"Half-past eleven," Kat whispered to me, "we'd better go." I nodded and threw on my school uniform. With quiet feet we slowly made our way of of the Hufflepuff Wing. "By the way, where is the Trophy Room?" Kat asked. I shook my head. " I don't know, but, I'm sure we'll find it in time to stop the boys from doing something they shouldn't."

Kat just shrugged, and we started on our little adventure. It took us nearly an hour to find the Trophy Room, but I wish we hadn't when we came face to face with the scary groundskeeper, Mr. Filch. "Ah! You must have been the ones I was told about!" He grabbed our arms. "You should know not to be out this late girls." We tried to protest. To get our arms loose, but it was all in vain.

Mr. Filch dragged us all the way to Mr. Dumbledore's office, and sat us in front of the Headmaster. "I found them near the Trophy Room." Mr. Filch said. "Thought you'd like to now Headmaster."

"Thank you Mr. Filch. But please take Miss Kathryn to her chambers. I'll only need to talk to Miss Gwendolyn here." Mr. Filch looked a little depressed, but nodded and left with Kat by the arm. I looked at Mr. Dumbledore with a mix of question and horror on my face. He leaned in to say, "Tell me Miss Gwendolyn, what were you doing out so late at night?" I shifted in my chair.

"Well, I," Should I tell him about Draco? Would that be okay? "I over heard that there was to be a duel and I wanted to stop it before it happened, Headmaster."

"Oh? And who were the two duelers? Surely you'd know, right?" I looked down.

"I'm sorry sir. But I don't know who they were. I merely didn't want anyone to get hurt. Please forgive me, sir." I'd never lied to an adult like this before. I've only lied when my mother asked if I'd eaten some of the cookie dough. I'd said no and blamed it on our cat, Ofilia.

"Very well then Miss Gwendolyn. If what you say is true then I will not deduct any points from your house, but next time you are out at an obscenely hour, I will. Now go off to bed." I quickly nodded and left his office.

Kat bombarded me with questions, but they fell on my deaf ears. I was so tired, I didn't even change before plopping onto the pillow and crashing. It was a peaceful sleep... until:

"Go away! Leave me alone!" I was younger and surrounded by a dark force. It felt like it was suffocating me.

"You know I can't do that, Little Gwen." The darkness hissed. "This is who you are!" The darkness came at me, and suddenly... I was awake again. I was cold, but my brow was damp with sweat.

"Draco. May I talk to you?" I asked, clutching my books to my chest. "Sure, what is it?" I pulled him aside and asked, "What happened yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" He gave a questioning look while I tried(but was failing) to give a stern one. "That duel you challenged Potter to? I was going to stop you both but, neither of you were there when Kat and I showed up. Why would you do that Draco? You had me so worried."

"Wh-why would you even worry about me in the first place? I would have been just fine."

"Did you not hear me, Draco? I was going to stop you. To get in trouble would be terrible if your father found out."

"Look I--" He paused and looked behind me. Then stormed off. I noticed that the Potter and Weasley boys were heading in the direction to leave the Hall, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Draco seized the package from Potter and felt it.

"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Potter with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them." The Weasley boy seemed he couldn't resist saying, "It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Weasley grinned at Potter. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Draco snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig." Before Weasley could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Draco's elbow.

"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.

"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Draco quickly.

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Potter.

"Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sit," said Potter, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Draco's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added. Potter and Weasley headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Draco's obvious rage and confusion. I sighed and made my way to my next class. I swear, it's like Draco sees Potter, and the only thing he thinks is to try and rip him apart.

"Ah! Miss Gwendolyn!" It was Madam Hooch's voice. I turned to see her running after me. When she caught up to me she said, "Whew, I have a question for you Miss Gwendolyn." I looked at her in wonder. "Would you like to be my assistant for the Quidditch games?" She gave me a smile.

"Excuse me miss?" I was baffled. She shrugged. "Well, more like an on hand nurse. I know you can do that, right?" I was speechless, so I just nodded.

"Good, now follow me. We'll need to get you your own uniform. By the way, you do know the works of Quidditch, correct?"

"Um, yes. The Keepers have to fly around their hoops and stop the other team from scoring. The three Chasers play with the Quaffle with the small club, called a Bludger. The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team. It's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. Then you have the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. Whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. Is that it Madam Hooch?"

"Yes, yes. Very good Miss Gwendolyn. Now keep up now. I'll need make sure that your uniform fits correctly before anything else." We walked to Madam Hooch's office and she opened a chest that seemed old and dusty. "Ah! Here it is!" She pulled out a circular curtain rod with the dull blue curtain hanging off it. She stood it up and said, "Well, put your books down and step in." I did as I was told and stepped in.

"Alright, now then, Ruben! Quidditch assistant outfit if you please!" At her words a dull grey light washed over me and I wasn't in my school uniform anymore. Instead I had on a white blouse with a black polka dot pattern on it and a black sweater over it. My blouse was tucked into a grey skirt that went a bit past my knee, and my shoes and socks were swapped for black flats that had a grey bow on top of each one and knee high, grey socks.

I tucked my dragon necklace under my blouse and stepped out. Madam Hooch clapped her hands. "You look perfect. Now when the grounds are wet then of course we'll give you boots but for now this is perfect. Does it feel fine?" I nodded. "Good, now you'll report here before every game, get changed, and then we both will start the game. Now step back in and I'll change you back." And Madam Hooch was true to her word. I was given my uniform back, and a late note for my next class.

"So, what happened with Draco?" Kat asked, as I sat next to her. I sighed. "I don't know. He's really nice when he wants to be, but Potter's done something to him. Whenever Draco sees Potter, he gets this dark look and he just becomes so different."

"Well, from what I can tell, he cares for you, so as long as he's nice to you, we have nothing to worry about. I mean, better he's mean to someone else than to you."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Aw, come on! Cheer up! Halloween's almost here!" I giggled at Kat's enthusiastic smile and voice. "Yeah, I guess so."

On Halloween morning we all woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something Kat had wanted to do ever since I'd started to force her to study more. "That way I can look at more books in less time." I told her that's not how it works, but she just shrugged.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" Squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too -- never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

"Wingardium Leviosa!" We all shouted. Some sounded sluggish, some enthusiastic, and some angry. I picked up my wand and in a gentle motion, did as I was instructed. Swish and flick and, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above my head. "Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here. Miss Marchbanks has done it!"

I blushed and allowed the feather to fall back onto the desk. "That was really cool Gwen." Kat said.

"Y-yeah. Thanks." I leaned forward, causing my hair to fall into my face.

On our way to the Grand Hall we talked about what they were going to have for the Halloween Feast. A moment later we entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put all of our jaws on the floor.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet, when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face.

Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll -- in the dungeons -- thought you ought to know." He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Our head led us swiftly out of the Grand Hall. "Why would there be a troll here in the first place?" Kat asked. "I don't know." It was a good question, who would even consider letting out a troll into first place. I then suddenly stopped. "Wait! He said that the troll was in the dungeon, right?" Kat nodded and a flash of horror washed over me.

"Draco." My voice nothing more than a whisper. "Hey, Gwen. What's up?" I didn't answer her. I just took off. "Gwen! Wait! Come back!" I heard Kat's footsteps come chasing after me. I had to get to Draco before that Troll does!