Third year only got worse.

Harry's murderous godfather managed to gain entry into the castle and slash up the fat lady in our portrait. As a result we all had to spend the night sleeping on the floor in the Great Hall. I wasn't even allowed to go into my room and grab Trevor for comfort.

But it meant I got to fall asleep looking at Draco Malfoy's hair.

And then Harry nearly died playing Quidditch - again. I seriously started to wonder why I kept going along to these matches.

He was actually lucky to be alive but he was more upset by the fact that his broomstick broke. And, because he was Harry Potter, it wasn't long until he was gifted with a brand new broom.

Some people get all the luck; unlike me, whose year just got crappier and crappier.

Because the fat lady was refusing to guard the Gryffindor Tower, we had a new portrait. One with this terrifying knight who seemed to relish in making up new passwords on a daily basis and making them hellishly complicated. I was so frightened of being locked out and having to sleep in the hallway when there was a killer on the loose, that I got Sir Cadogan to tell me the weeks worth of passwords ahead so I could write them all down on a bit of parchment.

Which I then proceeded to loose.

This went down badly when Harry's godfather somehow got his hands on it and used it to terrorise my fellow Gryffindors.

"I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!" Ron cried as we all ran into the common room wondering what on earth had woken us all up in the dead of night.

"Don't be ridiculous, Weasley," Professor McGonagall barked, "how could he possibly have got through the portrait hole?"

"He had the whole week's my lady!" Sir Cadogan said proudly when McGonagall enquired to him about why he let Sirius Black in without the password. "Read 'em off a little piece of paper!"

"Which person," McGonagall said, her voice shaking as she turned to the rest of us, her face white and furious, "which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?"

I gulped.

*****

I was in total disgrace. Professor McGonagall was so furious with me that she banned me from all future Hogsmeade visits, gave me a detention and forbidden anyone to give me the password into the Tower. I was forced to wait outside the common room every night for somebody to let me in. It was just like first year all over again.

Draco Malfoy seemed to relish in my humiliation, constantly passing by the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower to mock me and chuck coins at my feet whilst I waited for a Gryffindor to let me through.

"You know, you might just well be my favourite Gryffindor, Longbottom," He drawled gleefully as he passed by me for the third time that day. "Your complete embarrassment of an existence never fails to entertain me."

"Shut up, Malfoy," I mumbled quietly, keeping my tearful eyes firmly fixed to the ground.

"If you're not snogging toads and mooning over teachers," he continued, his grey eyes glinting in amusement, "then you're letting mass murderers in to kill off your little Gryffindor friends."

I refused to respond, afraid I might burst into tears. Instead I closed my eyes, silently willing him to leave me alone.

As he walked off, laughing, I dared let myself glance up at his hair; and briefly wondered what shampoo he used.

*****

Ron ended up in hospital with his leg snapped in two.

When I asked him what had happened, he was suspiciously vague; mumbling something about a dog and a rat.

"You mean Scabbers?" I asked, frowning as I sat by his hospital bed.

"Don't you mention that fucking twats name in front of me!" He bellowed quite furiously.

I blinked down at him, baffled by his violent outburst.

"Where are Harry and Hermione?" I asked, keen to change the subject.

"Probably off on a nice little adventure together changing fucking time or some shit," he fumed. "Apparently it's what they do now."

"O...kay," I said, thinking desperately for something to say that would kick Ron out of this mood. "Um, did you hear about Lupin? Rumour has it that he's a-"

"Werewolf, yeah I know." Ron cut in, shrugging his shoulders irritably.

"Well," I said, standing up and swinging my arms awkwardly by my side. "I'd better get down to the end of year feast."

"Whatever," Ron grumbled, shoving a Chocolate Frog in his mouth.

I quickly left that grump alone, looking up and down the corridor hesitantly before I stepped into it with my wand aloft. Apparently Sirius Black was still on the run and I couldn't be too careful.

And, as the Hogwarts Express trundled me home for the summer, I crossed my fingers for a crazy killer-free fourth year.

One thing was for certain; this school was either going to make me or break me.

I just had the sinking feeling it was going to be the latter.

*****

A/N: Thank you to the ever talented etsansmoi for designing and creating my cover. Absolutely love it!

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