch practice on top of it, it was unbearable.

The Slytherin-Gryffindor final match was approaching in a frenzy, and Wood was pushing me harder than ever every practice.

Malfoy was back to his loathful self, and walking around the school was very hard. The Slytherins all shot malicious sneers at me throughout the day and Snape was colder to me than usual.

I could only eat very little at meal times, and the night before the match, I ate nothing at all.

"You're going to be fine!" Hermione assured me.

"You have a Firebolt!" Ron exclaimed.

I felt like throwing up. Wood yelled, "Team, bed, now!" I rushed up to bed, hardly getting any sleep.

When the team and I entered the Great Hall that morning, the entire school excluding the Slytherins burst into applause. I grinned broadly at everyone.

Before I left the Great Hall for the Quidditch field, Cedric Diggory pulled me aside.

"Haile," Cedric said quickly. "Just letting you know…the last game I played with Malfoy…I noticed he has this bad habit of diving too fast without seeing the Snitch…and if you bump into his right side, he falters while going for the Snitch."

I listened intently, nodding. "Thanks!" I said. "I'll remember that."

"I just don't want to see Slytherin win, you know?" he said, his eyes twinkling. "Good luck."

He squeezed my arm before I rejoined my team to walk down together. My heart soared and I knew I could do anything.

On the way down, I spotted Crookshanks running into the woods, but he wasn't alone. There was a huge, shaggy black dog with him. I stared, my heart dropping, but I had no time to dwell on this.

Wood spit last minute pieces of advice before we left the locker rooms. "H," he said, looking into my eyes. "I believe in you. You can win it for us. You can do it. Catch the Snitch early and all is good. You can do it."

The team patted my back as we walked out, and I no longer felt nervous. I was determined and ready. I clutched my Firebolt. My Firebolt and I had developed a relationship—together, we were a team.

"Mount your brooms," called Madam Hooch after the captains shook hands. "Three…two…one…"

The crowd went wild throughout the whole game, every score, every save, every dive…Lee's commentaries were more enthusiastic than ever, but I tried not to pay attention.

I had to focus on one thing only: catching the Snitch. I didn't even let Malfoy's jeers towards me penetrate my brain.

I noticed the Slytherin Beaters were singling me out. They both were hitting Bludgers only at me, which was stupid, because our Chasers were scoring like mad.

After I dodged every Bludger for the next ten minutes, they gave up.

Slytherin began scoring a bit after that, and soon, we were neck-in-neck.

Both of our teams began to get very competitive and very dirty. Fred and George began to get angry when the Slytherin Beaters began to hit our Chasers with their clubs. They began to elbow each other, and I tried to stay out of the fights.

Both teams were awarded penalties, and after that, Wood yelled at us to keep our hands clean and to get on with the game.

Then, I saw the Snitch, glittering above my head, about twenty feet. I zoomed upward, gaining speed on it. Malfoy was on my tail, but not fast enough.

My hand reached out, but a jerking sensation pulled my broomstick backward.

Malfoy had leaped forward and grabbed my broom.

The crowd went wild, and Lee Jordan was cursing into the microphone. Even the teachers looked furious.

"Penalty!" Madam Hooch shouted.

The game was still tied a half-hour into it. Sixty to sixty. Malfoy was following me everywhere, and I didn't mind. As long as I knew where he was…

Then, I looked up, and saw every single Slytherin player heading towards Katie, intent on blocking her. "No!" I screamed, zooming towards them. I collided with Flint and the two Beaters, and Katie's way was clear. She scored.

"Thanks, Haile!" Katie screamed, zooming back to help Alicia.

Then, I saw Malfoy dive. The Snitch was at the end of the Quidditch pitch. He was just enough distance away so that I could catch up.

We were neck-in-neck as we zoomed towards it. The crowd saw—they remained silent in anticipation—Lee Jordan's voice wasn't roaring anymore—even the Quidditch players had stopped, the Quaffle floating forgotten to the floor.

At the last second, I followed Cedric Diggory's advice of bumping into him ever so slightly.

It worked. Malfoy dropped a bit, and I reached out and my hand closed against the Snitch.

The crowd exploded with applause, cheers, and deafening roars. I landed, my cheeks wet from the pressure and the adrenaline that had built up. The crowd found me at the same time my team did.

Fred and George grabbed either side of me, not letting go, and the rest of the Gryffindors hoisted us up on their shoulders. I was so happy, I could have produced the world's best Patronus.

Dumbledore passed Wood the cup, and seeing his face light up with excitement was all I needed.

After the game, after the team had washed up in the locker rooms, I sensed Oliver Wood lingering. It had been his last Quidditch game at Hogwarts, and he was probably feeling nostalgic.

The girls left, with one last hug for me, and Fred and George had already been gone planning a party in the common room. Wood noticed me smiling at him, and walked over. "Haile. You are amazing. Really, thanks for coming through. My last year at Hogwarts and all."

"Well, it wasn't just me. You're the best Keeper ever. It's going to be so sad without you on the team next year!"

"I'll miss you too," he said, grinning mischievously.

"So, I guess this is good-bye?" I asked, sadly, thinking about the good times and the bad times we've had the past few years. I mean, Wood was the one who had showed me the ropes of Quidditch, really trained me hard, and was there for me always.

"Guess so," he said, walking closer. He tucked my hair behind my ear. "You're gonna be something great, Haile, you really are."

The triumph of winning the Cup lasted until June. Exams were soon, and even Fred and George were studying for their O.W.L.'s. Us third years ourselves were quite preoccupied with our own exams coming up, and Hermione was beginning to go a bit mad.

"WHERE'S MY ARITHMANCY BOOK?" she screamed one evening in the common room. She had bags under her eyes, and her hair was a mess. I sympathetically pointed to the chair next to her.

She glanced at it, huffed, and ran upstairs.

Hermione's moody outbursts weren't the only thing that we had on our plates. Buckbeak lost his case, and he was going to be executed—soon. All three of us were very heartbroken, and I wanted to kill Malfoy.

It was his fault some poor innocent animal was going to be killed! Not to mention the heartbreak this would cause Hagrid.

As exam week came in a blur and passed slowly in a tortuous period of time, and finally, it was Friday. After Defense Against the Dark Arts, we only had Divination left.

Lupin muttered to me as I left the classroom, "Absolutely superb! Full marks."

I grinned widely as we trudged down to the lake, to celebrate the end of exams with the rest of the school. Hopefully this time I would stay dry.

However, we met a strange visitor on the way down—Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. "Haile!" he said, pleasantly as he saw me. "Great to see you—however, not at the best time. I'm here to be a witness for a execution of a hippogriff."

"Oh," I said, sadly. "Does that mean they will kill it?"

Fudge opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, two wizards joined him at his side. One had an axe attached to his belt. I gulped.

We left quickly after that, and were distracted the whole way through our break. Finally, Ron and I trudged up to the North Tower to take our last exam.

"What is the exam this time?" I asked wearily to the crowd of kids who were already there.

Neville answered. "She's seeing us separately," he said, shrugging.

"Great," I murmured.

No one would say a word, as Trelawney threatened something would happen to them if they did, as they left her office and ran downstairs.

Ron went first, and after, he came out, rolling his eyes. "Probably failed. I made up most of it…guess you're next."

"Haile Potter!" she called.

I went into the office in the back of the classroom. "Hello," she drawled in a misty voice. "Sit."

I took a seat opposite of her, in front of a large crystal ball. "Now, tell me what you see."

I wanted to get out of there quickly. "I see a dark shape," I said, bored.

"Yes? What is it?" she pressed.

"A shark," I told her, firmly. "Yes, a shark."

"Is it attacking anyone?" she gasped.

"Um, nope. It's just…you know…swimming."

"I see. Well, anything else?" she asked, disappointed.

"Ah…no."

"Then we'll leave it at that. Goodbye, Haile Potter," she said.

I grabbed my bag, eager to get out. However, I took merely a step towards the door when a strange voice belted out behind me.

I turned around, frightened, but no one was there besides Professor Trelawney. I gasped at the sight of her. Her eyes rolled back behind her head. I stood there, frozen, wondering what I should do.

"It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord will be joined by his servant for the first time in twelve years. The Dark Lord will rise again with his aid…greater…and more terrible. Tonight…before midnight…the servant will rejoin…his master…"

I gaped, jaw dropped, hands involuntarily trembling.

After a couple seconds, Professor Trelawney seemed to wake up. She looked around, distantly, and finally snapped to attention.

"Oh, sorry, dear," she said, waving me off. "Dozed off. Have a good day…be…careful."

I ran back up to the common room to tell Ron and Hermione. However, my thoughts were interrupted by Hermione's tear-stricken face, and Ron's pained expression.

"What's happened?" I asked, horrified.

Hermione threw a note at me. Hagrid had scribbled something about the execution taking place at midnight.

"No," I barked, my hands shaking once again, not bothering to read the rest of the note.

"Yes," Hermione said, shrilly. "And we're not supposed to go down."

"We'll take the Cloak," I argued. "We have to. Hagrid will be heartbroken."

Ron nodded, gulping. "Let's go…after sunset. I don't want to…see it."

Hermione sobbed harder, and I hugged her tightly.

We waited anxiously for the next few hours. The sun lowered dangerously in the sky, and Hermione grew tenser every time it moved an inch.

Finally, the sun disappeared over the horizon.