Rachel sat next to Millie in the Great Hall, Theo on Millie's other side, and looked at the food spread out on the table. Part of her agreement with Severus and Madam Pomfrey was that she was allowed to take her meals in the Great Hall if she was actually eating something at every meal. After eating breakfast all summer and for a few months before that, she hadn't expected it to be that difficult.
Instead her stomach was churning and she felt very on edge. She glanced further down the table. It was early enough that only about a third of the House was there, which now meant a little over ten people. Everyone was sitting in small groups, their expressions no less worried than they had been last night.
She had taken one of the newspapers from the stack at the end of the table and glanced over the headlines. Apparently news about what had happened at Hogwarts hadn't had time to make the morning Prophet. It wouldn't take long for people to find out.
"Anything?" Millie asked as she served herself some eggs.
Rachel refocused her eyes on the paper. "Three dead in Warwickshire. A muggleborn, a half-blood, and their child. At this rate there won't be any muggleborns left in Britain. They'll have either fled or been killed."
Theo shook his head. "The Dark Lord won't be happy with just that. He wants control over the Ministry. It wouldn't surprise me if that's what he wanted in the first place and he's just using the blood purity shit to get there."
"Then he should have just run for the Minister's office. By all accounts he was well liked enough," Rachel said, setting aside the paper and serving herself some of the scrambled eggs. She could do a piece of toast, some scrambled eggs, and some pumpkin juice. Hopefully.
"What does that mean?" Millie asked.
"Things we shouldn't talk about in the Great Hall," Theo said with a glance across Millie.
Rachel nodded. She had never told them about her lessons with Professor Dumbledore last year. They didn't know about the Dark Lord's former life.
Pansy, Daphne, Draco, and Blaise took seats across from them.
"This is creepy," Blaise said, gesturing further down the table.
Rachel glanced down the table again. There still weren't many students there.
"It's better for us," Draco said. "I'd rather not walk around Hogwarts as a target."
"We shouldn't lower our guard anyway," Theo said.
"Believe me, I'm not. But I'd rather have one wand drawn on me than a dozen," Draco said, frowning even as Pansy wrapped her arm around him.
Rachel would rather that too, but she'd also like to be aware of where the wand was coming from. At least before she mostly knew who her enemies were. She began to eat, telling herself to just take one bite and then she could put her fork down.
"Rachel?"
She turned. "Hi Viola. Are you alright?"
"Fine. Haley and I have the whole dorm to ourselves. Gordon is the only one in his dorm. Are you allowed to fly now?" Viola asked.
"I'm allowed to fly now," Rachel said, reminding herself that she at least still had her team and her study group.
"Good. When are we starting practice?" Viola asked, seeming much more somber this year than she had last.
"Tomorrow at our usual time." She'd need to tell the rest of the team too.
"Diving? We're going to do diving?" she asked, perking up just a little.
"Not tomorrow, but we'll do diving," Rachel said, managing a small smile.
"Okay." Viola left to go back to sit with what was left of her year.
Scarlett wasn't up yet, but Harper and Stephen were sitting together a few seats away. "Stephen, Harper. Quidditch practice tomorrow at our usual time, tell the others," Rachel called.
"Got it," Stephen called back.
Now she found herself wondering who was missing on the other Quidditch teams. Robin finished last year, so Hufflepuff was in need of a Chaser and a Captain. Cho, Grant, and Jason had also finished, so Ravenclaw needed a new Seeker, a new Keeper, and another Beater. Katie had finished, so Ginny needed another Chaser as well. And that was assuming everyone else had stayed. She was sure rumors about who was missing from the teams would circulate soon enough, because the other teams would need to hold tryouts soon.
Either way, it was looking like a good year for the Slytherin team.
Rachel began to eat again, focusing on her eggs, since those were the most difficult part. The texture of eggs changed depending on how hot they were and how they'd been cooked. The trick was to get them at the stage where they didn't really taste like anything, but they weren't either rubbery or slimy either.
It took fifteen minutes, but she managed to finish most of her food and was now working on her pumpkin juice.
"Miss Bulstrode," Severus said, causing Rachel to jump.
Millie turned and accepted her schedule. "Thank you, sir."
Severus nodded to her. "Miss Greengrass."
"Thank you, sir," Daphne said, accepting her own schedule and frowning over it.
Severus continued through the seventh years, his eyes stopping on each of them as if he was assessing them.
Rachel did notice him eyeing her plate to see if she'd eaten when he handed her the schedule. "Thank you, sir," she said, trying not to be sarcastic or to protest that she had indeed eaten breakfast. She looked over her schedule, trying to figure out what her days were going to look like this next year.
Seventh Year Slytherin Time Table - Rachel Snow
1st period: 8:45 - 10:15
2nd period: 10:30 - 12:00
Lunch
3rd period: 1:00 - 2:30
4th period: 2:45 - 4:15
Potions: Monday and Thursday 1st and 2nd period - 1st level dungeons classroom
Arithmancy: Monday and Wednesday, 3rd period - 7th floor, classroom 7A
Study of Ancient Runes: Monday and Wednesday, 4th period - 6th floor, classroom 6A
Charms: Tuesday and Friday, 1st period (with Gryffindors) - 2nd floor, classroom 2B
Herbology: Tuesday and Friday 2nd period - Greenhouse
Defense: Tuesday and Friday 3rd period - 3rd floor, classroom 3C
Transfiguration: Wednesday, 1st and 2nd period - 1st floor, classroom 1B
"We only have to go up to the sixth and seventh floors twice a week, that's not too bad," Theo said.
"Potions first thing on a Monday morning, nothing can go wrong there," Millie said.
"I'm so glad I dropped that class," Daphne said, shaking her head.
"Me too," Blaise added.
Rachel thought that Mondays were easily going to be her worst day of the week, which was sort of nice to get it over with right away. The tricky part was going to be getting from Ancient Runes on the sixth floor all the way to the Quidditch pitch in fifteen minutes. At least Draco could walk down with her.
She looked down the table and watched Severus continuing to give out schedules. He seemed tense and worried, but she supposed tense and worried was going to be everyone's response right now. He was probably worrying about what was happening to the students who hadn't returned just like she was.
"We've got Charms, Herbology, and Defense today. We should go get our books and our summer homework," Rachel said. She didn't want to sit in the Great Hall worrying anymore.
"Let's go. Hermione and Neville are going to have to go all the way back to the Tower, so we can probably just meet them at Charms," Theo said as he stood.
Millie grabbed one last piece of toast. "Hopefully we've got this. I wonder what Gemma's going to teach."
Rachel had no idea what Gemma was planning to teach them. "I hope someone gave her lesson plans. She's only had a month or two to prepare."
"That sounds like a nightmare. You know, if I've learned anything from the DA, it's that I don't want to be a teacher," Theo said as they left the Great Hall.
"Me neither. Severus spends ten to twelve hours a week grading homework, on top of his teaching schedule, and his Head of House duties," Rachel said.
"Ugh. He should assign less homework," Millie said.
"That's what I said, but apparently people come to class unprepared if he doesn't assign homework."
"In just about any other class I'd say let them be unprepared and then they can learn from their mistakes, but it would be really dangerous to do that in Potions class." Theo shook his head. "I never really thought about it, but it's amazing Professor Dumbledore can get anyone to want to work here. Who wants to live in a school with teenagers and kids all day? I know it's supposed to be a very highly thought of position, to teach at Hogwarts, but I'm not sure it's worth the tradeoffs."
"Not for me," Millie said.
"Nor me," Rachel agreed. She suspected that Severus would have left a long time ago if it wasn't for the situation with the Dark Lord. Maybe after the war was over he'd be able to go back to inventing and brewing. That would be one good thing to come of all of this. She was trying to force herself to think of the good things, both right now, and what would come after the war. It was harder than it seemed to push herself beyond 'people won't be getting murdered'.
They assembled in the Charms classroom twenty minutes later, Rachel still fighting the feeling that people were watching her. Torey had said that was because of Rachel's anxiety, but given that the Dark Lord had said he felt like he was being watched due to their connection, Rachel was more inclined to believe that it was the same sort of feedback she was getting from him.
She took a moment to check on the Dark Lord. He was focused and occupied with something. She stayed with that feeling a moment, gently pushing to try and see if he could tell that she was there. There was no alarm, or recognition, or anything that suggested he knew she was…not exactly watching him. Sensing him, maybe?
Hermione and Neville sat down next to them, both looking a little flustered.
"Seamus and Dean are gone," Hermione said.
"They're not purebloods," Theo said with a frown.
"Dean is muggleborn, Seamus has a muggle father. Their families probably both fled this summer. Or at least, I hope they did," Neville said.
"Anyone else you know who is missing?" Millie asked.
"Justin is still here, he said his parents don't believe that they are in danger. Sue Li is gone, her mother is muggleborn. In Gryffindor, we're also missing Mary Doyle, she's a pureblood. Geoffrey Hooper's gone, also a pureblood. Toby, he would have been a sixth year, he's a muggleborn. Then a second year muggleborn, that's Paul. Edith and Mallory are both gone, also purebloods," Hermione listed. "All the rest of the muggleborns in our House are sticking it out, at least for now. I suppose it doesn't make sense to ask who is gone in Slytherin."
Theo shook his head. "We're missing twenty two people, by my count. The only one from our year missing is Crabbe."
"Is Pansy alright?" Hermione asked.
Rachel glanced at Millie, not sure how to answer that question while respecting Pansy's privacy.
"Her parents didn't want her to come back, but she's okay now that she's here," Millie answered, leaving out all of the pertinent details.
"I'm glad she's safe," Hermione said. "What do you think they're doing with the students who didn't come back?"
"Tutoring, from the sounds of it," Rachel said.
"I'm not sure I want to imagine what You-Know Who's lesson plans are," Neville said, his eyes wide at the thought.
"The Dark Lord won't be that interested in the kids, he just wants them outside of the influence of people here," Theo told them, though he didn't sound entirely certain.
The chime to start classes sounded and Professor Flitwick stepped down from his desk and clapped his hands. "Welcome everyone. I know the last twelve hours or so has been unsettling and we're missing a fair number of students. Rest assured that your Heads of House are looking into the situation, as is Professor Dumbledore. Now, this promises to be a busy year. You're going to hear this from your other professors as well, but your NEWT exams are vital to your future careers. Study and prepare accordingly. Today we will be learning the Lumos Solem spell. It requires a fair bit of power behind it, so brace yourself. I'll just collect your homework, and we'll begin."
Their homework flew into a pile on Professor Flitwick's desk with a wave of his wand and Rachel settled in to take notes. Her NEWT year had officially begun.
After Charms, where they were assigned an eighteen inch essay on Lumos Solem, they went down to Herbology and got a very similar introduction speech, assuring them that the professors were taking care of things and that they should focus on preparing for their NEWTs.
They had a lecture class in Herbology, so they were still clean when they went to lunch and Rachel focused on getting herself to eat all of a sandwich. By now information was being exchanged freely among the Houses as to who was missing and their blood statuses. While it seemed like about fifteen students had fled with muggle or muggleborn family members, the rest of them were purebloods. Gryffindor would wind up needing two new Chasers, and Hufflepuff needed a Chaser and a new Keeper.
Rachel wasn't worried even slightly about the Hufflepuff team, especially because they'd kept Felix as their Seeker. She also wasn't particularly worried about Ravenclaw. The toughest game would be against Gryffindor, primarily because Ginny was an excellent Seeker. She would write her letters to the Quidditch team coaches and ask them to come see that game once she had game dates. She wanted them to see her perform against a real challenge.
Inviting the Quidditch coaches was mostly just because she wanted them to see her play and to get a professional's opinion. She'd never wind up in the League, she'd be dead long before that was even a possibility. But she still wanted to know if she was actually good enough to have joined the League.
After lunch they went up to the third floor to Defense. Gemma was already at her desk and she looked a little nervous.
"Can we sit up front?" Rachel asked her friends.
"Sure," Millie said. "We have nothing to fear from Gemma."
"That's fine with me," Hermione agreed.
The rest of the class trickled in and Rachel was relieved that they were all accounted for. As far as she could tell from what she'd seen and heard, they hadn't lost any DA members. She supposed that made sense. People who supported the Dark Lord weren't likely to sign up for a club that would teach them to defend themselves against Death Eaters.
The chime sounded and Gemma got to her feet and stood in front of the class. "Welcome everyone. I'm Professor Farley and I'll be teaching Defense this year. I know you've all had a long history of Defense professors being terrible in various ways, because it was the same way with me. I can't promise my class will be perfect, but I want it to be useful to you and I want to help you pass your Defense NEWT. Our class goals are NEWT preparation and cementing basic skills that will help you defend yourself. I assigned a book, because we have to assign a book, but most of our work will be practical, you can write the theory stuff for homework. And, because I heard of how Umbridge did things, I can promise you that we won't be reading the textbook in class."
Rachel smiled. She was glad Gemma was their professor, but she hoped that she would be safe. She wasn't sure how many more people she could bear dying.
"Today we're going to learn the Imperturbable charm, which I think you'll find useful in a number of scenarios. This one is often tested on the Defense NEWT, both in the written and the practical. Let's begin," Gemma said.
Rachel began to take notes and decided that so far, at least, she thought she could get through this school year.
"Miss Granger, Mr. Longbottom, Miss Snow, Miss Bulstrode, and Mr. Nott, please stay behind," Professor McGonagall said directly after assigning homework and dismissing the class.
Rachel finished writing her assignment in her planner and packed her things. She already had a pretty good idea of what Professor McGonagall wanted to talk with them about.
When everyone else had left, Professor McGonagall closed the door with a wandless gesture, walked over to them, and then cast a privacy ward around their group. "It is my understanding that the five of you wish to pursue the animagus transformation, is that correct?"
"Yes, ma'am. Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood would like to as well, but they understand that's not a possibility until they are seventh years," Hermione said.
Professor McGonagall nodded once. "Under ordinary circumstances I would never agree to teach any of my students the animagus transformation. Not only is it highly involved and difficult, but it is risky. It is possible to be stuck in your animal state and never be able to return to your human form. It is possible to get stuck in a partially transfigured state and have severe deformities for the rest of your life. This decision is not to be undergone lightly. How long have you been practicing the meditations?"
"Since the summer before our fourth year, ma'am. All of us are taking this very seriously. We've all read the chapter about people who have been stuck in various states due to either a misbrewed potion or to a lack of ability with their magical preparation. We believe that we are adequately prepared, that we're excellent potions brewers, and that we're committed," Theo listed.
"Good. There are many advantages to becoming an animagus, though some of those advantages will depend on your form. One of the benefits is that it should significantly increase your connection and understanding of your magic. Most animaguses find that they have access to a greater portion of their magic after they have successfully attained their form. I am willing to teach you because all five of you have proven yourselves to be consistently responsible and dedicated students these past six years and because you all are in significant danger. I want to help you have every advantage to stay alive that I can give you. I understand that you're all receiving accelerated Defense training from Aurors Shacklebolt and Tonks?" she asked, her gaze intense.
"Yes, ma'am. We'll be continuing that training here at Hogwarts once a week," Hermione said.
"That seems reasonable. I trust that you will take the animagus training seriously. I do not want you to do any practice of the training we are doing outside of my classroom other than the meditations, which you should continue to do. You will tell no one, except for Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore, that you are receiving this training. With the exception of Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood, who obviously are already aware. To anyone who asks, you are receiving advanced Transfiguration instruction from me at the request of the Headmaster. We'll meet once a week starting on Sundays at nine o'clock, unless that is the time when your Defense training is taking place."
"No, ma'am. Our Defense training is now at four on Sundays," Millie said.
"That will give you time to rest before you have Defense training then. This will be strenuous on your magic. Can all of you hold your magic without your wand for at least ten minutes?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," they chorused, several of them nodding.
"Excellent. I'm pleased that you've already done the groundwork. I will also require that you register with the Ministry after the war is over. We'll start this Sunday at nine. You're dismissed unless you have additional questions," Professor McGonagall said.
"Thank you," Rachel said, knowing full well that Professor McGonagall was making a very big exception for them and volunteering a lot of her time to teach them.
"Of course. I appreciate that you are all dedicated students who wish to further your education, and that you are in need of some unusual methods of defense and escape," she said.
"We really appreciate this," Neville said.
"We really do, thank you," Hermione said, Theo and Millie nodding.
Professor McGonagall gave them one of her rare smiles. "It is my pleasure. Go to lunch."
They left the classroom together, each of them looking excited.
"I can't believe she's really going to teach us," Millie said. "I half expected her to say no."
"I'm just glad we don't have to do it by ourselves," Theo said. "I'd really rather not get stuck in a deformed state."
"Me neither," Hermione said. "I wonder if we should ask the rest of our professors if there are things we should know or lessons we should have."
Millie and Neville immediately looked alarmed.
"Hermione, I think we are taking as much on as we possibly can right now. We're teaching the DA, we're getting special Defense lessons, we're getting special Transfiguration lessons, Rachel, Draco, and Ginny have Quidditch, you, Neville, and Draco have your prefect duties, and it's our NEWT year. Our schedules are going to be packed as it is," Theo said.
"I suppose you're right, I just want to make sure we're not missing anything," Hermione said.
On top of that, Rachel had lessons from Professor Dumbledore for Looking through space and therapy once a week with Torey. Her weekends were packed without even adding homework or NEWT study sessions. She was going to have to make absolutely sure she got her homework done on the day it was assigned, because just like last year, once she fell behind she was never going to catch up.
"Everyone ready for Arithmancy?" Millie asked. "I still think my spell is stupid."
"I'm sure your spell is fine. I'm looking forward to it, I want to see what everyone did," Hermione said.
Rachel still didn't want to think about demonstrating her spell in front of people, but it was going to happen in less than an hour. "Let's just get through lunch first."
"We can do that, don't think about it," Theo said.
Rachel nodded. She reflexively checked on the Dark Lord. He was busy, working on something. She grabbed onto the railing so she wouldn't lose her balance on the stairs and focused a little harder. He was…she thought he might be writing. Could she tell that? She came to a stop.
"Rachel?" Neville asked.
"Just hold on a second, I've got to check something," she said. She closed her eyes and imagined reaching harder. He was busy. Focused. Focused on words. Could she make the words out? No, she definitely couldn't, but she was sure he was writing something down.
"Everything alright?" Millie asked when Rachel opened her eyes again.
"Yes, I just had to check on the Dark Lord. He's busy, but otherwise seems alright," she said. The next time she was in her dorm room she would write down that development in her two-way book with Severus and Professor Dumbledore. If she could get an idea of what the Dark Lord was doing at any given time, that could potentially be useful. Maybe she should carry that book around with her to keep track of what the Dark Lord was feeling or up to at different times of the day. They might as well use the information she could get.
They continued down the stairs.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, fine. Just wanted to check. It doesn't really feel like anything," she assured them.
"If you say so," Millie said.
Rachel glanced around the classroom and reminded herself that she was friends with everyone here. All of them were in the DA together. She didn't expect that any of them would laugh at her spell and she didn't anticipate that Professor Vector would either. Professor Vector was somewhat stern and driven, but she had always been kind to them.
"Welcome back and welcome to your NEWT year. Things will only get more difficult from here," Professor Vector warned.
Rachel swallowed. That was definitely not what she wanted to hear.
"This year we're going to continue our work on spell modification and invention. In your NEWT written exam, you'll have some equations and graphs to work with and they'll ask questions about the theory behind the invention and modification of spells. For the practical you will be asked to do a simple modification. I expect that all of you will be ready to do so by the end of the term. Now, for your summer homework, we're going to have each of you demonstrate your project. Who would like to begin?" Professor Vector asked.
Theo, Hermione, and Padma all raised their hands. Millie made a small whimpering sound.
"Mr. Nott, let's start with you," Professor Vector said.
Theo moved up to the front of the classroom, silently conjured a small table so that he'd have a place to work, and then took a book out of his bag.
The classroom was silent, each of them looking curious as to what Theo was about to do.
"As you can see, the text in this book is very small, as is the case in a number of books found in the library," Theo began, tilting the book so they could all see it. "I invented a spell that will allow you to turn an ordinary sheet of glass into a magnifying glass. I call it the Glass Magnification Transfiguration. You start by conjuring a sheet of glass, about a little bigger than a single page." He paused and did so, and then held up the glass. "At this point I also cast an Unbreakable charm on it, just in case I drop it accidentally. The incantation for my spell is Adoleo Speculus, and the wand movement is to draw your wand around the area of glass you want to have work as a magnifier, while you are focusing and channeling your magic. I suggest leaving about two centimeters along the edges. Adoleo Speculus." Theo drew his wand in a rectangle along the sheet of glass. "Now simply place the glass over your page, and the words should become easier to read." He set the piece of glass on his book, carried it to Professor Vector so that she could see, and then brought it along the row of desks so that everyone could see that it worked.
"Very good, Mr. Nott. I'll take your write up if you would." Professor Vector clapped her hands and the rest of the class joined in.
"Good job," Hermione whispered when Theo sat back down.
"Miss Granger, we'll take you next."
Hermione both looked excited and nervous as she bounded to her feet. She went to the table that Theo had conjured. "Interestingly, my spell also involves glass and channeling, but it's not a transfiguration, it's a charm. I call this the Magical Light Bulb spell."
Rachel abruptly realized that she didn't have a name for her spells. She pressed her lips together as she thought. For one of the spells, she could just call it the Steady charm modification. She wasn't sure what to call the spell that recorded her chisel movements.
"To start with, you conjure an enclosed glass tube." Hermione did so, holding up a tube about the size of her hand. "The incantation is Arca Lumarium and the wand movement is a spiral, starting in the middle, while you channel your magic and focus on light. Arca Lumarium." A bright light began to fill the glass tube. Hermione lowered her wand and the light stayed. "I'm not entirely certain how long the light will last, my original sample for when I perfected the spell a month ago is still lit. You can turn it off with the incantation Arca Nox and simply holding your wand to the bulb, but then you need to recast it when you want it lit again. I also recommend casting the Unbreakable charm on the tube, just in case. And with that, you have roughly the equivalent of a magical muggle light bulb."
The class and Professor Vector clapped again. "Very interesting. I'd be curious if you'd keep an eye on your original bulb and tell me how long the spell lasts when you discover it fading."
"I'd be happy to, ma'am," Hermione said, handing in her write up and returning to her seat, getting a clap on the back from Theo and smiles from Rachel and Millie.
Rachel decided that she'd simply call the movement spells Movement Recording charms, because that sounded alright. She wished she wasn't so nervous, but she was definitely getting the idea that her project was very different from her classmates' projects.
"Let's see, Miss Patil, you had your hand up," Professor Vector said.
Padma moved to the front of the room. "My spell is unfortunately not one that has a visible effect just from me casting it, so you're all going to have to give it a try." She set down a small metal statue that was covered in runes. "I invented a variation on the spell to detect magic artifacts that detects a general level of ambient magic. It's a little harder here in Hogwarts because there is so much ambient magic, but this statue should still give off a different ambient magic than the rest of the castle. The incantation is Deprehendere Amplus Medius and you move your wand back and forth in a circle, like a circle with a wavy line," she said, demonstrating. "After you cast it, while you're still focusing and holding your wand, you should see shimmering to indicate the presence of ambient magic, the more shimmering, the higher level of ambient magic. Hogwarts is about at a medium level overall, though I've found some spots that are much stronger, and this statue is fairly strong. Go ahead and give it a try.
Everyone pulled their wands and said the incantation while performing the wand movement. Rachel nearly dropped her wand. She wouldn't call the effect shimmering as it looked more like the stones all around them were crawling with shiny insects. The statue that Padma had set out was almost buzzing. Rachel set down her wand and thankfully the effect went away immediately. It was an interesting spell, but nothing she cared to see ever again.
Professor Vector was looking around with her wand still outstretched as she observed the effect. "Fascinating. Very good, Miss. Patil." They all applauded as Padma retook her seat next to Susan.
"My spell is so stupid," Millie whispered to Rachel.
Rachel patted her arm. "I'm sure it's not," she whispered back.
"Alright, who would like to go next?" Professor Vector asked.
"I'll go," Susan said, getting to her feet. She moved to the front of the classroom. "I also did a modification of a spell. I modified the barrier ward so that it can be crossed, so it's not exactly a barrier ward anymore, but that's the base spell. However, when someone crosses it, it lets out a loud bang, but only to the person who cast the spell. That way you know someone is coming, but they don't know that you know. Handy for when knowing when your parents are coming your way, or if you're doing something sneaky and want to know if someone is coming in your direction. The incantation is Ferio Salvus, and you focus while drawing your wand along where you want the ward to be. This requires a little channeling too, but not as much as for the barrier ward itself. I suppose this is one you should all try so that you can hear the effect."
"I must ask, where did you all learn to channel before your seventh year?" Professor Vector asked.
"Rachel taught us," Susan said steadily. "She taught me when she was teaching me the Shield charm. About two years ago. It took a fair amount of practice, but I got the hang of it."
Professor Vector looked at Rachel and Rachel shifted in her seat. "Professor Snape taught me in fourth year, for the tournament, and I taught my friends when it was useful."
"I'm impressed that you learned to channel so young, but then you were also conjuring in your fourth year as well. I have heard that you all have corporeal Patronuses as well. Most people do not have the drive to learn this sort of magic before it's introduced in class," Professor Vector looked pleased. "Let's stand up and try Miss Bones' spell."
They moved around the classroom.
"What's the incantation again, Susan?" Padma asked.
"Ferio Salvus," Susan said. "You'll have to have someone else go across the line, it won't recognize you."
Rachel teamed up with Millie so that they could cross each others' wards. Rachel half jumped out of her skin when Millie went across the invisible line, she hadn't expected it to be nearly that loud. Millie startled slightly too when Rachel crossed her line. "This could have been useful in fifth year," Millie said as they took their seats.
She nodded. It would have been nice to be able to set it up and know if anyone had wandered down the corridor to the Room of Requirement while they were holding the DA. She was glad she didn't have to worry about that anymore.
"Very nice, Miss Bones. You certainly wouldn't miss that spell going off," Professor Vector said, Susan returning to her seat as the class applauded. "Who is next?"
Daphne stood up and moved to the front of the classroom. "My charm is a little silly, but it's also useful for some people. I have a number of brushes and combs that remove frizz and static from my hair, but I wondered if I could make a charm that would do it just with my wand, because sometimes you're just not in a place where you can use a comb when you notice something is wrong with your hair. The incantation is Nullus Cirratus and you move your wand in a slow swirl as you bring it down the strand of your hair. You can use it on about a small handful on your hair at a time, so to do it all takes about five minutes. I suggest you use a mirror so you can see if you've got it all. I've already done my hair today, but the effect is more noticeable on those with curly hair. If Rachel or Hermione would like to volunteer for my demonstration?" Daphne looked at Rachel with a pleading expression.
Rachel stood up and moved to the front of the classroom.
Daphne conjured a stool and motioned for Rachel to sit down. "I'm going to take a piece of her hair and run my wand around it from the base of her head down to the end of her hair. Nullus Cirratus. As you'll see, it helps keep the curl defined, but doesn't cause clumping."
Hermione raised her hand. "May I try it? I think this is a spell I'd like to use."
"Sure, come do the other side of Rachel's hair, it will go faster," Daphne said.
Rachel sat, feeling a little bit like a guinea pig as Daphne and Hermione worked on her hair. Thankfully it was over in a few minutes.
Daphne pulled a mirror out of her bag. "What do you think?"
She carefully touched her hair. She almost didn't recognize herself with her hair down while it wasn't messily sticking out everywhere. Aunt Petunia had positively despaired over Rachel's hair. It was unorderly, just like Rachel, but unlike Rachel, her hair simply couldn't be made to behave. "Thank you," she said, deciding that maybe she'd use this charm herself when she left her hair down.
"I'll say now that I don't think your spell is silly. Spells can be used for all sorts of things that can help people in a variety of ways. Personal grooming and skin and hair care are big industries, especially for Potions and Charms. Everyone wants to look nice and there is nothing wrong with that. Well done, Miss Greengrass," Professor Vector said. Everyone applauded while Daphne blushed. "Miss Snow, why don't we do yours while you are up here."
Rachel nodded, though she could feel her heart hammering. She went back to her desk and got a number of things out of her bag and then spread them out on the table Theo had conjured. "I'm afraid my spells are a little different and are only useful to a select number of people. Given that I have a persistent tremor in my hands, I've had some difficulty with writing and carving runes. I have a special quill that was taught the alphabet, so my handwriting there is clear, though it's not my own handwriting anymore. I wanted to do something similar for a chisel, so that I could carve runes legibly. This was a multi-step project and I'll demonstrate the essentials of those steps today, though not the entire process," Rachel began, hoping she wasn't boring people.
She held up a thin piece of metal. "This is what my Elder and Younger Futhark runes look like without anything to assist me." She set that one down and picked up another piece. "This is what they look like while I'm using the spells I modified. The first thing I had to do was identify the strokes that I needed for the runes. These are mostly lines in different directions, curves, and dots. After that I modified the spell used to teach the alphabet to my quill so that it would work with a chisel so that it was learning these strokes. This is a little closer to artifacting than spell invention. The incantation I used was Perdisco Lineamentum and holding my wand on the chisel. It's very important to do the stroke immediately afterward. I'll do it now with a horizontal stroke." Rachel bent over the table and steadied her unspelled chisel. "Perdisco Lineamentum."
"The second part, after teaching the chisel all the strokes, is holding the chisel itself steady while I work, as it still comes out a bit wobbly even after knowing the strokes. I modified the Steady charm to work with something that was moving intermittently. "Stabilus Lacuna Scalprum. Now when I use the chisel to make this stroke, it comes out clean," Rachel said, lifting the metal sheet so that people could see.
"Excellent, Miss Snow. A truly inspired project," Professor Vector said.
Rachel blushed, handed Professor Vector her write up, cleaned up her things, and then hurried back to her seat while people were applauding. At least it was over with.
Pansy raised her hand. "I'll go."
Professor Vector nodded so Pansy moved to the front of the class room and began pulling things out of her bag. "My spell is for the field of Herbology, but I wouldn't grow ingredients this way that you intend to use in a potion. I have some corncockle seeds here, which I'm going to place in my pot of dirt. I conjure a lot of water so they have something to work with. Now, normally, you wait a few weeks while the flowers sprout. Instead, I use the incantation Cresco Hortus, and move my wand in an angled back and forth pattern like this. Cresco Hortus." Pansy moved her wand, starting at the pot of dirt and moving in angled strokes upward. A few green stems pushed their way out of the dirt, growing taller. The ends turned magenta and then bloomed into flowers. "Then you water them again immediately because they've used up all the water you've given them. This doesn't work for magical plants, because while they'll still grow, it seems to warp them somehow and the properties aren't the same."
"Very good, Miss Parkinson," Professor Vector said. They applauded while Pansy brought her plant back to her seat. "Miss Bulstrode, if you would."
Millie looked very nervous as she stood up and moved to the front of the classroom. Rachel smiled and nodded at her, trying to be encouraging.
Millie exhaled and nodded. "My spell is very practical, but not particularly inspired. It allows you to wash the inside and outside of your windows at the same time. May I demonstrate on one of your windows, Professor Vector?"
"Certainly," she said.
Millie moved to one of the classroom windows. The incantation is Intras Foras Lavatio. You move your wand back and forth as though you were washing it by hand, starting at the top. Intras Foras Lavatio." Millie moved her wand in sweeping motions, going slowly down the window. "Obviously there's not much difference here because of the House Elves, but it sure worked on my mom's windows. She made me do all of them under the guise of practice," Millie said.
"I'm certain there would be many people who own homes who would be pleased with that charm. Well done, Miss Bulstrode," Professor Vector said. They applauded and Millie rushed back to her seat.
"Well done to all of you, this was an excellent example of the diversity of what you can do with spell invention. We're going to start with a review on graphing. Let's begin," Professor Vector said, moving to the chalkboard.
They spent the rest of the hour taking notes and were assigned plenty of homework at the end.
"Miss Snow, please see me after class," Professor Vector said when the chime sounded to end class.
Rachel frowned. Maybe Professor Vector hadn't liked her spell after all. Maybe it was too much artifacting and not enough invention.
"We'll wait for you just outside, unless you want us here with you," Millie said.
"You can wait outside, I'm not worried about Professor Vector," Rachel said. She'd also rather not have her friends listen to her get a bad grade. She finished writing her assignment down in her planner and repacked her bag.
Professor Vector came and sat down next to her. "Two things. The first is a question. Does your charmed quill already work for writing runes or is that more difficult?"
"More difficult. My quill knows the English alphabet, but drawing or just making lines or curves in different directions doesn't work very well," she explained.
"Then I would suggest getting a separate quill for writing runes and enchanting it like you did your chisel, it should only require minor modification to teach it the strokes," Professor Vector said.
Rachel thought she was incredibly stupid for not thinking of that before now. She'd been so focused on her chisel that she'd entirely missed the obvious solution to a similar problem. "That's a good idea. Thank you."
"The second thing I'd like to suggest is that after I've had a chance to review your work, and after you've had a chance to do a write up on modifying the spell for your quill, that we submit your work to the Spell Crafting Guild. I can help you with the write up for that since I am a member of the guild and know what format they want their new spells to be introduced in."
Rachel blinked at her. "Why? All I did was modify spells. I didn't really invent anything."
"The Spell Crafting Guild also accepts significantly modified spells as being new work. Since your spells are for a defined purpose and are significantly different modifications, they should be willing to accept them as such," Professor Vector said.
"Why my spell?" she asked, still trying to figure it out. Her spell hadn't been as impressive as Padma's or Hermione's.
"Because the rest of the classes' spells, while being good and good practice at inventing, are all spells that are already registered with the Spell Crafting Guild with slightly different names or incantations. Your spell is both novel and has the ability to help people. There are a number of people who have tremors, especially as people get much older, and the magical world doesn't have a good treatment for them, as I'm sure you've discovered after your experiences. While this population of people isn't necessarily large, there's no reason for them not to have things that can assist them in doing what they want to do, and some of those people will undoubtedly be interested in runes. I could see places that sell charmed quills and chisels selling these alongside their other products for people who need them. You invented this because you needed it, but there are undoubtedly other people who need it as well," Professor Vector explained.
"Well, if you really think it's useful and can help people, then I want to do it," Rachel said.
"Good. Spend some time working on teaching a quill to write runes and give me the write up once you have it complete. After that I'll review both write ups and then we can spend a Saturday getting everything filled out for a Guild review. I know that your time is at a premium while you're preparing for your NEWTs, so it is alright if this takes a month or two," Professor Vector said, getting to her feet. "Also, show your chisel to Professor Babbling and tell her what you did with it. I think she'll be very impressed."
"Thank you, I will," Rachel said, wondering where she was going to fit this project in. Maybe she'd move the time she was going to sleep back an hour or two for a few weeks.
"Have a good day, Miss Snow, please let me know if you have additional questions about the process," Professor Vector said.
"Thank you," Rachel said again and hurried out into the hallway to meet her friends. They just had five minutes left to get to Ancient Runes.
"What did Professor Vector want?" Millie asked.
"She wanted to talk to me about my spell. She thinks I could also teach my quill to write runes so that my handwriting there isn't as bad," Rachel said, not wanting to tell them about the Spell Crafting Guild. She felt a little embarrassed that Professor Vector wanted her spell and not theirs, especially when Millie and Theo were planning to join the Spell Crafting Guild after their Masteries.
"That's a great idea, I think that would really help you," Hermione said as they started for the staircase.
"I think so too, I've just got to find the time to modify the spells," Rachel said. She mentally ran over her schedule for the next week and decided it was going to have to be late in the evenings. There was simply no time anywhere else.
"I want to do some adjustments to our NEWT study schedule," Hermione said. "I'm going to wait until after I learn how long Professor McGonagall wants us on Sunday mornings though."
"That's reasonable. Some days we're going to have more time for NEWT reviews than others," Theo said. "We also need to pick a day for the DA."
"Let's get through this week and then we can figure that out," Hermione said. "We'll see you in the study room, Millie." She said when they reached the sixth floor landing.
"Good luck," Millie said, continuing down the stairs.
Rachel revised her opinion that Monday was going to be the worst day of the week for her. She now suspected that was going to be Wednesday because she had Quidditch practice after Ancient Runes and she still had a whole pile of homework to do.
"Rachel, how was your summer?" Scarlett asked as they changed into their Quidditch uniforms.
"Not bad. Stayed busy. How about you?" Rachel asked.
"Well, my mom wasn't too pleased with my OWLs, but I passed everything at least," Scarlett began.
"Shouldn't she be pleased that you passed?" Viola asked.
Scarlett sighed. "She has very specific ideas about what she wants me to do for a career and I didn't get into the Potions or Transfiguration NEWT classes. She wanted me to leave the Quidditch team, but I told her that me leaving the Quidditch team now wasn't going to change my OWL scores. So instead I'm taking Charms, Defense, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy, because those were the classes I got into, and there was no point in taking Herbology without Potions, and there's no point in taking History at all. I don't think anyone takes NEWT in history, I don't think there is even a class."
Viola looked thoughtful. "Doesn't that mean you can essentially fail your History OWL with no consequences? Or even the class?"
"Not the class," Rachel said quickly. "You can't be on the Quidditch team while failing a class, but it doesn't matter if you don't pass the OWL as long as your parents don't care."
"My parents had Professor Binns too, they don't care," Viola said.
"What electives are you taking, Viola?" Scarlett asked.
"Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies. I'm bad at math and I don't want to learn runes and Professor Snape said Divination isn't really any use," Viola said, sitting down to do up her shin guards.
Rachel returned her attention to her equipment and put on her bracers. "How was your summer, Viola?"
"Boring. Incredibly boring. I wanted to join one of the summer youth Quidditch leagues, but my parents wouldn't let me. They said it was too dangerous." Viola pouted.
"Because Quidditch is too dangerous? They know you're on the team here, don't they?" Scarlett asked, exchanging glances with Rachel.
"They know I'm on the team. They're just worried about all the attacks. They got someone to redo our wards. My dad works in the Ministry in the Wizengamot Administration Services. He's not exactly important but he does a lot of things for important people. He says the Wizengamot is terrified right now," Viola said, getting her broom.
Rachel finished putting on her gloves and grabbed her Firebolt. "They're right to be worried. I don't know that a youth Quidditch league would be a target, but if you see a way to be safer, then it's not a bad idea to be safer."
Scarlett nodded. "I know things suck right now and it's scary, but we've all got to be on our guard. Everything is okay in your year? In your dorm?"
"Most of my year in Slytherin House is gone. It's just me, Haley, and Gordon. Some of the people who are gone weren't even sitting with the kids who think You-Know-Who is right last year," Viola said. "But my dorm is fine. Everything is fine so far."
"If something doesn't seem fine, or even if something just seems weird or off, tell us," Rachel said.
"Do. I think we're all worried about the House right now, but it's really the whole school we have to watch. There were a bunch of Ravenclaws involved in trying to hurt Rachel and Draco last year, and some people are missing from every House. Just be cautious and like Rachel said, tell us if something seems wrong or off," Scarlett said, grabbing her Beater's bat and broom.
"Let's go before the boys think we got lost," Rachel said, leading the way out onto the pitch.
They gathered and Rachel took a quick look over her team. Timothy and Martin had both grown over the summer, though they were more tall than broad at the moment. Stephen also had a slightly stretched look, like he'd suddenly grown more than his body had planned for. Harper was looking broader and was holding his chin high with a Quaffle tucked under his arm. Rachel had heard whispering from the other girls that Harper had become handsome over the summer, but she didn't see anything particularly different. Draco looked self assured as usual. Everyone seemed in good health, if not quite in good spirits.
"Welcome back everyone. I think our first order of business is whether or not we want to hold tryouts for a reserve Chaser so we can train someone while Draco and I are still here. Obviously, none of us expected to come back and find our House quite in this state, so our potential pool of people trying out is pretty low. What do you think?" Rachel asked.
Draco shrugged. "I say we hold tryouts and see who shows up. Worse case scenario we turn them all down. We can function this year without a Reserve Chaser if we need to."
"I think we have bigger problems if we have to turn them all down," Harper said. "We're going to have to take on a new Chaser and at least two reserves next year. If they aren't up to snuff this year, who are we going to pick from?"
"Maybe if they're not possible even as reserves this year we offer to train them," Scarlett said. "We're going to need two Beaters and two Chasers next year if we want to leave a functioning team. Maybe we do training camps with them this year and have them as reserves next year, except for one Chaser who we'll put on the team."
Martin shook his head. "Sylvia is the only one left in my year who will even consider trying out, and we probably shouldn't take a fifth year because that's going to just leave us with the exact same problem a year later. Maynard won't play anymore, he had a broom accident over the summer and says he never wants to fly again."
"Is he okay?" Rachel asked, a little alarmed at the idea that he'd been badly hurt while flying.
"He broke both his legs, one of his arms, and had a pretty severe concussion, but he's alright now," Martin said.
"And none of the remaining fourth years play either," Timothy said. "We already have the only third year who plays," he said, nodding to Viola.
"Penelope and Heather both play," Viola said. "They're second years."
"I think Penelope tried out last year, she wanted the Seeker position, right?" Rachel asked.
"She did, but I think she'd take Chaser. Heather plays Beater and she was trained by her sister Imogen, so you could probably tell her that you'll take her as a reserve Beater next year. I don't know about any of the first years, I haven't gotten to know any of them yet," Viola said.
Rachel frowned. She remembered Sylvia's tryout and how nervous she'd been in the air. And she thought Martin was right and they shouldn't take another fifth year on the team. "How certain are you that Penelope would take the Chaser position?"
Viola shrugged. "She'll take it. She knows she's not going to get the Seeker position when you leave."
"Let's have Penelope come fly with us on Sunday and we'll see how she does. We'll tell her we're seeing if her play style is a good fit for the team. If we think we can train her in a year, we'll take her as a reserve. If not, we'll see if Sylvia wants the position," Draco suggested.
"Scarlett and I will talk with Heather then, ask her if she'll be willing to join as a reserve next year. And we can tell the first years that we're recruiting a reserve Chaser and another reserve Beater next year, so they can start preparing themselves. Hopefully there will be two first years who want to play, because they're our last options at this point," Stephen said.
"Alright, that's the plan then," Rachel said, hoping that would work out. "Next item of business, we've got the same game order as last year. We're playing Ravenclaw on October twenty fifth. Gryffindor will be in late January. Hufflepuff will be the last game of the season in late April. Ravenclaw needs three new players, including a Seeker, so no worries there. Gryffindor needs two new Chasers. Hufflepuff needs a Chaser and a Keeper, but from what everyone is saying they kept Felix as their Seeker. It's still possible that might change, but I'm not worried about Hufflepuff either."
"Piece of cake," Draco said. "We all need to stay in top form but we are easily the best team in the school. Everyone stay alive and healthy."
Rachel nodded. "Any other business?"
"Has Professor Snape said anything to you about the people who are missing?" Stephen asked.
"What I know is that the Dark Lord told people in his acquaintance-"
"Death Eaters," Harper muffled the words with a cough.
"Not just Death Eaters," Draco said, giving Harper a look. "The Dark Lord's influence stretches a lot further than Death Eaters. Look who is missing. The Dark Lord told everyone within his influence to keep their children home from Hogwarts so that they couldn't be taught that what the Death Eaters are doing is mass murder."
"But what is he actually doing to the kids?" Martin asked.
"As far as we can tell, they're staying home and being given tutoring," Rachel said.
The team traded skeptical looks.
"So they're just not going to come back to Hogwarts? Ever?" Stephen asked.
"I think we have to take things as they go," Draco said. "The war is only going to get worse from here and it's pretty impossible to say what things are going to look like in a year."
"How can it be worse?" Viola asked, her eyes wide.
Rachel gave Draco a firm look. "There will probably be more attacks, but there's really nothing any of us can do about the war within Hogwarts except for preparing ourselves. That's why we have the DA and that's why we have Defense class. Hogwarts is pretty safe."
"Didn't the Death Eaters almost kill you last year? In Hogwarts?" Harper pointed out.
"And they made it so that the Death Eaters can't possibly access Hogwarts again in that way," she said, though Rachel felt that Harper had a point. But she didn't want to scare people. "Right now the biggest threat to any of us is other students and we're all prepared to deal with that."
She looked over all of them, wishing she could tell them that it would be alright and that she would do whatever it took to end the war. "We're all doing the best we can. If you notice something suspicious, tell me or Draco and we'll make sure it gets taken care of. Or you can go directly to Professor Snape. Keep your guard up, but Hogwarts is pretty much as safe as it gets right now."
Harper shook his head and the others did not look particularly reassured.
"Alright, let's get moving. Chasers, drills, get used to shooting at an occupied goal again. Beaters, I know you want to work on distance this year, you're both in good shape for that. Timothy, in the goal. Viola, with me," Rachel said, deciding that them standing around talking about this was only going to make everyone more worried.
Her team moved, launching up in the air.
"Follow me," Rachel called to Viola.
"On it," Viola called, looking excited again.
Rachel took off, willing for something to be easy for once.
The seventh years in the study group arrived at their room on Friday after third period to find Ginny and Luna already there and deep in homework.
"Well, that's just about a full week. How did everyone do?" Hermione asked.
"It's going to be a long year." Ginny sighed heavily. "My team is a fucking mess. My life is a fucking mess."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Luna asked.
Ginny shook her head. "Things will get better. I just have to fix things first. We're holding tryouts tomorrow and hopefully that will be the first step toward fixing my team. I might drop a class, I don't know."
"Do whatever helps. There's no reason to take classes that are just stressing you and won't help with your career," Theo said. "And if there's anything we can do that will make things easier, we want to."
"Thanks," Ginny said.
"Luna, how many people are in Hagrid's class with you this year?" Rachel asked, hoping that Luna wasn't the only one.
"Three. Myself, Scarlett, and Felix. I think it's going to be a good class, Hagrid has promised to show us lots of interesting things and have us help with caretaking," Luna said.
"I'm glad he has a NEWT class this year," Millie said. "I still feel bad that he didn't last year."
Rachel nodded, she felt bad about that too.
"How is everyone else doing?" Hermione asked.
"Fine. Busier than I'd like to be, but fine," Draco said.
Neville nodded. "That's more or less where I'm at too. Nervous about some of our classes and our studying. I think we have less time for NEWT studying than we planned."
"I've noticed that too. Homework is pretty intense this year and our Sundays are packed," Theo said.
"I'm going to make some adjustments to our NEWT revision schedule to account for that," Hermione said. "We should talk about the weekend so that we have a general idea of what's going to happen."
"We've got Transfiguration training at nine on Sundays and we don't know how long that will take yet. We've got Defense training at four on Sundays, which I think we can assume will last until dinner. We should have after dinner on Sunday off to prepare for the next week and to take a break," Theo said.
"I've got Quidditch practice on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Saturdays are one to three," Ginny said.
"Quidditch practice for me and Draco on Wednesdays and Sundays, Sundays are one to three. I've got my Mind Healer on Saturday morning at nine, and lessons with Professor Dumbledore on Saturday evening at seven and that will last until it's time to go to bed," Rachel said. "We still need a day for the DA."
"Does Thursdays at seven work for everyone for the DA?" Millie asked. "That would probably be best for the seventh years, does that work for you two?"
"That works for me," Ginny said.
"That fits with my schedule," Luna agreed.
"What are your lessons with Professor Dumbledore?" Draco asked.
Rachel hesitated. "I can tell you, but you can't tell anyone else."
"We're pretty used to that by now," Theo said, getting nods from everyone else.
"I'm learning Looking through space. It's an advanced mind magic technique, though both Severus and Professor Dumbledore have also called it a divinatory technique, but I'm not sure why. Basically it's leaving your mind and your body to sense magic, with…well, whatever it is we have that can sense magic. Most people won't do it because it leaves your body totally vulnerable," she explained.
"Why is he teaching you that? It doesn't sound very useful," Draco said.
"We're using it for a very specific thing that I can't tell you about, but we're hoping it will help with the war," Rachel said, knowing she couldn't go further than that.
"I hate that they're doing this to you. It's not right," Millie said, her mouth twisting.
"I have to admit, I'm not very comfortable with them using you like this either. They're already using you to send messages to the Dark Lord and to get warnings of attacks. Where do they draw the line?" Neville asked, looking worried.
"They draw the line at putting me in combat. It's too dangerous for me to go fight because I'll just draw more Death Eaters and possibly the Dark Lord. Basically, the only time I'm going to end up fighting is when it's time to kill the Dark Lord," she said. "Otherwise, I don't mind helping in whatever way I can. The sooner the war ends, the better for everyone, and I'm in somewhat of a unique position of being able to get information."
"How often is You-Know-Who talking with you?" Hermione asked.
"Usually I see him at least once every ten days. He hasn't shown up yet this week, so he'll probably drop by on the weekend," she said.
"It is absolutely terrifying that you can say it so casually, you make it sound like he's coming over for tea," Ginny said.
Rachel shrugged. "It's uncomfortable and it's a little frustrating, but I'm trying to prevent him from killing people in my name. The more I can successfully play his game, the longer I can put off that happening. And it turns out you really can get used to anything."
"It's a shitty thing to have to get used to," Theo said.
She couldn't disagree with that. The room was quiet for a moment, everyone seeming to gather their thoughts.
"Alright. So the DA on Thursdays at seven. Our Sundays are pretty busy. Neville, Draco, and I have school wide prefect meetings on Saturdays at ten. I think our best approach here is to do homework after classes on the days that it's assigned. That means we'll likely not be able to do NEWT revision on Mondays or Wednesdays, but we should be able to do NEWT revisions on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. We might be able to squeeze something in on Sunday, but let's see how that goes first," Hermione said.
Rachel nodded and reminded herself that she'd had more stressful years than this even with her schedule as packed as it was. And hopefully they'd find the horcrux soon and then they could push forward the date for the final confrontation with the Dark Lord. The sooner the better.