King's Cross Station was crowded with students, hugging their parents a last goodbye. New Year's has passed, and, at least for the Black family, it had been the best New Year's yet.

All night, the Black children and Tina had danced, played games, and drank cider. Wallaburga had gone to bed early, and, although Orion had stayed awake, he had played sudoku all night.

Towards midnight, Regulus and Sirius had shown off by conjuring tiny silent fireworks. Kitty and Tina had cheered quietly as to not wake Wallaburga until it finally came time for midnight and they had all screamed the countdown.

Kitty had given Regulus, her father, and Tina a kiss on the cheek before fiercely hugging Sirius. "Don't leave, okay?"

"I'll do my best."

Out of the corner of her eye, Kitty had been amused to see Regulus pecking Tina on the cheek, both of them bright red.

Now, the girl in question was yelling at her. "We'll be late! Hurry up!"

"I'm coming!" Kitty shouted. She quickly hugged Wallaburga and ran towards the train, stepping into the car just as the train began to move.

"The rest of them are back here," Tina said, leading her back into a compartment that contained Jack, Yemi, and the twins. "Where's Rowan?"

"He's sitting with Sirena," Yemi said, scowling.

Kitty bumped her shoulder good-naturedly. "You a bit jealous?"

"No!" Yemi's frown deepened. "He can sit wherever he likes."

"Right," Kitty turned away, smiling slightly. "Hey Jack, hi Aludra, hi Taya."

"Hello!" Taya and Aludra said in unison then giggled.

Jack smiled broadly. "You had a good break, then, Kitty?"

"Very good, thank you," Kitty said. "Tina and I survived."

"We didn't just survive, it was great." Tina chided. "I had a lot of fun. Kitty's family is very kind."

"Define kind," Kitty replied. 

Jack laughed. "Did you remember to do the Charms work, Tina?"

"In fact, I did," Tina said, affronted, "thank you very much."

"Kitty reminded you?"

"No, actually Tina reminded me," corrected Kitty, laughing. "I was too busy eating cookies."

Aludra raised her eyebrows. "Wow, impressive, Tina. You never remember anything." Tina responded by sticking out her tongue.

The group chatted about their vacations- Jack had gone home to Ireland, and Kitty, Tina, and Yemi had gone to England. The twins, although they lived in Scotland, had gone on a trip to Greece.

"I just spent the whole time eating," confessed Taya. "Mostly grape leaves."

"Did you see the Parthenon?" Kitty asked, and Taya perked up.

"Oh, yes, it was amazing!" Taya said. "I felt like I was in the middle of a history book."

"That's how I feel at Hogwarts," Jack said, "it doesn't feel real."

"I don't understand the muggle world," Kitty admitted, "it feels like a storybook. What is a cell phone, anyway? And a dish-scrubber?"

"Do you know what a telephone is?" Jack prompted.

"I know people talk to each other through it."

"Yes, you can hear someone's voice from far away. A cell phone is a telephone you can carry around."

Kitty frowned. "Wouldn't it be easier to use magic? Do you have a cell phone?"

"Yes, I do. Remember, we can't use magic outside of school. We're underage."

"Oh, right. I forgot." Kitty shrugged. "My parents are the ones who do magic at home. So what is a dish-scrubber?"

"You mean a dishwasher?" Yemi asked.

"Yes, that!"

"It washes dishes," Jack said.

"But it's just a tiny box! How does it do it? Are there House-elves inside?"

"We're almost there!" Yelled a prefect. "Five minutes, everyone!" When Kitty poked her head out of the compartment, she realized that it was Jack's brother, Nigel. Cheeks reddening, she turned back to the compartment.

"We'd better start packing up," said Yemi, grabbing a duffel bag. Aludra and Taya hurriedly gathered up their candy stash from the trolley witch, while Kitty and Tina stared out the window at the castle, looming closer and closer. The train stopped with a jerk, sending Aludra crashing into Jack, who collapsed onto Yemi.

"Oof! What have you been eating, bricks?"

"Not all of us are five-three, Yasef," replied Jack, who was around five-seven and still growing.

The three disentangled themselves, and they all walked off the train in good humor. "Where are you going, Kitty?" Yemi asked.

Kitty looked around, confused. "The boats?"

Yemi laughed. "We're taking the carriages. The boats are just for the first time."

"Oh." Kitty's cheeks burned as she ran to catch up with her friends, her cloak flapping in the wind.

"Where are the horses?" Yemi asked, pointing.

"What do you mean?" asked Jack. "They're hitched to the carriages."

"They're funny looking," added Tina. "Are those wings? They look like skeletons."

"I don't see anything," Yemi insisted.

"Me neither." Kitty, Aludra, and Taya shook their heads.

"What do you mean?" asked Jack. He put out a hand and stroked the air. Kitty and Yemi looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Look!" Aludra gasped, pointing to the air. In the crisp air, the invisible horse could be seen breathing, with great puffs of fog. Intrigued, Kitty and Taya stepped closer with hands outstretched. Taya laughed in surprise as her hand brushed against a warm horse.

Hagrid, the big man who had taken them across the lake on the boats, noticed their surprise and came over to talk to them. "That's a thestral, there," he said proudly, "bes' herd in all a Scotland, here at Hogwarts."

"But why can only some of us see them?"

The young man scratched his head. "Well, you canna only see a thestral if you've seen death."

"So they are real." Aludra said in amazement. She reached out and stroked the thestral's flank. Yemi dubiously poked in the thestral's direction, and squealed when she touched it.

Beaming broadly, Hagrid clearly appreciated the students' interest in his thestrals. "Don't tarry too long, the carriages will be leavin' soon." He advised, and walked away.

"We'd better hurry." Taya struggled to pull the steps down, but they were stuck. Ruefully, she shrugged and pushed herself up on her arms into the carriage. She landed on her stomach and, like a seal, flopped into a sitting position.

Kitty and Aludra laughed, and Taya stuck her tongue out at them. "I'd like to see you try." She teased.

"All right." Aludra accepted the challenge, pushing up on the carriage's walls and wiggling in as ungracefully as her twin had. Taya laughed at her. 

"Oh, there's Rowan!" Yemi said. All grievances forgotten, she waved at him, grinning. "Tina, let's go get him."

"Hurry," Kitty advised. She turned back to the carriage, ready to jump up, but Jack stopped her.

"Here." He offered a hand and boosted her into the carriage. With the help of Aludra and Taya, she pulled Jack up behind her, and the four of them sat in the carriage, surveying the other students. Regulus sat stiffly with Rowle and Zamar, while Sirius and James Potter were bothering a pretty girl whom Kitty identified as Lily Evans.

"A little help, here?" Tina asked. They had returned with Rowan, who smiled and said "hello!" Together, they pulled Rowan and Yemi into the carriage, but Tina was left on the ground when their carriage began to roll away.

"Tina! Tina!" They called, arms outstretched to pull her up. She began to run, but thought better of it and walked over to the next carriage instead.

"What's she doing?" Asked Aludra as their carriage slowly gained speed. 

Tina was talking to Regulus, whose carriage was waiting near the back. With a grin, he grabbed her hand, pulled her up, and motioned at a seat.

"Well butter my toast," said Yemi, "Tina's got an admirer."

"He's my brother," protested Kitty, "and Tina isn't old enough for an admirer."

Yemi raised her eyebrows. "If you say so." She turned to Jack. "So, who have you seen die?" She asked bluntly.

Taya gasped. "Yemi, you can't ask someone that."

"I just did."

"It's okay," Jack said. "My grandfather passed away when I was little."

Aludra squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it was a long time ago." 

Another carriage was closing in behind them, so close that Kitty could feel the breath of the thestrals. She turned to see Carson Arlo grinning at them at the helm and groaned. 

"Quite the ladies' man, eh, DiGievo?"Jack quickly released Aludra's hand with a scowl. Aludra, who had only been trying to be nice, blushed deeply. "Funny, I thought that you and Black had something going on. I guess she wouldn't be interested in a muggleborn like you. Or maybe the Black family is all players, who knows?" He laughed as if he had just told them a very funny joke. 

"How did you get into Hufflepuff anyway?" Kitty said angrily. "You're certainly one of the least kind people I've ever met. Maybe if you actually have friends, you would know what it's like." 

The twins both laughed, Yemi gasped, and Arlo was struck speechless. He pursed his lips like a fish before hotly retorting, "you're so high and mighty while your brother Regulus is out cavorting with Death Eaters and your brother Sirius and his friends are off sneaking around the castle doing God knows what. It's a wonder neither of them have been expelled!"

"Well I am not either one of my brothers, so you can stop taking out your grievances with them on me!"

The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws sitting in the carriage with Arlo seemed to be taking Kitty's side. One of them, a Ravenclaw girl with wild curls, nudged Arlo sharply with her elbow. He looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it, contracting in on himself. 

He sat silent for a few moments, and then..."All right. I'm sorry, Black." The Ravenclaw nudged him again. "I'm sorry, DiGievo." He added.

"Wow," Yemi whispered. "Well said, Kitty! I never thought I'd see the day where Carson Arlo would apologize."

"Me neither," Kitty admitted. 

Their carriage began to slow down. Warm lights broke the darkness, and a cheer rose among the students. "Everyone," yelled the Ravenclaw Head Boy, from somewhere in the front, "welcome back to Hogwarts!"