May, Myr is learning, is the most hectic month of the school year.

Between the looming exams and the end of the Quidditch season fast approaching there's a lot of tension to go around every grade level. However, he thinks this May is probably going to be more intense than usual for those of them even somewhat connected to the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Laurel has taken over from Conner in their final few practices, combining the reserve team and the main team to make sure every single player is in perfect shape for their final showdown against Ravenclaw at the end of the month.

"Alright beaters, with me. Everyone else take five, hydrate yourselves."

As a sixth year, Laurel doesn't have any exams to worry about so all her energy is being put into Quidditch, and admittedly with good reason. Myr knows that they only have to beat Ravenclaw by ten points to cinch the Quidditch cup and Laurel is practically salivating at the prospect. Unfortunately that means the entire team is being worked to the bone three times a week with no end in sight.

Myr circles around the end of the pitch where he'd ended up after their previous drill and swoops over to the center where Laurel is waiting. Fiona comes up beside him, looking as tired as he feels but shooting him a wane grin nonetheless.

Laurel and the other main team beater, a fourth year who Myr thinks is called Jamison, are there as well, and the captain wastes no time explaining their next exercise.

"Quite simply we'll be trying to knock the bludger past each other. If it changes directions before anyone has hit it then that's a point for whoever had last touched it. The most important thing here is to be aware of where everyone else is - no collisions please, I don't want anyone in the hospital wing when we have a game in two days." Once she's ascertained that everyone understands the rules, Laurel flicks her wand and summons the two bludgers from wherever they'd ended up after their last game.

Fiona immediately calls dibs and the rest of them scatter as she swings and knocks both bludgers off in separate directions.

Myr finds that this particular exercise is his favorite of all the ones he's gotten to try out so far during the year. It's far more strategic than he's come to believe the beater position requires, forcing him to be acutely aware of not only the two bludgers, but also exactly where everyone is on the pitch and where they're all heading as well. It's challenging but really quite exciting, and he's almost gotten the hang of it when Laurel calls the rest of the team back up to rejoin them for the next thirty minutes.

Myr can admit that he's having trouble standing upright when the practice finally ends nearly an hour and a half later than their practices usually do, but he honestly can't complain too much. He really hopes he makes the main team in his third year though - after actually working with Laurel he's less enthusiastic about being back under Conner's command next season.

The next day is an exercise in patience as he struggles to focus on the last few lessons of the semester. He knows that he really should be paying attention to the reviews that they're going through for Herbology, but plants just aren't as interesting as passing game strategies back and forth with Charlie under the table.

Evera teases him about his rule bending as they head for lunch after the double block, and he can't really fault her for it after the number of times he's scolded her and Drake when they pass notes instead of listening to the teacher.

"Oh ease up some Sylvester, if you fluster him now we may never see him come out of his shell ever again!" Charlie jokes cheerfully as he stuffs their final play ideas into his bag.

Myr just rolls his eyes and lets them banter. However, he does feel a tugging of guilt at having been distracted all class now that Evera has mentioned it, and he resolves to spend the afternoon reviewing notes instead of plays. It's only fair.

He pays better attention in Transfiguration after lunch, though it's a bit harder than he likes to focus properly when he can seen the tops of one of the goal posts through the classroom window.  He decides to study in the safety of the Gryffindor common room, where the windows don't face anything very interesting and a lot of the older students are buckling down on their schoolwork as well, creating a surprisingly quiet atmosphere in the usually rambunctious room.

He manages to lose himself in his review, finishing Herbology and starting in on his Charms notes before Evera appears and drags him down to dinner, complaining that they don't have to start studying for another week and that he's being a buzz kill. Since his studies had gone so well, he only puts up token resistance before acquiescing and following her down to the Great Hall, where naturally the topic is still on Quidditch.

Myr finds it easy to jump back into the flow of the conversation, and he's a little embarrassed when he thinks about it afterwards that he doesn't even try to go back to studying when the food is gone and the second year Gryffindors are heading back up to their Tower. They're halfway through an analysis of the previous World Cup game and nothing else really seems to be quite as important as that is in the moment.

Myr comforts himself that night with reminders that he did study for a few hours in the afternoon, and that after the game the next day he won't have to think about Quidditch at all and can solely focus on school and studying.

Then it's game day and all other thoughts are gone.

The reserve team is held back in the change room by Laurel, who insists that the whole team should be there for the final pregame speech of the season.

"Alright team, we've been on fire this whole season and I know we're not going to have any problems maintaining that speed now. So all I'm going to say is remember to communicate, and keep the pressure up. Ravenclaw is going to be a little more on edge now because of finals so they're more likely to make mistakes when pushed. Ready?" She grins. "Let's go win that cup!"

Myr files to the side of the pitch to sit on the bench with the rest of the reserve players while the main team runs out in to the middle of the field, waving enthusiastically to the screaming crowd. Myr spots Tyler and the other Hufflepuff first years proudly sporting Gryffindor colors, and Remi waves halfheartedly to his cousin as he sits.

Myr is the primary sub for the beaters, but both Jamison and Laurel have been solid throughout the season, so he doesn't worry about being distracted when he pulls out a notebook with the intention of studying the tactics both teams employ to try and improve on his own over the summer.

It's honestly fascinating watching the players above them move. Myr can appreciate the beauty of flying a bit more now that he's better acquainted with the technique behind it, so even though a part of him is aching with the want to be in the air himself, he's more contented to sit back and observe than he had been a year ago.

The game starts off cautiously, though Myr knows the casual observer would have no idea that most of the team is holding back, assessing their opponents and looking for openings.

As Laurel had encouraged in the locker room though, the Gryffindors are pushing a bit more than the Ravenclaws in the opening moves of the game, and it plays to their advantage as they claim possession of the Quaffle and Bill makes an early game score after feinting a pass.

Myr takes note of the move, which is rather common yet still quite effective, and then returns his focus to the players over him only to find that in the minute he'd been writing the pace of the game has nearly tripled.

Ravenclaw is no longer playing defensively, pushing back against the Gryffindors with as much determination as they'd been pushed with not minutes before. The score grinds to a halt at 10-0 as the Quaffle is juggled rapidly between the two teams.

Myr loses track of the ball after about fifteen minutes, and his attention wanders towards the beaters and Bludgers.

Laurel and Jamison have fallen into a pattern, with each of them following one of the two bludgers around the field, meaning neither of the two metal balls of death is ever unaccompanied. They'll occasionally switch custody, when the balls stray too far away for them to recover in any efficient amount of time, and Myr takes several notes on the general effectiveness of the strategy. Gryffindor has near full control of the Bludgers, leaving the Ravenclaw beaters to play the defensive, and its clear they're scrambling.

Myr recalls ones of Laurel's comments during a practice earlier in the week.

"Most beaters naturally play the offense, so if you can keep them defensive you keep them off balance." She'd explained after a particularly brutal series of drills. "And the beaters are the team's defenders. If they're off balance the entire scale tips in your favor."

Myr sees the wisdom in the observation now as slowly but surely Gryffindor pushes the advantage and increases the gap in the score. Ravenclaw does make a few goals around Kent, but between his improvement and Laurel and Jamison raining bludgers down on the teams like bats out of hell Gryffindor quickly pulls into a comfortable lead.

Charlie is circling so high over the proceedings that Myr nearly can't make him out through the ebb and flow of the rest of the players darting through the air. But he's there and tense, eyes skittering over the pitch in an endless scan for something nearly invisible.

Naturally, Myr can't actually see his eyes from so far down, but he's watched Charlie during practices enough to have his roommate's habits memorized. He's remained in the same spot for the entirety of the game, barely moving except to avoid the occasional bludger that's briefly slipped away from Laurel and Jamison's watchful guard.

Despite Gryffindor continuing to fly strategic circles around Ravenclaw the other team is refusing to take it sitting down and they hold their ground relatively well, continuing to increase their score, and in one particularly reckless but still admirable move their seeker purposefully causes both herself and Charlie to lose the snitch when it's spotted halfway through the second hour of the match.

Myr notices that Laurel is paying more attention to the Ravenclaw seeker after that particular stunt. Myr doesn't recognize the girl, but she's small enough that he figures she's likely a third year and only just got onto the team and he doesn't just have terrible facial recall.

Charlie spots the snitch again after another thirty minutes and he immediately dives for it, his focus razored in on the elusive golden ball. The Ravenclaw seeker looks ready to distract him again, but Laurel is wise to her tricks this time around and knocks her off balance with a bludger to the back of her broom.

Moments later it's over, and Gryffindor wins by nearly 200 points. Charlie is swarmed by the whole team as he lands, and Myr honestly isn't sure when he stood up but he's part of the crowd surrounding the seeker.

Laurel is tearing up, though she's resolutely refusing to cry, but she's grinning as well and Myr suddenly realizes - they've won the Quidditch Cup. It hits him like a freight train and he's rather concerned that his face is going to split in half from the sheer width of the smile that explodes across his features.

The celebration somehow migrates to the Gryffindor common room, and Laurel is hoisting up the Cup and practically screaming her Gryffindor pride before her boyfriend Eric literally sweeps her up into a kiss that has the older kids cheering and the younger ones hiding their eyes.

Myr isn't sure why the Ravenclaw prefect is celebrating his own House's defeat with them, but then Myr doesn't pretend to understand or care about how dating works just now. He's too busy letting Fiona dance him around the common room and trying to not step in any of the puddles of butterbeer that the floor is collecting.

The party goes well past when lights out is supposed to be, and Myr wonders why McGonagall hasn't stopped by to tell them all off yet, but when he manages to ask one of the seventh year prefects she simply laughs and says that McGonagall is as invested in the cup as they are and lets them get away with more than usual if they win.

It still bothers Myr though, but when he tries to say something to his roommates they all shout at him to relax and enjoy.

"It's probably the last bit of fun we'll have for this year what with finals coming up." Drake points out, sloshing his drink as he waves his hands as if to illustrate his point and adding to the sticky mess on the floor.

Myr makes a face. "I guess. Still, it's past midnight already, and the adrenaline of the day is starting to hit me pretty hard."

Drake shrugs and waves him off. "You can leave then. No one is making you stay after all."

Myr frowns but chooses not to voice the fact that he feels awkward being the only member of the team to not be having as much fun as the rest seem to be. Though when he looks around he realizes that Laurel seems to have vanished at some point, so maybe it wouldn't be rude to excuse himself from the festivities earlier than the rest.

After fifteen minutes of waffling on the decision he discards his barely-touched drink next to a line of empty cups and heads up to the dorms. With the game over his mind is shifting back into full-on study mode and he knows he won't study well if he's exhausted.

He showers quickly, and then falls into his bed, thankful that he'd been given one closer to the window than the door. He still casts a quick silencing spell around his bed in hopes that his roommates won't wake him up when they inevitably come loudly stumbling in when the party finally finishes. He needs to be well rested - after all, people with poor grades aren't allowed onto the main team.

Finals, Rajani remembers all too late, are about a million times worse than midterms. Midterms are mostly used to gauge where students are in the curriculum and serve to help teachers determine what topics are understood and what needs to be reviewed.

Finals determine, for the most part, whether or not you pass into the next grade, supposing the rest of your schoolwork was up to par.

This knowledge leads to the end of May and the start of June being absolutely nightmarish for the second year Slytherins. They've claimed one of the library tables for themselves within a week of studying starting in earnest, and most of them have fallen asleep over it at least twice within the first two weeks.

Rajani is sitting at the table with Eugene and Queenie when she spots a familiar mop of blond hair vanishing between the shelves a few aisles away from them.

After a moment's hesitation, she gets up, citing a need to find one of the Potions books Snape had recommended, and hurries after the figure.

Donaghan smiles at her easily as she catches up to him. She's seen less of the cheerful Hufflepuff this year than in their first, but they still study Potions together from time to time and Rajani can admit that she enjoys his company. He's quiet where most of her friends are much more enthusiastic and it's nice to know she doesn't need to speak much around him if she's not feeling up to it.

They find a secluded area in one of the corners of the library. Rajani doesn't want her friends seeing them together and Donaghan never complains about their sneaking around so she figures he's likely in the same boat. She's not quite sure how she feels about that, but she pushes away any nagging doubts she has about their arrangement for the most part. He's a good study partner after all.

Once they get settled he finally speaks up. "So I was starting to read over the sections on the Wiggenweld potion. I know we're not covering it practically this year but knowing Snape there's no way it won't be on the exam."

Rajani nods, grinning slightly. "I may or may not be able to confirm that." She admits after a moment. "Professor Snape sometimes gives us hints when he's checking in on the common room in the evenings."

Donaghan shakes his head. "I think all the heads of house do that. At least, Professor Sprout likes to help us out when we ask her about Herbology. She doesn't tell us what's on the test but she does bring in plants from the greenhouse sometimes so we can do some practical studying."

Rajani raises an eyebrow. "I wish we had that. My Herbology grade was an embarrassment on the midterms."

Donaghan laughs. "I can help you revise if you want, but I'm afraid the common room is off-limits. Badgers only."

Rajani nods in understanding. The Slytherin dungeons are the same way after all. "Only fair. I will take you up on that offer, but maybe later. For now, Wiggenweld?"

They fall into an easy silence, occasionally checking their notes with each other or asking questions when baffled by their own handwriting or the textbook's language. It takes thirty minutes for Rajani to realize that she'll need an excuse ready when she goes back to Queenie and Eugene, and that the longer she takes the more convincing it will have to be.

Donaghan doesn't question her suddenly standing halfway through a review of the Girding potion's recipe and telling him she needs to go, simply nods and asks when would be a better time to meet.

She doesn't hesitate to request an early morning meet up. While getting up before seven isn't her ideal situation, she knows that far fewer of her friends - or any of the other Slytherins - will be up at that hour and she won't have to keep a careful eye out for anyone who might spot her colluding with a Hufflepuff.

She's not sure why she's so worried - sure Nia had shunned Clary for months after learning she was friends with a Ravenclaw, but they were certainly on speaking terms now and really, what was the big deal making friends outside of the house? - but the worry is there nonetheless and Donaghan has never said anything so she figures it's not inconveniencing anyone to leave it be.

She arrives at the library at seven thirty exactly and isn't quite surprised to find that Donaghan is already settled into a corner table with a pile of Potions and Herbology books scattered around him.

"I hope you haven't been waiting long." Rajani greets as she pulls out the chair next to her friend.

Donaghan smiles easily over at her as she sits. "Not at all. We're right next to the kitchen so I didn't have to detour past the Great Hall like I'm sure you did." He points out mildly, and she nods. He has a point.

They settle into studying again, picking up easily from where they'd stopped the afternoon before. Rajani has to admit that when it comes to Potions she seems to get more done with Donaghan than with her dorm mates. She figures it's because they get less sidetracked by conversations about what they're going to do later or debating whether they'll be able to edge out Ravenclaw for the House Cup, being only fifty points behind and gaining with each passing day.

She just has less to talk about with the Hufflepuff boy, and it works in their favor, forcing them to focus on the material.

They get through nearly all the Potions review in an hour and a half and they switch over to Herbology next. Rajani doesn't really need to start looking at Herbology just yet - it's her last exam - but she knows that she may not get another chance to sit down with someone who apparently really knows his stuff when it comes to the class.

They spend nearly two hours on Herbology, and Rajani is a bit ashamed at how much she didn't realize she didn't actually know. Donaghan is incredibly patient though, explaining things as best he can and referring back to the textbook whenever he can't verbalize things very well. By the time he glances at the clock and announces he has to go meet some of his housemates Rajani is feeling worlds better about her chances on the final exam for Herbology.

"Thanks for helping me out, and good luck on all your exams." She says as they gather their respective notes and textbooks from the table.

Donaghan looks like he's going to say something, but he instead blinks and nods. "You too."

When Rajani walks over to the Slytherin table she's unsurprised to find Lenox already there, though she's a bit more startled by the presence of Alasdair as well.

"Hey, are you guys going over the History notes?" She asks as she pulls up her own chair.

"Potions actually." Lenox supplies. "It is our first final tomorrow morning after all." He smiles wryly. "Though I guess you feel ready for that one?"

Rajani has a moment of panic where she thinks Lenox might be on to her friendship with Donaghan, but she dismisses the thought quickly and nods. "I've been here since seven thirty actually. Did you want some help? I'm feeling pretty good about Potions if I'm honest."

Lenox shifts so that Rajani can sit between him and Alasdair, and she proceeds to once again go over potions, spending more time teaching her dorm mates than actually reviewing the material herself which she's heard is helpful anyway so it's no time lost on her part.

After almost two hours - and the addition of Clary and Nia to the table - they finally move on to History of Magic, which they have in two days and which Rajani is feeling relatively stable on but she still wants to go back over everything to make sure she's solid.

They nearly miss lunch, and probably would have if it wasn't for Eugene and Queenie swinging by to inform them of the hour.

Then after they eat it's straight back to the library and their table, this time with the addition of Queenie, Eugene, and Elspeth who's dragged by Nia with no regard for whether or not she actually wants to study with them.

She doesn't leave, Rajani notes, which is actually more than she'd been expecting. Elspeth usually only leaves the Slytherin dungeons for class and meals, so seeing her willingly sit in the library for an extended period of time is a bit disorienting.

They study until dinner, and then keep studying after, though the venue shifts to the Slytherin common room. A couple of bored sixth years even help them out by quizzing them on potion recipes and offering suggestions of what to expect based on what they remembered of their own second year Potions final.

The group breaks as soon as the water outside the window grows dark - they're determined to sleep well for the entire week. This sentiment gets some strangled laughs from the fifth years, who are all already strung out from studying for the OWLs and are surviving on wideeye potions.

Rajani can only hope she has her studies well in hand so she doesn't suffer the same fate when it's their turn to face the notoriously difficult tests.

Finals week starts with a vengeance as soon as she goes up for breakfast the next morning. The house elves always prepare extra hearty foods during finals week, and Rajani indulges a bit, not wanting to suddenly get hungry in the middle of the Potions exam.

When it's time to file down into the dungeons with the Hufflepuffs, Rajani finds herself glancing over at Donaghan, who's had the same idea at the same time. They make eye contact, and he offers a quick smile in solidarity before sitting in the opposite corner of the room with another of his House mates.

Rajani pairs up with Queenie, much to Eugene's clear disappointment, though he quickly settles himself with Lenox and a very put-out Clary ends up being the unlucky odd one out and has to work with one of the Hufflepuffs after Finn chooses to pair up with a badger as well - though for what reason he'd do so Rajani hasn't the faintest idea.

As always, Queenie and Rajani make a great team, and with how much they had drilled the potions over the past week they demolish both the written essay and the practical potion in just under two hours. Once Professor Snape has bottled and labelled their final product - with a nod of approval that makes both girls beam - they're allowed to head to lunch a bit early.

"Did you see that? We blew that exam out of the water!" Queenie lets herself giggle in excitement for a split second before regaining her usual composure. "I wish all the tests would be that easy!"

Rajani nods. "Well, all we can do is study and hope." She says.

And they do continue to study, going back over their History notes and starting in on Transfiguration and Charms, which they have on Wednesday, as well.

The rest of their friends eventually file in to join them as they finish the Potions exam, and they spend a bit of time chatting about how they think they had done. For the most part everyone is confident, though Clary grouchily announces that her partner had been an incompetent nincompoop.

"Truly, Hufflepuffs are utter duffers!" She declares.

Finn shakes his head. "I found Aidan to be a wonderful partner myself. Who were you with?"

"Some blond. The one who always hangs out with the human disaster from Gryffindor." Clary grumbles.

Rajani's brain supplies the name Tyler Abbott. She's not sure at first why she knows it, until she remembers that he's a chaser for the Hufflepuff team and she'd made a point to study up on all of their Quidditch opponents.

They retire to the library, though Elspeth neglects to join them this time and Rajani feels bad about the fact she's somewhat relieved. They go over History for a bit, and then continue on with their other classes.

The week continues to pass in a blur of studying and exams, each harder than the last. Despite her determination to sleep properly for the whole week, Rajani finds herself staying up later than might be advisable, attempting to cram things she'd forgotten to cover during the day. Her sister keeps a close eye on her after she passes out on one of the common room couches.

"Raj, you have your astronomy final tomorrow night, you need your rest." Mayra notes on a Thursday evening. Rajani is sitting in front of the fireplace, buried in the Herbology notes she'd taken with Donaghan earlier in the week.

"Five more minutes." Rajani replies wearily, but Mayra firmly closes the textbook.

"Now. Sahana's orders. And as your team captain, also mine." She grins at Rajani's look of betrayal. "If you don't know it by now then you're not going to know it kid. Trust me, sleep is more important than last-minute cramming. Go rest." She starts to leave, but then seems to remember something. "Oh, and Sahana is going to come down and make sure you've gone, so don't think you can sneak a few more minutes."

Rajani reluctantly gathers her notes and heads for her dorm. She's asleep almost as soon as her head hits the pillow.

She's begrudgingly thankful for Sahana's sudden bout of over protectiveness when she doesn't need to grab a nap after lunch like most of her friends do. Instead, she settles down with her star charts at the Slytherin library table and begins trying to sketch out what the sky will likely look like that night.

A fourth year looks over her shoulder, distracted from his own boredom. She figures he's likely finished with his exams and now isn't sure what to do with himself.

"Hey, not bad." He compliments. "Any chance you'd want some help studying? I'm bored."

His bluntness surprises her a bit. Most of the Slytherins she's interacted with are a bit more eloquent than that, but she nods regardless. Help is help.

She learns that his name is Edward - "but I prefer Ed honestly, Edward makes me sound old" - and that he's really not much better at Astronomy than she is.

He's a good conversationalist though, and while she doesn't get much studying done she still rather enjoys herself as he regales her with gossip from the other Houses that he's collected from his siblings, who she's surprised to learn aren't in Slytherin.

"I thought families usually were all in the same House?" She can't help prying just a bit.

Ed shrugs dismissively. "Well, maybe families that like each other. My siblings are awful. Actually, my youngest sister is in your year so you probably know."

Rajani does know Leona, though only because the girl is an incurable gossip and she's caught the brunette trying to lurk around her and her friends when they're talking.

Ed ends up sitting with them at dinner that night, and he gets on well with the rest of Rajani's friends. Afterwards he leaves them to study, but with a wrangled promise from Clary to sit with them again at breakfast.

Rajani heads up to the Astronomy Tower feeling confident and light as a feather. It's a good way to end the year.

"Five points."

Sarah Poole has been in a foul mood all morning, and really Ana can't blame her very much. After all, Ravenclaw had fallen behind Slytherin in the House Cup competition right at the end of the exam period.

"We lost by five measly points."

Sarah looks ready to tear her own hair out, and Eric clearly isn't pleased either. Ana supposes that none of the prefects are very happy with the situation, but she's not sitting with the other ones so she wouldn't know.

Josie pats Sarah's shoulder lightly. "Hey, there's still next year, yeah? And you're still a really strong contender for Head Girl."

Because really, that's what Sarah's meltdown is actually about. Ravenclaw hasn't won the House Cup since the sixth year's first year at Hogwarts, and she's worried that losing out on the Cup when they'd been so close will damage her chances at the position she's been coveting since she was eleven.

Eric had filled Ana in when she'd first arrived at the breakfast table, and Ana would almost feel bad for the older girl if Sarah didn't have a habit of being a bit naggy and overbearing a majority of the time.

"It's only a few points, we could still catch up over the weekend." Eric points out, though it's a weak attempt. Almost no points are ever given out during the two days between the end of exams and the end of the school year.

Sarah sighs and looks up. "Not likely. But thanks." She smiles at her fellow prefect wearily before her head drops again. "All I wanted was one year to go my way. But no, stupid Ed ruins everything with a perfect transfiguration exam."

Ana isn't quite sure who 'Ed' is supposed to be, but from the expressions on the rest of the group's faces he's someone significant.

"Sarah's younger brother. Makes it personal." Eric supplies lowly and Ana nods. That would make sense then. Based on interactions between Alasdair and his older brother sibling rivalry can get rather ugly, so it probably feels like a personal slight that her own brother had been the one to get the points that took away Sarah's hopes for the year.

"Well, it's just a cup." She tells her oatmeal later, when the sixth years have left and she's one of the last in the Great Hall, prodding halfheartedly at her breakfast. "What's it really worth in the end?"

Apparently quite a bit, because all of the older Ravenclaws seem rather dejected by the news.

The weekend after exams had been quiet the previous year as well, but it had been more of a collective sigh of relief than the stifling weight of something lost that mutes the common room now. Ana hates it, but the library closes once exams are over and Madame Pince goes home, so she's stuck either in the common room or outside, and considering there's been a never-ending game of 'provoke the giant squid' going on since breakfast had finished she has no interest in the latter option.

However, once she realizes that Evie likely is out tempting fate by the lake she quickly heads up to her dorm room.

Amelia is sitting on her bed crossed-legged, reading Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland. Ana wouldn't have pegged her meek roommate as a dragon lover, but people are surprising. Which is why she generally tries to avoid them.

The two girls exchange a nod of greeting but otherwise remain silent, flipping through their books (Ana has pulled out Magick Moste Evile, a present from her Baba that her mother had disguised it as a book on Quintessense - which to be fair is a book Ana probably would read). It's a surprisingly comfortable atmosphere, and Ana feels relaxed enough to let Dracula out of his terrarium to snooze in the mid-morning sun streaming through the windows.

Amelia looks over at the fire salamander a bit warily, and Ana remembers belatedly that her roommate had been uncomfortable with Dracula being out the year before.

"Sorry, I can put him back." She offers awkwardly. "I just don't like him being cooped up all the time. He likes to stretch out."

Amelia chews her bottom lip and shrugs. "It's okay." After a long moment, during which Ana nearly returns to her book, she speaks again. "He won't set anything on fire, will he?"

Ana blinks, and then can't help but laugh. "Nah, so long as he doesn't feel threatened. Drac is really tame."

Amelia relaxes immediately and a smile breaks across her face. "Well that's good. He's really handsome."

Ana accepts the compliment on her pet's behalf, and the two girls return to their reading. However, it doesn't take long for Amelia to pipe up again, a bit uncertainly.

"Um, do you think he would mind if I pet him? My dad doesn't like reptiles so I've never gotten to hold one..." She looks embarrassed when Ana glances over at her, and the Bulgarian sighs.

This certainly isn't how she pictured her day going. "No, it's fine. He likes attention. Just approach him slowly and make sure he can see your hand clearly the whole time. If you touch him and he's not expecting it you might get burned."

Amelia takes the warning to heart, and Ana is actually a bit impressed despite herself at how careful her roommate is being. Dracula appreciates it as well, as he makes a light chirping noise as Amelia's fingers ghost over his head.

Amelia squeaks a bit at the noise. "Is that okay? Should I stop?"

Ana shakes her head. "Nah, that's his happy noise. He's only ever made it for me before, you should feel honored."

Amelia's eyes widen. "Oh! Oh wow." She grins a bit manically as she returns to gently Dracula, her eyes bright with wonder. "I think I'd like a fire salamander as well. He's so well behaved!"

Ana smiles awkwardly, still not completely sure how to handle suddenly talking to her roommate after two years of barely acknowledging one another. Still, it could be good to have someone on her side when she and Evie inevitably clashed again in the future. "They are generally rather calm, but they're a bit more work than other pets." She states, closing her book and sliding it habitually under her pillow. No need to risk being caught with a book on Dark Magic, even if it is disguised. "His skin gets pretty irritated in the summers because of the temperatures, so I have to be extra thorough when cleaning out his cage so he's comfortable."

Amelia hums. "That would make sense."

They end up talking about Dracula and fire salamanders in general for almost an hour, and Ana is surprised both by her own ability to keep up with the conversation, and by Amelia's obvious enthusiasm for the subject. For someone who has barely spoken five sentences to Ana in two years, she's certainly able to be chatty when she feels like it.

Eventually Amelia's stomach growls, and she turns bright red.

"Must be lunch time." She mumbles, all her confidence from moments before evaporating into thin air.

Ana shrugs. "Must be." She checks the time with a quick tempus charm and finds there's technically fifteen minutes until the tables in the Great Hall will have food on them.

Amelia excuses herself from the room, still clearly flustered, and Ana decides she's not quite hungry enough to follow. She'll just finish the chapter she'd been on, then seen if the sixth years are eating yet.

The next day finds Ana arriving for breakfast exactly on time. The exam grades are going to be handed out and she can admit she didn't sleep very deeply during the night due to the mix of nerves and anticipation coursing through her mind.

"Good morning." Eric greets her cheerfully. The loss of the House Cup seems to have settled some and the table is a bit more chipper than it had been twenty four hours earlier. "Ready to see your grades?"

"I'm sure she did great, she's basically Sarah two point oh." Josie laughs from Eric's other side.

Ana isn't sure she wants to be compared to her least favorite sixth year, but she lets it slide. Sarah is quite a good student after all, so it was surely intended as a compliment.

"I certainly feel comfortable about my chances." She replies to Eric, opting to ignore Josie's comment entirely. "I studied well and felt I knew the material when I finished the exams."

"That's all you can really hope for." Hannah sighs. "I remember walking out of a few finals feeling like the rug had been pulled out from under me. Not a pleasant feeling."

Josie perks up. "You're talking about fourth year, aren't you?"

With that the two girls are off, reminiscing about several bad decisions they'd made as fourteen year olds, which Ana tunes out. The sixth years often do that sort of thing, and while at first it made her feel like an outsider she's more than used to it now.

So she turns to Eric. "Any plans for the summer?" She questions, more out of politeness than actual interest. She knows he's probably going to be doing something with Laurel, and frankly she still doesn't get the big deal about dating so the whole topic bores her.

Eric grins. "Quite a few, but I know why you're asking, and don't worry I'll remember to send you my OWL study books. What about you, are you planning on leaving your house ever?"

Another thing Ana doesn't like about Laurel is how ever since she started dating Eric he's gotten a lot snarkier. It's not the worst thing in the world, but Ana misses being able to talk to him without him amicably teasing her.

"I do." She replies briskly. "I'll be visiting my friend Alasdair and his family a few times at least, and my mother has her friends over every few weeks and I like to sit in with them and discuss current politics."

Sarah looks over at them from where she's seated across the table. "Is that so? I'd be interested to hear your take on the new proposal concerning Squib rights that's being passed around the Wizengamot this year."

Ana can't help but perk up. This had been a major point of contention during the tea circle during the winter break so she certainly has opinions. "Well foremost I don't think anything is going to come of it. With Idris Oakby's passing last year there's no one really pushing for Squib rights anymore. The SSS has fallen into chaos without her and I don't really see any of them able to effectively fill Idris's shoes. That said, it's a logical proposal when considered objectively. After all, we have programs to effectively allow wizards to blend into the Muggle world, why shouldn't we have programs to help Squibs settle in the Wizarding world?" She shrugs. Personally she actually thinks it's a non-issue that should be below the Wizengamot's notice and left to desk workers, but people got a bit crazy about proving how open-minded and forward thinking they were after the end of the Wizarding War, so she gets all the hype around the subject even if she thinks it's nonsense.

Sarah nods thoughtfully. "That's true, Idris was truly a force of nature. I met her once actually, lovely woman, took no nonsense from anyone. It's really too bad she was a Squib, I think she would have been quite a formidable witch."

Eric frowns. "Can you determine things like that from personality? That would suggest Prime Minister Thatcher would be a fantastic witch as well."

Ana and Sarah stare at him with equally blank expressions and he gives a flustered laugh. "The Muggle Prime Minister? Never mind."

Sarah shakes her head. "I forget that you grew up in the Muggle world sometimes. But personality more dictates what you actually do with your magic rather than how powerful it is. I just think someone as clever and flexible as Mrs. Oakby would have been very adept at using her magic in effective ways is all."

Ana nods, but Eric is still frowning, clearing debating whether or not to respond. Finally he his lips and speaks.

"But maybe it was being a Squib that caused her to develop that creativity? I mean, my mom knows a lot of people who rely too much on their magic just because they have it. She says it builds character to do things the Muggle way, and I'm personally inclined to agree."

Sarah and Ana exchange a glance, and Ana is both surprised and amused to realize they're somehow on the same page. And to think not two minutes ago she'd been thinking how being compared to Sarah wasn't very complimentary.

"Perhaps, but if a person doesn't want to be inventive they'll be that way, magic or not." Sarah points out. "Magic doesn't create laziness, genetics do."

Ana nods. "Whereas if someone already has magic to do the simple tasks, then their creativity can be applied in much grander and more widespread ways instead of having to be inventive just to achieve what magic can do easily."

Eric makes a face but drops the topic, conceding quietly. Ana turns back to Sarah, pleased with their victory.

"So what are you thoughts on the possibility of changes to the werewolf registry?"

Ana's grades arrive somewhere in the midst of an intense debate between her and Sarah, and she immediately raises a hand to pause the Prefect mid-point.

"Congratulations Ms. Vulchanova, you're the top student in your grade again." Professor Flitwick winks at her as he hands over the parchment with her results. "We're expecting great things from you in the coming years."

Ana beams at him before quickly unfolding the paper.

Eric leans over her shoulder and whistles lowly. "Wow, straight Os."

Sarah grins. "You really are a small version of me." She comments, and this time Ana doesn't need to fake the smile accepting the compliment.

"I'll have to endeavor to outdo you in the future then." She promises, and Sarah laughs.

"I wouldn't expect any less. Now, as I was saying-"

The rest of the day is about as perfect an end to the year as Ana could have hoped for.

The End-Of-Term Feast is as bright and noisy as Franziska remembers it being, and the fact that the Great Hall is fully decked out in silver and green doesn't bother her as much as it clearly is some of the older Hufflepuffs and the rest of the school.

Of course, after the stress of the day Franziska would be fine with any decorations that aren't bright pink.

The day starts promisingly enough - Franziska has breakfast with her housemates, and then heads down to visit Hagrid, who she hasn't seen since before exams has started.

"Frannie!" The half giant greets cheerfully as he answers her knock. "Good ta see ya! How was yer week?"

Franziska grins and enters the cozy little hut, settling in her favorite chair right next to the fireplace. Hagrid's wolfhound puppy Fang quickly nestles on top of her feet, and she scratches his ears in greeting.

"Absolutely exhausting, but I passed all my classes!" She announces happily. In all honesty she had been worried about failing Transfiguration, but she'd scraped by with an 'A'. "And this morning I confirmed my schedule for next year."

Hagrid is busying himself in the kitchen, putting on a kettle to make them tea. "Tha's great Frannie! Which electives are ya takin'?"

She beams excitedly despite her friend's back being turned. "Well I signed up for Muggle Studies straight away, like I told you, but since my Charms grade was high enough I was allowed to take Ancient Runes as well! I'm really excited for it, mum took it when she was here and she says it's quite fascinating."

Hagrid pulls up a chair to face her. "Well tha's great! No Care of Magical Creatures?" He sounds a little sad at the revelation, and Franziska does feel bad. The groundskeeper had been encouraging her to take the class since they'd started their weekly tea meetings in April.

"I'm sorry Hagrid, I was going to take it if I didn't get into Ancient Runes, but I just don't think I can balance three new classes on top of the core curriculum." She explains. "Though a lot of my friends are taking it so I bet I can learn a lot from talking to them. And," She smiles shyly, embarrassed that this particular thought had actually contributed quite a bit to her decision, "I thought you could probably explain stuff about the creatures just as well as Professor Kettleburn could."

Hagrid looks incredibly touched by her admission, and she beams at him as he tries to hide his fluster by pouring them both some tea.

"Well tha's real nice 'o you to say so." He accepts the compliment clumsily.

They continue chatting until Franziska has to leave for lunch, and she promises she'll stop by the hut again before the train leaves for King's Cross the next day.

Lunch is when the day starts going downhill.

Franziska sits next to Tonks at the table, and the conversation flows smoothly enough. It isn't until everyone else has settled in that things start going sideways.

A group of first years burst into the room, drawing Franziska's attention immediately. The whole group is dressed in bright pink, and some of them have had their hair turned pink as well. At the front of the group is one Saundra Caldwell, a Hufflepuff first year Franziska had nearly, thankfully, forgotten about until now.

"Hunter!" The first year Hufflepuff races over to their table and stares hopefully at the nearest prefect. Hunter Vaughan looks less than pleased to have been singled out by the pink hoard, though Franziska can't help but smirk. She never liked him much anyway.

"Saundra, what did you do this time?" Hunter sighs and scans the pink pond of people in front of him.

"I was just trying out a color spell I found at the back of a textbook someone left in the common room." The small girl announces. "It went a little wonky, but I think I know why. I just don't know how to undo it yet."

Hunter sighs, again, and waves one of the other prefects over to come with him to assess the damage.

"Is anything else pink?" He asks, his tone indicating he knows exactly what the answer is going to be.

One of the other kids in the group pipes up with entirely too much enthusiasm for the situation. "Everything in the common room! The pink spreads if you touch stuff."

Hunter's hand jerks back from where he'd been reaching out to inspect Saundra's robes. "It spreads? What spell book were you looking at?"

Saundra doesn't even pretend to be abashed. "The Encyclopedia of Toadstools." She recites cheerfully, drawing out the last 's' in a rather self-satisfied manner. "It's quite an interesting read."

Hunter blinks, his face momentarily blank. "How on Earth did you..." He shakes his head. "No, never mind, I don't care. Come on, let's go clean this-" He doesn't get to finish his sentence when one of the first years trip and plummets headfirst into one of the girls who had been sitting beside Hunter before the interruption.

She immediately turns pink - and falls over onto the boy next to her. By the time someone stops the domino effect almost a quarter of Hufflepuff house has turned bright pink, and the whole table with all it's food are colored in as well.

Franziska quickly gets up to avoid touching anything, but the corner of her robes brush against the table's edge and soon enough she's pink as well.

Tonks bursts out laughing as she casually morphs the pink out of her hair, though the rest of her is still reminiscent of a flamingo.

Hunter sighs yet again. "Alright Hufflepuff, lets go back to the common room and try to fix this up before the Feast tonight." He instructs firmly, and all of the effected students, Franziska and Tonks among them, trudge back to the common room, carefully avoiding contact with anything on the way there.

"How come the floor isn't turning pink?" Tonks observes curiously, tapping a bright pink shoe against the stone beneath their feet.

"I think it's enchanted somehow. I'm going to study it more next year." Saundra has appeared behind the two second years, and Franziska jumps, nearly hitting a painting but catching her balance in time.

The lady in the frame has a few choice words for her "juvenile posture and sub-par stride" but Franziska had learned early on that it's best to ignore the paintings for the most part.

"You-" She doesn't get past that before Saundra is chattering away again.

"I'm thinking there might be something in Hogwarts: A History, but Uncle H only got me the books explicitly required for this year and the library is closed now. Say Frannie, you wouldn't happen to have a copy I could borrow, would you?"

Franziska starts to shake her head, but Tonks beats her to the punch.

"I definitely have one somewhere! Man, if you managed to turn everything pink from a book about mushrooms I'm excited to see what comes from a text like Hogwarts a History, that book is dense."

Franziska can only gape wordlessly as Tonks encourages Saundra to cause even more chaos.

"They were toadstools actually. Completely different genus." Saundra replies happily.

The barrels to the common room thankfully also don't turn pink as the hoard of charmed students crawls through them, much to Franziska's relief. Centuries of the Hufflepuff common room's location being one of Hogwart's best-kept secrets being spilled by a reckless first year turning the entrance pink might be on par with how her day is going, but that doesn't make the brunette okay with the possibility.

Hunter looks around their common room with an intense resignation. Two other prefects have accompanied him - the seventh years, Franziska recognizes them from the first night's welcome speech - and they survey the damage with a more critical eye.

"Alright, everyone in the middle of the room." The one female prefect announces briskly, herding the first years a bit.

Franziska stays close to Tonks as they follow the instructions, hoping for conversation to distract from the absolute mess her day has devolved into.

"Well this is certainly a memorable way to end the year." Tonks laughs as the prefects set about trying to undo Saundra's mess.

Franziska can acknowledge that much at least. "I wish it was memorable in some other way honestly." She replies. "Like having lunch out by the lake or flying around the Astronomy Tower."

Tonk's eyes light up. "Oh man, we should do that next year!"

The prefects eventually manage to reverse the spell, just in time to return to the Great Hall for the Feast.

Headmaster Dumbledore rises and congratulates Slytherin for their second victory in the House Cup competition in two years, and he encourages the rest of the school to keep working hard to improve themselves in the coming years. It's a nice speech, but Franziska is distracted by her clenching stomach. She'd never actually finished lunch after all.

Thankfully, the food appears only moments after Dumbledore is seated, and Franziska immediately dives in.

"Slow down Frannie, you're going to choke." Jemma scolds lightly from across the table, though there's no real bite to the words. "I'm glad to see you back to your normal color though."

Franziska makes a face at the comment and swallows her current mouthful. "Me too. I don't think they'd have let us leave like that though, the Muggles would have seen at King's Cross."

"You'd be surprised what Muggles are capable of shrugging off." Kiera grins around her own food. "They'd probably think you were covered in paint or something."

Henry takes a moment to look offended on behalf of his Muggle family, but then he laughs. "She's not wrong, but you might stir up some alien rumors for a while."

This naturally sparks into a debate on whether they believe in alien life that draws in most of the other Hufflepuffs at the table and even gets a few comments from the Ravenclaws sitting behind them.

Franziska is glad for the House-wide discussion, something that does happen on occasion but not nearly as much as she would like considering how fun they get. The topic is carried over to the common room, and they stay up right to the edge of curfew continuing to argue for or against extraterrestrials.

"I can't believe you switched sides Frannie." Aidan shakes his head in disappointment. "I would have thought you'd be on the side of science."

"I am though! Statistically speaking, a similar civilization to ours should have contacted us by now." Franziska defends herself. She'd been pro-alien up until one of the seventh years had pulled out the probabilities.

Aidan sighs. "You were my only logical supporter you traitor."

The rest of the second years mock affrontation, having all been firmly on the side of 'definitely aliens', though mostly for the cool factor.

It takes a while to settle down enough to fall asleep, but they eventually manange it, and Franziska follows up on her promise to stop by Hagrid's hut the next morning before heading back to the train platform.

"I'll miss yeh Frannie. You'll come visit me 'n Fang when ya get back, yeah?" The gameskeeper is dabbing at his eyes with the edge of the table cloth, and Franziska gives him a hug.

"Of course! First free period I have I'll be by for tea, I promise. Have a good summer Hagrid!"

Her robes are still a little damp from Fang's overenthusiastic goodbye when she settles herself in a car with Leona, Aidan, and Brandon.

"No Charlie?" Leona questions. She'd been he last one to take her seat. "I thought you three were a package deal?"

Aidan shrugs. "He's sitting with his brother and some of the Gryffindor team. He said he'd come by later on."

Brandon is pouting by the window, clearly not happy with one of his best friends ditching him. Franziska sits down across from him and offers a smile.

"Do you have any plans for the summer Brandon?"

Aidan answers for his friend when the American continues pouting. "Him and Charlie are coming over to my house for a couple of weeks in July. They're going to learn how Muggles live." His grin is mischievous, and Franziska can only laugh.

"I'm sure it'll be plenty of fun." She agrees, relaxing back into the seat as the train starts moving under them.

"I hear you'll be back in the country earlier this summer - maybe we could arrange a group trip to Diagon Alley." Aidan suggests with a grin, and Franziska perks up immediately.

"Oh that would be wonderful!"

She'd spent most of the past month working with Kiera to figure out exactly how she could visit her friend's farm during the summer. Rudi had more than earned his treats with all the flying he was doing around Europe during the negotiations. Eventually they settled on Franziska taking a Portkey directly to the Cassidy lands on August 15th, giving her plenty of time to relax with Kiera and accomplish her school shopping while still letting her spend most of the summer with her parents and Rosalinde.

Brandon finally looks up from his sulking. "You're going to be back in England before school starts?"

Franziska nods excitedly. "Well, technically Kiera lives in Ireland, but it's still much closer than Germany! I'm excited, Kiera says her family is really looking forward to it as well which is nice. I didn't want to be an inconvenience."

Brandon blinks and then grins. "You'd never be an inconvenience Badger. So hey, someone said something about a group outing to Diagon Alley?"

When Charlie, true to his word, does come join them about two hours into the trip, he's thoroughly confused by Brandon loudly informing him of exactly when he and Bill will be going to Diagon Alley, but he takes the news in stride and says he'll have to ask his parents.

With the addition of a second Gryffindor, the already lively car gets downright rowdy, and Franziska finds herself helplessly giggling with little to actually interject into the rapid conversation. When they finally arrive at King's Cross, she hugs everyone goodbye, and even catches a few of her other friends before they leave.

"Frannie! Frannie come show my dad your face so he knows who you are!" Kiera drags her away from hugging Donaghan and a reluctant Cian before they leave with the latter's mother.

Franziska can only laugh and follow along, a familiar feeling at this point.

"You must be Franziska! We look forward to your coming down! I hope you're ready to put in some good old manual labor!" Kiera's father is a very attractive man, and Franziska actually feels her face heating up, much to her own surprise and embarrassment.

"Thank you for having me sir! I'm quite looking forward to it!" She replies quickly, hoping to hide her reaction.

Thankfully her mother finds them shortly after, and once the adults have introduced themselves and Kiera and Franziska have had a proper hug goodbye Franziska and her mother head towards the exit.

"Did you have a good year?" Her mother prompts, and Franziska can only nod.

A pretty good year indeed.