If it was possible, February was even colder than January. The daytime highs were several degrees below freezing, and the nights were even colder, not to mention bone-dry and windy. It was so cold that even the snowfall had become sparse, though the strong gusts quickly covered footprints on the pathways and reshaped person-high snow drifts.

Harry engaged in quite a few snowball fights with his friends Othniel and Tallulah, and while Ana preferred sitting on a bench along the walkway, with a novel or textbook in hand (along with a cup of hot chocolate). For the most part, she avoided being pelted by the countless rounds of frozen ammunition, but just before lunch one Saturday morning, one of Othniel's errant throws accidently caught her just below her scarf.

"Sorry, Ana," Othniel stammered. "I didn't mean to get you…"

The glare Ana gave Othniel shook him to his core; even Harry gulped at her reaction. She summarily snapped her book shut and just as she looked like she was about to get up and walk back toward the castle, she suddenly bent over, rolled up an apple-sized snowball, and let out a snicker just before she let the ordnance fly. Doof! The snowball whacked Othniel on the chin, nearly causing him to lose his balance.

"Nice one, Ana," giggled Tallulah. "I take it this isn't your first snowball fight? It's my first one – a lot of the snow we get in Georgia rarely sticks, and the snow that does stick is maybe an inch deep!"

"Not even close, Tallulah," replied Ana as she began rolling up more snowballs. "Every winter I've gone through has been snowy – and usually plenty of it! I've even helped dig snow forts, as long as the drifts were big enough…" She then chucked a few rounds towards Harry and Othniel, who attempted to duck for cover, but couldn't completely avoid the barrage.

A short while later, Jeremy Dahlgren tapped Harry on the shoulder. "Hey, I think Quentin's about to join some of the Pukwudgie and Wampus kids to play King of the Mountain." He pointed toward his south-west, where a prominent hill stood. "Are you two game?"

"Yeah, that sounds cool," agreed Harry. He looked over his shoulder. "Ana? Tallulah? Othniel and I are going to join our roommates up on that hill for a bit."

"That's fine, Harry," replied Ana. "I'll probably need to head back inside and study before I forget. I s'pose we'll see you inside for lunch in a little bit?" She looked at her wristwatch. "Before I go in, would you like to make some snow angels with me, 'Lu?"

Tallulah beamed with delight. "I've never made snow angels before. Lead the way!"

The laughter and squeals of the younger children filled the frosty Ilvermorny air throughout the day; some of the older students accompanied their sweethearts along the numerous pathways that meandered throughout campus. Even Professor Fontaine couldn't help but catch some of the harmless mayhem happening below his tower – even as he found himself lost in an ever-increasing pile of paperwork, he stood up and stretched as he made his way toward the window across from his desk.

He simply smiled at the sight of flying snowballs, kids climing up the hillside while trying not to be knocked back down, and countless snow angels just off the walkways. This is magic in its purest, most unadulterated form, he thought to himself. What I wouldn't give to be a first or second-year student again, even if just for a few precious hours.

As Fontaine reminisced, a large brown and white owl screeched at his window. "Hello, what have we here?" he wondered aloud as the owl released a sealed envelope from its grip. He took the quickest glance at the owl, before coming to a realization: "You're Minerva's personal owl Ithamar, aren't you?" He poked at the raptor's ribs with his index finger and chuckled softly. "It's been quite a few moons since I last saw you… you were a little nimbler and thinner then, but you still seem to be able to get around just fine. I don't suppose you'd like a bit of a snack before you head back off to Scotland?"

Ithamar fluffed his feathers in approval as Fontaine went to the rear of his room to retrieve a bag of crickets. "Help yourself," he said as he opened the bag and placed it on top of the mantelpiece. "You've got a bit of a long flight back, so you might as well stay here for a spell and warm yourself up… I'm sure those chilly Arctic winds cut to the bone!"

Ithamar hooted with simultaneous joy and relief while Fontaine opened the envelope and read its contents:

"8 February 1992

Dear Agilbert,

It's been a long while since we've heard from each other – ten years, if I recall correctly, when I delivered wee Harry to the Woodwards. By my calculations, he should be a first-year student at Ilvermorny. I hope he's doing well in his classes, and making good friends.

As luck would have it, a couple of astute little Gryffindor witches have recently deduced that Harry is a Horned Serpent. One of your pupils, Anastasia Harrison, corresponds with them through our mutual pen pal program, and in one of her letters she sent, she included a photograph with several of her housemates. Merlin knows, these girls may be a bit too clever for their own good, as they've accurately identified Harry in the photograph, and have sought me to confirm their discovery.

I've told them to keep their findings to themselves, and in exchange for their silence, I told them that I'd do what I can to secure a visit to Ilvermorny during our Easter holiday in April – the week after the Interscholastic Quiz Bowl.

Would such an arrangement work for you? I have four eager first-year girls that would love nothing more than to meet Mister Potter in person, and truth be told, I've been longing to see the young man myself – I promised him before I returned back to Scotland that I'd see him again, and it's a promise I've always intended to keep.

The girls' names are Daphne Greengrass, Hermione Granger, Parvati Patil, and Lavender Brown. All four are well-behaved and respectful, and you have my assurance that they will represent both Gryffindor and Hogwarts well.

Also, please give my regards to your newest Professor, Remus Lupin. I'm glad to hear he's found his calling teaching Defence at Ilvermorny. While Hogwarts can certainly use his expertise, I truly think he's exactly where he needs to be. As you likely know, there's a certain stigma associated with the same position at Hogwarts; not to mention a person with his condition needs stability, which Ilvermorny clearly provides in spades. Thank you for giving him the chance he desperately needed – like Roger, he was also one of my own.

Sincerely,

Professor M. McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress, Hogwarts"

"I suppose I can satiate their collective curiosity," he chuckled softly while stroking Ithamar's chin feathers. "I can't tell you how long it's been since I've hosted active Hogwarts students on our school grounds. I suppose there's no harm in giving our British guests a bit of a tour, though I may need to speak with Mister Potter and gauge his feelings on the matter."

The following Saturday morning, an extra-groggy Ana plodded downstairs toward the Mess Hall for breakfast. She barely sat down before numerous Horned Serpents swarmed around her, giving her hearty shoulder-claps, handshakes, and hugs.

"Congratulations, Ana," squeaked a fourth-year girl. "How does it feel knowing you've secured the Ilvermorny Quiz Bowl Cup?"

Ana just smiled blankly. "Uhm, I s'pose I'm still trying to process it myself," she offered. "It doesn't seem real."

"You've got a big trip to Scotland coming up pretty soon," added a fifth-year boy. "Are you ready?"

"Oh Merlin, no," replied Ana as she shook her head. "It's going to be much harder than last night… I have so much to prepare for…"

More and more students crowded around her as if she were an A-list celebrity, which caused her to let out a frustrated groan. "Can I... can I just have my breakfast in peace, please?"

As if her prayers were answered, Missy the trustee arrived on the scene, waving her hands as if she were shooing flies away. "Disperse, Horned Serpents," she commanded. "Yes, Miss Harrison was instrumental in last night's Quiz Bowl victory, but for the love of Merlin, leave the girl be."

A few minutes later, Harry, Tallulah and Othniel took their seats by Ana at the Horned Serpent table.

"Hey Ana," Tallulah said in a soft voice. "How's it going?"

Ana let out a small sigh before forcing a smile. "It's going, I guess. People just won't leave me alone after we won last night's Quiz Bowl. Between posing for all those stupid photos, and being mobbed by half our house – not to mention I have an interview with the Sonorus next week…"

"I'm sorry Ana," replied Tallulah. "I'm sure you didn't sign up for all that…"

"It goes with the territory," murmured Ana with a shrug. "Being the youngest regular Quiz Bowl contestant in decades, and setting the house record for most points earned in a single game…"

"And we needed every last one of them," chimed in Harry. "You scored what, a hundred and thirty five by yourself?"

Ana nodded. "Don't remind me… we scored two hundred ninety points last night, and we still only beat Wampus by ten! They weren't going to just give it to us, that's for sure…"

"They have a crazy-good team," admitted Othniel. "I wasn't sure we were going to pull it off, to be honest…"

"They're very talented for sure," agreed Ana. "Megan Allmon is their best player, and she made it as a third-year last term. That was kind of a big deal, because there are at most two or three third-years in any given term."

"But you're the best player of any house," Harry said. "You carried the Horned Serpents last night. We wouldn't have won if it weren't for you." He smiled at Ana. "And you're getting to visit Hogwarts in a couple of months. Truth be told, I'm rather jealous…"

As fate would have it, Hedwig swooped in, along with the school owls, and plopped a rolled-up parchment straight in Harry's lap:

"Dear Harry,

I hope you are doing well. It has come to my attention that four young witches from the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have become aware of the fact that you are currently studying here, and they – along with their house head – have expressed a desire to spend a week at Hogwarts during their Easter break.

You might not remember her, but Professor McGonagall plans to accompany these girls. She was the one who personally delivered you to North America over ten years ago. It would do her a lot of good to see you again, and for these young girls, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet someone of your renown in the wizarding world.

I advise you to be patient with these young ladies, as there may be some cultural differences between the North American and British realms that they may not necessarily be used to. To them, you're larger-than-life and they might not see you as an ordinary boy (ordinary as far as the wizarding world goes, at least), which is how I'm sure you're accustomed to being treated. They will undoubtedly have many questions for you; conversely, I'm sure you'll have plenty of questions for them. I do think cultural diversity is a good thing as one day you may have an opportunity to work with British witches and wizards, and perhaps even other nationalities.

One last thing… the annual Spring Dance falls during the time of their visit. Have you asked anyone yet? Perhaps Miss Harrison? If not, I'm sure any one of these four Gryffindor witches would love to have a dance with you.

A.F."

Harry grumbled to himself as he folded the parchment.

"What's that for, Harry?" asked Tallulah.

"It's from the headmaster," explained Harry. "We're having company from Hogwarts during their Easter Break. Between you and me, I'm not really looking forward to it."

Ana giggled. "I already knew that." She threw Harry a sneaky grin. "There's a certain golden-haired Gryffindor that probably wants nothing more than to be on the dance floor with you."

Harry's face turned beet-red. "Don't remind me!"

Ana pointed a finger-gun at Harry. "Soon enough, you'll be going through the same treatment I'm getting – so don't come looking at me for any sympathy!"

Harry rolled his eyes before returning to his breakfast.