Making up for the last chapter, this one is longer and juicier! Once again, thank you gentle readers for your endless patience. I really appreciate those that stick with me. Write a comment or send me a message letting me know how you liked it!

"Miss Greengrass, you'll be partnered with Iain Bradley this term," Professor Flitwick read off his list. A near-supersonic squeal from beside her threatened her eardrums. She felt cold and then suddenly hot. Her cheeks were surely on fire with a blush as Iain looked over at her and smiled.

He's just being polite. And kind. And those dimples are just so incredibly… Astoria managed a gentle smile back and then looked quickly down at her parchment where she'd been mindlessly doodling roses and vines. But maybe he likes me too.

The class was a blur of light and shy glances, with them alternating turns at Lumos Maxima. They didn't speak much during class, no thanks to Tullia rather conspicuously constantly looking over to Astoria (though she wasn't sure what exactly her friend expected them to do), but as Astoria packed up her things at the end of class she couldn't help ask.

"So what do you think of the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"Ah yes, the Lady in Pink. I suppose time will tell. Roger Davies was saying something about her coming from the Ministry. His brother works there, you know? Said she was not someone you wanted to cross."

"Oh that doesn't sound good," she said, more playful than serious. "But as you say, time will tell."

Time did tell, as they found out sooner than expected. Astoria had invited Iain to join her and Tullia for lunch that day, but he had already made plans with Reggie Chambers. She and Tullia had arrived fairly early and were sitting without any other students nearby.

"They're both trying out for Chaser positions," Tullia explained.

"How do you already know all this? We got here YESTERDAY."

"You know it's not my fault that I just know everything." Tullia grinned and stuffed an oversized bite of spiced meat pasty in her mouth.

A sickly sweet voice came from behind them. "Ladies take smaller bites, dear." They both turned around to see a disapproving Professor Umbridge watching Tullia critically. Astoria wanted to laugh - Tullia's cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk's - but something about the professor's expression made her think otherwise.

"Of course, Professor," Astoria offered as Tullia chewed frantically.

Once she was a safe distance past, the girls giggled stealthily. "Well, she's going to be fun," Tullia wiggled her eyebrows.

Ancient Runes turned out to be the right decision. It was just like their writing in code, only with the added bonus of magical enchantments. There was something beautiful about how one could spell out magic, just with a quill and a wand. It also distracted Tullia enough for her not to ask Astoria about Iain every two seconds. They left class with great plans to expand their mythological interests into the Norse sphere.

"Oh, hey Astoria! Tullia! Wish us luck!" They'd only just secured some of the good study chairs in the Ravenclaw Common Room when the rushing forms of Iain Bradley and Reggie Chambers tore through the Common Room. Reggie didn't stop as he yelled, but Iain paused briefly, looking directly at Astoria.

"Good luck, you nutters. Don't tryouts start in, oh…" Tullia checked the clock, "exactly two minutes?"

"Good luck, Iain." Astoria was rewarded with a smile like the sun. And then he was off again, yelling at Reggie to wait up for him.

"That'll be ace if they end up on the team, won't it? Then you'll have a perfectly legitimate reason to stare at Iain." Tullia grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. Astoria rolled hers and smacked her friend playfully on the shoulder.

Distracted with the novelty of homework for new subjects, they were in the same chairs when both Reggie and Iain returned.

"Alright then?" Astoria was curious to know how it went.

"Oh, you should've seen 'im." Reggie nodded towards Iain. "Blood marvellous, he was. He's like lightning on a broom. If ye're not payin' attention, ye'll miss 'im."

"Reggie was great too," Iain cut in. "His aim is amazing. I swear he was barely looking at the hoop!" Reggie groaned and elbowed him. Tullia didn't miss a beat.

"Why, what… or dare I ask WHO was he looking at instead?"

"Cho Chang," Iain replied gleefully. "Mate, she is way out of your league."

"Don't I know it. But in my defence, she was bloody killin' it as Seeker. It was professional interest… mostly."

Astoria wondered how Cho was doing after the horrible end to last year. To tell the truth, she can't say she'd thought much of Cedric Diggory over the summer. Being away from Hogwarts had kept it all at arm's length. But Cho had been dating him. Aren't you lucky, that you could forget?

Apparently Tullia's thoughts ran along the same track. "She's playing Quidditch again this year, eh? That must be tough for her."

"Well, I 'eard 'er tellin' Davies that she wanted to keep things as normal as she could. Though I suppose we'll find out if she can't focus on th' matches."

"Oy!" Iain elbowed Reggie again, but this time didn't seem in jest. "It's not ALL about Quidditch."

"Blasphemy!" Astoria heard Reggie say, but she was too busy trading a secret smile with Iain to laugh.

Before Astoria knew it, the first week of classes had come to an end. She got to work on Freezing Spells with Iain in Charms on Friday, and he seemed as curious and ready to learn as she was. Astoria was relieved, to say the least. She wasn't sure what she'd have done if Iain turned out to be a skiver. Poor Tullia had been paired up with a Hufflepuff boy who seemed more interested in doodling obscenities in his textbook than helping his partner try to freeze the bowl of water in front of them. As they packed up their books, Iain smacked his forehead.

"Merlin's teeth! I can't believe I didn't tell you - I got on the team!" He seemed to be afraid to look directly at her; his head flitted up from his bag to her face, then back down again.

"That's fantastic, Iain! Congratulations! When do I get to see you play?" Was he blushing?

"Oh, not for a while. The first match is with Hufflepuff at the end of November, isn't it?"

"Of course." That sounded right. She wasn't quite as obsessive about the match dates as Tullia was.

"But, you know… the first Hogsmeade visit is before then."

Astoria caught herself before asking what that had to do with Quidditch. Oh. OH. He's going to ask you out, you ninny! She could practically HEAR her best friend squealing in her head. Could she say yes? She had to ask Daphne if she was going before she could answer. Blast.

"Have they posted it then?"

"Yeah - it's early this year. First weekend of October. I… don't suppose you've plans?"

And there it is. "Oh… well… I can't say I have, as of yet." Did she sound like she was rejecting him? Or leading him on? Astoria wasn't sure she'd ever felt so gauche.

"Well… if you want to, maybe, go with me…" Iain's voice dropped as he spoke.

"I'd like to!" She rushed to assure him. "I would! I just need to check with my sister. My parents are… overprotective sometimes. They only want me to go if she's going."

Iain frowned, but looked understanding. "Ah. That's rough."

"Yes, well," she sighed, in agreement as well as relief. It wasn't the entire truth, but it was enough. "But I'll let you know, alright?"

"Yeah, alright."

Tullia practically had to be sedated when Astoria told her after class. Sometimes - most times, actually - it felt like her friend was more certain about all of this fancying business than she was. Her own thoughts felt caught up in a double eight loop. Sure, she'd noticed all the little details about him: his kind smiles, his silly little quips, the way his slightly wavy hair fell across his forehead… but had she noticed them because she was looking for things to like? Or did notice things because she already liked him? Was she thinking about him often because she liked him? Or was she building the whole thing up in her head?

At least she had the Hospital Ward to distract her. When she arrived on Monday, Madam Pomfrey had an entire basket of cotton flannel that needed washing. It looked as though someone had been murdered over it.

"What happened here?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"The Weasley Twins." The tone of her voice was as dry as a glass of Muscadet, complete with notes of sharpness, exhaustion, and resignation. "I tell you, it's a wonder they haven't been expelled yet. They brought Katie Bell in on Saturday with a nosebleed that was decidedly persistent and then had the audacity to tell me that she'd swallowed a Blood Blisterpod. During a Quidditch practice? Please. I tell you, the absolute nerve of them."

Astoria got out a washbasin and began filling it with hot water. "Is she alright?"

"Ultimately, yes. She lost quite a bit of blood and was severely out of sorts until it was replenished, so she stayed the night. A Blood Blisterpod, really!" she muttered. Astoria waited patiently; she knew too well what Madam Pomfrey was like when she was irritated. "No need to worry, though. I stopped the bleeding and she was back to normal by Sunday morning. It's what those twins are up to that has me distracted. I've spent most of the weekend trying to create a better antidote to whatever those menaces brewed up. It's not perfect, but it's close. If you could get those pads soaked, sanitised, and put away, you would be quite the help."

"Of course, Madam Pomfrey." She'd heard about the Weasley twins and their pranks before, of course, but this sounded positively dangerous. Why would anyone want to CAUSE someone to bleed uncontrollably? What was wrong with them?

Astoria got the pads cleaned and put away and helped Madam Pomfrey prepare some of the ingredients for her antidote brewing. She recognized many of the ingredients from the potions she'd learned to make for herself - dittany, yarrow, bloodroot. It surprised her sometimes how much she'd managed to absorb about Herbology and Potions considering she was only in her third year. But spending as much time as she did in the Hospital Ward, one tended to pick things up.

Before Astoria could figure out just how it had happened, it was suddenly the first weekend of October. After Charms on Friday, Iain asked if Astoria would meet her in the front courtyard after breakfast the next morning. She'd smiled noncommittally and then raced down to the Slytherin Common Room to talk to Daphne. How had she forgotten? She'd been on pins and needles about the Hogsmeade trips for weeks now… did she not want to go? Or did she want to go so badly that she didn't want to have false hope?

Sometimes Astoria wondered if other students did the same mental acrobatics as she did.

"Ooh, a Ravenclaw. You lost, little bird?"

"Looking for a book?"

"Took a wrong turn on the way to the library, did you?"

She wanted to roll her eyes but instead ignored the jeers. She was sure she'd recognise at least one of the Slytherins coming or going into the Common Room who might be able to call Daphne out, but so far she'd been unlucky. Finally, she spotted a familiar face.

"Awww, it's the Little Greengrass isn't it?" Pansy Parkinson was walking with… was it Millicent Bulstrode? Astoria had only met her once or twice in passing. But Pansy… Pansy she was very familiar with.

"Pansy, could you tell Daphne that I need to speak with her?" The girl smirked, surely planning something, and gestured with her head.

"Tell her yourself. Come on in." She then called out the password, and in they went.

It seemed silly to Astoria all of a sudden that she'd never given a second thought as to what the other Common Rooms might look like. Ravenclaw felt like home, with its blue wingback chairs and study desks and bookshelves, its skylights and staircases. In stark contrast, the Slytherin Common Room was, well, swanky. Where light poured through windows and skylights in Ravenclaw Tower, a cool green glow seemed to emanate from their windows and Astoria realised they looked out into the lake. She wondered whether the Giant Squid ever made an appearance.

"Come on then. You can wait in here." Pansy didn't seem to have any inclination to wait for her, so Astoria picked up her pace and followed the girls to a room done all in silvers, greys, greens, and black marble. The soft glow of sconces and overhead globe chandeliers made it seem much more intimate and comfortable that she'd have imagined, being underground. Pansy and Millicent had not stuck around to see she was properly settled, so she sat herself down on one of the chesterfields and peered about curiously. Lots of snakes, obviously, carved into the stone and in the gilt on portraits and benches. Her mind drifted off to Ancient Crete and the Minoans. They had a snake goddess, if she recalled correctly. And were into bare breasts.

"Let me guess, you're trying to figure out which book to steal." Perfect timing, as usual. Daphne had found her after all. I suppose one must never underestimate the power of gossip - especially with Slytherins.

Astoria ignored her sister's comment. "Are you planning on going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?"

"Ugh," was her response. Astoria waited for her sister to elaborate, but nothing came.

"...ugh?"

"I'm just not sure it's worth it. Pansy learned a new hairstyling charm and we were going to try it out."

Astoria narrowed her eyes. "What do you want, Daphne?" Her sister was many things, but stupid was not one of them. She'd never seen her play chess before, but Astoria expected her sister would likely wipe the floor with her. If she wanted to.

"Only for you to write Mum and Dad and tell them we had a lovely time in Hogsmeade together."

Astoria raised an eyebrow. This seemed too good to be true. "I'm guessing that you and I won't actually be spending it together."

"Lord no!" Daphne guffawed. "I have much better things to do than babysit my younger sister."

"Deal," she agreed quickly, before her sister fleeced for anything more.

She met Iain near the end of the queue, where students were lined up in front of Filch to leave the castle. They smiled shyly at each other and made comfortable small talk while they waited. Just in front of them, Tullia stood with Deedee and Harriet, gossiping loudly. Tullia would occasionally wiggle her eyebrows at Astoria, who tried desperately not to blush - or smack - her friend.

"I overheard that fourth year Michael Corner talking to Cho Chang about something happening at the Hog's Head today."

"Ew, the Hog's Head? Who would go in there? And what would be happening there?"

"Maybe they're planning something for the Quidditch team?"

"That doesn't make sense - Michael Corner's not on the team," Tullia said authoritatively. She turned around to include Iain. "You're not headed to the Hog's Head, are you?"

He looked a little taken back by being addressed so frankly. "Uhh… no, I wasn't planning on it."

"There, see? Not a Quidditch thing. I bet they're trying to get hooked up with Firewhiskey or something against the rules. Risky move, with that Umbridge woman playing tyrant this year." She winked at Astoria and Iain and turned back.

"Have you ever had Firewhisky?" Astoria asked.

"Uh, no. But my mum did let me try some mead last year. It was her fiftieth birthday, and we held a massive party for it." He smiled a little at the memory, his dimples flashing, then looked up at her. "Have you tried it?"

"Mead? No. Not Firewhisky either. My parents do let us - me and Daphne - have a bit of wine occasionally, though. Mother thinks it's important for us to properly appreciate it. Do you really think they're smuggling in alcohol?"

"Eh, I doubt it. I bet it's more likely that they're off on a double date." He leaned in towards her and lowered his voice. "I heard that Michael Corner is dating Ginny Weasley… and I heard that Cho has her eyes on Harry Potter, of all people. Maybe they're going to the Hog's Head to keep it a secret? After the 'incident' last year, Potter's been a pretty easy target for the Prophet and other tabloids. And what with Cho's past with Cedric… well, the Prophet would make a meal of it."

Astoria didn't think much of Harry Potter - he seemed to be the centre of so many people's conversations, without really having done much to deserve it. But she couldn't imagine the speculation he was under. "It must be annoying to have your every move watched and commented on."

Their conversation came to a natural pause that lasted until Filch's quick inspection of them. The caretaker had always put Astoria on edge - as if he were always expecting the worst of everyone. But once past him, Iain flashed his killer smile again. "So… how do you feel about The Three Broomsticks?"

The day had been as perfect as she could have hoped. The brisk wind on their walk made the warm Butterbeer an even better reward than usual. They spent a significant amount of time in Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, followed by a little music shop that Astoria pulled Iain into excitedly when she spotted it. He seemed amused and delighted that she could sightread music on the little upright piano in the shop.

"Lessons," she explained. "Just like the wine. If appreciating an aged Syrah and playing Chopin is the secret to lifelong success, I'm set." They laughed.

On the walk back to the castle, the wind buffeted them on their way. Squealing with laughter and adrenaline as each gust pushed them forward, Astoria found her hand in Iain's. He held on to it the entire way back to the Ravenclaw Common Room, crowded with other returned students who were loudly comparing their Zonko's purchases and sharing Honeydukes hauls.

Astoria suddenly felt awkward. It had felt easy to be in Hogsmeade with him, talking about music and parchment, or holding hands as they battled the breezes. But now as other students looked up at them and noted their connection with interest, she felt too visible. She feigned an itch on her nose and let go.

"I guess I should get back up to my dorm… see if Tullia's back."

"Ask her if she found out any more about the illicit Firewhisky smuggling. Or backroom date." His dimples flashed at her, and she felt butterflies in her stomach.

"Yeah, alright." She smiled back automatically - his smile was infectious. "I'll see you later at supper."

"You will." She turned towards the staircase. "Oh, and Astoria?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for a great afternoon." He smiled at her again.

Tullia was going to have an apoplexy.

The perfection of her trip to Hogsmeade was followed by chaos and confusion. On Monday morning, a sign on the Ravenclaw noticeboard announced that all student organisations and teams were disbanded, courtesy of Professor Umbridge - or rather, the 'High Inquisitor'.

"High Inquisitor? What century does she think this is?" was Tullia's response. "This better not affect Quidditch!"

It did not take too long to discover that it did, in fact, affect Quidditch, as well as the Frog Choir (which made Harriet nearly cry), and any other team - until High Inquisitor Umbridge signed off on it. The Common Room bustled with loud conversations and discussions.

"We have a plan," Iain said at lunch, as he joined Tullia and Astoria. "Roger Davies is set to talk with Profess… I mean, High Inquisitor Umbridge after dinner. I think it'll be all right. His brother Chester works at the Ministry, and he thinks that will help him make his case."

"That's all well and good," Tullia said sceptically, "but it seems absolute bollocks that we HAVE to do that. What in the celestial heavens does Hogwarts need a 'High Inquisitor' for?"

The days settled into an unsteady rhythm. Astoria and Tullia made a point of staying quiet and focussed when the High Inquisitor showed up to Ancient Runes class, staring imposingly at each student. Elsewise, they spent many an hour out of the way in the Library reading, or in the Astronomy Tower making star charts.

And then there was Iain. Who she was officially 'with', whatever that meant. He would smile at her and sit with her and Tullia at dinner and supper sometimes. When he wasn't at Quidditch practice (which had, as expected, been reinstated), they found time together working on Charms homework. Sitting on a chesterfield in the Common room, his warm body would press up against hers, causing tingles of anxiety and excitement. He'd once brushed a tendril of hair out her face, and she had felt hot all over. When she'd relayed it to Tullia, her best friend had asked for a play-by-play.

"I swear, it's like you're dating Iain through me!" she joked. But instead of immediately laughing, Tullia blushed then tried to hide her reaction with awkward laughter.

As strange as it seemed, Astoria sometimes wondered if Tullia was more interested in Iain than she was herself. Sure, the times they'd spent together studying were lovely and sometimes exciting, but what exactly was she feeling? Did she really like him, or did she just like feeling wanted and admired? Iain was lovely, truly, and as easy to be around as Tullia often, but she was sure wasn't in 'love' with him. Love! She wanted to laugh at herself. I'm only thirteen, for Merlin's sake.

She kept her doubts to herself as the days passed. November arrived, and with it the long-anticipated Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw match. Astoria and Tullia had screamed themselves nearly hoarse, as Iain and Reggie scored goal after goal. Hufflepuff was decimated by Ravenclaw, and a celebration to remember followed it in the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Tullia told her that she'd seen a team of upper-year students bewitching the skylights to shimmer like disco balls, showering the high-ceilinged room in dancing light. It was as if they were in a cascade of falling stars. Music played too loudly, and everyone cheered over it with whatever remained of their voices as the team entered the party.

After the flurry of hugs and high fives, Astoria and Iain ended up in one of the window seats. Bathed in spangled light and relative quiet, they shared a sweet kiss.

Not long after, Iain was pulled back into the festivities. Astoria stayed by the window, touching her lips and trying to understand what had just happened. Her first kiss. It had been perfect, hadn't it? The lights, the view, the moment. And yet, it didn't feel right. It should have felt more, shouldn't it have? Shouldn't she be deliriously happy right now, head spinning, heart racing? Instead she just felt confused.

Tullia found her there and knew something was wrong. But in a strangely mature moment for her friend, she didn't ask what was wrong. She just took her hand and said "let's get to bed, yeah? It's chaos down here."