The next day, right after breakfast, Harry took his leave from his Horned Serpent friends and made his way to the infirmary to pay Samantha a visit. He cleared his throat as he approached the front desk. Shannon the receptionist greeted Harry warmly. "Good morning, young man. What can I do for you today?"

"Hi," replied Harry. "I'm Harry Potter. I'd like to see Samantha Goldfarb if she's still here. Is she accepting visitors?"

Shannon nodded. "Yes, Miss Goldfarb is in our extended visit ward. I'm sure she'll be delighted to see you, Mister Potter. If you'll take a seat in the meantime, I'll have someone escort you momentarily.

"Thank you," said Harry with gratitude. He found a seat near a table with several Quidditch Quarterly issues, and whiled away his time by watching several death-defying stunts the moving photos provided. He so thoroughly immersed himself in the action that he barely heard his name being called.

"Mister Potter?"

Harry wasn't sure how many times he was called back, but he quickly set the periodical down and saw a plump elderly witch standing on the opposite side of the room. Judging by her attire and her demeanor, Harry guessed that she was an orderly of sorts. Her arms were crossed, and she seemed to have a somewhat annoyed expression on her face.

She shook her head as Harry got up and made his way toward the back of the room. "Good grief, Potter," the orderly said in a soft yet exasperated tone. "I was beginning to think you were going deaf on me. I lost track of how many times I called for you…"

"Sorry," murmured Harry. "I sorta got lost in one of those Quidditch Quarterly magazines…"

The orderly groaned. "You kids and that infernal game… there are days I wish our forebears never brought it over here. So senseless, not to mention dangerous… I can't tell you how many times I've seen students come back here for sports-related mishaps. If the Headmaster had any common sense, he'd petition MACUSA to ban quidditch." She sighed. "I'll step off my soapbox. If you'll kindly follow me."

She led Harry down a different hallway than before… this one was considerably longer, with perhaps fifteen rooms on each side. Beside each door hung various charts and signs, such as "do not disturb" or a list of dietary preferences. The orderly stopped about two-thirds the way down the corridor, indicated by a plaque that read 'Room 139: Goldfarb, Samantha M.' She pushed a small button and spoke into what looked like a square grate to the right of the door.

"Miss Goldfarb?" the orderly called out. "You have a visitor… Mister Potter. Would you like to see him now?"

They were met with silence for about ten seconds, before a groggy voice replied. "Yes ma'am."

The orderly then turned to Harry and gave him quite the severe look. "You have precisely thirty minutes, Mister Potter. I will come and fetch you when your time is up. Don't even think about asking for one second more, as you will not get it. You can see her again tomorrow during your free period, or after class." Her look darkened further. "Any questions?"

Harry knew the orderly wasn't messing around – he knew better than to push his luck. "No, ma'am."

The orderly nodded, then pointed a chubby finger toward his nose. "You'll do well to remember that visitation in this ward is a privilege, Potter. You'd best not do anything foolish to jeopardize future visits." She opened the heavy wooden door to Samantha's room, and curtly ushered him inside.

Once the door closed behind him, Harry quietly approached Samantha's bed. Her room looked far more spartan than the one he visited two years ago when his Aunt Rhonda was recovering from an emergency appendectomy. The iron-framed beds, lack of a television, and hard floors reminded him of his old non-magical history class, with the black-and-white photographs of hospitals from the 1920s and 1930s. Even Samantha's plain white gown looked like something from yesteryear.

Even more eye-catching was the bright and cheerful expression on Samantha's face. "Hello there, Harry," she squeaked. "I totally didn't expect you to come and see me. How are you?"

Harry found Samantha's smile quite infectious, so he couldn't help but return the grin. "I'm all right, I s'pose," he replied. He tilted his head downward a shade, and lowered his voice. "I couldn't help but worry about you some… I was summoned to the headmaster's office last night."

Samantha clasped a hand over her mouth. "Oh Merlin, Harry! You weren't in trouble, were you?"

Harry shook his head 'no'. "Thankfully, no. They needed my help, actually. They wanted to know everything that went on in the underground tunnel yesterday afternoon so they could best heal you. There was this Navajo professor… I don't quite recall his name, but he said that you needed something called phoenix tears for a full recovery, but unfortunately the nearest phoenix is several thousand miles away."

Samantha nodded. "Yes… Professor Haatali. He's an expert healer. He doesn't like being called a wizard – he much prefers to be called a shaman, or even medicine man. He also told me about those phoenix tears, but he did try something last night that was able to preserve most of my magic. He ground up a spice called narlant weed using a pestle and mortar, and then he performed some sort of blessing, twice actually. He chanted in his two native languages – Navajo and then again in Spanish – and then he put just a pinch in a clay pipe and asked me to smoke it." She giggled. "I thought he was off his rocker at first, but he assured me that he's administered smokable remedies to children even younger than myself before, and it's nothing at all like tobacco."

Harry smiled. "I'm glad to know that he was able to help. I swore to myself that you wouldn't lose your magic… maybe I was writing a check that might have been too big to cash…"

"Harry, it's okay," Samantha replied with reassurance. "You brought me to safety and I'll always be grateful for that." Her lips drooped, and her eyes grew heavy with concern. "Even with Professor Haatali's effort, I won't be able to achieve my full potential as a witch. Some of my magic is gone forever."

"Hopefully not enough to disqualify you from studying here," murmured Harry. "The staff in the Headmaster's office said some really good things about you, and that they'd hate to lose you as a student if you lost too much of your magic." He arched an eyebrow. "How much longer are you supposed to stay in the recovery ward, anyway?"

"Based on a couple simple tests, Professor Haatali told me that I have enough magic to finish the year for sure," Samantha said with some hope in her voice. "Professor Goode will re-evaluate things toward the end of the term. And I'll be here for the week."

"D'you want me to get Ana Harrison to maybe bring you your homework? Perhaps even go over it with you? She's as nice as she's smart."

Samantha's eyes lit up. "Oh, could you¸ Harry? Anastasia's an angel... she might not be my housemate, but she's in my year. She'd be a far better tutor than my roommates Erin and Jenna."

"I hope she gets a less strict orderly than what I got… she may be smart, but there's only so much to cover in a half hour," Harry groaned. "Maybe she'll make an exception for schoolwork?"

"Madam McTeague is a surly old cuss," agreed Samantha. "She's not Madam L-grumpy, but she's not all that far off." She offered Harry a warm smile. "She can talk to her house head and get a permission slip so she can tutor me during her free period or after school… Old McTeague would have no choice but to honor it."

"Great," replied Harry. "I can't promise she'll agree to it as she's a very busy girl, but I'm sure one or two tutoring sessions should be doable."

Samantha giggled. "You're fine, Harry. It's not the end of the world if she can't do it."

A clicking sound interrupted their conversation. Madam McTeague's voice came through the vent by the door. "Time's up, Potter."

"I gotta go, Samantha," sighed Harry. He looked at her and smiled. "I'll see you later, okay? I'm glad to see you're doing all right."

"Thanks for coming to see me, Harry," replied Samantha with a broad smile of her own. "I'll see you next time."

Harry turned around and exited the room, and followed Madam McTeague down the hallway.

At three o'clock that afternoon, Harry took his History, Herbology, and Defense textbooks and made his way to the school library. He knew this was Ana's preferred hangout, and figured she would probably be hidden behind a mountain of tomes. Being a Sunday afternoon, he was surprised that the library was as full as it was. Most of the faces belonged to older students, likely fourth-years on up, Harry guessed, but he tilted his head in wonder when he saw a tiny girl sitting by herself in secluded corner.

Upon first glance, the girl didn't seem very familiar to Harry. Her hair was put up in a messy bun, and she wore a lavender hooded sweatshirt with light blue jeans and white trainers… and was she wearing reading glasses?

Harry slowly approached the table, and before putting his bag down, casually asked the girl if he could sit there. The girl looked up at Harry, and grinned broadly.

"Hiya, Harry," she squeaked. "How are you? I haven't seen you today." She patted the side of the table across from her. "Would you like me to help you study?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "Hey there, Ana." He tilted his head. "That's… a very different look for you. I almost didn't recognize you… you usually dress, erm, preppier. And I didn't know you wore reading glasses!"

Ana giggled softly. "I didn't mean to throw you off… today's just a sweatshirt and blue jeans kind of day, I suppose." She smiled sweetly at Harry. "They're just regular glasses, by the way… I was too lazy to put in my contact lenses this morning."

"So, I have a couple of questions for you," Harry asked after hesitating for a moment. "In a little bit, would you mind quizzing me? I have Herbology, History, and Defense tomorrow. I think I know the material, but I could use a little extra practice."

"Of course," replied Ana with a sweet smile. "What else is on your mind?"

Harry took a deep breath. "D'you know Samantha Goldfarb by any chance?" he whispered.

Ana gave Harry a strange look. "Yeeeah… why are you asking?"

Harry looked down at the table. In a small voice, even quieter than before, he elaborated. "She's… the girl that got lost with me yesterday afternoon… she's in the infirmary – she'll be there for a week, and I was wondering if you could bring her classwork and tutor her during her stay."

Ana's eyebrows scrunched as she ruminated. "She's in my year, but she isn't my housemate… I think it would be more convenient to have her roommates to bring her homework to her." Her expression softened, and another sweet smile came to her lips. "That said, I'd be happy to tutor her, if she needs it. I won't be able to do it every day, but I can swing a tutoring sesh or three."

"Just be careful of the orderly, Madam McTeague," warned Harry. "She's kind of a strict lady… not as bad as Madam L, but she's not that far off. You might want to secure permission from Frye so you can spend more than thirty minutes with her."

"That's Professor Frye, Harry," corrected Ana with a lopsided grin. She opened her bag and produced a single piece of parchment, and began writing a quick note. "D'you mind if we pay the owlery a visit when we're done? I'm sure Professor Frye will have a response by tomorrow morning."

"Of course," replied Harry. "If you want to use Hedwig, I'm sure she'd be delighted." He then grinned so brightly that it practically illuminated the entire table. "Oh, I think it's official… Nova and I are friends now. She's coming with me this Thanksgiving… she wants to meet her birth parents, and my godfather Sirius."

Ana returned the smile. "That's awesome, Harry. She's spent the past two Thanksgiving holidays at the castle… while I'm sure the Pukwudgies go all-out preparing the feast, I'm sure it's incredibly lonely too. I'm sure she was touched by your gesture."

"She didn't say 'yes' right away," admitted Harry. "It took her a few days to decide; in fact, I originally asked her to come over for Christmas, but last night she asked me if it could be Thanksgiving instead. I'm fine with either, really."

"Well, you weren't exactly friends when you asked her," replied Ana thoughtfully. "And I'm sure once you two found some common ground, it started becoming a lot easier to talk to each other." She raised an index finger. "Don't be surprised if she starts boo-hooing like a girl half her age when she gets to Surrey… seeing her parents for the first time since she was an infant will be an emotional experience, to say the least. My advice is to be patient with her, and give her whatever space she needs." She shrugged. "She's not going to be stealing your guardians from you, but it's a huge opportunity for her to reconnect, so if they seem a little less attentive to you than usual, there's good reason for it. I'm sure it'll be just as emotional for your aunt and uncle."

"I s'pose you're right, Ana," whispered Harry. "Besides, my godfather will be there, and it might be opportunity for just him and me to bond. Most of the time it's all four of us, so it'll be nice to chill with ol' Padfoot."

"Padfoot?" giggled Ana. "That's an interesting nickname. I wonder how he got it."

Harry shrugged. "He's had it since he was a Hogwarts student. He's told me some stories about his time there, but that was before I knew he was, y'know, a wizard. I wish I could have seen things from his eyes – I'm sure that there's a lot of stuff he's left out!"

"Weeeellll," Ana said, a sneaky grin daring to tug on her mouth. "There's a chance I might be going to Scotland this term… Hogwarts hosts an interscholastic Quiz Bowl every year, usually on Good Friday. That's the Friday before Easter…"

"I know what Good Friday is," replied Harry, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

Ana just started at Harry for a second, before continuing. "So, the interscholastic Quiz Bowl is traditionally held at Hogwarts around that time, and four schools are represented – Hogwarts, Ilvermorny, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons. Hogwarts has traditionally dominated the series – geez, talk about home-field advantage – but it's an honor to be invited to participate just the same."

"So, what do you have to do to get invited?" asked Harry. "That sounds like a really cool opportunity."

Ana smiled. "The Horned Serpents need to secure the Ilvermorny Quiz Bowl Cup – and despite our scholarly reputation, it's not a given we win each year. There are five Quiz Bowls – once a month, from October through February – and the house with the highest running point total after all five games is awarded the Cup."

"I like the Horned Serpents' chances," chuckled Harry. "They have you."

Ana's cheeks turned deep pink. "Well, thank you, Harry, but I'm just one team member. I can't win it all by myself." She thrust a quill toward Harry's textbooks. "I'm enjoying our little chat, but we also need to devote some time to studying – can you give me about thirty or forty minutes, and then I'll quiz you?"

Harry nodded, and cracked open his Herbology textbook.