"Amethyst, we're here." Draco nudged her awake. They gathered their stuff and climbed out of the bus. They could see that the sun was just beginning to rise so they headed towards Hogwarts Castle. As they neared the Quidditch Pitch, they noticed that they weren't the only ones out.
"Looks like Harry and Ginny are enjoying some early morning flying." Amethyst waved as they stopped near the Pitch's entrance. A few moments later, they were joined by Harry and Ginny.
"You two are up early." Draco said as they headed toward the broom shed.
"Whenever we're at Hogwarts we like to fly around the Pitch early in the morning. We don't get much broom time otherwise." Harry answered.
"We weren't expecting you two until later." Ginny said as she put the brooms away.
"Traveled by Knight Bus. These barn owls are too injured to travel any other way, and it was much faster than any other transport." Amethyst explained. They headed up to the castle without much conversation. "Have there been anymore attacks?" She asked as they passed Hagrid's empty cottage. "Hagrid still at the castle?"
"No attacks, but they have been spotted along the tree line. McGonagall refuses to let anyone venture too far from the castle. There has even been talk of cancelling Hogsmeade weekend." Harry said. "If it goes ahead, all students will have to be back at the castle early. Sixth and seventh years have been taught the aracnis charm and are to help out if any acromantulas approach the path to Hogsmeade. Bane doesn't see them actually coming out of the forest though. The centaurs have been keeping a closer eye on what's been happening inside the forest. With the temperatures getting cooler, the acromantulas aren't venturing as far from the den as they have been."
"You two look dead on your feet." Ginny noticed that both Amethyst and Draco were only pretending to be okay.
"Not much sleep Friday night. It's a story I'm not sure I want to go fully into at the moment." Amethyst glanced at Draco. "But there is one thing I want to say before we get too close to the castle. My family went to great lengths to hide the truth. I don't care about who my maternal grandparents were, but there may be those who do. The Karkaroff family doesn't have the best reputation. Nor does the Avery family."
"We won't say anything, but you should let McGonagall know as soon as possible, just in case anyone tries anything." Harry replied.
"Kyle Roberts." Draco nearly growled the name. "If he comes anywhere near Hogwarts or Hogsmeade, I want to know."
"He works for the Ministry, doesn't he?" Ginny looked at Harry.
"Department for Misuse of Magic…" Harry answered and Amethyst nearly choked.
"That's ironic…" Amethyst stated. "I've known Kyle my whole life and he has misused magic more times than I can count… and that was just one summer he was home from Durmstrang."
"Maybe he's changed." Ginny said.
"Not likely. He's been hanging around my father." Draco remained calm. "If he goes anywhere near Amethyst…"
"He attacked me once. Before I met Anthony. Kyle has never taken kindly to my rejections." Amethyst answered their questioning expressions.
"We'll keep an eye on him." Harry said. They had reached the courtyard where the hippogriffs were. "You two should get some rest, we'll see you later." He and Ginny headed into the castle.
"Here." Amethyst traded the owl cage she had for the one Draco had. "The male is for you. He should be okay in a couple of days as long as he's kept quiet until then."
"Are you sure? I mean they were a gift from Hagrid." He took the male barn owl but questioned it.
"A gift for both of us. I was to keep the female and you were to take the male. Those were Hagrid's directions when he wrote me the other day." She smiled at him. "Guess they'll need names." She looked at hers. "Nyx."
"What?" Draco looked confused.
"Greek goddess of the night. Nox's counterpart. Since 'nox' is a charm, I didn't want to use that, so Nyx works instead." She explained.
"Then…" He thought for a moment while he cycled through his knowledge of Greek mythology. "Erebus." He smiled. The look on Amethyst's face told him that he didn't need to explain that Erebus was Nyx's consort. "Now, let's get some rest. I'll find Scorpius at lunch." He squeezed her hand and reluctantly let go. "See you at dinner." She nodded. He headed into the castle while she headed into the tent that was still set up in the courtyard. She would talk to McGonagall about building a more permanent structure soon. As soon as she settled into bed, she fell fast asleep. Orion was curled up next to her pillow, purring softly.