Potterbook | *Started*

Alice Potter/Allen Selwyn | Great Hall, Slytherin Table

Alice chewed on her bottom lip, looking at Fiona almost calmly. But after a week of being dragged around by the girl, Allen knew that way her eyebrow was twitching ever so slightly downwards, as if she wanted to frown but denied her opponent the luxury of seeing her frown. She tilted her head at Fiona and stared into her eyes, refusing to blink. "So that's the rule in this house?"

O'Connell shrugged. "Well, yeah, duh."

A small smile tickled at the corner of Alice's mouth. She opened her mouth to reveal her teeth; one of them gleamed almost maliciously. "Tell me then, why are you calling attention to yourself right now if that is what it means to be Slytherin?"

Fiona turned red and stood up. "I don't have to deal with this from a nine-year-old-kid--"

"Considering you can't even count, I'd say you have the mental capacity of a toddler," Alice drawled, and then smiled. "You also have no right to tell me not to make friends with Gryffindors when you've been staring at the back of Pepperidge's head for the last hour, senior." Fiona looked as though she would combust on the spot, and probably would have, had it not been for a sudden thump on the Slytherin table right beside Alice, followed by Fletcher's lecturing. He went on and on, and finally sat down at the bench, oblivious to the stares the entire hall was giving him. He looked up at Alice. "What, Potter?"

Alice bared her teeth at Ben in a canine grin. "Fletcher."

"Hm?"

"I suggest you leave, before I get someone to transfigure you into a broken plate. Like this." She held up the plate Fletcher had stepped on and tapped it with her elder wand. A couple of cracks appeared in the silver. "Understood?"

Fletcher gulped while both Allen and Sammy stared at Alice. The girl turned to Fiona, a sickly smile plastered onto her face. "You were saying, senior?"

Fiona O’Connell | Great Hall


Fiona narrowed her eyes and stared at Pepperidge, willing an idea to come to her. She mostly ignored what Alice was saying, pausing only to turn to her, raise a finger to her lips and say ‘Hush, child, the adult is thinking.’ She drummed her fingers on the table and sighed.

“I guess I’ll have to resort to beating him on the Quidditch pitch.” Fiona sighed. Alice stared for a moment, stunned out of her anger.

“You’re on the Quidditch team?” she asked. Fiona sighed.

“I’m only the best Beater they’ve ever had.” She bragged, “whats it to you, tot?” Fiona pushed her hair from her eyes and turned to slightly face the younger girl.

“I was just recruited for the team today.” Alice said with pride. Fiona smirked. It had to be a joke. A little first year couldn’t take the intense training that came with being on the team.

“What a nice dream, kid.” Fiona said. She could practically hear her sister sigh with dismay. After you promised to be better, Fee, she would say with a frown, wait until mother hears. Fiona blinked quickly bringing her back to the task at hand.

“Why don’t you just run off to bed while the adults handle the adult things.” She told Alice and turned back to glare at Pepperidge.

Spoiler

Guys, it's only nice and more respectful to PM the creator of an SB instead of just posting in it, and you're also better off PM-ing the creator; they're more likely to consider your request to join/etc. It's rude to just post in an SB. And not to mention disrespectful AND annoying, as it ruins the flow of the SB. So, yeah. Please try to PM the creator or post in the Storybook's DT instead of the storybook--it's only common curtsey and common sense.

Now, my post. I was going to post earlier, but I was on my phone... Do you have any idea how hard it is to surf through YWS on my phone?

Samara Devereux | Great Hall - Slytherin Table:

Samara looked from Alice to O’Connell and back, scowling. "Clearly," she snapped, irritated, "someone has a crush and is too embarrassed to admit to it." She slanted Alice a sly look and smirked. The redhead echoed it. Allen was a little busy staring up at Fletcher, who had gone pale as a sheet and was making a sneaky exit out of the hall. Samara was too busy teasing the senior.

"Uh, Samara... Alice...."

The girls completely ignored Allen's attempt to get their attention, their gazes firmly focused on the older Slytherin girl. Allen eventually sighed, which was completely lost to Samara's hearing as she glared at O'Connell. Alice seemed to be considering something when Samara turned back to her. "Hey Alice," she said conversationally, "are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Alice peered at her with a frown before her expression cleared and her eyes lit up with a possibly malicious glint. "Why, I do believe I'm thinking what you're thinking, Sammy."

Samara sighed and shook her head, smiling slightly. "Totally ruined the mood, Alice."

Owen | Dumbledore's Office

"Do you like peppermint tea?" asked Dumbledore as he filled a mug for Owen. "I hope your surname hasn't given you an irrational aversion to it."

Owen shook his head and accepted the drink. His limbs still ached from the immobilising charm and his ears rang from McGonagall's tirade. He was sure his head of house had left a bruise on his arm when she dragged him up from the floor.

"I find peppermint tea to sooth the mind and the body." The headmaster sat back in his armchair by the fire and continued. "It's just what one needs after a tiresome day."

"Thank you, Professor," Owen managed.

"Not at all," said Dumbledore. "I hear you almost foiled an attack on the Great Hall this afternoon. I should be the one thanking you."

Owen blushed and tried to bury his face in his scarf. His so-called "plan" had been a mess from start to finish. Even worse, Sae still hadn't turned up! Where had she got to? Another wand at his side could have turned that battle in his favour.

"McGonagall told me I should report this sort of thing to you next time, Headmaster."

"Of course you should," said Dumbledore. He leant forward from his armchair and the firelight sparkled in his eyes. "But will you?"

Owen squirmed.

"Of course you won't," said the headmaster. He smiled. "That's why you're in Gryffindor."

What?

"But, sir--!"

"And perhaps you should learn more defensive charms," said Dumbledore gravely. "Protecting your friends is just as important as hexing your enemies."

"I-- I see." Owen's head reeled. Was the headmaster really giving him advice for his next clash with Fiona and her cronies?

"That's reassuring to hear." Dumbledore nodded as if everything was as he expected. "I gave the same advice to your rival, Fiona, but I don't think she will act on it."

Owen's jaw dropped.

Dumbledore peered at the teapot. "Such a pity," he said. "There's only enough for one more cup. I suppose that means it's time for you to go."

Owen nodded, got to his feet and headed for the door. He'd heard about Dumbledore's eccentricities before but he'd never seen them face-to-face.

"Just one more thing," said Dumbledore before Owen left. "Next time, try not to get caught."

Sae Carrow | Some Hogwarts Corridor

Sae sprinted down a corridor, attempting to weave her way from an advanced charms class to the Great Hall in time to meet Owen for his plan. She had known doubling up on many of her classes would be difficult, but she never thought it would take this long to accustom herself to.

However, this was not the only thing she didn't expect. In fact, she had even less of an expectation that as she rounded the corner near the statue that led to the Headmaster's office she would run straight into Owen, knocking both of them onto their backs on the stone corridor floors.

"Oh my," Sae said as she straightened herself. The small white daisies - daisies given to her by the boys in her potions class that morning - that had been woven into her braided hair had fallen from her hair and were scattered across the floor. She took her time retrieving them and returning them to her hair as Owen righted himself.

"You missed it," he said, a hint of hurt in his voice. "You missed it by a lot."

"I'm so very sorry, Owen," Sae assured as she stuck the last flower back into her braid. "I promise I tried. I was--"

"Don't," he interrupted, "blame this on the nargles." He already stood, hovering above her in the corridor. He was angry, Sae was sure, but he still held a hand out for her to help her up. "You've been missing a lot lately, Sae," he said. "What have you been up to?"

Sae giggled and patted him on the shoulder. "Oh, Owen, what are any of us up to?" She laughed again and took his hand, leading him down the hallway. "Come, let's find Matt. It's nearly time for Quidditch practice, and we thought you might like to come watch."

Owen | Quidditch Pitch

"Ok guys -- up in the air and lets get warmed up!"

The Gryffindor team pushed off from the ground and moments later they were weaving complex patterns around the stadium. Each member was decked out in red and gold, making the team look like a shower of meteorites or stunning spells.

The Ravenclaws were already in the air, just blue and silver streaks against the sky as they practised passing the quaffle amongst themselves. Most of the Hufflepuff team were still on the ground discussing tactics and the intricacies of avoiding bludgers.

The Slytherin team, however, was nowhere to be seen. Owen preferred it that way -- seeing his rival Fiona on a broom would have been unbearable.

Owen sat alone in the Gryffindor stands, his scarf wrapped twice around his neck to keep out the cold. For the first time in four years at the school he wasn't up there with them. It sucked, but that was the price. McGonagall wouldn't have let him start the Duelling Club if he kept playing Quidditch.

From the stand he could keep an eye on his friends though. He could see Matt and Sae racing each other in figure of eights round the Ravenclaw stands. Matt always seemed so much more graceful on a broom. Sae seemed graceful anywhere. And looking back at the Gryffindor formation Owen could keep an eye on the Rockharrow twins.

Owen pulled his scarf tighter round his neck and produced a book from his satchel. "Defensive Charms for Dummies" -- it was a battered library copy but it was a good place to start. With his wand in one hand, book in the other, Owen started to put Dumbledore's advice into practice.

Spoiler

You guys might want to look at the DT/Potterdoc.

Alice Potter | An abandoned clearing off a lonely wing of the castle

Alice could feel the waves of dislike pressing into the back of her head as she walked side-by-side with Captain Flint, the new Nimbus 2001 she'd gotten from Professor Snape gleaming in her right hand. Apparently, O'Connell was a Beater, but Flint said she was going to be a little late. Meanwhile, two of the Chasers in the team had taken an immediate dislike to Alice upon seeing her; they were an older brother-younger sister pair. Ralph and Tanya Windhaven were in their sixth and fourth years, respectively. While Ralph perpetually looked as though someone had punched him in both eyes when he was a baby, Tanya was fresh and clean, as though she had just come out of a shower.

Alice liked neither of them.

While Flint had been nice to her, most of the other team members had merely glared at her and made peace afterwards. But these two seemed as though they wouldn't let up, and Alice smelled trouble in the air. She was right, actually; just as she attempted to mount her new Nimbus 2001, a streak of flashing golden light slipped an inch away from her head. She turned and looked around at the two; Flint was already there, lecturing them.

"Sorry!" the brother called. "I was just messing around, didn't mean to aim at anyone!"

"Fine. But if that thing had hit Potter, Windhaven--"

"She'd only be out of commission for an hour, Captain," Ralph drawled. Beside him, Tanya tittered, and Flint glared at them, drawing himself up to his full height, which, frankly, was towered over by the year older Ralph.

"Missing an hour of practice is missing a lot of practice!" Flint roared. "Any more of this, and Professor Snape will hear about it, Windhaven!"

Ralph rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Oh look, here comes the Queen of Tardiness."

The team looked around, and Flint, sensing that he couldn't get through to the older Windhaven boy at this point in time, turned around and started lecturing Fiona O'Connell on the importance of being on time. Behind the harangued Beater, Sammy peeked out and waved at Alice in a gesture of support. Alice grinned back, nervously. She wasn't sure how much of this animosity she could actually bear.

"3...2...1...and off!" Flint called the whistle and glared at Fiona. "O'Connell, that's not the proper way to mount your broom!" The third year might have glared back, but she was more focused on glaring at Alice. Flint called out for them again, and she kicked off from the ground, swerving dangerously close to Alice's shoulder. "So you weren't lying, pipsqueak." Alice looked around, completely ignoring Fiona as though she were a mosquito. The older girl popped a vein in her forehead. "Hey!"

Alice sighed and glanced back at Fiona. "Guess you're more annoying than I thought you would be. Alright, what is it?"

"I was just welcoming you to the team!" Fiona blew, but before she had anything else to say, Flint yelled.

"O'Connell, stop dilly-dallying and leave the Seeker alone!" Fiona shot a glare at one of the other players and back at Alice before moving on. Alice sighed. Why exactly had she joined up for Quidditch, again?

Fiona O’Connell~Quidditch Pitch



“You only make him angry.” Maggie told her, handing her a club. Fiona sighed and shook her head.

“I know.” Fiona sighed. She had had a meeting with most of the teachers, who were all very unhappy with the events of earlier. She had gotten off with a crazy long detention and was on warning. She had to be on her best behavior.

“SMITH. O’CONNELL. LET’S MOVE!” Flint yelled at them. Maggie rolled her eyes.

“Let’s do this.” Fiona said, starting to fly in a wide circle. She lazily twirled her club in her right hand, waiting for a Bludger to get near her. She hit them as soon as they go near her, sending them soaring to the other side of the pitch. She smiled with satisfaction after every hit, and cheering loudly whenever Maggie did the same. She loved having the chilly wind hit her face, flushing her cheeks a bright pink. She flew a wide arc around Maggie, going back towards the goalposts.

That’s when it happened. She was just finishing the circle, club in hand when a bludger hit her directly in the face. Fiona stopped, stunned. Intense pain radiated through her face. She flew over to the bleachers, sat down and felt her face. Blood. Broken nose. Fiona sighed.

Spoiler

Going back, slightly

Matt | Dungeons

After being screamed at by Professor McG for 10 minutes with no sight of Owen, she decided it was high time to help out Snapescum and clear up the mess (without magic!) in the dungeons after making a potion that made the whole school stink of frog mucus.

Bloody dungheads.

Oh well. As if I was any good at practical magic anyway - but it was incredibly infuriating. At least the option was actually there. But now, I had to clear up bulls eyes and rat spleens.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

I wobbled over to the desk in the corner where a pale orange liquid had been spilt all over the dark, wooden table with deep grooves etched into them. My knee still ached and wobbled; it couldn't handle all my weight. I found myself lying eagle-spread on the floor with my teeth gritted.

Keep calm, Matt. Calm.

I reluctantly dragged myself up and began clearing the mess with a wet towel in my hand. Already, my robes were covered in orange--

"In here, Potter." I could hear Snape's cold voice zap the heat from the room. "Oh. Edmunds." Snapescum smirked at me. "Having a good time? Your father would be... pleased to know."

Gritting my teeth and trying to remain my usual optimistic self and avoid any trouble. I carried on cleaning the room.

Snape turned to ... Alice Potter. The Girl Who Lived was there! So it was true... "Potter... that was ... truly spectacular. You are..."

I quickly rushed to get the room finished, before running out of the room, muttering something about forgetting Quidditch practise. (I did take a second glance at the Girl Who Lived, though).

Luckily, I wasn't late to Quidditch. Maybe that day wasn't so bad after all.

Samara Devereux | Slytherin Common Room:

Samara sighed, glaring at the wall above a nearby fireplace. She was bored. Alice was off at Quidditch practice, if what she'd heard the girl say earlier was right, and Allen was probably off with some Gryffindors, which left Samara all on her lonesome. And to make matters worse? He brother and two elder sisters were glaring at her from the far side of the Common Room. It was irritating her, and she knew she'd probably be getting a howler from her parents at breakfast tomorrow. It was rather like her father to do that, actually. She'd probably get some gift from her mother a few days later.

She sighed again and dragged her eyes off the wall to glare at the parchment on her lap. Yes, Samara had left Alice to her Quidditch practice--she'd had a rather long, urgently needed-to-be-written homework assignment to finish. She felt rather guilty at running off half-way through, but hoped Alice would forgive her. Charms. Charms. She was going to throttle that darned Charms Professor! A three foot essay on Wingardium Leviosa? Was Flitwick insane? That had been the easiest spell she had cast when her mother had taught her just last year! She sighed yet again and threw her siblings a glare back, equally as disappointed as theirs. Hadrian, her brother, sneered at her and turned back to her sisters. Aloisia and Cassiopeia exchanged a glance before they both stood and headed towards the girl's dorms.

Samara felt extremely weary of their behaviour. Ever since they'd seen her with Alice and Selwyn, they'd turned up their noses and sneered in her direction. She rubbed a hand over her face and stood, collecting her things. Perhaps it was time to go back to the clearing and see how the Slytherin Quidditch practice was going? Samara shook her head, shoved all her things into her bad and rushed towards the door, almost bumping into Regina Jutsonberg, another girl in her house and year, on her way out.

She slung her bag over her shoulder once she was out in the cold, damp dungeon hallway and shook her head. She was so going to get a howler tomorrow. Somehow she just knew it. Thanks, guys, she thought sourly, thinking of her siblings. Samara turned and took off down the hall at a run. She was almost out of the dungeons when she collided with someone and was sent sprawling on the stone floor.

"Miss Devereux," sneered a familiar voice, "do watch where you are going." She locked up with a startled gaze to find Snape brushing invisible dust off his robes. He meet her gaze and smiled. It wasn't a nice one, either. "Five points from Slytherin for running in the halls." Snape shook his head, running a hand through his still-clean-and-shiny hair. "Oh, and a detention for tomorrow evening." He sighed. "I do hate taking points from my own house. Run along, Devereux, since you seemed to be in such a hurry." And then he was gone, off down the hall to only Merlin knew where.

Samara slowly stood up, staring after him as she collected her things again. That had been an...odd interaction. She shook her head and took off again. Detention! For running in the halls. So embarrassing. Samara would think about this later--Snape was strange, but she had more pressing matters to attend to. Like Alice and Quidditch practice.

Fifteen Minutes Later ~ Slytherin Quidditch Practice Area

"Alice!" Samara called, jogging to the edge of the clearing. She froze, staring at her housemates flying around. O'Connell was sitting down and looked like she had a bloody nose while Alice was up so high that she looked like a dot against the sky.

"Look out!" some shouted and Samara ducked, the rouge bludger barely missing her head as it flew past. Samara straightened up and fixed the beater with a glare. Sniggering drew her attention to a pair of chasers, both older students. She fixed them with a glare too. They burst out into full on laughter.

"Watch it!" she shouted at the beater when she was closer. "That nearly took my head off!" The beater merely smiled at her as she flew in close and hovered right over Samara's head.

"Sorry!" she called, waving her bat at the curly-haired girl. "Didn't see you there! You should probably go sit down before another one comes flying in your direction!" Samara's eyes widen and she pointed past the beater, who turned just in time to see the next bludger headed her way.

"Oh, my---" Samara ducked out of the way as the beater took on the bludger and sent it flying--straight for Alice. "ALICE!" Samara shouted, "LOOK OUT!"

Spoiler

If anything needs changing, do feel free to tell me, Triplet. <3

Spoiler

Surprise! A Regina appears in the midst of all the hectic activities happening at Hogwarts! Celt and I thought we should add a little Reggie to the story even if I can't take part fully. So yeah.

Regina Jutsonberg|Outside the Slytherin Common Room

Surely I'm not that invisible, Regina thought to herslef, as she watched Samara Devereux rush away, just after almost knocking her down. Regina wondered what Samara's hurry was for, but decided instead of following her cuiously, she'd better get done with her Charms assignement, which we was determined to have complete by the end of the day.

Library

Lifting her head from her text book's pages, her eyes adjusting to the light, Regina looked around the empty library and through the window on the far end opposite her, revealing a sky full of night stars. The stench of ancient spell books gripped at her lungs, the sound of her chair scratching the wooden floorboards echoed heavily around. Could it have been that that had sent a sudden chill to run through her bones? Could it have been the fact that the swinging changeliers made her shake so much she couldn't control her grip of her pot of ink, that went crashing and spilling on the library floor?

"Oh no," she whispered softly, digging in her black sachel for the hankerchief she used whenever Gooey got too slimy. In an attempt to wipe the pool of black ink without spreading it, Regina rubbed away at the substance, hurriedly and getting almost out of breath. "Come on! What's the spell?"

"Repairo." A voice deep, manly voice from above her head said. She saw all the scattered pieces of the inkpot's glass coming together and the ink refilling its container. Afraid of being in any trouble, Regina didn't look up to see who it was but had guessed by the sound of the person's voice that Slytherin was about to lose a great amount of housepoints. "Aren't we aware of what time it is, Miss Jutsonberg?"

Allen Selwyn | Gryffindor Common Room

September 16, 1991

Today has been largely uneventful. Sure, Pepperidge came bugging me to join the Duelling Club this morning, but he does that everyday anyway, so I’m not too worried. He went off to the Quidditch pitch; well, actually, almost everyone in the house went out, so I’m pretty bored...let’s see. Esparza came in a while ago, going nuts about some book in her dormitory. I tried to go up the stairs and help her, but she went berserk and said she didn’t need my help; besides, the moment I put my foot on the staircase to the girls’ dormitories, would you believe it--it went all flat and slippery on me!

I think I’m lucky I didn’t break my nose...

Allen stopped writing and rolled over, staring up at the ceiling of the common room. He’d tried to call on the two Slytherin girls a while back, but the moment he’d asked that fifth-year Slytherin senior if he could tell Allen were they’d gone, he’d gotten not only a serious glare from said senior, but for some reason he couldn’t comprehend, Snape of all people came up behind him and penalized Gryffindor ten points for attempting to spy on another house’s Quidditch team. Allen was pretty sure asking after another student’s location wasn’t considered spying, but he’d got his answer; Alice was probably out practicing Quidditch with her teammates.

He hope she was enjoying it...honestly, he was...but he wished she could’ve brought him along with her. More like, he wished he was in Slytherin. Or at least, he had wished once. But he wasn’t sure he wanted to be a Slytherin anymore, because Snape didn’t like him...why was thinking such a confusing process? He rolled over again and put his quill in a bottle of ink, when suddenly junior Rockharrow burst in, huffing. She glared at him.

“Selwyn, what do you think you’re doing not cheering Gryffindor on at the stands?!” she demanded. “You’re supposed to care about who wins the Quidditch cup, Selwyn!” Allen stared at her for one moment sullenly, before flipping the journal shut and making his way towards the boys’ dormitories. Rockharrow stomped on the ground. “SELWYN!”

“I can hear you loud and clear, you don’t have to tear the entire place down, Rockharrow,” he mumbled. “I’m not a Quidditch fan to be honest. Besides, Alice is on the other team, so I can’t really...”

“How can you be a Gryffindor and not love Quidditch?!” Leo demanded, pointing outside. “Just look out there! LOOK!” He glanced out the window. It didn’t look anything special to him. “Can’t you just feel the thrill of the players? The Quaffle! The Snitch!”

“...I noticed you didn’t mention the Bludgers. Aren’t your sisters Beaters...?”

“That’s not the POINT!” Leo glared. “You should...--”

“--play a round of Exploding Snap and decide whether you’re right or wrong.” Allen grinned. “Are you up for it, Rockharrow?”

The girl glared somewhere in the general direction of his head. “Alright! But if you lose, you’ll have to do my homework for a week!”

“And if you lose?”

“As if that’ll happen!” Leo held her head up high. “But say, metaphorically, if I do lose...I’ll do your homework for a week, if that happens. Good enough for you?”

Allen snickered. She was so not going to like this.


Alice Potter | Slytherin Quidditch Practice Area


“Watch out!”

It might have been too late if Alice had actually heard what everyone was yelling about; she would’ve discerned the person saying it, the direction they were in, what they were yelling about, and finally, what was speeding at her. But she was so engrossed in looking for the Snitch that she hadn’t noticed all the calls aimed her way; and that was how she didn’t know that it was a Bludger that was threatening to knock her head off, but assumed that it was one of those giant Dungballs that were so popular with the seniors. She dodged it rapidly, then stuck her tongue out in the general area of where it had come from, assuming it to be a prank.

Then she realized she was wrong, as it came hurtling back at her.

Quickly swerving out of the way, she watched as it came back up for another round. Is it targetting me? A question quickly came into her head. Then, I have to get out of here. She slipped away from the Bludger’s trajectory, going into a dive so steep some of the spectators screamed. She was right; the Bludger was following her. On a notion, she suddenly swerved out of the dive; the Bludger, with its clumsy movement, smashed right into the ground with the impact of a three-tonne wrecking ball; rather a large force for such a small ball. When the dust had cleared up, the Bludger twitched feebly in the large crater it had made; remains of leather and something moving. Alice glanced over at everyone; amidst the general looks of surprise, the two Chaser siblings were gawking at her. Ralph cleared his throat.

“Well, even I could’ve done that!”

Alice stared. “Done what?”

Fiona O’Connell | Training Area



“I am NOT OKAY!” Fiona screamed. Her face throbbed. She had dealt with pain before, having two older siblings to inflict creative torture techniques, but nothing like this. She held her nose with one hand, groping for her wand in her robe pockets. If she could only think for one moment, she would remember a charm to stop the blood. But all she could concentrate on was on the pain.

She got up, stumbled off the bleachers. She tossed her club aside, fully forgetting about her broom.

“O’Connell. Where are you going?” Flint landed behind her. She never liked him. He was always angry, and never seemed to understand that her name was Fiona, not O’Connell.

“I’m not sure if you noticed, Flint.” She said, almost kindly, “but I have a small situation I should take care of before I fly again. Good day.” She stomped away from the pitch, headed for the infirmary. She kept her head down as she walked, ignoring the laughs and murmurs from other students. Her mind whirred through the many revenge tactics she could take against whoever had hit her. No, though. She had to be on her best behavior. Instead, she composed her first letter to her brother and sister at home.

Dear Damian and Isibéal

I hate you both.

Valentina Esparza I The Gryffindor Girls' Dormitory

Valentina had been searching for over an hour. Although she had ransacked every inch of her area of the dormitory, the book was nowhere to be found. Her heart still pounded a little too hard from the initial shock of finding it missing, but as every moment passed, she felt it slowing a little and a heavy, dull dread settling over her. She looked over the mess; cracked ink bottles with ink of all colours oozing out of them; snapped quills; unfolded clothes. Valentina wondered how she had managed to make such a mess so soon after arriving at Hogwarts.

But none of it matters now, she told herself. You’ll be going back home in no time now that somebody’s taken your book.

She looked at her owl, Monteith, who sat perched on the windowsill of the girls’ dormitory with his dark, almost regal head inclined towards her. She walked over and gently stroked his feathers. He looked at her for a few moments and then turned and took off, soaring into the sky.

Feeling more alone than ever, Valentina sat down on her bed. The initial panic of the book’s disappearance had now faded and she wished she hadn’t snapped so hard at Allen. Doubts were beginning to cloud her mind every moment she spent at Hogwarts now and she could have done with a friend to listen.

She lay on her bed and although she tried to stop them, the thoughts of how awful it would be to have to return home to her family now that they hated her would be flooded her mind. She played out the scene several times in her head, but there was a point that the vision broke off at each and every time. Because she couldn’t imagine it. She just couldn’t.

There’s still the hope of whoever had taken it not reporting it to Professor Dumbledore, she tried to tell herself, but that was not enough to stop her from feeling the barely containable, pushing presence of something inside her.

She needed to cry; but she wouldn’t let herself do so.

**

A Few Days Later I The Girls' Bathroom

“Wingardium Leviosa,” said Valentina. Her wand swished and flicked. She half watched her reflection in the mirror, and half watched the feather which was floating up in front of her now. She was sitting by the side of the sink in the girls’ bathroom, practising small spells and thinking. It had been days since her book had gone missing – and the thought of it brought a small pang of shock and dread to her even now, although it was much lesser than it had been before. Something else was beginning to fill her whenever she thought about the book’s absence.

Relief.

But she would not think about it too much. She concentrated on the feather. Then she pointed her wand at the taps and tried to turn them on and off without touching them. It didn’t work. In a fit of exasperation she gave one of the taps a sharp tap, and then stared at it in disbelief.

Some dark, sticky red liquid had begun to trickle out of the tap. She watched it, frozen, holding her breath as it oozed into the sink.

That was when the door swung open and Valentina sprang up and moved quickly away from where she had been sitting with her legs up by the sink. She looked around to see who the newcomer was, subconsciously taking a step away from the red-liquid-oozing sink and holding out her hands slightly to show that she hadn’t done anything bad, she hadn’t meant to do it.

Leopoldina gave her a wary look as she walked into the bathroom, her hair and appearance immaculate as always, but her left hand clenched over her mouth for some reason Val couldn’t work out. Valentina took a hesitant step back and bit her lip. She doesn’t like me, she thought. No wonder. I don’t like – I mean, I don’t mind – I don’t know her.

Leo stopped in front of the mirror and looked at the sink for a few moments, and then at Val. Then she looked back again. She was still holding her left hand in front of her mouth.

“Are – are you okay?” tried Valentina.

“I’m fine. But I’ve got a tooth ache. That stupid A-" she broke off and looked at the tap again. “Why is that sink oozing blood?” then she clenched her hand more tightly over her mouth and her body almost convulsed. “Ouch,” she winced.

“I don’t know,” said Valentina. “I tapped it and it started oozing. I was trying to make it turn on.”

Leo raised her eyebrows. “You managed to do that, alright.”

They stood in silence for a few minutes. Leo gently prised her hand away from her mouth to look at whatever was inside and then winced, closed her eyes and clenched her hand over her mouth again. Her voice sounded horribly muffled when she spoke to Valentina again.

What she said sounded something like: “Fi-donth-like-faf-Allen-thery-fuch-thu-you?”

“Pardon?” asked Val. For the first time since she had arrived at Hogwarts, she realised that she was actually almost trying not to laugh.

Leo sighed and lifted her hand away from her mouth. “Nevermind. I’ve got homework to do.”

“Me too,” said Valentina, although she had in fact finished all of hers.

“I should be go-“ Leo broke off and squeezed her eyes shut again. “Ow, this hurts,” she mumbled.

There was a crack, and something small and white fell to the floor with a small tapping noise. Valentina barely had a moment to register what the object was before another fell to the ground to join it.

Leopoldina whimpered, clenching her hand back over her mouth as if that was the only failsafe way to keep her teeth in.

Leopoldina Rockharrow | The Hospital Wing

Leo couldn't look in the mirror. She didn't want to look at her hands either, covered in blood from her mouth. Instead, she shut her eyes, squeezing tears out from between the lids.

She didn't normally cry. But this was a step too far.

Madam Pomfrey hadn't bothered her too much. She hadn't asked questions, hadn't tut-tutted. But she had taken Leo's teeth away.

Her teeth.

She was just going to wash them, she said. But Leo was left sitting in the Hospital Wing by herself all gummy and toothless like the old men her mother treated in St Mungo's.

So Leopoldina Rockharrow sat by herself and cried.

After about twenty minutes, there was a ruckus at the door and it flew open, Lavinia storming through, her scarf and hair flying behind her. "I just got word you were here- who did this to you?"

Leo just cried more.

The upsetting thing was she didn't really know who. She was assuming it was Selwyn- but he had seemed almost friendly. Maybe that was all a ploy. He had clearly been cheating in that game of Exploding Snap- nobody won by such a wide margin by playing by the rules.

Eventually she got all her teeth reinserted, with Lavinia's arm around her whispering comforting words about how well Quin and Ara had performed in the Quidditch match.

"I'm reporting this to McGonagall," Lavinia said furiously. "Nobody pushes you around like this."

"No," Leo said suddenly, and had to stop for a second to put her finger on why. "I... it's my job to stand up for myself. I'll never get anywhere if I let you and Quin and Ara fight all my battles for me."

"You're our little sister, of course we're going to look after you!"

Leo just shook her head. "Not this time."

This time she was going to get her own back.

She crept upstairs to the girls' dormitory. Valentina was curled up on her bed with a book, and nodded when she came in. Leo took out her pen and parchment and began to write a Potions essay. Thank goodness she had already written hers, perfect, every word of it.

Selwyn's, on the other hand, would not be. She described how you must always stir twelve times clockwise (not thirteen anti-clockwise), that lacewing flies were an essential ingredient (when in fact they were destructive to the potion), that gold cauldrons were the best to use 'as magic tends to be attracted to their beauty'. Those very words.

Snape would enjoy this essay, as she put Allen Selwyn on the top of it and traipsed downstairs to the common room.

Allen was there, pondering something at one of the tables. He grinned as she came down with a pile of parchment. She grinned back.

She showed her teeth.

"Here," she said, thrusting all the rolls at him. "Write them up yourself or do whatever. I really don't care."

"Why, thank you, Leopoldina."

She turned around, then paused, and turned back. "That trick with the teeth wasn't funny. I've spent the entire evening in tears because of it. I hope you're happy. I wouldn't expect any less of a Selwyn. They're evil to the core."

As she whirled around to leave once more, she caught sight of what he was looking at, but quickly covered when he saw her looking.

A lunar calendar.

Weird.