A place in this world~ Taylor Swift

"It was him! I'm sure of it," I said stubbornly.

"For the last time, Emma, Macnair is an employee in the ministry; there's no way he was involved in such things," answered Percy in a huff.

I was frustrated; I had been arguing with him for the last half an hour. We were back from the World Cup and were sitting at the kitchen table in the Borrow. We had seen Skeeter's article, blaming the ministry for both the attack and the dark mark showing up in the sky.

"Look, Emma," said Mr. Weasley in a tired voice. "I'm actually inclined to believing you; it's not something completely unexpected from Macnair, but how do you know?"

Yesterday, after Ginny, the twins, and I saved the little muggle boy, we handed him to the ministry, who obliviated him and his family, which I was glad for.

But all through it, I couldn't get the loud drunken crackle out of my head. It was just so familiar, I couldn't place it in my mind for so long. Until I went to sleep for the couple of hours we could get, when I got up, the name was echoing in my mind. It was Macnair! His hushed voice talking to Mr. Malfoy months ago came back to me. It felt so obvious now that I wondered how I could not have realised it since.

"I heard him before, in Buckbeak's execution," I answered.

"What were you doing in Buckbeak's execution?!" Asked Percy suspesiously.

"I was looking for-" I started to say in irritation, but Harry pressed his foot on mine painfully under the table.

"H-Hagrid, just trying to comfort him because he was upset," I continued, managing to pass the pain as a cough.

"You weren't supposed to be there," objected Percy.

"That's off topic; I'm sure it was him; you should do something!"

"That's still ridiculous; we're not going to believe a thirteen-year-old over-" started Percy heatedly, but Mr. Weasley interrupted him. "We just don't have proof, Emma; I believe you; I don't trust Macnair, but we can't really do anything about it."

"He was torturing a little boy!" I exclaimed. "You can't trust someone like that around you! He's cruel!"

Mr. Weasley sighed, "I promise I'll try to investigate it, alright? I understand your concern, but if I can't find anything on him, then we can't do anything."

"You can't do that, Father; we can't just investiga-" started Percy heatedly again.

"Will you shut up, Percy?" Said Bill, exasperated.

They all continued to talk about the daily prophet's piece. But I was still fuming; the little boy's screams were echoing in my mind. I couldn't believe how someone like that could just be part of the ministry. How much cruelty could one person hold?! He was just playing with a four-year-old for entertainment; what kind of messed-up mind could he contain? It didn't sit well with me. I couldn't remove the picture of the little boy shaking and sobbing in my arms, no matter what I did.

Later, when Ginny and I went up to her room. I let out another name that had been hunting my mind.

"Jason!"

"I know," groaned Ginny, leaning on her bed and putting her hands over her face. "I've been thinking about it all morning; imagine his panic."

"We have to send to Sarah; what if he got hurt during it?!"

"Don't say that. No, let's just hope he's alright."

I had only met him once, but he seemed nice enough, and I actually cared a lot about Amber. She must be feeling awfully guilty that she brought him. I wish they were far enough from the scene that he didn't manage to witness any of it.

We wrote a letter to Sarah, asking her if they were all alright, and sent it using Pigwidgeon because Hedwig was still MIA. I really missed her. Usually, during my stay at the Durselys, I sometimes prefer her company rather than Harry's.

I enjoyed my stay at the Borrow for the rest of the summer. I even tried to help Fred and George in their experiments. Their inventions were really intricate, something that I wouldn't have expected from the twins. They didn't really need me helping on the inventions; they were far smarter than I could ever be.

But surprisingly enough, I did help them a bit in countering the spells and charms they invented. I didn't realise my hours in the library would come in use in making a joke shop. But it was fun enough for me.

I would watch Harry, Ron, and the twins play quidditch against each other. And help Ginny sneak their brooms for her to practice on when they're not around. She was hoping to try out for quidditch this year now that Wood was gone and the new captain might hold tryouts.

Ginny, Hermione, and I spent a lot of time together, talking and laughing. I was getting more comfortable discussing Conan with them. Unlike Sarah and Ginny, Hermione's first instinct wasn't to make fun of me. She even told Ginny what I had been dying to say to her for more than a year. She told her to start dating other people and stop pinning over Harry. I didn't know if Ginny would do it, but it had to be said.

Come September first, we all got to the station. And I know you won't believe me; I wouldn't believe me either if I heard it; it's a crazy miracle, but we actually got there in time. We all shuffled in the train. I heard Harry and Ron having an argument with Charlie and Mrs. Weasley from the windows. They were keeping something from them that for some reason frustrated Ron. I didn't stick around to understand though. Ginny and I started looking for our friends in the compartments before Harry Ron and Hermione got the chance to kick us out like every year to talk about their super important secret stuff.

After a while, we finally found Sarah with Neville in an empty compartment. It seems he's gotten way more comfortable with her chattering since last year, and it doesn't freak him out anymore. Not that comfortable though, because when we joined them, he found our existence an excuse and left.

"So, tell us what happened," I asked Sarah eagerly as Ginny and I stored our bags in the compartment and settled in. She didn't answer me instantly. She was staring at the door with a weird expression on her face. Then she just shook her head and looked at me in confusion.

"What do you mean, what happened?"

"What happened in the World Cup, idiot!" Said Ginny "With Jason and your sister."

"Oh, right...it didn't go so well," she started. "He wasn't injured or anything, thankfully, but he was really freaked out; he got a glimpse of what was happening before Sarah could pull him into the forest."

"Everyone was freaked; it's not about him."

"Well, yes, but he was already on edge... Amber and him were going out for almost a year without him knowing she's a witch. She didn't want to keep lying, so she told him even though it's illegal. It never even bothered him. He was curious, and she'd let him in on a lot of things, but he never got scared or uncomfortable with it until the World Cup. Now Amber feels guilty for taking him, and he doesn't understand that the wizards acting that way aren't the rule but the exception."

I was already disbelieving when I saw him in the World Cup acting like it's no big thing being there. I think if my aunt and uncle ever went with us to something like that, they'd have a heart attack and die at the sight of the first floating umbrella.

"Don't worry. I think he'll come around. If he wasn't okay with the fact that she's a witch, he wouldn't have came in the first place. Trust me, I know some muggles who could be way worse...like way worse," I said, comforting her.

"I hope so... Sarah really likes him, and she barely ever gets a break. Anyway, what did you two do? I heard a rumour your brothers were present when the spell for the dark mark was cast."

"One thing about our brothers... they're present in every problematic situation... every single one," said Ginny, then explained what happened with Winky the elf and Harry, Ron and Hermione. Then I explained about our interaction with Macnair.

"That's sick. How could anyone enjoy such measures of torture?! Do they not realise muggles are humans too?" Said Sarah with great disgust when we finished telling her what happened.

"They don't actually; that's what you-know-who's beliefs are based on... or at least they see them as somewhat less of a human than us," said Ginny.

"That's not fair, though," I objected.

"It's more than unfair; it's completely bollocks, the way they acted, the way they charged an innocent elf for a stupid mark but still haven't found the culprits and made them pay for what they've done, the way there's chatter everywhere of people actually supporting those crimes," said Sarah heatedly. Her face was actually turning red with anger. I've never seen Sarah angry before. She's usually one of the most cheerful and easygoing people I know. But right now she was fuming. I could almost see the indignation she was feeling from what happened. She was just trying to enjoy a weekend with her family, not watch her people that have the same statues as her, attack people that are the same as her own parents.

I got closer and put an arm around her. The way she did just a few months ago after I found out about Petigrew.

"It's going to be alright. Not all wizards are like that, right? It'll get better," I said without believing it. I could tell that she didn't believe me either, but she relaxed and tried to calm herself down. Ginny pursed her lips and shared a look with me.

"Apparently there's something big happening this year at Hogwarts," she said, clearly changing the subject. "We have no idea what it is, though."

Sarah brightened visibly at that. "Oh, yes, I know," she said and explained about the Triwizard tournament that Amber had told her about.

"I actually read about that... I can't believe it's actually happening again; the challenges I read about were super dangerous; people actually died during some" I prompted.

"Yes, that's why they stopped doing it, but now Amber says the ministry and Dumbledore have taken all precautions so that no one would get hurt; it must be very exciting."

We talked about the tournament possibilities all the way till we got to school. When we finally got there, we changed into our uniforms and made our way out of the train.

We were standing outside waiting for the carriages when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around, and Conan pulled me in for a hug before I even got a chance to take a good look at him. I stiffened, unable to understand what was happening, but he just held me tighter. I let out a breath and rested my chin on his shoulder, relaxing a little into his touch

"I'm so glad you're alright," he said quietly without letting go.

"I sent you a letter telling you that I am..."

"I know, but I needed to see you to make sure," he said, then slowly let go of me. I was half relieved and half wishing he hadn't.

"I'm alright, I promise...are you?"

He nodded. "Come on, tell me what happened; don't leave out any details," he said, taking my hand and pulling me into one of the carriages. I told him what happened in the forest and the things about the mark, except for the part about Macnair because Conan didn't know about what happened with Sirius last year. I was honestly getting tired of repeating the story, so I hoped no one asked me again.

"That's horrible...but I'm glad you didn't get hurt; it was dangerous what you did though... could've gotten someone from the ministry or something."

"We couldn't just watch the little kid being tortured like that and do nothing; you don't get how it felt hearing him cry out; who knows if we left to get someone what would've happened to him?" I protested.

He pursed his lips and sighed like he didn't think it's worth it to argue with me about it. "I'm glad you're alright anyway; what happened to the kid?"

"The ministry obliviated him and his family; Mr. Weasley says they're okay now, thankfully," I answered as the carriage got to a stop upon its arrival at the front gates.

That evening had many unexpected surprises; let me rank them in a very controversial way that my friend wouldn't approve of.

Number three is Quidditch being cancelled this year. I had to watch Harry, Ron, and the twins yell in unison and Ginny banging her head against the table after spending the summer planning to finally try out this year. But I also had to hold in my laughter watching all of this; it was twice as hard because I caught Hermione's eyes and she was trying to do the same exact thing. I was glad Wood had already graduated though; he could've tried to strangle Dumbledore the moment those words came out of his mouth.

Number two is the Triwizard tournament being announced. Sarah had previously confirmed it to us, but I didn't know all the specifics Dumbledore talked about. There were two other schools joining us in the tournament. And only students above seventeen could participate. This made me let out a sigh of relief. I had suspected that Harry would eventually get himself involved in it like he always does in everything. But this information made me relax. And I thought it was wise, given the deaths that happened in the past, to only have older students participate. Fred and George had a bad reaction to this information, though. I admit it'd be fun to watch one of them be the Hogwarts champion, but maybe they're too risky for their own good. And that coming from me means something.

Number one without competition was the weird eye man. A tall, big man with a wooden leg that cluncks all the way to the end of the great hall. One of his eyes was normal brown, while the other one was blue, unnatural artificial blue. And the craziest part was the fact that it was turning in every direction like a compass in a tornado. I thought for a second about what could've happened to his eyes to have to resort to using that one. I also wondered if he was actually seeing with it, and if he is, how different is it from a normal eye? Did he see less or more? Could he see behind his head? How did they attach it to his nerves and make it possible to see? What spells did they use?

I dualled on it longer than I'd be proud to admit. But his whole demeanour was baffling me, maybe more than it should. What could've happened to him to ever be in that state? And why was he here?

Soon we were informed that Professor Moody was our new defence against the dark arts teacher. Ginny clapped a hand over my mouth to stop me from starting a chant of 'Lupin... Lupin!'. Which was what I was planning to do when the new teacher was introduced. I was honestly glad she stopped me though; I had a feeling Moody wouldn't have appreciated it.

But eventually, the unhinged evening was over. I was finally back in my dorm, ready to start the annual show of irresponsibility by staying up with Ginny and Sarah for our first night in Hogwarts.

Obviously, I was late to my first class; no explanations needed. Unfortunately, it was Arithmetancy. Hermione had told me that Professor Vector is nice enough, but I still wanted to make a good first impression. And a good first impression would not be made by me running into class last minute just when she was starting to introduce the lesson.

She just nodded at me and smiled, though. A far better smile than the one I got from the student I sat next to because it was the only empty seat.

"Late already, I see... you're making it too easy for me, darling," came the usual sneer as I started to unpack my textbook.

"Shut up, Diaz," I muttered as the professor went back to explaining the subject again. He smirked like always and leaned back in his chair. I huffed in irritation. Although I must admit, having another class with Matteo is going to be interesting...infuriating maybe...but interesting.

"Some wizards call it numerology; it's the science of understanding numbers and their magical meanings... don't you all think that every number has a magic of its own? Don't you think numbers paired together in equations mean something? Don't you sometimes see the patterns? In every spell, every curse, every potion... don't you see it?" Said the professor, pacing around the class as she said so. Her eyes were bulging in a way I couldn't understand. I didn't see it, though... I did not see the patterns, the numbers, or the equations. But I nodded along because I glanced at Matteo, and he seemed to completely comprehend what she was saying and I didn't want it to seem like I didn't. She had a little bit of a mad look in her eyes as she kept explaining. She wasn't any more mad than every single Hogwarts professor was, but I never thought anyone could speak about numbers with such fondness.

I looked around the classroom, and I could see Arithmetancy's reputation for being hard was affecting the number of people who took the class. All four houses shared the same class time because of that. I saw only a few Gryffindors, two boys that I recognised from seeing them a few times but wasn't friendly with, and a girl I think is one of Sarah's friends in the Hogwarts Prophet. There were about three Hufflepuffs; I only recognised one girl who I know is friends with Conan. The one I first saw with him at the Great Hall sleepover last year. Ravenclaws were almost half the class; no surprises there. About ten or eleven of them were centred in the middle of the class. And just like Matteo, they looked like they understood the curriculum just fine.

Lastly, the first couple desks were taken by about four more Slytherins. Which made me wonder why Matteo was sitting next to me in the back of the class instead of with his friends.

I came out of the class with a headache and a plan to assassinate Hermione. Except if I did, I'd have no one to explain all of this to me. And I'm not about to watch Matteo triumph once again. This year I'm going to beat him no matter what. I'm not letting myself get distracted this time, not by werewolf teachers, not by innocent serial killers, and certainly not by the bloody Triwizard distraction. If a three-headed serpent danced in front of me all year, I'm still beating that git. No way am I going to see that winning smirk of his again.

"Did you take defence against the dark arts yet?" Asked George, sitting across from Ginny and me at lunch. Sarah was nowhere to be seen; she'd signed up to about three hundred Hogwarts clubs, and I get the feeling we're going to be paying for her time now.

"No, why?" I said after swallowing a big mouthful of chicken. I have no idea how Hermione could stop eating Hogwarts food for whatever elf-right reason. I've been dreaming of this food for the last two months.

"Well, we don't want to spoil anything, but the base point is, Mad-eye Moody is bloody off his rocker," said Fred excitedly.

"You don't seem upset about that."

"Of course we're not; that was hands down the most fun I had in any class."

"Why? What happened? We have the class tomorrow," asked Ginny.

"You'll see," said Fred with a wink, then they both scrambled off. Ginny called after them, but they just left.

"Why do they have to be like that?!" Groaned Ginny, I grinned.

"We'll find out tomorrow, won't we?"

I usually share Fred and George's idea of fun, which is horrifying, but well...that's me. But this time, I didn't. I got a bad feeling in my gut the moment I entered that classroom. Last year, this meant spending an hour and a half with Remus explaining duelling spells, asking questions, bashing each other with various spells, and occasionally getting points for exceptionally good jokes. For a while it was my favourite class; I liked it even more than transfiguration. So I usually felt comforted when I entered that class. It was the opposite right now. Professor Moody hadn't even entered yet, but I had a dreading feeling in my stomach for absolutely no reason. Ginny and Sarah were unfazed though, which made me feel like a coward. I took in a calming breath and sat down, telling myself I'm just being paranoid. Maybe I'm just a little bewildered by the way Professor Moody looks. The way he seems to have survived ten to twenty wars or something. But it doesn't make sense; Remus had been clearly scarred, not as much or as obvious as Moody, but still.

I sighed and decided to stop thinking about it. Also, I should probably stop comparing him to Remus.

Professor Moody entered the class, and everyone quietened down. The dread in my gut didn't ease, but it didn't grow either, so I'll take this as a good sign. You know I'm just optimistic that way.

His wooden leg cluncked across the classroom as he reached the top of it. I don't remember a class being that quiet or tense before, not even with Professor Snape.

"Put this down; you're not using 'em," he said groggily. His voice wasn't high, but it echoed in a chilling kind of way. People started packing their books again. I hadn't taken mine out in the first place because of how overwhelmed I've been.

"Professor Lupin informed me of what this class had been up to. I see you've been practicing defensive spells, a few offensive ones too. This is good but not nearly good enough; I see that none of you had ever been introduced to any dark creatures," he said, then started writing a few things on the board. His handwriting was as uneven as his walking. He wrote a list of creatures. I recognised only a few of them. Grindlows, one that Remus showed me in his office during my detention last year. Red caps, stumbled upon them while researching different kinds of scars. And lastly, boggarts, which Harry had told me about over the summer after we made up.

"I'm going to stay in school for one single year, and I intend to show you those creatures and how to defend yourself against them. In addition to a few curses to get you up to speed," he said, pointing at the board. I heard a few mutters and whispers from the students around me. Apparently, the news that he's only staying a year was only comforting to me. He slammed his hand on the board, and everyone quietened again.

"Dumbledore didn't let me bring the first creature to school even though I could've found one if I wanted to," he grumbled. "But I know for a fact that a few people in this class could tell me about it," he said as his normal eye started looking in my direction. I felt my skin crawl with his gaze. I was already feeling uneasy, but now I almost got chills. I swallowed hard, trying to remain calm because this is definitely not worth my reaction.

"That creature is the Basilisk," he said, his voice quieter but still echoing through class. He wrote the name at the top of the board. I realised with a start that he wasn't looking at me; he was staring at a point just to my right. When I looked at Ginny, her ears were turning red; she was holding her schoolbag so tightly after she put her book back in, and still her hands were still slightly shaking. When I looked to my left, I noticed even Sarah had gone pale. She was fidgeting even more than usual.

The entire class was staring in our direction. Professor Moody's eyes were still set on Ginny, who I know isn't easily bewildered, but this specific topic sends her into a strange, shaky mood. Until this day she hadn't told me even half of the details of what happened, or anyone else for that matter. So I was sure being confronted in front of the whole class like that didn't feel particularly good.

Finally, I gave a sigh of relief when Creevey raised his hand; it's like the tension broke in the whole class. Moody's attention was redirected towards Creevey, and Ginny was able to drop his gaze; her ears were still red as she crossed her arms and looked down, clearly not listening to a word that passed between Creevey and Professor Moody.

Colin explained a few of the things he saw when he got petrified and a few facts he knew about basilisks. The class went on. Professor Moody explained about their origin and how to face them; he even asked a few more questions. I knew the answer to most of them but didn't dare raise my hand with Ginny on the verge of a breakdown next to me. I also didn't really want to interact with Professor Moody anyway.

The class went in a haze, with all three of us almost completely quiet. I couldn't shake the feeling that Moody's plastic eye was resting on us more often than not. Nothing that went through the class eased my feeling of dread; I didn't particularly hate the class. Professor Moody seemed to explain everything thoroughly. He wasn't a Remus Lupin, but he also wasn't a Gilroy Lockhart, which's a relief. I was infuriated by his singling out of Ginny, and I felt a dread in my gut every time his gaze flickered in my direction, but when I thought about it, he wasn't that bad of a teacher. He engaged with the class and explained everything and answered questions.

I wasn't about to say any of that in front of Ginny though as we walked out of class.

"You alright?" I asked her tentatively as the three of us walked to lunch, half expecting her to snap at me from the expression on her face. She didn't answer and just stared ahead. I'm afraid this interaction has affected her more than it should.

After we were all silent again for a while, Sarah sighed. I knew she couldn't stay silent for long anyway. Even if she was a bit shook. "Ginny, you have a free period after lunch, right? What're you going to do?" She perked up.

Ginny shrugged and still didn't answer. I had forgotten that Sarah and I had ancient runes while Ginny had nothing till potions this evening.

We managed to cheer her up during lunch though...Well, we didn't; Fred and George did. They told us about their latest research about trying to enter the Triwizard tournament even though they're underage.

"So every tournament there's something called the Goblet of Fire," said George.

"What's the goblet of fire?" Asked Sarah.

"So apparently, it's something they store in the department of mysteries in the ministry. This information isn't for sure though; some people say it's in a whole different department, and some theories even suggest it's in a whole different country," said Fred.

"Why don't you shut up about where it is and tell us what it is?" Said Ginny, stabbing her food a little too aggressively.

"What's it with you?" asked Fred. Ginny rolled her eyes and gazed down at her food. I looked up at the twins, gave them a look and shook my head like don't start with her right now.

"Anyway," said George cautiously, "the goblet of fire is literally a goblet of fire. Students are supposed to be able to throw their names in the goblet, and it chooses three names from each school. Apparently, the Goblet knows who from the participants could be worthy of being the champion of his school."

"But, here's the catch: there was never an age limit in the past tournaments, so the Goblet itself wouldn't reject our name. Which means that we only have to get through Dumbledore's security measures, whatever they are," continued Fred.

"Oh, is that so? Just Dumbledore's security measures?! Well, that's a peace of cake; you're practically in," I said sarcastically.

"You're just a pessimist; everything has a way," said George confidently.

By the time Sarah and I had to go to our class, Sarah had chattered so much about the tournament that Ginny finally broke a smile or two. She'd also given me a headache, but I can deal with that.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Sarah asked as we walked to class.

"She's strong; she just doesn't like this specific thing thrown in her face like that, it took her long to acknowledge it wasn't not her fault, so this doesn't particularly help" I said, "are you alright?"

"I mean...I don't like to remember it...the big yellow eyes, the instant feeling of helplessness," she shivered but then shook her head and continued cheerfully. "But I'm alright, it's just the reminder, that's all."

We walked into the study of ancient runes class. It was in a different corner of the castle that I wasn't sure I'd been to before. We got lost a couple of times but finally got there.

When I walked in, I couldn't help but notice how the place looked. There were a whole lot of symbols hanging all over the walls, a few flags that I couldn't recognise, and a few other pictures of ancient sites in different countries. Hogwarts was already very old as a whole, but somehow this class just felt even older.

Sarah and I took our seats. Fortunately, this class was just Gryffindors, so I don't have to deal with Matteo's smirk right now.

Professor Bathsheda Babbling was a tall blond woman that had very sharp features and looked like she spent her afternoons complaining about vegetable prices.

"Alright, everyone, you're not going to use your wands in that class," she said sternly. "What you're unfortunately going to have to use is your brains... I know, a shame, but it's necessary."

One thing about her: she was loud. Like, really loud. She didn't need to shush the class; her voice echoed through anyway. Sarah and I exchanged a look. "This is an ancient kind of study. Some say it's a language, but it's not exactly that. It's a group of symbols that communicates a specific meaning or state of something that won't be effective as simply saying the words," she said, "but that's not the only reason ancient European wizards used runes to communicate; it's that every single rune has it's magical effect; a simple name, a whisper, a symbol, if used often and as powerful enough, could change fate."

As she said that, I was already skimming my textbook for different kinds of runes and their meanings. "Let's start simple; can anyone tell me what this rune represents?" She said and wrote a symbol that looked like a box flipped sideways. I started looking back in my book, finding that symbol. "Anyone?" Her voice echoed impatiently. "You, Weasley, in the back, what's that rune?"

She was staring our way, I looked around anxiously even though I knew Ginny wasn't here. She met my eyes, and I realised what was happening.

"I'm not-" I started.

"I don't need your life story; I need the answer," she interrupted impatiently.

"It's...erm...dagaz? I think? Meaning day," I fumbled. I had just managed to find it in the textbook when she called on me, so I only got a glimpse of the answer.

"Correct," she said curtly, but I noticed just a hint of a smile on her face. "Moving on"

She didn't give me any points and just continued talking about different runes and their different origins and meanings. Even though I wasn't even supposed to know the information.

Through class, I came to the conclusion that she wasn't strict; she was just mean... I like her.

Days started turning as quickly as they always do in Hogwarts. Except you could almost feel the excitement vibrating through the halls. Everyone was anticipating the start of the tournament. I was a little anxious about what could happen during the challenges, but nevertheless, I was also excited. I don't think I've ever seen Fred and George that focused on one thing, but they were determined to know how they could contribute in the tournament. I think the fact that they're forbidden from doing it is their only motive to try and get in.

Every house was already starting to choose a few of their older students that they thought could be the Hogwarts champion. There were plenty of discussions in the halls and during mealtimes about it. Safe to say, the whole castle was anticipating the event with bated breaths. So was I. Little did I know how unfortunate it'd be.